Improvements in the Construction of Panelled Articles such as Doors, Articles of Furniture, and the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 27th May, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 16th Jan., 1892-Accepted, 27th May, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Panelled Articles such as
Doors, Articles of Furniture, and the like.
A communication from abroad by PASCUAL RODRIGUEZ MARTINEZ, of Carthagena,
in the Kingdom of Spain.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool & 6 Bank Street, Manchester
both in the County of Lancaster & 323 High Holborn in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:--
This invention relates to the application of iron or steel in the construction of
articles of wood, which, in practice, offers no difficulty but on the contrary presents
considerable advantages.
The superiority of iron over wood as regards resistance is so evident that it is
unnecessary to show that articles of wood and iron or steel, constructed on this
system, offer, as compared to similar articles of wood alone, the advantage of a
greater resistance with less bulk, and consequently will last longer.
Further, owing to the vegetable origin of wood, the influence of the atmosphere,
even in its ordinary condition, acts on it more directly and is more felt than on
iron, it is consequently necessary to protect articles with a coating of paint or
varnish which, whilst partially preventing the destructive action, increases the
resistance and renders the whole more compact owing to the quantity of the substance
which is introduced into it.
The disadvantage of such painting or varnishing is the necessity for its frequent
renewal, if the article is to preserve its resistance and agreeable appearance. On
the contrary, the bath of enamel, which it is proposed to apply to the iron or steel
plates or sheets and panels, is impervious to the ordinary action of the atmosphere;
it is not injuriously affected at high or low temperatures as has been proved by
kitchen culinary utensils; it prevents oxydation; it partly reduces the electrical
conductivity and it preserves its lustre and its colours even under the influence of
the above named causes. The metallic sound of the plates and their incombustibility
are properties which also yield an advantage when compared with wood, because
the first (when it is a question of doors, for instance) allows of the scraping being
detected, of any instrument, by the aid of which attempts might be made to break
in, and the second prevents the doors serving as a means for propagating the fire in
the event of an outbreak of fire as is so often the case with wooden doors in this
sort of disasters.
In the same way, owing to the greater resistance of the iron or steel, the majority
of the articles which at present are made of wood, of sizes incompatible with the
object or the place for which they are intended, but which have nevertheless
inevitably to be given thein in spite of the weight and bad appearance with a view
to obtaining the necessary resistance, may be constructed of wood and iron or
steel, reducing the volume until the relation, which ought to exist between a part
and the whole of a piece of work, is attained without injuring its resistance and
whilst preserving along with such resistance the simplicity and nice appearance
which characterise every modern construction.
As regards economy, owing to the present condition of the manufacture of plates,
the cost of production of a certain number of articles (not all) will be slightly
more than that of similar articles made in wood alone, but, taking into account
the greater durability, the various advantages already enumerated, and others which

page_text: :
it is not considered necessary to detail, such would fully, if not more than, compensate
for the slight excess in cost.
If, for instance, it be desired to construct a door of any kind and size, according
to this invention, the frames or corresponding parts are made of wood exactly
according to the rules employed in carpentry, only care being taken that, before
making up the whole, the connection between the bars and the uprights is
complete, and that the surfaces are absolutely level. In this arrangement, the
bars and uprights are covered separately with strips or sheets of iron or steel
enamelled on their external surface, for instance, with a bath of enamel or
porcelain.
The lining or covering of each bar or upright of a frame or corresponding part
consists, in the first place, of two strips or sheets; the one on the front surface,
which it covers from the shoulder of the panel at the interior of the frame or
internal back of the bars or uprights, to the shoulder of the tenons of the latter
in the external back of the principal uprights and bars, and up to the shoulder of
the panel in the intermediate bars; the other strip by the posterior surface, which
it covers between similar limits of the interior and exterior backs of the bars and
uprights, so that on the inside of the frame the strips are placed on the back of the
panels on their respective surfaces, and on the external side they remain separated
in all the extent of the said panels a distance equal to the thickness of the tenons,
that is, to the breadth of the grooves.
These bars are firmly attached to the uprights and bars by means of pressure
screws placed, for that purpose, in the extensions of the projections of the strips
which cover the parts described of the internal and external backs of the uprights
and bars.
The parts of one frame being thus prepared, the frame or corresponding part is
again made without being fastened up, solely with the view of improving the con-
nection of the strips between the uprights and the bars, and in this way leaving the
frame or truss, in wood and iron or steel, ready to receive the panels.
The requisite panels of iron or steel of any suitable form, dimensions, pattern or
colours (enamelled on both surfaces, if it is a question of a simple panel, or on one
surface only, if it is a double one) are then taken and they are fitted up in the
usual way, that is to say, one of the uprights of the frame is separated, for greater
security the panels are placed in the embrasures formed in the interior of the
frame by the separation of the two strips which cover it, and the prolongation of
these same embrasures into the wood; the divided upright is replaced, taking care
that its respective embrasure encloses the edges of the corresponding uprights; and
the frame is then fastened up, the tenons of its bars being glued, fitted and suitably
. secured.
As described above, a space remains without a covering in all the external
extent of the frame, the limits of which are tangential to the tenons; a space
equal to the breadth of the grooves formed in the uprights, the object of which is
to allow of these same tenons being glued and dovetailed, but which, when once
the frame is fastened up, is coated with a band of the above mentioned strips or
sheets perfectly adherent and is maintained by means of the screws described.
Thus a door wing or wings as may be required may be constructed.
For fixing the hinges, suitable recesses are made in the strips or sheets on the
interior surface of the frame (or in the part which is most suitable according to the
way in which it is desired to hang the wings) so that any suitable hinges or butts
may be inserted therein until they are level with the external surface of the strip or
sheet, thus forming a single surface. The same method is employed for fixing the.
lock, the bolts and all the other ironwork.
No mouldings or patterns need be made in the wooden frames, as the same are
modelled in the strips or sheets and form at most a chamferring in the interior
edges of the surfaces of the uprights and bars, in order, if necessary, to allow of
the bead of the strip being supported there.
If it be desired to cover with iron or steel the spaces where the wings are to be

page_text: suspended, the same procedure is followed as in the case of the frame, a single strip
covering the three visible surfaces of the frame which are shaped for this purpose
of a suitable form.
The same process may be followed for constructing all kinds of articles or
furniture with panels and strips in enamelled iron or steel (porcelain iron or
porcelain steel).
Dated that of a 1001
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Panelled Articles such as
Doors, Articles of Furniture, and the like.
A communication from abroad by PASCUAL RODRIGUEZ MARTINEZ, of Carthagena,
in the Kingdom of Spain.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6 Bank Street,
Manchester both in the County of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the application of iron or steel in the construction of
articles hitherto made entirely of wood, and which, in practice, offers no difficulty
but on the contrary presents considerable advantages.
The superiority of iron over wood as regards resistance is so evident that it
is unnecessary to show that articles of wood and iron or steel, constructed on this
system, offer, as compared to similar articles of wood alone, the advantage of a
greater resistance with less bulk, and consequently will last longer.
Further, owing to the vegetable origin of wood, the influence of the atmosphere,
even in its ordinary condition, acts on it more directly and is more perceptible
than in the case of iron, it is consequently necessary to protect wooden articles with
a coating of paint or varnish, which, whilst partially preventing destructive action,
increases the resistance and renders the whole more compact, owing to the quantity
of the substance which is introduced into it.
The disadvantage of such painting or varnishing is the necessity for its frequent
renewal, if the article is to preserve its resistance and agreeable appearance. On
the contrary, the bath of enamel, which it is proposed to apply to the iron or
steel plates or sheets and panels, is impervious to the ordinary action of the
atmosphere; it is not injuriously affected at high or low temperatures, as has
been proved by kitchen culinary utensils; it prevents oxydation; it partly
reduces the electrical conductivity and it preserves its lustre and its colours even
under the influence of the above named causes. The metallic sound of the plates
and their incombustibility are properties which also yield an advantage when
compared with wood, because the first (when it is a question of doors, for instance)
allows of the scraping being detected, of any instrument, by the aid of which
attempts might be made to break in, and the second prevents the doors serving as
a means for propagating the fire in the event of an outbreak of fire, as is so often
the case with wooden doors in this sort of disasters.
In the same way, owing to the greater resistance of iron or steel, the majority
of articles which at present are made of wood of sizes incompatible with the
object or the place for which they are intended, but which must nevertheless have
inevitably such a size in spite of the weight and bad appearance with a view to
obtaining the necessary resistance, may be constructed of wood and iron or steel,
reducing the volume until the relation, which ought to exist between a part and the
whole of a piece of work, is attained without injuring its resistance and whilst

page_text: preserving, along with such resistance, the simplicity and nice appearance which
characterise every modern construction.
As regards economy, owing to the present condition of the manufacture of
plates, the cost of production of a certain number of articles (not all) will be
slightly more than that of similar articles made in wood alone, but, taking into
account the greater durability, the various advantages already enumerated, and
others which it is not considered necessary to detail, such would fully, if not more
than, compensate for the slight excess in cost.
If, for instance, it be desired to construct a door of any kind and size, according
to this invention, it would be made as shown on the accompanying sheet of
illustrative drawings, on which :-
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the sheets of enamelled iron or steel suitable for
replacing wood panels and for covering the framework;
Figure 2 is a view of the back part of the principal cross bars, covered with the
sheet of enamelled iron or steel;
Figure 3, an enlarged plan view of the intermediate bars;
Figure 4, a view of the uprights along the line A. B;
Figure 5, a vertical section;
Figure 6, a strip or band for covering the edges of the uprights and cross bars;
Figure 7, an enlarged top plan view.
1 are the sheets or plates for covering the uprights, 2 the sheets for covering
both surfaces of the principal and intermediate cross bars, 3 the sheets for
replacing wood panels. Dotted lines S show the connection of the sheets of
enamelled iron or steel covering the uprights with the sheets covering the cross
bars. The frames are made of wood exactly according to the rules employed in
carpentry, only care must be taken that the connection between the cross bars
and uprights is complete and the surfaces absolutely level, before making up the
whole.
The cross bars and uprights are then covered separately with sheets 1 and 2 of
iron or steel enamelled on their outside surfaces, for instance, with a bath of
enamel or porcelain.
↑
The edges of the uprights and cross bars are covered with strips of metal,
Figure 6, shown in position at f h g i Figures 3 and 5, and at a b c d
Figures 4 and 7, said strips being secured by screws t, a groove being thus
formed, as shown, to receive the panels 3, said groove being of the same width
as the tenons X.
The groove on the outside edge of the uprights extends the whole length of the
frame, Figure 4.
The parts of the frame being thus prepared in wood and iron, the iron or
steel panels (enamelled on both surfaces if a single panel, or on one surface only
if a double one) are then taken and fitted up in the usual way, that is to say, one
of the uprights of the frame is separated. The panels 3 are placed in the grooves
formed by the separation of the strips r, the said groove also extending into the
wood. The frame is then fastened up, the tenons of the cross bars being glued,
fitted and suitably secured. As above described, the groove on the outside is
left uncovered, the whole length of the frame, the object of this being to allow
of the tenons X being glued and dovetailed, it is afterwards covered with a strip
of metal, Figure 6, and secured by screws t. Thus the wing or wings of the door
may be constructed.
For fixing the hinges, suitable recesses are made in the strips or sheets on
the interior surface of the frame (or in the part which is most suitable according
to the way in which it is desired to hang the wings) so that any suitable hinges or
butts may be inserted therein until they are level with the external surface of the
strip or sheet, thus forming a single surface. The same method is employed for
fixing the lock, the bolts and all the other ironwork.
No mouldings or patterns need be made in the wooden frames, as the same are
modelled in the strips or sheets and form, at most, a chamfering in the interior

page_text: edges of the surfaces of the uprights and bars, in order, if necessary, to allow of
the bead of the strip being supported there.
If it be desired to cover with iron or steel the spaces where the wings are to be
suspended, the same procedure is followed as in the case of the frame, a single
strip covering the three visible surfaces of the frame which are shaped for this
purpose of a suitable form.
The same process may be followed for constructing all kinds of articles or
furniture with panels and strips in enamelled iron or steel (porcelain iron' or
porcelain steel).
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
The construction of articles of the kind described with panels of enamelled iron
or steel of various colours, and covering the uprights, frame or casing or their
equivalents with strips of similar enamelled metal, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Dated this 15th day of January 1809
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.