Improvements in or connected with Locks, chiefly designed for what are known as Emergency Doors.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Sept., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 26th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 27th Dec., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Locks, chiefly designed for
what are known as Emergency Doors.
I, JOHN HENRY ROACH, of Silver Street, no profession, and ARTHUR EDWARD
JOYCE, of 3, Ethel Villas, Snells Park, Engineer, both in Upper Edmonton, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to locks chiefly designed for use upon doors for affording extra
means of exit from theatres, workhouses, asylums and other buildings in case of fire
or other emergency; the object of our invention being to provide means for enabling
such a door if locked to be opened without the use of a key.
Our said invention consists essentially in the use in conjunction with a lock of any
desirable construction and preferably with what is known as a mortise lock, of a
keeper which is normally in position to receive the bolt but which can, in case of
emergency, be drawn back to allow the opening of the door without the withdrawal
of the bolt.
In practice the keeper is advantageously arranged to slide in a case which can be
inserted into the door-post, a spring being arranged in conjunction with the keeper
in such a manner as to tend to move the said keeper into its case:
a catch is
provided which under ordinary circumstances holds the keeper against the power
of the spring, the said catch being operated from a knob or button on the exterior
of the case in such a manner that, when the said knob or button is pushed, the keeper
will be free to move backwards under the action of its spring. The said knob is
preferably placed behind a glass cover, so that it cannot be operated without first
breaking the glass.
In some cases we advantageously arrange electric contacts in conjunction with the
said button in such a manner that, when the latter is operated, an electric circuit will
be completed and so cause the sounding of a fire or other alarm at any desired point.
Our improved keeper may be arranged in conjunction with doors opening in one
direction only or in both directions.
T
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Locks, chiefly designed for
what are known as Emergency Doors.
I, JOHN HENRY ROACH, of Silver Street, no profession, and ARTHUR EDWARD
JOYCE, of 3, Ethel Villas, Snells Park, Engineer, both in Upper Edmonton, in the
County of Middlesex, 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 :-
Our invention relates to locks chiefly designed for use upon doors for affording
extra means of exit from theatres, workhouses, asylums and other buildings in case of
fire or other emergency; the object of our invention being to provide means for
enabling such a door if locked to be opened without the use of a key.
Our said invention consists essentially in the use in conjunction with a lock of any
desirable construction and preferably with what is known as a mortise lock, of a
keeper which is normally in position to receive the bolt but which can, in case of

page_text: emergency, be drawn back to allow the opening of the door without the withdrawal
of the bolt.
In practice the keeper is advantageously arranged to slide in a case which can be
inserted into the door-post, a spring being arranged in conjunction with the keeper in
such a manner as to tend to move the said keeper into its case: a catch is provided
which under ordinary circumstances holds the keeper against the power of the spring,
the said catch being operated from a knob or button on the exterior of the case in such
a manner that, when the said knob or button is pushed, the keeper will be free to
move backwards under the action of its spring. The said knob is preferably placed
behind a glass-cover, so that it cannot be operated without first breaking the glass.
In some cases we advantageously arrange electric contacts in conjunction with the
said button in such a manner that, when the latter is operated, an electric circuit will
be completed and so cause the sounding of a fire or other aların at any desired point.
Our improved keeper may be arranged in conjunction with doors opening in one
direction only or in both directions.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe the same with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a door and frame having our improvements
applied thereto :
Figure 2 is a plan of the same partly in section on the line a Figure 1:
Figure 3 is also a section on the line xx but showing the parts in a different
position:
Figure 4 is a section on the line y y Figure 2:
Figure 5 is an elevation of part of our improved mechanism drawn to an enlarged
scale :
Figures 6 and 7 are a plan and elevation respectively of the keeper detached:
Figures 8 and 9 are a plan and elevation respectively of the push-knob or-button;
and,
Figure 10 is a section of the same on the line z z Figure 9:
Figure 11 shews the application of our improvements to a door which swings in
both directions.
a indicates the portion of the door, and 6 a mortise lock of any ordinary construction
applied thereto, the said lock, as shewn, being provided with the dead bolt c and
spring-latch or bolt d. e indicates a portion of the door-frame adjacent to the lock.
f indicates the striking-plate, and a plate formed integral therewith and serving
as a cover and foundation plate for our improved keeper and also constituting a part
of the case, the said plate being secured to the door by means of screws h, h. The
slots in the striking-plate into which_the lock-bolts project extend to the edge of the
said plate, as shewn most clearly in Figure 3, so that the said bolts can pass into and
out of the said slots without being withdrawn into the lock.
j is our improved keeper which slides on the plate g and at one end is provided with
enlargements, which normally extend in front of the lock-bolts, as shown most
clearly in Figure 2, the said keeper being held in contact with the plate g by means
of an angle piece k forming a lining for the recess in the door-post into which the
bolts project, and by an angular projection on one. end of a plate forming a part of
the case containing the mechanism. 1, 1 are studs secured to the plate g and pro-
jecting through openings, in the keeper j, the said studs serving as guides for the
said keeper.
m is a spring acting upon an arm n pivoted at one end n' to the plate g and
with its free end bearing against a lug or projection o on the back of the keeper, the
normal tendency of the said spring being to move the keeper into the position shewn
in Figure 3. In order, however, to hold the said keeper in the position shewn in
Figure 2, so that the lock-bolts are prevented from passing out of the slots in the
striking-plate, we provide the locking-piece p supported at its rear end in the plate kl
and at its front end in a knob q sliding in a suitable aperture q' in the plate g.
When the keeper is in the position shewn in Figure 2, an enlargement p¹ on the
locking-piece p fits within a slot in the locking-plate, a spring-plate s, bearing with

page_text: its centre against the said locking-piece and with its two ends against the plate k³,
serving to normally hold the said locking-piece in this position.
The locking-piece p is provided with a narrowed portion p² and the slot r is provided
with an extension of sufficient width to receive the said narrow part p², so that,
when the knob q is pushed inwards against the pressure of the springs, and con-
sequently the narrow portion p² of the locking-piece is brought opposite to the
extension r¹, the keeper j is free to move back under the action of the spring m. A
collar på at the rear of the locking-piece serves to prevent the latter from being moved
too far forwards under the action of the spring s.
In order to move the keeper into its locking position, after it has been moved back
by the spring m, it is provided with a stud t projecting through a slot t¹ in the plate g.
is the glass-cover which is used for preventing free access to the knob 9, and
which is supported in a frame u¹, preferably formed integral with the plate g, the said
frame being provided with grooves in which the glass can slide. The upper part of
the frame is hinged at u², as shewn in Figure 1, the free end of the said part being
normally locked by means of a catch u³ which can only be operated when the glass is
broken.
As in some cases it is advisable to provide for operating the keeper from either side
of a door, we provide an arrangement similar to that shewn in Figure 4. In this
case a rod v extends from the locking-piece p through the door-frame and is connected
P.
to one end of a lever v¹, the other end of which is in connection with a second push-
knob v² similar to that hereinbefore described.
In order to give an alarm when the push-piece is pushed to open the door, we
advantageously employ the arrangement shewn in Figure 4, where the inner end of
the push-piece v² is designed to make contact with a contact and thereby to close
an electric circuit to operate an electrical alarm apparatus.
When our improved keeper is to be used in connection with a door adapted to swing
in both directions the keeper is provided with a recess w, as shewn in Figure 11,
whereby when the said keeper is moved backwards away from the lock the door is free
to swing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
1. A locking-plate or keeper for a lock so constructed that it may be moved to
disengage it from the lock-bolts substantially as described.
2. A locking-plate or keeper of the kind herein before described arranged in com-
bination with a catch and spring in such a manner that, when the said catch is
operated, the keeper will move backwards away from the lock-bolts, substantially as
described.
3. The combination with a lock of a keeper adapted to operate as hereinbefore
described, the push-button for operating the said keeper being normally protected by
a covering which may be easily broken, substantially as described.
4. The manufacture and use of the improved keeper for locks hereinbefore described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 26th day of November 1890.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.