AN IMPROVED DETONATING ALARM, TO BE USED FOR GIVING WARNING OF ANY ATTEMPT TO FORCE DOORS, WINDOWS, OR OTHER PLACES
Year: 1884

page_text: "
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the firm of Edwards and Co. Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 36 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for AN IMPROVED
DETONATING ALARM, TO BE USED FOR GIVING WARNING OF ANY ATTEMPT TO
FORCE DOORS, WINDOWS, OR OTHER PLACES" and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This Invention is applicable to all doors, windows, or other openings which it is
required to secure against being illicitly forced, and it may be fitted either
above or below the lock or staple of any door or window to which it is applied.
In the accompanying Drawing Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 a plan of
the apparatus. Figures 3, 4, and 5, show a modified form of construction.
The apparatus is made entirely of metal, and consists of a plate a (Figures 1 and 2)
of suitable size and shape, which is fixed by two or more ordinary screws 6 to the
door frame or window frame.
The plate a may be made moveable and adjustable by making in it slots for
the screws b so that it may be fixed at exactly the right distance from the staple.
To the plate a is rivetted a support or hinge cupon which is pivotted at d
the end of a hammer e the other end of which is provided with a striker so
arranged that when the hammer is depressed it falls upon the detonating pin or
cap placed beneath it.
The hammer is provided with a knob or handle f by which it can be raised
when required, and a strong flat spring k is arranged behind it one end of which
is rivetted or fixed to the plate a and the other end presses upon the hammer and
forces it down. Or, instead of a flat spring a helical one may be used as shewn
at i, Figure 1, one end being attached to the plate a and the other to the hammer a
which it draws down. Or both springs may be used together.
Under the striking end of the hammer is rivetted to the plate a a small
cylindrical cartridge holder g closed at one end and having at its upper side a slot h
into which the detonating pin of the cartridge passes.

page_text: A hinged catch or tappet is arranged upon the staple or lock of the door or
window and is fixed by a screw m passing through a slot n by which its exact
position can be adjusted as desired in relation to the hammer e.
To prepare the apparatus for use, the hammer e is raised by the knob f, and the
catch is pressed forward until the piece o passes under and holds up the hammer &
when the latter is let go, and a cartridge is then placed in the holder g with its
detonating pin under the hammer e ready to explode the cartridge when the
hammer falls by any attempt to open the door or window.
In the modified arrangement of the apparatus, shewn in Figures 3, 4, and 5
instead of a hammer e a striking bar s may be used operated by a helical spring r
contained in a cylinder or guide, the spring being compressed when the bar 8 is
forced into the cylinder where it is retained by an adjustable catch p fixed upon
the staple or lock of the door or window as in the arrangement first described.
The end of the striking bar a is provided with a point which strikes and explodes
a detonating cartridge u contained in the holder t, when the catch p is released by
any attempt to open the door or window.
I do not confine myself to the precise shape and dimensions of the apparatus
or to the materials of which it is made which may be varied to suit varying
circumstances, but having now particularly described and ascertained the nature
of the said Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare
that what I claim is,
The apparatus for automatically giving warning of any attempt to force a door,
window, or other place, consisting of a detonating-cartridge in combination with
a spring hammer or firing bar, and a binged or rigid catch which is released
directly any attempt to force the door or window is made, substantially as described
and shewn in the Drawing.