Untitled record

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N.'PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, DC.

United States Patent Office»

HIRAM A. HAWKINS, OF VIRDEN, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVED WEATHER-STRIP.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,046, dated July 3, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, H. A. Hawkins, of Virden, in the county of Macoupin and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Strips; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use the invention, I will proceed to describe it.

My invention consists in arranging a metallic strip underneath the door in such a manner that by the closing of the door said strip will be raised by means of a lever, and thus made to close tightly against the bottom of the door.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the line a? a? of Fig. 3. Figs. 2 and 4 are transverse vertical sections taken on the line £ z of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a top-plan view.

It is well known that there is always more or less difficulty in insuring a tight joint between the bottom of ordinary doors and the threshold, and that in consequence of this difficulty rain, snow, and dust are driven by the wind into the room.

To obviate this difficulty is the object of my invention.

A represents the ordinary wooden threshold, above which is hung the door B in the usual manner, there being a space left between them to permit the insertion of my improved device, which consists of a metal strip, a, formed as shown in cross-section in Figs. 2 and 4. This strip «has its ends fitting into a recess in each of the door-jambs b, as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 3, thus being equal in length to the width of the door B. The front or beveled edge of this strip a is held down close upon the threshold by its edge at each end impinging under the shoulders formed by the recess cut for its ends in the jambs, or by any other suitable means.

An inclined or beveled piece, d, is secured permanently to the threshold, and having its front edge coming in contact with the rear side of the strip a, as shown in Fig. 2.

A sliding lever, c, is located under the strip a, as shown in Fig. 1, it having one end turned up at a right angle, and a point, h, projecting inward from the upright part, as shown, the point h protruding through a hole in the plate n, which is let into the side of the jamb or casing to keep the lever c in place.

At its front end the lever c is slotted, and embraces an incline, n, which is secured at its lower end to the threshold, and having its opposite end resting on a spiral spring, m.

A roller, e, is secured to the end of the lever c where it strikes against the under surface of the strip a, while another roller, o, is attached to it where it comes in contact with the incline n, as shown in Fig. 1.

The parts being thus arranged, it will be seen that when the door B is closed it will strike against the projecting point h, driving the lever c backward, and causing its end under the strip a to ride up on the incline n, and thereby raising the strip a up against the bottom of the door and closing the joint tight, as shown in Fig. 2, it being understood that as the front edge of the strip a is held down, as previously described, it will not be raised up bodily, but will have its rear edge only raised, thereby giving it a tipping or tilting motion edgewise. The moment the door begins to open the strip a will begin to descend, and continue to do so until it rests upon the threshold, where it will remain until the door is again shut.

In order to prevent the door from becoming bruised and worn where it hits the projectingpoint h, a screw is inserted, as shown at f of Fig. 3, for the point to strike against; and by turning this screw in or out the parts can be adjusted so as to raise the strip exactly to the required point.

The spring m also permits the incline n to yield in case the strip a should hit the door before the lever c ceases to move.

It is obvious that, if desired, a projecting’ shoulder may be formed on the surface of the strip a, a corresponding recess being formed for it in the bottom of the door, whereby the joint may be still more perfectly closed, if found necessary or thought advisable.