Untitled record

Application filed March 7,1895, Renewed January 15,1897. Serial No. 619,387. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Howard Hinckley, a citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New 5 Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Door Bolt and Indicator; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable io others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to indicators for the doors of bath-rooms, water-closets, and the like, and especially to such as are operated 15 by the bolt of the door so as to indicate on the outside that the place is vacant or unoccupied when the bolt is unlocked and that it is occupied when the bolt is locked on the in-, side by the occupant.

2o The object of the invention is to provide a bolt and indicator combined in one device in contradistinction to a bolt having a separate indicator Avhich requires to be adjusted into operative connection therewith and to pro25 vide a strong, simple, and inexpensive combined bolt and indicator that takes up but little space and that can be mortised into the edge of ordinary doors.

The invention is illustrated in the accom30 panying drawings, wherein—

Figure 1 is an elevation of a fragment of the outer face of the door with the indicator and bolt in place. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the axis of the bolt and indicator 35 roller. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the entire device. Fig. 4 is an edge view of the door with the combined bolt and indicator in place, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the bolt.

Corresponding parts in the several views are indicated by the same letters of reference.

Referring to these views, A indicates the door. B denotes a tubular barrel or casing for the bolt D, which is inclosed therein and 45 operated by the knob or handle E in the ordinary manner. As a precaution against the accidental movement of the bolt a leaf-spring d may be secured in a groove in its side, so as to bear against the interior of the barrel 50 B and hold the bolt by frictional resistance. To the outer end of the barrel B is secured the fastening-plate C, by means of which the barrel is secured in the mortise in the door, screws, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, passing through the plate, or other fastening devices 55 being employed to hold the plate in a rabbet in the edge of the door.

The housing or holder for the indicator-roll is denoted by F. It is formed integrally with the bolt-barrel B by means of webs or fins b b, 60 projecting laterally from the barrel and securing it and the roll-holder in substantially parallel alinement with each other and joining them together in one integral device. As shown in the several figures of the drawings, 65 the roll-holder is in the form of a hollow tube, closed at its ends, and on a pintle g, passing axially through the holder, is journaled the indicator-roll G, which may be hollow, as indicated in Fig. 2, or solid, as preferred. A 70 portion of the shell of the roll-holder is cut away, as indicated in the drawings, so as to expose to view from the outside of the door either of two indications or signs affixed to or upon the periphery of the roller. I prefer to 75 use the words “Vacant” and “Occupied” for these signs, but obviously any other words of like import would answer the purpose. Whatever words are used they should be placed upon the roller longitudinally, so as 80 to occupy about one-fourth of the periphery of said roll, so that by giving'the roller a quarter-turn the exposed sign will be concealed by the shell of the holder and the previously-concealed sign would be brought to 85 view.

For the purpose of rotating the indicatorroll coincidently with and by the movement of the bolt in locking and unlocking the door a spiral or inclined slot h is cut lengthwise of 90 the roller, or, in the case of a solid roller, a groove of corresponding shape and direction is formed in the periphery. Into this groove projects the outer end of a pin or lug e, extending laterally from the bolt D. I prefer- 95 ably make this pin a continuation of the boltoperating knob E and provide the inner end of the bolt D with a small screw-threaded end c, which is secured in a threaded opening of the stem of the knob. The slot or groove h 100 extends from about the center of the length of the indicator-roll toward the end of the

588,149 same and preferably runs toward that end of the roller next the edge of the door, and the word-signs on the roller are so arranged that when the bolt is withdrawn and the pin e oc5 cupies the inner end of the slot the indication will be that the room or closet is vacant or empty. The inclination of the slot will of course depend upon the extent of throw of the bolt and in the case of a bolt having a io very short throw would have to be very much ' inclined to the axis. Although I prefer to extend the slot in the direction described, it is obvious that by reversing the arrangement of the word-signs it might be extended in the ¹5 opposite direction.

In the construction shown in the drawings it will be noted that, as indicated in Fig. 4, about one-half of the periphery of the roll holder or case is cut away. This is not es2o sential, however, as only so much of the periphery is actually required to be removed as is necessary to expose the sign; but I prefer in casting the device to omit a sufficiently wide portion of the periphery to permit the 25 easy insertion of the roller.

Although I have herein shown the indicator part of the device as projecting laterally from the bolt-barrel, so as to occupy a position outside of the door facing or panel, the 30 indicator-holder may be arranged parallel with and on top of the barrel, so as to be inclosed in the mortise in the door along with the bolt. I prefer the construction illustrated in the drawings, however, for the reason that 35 it requires less cutting away of the wood of the door and is more easily put in place.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from Fig. 2 of the drawings. As shown in this figure, the bolt is withdrawn 40 and the door unlocked. The pin e occupies the inner end of the slot h in the indicatorroll, and the word “Vacant” is exposed to view through the cut-away part of the holderframe, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3. The act of | pushing out the bolt causes the pin to travel 45 to the other end of the slot li, and the word “ Occupied,” which was previously concealed, being on the bottom side of the roll, comes into view, the word ‘ ‘ Vacant ” meanwhile being concealed by the top part of the shell of 50 the holder.

It is characteristic of the device that the pin-and-slot connection between the rotary indicator-roll and the sliding bolt prevents the bolt being operated from the outside by 55 turning the indicator. At the same time, owing to the inclination of the slot to the axis of the roller, the operation of the indicator opposes very little resistance to the movement of the bolt from the inside. 60