8950. Preston, E. J., and Mees, A. B. April 17. Window opening and closing apparatus; door opening and closing apparatus.-Relates to ships' &c. sliding windows, shutters, doors, &c. and to means for operating them so that on reaching the closed position the sash &c., by continued motion of the operating handle, is pressed against the frame or against rubber packing fixed in the frame, and is thus rendered water-tight. In a screw and ratchetclutch arrangement shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the stiles of the sash 1 sliding in the fixed frame 2 are formed as, or fitted with, racks 3 gearing with pinions 4, 5, which are connected by bevel-gearing 6, 12. The pinions 4, 5 are carried by spindles having at one end bearings in the frame 2 and at the other end bearings in the gear case 11 fixed to the frame 2. One of the spindles is squared to receive an operating handle at either end, and is screwed into the boss of the bevel-wheel 6. A ratchet-wheel 16, which is prevented from rotating in one direction by a pawl 17, is freely mounted between a collar 15 on the spindle and the boss of the bevel-wheel 6, and the spindle is provided with a pin 18 working in a slot or hole in the boss. When the operating-handle is rotated to raise the sash, the collar 15, pawl-wheel 16, and bevel-wheel 6 become locked together, and the pawl 17 prevents the sash from slipping downwards when the handle is released. When the handle is turned in the opposite direction, the spindle unscrews sufficiently to free the ratchet-wheel 16, and the pin 18 on the spindle then causes the bevel-wheel 6 to turn and lower the sash. The arrangement of operating gear admits of the operating spindle being placed on either side without alteration of the fixed frame 2 or gear case 11. The racks 3 are inclined near the top and bottom, as shown at 18<x>, 19, 20, 21, and the frame is provided with corresponding inclines 22, 23, 24, 25 so that at the end of the upward travel of the sash, the inclines 19, 20 engage with inclines 23, 24 and press the sash on to the rubber packing 26, and at the commencement of the downward travel, the inclines 18x, 21 engage with the inclines 22, 25 and move the sash away from the packing. The sash while sliding is kept off the packing by recessed guide-strips 27. In a modified form of the operating gear for the sash 1, worm-wheels fitted on the spindles of the pinions 4, 5 engage right- and left-handed worms fitted at the opposite ends of an horizontal shaft which is rotated by bevel-gearing from the operating spindle. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 12 and 13, instead of a spindle screwing into the bevel wheel 6, a sleeve 58, which receives the operating handle, screws over the spindle of the bevel-wheel 6 in order to lock the ratchet-wheel 16, and the racks 50 are connected to the sash by short parallel links 52. When the sash is raised, on reaching the end of its travel, projections or lugs 54 on the sash engage with inclines 55 on the frame, and continued motion of the operating handle causes the sash to move off the top dead-centres of the links 52 and presses to the sash against the packing 26. When the sash is lowered, the lower parts of the sash stiles engage inclines on guides on the frame and the sash is pulled away from the packing by the links 52. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 14, two sashes 70, 71 are connected by short links 81 to racks 72, 73, respectively, which gear with engaging toothed wheels 74, 75 so that the sashes balance one another and are simultaneously operated, the sashes moving towards one another when being closed, and away from one another when being opened. The sashes are moved off the link centres on to the packing, when the closing movement is completed, by wedge surfaces on the sash engaging inclines on the frame, and are moved away from the packing at the commencement of the opening movement by guide-pieces 82. The meeting rails of the sashes are fitted with rubber strips for making water-tight the joint between the sashes when in the closed position. In a modified arrangement, the toothed wheels 74, 75 are placed some distance above the operating spindle. Specifications No. 25,490, A.D. 1898, [Abridgment Class Buildings &c.], and No. 8551, A.D. 1901, are referred to.