US16792A - Escutcheon eor keyholes - Google Patents

Description

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMUND FIELD, OF GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT.

ESCUTCHEON FOR KEYHOLES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,792, dated March 10, 1857.

T 0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, EDMUND FIELD, of Greenwich, in the county of Fairfield and State o-f Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Keyhole-Drops for Locks, being a new article of manufacture; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a. front or face view of my impro-vement applied to the escutcheon of a lock. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same, the escutcheon being bisected vertically.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures. This invention consists of a new article of manufacture, viz., a key-hole drop, which is composed of two parts, pivoted together. This improvement is designed to be applied to sunken escutcheons, and by its use the escutcheons may be made much smaller in diameter than if the usual drop were employed.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A, represents a sunken escutcheon, that is, the escutcheon is of dish form and is fitted within the door, the outer edge of the rim being Hush with the surface of the door.

B, represents the key hole, and 0, is the drop. The drop C, is formed of two parts b, c, connected by a pivot (l. The upper end of the part b, is pivoted to the back plate of the escutcheon directly over and in line with the center of the key hole B, as shown at o1, so thatthe drop will, by its own gravity, cover the key hole. The two parts b, o, of the escutcheon are allowed to work freely on the pivot (l, so that a joint is formed thereby.

From the description of parts, it will be seen that if the drop C, were made in one piece, as usual, it could not be turned to one side of the key hole, for t-he lower end of the drop cannot clear the lower part of the sides of the escutcheon, but in consequence of having the drop jointed as shown, it folds as it is turned one side, as shown in red, Fig. l, and the key hole is fully exposed.

The advantage of the above improvement is, that the escutcheon may be made much smaller in diameter than if the usual drop were employed. In fact, to accommodate the ordinary drop, the escutcheon would require to be so large in diameter that it would disfigure the door, or at least, would not have that neat appearance, which a smaller one has. Besides, the large escutcheons are more expensive, requiring more metal and also more labor in constructing them.

The use of my improvement permits the escutcheon and lock to be made nearly one half smaller than they otherwise could be, and thus insures a saving in expense of at least thirty-three per cent. in many cases. Hy improvement, it is true, is simple'. But it is one of those devices which, however apparently unimportant, in itself considered, nevertheless effects highly useful results. Beside the cheapening of the lock, and the improvement of appearance, my invention permits the employment of escutcheon locks in very many cases where, owing to their large size, it is now impossible to use them, except without a drop. Another advantage of my new article is that it may be used ony common fiat door locks; and, since it folds, in revolving, it will 'not pass beyond the edges of the key-hole plate sufiiciently for to mark the door. But by the use of the common drop, the door soon becomes marred by the rubbing of the drop upon it, as it revolves; a large, worn circle being produced upon the door, which presents an untidy appearance.

I do not claim the broad idea of joint-ing metallic or other bars by means of hinges or pivots, as this is everywhere well known. But a key-hole drop, made in two parts, pivoted together, has never before been known. It is a new article of manufacture, possessing virtues and advantages not seen in any other article of the kind.

Therefore, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, as a new article of manufacture,-

The key-hole drop, C, composed of two parts, (I), c) pivoted together.

EDMUN D FIELD.

Witnesses:

EZRA KEELER, MICHAEL B. CARPENTER.

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