US722781A

US722781A - Jail or prison.

Info

Publication number: US722781A
Application number: US11765802A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank O Weary
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1902-07-30
Filing date: 1902-07-30
Publication date: 1903-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 1920-03-17

Description

PATBNTBD MAR-17, 1903.

F. 0. WEARY. JAIL 0R PRISON.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JULY so. 1902.

No MODEL.

4 l Effi. r

NITED STATES FRANK O.- WEARY, OF AKRON, OHIO.

JAIL OR PRISON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,781, dated March 17, 1903.

l l Application fle'd July 30,1902. Serial No. 117,658. (No model.)

To cl/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK O. WEARY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Akron, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in .Tails or Prisons; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in lockups, jails, or prisons.

The primary object is to construct an inexpensive lockup, jail, or prison having an inner court and cells arranged injtwo rows at opposite sides, respectively, of the court,with each of the said cells having a window which faces the court and provided with a solid vision-obstructing wing or blind projecting into the court at the outer side of and eXtending from top to bottom of the said window, which wing or blind has such arrangement and dimensions relative to the said Window and the court-facing windows and corresponding wings or blinds of the other cells that a prisoner in any cell in looking out of the window of his cell cannot see or recognize nor be seen or recognized by a prisoner in another cell andv that the sheriff, marshal, turnkey, guard, or other jail ofcer can see or look into all of the cells from within the said court and that the prisoners in all of the cells can without seeing one another see and hear a speaker, jail officer, preacher, or lecturer addressing them from within one end of the court.

With this object in view my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a top plan, in horizontal section, of a jail or prison embodying my invention. Fig. II is a vertical Vsection on line II II, Fig. I, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Referring to the drawings, c designates an inner court formed within and centrally between'opposite side walls of the jail or prison. The court ce is ventilated and lighted in any approved manner.

Two rows of cells b are arranged at opposite sides, respectively, of and contiguous to the court a.

The court has, preferably, a generally triangular form in plan, as shown in Fig. I, so that the two rows of cells diverge toward the wider or larger end of the court, and the court-,bounding wall y of each cell of each row of cells is provided with a window c, by which the said cell is lighted and ventilated from the court, and a wing or blind c projects into the court from the wall y of each cell and has such arrangement and dimensions relative to the windows and wings or blinds of the other cells that a prisoner within any cell cannot see or recognize nor be seen or recognized by a prisoner in another cell.

All of the wings or blinds c are solid or imperforate and project not only into the court, but toward one and the same end of the court-viz., toward the wider or forward end of the court-and have the arrangement and dimensions required to completely obstruct vision between the court-facing window of any cell and the court-facing windows of the other cells, and obviously a prisoner in any cell is prevented from seeing or recognizing or being seen or recognized by a prisoner in any other cell, and the guard or other officer can look into the windows e of all of the cells of both rows of cells from the said end of the court, and a speaker can by .taking a position upon a platform or stand j, provided centrally of the said end of the court, address all of the prisoners in the various cells and see and be'seen by allsuch prisoners through the said windows.

Preferably each cell of each row of cells is arranged directly opposite a cell of the other row of cells and opposite side walls of the court diverge toward the wider or forward end of the court, and the window e of each cell of each row of cells is directly opposite a window eV of a cell of the other row of cells, and the two wings or blinds c of the said directly oppositely locatedcells converge toward the said end of the court.

The scope of my invention embraces, broadly, a jail or prison having an inner court arranged between and extending longitudinally of two rows of cells provided with windows which face the court, and wings or blinds which are arranged at the outer sides leo of the said windows and have the construction, arrangement, and dimensions required to completely obstruct vision between the court-facingwindow of any cell and the courtfacing windows of other cells along the said court, so that a prisoner in any cell in looking out of the window of his cell cannot see or recognize nor be seen or recognized by a prisoner in any other cell and that the prisoners in the different cells can look toward and see one and the same end of the court, so that they can see and be seen by a speaker addressing them from the said end of the court.

Preferably the wing or blind c of each cell between the wider end of the court and the cells contiguous to the end wall of the opposite end of the court for the purpose ot' affording the best vision between the window e of the said cell and the Wider and forward end of the court is wider and arranged at a greater angle to the contiguous or adjacent side wall of the court than the wing or blind of the next rearward cell, so that adjacent Wings or blinds c of each row of cells converge toward the wider end of the court; but the wing or blind c of each window e projects completely across the range of vision between the said window and any' other courtfacing-cell window.

The window e of each cell is of course preferably grated at its inner side, as at g, to prevent access to the sash or sashes of the said window by the prisoner within the said cell.

At the outer side of each row of cells are arranged or formed two parallel or approximately parallel corridors la and Z, which extend longitudinally of the said row of cells, with the inner corridor Z between the outer corridor 7c and the said cells and extending from end to end of the said row of cells, and a safety-grating m, extending from floor to ceiling, separates the said corridors 7c and Z.

The outer side of each outer corridor Za is formed by an outer wallo ofthe jail or prison, which wall o is provided with windows o for Ventilating and lighting the said corridor and for Ventilating and lighting the adjacent inner corridor Z through the grating m between the said corridors.

The outer corridors 7o are connected together at the observation end of the courtthat is, at the courts wider and forward end toward which the wings or blinds c project-- by a transverse corridorf, and the end wall r of the court at the said end of the court participates in the formation of a side wall of the said corridor and is provided with doors s, which aiord access to the court from the said corridor, and with windows t for ventilating and lighting the said corridor from the court. The windows t enable the guard, jailer,or other ofcer to watch the entire court and the windows e from a position within the corridor f. The outer corridors 7c are also connected together at their oppositeends by a transverse hall h, and a door u controls communication between the said hall h and the court ct.

The inner side Wall of each inner corridor Z has doors cZ, aording access to the cells arranged along the said corridor Z, and the grating m between the said corridor Z and the adjacent outer corridor Zr is provided with a door n for access to the said inner corridor Z. Each door d is a solid plate or imperforate door, so as to prevent any prisoner in said inner corridor from seeing or communicating with another prisoner confined in an adjacent cell.

What I claim isl. In a jail or prison, an inner court and cells arranged in two rows extending along opposite sides,respect.ively, of the court, and the court-bounding walls of the said cells being provided, respectively, with a window by which the respective cell is lighted and ventilated from the court, and a vision-obstructing wing or blind at the outer side 0f the said window, which wing or blind has the construction, arrangement and dimensions required to prevent a prisoner looking out of the said window from seeing or recognizing, or being seen or recognized by, a prisoner in another cell.

2. In a jail or prison, an inner court, and cells arranged in two rows extending along opposite sides, respectively, of the court, and the court-bounding walls of the said cells being provided, respectively, with a window by which the respective cell is lighted and ventilated from the court, and the said windowed walls having wings or blinds which project into the court and have the arrangement, construction and dimensions required to prevent .a prisoner within any cell from seeing or recognizing,or being seen or recognized by, a prisoner in another cell.

3. In a jail or prison, an inner court and cells arranged in two rows extending along opposite sides, respectively, of the court, and the court-bounding walls of the said cells being provided-with windows by which the cells are lighted and ventilated from the court, and vision -obstructing wings or blinds at the outer sides of the said windows, which blinds or wings project into the court and toward one and the same end of the court, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4.-. In a jail or prison, an inner court which is generally triangular in plan and cells arranged in two rows extending along opposite sides, respectively, of the court, and the court-bounding walls of the said cells being provided with windows by which the cells are lighted and ventilated from the court, and vision-obstructing wings or blindsat the outer sides of the said windows and within the court, which wings or blinds project toward the wider end of the court and have the arrangement and dimensions required to pre- ICO IIO

vent a prisoner within any celll from seeing or recognizing, or being seen or recognized by, a prisoner in another cell.

5. In a jail or prison, a row of cells, a court at one side of and extending longitudinally of the said row of cells, a corridor arranged at and longitudinally of the other side of the row of cells; doors aording access from the said corridor to the adjacent cells; a passage between the said corridor and the court, and the aforesaid cells being provided with windows which face the court, and having visionobstructing wings or blinds projecting into and toward one and at the same end of the court at the outer sides of the said windows.

6. In a jail or prison, an inner court; cells arranged in two rows which extend along opposite sides, respectively, of the court and diverge toward one end of the court so as to cause the said end to be wider than the opposite end of the court; windows in the courtbounding walls of the cells, which windows face the wider end of the court, and visionobstructing Wings or blinds projecting at the outer sides of the said windows toward the wider end of and into the court, which wings or blinds yhave the arrangement and dimensions required to completely obstruct vision to and from the court-facing window of any cell from and to the cou rt-facing window of another cell.

7. In a jail or prison, a row of cells, a court' FRANK o. WEARY.

Witnesses: Y C. H. DORER, G. M. HAYES.