US786095A - Coffin-fastener. - Google Patents

Description

No. 786,095. PATBNTED MAR. 28, 1905.l F. P. BRINING & J. STAGKHOUSB. GOPPIN PASTENBR.

UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

COFFlN-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,095, dated Marcil 28, 1905.

Application filed October 27, 1904. Serial No. 230,191.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK P. BRINING and J oHN STAoKHoUsE, citizens of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Godin-Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a new and useful improvement in latch or lock for the top of caskets, coflins, and other forms of burialcases, and has for its object to provide alatch or lock which will fasten the top to the body of the casket or coffin rigidly in all forms or finish, whether varnish, cloth, plush, or other material, and it does not matter how far the top is forced from the body by the thickness of material the latch will lock the two parts together securely under all conditions.

A further object of our invention is to so construct the latch that it will be spring-operated and will lock automatically.

wWith these en ds in view this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, the construction and operation will now be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section through a portion of the cover and body, showing my improved lock applied thereto; Fig. 2, an enlarged longitudinal section through a portion of the cover and body and also of the lock; Fig. 3, a perspective view of the lock; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the retaining-plate of the lock; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the hook-shaped retainer which may be used in connection with the lock; Fig. 6,-a perspective view of the retaining-plate to be used with the hook-shaped retainer; Fig. 7, a longitudinal section through the lock, showing a modified form of construction; Fig. 8, a side elevation of the bolt of the lock, showing a modified form of construction; Fig. 9, a plan view of the lock, showing a modified form of construction.

A represents the cover of the casket or coffin; B, the body.

C is a plate secured to the under side of the cover, and from this plate depends the lockcasing D. This lock-casing may be formed integral with the plate C or may be, as shown in the drawings, in the form of a stamping bent up to form the casing and riveted or otherwise secured to the plate C.

Eis the bolt of the lock, adapted to slide parallel with the plate C within the casing. The nose of the bolt is beveled upon its lower side, as indicated at E', and the upper side of the nose, which normally protrudes from the casing D, is formed with a series of steps or shoulders F.

G is aspring interposed between the rear of the bolt E and the rear end of the casing, tending to always force the bolt outward into its normal position.

H is a lever extending laterally across the casing D and pivoted therein, this lever being provided upon the interior of the casing with a lug I, which fits within a recess J, formed in the bolt E, the lever H having a thumbpiece .H upon the outside of the body of the coffin, and when this thumb-piece is pressed so as to rock the lever the lug I coming in contact with the rear wall of the recess J will push the bolt E backward against the tension of the spring G.

K is the retaining-plate of the lock, which is screwed or otherwise secured in the upper edge of the body, and this retaining-plate has an opening K formed through the same through which thelock-casingD may pass. A cavity B/ is formed in the wood of the body underneath the retaining-plate to receive the lock-casing. Thus it will be seen that by pressing the lock-casing D downward through the opening K of the retaining-plate K the bolt E will be forced backward on account of the inclined surface E striking the retainingplate; but as soon as the lock-casing has been pressed down far enough to pass the nose of the bolt said bolt will be shot forward by the spring G, so that one or the other of the shoulders F will engage the under side of the retaining-plate, and the shoulder which engages the retaining-plate depends upon the distance the casing D can be forced downward through the retaining-plate. Thus if the cofin or casket is only varnished or painted there will benonlaterial interposed between the top and body, so that the casing l) can be forced through the retaining-plate until the two parts are in contact. This will allow the bolt to be shot forward to its fullest extent, and the top shoulder F will engage the under side of the retaining-plate, as shown in Fig. l; but should the cofn or casket be upholstered with cloth this cloth would hold the top from coming in contact with the body such adistance that the second shoulder would be able to engage the under side of the retaining-plate; but this would lock the two parts together just as securely as though the top shoulder engaged the plate. If heavy plush or other heavy material is used to upholster the coin, then the top would be held at such a distance from the body that only the lowermost shoulder could engage the retaining-plate. Thus it will be seen that by providing` a lock of this description the same lock will answer for cofns no matter how finished and will automatically lock the top to the body by simply pressing down upon the same and can be instantly released by a slight pressure upon the thumbpiece H.

If desired, two locks would be used upon each side of the coffin, one at the forward and the other at the rearward end; but we have found that it is not necessary to have two locks upon each side, as a simple hook-shaped retainer can be used upon one end or each side of the cofiin to operate in conjunction with the lock. This retainer consists of a plate L, screwed or otherwise secured to the under side of the cover, and having a hookshaped nose M depending and extending forward from the same, said hook-shaped nose adapted to pass through an opening N', formed through a retaining-plate N, secured to the upper edge of the body, a cavity B2 being formed in the body of the coiiin underneath the retaining-plate N to receive the retainernose M. Thus it will be seen that the nose of the retainer must be slid into the opening M/ at an angle and forced forward, and itcannot be removed from the retainer-plate without moving the top rearward, and when the casing D of the lock is forced downward through the retainingplate K the top cannot be moved rearward until the casing D is raised, so as to be free of the retaining-plate. Thus in placing the top upon the cofi'in the top is placed so that the nose M and lockcasing D are to the rear of their openings and the top is slid forward until the nose M enters the slot N, and it is then pushed forward until stopped. Then the lock D will be directly over the opening K and may be forced downward and locked automatically.

. Longitudinal grooves K2 and N2 are formed in the retaining-plates K and Nat the rear of the openings K and N to guide the nose M and lock-casing D to their respective openings. Of course it is obvious that the bolt E should be provided with as many shoulders as desired, so that the lock could be adapted to as many different thicknesses of material between the top and body as desired; but in practice we believe three shoulders will be all that is necessary, and the bolt could be made with one shoulder, if desired, as shown in Fig. 7, or the shoulders could be formed as shown in Fig. 8.

In Fig. 7 we have shown amodified form of spring, where instead of using a helical spring or in using a spring separate from the casing we so construct the casing that the rear wall D is made of spring material and is bent inward, so as to contact the rearward end of the bolt and act as a spring therefor.

In Fig. 9 we have shown a modified form of construction in which the bolt is operated by a horizontally-moving lever instead of a rocklever or a key, as before described. In this construction a simple notch is made in the upper surface of the bolt, and a flat lever Q lies in this notch and is arranged directly underneath the plate C, said lever being pivoted in said plate C at the point Q.

A particular advantage of this lock is that it requires no special fitting, the lock being secured to the plate-surface by screws so placed that all weight will be in a vertical line with the screws and without any side strain.

Of course we do not wish to be limited to the exact construction here shown, as slight modifications could be made Without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and useful is- 1. In a lock for coiiins or caskets, a lockcasing secured to and depending from the top, a retaining-plate secured to the top edge of the body provided with an opening formed therethrough large enough to allow for the passage of the lock-casing, a horizontallysliding bolt arranged within the casing, the nose of which is adapted to normally protrude from the casing, a spring for holding the bolt in its normal position, the nose of the bolt provided with a beveled edge upo'n its lower side, the top of the nose of the bolt being formed with a series of shoulders or steps, one above the other, adapted to engage the under side of the retaining-plate so as to lock the top to-the body when said top is removed more or less from the body by the upholstering material, and means for retracting the bolt from the exterior of the coffin or casket, asl specified.

2. In a lock for cofiins or caskets, a plate se- IOO IIO

cured to the under side of the top, a lock-casing depending therefrom, a retaining-plate secured to the upper edge of the body, said retaining-plate provided with an opening formed therethrough large enough to allowv for the passage of the lock-casing, a longitudinally-sliding bolt arranged within the lockcasing, the nose of the bolt normally protruding forward from the casing, a spring interposed between the rear of the bolt and the rear of the casing for holding the bolt in its normal position, the nose of the bolt beveled from its outer forward end inward and downward so that the bolt will be pressed inward when it is forced through the retainer-plate, the top edge of thc nose of the bolt provided with a series of shoulders or notches adapted to engage the retaining-plate when the top is more or less removed from the body by different thicknesses of upholstering material. a rock-lever provided transversely through the lock-casing and extending to the outside of the coffin or casket, a lug or web formed with the rock-lever upon the inside of the lock-casing, the bolt provided with a recess or notch in which the lug is adapted to operate to retract the bolt when the rock-lever is rocked, as and for the purpose specified.

3. ln a lock for coflins or caskets, plates secured to the under side of the top of the coli-in on each side near one end thereof, a lock-casing depending from each plate, retainingplates secured to the top edge of the body upon each side, each retaining-plate provided with an opening formed therethrough large enough to admit the passage of the lock-casing, a longitudinallysliding bolt arranged within the lock-casing, the nose ofwhich normall y protrudes forward of the casing, a spring for holding the bolt in its normal position, means extending to the exterior of the cofn or casket for retracting the bolt, the nose of the bolt being beveled upon its lower side from its outer forward pointinward and downward so that the bolt will be pressed inward when the lock-casing is forced through the retaining-plate, the upper surface of the nose of the bolt being provided with a series of shoulders or notches adapted to engage the retaining-plate when the top is more or less removed from the body by upholstering material, plates secured to the under side of the top upon each side near the other end of the coffin, a hook-shaped nose depending from and curving forward from each plate, retaining-plates secured to the top edge of the coffin provided with openings formed therethrough through which the hook-shaped noses are adapted to pass so that the top of the cofiin will not only have to be raised but must be pulled rearward to disengage the hook-shaped noses from the retaining-plates, and longitudinal grooves formed in the upper surface of both sets of retaining-plates at the rear of the openings for guiding the hook-shaped noses and the lock-casing to said openings, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto affixed our signatures in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK P. BRINING. JOHN STACKHOUSE.v Witnesses:

E. C. AUSTIN, FRED HILL.

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