Recent Patents.

Progress, Volume XII, Issue 9, 1 May 1917, Page 964

Recent Patents.

Gate —Another Wellington Architect, Mr. John T. Mair, A.R.1.8.A., has invented a new gate latch, No. .'58,435. According to this invention, the frame lis made with a portion of the front cut away to form the shoulder la upon which the lever 3 rests when the latch is closed, and slots 7 are cut. in the upper edge to take the lockingdevice. The catch or pawl 2is pivoted on the rivet 5, and is formed with a slot 2a, engaging with the lug 3a of lever 3, by means of which the catch or pawl is lifted, and is so shaped that pressure of the striker 4 on the inside pulls the

latch closed, or on the outside causes the catch or pawl to revolve out of the way. The lever 3is pivoted on a rivet, and is made with a lug 3a engaging in the slot 2a and causing the catch or pawl 2 to revolve as lever 3 is raised or lowered. The lever 3is also provided with an extension 3b, which engages the striker 4-, thereby pushing the gate open when the lever 3 is lifted, or closing the gatelatch mechanically when the striker 4 engages the entension 3b in the process of closing the gate. A projection 3e on lever extension 3b engages the catch or pawl 2 when the lever 3 is raised and limits the revolution of 2 in an upward

direction. A shoulder 3d is formed on the top of lever 3 so as to be coincident with the slots 7 in frame when the latch is closed. The bolt of a separate lock or other device inserted in slots 7 behind the shoulder 3d will prevent revolution of lever 3 and thus lock the device. The striker 4 is a bar offset or deformed to clear lever extension 3b when gate is closed, and is fixed by screws. The frame 1 and striker 4 need not necessarily be made plain as illustrated, but may be made ornamental in form, and the operating-knob of lever 3 may be formed as a ball instead of flat as shown. Roof and Wall Tiles.— patent No. 37,147 has been taken out for a tile for roofs and walls of buildings bv Wm. McLeod, Architect, of Balgownie Avenue, Gonville, Wanganui. According to this invention the tiles 1 are made with bevelled top edges 2, two (preferably dovetail-shaped) lugs or projections 3 near the top, and a preferably dovetail-

shaped projection 4 near the bottom. The projections 3 are undercut on a bevel 5, and the bottom projection 4 is also undercut on a bevel 6, and is thereby adapted to lie against the top edges 2 of two adjacent tiles below it and extending over the two inner projections 3 on said two adjacent tiles'. The tile-battens 7 have bevelled top edges 8 to correspond

with the bevel 5 on projections 3, so that when the tile 1 is placed on the tile battens 7 its upper end and the interlocked bottom end of the tile above it arc held by the projections 3 taking over the top bevelled edge 8 of the tile-batten 7 and by adjacent and lower tiles. Tile Manufacture.—A patent. No. 248, has been taken out byF. Picrcyof Western Australia consisting of a machine for forming tiles in which clay is forced through a square orifice with a central core, the extruded clay being separated at the corners to form four sets of tiles, each of which has a right angle lip.

The rectangular cove has sloping shies d and a boss e which is secured to a fixed spindle /', while diverging web plates g guide the clay as it is forced downwardly by an archimedean screw. The square die jis bolted to the clay cylinder c, and sets of pins s and p are fixed near each corner of the die to make grooves which form the edges of the tiles. The pins leave a central connecting web y which can be severed on the delivery table to separate the lip m from the body n of the adjacent tile.