AN INGENIOUS WINDOW FASTENER.

Progress, Volume I, Issue II, 1 September 1906, Page 298

AN INGENIOUS WINDOW FASTENER.

Sanitary science of the present day demands the free admission of air to every room of a house, and it is a recommendation of medical men and health officers that windows should never be closed by night or day. Unfortunately, an open window offers particular allurement to members of the burglarmg fraternity. A fastener by which a window can be secured when closed, or, when open, sufficiently for ventilation purposes, should command a large sale. The Lone fastener, which has been in use for two or three years, is said to give highly satisfactory results. It is made m a number of styles to suit various tastes, and may be obtained in brass, plated metal, or steel. Our illustration shows a simple type of the fastener, and it will be seen that a metal plate having a roughened surface is fixed upon the side of the upper sash of the window, while a bracket is fixed upon the upper part of the lower sash directly opposite to the plate. This bracket is screwthreaded, and through it passes a screw lockingbolt which has a cranked handle by which it may be readily turned. By turning this crank handle through part of a revolution the end of the locking bolt is forced against the face of the plate, so that the two sashes are safely locked together, and neither of them can move up or down, the locking being effected when the top and bottom sashes (or either of them) are open or closed. This simple arrangement is sold for a few pence, and can be affixed by means of ordinary wood screws to any window in a few minutes. For windows placed at a height above ground so that it is difficult to reach the fastening, an ingenious arrangement is adopted, consisting of a coil spring, which always tends to turn and screw the locking-bolt into contact with the plate from the opposing sash. The cranked handle is sub-

stituted by a pulley around which passes an operating chain, and by means of which the bolt may be revolved to unlock the window when desired. An additional safety catch can be employed with another type of the Lone fastener. This consists of a hook which is pivoted upon the window frame in such position that when both sashes are closed the hook slips over the end of the locking bolt and prevents either of the sashes from being opened until the hook is released. An interesting pamphlet, dealing with the merits of the Lorie fastener, has been published by Messrs. Sargood, Son & Ewen, who are the wholesale distributing agents for New Zealand.

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