IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOCKS AND IN APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE LOCK HAS BEEN OPENED
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Dewe, of the City of Toronto, in the County
of York, in the Province of Ontario, Post Office Inspector, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOCKS AND IN
APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE LOCK HAS BEEN
OPENED."
Sealed the 25th March 1870, and dated the 30th September 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Dewe at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
30th September 1869.
I, JOHN DEWE, of the City of Toronto, in the County of York, in the
Province of Ontario, Post Office Inspector, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF Locks
AND IN APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE LOCK HAS BEEN
OPENED," to be as follows:-
The objects of my Invention are to construct a lock in such a manner
that each time it is opened a number shall show itself upon the face
plate, and when the last number has been arrived at the key shall be
free to be turned without releasing the bolt until a sealed plate is
removed and then again replaced, at which time the cipher "0" is
exhibited.

page_text: I shall now describe my Invention as made of the padlock con-
struction.
The improvements in the construction of the lock consist in pro-
viding a notch in one face or edge of the tumblers for a curved block to
take into when they have been lifted to a fixed distance by the key.
The block is centred upon a pin and is kept against the tumblers by a
spring. The opposite side of the block has a projection for taking on to
the face of a chamfered recess of the loop or bow. The extreme end of
the loop or bow strikes against a third projection of the block when it
is inserted into the end plate or rim and pushes that portion of the block
downwards, thus releasing the first-mentioned projection from the
notch in the tumblers. There is a spring plate to act upon the end of
the bow and force it out of the rim when it is released. The upper part
of the block has a pin on it, which projects through a curved slot in
one of the side plates and engages with a push paul on the outside
thereof; this push paul forms part of my apparatus composing the
second portion of this Invention. The paul takes into the teeth of a
ratchet wheel, which is secured on the back of a circular plate on which
the numbers or figures are marked, and as the lock is opened the pin on
the block causes the paul to push the circular plate the distance of one
tooth and so bring the numbers or figures round in succession. There
is a stop paul to hold the plate firmly in position and to prevent its
moving either backwards or forwards until the tail of the push paul acts
upon it and gives it a little freedom. The circular plate has a projecting
stop piece on one portion of its edge, which comes against a tongue on a
recessed plate screwed on the outer plate or wall of the lock, and when
the circular plate has made nearly a full revolution it is prevented
going on further by the stop piece. It is in this position that the key
may be turned in the lock without releasing the bow or loop, because
the block has no motion when the circular plate is fixed. The recessed
plate with the tongue is screwed to the lock plate, as before explained.
A small piece of card or other material is placed in the recess and
pushed down upon the screw head; the recess is then to be filled with
melted wax, which is impressed with a die or stamp; the circular plate
and its pauls are enclosed in a case, and a small protected hole in the
case allows the numbers to be seen in regular order as the lock is
opened.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Dewe in the Great Seal Patent Office on the'
30th March 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DEWE, of the City of Toronto, in the County of York, in the Province
of Ontario, Post Office Inspector, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Dewe, Her special licence that
I, the said John Dewe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Dewe, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
LOCKS AND IN APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE LOCK HAS
BEEN OPENED," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Dewe, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Dewe, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
The objects of this Invention are to construct a lock in such a manner
that each time it is opened a number shall show itself upon the face
plate, and when the last number has been arrived at the key shall be
free to be turned without releasing the bolt until a sealed conical cup
or plate is removed. The lock will then open, when the first number

page_text: will show itself on the face plate. The cup or plate can then be replaced
and sealed, and the lock opened as before.
I shall now describe my Invention as inade of the padlock construction.
The improvements in the construction of the lock consist in pro-
viding a notch in one face or edge of the tumblers for a curved block
to take into when they have been lifted to a fixed distance by the key.
The block is centered upon a pin, and is kept against the tumblers by a
spring. The opposite side of the block has a projection for taking on to
the face of a chamfered recess, of the loop or bow. The extreme end of
the loop or bow strikes against a third projection of the block when it
is inserted into the end plate or rim and pushes that portion of the block
downwards, thus releasing the first-mentioned projection from the notch
in the tumblers. There is a spring plate to act upon the end of the
bow and force it out of the rim when it is released. The upper part of
the block has a pin on it, which projects through a curved slot in one of
the side plates and engages with a push paul on the outside thereof;
this push paul forms part of my apparatus composing the second
portion of this Invention. The paul takes into the teeth of a ratchet
wheel, which is secured on the back of a circular plate on which the
numbers or figures are marked corresponding with the ratchets of the
wheel, so that there will be a number for each ratchet, and as the lock
is opened the pin on the block causes the paul to push the circular
plate the distance of one tooth, and so bring the numbers or figures
round in succession. There is a stop paul to hold the plate firmly in
position, and to prevent its moving either backwards or forwards until
the tail of the push paul acts upon it and gives it a little freedom.
The circular plate has a projecting stop piece on one portion of its edge,
which comes against a tongue on a recessed plate or conical cup screwed
on the outer plate or wall of the lock, and when the circular plate has
made nearly a full revolution it is prevented going on further by the
stop piece. It is in this position that the key may be turned in the
lock without releasing the bow or loop, because the block has no motion
when the circular plate is fixed. The recessed plate or conical cup with
the tongue is screwed to the lock plate, as before explained. A small
piece of card or other material is placed in the recess or cup and pushed
down on the screw head; the recess or conical cup is then to be filled
with melted wax, which is impressed with a die or stamp, or a seal of
soft metal or other material can be inserted in the cap and pressed into
it with a die, so that the same cannot be loosened without the seal is

page_text: first destroyed. The circular plate and its pauls are enclosed in a case,
and a small protected hole in the case allows the numbers to be seen in
regular order as the lock is opened.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a back view of the padlock
with the outer plate removed and with the various parts in the position
they would occupy when it is locked, and Figure 2 is a corresponding
view showing the position of the parts when the lock is open;
Figure 3 is a face view of the lock with the cover removed to shew the
dial plate in a clear manner, while Figure 4 is a similar view with the
dial plate removed to show the pauls and the ratchet under it; Figure 5
is an exterior view of the lock looking upon the back or keyhole plate ;
and Figure 6 shows the front or index face; and Figure 7 an edge view
of the lock complete. The detached Figures show the various parts of
the mechanism. I have placed corresponding letters of reference upon
the parts in the several Figures to make them comprehensive to the
most inexperienced observer.
I place
a series of tumblers a over a pin or stud b, the number
corresponding to the number of wards and projections in the key it is
intended that the lock should be opened by. In the lock shewn in the
Drawings I employ five tumblers, as that corresponds with the number
of such wards and projections in the key. These I have marked in the
following order 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
The five tumblers are notched in different parts of their working
faces, and these are brought into proper position for the projection c on
the edge of the curved block d, Figure 8, to fall into when they are
acted upon by the key shown in Figure 9. The block is centered upon
a pin e fixed in the front plate f, and it is caused to fall into the notches
by the pressure of the spring plate or lever g, Figure 10, the block
having a pin h projecting from one side of it resting upon the lever.
This pin h is also long enough to pass through a long hole or slot in
the front plate and take into the body of the push paul i, Figure 11,
which acts upon the ratchet wheel each time the lock is opened, the
paul being kept in the teeth of the wheel by the spring k. The
ratchet wheelj is secured to or forms part of the dial plate 1, so that it
partakes of a movement corresponding to-the-movement of the wheel.
The wheel is prevented turning in the wrong direction by the stop
paul m, Figure 11*, which is maintained at all times in the teeth. The
upper part of the block d on its opposite edge has also a projection 1,

page_text: which acts as a catch or claw to take into a notch or chamfered recess o
at the lower part of the free end of the loop or bow p each time the
lock is closed. The extreme end q of the loop or bow is wedge-shaped,
or has an inclined facer to enable it to clear the projection n where it
disengages itself from the claw of the block. The fine edge or end q
of the bow when it is pressed into the aperture in the top plate 8
strikes upon a projection t on the lower end of the block d and tilts or
knocks it over on its own pin so as to throw the catch or claw into the
recess o and to release the projection c from the notches in the tumblers.
The tail of the lever g is sufficiently long to be struck by the bow end
as it is inserted; this striking causes it to descend and put sufficient
power upon its spring to force the bow out of the aperture when the
key is turned to release it. The metal piece u, Figure 10°, only acts as a
guide piece to the bottom tumbler 5 and keeps its position for the key
to act upon it. The face of the claw or catch is at an angle, and when
the lock is fastened takes against the inclined face of the recess in the
bow and is prevented moving from it by reason of the projection
resting upon the top of the tumbler faces, but the instant the tumblers
are moved by the key to bring the notches into proper position for the
projection c to enter them the pressure of the spring shoots, the bow
uppermost, and the incline of the recess acting against the inclined
face of the claw the block d is thrown back so that its projection finds
a lodgment in the notches of the tumblers and remains there until the
bow is forced into the aperture again.
The dial plate shown in the Drawings is engraved with numerals
from 1 to 31 successively and in a circle, and each time the lock is
opened the rounded portion of the lever causes the pin to travel in
the long hole or slot, which compels the push paul to move the wheel
the distance of one tooth. The push paul is provided with a curved
stem so arranged that it will approach the back edge of the stop paul
during the actuating movement of the stop paul, and by following the
stop paul as it enters the next succeeding ratchet, which it does a little
before the push paul has reached its limit of movement, prevent the
wheel from changing its position more than one degree at each
movement of the push paul, as sometimes it otherwise might. Thus
the numbers on the dial plate are brought successively under the centre
of the glass. The dial plate is enclosed in a box or plate y to preserve
it from injury; the box is provided, with a disc of glass or other
transparent material directly over the circle of numbers, but only large

page_text: enough to expose one number to view at one time. The edge of the
dial plate has a tooth or projecting stop piece z on it to come against a
tongue A on a seal plate or conical cup B, Figure 12. This plate is
screwed on to the face plate, and the tongue passes through a hole in
the edge of the cover, so that each time the dial plate completes
nearly a revolution it is stopped going any further until the seal plate
is removed. I prefer that the seal plate should be of the shape shown
in the Drawing, so that after placing a thin disc of cardboard or stout
paper in, the hole could be filled up with sealing wax and stamped or
impressed with an official seal, or a lead seal inserted therein on which,
by means of a die, an impression can be made at the time that it is
forced into the cup.
I propose that this construction of lock should be employed for post
office, excise, customs, and other purposes where it is necessary to
ascertain the number of times the lock has to be opened within a fixed
period. In the Drawing I have shewn the numbers as running from
1 to 31; now supposing the lock was attached to a door which has to
be opened once each day during a month of 31 days, the lock would
necessarily admit of this being done from the 1st to the 31st of the
month by an authorized person with the key, but as the stop piece has
now arrived and fixed itself against the tongue the lock cannot be
opened any more until the seal in the plate has been destroyed and the
tightening screw removed, when the lock is moved once more by the
key to bring the first number (1) under the glass and_to clear the stop
piece from its locked position. After this the seal plate is replaced and
impressed with the official seal as before, so that the lock is in condition
to work for another month. Of course it is not necessary that the
numbers should be engraved on the dial plate in succession from 1 to
31, or to a higher number, as they may break according to the wish of
the owner; thus it follows that more than one stop piece may be
employed. It is not absolutely necessary that the dial arrangement
should be applied to the lock, as the locking mechanism is complete in
itself, and may be used alone when a tell-tale or indicator is not
required.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I declare that I claim, the construction
of locks in the manner herein-before described and represented in the
accompanying Drawings.

page_text: Also the apparatus for indicating the number of times the lock has
been opened, in the manner described and represented in the accompany-
ing Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Dewe, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.