AN IMPROVED RAILWAY Carriage Door Lock, applicable also to other PURPOSES.” CARRIAGE DOOR Lock, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER PURPOSES.
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to. William Wilkes, of Bloxwich, in the County of
Stafford, Locksmith, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED RAILWAY
Carriage Door Lock, applicable also to other PURPOSES.”
CARRIAGE DOOR Lock, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER PURPOSES.'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wilkes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th July 1872.
I, WILLIAM WILKES, of Bloxwich, in the County of Stafford, Lock-
smith, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED RAILWAY CARRIAGE DOOR LOCK, APPLICABLE. ALSO TO OTHER PURPOSES,"
to be as follows:-
In railway carriage door locks, as usually made, the friction of the
lever on the bolt or tongue is lessened by means of a small friction roller
set in the head of the lever, but this roller has always been of a thickness
considerably less than that of the bolt or tongue, and forcibly so, because
a certain amount of the space between the lock plates was taken up by
its bearings. This difference of thickness between the bolt and the

page_text: friction roller was a very serious defect, as the thin roller soon cut into
the bolt or tongue, and the lock ceased to work smoothly.
k
I propose to give the lever head a friction roller, the periphery of
which shall be equal in breadth to the thickness of the bolt, and in order
to effect my object I purpose making the lever with two projecting
cheeks to form bearings for the friction roller, and to cut openings in each
lock plate to receive these bearings, such openings being large enough to
permit the lever to play to and fro in the space between the lock plates
under the action of the key and spring in locking and unlocking. I
propose to extend the head of the lever beyond the bearings of friction
roller, and to make the cheeks project wholly in front of the lever, so
that the spring may come against the lever above the friction roller, and
not below it as in the ordinary lock, the short spring of which is
continually breaking, and I purpose using a spring which will entirely
box in both bottom and back of lock, the shorter arm of spring bearing
against a cheek on one of the lock plates, and the longer arm against
the top of lever.
.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Wilkes in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th January 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WILKES, of Bloxwich, in the County of Stafford, Locksmith, send
greeting.
:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of July, in the year
of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Wilkes, Her special licence that
I, the said William Wilkes, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Williaṁ Wilkes, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "AN IMPROVED RAILWAY

page_text: .
CARRIAGE DOOR LOCK, APPLICABLE ALSO TO OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Wilkes, 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 William Wilkes, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :--
In railway carriage door locks, as usually made, the friction of the
lever on the bolt or tongue is lessened by means of a small friction roller
set in the head of the lever, but this roller has always been of a thickness
considerably less than that of the bolt or tongue, and necessarily 'so,
because a certain amount of the space between the lock-plates was taken
up by its bearings. This difference of thickness between the bolt and
the friction roller was a very serious defect, as the thin roller soon cut
into the bolt or tongue, and the lock ceased to work smoothly..
I give the lever head a friction roller, the periphery of which is equal
in breadth to the thickness of the bolt, and I effect this by making the
lever with two projecting cheeks to form bearings for the friction roller,
and cutting openings in each lock plate to receive these bearings, such
openings being large enough to permit the lever to play to and fro in the
space between the lock plates, under the action of the key and spring
in locking and unlocking. I extend the head of the lever beyond the
bearings of friction roller, and make the cheeks project wholly in front
of the lever, so that the spring may come against the lever above the
friction roller, and not below it as in the ordinary lock, the short spring
of which is continually breaking, and I also use a spring which entirely
boxes in both bottom and back of lock, the shorter arm of spring bearing
against a cheek on one of the lock plates, and the longer arm against
the top of lever.
On the accompanying Sheet of Drawing, Figure 1 is a side view of a
complete lock embodying my Invention; Figure 2 is a similar view, but
with one side plate removéd, showing general arrangement of the

page_text: interior; Figure 3 is a plan or top view of Fig. 1; Figure 4 is a section
through the line A, B; Fig. 2 showing the friction roller D; Figures 5
represent a front and end view of the lever carrying roller.
'
.
A is the bolt which turns in the two side plates B, B; C is the lever
in which works the roller D; E is the spring.
The various parts of the lock may be made of any suitable metal.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would have
it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein-
before given and illustrated on the Drawing, as variations may be made-
therefrom while retaining the essential feature of my Invention, namely,
a friction roller of equal thickness with the bolt at the point where they
come into contact, and I claim-as secured to me by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent, the use of the friction roller D, when
combined with the lever C, bolt A, lock plates B, B, and spring E,
substantially as and for the purpose herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wilkes, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.