AN IMPROVED HASP OR LATCH
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Dempster, of Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, Merchant, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED HASP
OR LATCH."-A communication from abroad by William H. Tison,
of Savannah, in the State of Georgia, one of the United States of
America.
Sealed the 19th January 1872, and dated the 21st July 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Dempster at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st July 1871.
1. I, ROBERT DEMPSTER, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED HASP OR LATCH," a communication to me from abroad by
William H. Tison, of Savannah, in the State of Georgia, one of the
United States of America, to be as follows:-
2. This Invention consists in constructing a hasp or latch, called
"the safety hasp or latch," of a combination of three principal parts,
first, a hasp or latch piece proper of the usual hook or other form,
second, a bolt attached to that part of the hasp or latch which extends

page_text: between the eye and the hook or the equivalents of the eye and hook,
or either of them, and third, a spiral or other spring to act on the above
mentioned bolt, and keep it pushed out, but also allowing it, when
pressure is applied to recede.
3. At the time the hook or its equivalent is being passed over a
staple or other fixed piece the bolt recedes, but so soon as the hook has
been fully entered the bolt is pushed out on the under or upper side,
as the case may be, of the staple or other fixed piece. Thus the
improved hasp or latch serves at onces as a hasp or latch, and also as a
bolt fastening.
4. To facilitate the passing of the hook over the staple or fixed piece
the end of the bolt is formed with a curved lip.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Dempster in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th January 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
DEMPSTER, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Robert Dempster, Her special licence,
that I, the said Robert Dempster, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Dempster, 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 "AN IMPROVED HASP
OR LATCH," a communication to me from abroad by William H. Tison, of
Savannah, in the State of Georgia, one of the United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Dempster,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under

page_text: 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 Robert Dempster, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that
is to say:-
This Invention consists in constructing a hasp or latch, called the
safety hasp or latch, of a combination of three principal parts, first, a
hasp or latch piece proper of the usual hook or other form; second, a
bolt attached to that part of the hasp or latch which extends between
the eye and the hook, or the equivalents of the eye and hook, or either
of them; and third, a spiral or other spring to act on the above
mentioned bolt, and keep it pushed out, but also allowing it, when
pressure is applied, to recede.
At the time the hook or its equivalent is being passed over a staple
or other fixed piece the bolt recedes, but so soon as the hook has been
fully entered the bolt is pushed out on the under or upper side, as
the case may be, of the staple or other fixed piece. Thus the improved
hasp or latch serves at once as a hasp or latch, and also as a bolt
fastening.
To facilitate the passing of the hook over the staple or fixed piece,
the end of the bolt is formed with a curved lip.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a longitudinal section of a
safety hook, hasp, or latch, well adapted for fastening gates, doors
of carts, parts of mowing machines & for use by farmers and others.
a is the hasp or latch piece formed with a hook at the end to fit
into the staple b, and an eye at the other end through which the
securing staple 6¹ passes; c, movable bolt free to slide back and forth
in a recess or slot formed in a. the said bolt is formed with a curved

page_text: fixed piece; d, spiral spring, whereby c is pushed out. When the bolt
is pushed inwards away from the hook the spring is compressed, but
so soon as the bolt is free it is pushed out by the resilience of the
spring, and hence the bolt and spring together provide means for
automatically locking or securly fastening so soon as the hook or its
equivalents is pushed over or into the staple or other fixed piece.
Fig. 3 shows a plan view of a safety hasp or latch, marked e, firmly
secured to the top of a door f, so that it moves therewith, the said hasp
or latch e is so arranged as to be moved during the closing of the door
into the eye bolt g secured to the door post f¹.
Fig. 4 is a plan view of a safety latch, specially devised for fastening
window sashes; h, h¹, are the window sashes; i, button screw secured in
the sash h and passed through an eye in the latch j, thereby providing a
centre on which j turns; k, button screw secured in h³, and serving as
a fixed piece for the hook and spring bolt m.
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modification in which an india-rubber
spring is employed to draw the bolt outwards into safety fastening
position; n is the hasp or latch piece cast or formed with a stud o,
and protecting flange p; q is the bolt with stud r; a slot is formed
in n to allow q to be moved back and forth; s is an india-rubber
spring.
Having now described the nature of the said improvements, and
particularized the same by several modifications, be it understood that
the said Invention is not restricted to any particular form of hasp or
latch, nor to any exact way of connecting it to the door, window, or
other part, nor to any kind of spring, nor to any particular description
of staple, eye bolt, or button, but extends to any form, way, kind, or
description of these. What I claim as the Invention communicated
to me is, the combination and arrangement of parts as described and
delineated, operating in the manner and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Dempster, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.