IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS, AND IN THE MODES OF CONNECTING THE KNOBS AND SPINDLES OF THE SAME
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Henry Tucker, of 6, Southampton Street;
Strand, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LOCKS, AND IN THE MODES OF CONNECTING THE KNOBS AND SPINDLES OF
THE SAME."
Sealed the 23rd June 1863, and dated the 9th January 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Henry Tucker
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th January 1868.
I, WALTER HENRY TUCKER, of 6, Southampton Street, Strand, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS, AND IN THE MODES OF CONNECTING THE KNOBS
AND SPINDLES OF THE SAME," to be as follows:-
The first improvement consists of a mode for preventing the positions of
the gatings in the levers or tumblers of locks being felt or ascertained by the
aid of end pressure directed against the bolts of the said locks; and I pro-
duce this effect by the use of a moveable piece so constructed and disposed
in the lock that if end pressure be directed against the bolt the said piece
will be so influenced by it that a pin or stump in it will lift or gather up
the levers or tumblers in a mass, and thereby prevent their being acted on
separately by picking instruments so as to feel or ascertain the positions of
their gatings.

page_text: The second improvement consists of modes for constructing and connecting
the knobs, roses, and spindles of locks in such a manner that their requi-
site firmness of hold to the doors, to which they are attached, and their
ready and accurate adjustment to their varying thicknesses shall be more
effectively combined than has hitherto been the case. To this effect I use
a squared spindle having a thread or screw on its angles at one end, the
other end being usually left plain or unthreaded, to this plain end I perma-
nently attach one of the knobs in such a manner, that the pin or screw which
connects them is concealed by the single rose, which I use in conjunction with
this knob. The other or loose knob is made with a squared hole in it to fit
the spindle without turning round upon it; in conjunction with this knob I
use two roses, an outer or ornamental one to which the knob is connected so
as to turn freely in it, and an under or adjusting one, which has a threaded
hole through its centre fitting the screwed angles of the spindle in such a
manner that if the spindle be passed through the door, leaving the fixed knob
on one side, the adjusting rose can be screwed on to the threaded end of the
spindle until the under surface of the rose is brought close to the other side
of the door, to which it may then be fixed so as to prevent its further rotation
on the spindle. By this means the fixed knob is secured to the door on one
side by the under or adjusting rose being fastened to its spindle on the other
side, and in order to attach the other knob also, I make the adjusting rose
with a cylindrical projection on its outer surface, which projection is threaded
on its circumference, so as to fit an inside thread in the ornamental rose,
which may then be connected with it by screwing on in the ordinary way, by
which arrangements it will be found that the various parts will be firmly
connected and readily adjusted to fit the varying thicknesses of the doors to
which they may be applied.
While I prefer to thread one end only of the spindle, I do not limit
myself to so doing, but claim the use of an adjusting rose, such as described,
whether applied to one only, or to both ends of the spindle, and whether one
permanently fixed knob be used, or otherwise, nor do I confine myself
to one mode only of connecting the loose knob with the ornamental rose, but
would specify the following distinct methods of effecting it :-
By one method I connect them (so as to prevent the knob being removed
without first separating the two roses) by making the knob so that its greatest
diameter is at the base, and by making the central hole in the rose large
enough to pass over the ball of the knob only.
By another method I connect them without increasing the base of the
knob beyond the ordinary size by making the hole in the rose to fit the base,

page_text: to which by screwing or otherwise I fix a larger or supplementary base, which
must be removed before the rose can be again separated from the knob.
By a third method I make the knob with an oval or irregular shaped base,
the central hole in the rose being large enough only to pass over the narrowest
portion of the knobs' base, by which means the rose may be slipped over the
base of the knob in an oblique direction, but cannot be again detached while
in the straight direction which the spindle compels them to continue in when
the handles are attached to the door.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Walter Henry Tucker in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th July 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER
HENRY TUCKER, of No. 6, Southampton Street, Strand, London, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Walter Henry Tucker, Her special licence, that I, the
said Walter Henry Tucker, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Walter Henry Tucker, my executors, admini-
strators, 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 LOCKS, AND IN THE MODES OF CONNECTING THE
KNOBS AND SPINDLES OF THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Walter Henry Tucker, 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 Walter Henry Tucker, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement, that is to say:-
The first improvement consists of a mode for preventing the positions of
the gatings in the levers or tumblers of locks being felt or ascertained by the
aid of end pressure directed against the bolts of the said locks. And I pro-
duce this effect by the use of a moveable lifting piece so constructed and
disposed in the lock that if end pressure be directed against the bolt the said
piece will be so influenced by it that a pin or stump in it will lift or gather up
the levers or tumblers in a mass, and thereby prevent their being acted on
separately by picking instruments so as to feel or ascertain the position of
their gatings.
The manner in which the said lifting piece is constructed and arranged
will be understood from the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 of which
shows a lock (constructed as described) in a state of rest, and Figure 2, the
positions which its various parts are caused to assume if end pressure be
applied to the bolt. The moveable or lifting piece, which is shown separately
in Figure 3, I usually place on the bolt (as shown in L, Figures 1 and 2)
in such a manner that its vertical pin or stump P, shall stand between the
gating edges of the levers or tumblers T, and the gating stump S of the
bolt B, when the bolt is locked out, and so that a pin R in the bolt, shall, if
end pressure be directed against the bolt, so act upon the lifting piece Lat
its other end that unless the levers are correctly arranged for the admission
of the stumps P and S into their gatings, the lifting piece shall be thereby
made to turn on its axis M, causing its stump P to gather or lift up the
levers in a mass so as to prevent their separate adjustment by picking
instruments.
I do not limit myself to the precise details herein-before specified, but
claim the application to locks of a moveable lifting piece such as described,
or of any modification thereof, for the purpose of producing the effects speci-
fied, whether the said piece be placed above or under the bolt, or be in any
other manner formed or disposed in the lock.
The second improvement consists of modes for constructing and connecting
the knobs, roses, and spindles of locks in such a manner that their requisite
firmness of hold to the doors, to which they are attached, and their ready and
accurate adjustment to their varying thicknesses shall be more effectively
combined than has hitherto been the case. To this effect I use a squared
spindle, (C, Figure 14 in the accompanying Drawings,) having a thread or
screw on its angles at one end, the other end being usually left plain or

page_text: unthreaded, to this plain end I permanently attach one of the knobs A in such
a manner that the pin or screw which connects them (if such be used) is
concealed by the single rose G, which I use in conjunction with this knob,
the other or loose knob B is made with a squared hole in it to fit the spindle
without turning round upon it; in conjunction with this knob I use two roses,
an outer or ornamental one F, to which the knob is connected so as to turn
freely in it, and an under or adjusting one D, which has a threaded hole
through its centre, fitting the screwed angles of the spindle in such a manner
that if the spindle be passed through the door leaving the fixed knob on one
side, the adjusting rose can be screwed on to the threaded end of the spindle
until the under surface of the rose is brought close to the other side of the
door, to which it may then be fixed by screws or otherwise so as to prevent
its further rotation on the spindle. By this means the spindle is made
to secure the fixed knob to one side of the door, and the under or adjusting
rose to the other, and in order to attach the other knob also I make the
adjusting rose with a cylindrical projection d on its outer surface, which
projection is threaded on its circumference so as to fit an inside thread in the
ornamental rose, which may then be connected with it by screwing on in the
ordinary way, by which arrangements it will be found that the various parts
will be firmly connected and readily adjusted to fit the varying thicknesses
of the doors to which they may be applied.
While I prefer to thread one end only of the spindle, I do not limit myself
to so doing, but claim the use of an adjusting rose, constructed, arranged, or
secured as described, whether one permanently fixed knob be used or other-
wise, nor do I confine myself to one mode only of connecting the loose knob
with the ornamental rose, but would specify the following distinct methods of
effecting it :-
By one method I connect them (so as to prevent the knob being removed
without first separating the two roses) by making the knob so that its
greatest diameter is at the base, and by making the central hole in the rose
large enough to pass over the ball of the knob only. By this arrangement
the knob is retained by an internal flanch in the ornamental rose, overlapping
an external flanch on the base of the knob's mounting.
By another method I connect them without increasing the base of the knob
beyond the ordinary size, by making the smallest diameter of the hole in the
rose to fit the base, to which, by screwing or otherwise, after the rose has
been passed over the base of the knob, I fix a larger or supplementary base,
which must be removed before the rose can be again separated from the knob.

page_text: The ornamental rose under this arrangement is also furnished with an internal
flanch, which when the two roses are screwed together overlaps the supple-
mentary base E of the knob B, and thus retains it in its place.
By a third method I make the knob with an oval or irregular shaped base,
the central hole in the rose being large enough only to pass over the narrowest
portion of the knob's base, by which arrangement the rose may be slipped
over the base of the knob in an oblique direction, but cannot be again detached
while in the straight direction which the spindle compels them to continue in
when the handles are attached to the door.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1ª shows a complete set of knobs,
roses, and spindle arranged and connected as herein-before described;
Figure 24, the under or adjusting rose shown separately; and Figure 34, the
supplementary base of the knob B, shown separately.
In conclusion I would say that I do not limit myself to the use of the
precise arrangements herein-before specified, nor to any particular materials
in the construction of the various parts, but claim the application of the
arrangements and combinations described or of any modifications thereof,
without regard to the nature of the materials, of which all or any of the
various parts may be composed or made.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Henry Tucker, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
(L.S.) WALTER HENRY TUCKER.
WALTER TUCKER,
26, Colebrooke Row,
Islington. N.