IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURING DOORS OR GATES OF SAFES AND BANK ROOXS, AND OTHER DOORS, GATES, AND SHUTTERS."
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Chatwood, of 120, Cannon Street, in the City of
London, in the County of Middlesex, Bank Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURING DOORS OR GATES OF SAFES AND BANK ROOXS,
AND OTHER DOORS, GATES, AND SHUTTERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Chatwood at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th June 1878.
SAMUEL CHATWOOD, of 120, Cannon Street, in the City of London, in the County
of Middlesex, Bank Engineer. “IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURING DOORS OR GATES
OF SAFES AND BANK ROOMS, AND OTHER DOORS, GATES, AND SHUTTERS.”
My Invention consists of improvements in fastenings, applicable (1st) to gates
or doors of safes, bank rooms, and other gates, doors, and shutters, and second to the
sentinel, night, or guard bolts in safes or strong room or other doors.
In carrying out the first part of my Invention, which is intended to do away
with the use of rack bolts, and such like, on the left-hand door, or the door (either
right or left) which is closed first, in the case of double doors, I proceed mainly as
follows: I employ two flaps working on a spindle or pivot, the said flaps being
placed at right angles with one another, but not in the same plane. One of these
flaps is heavier than the other, and sometimes longer, so that when left to itself its
greater weight causes it to hang down, thereby placing the other palm in a hori-
zontal position. The shorter or lighter palm, which is thus made to assume the
horizontal position, is placed over the front edge of the gate or door which closes
first (generally the left-hand gate or door). The other flap or palm, which hangs
down, is placed in such a position that when the right-hand gate or door closes it
comes in contact, at the moment of closing, with the top rail of the gate or door,
and on the completion of the closing of the door it is shifted into a horizontal
position, the shorter palm or flap assuming therefore a vertical position, or, in other

page_text: •
words, hanging down in the same manner as the longer flap or palm does when left
free. Now the position of these flaps. or palms is so arranged that when the left-
hand gate or door is closed it passes clear underneath the flap or palm, without in
any way altering its position, but when the right-hand gate or door is closed it
strikes up the longer flap or palin, causing at the same time the shorter flap to
hang down directly behind the left-hand gate or door. The right-hand gate or
door being now locked by an ordinary bolted lock into the left-hand gate the
whole is made fast, as the left-hand gate or door cannot be moved until the right-
hand gate or door is opened, it being confined between the shorter flap or palm on
the one side, and a sufficient and suitably fixed stop on the other, and if the
right-hand gate be locked into the left, which is already virtually a fixture, the
whole becomes rigidly secured, and cannot be opened until the lock bolt is first
withdrawn, and the right-hand gate or door opened.
The second part of my Invention consists of improvements in the mode of
securing and guarding the locking arrangements of bank safes, doors, or chambers
for storing valuables, which are mainly as follows:-I use a sentinel, guard, or
night bolt, which I so arrange that when the door is open or closed, and yet
unlocked, the sentinel bolt cannot be shot, but which on the completion of the
locking can be shot from some convenient part of the banking premises, and when
shot itself becomes locked by a spring bolt attachment, and securely guards the
door from being opened by its own key, and cannot itself be withdrawn until the
spring bolt which locks it on being shot is withdrawn.
The object of this part of my Invention is to prevent the doors or chambers for
storing valuables being opened by their own keys without the concurrence of the
person having charge of the sentinel bolt, and also to prevent the withdrawal of the
sentinel bolt without the concurrence of the person in charge of the door intended
to be guarded.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Samuel Chatwood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
December 1878.
SAMUEL CHATWOOD, of 120, Cannon Street, in the City of London, in the County
of Middlesex, Bank Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURING DOORS OR GATES
OF SAFES AND BANK ROOMS, AND OTHER DOORS, GATES, AND SHUTTERS."
My Invention consists of improvements in fastenings applicable, first, to gates or
doors of safes, bank rooms, and other gates, doors, and shutters; and second, to the
sentinel, night, or guard bolts in safos, strong room or other doors.
In carrying out the first part of my Invention, which is intended to do away
with the use of rack bolts and such like on the left-hand door, or the door (either
right or left) which is closed first, in the case of double doors, I proceed as follows:-
I employ two flaps working on a spindle or pivot, the said flaps being placed at
right angles with one another, but not in the same plane. One of these flaps is
heavier than the other, and sometimes longer, so that when when left to itself its
greater weight causes it to hang down, thereby placing the other palm in a horizontal
position. The shorter or lighter palm, which is thus made to assume the horizontal
position, is placed over the front edge of the gate or door which closes first
(generally the left-hand gate or door). The other flap or palm, which hangs down,
is placed in such a position that when the right-hand gate or door closes it comes
in contact at the moment of closing with the top rail of the gate or door, and on
the completion of the closing of the door it has been shifted into a horizontal
position, the shorter palm or flap assuming, therefore, a vertical position, or, in other
words, hanging down in the same manner as the longer flap or palm does when left
free. Now the position of these flaps or palms is so arranged that when the left-
hand gate or door is closed it passes clear underneath the flap or palm, without in
any way altering its position, but when the right-hand gate or door is closed it
strikes up the longer flap or palm, causing at the same time the shorter flap to hang
down directly behind the left-hand gate or door. The right-hand gate or door
being now locked by an ordinary bolted lock into the left-hand gate, the whole is
made fast, as the left-hand gate or door cannot be moved until the right-hand gato
or door is opened, it being confined between the shorter flap or palm on the one
side, and a sufficient and suitably fixed stop on the other, and if the right-hand
gate be locked into the left, which is already virtually a fixture, the whole becomes
rigidly secured, and cannot be opened until the lock bolt is first withdrawn, and the
right-hand gato or door opened.
The second part of my Invention consists of improvements in the mode of
securing and guarding the locking arrangements of safes, doors, or chambers for
storing valuables, which are substantially as follows:-I use a sentinel, guard, or
night bolt, which I so arrange that when the door is open or closed, and yet
unlocked, the sentinel bolt cannot be shot, but which on the completion of the
locking can be shot from some convenient part of the banking or other premises,
and when shot itself becomes locked by a spring bolt attachment, and securely
guards the door from being opened by its own key, and cannot itself be withdrawn
until the spring bolt which locks it on being shot is withdrawn.
The object of this part of my Invention is to prevent the doors of chambers for
storing valuables being opened by their own keys without the concurrence of the
person having charge of the sentinel bolt, and also to prevent the withdrawal of the
sentinel bolt without the concurrence of the person in charge of the door intended
to be guarded.

page_text: It will be seen on looking at Fig. 2 that on closing the left-hand gate or door
(the right-hand gate or door being already closed) the long arm B of the catch is
caught by the top of the gate, and turned up into a horizontal position, at the same
time the short arm C is turned down behind the right-hand gate or door, securing
it into place. The left-hand door is then locked into the right-hand one by a
spring lock or other suitable contrivance, as shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 4, part sectional view illustrating the 2nd. part of my Invention.
Fig. 5, section on line A, B, Fig. 3; Fig. 6, section on line C, D; Fig. 7, section
on line e, f.
Fig. 8, plan of top of safe.
A is a shaft carrying three levers B, C, & D. These levers B, C, and D work
first the closing bolt E, which works in connection with a slot in the top of the
hinge pin, and necessitates the closing of the door before locking the second locking
bolt F, which cannot be thrown unless the door be closed and locked and the key-
hole bar thrown; and third, the check or guard bolt G, which secures the work done 1
by the other two bolts E and F.
The shaft A is worked in any approved manner from a controlling or check safe
conveniently situated, and as all the levers B, C, and D are fast on the shaft A all
the three bolts E, F, and G are thrown at the same time. The bolt E slides, when
the door is completely closed, into a blind slot E' in the top of the hinge pin (see 1
Fig. 8).
•
It will be seen here that in any but the closed position the bolt E cannot possibly
be thrown. The bolt F working off the lever C can only be thrown when the lever
stop H is thrown out of the way by the shooting out of the blocking bolt J. When
this bolt J is thrown out the lever top moves to one side, and leaves room for the
bolt F to pass into the lock case. The check or guard bolt G is then thrown into
the bolt J, and all is secured, and thus by these arrangements the door of the safe
or strong room is not only shut, but also locked before the check bolt G can be
thrown. The bolt F is secured by the spring bolt of lock K.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature and object of my
said Invention for improvements in securing doors or gates of safes and bank
rooms, and other doors, gates, and shutters, as herein-before set forth and described,
I hereby declare that I claim,―
1. The flap arrangements for securing doors, gates, or shutter, substantially as
hercin-before set forth and described.
2. Arrangements for ensuring the closing and locking of doors before the night
bolt can be thrown, thus ensuring, by throwing the night bolt, that the doors of
the safe or strong room must be properly closed and securely locked.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Chatwood, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
SAMUEL CHATWOOD. (L.S.)
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