AN IMPROVED LOCK AND KEY
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORRETT WILLIAMS, of No. 1, Bedford Place, Commercial Road, in the
Hamlet of Mile End Old Town, in. the County of Middlesex, late of the
Royal Military College, and Professor of Mathematics, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-seventh day of February, in the third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Morrett Williams, Her especial licence that I, the said William
Morrett Williams, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Morrett Williams, my executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also within all Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED LOCK AND KEY;" in
which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the
said William Morrett Williams, by an instrument in writing under my hand

page_text: and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said recited
Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Morrett Williams, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is described
and ascertained in the following explanation thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Improved Lock and Key are constructed with peculiar and novel combi-
nations of mechanism intended to supersede the necessity of tumblers as used
in most of the Patent locks at present known. This peculiar mechanism I
shall describe by reference to the accompanying Drawings. First, in the form
of a padlock which is shewn in Fig. 1, the back plate of the lock being
removed for the purpose of exhibiting the parts within. The same is also
shewn at Fig. 2, the internal parts being in a different position, viz:-Fig. 1
represents the bolt shot forward into the staple or bolt hole of the jointed
shackle that is locked; Fig. 2 represents the same unlocked, or the bolt
withdrawn from the shackle; Fig. 3 is a section taken transversely through
the middle of the lock in a vertical direction; and Fig. 4 is the external
appearance of the face of the lock, the similar letters referring to the same
parts in all these Figures. The case or frame of the lock is represented at
a, a, the bolt at b, which is shewn detached in two positions at Fig. 5. On
the lower edge of the bolt a rack or series of teeth c is formed. The end or
tongue of the bolt is supported and slides in the guide socket d of the framing,
and is guided in its sliding action by the screw e, passed through a slot in the
tail part of the bolt. Fig. 6 represent in four positions (one of them being in
perspective) the rack box f, which is fastened to the lock plate, immediately
under the bolt, as shewn in Figs. 1, 2, & 3. It will be perceived by in-
specting two of the views shewn in Figs. 6, that a longitudinal groove z, 2, is
cut in the upper part of this rack box, in which the rack c on the under side
of the bolt is intended to slide. Fig. 7 is a side view of one of the several
sliding pieces g, of which there are four employed in this lock, acting as guards
to prevent the bolt being slidden or moved from either its locked or unlocked.
position. These sliding pieces 9 are to be inserted into the recesses or open
parts of the rack box f, one of which is shewn in the vertical section of the.

page_text: rack box at Fig. 8. Fig. 9 represents the upper edges of these four sliding
pieces g, 9, 9, 9, in each of which there is a notch x cut at a different distance
from their several faces. Fig. 10 represents a forked spring h, in two
positions. The ends of the forks of this spring, when fixed to the lock plate
as at Figs. 1, 2, and 3, fall into the perpendicular recesses or open parts in the
rack box f, and severally act against the faces of the sliding pieces g. These
sliding pieces have each a tail or elongated part i, which is intended to be
passed through the face plate of the lock, as shewn in the transverse section
of the lock at Fig. 3. On the face plate of the lock scen in Fig. 4
a socket piece or key guide k is affixed, with holes for the tails i of the
sliding pieces to pass through, their extremities standing flush with the outside
of the socket. Fig. 11 represents the key or instrument by which these
slides may be moved for the purpose of locking and unlocking, and Fig. 12
is the same, the face plate of the key being removed in order to shew the
parts within. The belt b is projected forward into the locking position, as
shewn in Fig. 1, by a lever 1, acted upon by a powerful main spring m, and
the bolt is slidden backward or unlocked, as shewn in Fig. 2, by a feather
spring n, a sliding piece p, having an inclined plane (as seen in the detached
Figs. 13), being at that time pressed against a tooth q, on the side of the
lever (see also the detached Figs. 14), which, by withdrawing the lever 1,
allows the feather spring n to throw the bolt back. Figs. 15, 16, and 17
are sections taken through the padlock in horizontal directions at the level
of the top of the rack box f, for the purpose of shewing different positions of
the sliders g; Fig. 15 representing their quiescent state when the bolt is
projected outward, corresponding to Fig. 1, and Fig. 16 when the sliders are
shifted by the key, in order to allow the bolt to be slidden back, as in Fig. 2.
Now, supposing the bolt to be projected that is locked, as in Fig. 1, in order to
unlock it the key, shewn at Fig. 12, must be applied to the front of the socket k.
This key is formed by a rectangular box s, s, which contains two series of pins
or punches of various lengths, fixed in a centre block t. The key box is
mounted upon an axis or pivots, which enable it to be turned over in its
carriage or handle so that either of the series of punches may be applied to
the socket (which is a substitute for the keyhole). One of the series of
punches as v, is for the purpose of unlocking; the other, w, for locking. By
referring to Fig. 15 (which represents the sliders in their quiescent state
after the bolt has been projected, as in Fig. 1), it will be perceived that the
ends of the tails of the sliders are coincident or flush with the front of the
socket k, but that the notches in the several sliders are then at variable
distances from the front. It will be understood that the rack cat the under

page_text: side of the bolt is continually in the groove z of the rack box f (see Fig. 1),
and it will be perceived that the several sliders g, in the recesses of the rack
box, at this time stand in the notches between the teeth of the rack c, thereby
In
confining and preventing the bolt from being moved along the groove z.
order, therefore, to unlock, that is, to throw back the bolt, all the sliders g must
be first pushed into such situations as will bring their notches x into exact
coincidence with the groove z in the rack box. This is to be done by applying
the key to the face of the lock at the socket k, and pressing it straightforward,
the several plugs or punches of the key being fixed in the block t, at different
lengths, suited to the distances to which the sliders are to be moved; their
pressure against the front ends or tails of the sliders will force all the sliders
inwards, and cause their notches x to be severally brought into coincidence
with the groove z, as seen in Fig. 16. For the purpose of unlocking or
throwing back the bolt the part v of the key is to be employed, which has
five pins or punches, the fifth pin or punch y being designed to act against the
tail of the sliding piece p. The key having been thus applied, and the
sliders g, 9, 9, 9, and P, , all brought into the situations seen at Fig. 16, the
inclined plane of the slider p, by pressing against the bevel tooth q on the
lever, will cause that lever to be forced back into the position shewn in Fig. 2,
when the notches x in the sliders g being all at the same time brought into
coincidence with the groove z, the rack of the bolt will be set at liberty, and
the bolt be immediately thrown back by the power of the feather spring n into
the unlocked position, as Fig. 2. On withdrawing the key, the forked spring h
acting against the faces of all the sliders, they will be passed through the
notches of the racks c, under the bolt, into the situations shewn at Fig. 15, by
which the bolt will be held firmly in the unlocked position. In order to
project the bolt into the locked position, as represented at Fig. 1, the box of
the key must be turned over, and the series of pins or punches w be now
applied to the socket k, as in Fig. 12*, to act against the tails i of the
sliders g, which, on being pressed home, will push back the sliders, so as to
bring all their notches x into coincidence with the groove z of the rack frame,
as shewn in the section at Fig. 17, when the power of the main spring m,
acting against the lever l, will cause the rack of the bolt to slide freely along
the groove, and hence the bolt to be projected into the locked position seen at
Fig. 1. The withdrawing of the key will again allow the forked spring h to
force all the sliders g forward through the rack of the bolt into the situations
shewn in Fig. 15, when the bolt, as before, will remain securely held in the
locked position. I would here observe, that though I have shewn in the Drawing
and described a rack of teeth c at the under side of the bolt, I do not intend

page_text: to confine myself to that particular form of rack, as a similar object might be
obtained by inserting pins in place of the teeth in the under part of the bolt,
or a series of perforations might be made in a rib under the bolt, as shewn in
the auxiliary Fig. 5*, in which case it would be necessary to make the sliders g
in the form shewn in the auxiliary Fig. 7*, the operation being, as before
described, to push back the sliders into such positions as will bring their
notches into exact coincidence with the rib or rack c, when the bolt will be
released and enabled to slide freely. It may further be proper to state that I
do not intend to confine myself to the use of four sliders g, as any other less
or greater number of slides might answer, provided sufficient security is
obtained, or the mechanism be not made cumbrous by their multiplication;
neither is it necessary that the key be furnished with two series of pins v and
w, as one series might be made to move the sliders both for locking and
unlocking if the pin applied to the slider p be held by a spring catch, and be
made capable of receding from the tail of the slider p when the bolt is to be
projected into the locked position. The bolt also may be moved to and fro by
an external button or thumb piece without employing the main spring and
driver or the feather spring..
Having now described the construction and action of the several parts of
my improved lock, it only remains for me to declare that I do not limit my
Invention to any particular form of lock, but claim the novel mechanism
above described for confining the bolt, whether in connection with a padlock,
as shewn, or with any other kind or form of lock to which the same mechanism
may be applied, as a great variety of forms of locks, all having the same
principle or character of internal mechanism might be set forth, but which I
do not consider to be necessary, as the novel construction of mechanism above
described is the subject of the Invention which I desire to maintain under
the above in part recited Letters Patent. As, however, the same principle of
construction is susceptible of some modifications both in form and arrangement,
I have represented in the accompanying Drawing at Fig. 18 a lock for a door,
in which my novel principle of construction is modified to suit a rotary key.
Fig. 19 represents the lock in horizontal section, and Fig. 20 the lock, as
Fig. 18, but from which the bolt has been removed, in order to shew the
parts behind more distinctly. The reverse side of the bolt is represented
detached at Fig. 21. Instead of the square rack box represented at f, and
Figs. 6, in the former construction I, in this instance, employ a cylindrical
rack box shewn in several detached views and sections. Fig. 22 is an external
view of the cylindrical rack box, with the sliders within it. Fig. 23 shews
the end of the cylindrical rack box, as it would appear when protruded through

page_text: g
the face of the lock, and which is the substitute for a keyhole, correspond-
ing to the socket k in the former construction. Fig. 24 is the reverse or back
end of the cylindrical rack box, the end plate shewn at Fig. 25 being removed.
Fig. 26 represents the cylindrical rack box (as Fig. 22) cut through in
vertical section for the purpose of exhibiting the internal forms of its passages
and recesses, and the situations of the sliders and springs within. Fig. 27
is one of the sliders 9 detached, of which there are four employed as substi-
tutes for the sliders shewn before at Fig. 7; and Fig. 28 is one of the
spiral springs h for pressing up the sliders, of which there are four instead of
the forked spring shewn at Figs. 10, each acting in one of the recesses of
the cylinder against the end of one of the sliders as seen in Fig. 26. On the
face of the bolt of this lock, see Figs. 18 and 19, a plate q is fixed in which
a T formed opening is cut for the studs and s in the plate attached to the
end of the cylindrical rack box (see Figs. 22 and 25) to act in. By means
of these studs working in the T formed opening a rotary movement given to
the rack box by the key causes the bolt to be slidden to and fro. In the
reverse side of the bolt another opening is cut having a double rack c, c, c, c,
shewn in Fig. 21, which rack answers to that marked c under the bolt b,
in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, and acts in the circular groove z, z, round the middle
of the cylindrical rack box (see Fig. 22). This cylindrical rack box is attached
to the lock plate by means of two pieces of thin plate t, t, shewn in Fig. 20,
the circular edges of which take into a circular groove v, v, formed round the
rack box, as seen at Fig. 22. When these thin plates t, t, are fastened to the
lock plate the rack box is securely attached to the lock as seen at Fig. 20,
but is capable of being turned round freely. The parts of the lock being
put together, as shewn in Figs. 18 and 19, and the rack c, c, of the bolt being
in the groove z, z, of the rack box, the bolt will be prevented from moving by
the sliders g, g, in the rack box laying in the notches between the teeth
of the rack c, c, as seen in the auxiliary section of the bolt with the rack c, c,
and of the rack box f, Fig. 31. It will now be perceived that by pressing
the end of the key, Figs. 29 and 30, against the outer end of the cylindrical
rack box seen at Figs. 19, 22, 23, and 26, that the pins or punches in the
key will act against the tails of the sliders g (see Fig. 26) forcing them back
against the springs until their notches x, x, are brought into coincidence with
the groove in the cylindrical rack box. The groove will then be com-
pletely open all round, and the racks c, c, of the bolt will be enabled to pass
through without obstruction. The key being then turned round, the bolt
will be projected forward into the locked position, or backward into the
unlocked position, and on withdrawing the key the springs will force all the

page_text: sliders outward again, as at Figs. 26 and 31, and cause them to remain
between the teeth of the rack c, c, so as to confine the bolt in the locked or
unlocked position in which it was left.
Another modification of the principles of my improved lock adapted to the
cock or tap of a cask or other vessel for containing liquors is represented in
the following Figures:-Fig. 32 is an ordinary liquor cock with the locking
apparatus attached to it; Fig. 33 is a vertical section of the same; Fig. 34
is a horizontal view of the cock, the plug being withdrawn in order to shew
the locking apparatus; and Fig. 35, the under part of the cap plate at the
top of the plug. This cap plate a is circular, covering a cylindrical box b,
which contains the mechanism of the lock, and at the back is a socket k, to
which the key shewn in two views at Figs. 36 and 37 is to be applied. A
rack box f, shewn detached at Fig. 38, is formed with passages, as Figs. 6,
for the reception of a series of sliders g, one of which is represented detached
in two views at Fig. 89. These sliders are placed in the rack box as repre-
sented at Fig. 34, their tails passing through the socket k, and behind each
slider there is a spring keeping them steadily and up to their proper bearings.
In each slider there is a notch x, and in the rack box a groove z, as before
described, and the key furnished with pins or punches being applied to the
socket presses all the sliders into such situation as will bring all the
notches & into coincidence with the groove z in the rack box. The under part
of the cap plate, Fig. 35, has a circular rib or bead, part of which is cut into
teeth, forming the racks c, c. This rib, when the cap plate is put on, as shewn
in the section Fig. 33, acts in the groove z in the rack box, and, when the
plug of the cock stands either in the open or closed position, the sliders g in
the rack box will lie between the teeth of the rack c, and thereby prevent the
the plug from being turned round, but on applying the key to the socket, and
forcing the sliders back so that their notches shall coincide with the groovez,
the plug may be turned round and the way for the flow of the liquor opened
or closed, in which situation the cock will become locked by the return of the
sliders, the plug being prevented from turning until it is released by the
application of the key.
In conclusion, it will be perceived that the object of my improved lock is
to obtain security against picking, opening, or unfastening, which depends on
forcing or pushing all the stops or sliders at one and the same time from
the front or outside of the plate, in order that the teeth or notches in the
bolt may be released from the stops; for if any one of the sliders should
by a false key or other means be pushed too far or not far enough, to

page_text: bring their notches into exact coincidence with the rack, the bolt must remain
immovable.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morrett Williams, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
WM. HORNE.
WILLIAM MORRETT (L.S.) WILLIAMS.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twenty-sixth day of
August, in the year above mentioned, the said William Morrett Williams
came before our Lady the Queen in Her. Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute in that case made and provided.