IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert McConnel, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Ironfounder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LOCKS."
Scaled the 28th February 1862, and dated the 5th September 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert McConnel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th.
September 1861.
I, ROBERT M'CONNEL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Ironfounder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention comprises improvements applicable to various kinds of locks,
and designed to give increased security with simplicity and durability of
construction.
A first improvement consists of a contrivance necessitating the simultaneous
lifting of two or more or of all the tumblers, and is a complete obstacle to the
opening of the lock by the ordinary tentative method, whereby the tumblers
are lifted one by one.
In a modification embodying this contrivance, the tumblers are, by preference
centred upon a bin, between the key pin and the outer edge of the lock, in order
[Price 8d.]

page_text: that the key may give an increased motion to their back ends. The tumblers
are formed with spurs on their back ends, which, when the bolt is shot, are in
line with one another, and almost in contact with an opposed knife edge on a
bell-crank lever. The other arm of this bell-crank lever is in contact with
edges formed on the upper sides of the several tumblers. If all the tumblers
move at once, their spurs clear the knife edge of the bell-crank lever, which
knife edge is moved inwards beneath them. If, however, one or more of the
tumblers are not lifted, they are caught by the bell crank, and prevented from
rising afterwards, and the bolt cannot in consequence be moved. As a further
security, one end of the bell-crank lever is made to enter one or other of two
notches formed in the bolt, out of which it must be turned before the bolt can
be moved. It will be obvious that this contrivance may be modified in various
ways as regards the relative positions of the details composing it. It is pre-
ferred to combine with it the peculiar kind of key and formation of the
corresponding parts of the tumbler and bolt described in the Specification of
Letters Patents granted to the present applicant, and dated the 25th September
1854 (No. 2000).
A second portion of the improvement comprises an extension of the methods
of obtaining increased security, described in the earlier Specification herein-
before referred to. The small outward movement which takes place on
unlocking before the bolt moves back is produced by means of a lever acted
upon by the key in connection with the bolt, and contrived so that the whole of
the movement is positive, and at no part dependent on the spring. An additional
racking is formed in the tumblers with which the acting parts of the key bit
and edges of the tumblers are made to correspond, in such a way that the
direction of the relative motion of the stump receives additional variations, at
cach of which a particular position of each tumbler is necessary, whereby a
smaller number of tumblers may be made to give the requisite security.
addition, a catch lever is introduced, which is acted upon by the tumblers, and
which is contrived to prevent the return of the key after it reaches a certain
point, and which also holds the bolt from moving further should the key not
act properly on the tumblers.
In
A third improvement applies to the handle movement of spring latch bolts,
and in a lock embodying it. the latch bolt is jointed to a short lever, having on
one side of it a double incline projection, which fits loosely in a notch formed
for it in the spindle of the handle. On the spindle being turned in either
direction, the projection is forced out of the notch, and the lever draws back
the bolt, which returns by the action of a spring.
A fourth improvement consists of a simple contrivance for locking the spring

page_text: latch bolt by means of a key, to prevent its being opened by the handle. For
this purpose a small tumbling lever is centred on a pin on the bolt itself, and
a stop is provided, with which the lever comes in contact when in one position,
and prevents the bolt being withdrawn. Whilst in the other position of the
lever it clears the stop. The lever is formed so as to be acted upon by a
key, whilst a spring fixed on the bolt prevents its moving without the key.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert McConnel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 4th
March 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
MCCONNEL, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Ironfounder,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert McConnel, Her special licence that I, the said Robert McConnel,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Robert McConnel, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN LOCKS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert
McConnel, 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 Robert McConnel, 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 writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention comprises improvements applicable to various kinds of

page_text: TOCKS, and designed to give increased security with simplicity and durability of
construction.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood and
carried into effect, I have hereunto appended a Sheet of explanatory Drawings,
to which reference is made in the following particular description of my
improvements, the reference letters marking the same or like parts in all the
Figures.
A first improvement consists of a contrivance necessitating the simultaneous
lifting of two or more or of all the tumblers or levers, and is a complete obstacle
to the opening of the lock by the ordinary tentative method, whereby the tumblers
are lifted one by one.
A modification embodying this contrivance is represented in Figures 1 and 2,
the latter Figure showing the inside of a lock with all the tumblers but one,
A 1, removed, for distinctness. The tumblers A 1, &c.. are in this example
centred on a pin a between the key pin B and the outer edge of the lock, this
arrangement causing the key to give an increased motion to the back ends of
the tumblers. The pin u passes through a hole in the bolt C, such hole being
elongated to allow of the movement of the bolt. The tumblers A1, &c., are
formed with spurs D on their back ends, which spurs when the bolt is shot are
in line with one another, or are brought so by the commencement of the key's
action in unlocking, and are then almost in contact with an opposed knife
edge e on a bell-crank lever E. This bell-crank lever E is centred on a pin,
and has a spring applied to it to keep its other arm F in contact with pro-
jecting edges d formed on the upper sides of the several tumblers. If all, the
tumblers move at once, as by the true key, their spurs D clear the knife
edge c of the bell-crank lever E, which knife edge is moved inwards beneath
them by the turning of the bell-crank lever, caused by the upper projecting
edges d of the tumblers. If, however, one or more of the tumblers are not
lifted, they are caught by the bell-crank, and prevented from rising afterwards,
and the bolt cannot in consequence be moved. This catching action is shown
in Figure 1, wherein the upper, A 2, of two tumblers is represented as having
been lifted without the under one, A 1, the upper projection d of the tumbler
which has been moved having turned the bell crank E, so as to bring its knife
edge e above the spur D of the under tumbler A1, the latter being thereby
prevented from rising. It will also be seen that the limited motion allowed to
the bell crank will prevent even the partly lifted tumbler A 2 from being lifted
to its full height. As a further security. the upper arm F of the bell-crank
lever is made to enter one or other of two notches c formed in the bolt C, out
of which it must be turned before the bolt can be moved. It will be obvious

page_text: that this contrivance may be modified in various ways as regards the relative
positions of the details composing it. It is preferred to combine with it the
peculiar kind of key and formation of the corresponding parts of the tumblers
and bolt described in the Specification of former Letters Patent granted to me,
and dated the 25th September 1854 (No. 2060).
A simple modification of the "bell crank" arrangement is shown applied to
a latch-and-key lock in Figure 3, this Figure representing the inside of the
lock. In this example the bell-crank lever E has formed upon it the short
bolt or snib C¹ near the knife edge e, whilst the knob or handle G for opening
the latch from the inside is attached to the upper arm F of the bell-crank
lever by a projection working through a slot in the inner plate of the lock.
The tumblers A have in this example only the office of acting on the bell-crank
lever E, and the key and the parts it acts on are simply shaped so as to make
the spurs D properly clear the knife edge e. The bell-crank can be easily
applied to locks wherein, as in Figure 4, the tumblers A are mounted on a
pin a near the back of the lock, but in this Figure 4 it is not shown, to avoid
confusion in describing and representing some of the other improvements
comprised in the present Invention. The application of the bell crank in this
way is, however, shown in Figure 5, with the addition of a second spur D¹ to
each tumbler A. In this case the tumblers and key are so formed, that the
individual tumblers on attaining the positions where their second spurs D¹ have
to clear the bell-crank knife edge e, have assumed positions which, relatively
to each other, are different from their relative positions on their first spurs D
clearing the knife edge, so that if by fraudulent means the tumblers should
even have been lifted with their first spurs D clear of the knife edge, their
second spurs D¹ cannot be got past the knife edge without a readjustment
of their relative positions. Two tumblers with the two spurs on this
plan will obviously give more security than four tumblers with the single
spurs. In this example, Figure 5, the action of the tumblers A is further
complicated by placing the bolt stump H on a lever, indicated by dotted lines.
as jointed upon the under side of the bolt C, the stump H projecting through
a slot in the bolt. The stump lever is shaped to be acted upon by the key,
which in unlocking has first to lift up the stump before it moves back the bolt.
Should the tumblers be lifted so as to suit the lower position of the stump,
the bolt will still be prevented from moving back, because the upper arm F of
the bell-crank lever will not have been lifted clear of the notch c in the bolt.
The key in acting on the stump lever, and through it on the bolt C, enters a
notch on the former, indicated by dotted lines in the Figure, and the action is
such as to insure the bolts being shot its full distance outwards, notwithstanding

page_text: that the part of the key bit acting on it may be considerably worn. This arises
from the notch giving a deeper hold to the key bit, whilst the turning of the
stump lever enables the key bit to enter and leave the notch easily.
A second portion of the improvements comprises an extension of the
methods of obtaining increased security, described in the earlier Specification
herein-before referred to. The small outward movement which takes place
on unlocking before the bolt moves back is produced by means of a lever I,
Figure 4, centred on a pin i, and having a projection entered into a notch in
the bolt C, whilst it is so shaped at the part where the key acts on it, as that
the whole movement is positive, and at no part dependent on a spring.
Thus, when locking, the final action of the key on the part 1 of the lever I
is such as to draw the bolt slightly inwards, whilst on unlocking, the key first
acts on the part of the lever 1, indicated by dotted lines at i 2, which has the
effect of moving the bolt outwards as far as required preparatory to the direct
unlocking movement. The part of these actions which it is most important to
have positive, is that concerned in the unlocking, and the opposite movement
may be obtained from a spring.
Another improvement consists in forming an additional racking in the
tumblers A, as shown in Figure 4, with which the acting parts of the key bit
and the edges of the tumblers are made to correspond, in such a way that the
direction of the motion of the stump relative to the tumblers receives additional
variations. In other words, the racking is arranged so that there is first the
slight outward movement of the bolt; second, a part of the lift of the tumblers;
third, a part of the inward movement of the bolt; fourth, the remainder of the
lift of the tumblers; and fifth, the remainder of the inward movement of the
bolt, as will be understood from the Figure. At each change of motion a
different adjustment of the tumblers in relation to each other is rendered requisite,
so that a reduced number of tumblers will give the desired security.
In addition, a catch lever J is introduced, which is acted upon by the
tumblers A, and which is contrived to prevent the return of the key after it
reaches a certain point, and which also holds the bolt C from moving further
should the tumblers not be properly acted upon. The part of the catch
lever J acted upon by the tumblers is indicated by dotted lines at j, whilst the
part which retains the bolt is indicated by dotted lines at k. The first action
is to raise the catch lever J to allow the bolt C to move part of the way
inwards, and in passing the point a part of the key bit raises it, but cannot
return. Then to get the bolt entirely in, the tumblers must be subsequently so
acted upon by the key as to raise the lever I and its catch clear of a projection
formed on the bolt, as indicated at m.

page_text: A third portion of the improvements applies to the handle movement of spring
latch bolts, and in a lock embodying it, and represented in Figure 6, the latch
bolt C is jointed to a short lever N, having on one side of it a double incline
projection n, which fits loosely in a notch p formed for it in the spindle P,
which spindle is also shown separately in Figure 7. On the spindle
being turned in either direction, the projection n is forced back-
wards, and the lever N draws back the bolt C 2, which returns by the action of
a spring applied to the lever N.
A fourth portion of the improvements comprises a simple contrivance for
locking a spring latch bolt by means of a key, to prevent its being opened by
the handle. For this purpose a small tumbling lever R, Figure 6, is centred
on a pin r on the bolt C2 itself, and a stop S is provided, with which the
lever R comes in contact when in the position in which it is represented in
Figure 6, and prevents the bolt C2 from being withdrawn, whilst in the other
position of the lever R, indicated by dotted lines, it clears the stop S. The
tumbling lever R is formed so as to be acted upon by a key, whilst a spring T
fixed upon the bolt prevents its moving without the key. An important feature
of this contrivance is, its insuring a complete locking or unlocking action, not-
withstanding considerable wear of the key bit, as the tumbling lever R does
not require to be thrown either fully down or fully up.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I have to state
that I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein-before described or
delineated; but that what I consider to be novel and original, and claim
as the Invention secured to me.by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent, is,
First, generally the constructing of locks with improvements substantially
such as are herein-before described.
And, more particularly second, the arranging of a bell-crank lever to retain
the tumblers when improperly acted upon by any one or more of them, substan-
tially as herein-before described.
Third, the arranging of a lever acted upon by the key to give a slight positive
outward movement to the bolt when turning the key to unlock, substantially as
herein-before described.
Fourth, the forming of the tumblers with additional rackings, or the dividing
of the inward movement of the bolt into two or more parts requiring different
adjustments of the tumblers at the commencement of each, substantially as
herein-before described.
Fifth, the introducing of a catch lever (J, Figure 4,) to prevent the key's

page_text: return, and to retain the bolt should the adjustment of the tumblers not be
correct, substantially as herein-before described.
Sixth, the using of a notched spindle for actuating spring latch bolts, such
spindle acting on a double incline projection formed on an intermediate lever,
substantially as herein-before described.
Seventh, the arranging of a tumbling lever and stop in connection with a
spring latch bolt, so that the bolt may be locked by a key, substantially as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert McConnel, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
ROBERT M'CONNEL. (L.S.)