IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFES
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Phillips and Joseph Groves
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on
the 6th March 1865.
We, SAMUEL PHILLIPS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, and JOSEPH GROVES, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFES,"
to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists of the improvements in safes herein-after explained,
by which improvements the insertion of chisels or wedges between the junctions
of the parts of the safe is wholly or partially prevented, and the operation of
anything inserted between the said parts rendered nugatory.
In constructing safes of the kind called belted safes we make on the inside
of the bar of which the belt is made a projecting flat rib parallel with the
edges of the bar, the said rib being rolled in one piece with the said bar. The
outer door shuts down on the outer edge of the said rib, and upon the said
rib we rivet a plate of iron for the purpose herein-after explained. The edge
of the said plate is not flush with the edge of the rib, but in the finished safe
stands somewhat further back than the said rib, the said rib and plate forming
as it were steps inside the safe and parallel with its edge, against the inner one
of which steps the inner door of the safe shuts, and against the nearer one of
which the outer door shuts. The plate against which the inner door shuts
has formed in it a series of dovetail grooves, and the edge of the inner door
has dovetails formed on it or secured to it, which dovetails take into the

page_text: dovetail-shaped grooves in the before-described plate when the door of the
safe is shut. If a burglar attempts to insert a chisel or wedge between the
side of the safe and the outer door, so as to separate them, he is prevented by
the dovetails described, which engaging in their respective grooves lock the
edge of the door and the side of the safe firmly together. If he succeed in
forcing a very thin wedge between the side of the safe and door, it is stopped
by coming against the rib rolled on the bar, and is prevented coming near the
inner door carrying the dovetails. In unbelted safes the dovetails on the
inner door may be made to engage in dovetail grooves in the inner plate of
the safe without the use of the rib herein-before described, which we employ
in making belted safes.
We prevent the insertion of a chisel or wedge between the hinge of the
safe door and the side to which the door is hinged in the following manner:-
We make the edge of the hinged side of the door nearly semi-cylindrical in
figure, and we make a nearly semi-cylindrical groove along that edge of the
safe to which the door is hinged. When the door is shut its semi-cylindrical
edge fits in the semi-cylindrical groove, and the narrow space between them
into which anything can be forced being curved, the insertion of a wedge or
chisel is prevented. We make the angles of safes of angle iron, on the outer
angles of which a supplementary small angle iron is formed, the said small
angle iron being undercut. The outer plate of the safe is inclined on its edges,
and is made to slide under the undercut bars of angle iron at opposite edges
of the safe. The said plates are afterwards rivetted in their place.