IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO LOCKS AND KEYS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Todhunter and John Woodall
Buckley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th May
1879.
WILLIAM TODHUNTER and JOHN WOODALL BUCKLEY, both of the Office for
Patents, 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND RELATING TO LOCKS AND KEYS FOR THE SAME."
This Invention consists in a form of lock and mode of arrangement that will be
less pickable than any yet constructed to our knowledge. It consist, 1st., in forming
the key with a hinge so as to go up a small round square or other conveniently
shaped keyhole, and when entered bend preferably in one direction only to the
shape of a key, the bending being effected by an incline on the back, or even by
the weight of the hinged part, or a pin or striker may be inserted to cause the key
to fall into a true position. The key being bent in position passes any desired
number and contour of wards, and then comes under hinged tumblers, the contour
of the key being designed to lift these the exact height required, so that their
catches shall clear the groove or outer edge of the bolt as hereafter described, and
just touch a guard placed to prevent the tumblers rising too high. It will be seen
therefore that the key must be made to fit exactly, as if too thick it would jam
the tumblers against the guard and not be able to turn, while if not thick enough
it would not raise the tumblers sufficiently to clear the notch or bolt. The key in
turning round to unlock the lock liberates a spring catch, which when the bolt is
drawn back in the manner hereafter described falls into a notch and holds the
bolt. The key travelling on past the lever of the spring catch comes in contact
with the jointed bolt of the lock, which being no longer held by the tumbler
catches is by the key pressed out of the straight line, thus drawing the bolt till
the spring catch falls into it. On bringing the key back it strikes the lever of the
catch apparatus and sets it, so that on the key being brought forward again to
unlock the lock in the same direction in which it moved to lock it, the spring
catch is withdrawn and the jointed bolt forced into a straight line by spring or
springs flies into the locking position. The bars or catches fixed to tumblers now
fall into grooves in or over the outside edge of the jointed bolt and hold it firmly
in place, until by turning the key to unlock the bolt the tumblers are raised again,
the jointed bolt forced out of line against the pressure of a spring, and the lock

page_text: again unlocked. The tumblers are kept pressed down by a series of springs or
otherwise. The advantages of this bolt are, 1st., the narrow long opening and
jointed key prevent the use of pick locks and elastic blades, the spring catch being
connected by levers is out of the way of the pick; the tumblers can be manipulated
if desired by the upper or lower sides of the key, or both. There is room for
ordinary wards as well as multiple tumblers. The end or the jointed bar can be
rivetted in place when the bar becomes a rigid structure that can only be forced
back by unlocking in the proper manner, or by the rivets being sheared or the bolt
bulged out of shape by enormous pressure. Both key and joints of the bolt should
be hinged to only bend in one direction, and the bolt should have a solid bearing,
one jointed part against the other, but it is not absolutely necessary to groove it,
it could be a plain rectangular bar with the catches holding over it.