Improvements in Money Boxes and Fastening Mechanism therefor.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Dec., 1893-Accepted, 17th Feb., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Money Boxes and Fastening Mechanism therefor.
I, SEYMOUR BISCOE TRITTON, of 8, Great George Street, Westminster,. in
the County of London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
My invention relates to money boxes such as are used in churches and such like
places for holding donations and has for its object to provide a box of such con-
struction, appearance, and security as to render fraud impossible either by prising
or breaking open the box or removing the same bodily from its situation.
The box may be of any desired size and shape and is made preferably of cast
iron, brass or other metal, and it may have a wooden casing if desired, so that there
is ample scope for any required degree of ornamentation.
According to my invention, in the top of the box 1 bore a circular hole of
convenient diameter and with coned or rebated edge. For this I provide a corre-
sponding lid with a money slot and preferably slightly convex, the periphery being
turned to fit so accurately into the hole that a very fine joint is made, flush with
the top of the box. The fastening mechanism is as follows:-
The lid has two opposite flanges depending vertically into the box, each bored
with a bolt hole of suitable diameter to receive and fit accurately a bolt adapted to
pass through one side of the box, and the two said flange holes, and its inner end
engages in a boss cast or formed on the opposite internal wall of the box. This
bolt may be tubular and contain a spring-pressed catch projecting through an
aperture in the bolt in such position that when shot it engages the inner side of the
front wall so that the bolt cannot be withdrawn until the catch is lifted; the head
of the bolt fits flush with the exterior surface of the box and has a special slot
adapted to receive a special key for withdrawing same. A suitable guide and
feather are provided to determine the proper position of the bolt when in
operation.
To operate when required the above-mentioned catch fastening the bolt I fix
inside the box adjacent to the catch a lock of suitable type the keyhole of which is
arranged in the surface of the box and is preferably of identically the same pattern
as the bolt head. By operating this lock the spring bolt catch is raised, and then
by its special key the bolt can be withdrawn and the lid is liberated and may be
removed.-
Instead of a special bolt key I may use a spring acting on the bolt and adapted
to throw it so far out when liberated as to be easily withdrawn by hand.
In some cases I may arrange the lock to engage the bolt directly thereby
dispensing with the spring catch aforesaid.
The box may be fixed securely to a pillar or vertical surface by bolts, the heads
of which are countersunk therein and covered with a practically invisible counter-
Thus there
sunk plate and the screwed ends project inside the box and carry nuts.
is no joint or opening to facilitate the insertion of a prising tool, neither can the
fastening mechanism be tampered with, nor can an uninitiated person ascertain the
construction of the mechanism, or the mode of unfastening it, or of detaching
the box.
Dated this 8th day of April 1893.

page_text: Improvements in Money Boxes and Fastening mechanism t
I, SEYMOUR BISCOE TRITTON, of 8, Great George Street, Westminster, in
the County of London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to money boxes such as are used in churches and such-like
places for holding donations, and has for its object to provide a box of such con-
struction, appearance, and security as to render fraud impossible either by prising
or breaking open the box or removing the same bodily from its situation.
The box may be of any desired size and shape, and is made preferably of cast
iron, brass, or other metal, and it may have a wooden casing if desired, so that there
is ample scope for any required degree of ornamentation.
I will fully describe my invention in reference to the accompanying drawings in
which
Fig. 1 is a plan, Fig. 2 a cross-section on line 1-2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is the same
section in part, illustrating an alternative construction, Fig. 4 a cross-section on
line 2-3 of Fig. 2 looking to the right, Fig. 5 is a cross-section on line 3-4 of
Fig. 1. showing the box fixed to a vertical standard or pew, Fig. 6 is a side elevation
of the box, and Fig. 7 an elevation showing the box supported on and fixed to a
vertical column.
According to my invention, in the top of the box A. I bore a circular hole
of convenient diameter and with coned or rebated edge as at a. For this I provide
a corresponding lid L with a money slot and preferably slightly convex as shown,
the periphery being turned to fit so accurately into the hole that a very fine joint
is made flush with the top of the box.
The fastening mechanism is as follows:
The lid L has two opposite flanges 12 depending vertically into the box A each
bored with a bolt hole of suitable diameter to receive and fit accurately a bolt B
adapted to pass through one side of the box and the two said flange holes; the inner
end of the bolt B engages in a boss a' cast or formed on the opposite internal wall
of the box. This bolt may be tubular as shown and contain a catch C, normally
pressed downwards by a spring such as c, projecting through an aperture in the
bolt B in such position that when shot as in Figs. 2 and 3 it engages the inner side
of the front wall or a boss thereon as shown at a³, so that the bolt B cannot be
withdrawn until the catch C is lifted; the solid head of the bolt fits flush with the
exterior surface of the box, and in some cases it has in its solid head a special slot
or blind keyway 6 adapted to receive a special key of hook-like form for
withdrawing the bolt when released. A suitable guide and feather as indicated
at g are provided to determine the proper position of the bolt B when in
operation.
To operate when required the above-mentioned catch C fastening the bolt B,
I fix inside the box, adjacent to the catch, an independent lock of suitable type such
as a "Yale" lock which I have illustrated at K, the boss and keyhole k of which
are arranged in the surface of the box and are preferably of identically the same
pattern as the bolt-head with its blind keyway b as shown best in Fig. 6. By
operating this lock the spring bolt-catch C is raised, and then by its special
key the bolt can be withdrawn and the lid is liberated and can be removed.
Instead of forming a blind keyway such as 6 in the solid metal of the bolt-head
requiring a special key, I may leave the bolt-head plain and arrange a spring inside
the box acting on the bolt so as to throw it out so far when liberated as to
be easily withdrawn by hand. This is the preferred construction and is illustrated

page_text: in Fig. 3 wherein S is such an ejecting spring, the action of which will be readily
understood.
In some cases I may arrange the lock to engage the bolt directly, thereby
dispensing with the spring catch aforesaid. Such an arrangement is also
illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein the catch c of the lock K is shown in direct
engagement with the slot 6' in the bolt B, but is directly removed therefrom
on operation of the lock, when the bolt is instantly ejected by the force of the
compressed spring S. In this case the bolt B may be solid, the slot & being cut
out and the spring S externally arranged. Whichever form of construction is used
the lock is subject to no strain and has nothing to do with any effort to open the
box, the bolt taking all such strains.
The box may be fixed securely to a pillar as in Fig. 7, or to a vertical surface
as shown in Fig. 5, by bolts such as F, the heads of which are countersunk therein
and covered with a practically invisible countersunk plate f, or made in the form of
"Lewis " bolts with keys; the screwed ends of the bolts project inside the box and
carry nuts f; or the box may be secured to a bracket or in any preferred manner,
the countersunk plate and arrangement of bolts preventing the possibility of
detaching or removing the box without gaining access to the interior thereof.
By the above construction there are no hinges or lid to open in the ordinary way,
neither is there any joint or opening to facilitate the insertion of a prising tool,
neither can the fastening mechanism be tampered with, nor can an uninitiated person
ascertain the construction of the mechanism or the mode of unfastening it or of
detaching the box.
I would remark that the above described construction and locking mechanism is
obviously applicable to all kinds of strong boxes, safes, or other money receivers
and so forth.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The hereinabove described improvements in money hoxes and fastening
mechanism therefor which consists in forming the lid of the box to fit flush with
same and having depending internal lugs bored to receive a strong locking bolt
passing internally across the box and engaging its walls, said bolt being held fast
when shot either by an internal spring catch such as C adapted to be released on
operation of an independent lock, or by the said lock itself, all substantially as set
forth.
2. In a money box such as is above referred to, the combination of the lid L,
spring bolt B, and independent lock K, all arranged and adapted to operate
substantially as set forth.
3. A money box and its locking mechanism as a whole constructed and arranged
and adapted for fixing and use substantially as above described and illustrated.
Dated this 22nd day of December 1893.