IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANURACTURE OF SAFES AND IN. APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Chatwood, of Bolton, in the County of Lan-
caster, Safe Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANURACTURE OF SAFES AND IN. APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH,"
Sealed the 25th August 1865, and dated the 2nd March 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Chatwood at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
March 1865.
I, SAMUEL CHATWOOD, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Safe Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SAFES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as
follows:-
One of my improvements has for its object the securing of the property of
jewellers, silversmiths, pawnbrokers, and others. To accomplish this, I make
a safe of any convenient size for a window, leaving out what is generally
called the back of the safe, in the place of which I insert one or more plates
of glass, which glass will serve for the shop window. I allow the sides of the
safe to project a suitable distance outside the glass, and in grooves prepared
for that purpose I fit a sliding back or revolving or movable shutter or
shutters: The door or doors of the safe, which are inside the shop, may be
[Price 8d.1

page_text: open
supported on centres or hinges, or may fit in slides, as most convenient. I
place interior glass slides or doors to the safe, so that when the safe is
it answers for a glass show case. My intention is that it shall answer as a
show case when the shop is open and be secure when shut, thereby saving the
trouble and expense of undressing the window and removing the goods as
heretofore. I sometimes make the safe the entire width of the shop including
the door, with similar security arrangements to those before named.
I make the outer shells of safes of wrought iron or steel, into which I run
a casing of suitable metal in a molten state, and so make the body of the safe
of any desirable thickness. I also make an outer and inner shell, between
which I run the molten metal, still making the body of the safe of any
desirable thickness.
I sometimes prepare the plates for the sides, ends, back, or door of safes
with indentations, into which I place solids of any geometrical figure, such as
spheroids, spheres, or other forms having any number of flat or curved sides,
which I keep in their places by a casting or castings, or by inner plates with
indentations opposite the indentations of the outer plate, which solids will
move if any drill comes into contact with them in any attempt to drill the
safe. I also form any portion or the whole of my safes, chests, and doors of
a combination of wrought and cast metal, that is to say, I take wire bars,
plates, or sheets of wrought or ductile metal interlaced or otherwise, or I use
plates or sheets containing perforations, which I put into a mould of the
desired form, into which mould I run the metal, which will surround and
embrace the said wrought or ductile metal, and add very considerably to its
strength. I also use iron known as "speigel eizen or franklinite," and some-
times I use cast steel instead of ordinary metal, and cast it of the desired
form.
I also use speigel eizen, or franklinite, or cast steel without the
_wrought metal before named. I also cast safes or parts of safes of steel in a
vacuum or nearly so to make them as solid as possible; or I use for casting
any mixture of speigel eisen or franklinite with ordinary cast iron.
Another of my improvements consists in placing on the inner surface of
any portion of the doors of safes a projecting rib or ribs.to pass around the
said surface near the edges of the door, either in straight or curved lines, or
in one continuous rib, or in any convenient number of parts or lengths of rib,
the said projecting rib or ribs fit into a groove or grooves situate in or
attached to the sides of the safe; I also place the said projecting rib or ribs
on the sides of the safe, and the groove or grooves I place in the door of the
safe when desirable. I also use any convenient number of studs having holes
made to receive the said studs in lieu of the before-named ribs and grooves.

page_text: The object of the said rib or ribs fitting into a groove or grooves, or of the
said studs fitting into holes is to resist the force of wedges or other instru-
ments used with the intent to force open the safe by separating the sides
from the door.
Another of my improvements consists in making the edges of the door or
doors and the sides of the safe of a curvilinear or zig-zag shape, so that
wedges if applied cannot be forced between the door and the sides of the safe,
so as to separate the said door from the sides to any extent detremental to the
efficiency of the safe. The surface shape of the edges of the door or doors
or the sides of the safe on which they fit, I make of any form that may be
defined by co-ordinates of two or three dimensions, that is to say, the cur-
vilinear or zig-zag surface may have only one or any number of directions
in which it is curvilinear or zig-zag.
.
I sometimes dispense with the ordinary bolt or bar holes in the sides of
safes, chests, and frames of doors, and use instead thereof the blade of T-
iron or the flange of angle iron, part or parts of which I cut away to form
openings. The bolts or bars of my large lock I cause to project, so that
when the safe is unlocked the projecting bolts or bars of the lock case will
be opposite the openings in the inuer frame of the safe before named. I then
with suitable apparatus give a vertical motion to the bolts or bars on the
vertical sides of the lock case, and a horizontal motion to the bolts or bars on
the horizontal sides of the lock case. I sometimes place the projections on
the inner frame with a rib at back, and I also place a rib on the front of the
bolts or bars, or. I reverse the said ribs, the object being to prevent lateral
strain by wedging or other applied force.
Another of my improvements for preventing safes being wedged open at
the door is the use of bars or bolts with a thread cut on them so as to screw
into the sides of the safe, or into any apparatus fixed to the said sides of the
safe when the door is closed, and so secure the sides to the said door; or I
make the said bars or bolts with projections upon them, so that when the
door is closed they may be shot into cavities, grooves, or slots, and then turned
partially round, the projections hooking themselves into the sides of the safe
behind the cavities, grooves, or slots prepared for that purpose; the said
bolts or bars are acted upon by the handle of the door, or by a suitable key
or keys through the intervention of levers, wheels, cams, or eccentrics, as
may be found most convenient, and then secured by the bolt or bar of the
small lock, so that they cannot be withdrawn. In any of the before-named
cases I use a small lock or locks to secure the large bolts or bars or other
fastenings of the safe.

page_text: I sometimes dispense with screws in fastening the lock chamber to the
door, and use instead iron of a proper shape for the frame, and fit it into
grooves of a dovetail form or T-form situate on the back of the door plate,
or I cast it into the door. I place a helical or other spring or prings in the
sides of the safe to allow the explosive force of gunpowder to escape.
Another of my improvements consists in placing on any or all of the sides
of a safe or safes a thin sheet of metal over an aperture of suitable dimensions
of such strength as to burst by the force of gunpowder, or other force acting
from the interior of the safe, and I protect the interior of the safe by sheets
of strong metal, prepared as before mentioned, so arranged that the gases
from the interior may pass to the thin plates and burst them outward, and
yet prevent any access to the interior. I also use valves in the place of
thin plates where desirable; or I simply use apertures so placed away from
each other and protected by plates that the safe cannot be entered by them,
yet the
gases formed by exploding gunpowder may escape from the interior
of the safe.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Chatwood in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st September 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
CHATWOOD, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Safe Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Samuel Chatwood, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Chatwood,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel
Chatwood, 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 THE MANU-
FACTURE OF SAFES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Chatwood, my executors or admi-
instrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their

page_text: bands 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 Samuel Chatwood, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say):-
One of my improvements has for its object the securing of the property
of jewellers, silversmiths, pawnbrokers, and others. To accomplish this,
I make a safe of any convenient size for a window, leaving out what is
generally called the back of the safe.
Fig. 1 is a plan of part of a shop and window, with parts in section, and
Fig. 2 is a section across the line b, c, the walls in both Figures being shown
at d. In the place of the said back of the safe, I insert one or more plates
of glass, as shown by the dotted lines a, which glass will serve for the shop
window. I allow the sides e of the safe to project a suitable distance outside
the glass; and in grooves prepared for that purpose I fit a sliding back or
revolving or other movable shutter or shutters f; the door or doors g, 91, of
the safe, which are inside the shop, as shown in the Drawings, may be sup-
ported on centres or hinges, or may fit in slides, as inost convenient. The
dotted lines 92, 94, show the course of the edges of the doors when supported
on hinges. I place interior glass slides or doors to the safe, as shown by
the dotted lines h, so that when the safe is open it answers for a glass show
case; my intention is that it shall answer as a show case when the shop is
open and be secure when shut, thereby saving the trouble and expense of
undressing the window and removing the goods as heretofore. i is the door
of the shop; and e shows the sides and top and bottom of the safe k, being
the floor above the shop; and 7, the counter. I sometimes make the safe the
entire width of the shop, including the door, with similar security arrange-
ments to those before named. The shell e, and doors g, g₁, I make of any
metalic construction that may be required, and the vertical bars m are made
strong and of any convenient design. The top of the safe is shown in Fig. 2
at some distance from the cealing, but I do not confine myself to make safes
of that form alone, but carry the sides of the safe to the cealing of the shop
when desired.
I make the outer shells of safes of wrought iron or steel, into which I run
a casing of suitable metal in a molten state, and so make the body of the safe
of any desirable thickness. I also make an outer and inner shell, between

page_text: which shells I run the molten metal, still making the body of the safe of any
desirable thickness. The object of making the safes as just described is to
prevent the sides being drilled in so short a time as that required to drill
other safes, and so lessen the risk of being robbed.
I sometimes prepare the plates for the sides, ends, back, or door of safes
with indentations, into which I place solids of any geometrical figure, such as
spheroids, spheres, or other forms having any number of flat or curved sides,
which I keep in their places by a casting or castings, or hy inner plates with
indentations opposite the indentations of the outer plate, which solids will
.move if any drill comes into contact with them in.any attempt to drill the
safe. I also form any portion or the whole of my safes, chests, and doors of
a combination of wrought and cast metal, that is to say, I take wire bars,
plates or sheets of wrought or ductile metal interlaced or otherwise; or I use
plates or sheets containing perforations of any convenient size or shape, which
sheets I put into a mould of the desired form, into which mould I run the
metal, which will surround and embrace the said wrought or ductile metal, and
add very considerably to its strength. I also use iron, known as speigel eizen
or franklinite; and sometimes I use cast steel instead of ordinary cast metal,
and cast it of the desired form. I also use speigel eizen or franklinite, or cast
steel without the wrought metal before named. I also cast safes or parts of safes
of steel in a vacuum or nearly so to make them as solid as possible; or I use
for casting any mixture of speigel eizen or franklinite with ordinary cast iron.
In order to cast safes or parts thereof in a vacuum, I place the mould in a
air-tight chamber, and exhaust the air therefrom by means of a pump or
pumps, and pour the metal into a receiver having a valve communicating with
the mould, and so soon as the said valve is open the metal fills the mould and
the casting is accomplished.
:
Another of my improvements is shown in part by Figs. 3, 4, and 5, and
consists in placing on the inner surface of any portion of the doors of safes a
projecting rib or ribs a, Fig. 4 (which shows a section through the door), to
pass around the said surface near the edges of the door b, either in straight
or curved lines, or in one continuous rib, or in any convenient number of
parts of or lengths of rib; the said projecting rib or ribs fit into a groove or
grooves c situate in or attached to the sides d of the safe. I also place the said
projecting rib or ribs a on the sides d of the safe, and the groove or grooves c
I place in the door of the safe when desirable. I also use any convenient
number of studs either round, square, or any other desirable shape having
holes e, Fig. 5, made to receive the said studs in lieu of the before-named
ribs and grooves when desirable. In Figs. 3 and 5, is the interior of the

page_text: back of the safe. The object of the said rib or ribs fitting into a groove or
grooves of the said studs fitting into holes is to resist the force of wedges or
other instruments used with the intent to force open the safe by separating
the sides d from the door b when the safe is closed.
Another of my improvements consists in making the edges of the door or
doors, and the sides of the safe on which the door or doors fit, of a curvi-
linear or zig-zag shape, so that wedges if applied cannot be forced between
the floor and the sides of the safe so as to separate the said door or doors
from the sides to any extent detremental to the efficiency of the safe. The
surface shape of the edges of the door or doors, or the sides of a safe on
which they fit, I make of any form that may be defined, by co-ordinates of
two or three dimensions. Fig. 6 shows a portion of the side of the safe, the
bottom part g, f, e, p, resting on the plane o, x, c, 2, and the curved or zig-zag
surface h, i, k, l, is defined by referring the points in the said surface to the
three co-ordinate planes o, x, c, z; o, z, b, y, and o, y, a, z, where o, x, o, y,
and 0,2, are the axis of x, y, and z. Let m be a point in the surface h, i, k, l,
then the three perpendiculars r, n, q, n, and n, m, determine the point m, and
any other point in the said surface is determined in a similar manner, no
matter what may be the shape of the surface. If the surface be curvilinear
or zig-zag in one direction only two co-ordinate planes will define the curve
or zig-zag, that is to say, the curvilinear or zig-zag surface may have only one
or any number of directions in which it is curvilinear or zig-zag. Fig. 4
shows the edge of the door curved to prevent wedging, which is one form of
construction only.
I sometimes dispense with the ordinary bolt or bar holes in the sides of
safes, chests, and frames of doors, and use instead thereof the blade of T-iron
or the flange of angle iron, part er parts of which I cut away to form
openings. The T or angle iron and its application is shown in Figs. 7 and 8,
where g is the sides of the safe, and h the door; a is the T or angle iron, the
various shapes that I use being shown by Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The
bolts or bars b, b, of my large lock case I cause to project, so that when the
safe is unlocked the projecting bolts or bars b, b₁, of the lock case e will be
opposite the openings c, c₁, in the inuer frame of the safe before named; I
then with suitable apparatus give a vertical motion to the bolts or bars bon
the vertical sides of the lock case e, and a horizontal notion to the bolts or
bars b, on the horizontal sides of the lock case e. The apparatus for giving
motion to the bolts and bars b, b₁, is shown in Figs. 7 and 8, where f is an
eccentric fixed to the handle i of the door, and d, d₁, two bent levers having
their fulcræ fixed in the lock case eor doorh,and their ends coupled to the bolts

page_text: or bars b. b₁, by suitable pins, as shown in the Drawing. By turning the
handle i the bolts or bars 6 are moved vertically, and the bolts or bars b₁ are
moved horizontally by the action of the eccentric fon the cross bars b₂, b₁, and
the levers d, d₁, as before described, and the projecting parts of the bolts or
bars b, b₁, brought opposite to the openings c, c₁, when the door may be
opened. When the door is shut and the bolts or bars b; b₁, are behind the
angle or Tirons a, they are retained securely in their places by the bolt or
bar of the small lock acting on any convenient part of the cross bars b₂, b3, or
on the eccentric f, as may be found most efficient or convenient.
I sometimes place the projections a on the inner frame with a rib at back
as shown in Figs. 11, 12, and 13, and I also place a rib on the front of the
bolts or bars, as shown in Fig. 14, where b is the bar or bolt, and a the angle
iron with the rib. The bars or bolts being constructed as shown at 6 in
Fig. 14, and the angle iron as shown at a, it is clear that when they slide
vertically and horizontally, as before stated, that they will hook together in
such a manner as to prevent detremental lateral strain by wedging or other
applied force; or I reverse the said ribs to prevent detremental strain on the
sides of the safe. The said ribs placed on the bars b, b₁, to prevent detre-
mental lateral strain by wedging, or the ribs on the angle or Tirons I also
make of the form shown in Fig. 14a. I do not tie myself to any particular
form, shape, or length of projection or projections, and no matter whether the
bar or bars be in the door or in the sides of the safe; I use the said ribs to
prevent detremental strain by wedging or other applied force.
Another of my improvements for preventing safes being wedged open at
the edges of the door is shown in Fig. 15, and is accomplished by using bars
or bolts with a thread cut on them so as to screw into the side or sides of the
safe, or into any apparatus fixed to the said side or sides of the safe when
the door is closed, and so secure the side or sides of the said door. a is the
sides of the safe, and 6 the sides of the lock case with the door front removed,
a portion of the lock case is shown in section at 6₁, and the screws c, c₁, are
shown by dotted lines passing into the sides of the safe; d is a square part
of the screw shaft passing loosley through the boss of the wheel e, which
wheel revolves in the bearing f, and the other two wheels e₁ е, which gear
into the wheel e are supported by the bearings f₁,f2, the wheel e, being fixed
on the shaft g. A worm gears into the two wheels h, h₁, and the bearings,
fffff. fi, show the position of other wheels; and C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7
the places where the other screws may be fixed, although I do not tie myself
to any particular number of screws.
When the worm i is caused to revolve
the screws are all put into motion by the wheels h, h₁, and the gearing for the

page_text: two screws c, c₁, is sufficient to show the arrangement of the others. I also
make the said bars or bolts with projections upon them, as shown in Figs. 16
and 17, where the bar has only one projection; also in Figs. 18 and 19, where
the bar has a projection on each side. When the door of the safe is closed
these bolts or bars may be shot into cavities, grooves, or slots, and then
turned partially round, the projections hooking hooking themselves into the
sides of the safe behind the cavities, grooves, or slots prepared for that
purpose; the said bolts or bars are acted upon by the handle of the door in
the ordinary manner, or by a suitable key or keys, and then turned partially
round by the continued action of the handle or keys through the intervention
of levers, wheels, cams, or eccentrics, as may be found most convenient, since
numerous arrangements may be adapted for turning the said bolts or bars
partially round, they are then secured by the bolt or bar of the small lock, so that
they cannot be withdrawn. In any of the before-named cases I use a small
lock or locks to secure the large bolts or bars or other fastenings of the safe.
I sometimes dispense with screws in fastening the lock chamber to the
door, and use instead iron of a proper shape for the frame, and fit it into
grooves of a dovetail form or T form, situate on the back of the door plates;
or I cast it into the door when the door is made of cast metal. 1 place a
helical or other spring or springs in the sides of the safe to allow the
explosive force of gunpowder to escape. These springs are placed under
the heads of the screws or boltsthat fasten the sides of safes together, which
give way if gunpowder be exploded inside the safe, and thejoints open and
allow the gases to escape.
Another of my improvements consists in placing on any or all of the sides
of a safe or safes, a thin sheet of metal a, Fig. 21, where b, b₁, are the inside
and outside plates, and c the aperture, with channels e communicating with
the interior of the safe by means of the other apertures d. The thin sheet
of metal covers the aperture e, which is of suitable dimensions, and of such
strength as to burst by the force of gunpowder or other force acting from
the interior of the safe, and I protect the interior of the safe by sheets or
plates of strong metal, prepared as before mentioned, so arranged that the
gases from the interior may pass to the thin plates and burst them outward,
and yet prevent any access to the interior detremental to the efficiency of
the safe, as shown in the Figure 21, which is a section of part of the side of
a safe.
I also use valves in the place of the thin plates where desirable; or
I simply use apertures so placed away from each other, and protected by
plates, that the safe cannot be entered by them, yet the gases formed by
exploding gunpowder may escape from the interior of the safe, as shown in

page_text: Fig. 20, where a is the outside plate, and a₁ the inside plate, both shown in
section, and b, b₁, two blocks, the holes being shown at c, which arrangement
answers the purpose just described.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the said Invention is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what
I claim is,―
Firstly, the arrangement and combination of parts for metal window
safes, as herein described and set forth, and in part illustrated by Figs. 1
and 2 of the Drawings.
Secondly, the manufacture of safes of wrought iron and steel, and the
combination of cast metal therewith, as herein described.
Thirdly, the preparing and use of plates with indentations and the use
of solids of any geometrical figure, as herein set forth and for the purpose
herein described.
Fourthly, the constructing of safes with wire plates or sheets of wrought
or ductile metal, and the use of plates or sheets containing perforations, and
the combinations of parts with cast metal, as herein stated and described.
Fifthly, the use of speigel eizen or franklinite or of cast steel, for the
purpose herein stated and described,
Sixthly, the casting of safes or parts of safes in a vacuum or nearly so, as
herein set forth.
Seventhly, the projecting ribs fitting into grooves, and the studs fitting
into holes, and the combination of parts, as herein described and set forth,
and in part illustrated by Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
Eighthly, the making the edges of doors for safes, and the sides on which
they fit, of a curvilinear or zig-zag shape, as herein described, and for the
purpose set forth.
Ninthly, the use of T or angle iron, for the purpose herein described and
set forth.
Tenthly, the bars or bolts, and the projecting ribs on the bars or bolts,
and the projecting ribs on the angle or T iron, and the mechanical arrange-
ment and the combination of parts, for the purpose herein set forth,
described, and in part illustrated in Figs. 7 to 14 inclusive.
Eleventhly, the bars or bolts with a thread on them for screwing into the
sides of safes, as herein set forth and described, and in part illustrated in
Fig. 15; also the bars or bolts described and in part illustrated in Figs. 16,
17, 1, and 19.
Twelfthly, the use of grooves of a dovetail or T form for securing the
lock case, and the casting the lock case on the door, as herein set forth.

page_text: Thirteenthly, the use of springs in the sides of safes, as herein described.
Fourteenthly, the thin sheet of metal and the combination of apertures,
herein set forth and described, and in part illustrated in Figs. 20 and 21.
Finally, the combination of parts of the various improvements claimed
r making safes and parts of safes, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Chatwood, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
SAMUEL CHATWOOD. (L.B.)