IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFES
Year: 1885

page_text: I DANIEL ROWLINSON RATCLIFF of Finsbury Pavement in the City of London
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SAFES" to be as follows:-
Safes as at present constructed are made of wrought iron or Iron and Steel in
combination but they are very costly and inefficient. The object of my Invention
is to enable them to be made of cast iron and consequently to greatly reduce the
cost of production and their thief resisting power is also increased. Attempts have
been made to produce them in cast iron but when made as hitherto has been the
practice they have proved unable to resist the strain put upon them by blows or by
sudden contraction due to sudden cooling, when in case of fire water is projected
onto them when in a heated condition. I have found by experiment that if the
walls or sides of the safe be made of cast iron with the addition of such a thickness
or mass of metal that when heated and afterwards cooled suddenly the heated
condition of the interior portions or additional thickness or mass at the inner side
of the walls or sides is retained to such an extent as to hold together and prevent
the fracture of the outer portions of the walls or sides which are suddenly cooled
as aforesaid The extra mass or thickness of metal may be made up of an
independent portion bolted or otherwise secured to the outer or ordinary walls or
sides in which case the outer or ordinary walls or sides may be of a hard quality
of cast metal (to resist drills or burglars instruments) the inner portion whose
office it is to retain heat and hold together the outer part on being suddenly cooled
and prevent fracture by blows may be of a lower quality of cast metal or the outer
or ordinary thickness and the extra mass or thickness may be made at one casting
and if desired the outer portion may be chilled or hardened to resist drilling or
the whole of the compound thickness or mass may be made of one quality of
cast iron.

page_text: I, DANIEL ROWLINSON RATCLIFF of Finsbury Pavement in the City of London,
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:―
Safes as at present constructed are made of wrought iron or iron and steel in
combination, but they are very costly and inefficient. The object of my invention
is to enable safes to be efficiently made of cast iron and consequently to greatly
reduce the cost of production, and their thief resisting power is also increased.
I am aware that attempts have heretofore been made to produce safes in cast iron,
but when made as hitherto, has been the practice, they have proved unable to resist
the strain put upon them by blows or by sudden contraction due to sudden cooling
when in case of fire, water is projected on to them when in a heated condition.
I have found by experiment if the walls or sides of the safe be made of cast iron,
with the addition of an extra thickness or mass of metal, that when heated and
afterwards cooled suddenly the heated condition of the interior portions or
additional thickness or mass at the inner side of the walls or sides is retained to
such an extent as to hold together and prevent the fracture of the outer portions of
the walls or sides which are suddenly cooled as aforesaid. The extra mass or
thickness of metal may be made up of an independent portion bolted or otherwise
secured to the outer or ordinary walls or sides in which case the outer or ordinary
walls or sides may be of a hard quality of cast metal (to resist drills or burglars
instruments) the inner portion, whose office it is to retain heat and hold together
the outer part on being suddenly cooled and prevent fracture by blows, may be of
a lower quality of cast metal, or the outer or ordinary thickness and the extra mass
or thickness may be made at one casting and if desired the outer portion may be
chilled or hardened to resist drilling or the whole of the compound thickness or
mass may be made of one quality of cast iron.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is,
C
The improved manufacture of safes of cast iron as hereinbefore described.