IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOSING OR LOCKING DEVICES, ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO CARRIAGE-DOORS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Herbert John Haddan, of Kensington, Middlesex for an
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOSING OR LOCKING DEVICES, ESPECIALLY
APPLICABLE TO CARRIAGE-DOORS A communication to him from abroad by
J. B. Fondu-Bloemendal, of Vilvorde, Belgium.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Herbert John Haddan at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th July 1882.
HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of Kensington, Middlesex, " IMPROVEMENTS
IN
CLOSING OR LOCKING DEVICES, ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO CARRIAGE DOORS,"
a communication to me from abroad by J. B. Fondu-Bloemendal, of Vilvorde,
Belgium,
This invention relates to apparatus for securing or locking railway carriage doors,
but is also applicable to other doors.
The invention consists in providing and applying a falling-latch which acts
automatically when the door is being closed, and an indicator in the interior of the
carriage for enabling the passengers to see at a glance whether the safety bolt is
open or closed, a lever placed inside the carriage to enable the passengers to close
the safety bolt without inconvenience. The invention further consists in the
combination of a falling-latch mechanism with a safety bolt in the same lock and
in such a manner that these two devices are opened simultaneously. Also in a
new construction of padlocks, whose casing when applied to a carriage receives
the vibrations and shocks commonly transmitted to the mechanism of the lock.
The falling latch is an ordinary horizontal lever provided with a button and
coming in contact with an oblique face projecting from the counter-plate on the
door-post, so as to be lifted, when the door is being closed and then fall into the
notch provided for holding the latch. The safety bolt is a rotary cam applied
some distance above or below the falling latch and acted upon by a spring. In its
open position (when withdrawn into its case) it comes in contact with a double-
armed lever the opposite arm of which projects into a groove of a cam mounted on
the axle of the falling latch, which cam is also acted upon by a spring (the bolt-
spring or a separate spring).

page_text: When the latch has simply fallen into its notch, which locking action may be
considered insufficient, the word " open" appears on the indicator. For completely
locking the door a passenger may then seize the lever placed inside the compart-
ment and turn it so as to place the safety bolt in its extreme locking position,
after which the word "closed" appears on the indicator instead of the word "open."
Instead of the double-armed lever other suitable mechanism may be employed for
connecting the falling-latch with the safety bolt.
The new padlock for railway-carriage doors and other purposes, is so constructed,
that it can always be seen at a glance, whether and to what degree the lock is open
or closed, and that the lock cannot be closed accidentally by a fall.
The padlock is constructed of two principal parts which form together a loop or
ring. The first part is stationary and contains a hollow for the reception of discs
or wards so shaped and placed over each other that their circumference forms a
spiral; these wards are fixed to a screw spindle screwed into the other part of the
padlock, projecting from the latter and provided with a button. Movable pins are
pressed radially against the wards by means of springs, so as to prevent the
turning of the spindle when not pushed out of the way by the key, which is
introduced axially into the spiral. The key-bit is stair shaped corresponding to
the number of discs or wards, and the circumference of the bit is curved
excentrically to its axis.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Herbert John Haddan in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
25th January 1883.
HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of Kensington, Middlesex, "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLOSING AND LOCKING DEVICES, ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO CARRIAGE DOORS,"
a communication to me from abroad by J. B. Fondu-Bloemendal, of Vilvorde,
Belgiuni,
This lock consists of the following principal parts.
1. A falling-latch acting automatically when the door is being closed.
2. An indicator in the interior of the carriage showing the passengers whether
the safety-bolt is closed or open.
3. A lever placed inside the carriage to enable the passengers to close the safety-
bolt without inconvenience.
a. By the combination of mechanism and the arrangement of the falling-latch
and the safety-bolt in the same lock the two closing devices are opened
simultaneously.
b. By a new construction of padlocks the latter cannot be left open after having
been applied to the carriage, and when the carriage noves, the repeated vibrations
act on the casing of the lock and not on the mechanism as in other systems.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 of Sheet I represents the mechanism of
the lock with the cover taken off. A is the safety-bolt, the square hole A¹ of
which is intended to receive the square end of the handle B. The bolt A is open
when it occupies the position indicated by the dotted line No 1; if the opening
movement is continued the bolt is placed in the position indicated by dotted
line N° 2.
In its movement it conies in contact with the lever C pivoted on its axle C¹.
The lever C communicates with the fork D, and the square shaft of the latch E
engages in a square hole at D¹.
After the above description the mechanism of this lock may be easily understood,
considering that when the door is open the bolt A occupies the position indicated
by dotted line N° 1; the parts CD occupying the position shown in full lines, tho
latch E at the exterior of the carriage necessarily occupies a horizontal position.
If the passenger or the guard moves the door against its post the falling-latch
comes into contact with the oblique face F, rises on the inclined plane and falls by
its own weight into the notch, thus automatically closing the door.
As this closing may be considered insufficient, the word "open" appears in the
opening G of the indicator P (see Sheet II fig 12.)
A passenger need then only turn the lever H into the position H¹ to lock the safety-
bolt A, and the word "closed" appears in the opening G; the mechanism then
occupies the position as shown in dotted lines,
This safety mechanism actuated by the lever H cannot be reopened from the
interior, because the small part 1, fixed to the lever H no longer actuates the
part J.
The pivot K engaged in the opening of the part L serves to move the same,
The part I is guided in the part J, by the round end I, while the square end 1¹¹
is engaged in the lever H and is fixed by means of a small steel-pin.
The square hole made in this part J, is intended to receive the shaft of the
handle B, having the same shape.
F
Fig. 2 represents a front view of the exterior closing appliance.
Fig 3 is a side view. .
Fig 4. is a section above the latch E.
L Jess and maintain the halt & in its different nositions

page_text: I also serves to force the falling latch into its notch, instead of falling into the
same by its proper weight.
The shape and size of the different parts may be varied to suit different
requirements.
The drawings and the description plainly show the easy working of these devices
and the great advantages as regards security and the rapidity for opening and
closing the doors.
The new system may be applied in different ways without departing from the
principle of the invention.
The falling-latch may be situated above, or beneath the door bandle as shown
in Figs. 5. 6. and 7. Sheet III, and the lock may be sunk in the wood-work (of the
door) as shown in Figs. 8. 9. 10 and 11. Sheet II, instead of being placed on the
surface of the wood work.
The drawing alone would be sufficient to explain the mechanism of these different
locks.
The difference of the mechanism in which the falling latch is situated beneath
the door-handle consists in replacing the lever C by the lever R, see Sheet III,
the part D by the part S and the spring M by the springs T U, the case of the
lock and the catch are of the shape shown in the drawings.
The remainder of the mechanism is the same.
The indicator in the interior of the carriage may be utilized without the
application of the lever serving to lock the safety-bolt, and the principle will not
be altered by it.
I wish it to be understood that many other combinations of mechanism, which
it would be too long to explain, lead to the same result as explained above and
hereinafter claimed.
The padlock for locking the carriages is illustrated on sheet II Figs 13 to 16
and is designed to avoid the following inconveniences presented by ordinary
pad locks.
a. They may be applied or put in place without being locked and without
showing any outward sign that the locking has not been effected.
b. When the padlock is closed all the shocks are received by the pin and the
bolt, and if subjected to repeated trepidation the mechanism becomes dislocated in
a short time.
The disadvantages are very serious in the case of locks and padlocks used in
the custom and railway service for locking the doors of the carriages when
closed.
To pick ordinary locks or padlocks a single operation is sufficient. For the new
padlock the operation must be repeated as many times as turnings of the key are
required to sufficiently open the lock.
Spring-locks or padlocks which may be locked without key have already been
made for the custom service, but they have the inconvenience to be closed
accidentally by a fall.
With the new lock or padlock this inconvenience need not be feared, it being
necessary to turn the knob or the key to bring the two jaws together.
Fig. 13. is an end-view of the lock, with the cover removed and showing the
wards V constructed in spiral shape and fixed on the screw W.
The key Fig. 18 equally presents the wards made in oblique curves in such a
manner that the key when introduced into the lock turns the wards with the
screw for the purpose of opening the lock. The key comes into contact with the 5
stops ✗ lifting the same to allow the wards to pass as soon as the key leaves the
stop X; the latter are pressed against the wards by means of the springs A.
By the drawings and the above description it will be clear that, if the key does
not lift the said stops X, they form an insurmountable obstacle to the passing of
the wards and consequently to the opening of the padlock.
i
This is not the case when the lock is to be closed.
This may be effected be means of the end of the screw B.
5

page_text: The wards may be exchanged at will and their shape may vary indefinitely,
which renders the picking of the lock very difficult.
The jaw C is movable, and, being tapped, it forms the nut of the screw W.
The jaw D is stationary and receives the wards, the stops and the springs.
The cover E which protects the mechanism is riveted to the case at F.
The key-hole may be provided as in all padlocks with a cover on which are
harked the series and the number of the key. The keys may be full or hollow.
The form of the jaws is adapted to the use of the lock, that is to say according
o the shape of the ring hooks placed on the carriages.
The shape of the case, the wards, and the mechanism may also vary according
the use of the lock.
H. J. HADDAN (L.S.)