Improvements in Safety Receptacles.
Year: 1893

page_text: The decision of the Chief Examiner, acting on behalf of the Comptroller, of the
22nd day of October 1894, allowed, under Section 18 of the Patents, &c.
Act, 1883, an Amendment of this Specification.
Date of Application, 1st Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 29th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Safety Receptacles.
I, WILLIAM BASIL WILBERFORCE, of St. Alban's, Bognor, in the County of
Sussex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to receptacles into which articles can be readily put but
from which they cannot be removed without unlocking the receptacle.
It is applicable to many kinds of receptacles such as letter boxes, money boxes,
and the like.
The invention consists in applying at any convenient part of the receptacle a
small compartment which when closed communicates with the receptacle and which
can be readily opened from the outside, the act of opening however closing and
firmly securing the communication with the receptacle before any access to the
interior of the compartment is possible. When the compartment is fixed in the
receptacle it is provided with openings at the top and bottom leading respectively
to the outside and inside of the receptacle. These openings are alternately
covered by slides so connected together by levers or otherwise that there is an
interval between the covering of the inside opening and the uncovering of the
outside opening.
The object of this interval is to prevent a string being inserted into the receptacle
through the compartment.
If it were possible at any time to insert and draw up such a string, then the
object of the invention would be defeated because the articles in the receptacle
could be one by one drawn up into the compartment in which they would be found
when it was opened.
In the arrangement above described an obstruction, which only great violence
can overcome, has been placed to the drawing up of any string or wire.
When the small compartment is in the form of a drawer it is provided with a
hinged bottom which falls down when-the-drawer-is.in.but is closed by the act of
pulling out the drawer.
In this case the interval above referred to is obtained by providing the drawer
with a hinged lid which cannot be opened until the drawer is fully out or the outer
end of the box and the adjacent portion of the receptacle may have a considerable
thickness so that the opening into the drawer does not appear until the drawer has
been pulled out a considerable distance and the bottom is not only closed but is
well supported.
Dated this 30th day of March 1893.

page_text: Improvements in Safety Receptacles.
I, WILLIAM BASIL WILBERFORCE, of St. Alban's, Boguor in the County of
Sussex, 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 :-
This invention relates to receptacles into which articles can be readily put but
from which they cannot be removed without unlocking the receptacle.
It is applicable to many kinds of receptacles such as letter boxes, money boxes
and the like.
The invention consists in applying at any convenient part of the receptacle a
small compartment which when closed communicates with the receptacle and
which can be readily opened from the outside, the act of opening however closing
and firmly securing the communication with the receptacle before any access to
the interior of the compartment is possible. When the compartment is fixed in
the receptacle it is provided with openings at the top and bottom leading
respectively to the outside and inside of the receptacle. These openings are
alternately covered by slides so connected together by levers or otherwise that there
is an interval between the covering of the inside opening and the uncovering of the
outside opening.
The object of this interval is to prevent a string being inserted into the receptacle
through the compartment.
If it were possible at any time to insert-and-draw up such a string, then the
object of the invention would be defeated because the articles in the receptaele
could be one by one drawn up into the compartment in which they would be found
when it was opened.
In the arrangement above described, an obstruction which only great violence
can overcome, has been placed to the drawing up of any string or wire.
When the small compartment is in the form of a drawer it is provided with a
hinged bottom which falls down when the drawer is in but is closed by the act of
pulling out the drawer.
In this case the interval above referred to is obtained by providing the drawer
with a hinged lid which cannot be opened until the drawer is fully out or the outer
end of the box and the adjacent portion of the receptacle may have a considerable
thickness so that the opening into the drawer does not appear until the drawer has
been pulled out a considerable distance and the bottom is not only closed but is
well supported.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sections of an apparatus constructed according to
this invention the two views showing the parts in different positions. a is the
outer case of the receptacle having an opening or slot a' in it. 6 is a slide by which
the opening a' can be closed and is its handle. c is the compartment, its upper
end being opposite to the opening a' and having a flap c' at its lower end. d is a
slide and d' an opening in it through which the flap c' can drop as shown in Figure 1.
e is a lever pivotted at e¹ and connected by links ff' to the slides b and d so that
the latter move simultaneously; preferably a weight g is attached to the lower end
of d so that the parts tend to assume the positions shown in Figure 1. h is a door
by which the receptacle can be emptied.
In Figures 3 and 4 the compartment ; is formed in a drawer and has its lower
end closed by the flap k which is turned up, when the drawer is being opened, by
the shelf?

page_text: Figures 5 and 6 show a modification of Figures 1 and 2 the lower side m of the
compartment being hinged at m' and carries a wedge shaped projection m³ which
rests against a lump 6 on the slide b. The object of the arrangement is to prevent
the jamming of the contents of the compartment for when the opening a¹ is
uncovered for the insertion of articles the width of the compartment is decreased
as shown in Figure 6.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. In safety receptacles, a compartment which when closed communicates with
the receptacle and which can be readily opened from the outside the act of opening
closing and firmly securing the communication with the receptacle some time
before any access to the interior of the compartment is possible substantially as
described.
2. Safety receptacles substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
Dated this 21st day of December 1893.
WILLIAM BASIL WILBERFORCE.