Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 2nd July, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 10th Aug., 188
I DANIEL ROWLINSON RATCLIFF of Finsbury Pavement in the City of London
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to bo as follows:-
My Invention has for its object to so construct safes and strong rooms that they are
conveniently manufactured are very strong and are thoroughly protected from being
broken by the use of wedges applied at the angles or joints.
According to my Invention I take bars of angle metal and I cut them into lengths
I cut or form
of the width length and height respectively of the safe or strong room.
the angles of these bars so that they fit together to form a kind of cubical frame the
sides of which lap over each of the angles of the safe or strong room and form a
continuous metal covering over the said angles making the safe or strong room proof
against the insertion of wedges in the joints at the said angles.
The angle bars may be of simple form and the sides of the safe or strong room be
flush with the inner sides of the angle bars or the said bars may have grooves in their
edges into which the edges of the sides of the safe or strong room are inserted.
When the sides of the safe or strong room are made in more than one piece
the joints of the side portions may be similarly protected by covering bars which may
be either plain or with grooves in their edges substantially as and for the purpose
described with regard to the angle bars.

page_text: I, DANIEL ROWLINSON RATCLIFF of Finsbury Pavement in the City of London
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following
statement:-
My Invention has for its object to so construct safes and strong Rooms that they
are conveniently manufactured are very strong and are thoroughly protected from
being broken by the use of wedges applied at the angles or joints.
According to my Invention I take bars of angle metal and if they be not already of
the proper length I cut them into lengths of the width length and height respectively
of the safo or strong room I cut or form the angles of these bars so that they fit
together to form a kind of cubical frame the sides of which lap over each of the angles
of the safe or strong room and form a continuous metal covering over the said angles
making the safe or strong room proof against the insertion of wedges in the joints at
the said angles.
The angle bars may be of simple form and the sides of the safe or strong room be
flush with the inner sides of the angle bars or the said bars may have grooves
in their
edges into which the edges of the sides of the safe or strong room are inserted.
When the sides of the safe or strong room are made in more than one piece the
joints of the side portions may be similarly protected by covering bars which may be
either plain or with grooves in their edges substantially as and for the purpose described
with regard to the angle bars.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to the several
figures on the annexed sheets of drawings the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a frame made according to my Invention for a
safe or strong room. Figure 2 is a perspective view (drawn to a larger scale) of the
interior of one of the corners of the said frame. Figure 3 is a section through one of
the vertical corners of the frame and through an intermediate support employed for
panels when the side of the safe or strong room is composed of more than one panel
and Figure 4-is a-sectional plan of one of the corner pieces shewing the mode of
connecting the angle bars thereto.
The longitudinal and vertical corners or edges of the structure consist of angle bars A
preferably of the section shewn at a Figure 3. In each bar are two grooves a² a³ at
right angles to each other in which grooves the panels of the safe or strong room are
secured as hereinafter described. These angle bars are connected to corner pieces B
so as to form a continuous metal frame that will prevent the insertion of wedges.
A portion of the metal at the ends b of the bar A to be connected to the corner
piece B is cut away for some distance as shewn at c and on the corner piece there
is formed a projection ² corresponding to the portion cut away from the bar A so

page_text: that when the bar A is placed in position and connected to the corner piece the
groove in which the panel is placed will be continued from the bar to the said
corner piece. The bar is secured to the corner piece by screws d passing through holes
formed in the bottom of the groove at the part where the portion of the bar is cut
away and screwing into the projection c² on the corner pieces B. The heads of these
screws are counter sunk in the bottom of the groove a² so as not to interfere with
the insertion of the panels. Each corner piece B is provided with these similar
projections c as shewn in Figures 1 and 2 to which the three contiguous horizontal
and vertical angle bars A are connected in the manner described.
The panels each consist preferably of two plates ee of steel which are secured in
the grooves a² a³ by screws e. These screws pass through holes in the inner walls of
the grooves and screw into the plates el the ends of the screws bearing against the
plates so that when the screws are driven home they securely hold the plates e¹³ e²
close against the walls of the grooves. When the sides of the safe or strong room are
of such an area as to require more than one panel to cover the area I provide inter-
mediate supports as shewn at D having grooves to receive the panels. These supports
are secured to the angle bars A by hook shaped pieces d' secured in the grooves of the
angle bars and engaging corresponding but reverse hooks d formed in the webs of the
supports D wedges or keys d³ being driven in between each pair of the said hooks so
as to force the onds of the supports into close contact with the angle bars and hold the
said supports firmly in position.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed 1 declare that what 1
claim is:
First Safes or strong rooms having frames constructed of angle metal fitted and
connected together so as to form continuous metal coverings at the joints substantially
as and for the purpose hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Second-The combination with the subject matter of the preceding claiming
clause of the intermediate supports D secured in position in the frame substantially in
the manner and for the purpose hereinbefore described with reference to the accom-
panying drawings.