IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Gardner, of No: 89, Queen Street, Cheap-.
side, in the City of London, Safe Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS."
Sealed the 1st May 1866, and dated the 4th November 1865:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Gardner at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th November 1865.
I, WILLIAM GARDNER, of No. 89; Queen Street; Cheapside, in the City
of London, Safe Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS," to be as follows:-
The object of my said improvements is the construction of a strong and
secure fastening, which, though more especially designed for iron safes, chests,
and other like receptacles, is from its cheapness well adapted to take the place
of common locks used on tables, boxes, desks, and other articles of furniture:
Locks known as thief-proof bankers' locks and locks under various other
names have already been produced to supply the demand for a perfectly secure
fastening, but these are all costly of production, and from the principle upon
which they are designed are all subject to being violently forced or picked.
The time of their resistance depends somewhat upon the quality of their
manufacture, but more upon the skill of the operator, as when access has once
been obtained to the end of the lock bolt the tumblers (by means of skeleton
keys and other instruments) can be set in such a position as to enable the
operator to force back the said bolt by pressure applied to the end thereof.

page_text: With my improved locks this cannot be accomplished, as the said locks are
designed and constructed upon such a principle that any attempt to force back
the bolt from the end thereof will cause the parts of the lock to assume such
& position as to render it impossible to move them. The greater the pressure
applied to the end of the lock bolt, the greater will be the resistance thereto,
and as long as this pressure is continued it will be impossible with any instru-
ment whatever (even with a key made especially to fit the lock) to raise the
tumblers into a position to allow the bolt to be thrown back. The bolt is
thrown in and out by the turning of a key in the ordinary manner. The
tumblers and other parts of the lock may be similar in construction and
operation to those in other locks used for a similar purpose, my Invention
consisting chiefly in the mode of retaining the bolt in the required position
when thrown forward. On one edge of this.bolt a notch or recess is formed,
and in the lock plate, over the said bolt, a pivot is fixed, on which vibrates a
lever. The end of this lever is provided with a catch or projection fitted to
drop into the said. recess. This recess is extended laterally on the side nearest
the end of the bolt, so as to be of an angular form, or of the shape of the
letter L, and the end of the catch or projection on the lever is made of corre-
sponding shape. The upper part of the recess in the bolt is. wide enough to
allow of the catch dropping to the bottom of the said recess when the bolt is
thrown out by the turning forward of the key. When the key is turned back
the catch will be thrown up by the action of the tumblers, and will thus
permit the bolt to be drawn back, but if any attempt should be made to force
the bolt in, by pressure applied to the end thereof, it will cause the end of the
catch to hook into the angular or L-shaped recess, and lock all the parts so
firmly together that no key or other instrument will move them till the
pressure is taken off. A spring is applied to force the lever down towards, the
.bolt and to keep it from being thrown up too far when raised by the tumblers.
A link is also attached by a small screw. to the end of the lever, the other end
of the said link being provided with a catch, which, when the lever is thrown
up just clears the bottom of the bolt, and thereby affords. additional security
against the said lever being raised too high or otherwise displaced.
My improved locks may be made of any suitable metal and of any size,, and
as they can be produced at a very slight cost and are not liable to get out of
order, they are well adapted to the drawers of tables and other articles of
furniture, though more especially designed for safes and other receptacles
whose fastenings are required to correspond with the strength of their
construction.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Gardner in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th May 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
GARDNER, of No. 89, Queen Street, Cheapside, in the City of London, Safe
Manufacturer, send greeting,
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of November, 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 William Gardner, Her special licence that I, the said William
Gardner, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Gardner, 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 LOCKS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Gardner, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands 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 William Gardner, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to .be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings forming part of this Specification:--
The object of the said improvements is the construction of a strong and
perfectly secure fastening, which, though more especially designed for iron
safes, iron chests, and other like receptacles, is from its cheapness well adapted
to take the place of common locks used on tables, boxes, desks, and other
articles of furniture. Locks known as thief-proof locks, bankers' locks, and
under various other names have already been produced in attempting to
supply the demand for a perfectly secure fastening, but these are all costly of
production, and from the principles upon which they are designed are all
subject to being picked or violently forced. The time of their resistance

page_text: depends somewhat upon the quality of their manufacture, but more upon the
skill of the operator, as when access has once been obtained to the end of the
lock bolt the tumblers, by means of skeleton keys and other instruments, can
be set in such a position as to enable the operator to force back the said bolt
by pressure applied to the end thereof. Locks as ordinarily constructed also
allow gunpowder or other explosive material to be introduced through the
keyhole in such quantities as when exploded to destroy or injure the lock.
With my improved locks this cannot be accomplished, as they are designed
and constructed upon such a principle that any attempt to force back the bolt
by pressure on the end thereof will cause certain parts of the lock to assume
such a position as to render it impossible to move them, and the greater the
pressure applied to force back the bolt the greater will be the resistance
thereto, and as long as this pressure is continued it will be impossible with
any instrument whatever (even with a key especially made to fit the lock) to
raise the tumblers into a position to allow the bolt to be thrown back, and the
introduction of gunpowder or other explosive material through the keyhole is
effectually prevented. The bolt is thrown in and out of its socket by the
turning of a key in the usual manner. The tumblers and other ordinary
parts of the lock also are similar in construction to those in locks used for
similar purposes, my Invention consisting chiefly in the mode of and means for
retaining the bolt in its required position when thrown forward into its
socket, and in the means for preventing the introduction of gunpowder or
other explosive material through the keyhole.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a front view of the interior of a lock with the bolt drawn back,
the said lock being more especially adapted for iron safes and similar re-
ceptacles; Figure 2 is a similar view with the bolt thrown forward; Figure 3
is a section of the said lock on the line a, a, Figure 4; Figure 4 is a front
view of the exterior of the lock; and Figure 5 represents detached portions of
the same. Like letters refer to corresponding parts in each of the Figures.
A is the frame or box of the lock, which may be of iron or steel or other
metal, and which when the lock is applied to an iron safe or other equally
strong receptacle is preferably of the form represented. When, however, the
locks are used for desks and other articles of furniture, in the place of locks
of ordinary construction, the frame A may be of lighter proportions. The
bolt B is fitted to slide through the recess a in the frame A, and is guided by
the block b and stud c secured to the plate a¹. The said bolt is operated in
the usual manner by a key inserted into the keyhole C, which in being turned

page_text: raises the series of tumblers D and throws the bolt B in or out as required.
A notch or recess d is formed on the edge of the bolt B corresponding with
the shape of the catch or projection on the end of the lever E, which
vibrates upon the pin or stud f secured in the plate a'. The upper part of
the recess d is wide enough to allow the catch or projection e to drop freely to
the bottom thereof when the bolt B is thrown out by the turning forward of
the key which fits into the recess 6 on the under side of the said bolt. The
spring F above the lever E is provided to force the said lever down, so that
the catch e cannot fail to enter the recess d at the proper time. The said
spring also serves to prevent the lever E being thrown up too high when
raised by the tumblers D. The stud or projection g on the lever E is for the
ends of the tumblers D to act against when the said tumblers are raised by
the turning of the key. When the key is turned in the direction to draw the
bolt in, the lever E will be thrown up by the rising of the tumblers D high
enough for the catch e to rise out of and clear the recess d. There being
then no obstruction to the movement of the bolt B it slides freely back, and
allows the door to which the lock is attached to be opened. But if any
attempt should be made to force back the bolt B by pressure applied to the
end thereof, the catch e on the lever E will hook into the angular recess d, as
clearly shewn in Figure 5, which represents the bolt B and lever E detached
from the remaining portions of the lock. The said lever being thus held fast
prevents the tumblers D rising, so the several parts are locked so firmly
together that no key or any other instrument will move them till the bolt is
relieved from the pressure. The link G is attached by the screw h to the
end of the lever E, the other end of the said link being provided with a
catch h'. When the lever E is thrown up by the action of the tumblers the
said catch h¹ just clears the bottom of the bolt B, and thereby affords additional
security against the lever E being raised too high, or otherwise displaced.
The blocks and b are provided to prevent the introduction of gunpowder or
other explosive material through the keyhole C in sufficient quantities as
when exploded to injure the lock. The said blocks are secured to the plate a¹,
the block i being arranged to turn upon the pin i¹, so as to follow the key as
it is turned in either direction, its respective positions when the bolt is thrown
in and out being represented in Figures 1 and 2. The block i is furnished
with a projection is, which takes into the notch j in the bolt B, and is thereby
turned with the said bolt as it slides backward or forward.
My improved locks may be made of any suitable metal, and of any
required size. They can be manufactured at a very moderate cost, and are
not liable to get out of order. They are therefore well adapted to take the

page_text: place of common locks on the drawers of tables, on desks, trunks, boxes, and
other similar articles, though more especially designed for safes and other
receptacles whose fastenings are required to correspond with the strength of
their general construction.
Having thus fully described my said improvements, and shewn how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I wish it
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein set forth
and illustrated, as these may be varied without departing from the spirit of
my Invention, but I claim the Invention substantially as described and
illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Gardner, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE HASELTINE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.
WILLIAM GARDNER. (L.S.)