Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Jan., 1887
Complete Left, 18th Aug., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 20th Sept., 1887.
We, JAMES BUCHANAN, and WILLIAM WILSON, both of 38 and 42 Old Wynd,
Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Lock and Hinge Makers, and THOMAS DYKES of 65 West
Regent Street, Glasgow, aforesaid, Architect, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows
The present invention, which comprises a development, and extension in scope of
that described in the specification accompanying the application for Patent No. 15,741
of 1885, made by the said James Buchanan of 38 and 42 Old Wynd, Glasgow, has
reference to improvements in the construction of rim-locks, draw-back locks, latches,
mortice locks, or locks similar thereto, but which are other than "stock-locks and locks
of a like class in which the stock usually consists of a rectangular slab of wood, with
a recessed portion to receive the working parts."
In the present invention we retain and embody that essential feature of the herein-
before mentioned Patent (No. 15,741 of 1885) vizt. :—the formation-as practically
one part or section of the lock-of the "spring" and "player" of bolt, continuously
in one piece such combination constituting a working part of the lock designed to
be directly acted upon by the key and to be sufficiently pliant to permit of the
player member radiating as from a centre and rising and falling sufficiently to
accommodate itself to the revolution of the key, after the manner illustrated at Fig. 3
of the said Patent No. 15,741 of 1885.
The present invention, which, as a development and extension of this said Patent,
has reference to an improved construction of continuous and combined "player" and
spring" parts applicable to locks of the class herein before specified, may be applied
$8

page_text: to locks having a case, bo lts, latch-bolt tumbler or follower, and radial lever or link-
rod parts all practically conforming to those of locks in common use.
:
In accordance with our invention, the improved combination "player" and "spring"
construction may be applied to work the main-bolt merely the ordinary Scotch or
feather-spring being in such case employed to work the latch bolt; and as a modifi-
cation thereof we, by preference, apply the continuous combination "player" and
"spring" construction to work the main and latch bolts alike.
"
We construct and apply the said improved continuous combination "player" and
spring" portion as follows:-
We employ a length of suitable material-by preference flat steel or hard brass of
the requisite breadth and thickness-and form or bend same so that the flat surfaces
shall be doubled toward each other to afford a uniting loop or eye having two loose
ends in continuation thereof. The eye thus formed, we, by preference, cause to fit
and be passed round a fixed pin secured to the bottom plate of the lock case near its
fore-end, and underneath but clear of the tail or lath of the main bolt. The combined
player and spring thus constituted and fitted within the lock-case, will have its under
edge bearing against the bottom plate of case, and the two loose ends will normally
resist pressure tending to bring them towards each other. One of these loose ends
we continue onward from its centreing and retaining pin, to press against and be
firmly held at a convenient point of the lock-case rim: the remaining loose end being
utilized as the distinctively "player" member to be raised by the key and for working
and retaining the main-bolt. Said "player" will be so fitted and disposed within the
lock case, that, centred round the pin as already described, and in consequence of the
spring resistance possessed by it, it shall normally tend to occupy a position across
and within the radius described by the keybit when the key is turned in the lock; all
in such manner as to admit of the "player" being raised by the key in the shooting
or withdrawing of the main-bolt. Near the extreme end of the "player" member
farthest from the pin round which it centres, we may, upon the upper edge of the
player" form a stud or projection to fit into and work within a channel-shaped
aperture formed through the tail of main bolt, after the manner described and
illustrated in the aforesaid Patent No. 15,741 of 1885. We may vary this detail and
dispense with the stud or projection upon the upper edge of the "player" together
with its relative channel-shaped aperture in bolt tail, and instead thereof, form one or
more checks or open-end slots on the upper edge of player: same being designed to
receive and under the action of the keybit-drop upon and around a suitable parallel
sided or bevil-shaped stud on the under surface of main bolt-tail; all for the practical
purpose of retaining the main-bolt in shot or withdrawn positions respectively. For
the shot position, the extreme end of the "player" may be made to drop in front
of and to boar against the near edge of the already described stud on the main-
bolt tail.
Having thus treated one loose end of the single length of material employed, and
utilized same as a combined player and spring to work the main bolt, we may either,
as hereinbefore indicated, secure the remaining loose end against the rim of lock case,
and employ a common Scotch, or feather spring for the latch-bolt, or preferably in
many cases, we will produce the said remaining loose end from its already described
bend or eye and centreing pin, onward to the rear end of the lock case, and there
form it in such manner as to constitute a spring for working the latch-bolt said
latch-bolt spring and the hereinbefore described "player" member for main-bolt,
being formed in the continuity of one length of material; which need not be riveted
through the lock case; but may be simply slipped into position, and kept in its place
by means of the pin at the fore-end of the lock case, and in consequence of general
spring pressure against the rims and of the manner in which the whole fits within the
lock case.
Our invention is applicable equally to locks which have the customary pivoted
radial-lever or link-rod for working the latch-bolt, or to such as have the solid kneed
or piece formed on latch-bolt tail as frequently employed in mortice locks.

page_text: Locks made in accordance with the present invention will be simple of construction,
strong and durable, and easily repaired or renewed if so desired; while on account
of the maximum breadth of "player" member available, the wear and strain on said
player" and the keybit respectively would be less severe and injurious, and being
more equally distributed might insure greater power and ease in working the key
than in the case of locks of common and customary construction.
::

page_text: Improvements in the Construction of Locks.
We, JAMES BUCHANAN, and WILLIAM WILSON, both of 38 and 42 Old Wynd,
Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Lock and Hinge Makers, and THOMAS DYKES of 65 West
Regent Street, Glasgow, aforesaid, Architect, severally and as individuals, 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 and
by reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
The present joint-invention has reference to improvements in the construction and
application of player and spring working parts as formed in combination to constitute
one piece, and is applicable to rim-locks, mortice-locks, latches, or other descriptions
of locks-e.g. press locks to which it is adaptable, and which are other than stop-
locks (in which the stock usually consists of a rectangular slab of wood with a
recessed portion to receive the working parts) and locks of a like class.
In the present invention-which comprises a development, and extension in scope
and utility of that described in the specification accompanying the application of the
aforesaid James Buchanan for Patent No. 15,741 of 1885-we retain and embody
in a manner suited to the necessities of each several application herein before specified
and defined, that essential feature of said Patent No. 15,741 of 1885 viz.-The
formation, continuously, of player and spring working parts respectively, out of one
and the same piece of material.
According to our present invention however the combination player and spring
working part so constructed, is such as to be capable of application to work respectively
one or two bolts in the individual lock as may be decided upon, and will be of such
varied suitable contour or shape, and occupy such convenient situation within the case
of the lock as shall permit of the efficient working of the bolt or bolts (as the case
may be) in locks of the class herein before specified as being that to which the present
invention relates.
In accordance with our invention, the improved construction of continuous and
combined "player" and "spring" working parts may be applied to locks, which
otherwise as say in respect of nature and shape of case, bolts, link-rod parts, and
make generally-are practically conform to those in ordinary use, whether with or
without safety radial lever or levers to increase the difficulty of picking the lock.
The improved combination player and spring constructional part, as aforesaid, may
be applied to work the main-bolt merely (an ordinary scotch or feather spring, in such
event, being employed to work the latch-bolt, where such second bolt is embodied)
though preferably, as a modification of the two-bolt lock so constructed, we shall in
general apply the combination player and spring constructional part of our invention
to work the main and latch bolts alike.
The said improved continuous combination player and spring working part will in
general be constructed of flat steel, yet of any other suitable spring material of flat,

page_text: round, or other convenient section, and be securely held in required situation within
the lock-case, and in suitable relation to the bolt or bolts (as the case may be) which
it is intended to engage with and work.
:-
While maintaining the essential and characteristic feature of our present invention
(i.e. In locks of the kind and class hereinbefore defined, the combination in one
piece continuously of player and spring parts commonly made separable) in its
practical application to the several and varying forms of locks to which it relates, it
will obviously, according to the exigencies of such several adaptations, be necessary
to diversify somewhat such subordinate details of manufacture as-situation of the
combination working part within the lock-case and in relation to the tail of bolt or
bolts, as aforesaid, and the precise shape and form of the necessary provision furnished
upon the combination player and spring part for the practical purpose of engaging
with, and retaining the bolt or bolts in desired positions.
Such requisite provision upon the distinctively "player" member of our combina-
tion working part for the said purpose of engaging same with the main-bolt tail, or
at least some stud or part thereof, may, at pleasure, be made either of the character of
a projection standing out from its main flat surface, or else from its upper edge, (said
projection in such latter case being caused to work through a channel shaped perfora-
tion, or slotted aperture in the plane of main-bolt tail after the manner described and
illustrated in the aforesaid Patent specification No. 15,741 of 1885) or contrarywise,
of slots or notches, as in experience may prove most answerable in the individual case.
As hereinbefore indicated, the improved combination player and spring constructional
part may be applied to locks or latches which are either provided or unprovided with
customary descriptions of radial safety levers-one or several.
In the former application (i.e. where radial safety levers are embodied in the lock
or latch) a separate spring of ordinary description, as part of, and for, each individual
lever so embodied, may, as in ordinary practice, be adopted as merely co-lateral to
the improved continuous combination working part of our present invention. By
preference, however, such separate springs, as part of, and for, the individual lever,
will be dispensed with; the improved continuous combination player and spring
working part being in such event utilized instead thereof to do their work in addition
to its primary office of working the bolt or bolts of the lock.
As a detail, in any lock, whether with or without ordinary styles of radial safety
levers, we may make the player-member end for working the main-bolt, to be single,
or else, while preserving the characteristic combination of working parts, we may in
some cases (adopting a method of detail, which as such is common to all, and, standing
by itself, is not claimed as original by us) divide or saw up the flat surface of our
improved combination player-member end, lengthwise, into two or more comb-like
teeth, which would be made to accommodate themselves and to rise or drop to suit the
revolution of unequal steps upon the keybit, and that in a manner to render the lock
such that only the true key or something correspondingly stepped-should relieve
the player clutch, and simultaneously permit the bolt to travel clear of same, and its
stump pin to pass through the gatings of the safety levers in the usual way.
Our invention, which, as already indicated, has reference to improvements in the
nature, construction, and application of player and spring working parts, is adaptable
equally to what are known as "palace-motion " locks, or to locks having the customary
variations of pivoted radial lever, and link-rod parts for working the latch-bolt, as
also to such as have a mere solid knee or L piece formed on latch-bolt tail as frequently
employed in mortice locks.
Locks properly made in accordance with the present invention will be simple of
construction, strong, and easily renewed if desired; while in consequence of the
maximum breadth of "player" member available for contact with the key, the strain
and wear on said "player" member and keybit respectively, would be less severe and
injurious; and being more equally distributed, might reasonably be expected to insure
greater power, or at least, more sustained facility in the working of the key than is
the case with locks of common and customary construction throughout.
In lieu of a written description of the improved combination player and spring

page_text: constructional part of our present invention, and in order that the said invention in
its practical application may be fully understood, we hereto append a sheet of illustrative
drawings having the same reference letters applied to corresponding parts in the
several figures shewn, and in which-
Fig. 1 is an elevation of a rim lock with back plate removed, and shews our improved
combination player and spring part (C-p) as held in position by a pin (P) under-
neath the bolt tail at the fore end of case and applied to work the main and latch bolt
alike. The distinctively "player" member (p) of said improved combination working
part (Cp) is so disposed as to normally lie within the radius of the key-bit and to
be such as, in rising or falling, shall accommodate itself to the revolution of the key,
and, after allowing the main-bolt to travel to the required extent in either direction,
shall, at and by means of its hooked end, engage with a stud (S) projecting from the
underside of bolt-tail; said stud (S) having either (as shewn at Figs. 1 and 4)
an open-end slot formed across same to receive the hook on player-end and prevent
same from dropping down too far when relieved from the key, or, as shown at Figs. 7
and 10, the stud has no such open-end slot: the practical purpose of same being
served by the bridge of the lock.
Fig. 2 is a cross section on line A-A and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on
line B-B of Fig. 1, and shew the several parts of the lock which is illustrated at
Fig. 1, but with the back plate of case on.
Fig. 4 is an elevation of a mortice-lock with back plate removed, and shews
our improved combination player and spring part ((p) applied to work the
main and latch bolts in practically the same manner as shewn in Fig. 1 and
described above.
Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a cross and a longitudinal section on lines A-A
and B-B of Fig. 4 and shew the several parts of the lock which is illustrated at
Fig. 4 but with the back plate of case on.
Figs. 7 and 10 are elevations, with back plates removed, of what are known as
"palace-motion" mortice locks, and shew the application to such of our improved
combination player and spring part (C-p) as of slightly varied contour held in
position respectively by one and by two pins (P) fixed to the bottom plate of lock
case, and as having the hooked end of the distinctively "player" member (p) prevented
by the bridge from dropping too far when relieved from the key.
Figs. 8 and 11 are respectively cross sections on lines A-A of Figs. 7 and 10
while Figs. 9 and 12 are respectively longitudinal sections on lines B-B of Figs. 7
and 10 and shew the several parts of the locks illustrated at said Figs. 7 and 10 but
with the back plate of case on.
Fig. 13 is an elevation, with back plate removed, of what is known as a
" palace-
motion lever" mortice lock, and shews the application to such of our improved com-
bination player and spring working and constructional part (C-p) as held in position
by a pin (P) at rear end of case, and arranged to work the main and latch bolts alike.
The pivoted radial levers (L) of which one or several may be used-serve merely
as co-laterals to our improved combination working parts for both bolts, and are
utilized as such, according to ordinary practice, for rendering the lock more difficult
to pick. The distinctively "player" member (p) of our improved combination
player and spring working part (C-p) which works both bolts, will as shewn at
Fig. 14 have its flat surface divided, or sawn up into a number of prongs or comb-
like teeth answering to the number of co-lateral safety radial levers embodied in the
lock; the player member so treated in its details, incidentally performing the office of
a safety-lever spring, in addition to its primary function, as a "player," of working
the main-bolt of lock. The pronged portion (p²) of player member (p) nearest to
bottom plate of lock case, will at one and the same time act on the undermost lever,
and by means of its hooked end, engage with the main-bolt tail, which for such
purpose has open-end slots or notches provided on its edge at requisite distances apart
suited to the travel of the main-bolt itself. In operation, the key by reason of its
unequally stepped hit, as in ordinary case, lifts the irrregularly gated levers till such
gatings come opposite the stump pin (s) and simultaneously transmitting its action

page_text: **
o the hooked end or clutch of player "member (p), relieves the said "hook or
clutch from the aforesaid notches on the edge of the tail of main-bolt; which is thus
finally allowed to travel.
Figs. 14 and 15 are respectively a cross and a longitudinal section on lines A-A
and B-B of Fig. 13 and shew the several parts of the lock illustrated at said Fig. 13,
but with the back plate of case on.
Fig. 16 is an elevation of a lever locking latch with back plate removed, and with
the exception of the improved combination player and spring working part, and
relative two armed pivoted crank shewn at (K) is practically similar in general
construction and parts to locking latches commonly made. Such a latch as shewn in
Fig. 16 however has our improved combination part (C-p) applied to respectively
work and lock the bolt at pleasure. The single-armed follower (f) is employed to
withdraw the bolt when it is unlocked; said bolt being normally pressed outwards
toward the shot direction, under the action of the two-arm crank (K) which in turn is
acted upon by the portion (C) of our improved combination player and spring working
part (C) shewn in contact with the one arm of same. The pin (P) at fore end of
latch case which holds the improved combination player and spring working
part (Cp), is at the same time utilized as a second guide stud for the bolt additional
to that shewn at (g). There is a sliding plate (T) which under the action of the key
travels along the bottom plate of the case, and in so doing, locks or unlocks the bolt
of latch. On the upper surface of said sliding plate (T) radial safety levers (L)-one
or several are placed and pivoted on a pin (P) which pin is fixed to the bottom
plate of case and works through a suitable slot in the sliding plate (T). The dis-
tinctively "player" member (p) of our improved combination working part (C-p) is
furnished with prongs or teeth to act upon the co-lateral safety radial levers (L)
substantially after the manner hereinbefore described as applicable to Fig. 13, except
that the hooked prong or clutch nearest bottom plate of case, engages at one and the
same time with the undermost lever, and with the travelling plate (T); which for that
purpose has notches or open end slots formed at its upper edge; such notches being
properly situated and proportioned to suit the requisite travel of the sliding plate (T).
Figs. 17 and 18 are respectively a cross and a longitudinal section on lines A-A
and B-B of Fig. 16, and shew the several parts of the locking latch illustrated
at said Fig. 16, but with the back plate of latch case on.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said joint-
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In locks of the class and description hereinbefore specified and defined, the
improvements in respect of the construction and application of player and spring
working-parts formed in combination to constitute, and by preference be entirely out
of, one piece of material; all substantially as and for the purposes herein described
and illustrated.
2. In locks or latches of the class and description hereinbefore specified and defined,
the application in the individual case, of an improved combined player and spring
working part made as one piece, and applied to work one bolt or two bolts
respectively, as may be agreed on; all substantially as herein described and
illlustrated.
6:
3. In non-lever locks or latches of the class and description hereinbefore specified
and defined, the application in the individual case, of an improved combined player
and spring constructional and working part formed to constitute, and preferably to
consist entirely of, one piece of material, and having the flat surface of its distinctively
player" "member divided, or sawn up lengthwise into two or more prongs or comb-
like teeth, arranged in their rise and fall to accommodate themselves to steps on the
keybit, and to occupy a certain fixed-on position in relation to a stud or studs upon
the main-bolt tail before said main-bolt is at liberty to travel; all substantially as herein
5 described and illustrated.
4. In hereinbefore specified and defined locks or latches of ordinary description

page_text: which embody suitable customary kinds of safety levers-one or several-the
application of an improved construction of player and spring working part, formed in
combination to constitute, and by preference to consist entirely of, one continuous
piece of material, and applied in the individual case to work one bolt or two bolts as
agreed on the flat surface of the distinctively "player" member of said combination
working part being divided, or sawn up lengthwise into two or more prongs or comb-
like teeth to be so arranged as to act alike upon the levers and to perform the primary
office of a player operating under the action of the key for relieving or else engaging
with and retaining the main-bolt, in desired position; all substantially as and for the
purposes herein described and illustrated.
Dated this 17th day of dienst 1987