Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 2nd Nov., 1895
A communication from abroad by ROBERT PERSONNE DE SENNEVOY, of 48 Rue
de Malte, Paris, in the Republic of France, Gentleman.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, M. Inst. E.E., M.I. Mech. E., of Norfolk House,
Norfolk Street, Strand, London, W.C. in the County of Middlesex, Chartered
Patent Agent, 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:—
My invention relates to improvements in permutation locks or fastenings used
for replacing ordinary locks or as adjuncts to ordinary locks in order to add to the
security which they may afford.
In these fastenings with combinations of letters or figures I will consider a single
element, it being of course understood that in practice several elements are
employed so as to increase the security by multiplying the combinations or
permutations.
Figures 1 and 2 show an element of a. fastening provided with an improvement
under my invention.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 show modifications of this element applied to two other kinds
of fastenings.
In Figures 1 and 2, D designates the front of a drawer or rather the leaf of a
door; C is the door frame or case upon which a tenon E is fixed.
The leaf D is provided with the element which comprises a large knob B with a
disc, on the circumference of which are figures or letters (Fig. 2). This knob is
arranged on the outer side of the door, and its disc when turned presents
successively its letters in front of a point or mark F.
The shank of this knob traverses the door and its extremity is screw-threaded so
that by means of a nut I may fix upon the shank of the knob serving as an. axis.
a disc A furnished with a notch H which is placed in front of the tenon E and
which is exactly of such a size as to allow this tenon to pass. Around the central
hole of this disc are teeth which correspond in number with the letters marked upon
the said disc, and in the shank of the knob I provide one or more notches so that
the disc A on the shauk of the knob may occupy as many positions as there are
letters, thereby enabling the combination of the same to be changed.
The door can be opened only when all the knobs or teeth with which it is
provided have been successfully placed in their proper positions.
The system as herein before described is an improvement in more or less similar
systems which have already been proposed, but my invention is especially
distinguished and characterized by the improvement which I will hereinafter set
forth.
In the combination fastenings with segments of discs, or with discs or the like,
there is always a tenon or bolt, in front of which is placed a notch in a movable
part. All the fastenings of the kind offer a serious inconvenience. The tenon E
rubs by itself (or by pulling the door a little it may be caused to rub) lightly
D...01

page_text: against the disc A in such a manner that at the moment when this tenon arrives
in front of the notch, an attentive hand, with or with the aid of the car, perceives
a small projecting movement which indicates that this disc is in the proper position.
From this it follows that by operating the discs in a methodical manner one after
the other the fastening may be opened.
I may multiply and, at the same time render delusive the indications which the
small projecting movements of the tenon might give on arriving in the proper
position by providing in the circumference of the disc false notches which corre-
spond each to a letter on the knob. These false notches shown on the disc Fig. 1
are small depressions in the material of the disc A, on the side turned towards
the tenon, of such a size as to allow this tenon to enter, and of a sufficient depth
so that the projecting movement which they cause in the passage of the tenon
(or which they may be compelled to produce when attempting to open the
fastening) will not differ at all from that which may be occasioned by the real
notch H. From this improvement it follows that a criminal hand may feel or try
all the notches without succeeding in finding the correct one, a long operation
which is unavailing in any case, whilst, in the present state of these fastenings,
when giving a whole turn to the disc without stopping, the proper position is
almost invariably indicated by the noise referred to, by means of this single and
short operation.
As shown in Fig. 1 I may moreover arrange upon the plate a spring having at
its free extremity a small spherical segment K which, being always pressed against
the disc, produces a little sharp noise each time it encounters a notch. Care is of
course taken that this segment, by reason of its size and form, shall pass over the
real and false notches so as not to give any distinguishing indication.
My improved system is applicable to any forms of fastenings as shown by the
following examples.
In the case of a fastening in which a movable part C, Fig. 3, approaches the
fixed part B, being either displaced in the same plane (arrow a) or describing an
arc with a long radius (arrow 6), I furnish the disc with a crown having a notch H
and false notches formed inside the crown (see Fig. 4); the tenon E is then bent.
and enters the crown through the notch H which with the false notches gives the
same result as previously.
For trunk fastenings I may retain the system with the hasp heretofore used, as
shown in Fig. 5.
M is the hasp secured to the front of the cover; M' designates this hasp before
the locking takes place and shows the particular form of its catch E; A is the
disc mounted on the front of the trunk. The bent part of the catch having passed
through the notch of this disc is retained as soon as this disc is turned ever so
little.
For the sake of simplicity the milled knob is here replaced by a hemispherical
head B provided with a diametrical slit into which may be introduced a metallic
plate, coin or any other such article which a traveller has always at his
disposal. The article serves for turning the disc so as to bring the desired figure
in front of the mark provided on the plate of the lock. Use may be made of
several hasps M, or of one broad hasp M provided with several catches E in order
to multiply the combinations.
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. A disc provided with a notch which may be placed in the proper position by
means of letters or figures, and a tenon or bolt passing through this notch and
retained by the disc as long as the notch is not moved back to its proper position
substantially as set forth.
2. In permutation locks, or fastenings of the above described kind, or of any

page_text: other kind, which may be felt or tried as above explained, the employment of false
notches in order to give false indications to those who may seek to open the
fastening, as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 28th day of September 1895
J. G. LORRAIN,
Chartered Patent Agent.