Improvements in Locks and Latches.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Mar., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 18th Dec., 1891-Accepted, 18th Mar., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locks and Latches.
We, JOHN GREEN, of the Speciality. Lock Works, Saint James' Square,
Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Engineer, and JOHN CORNFORTH of
Victoria Works, Bell Street, Wolverhampton in the County of Stafford, Mann-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to the manner in which we construct and arrange locks and
latches for application to doors, gates, drawers, safes and for other like purposes,
whereby we are enabled to provide a more perfectly secure and unpickable lock,
together with a more positive systern of-check and wedge action, than is at present
possible with the existing locks and latches. Another part of our invention relates
to the manner in which we provide a simple latch action in addition to the lock
action of our improved lock; and also the manner in which we arrange an indicator
upon our lock for the purpose of displaying the words " engaged," "out
other word, card or tablet that may be desired, without requiring any special
movements to be made for the purpose of putting the indicator in action.
27
or any
In carrying our invention into effect we construct a combined latch and lock for
attachment to any ordinary door with its case formed in the usual or any well
known manner, but the bolt we arrange with its tail constructed to receive and
carry a pin or fulcrum upon which we mount an additional or supplementary double
arm crank which we cause to operate upon the tail end of the latch which we carry
within our ordinary catch frame. The tail of the latch we form with its extreme
end fashioned to receive the handle spindle tumbler or lever, and also to receive
the follower and spring in the usual or ordinary manner. But the inner end of the
latch tail we form in such a manner that a projecting lever or horn which we place
upon or provide near to the head of the catch is capable of being thrust backwards
by the supplementary crank which we attach to the front end of the tail of the
bolt. This double arm supplementary crank we are able to move and with it the
latch also, by means of the ordinary key which we employ for operating the locking
bolt. When the key is pressed or turned in one direction, the bolt becomes locked,
or is shot upward, and when the reverse motion is given the bolt is withdrawn:
but if the key is placed within the lock and turned in the reverse direction for
locking, then the motion of the key backwards will withdraw the catch; similarly,
if the key is first turned in the direction to unlock the door and the bolt thus
withdrawn, any further movement in the same direction will withdraw the latch
and thus open the door without the necessity for a knob or outer handle to
manipulate the same. By this system of construction we are enabled to provide a
lock and catch combined having an inner handle for convenience of manipulation
without a key but provided with a secure bult in addition to its catch which cannot
be opened except with a key properly constructed.
When constructing our combined latch and lock for attachment to safes or to
valuable buildings or rooms where great security is required, we form and arrange
upon the tail end of our rocking bolt a check and wedge tell tale catch lever and
plate which prevents the bolt being withdrawn by any key other than that specially
constructed for the particular lock; thereby providing a safeguard against picking
or tampering. We provide and place a wedge lifting lever under the tail end of
our bolt, which wedge lifting lever acts through a slot within the bolt and is free
to nove upon a stud or pin secured to the bottom or case of the lock frame. Upon
this under lever we place a stud which projects through the slot in the bolt tail,
and the tail we recess or plate in such a manner that the bottom vibrating or
eccentrically moving plate is covered or protected by the bolt tail' itself. Upon

page_text: the upper portion or surface of the bolt tail we mount one or more levers each
being free to turn or move upon the projecting stud from the bottom under lever.
Between the levers we place a thin plate having its edge bent or turned up so that
it may enter and engage one of the moving levers, should any irregular or incorrect.
movement be given to the lever by means of a false key or other instrument for
picking the lock a suitably formed spring being placed at the back to ensure that
the plate shall engage with the slot in the lever when tampered with. We also
form upon the ho tom under lever a second stud or catch bar, which works within
a second slot formed within the bolt tail the slot having a return or catch passage
formed at its extreme inner end for permitting the catch bar or stud to enter when
any false movement is given to the under lever by the application of a wrong key
or picking instrument.
Thus when the lock has been tampered with the application of any key will
at once reveal the fact, and the lock cannot be released until the correct key
has been passed in and turned in the reverse direction for the-purpose of throwing
the wedge acting lever out of its engaged position.
We construct a key controlled latch in addition to the locking bolt, the action
of the latch being similar to that herein before described when upon a lock having
no check action or tell tale fittings. We sometimes construct our locks as before
described but with a double motion or a double turn action to the bolt upon locking
or unlocking.
When arranging our improved locks as tell tale or indicators, we construct the
knob or handle with a short spindle and upon this spindle we mount a disc or.
indicating tablet for carrying a card, displaying a word or for indicating any other
notice; the notice to be displayed being brought before an opening cut within an
outer rose or disc attached to the door and so placed upon the handle that the
movement of the key to lock the door or to unlock it, causes one or another of any
notice to be brought before the opening within the rose and thus to be distinctly
read.
We provide a series of keys when attaching our improved locks to office doors
so that when desired only one key will fully open the door, while another key or
keys may be employed to withdraw the latch or to partly open the bolt. By this
arrangement the principal of an office can effectually prevent his door being opened
during his absence should he so wish, while at the same time providing that the
door could be opened by other keys when so desired without the assistance of the
master or complete key.
We do not limit the application of our invention to any particular or peculiar
form of bolt heads or catch faces although we employ with advantage bolt heads
and latch faces constructed in the manner set forth in the Specification No. 10917
of 1890 for which a Patent has been granted to William Henry Green and
John Green.
Dated this 17th day of March 1891.
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locks and Latches.
We, JOHN GREEN, of the Speciality Lock Works, Wolverbampton, in the
County of Stafford, Engineer, and JOHN CORNFORTH of Victoria Works, Bell
Street, Wolverhampton in the County of Stafford, Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be 5
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to the manner in which we construct and arrange locks

page_text: and latches for application to doors, gates, drawers, safes and for other like
purposes, whereby we are enabled to provide a more perfectly secure and unpick-
able lock, together with a more positive system of check and wedge action, than is
at present possible with the existing locks and latches. Another part of our
invention relates to the manner in which we provide a simple latch action in
addition to the lock action of our improved lock; and also the manner in which
we arrange an indicator upon our lock for the purpose of displaying the words
engaged,' out or any other word, card or tablet that may be desired, without
requiring any special movements to be made for the purpose of putting the indicator
in action.
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"
In order that our invention may be readily understood we append hereunto three
sheets of explanatory drawings showing the various modifications we adopt to suit
the different purposes for which they are required.
Figure 1 is a front elevation and Figure 2 a plan of our combined lock and latch
having a latch and lock movement given from the same key.
We form the case A in any usual or ordinary manner, but the bolt B we arrange
with its tail end B' constructed to receive and carry a pin or fulcrum b upon which
we mount an additional or supplementary double arm plate or crank D, which we
cause to operate upon the tail end of the latch M carried within our ordinary case
or frame. The tail M¹ of the latch we form with its extreme end fashioned to
receive the handle spindle tumbler or lever and also to receive the follower C and
spring C in the usual or ordinary manner. But the inner end of the latch tail we
form in such a manner that a projecting lever or horn m which we place upon or
provide near to the head of the catch is capable of being thrust backwards by the
supplementary crank D which we attach to the front end of the tail of the bolt B.
This double arm supplementary crank D we are able to move and with it the
latch M also, by means of the ordinary key which we employ for operating the
locking bolt B. When the key is pressed or turned in one direction the bolt B
becomes locked or is shot forward as shown in Figure 1A and when the reverse
motion is given, the bolt is withdrawn ; but if the key is placed within the lock
and turned in tho reverse direction for locking, then the motion of the key back-
wards will withdraw the catch M. Similarly, if the key is first turned in the
direction to unlock the door and the bolt B thus withdrawn, any further movement
in the same direction will withdraw the latch M and thus open the door without
the necessity for a knob or outer handle to manipulate the same. By this system
of construction we are enabled to provide a lock and catch combined having an
inner handle for convenience of manipulation without a key, but provided with a
secure bolt in addition to its catch which cannot be opened except with a key
properly constructed.
Figure 3 is a front elevation with the cover plate removed and Figure 4 a cross
section through the case, showing our improved tell tale or detector action lock
for attachment to safes or to valuable buildings or rooms where great security is
required.
Figure 5, Figure 6 and Figure 7 are detail elevations of the locking bolt and
detection lever or tell tale action when applied to a lock without a latch, but the
system of operation is the same upon all the single or combined locks which we
construct according to our present invention. We form and arrange upon the tail
end B of our locking bolt B³ a check and wedge tell tale catch lever E and
plate E which prevents the bolt B' being withdrawn by any key other than that
specially constructed for the particular lock; thereby providing a safeguard
against picking or tampering. We provide and place the catch lifting lever plate E.
under the tail end of our bolt, which lifting lever plate acts through a slot within
the bolt and is free to move upon a stud or pin F secured to the bottom or case of
the lock frame. Upon this under lever plate we place a stud G which projects
through the slot H in the bolt tail, and the tail we recess or plate in such a manner
that the bottom vibrating or eccentrically moving plate E', is covered or protected

page_text: by the bolt tail itself. Upon the upper portion or surface of the bolt tail we place
one or more levers J each being free to turn or move upon the projecting stud G
from the bottom under lever. Between the levers we place a thin plate K having
its edge bent, or turned up or a projection formed upon it at K'; so that it may
enter a šlot or passage
and engage one of the moving levers J, should any
irregular or incorrect movement be given to the lever by means of a false key
or other instrument for picking the lock; a suitably formed spring L being placed'
at the back to ensure that the plate shall engage with the slot in the lever when
tampered with. We also form upon the bottom under lever plate E' a second stud
or catch bar E, which works within a second slot B formed within the bolt tail,
the slot having a return or catch passage E' formed at its extreme inner end for
permitting the catch bar or stund E to enter when any false movement is given
to the under lever plate E by the application of a wrong key or picking
instrument.
The action of our under lever or bottom lever plate E' as a detector or tell
tale is illustrated at Figure 5, in which B' is the bolt head and B the bolt tail;
the tail we prefer to make of sufficient thickness so that it may be recessed out or
plated to enable the lever plate E' to be covered or protected by it and to rest
within it. We connect a stud G to the under lever and allow it to project through
the slot H within the tail of the bolt and at the opposite end of the lever we mount
a projecting stud or catch lever E which is arranged to fit into a recessed or
deepened catch passage E' of the guiding groove B. The under lever being
pivotted to the bottom of the case or lock frame, by the stud F, a thrust upon the
pin G will give the plate E' a tendency to vibrate, and if one of the levers placed
over the tail B is not correctly raised by the proper key, then the projecting stud
or pin B is thrust against a solid portion of the lever instead of being carried
through an opening thereon, this thrust is received by the pin G upon which each
lever is carried. Seeing that the pin is the pivot upon which the lower lever E'
can move and that G is fixed out of its centre, this thrust in the direction of the
arrow Figure 5 causes a movement upwards of the lock bar or stud E until it
enters E and locks the position of the bolt B³. The position occupied by this
lower lever when moved is indicated at Figure 5 in dotted lines. 'Thus if a wrong
key or picking instrument is placed within the lock which does not accurately
operate the lever then the lock bar is thrown into the catch passage and the right
key cannot unlock the door when placed within it, until it has been turned in a
forward direction for the purpose of giving an opposite thrust upon the pin G so as
to cause it to occupy its normal position with the bar or stud E in the true path of
the slot B³.
In Figure 6 and Figure 7 we illustrate the action of our thin plate K which we
place between the levers J, J. We form or attach upon the plate K a projecting
bar or stud K' and we also provide a projecting nose or end J³ upon one of the
lovers placed immediately over this thin plate, so that when the false movement of
the stud E takes place it will carry upward the slot J and cause it to enter on to the
bar or stud K', thereby giving a second tell tale or double check resistance to false
opening. The first attempt at movement of the bolt backwards by means of a
wrong key to unlock the door would carry up the lock stud E into the slot E' and
this stud movement would also carry up with it the lever nose J³ so that the passage
or recess J2 would be caused to engage with the bar K₁ on the plate K.
When the
lock is thus tampered with we provide three stops to the movement of this bolt as
shown at E, K' and Be at Figure 6.
Upon the correct key being entered within the lock and turned in the reverse
direction, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 7, the plate K will be moved out of
contact with J by reason of the long hole K' over the pin G, and the plate will be
caused to assume the position, indicated by dotted lines.
Thus when the lock has been tampered with, the application of any key will at
once reveal the fact, and the lock cannot be released until the correct key has been
:

page_text: passed in and turned in the reverse direction for the purpose of throwing the
eccentric acting lever out of its engaged position.
At Figure 10 and Figure 10B we indicate the method of attaching the handle to
our double bolt lock for inside and outside use. The follower. boss C having a
square spindle P passing through as at Figure 10 and having handles P1, P1 on
cach side of the door. But when required for outside use only or for controlling
from only one side of the door, we place a small projecting square stud or shank p
formed upon or secured to the knob or handle P into the central square hole within
the follower boss C. The shank p being screwed internally to receive an ordinary
countersunk headed screw p' which secures it in position as shown in Figure 10".
We construct a key controlled latch in addition to the locking bolt, the action of
the latch being similar to that hereinbefore described when upon a lock having no
check action or tell tale fittings. We sometimes construct our locks as before
described, but with a double motion or a double turn action to the bolt when locking
or unlocking.
When arranging our improved locks as display tell tales or indicators, we arrange
the fittings as set forth on Sheet 3, Figure 11 being an elevation with the latch
bolt M standing out of the frame in its closed position.
Figure 12 showing the latch still out and the bolt B shot forward by the move-
ment of the ordinary key.
Figure 13 showing the lock bolt B shot fully out by means of the master or
private key.
Figure 14 is a sectional plan of the lock.
Figure 15 is a plan of the bolt B and its attached lever (.
Figure 16 is an elevation of the bolt B with the tumblers or levers in position
when the bolt is half carried over by the ordinary key T* Figure 23.
Figure 17 is an clevation of the bolt B with the tumblers or levers in position
when the master key T has half carried the lock bolt over to a position beyond
that produced by the ordinary key. The projecting leg B' with its foot B being
also shown in a position which would prevent the introduction of the ordinary key
by reason of T2 striking against the foot B.
Figures 18, 19, 20 and 21 are details of the indicator arrangement for displaying
notices outside the door.
Figure 22 is the master key and Figure 23 is the ordinary key for use upon the
lock.
We construct the knob or handle P with a short spindle P and upon this spindle
we mount a disc or indicating tablet S for carrying a card, displaying a word or for
indicating any other notice; the notice to be displayed being brought before an
opening or openings R', R', R cut within an outer rose or disc R attached to the
door; and so placed upon the handle that the movement of the key to lock the door
or to unlock it causes one or another of any notice to be brought before the opening
within the rose and thus to be distinctly read.
<<
Upon the tail B' of the bolt B we place a projecting pin B' which engages with
the follower recessed tooth N' so that as the bolt B is caused to move forward by
the key shaped as T in Figure 23 one notice such as engaged" will be brought.
before the opening R'; and when a further movement or double locking is caused
by the master key T¹ as shown in Figure 22, the bolt is in the position shown in
Figure 13 while a word such as "out is brought before the opening.R' and a word
such as "return is displayed from the opening R' leaving a space or card for
inserting the time of return behind the opening R'. The dividing pin B' we always
keep in contact with the horns or sides of the opening N. When the handle P¹ is
turned the follower arm N¹ presses against a projecting horn m upon the lever M'
which being connected to the tail M causes the latch bolt M to be withdrawn, while
the spring M carries it forward and retains it in its closed or out position.
"
In order that the key may withdraw the latch bolt M as well as the lock bolt B.
we attach a supplementary lever O to the tail B' by means of a pivot or pin B³, so
that when the lock bolt B is completely withdrawn as in Figure 11 the key upon

page_text: being turned in the same direction necessary to unlock, will cause the lever to be
pushed at the point O and the opposite end O' to thrust back the tail M¹ by pressing
against the projection m¹, thereby forcing back the tail M and the bolt M.
In this form of lock we prefer to employ the same system of locking tumblers and
levers to act upon the sliding bolt and the plate to catch into its recesses with the
introduction of a false key as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in Figure 3
and Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings. We do not however limit the
application of our office indicating devices as set forth to the particular check action
locks herein described but we apply the same system of tablet displaying and notice
indicating to locks of ordinary construction with but slight modifications of their
arrangements and parts.
Similarly we vary the method of operating the hand latch bolt O, O' to the
bolt B as shown at O2, O³, in Figures 8 & 9.
Figs. 9 and 10 show our improved key lever 02, 0³, applied to an ordinary
Intch.
We provide a series of keys when attaching our improved locks to office doors so
that when desired only one key will fully open the door, while another key or keys
may be employed to withdraw the latch or to partly open the bolt. By this
arrangement the principal of an office can effectually prevent his door being opened
during his absence should he so wish, while at the same time providing that the door
could be opened by other keys when so desired without the assistance of the master
or complete key.
We do not limit the application of our invention to any particular or peculiar
form of bolt heads or catch faces but we employ with advantage bolt heads and
latch faces constructed in the manner set forth in the Specification No. 10917
of 1890.
.
We apply the same system of constructing locks as herein described for door
locks, to small safe or drawer locks, modifying the size and exact shape of the
tumbler levers and catch plates to suit the confined position in which they have to
work.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
.:
(1) -The construction of locks having a latch action controlled by the locking
bólt key substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in Figures 1, 8,
9, and 11 of the accompanying drawings.
(2)—The construction of locks for application to doors of buildings, safes, and for
like purposes having a vibrating lever or plate for engaging with the lock bolt
when a false key or picking instrument is applied to open the lock substantially as
herein described and as set forth in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the accompanying
drawings.
(3) In locks for use upon office doors or buildings the application and arrange-
ment of a vibrating plate or disc such as S for displaying notices between openings
formed within an outer case or plate cover such as R, substantially as herein
described and as illustrated in Figures 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the accompanying
drawings.
(4) In locks for use upon doors, the application of a check action for proventing
the insertion of a wrong key by means of the sliding leg and foot B, B attached
to or working from the lock bolt which partly blocks the key opening as illustrated
on Sheet 3 of the accompanying drawings.
(5) The combination and arrangement of fittings for locks having tumblers and
levers working over and upon the sliding lock bolt, and having a sliding lock bolt
which causes a movement of a pivotted or lower lever plate when a false key is
introduced into the key opening substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore
described and as set forth in the accompanying drawings.
(6) The construction and arrangement of double bolt latches having knobs for

page_text: opening the latches from the inside and keys for opening the lock and latch bolt
from the outside, substantially as herein described and as shown in Figs. 7, 8, 9,
10, 10ª, 10 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 17th day of December 1891.
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.