TPROVEMENT TO LOOK AND LATOURS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Wilson, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Locksmith, and Samuel Northall, of Birmingham aforesaid,
Ironmonger, and Thomas James, of Birmingham aforesaid, Retail
Brewer for the Invention of "TPROVEMENT TO LOOK AND LATOURS "
Sealed the 1st April 1858, and dated the 21st January 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Wilson, Samuel
Northall, and Thomas James at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 21st January 1858.
We, PETER WILSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Lock-
smith, and SAMUEL NORTHALL, of Birmingham aforesaid, Ironmonger, and
THOMAS JAMES, of Birmingham aforesaid, Retail Brewer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS AND LATCHES,"
to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists, firstly, in fixing a roller on the end of a latch or
latch and lock bolt. By the use of the said roller the lock or latch may be
used on a door opening in either direction.
Our Invention consists, secondly, of the following method of constructing
the "follower" of the latch. The said follower is made somewhat of the
form of the letter V, and when turned by the knob of the latch one or other
side of the said V-shaped follower acts against one of two stumps fixed on the
bolt; the said bolt may also be locked by a key. The said stumps are so far

page_text: apart that they readily pass the follower when the latter is in its ordinary
position.
Our Invention consists, thirdly, in making the lock a detector lock in the
following manner:-A series of tumblers-work upon the bolt and travel with
it. A false key being introduced and turned, raises the tumblers to heights
different from those to which the true key raises them, and on withdrawing
the bolt the said tumblers strike against stumps on a lever connected with
a second bolt, which said second bolt is shot, and engages in the staple when
the ordinary bolt is withdrawn by a false key. The introduction of the true
key restores the several parts to their proper positions.
Our Invention consists, lastly, in making the lock or latch spindle of a
triangular form or a nearly semi-cylindrical form. We place a flat spring on
one of the flat sides of the spindle, whereby the said spindle is held firmly in
its place.
Spindles of the kind described wear better than ordinary spindles.
Our detector may be applied to locks of various kinds.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Peter Wilson, Samuel Northall, and Thomas James in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th July 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, PETER
WILSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Locksmith, and SAMUEL
NORTHALL, of Birmingham aforesaid, Ironmonger, and THOMAS JAMES, of
Birmingham aforesaid, Retail Brewer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of.
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Peter Wilson, Samuel Northall, and Thomas James, Her special
licence that we, the said Peter Wilson, Samuel Northall, and Thomas James,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Peter Wilson, Samuel Northall, and Thomas James, our executors, admi-
nistrators, 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 AND LATCHES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that we, the said Peter Wilson, Samuel Northall,

page_text: and Thomas James, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of
one of us or them, 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 we, the said Peter Wilson, Samuel Northall, and
Thomas James, 'do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner: the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
.. Our. Invention consists, firstly; in fixing a roller on the end of a latch bolt
or on the end of a latch and lock bolt.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents in side elevation, and
Figure 2 in end elevation, a lifting latch constructed according to this part of
our. Invention. a is the latch, on the end of which a roller b is situated. . On
closing the door to which the latch is attached, the bolt a rises and engages
in the staple in the door. frame. The motion of the bolt a over the inclined
edge of the staple is facilitated by the roller b. By the use of a roller on the
end of the bolt the latch may be used on a door opening in either direction.
Figure:3 represents in side elevation, and Figure 4 in end elevation, a lock
and latch having a roller attached to its bolt according to our Invention.
The latch c may be withdrawn by a knob and spindle, and may be also locked
and withdrawn by means of a key, but we do not think it necessary here to
describe the mechanism of the: lock and latch, as this part of our Invention
consists in the roller d. on the end of the bolt c. By the use of a roller on
the end of the bolt, the lock and latch may be used on a door opening in
either direction.
"
Figure 5 represents in front elevation, and Figure 6 in plan, a chest lock,
the bolt of which is furnished. with rollers according to our Invention. The
bolt of the lock is marked e, and the rollers are marked f. The staples g,
Figure 7, in entering: the lock, Figure 5, press back the bolte with greater
ease by acting against the rollers f than they. would do by acting directly on
the bolt itself.
(:"
Our Invention consists, secondly, in the method of constructing the follower
of latches, illustrated in: Figures: 3, 8, and 9 of-the accompanying Drawings,
Figures 3 and 8 representing in elevation, and Figure 9 in horizontal section,
latches having followers .constructed according to this part of our Invention.
The details of the latches, Figures 3 and: 8, somewhat differ, but the action

page_text: of the parts is essentially the same, and are marked with the same letters.
Figure 9 is a section of the latch, Figure 8. The said follower h has a
figure somewhat resembling the form of the letter V, and when by means of
the spindle the said follower is turned, one or other of the arms of the
follower acts against one or other of the stumps k, l, fixed on the bolt m, and
effects the withdrawal of the said bolt. The said bolt m may also be locked
by a key, that is to say, shot into the staple in the door frame to a greater
distance than when it has the position represented in the Drawings, but as
the mechanism for effecting the locking of the bolt m constitutes no part of
our Invention, we do not think it necessary to describe the same. The
stumps k, l, are so far apart that they readily pass the follower on the locking
of the bolt m. The follower h and bolt m are pressed into the positions
represented in the Drawings by the spring n acting through the lever o, which
said lever o presses against both the follower and the bolt:
'
Our Invention consists, thirdly, in a method of constructing a detector lock,
that is to say, a lock which, when a false key is introduced, and made: to
withdraw the bolt of the lock, is so operated upon by the said false key that,
although the bolt of the lock is withdrawn, a second bolt is shot out and
prevents the opening of the door; the said second bolt being withdrawn,
and all the parts restored to their proper positions by the introduction and
turning of the true key. This part of our Invention is illustrated in elevation
in Figure 10, and in plan in Figure 11; it is also represented in the lock,
Figures 8 and 9; but we will describe our Invention with reference to Figures
10 and 11. A series of tumblers, marked p, work upon the bolt q and travel
with it; when a false key is introduced and turned, it raises the tumblers p
to heights different from those to which the true key raises them, and on
withdrawing the bolt q, some of the tumblers p strike against the stump r on
the lever s, and, by moving the said lever 8, shoot out the bolt t connected to
the lower end of the lever s; the said bolt t engaging in the staple in the door
frame, preserves the door in a locked condition, although the principal bolt q
is withdrawn. When the true key is introduced and made to shoot the bolt
q, the bolt t is withdrawn, and as the said true key raises the tumblers p to
the heights proper to pass the stump r, the true key does not shoot the
bolt t, when it withdraws the bolt q. The mechanism constituting our detector
may be applied to locks of various kinds.
量
Our Invention consists, lastly, in making lock or latch spindles of a tri-
angular form, as represented in Figure 12, or of a nearly semi-cylindrical form,
as represented in Figure 13. We place a flat spring marked u on one of
the flat sides of the spindle, whereby, when the knob is placed upon the

page_text: spindle, the knob and spindle are held secure in their relative positions.
Spindles made according to our Invention wear better than ordinary spindles.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner
of carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that we do not
limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and represented, as the
same may be varied without departing from the nature of our Invention; but
we claim as our Invention,-
Firstly, attaching a roller to the ends of latch and latch and lock bolts, as
herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the
accompanying Drawings.
Secondly, the method of constructing the follower of latch and latch and
lock bolts, herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 3, 8, and 9. of
the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly, the method herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 8,
9, 10, and 11 of the accompanying Drawings, of constructing detector locks.
Lastly, the method herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 12
and 13 of the accompanying Drawings, of constructing spindles of latches and
locks and latches.
In witness whereof, we, the said Peter Wilson, Samuel Northall, and
Thomas James, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Sixteenth
day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-eight.
PETER WILSON..
(L.B.)
SAMUEL NORTHALL. (L.S.)
THOMAS JAMES.
(LS.).
PETER WILSON..
(L.S.)
SAMUEL NORTHALL.
(L.s.)
THOMAS JAMES.
(LS.).
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.