CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS AND LATCHES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Titley, of Wolverhampton, in the County
of Stafford, Locksmith, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN LOCKS AND LATCHES."
Sealed the 18th December 1874, and dated the 23rd June 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Titley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd June 1874.
I, WILLIAM TITLEY, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford,
Locksmith, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS AND LATCHES," to be as follows (that is
to say) :-
The object of my Invention is to dispense with inclines on the striking
parts of the catches and latches of door fastenings, and to make the action
of closing the door perfecting silent. This I effect when applying my In-
vention to door locks by using a spring for holding back the catch,
which instead of being bevelled at its end to facilitate its being pressed

page_text: in by contact with the striking plate is squared off flush with the face
of the lock the same as the lock bolt, and retained there by the spring
detent, but which spring detent has a slight projection or striking face,
that in closing a door by the handle this part of the spring coming in
contact with the striking plate or its equivalent, liberates the catch bolt
which then enters the corresponding recess in the striking plate just as
the lock bolt does when thrown out by the action of the key, and this
same arrangement may be applied to all catch fastenings where the
catch bolt is brought back by the action of the handle.
In drop catches I apply a spring that holds the latch up untill it has
passed freely over the catch, and when the spring or latch is in position
by the closing of the door, the spring as before described, will be brought
into action and relieve the latch so that it can fall within the catch and
secure the door, and as in the former case the incline on the front of the
catch dispensed with.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Titley in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
TITLEY, of Wolverhampton, in the County of Stafford, Locksmith, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-eighth
year of Her reign, did, for. Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Titley, Her special license that I,
the said William Titley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Titley, my exccutors, administrators,
or 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN Locks
AND LATCHES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said

page_text: William Titley, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Titley, 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 Drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
The object of my Invention is to dispense with inclines on the striking
parts of the catches and latches of door fastenings, and to make the action
of closing the door perfectly silent. This I effect when applying my In-
vention to door locks by using a spring for holding back the catch,
which instead of being bevelled at its end to facilitate its being pressed
in by contact with the striking plate is squared off flush (if preferred)
with the face of the lock the same as the lock bolt, and retained there
by the spring detent, but which spring detent has a slight projection
or striking face; that in closing a door by the handle, or otherwise, this
part of the spring coming in contact with the striking plate liberates
the catch bolt, which then enters the corresponding recess in the striking
plate just as the lock bolt does when thrown out by the action of the key,
and this same arrangement may be applied to all catch fastenings where
the catch bolt is brought back by the action of the handle or other-
wise.
For drop latches I apply a spring that holds the latch up until it has
passed freely over the catch, and when the spring or latch is in position
by the closing of the door, the spring as before described, will be brought
into action and relieve the latch so that it can fall within the catch and
secure the door, and as in the former case the incline on the front of the
catch dispensed with.
In giving effect to my improvements in door locks and latches, I am
enabled to dispense with striking plates and inclines, and otherwise to
make their action silent, whether the mechanism of construction is
operated on by a key, knob, or knob and follow. This desirable silent
action I mainly attain by the use of a catch spring in connection with

page_text: the latch or lock bolt, and also in the restricted action of the key in
adjusting the internal mechanism for actuating or retiring the latch or
bolt of such locks or latches so constructed. Such improvements being
applicable to all kinds of spring latches and locks, such as rim, mortise,
and drawback locks, night closet, pew, pulpit, bow, or lift-up, or all
other kinds of latches or door fastenings. But as my improvements
will be best understood by refering to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
I will proceed to describe the same, reference being made to the figures
and letters marked thereon, observing that the same part or parts,
whether shewn in combination or detached, are marked with the samel
letter or letters of reference, that is to say:
✓
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING.
Figures 1 and 2 represent an edge and flat view of an ordinary mortise
lock, the spring latch of which is marked A represented extended in
Fig. 2 and retired in Fig. 1; the extreme end instead of being bevelled
at an angle of 45° (as common with ordinary lock latches) is slightly
bevelled, merely by way of taking advantage of the freedom between
the meeting of the door and the striking plate of the lock, as shewn in
the small part of the latch that projects in Fig. 1; and further in dotted
lines to define its position when extended. At the back of the latch a
small spring is applied marked B, rivetted to the case of the lock at C,
and which spring is exhibited detached in a flat and edge view at Fig. 3,
(as for example) I will suppose the latch bolt A has been retired by
the action of the knob and follow until the shoulders of the spring
catch a, a, Fig. 3, have passed over the contraction of the recess m in the
latch bolt A, Fig. 2, when the bolt will be retained as at Fig. 1, where
the end of the catch spring B protruded beyond the latch bolt, that in
closing the door (fitted with such fastening) the latch bolt will not
shoot out by the force of its internal spring until the end of the catch
spring B has come in contact with the part m' of the striking plate a
shewn detached in a flat and edge view at Figs. 1 A and 2 A. The
mortise or opening m will at this time be directly opposite the advancing
spring latch, thereby retaining the door in a closed position.
Fig. 4 is the angle plate for a small spring catch arranged and adapted
for the catch bolt to be operated on by a key. In this Figure I have 3
merely represented the catch spring D laying in a recess of the plate
and held by the screw or rivet E.

page_text: The latch bolt is represented in extended position at Fig. 5, the said
bolt being marked F, and also shown detached in a flat and edge
view at Fig. 6; the pin b works in the slot marked c, Fig. 4; G is the
shank or centre for the key, and H the tumblers working on the centre d.
The spring latch F is thrown forward when liberated by the spring J.
Over the shank or centre of the key a combination keyhole, bush, and
radial lever works, shown in position at Fig. 5, marked K, by the use of
which the action of the key for retiring the spring catch is limited to
about one-eighth of a revolution of its action, for by turning this part from
left to right the radial arm or lever L will be brought in contact with
the pin e, by which means the spring latch is retired until the shoulders
of the catch spring drop into the recess of the spring latch F, as at f,f,
Fig. 6, when it will be held in a retired position until liberated in the act
of closing the door by the slight incline g, Fig. 6, coming in contact with
the striking plate, which striking plate will first slightly retire it so as to
allow the free end of the catch spring D, Fig. 4, to strike the edge of
the recess c¹ and c¹ of the striking plate, as shewn in an edge and flat
TA
11
11

page_text: Fig. 10 is simply an edge view of Fig. 9, shewing the spring latch in
a retired position, retained by the angular part of the spring catch
marked (as before stated) t in Figure 6.
Fig. 11 represents the reverse side of Fig. 9, with the mechanism
covered by the inner plate or box P; through the face of this box or
plate the bush of the revolving keyhole passes marked u.
Fig. 12 is a repeat of Fig. 11, with the box or inner plate removed to
shew the internal construction with the keyhole part removed to avoid
confusion, but its position defined by dotted lines. In this view the
catch spring is partly shewn in dotted lines, and the spring latch in an
extended position marked Q, and locked in that position by the detent v
which is connected and forms one piece with the lever R which works
on the pin or fulcrum w. The spring latch is thrown forward by the
force of the ordinary spring S, whilst the lever R that actuates the
detent is operated on by the spring T; is the inner part of the knob
M for locking the spring latch in a retired or extended position by
sliding it up into the desired notch in the spring latch, thereby exercising
a control over the latch on the inside of the door that cannot be reversed
by the action of the key inserted from without.
The revolving keyhole is represented detached in the position in which
it would be used at Fig. 13, and the reverse side at Fig. 14. With this
description of detail I will assume that the revolving keyhole, Fig. 13,
is placed in position, and the key, as exhibited at Fig. 16, inserted, and
by turning the key from right to left the external face of the arm y will
elevate the detent by passing under that portion of the lever R
marked, at which time the lower end of the lever R will have passed
the short angle of its termination over the corresponding angular ter-
minus of the spring T, the force of which acting on the long terminal
angle of the lever R will hold it in position, so as to free the spring
latch from the detent which will elevate the detent and permit the
spring latch to be brought back by the end of the arm y coming in
contact with the pin a', thereby retiring the latch Q, to effect which the
key will have made but little more than one-eighth of a revolution, and
the retirement of the spring latch will allow the spring catch r to
resume its functions by holding the retired spring latch in position to be
liberated when desired by the act of closing the door by the extreme
end of the spring" coming in contact with the part ¹ of the box, as

page_text: V
shown in section at Fig. 10, which box is shown in a front view at Fig.
17; but by turning the key the slightest bit towards the right it will bring
the shoulder of the revolving keyhole in contact with the incline c' of
the lever R, and by this lateral right-hand action the detent will be
depressed in position for again locking the latch bolt in extension. And
by these several combinations of action a door may be closed and secured
either by the external knob or knobs on the one side, and the use of the
key on the other, without making scarcely an audible sound.
I do not think it necessary to further elaborate the application of my
improvements to other description of locks and latches, as skilled work-
men accustomed to their manufacture will see the general applicability
of my improvements, which may be increased or diminished in size and
proportion to requirements, and varied in shape without affecting the
principle of my Invention, which consists in the adaptation and combi-
nation of the several parts herein exhibited and described for the silent
closing, locking, and fastening of doors, and which I claim as of my
Invention, and wish to protect under these my in part, recited Letters
Patent.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Titley, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Seventh day of December, in the year
of Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Witness,
JAMES S. COCKINGS,
Patent Agent,
Birmingham.
WILLIAM TITLEY. (L.S.)