A NOW OF Improved system or mode of Securing or Fastening Doors and the like, and Apparatus or Means Employed therein.
Year: 1885

page_text: A NOW OF Improved system or mode of Securing or Fastening
Doors and the like, and Apparatus or Means Employed
therein.
I EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER of 36 Southampton Buildings in the County of
Middlesex Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents do hereby declare the nature
of this invention (communicated to me from abroad by Albert Marie Guillaume
Webry of Paris in the Republic of France), to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object a system or mode of securing or fastening in an
inviolable manner, doors of all kinds, lids of coffers or strong chests and other
receptacles requiring to be effectually secured against forcible opening and consists
of a method of securing or fastening by means of safety or obstruction bars made
in one piece without hinges, or of obstruction chains locked or maintained in their
secured position by the aid of an ordinary lock and safety key or of a combination
cipher or letter lock of improved construction which may also be employed
separately if desired.
When using a safety bar placed across the interior of a door for example the said
bar is lowered into the staple of the lock and engagos at the same time at its two
extremities in special staples fixed to the wall on each side of the door which is
thus effectually secured. The same applies when using two bars disposed cross-
wise, or safety chains attached to the staples and to the body of the lock. The
locks may be applied in various ways according as they are intended for main-
taining in position bolts or obstruction bars but in all cases as applied to doors of
apartments the means employed for securing the same may be opened from the
outside as well as from the inside.
According to one mode of carrying out this invention a horizontal bar capable
of being turned into a vertical position by a key is combined with a safety lock
and with a vertically disposed bar consisting of two parts or lengths each part
constituting a long bolt. The ends of the horizontal bar engage into side staples
in the wall and the upper and lower extremities of the vertical bolts engage into
[Price 81

page_text: staples in the frame of the door and in the floor. The horizontal and vertical
obstruction bars are worked together by means of a disc secured to the horizontal
bar and provided with curved slots engaging with pin's in the inner ends of the
long bolts constituting the vertical bar thereby causing these parts to be pushed or
drawn when the horizontal bar is turned into a horizontal position. Thus on
securing the horizontal bar in position by means of the safety lock the entire
system of fastenings will be secured at the same time. The usual bolts employed
in connection with double leaved doors may be used if desired the pivotting
horizontal bar being suitably bent so as to pass over them freely when being
turned into the vertical or into the horizontal position. The said invention
embraces several agents which by their combination and arrangement assist in the
production of an efficient fastening. Amongst them may be mentioned the com-
bination of a single horizontal obstruction bar with a cipher or combination safety
lock the bar being so moved as to engage it effectually at its opposite extremities
in its staples. This bar turns on a pivot forming part of the lock frame, when
being brought into its vertical or horizontal position. When lowered into a hori-
zontal position it drops into the lock and lock staple and also into staples at each
end a short lever handle mounted on the pivot of the bar being employed for this
purpose. The bar having been brought into its horizontal position so as to engage
with the staples in the door frame, a further movement of the handle imparts a
longitudinal horizontal movement to the said bar thereby causing certain projections
on the ends of the bar to engage or interlock with stops or catches in the staples.
A slot in the bar permits it to slide along its pivot during the last mentioned
movement. The bar is thus effectually locked or secured in its staples and if
maintained fixed in that position by the combination lock the door will be effectually
secured. An ordinary lock may if desired be used as above in which case a pro-
jection is made on the underside of the bar inside the lock and a stop on the bolt
or latch thereof is caused to abut against this projection thereby preventing the
obstruction bar from being withdrawn from its holding catches in the staples.
Many known forms of locks may obviously be employed for fixing the bar by the
projection on its underside. One form of safety combination cipher lock which it
is proposed to employ is provided with a bolt and sneck so arranged as to secure or
fix the bolts of a door. at the top and bottom whilst being itself locked, by two
turns. This securing bolt is formed with a hole at its rear end in which engage
two levers which impart the upward and downward movement to the vertical bolts
of the door herein before referred to. The securing bolt worked by two turns of
the key is secured or fixed by the combination letter or cipher mechanism of the
lock and may be actuated by an ordinary key, a second and special key being
employed for actuating the combination mechanism which locks or fixes the said
bolt in position. Or a combination lock provided with a sliding bolt may be
employed for connecting together two safety or obstruction chains the one engaging
with the lock and the other with the staple. The bolt in lieu of being enclosed
wholly within the lock turns on an axis like the horizontal obstruction bar herein-
before referred to and is formed with a slot in which engages the lower end of a
pivotted lever worked by a key or handle. On actuating the lever the bolt will
be advanced so as to disengage a stop thereon from the staple the bolt slides along
its axis by a slot and at the end of its course will be partially turned or lifted by
the continued movement of the lever and being thereby disengaged from the staple
will permit of the opening of the door. The reverse movement will maintain the
bolt closed and it can then be fixed in that position by the combination mechanism
of the lock. It will thus be readily understood that if on the one part the lock,
and on the other part the staple, be connected by chains to the frame on the two
sides of the door, the lock, its staple, and the two chains being connected together
by the engagement of the bolt in the staple (which bolt is retained in its engaged
position by the combination mechanism of the lock) the whole virtually becomes
a single uninterrupted chain. The same system may be applied to an ordinary
leck provided with an oscillating bar or bolt connecting the two obstruction chains,

page_text: The lock is closed by a vertically sliding piece traversed by the bolt in order to fix
or secure the sliding bolt or fastener when lowered and engaged in the staple. In
moving the bolt so as to open the lock the vertically sliding piece falls and thereby
liberates the sliding bolt or fastener which may then be actuated by the lever
before referred to. The system of letter or cipher combinations may also be
applied to a safety bolt for the purpose of locking or fixing the same when in
position, but in lieu of the entire system of discs or barrels of the combination
mechanism being contained between the two plates of the lock which would
increase its thickness to an inconvenient extent this mechanism is situate outside.
the cover plate which presents three hollow projecting drums on its surface con-
taining the barrels enclosed one within the other. In this arrangement there is
no necessity for the key on the inner side in order to fix the bolt, it is simply
necessary to turn two buttons or to connect one of the said buttons with the male
disc and the other with the female disc of the combination mechanism i order to
open or close the lock. The internal ciphered dial is dispensed with being
replaced by two datum points marked on each of the said buttons. T. male
barrels preserve the number marked by means of a stop, and the datum irk is
always found on the button in front of the exterior cipher. It is therefore
sufficient to place the mark on the one button in front of the other button in order
to open the lock. In these improved combination locks the combination mechanism.
is separated from the mechanism of the lock itself by a partition plate which serves
as the support for the entering or penetrating parts of the combination mechanism
employed in securing the main bolt or obstruction bar. As a guarantee against
the breaking or forcing of the lock and to prevent the possibility of tampering
with the internal discs by the introduction of a pick the pin or spindle on which
the key is introduced is surrounded by a tube which enters a countersink in the
main bolt formed round the aperture which admits of the passage of the keyя
through the said bolt. By this means the female disc rising and falling round the
said tube cannot in any way be acted upon by a pick, or other like instrument.
Dated the 2nd day of December 1885.

page_text: A New or Improved System or mode or securing or Fastening
Doors and the like, and Apparatus or Means Employed
therein.
I EDWIN POWLEY ALEXANDER of 36 Southampton Buildings in the County of
Middlesex Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents do hereby declare the nature
of the said invention (communicated to me from abroad by Albert Marie Guillaume
Wehry of Paris in the Republic of France) and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This Invention has for its object a new or improved system or mode of securing
or fastening in an inviolable manner doors of all kinds, lids of coffers or strong
chests and other like receptacles requiring to be effectually secured against forcible
opening and consists of a method of securing or fastening by means of safety or
obstruction bars made in one piece without hinges, or of obstruction chains locked
or maintained in their secured position by the aid of an ordinary lock closed by a
safety key simply, or by the aid of any suitable cypher or letter lock.
When using a safety bar placed across on the interior of the door or lid this bar
is mounted on a pivot turning in the lock and is lowered into the staple thereof by
means of a turning knob or bandle or a key and at the same time engages at its
two extremities with staples fixed to the wall or door frame on each side of the
door, and with other special staples fixed to the panels on each leaf of the door
(in the case of using double leaved doors) which is thus effectually secured and
cannot be forced or fractured by the strongest crow bar.
This mode of securing, by a bar whether applied to doors with one or two leaves
can be opened or unfastened equally well from the outside or the inside when
applied to the doors of rooms or the like.
The same applies when using safety or obstruction chains combined with a lock
the extremities of which chains are fixed respectively to the door frame or wall on
each side of the door and to the lock itself and its staple.
The closing or fastening is effected by a spring bolt fastened by a double turn by
the aid of a Bramah or similar key for the outside of the room, or by an ordinary
key having a plain bit or by the ordinary knob or handle which enables the door
to be opened and closed at any moment without the aid of a key. When the lock
is closed by a double turn the knob may be turned in either direction without
affecting the lock mechanism.
Fig. 1 Sheet 1 of the drawings is an elevation of the mechanism for moving or
actuating the safety bar.
Figure 2 is a plan looking down on the top of and outside the lock and staples.
Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section of the body of the lock which forms two
opposed compartments.
Figure 4 shews the mechanism of the lock the bolt of which acts as a spring bolt
and serves at the same time to block or secure the bar in position as will be seen
hereafter.
Fig. 5 is an view of the exterior of the lock as seen from the inside of the room.

page_text: Fig. 6 shows on a reduced scale the general arrangement of the means for closing
by a safety bar secured in position.
In figs. 1 and 4 the coverings of the lock are removed to shew the interior
mechanism.
The body of the lock S is made so as to form two compartments 88 designed the
one to enclose the bar actuating mechanism and the other the lock mechanism
which fixes the bar in place these compartments being closed by the cover
plates 88, a rectangular groove S¹ is also formed in the body of the lock in which
engages horizontally the safety or obstruction bar p a similar groove G¹ being
formed in the upper part of the staple G of the lock which likewise receives the
bar p.
The body of the lock is prolonged at S so as to guide the safety bar p when
brought into vertical position as shewn in figures 1 and so that the lock may be
used as an ordinary door lock working by a handle in the usual way without the
use of a key. The extension S* is traversed at its upper part by the pin p' which
receives the bar p provided with a slot p¹ permitting of horizontal movement of
the bar as hereafter shewn.
The bar p carries also a pin p³ which engages in the corresponding notch d of a
spring catch D pivotted at d to the extension S³ thus preventing all vibration of
the bar when opening and closing the door.
To allow of the removal of the bar a door F is provided on the cover 8¹ the
hinges of which turn in the parts f¹ fig. 5. This hinged door which receives the
end of the pin p¹ is maintained in place by the rotating headed screw i the head of
which passes through the slot h (fig. 5)-By placing the head i in a horizontal
position the door F can be opened as shewn in dotted lines in fig. 2 and the safety
bar p easily removed after having lowered the catch D so as to liberate the pin p³..
The following is the mechanism for lowering the bar into a horizontal position--
The pivot or pin p¹ of the bar p carries a lever q, a stud q¹ in the end of which
enters the vertical slot a in the slide A suitably guided in the compartment s.
This slide A is rack toothed at a¹ and gears with a portion of actoothed pinion b¹
rotated in the direction of the arrow fig. 1, either from the outside by means of a
special key of which is the guiding tube or by the knob or handle B.
turning the knob or the key in the proper direction the slide A is moved outwardly
from the compartment s turning at the same time the lever q its axis p¹ and con-
sequently the bar p which not only descends into the grooves S¹ of the lock S,
and G¹ of the staple G but also engages in the extreme staples g of the door frame
and in the intermediate staples g¹ fixed respectively upon the two leaves of the
door the positions of which staples are shewn in fig. 6.
On
A moveable counterweight P serves to balance the differences in length of the
bar
P which naturally vary with the dimensions of the doors.
To effect the securing or fixing of the bar p horizontally in the grooves of the
staples it is provided with a hooked projection p³ which engages between the pro-'
jections e e¹ of the bolt E working along with the tumbler in the compartment 8*
like the mechanism of an ordinary lock either from the exterior or by means of a
key somewhat similar to a Bramah of which m³ (fig. 4) is the pin plate and
m (figs. 1 and 3) is the canon. Two projections xx¹ (fig. 6) are moreover provided
on the side of the bar p so as to correspond with the projections y y¹ of the
staples g¹.
In locking the bolt E by a double turn the hook p³ of the bar p is shifted and
is engaged in the compartment s² as shewn in fig. 4-The bar p by the longitudinal
horizontal movement which it thus receives engages at the same time its pro-
jections with the projections y y¹ of the intermediate staples g¹ so that it is
perfectly fixed in its place.
For single leaf doors the lock which is placed in the middle of the panel may be
5 actuated by an ordinary safety key and only the two extreme staples fixed to the
door frame or the wall on each side of the door are used. The safety key works*

page_text: the work which rastens down the safety bar only this bar has no longitudinal
movement but is engaged with and disengaged from the staples by turning it on
its axis.
Fig. 1 Sheet 2 is a front elevation of the lock with safety chain the cover-being
removed to shew the mechanism.
Fig. 2. is a corresponding plan looking from above.
Fig. 3. is a transverse section. .
Fig. 4 shews in elevation on a reduced scale this system of securing doors
complete.
The body of the lock S is made an upper projection S¹ which may take the form
of a serpent or the like the forward end of which is prolonged towards the middle
of the staple G and is formed with a recess s¹ into which engages a corresponding
projections forming a part of the moveable portion Sa binged at s.
The staple G is formed with a ring or eye G¹ to which is attached the chain c
whilst the chain c is attached to the tail of the projection S¹ as shewn in
fig. 1 and on a smaller scale in fig. 4, the parts S₁ S when not joined together
allow of the opening and closing of the door in the ordinary way their ends
escaping the ring or eye G¹.
From a pin a' in the moveable portion S³ hangs a rod a¹ the lower end of which
carries a pin a which engages under the inclined projection e of the bolt E. This
rod a¹ is encircled by a spring r which tends to keep the part. S raised for
ordinary use of the lock which can be effected either by means of an ordinary key
with a plain bit introduced at k or by handles or knobs B fixed to the ends of the
spindle bone outside and one inside the room. On the spindle b is fixed the
pinion b¹ which engages with the rack e¹ on the bolt E. is the lever or tumbler
of an ordinary lock.
The drawing shews the lock closed by the bolt E actuated by a half turn
of a handle or knob that is to say any one can open the door by turning the
knob B half round in the direction of the arrow fig. 1.
When it is desired to fasten the door by a double turn it is sufficient to move
forward the bolt E either by means of an ordinary key with a plain bit intro-
duced at k, or from the outside by a Bramah or similar key of which m is the
tubular guide or canon.
In the further displacing movement for engaging the bolt E in the staple G the
inclined projection e causes the pin a to descend which by means of the rod a'
draws down the part S hinged at s in such a manner that the projection s³ enters
the corresponding recess 8¹ thus securing the ring or eye G³ of the staple G-The
two chains c c¹ the lock S and the staple G constitute an inviolable fastening or
securing arrangement as they cannot be attacked from the exterior.
For greater security when the lock is closed by a double turn and the moveable
part S² occupies the position shewn in dotted lines fig. 1. there may be screwed
into the fixed part S₁ the lower end of the screw spindle d provided with a con-
venient head or button.
The same result may be obtained by making the pin a (fig. 1.) to project through
the exterior of the cover S³ fig. 3. and causing it to pass above a lock bolt or
retaining catch.
The Bramah or like key which is used from the outside of the lock actuates the
small disc m¹ the pin n of which drives the bolt E in the direction of the arrow by
engaging in the notch n¹ in the usual manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. For securing or fastening doors lids and the like the combination of an
ordinary lock or of what is known as a combination lock with a safety or
obstruction bar capable of being released and secured in position from the outside,,

page_text: or in the case of a room, from the interior as well as from the exterior thereof by
means of any convenient knob or handle or by a key and locked in position in the
staples that is to say across the door by lock mechanism as specified.
2. The combination for the same purpose of the modified arrangement of lock
herein set forth and illustrated on Sheet 2 of the drawings annexed with safety or
obstruction chains fixed respectively at their ends to the lock on one part and to
the staple on the other, and fastened by the eye or ring G', the projections of the
hinged part S, and the recess 81 of the fixed part St as specified.
:
Dated this twenty seventh day of August 1886.
EDWIN P. ALEXANDER, Fel. Inst. P.A.