Improvements in Combination Locks.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 20th Jan., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by JULES BOIS, of 31, Rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, Lyon,
in the Republic of France, Notary.]
Improvements in Combination Locks.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
This invention relates to a lock which possesses the double advantage of being a
combination lock and requiring no key for opening it. According to the arrange-
ment of the bolt placed either above, below or on the side, this lock may be
employed for doors of apartments, desks, portmanteaus, safes and the like.
The improved lock is represented in the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 shows a front elevation, the rear plate of the lock being supposed to
have been removed, and
Figure 2 a sectional plan.
Figures 3 and 4 are partial views in elevation showing some parts in operation.
Figure 5 is a plan of two parts hereinafter described serving to actuate
alternatively such or such a combination wheel.
Figures 6 and 7 represent respectively the knob actuating the lock and the disc
by the aid of which the said wheels are successively put in operation. These
figures show the two faces of the said parts, the knob and the disc, which are
contiguous.
Figure 8 shows an elevation and plan of the arrangement of the rod which,
secured to the knob G, actuates the bolt and the various wheels through the
intervention of the heel piece B and pawl C.
Figure 9 is an elevation of the closing plate of the lock provided with its
catch.
Figures 10 and 11 show an elevation and a section on the line 5 to 6 and a plan
of the discs of the wheels hereinafter described.
This lock substantially comprises :-
(1.) The bolt A provided with a notch a serving to move it to the rear and
consequently open the lock. According to the use to which the lock is to be
applied the bolt may also be arranged for hooking in any direction, for example at
the top, as also shown at A¹.
(2.) A knob, Figures 2 and 6, serving to open the lock. To this knob is fastened
by the aid of a key or a screw h, a hollow part H, Figures 1, 2 and 8, which is
round at its front extremity and terminates at its rear extremity in a square part ¹,
in the interior of which can oscillate freely a rod J carrying at its front end a
part made in the form of a cam, and at its rear part, for a length approximately
equal to the thickness of the wheels, a tongue the object of which will hereinafter
be set forth. This knob G is traversed by a pin g bearing at g¹ against the cam h³
and which serves as an indicator, as will be seen in the operation. Against the
inner face of this knob is fixed a pin or strip gll forming a spring which, engaging
successively with notches or cavities formed in the neighbouring disc V, Figure 2,
will automatically indicate how much the knob has to be turned in order that its
pawl C may come exactly in engagement with such or such a combination wheel.
Upon the square of the part H is mounted, so as to slide freely upon it, a
part K terminating on one side in a heel piece B designed, on engaging with the
notch a, to move the bolt to the rear and overcome the resistance of its spring a'.
D
037

page_text: On this part K is articulated at c, in the manner of a fork, a pawl C serving to
operate successively each of the combination wheels. This pawl, Figures 1, 3
and 4, is so constructed that it will press and turn by its tongue; the rod J and
therefore the cam * only when it is disengaged, Figure 4, from the long tooth
with which each wheel is provided. To this part K is attached a tube k provided
with a helical end the pitch of which corresponds to the total displacement which
is rendered necessary in order that the pawl C may come into engagement with all
the wheels.
(3.) A disc V, Figures and 7, which serves to displace upon the square h¹
the whole part K and the pawl C so that the latter may actuate such or such a
wheel.
This disc V is keyed upon a tube T of the shape shown in Figure 5 which is
formed at its rear part so as to correspond exactly to the profile of the tube k.
This tube T Figure 2, is arranged in a recess existing on the part Z, and by
turning the dise V and consequently the tube T in succession until a complete
rotation has been made this tube gradually pushes the piece K to the bottom of
the lock, the pawl of the said part being from that moment able to actuate the
several wheels.
In order to be automatically informed how much the knob has to be turned for
the pawl to be moved just to the desired point for actuating such or such a.wheel,
notches are provided upon the inner face of the disc V which, when the spring gl
engages successively therewith, indicate that such wheel may surely be set in
rotation. A small tongue v' secured to this disc serves as a mark for indicating,
according to the engagement of the spring " with such or such a notch v, which
wheel may be actuated at this moment.
(4.) Star wheels D having a greater or smaller number of teeth, which wheels
are mounted each upon a disc E, Figures 1, 2, 10 and 11, provided each with a
recess F. These wheels and discs, the number of which is variable in accordance
with the number of combinations which it is desired to have at disposal, are
mounted on an axis r, preferably by means of two tubes.s, s, engaging with one
another with little friction. These tubes s, s' have for their object to facilitate the
mounting of one upon the other outside the lock, and in the desired order, of the
several discs and star wheels constituting the desired combination which is then
mounted directly upon the axis r.
To unite each disc with its corresponding wheel in the rotary movement,
these discs are provided with a raised part d which takes between two teeth of
their wheel.
Moreover each wheel, has one tooth of greater length than the others for the
purpose of actuating the indicator as will be set forth. On these several teeth
is engraved a figure or sign, one of which corresponds to a mark R provided on
each disc.
(5.) Stop pawls N with springs n for each of the wheels D; these several pawls
are mounted upon an axis n¹ carried by the box of the lock.
(6.) A device L for lowering the stop pawls N, which is moved back when the
combinations are to be changed.
(7.) A stop P which, mounted upon the axis p¹, is from the outside preferably
moved to the left by the aid of the knob p when the combinations are not to be
employed and when therefore the bolt of the lock is to serve only as a latch; in
this case the said stop P keeps the heel-piece B raised and always engaged with
the notch a of the bolt A.
(8.) The closing plate M on which is mounted at m¹ a flat catch m with rotary
action, attaching it to the box of the lock and which can operate only when the
bolt is free. For this purpose the catch has a receding part m² forming a hook,
which taking below the bolt permits the catch to occupy the position indicated in
dotted lines, that is to say have its extremity m³ disengaged from the cavity m* in
the box of the lock only when the bolt, being moved to the rear, the hook m² may
pass freely above the bevelled part of the bolt.

page_text: Upon the inner face of this closing plate is mounted a spring 'm' which has for
its object to constantly press the part K, and consequently the tube k formed
according to a convolution of a screw thread, against the part t, and also to
facilitate the outward movement of the plate M when for the purpose of changing
the combination the catch is moved from the position indicated in full lines to that.
indicated in dotted lines.
The mounting of the combinations is effected as follows:-
Suppose, as in the present case, that the lock comprises three star wheels D and
consequently three discs E, and that it is desired to open the lock by the aid of
the number 666. To this end, after having moved out the closing plate M I dis-
engage the wheels D from their stop pawls N by turning back the part L, which
will cause the back movement of the pawl N; then moving the wheels from the'
lock and their double tube I place upon the outer tubes the first wheel with its
disc so that the Figure 6 indicated on one of the teeth of this wheel corresponds
to the mark R of the disc. Then I mount on the tube s', successively each of the
following wheels, taking care to arrange them upon their respective discs in such a
manner that the figure o is also placed in front of the mark on each disc.
I next introduce the second tubes into the first tube s¹, mount the whole of the
wheels and discs in the lock, putting the recesses in the discs in correspondence
with the bolt (position Figure 1), then I remove the part L in order to permit the
stop pawls N under the action of their springs to engage with their respective
wheels. In this position of the discs the lock will be open, for the bolt under the
action of the heel piece B can operate, its rear part being able to slide freely in the
recesses of the several discs.
Having replaced the closing plate and fixed the combination, if it is now desired
to open the lock I proceed as follows:
In the first place as it is preferable, at the commencement of the operation, to
begin actuating the wheel at the bottom of the box, which position corresponds to
the complete engagement one against the other of the two profiles in the form of
helices of the tubes t and k, I turn the disc V until its mark or tongue v¹ is put
opposite the spring pin g of the knob G, then by the aid of the pawl C of this
knob I turn (Figure 4) this first wheel until the said pawl passing upon the long
tooth will, in order to be disengaged therefrom (Figure 5), bear upon the tongue
and turn the rod J a little, the cam of which, then acting against the pin g,
pushes this pin back against the finger of the operator who is now informed by the
pressure that at this moment the pawl has just passed upon the tooth which has to
be taken as a mark for subsequently placing the recess of this wheel in the prolon
gation of the bolt. From the moment when this indicator has operated, the wheel
is turned only six teeth, which figure corresponds to that of the combination, and
at this moment the recess F of the said wheel is brought to the desired position for
permitting ulteriorly the displacement of the bolt.
Then causing the pin gl, by turning the disc V, to pass into the following notch v
of the knob, the part t will in its movement have pushed back a certain distance
the part K and therefore the pawl C so that the latter may now actuate the
following wheel. The operator acts in the same manner for this wheel as for the
preceding wheel, that is to say, he causes it to turn again six teeth after having
experienced once more the push of the indicator. For actuating the third wheel he
displaces the disc as far as the following notch, then turns the said wheel under the
same conditions as those before mentioned.
All the recesses are then brought into the same horizontal plane, and the bolt
can from that moment under the action of the heel-piece B pass freely into all of
them at the same time, which condition is indispensable for permitting the bolt to
slide.
As will be seen, it is sufficient, after having chosen the number of the combination,
to mount the wheels upon their respective disc, taking care to put opposite each
mark the corresponding figure of the number chosen, then, for opening the lock
after the combination has been fixed, to turn successively each of the wheels until

page_text: the push of the indicator is experienced, and from this movement to continue to
turn the latter exactly a number of teeth equal to that of the figure, placed opposite.
the mark at the time of the mounting.
This lock is of course susceptible of various modifications in the arrangement,
dimensions and details of its parts according as it is employed either for doors of
apartments, or for desks, trunks, safes or the like.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
First. In locks the combination of a handle or knob, designed to actuate the
'bolt and of a system of combination wheels carrying an indicator, with the disc
serving to actuate successively the several wheels, substantially as herein set
forth.
·
Second. In locks a system of combination wheels comprising wheels which have
each a certain number of teeth according to the number of combinations required,
each of these wheels carrying a special tooth for actuating an indicator, the said
wheels being mounted upon the same axis and combined each with a disc provided
with a recess, a mark and a projecting part taking between two teeth of the wheel,
substantially as described and represented.
Third. In locks the employment together with the bolt of the lock, of a com-
bination system composed of star wheels mounted each upon a disc having a recess,
the arrangement of the recesses being such that the bolt operates only when all
the recesses have been brought into the prolongation of the bolt, substantially as
described and represented.
:
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton-Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.