IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander John Fraser, of Holloway, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS."
Scaled the 5th March 1869, and dated the 8th September 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander John Fraser
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 8th September 1868.
I, ALEXANDER JOHN FRASER, of Holloway, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN LOCKS," to be as follows, that is to say :—
This Invention consists in improvements in the construction of locks
made on what is known as the Bramah principle, parts of such improve
ments being applicable to other locks.
I will first describe a drawer lock constructed with my improvements.
On the lock plate I fit a ring in which moves a disc carrying the treadles
which I make
shaped; this disc is provided with four or more
uprights (according to the number of treadles), cach upright having at
the bottom a slot for receiving the outer end of one of the treadles;

page_text: exactly over each treadle I provide an arm somewhat of the shape of a
cross, into which arm the upright picce of the trendle fits; the arm after
passing through slots in the upper part of the uprights project to the
outer circumference of the ring through slots provided for the purpose.
In the centre of the disc I fix a barrel having slots at the bottom for
receiving the heads of the treadles. At the required height above these
slots are other slots or holes in the barrel into which pass the inner ends
of the aforesaid arms. I make the key like an ordinary Bramah key (or
if desired it may be solid), and when it depresses the treadles on being
inserted in the barrel the aforesaid arms are thrown forward. I form
the inner ends of these arms of a triangular or other suitable shape,
corresponding notches being made in the key to receive them when they
are forced forward by the depression of the treadles. The arms are
provided with suitable springs to withdraw them from the notches in the
key when it is to be removed from the lock. In addition to the aforesaid
slots in the upper edge of the ring I provide other slots or notches to
receive the outer ends of the respective arms when the bolt has been
thrown outwards. A plate is fixed over the ring, a hole being made in
the centre for the barrel; at a small height above this plate is fixed
another plate; these plates have proper openings for the admission of
the key, the lower one having an additional notch to allow of the key
being withdrawn. Between these two plates I sometimes place a disc
of vulcanized india-rubber or other suitable material with a hole in the
centre corresponding to the keyhole, but somewhat smaller; this disc
serves to obliterate any marks that might be made on any instrument
inserted for the purpose of picking the lock. When desirable I make
the lock so that the bolt may be shot without using the key; to effect
this I make a slot in the bolt under the rotating disc, into which slot
drops a spring catch, and by a projection on the under surface of the
rotating disc I raise the spring catch by turning the disc in the direction
required for unlocking. In the lock case and near the tail of the lock
bolt I fix a spindle carrying a disc, and by means of a stud on the bolt
working into a slot in this disc, or vice versa, the bolt can be shot
outwards by merely turning the spindle, and the catch is so placed that
it drops into the slot in the lock bolt and thus prevents the bolt being
brought back unless the key be used. When this arrangement is
employed only one keyhole plate is required, and by means of a spring
the disc carrying the levers and arms is made to return to its original
position as soon as the hand is released from the key. For safe locks

page_text: I fix a spindle at or near the centre of the door; this spindle carries a
disc which by a cam movement in four or more places on its outer edge,
or by slots and studs, as hercin-before described for the drawer lock, will
cause the bolts to shoot outwards on its four sides simultaneously. The
locking arrangement is similar to that described for the drawer lock, it
being only necessary to lock one bolt to secure them all. I sometimes
place the locking arrangement at the side instead of over the bolt,
in which case the lever will be acted upon horizontally instead of
vertically.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander John Fraser in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th March 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
JOHN FRASER, of Holloway, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-cight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alexander John Fraser, Her special licence
that I, the said Alexander John Fraser, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander John Fraser, my
executors, administrators, 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," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Alexander John Fraser, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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.

page_text: .
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander John Fraser, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawing
hereto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say :-
This Invention consists in improvements in the construction of locks
made upon what is known as the Bramah principle, parts of such
improvements being applicable to other locks having a rotating disc
and barrel,
To make my Invention better understood I will proceed to describe
the same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1
is a front elevation of the internal mechanism of a drawer lock con-
structed with my improvements; Figure 2, section of same on line A, B,
of Figure 1; Figure 3, front elevation of the internal mechanism of my
improved lock in which the bolt is shot without using the key; Figure 4,
clevation of key of the lock shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 5,
elevation of key of the lock shewn in Figure 3; Figures 6, 7, and 8,
views on a larger scale of one of the arms and treadles detached; and
Figure 9, elevations of a lock bolt which is shot by pressure instead of
being turned, as in Figure 3. Şimilar letters of reference represent
similar parts in all tho Figures,
I will first describe the drawer lock represented in Figures 1, 2, 4,
6, 7, 8. On the lock plate a I fix a ring b in which moves a disc c on
which are fixed 4 uprights d carrying the treadles e, which I make
shaped, as shown at Figure 8; at the bottom of cach of the
uprights d is a slot for receiving the outer end of its treadle which works
on a pin f. Exactly over each treadle I provido an arm or guard g of
the shape shewn in Figures 6 and 7, into the hole of which arm the
upright piece i of the treadle passes, fitting accurately at the under side
of the arm, but bevilled off at the upper part so as to allow the arm or
guard a horizontal motion when the treadle is moved; the arms after
passing through the slots in the upper part of the uprights & project to
the outer circumference of the ring, as shewn, through the slots made
for the purpose. In the centre of the disc c I fix the barrel j and slots k
at the bottom for receiving the heads or inner ends of the treadles e, and
at the required height above these slots are other slots or holes in the
barrel into which pass the inner ends of the arms or guards g. 1, 1, are

page_text: slots or notches in the ring 6 for receiving the outer ends of the arms g
when the bolt of the lock is shot outwards. I make the key, Figure 4,
like an ordinary Bramah key, except that as there is no pin in the lock
the corresponding hole in the key is not required. I also make notches
or depressions n, n, in the key corresponding in number to the arms 9,
and of such a shape as to receive the ends thereof when moved inwards,
as herein-after described; the ends of these arms are here shown of a
triangular form, but they may be made semicircular or of other suitable
shape, the depressions in the key being made to correspond therewith,
being bevilled when necessary to clear the arms. The number of arms
may be varied and may be placed at different heights in the barrel j.
m, m, springs on the arms to withdraw them from the notches or
depressions n, n, in the key when the latter is withdrawn from the lock;
o, o, slots in the end of the key to fit the ends of the levers or treadles ;
p, lever attached to the disc c and serving to actuate the bolt q by means
of a pin and slot arrangement when the disc is turned, or a key bit may
be used working into the side of the lock bolt in the usual manner;
r, plate placed over the ring with a hole in the centre for the barrel, a
small space being left between it and the plate 8, as shewn, for the tag
of the key. Between these two plates I sometimes place a disc of vul-
canized india-rubber or other suitable material with a hole in the centre
corresponding to the keyhole, but somewhat smaller; this disc serves to
obliterate any marks that might be made on any instrument inserted for
the purpose of picking the lock. The action of this lock is as follows:-
The key being inserted in the lock the slots o of the key will fit over the
heads or inner ends of the treadles e, which being depressed will move
forward (by means of their upright pieces i) the arms g, the inner ends
of which pass into the notches or depressions n in the key; the arms
being thus clear of the slots in the ring the barrel j and disc c can be
turned in the direction of the arrow and the bolt will be shot outwards;
the key being now removed the springs m will withdraw the ends of the
arms from the notches n in the key into the barrel, and the outer ends of
the arms will pass into the slots of the ring and the bolt will be securely
locked. To unlock the key is turned in the opposite direction, when
the various parts return to the position shewn in the Drawing. When
desirable I make the lock so that the bolt may be shot outwards without
using the key, as shewn in Figure 3. To effect this I make a slott in
the lock bolt q into which falls a spring catch or tumbler u working on
two studs, as shown; is a wedge-shaped piece or projection fixed to the

page_text: on
rotating disc c, and which wedge piece raises the spring catch
turning the disc c to which it is fixed in the direction of the arrow a¹;
w is a knob carrying a spindle which is fitted to the lock plate so that it
may be turned by the handle; it carries the lever x which is connected
to the bolt a by the second lever a working on a pin, as shewn. The
action is as follows:-The knob w being turned in the direction of the
arrow all the bolt q will be shot outwards by the levers x and x³, when
the catch or tumbler u being acted upon by its springs u', u', will drop
into the slot in the bolt q, which cannot be shot backwards without
using the key, which must be turned in the direction of the arrow a';
this causes the wedged-shaped piece to pass under and raise the spring
catch u from the slot of the bolt q, which latter can then be brought
back to the position shewn in the Drawing by turning the knob w in the
opposite direction to that before described for shooting the bolt; y is a
spring for bringing the disc c and its various parts back to its normal
position as soon as the key is relieved from pressure. In this arrange-
ment the keyhole plate r is not required. The key, Figure 5, of this lock
is shewn of small diameter, but to obtain greater leverage it has a cross
piece which fits into a slot z' in the barrel. The india-rubber ring
herein-before described cannot be used with this form of key. Instead
of the bolt being moved by turning the knob w, as herein-before described,
it may be moved by pressing inwards or pulling outwards the said knob
by the arrangement shown in Figure 9, in which q is the lock bolt, and
A is a cross piece fixed to the spindle w' of the knob w. When the knob
is pressed the inclined part 6 of the cross piece A acting on the bolt will
raise it; the part 0 on the other side of the bolt will then be in the top
of the notch D of the cross piece, which being drawn outwards will by
acting on the part C lower the bolt into its former position. For safes
the bolts are made so that they may be shot outwards by any of the
suitable known arrangements; one of these has a slot corresponding to
the slot of the lock bolt, Figure 3. A lock similar to that shewn in
Figure 3 is applied to the safe, so that the bolt of the safe having the
slot may be locked by the tumbler u, as described for the lock bolt q,
Figure 3.

page_text: myself to the precise details herein laid down and shewn in the Drawing,
as the same may be varied without departing from the principle of my
Invention, but what I claim is,-
Firstly. The general arrangement and construction of mechanism
whereby on the insertion of a false key or pick into the lock a number
of arms are caused to project and form obstructions to the action of the
lock, substantially as herein-before described and represented in the
accompanying Drawing.
Secondly. The throwing outwards of the bolts of locks without the use
of a key, as herein-before described and represented in Figures 3 and 9
of the accompanyind Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander John Fraser, have hereto
set my hand and scal, this Eighth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
ALEX. J. FRASER. (L.S.)
Witness,
W. A. GILBEE.