improvements in or relating to Locks.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Nov., 1894-Accepted, 30th Mar.,
1895
improvements in or relating to Locks.
A communication from AUGUST HAMPEL, Locksmith, of Siegmar, near Chemnitz,
German Empire.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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:-
The inventor's object has been to solve the problem of inverting the well-known
Bramah mechanism for safety-locks in such manner that, contrary to the old form,
requiring a special construction on the lock-case, it may be employed in the form
of a mortise-lock, of moderate thickness, such as is shown, of full size, in the
accompanying drawings. In this way, the utilisation of a valuable means, affording
admirable safety, such as the Bramah device, is rendered possible in connection
with a considerable number of objects, to which it has hitherto been inapplicable,
owing to the limiting conditions of its construction, such for instance, as furniture,
locks for trunks bags & the like and mortise locks.
From what follows it will be seen that the purpose of this invention is to make a
door-lock, provided with the Bramah mechanism such that it can be opened or
closed on either side, whereby it may be rendered available in the majority of
cases to which it has hitherto been unadapted.
The new ward-mechanism is shown more particularly in longitudinal section in
Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, closed in the one case and open in the
other; being further represented at A, Figs. 3 to 5, drawings which represent
the entire lock.
It differs from the form of Bramah wards hitherto known in certain particulars,
which facilitate its being made in the essentially reduced and extremely compressed
form shown in the drawings.
The ward-mechanism is lodged, in the first place, inside of the lock case, instead
of in a special case outside thereof secondly, the special casing is replaced by
two flat discs, in which the shank or operating cylinder of the key rotates,
whereof the lower carries at the same time the notches for the tumblers; thirdly,
the spring-controlled movable piston for lifting the tumblers in the operating
cylinder is entirely dispensed with the tumblers being rather made to slide, under
individual pressure from special small springs, in the slots of the solid operating
cylinder placed in the lower part of the lock; and lastly, there is a saving in
length, because the cylinder is not attached to the bolt by rollers projecting from
its top surface, but engages with its lower part by means of a projection.
The bent or double-angle piece 1 is secured to the back plate of the lock, and
firmly carries the two flat rings 2 and 3. Within these latter is the operating
cylinder 5, rotating around the lock-pin 4 secured to the lock-piate, and carrying
on its lower part the actuating projection or bit (shown only in Figs. 3, 4
and 5).
Lodged in radial grooves or slits in the cylinder 5 are the Bramah tumblers 8,
made of thin steel sheets, movable axially, and controlled by the springs 7. These
sheet-steel tumblers are provided, at various points of their height, with notches 8 a
which are found to be opposite the notches in the flat ring 3, whenever th
Bramah tumblers are duly depressed by the barrel of the key in the usual well-
known manner.

page_text: A comparison of the drawings annexed, which show the improved wards, with
the familiar Bramah wards, will suffice to show that the reduction in size
above mentioned, is not obtained by a mere reduction of the dimensions and pro-
portions of the parts and consequent injurious weakening the same, but results
naturally from the differences introduced in the construction of the mechanism, as
pointed out.
The Bramah mechanism itself only permits the lock to be opened and closed
from one side of the lock; in order to enable the same to be done on both sides,
the following arrangement has been made.
The bolt C of the door-lock shown in the drawings is forked, and each arm of
the fork is provided with a key-slot; of these two, the one 9 is arranged close t
the back-plate B, the other, 10, is bent and located close to the cover-plate of the
lock (as shown in Fig. 4).
In proximity to each key-slot is bedded one of the Bramah-mechanisms above
described, secured in one case to the back-plate, in the other case to the cover
plate of the lock. As soon as one of these Bramah mechanisms is operated by the
key, the above mentioned bit or projection 6 enter into the key-way or slot, so that
in each case the bolt C is moved. Upon C is secured the tumbler E working in
co-operation with the stump 11 in such way that its nose or projection 12, pro-
jecting into the key-way or slot 10, can be moved directly by the bit or actuating
projection 6 of the adjacent Bramah-wards. But as also, when the upper Bramah-
mechanism is operated by the key, the tumbler E can be thereby raised, if the latter
be connected by the rod 13 with the lever 14, which comes within the path of the
other key-way 9. When raised by the bit or projection 6 in the key-way, the
lever 14 effects the raising of the tumbler E out of the path of the stump 11.
The arrangement illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5 of the accompanying drawings,
where the follower F presses back the bolt G by means of an intermediate trans-
mitting device H, the spring at the same time by means of a lever g shooting
the bolt, is the outcome of a regard for the utmost possible economy of space.
Further the lock above described and shown in the drawings may be adapted for
use as a right hand lock, or as a left-hand lock, when necessary by turning the
latch bolt round.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I claim is :-
1. A door or other lock with Bramah wards or mechanism characterised by
economy of space in point of length of the operating cylinder 5 in the inside of the
lock-case. provided at its lower part with a bit or actuating-projection such as 6.
and unprovided with any special case being arranged to turn between two flat
discs such as 2 and 3 whereof the inner one contains the notches for the tumblers 8
which are severally controlled by springs such as 7 substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. A door or other lock with Bramah-mechanism or wards which may be opened
from either side by making the bolt forked such as C in the interior of the lock and
arranging a Bramah-mechanism such as A on each arm of the fork while a tumbler
such as E mounted on one arm of the fork is connected by a rod 13 with a lever
such as 14 mounted upon the other arms of the fork whereby when the Bramah-
mechanism is operated the tumbler is moved directly substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete lock
substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this flat d... L N 1904
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.