CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS AND FASTENINGS
Year: 1856

page_text: application for Letters Patent was not given within the time prescribed
by the Act.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Fenton at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st January
1856.
I, SAMUEL FENTON, Incumbent of Saint Mary's, Wavertree, in the County
of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS AND FASTENINGS," to be as follows:-
The ordinary mortice locks used for the doors of rooms are constructed with
three bolts. The first of these bolts is pushed forward by a spring, and is capable
of being drawn back from either side of the door by turning a spindle which
passes through the door and has a knob at each end, and carries a follower
which acts on the bolt. The second bolt is capable of being thrown out or
withdrawn by means of a key which can be inserted at either side of the door.
The third bolt is capable of being advanced or withdrawn by turning a knob on
one side only. I construct a mortice lock, in which one bolt is made to serve
for all these purposes. The bolt is pressed forward by a double or elliptical or
curved spring or springs, and is drawn back by turning a spindle with a knob
at each side of the door, like the first bolt of the ordinary lock above mentioned.
The lower part of the bolt is formed for being acted upon by the key, so
that the bolt may be shot farther out for locking the door; the bolt is kept
out by a tumbler which drops into a notch in the bolt; the bolt has another
long notch, in which the stud of the tumbler lies when the bolt is unlocked.

page_text: The bolt is secured from one side of the door without using the key by means
of a piece of metal or lever moved by a spindle and knob, and locking into a
notch, or behind a projection on the bolt, thus paralysing the bolt and answer-
ing the same purpose as the third bolt in the ordinary lock above mentioned.
In order to render the lock more secure; a piece of metal of a swan's neck or
other suitable form is moved by the tumbler, and pushed into a hole in the
spindle or the follower which is used for unlatching the door. This spindle
cannot then be used for putting a pressure on the bolt, while the tumbler
is raised by a picklock; the tumbler may have a series of pins on its lower
surface to increase the difficulty of acting upon it by a picklock. The tumbler
is pressed down by a curved spring secured at one point by a stud, and acting
against the case of the lock. In a similar manner. I construct a surface
latch, to be fixed against the side of a door with one bolt or latch to serve
in lieu of the latch and the separate small bolt generally used. The latch
turns upon a pin or screw, and is pressed downwards by a spring, which forces
up its back end. The latch is raised by a follower on a spindle, with a knob
on each side of the door, and it is secured by a lever or piece of metal which
locks into or against it, and paralyses it in a similar manner to that above
described as employed in the mortice lock. The tail of this lever projects from
the latch when in use and lies within it when out of use, so that it may be
been at a glance whether the latch is secured or not. The screw on which
the latch turns serves also to connect the back and front plates of the latch;
it passes through a short tube or ferrule, which keeps the plates apart, and
prevents their pinching or impeding the action of the latch.