IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR LOCKING OR SECURELY CONNECTING THE DOORS OF SAFES, DASTADIES TO THE FRAMES THEREOP
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Royall Minns, now of Stapleton Road, in
the City and County of Bristol, and late of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Lock Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
MECHANISM FOR LOCKING OR SECURELY CONNECTING THE DOORS OF SAFES,
DASTADIES TO THE FRAMES THEREOP."
""
Sealed the 1st March 1870, and dated the 22nd September 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Royall Minns
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd September 1869.
I, HENRY ROYALL MINNS, now of Stapleton Road, in the City and
5 County of Bristol, and late of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Lock Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED MECHANISM FOR LOCKING OR SECURELY CONNECTING THE DOORS OF
SAFES, STRONG ROOMS, AND OTHER LIKE DEPOSITORIES TO THE FRAMES THEREOF,'
to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of the following improved mechanism for
looking or securing the doors of safes and other depositories to the
frames thereof in a more simple manner than heretofore.

page_text: I propose to effect this by arranging the locking bolts in a separate
case or box, which I affix to the back of the door of a safe, for example,
the said case or box being nearly the size of the said door. I employ
four sliding bolts, and arrange and dispose them one at each side of the
said case, and one at top and bottom thereof inside of the said case and
near to the edges thereof, and I mount the said bolts in guide pieces, in
which they slide parallel to each other in a straight line, two vertically
and the other two horizontally, and at the centre of the aforesaid case I
mount a partially revolving piece of metal or boss carrying four arms,
each of which is connected to each of the aforesaid sliding bolts, and I
form a square hole through the centre of the aforesaid boss, and also
through the door of the safe, so that by inserting a square pointed key
thereinto and turning the said key partly round either backwards or
forwards in like manner, the sliding bolts will be either pushed back-
wards or forwards for unlocking or locking the door, as desired. I also
affix hooked pieces to each of the aforesaid bolts, the said pieces passing
through long holes or slots made in the aforesaid case, and opposite to
these holes other holes are made in the frame of the safe, into which the
aforesaid hooked pieces take and hook when the door is locked, and by
these means I am enabled to lock or secure the door of the safe to the
frame thereof, and I make a notch in the edge of one or other of the
aforesaid sliding bolts to receive the bolt of a small auxiliary lock
unpickable, or not easily picked, so as to hold the bolts securely in
position when the safe is locked, as heretofore commonly practised in
safes made with bolts all round the door.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Royall Minns in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st March 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
ROYALL MINNS, now of Stapleton Road, in the City and County of 30
Bristol, and late of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Lock
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the 35

page_text: thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Royall Minns, Her special
license, that I, the said Henry Royall Minns, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Royall Minns,
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 "IMPROVED.
MECHANISH FOR LOCKING OR SECURELY CONNECTING THE DOORS OF SAFES, STRONG
ROOMS, AMD OTHER LIKE DEPOSITORIES TO THE FRAMES THEREOF," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Royall Minns, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Royall Minns, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to
say):-
This Invention consists of the following improved mechanism for
locking or securing the doors of safes and other depositories to the
frames thereof in a more simple manner than heretofore.
I propose to effect this by arranging the locking bolts in a separate
case or box, which I affix to the back of the door of a safe (for example),
the said case or box being nearly the size of the said door. I employ
four sliding bolts, and arrange and dispose them one at each side of the
said case and one at top and bottom thereof inside of the said case and
near to the edges thereof, and I mount the said bolts in guide pieces, in
which they slide parallel to each other in a straight line, two vertical
and the other two horizontally, and at the centre of the aforesaid case I
mount a partially revolving piece of metal or boss carrying two or more
arms, which are connected to the aforesaid sliding bolts, and I-form-a
square hole through the centre of the aforesaid boss and a round one
through the door of the safe, so that by inserting a square pointed key

page_text: thereinto and turning the said key partly round either backwards or
forwards in like manner the sliding bolts will be either pushed back-
wards or forwards for unlocking and locking the door, as desired, or a
handle may be attached for that purpose. I also affix hooked pieces to
each of the aforesaid bolts, the said pieces passing through long holes or
slots made in the aforesaid case, and opposite to these holes other holes,
are made in the frame of the safe, into which the aforesaid hooked pieces
take and hook when the door is locked, and by these means I am
enabled to fasten or secure the door of the safe to the frame thereof, and
I make a notch in the edge of one or other of the aforesaid sliding bolts
to receive the bolt of a small auxiliary lock (unpickable or not easily
picked) so as to hold the bolts securely in position when the safe is
locked, as heretofore commonly practised in safes made with bolts all
round the door, or the bolt of the auxiliary lock may be otherwise
arranged so as to bolt against one of the arms of the boss above named.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for "Improved
Mechanism for Locking or Securely Connecting the Doors of Safes,
Strong Rooms, and other like Depositories to the Frames thereof," I will
now proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same
is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, and in order
that the same may be clearly understood, I have annexed hereunto a.
Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with
figures and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following.
explanation thereof.
In the annexed Drawing Fig. 1 is a front view of a safe with the door
opened and thrown back; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the line
A, B, in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an edge view of the door, and Fig. 4 is a face
view of the door, with the front plate removed to shew the arrangement
of the locking apparatus.
a, a, represents the body of the safe, and b, b, the door, inside which
latter are arranged four sliding bolts c, c, cx, cx, which are capable of
sliding a short distance to and fro (two horizontally and two vertically)
in guides or straps d, d, d, d, rivetted to the inner plate of the door for
that purpose.
In the centre of the case or door I mount a metal
boss e, e, so as to be capable of partially revolving, and connected to the
said sliding bolts c, c, and o*, c", by means of four arms f, f, having
slots working on pins i, i. The horizontal sliding bolts c, c, are each
provided with one, and the vertical sliding bolts c*, c*, each with three

page_text: hooked catches h, h, (or any other convenient number may be employed),
which pass through elongated slots made in the back plate or case of
the door, and when the door is closed these hooked catches pass also into
and through other elongated slots k, k, made in the frame 1, 1, of the
body of the safe, against which the door closes. When the door has
been closed, and the hooked catches have consequently entered these
slots in the frame, the boss e, e, is to be partially turned (either by means
of the handle m, m, or by inserting a square ended key into the square
socket in the centre), which will have the effect of sliding all four of the
bolts simultaneously, and causing each of the hooked bolts or catch h, h,
to take firm hold at the back of the frame 1, 1, as shown at Fig. 2. The
bolts are then all secured by means of the auxiliary lock n, n, which
throws its bolt into a notch formed in the inner side of any one of the
sliding bolts.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
"Improved Mechanism for Locking or Securely Connecting the Doors
of Safes, Strong Rooms, and other like Depositories to the Frames
thereof," together with the manner in which the same is to be or may
be performed or carried into practical effect, I wish it to be understood
that I do not intend to confine myself to the precise mechanism which
I have herein-before described and shown in the Drawing for the sake
of illustration; but what I claim as my Invention is, the mode of
locking or securing the doors of safes, strong rooms, and other like
depositories to the frames thereof by means of a series of hook shaped
catches or bolts projecting from the inner side of the door, and hooking
or taking into suitable slots or openings made in that part of the frame
against which the door closes, substantially in the manner herein-before
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Royall Minns, have hereunto