IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING SEALS, AND APPLYING THE SAME TO LOCKS AND OTHER FASTENINGS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, of 35, South-
IN
ampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING SEALS, AND
APPLYING THE SAME TO LOCKS AND OTHER FASTENINGS."-A communica-
tion from abroad by Franklin Wisner Brooks, of the City, County,
and State of New York, United States of America, Seal Lock
Manufacturer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Joseph
Barnard Mills at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 30th May 1871.
I, BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of 35, Southampton Buildings,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING SEALS, AND IN
APPLYING THE SAME TO LOCKS AND OTHER FASTENINGS," a communication to me
from abroad by Franklin Wisner Brooks, of the City, County, and State

page_text: as follows:
The first part of the Invention relates to methods of producing seals
and applying the same to locks and fastenings of various descriptions so
that any attempt to open the said fastenings by an unauthorized party
may be detected.
The Invention further relates to methods of adapting seals to be
represented and registered for purposes of subsequent identification, and
for preventing the successful duplication or counterfeiting such seals.
The Invention further relates to methods of locking the seal holders in
position over the keyhole of a lock or upon any fastenings to which they
may be applied.
The seals are constructed of black and white glass made in variegated
figures or of other frangible and inflexible material so marked as to
enable them to be accurately represented by photography, printing, or
otherwise, and yet to prevent their successful imitation in their own or
similar material. The seals may further be numbered in the process
of manufacture or subsequently, so as to afford a further means of
registration and identification.
In applying the Invention to locks, the casing, the face plate, and
the shackle may be made in any common or suitable manner.
The seal holder may be pierced with a keyhole corresponding in
shape and size with the keyhole in the face plate of the lock. A seal of
variegated glass or other suitable material is applied in a recess or cavity
in the seal holder. The said recess is made with an open side to admit
of the ready removal and insertion of the seals when the seal holder is
turned back over the keyhole, or when it is drawn back. When in
position to protect the lock or other object to which it may be applied the
open edge or edges of the seal holder are covered by a stationary flange
on the face plate, so that the seal may be enclosed on all sides and its
escape prevented. In some cases the seal holder is secured to a pintle
which turns in the face plate and carries on the inside of the casing a
rigid arm, upon the edge of which the shackle shuts down, when it is
locked, thereby securing the seal holder immovably in position. A
corresponding effect may be produced by means of a spring pin engaging
with an aperture in the sliding seal holder, so that when the seal is placed

page_text: within the said sliding holder and the latter slidden up into its locked
position the spring pin will engage and hold it and cannot be retracted
without breaking the seal, after which a pointed instrument being
driven through a hole may press back the pin and permit the scal
holder to be readily drawn into such a position by the same instrument,
that access may be obtained to the lock or other fastening, but the fact
of it having been opened is made manifest by the destruction of the
seal. A protecting cap or cover is pivotted to slide over the seal holder
and seal, where it may be locked by a spring catch placed at either end,
as preferred. A hole is provided through which to insert a pointed
instrument to release the cover when desired. This cover may be
so pivotted as to shut down over the seal, and the spring catch permits
of its being raised therefrom when sufficient pressure is applied, or if
a spring bolt is used the said bolt can be pushed back by means of a
wire inserted in a hole, and the cap will then be thrown up by the
action of a spring.
A seal of variegated glass or other frangible and inflexible material
may be applied to the shackle of a keyless lock in the following
manner: The bolt engages with a notch in the short end of the shacklo
and is itself locked in position by a spring tumbler, the heel or rear
end of which engages with a notch in the long end of the shackle,
which rests upon the bottom of the lock case. Thus while the parts
are in the locked position the shackle cannot be drawn out or forced in
without severing it, but if the shackle be cut the short end may be
forced downward and the two parts of the shackle liberated from the
lock, the parts of which are at the same time placed in position for the
introduction of a fresh shackle. By applying to the shackle a seal of
glass or other suitable material such shackle is effectually prevented
being removed and replaced by a new one by any unauthorized person
without detection.
If desired the seal holder may constitute a keeper to lock the free
end of the shackle of a padlock, so that though the lock bolt be with-
drawn the shackle cannot be retracted until the keeper has been cut,
one of the ends of the keeper being formed with a hook or lug to hold:
it within the shackle, and the other end being held by a spring catch
within the lock case; or the seal holder may constitute a cap covering
the keyhole and held therein by talons which are engaged by spring

page_text: catches within the lock case. The talons and the openings through
which they pass are so formed that when the seal holder is severed and
its ends turned at right angles to their original position they may be
readily withdrawn in order to expose the keyhole. This part of the
Invention is further intended and is adapted without material change
for use as a covering for the heads of screws or other fastenings, for
burial cases or receptacles for any articles of value, and constitutes an
efficient seal therefor. If instead of using it with a complete lock. the
seal holder is to be employed to protect the united ends of a cord,
wire, ribbon, or its equivalent, employed to bind in any manner, secure
valuable packages, to attach documents together, or for any like purpose,
the casing within which the seal holder slides is provided with apertures,
through which the ends are passed inward. The smallness of the holes
or slots may prevent the knot which unites the ends from being slipped
out into an exposed position, but it is preferred to pass the ends through
an aperture in a stud or post and wrapped or tied around the same, or
in the case of tape the ends may be simply tied together and the tape
passed over a pointed stud, and when the seal holder having been sup-
plied with a seal is slidden up into position it will prevent the escape of
the tape from said stud.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 30th November 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of 35, Southampton Buildings, in the County 1
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, Her special
licence that I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Benjamin
Joseph Barnard Mills, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should.

page_text: 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 CONSTRUCTING SEALS, AND IN APPLYING THE
SAME TO LOCKS AND OTHER FASTENINGS," a communication to me from abroad
by Franklin Wisner Brooks, of the City, County, and State of New
York, United States of America, Seal Lock Manufacturer, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard
Mills, 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 Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, 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 thereof, that is to say :—
The first part of the Invention relates to methods of producing seals
and applying the same to locks and fastenings of various descriptions, so
that any attempt to open the said fastenings by an unauthorized party
may be detected.
The Invention further relates to methods of adapting seals to be
represented and registered for purposes of subsequent identification, and
for preventing the successful duplication or counterfeiting such seals.
The Invention further relates to methods of locking the seal holders in
position over the keyhole of a lock or upon any fastenings to which
they may be applied.
And in order that the Invention may be clearly understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying Drawings,
fully to describe the same.

page_text: a
showing the seal holder and cap in their retracted positions; Figure 3 is
a view of the inner side of the face plate; Figure 4 is a vertical section
of the face plate and its attachments on the line z, z, Figure 3; Figure 5
is an under side view of the complete lock, showing the seal holder and
its cap in section on the lines 10, w, Figure 2; Figure 6 is a perspective
view of a face plate, seal holder, and cap, showing the latter parts in
their retracted positions, but under a modified form; Figure 7 is a view
of the inner side of the said face plate; Figure 8 is section of the face
plate and attachments on the line y, y, Figure 7. Figure 9 is an ele-
vation of a keyless lock with the face plate removed, showing the seal in
section; Figure 10 is an elevation of the same, partly in section, showing
the shackle severed and its parts in position to permit their withdrawal;
Figure 11 is a horizontal section on the line x, x, Figure 9; Figure 12 is
an elevation of the shackle detached. Figure 13 is a front view, partly
in section, illustrating the application of a similar seal to the keeper of a
padlock; Figure 14 is a front view illustrating its application to a keyhole
guard; Figure 15 is a view of the inner side of the face plate which is
shown in Figure 14; Figure 16 is a view of the lower edge of the same;
Figure 17 is a perspective view of the upper part of the padlock, showing
the shackle open; Figure 18 is a transverse sectional view taken through
the seal case and cap near its lower end, showing the preferred form of
fastening used with said cap when it is hinged as shown in Figure 6;
Figure 19 is a longitudinal section of the face plate, seal case, and cap,
on the line v, Figure 18, but showing the cap elevated or open; Figure 20
is a sectional perspective view of the seal holder as adapted to secure or
protect the united ends of a wire or cord which may be used for securing
valuable packages, documents, or receptacles of any kind; Figure 21 is
a perspective view of the same looking in the other direction and
showing it adapted for use in connection with a tape or ribbon.
In applying the Invention to locks the casing A, the face plate A³,
and the shackle C, may be made in any common or suitable manner.
B, Figure 1, represents a common lock bolt pressed forward by a
spring b, but held in its retracted position when the shackle is out by
means of a dog D, which is pivotted on the stud F and pressed upward
by the spring G, so as to cause it to throw up the shackle and engage
with the fence 6' of the bolt when the said bolt is retracted by the key.
H, H, H, are tumblers engaging with the fence b¹; these tumblers need

page_text: not differ materially in construction and operation from those in common
use for a like purpose. The tumbler springs are shown at h. I represents
the scal holder, which is pierced with a heyhole i corresponding in shape
and size with the keyhole J in the face plate of the lock; S may
represent a seal of variegated glass or other suitable material applied in
a recess or cavity in the seal holder I; the said recess is made with an
open side, as shown in Figures 2 and 6, to admit of the ready removal
and insertion of the seals when the seal holder is turned back over the
keyhole J in the illustration given in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, or when
it is drawn back in the illustrations given in Figures 6, 7, 8, 19, 20, and
21. When in position to protect the lock or other object to which it
may be applied, the open edge or edges of the seal holder are covered by
a stationary flange K on the face plate A¹, so that the seal may be
enclosed on all sides and its escape prevented.
In the illustration given in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, the seal holder
is secured to a pintle L which turns in the face plate, and carries on
the inside of the casing a rigid arm M upon the edge of which the
shackle shuts down when it is locked, thereby securing the seal holder
immovably in position.
A corresponding effect is produced in the form of the Invention
shown in Figures 6, 7, 8, 19, 20, and 21 by means of a spring pin q,
attached to a spring Q, and engaging in an aperature q' in the sliding
seal holder, so that when the seal S is placed within the said sliding
holder and the latter slidden up into its locked position, the spring
pin q
will engage and hold it and cannot be retracted without breaking
the seal, after which a pointed instrument being driven through the
hole q¹ may press back the pin q and permit the seal holder to be readily
drawn into the position shown in Figures 6, 19, and 21 by the same
instrument. Access is thereby obtained to the lock or other fastening,
but the fact of it having been opened is made manifest by the destruction
of the seal. By forming the pin q with a dovetail or notch, as shown
in Figures 6 and 8, it may be made to catch and hold the sliding scal
holder with a hooking action, rendering it impossible to shake or jar
it loose, but when the seal has been broken, and the seal holder pressed
into its highest position, the pin q will be released so that it can be
readily pressed in by the pointed instrument as represented. N is a
protecting cap or cover which in the illustration shown in Figure 2 is

page_text: pivotted to slide over the seal holder and seal, where it may be locked
by a spring catch O placed at either end as preferred. A hole n is
provided through which to insert a pointed instrument to release the
cover when desired. In the illustration given in Figures 6, 8, and 14,
this cover is so pivotted as to shut down over the seal and the spring
catch O permits of its being raised therefrom when sufficient pressure
is applied, or if a spring bolt o is used as shown in Figures 18, 19,
and 21, the said bolt can be pushed back by means of a wire inserted
in the hole n, and the cap will then be thrown up by the action of the
spring n¹ into the position shown in Figure 19.
P in Figures 2, 4, 5, represents a flange upon the free end of the
cap N engaging over a step or shoulder upon the seal holder so as to
secure the cap in close contact with the said seal holder.
Figures 9, 10, 11, and 12 illustrate the application of the seal S of
variegated glass or other frangible or inflexible material to the shackle 1
of a keyless lock. The bolt B engages with a notch in one end c of the
shackle C, and is itself locked in position by a spring tumbler H, the
heel or rear end h of which engages with a notch in the other end c¹ of
the shackle. This end c¹ is longer than the end c, so as to rest upon the
bottom of the lock case. It will thus be seen that while the parts are
in the position shown in Figure 9 the shackle cannot be drawn out or
forced in without severing it, but if the shackle be cut the short end c
may be forced downward upon the rear end of the dog D, which is
fulcrummed at d, and at its forward end d¹ bears upward against the
pivotted spring tumbler H. This action throws the said tumbler ?
upward into the position shown in Figure 10, withdrawing it from the
notch in the end c¹ of the shackle and permitting the bolt B to be forced
backward by turning the end c one half round, as shown in the same
Figure. A similar effect may be produced upon the spring tumbler
when the shackle has been cut by a simple rotation of the end c¹ of a
the shackle. The pressure thus exerted upon the rear end h of the
tumbler raises the forward end of the tumbler and thus releases the
bolt, when both ends of the shackle may be withdrawn while they are
in the reversed position shown in Figure 10. When the shackle is
withdrawn the bolt will be thrown forward by its own spring and again å
locked by the tumbler H, and when another uncut shackle is inserted
its longer end c coming in contact with the rear of the tumbler H
]

page_text: elevates the forward end thereof, thus permitting the bolt to recede
under contact of the end c until the shackle reaches its proper position,
when the bolt and tumbler engage in their respective notches. Applying
to the shackle C, Figures 9, 10, 12, a seal S of glass or other suitable
material effectually prevents such shackle being removed and replaced
by a new one by any unauthorized person without detection.
In constructing the seals S in any of the various forms here repre-
sented, or in other forms which may be adopted to adapt them for
other modes of application, it is preferred to form them of black and
white glass made in variegated figures, adapting them to accurately
represented by photography, but preventing any successful imitation of
them in their own or similar material. The seals being numbered as
illustrated in Figure 6 a record of any particular seal may be preserved
by photography and by numbering, and this will afford an accurate
means of ascertaining by inspection whether any particular seal found
in position on the lock is the same that was originally placed there by
the authorized party, the infinite variety of patterns produced in the
variegated black and white or other colored glass rendering it impossible
to produce two seals exactly alike. These seals admit of application in
a great variety of ways.
In the illustration shown in Figure 13, the seal holder I constitutes a
keeper to lock the free end of the shackle of the padlock, so that though
the lock bolt be withdrawn, the shackle cannot be retracted until the
keeper has been cut, one of the ends of the keeper being formed with a
hook or lug to hold it within the shackle, and the other end being held
by a spring catch s¹ within the lock case.
In the illustration shown in Figures 14 and 15 the seal holder. con-
stitutes a cap covering the keyhole and held therein by talons & which
The talons and
are engaged by spring catches 8¹ within the lock case.
O the openings through which they pass are so formed that when the seal
holder is severed and its ends turned at right angles to their original
position they may be readily withdrawn in order to expose the keyhole.
This part of the Invention is further intended and is adapted without
material change for use as a covering for the heads of screws or other
5 fastenings for burial cases or receptacles for any articles of value and
constitutes an efficient seal therefor. If instead of using it with a com-
plete lock the seal holder is to be employed to protect the united ends

page_text: of a cord, wire, ribbon, or its equivalent, employed to bind in any
manner, secure valuable packages, to attach documents together, or for
any like purpose, the casing K within which the seal holder I slides is
provided with apertures k through which the ends are passed inward.
The smallness of the holes or slots may prevent the knot which unites
the ends from being slipped out into an exposed position, but it is.
preferred to pass the ends through an aperture in a stud or post ' and
wrapped or tied around the same, or in the case of tape the ends may be
simply tied together and the tape passed over a pointed stud as shown
in Figure 21, and when the seal holder having been supplied with a scal
is slidden up into position it will prevent the escape of the tape from
said stud.
In order to prevent the entrance of water into the padlock the upper
plate of the lock (a³, Figure 17) between the face plate and back plate
is formed with a steep inclination from the opening in top of the lock
toward the edge at which the shackle is pivotted, and where there is
no opening into the case. From the margin of the opening into which
the nose of the shackle enters the metal slopes downward in every
direction, and is covered by a projecting flange or cap c³ formed around
the free end of the shackle, as represented in Figure 17.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the mode
in which the same is carried into effect, I would have it understood that
what I claim is,-
Firstly. A seal of variegated glass or other variegated material adapted
to be applied to protect a lock or other fastening, and to be represented
by facsimiles, photographed or otherwise printed or taken on paper or
cloth.
Secondly. A seal for locks or other fastenings constructed of frangible
and inflexible material so marked as to prevent its duplication, sub-
stantially as described.
Thirdly. The scal S of glass or other transparent and frangible
material variegated to prevent imitation, and marked either in the
course of its manufacture or subsequently with numerals or other dis-
tinguishing characters adapted for registration.
Fourthly. The scal case I or its equivalent adapted to receive a glass
plate or other frangible seal, and applied to a lock or other fastening,

page_text: in any manner substantially as herein described, so that either the seal
or seal holder must be broken or severed before access can be had to
the fastening so protected.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-one.