IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA- RATUS FOR FASTENING AND SECURING CUPBOARDS OR RECEPTACLES FOR CONTAINING POISONS OR OTHER CHEMICAL PREPARATIONS, WHICH INVENTION
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clarkson Young, of Warrington, in the
County of Lancaster, for the Invention" of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA-
RATUS FOR FASTENING AND SECURING CUPBOARDS OR RECEPTACLES FOR
CONTAINING POISONS OR OTHER CHEMICAL PREPARATIONS, WHICH INVENTION
Sealed the 3rd February 1871, and dated the 4th August 1870...
*PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clarkson Young
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 4th August 1870.
I, JOHN CLARKSON YOUNG, of Warrington, in the County of
3 Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FASTENING AND SECURING CUPBOARDS OR
RECEPTACLES FOR CONTAINING POISONS OR OTHER CHEMICAL PREPARATIONS, WHICH
INVENTION IS ALSO APPLICABLE ΤΟ OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention is designed principally with a view of preventing as
far as possible the occurrence of mistakes in the dispensing of medicines,
but it is also equally applicable under other circumstances where a
system of check to prevent mistakes is desirable.
The Invention consists mainly in placing the bottles or other vessels
:
I

page_text: containing the poisons, drugs, or other articles in small separate cup-
boards or recesses provided with doors or drawers, and in connecting
the locks or bolts of such doors or drawers to an indicator in such a
manner that no door or drawer can be opened until the indicator has
been set to the corresponding position on the dial, and then only that
particular door or drawer to which the indicator has been set can be
opened.
It will be evident that this connection of the lock or bolt of each door
or drawer with an indicator, the pointing of which to any particular
letter, number, or name shall release the lock or bolt of the corresponding
cupboard, drawer, or receptacle containing the poison, drug, or other
article indicated, whilst the other bolts or locks all remain secure will
render the occurrence of a mistake almost impossible, because the person
dispensing must first set the indicator to the particular article required,
and then having done that can only open the cupboard or receptacle
containing that article; therefore, unless he first makes the mistake of
setting the indicator wrong, aud then makes exactly the same mistake
over again by going to the precise door or drawer which he has unlocked
by mistake (an almost impossible coincidence) he cannot dispense the
wrong drug.
The nature and form of the indicator itself, and the manner of its
connection with the locks or bolts of the doors or drawers, may be
modified in a variety of ways, as will be evident to any competent
mechanic without departing from the characteristic feature of my
Invention.
I do not wish therefore to confine myself to any particular form of
indicator so long as the latter is so connected to the locks or fastenings
of all and each of the doors or drawers in such a manner that no door or
drawer can be opened until the indicator has been previously set to
correspond, and then only the particular door or drawer indicated is
released.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said John Clarkson Young in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN 35
CLARKSON YOUNG, of Warrington, in the County of Lancaster, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letter's Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Clarkson Young, Her special licence
that I, the said John Clarkson Young, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Clarkson Young, 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 APPARATUS FOR FASTENING AND SECURING CUPBOARDS OR RECEPTACLES FOR
CONTAINING POISONS OR OTHER CHEMICAL PREPARATIONS, WHICH INVENTION IS ALSO
APPLICABLE TO OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," upon the condition, amongst others,
that I, the said John Clarkson Young, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
scals, 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 John Clarkson Young, 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 figures
on the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings and to the letters of
reference marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to prevent as much as possible the
occurrence of mistakes in the dispensing of poisons or medicines by the
employment of a system of checks, tests, or monitions previous to
opening the cupboards or receptacles containing the poisons or medicines,
which system is also applicable to other circumstances where the
prevention of mistakes is desirable.
My improvements consist in placing the bottles or vessels containing
the poisons, drugs, or other articles in separate cupboards or recesses
provided with doors or drawers, and in connecting the locks, bolts, or
fasteners of the said doors or drawers to an indicator corresponding with

page_text: an index or dial, so that no door or drawer can be opened until the
indicator has been set on the index or dial to a name, letter, number, or
mark corresponding with the cupboard or receptacle containing the
poison, drug, or other article required. The setting of the indicator
moves all the locks, bolts, or fasteners in such a manner that only the
particular door or drawer for which the indicator has been set can be
opened, the others being securely fastened, and as the dispenser cannot
at the first thought and action obtain possession of the article, but has
to command his attention and movements first to set the indicator
and then to remove the article, if the operations have been correct it is
evident that the probabilities of mistakes are very unlikely.
On the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings I represent a few sets
of cupboards or receptacles having different arrangements of indicators
and modes of connecting them with the locks, bolts, or fasteners of the
doors or drawers, but it is evident that these arrangements can be
modified in a variety of ways without departing from the characteristic
feature or peculiar system of my Invention, and therefore I do not
confine myself to any particular form of indicator so long as it is in
correspondence with the locks or fastenings of all and each of the doors
or drawers in such a manner that no door or drawer can be opened until
the indicator has been previously set as required, and then only the
particular door or drawer is released.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation; Fig. 2, a transverse section; and Fig. 3, a
plan of a set of cupboards used by chemists and others for holding bottles
containing poisons, the doors of the cupboards being provided with one
arrangement of indicator, and locks, bolts, or fasteners in connection
with it, there being a semicircular index or dial having the names and
points required to be indicated. The bottles are labelled in the usual
manner, the doors having on them corresponding names, but for the
sake of accuracy and prevention of mistakes it is imperative that when
the bottles are entered into the cupboards there shall be no possibility
of their being wrongly placed (that is) if the labelling has been correctly
performed. To insure the proper places of the bottles they are fastened
to or placed in wooden or other blocks a each having at the bottom a
groove b corresponding with the head of a screw or projection c fixed in
the bottom board of the frame, and all the grooves and projections are
in different positions, so that each bottle can only be entered into its
proper cupboard when the groove exactly coincides with its corresponding

page_text: projection. In this set of cupboards half the doors are hinged at the
left hand and the other half at the right; but this is immaterial, as they
may all be hinged at either side as desired, and the grooves and pro-
jections for ensuring the proper places of the bottles may be at the sides
instead of at the bottom. To the inside of the doors at one of the upper
corners are fixed hooks e, behind which there is a slide or bolt f having
in its bottom edge notches g, and in its tòp edge a toothed rack / in
which is geared a toothed wheel i fixed on the spindle which carries the
indicator k, and the positions of the notches are so arranged that any
one can be placed behind the hook of any door required to be opened,
The
or all shifted away from the hooks so that all the doors are fast.
dial or index is divided into seven parts, one more than the number of
cupboards, one part being named (shut) to correspond with the cupboards
when locked, and the other parts named to agree with the names on the
doors, and both sets of names are in different orders or succession for
the purpose of causing the necessity of a little additional attention, but
the two sets of names may be in the same order when desired. When
the indicator is at the point of (shut) or between the other points there
is no notch behind a hook, all being behind the solid metal of the slide
or bolt f, and therefore all the cupboards are locked, but when any
particular bottle is required the indicator has to be turned to the central
point of the name on the dial corresponding with the name on the bottle
and door, which movement turns the toothed wheel i and shifts the bolt-
so as to place a notch behind the hook of the door to be liberated to
allow it to be turned back and the cupboard opened, and when the bottle
is returned to its place, the door closed, and the indicator moved
to (shut) or between the other points all the cupboards are again
locked.
In Fig. 4 I represent a set of cupboards with an indicator m working
horizontally, the slide or bolt having notches to agree with pins or
hooks on the doors n, which are all hinged on one side, and have each a
pin o at the top, and the notches and pins are so arranged that when
the indicator m is at the central point or line of any name on the index p
its corresponding door can be opened, but if the indicator is in any
5 other position the bolt fastens all the doors, and though in this example
the bolt and indicator are above the doors it is evident that they can be
placed below.
In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 I represent front, back, and end views of part of
a double set of uncovered cases or receptacles for holding bottles con-

page_text: .
taining poisons or other matters, the bottles being fastened to or placed
in wooden or other blocks, which are held and released as required by
the movements of slides or bolts worked by indicators. In this arrange-
ment the blocks and bottles can only be placed in their proper recep-
tacles, as there are either one or more pins in the frames and grooves in
the blocks in different positions, and similar modes for preventing the
bottles from being wrongly placed must be adopted in all cases. To the
back of each block q is fixed a pin r projecting downwards, and in front
of the pins there are recesses in the blocks for a slide or bolts to work
in, there being in the bolt notches t for allowing the escape of the pins
to release the blocks and bottles as required, the bolts being worked by
the toothed wheels u, racks v, and indicators win connection with
circular indexes x, or by indicators moved to and fro horizontally or
.vertically.
In any set of cupboards or receptacles the slide or bolt for fastening
and releasing the doors or blocks may be connected to a chain or band
passing over guide pulleys for the purpose of enabling the index and
indicator to be placed at any desired position so that any person can
work the indicator and bolt and another remove the bottle or article
from the cupboard or receptacle, and one arrangement of this description
is shewn in Fig. 8, in which a¹ represents the slide or bolt; b, the
chains or bands; c', the guide pulleys; d, the index; and e', the indicator
.placed vertically.
In Figs. 9 and 10 I represent an arrangement adapted for a case
or cabinet for holding bottles containing poisons, medicines, or other
matters, the bottles being fastened to or placed in blocks having grooves
at their sides or bottoms corresponding with pins fixed to the frame for
preventing the bottles from being wrongly placed. In the bottom of
each block f¹ there is a groove g¹ through which is passed a chain /'
passing over pulleys and having connected to it an indicator m¹ which
slides in the groove n¹ below the index o¹ marked or labelled with the
names of the contents of the bottles, but the names are not in the same
order as those on the bottles for the purpose of causing the requirement
of a little additional attention. The chain h¹ has at one part a round or
flat wire rod or bar p¹ which can pass below the blocks, and when the
indicator is placed at the central point or line of the name on the index
of the bottle required the wire rod or bar will be below its corresponding
-block, so that the block and bottle are released, and instead of the chain
as shewn in the Figures a band or cord may be used when desired,

page_text: I have shewn and described a few arrangements of apparatus for the
purpose of making my improved system of checks, tests, or monitions
clearly understood, but it is evident that many other contrivances for
working the indicator may be used, and although I have only shewn
purely mechanical arrangements the indicators can be worked by
electricity or galvanism similar to the electric telegraph, and also though
I have principally alluded to poisons and medicines the system can be
applied to any purpose or object where mistakes are required to be
prevented.
"
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire
it to be understood that I claim, the improvements for fastening and
securing cupboards or receptacles containing poisons or other matters
according to my peculiar system of giving checks, tests, or monitions by
means of indexes or dials in connection with indicators worked as herein
described and illustrated on the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings,
or worked in any other desired manner.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clarkson Young, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Signed, sealed, and delivered
by the within-named John
Clarkson Young in the
presence of
G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
JOHN CLARKSON YOUNG. (L.S.)
Manchester.