IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY Locks
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,.
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY Locks."-A communication from
abroad by Edouard Louis Poirier, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 7th December 1860, and dated the 15th September 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th September 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFETY LOCKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention of improvements in safety locks has for its object the con-
struction of locks in such a manner that no instrument but the proper key can be
introduced into the lock for the purpose of attempting to open it. This is effected
by means of a simple arrangement of mechanism which will obstruct the keyhole
or entrance to the lock, so that in order to open the lock the key upon being
inserted into the keyhole must first operate upon this mechanism, which covers
up or bars entrance to the other part of the lock before such key can arrive at
a second or inner opening or entrance-into which the key must be introduced
in order to operate upon the internal mechanism to move the lock bolt.
In carrying out this Invention, as applied to a door lock, the principal

page_text: working parts are made in duplicate, that is to say, there are two keyholes,
one for the inside and one for the outside of the lock. These keyholes or
entrances consist of sockets or tubular chambers fixed upon the inner and
outer lock plates, between which the mechanism of the lock is placed. At the
rear of each of these sockets or tubular chambers is a cell or chamber which is
closed at back by a moveable excentric piece or plate which covers up the
second or inner entrance to the lock, and moves upon a pin or stud when acted
upon by the proper key. On the top of the excentric plates are fitted guard
or ward plates, which are fixed to intermediate, lock plates furnished with
circular guards, through which pass pins or spindles that enter the socket of
the key when the latter passes into the interior of the lock.
In order to put the several parts of this lock in operation the key is intro-
duced into one of the keyholes or openings, and on pushing it forward it pene-
trates into the cell or chamber and by turning it to the right it engages with the
guard or ward plate which, if the key be not the proper one, will bar all further
entrance into the interior of the lock. The key upon continuing its motion
will strike against a catch piece, and thereby act upon a spring bolt and dis-
engage the moveable excentric plate, which, when turned on its centre, will
expose the second or inner hole or opening. The key can then descend or
enter further into the lock, and by that means will reach the circular guard
piece, then by continuing to turn the key it will act upon two stop pieces, and
when these latter have been raised sufficiently out of the way the key will be
free to act on the teeth of a rack made on the bolt, & thereby the latter may
be moved in the required direction. In order to bring the several parts to
their normal position when the key is withdrawn from the lock, springs are
adapted to the several parts, as is usual in other locks. A spring bolt may
also be adapted to the lock and made to move by hand or by the application of
the key. If it be required to operate from either the inside or outside of the
lock the several parts for operating upon the bolt must be in duplicate, as
before mentioned.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th March 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County 3.
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 SAFETY LOCKS," being a communication from abroad
by Edouard Louis Poirier, of Paris, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 Offico
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention of improvements in safety locks has for its object the con-
struction of locks in such a manner that no instrument but the proper key can
be introduced into the lock for the purpose of attempting to open it. This is
effected by means of a simple arrangement of mechanism which will obstruct
the keyhole or entrance to the lock, so that in order to open the lock, the key,
upon being inserted into the keyhole, must first operate upon this mechanism
which covers up or bars entrance to the other part of the lock before such key
can arrive at a second or inner opening or entrance into which the key must be
introduced in order to operate, upon the internal mechanism to move the
lock bolt.
In carrying out this Invention as applied to a door lock, the principal
working parts are made in duplicate, that is to say, there are two keyholes,
one for the inside and one for the outside of the lock. These keyholes or
entrances consist of sockets or tubular chambers fixed upon the inner and outer
lock plates, between which the mechanism of the lock is placed. At the rear

page_text: of each of these sockets or tubular chambers is a cell or chamber which is
"closed at back by a moveable excentric piece or plate which covers up the
second or inner entrance to the lock, and moves upon a pin or stud when acted
upon by the proper key. On the top of the excentric plates are fitted guard
or ward plates, which are fixed to intermediate lock plates furnished with cir-
cular guards, through which pass pins or spindles that enter the socket of the
key when the latter passes into the interior of the lock.
1
In order to put the several parts of this lock in operation, the key is intro-
duced into one of the keyholes or openings, and on pushing it forward it
'penetrates into the cell or chamber, and by 'turning it to the right it engages
with the guard' or plate, which, if the key be not the proper one, will bar all
further entrance into the interior of the lock. Upon continuing its motion,
the key will strike against a catch piece, and thereby act upon a spring bolt
and disengage the moveable excentric plate, which, when turned on its centre,
will expose the second or inner hole or opening: The key can then descend
or enter further into the lock, and by that means will reach the circular guard
piece; then, by continuing to turn the key, it will act upon two stop pieces,
and when these latter have been raised sufficiently out of the way, the key will
be free to act on the teeth of a rack made on the bolt, and thereby the latter
may be moved in the required direction. In order to bring the several parts
to their normal position when the key is withdrawn from the lock, springs are
adapted to the several parts, as is usual in other locks. A spring bolt may also
be adapted to the lock and made to move by hand or by the application of
the key. If it be required to operate from either the inside or outside of the
lock, the several parts for operating upon the bolt must be in duplicate, as
before mentioned.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevation of the improved lock,
shewing the safety plate, the exterior keyhole plate being removed; Fig. 2 is
⚫a horizontal section of the same, taken through the middle of the lock; Fig. 8
is an outside elevation, shewing the excentric safety plate; Fig. 4 is an inside
view, the first and second plates being removed; Fig. 5 represents the key;
Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are various views of some of the working parts detached and
somewhat different in form to that of the analogous or corresponding parts
shewn in the complete views of the lock.
On examining these various Figures, it will be observed that the mechanism
is in duplicate as above stated, that is to say, there are two entrances or key-
holes, one for the outside and the other for the inside of the door to which the
lock is attached. Each of these entrances or keyboles A, A', (Fig. 2,) is fixed
upon one of the plates P, P¹, which form the sides of the case containing the

page_text: mechanism of the lock. The entrances or keyholes A, A¹, terminate in cells or
chambers B, B¹, abutting against the excentric plates E, E', which turn on
axles or pivots at e, e¹, (see Figs. 1, 2, and 3). Above the plates E, E¹, are
mounted guards C, C', fixed upon the intermediate plates p, p¹, furnished with
circular guards c, c', through which pass gudgeons, pins, or spindles d, d¹.
In order to put the lock into operation, the key is to be introduced into one
of the keyholes or entrances (say A, for example), and on pushing it forward
or inwards it will enter the cell or chamber B, then on turning it to the.right
it will take into the guard or ward plate C through the opening a (see Fig. 5),
and enter the groove x¹ made in half the thickness of the plate E. On con;
tinuing the turning of the key it will strike against the catch D, which will
thereby cause the small spring bolt D₁ to descend and disengage the plate E.
This plate E will then be acted upon by the key and caused to turn on its
pivot e and uncover the second keyhole or entrance a, which is formed at right
angles to the first one; this position of the parts is represented in red lines at
Fig. 3. The key will now descend still further and take on to the spindle d
(Fig. 2), and rest upon the circular guard c; and on continuing to turn it, it
will act upon both the pieces H, H³, at once; and when these latter have been
sufficiently raised, the key will be allowed to act upon one of the teeth R¹ of
the bolt R (Fig. 4), and thereby cause it to move backwards or forwards, in
order to open or close the door.
The small spring lever V follows the movements of the pieces and its
extremity, at each forward movement of the bolt R will take into one of the
nicks formed at the upper part of the bolt. On withdrawing the key the excen-
tric plate E, which had assumed the position shewn by red. lines-in Fig. 3, will
resume its normal position, as shewn in the blue lines in the same Figure. The
spring will also act upon the plate E and cause it to resume its position
against the stop S. The small spring bolt D¹ will again take into the notch of
the plate E, and thus keep it well in place and effectually prevent the intro-
duction of any picklock.
The several parts shewn at Figs. 6, 7, and 8 represent these parts detached.
In Fig. 6 the spring r is of different form to that shewn at Figs. 1 and 3, and
is connected to the excentric plate E by a link.
In order to facilitate the withdrawal of the key, a small projection y,
(Fig. 3,) is caused to act upon the barrel of the key, and thus prevent any
obstruction to its withdrawal by pushing back the plate E beyond the
keyhole.
The arrangement and operation of the various parts will be precisely the
same for the entrance A¹ as above described for the entrance A..

page_text: As regards the catch bolt T, it may either be acted upon by drawing back
by its head the rod or spindle t (which is caused to return to its place by the
helical spring t¹) or by means of the key, which imparts a rocking movement to
the lever U, which is attached to the bolt by means of a screw u.
Having now described the nature of this Invention of improvements in
safety locks, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, as, communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, I desire it to be understood that I do not
mean or intend to confine myself rigidly to the precise construction and
arrangement of parts above shewn and described, as they may be modified
according to the kind of lock required and other circumstances without depart-
ing from the nature and object of the Invention; but that which I desire
to claim as the Invention secured to me under the above in part recited Letters
Patent is,
First, the use of the small additional apparatus (of which there might be
several sets one above another), for the purpose of offering an effectual obstruc-
tion to the introduction of any but the proper key, and also picklocks or other
-instruments, and 'thus rendering the lock perfectly secure.
Secondly, I claim the arrangement of parts above shewn and described con-
stituting the improved lock.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)