IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING OF SAFES, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO SHUTTERS AND DOORS OF BUILDINGS WHERE SECURITY IS -REQUIRED
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Tansley, of Bedford, in the County of
Bedford, Cabinet Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING OF SAFES, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS
APPLICABLE TO SHUTTERS AND DOORS OF BUILDINGS WHERE SECURITY IS
-REQUIRED."
"
Sealed the 28th August 1866, and dated the 2nd March 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Tansley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
.. March 1866.
I, JAMES TANSLEY, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Cabinet
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING OF SAFES, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS
APPLICABLE TO SHUTTERS AND DOORS OF BUILDINGS WHERE SECURITY IS REQUIRED,"
to be as follows:-
The chief object of this Invention is so to construct safes for containing
property of great value that they shall possess great resisting power, and
effectually prevent burglars from prising them open by wedges or other well-
known means. To this end I propose to fit safes with inner and outer doors
so constructed that the outer doors will lock into the face of the inner doors,
and thus, if wedges are used to thrust out one of the sides of the safe to free

page_text: the bolts carried by the outer door, the inner door being attached to the side
that is being subjected to the strain of the burglars' wedges will assist the side
attacked to resist the strain put upon it, or, in other words, will hold the side
and the outer door firmly together. On the inner face of the outer door I
form parallel ribs in a line with the hinges, and on the outer face of the door
I make similar ribs to fit into the recesses formed by the ribs of the outer
door. By preference I use a pair of folding doors for the inner door, but
when I use a single inner door I hinge it on the opposite side to that of the
outer door. When therefore a lateral strain is put on the side of the safe the
inner door will through its hinges take that strain and transmit it to the outer
door. It will thus be seen that so long as the inner hinges are able to with-
stand the attack the side of the safe cannot yield to the strain of the wedges
forced between it and the edge of the outer door. To prevent the prising
of the top or bottom of the safe I form the top and bottom plates with a fillet,
which fits into transverse recesses made on the inner face and near the upper
and lower edges of the outer door. The door will therefore when shut inter-
lock with the top and bottom plates, and enable them to resist the lateral
strain of wedges driven in between them and the door. This arrange-
ment of interlocking doors applies also to the windows and doors of strong
rooms.
Any approved form and arrangement of lock and bolts may be used in
connection with this part of my Invention.
Another improvement which I propose to introduce for the purpose of
affording additional safety to iron safes is to mount the safe upon a turnplate,
the spindle of which may turn in a hollow pillar rising from the basement of
the building, or have its bearing in a transverse beam or any other suitable
snpport.
The object of this arrangement is to afford a burglar no purchase for his
crowbars and other implements and to leave the safe free to turn when external
pressure is put upon it.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria; by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Tansley, Her special licence that I, the said James
Tansley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Tansley, 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 THE CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING OF SAFES, PART OF WHICH
IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO SHUTTERS AND DOORS OF BUILDINGS WHERE
SECURITY IS REQUIRED," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said James Tansley, 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 James Tansley, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, 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) :—
The chief object of this Invention is so to construct safes for containing
property of great value that they shall possess great resisting power, and-
effectually prevent burglars from prising them open by means of wedges or
other well-known appliances. To this end I propose to fit safes with inner and
outer doors so constructed that the outer doors will lock into the face of the inner
doors, and thus, if wedges are used to thrust out one of the sides of the safe in
order to free the bolts or tangs carried by the outer door, the inner door by
being attached to the side that is being subjected to the strain of the burglars'
wedges will assist the side attacked to resist the strain to which it is subjected,
or, in other words, will hold the side and the outer door firmly together.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a safe con-
structed according to my Invention; in this Figure the outer door is
represented as wide open in order to shew more clearly the safety arrangements
connected with or adapted to the inner door or doors 6, 6*; Fig. 2 is a sectional

page_text: plan view shewing the interlocking of the inner doors; Fig. 3 is a back view
of the inner door, shewing the lock plate and the mode of securing the doors
by locking bolts. On the inner face of the outer door a I form vertical parallel
ribs a, a, in a line with the hinges, and on the outer face of the inner
door 6 I make similar ribs b¹ to fit into the recesses formed by the ribs a¹
of the outer door a. By preference I use for the inner door a pair of folding
doors or double doors, as shewn in the Drawing at 6, 6*. When a single
inner door is used it is binged on the opposite side to that of the outer door.
When therefore a lateral strain is put on the side of the safe the inner door b
will through its hinge and projecting ribs take that strain and transmit it to
the outer door a. It will thus be seen that so long as the hinges of the inner
door or doors are able to withstand, the attack the side of the safe cannot
yield to the strain of the wedges forced between it and the edge of the outer
door. In order to prevent the top or bottom of the safe from being prised or
forced open the top and bottom plates c and d are each formed with a fillet or
projecting horizontal rib e, e¹, which fit into transverse recesses made on the
inner face and near the upper and lower edges of the outer door, as seen
at f,f, Fig. 1. The outer door a will therefore when shut interlock with the
top and bottom plates of the safe, and will enable them to resist the lateral
strain of wedges driven in between them and the door. This arrangement
of interlocking doors applies also to the windows and doors of strong rooms.
Any approved form and arrangement of lock and bolts may be used in
connection with these improved safes.
The arrangement which I prefer is shewn in the accompanying Drawing.
It will be seen that the outer door is provided with a series of locking tangs
9, 9, 9, which when the door is closed project through corresponding holes or
openings made in or through the inner door or doors and lock plate, so that
the short bolts h, h, h, on the locking frame may be simultaneously shot
through all the locking tangs 9, 9, as shewn at Fig. 3.
In order to afford additional safety to iron safes they may be mounted upon
a turnplate, the spindle of which may turn in a hollow pillar rising from the
basement of the building, or it may have its bearing in a transverse beam or
any other suitable support.
The object of this arrangement is to afford a burglar no purchase for his
crowbars and other implements and to leave the safe free to turn when
external pressure is applied to it.
Having now described my Invention, and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters
Patent as aforesaid securing the sides and top and bottom of safes, doors, or

page_text: shutters, and preventing them from being forced open by wedges, by causing
the several parts to interlock, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Tansley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
JAMES TANSLEY. (L.S.)
Witness,
ALBERT VALENTINE,
41, Gwyn St.,
Bedford.