Improvements in or Appertaining to Safes and other Structures requiring to be Locked Securely or Secured against the Attacks of Burglars.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1.87
Complete Specification Left, 19th May, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 28th Sept., 1888
Improvements in or Appertaining to Safes and other Structures
requiring to be Locked Securely or Secured against the
Attacks of Burglars.
We, WILLIAM SAWYER MASTERS, of 60, Boswell Street, Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, and EDWARD GREATBATCH WOOD, of Regent Street, Stoke-on-Trent,
Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object a safe more burglar proof than those now
existing.
Our improvements have for their objects :-
1. A simple mode of and apparatus for fastening or locking on all or several sides
simultaneously.
2. An arrangement for holding the door independent of the strength of the
attachments of the lock case or cover.
3. Arrangements for frustrating attempts at wedging open.
Qn the axis of the central handle. of the door we firmly fix a dise or its equivalent,
such as a spider or a cam, and cause this disc, spider, or cam to draw in and out all
the bolts at once.
The way to do this is obvious with a can, but as with a spider or
disc it is not so obvious, we will in detail describe how to do it with either of these.
The bolts or carrier bars carrying the bolts or their equivalents slide in guides or have
slotted guide arms with fixed pins to guide them. Each bolt or bolt carrier bar is
linked to an adjacent point or pin in the disc or spider. By rotating the disc through
a short angle the bolts are drawn back, by rotating it back till the pins are opposite
the bolts or attachments with the carrier bars, the bolts are shot out. To prevent the
bolts or bolt-carriers being forced back by pressure applied to their ends, we place a
cam or eccentric on the handle axis, which by suitable bar or wedge places a block
against the return of the bolt or bolt carrier bar till the axis is turned round. The
disc is locked in place by the lock.
The bolts we prefer to form dovetail in cross section and in two parts fitting the
dovetail clasps or wedge guards hereafter described, but it is obvious that these could
be double and the bolts be single dovetails passing in between the parts of the double
DQ27

page_text: wedge guards. The wedge guards pass through holes to fit them in the bolt bar and
are locked on the other side of the bolt bar by the bolts, consequently the wedge
guards or the bolts have to be shorn across, or the bolt bar broken up or broken off
from the safe, before the safe can be forced open. The lock in the abstract, or ability
to resist burglars, being in no way dependent for holding power on the lock case.
To prevent the bolt bar being tampered with, we form it of T iron, with one of the
arms represented only by a short bevel. It is riveted or otherwise fixed to the safe
wall so that the salient edge of the bevel is conterminous with the side wall of the safe.
An outside L-cover piece is next firmly attached, covering the rivet head, and cut out
to fit the end of the side and the bevel with a flat face for the door to shut against.
A burglar's wedge inserted between the door and L piece would soon come point end
against the solid bolt bar and the pressure instead of being taken by the rivets or
other fastening of the cover ☐ piece would be taken up by the bevel. The bevel
would also assist in solidly holding the bolt bar. On the back or hinged end of the
door, especially when there is no bolt bar, we firmly fix a bar to the door, except
where the hinges interfere, which projects beyond the door, and has a salient or
hooked bevel piece similar to the bevel piece of the bolt bar. This bevel acts a similar
part to the other bevel and frustrates the use of the wedge.
The wedge guards and bolt bars, can be of various shapes, thus the bolt bar can be
solid and rectangular with the addition of the bevel or its equivalent, the wedge guard
can be dovetailed not merely sideways for the bolt bars, but longitudinally fitting a
bevel slot in the bolt bar, thus giving a further resistance against the action of wedges,
forcing the side of the safe outward.
The lewis bolts or wedge guards are preferably slotted out of a bar of iron with a
part of that bar continuous from bolt to bolt riveted to the door. By this means all
necessity of riveting the lewis bolts direct to the door is avoided, and greater strength
results.
In very strong safes, we prefer to form the bands of hard steel, and place steel
plates between the bands stepping the edge of the latter out so as to overlap the
steel plates a little, prevent wedging, and hold the plates firmly without rivets.
To prevent wedging of the corners of these plates, we prefer to protect them with
angle iron stepped as in the case of the bands.
In place of rolling the bolt bar or frame and the band separately, and separate from
the safe walls or body, we in many cases prefer to roll all three in one piece, and
sometimes with an extra flange for the back, and this plan of making all three parts
in one, forms a very important part of our invention. We also in many cases roll the
wedge guards and the lock case solid on the door, and slot both out for the bolts.
We also in many cases make the bolts continuous from wedge guard to wedge
guard.
Dated thio 94th
1007
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Appertaining to Safes and other Structures
requiring to be Locked Securely or Secured against the Attacks
of Burglars.
We, WILLIAM SAWYER MASTERS of 60 Boswell Street, Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, and EDWARD GREATBATCH WOOD of Regent Street, Stoke-on-Trent,
Engineers do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention has for its object an improved safe which is more burglar proof than
those now existing.
Our improvements have for their object
1. A simple mode of and apparatus for fastening or locking a safe on all or several
sides simultaneously.
2. An arrangement for holding the door independent of the strength of the attach-
ments of the lock case or cover.
3. Arrangements for frustrating attempts at wedging open.
These objects may be attained as follows, reference being had to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a view of an open safe and inner side of door, a portion of the lock case
cover being broken away to show mechanism.
Figure 2 is an isometric view of the front edge of door showing the bolts half shot
out.
Figure 2 is a similar view showing a modified construction of bolt.
Figure 3 is a vertical section through x x Figure 1, supposing the door to be closed,
and the bolts shot out.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section through y, y, Figure 1, the door being shown
closed, but the boits withdrawn and the lock mechanism and lock case cover being
removed.
Figure 5 is a part of a similar section to that set forth in Figure 4, illustrating the
method of constructing a safe when the walls are faced with steel plates.
Figure 6 is a part section, as on line 2, 2, Figure 4, showing the mode of securing
the steel facing plates at the corners of the safe.
Figures 7 to 13 show various modifications of portions of our invention to be
described hereinafter.
The lock mechanism is constructed essentially as follows, though the details thereof
may be varied considerably.
On the axis A of the central handle of the door, we firmly fix a disc or crank A¹ or
its equivalent, such as a spider or a cam, and cause this disc, crank, spider, or cam to
draw in and out all the bolts B at once. The way to do this with a spider or cam is

page_text: obvious, but as with a disc or crank it is not so obvious, we will in detail describe how
to do it with either of these. The bolts B or carrier bars B carrying the bolts or their
equivalents slide in guides or have slotted guide arms B2 with fixed pins b to guide
them. The outer ends of the bolts are preferably supported and guided by dovetailed
slots in the walls C of the lock case C. Each bolt, bolt carrier, bar, or guide arm B³
is linked to an adjacent point or pin in the disc or crank. When a disc is used, it is
most convenient to link the bolts, carrier bars or guide arms directly thereto, but when
a crank A¹ is employed, it may be found more desirable to link it directly to only one
of the guide arms B2, say the central one, as shown, the other guide arms being
connected indirectly with the central one by a bell crank lever, such as b¹, or by
equivalent mechanism. In the safe shown in Figure 1 there are three guide arms,
one of them being hidden by the lock case cover C³, but all worked from the crank A¹.
Instead of linking the crank A¹ to the guide arm by means of a pin or slot, it may be
connected therewith (as shown) through the medium of a shoe piece a on the guide arm,
within which the end of the crank works. By rotating the aforesaid disc or crank through
a short angle, the bolts B are drawn back, and by rotating it in the reverse direction,
the bolts are shot out. To prevent the bolts or bolt carriers being forced back by
pressure applied to their ends, we may place an additional cam or eccentric on the
handle axis A, which by a suitable bar or wedge, places a block against the return
movement of the bolt or bolt carrier bar, till the axis A is turned round.
This
additional eccentric or cam is, however, hardly necessary with our improved con-
struction of safe, as the security of the latter against wedging open depends very
little on the lock nechanism. The eccentric or cam, or the aforesaid disc or crank A¹
is locked in place by the lock in any ordinary manner.
The arrangement for holding the door Ď independently of the lock case attach-
ments is as follows:-
The bolts B we prefer to form dovetail in cross section, as shown in Figures 2,
2 and 3. The bolts B may be formed (as shown in Figure 2) in two parts to fit on
each side of the dovetail or wedge guards E, which project from the inner face of the
door D. We prefer, however, to form the wedge guards E double, and to make the
bolts B single dovetails passing in between the tails e of the double wedge guards as
shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3. When the door is closed, as in Figures 3 and 4, the
wedge guards E pass through holes F1, Figure 1, to fit them in the bolt bar F, and
are locked on the inner side of the bolt bar by the bolts B as in Figure 3. Conse-
quently, the wedge guards or the bolts have to be shorn across, or the bolt bar broken
up or broken off from the safe, before the latter can be forced open. Thus the lock
bolts in the abstract, or ability to resist burglars, are in no way dependent for holding
power on the lock case.
.Many safes, as heretofore constructed, can be forced by inserting a wedge or wedges
in the joints d, Figure 3, between the door D and band G. An attempt to wedge a
safe having a boit bar F, as described, though not impossible, would be very difficult,
as the wedge would soon strike against the bolt bar and its further progress be prevented.
To render it almost impossible to wedge off the band G and subsequently to wedge
the safe-wall H away from the bolt bar, we construct the band and bolt bar as follows:
The bolt bar is preferably formed of metal having a T-shaped section, with one of
its flanges represented only by a short bevelf or its equivalent, such as a rib or projecting
strip as in Figure 11. The bar is riveted or otherwise fixed to the safe wall H by
means of its other flange f¹, in such a position that the salient edge of the bevel for
the outer edge of the rib is conterminous with the side wall of the safe. The outside band
or cover piece G of L-shaped section is next firmly attached to the safe walls, thereby
covering the rivet heads which secure the bolt bar. The band is cut out, as shown, to fit the
edge of the side walls H, and is provided with a bevel or groove g to fit the bevel or rib for
the bolt bar, and with a flat face g' for the door to shut against. A burglar's wedge inserted
between the door and band would soon come point against the solid bolt bar F, and the
pressure instead of being taken up by the rivets or other fastening of the band G, would
be taken up by the bevels f and g or their equivalent. The bevel would also assist in
solidly holding the bolt bar against side walls E. The back or hinged edge of the door is

page_text: provided with a lug or lugs D¹, Figures 1 and 4. Or the lugs may form a continuous
bar, extending the whole length of the door, except where the hinges and bolt bar
intervene. These lugs (or bar) project beyond the edge of the door, and have a salient
or hooked bevel piece d', Figure 4, similar to the bevel piece f of the bolt bar. The
bevel piece d', when the door is shut, rests against the bevel 7 of the band G, and acts a
similar part to the bevelf on the bolt bar, frustrating the use of the wedge. The lugs D¹
are especially useful when there is no bolt bar such as F on the safe. The bevels g
against which the lug bevels d¹ fit, will be more or less deep according to the position
of the pivot d' of the door.
The wedge guards and bolt bars can be of various shapes, thus (as in Figures 12
and 13) the bolt bar F can be solid and rectangular with the addition of the bevel for
its equivalent. The bolt may pass through the bolt bar as at e' instead of against its
inner face. The wedge guard E can be dovetailed, not merely sideways as at e for the
bolts B, but longitudinally as at e fitting a bevel slot F2 in the bolt bar. For large
safes the bolts are preferably formed with rounded edges (as in Figure 13) except at
the parts where they enter the dovetails in the wedge guards.
The wedge guards are preferably slotted out of one of the flanges of an L shaped
bar, the other flange of the bar being continuous from bolt to bolt, and riveted or other-
wise secured to the door as shown by the dotted line E' Figure 2. By this means all
necessity of riveting the clasps or wedge guards direct to the door is avoided, and
greater strength results. In some cases we may also form the wedge guards and a sido
wall of the lock case out of the two flanges of a channel shaped bar, the web of said
bar being secured as before to the door.
The safe is also provided with the usual rear band I as shown. In very strong safes,
we prefer to form the bands G and 1 of hard steel, and place steel facing plates J
between them as in Figures 5 and 6, the edges of the bands being stepped as atj, so as
to overlap the steel plates a little. This prevents the wedging off of the plates, and
holds the latter firmly without rivets.
To prevent the wedging of the corners of these plates, we prefer to protect
them with angle pieces J, Figure 6, which are also stepped at j', as in the case of
the bands.
Instead of rolling the separate lengths of the bolt bar F and building them into
a frame, we may cast the frame in a piece. The bands G and may also be either
built up or cast. Or the adjacent lengths, composing the bolt bar frame and the front
band, may be either rolled or cast in a piece as in Figures 7 or 8. Or one side of
the bolt bar frame, of the front and rear bands, and of the safe wall could all be
rolled or cast in a piece. Or one side of the bolt bar frame, front band, and
wall (or of the front and rear bands and wall) could be rolled or cast in a piece. The
plan of forming two or more of the aforesaid parts in one piece, forms an important
part of the invention. The bolts B and carrier bars B' may also be made in one piece
if found desirable.
In Figures 7 to 10, four slightly different sections of a combined bolt bar and
band are shown. The combined bolt bar and band may be secured to the side
walls H in a variety of ways, a few being shown in the aforesaid Figures. In
figures 9 and 10, the wall plate is shown inserted into a groove K, the bottom of
which may be either rectangular as in Figure 9, or it may be formed beveled as
at K', Figure 10. Or a bevel alone may be provided without the deep groove, as
in Figures 7 and 8. The bevels have this advantage, that they tend to force the
wall against the inner face of the band. Or the aforesaid parts may be brought
together by set screws k working in lugs ¹ on the combined frame as in Figure 9.
These lugs would only be applicable in the case of a cast frame. Also it might
in many cases be found desirable to form the bevels K' andgrooves K after the rolling
or casting operation. The edges of the walls may be either square, rounded or
beveled as desired.
In the drawings, the safe walls are, for simplicity, shown as single solid plates.
It will be obvious, however, that the invention is not limited to such safes, as it can
be applied with equal facility to ordinary double walled safes.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. In a safe, a burglar proof bolting device, consisting of a series of dovetail
wedge-guards such as E, projecting from the inner side of the door, a bolt bar such
as Fattached to the inside of the safe and provided with a series of slots through
which (when the door is closed against the bolt bar) the said wedge guards penetrate,
and a series of dovetail bolts such as B, working against the inner face of said
bolt bar, and interlocking with said dovetail wedge guards, substantially as and for
the purpose set forth.
2. In a safe, a burglar proof bolting device consisting of a series of wedge guards
such as E, projecting from the inside of the door and having dovetails as e e', a
holt bar such as F attached to the inside of the safe, and provided with a series of
slots for the reception of said wedge guards when the door is closed against the
bolt bar, and a series of dovetail bolts passing into said bolt bar, and interlocking
with the dovetails e on said wedge guards, substantially as set forth with reference
to Figures 12 and 13.
3. The combination of a locking mechanism such as herein described and shown in
Figure 1, and the dovetail bolts B of the burglar proof bolting device, whereby the
said bolts may be shot out or withdrawn simultaneously.
4. The combination of the safe walls H, the bolt bar F attached thereto and
having a salient bevel, such as or its equivalent on its outer face, and the band G
surrounding said walls and bolt bar, and having a salient bevel such as g or its
equivalent on its inner face fitting against the bevel for its equivalent on the bolt
bar, whereby attempts to wedge off the said band or walls may be frustrated, sub-
stantially as described.
5. In a safe, the combination of a band such as G, having a salient bevel 9 on its
inner face, and of lugs D¹ or their equivalent carried on the inner face of the door
at the hinge edge thereof, and having similar salient bevels d', which, when the
door is closed, fit the bevels g on the said band, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
6. The forming of a series of wedge guards such as E, out of one web of a solid
☐ shaped bar, the other web of which is adapted to be attached to the safe door,
substantially as and for the purpose described."
7. The forming of a series of wedge guards such as E, and of one side of
the lock case out of the two flanges of a channel shaped bar, the web of which is
adapted to be secured to the door of the safe, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
8. The combined bolt bar and front band rolled or cast in one length or piece,
and preferably provided with a groove or its equivalent for the insertion and
retention of the safe wall or walls, substantially as described with reference to
Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10.
9. The forming of one side of the bolt bar, front bar, and side wall (and preferably
of the rear bar) in one piece either rolled or cast, substantially as set forth.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Patent Agents for the Applicants.