IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS AND LATCHES, AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING LOCK AND LATCH HANDLES."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Matthias Hart, of the Firm of Hobbs, Hart, and
Company, of Cheapside, in the City of London, Lock and Safe Manufacturers,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS AND LATCHES, AND IN THE
MEANS OF SECURING LOCK AND LATCH HANDLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by tho said John Matthias Hart at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th September 1880.
JOHN MATTHIAS HART, of the Firm of Hobbs, Hart, and Company, of Cheapside,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCKS
in the City of London, Lock and Safe Manufacturers.
AND LATCHES, AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING LOCK AND LATCH HANDLES."
The first part of my improvements relates to locks and latches especially adapted
to the doors of railway carriages.
In one form of these locks, the latch bolt is formed with a recess for receiving
an arm of the central axis, which arm withdraws the latch bolt, the latching
movement being actuated by a lever player which is maintained in working
position by one or more springs. The dead-bolt is worked by a second arm from
the central axis acting upon a reversing lever, the opposite end of which reversing
lever works in a recess formed in the dead bolt.
The central axis is held in position by the action of the toothed end of a distinct
and separate trigger lever working on its own centre and actuated by a spiral or
other suitable spring. The two arms of the central axis are applied in relation to
each other in position that when the dead bolt is withdrawn into the lock by
the arm, the latch bolt is free to act as a latch; but when the latch bolt is withdrawn
into the lock by the first arm, the dead bolt will remain unmoved.
If however the handle of the lock, the shaft of which passes through the
central axis, be turned partly round in the opposite direction until a tooth of the
trigger lever catches into a notch provided for it, the second arm will actuate the
reversing lever and thus cause the dead bolt to be thrown forward into locked
position. By the same action the first arm will be caused to abut against a curved
portion of a recess in the latch bolt, thus effectually blocking that bolt in a locked
position, and giving the lock the holding strength of two dead bolts. The position
of the handle thus indicates at a glance the position of both bolts, that is to say,
whether the door is on latch, or locked, or altogether unfastened.
According to another arrangement the central axis is formed with only one arm
which actuates both the latch bolt and the dead lever-bolt, which dead bolt works

page_text: upon its own centre and is held in position by a spring. But in the event of the
failure of this spring the outer edge of the dead lever bolt is rounded to prevent
its acting as a stop to hinder the shutting of the door to which the lock or latch is
applied.
Instead however of the latch bolt being blocked directly by the single arm, as in
the first described arrangement, it is in this case blocked by an end or portion of
the dead-lever bolt by the arm pressing against and resting in a recess formed for
it in that dead bolt.
In the action of the double spring lever player and of tho trigger lever this lock
is substantially as that first described.
Another part of my improvements is adapted for the convenience of railway
clerks or other unskilled persons to enable them readily to change the key
necessary for operating a lock, as for instance the lock of a bullion van.
In carrying out this part of my improvements I provide a series of movable
keyhole plates, each having a different forin of keyhole in it from every other, and
each of these plates is adapted to be secured to the lock in position over the
keyhole, which in this case will be formed large enough to admit a variety of forms
of keys, and the removable keyhole plate for the time in use is applied to the
lock beyond the reach of persons on the outside of the door when closed, and
which keyhole may be varied in design in accordance with any change of key.
These removeable keyhole--plates are formed to be applied to the lock by
sliding in guides provided for them or otherwise, and to be held in position when
applied-or-readjusted by a screw or screws, or by either slidepieces or screws alone.
These removeable key hole plates may be readily-and.expeditiously interchanged
one for another, when for special security-a.change of key is required, or to prevent
the use of a lost or mislaid key.
Every change of such key-hole plate will hence necessitate a corresponding
change of key without any interference with the interior arrangement of the
mechanism of the lock.
Another part of my improvements relates to a method of securely fixing handles
to doors of different thicknesses.
When handles are used on both sides of the doors of railway carriages or other
doors, and which handles are sometimes of considerable weight, they are screwed
firmly to the spindle or shaft and the handles brought close homo to the door by
means of a straight series of holes through the spindle and a spiral or inclined
series of similar holes ranged round the neck of the handle.
When the handle is placed on the end of the spindle and pushed closely home to
the door, with the "rose" loosely passed onto it, the spiral series of holes is
examined to ascertain which hole corresponds to one of the holes of the straight
series in the spindle. The screw is then inserted and the handle firmly secured.
By thus arranging the screw holes spirally or inclined round the handle, say, to the
number of four, the distances between the holes in the spindle become practically
divided into fourths, thus enabling the handle to be brought up close to the door
with great accuracy, while the screw which secures the handle to the spindle is
completely protected and covered by the boss of the rose which is then passed
over it.
The improvements also relate to providing means by which to indicate whether
the bolt of a lock has been duly discharged from its unlocked position into a full
locked position. For this purpose, one of the tumbler or such like levers which
form part of the security of the lock, is provided with an extension which provides
means to allow of showing through an opening on the face of the lock whether or
not the bolt of the lock is fully shot forwards into a full locked position.
I also form the gating of the tumbler lever with one or more recesses to receive
the stump and prevent the return of the bolt after it has started forwards.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Matthias Hart in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th
March 1881.
JOHN MATTHIAS HART, of the Firm of Hobbs, Hart, and Company, of Cheapside,
in the City of London, Lock and Safe Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS, IN LOCKS
AND LATCHES, AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING LOCK AND LATCH HANDLES."
The first part of my improvements relates to locks and latches, and the
improvements are especially adapted to the doors of railway carriages.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents an internal side view of a lock arranged
according to this part of my Invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the same;
Figures 3 and 4 are transverse sections of the same; Figures 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 show
side and edge views of parts separately. In each of the views the same letters
indicate corresponding parts.
In this arrangement of these locks the latch bolt a is formed with a recess b for
receiving an arm c of the central axis d, which arm c withdraws the latch bolt a,
the latching movement being actuated by a lever player e, which is maintained in
working position by one or more springs f. f. Tho dead bolt g is worked by a
second arm from the central axis & acting upon a reversing lever i, the opposite
end of which reversing lever i works into a recess j formed in the dead bolt g.
The central axis & is held in position by the action of the toothed ond k of a
distinct and separato trigger lever working on its own centre m, and being
actuated at one end by'a spiral or other suitable spring n. The two arms c and h
of the central axis d are applied in relation to each other in position, that when
the dead bolt g is withdrawn into the lock by the arm h, the latch bolt a is free
to act as a latch, but when the latch bolt a is withdrawn into the lock by the first
arm c, the dead bolt will remain unmoved.
If however the handle of the lock, the shaft of which passes through the central
axis d, be turned partly round in the opposite direction until a tooth / of the
trigger lever catches into a notch o¹ provided for it, the second arm h will actuate
the reversing lever i, and thus cause the dead bolt g to be thrown forward into a
locked position, as indicated by the heavy dotted lines in Figure 1. By the same
action the first arm c will be caused to abut against a curved portion p of the
recess in the latch bolt a, thus effectually blocking that bolt a in a locked
position, and giving the lock the holding strength of two dead bolts. The position of
the handle may thus indicate at a glance the position of both bolts a and g, that
is to say, whether the door is on latch, or locked, or altogether unfastened.
In some cases the action of the arm c on the latch bolt a to hold it as a dead
bolt will be sufficient, without the necessity for the dead bolt g and the arm h.
Figure 10 represents by internal side view another arrangement of lock or latch.
according to my improvements; Figure 11, a front or face view of the same;
Figures 12 and 13 are transverse sections of Figure 10; and Figures 14, 15, 16,
and 17, also represent side and edge view of parts separately.
According to this arrangement the central axis d is formed with only one arm c,
which actuates both the latch bolt a and the dead lever bolt g, which dead bolt
works upon its own centre g, and is held in position by a spring r. But in the
event of the failure of this spring the outer edge g' of the dead lever bolt g is rounded
to prevent its acting as a stop to hinder the shutting of the door to which the
lock or latch is applied.
Instead however of the latch bolt being blocked directly by the single arm c, as
in the arrangement described in respect of Figure 1, it is in this case blocked by an
and or portions of the dead lever bolt g by the arm c pressing against and resting
in a recess t formed for it in that dead bolt g.

page_text: In the action of the double spring lever player e and of the trigger lever ỉ this
lock is substantially as that first described.
In these arrangements of locks and latches when applied to railway or other
carriage doors, the following amongst other advantages are obtained, that the central
axis operates to move and hold as required both the latch bolt and the dead bolt;
also that by the operations of the trigger lever on the central axis a firm and
independent working of the handle or handles is secured regardless of the weight of
such handle or handles, and whether the handle is applied only on one side or one
on each side of the door, and also regardless of the strength of the spring arrangement
applied to operate the latch bolt.
Another part of my improvements is adapted for the convenience of railway
clerks or other unskilled persons to enable them readily to change the key necessary
for operating a lock, as, for instance, the lock of a bullion van or other place of
security, or the doors of a lunatic asylum or other place.
In carrying out this part of my improvements I provide a series of moveable
keyhole plates, each having a different form of keyhole in it from every other, and
each of these plates is adapted to be secured to the lock in position over the
keyhole, which in this case will be formed large enough to admit a variety of forms
of keys, and the removeable keyhole plato for the time in use is applied to the
lock beyond the reach of persons on the outside of the door when the door is
closed, and which keyhole may be varied in design in accordance with any change
of key.
These removeable key hole-plates-are-formed to be applied to the lock by sliding
in guides provided-for-them or otherwise, and to be held in position-when-applied.
or readjusted by a screw or screws or by either slidepieces-or-screws.alone.
These removeable keyhole plates may be readily and expeditiously interchanged
one for another when for special security a change of key is required, or to prevent
the use of a lost or mislaid key.
Figure 18 shows one arrangement of changeablo keyhole plates applied, and
Figure 19 represents the lock (Figure 18) with the keyhole plate removed; A is a
moveable keyhole plate with one form of keyhole E in it. This plate is formed
with inclined edges A' adapted to slide in corresponding guides B, and when
applied such keyhole plate may be held in position by a screw C or otherwise;
D, Figure 19, indicates the keyhole formed in the lock of size sufficient for various
changes of keys.
Every change of such keyhole plate will hence necessitate a corresponding change
of key without any interference with the interior arrangement of the mechanism
of the lock.
In place of each keyhole plate being formed to receive a separate keyhole, these
keyhole plates may each be formed to receive several differently shaped keyholes,
each for the passage of a separately shaped koy, and such plate with several holes
in it may be applied to slide if desired in other direction than a vertical one, or it
may be applied to rotate, as indicated by Figure 20, where A is the keyhole plate
with several different keyholes E in it. This plate is adapted to rotate on the
hollow bush or boss F, and it may be moved partially round for a change of
keyhole by any suitable instrument, as G, passed through a hole for the purpose in
the face or other suitable part of the lock, and acting on one of the recesses H in
the plate A, as shown by Figure 20, or by other means. I is a spring stop for
holding the plate A in the position selected by its end I passing into one of the
notches or recesses H. This spring top is capable of turning on the pin I' and of
being operated by its end I. Figure 21 shows the lock with the plate A and
parts connected therewith removed, D being the keyhole formed in that part.
Another part of my improvements relates to a method of securely fixing handles
to doors of different thicknesses.
When handles are used on both sides of the doors of carriages or other doors,
and which handles are sometimes of considerable weight, they are, according to
this part of my improvements, screwed firmly to the spindle or shaft, and the

page_text: handles brought close home to the door by means of a straight series of holes
through the spindle, and a spiral or inclined series of similar holes ranged round
the neck of the handle.
When the handle is placed on the end of the spindle and pushed closely home to
the door, with the "rose" loosely passed onto it, the spiral series of holes is examined
to ascertain which hole corresponds to one of the holes of the straight series in the
spindle. The screw is then inserted and the handle firmly secured.
By thus arranging the screwholes spirally or inclined round the handle, say
to the number of four, the distances between the holes in the spindle become
practically divided into fourths, thus enabling the handle to be brought up close to
the door with great accuracy, while the screw which secures the handle to the
spindle is completely protected and covered by the boss of the "rose" which is then
passed over it.
An arrangement according to this part of my Invention is shewn at Figure 22,
where J represents a spindle with the ordinary series of holes J' through it, and K
represents a handle to be applied thereto.
This handle is formed with four holes K' in it on the four opposite sides or parts
of it in a radial direction, but in place of these holes being formed on the opposite
sides or parts opposite to each other, the distance between them is equally divided,
somewhat as indicated by the diagram Figure 23, so as materially to reduce the
amount of play left in the application of such handles. The dotted lines L, Figure 22,
indicate the position of the rose, the boss of which may, when applied, not only
cover the screw connecting the handle to the spindle, but also keep that screw from
coming out. R is a washer for the end of the hande to turn on.
The improvements also relate to providing means by which to indicate when the
bolt of a lock has been duly discharged from its unlocked position into a full locked
position. For this purpose one of the tumbler, or such like levers which form part
of the security of the lock, is provided with an extension affording means to allow
of showing through an opening on the face of the lock whether or not the bolt of
the lock is fully shot forwards into a full locked position.
Figure 24 shows the inside view, and Figure 25 an external view of a lock, with
this part of my improvements applied thereto, the position of the parts on these
Figures being that when the bolt is fully shot. Figure 26 represents the parts
indicated by Figure 20, but in their relative positions when the bolt is withdrawn.
M is the bolt; N the stump; and O one of the tumbler levers. This tumbler lever
it will be seen is provided with an extension O' adapted to cover or be conspicuously
seen through an opening P in the front or outer plate of the lock. When the bolt M
is fully shot, and is there held by the outer end of the tumbler lever being lowered
to admit of the stump N thereof passing up into the upper part of the gating O'
of that tumbler lever, the upper part
of the extension O¹ will be
brought into a position to be visible through the opening P, and that part of such
tumbler lever may be enamelled white or coloured any suitable color. But when the
tumbler levers are operated to admit of the passage of the stump N into the horizontal
portion of the gating in the tumbler lever for the withdrawal of the bolt M, the
part
of the extension O¹ will be removed from being visible through
the opening P, and the part of that extension 01 then visible may be enamelled
black or otherwise to indicate that the bolt is not locked. O' is a pin projecting
from one face of the tumbler lever O, in position to be acted upon by the other
tumbler levers of the series for the time in use.
By these means it is evident that no indication will be made of any locking
motion having been given to the bolt until that bolt has been fully shot.
A projection 05 applied to each of the tumbler levers by resting on the pro-
jection M of the bolt M, serves to relieve the strain of the tumbler levers from the
stump N, when the bolt M is within the lock,

page_text: I also form the gating of the tumbler lever with one or more recesses 0° to
receive the stump and prevent the return of the bolt after it has started forwards.
Qis the spring stop by which, according to the arrangement of lock shown, the
bolt M is held back when the bolt is within the lock, and by which that bolt M is
released, when the projection Q¹ from that stop comes in contact with the jamb or
projection from the door post, when the door to which the lock shewn is applied is
shut; M², a friction roller.
Figure 27 shows a side and an edge view of the bolt M separately; Figure 28
shows an edge view and the opposite side views of the tumbler lever Q separately.
Such arrangement of the tumbler lever O with its extension is also applicable to
other arrangements of lock in which the operations of the bolt are effected by the
operations of the key.
Having thus described my Invention, and means which I adopt in carrying the
same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the
precise arrangement of parts shown and described, as the same may be varied
without departing from the peculiar character of my Invention, but what I claim
is,-
Firstly. The arranging or combining parts forming locks and latches substantially
as described in respect of Figures 1 to 9.
-Secondly. I claim the arranging or combining parts forming locks and latches,
substantially as described in respect of Figures 10 to 17:-
Thirdly. I claim the arranging or combining parts whereby moveable keyhole
plates may be employed to facilitate-change-of-form_or_shape of keys, substantially
as described-in-respect-of Figures 18 to 21.
Fourthly. I claim the method of fixing handles to spindles-by-arranging_the_
holes around the stem of the handle in a spiral or inclined direction, substantially
as described in respect of Figures 22 and 23.
Fifthly. I claim the arranging or combining parts of locks whereby the condition
of the lock as being for the time "locked" or "unlocked" may be clearly visible,
substantially as explained in respect of Figures 24, 25, 26, and 28.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Matthias Hart, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
WILLIAM BROOKES,
59, Chancery Lane,
W.C.
J. MATTHIAS HART. (L.S.)