Rudimentary Treatise on the Construction of Locks

by A. C. Hobbs; George Dodd

If now the bolt is to be returned again, i. e. if the lock is to be unlocked, then the constituent pieces or tumblers which are in the original state must, by means of the key, be again raised into that position in which they were when the lock was closed, as otherwise the constituent parts attached to the bolt would not lock in with the former, and the bolt could not be returned. Nothing, therefore, but the precise key which had locked the lock can effect the object.

This idea in itself, considered by your committee, is as ingenious as it is new, and is accompanied by a perfection in its execution which reflects the highest honour on Mr. Newell, the inventor and manufacturer of the lock.

The lock is built strong and solid, and the several parts are admirably adapted to the functions which they are designed to perform. The walls of steel or iron which separate the security parts from the tumblers, and the cylinder which revolves with the key, present formidable barriers to all descriptions of pick-locks, and render the lock a most positive and reliable security. The tumblers consist of rolled very smooth steel plates, in which the fire-crust has not been filed away, partly in order that the lock might not need oiling, as all these parts are very smooth, and partly that the combination pieces might not easily rust, a thing to which the adhering fire-crust is not favourable. The springs, which by the turning of the key must be raised together with the tumblers, are attached to levers, and press upon the latter at their centre of gravity, in consequence of which all crowding towards either side is prevented, and the key can be turned with facility, in spite of the many combination parts which it has to raise; and the springs themselves are by their positions so little called into action, that their strength can never be impaired by use.

The lock has also another very complete arrangement in the detector-tumbler, which is attached to the cap or covering of the lock. This tumbler, on turning the key either way, closes the key-hole, and not only prevents the use of false instruments in the lock, but detects all attempts at mutilating its interior parts.

This lock is especially useful for locking bank-vaults, magazines, counting-houses, and iron-safes, in which valuable effects, money, or goods are to be deposited for safe keeping. When it is considered that the bits of the key belonging to this lock can be transferred into every possible form within its limits, and since the construction of the lock admits of every combination of the slides resulting from the changes of the key, therefore the lock in question is, in every respect, deserving of the appellation given to it by the Secretary of the Institute, namely, the Universal Combination Lock; and justly so, when we consider that the ten bits attached to the key admit of three millions of permutations, and upward; consequently forming that number of different kinds of keys and locks.

If we consider further, that we need not be limited to the given bit, but that others can be applied, differing in their dimensions from the former; and again, if we consider that from every system arising from a difference in their relative dimensions, a large number of new keys differing from each other will result, and that this can be effected in a space scarcely occupying a square inch,—then we cannot refrain from confessing that the human mind, within this small space, has shewn itself to be infinitely great.

After this preliminary and general exposition, your committee can answer the three questions propounded to them the more briefly, as the locks heretofore known have all been noticed.

To question first.—On the practical value of the invention of Mr. Newell, your committee were unanimous and positive that the principle on which it is based should be preserved.

To question second.—For this reason the committee deemed it desirable that a drawing and description of the American lock in question should be published in the Transactions of the Institute of Lower Austria.

To question third.—With regard to the claims of the inventor, Mr. Newell, to an honorary distinction from the Institute of Lower Austria, the committee recommend that he be presented with a Diploma of honourable mention and a Gold Medal.