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"In the present example, the lock-bolt is shown as provided with an offset or recess, f, which offset or recess is brought in or out of coincidence with the tongue-piece on the carrying-bar, to admit of the bolt-work being projected or retracted through the medium of a sliding-bar, H, which carries a dog, fence, or angle-bar, J, having a hook, g, which engages with the bit, h, of the cam, K, secured upon the dial-spindle, i, which spindle passes through the safe or vault door, in the usual manner, and serves to operate the series of tumblers or combination-wheels, L. The sliding-bar, H, is connected with the lock-bolt or bearing in any suitable manner, its object being to impart motion to said lock-bolt or bearing, to secure the objects above specified. The said lock-bolt or bearing, it will be perceived, is located in its casing, so as to rest closely in the rear of the tongue-piece or connection secured upon the carrying-bar, and is isolated, so to speak, from the tumblers or combinationwheels and the other main working parts of the lock, and, therefore, any ✩ strain which is brought to bear upon it by the heavy bolt-work will be expended upon the bolt or bearing, and its axis or bearing, and not upon the tumblers or combination- wheels.

"It will be seen that to unlock the combination-lock the hook of the dog, angle-bar, or fence, J, will drop into the notches or slots of the tumblers or combination-wheels, when the notches are brought into juxtaposition by the operator who has possession of the combination upon which the lock is set, at which time the bit, h, of the cam, K, will also engage with the hook, g, of the said dog, angle-bar, or fence, when, by moving the dial-spindle, the lockbolt or bearing can be moved or rotated so as to admit of the tongue-piece or connection, with the carrying-bar and bolt-work, being moved back or retracted, as in Fig. 3 of the drawing, and the safe or vault door opened; but, when said combination-lock is locked, the hook of the dog, angle-bar, or fence, J, is elevated, due to the combination-wheels being disarranged, as in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and then no action can be had upon the connecting-bar, dog, angle-bar, or fence, or upon the lock-bolt or bearing, by turning of the dialspindle, and hence the tongue-piece or connection on the carrying-bar of the bolt-work rests upon, or connects with, the lock-bolt or bearing, and the boltwork is securely retained in a locked condition. With such combination-lock, or one of substantially the same construction and operation, constructed to be applied for use upon a safe or vault door, to operate in connection with the ponderous or great bolt-work thereon, is combined a time-mechanism, the works of which may be of any of the improved or desired kinds, since its action is to measure time correctly, the object being that, during the interval that the combination-lock is locked and the time-movement wound up, the same, through a suitable connection made between it and said combinationlock, will guard the said lock, and prevent its being unlocked, even by a cashier or other person in possession of the combination upon which the said combination-lock is set.

"In the present example, a duplex or double time-movement is illustrated, such being preferable to a single time-movement, as a safe-guard against stopping. Each of the time-movements, which are designated by the letters, M, M, which may consist of a chronometer or clock movement, is supplied with a pointer or hand, attached to a spindle, l, in such a manner as to be capable of being moved backward to set any elected number on the dials, N, said dials being spaced off, or marked with a scale of hours and divisions, from one upward, to any desired number, according to the mechanism of the chronometer or clock. With each of the dials are combined adjusting disks or arms, O, or some equivalent mechanical device, each of which carries a stud, or a pin or projection, which acts upon a yoke or lever, which connects with and guards the combination-lock the number of hours or time for which it is designated said lock is to remain locked, and thus controls the action of its lock-bolt or bearing while the same is in a locked condition. The yoke lever or connec

tion is designated by the letter, P, and it is pivoted or loosely fixed on its support or axis, as at m, or otherwise arranged so as to operate in conjunction with the moving or revolving disks or arms, O, the object being, that the yoke lever or connection and the disks can be adjusted with respect to each other, so as to connect with the dog or fence or other working part of the lock, and thus control the movement of the lock-bolt or bearing, and hence the locking and unlocking of the combination-lock.

"One end of the extension of the yoke lever or connection, in the present example, has a suitable hook, n, that engages with a pin, o, on the dog, anglebar, or fence, J, by striking under it, in which case it holds said dog, anglebar, or fence elevated out of contact with the tumblers or combination-wheels and the cam of the dial-spindle. The arms of said yoke lever or connection connect with, or rest upon, the axis or spindle of the adjusting disks or arms; and the arrangement of the studs, pins or projections on said disks or arms is such, that, when the indicators have reached the proper number on the dials, said studs, pins or projections will have acted upon the yoke lever or connection, and moved it sufficient to withdraw the cam-hook from beneath the pin, o, and thus allow the dog, angle-bar, or fence to fall, ready to engage with the tumblers or combination-wheels and the lock-bolt or bearing, at which time the combination-lock can be operated by the person in possession of the* combination, as the time-movement has ceased its guarding or dogging action. "Notches, p, p, should be formed in the yoke lever or connection, to allow the studs, pins, or projections to fall therein, when the disks or arms and the indicators have reached the designated number, thus serving as stops for the adjusting disks or arms, and prevent the same from moving on beyond the prearranged hour, to reset the yoke lever or connection upon the studs or projections; for, if some such provision were not made, the combination-lock could not be opened until the disks or arms, with the indicators, came around again to said previously appointed hour; at least, there might be danger of such occurring.

"The double time-pieces are employed, as herein before stated, so as to insure the releasing of the combination-lock, in case one of the time-works should stop or fail to come to proper position. A spring, r, or an equivalent, such as a weight, should be connected with the lower end of the yoke lever or connection, to produce the necessary reaction to bring the hook of the yoke lever or connection under the pin on the dog, angle-bar, or fence.

"Thus it will be seen from the foregoing that the bolt-work of the safe or vault door connects with, or rests upon, the bolt or bearing of the combinationlock, and that the yoke lever or connection of the time-movement connects with the dog, angle-bar, or fence of said combination-lock, rendering the said combination-lock inoperative when locked; that is to say, said yoke lever or connection has the effect of dogging or guarding the combination-lock during the time it is locked, and prevent its being unlocked until the arrival of the hour previously designated by the time-movement; and should pressure be exerted upon the great or ponderous bolt-work of the door, when locked, it will be received and arrested and retained by the lock-bolt of the combinationlock, and will not be transmitted to the tumblers or combination-wheels of the combination-lock, or to the time-movement, or to the yoke lever or connection. In lieu of the lever connecting with the dog or fence, it may be made to connect or operate on the lock itself, and thus secure the result hereinbefore recited. The time-mechanism may be in the same case containing the works of the combination-lock; or it may be in an apartment connected with the case of the combination-lock, or in a case separate and distinct from the case containing the combination-lock.

"The advantages of this invention over common time-locks is, that, when the time-mechanism releases the lock-mechanism, that is, ceases its dogging or guarding action, it does not admit of the unlocking of the bolt-work of the

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door, but simply leaves the combination-lock in the condition that it can be unlocked by the person in possession of the proper combination upon which said lock is set, thus securing the advantages of a combination-lock for use during the day, with a time-mechanism for guarding and protecting said lock during the night. This improvement is of the utmost importance, for, during the hours when the time-mechanism is set, no one, not even the officers of a bank or other institution, can open the combination-lock; and, when said time-mechanism is not set or adjusted, no one, except the holder of the combination upon which the lock is set, can open it. No one who has the combination, whether obtained surreptitiously or otherwise, can open the lock when the time-movement is set, for the simple reason that no connection can be made between the tumbler or combination-wheels, the dog, angle-bar, or fence, the spindle, and the lock-bolt, or bearing.

"Further: Another feature of the utmost importance present in the combination of parts brought together is, that the connection between the timemovement and the combination-lock is such, that, when the time-movement is set, the parts adjusted, and the safe doors closed, the combination-lock will be rendered inoperative until a predeterminate hour, during which interval of time the unlocking action of the combination-lock will be suspended by the time-movement, while the tumblers or combination-wheels of the aforesaid combination-lock are left free to rotate, if power is exerted upon the dialspindle for the purpose of twisting said spindle out of place, or impairing the lock-mechanism, and, by such, the working parts of the combination-lock cannot be injured or rendered useless for future action.

"I have made a special claim, in a separate application for letters patent, for the combination of a time-movement and a lock with a lever adapted to be connected with the dog of said lock, to hold it from falling into the slots or notches of the combination-wheels except when released by the time-movement. So, therefore, in this application, such special construction and arrangement of parts is not specially claimed.

"Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by letters patent, is (1) the combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of a time-mechanism and a combination-lock with the bolt-work of a safe or vault door, the time-mechanism being constructed to act in conjunc tion with, and render inoperative, the combination-lock when locked, said lock having its bolt or bearing constructed to receive the pressure of the series of bolts constituting the bolt-work of the door, when locked, and prevent the unlocking of said bolt-work until the arrival of a certain predeterminate hour. (2) The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, of a combinationlock, and the series of bolts constituting the bolt-work of a safe or vault door, with a time-movement and a yoke or lever connection, said lever being constructed and located to render the bolt or bearing of the combination-lock inoperative, when locked, the tumblers of the combination-lock and its spindle being free to rotate, while the bolt-work is held in its locked position by the bolt or bearing of the combination-lock."

An analysis of this specification to ascertain, in view of the state of the art and of the history of the application for the patent as it passed through the patent-office, what is the proper construction of the claims allowed, will conduce to a solution of the questions involved. The object of the invention is stated to be to have a time-movement guard, and operate in conjunction with a combination-lock, to prevent the action of the combination-lock until a time previously appointed by the setting of the time-movement shall have arrived, in the ordinary running of the time-movement, at which time, and not before, the combination-lock will come into action, when operated in the usual way, as if there were no time-movement. In other words, by the setting of the time-movement, the connection between the combination-lock and its lockbolt or bearing is interrupted so as to destroy the capacity of the combination

Jock to unlock the bolt-work until the time fixed by the setting of the timemovement shall, by the ordinary running of the time-movement, have arrived, when the connection between the combination-lock and its lock-bolt or bearing is automatically restored through the action of the time-mechanism. The combination-lock is to remain with its organization unchanged, but the timemechanism is to alternately interrupt and restore its connection with its lockbolt or bearing and the action of the bolt-work.

There are two parts to the invention, represented by the two claims. Both of them are claims to combinations of mechanism. The first claim is a claim to a combination, substantially as set forth in the descriptive part of the specification, of three elements: (1) a time-mechanism; (2) a combinationlock; (3) the bolt-work of a safe or vault door. But, as the claim says that the time-mechanism is to be constructed to act in conjunction with, and render inoperative, the combination-lock, when locked, it follows that the expression "time-mechanism" includes the means of connection between the time-movement and the parts on which the combination-lock operates. Otherwise, there could be no operative coaction of the three elements named in the claim. The expressions "time-mechanism" and "time-movement" are carefully used in the specification and claims, as having different meanings, the former including the latter and its means of acting in conjunction with the combination-lock. There is a limitation in the first claim, to the effect, that the combination-lock is to have its bolt or bearing constructed to receive the pressure of the bolt-work, when the lock is locked, and prevent the unlocking of the bolt-work till the predetermined time shall have arrived. 19

The second claim is a claim to a combination, substantially as set forth in the descriptive part of the specification, of four elements: (1) a combinationlock; (2) the bolt-work of a safe or vault door; (3) a time-movement; (4) a yoke or lever connection, constructed and located to render the bolt or bearing of the combination-lock inoperative, when the lock is locked. In the second claim, the time-mechanism of the first claim is broken up into a time-movement and a yoke or lever connection. There is a limitation in the second claim, to the effect, that the tumblers of the combination-lock and its spindle are free to rotate during the time the bolt-work is held in its locked position by the bolt or bearing of the combination-lock. This freedom of rotation is referred to in the specification as being peculiar and novel, and consisting in the fact, that, while the combination-lock and the bolt-work are locked, the tumblers or combination-wheels of the combination-lock, and its spindle, are free to rotate without exerting any unlocking action or strain on the mechanism composing the combination-lock, or the delicate mechanism composing the time-movement.

It is also to be noted that the specification states that the lock-bolt or bearing of the combination-lock may be of a circular, segmental, or other desired form, "provided said lock-bolt is arranged and adjusted so as to turn upon a suitable axis or bearing," and is so constructed as, in one position, to prevent the retraction of the bolt-work, and, in another position, to permit it. The kind of combination-lock referred to is indicated by the one illustrated in the drawings, and which the specification states to be the one of Sargent's patent No. 57,574, granted August 28, 1866, and reissued as No. 4,696, January 2, 1872. No. 4,696 states that such combination-lock has no sliding lock-bolt, but has combined with its working parts a bolt turning on a pivot or bear ing, and so isolated or removed from contact with the combination-wheels, as to receive any pressure applied through the bolt-work of the door, and cut off the communication between such bolt-work and the wheels or fence lever of the combination-lock; and that such bolt turning on a pivot or bearing, instead of the sliding-bolt theretofore in use, is an important feature. The first claim of No. 4,696 is in these words: "In a combination-lock for safe or vault *doors, a bolt, I, which turns on a pivot or bearing, when said bolt, I, is used in

a lock having no ordinary sliding lock-bolt, and in connection with the sepa rate bolt-work of the door, and so arranged as to receive the pressure of the said bolt-work, without transmitting it to the wheels or other equivalent works of the lock."

The history of the application of Sargent for No. 186,369, so far as it is important to the present case, is this:

On June 11, 1873, having his reissued patent No. 4,696, for his combinationlock, in the form shown in the drawings of No. 186,369, he made application for a patent for combining a time-movement with the lock-works of a combination-lock. The drawing showed the combination-lock of No. 4,696; and the specification set forth the invention to be so combining a time-movement with the lock-works as to prevent the lock from being unlocked by the release of the time-movement, and to require it to be unlocked by being set on the combination, after such release. There was a time-movement, consisting of two clocks, and a lever to hold up the dog or angle-bar of the lock, until released by the arrival of the predetermined hour. No bolt-work was shown or described. There was no idea of patenting any combination, of which the bolt-work formed a part. The specification had two claims: (1) "In a combination-lock, I claim the combination with the lock-works, and with a timemovement that controls the same, of a connection, H, or equivalent, so arranged that when the time-movement releases the lock-works, the latter still remain locked, substantially as specified. (2) I claim, in combination with a time-movement, and a lock, the lever, H, or equivalent, connected directly with the dog, C, to hold it elevated from the wheels, substantially as specified." The specification stated that Sargent did not "claim broadly the combination of a time-movement with a lock," that is, a time-movement or clock employed to prevent the unlocking of a lock till the arrival of a predetermined time in the running of the clock.

The first claim of the application was rejected, June 12, 1873, by a reference to patent No. 121,782, granted to S. W. Hollen, December 12, 1871. Nothing was said as to the second claim. Sargent then disclaimed Hollen's arrangement, as being the combination of "a clock-movement with an ordinary key-lock, by means of a lever, so that, when the clock work releases the latch, the latch remains locked;" and altered his claim so as to read thus: “(1) In a combination-lock, the series of wheels of which are set in succession and operated by a spindle, I claim the combination with the lock-works, and with a double-time movement that controls the same, of a connection, H, whereby, when the time-movement releases the lock-works, the latter still remains locked, substantially as and for the purpose specified. (2) I claim, in combination with a time-movement, and a lock, the lever, H, or equivalent, arranged so as to be connected with the dog, substantially as described." The first claim was again rejected, June 23, 1873, by a reference to Newton's Journal of 1832, (Rutherford's patent of 1831,) as describing the application of a double-time movement "to any bolt of a lock, bar, or other fastening," and to the American patent of Holbrook, of 1858, as showing a double-time movement. The letter of rejection, referring to the Hollen patent, says, that Hollen "applies the movement to a tumbler lock, which has to be operated by a key after the time-movement releases it. To double the time-movement in one lock is considered to be one and the same thing with doubling it in any other. To grant Hollen a patent for applying this time-movement to a tumbler lock, and then to issue other patents for using it with other locks, is simply to nullify Hollen's patent. Sargent is entitled to a limited claim for his way or adaptation, but nothing more. This last observation meant that the second claim would be allowed, but not the first. The point of this ruling was, that it was not a patentable invention or combination to unite a timemovement with a combination-lock instead of with a tumbler-lock, each of which required to be unlocked after its release, or to double a clock in con

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