The Padlock Patent Archive

Three centuries of keeping things shut

19th century padlock

Patent drawing sheet showing eleven figures of a shackle padlock, including exterior front views, interior mechanism views with bolt, tumbler, and spring, an edge cross-section, and detached parts like the bolt shank and tumbler.IMPROVEMENT IN PADLOCKSMoses T. Ridout · September 9, 1862Four line-drawing diagrams of a padlock's internal mechanism labeled Fig. 1 through Fig. 4, showing a curved shackle B pivoted into a rounded case A, with internal parts including a spring-pawl b, catch-plate d', hook d, tumblers g and g', and various numbered teeth and slots illustrating the locking and unlocking sequence.IMPROVEMENT IN PADLOCKSWilson Bohannan · February 28, 1865Patent drawing sheet showing an egg-shaped padlock in multiple perspective and cutaway views (Figs. 1-13), revealing internal rotating disks, springs, a curved bail, and two ornate extension keys with notched wards.IMPROVED PADLOCKSamuel G. Cabell · December 14, 1869Patent drawing sheet showing nine figures of variously shaped padlock cases—round, heart-shaped, and shield-shaped—each with corrugated or ribbed surfaces, plus cross-sectional views labeled with letters A through E indicating shackle, bearings, and protecting plates.IMPROVEMENT IN PADLOCK-CASESFriend W. Smith and Fredrick Egge · September 4, 1877Patent drawing of a cylindrical padlock with a U-shaped shackle, a flat notched key, and an internal cross-section showing stacked rotating tumbler plates and a locking collar.PADLOCK.Clarence L. Wheeler · April 13, 1886Patent drawing of a chain padlock showing an oval body with internal spring and pin mechanism, a detachable notched plug, a right-angle key, and chain links attached at both ends.PADLOCK.Peter Brust · April 11, 1893Patent drawing of a padlock with a U-shaped shackle atop a cylindrical lock body, showing internal cross-sections of a rotating tumbler cylinder, stacked disc tumblers, a locking bar, and a key with multiple bit slots, along with detail views of washers, caps, and an alternate pin-tumbler cylinder variant with a winged bolt.LOCKIra J. Babcock · November 29, 1898