Unusual Mosler "lockwork"

wylk

I hesitate to call this boltwork since it deals with the interaction of locks and time locks, not the door’s bolts. So I’ll use/invent “lockwork” if nobody objects.

There is a fairly uncommon construction that Mosler used. There are not many examples, maybe it didn’t work out in some way. The best examples are:

The mechanism uses two discs of slightly different size. The larger one is coupled to the lock bolts. The smaller one is coupled to the time lock. When one (or both) lock bolts is withdrawn the large wheel rotates clockwise. Somehow it interacts with the other wheel which is either blocked by the time lock, or is allowed to turn. The two screws in the large wheel allow setting it for one-lock operation or for two-lock operation.

I’d love to see the patent for this but it’s not in my collection. Mosler may not have patented it.

Does anybody have a patent number or more information on this?

T Davison

Mosler was famous for remolding a bank that only uses The MOSLER brand. This is what I think you have a picture of. They would retro fit there parts & cover panels onto other’s vault doors.
This is a flyer from Mosler in the late 1940’s to early 1950’s. Hope this helps enjoy the picture Tim

wylk

That’s interesting and also disappointing. This means it could be very difficult to identify any door’s maker even if it has a name right on the door.

I don’t recall ever seeing this two-disc lockwork on a door that could be identified as non-Mosler. One of the “tells” I use to ID a Mosler door is the ring that hides the pinion gears (which are also hidden by a disc over each pinion). Here is a 1953 photo of Edwin Mosler showing off a door under construction at the factory. The lockwork is different but at least it shows they used the ring on their own doors. As time went by, makers would hide more and more of the boltwork until it became entirely hidden with no glass. Would they use this ring on a rebranding, where they probably would have to machine it to a different size and mounting method?

Also note, two bolt roller bearings per bolt.

Doug MacQueen

I have not spent any serious time searching patents for quite a few years mostly due to lack of skill in using internet searching. But here are a couple Mosler patents regarding round door layouts. One shows the boltwork in question while the other shows the very common lock timeline lock layout or lockwork as Wylk calls it. From the boltwork we can see the door is a Mosler, or someone has copied the design. This last possibility is highly unlikely. I see that a feature of the common lockwork was to prevent a binding of the time lock from applied boltwork handle pressure. I think the less common design had that in mind as well, and carried the crank disc design of the boltwork into the lockwork design. If the design was patented I suspect it would have occurred around the same time, pre WWI.

wylk

Doug, thanks for pointing out those patents.

Another related patent is US 1,078,818.

As for the vault door images, some interesting details emerge. I noticed that the door is set up for dual custody, both lock bolts must be retracted to unlock the door, which is unusual. And there is a patrol space around the vault.

Can you tell us where this door lives?

wylk

Carl Bartels was very busy. Between 1909 and 1932 he acquired 60 patents, usually as a single inventor but sometimes as part of a group. That’s about 2.6 patents per year.

wylk

Some days you get a surprise. Here are two styles of Mosler doors:

On the left is a geared boltwork, used by Mosler and Diebold and others. On the right is a later design which I had assumed was also geared but with the pinions covered for some reason. After reviewing the patents which Doug pointed out, I now realize the right-hand design is not in fact a geared mechanism. The large driving ring has simple slots which engage pins in the “pinions”, which in turn engage the bolts which also have simple slots. This is much simpler to manufacture than all of the gear teeth on the first design. Here is a closeup from a patent diagram:

Hey, I learned something new and the year hasn’t ended yet.

Doug MacQueen

On the Mosler door, I found it in Butler, PA. Don’t know if I have the specific location. The crank discs are a variation of the very commonly used bellcranks. On the dual control, it would be perfectly acceptable if there is an emergency door, but I don’t know if that vault had one.

wylk

Another detail of Mosler lockwork that I’ve wondered about is a block on the non-bolt side of the combination locks. Sometimes there are two separate blocks such as in the following images:

In other cases it’s a single block that spans both locks:

Is this mechanical support? Or a dust cover for indirect-drive gearing?

Doug MacQueen

Not a dust cover, but rather a punch proof cover for the offset drive. And if anyone takes issue with my choice of wording about punch proof, show me one that has been punched and I will start using the wording punch resistant.