History of Locks
the next number . The operator asks in his mind ‘ did I turn the dial three or four times ?’ and then concentration is lost . If just that one element , counting the revolutions , could be removed then the whole sequence would become much simpler . Well , that is just what Bill Stanton accomplished in 1965 .
From very early on in his career , Bill Stanton was fascinated with keyless combination locks . He had a Lips combination lock mounted on a stand and would spend hours analysing everything that was felt through the dial . Later , when working for Chubb ’ s R & D department , he made many improvements to their combination locks and when Chatwood Milner was acquired , he became one of the foremost experts on the Manifoil and again was responsible for many of the improvements to this lock .
The project , after many trials and tribulations , was eventually successfully finalised and the dial went into production .
‘ Bill Stanton was fascinated with keyless combination locks ’
HoL Artefact No . 736 – Kromer Krosimplex Dial ( mounted with a four wheel Kromer DBP Combination Lock )
The combination of this lock is set on : 16 43 64 91 and is fitted with a Krosimplex dial . The operation now very much simplified is : -
• Turn the dial clockwise until 16 aligns with the index line .
• Turn the dial anti-clockwise until 43 aligns with the index mark .
• Turn the dial clockwise until 64 aligns with the index mark
• Turn the dial anti-clockwise until 91 aligns with the index mark
• Turn the dial clockwise to open .
In other words , simply change direction every time a number is aligned until the lock opens , and the dial mechanics ingeniously counted the revolutions .
Dial : 95mm diameter x 50mm deep , and is fitted with a spy proof optic . Polished chrome finish .
Note : although this factory model is fitted with a four wheel Kromer combination lock , the dial could be used with any make of four or three wheel combination lock body of traditional
^ Otto Sellin the then owner of Kromer surrounded himself with experts in their field , including Bill Stanton from England .
< The Bode Panzer patent which Otto Sellin purchased the rights to and gave to Bill Stanton in 1964 to solve the technical problems and to widen its scope to use with 3 and 4 wheel models as well as left and right hand models .
The factory mounted Krosimplex from 1965 operating with a Kromer 4 wheel DBP combination lock .
design - such as the Chubb or S & G . The action of the dial mechanism also upgraded the lock to manipulation proof . No doubt Kromer had an eye on overseas markets ; perhaps safe makers would offer the Krosimplex as an optional upgrade to their customers .
Any reader who would like full sized drawings from this article can download them from the library area at www . historyoflocks . co . uk
Brian Morland , curator of the Heritage Collection of locks and keys , welcomes comments and corrections on historical aspects of locks and keys . Brian can be contacted by email : brian @ emorlands . com
MAR / APR 2023
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