Harry C Miller's manipulation-proof permutation lock

[Jack Sullivan]

According to an internet article titled A Lock on the Business dealing with the life of Harry C Miller & his relationship with Sargent & Greenleaf (see A Lock on the Business ) "He set out to develop a manipulation-proof lock & received a patent for his invention. Seeking a manufacturer for the new lock, he approached the Sargent & Greenleaf Company, a lockmaker based in Rochester, NY. The lock was a success & became a new standard for government containers. Miller later became the president & owner of Sargent & Greenleaf."

The references I found for this lock gave an issue date of 26 June 1962 & two Canadian patent numbers: CA64302 & CA64366, both titled 'Manipulation-Proof Permutation Lock.' (The first 3 attached thumbnails are from the -02 patent & the last 3 are from the -66 patent). Interestingly, I found no U.S. equivalents to these patents. (See espacenet - results view ).

I haven't read either of these 33-page patents but they appear from the thumbnail drawings to be different. In fact, as stated in the -66 patent, they are divisions of the original application dated 1 May 1953.

This article seems to infer that Miller's new lock design was the start of his highly successful career at S&G. However, from my files I have another Miller patent patent US2951358 filed 27 December 1957 & assigned to S&G. So it would appear that Miller was either employed by or otherwise working for S&G for some years prior to the 1962 granting of his Canadian patents. The dates do suggest that his manipulation-proof lock design was filed with the Canadian patent office long before his association with S&G.

I'm sure that there is literature regarding Miller's history with S&G that I haven't seen yet. I hope others might be able to supply additional information.

Jack