Invalidity dossier
US 181074
Improvement in watch-keys
Added 9/17/2026, 1:24:17 PM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview: US 181,074 — Improvement in Watch-Keys
Title: Improvement in Watch-Keys
Patentee: William S. Hicks, of New York, N.Y.
Patent Number: US 181,074
Application Filed: July 17, 1876
Date of Patent (Publication/Grant): August 15, 1876
Assignee: None stated in the supplied text.
Classification: G04B3/006 (mechanical winding up; winding up with special equipment), per the source page.
Purpose: The invention provides a watch-key whose case is made in the style or form of a cannon, with the key bit arranged to be forced in or out of the case by means of a screw. The stated advantages are that such a key "is highly ornamental" and that the socket is protected by being drawn within the case.
Plain-Language Scope: The key's case (A) is made in two parts, a and b. Part a carries trunnions c; part b carries a ring F for attaching or suspending the key. The internal mechanism has three parts in the described embodiment: rod B (with a square hole or socket in its outer end and a lateral pin, O), tube C (with a longitudinal slot l in which the pin slides), and a spirally-slotted tube D fitted over tube C. Assembled, these operate like an ordinary screw-pencil, so that turning tube D while holding tube C stationary forces the key bit in or out. Case part b is slipped onto the screw mechanism and soldered fast to tube D; case part a is slipped on and soldered or otherwise fastened at its lower end to tube C. Because parts a and b turn separately with their respective mechanism parts, the bit can be protruded or retracted at will. The specification adds that the "magic movement" screw mechanism may be substituted.
Claim: The single claim is: "In combination with the case A, composed of the parts a and b, the bit or tube B and the screw mechanism, substantially as described."
What the excerpt does not establish: It states no assignee, no litigation, no ownership transfer, and no validity determination; it lists no prior-art references relied upon during examination. It also does not establish the actual commercial embodiment, materials, or dimensions.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US181074](/patent/US181074)/en
Generated 10/1/2026, 10:03:11 PM
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
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Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
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