Lever tumbler lock
type of lock that uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock
A lever tumbler lock is a type of lock whose mechanism uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock. It does not mean a locking lever handle incorporating a cylinder locking device.
In the simplest form of lever lock, lifting the tumbler above a certain height will allow the bolt to slide past.
Lever locks developed throughout the nineteenth century, but those used in some parts of the world were of modest security, with large keys. When Yale's pin tumbler lock was developed in the late nineteenth century, that became a more popular lock. It has a small key, many differs, and an easily interchangeable cylinder locking device, and in much of the developed world has become the most popular key mechanism for doors and padlocks.
In some parts of Europe, and elsewhere, secure lever locks continue in use for doors, and safes.
History
In 1778 Robert Barron of Britain invented [British patent GB1200] the principle of all modern mechanical security locks: the double-acting movable detainer. As examples, his patent described two realisations (of several possible) of what would now be called a lever lock. These required the lever to be lifted to a certain height by having a slot cut in the lever, so lifting the lever too far was as bad as not lifting the lever far enough.
“Lever tumbler lock” enters the record as type of lock that uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Lever, tumbler and lock can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q31883493. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1778.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lever tumbler lock” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.