This lock was patented by Bauer A.G. in Zürich, Switzerland, in August 1917. The patent was granted by the Patentamt in Bern (where Albert Einstein worked a few years earlier), in November 1917 under #76169 with the name ”Kombinationsschloss“ (”Combination Lock“).

Additional patent scans : Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5 (click on images for schematics).