US2565825A - Combination keyless lock - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 28, 1951 N. REDMOND ErAL COMBINATION KEYLESS LOCK 'Filed April 50, 1948 Sheets-sheet 1 Illlllllll-nllll' [m/enfofs Na7/7cm Redmond, Josef Halpern,

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Aug- 28, 1951 N. REDMoND Erm. 2,565,825

COMBINATION KEYLESS LOCK Filed April 30. 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .nd/8 Q-zs /9 In Venforus Na7/76117 Redmond,

Josef Halpern by @af www Patented Aug. l28, 1951 2,565,825 COMBINATION KEYLESS LOCK Nathan Redmond and Josef Halpern, Salford, England Application April 30, 1948, Serial No. 24,206 lIn Great Britain June 26, 1946 3 Claims.

This invention has reference to combination keyless locks, that is to say, locks which are released by combining certain features according to numbers or letters, and are not released by a separate key. The invention has further reference to small locks, intended for use on 'bags'. trunks, dispatch cases, bicycles and cars, ling cabinets and the like, and for other purposes, though they are not primarily intended for doors or large safes,

The invention has for its object to provide a lock of this kind referred to which shall be strong and not expensive, though cheapness is not a primary consideration in itself, as it is more important to provide a sound and well made lock which cannot be released without using a correct combination.

According to this invention a combination keyless lock comprises a case having a sliding plate carrying a striker urged to the locking position by a spring or springs, or similarly acting mechanism or device, and moved to open it by an external projection, the sliding plate having an opening or openings in it, occupied to hold or release the plate, by one or more tumblers rotatable on the axis of an operating member or members and which only when turned to a predetermined `position according to a code, allows or allow the sliding plate and striker to be moved by the 'external projection or by a spring or springs or simi ilarly acting mechanism or device.

The invention is more particularly set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a lock 'for a bag or vlike purpose according to the invention, in the closed position,

Fig. 2 is a'sectional elevation on the line A-A of Fig. 1 looking from the right,

Fig. `3 is a sectional plan on the line B-B of Fig. 1,

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 respectively are similar views of another construction, and

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 respectively are similar views of a third construction,

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of va device fitted with a lock according to the invention, adopted for use as a lock for a bicycle wheel or like purpose, and

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of Fig. 10 looking from the right.

Referring to the drawings, and first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the lock comprises two main parts, namely a lock proper I2 secured on one part of the article to be locked, and the striker plate I3, secured on the other part and hinged at I4.

The lock I2 is enclosed by a housing formed by back and front members I5 and I6, permanently secured together in any suitable manner but preferably by rivets, and in the front 'plate I6 is a slot I'I, to receive, and allow to enter, the housing, a slotted projection I8 on the striker plate I3, which receives and is held by the lock striker I9 when the lock is fastened.

The locking element or striker I9 is an extension of a plate 20, which serves as a carrier element and is sldable inside the housing I2, and urged to the locking position by spring 2I. The plate 20 has a recess 22, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, of enlarged key-hole shape, and largely circular but with a rectangular extension toward the striker I9. A slot 23 in the front plate I6 allows a knob 24, to be passed through and secured into the plate 20 so that by sliding the knob to and fro the plate 2U can be moved in the same way; normally the knob will be in the position shown in Fig. 1 when the plate 20 is free to move owing to the pressure of the springs 2|, and will be pushed to the left against the pressure of the springs to withdraw the plate and striker I9.

Mounted on the front of the housing is a double operating knob 25, not shown in Fig. 1, onehalf of which has a solid shaft or spindle 26 which passes through the other half and through a hollow shaft or sleeve 2l which is connected to the nearer half of the knob. Thus the outside half of the knob will turn the spindle 2E, and the inside half will turn the sleeve 21. Within the housing are two tumblers lying face to face within the key-hole shaped recess 22, and the spindle 26 is connected to one of these tumblers 28, and the sleeve 21 to the other tumbler 29, so that each half of the double knob 25, when turned, will turn the tumbler 28, or 29, to which it is connected by the spindle 26, or sleeve 21, respectively.

These tumblers are of the same shape, and have two parallel sides slightly less apart than the width of the rectangular extension of the keyhole shaped recess 22 in the plate 2l), so that the tumbler, when aligned with the rectangular extension can pass in and out of the extension, as the plate 2D is moved to and fro. The other sides of the tumblers are curved to the curvature of the circular part of the key-hole recess 22, so that the tumblers can be rotated in this circular part. At the back face, however, each tumbler is slightly widened at 30 so that that end of the tumblers will not enter the rectangular extension if the plates are turned into position opposite to that shownin Fig. 1.

On the front of the housing, and conveniently on a ring 3l are numerals or letters, and o'n each half of the knob 25 is a small pointer or notch, and when, according to the combination decided and known, the pointer or notch is turned to its proper numeral or letter, the tumbler to which that part of the knob is connected is turned to the proper position as shown in Fig. l, which will allow the plate 20 to be moved to or fro either by the knob 24, or the springs 2|, and only whenboth halves of the knob 25 are separately turned tothe proper position can the lock be locked or unlocked, as the slightest rotary movement of either tumbler will prevent the plate 29 from moving or being moved.

In Figs. 4, 5, and 6, a similar but more elaborate arrangement is shown, in which so far as they apply the reference numerals used in the preceding gures are used. In this arrangement the tumblers 28 and 29 are separated, and between them is a spring 3Ia, around the spindle 26, and each tumbler has on it two pins 32, and on the back and front plates of the housing are holes 33 into which the pins 32 will pass when aligned therewith, so that to turn these tumblers they must first be moved axially to withdraw the pins from the holes, and this is done by pushing and pulling respectively the two halves of the knob 25 against the pressure of the spring 3Ia. As the pins of each tumbler are withdrawn and the plate turned to its opening position and the knob released, the pins of that plate again enter other holes, and hold the plate against rotation, so that if the lock is opened the movements of the tumblers already referred to must be gone through again before the lock can be closed. It will be appreciated that the holes in the back plate of the housing are inside the article to be locked, and those on the front are covered, or shrouded, by the knob 25 and the ring 3|, so that it is not possible to see which holes the pins are in when the lock is in the free, or movable position, by the correct disposition of the tumblers.

In Figs. 7, 8, and 9, a further modification is shown in which the construction shown in Figs. 4, 5, and G is further extended to provide additional security. In this arrangement Where the respective parts again bear the same reference numerals as in the preceding figures, the construction of the lock is duplicated byv having two sets of double knobs 25, and two sets of tumblers 28 and 2Q. To effect this, one plate 2|) is used having two keyhole shaped recesses, the lock striker I9 being at the middle of the plate 20 to engage the slot I1 in the striker plate I3. In this construction it is necessary to have four combinations correct at the same time,V before the lock can be operated, and the possibilities of this being done, by trial and error, without knowledge of the combinations, are so remotev as to be not worth considering.

In Figs. l and 11 an arrangement of the lock is shown as applied to a locking device, which may be used on a bicycle, motor vehicle, or in a situation where normally a detachable lock such as a padlock would be used, the arrangement being a detachable locking device incorporating a lock of the kind already described. In the drawing the construction of the lock shown is substantially that shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, that is to say, a double lock, but the other forms of lock described and illustrated may be used. It will beobserved that the spring 2| pulls the plate 2l] instead of pushing it as in the othergures, and that the knob 24, and its slot 23, are at the end of the lock, but these alterations are merely for convenience, and if desired the arrangements of the lock can be shown in any of the other iigures. The housing for the lock is however diierent, in that it is formed in a curve 34, terminating in a hook shaped end 35, and has slidably mounted in it a striker plate which can be pulled out into the position shown in chain dotted lines by the knob 36 against the pull of a spring 31, which will withdraw the striker plate into the hook when the plate is released. Near the,end of the striker plate I3 is a recess 38, which, when the lock is locked, is engaged by a projection 39 on v the sliding plate in the lock, so that the striker plate is held in the position shown in chain dotted lines in Fig. 10.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is:

1. In a combination lock, a housing; a carrier element movable in said housing; a locking element secured to said carrier element and movable therewith; means for moving said carrier element and thereby said locking element so as to engage and disengage the member to be locked; a plurality of tumblers supported in said housing for individual revolving movements about a common axis of rotation and for blocking said carrier element, said carrier element being provided with a common recess for receiving said tumblers when said tumblers are in a predetermined angular position upon movement of said carrier element; individual `setting means associated with said tumblers for separately revolving the vsame into and out of said predetermined position; and co-operative disengageable positioning means provided on said housing and on each of said tumblers for disengageably retaining each of said tumblers in individual positions.

2. In a combination lock, a housing; a carrier element movable in said housing; a locking element secured to said carrier element and movable therewith; means for moving said carrier element and thereby said locking element so as to engage and disengage the member to be locked; a plurality of tumblers supported in said housing for individual revolving movements about a common axis of rotation and for blocking said carrier element, said carrier element being provided with a common recess for receiving said tumblers when said tumblers are in a predetermined angular position upon movement of said carrier element; concentrically arranged shafts rotatable and axially movable in said housing, one shaft for each of said tumblers; co-operative positioning means provided on said housing and on each of said tumblers for retaining each of said tumblers in individual positions,the said positioning means being disengageable by axial movement of said shafts and tumblers; and individual setting means associated with 4each of said shafts, the said setting means being axiallt7 movable so as to effect engagement and disengagement of said positioning means and being revolvable so as to revolve the corresponding shaft for movement of said tumblers into and out of said predetermined position. Y

3. In a combination lock, a housing; a carrier element movable in said housing; a locking element secured to said carrier element and movable therewith; means for moving Vsaid carrier element and thereby said locking element so as to engage and disengage the member to be locked; a plurality of tumblers supported in said housing for individual revolving movements about a common axis of rotation and for blocking said carrier element, said carrier element being provided with a common recess for receiving said tumblers when said tumblers are in a predetermined angular position upon movement of said carrier element; concentrically arranged shafts rotatable and axially movable in said housing, one

shaft for each of said tumblers; co-operative positioning means provided on said housing and on each of said tumblers for retaining each of said tumblers in individual positions, the said positioning means being disengageable by axial movement of said shafts and tumblers; and a composite operating member having a plurality of relatively movable portions, each of said portions being connected to one of said shafts so as to move the corresponding shaft axially for engagement and disengagement of said positioning means and so as to revolve the shaft for movement of the corresponding tumbler into and out of said predetermined position.

NATHAN REDMOND. JOSEF HALPERN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name y Date 140,500 Hall July 1, 1873 1,194,286 Gorham Aug. 8, 1916 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 384,318 Germany Oct. 29, 1923

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