EP0140028B1 - Safety locking installation with a biaxial clutch device, locking magnet, driver and reserve circuit - Google Patents

Abstract

1. Arrangement for operating locking devices by means of an electrical signal, which is formed by positive comparison of key information entered with preset lock information, and which activates an electromagnetic clutching device that enables actuation of the lock, by way of which a rotatable part, accessible from without, is connected to a rotatable part performing the actuation of the lock, in locking installations, especially of housing developments, with the rotatable part accessible from without being connected to the driving element of a clutch, on the one hand, and with that part of the electromagnetic clutching device, on the other hand ; the rotatable part performing the actuation of the lock being connected to the driven element of the clutch, and the other part of the electromagnetic clutching device being connected with a part that determines the position of the coupling element of the clutch, and that, when the part accessible from without is turned and the electromagnetic clutching device is activated, moves the coupling element into engagement with the driving element and the driven element, characterized by the rotatable part accessible from without - the driving shaft (1) - being positioned with its axis offset and parallel to the axis of the rotatable part performing the actuation of the lock - the driven shaft (6), the driving shaft (1) bearing a gearwheel (2), which is connected by way of a connecting gearwheel (3) with a gearwheel (5) that can revolve freely about the driven shaft (6), to which a disk (7) of low-retentivity material, forming the one part of the electromagnetic clutching device, is fastened so that it cannot twist, a pivoting piece (8), which bears a pivoting magnet (9), that forms the other part of the electromagnetic clutching device, being positioned around the driven shaft (6), the pivoted lever (8) being connected to the holding magnet (11) of a holding-magnet circuit, and the holding piece (13), as the other part of the holding-magnet circuit, being fixed to the housing, both the two parts, disk (7) and pivoting magnet (9), of the pivoting-magnet circuit and the two parts, holding piece (13) and holding magnet (11), of the holding-magnet circuit being ground to the smallest possible air-gap, the holding magnet (11) being energized and the pivoting magnet (9) being de-energized after the pivoting piece (8) swivels to the left or right, when a preset end-position is reached, the holding magnet (11), when energized, holding the pivoting piece (8) in its position relative to the housing at the time energized and for the duration of the energization, the pivoting piece (8) being returned to the zero position by springs when energization is ended, and a mechanical coupling of the driven shaft (6) to the gearwheel (5) resulting from the swivelling of the pivoting piece (8) in either of the two possible directions.

Description

The invention relates to a device that can be mounted on doors that are equipped with a conventional cylinder-operated lock and that serves for manual actuation of the bolt and the latch of such a lock in conjunction with an electrical signal that an electromagnetic coupling device with very little Power consumption effectively controlled, as well as the advantageous safety and operational design of the entire firing device.

With the German patent application DE-A-3218112 (EP-A-0 094 592), which also forms the basis for the wording of the preamble of claim 1, such a closing device has become known which can be effectively controlled with very small currents and for its operation small batteries are sufficient for a very long operating time without changing the batteries.

The solution is based on the fact that a drive axis is guided coaxially through an output axis from the outside of the door into the mechanical lock itself or on the inside of the door, that a first gearwheel is connected to the drive axis and a disk which forms part of an electromagnetic coupling device that the output shaft is connected to a second gear and a cam, which is used to actuate bolts and latches of locks of a conventional type, that a pivot plate is mounted around the output shaft, which carries the other part of an electromagnetic coupling device which, when energized, by means of the disc, which is part of the drive axle, is pivoted out to a mechanical stop, the electromagnetic coupling device now passing into a slip as the drive axle continues to rotate.

When the swivel plate is pivoted out, a third gearwheel is brought into engagement with the two first-mentioned gearwheels by means of different arrangements, as a result of which the drive axis is connected to the output axis.

The advantage of this solution compared to previously known solutions is that the electromagnet of the electromagnetic coupling device itself does not have to do any movement work, but that it only serves to insert a gear coupling, which in turn now serves to transfer the relatively large forces from the outside of the door to a cam and to be transmitted to bolts and latches of mechanical locks. As a result, the magnet can be made very small and still perform its function with a very low current consumption.

In this described solution, there are essentially three disadvantages;

First, the electromagnetic coupling device, which is used for the mechanical coupling of a gear transmission, must remain energized during the entire operating time, because otherwise the gear transmission is coupled out again by means of return springs. The resulting slippage between the two parts of the electromagnetic coupling device results in mechanical abrasion of the parts, which limits the service life of the entire device. In addition, the operator must apply additional forces when operating the lock, because the frictional forces caused by the electromagnetic coupling device must be applied in addition to the lock operating forces.

Secondly, the security measures against external use of force should be further improved: the security-critical area of mechanical locks lies in the area of the lock cylinder and in the area of the lock tumblers above. When using security fittings protected against drilling, the critical area is reduced to the lock cylinder itself, because this must necessarily be exposed due to the key insert. If it is possible to remove the locking cylinder or parts of it by using force, any protection against unauthorized opening of a door is eliminated. The danger described for mechanical locks applies in the same way to the locking device dealt with here, since it is mounted on a conventional mechanical lock and also uses a locking cylinder which is sensitive to the use of force on the outside of the door.

Thirdly, it should be mentioned that the gear wheel of the drive axle is always at the front as seen from the inside of the door and that a desirable direct drive of the drive axle from the inside of the door is not possible.

The invention has for its object to provide a much more wear-free, easy to use locking device with less force, which is safer against external use of force and against low battery voltage, which can be operated mechanically directly from the inside of the door and which otherwise have all the advantages of the above Locking device preserved.

The object is achieved by the measures characterized in claim 1.

The additional use of a magnetic circuit with a holding function, which allows the magnetic circuit with a pivoting function to be released from the magnetic circuit when a certain pivoting position has been reached, eliminates all the problems which have arisen as a result of the slip which has occurred to date. This results in a particularly energy-saving design of the electromagnetic coupling device, which is also more economical in terms of power consumption, which, after having established a rotationally fixed connection between the drive and driven axes has made possible, with the help of the holding magnet, a largely force-free turning, in particular the material wear between the disc and the swivel magnet is reduced to a minimum.

Due to the axially offset arrangement, the drive axis can be guided to the outside of the door at a distance from the output axis below the mechanical lock. The output shaft engages the hollow shaft of a special locking cylinder from the inside of the door, enters into a non-rotatable connection with it and the special locking cylinder operates the latch and bolt of the mechanical lock with its locking cam. Since this special locking cylinder is a half cylinder and only has a connection to the inside of the door, but not to the outside of the door, the solution that is favorable for security reasons results in all security-critical areas of the mechanical lock and the special locking cylinder on the outside of the door with a drill-protected steel plate without being able to cover every opening in the safety-critical area. This solution is characterized in detail in claim 10.

The output axis of the coupling device accessible on the room side provides the advantageous possibility of mechanically actuating the lock directly from the inside of the door.

The measures characterized in claims 2 and 3 achieve a precise free engagement of the driver. Coupling can also be carried out with less force than with the original solution.

Through the measures characterized in claim 4, the current through the holding magnet is switched on automatically when the desired swivel position is reached.

Through the measures characterized in claim 5, a delay-free switching of the current from the swivel magnet to the holding magnet is achieved in a very simple manner.

The measures characterized in claim 6 provide a simple indication that the battery voltage is approaching a critically low point and that a battery change will soon be necessary. After entering this state, the user is reminded of this need each time it is used, until he remedies it and changes the batteries.

The measures characterized in claim 7 result in the advantageous possibility of dispensing with a separate reserve switch and integrating it into the normal code entry keyboard.

The measures characterized in claim 8 result in the advantageous possibility for safety reasons, if necessary, to decouple the actuating part attached directly to the inside of the door mechanically driving the lock and to lock it in the decoupled position. This is important for safety reasons in the case of doors with a glass insert, where the direct drive for the lock could otherwise be operated after the glass insert has been destroyed and it has been reached inside. In addition, there is the convenient location to be able to prevent the unlocking of the lock from the inside of the door by means of the lockable decoupling, for. B. to reliably prevent children from leaving their home without permission.

The measures characterized in claim 9 result in the advantageous possibility of using a common mechanical locking cylinder for closing the inner actuating part in the uncoupled position and for securing against unauthorized reprogramming or reprogramming of the codes of the locking device.

The measures characterized in claim 10 result in an arrangement which reliably protects against violent opening attempts coming from the outside, since, in contrast to all conventional locking cylinders or locks, all security-critical areas of the lock and locking cylinder can be effectively protected by a drill-protected steel plate without any cylinder opening .

Further measures and their advantages result from the following description of an embodiment of the invention.

• Fig. 1a und 1b: Vorrichtung zum Ankoppeln einer Antriebsachse an eine Abtriebsachse in einer geschnittenen Seitenansicht sowie einer geschnittenen Draufsicht
• Fig. 2 : Detaildarstellung der Achsankopplung
• Fig. 3 : Stromkreis zum Umschalten des Stroms von dem Schwenkmagneten auf den Haltemagneten mit Reserveschaltung
• Fig. 4 : Explosionszeichnung der Gesamtanordnung Verschlußeinrichtung
• Fig. 5 : Spezial-Schließzylinder

Show it :

• 1a and 1b: Device for coupling a drive axle to an output axle in a sectional side view and a sectional plan view
• Fig. 2: Detail representation of the axis coupling
• Fig. 3: Circuit for switching the current from the swivel magnet to the holding magnet with reserve circuit
• Fig. 4: Exploded view of the overall arrangement locking device
• Fig. 5: Special locking cylinder

In Fig. 1a, the coupling device is shown in a sectional side view. The drive axle 1, which can be driven from the outside of the door, is firmly connected to a gearwheel 2. With this gear 2, a gear 3 is in constant engagement, which is rotatably mounted on the axis 4 and serves for the transmission of force and reversal of direction.

The gear 3 is in turn in constant engagement with a gear 5 which is freely rotatable about the output axis 6. A disc 7 is rotatably connected to the gear wheel 5, which is made of soft magnetic material and which is part of an electromagnetic coupling device which serves to pivot out a pivot lever 8 made of non-magnetic material.

The second part of the electromagnetic coupling device is formed by the swivel magnet 9, which is preferably designed as a U-magnet and carries a coil 10 for generating a magnetic flux.

When the coil 10 is energized, the magneti flows cal flux from one leg of the magnet back through the disc 7 to the other leg. This will firmly tighten the disc on the U-shaped magnet.

The contacting surfaces of the swivel magnet 9 and the disk 7 are ground in such a way that the air gap between the two parts is very small. This results in a large magnetic flux even with very little electrical excitation and thus a strongly attractive force between the disk 7 and the swivel magnet 9.

With the rotation of the axis 1, the disc 7 is rotated at the same time, so that when the pivot magnet 9 is excited, the pivot lever 8 also rotates by a predetermined angle. A further, mainly U-shaped holding magnet 11 is fastened on this pivot lever 8 and can be excited by means of a coil 12. The magnetic circuit for this magnet is closed by a sheet 13 which is fixed to the housing. However, it is also possible to arrange the holding magnet 11 fixed to the housing and to fix the sheet 13 closing the magnetic circuit on the swivel lever 8. The contacting surfaces of the holding magnet 11 and the sheet 13 are also ground in such a way that the air gap between the two is very small.

With the pivoting of the pivot lever 8 due to the rotation of the disk 7 and the excited pivot magnet 9 when the holding magnet 11 is not energized, when the predetermined pivoting angles in one or the other pivoting direction are reached, electrical contacts 14, 15 are actuated, which switch the current from the Swing magnet 9 cause the holding magnet 11. So that the pivoted pivot lever 8 is held relative to the housing in its assumed position, as long as the current flow through the coil 12 continues. The attractive force between the disc 7 and the pivot magnet 9 is canceled. The disc 7 can then be rotated without force.

When the current from the coil 12 is switched off, the attractive force between the holding magnet 11 and the sheet 13 is canceled. The pivot lever 8 is returned to the starting position by springs, not shown.

As shown in Fig. 1 b, the pivot lever 8 has run-on bevels 16, 17, 18, 19 which, when the pivot lever 8 rotates, axially move a further plate 20 arranged coaxially to the latter. Through a rotationally fixed connection of the sheet 20 to the housing by means of a bracket 21 comes with rotation of the swivel. lever 8 the axial displacement of the sheet 20 is achieved.

In Fig. 2, the device for coupling the output axis 6 to the gear 5 and thus to the drive axis 1 is shown in more detail. By moving the sheet 20 in the axial direction upwards, a driver 22, which is mounted in a milled axis 6, is moved upwards against a spring 23 until it engages fully in pins 24 which are connected to the gear wheel 5. This creates a connection between the drive axle 1 and the driven axle 6, via which very large forces can be transmitted.

In order to prevent the driver 22 from touching the pins 24 when the sheet 20 and thus the driver 22 are moved upward, the current supply for the swivel magnet 9 occurs only in such angular positions of the output axis 6 relative to the gear 5 that the driver 22 always is pushed up in the space between the pins 24.

This is achieved in that one end of the winding of the coil 10 is connected to the housing, that is to say to ground. The power supply to this winding end is carried out on a plate 25 which is mounted insulated from the housing. A further insulating part 26 is attached between the plate 25 and the disk 7, which is connected to the axis 6 and is also rotated by it. Contact springs 27 are arranged in two recesses of this insulating part 26, which cause a current transfer from sheet metal 25 to the disk 7 and thus to the coil 10. The disc 7 now carries on its side facing the contact springs 27 a printed insulating layer in those segments in which a current supply to the coil is undesirable. This ensures that the coil 10 can be energized relative to the axis 6 only in those angular ranges of the gear wheel 5 in which it is possible to lift the driver 22 without bumping against the pins 24.

In Fig. 3, the circuit for energizing the coils 10, 12 of the two magnets 9, 11 is shown in more detail.

The switch 28 is formed by electronics which, after the correct code input, connects a voltage source 29 to the coil 10 of the swivel magnet 9. When the switch 28 is closed, a current flows back to the voltage source 29 via a resistor 30, the coil 10 and one or more diodes 31, 32 connected in the forward direction.

When the swivel magnet 9 is energized, the swivel lever 8 is rotated to the extent that one of the switches 14 or 15 is closed due to the rotation of the disk 7. The current then flows through the coil 12 of the holding magnet 11.

The resistances of the coils 10 and 12 are selected in connection with the resistor 30 and the threshold voltage formed by the diodes 31, 32 so that the current through the coil 12 largely drops to zero as the current flows through the coil 12.

In this way, a delay-free switching of the current from the swivel magnet 9 to the holding magnet 11 is achieved with the simplest of means. The swing magnet 9 will exert its entraining effect on the disk 7 as long as the current through the coil 10 is sufficiently large.

As the battery voltage drops to z. B. half the nominal voltage, the condition gradually occurs that the current through the coil 10 is no longer sufficient to generate that magnetic flux in the swivel magnet 9, which would be required to take the disk 7. In order to temporarily increase the current flow again in this case, a resistor 33 is connected in parallel with the resistor 30.

This switch can be closed by means of a key 34, which is designated “reserve”, as a result of which the resistor 30 has no current-limiting effect and the current flow is increased for the period of the key 34 being closed. This is very advantageous for avoiding problems due to low battery voltage and at the same time very useful as an indication for the operator that a battery change is required.

This key 34 can be integrated into the existing code entry keyboard of the locking device. In this case, the key 34 is also a function key on this keyboard and, in addition to its function label as a code entry element, bears the label “Reserve”.

4 shows the overall structure of a locking device with a locking cylinder and a coupling device with offset axes. The entire security-critical lock area is covered by a steel plate 35 which is screwed to the inside of the door.

Through a small opening in the lower area of this steel plate, an axis 1 below the lock - and thus in the safety-neutral area - is guided to the outside of the door. A rotation in the correct direction of rotation is initiated into the cylinder 37 via the axis 1 when the swivel magnet of the coupling device 36 is energized. When the coupling device 36 is not energized, the axis 1 can be freely rotated.

The axis 1 is rotatably connected to the rotary knob 38 by an intermediate axis 39. By a suitable selection of the intermediate axis 39 from a set of axes stepped in length, the locking device can be easily adapted to any door thickness when retrofitted.

The output shaft 6 is accessible from the rear of the coupling device 36 and thus allows the locking cylinder 37 to be driven directly from the inside of the door by means of an actuating part 40. This is rotatable in the inner fitting 41, which covers all components of the inside of the door, and can be pulled out against a spring force. By pulling out the actuating part 40 by a few millimeters, the mechanical coupling to the coupling device 36 is canceled.

By means of a mechanical lock 42, a pivotable sheet 43 located on the coupling device 36 can be folded between the actuating part 40 and the coupling device 36. The coupling of the actuating part 40 to the coupling device 36 is thus permanently eliminated.

Another solution for decoupling a fixed - i.e. non-extractable - actuating part 40 from the output axis 6 consists in integrating a connecting plate (not shown in the drawing) with a lateral bevel in the actuating part 40, which engages in the slotted axis 6 and by one in the actuating part 40 located spring remains pressed.

When the actuating part 40 is in the correct position, in which the connecting plate is perpendicular to the cover plate 43, the connecting plate can be pushed into the actuating part 40 through the cover plate 43 due to the lateral bevel. The coupling of the actuating part 40 to the axis 6 is thus eliminated.

In both solutions, the cover plate 43 is designed to be lockable in its covering pivoting position by a mechanical lock 42, preferably a lock cylinder. It is particularly advantageous that the same locking cylinder can still be used as a programming cylinder, the user of the locking device being able to feed in or change the locking information stored as a code of the locking device as soon as he has brought the key of this locking cylinder into a certain other position. Because only in this position is a switch, not shown in the drawing, actuated, which only activates program switching means not described here in the switched-on state and not shown in the drawing.

The lock cylinder 37, which causes the movement of the lock bolt when inserted in the lock 44, contains a hollow shaft 46 with a driving groove, to which the locking / opening cam 45 is firmly connected. The output shaft 6 protrudes into this hollow shaft and transmits a rotary movement from the output shaft 6 to the closing / opening cam. The depth of insertion of the output shaft 6 into the hollow shaft 46 is variable over a predetermined distance. The same locking cylinders and coupling devices can be conveniently attached to doors with different door thicknesses.

5 shows the design of the special locking cylinder 37 in a detailed form. A hollow shaft 46, which is firmly connected to the cam 45, is inserted into the cylinder body so that it is accessible only on one side. The other side of the cylinder is closed and can be protected against drilling by a steel pin 47. In Fig. 5 the execution as a profile cylinder is shown. However, the design is also possible as a round or oval cylinder or in any other shape.

Claims (10)

1. Arrangement for operating locking devices by means of an electrical signal, which is formed by positive comparison of key information entered with preset lock information, and which activates an electromagnetic clutching device that enables actuation of the lock, by way of which a rotatable part, accessible from without, is connected to a rotatable part performing the actuation of the lock, in locking installations, especially of housing developments, with the rotatable part accessible from without being connected to the driving element of a clutch, on the one hand, and with that part of the electromagnetic clutching device, on the other hand ; the rotatable part performing the actuation of the lock being connected to the driven element of the clutch, and the other part of the electromagnetic clutching device being connected with a part that determines the position of the coupling element of the clutch, and that, when the part accessible from without is turned and the electromagnetic clutching device is activated, moves the coupling element into engagement with the driving element and the driven element, characterized by the rotatable part accessible from without - the driving shaft (1) - being positioned with its axis offset and parallel to the axis of the rotatable part performing the actuation of the lock - the driven shaft (6), the driving shaft (1) bearing a gearwheel (2), which is connected by way of a connecting gearwheel (3) with a gearwheel (5) that can revolve freely about the driven shaft (6), to which a disk (7) of low- retentivity material, forming the one part of the electromagnetic clutching device, is fastened so that it cannot twist, a pivoting piece (8), which bears a pivoting magnet (9), that forms the other part of the electromagnetic clutching device, being positioned around the driven shaft (6), the pivoted lever (8) being connected to the holding magnet (11) of a holding-magnet circuit, and the holding piece (13), as the other part of the holding-magnet circuit, being fixed to the housing, both the two parts, disk (7) and pivoting magnet (9), of the pivoting-magnet circuit and the two parts, holding piece (13) and holding magnet (11), of the holding-magnet circuit being ground to the smallest possible air-gap, the holding magnet (11) being energized and the pivoting magnet (9) being de-energized after the pivoting piece (8) swivels to the left or right, when a preset end-position is reached, the holding magnet (11), when energized, holding the pivoting piece (8) in its position relative to the housing at the time energized and for the duration of the energization, the pivoting piece (8) being returned to the zero position by springs when energization is ended, and a mechanical coupling of the driven shaft (6) to the gearwheel (5) resulting from the swivelling of the pivoting piece (8) in either of the two possible directions.

2. Arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized by a further piece of sheet metal (20) being shifted axially by the swivelling of a pivoting piece (8), by means of lift slopes (16, 17, 18, 19), and thus shifting an engaging dog (22), which is arranged so that it cannot twist but movable along the axis in the driven shaft (6), in the same direction, so that it engages with pins (24), and thus provides a coupling of the driven shaft (6) to the gearwheel (5).

3. Arrangement according to Claims 1 and 2, characterized by an insulating part (26) connected to the driven shaft (6) providing, with contacts (27) closed, a power supply from piece (25) to the disk (7), which is insulated in segments on the side facing the insulating part (26), and thus to the housing and the coil (10), only in those positions of the driven shaft (6) relative to the gearwheel (5), in which the dog (22) can mesh freely with the pins (24).

4. Arrangement according to Claims 1 and 2, characterized by the pivoting piece (8) actuating in its two possible swivelled positions one of the switches (14, 15) that switch on the power supply to the holding magnet (11).

5. Arrangement according to Claims 1, 2 and 4, characterized by one or more diodes being connected in series to the coil (10) of the pivoting magnet (9), the coil (12) of the holding magnet (11) being switched in parallel to the arrangement of coil (10) and diodes (31, 32) by means of the switches (14) or (15), and the resistor (30) being so dimensioned, in conjunction with the resistances of the coils (10) and (12), that the flow of current through coil (10) is reduced to a very low value.

6. Arrangement according to Claims 1, 4 and 5, characterized by a transistor switch (33) being arranged in parallel to the resistor (30), and this transistor switch being enabled by a momentary-contact switch (34).

7. Arrangement according to Claims 1 and 6, characterized by the momentary-contact switch also being a function key of the locking device's code input keypad, and this function key, in addition to its function label, also being labelled « reserve...

8. Arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized by the driven shaft (6) being connected detachably to a rotatable actuating part (40), that is accessible from the inner side of the door, a pivoting cover piece (43), accessible from the inner side of the door, blocking the detachable connection of the driven shaft (6) to the actuating part (40) when in its swivelled position, and the swivelled position of the cover piece (43) being arranged to be lockable.

9. Arrangement according to Claims 1 and 8, characterized by the swivelled position of the cover piece (43) being arranged to be lockable by a mechanical lock (42) attached to the inner side of the door, and the same mechanical lock (42) enabling, in one or more other locking positions of its key, the operator of the locking device to alter or re-enter the locking information stored as a code of the locking device.

10. Arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized by the driven shaft (6) being connected so that it cannot twist to the locking cylinder (37) on the inner side of the door, and the locking cylinder (37) and the critical security regions of the lock (44) being covered on the outer side of the door with a continuous steel plate (35), without openings in the critical security region, so that they are protected against being drilled open.

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