FR2610977A1 - High-security lock actuated by a motor - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a high-security lock comprising two vertical rods 18, 20, moved in opposite directions from each other in order to actuate the locking bolts 22, by a mechanism 34, 62, 64 which is driven by an electric motor 56 controlled by an encoded member 94. The lock also comprises a spring bolt 40 fitted with at least one bevelled bolt 44, means for automatically controlling the motor, starting from the locked state, so that the motor retracts in sequence the locking bolts 22, and the bolts 44 of the spring bolt, and removes the bolts from the spring bolt only at the end of a time defined by a timer, and feeler means 100 automatically actuated by the frame of the door when the bolts of the spring bolt penetrate into their keepers. The feelers then commanding the driving of the motor in the opposite direction in order to bring the locking bolts into the position retracted from their respective keeper.

Description

 High security lock powered by a motor.

 For security reasons, more and more locks are being used today which stagnate over the entire height of the door. These locks generally comprise several lateral bolts which are actuated simultaneously to come into the locking exit position or to the retracted opening position by two vertical and aligned rods, the neighboring ends of which are articulated on a drive mechanism.

The rods can thus be moved in opposite directions and their vertical movement is transformed by any suitable device into horizontal movement of the side bolts. To strengthen the closure, the rods are generally provided at their upper and lower ends with two end bolts capable of penetrating respectively into the lintel of the door and into the ground.

 Known locks of this type often comprise a half-turn which is a piece mounted horizontally sliding, carrying a beveled bolt and which can be actuated manually, independently of the side pins.

The above-mentioned drive mechanism is generally actuated by means of a key which, by turning in the barrel of the lock, communicates to the rods their vertical movement. The security of such locks is based on the shape of the key which is studied so that it is difficult to copy, or on the solidity of the control cylinders.

 However, such locks are not inviolable.

A burglar can easily determine the place where he can pierce the door while avoiding the resistant part of the cylinders, then actuate the lock using a simple tool, such as a screwdriver.

 In addition, in the event of loss of the keys together with a document indicating the address of the user, one may be forced to quickly change the barrel of the lock to avoid burglaries. The same situation arises if one of the people who had access to the premises would no longer have the authorization, for example as a result of a resignation or a dismissal. So that the key kept by this person cannot be used fraudulently, it is also necessary here to change the barrel of the lock. This requires rapid intervention and involves a relatively costly expense, especially in the case where several locks have to be changed.

By the French patent published under the number 2 536 108 filed on 17
November 1982, a lock is known of the aforementioned type in which the actuation mechanism of the rods is constituted by an electric motor controlled by a coded element. Activation of the latter thus makes it possible to start the motor, which controls the opening of the door. It is clear that such a lock is free from all the drawbacks mentioned above.

In particular, it is practically inviolable since the position of the rod control members cannot be detected from the outside. In addition, it is easy to change the code when a person is no longer authorized to enter the premises.

 This lock also comprises a system allowing the automatic reclosing of the door as soon as it has been brought to bear on the frame.

This system comprises a bolt in the form of a ball, which is biased by a spring in the extended position and which acts on a keeper constituted by a contact controlling the motor of the lock. It is specified in said patent that the ball actuates the contact when the leaf arrives exactly in the closed position, the advantage of such a system being obviously that it eliminates the risk of a premature exit of the locking bolts, that is to say before the leaf has arrived in the closed position. If this happened, the locking bolts would come up against the frame and the door would not close. However, in reality, it is found that this is indeed what occurs, since the ball actuates the contact slightly before the leaf has arrived in the closed position.

 In addition, the lock according to said patent does not include a U-turn which can also be actuated automatically by the motor.

The present invention aims to remedy all these drawbacks, and for this purpose it relates to a lock of the type comprising two vertical rods which can be moved in opposite directions from one another so as to actuate locking bolts, by means of '' a mechanism itself driven by an electric motor controlled by a coded member, characterized in that it further comprises:
- a U-turn with at least one beveled bolt;
- Means for automatically controlling the motor, from the locked state of the door so that said motor performs in sequence the retraction of the locking bolts, then that of the latch bolts, and the output of the latch bolts only at after a predetermined and modifiable time challenge by a timer
- feeler means actuated automatically by the door frame when the latch bolts have entered their respective keeper, said feeler means then controlling the drive of the motor in the opposite direction to bring the locking bolts in the extended position in their respective keeper, and
- Switching means which, in a first position, switch on the feeler means and in a second position, neutralize the feeler means so as to prevent the locking bolts from returning to the extended position after closing the door.

 The lock according to the invention has of course all the advantages already indicated for the lock according to patent 2,536,108. But in addition, it is remarkable in that it comprises a half-turn also motorized, which retracts automatically for a predetermined time after which it returns to its locked position.

In practice, the timer is set so that the U-turn remains in its retracted position only the time necessary for the person who activated the code to push the door. The U-turn must be returned to its extended position before the door leaf has come into abutment against the frame. As a result, when the door is closed behind the user, the beveled bolts. of the U-turn first enter their respective keeper, and it is only then that the feeler means are actuated. It is thus ensured that when the locking bolts come out, they will be exactly in front of their keeper and will not abut against the door frame, which is not always the case, as we saw previously for the lock according to the aforementioned patent.

 The lock according to the invention is very flexible in use: when the user wants to lock himself in the room, for example at night, he will switch the selector means to their first position so that the locking bolts return exit position after the door has been closed behind the user. If on the other hand, he wishes to enter and exit repeatedly, he may place the selector means in their second position. In this case, after the door has been slammed, the locking bolts remain in the retracted position. The user can then leave the room by manually operating the U-turn.

 The control of the motor for the opening of the door by a person inside the room can be carried out by actuating either a code similar to that installed on the outside of the door, or a remote control switch .

 The coding element can be of any known type.

It can be constituted for example by a magnetic card or badge reader, an infrared transmitter, a device sensitive to the voice or by a keyboard with keys on which one can dial a secret code which ensures the control of the engine. It is clear that the code can easily be changed whenever there have been changes in the personnel authorized to enter the premises.

 According to one embodiment of the invention, the feeler means consist of an electrical contact button which is carried by the U-turn and which is normally biased by a spring in the extended position, through an orifice in the lock, position in which it prohibits the rotation of the motor and thereby prevents the release of the locking bolts, the door frame having no strike hole opposite said contact.

 Thus, when the U-turn is returned to the extended position, the beveled bolts of the U-turn can penetrate the corresponding keeper, while the contact, retained by the frame, is urged, against the force of said spring, to a position where it allows engine operation. If the switching means are in their first position, the motor can control the output of the locking bolts.

 The control system according to the invention can be applied to any rod drive mechanism, whether of the linear or rotary type, and for example to the toggle mechanism which is the subject of patent application No. 2,568,302 of 24 July 1984 filed in the name of the Applicant.

 In accordance with the invention, the movement of the shaft of the electric motor is transmitted via a speed reducer to a worm which meshes with a toothed wheel fixed coaxially on the drive mechanism of the rods. For example, in the case of the aforementioned toggle mechanism, the toothed wheel is made integral in rotation with the annular part on which the internal ends of the U-shaped levers are articulated, said wheel carrying on two of its faces two studs forming a screen, angularly offset by one predetermined angle which corresponds to the amplitude of the angular travel required between the position where the locking bolts are extended and that where they are retracted, said studs being capable of coming to cut the line of action of an end of travel control device , respectively in the two directions of rotation of the motor, so as to control stopping of the motor when the lock is closed and when it is open.

 Said end-of-travel control device can consist of any suitable device, for example an infrared device, a proximity detector, a Hall effect selector or the like.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, with reference to the appended drawings which show by way of example an embodiment of the lock. In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lock block according to the invention;
Figure 2 is an elevational view on a larger scale of the portion of the lock block located at the U-turn and showing the mechanism of the lock;
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the various elements of the mechanism;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the U-turn;
Figure 5 is a partial sectional view of the half turn at the probe button ;;
Figures 6 to 8 respectively show the lock in the locked state with the U-turn extended, in the unlocked state with the U-turn still extended, and the U-turn activated.

 With reference first of all to FIG. 1, the lock block comprises, in a manner known per se, a metal box 10 of elongated parallelepiped shape, and of height equal to or less than that of the door leaf which it is desired to equip. This box includes a front wall 12, two parallel side wings 14, 16 and is open on its face parallel to the front face. The trunk is applied by said open face against the internal face of the door leaf, practically along the edge thereof and is fixed to said leaf by any suitable means.

 Inside the trunk are housed against the front wall two aligned vertical rods 18, 20 which, when driven in opposite directions, are capable of actuating a plurality of locking bolts 22 either in the out position (FIG. 1) , or in the retracted position. The transformation of the vertical movement of the rods into the horizontal movement of the bolts can be carried out by any suitable transmission means, for example by rocker arms 24, such as those described in detail in patent application No. 2,563,561 of April 27, 1984 filed by the Applicant.

 The mechanism for actuating the rods can be of any known type. For convenience of description only, there is shown in Figures 2 and 3 a toggle mechanism of the type described in patent application No. 2,568,302 already cited. It will be recalled briefly that such a mechanism comprises two bent U-shaped levers 26, 28 the ends of which are articulated respectively on the one hand, on the adjacent ends of the rods 18, 20 and on the other hand, at diametrically opposite points 30, 32 of an annular flat part 34 fitted around a cylindrical sleeve 36, which, in the case of the above-mentioned patent application, can be rotated in the barrel of the lock by means of a key.

 However, in the lock according to the invention, where a key is not used, the sleeve is rotatably mounted around a fixed coaxial axis 38.

 The lock also comprises, in a manner known per se, a half-turn 40 which is constituted by a substantially rectangular plate 42 provided at one of its ends with at least one bevelled bolt 44 (two in the case of the figures). Said U-turn is slidably mounted in a direction perpendicular to the rods and it is normally returned to a rest position for which its bolts are extended (Figure 2), by a spring 46 which is supported on the U-turn and on a part fixed 48 of the trunk. The U-turn can be brought into the open position against the spring 46, either manually by acting on a gripping portion 50, or automatically as will be explained later. It carries on its upper face a finger 52 intended to cooperate with a lug 54 projecting from the periphery of the annular part 34. The lug and the finger have relative positions such that when the annular part 34 rotates beyond the position for which the locking bolts 22 are retracted, ltergot 54 bearing on finger 52, requests the U-turn in the open position.

 The lock according to the invention is controlled by an electric motor 56 (FIGS. 1 and 3) which drives, via a speed reducer 58 a shaft 60 provided at its end with an endless screw 62. The latter meshes with a toothed wheel 64 which is fixed coaxially above the annular part 34 by any suitable means, for example by means of cleats 65 integral with the annular part and which engage in holes 66 drilled in the toothed wheel.

 Advantageously, the mechanism can be produced in the form of a removable assembly formed by two parallel and braced plates 68 (FIG. 1) and 70 (FIG. 2) between which the various elements of the mechanism are mounted. For clarity of the drawing, the upper plate 68 has been assumed to have been removed in FIG. 2. For guiding the movement, the finger 52 for driving the U-turn is received in elongated slots 72, drilled in said plates. Similarly, the articulation axes 74, 76 of the knee pads on the rods slide in elongated slots 78, 80 also pierced on the plates.

 As shown in FIG. 3, above the toothed wheel 64 is mounted in a fixed position an infrared end-of-travel control device 82. This device comprises on the one hand, an infrared radiation emitter 84 and a receiver 86 of said radiation , both carried by the underside of a plate 88, itself fixed on the upper plate 68. In projection on the toothed wheel 64, these two elements are located along the same radius at different distances from the toothed wheel flat . The latter carries on its upper face two studs 90, 92 located at the same distance from the axis between the distances to the axis of the transmitter and the receiver.

 As a result, when the toothed wheel 64 rotates, the studs are capable of passing between the emitter and the receiver and thus cutting off the radiation emitted.

 A control device 82 connected to the motor 56 by an electronic part stops the motor for both directions of rotation, when a stud passes between the transmitter and the receiver. The studs are angularly spaced and arranged so that one of them serves as the limit switch for stopping the motor when the lock opens and the other controls the stopping of the motor when the lock is locked.

 Of course, the control device can also be constituted by a proximity detector or a Hall effect detector or the like.

 The operation of the motor is controlled in a manner known per se by a code which, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, consists of a keypad 94 accessible from the external side of the door, but as already indicated, any other coding element can be used, such as a magnetic card, badge, etc.

A connection plate 96 is provided to allow the code change if necessary.

 The electronic circuit of the lock comprises, in a manner known per se, an inverter system 98 making it possible to reverse the direction of rotation of the motor in order to close the lock after it has been opened.

 According to an important characteristic of the invention, the starting order of the motor for removing the bolts is controlled as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, by a feeler button 100 which is carried by the half-turn 40 parallel to the bolts bevelled 44. This button is normally biased in the projecting position through an orifice 102 of the trunk 10, by a spring 104 bearing on said button and on an angle 106 secured to the U-turn.

The button is extended by a rod 108, which carries at its inner end an electrical contact 110 connected by a conductor 112 to one of the terminals of the reversing electronic system 98. The angle iron carries a second electrical contact 114, connected by a conductor 116 to another terminal of the reversing electronic system 98.

 In the rest position, the feeler button 100 is biased in the extended position by the spring 104. The door frame does not have a strike hole for receiving the feeler button.

Of course, the probe button can be replaced by a proximity detector, or by an effect detector.
Hall, or by any other suitable detector, the contact being in all cases carried by the U-turn.

 The operation of the lock according to the invention will now be described in detail. Assume that the lock is initially locked in the position shown in Figure 6. When a user actuates the keypad 94, the code is decoded in a logic lock. If the code is recognized as correct, the latter commands the starting of the motor 56 in the opening direction. The motor drives the assembly of the toothed wheel 64 and the annular part 34, by means of the shaft 60 and of the worm screw 62, in the anticlockwise direction in FIG. 6, so that the knee pads 26, 28 are wound around the cylindrical sleeve 36 (Figure 2), thus bringing the rods 18, 20: all the locking bolts 22 retract. The lock is then in the state shown in FIG. 7.

The engine continuing to rotate, the lug 54 of the annular part 34 comes to bear against the finger 52 thus urging the U-turn 40 towards its open position, which is illustrated in FIG. 8.

 At this time, the stud 92 stins between the transmitter 84 and the receiver 86 of the end-of-travel control device. The latter then controls the stopping of the operation of the engine for a period set by a timer, not shown. At the end of this period, the inverter electronic circuit 98 establishes and reverses the supply current for a predetermined period so that the motor starts to rotate clockwise in FIG. 8, bringing back the half turn only in its rest position, the locking bolts 22 remaining in their retracted position.

 During this time, the user was able to enter the room and push the door so that it closed.

When the door strikes the frame, the latch bolts 44, which are already in the extended position, enter their corresponding strike, while the feeler button 100 (Figures 4 and 5) which does not find a strike hole opposite, is pressed in by the frame portion which faces it, against the force of the spring 104, so that the electrical contacts 110, 114 come off.

The motor, again supplied with power, drives the toothed wheel 64 and the annular part 34 in the direction of the needles of a watch in FIG. 8; the locking bolts protrude, thus locking the door. The lock has thus returned to the position shown in FIG. 6. In this position, the stud 90 comes to insert the transmitter 84 and the receiver 86 of the end-of-travel control device. Motor operation is then interrupted.

 The door can be locked after the user has entered the room at any time, for example when the user wishes to lock himself in, for example at night by means of a switch 120 mounted on the code keypad 94.

 If, on the other hand, he wishes to be able to come out immediately afterwards, he can actuate the switch 120. When it is actuated, this switch prevents the locking bolts from coming out after the door has been closed.

To exit the room, the user only has to manually operate the U-turn.

 The return of the U-turn to its rest position before the door has reached the closed position is one of the important characteristics of the lock according to the invention. It makes it possible to guarantee the exact positioning of the locking bolts opposite their respective keepers and therefore their penetration without hindrance into the keeper holes at the time of closing.

 The motor can be supplied with power from the mains. The engine is connected in the event of a breakdown, to backup batteries. An indicator is provided to indicate whether the lock is correctly supplied. Another light indicates that the lock operates only in the half-turn position via the switch 120.

 For security reasons, the lock can also be fitted with an audible indicator 122 (Figure 1) which is triggered whenever there is any jamming during closing or opening, for example if as a result of play or warping. locking bolts are no longer in front of their keeper.

 In addition, the motor control mechanism is blocked for a predetermined period of time when an incorrect combination has been made, in order to divert a burglar from trying a large number of combinations to find the one which allows the door to be opened. .

Claims (9)

 1.- Motor-operated high-security lock, of the type comprising two vertical rods (18, 20) which can be moved in opposite directions to one another so as to actuate locking bolts (22), by means of a mechanism (34, 62, 64) itself driven by an electric motor (56) controlled by a coded member (94), characterized in that it further comprises:  - a half-turn (40) provided with at least one beveled bolt (44),  means making it possible to automatically control the motor, from the locked state of the door so that said motor performs in sequence the retraction of the locking bolts (22), then that of the bolts (44) of the U-turn, and the output of the latch bolts only after a predetermined time defined by a timer,  - feeler means (100) actuated automatically by the frame of the door when the bolts of the half turn have entered their respective keeper, said feeler means then controlling the drive of the motor in the opposite direction to bring the locking bolts in the extended position in their keeper respective, and  - switching means (120) which, in a first position, switch on the feeler means (100) and in a second position, neutralize the feeler means so as to prevent the locking bolts from returning to the extended position after closing of the door.  2. High security lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the feeler means consist of an electrical contact button (100) which is carried by the U-turn and which is normally biased by a spring (104) in extended position, through an opening (102) in the lock, position in which it prohibits rotation of the motor and thereby prevents the exit of the locking bolts (22), the door frame having no strike hole next to said contact.  3. High security lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the feeler means are constituted by a proximity detector, or by an effect detector. Hall or other, the contact being always carried by the U-turn.  4. High security lock according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the movement of the shaft of the electric motor (56) is transmitted by the intermediate of a speed reducer (58) to a worm ( 62) which meshes with a toothed wheel (64) fixed coaxially on the mechanism (34) for driving the rods.  5. High security lock according to claim 4, the mechanism of which is of the toggle type which comprises two angled U-shaped levers (26, 28) the ends of which are articulated respectively on the one hand, on the adjacent ends of the rods (18, 20) and on the other hand, at diametrically opposite points (30, 32) of an annular flat part (34) fitted around a cylindrical sleeve (36), characterized in that the toothed wheel (64) is made integral in rotation with the annular part (34), said wheel carrying on one of its faces the gods studs (90, 92) forming a screen, angularly offset by a predetermined angle which corresponds to the amplitude of the angular travel required between the position where the locking bolts are out and the one where they are retracted, said studs being capable of coming to cut the line of action of an end-of-stroke control device (84, 86), respectively in the two directions of rotation of the motor, so as to command the word stop eur when the lock is closed and when it is open.  6. High security lock according to claim 4, characterized in that said control device is constituted by an infrared device comprising an infrared radiation emitter (84) and a receiver (86) of said radiation.  7.- High security lock according to claim 4, characterized in that the control device is constituted by a proximity detector, an effect detector Hall, or whatever.  8. High security lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor is supplied by the sector or by an accumulator, an indicator being provided to indicate the presence of the sector.  9.- High security lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes an audible alarm which comes into action in the event of excessive effort on the bolts.