IE44958B1 - Operating device for combination mechanisms of vaults, safes and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

Control device for combination mechanism for doors of safe boxes, safes or similar, which only allows the door to be opened, by maneuvering a lock or a locking linkage, after establishing a predetermined combination, including said device control means located on the externally visible face of the door to select the counter to be manipulated and to operate it, and transmissions of the selection and actuation orders that pass through a single hole in the door.

Description

This invention has for an object a mechanism for actuating a combination lock such as may be found on the doors of vaults, safes or the like.

Particularly it is directed to a mechanism for 5 setting a combination mechanism having a multiplicity of counters which prevents opening of the door by manipulation of a lock or a slide-bolt until a predetermined combination has been set by manipulation of control means on the outer face of the door.

In French Patent No. 1 543 935, control means is described which has the advantage that it requires only one access hole in the door, such that the door structure is not weakened by multiple holes. However, the control means described in the French Patent necessitates substantial modification of conventional combination mechanisms.

The invention has for an object to provide between the control means and combination mechanism a transmission mechanism which necessitates little or no modification of conventional combination mechanisms and which, therefore, does not add significantly to the cost of the vault, safe or the like with which it is to be used and which transmission mechanism requires only a single hole through the door. - 3 According to this invention, a transmission mechanism for setting the combination mechanism comprises a rotary input shaft, a plurality of entrainers, one for each counter by which the input shaft is connectable to drive that counter, and a selector mechanism operable to render the entrainers operative one at a time and including a rotary selector shaft coaxial with the input shaft.

Since tha input and selector shafts are coaxial they can pass through a single hole in ths door of the vault or like.

In one particular construction of the transmission mechanism, the entrainers are displaceable bodily by the selector mechanism between operative and inoperative positions. Each entrainer comprises a block rotatable with and axially displaceable on a shaft for driving the associated counter, and the selector mechanism displaces the block bodily axially to engage and disengage the block with a drive from the input shaft and the input shaft comprises for each entrainer a gear wheel driven from that shaft and mounted for free rotation on the shaft with which the block rotates.

An embodiment incorporating the above features of the invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings in which:Figure 1 is a schematic elevation of the embodiment of drive mechanism connected to a combination mechanism of a door of a vault, safe or analogous container, Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a section view, on a smaller scale, through the operating elements of the drive mechanism.

^S>S8 The door, P, of a vault, safe or analogous container (Figure 2) is provided with a combination mechanism 10 which, in the example described and illustrated, has four counters 11^, llj' llj and 11^, of a known type, which, when predetermined combination is set in the combination mechanism, permit the door to be opened by manipulation of a lock or slide-bolt on which a return spring acts.

In a conventional arrangement, the combination is set by turning each of the counters around its shaft 16 from a zero stop by an individual transmission, the numeral or letter of the combination being marked by a number of clicks or by a visual display.

‘ \ To avoid tha inconvenience of having a number of individual transmissions equal to the number of counters, in this embodiment of the invention, the combination mechanism 10 is mounted between an end-plate 13 and a plate 14 which are held apart by spacers 15, and there is provided a single transmission mechanism 20 to set the combination mechanism, which transmission mechanism is itself mounted on the plate 14.

The transmission mechanism 20 comprises a number of mechanical entrainers 21 equal to the number of counters, the entrainers being referenced 21^, 21^, 21^, 21Δ and being allocated respectively to counters 11^-11^. Each entrainer 21 comprises a block 22 with an axial bore 23 having in it a keyway 24 to receive a key 25 connecting the block 22 to a shaft 26. A pin 27 secures the shaft 26 to the shaft 16 of the corresponding counter.

Each block 22 has, in addition, an annular groove 28 opening to its surface 29 facing the plate 14. A spring 30 has one end engaged in the groove and has its other end bearing on a gear wheel 31 rotatably mounted on the shaft 16 of the counter.

A pin 34 is provided to co-operate with the teeth <449 5 8 - 5 33 of the gear wheel 31. The pin is slidably mounted in the block to move under the action of a spring 38 which is positioned between the arms 33, 36 of a fork 37 provided on the block 22.

The teeth 33 of eaoh gear wheel 31 mesh with teeth of a pinion 41 fixed on a rotary input shaft 42 extending coaxially in a hollow shaft 43, both having ends projecting from the door P. The projecting end of shaft 42 has an opening knob 45 fixed on it, Figure 3, The projecting end of shaft 43 has on it a selector 46 which rotates in a rosette fitting 47 on the outer face of the door P. The opposite end of shaft 43 is held spaced from the pinion 41 by a sleeve 54.

The selector 4£ and hollow shaft 43 form part of a selecting mechaniE;m. The shaft 43 has fixed on it a plate cam 50 which is relatively plane over most of its surface and which lies against a fixed plate 51. The cam 50 has however a contoured segment 52 which is spaced from the plate 51, The latter is maintained parallel to the plate 14 by spacers 53.

The operation of the device is as follows:To set the required combination for opening the door, a first of the entrainers 21 is rendered operative by rotating tho cam 50 of the selecting mechanism by means cf the selector 45 until a mark on fhe selector coincides with a mark in the rosette fitting 47. In this cam setting, the contoured segment 52 of the cam engages the surface 60 of the corresponding block 22 and displaces it towards the associated gear wheel 31 so compressing the spring 30„ This movement of the block causes the pin 34 either to enter between two teeth 33 cf the gear wheel 31 or to bear against a tooth so compressing the spring 38.

The knob 45 is now turned so turning shaft 42 and the pinion 41 and thus the gear wheels 31. If the pin of the entrainer previously rendered operative is engaged between teeth 33 of the gear wheel 31, the block 22 is immediately driven rotatively. However, if the pin 34 bears on a tooth 33, it Will enter into a space between two teeth as the gear wheel 31 is rotated and the block 22 will then be driven. The remaining blocks 22 will not be driven. Rotation of the block 22 of the operative entrainer 21 is transmitted by the key 25 to the corresponding shaft 26 which in turn drives the shaft 16 of the selected counter.

To set the counter, the knob 45 is first turned in one direction to bring the counter to its zero-point and then turned in the opposite direction while counting the number of the clicks, the desired setting being reached when the number of clicks corresponds to the numeral of the combination allocated to the counter.

Next the selector 46 is operated to render another entrainer 21 operative and its associated counter is then set by means of the knob 45. This procedure is repeated until all of the counters have been set.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and that it can be utilised for mechanisms having a greater or smaller number of counters. However, the drive connections for the entrainers and the selector and the manipulating knobs are sucli as to require only a single hole through the door, so that the door of the vault, safe or analogous container is not weakened by numerous holes.

Further in the described embodiment, since the cam is in the form of a plate, forced removal of the hollow shaft 43, which might otherwise be accomplished by pulling on the selector 46, is strongly resisted.

Also the sleeve 54 provides resistance to removal of the shaft 42 by pulling on knob 45.

Claims (11)

1. CLAIMS:1. In combination with, or for use with, a combination mechanism which comprises a plurality of counters and which in use controls the operation Of a lock or slide bolt of a door of a vault, safe or the like, a transmission mechanism for setting the combination mechanism and comprising a rotary input shaft, a plurality of entrainers, one for each counter by which the input shaft is connectable to drive that counter, and a selector mechanism operable to render the entrainers operative one at a time and including a rotary selector shaft coaxial with the input shaft.

2. Mechanism as set forth in claim 1, wherein the entrainers are displaced bodily by the selector mechanism between operative and inoperative positions.

3. Mechanism as set forth in claim 1, wherein each entrainer comprises a block rotatable with and axially displaceable on a shaft for driving the associated counter, and the selector mechanism displaces the blGck bodily axially to engage and disengage the block with a drive from the input shaft.

4. Mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the drive from the input shaft comprises for each entrainer a gear wheel driven from that shaft and mounted for free rotation on the shaft with which the block rotates.

5. Mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the block carries a spring-loaded pin which, when the block is in its operative position, engages between teeth of the gear wheel thereby to transmit the drive to the block.

6. Mechanism according to any of claims 2 to 5 fc fc wherein the selector mechanism includes a plate cam with a contoured segment to displace the entrainers bodily.

7. Mechanism according to claim 6, Wherein the plate cam is rigid with the selector shaft which is hollow and surrounds the input shaft.

8. Mechanism according to any of claims 4 to 7 , wherein the gear wheels of all the entrainers mesh with a pinion mounted to rotate with the input shaft.

9. Mechanism according to claim 8, taken with claim 7, wherein a spacer sleeve surrounds the input shaft and extends between the plate and the pinion.

10. In combination with, or for use with, a combination mechanism which comprises a plurality of counters and which in use controls the operation of a lock or slide bolt of a door of a vault, safe or the like, a transmission mechanism for setting the combination mechanism, which transmission mechanism is substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

11. A vault, safe or the like, whereof the door is fitted with a combination mechanism and transmission mechanism as set forth in any of claims 1 to 10, the input shaft and selector shaft projecting through a common hole in the door to receive operating knobs.