US1059684A - Multiple-key lock. - Google Patents

Description

J. J. MURPHY.

MULTIPLE KEY LOCK. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, 1909. RENEWED SEPT. 20, 1912.

1 ,05 9 ,684, Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J. MURPHY, OF TERRYVILLE, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO EAGLE LOCK CO.,

OF TERRYVILLE, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

MULTIPLE-KEY LOCK.

Application filed March 22, 1909, Serial No. 485,025.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES J. MURPHY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Terryville, in the county of 'Litchfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Multiple-Key Locks; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1 a view in front elevation of a multiple-key lock constructed in accordance with my invention and shown as locked. Fig. 2 a view thereof in rear elevation, with the back-cap removed. Fig. 3 a View of the lock in front elevation with the front-cap removed. Fig. i a view in front elevation of the lock with the front-cap and all of the two-part tumblers removed. In this view the clients key is shown as turned as far as it will go with the effect of moving the main-bolt sufficiently to bring the notch 39 of the key-disk 34. into registration with the nose 33 of the locking-pawl 30. Fig. 5 a view in transverse section on the line (4-6 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 a detached view of the slidingplate employed for the carriage of the tumbler-post. Fig. 7 a detached view of the ring-like plate-cam employed for imparting rectilinear movement to the slidingplate. Fig. 8 a broken inside view of the front-cap of the lock-case, showing the cam. on the inner end of the plug or cylinder of the guard-key lock. Fig. 9 a detached per spective view of the key-disk looking at the same from the front. Fig. 10 a detached perspective view of the keycenter disk looking at the same from the rear. Fig. 11 a view of the clients key. Fig. 12 a view of the supplemental lock key. Fig. 13 a view of the guard-key.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class of multiple-key two-part tumbler locks which are provided with supplemental locks for preventing the surreptitious resetting of the two-part tumblers of the look after the lock has been unlocked and the box opened by the coordinate use of the guard-key held by the bank, and the change key held by the customer renting the box of the bank, the object of my invention being to provide simple, reliable, convenient Specification of Iietters latent.

Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

Renewed September 20, 1912. Serial No. 721,516.

and effective supplemental locking mechanism for looks of this class.

Vith these ends in view my invention consists in a two-part tumbler multiple-key lock having certain details of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

For the illustration of my invention, I have shown it as applied to amultiple-key two-part tumbler lock of the type shown and described in U. S. Patent No. 860,940, granted July 23, 1907, to the Eagle Lock Co. on the application of James Roche.

In carrying out my invention, as herein shown, I mount the tumbler-post 2 upon a sliding plate 3 forming, as it were, a tumbler-post carriage. This plate has bearing upon the rear or outer face of the back of the lock-case 4 as shown in Fig. 2, and is confined in place and limited to rectilinear movement in line with the lock-case by slotted guide-stumps 5 passing through slots 6 elongated in the direction of the case and formed near the upper and lower edges of the plate, which, as well as the parts coacting with it, is housed in a shallow back plate or cap 7 secured to the back of the case by screws 8. For the operation of the plate 3, it is formed with a cam-opening 9 the walls of which are suitably shaped to coact with a ringlike plate-cam 10 having a central opening 11 whereby it is non-rotatably mounted upon the plug or cylinder 12 of a supplemental pin-tumbler lock, the sides of the cylinder 12 being flattened as at 13 to conform to the flattened sides 13* of the opening 11 in the cam 10. The cam-opening 9 in the plate 3 and the external form of the plate-cam 10 are shaped so that the turning of the said plate-cam within the said opening will slide the plate 3 back and forth in line with the length of the case l and so eifect the longitudinal movement of the tumbler-post 2 the inner end of which is riveted in the said plate.

The supplemental lock herein shown, is of the pin-tumbler type and designed to receive a flat corrugated key 14 which I shall hereafter refer to as the managers key for the reason that it is designed that it shall be held by the bank-manager as dis tinguished from the subordinate bank employee who holds the guard-key 15'to be described later on.

In order to lock the outer end rof the tumbler-post 2, I preferably employ a locking-lever 16 (Fig, 1) bearing upon the front face of the front-cap or plate 17 of the lockcase, and swinging upon a pivot 18 riveted in the said cap which is secured in place by screws 19. The outer end of the lever 16 forms acurved finger-'20 the curved inner edge of which engages with the projecting outer end of the post 2 and exerts an effort to draw the same inward toward the inner end of a slot 21 formed in the cap 17 for the projection through it of the outer end of the post which is thus locked at its outer end by the arm 20 and the inner end of the wall of the slot 21. At its inner end the lever 16 is formed with a slot 22 for the reception of an operating-pin 23 located at the outer end of one of the screws 24 employed to secure the plate-cam 25 to the inner end of the cylinder 12, the other screw 26 employed for this purpose being of ordinary construction. The said cam 25 prevents the cylinder 12 from being moved from front to rear in its chamber 27 in the lockcase and also coacts with a positioning pin 28 in bringing the plug to rest with its pintumblers in line with the sockets formed for their reception in the usual manner not requiring description or illustration here since in its main features the supplemental lock employed is of well known construction and operation. The entrance of the pin 23 into the slot 22 in the supporting-lever 16 causes the same to be swung on its pivot 18 so that when the supplemental lock is locked the lever 16 will be forced into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 in which it assists, as described, in supporting the outer end of the non-rotatable, but longitudinally movable tumbler-post 2.

In order to make the operation of the supplemental-lock conditional upon the preceding use of the change or customers key, I employ a locking-cam 29 non-rotatably mounted upon the rear end of the cylinder 12 so as to bear upon the rear or outer face of the sliding plate 3 as shown in Fig. 2, and coacting with the rounded nose of a locking-pawl 30 having a spring 31, bearing upon the rear face of the back of the lockcase 4 as shown in Fig. 2, hung upon a pivot 32, and formed with a locking-tooth 33 which normally rides upon the edge of a disk 34 housed within a shallow cap 35 having cars 36 by means of which it is secured by rivets 37 to the rear face of the back of the lock-case 4, whereby the said disk 34 is centered over a circular opening 38 formed in the back of the case and a trifle smaller than the diameter of the said disk the edge of which rests upon the rear face of the back of the case. The said disk 34 is formed in its periphery with a notch 39 which receives the" tooth 33 when the notch 39 is brought into registration with the tooth 33 by the proper rotation of the disk 34 as will be de scribed later on. It is only when the notch 39 has been registered with the tooth 33 that the locking-pawl 30 can be moved by the locking-cam 29 so as to permit the'rotation of the cylinder 12 of the supplemental lock for the rectilinear movement of the plate 3 carrying the tumble-post 2. The said disk 34 is also formed with a concentric segmental slot 40 receiving a stop-pin 41 pro jecting into it from the said cap 35 in position to coact with the end 42 of the slot 40 so as to stop the rotation of the disk 34 from right to left with the operating-pin 43 carried by the disk just to the left of the keyway 44 in the center-shank 45 which receives the clients or change-key 46 as shown in Fig. 3. In this connection I may state that the clients key 46 acting through the medium of the operating-pin 43, turns the disk 34 from left to right so as to engage the opposite face of the said pin 43 as shown in Fig. 4, with the shoulder 47 of the main bolt 48 which is in this way moved just enough to engage its locking-abutment 49 with a guard-hook 50, this slight movement of the bolt being required to permit the disk 34 to be rotated sufliciently from left to right to register its notch 39 with the tooth 33 of the locking-pawl 30. As to the opposite end 51 of the slot 40, it is only required that it shall be long enough to permit the disk 34 to rotate sufficiently not to interfere with the shooting of the bolt 4 into its unlocked position.

To provide for restoring the disk 34 to its normal posit-ion and therefore for repositioning the pin 43, (by which I mean returm ing it from the position it has in Fig. 4 to the position it has in Fig. 3), I employ a disk 52 arranged concentric with the disk 34 to which it substantially corresponds in diameter, and located in the circular opening 38 formed as aforesaid in the back of the lock-case 4 and shown in Fig. 5, the disk 52 being shouldered to conform to a bearing shoulder formed in the said opening. The disk 52 has an irregular central opening 53 for the reception of the inner end of the center-shank 45 by means of which the disk is operated. For this reason I shall hereafter call the disk 52 the key-center disk to distinguish it from the disk 34 which I shall hereafter call the key-disk for the reason that it is operated by the change or clients key. The disk 52 has a segmental slot 54 receiving the said operating-pin 43 with which the upper or right hand end of the slot engages so that when the disk 34 is turned from right to left by the turning of the clients key 46 from right to left pre paratory to removing the said key,the disk 52 will, through the medium of the pin 43, carry the disk 34 back into its starting position in which it is shown in Figs 3 and 5,

' permit the teeth 58 of the main part of each the pin 43 and turn the key-disk 34 from left verse slot 63 for the reception of a stump tween the respective two-part tumblers for 52 being turned-directly by the shank 45 which is itself turned by the key. Any key introduced into the lock through the key-center 55 and centershank 45 and turned from left to right will engage with the disk to right for a distance dependent upon the. character of the key. hen the key is turned back preparatory to its removal, the center-shank 45 will turn the key-center disk 52 which through the medium of the pin 43, will act to turn the key-disk 34 back to the position from which it was started. But no key but the special clients key 46 to which the lock is set at the time, will carry the keydisk 34 far enough from left to right to bring its notch 51 into registration with the tooth 33 of the locking-pawl 30. Therefore no key but the right or legitimate key, as it may be called, can be put into the lock and operated so as to pave the way for the op eration of the supplemental-lock in bodily moving the tumbler-post 2 from right to left so as to separate the parts 56, 57, of the two-part tumblers, which, as shown, are the same in construction and operation as those shown and described in Patent No. 666,697 granted January 29, 1901, to the Eagle Lock Co. on the application of James Roche.

The main part 56 of each tumbler is centrally cut away to form a large deep notch in which the supplemental part 57 is mainly located, the forward wall of the said notch being formed with teeth 58 intermeshed with corresponding teeth 59 upon the outer end of the supplemental part 57 having the key-sweep 60. The main part 56 of each tumbler is formed with a stump-slot 61 for the reception of the stump 62 carried by the main-bolt 48. Each of the supplemental parts 57 is formed as usual with a trans- 64 extending fro-m the front cap 17 of the lock through said slots 63. Thin sheet-metal spacers 66 are by preference interposed bepreventing the friction of one from being transmitted to the other.

The main part 56 of each tumbler is formed at its inner end with a round pivot hole 67 for the reception of the post 2, while the supplemental part 57 of each tumbler is formed with a slot 68 for the same purpose, but long enough to provide for the sufiicientendwise movement of the post 2 to tumbler to be disengaged from the teeth 59 of the supplemental part thereof. To hold the supplemental parts of the tumblers against endwise movement with the main parts thereof, the supplemental part of each tumbler is-formed with a transverse slot 69 receiving a retainingpin 70 the outer end of which 1s mounted 111 the front cap 17 of the case, While 1ts inner end enters a step 1 71 located upon the inner face of the back of the case, and within the long guide-slot 72 in the main bolt 48.

When by the use of the clients key 46 to which the lock has been set, the notch 39 of the key-disk 34 has been brought into registration with the tooth 33 of the lockingpawl 30, the cylinder 12 of the supplemental lock may be turned by its key, to move the plate 3 outwardly so as to bodily move the tumbler-post 2 in a right line and therefore the main parts 56 of the tumblers without disturbing the supplemental parts 57 thereof. lVith the respective parts of the twopart tumblers thus disengaged, the lock may be set to a new, change key to which the key-sweeps 60 of the supplemental parts 57 of the tumblers will automatically ad' just themselves when the new .key is introduced into the lock. The new key is turned from left to right as far as it will go, and so as to act through the pin 43 in the manner already described in turning the disk 34 siiifliciently to bring its notch 51 into registration with the tooth 33 of the locking-pawl 30 which permits the supplemental key to be used in turning the cylinder 12 back so as to move the plate 3 in the opposite direction, whereby the tumbler-post 2 and the main parts 56 of all of the twopart tumblers are bodily moved from left to right causing the main parts of the tumblers to be recoupled with the supplemental parts of the tumblers in the new positions of the latter. The lock is now set to a new clients key and' the supplemental lock key will be returned into the hands of the manager of the bank.

Normally the two-part tumblers are rigid and operate as though made in one piece notwithstanding their described capacity for being reset todifferent keys. They have, therefore, the functional advantages of onepiece tumblers.

Although forming no part of my present invention, I may further explain that the main-bolt 48 cannot be operated by the clients key until it has been released from the guard-hook 50 which bears upon the bottom of the case 4 and is hung upon a short-stud 73. A spring 74 applied to the book 50 exerts a constant effort to engage the nose thereof with the abutment 49 at the end of the bolt. The said hook is operated against the tension of its spring 74, by a pin 75 carried by it and engaged by a cam 76 on the inner end of the plug 77 of a pin-tumbler guard-key lock 78 of any approved construction, mounted in the front cap 17 of the lock-case 4 and operated by the guard-key 15. In this respect the lock of my present invention follows the lock of Patent No. 860,946 already referred to.

In the'use of my improved lock some employee of the bank must go to the lock with its appropriate guard-key 15 and operate the guard-key lock for disengaging the hook 50 from the bolt 48 before the depositor can use his change key 4:6 for the completion of the unlocking of the bolt. Neither the depositor with his change-key, nor the holder of the guard-key can operate the lock independently of the other, and neither the depositornor the holder of the guard-key can reset the lock to a new change key which cannot be done without the presence of not only the person holding the guardkey, but also the person holding the change key and the person holding the managers key 14 of this particular lock. In other words, the resetting of the lock to a new change-key necessitates the presence of the managers key without which the two-part tumblers cannot be separated preparatory to being reset.

I do not limit myself to the particular construction shown and described as locks of this character will be varied in their details of construction to meet the requirements of diiierent safe-deposit companies and other users, my present invention residing in means for bodily moving one part of each of the two-part tumblers in a right line preparatory to resetting them while the other part remains at rest. In this connection I may point out. that when a 1'0- tatable eccentric tumbler-post is used to separate and re-unite the two parts of a two-part tumbler as illustrated, for instance, in Patents Nos. 666,697 and 860,9et0, both parts of the tumble-rs are to some extent moved so that there is no absolute certainty that when they are re-united their teeth will be presented to each other so as to intermesh without destroying the integrity of the resetting as it is in'ipractical to construct the parts with sufficient perfection to avoid this result. Thus if in re-locking the two parts of a tumbler, the teeth of the respective parts come together on the points of the teeth, there is no certainty which way the final coupling will be made; that is, on which side of the teeth. If it happens that the teeth. veer off and intermesh on the wrong side, then the new adjustment of the tumblers will be lost. This objection is avoided by my present invention for the reason that one part of each tumbler is given a pure rectilinear movement while the other part remains at rest.

1. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two-part lever tumbler the respective parts whereof are con structed to be reset for co-action with different keys, one of the said parts being constructed to have rectilinear movement, of means for imparting rectilinear movement to the said part of the tumbler in resetting the tumbler.

2. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two-part lever tumbler the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, one of the said parts being constructed to have rectilinear movement, of means for imparting rectilinear movementto the said part of the tumbler in resetting the tumbler, and means for locking the said means for moving the said part of the tumbler.

3. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two-part levertumbler the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for co-act-ion with different keys, one of the said parts being constructed to have rectilinear movement, of means for imparting rectilinear movement to the said movable part of the tumbler in resetting the tumbler.

4:. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two-part lever tumbler the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for co-action with different keys, one of the said parts being constructed to have rectilinear movement, of means for imparting rectilinear movement to the said movable part of the tumbler in resetting the tumbler, while the other partthereof being supported by a key remains at rest;

5. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with normally rigid two-part lever tumblers the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with difierent keys, of a tumbler-post passing through the respective parts of the tumblers, and means I for moving the post in a right line for moving one part of each tumbler in a right line while the other part remains at rest.

6. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with normally rigid two-part lever tumblers the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, of a tumbler-post passing through the said tumblers, a sliding plate or carriage in which the said post is mounted, and means for moving the said plate or carriage for imparting bodily movement in a right line to the said post.

7. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two-part lever tumbler the respective parts whereofare constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, of a tumbler post, a sliding plate or carriage for the said post, means for operating the said plate or carriage'whereby the Said post is bodily moved in a right line, and a lock for locking the said means.

8. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two part lever tumbler the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, of a tumbler-post, a sliding plate or carriage for the said post, a plate-cam for moving the said plate or carriage in a right line, and a supplemental lock for locking the said plate-cam.

9. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with normally rigid two-part lever tumblers the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, of a post for the said tumblers, a sliding plate or carriage for the said post, a platecam for moving the said sliding-plate or carriage in a right line, and a key-tumbler lock having a cylinder upon which the said plate-cam is mounted and by which it is rotated for operating the plate or carriage.

10. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two-part lever tumbler the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, of a tumbler-post, a sliding plate or carriage in which the said post is mounted, means for moving the said plate or carriage in a right line, and means for locking the outer end of the post.

11. In a multiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two-part lever tumbler the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, of a tumbler-post, a sliding carriage therefor moving in a right line, and a locking lever coacting with the outer end of the post for locking the same.

12. In a multiple-key lock, the combina-- tion with a normally rigid two-part lever tumbler the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, of a tumbler-post, a sliding carriage therefor moving in a right line, means for locking the outer end of the post when in its normal position, and means for moving the carriage in a right line and for operating the said post-locking means.

13. In amultiple-key lock, the combination with a normally rigid two-part lever tumbler the respective parts whereof are constructed to be reset for coaction with different keys, of a tumbler-post, a sliding carriage therefor moving in a right line, a plate-cam for operating the said carriage, a pin-tumbler lock upon the cylinder on which the said plate-cam is mounted, a lever for coaction with the outer end of the said post for locking it in its normal position, and connection between the said lever and cylinder for the operation of the former by the latter.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES J. MURPHY. Witnesses Orrs B. HoUeH, HARRY C. Grow.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Yatenta, Washington, D. G.

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