US1549581A - Lock - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 11, 1925.

C. LEWIS LOCK Filed Oct. 2, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug.'ll, 1925..

1,549,581 R. c. LEWIS LOCK Filed Oct. 2, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug... ll, 19,25a

BOLLIN C. LEVIIS, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTIGUT. ASSIGNOTR- T THE YALE & TOWN'E MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF SSTAMFOED, CONNECTICUT.

LOCK.

Application filed October 2, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROLLIN G. Lewis, a citizen of the United States and a resident of Stamford, in the county of Fair'lield and State oi Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in looks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description oi the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in locks and more particularly to such as are employed for safe deposit boxes and require the use of a guard or preparatory key before the her renters key can be used to withdraw the bolt.

One object of my present invention is to provide, in a lock of the type specified, simple and eriicient means for separating the tumblers in a manner to facilitate the chant? 1;); of the combination of the same.

' A further object is to so construct the lock that one of a stack of key actuated ruinblors shall constitute a guard tumbler operable with the use of a guard key in serted into the same plug which receives the change or box renters key for operating the other tumblers, and to provide means whereby the guard tumbler shall be retained in unlocked postion until released by the retraction of the bolt.

A further object is to provide simple and efiicient means whereby the bolt shall be dogged in unlocked position while the combination of tumblers is being changed.

A further object is to provide means which shall operate to prevent withdrawal of either the guard or the change key after the key plug is in the position which it assumes when the bolt has been withdrawn and before the plug shall have been returned by the key to the normal position which it assumes when the bolt is in projected position.

A further object is to provide simple and eiiieient means for removably securing the cover plate 01 the lock casing in place.

With these and'other objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel features Serial No. 591,845.

of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure l is rear view of a lock embodying my improvoinents, showing the bolt projected. Figure is a similar view with the cover plate and adjusting plate removed and the revoluble guard tumbler in position to receive the fence on the bolt; Figure 3 is an inner face view of the cover plate, showing also the adjusting plate; Figure 4 is view (partly in section) showing the bolt, its key operated actuating means, and the eccentric post on which the lever or swinging tumblers are mounted; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the adjusting plate; Figure 6 is a view of the guard key; Figure '4' is a view of the change or boxrenters key; Figure 8 is a view of the spanner key; Figure 9 is a sectional View on the line 9-9 of Figure 1; Figure 10 is a view (partly in section) with the cover plate and tumblers removed and showing the mounting for the eccentric post; Figure 11 is an outside face view of the cover plate and showing the lock cylinder thereon; Figure 12 is a transverse sectional view on the line 12-12 .01 Figure 4 with the tumblers removed and showing the eccentric post in elevation; Figure 13 is a trans verse sectional view with the tumblers re moved and showing the key plug in elevation; and Figure 14L is a detail sectional view showing portions of the cover and adjusting plates.

I have illustrated and will described my improvements as embodied in a lock for safe deposit boxes, but it will be understood that a lock embodying my improvements may be employed for other purposes.

The casing of the lock is represented at l and the cover plate 2 of the casing is disposed within the latter as shown in Figures 9, 12 and 13. Button-head flanged rivets 3 are mounted loosely in the cover plate near the side edges of the latter and the flanges of the heads of said rivets are made with flattened portions 4 which may be caused to align with the side edge of the cover to permit the insertion of the latter into the easing, after which said rivets will be turned so as to cause the flanges to enter recesses 5 in the inner faces of the casing sides, and thus securely, but removably, lock said cover in place. The heads of the rivets are of such height as to be flush with the edges of the casing so that when the lock is secured to the door by attaching screws 6, the cover cannot shift enough to disarrange the mechanism of the look even if the rivets should be jarred or otherwise turned to the free positions.

The cover plate has secured thereto, :1 cyl- V inder 7 which receives the head 8 of a plug or spindle 9 having a single key slot, the free end of said cylinder being made with an inwardly projecting flange 9 having two key notches 10 and 11 located forty-five degrees apart as shown in Figures 1., 3 and 11. The inner end of the key spindle is contracted in size and enters a bearing ring 12 secured to the casing 1 and near said contracted portion of the spindle, the latter is provided with aslotted flange 13 which may bear freely against the bearing sleeve 12. A tooth 1 1 projects from the flange 13 for operating the cam arm 15 by means of which the bolt 16 may be retracted or pro jected. The hub portion of the cam arm 15 is provided with a tooth 17, and with this tooth, the tooth 14 carried by the spindle flange is cooperable to effect the projecting of the bolt. Throughout approximately onefourth of the rotation of the key spindle, it is movable independently of the cam arm 15 and the tooth 14; will move (from the normal position of the key spindle) through approximately one-fourth of a circle and then engage the cam arm, the continued turning of the key spindle causing cooperation of the tooth 1 1 with said cam arm to effect the retracting of the bolt. When the key spindle is in normal position, the bolt will be locked in projected position by engagement of the cam arm 15 with the bolt axially of the latter and the key spindle and cam arm will be prevented from movement backwardly beyond their normal positions by engage ment of the flange 13 on the spindle and the tooth 17 on the cam arm with a ring 18 fixed in an end portion of the casing.

The ring 18 constitutes a mounting for a post 19, the base portion 20 of which is loosely mounted in the ring 18 so as to be capable of being turned therein, and said base portion is made with a plurality of circumferential grooves 21 and with diametrically opposite longitudinal grooves 22. The ring 18 is made with diametrically opposite sockets for the accommodation of dogs 23 which normally enter the grooves 22 in the post base 20 and springs 2 1 retain said dogs normally out of line with the grooves 21, and thus normally hold the post against turning. A disk 25 secured on the mounting ring 18 serves as an abutment for the springs 24 and prevents displacement of the latter and the dogs. The dogs are disposed respectively in different planes and a spanner key 26 used to move them is made with fingers 27, 28 differing in length. One end of the post 19 enters a suitable opening in the casing 1 and when the spanner key is properly inserted into the longitudinal grooves of the post base 20 its fingers will move the dogs 23 to cause them to align with circumferential grooves 21. of the post base and then, by turning the spanner key, the post 19 may be turned for a purpose hereinafter explained. The post 19 is made with an eccentric intermediate portion 29, and at one end with an eccentric pin 30, and when the cover plate 2 is in place, the end portion of said post is mounted in a hole 31 in said plate. Another post, 32, is located in the forward portion of the casing and fixed to the same, the bolt 16 being provided with a slot 16 for the accommodation of said post. On this post, a plurality or stack of approximately circular tumblers 33 are re volubly mounted and provided with gatings 31 for the reception of a fence 35 on the bolt 16 to permit retracting of the bolt. These tumblers are made with segmental racks 35 to mesh with racks 36 of lever or swinging tumblers 37, the latter being mounted on the post 19 and pressed in one direction by springs 38 and operable in the other direction by means of a suitable key. One of the revoluble tumblers of the stack (the tumbler 39) is utilized as a guard tumbler and the lever tumbler 10) which transmits motion to the guard tumbler 39, is mounted loosely on the concentric portion of the post 19. The lever tumblers 37 of the stack of such tumblers are mounted loosely on the eccentric portion 29 of the post 19 so that when said post is turned in the manner previously explained from its normal position, the lever tumblers 37 will be moved out of mesh with the revoluble tumblers, for the purpose of facilitating the changing of the combination of said tumblers 37 with respect to a particular key, as more fully hereinafter explained.

Located upon the outside of the cover plate 2 of the lock, is an adjusting plate 41 of thin spring metal, one end portion of which is made with a transverse elongated slot 1-2 into which the eccentric pin 30 on the eccentric post 19 projects. An intermediate portion of the plate 11 is made with an opening 43 through which the cylinder 7 passes, and a portion of said opening is made straight so as to provide a part 414; on said plate which enters the cylinder 7 through a slot 45 therein, so as to become disposed in line with the key notch 11 in the cylinder flange and prevent withdrawal of a key from the key spindle and through said notch 11, during of the lock.

The forward end portion of the adjusting plate ll is made to provide a spring tongue 46 bent at its free end portion to form a dog 47 which projects through an opening 1-8 in the cover plate 2 and, under certain conditions, enters the gating of the guard tum-- bler 39. The forward end of the plate ll is bent inwardly and rearwardly to provide a lug or dog d9 adapted, under certain conditions, to become disposed in line with the fence when the bolt 16 is in retracted po sition and prevent projecting of the bolt. In order to overcome such dogging of the bolt in retracted position when the adjusting plate is moved toward its normal position (after the combination of the tumblers shall have been changed) the forward end portion of said plate is provided, at respective sides of the dog 49, with projections 50 to cooperate with beveled faces 51 on the cover plate, and thus the dog 4:9 will be moved out of line with the fence when the adjusting plate is moved backwardly.

hen a guard key, such as shown at 52, for example, is inserted into the key spindle and turned, the guard tumblers 39-40 will be set to bring the gating of the guard tumbler in line with the fence 011 the bolt, and these tumblers will be held in such unlocking position by the springing of the dog 17 on the tongue 1-6 of the plate 41, into the gating of the guard tumbler 39. The guard key will then be turned back to normal position and withdrawn and a change or boX-renters key 53 will be inserted into the same key spindle or plug and turned to set the tumblers 33-37 and withdraw the bolt. As the bolt moves backwardly in the casing, the fence 35 on said bolt will operate to raise the dog a7 out of the gating of the guard tumbler 39, thus permitting said tumbler and its actuating lever tumbler to move to locked or normal positions when the bolt is subsequently projected.

In the normal operation of the lock, the key spindle must be returned to normal position to permit withdrawal of the key, removal of the key from the spindle at the quarter-turn position of the same being prevented by the portion ll of plate 1-3 projecting in line with the key notch 11, but the key is made with a notch to enable said key to pass the portion 4-1 of said plate.

The operation of changing the key setting is as follows:

lVith the bolt fully retracted and the change key and spindle in the unlocking position, the revoluble tumblers are in engagement with the fence 35 and thus held in. such position. The operator will now turn the eccentric post 19 with the use of the spanner key 26 and thus disconnect the the normal operation lever tumblers 37 from the revoluble tunr blers 39. The turning of the post 19 will also cause the eccentric pin 30 to more in the elongated slot 12 of the adjusting plate and effect forward longitudinal movement of the latter, thereby causing the portion 4A- of said plate to move out of the path of the key notch 11, and the dog #19 will be disposed in line with the fence 35 on the withdrawn bolt and prevent forward movement of the bolt and releasing of the revoluble tumblers during the operations of changing the ke -setting of the lever tumblers. The change key and key spindle may now be turned back one-fourth of a rotation and the key withdrawn at the notched portion 11. The operations above described are made possible by reason of the fact that instead of making the bolt operating cam arm rigid with the spindle, it is made separate from said spindle and mounted to turn freely and is so arranged that the key spindle may make a quarter rotation before it picks up and moves said cam arm to project the bolt. After the change key shall have been withdrawn at the key notch 11, a new change key may be inserted into the spindle and turned to engage. the lever tumblers 37 which latter will adapt themselves to the form of the new key and thus the combination of the tumblers will have been changed to be afterwards operable by the said new change key. While the new change key remains in-the key spindle. in the unlocking position (the revoluble tumblers having, in the meantime been prevented from turning by the fence 35), the eccentric post 19 will be turned back to its normal position (with the use of the spanner key), thus bringing the racks of the lever tumblers 3'? into mesh with the racks of the revoluble tumblers 33 and at the same time the adjusting plate 11 will be moved back, causing its portion 4% to block the key notch 11 and the dog 49 to be moved out of line with the fence on the bolt. Backward turning of the new change key to normal position at the notch 10, will cause the bolt to be projected.

Various changes might be made in the details of construction of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof or limiting its scope and hence I do not wish to restrict myself to the precise details herein set forth.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a lock of the character described, the combination with a casing, a bolt, a set of revoluble tumblers having gatings, and a fence on the bolt co-operable with said tumblers and their gatings, of an eccentric post, a set of spring-pressed lever tumblers mounted on said eccentric post and normally in operative relation to the revoluble tum blers, and a key directly co-operable with said post whereby the same may be turned to facilitate changing of the combination of said lever tumblers.

2. In a lock of the character described, the combination with a casing, a bolt and two sets of tumblers, tumblers of one set operatively connected with tumblers of the other set, of an eccentric for moving tumblers of one set out of operative relation to the tumblers of the other set, means for preventing the turning of one set of tumblers while tumblers of the other set are out of operative relation thereto, and means for dogging the bolt in unlocking position while tumblers of the respective sets are out of operative relation relatively to each other.

3. In a lock of the character described, the combination with a casing, a bolt, a set of revoluble tumblers having gatings and a fence on the bolt cooper-able with said tumblers and their gatings, of an eccentric post, a set ofv spring-pressed lever tumblers mounted on said eccentric post and normally in operative relation to the revoluble tumblers, means whereby said post may be turned to facilitate changing of the combination of said lever tumblers, and a dog cooperable with the fence on the bolt to prevent projecting of the latter when tumblers of one set are out of operative relation to tumblers of the other set.

l. In a lock of the character described, .the combination with a casing, a bolt having a fence, a set of revoluble tumblers having gatings for said fence, and a set of spring-pressed lever tumblers in normal cooperative relation to the revoluble tumblers, of means for moving the lever tumblers out of and into cooperative relation to the revoluble tumblers while the fence of the bolt is in the gatings of the latter, means cooper-able with the fence for dogging the bolt in unlocking position while the sets of tumblers are out of cooperative relation to each other, and means for releasing the dogging of the bolt when the lever tumblers are moved into cooperative relation to the revoluble tumblers whereby the bolt may be projected.

5. In a lock of the character described, the combination of a casing, a bolt having a fence, a set of revoluble tumblers having gatings to receive said fence when the bolt is retracted, one tumbler of said set constituting a guard tumbler, a single key spindle having a single key slot, key operated lever tumblers eooperable with the revoluble tumblers, one of said lever tumblers cooperable with said guard tumbler, and means for moving the other lever tumblers out of and into cooperative relation to the other revoluble tumblers.

6. In a lock of the character described, the combination of a casing, a bolt having a fence, a set of revoluble tumblers having gatings to receive said fence when the bolt is retracted, one tumbler of said set constituting a guard tumbler, a single key spindle having a single key slot, key operated lever tumblers cooperable with the revoluble tumblers, one of said lever tumblers cooperable with said guard tumbler, means for moving the other lever tumblers out of and into cooperative relation to the other revoluble tumblers, and means cooper-able with the gating of the guard tumbler to retain the latter in unlocking position after it has been set in such position by operation of a guard key.

'1'. In a lock of the character described, the combination with a casing, a bolt having a fence, and a plurality of revoluble tumblers having gatings for said fence, of a plurality of spring-pressed lever tumblers operatively associated with the revoluble tumblers, a bearing member in the casing, a post having a base mounted in said bearing member and having peripheral and longitudinal grooves, spring-pressed dogs mounted in said bearing member and normally engaging in the longitudinal grooves in the base of the post, and means for releasing the dogs from the locking engagement with the post and for turning said post, said post having an eccentric portion on which the lever tumblers are mounted.

8. In a lock of the character described, the combination with a casing, a bolt, two sets of tumblers operatively associated with each other, and means for moving one set of tumblers out of and into cooperative relation with the other, of a cylinder having two key notches, a slotted key spindle, lostmotion means operable by the key plug for retracting and for projecting the bolt, and means normally blocking one of said key notches of the cylinder to normally prevent a key from being withdrawn except when the key spindle is returned to normal position.

9. In a lock of the character described, the combination of a casing, a cover plate therefor, a bolt having a fence, a plurality of revoluble tumblers having gatings for said fence, a plurality of spring-pressed key-operated lever tumblers operatively associated normally with said revoluble tum blers, an eccentric post on which said lever tumblers are mounted, an eccentric pin on said post, a cylinder having two key notches, a slotted key spindle, means operable by said spindle for retracting and for projecting the bolt, and an adjusting plate having a slot to receive the eccentric pin on the eccentric post, said plate having an opening forming a part to enter the cylinder and block one of said key notches, said plate having a spring tongue provided with a dog to pass through an opening in the casing cover plate and engage in the gating of one the adjusting plate to move the dogging of the revoluble tumblers and to be removed part out of the path of the fence on the from such position by the fence on the bolt bolt When the adjusting plate is moved rearwhen the latter is retracted, said adjusting wardly by the turning of the eccentric post. Plate having a part to dog the bolt by Q0- testimony whereof, I hLV6 signed this operation with the fence thereon, and the speclfic'atloncover plate having beveled portions for co operation with the forward end portion of tOLLIN C. .LEVVIS.

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