US1588543A - Alarm lock - Google Patents

Description

June 15 1926. v v 1,588,543

W. F. FRASER I ALARM LOCK v v File -Oct. 18, 1922 v @Sheets-Shet 1 s 60 IO \Z 84 19 5 H 35 so 10 2 as NI I- Z8 so ww-ioilk Warren F Fraser w.' F. FRASER June 15 1926.-

. ALARM LOCK Filed Oct. 18, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 M a S Tnrren Fraser w. F. FRASER ALARM LOCK Filed 00+ 18, 1922, 4 sheets-sheet s lune 15 Warren E F rdser M a 4 4 k 1| J p w L June 15,1926.

4 W. F. FRASER ALARM LOCK Filed Oct.' 18, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Wrren E Fraser Wu Patented June 15, .1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

WARREN r. FRASER, or wnsrBono, MASSACHUSETTS, ssienon or ONEJLIALF 'ro MORRIS GREEN, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

ALARM LOCK.

Application filed October 18, 1922. Serial No. 595,346.

My invention relates to an alarm lock and more particularly to a lock wh1ch will sound an alarm when an unauthorized attempt is made to force the lock or operate it improperly. I

Numerous cunning methods are being constantly devised. by the criminal classes for gaining entrance to houses where wealth is supposed to be concealed. The problem of thwarting such activities is becoming increasingly difficult, owing particularly to the overcrowded living conditions found in the cities which appeal to one type of thief, and on the other hand to the isolation 7 of country homes where a burglar may work in comparative safety for a considerable length of time.

Various types of devices have been proposed for giving an alarm whena lock is being tampered with, since a considerable proportion of burglaries are effected through opening a locked door. Such devices have been found unsatisfactory or commercially unfeasible owing to defective or ex ensive construction or to their not furnis ing adequate protection at all times against the methods ordinarily employed in housebreaking. One common method is to operate the lock by means of a skeleton key, and a key worker is usually equipped with a large. number of such types of keys, which he can quickly try inthe lock. Electrical apparatuses have been devised to give a signal when a lock combination is not known or when the wrong key is employed, but these serve to give an alarm only while the lock is being tampered with. Consequently, when the burglar cautiously tries the lock,

he is immediately warned by the alarm and can stop the ringing bell merely by desisting from such methods and devising others. If the first momentary sounding of the bell has not been heard by the house occupants, no notice of the attempt is received which will aid in the. capture of the thief. Moreover, such electrical devices have been too complicated in construction to be commercially feasible, or they have been inadequate to warn of the use of force as well as skill.

in trying to open the closure.

Devices have been suggested 'which will give a signal when a door is being jimmied, but these have been so constructed that after the tool intended to force the doorcpen has been withdrawnthe alarm will in lrnigfer against the use of force alone, therei's of course an equal chance that the thief employs the method not covered by the device, and the protection is inadequate.

It is accordingly one-object of my invention to overcome the disadvantages and mechanical imperfections of the prior constructions and to provide a combination alarm and lock which is capable of satisfying the insurance and commercial requirements of a burglar proof lock and otherwise to providev av simple and economical construction which is easily built and quickly installed, and will give an incessant alarm which cannot be stopped from out-. side the doorwhen an improper attempt is made to open the same.

Further objects of my invention are to provide a combination safety alarm lock which, if, the wrong key is used therein in an attempt to open the lock or excessive lateral pressure is applied to force the lock open, will sound an incessant alarm to warn of the tampering with the lock and to provide simplified. mechanical constructions capableof accomplishing either of these results alone. by, sounding an alarm either locallyor at a distance. Still further objects of my invention are to provide a mechanical wind up alarm and a door lock comprising a key controlled tumbler deviceso constructed that an adequate alarm will be sounded at the door by any tampering with the lock and to conibine therewith an electrical alarm device which will simultaneously give a warning at a distance from the door, when the wrong key is used or an attempt is made to force open the closure. V With these. and other object, in view as will be apparent from the following disclosure my invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto. Referring tn drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like parts Fig. 1 is a section on line 11 of Fi 2, with various parts shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1, including in dotted outline that portion of the door casing which cooperates with the lock bolt to hold the door;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of the tumbler mechanism; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the locating plate and the lock parts shown in Fig. 3; V

Fig. 6 is an elevation partly broken away to show a detail ot'the bolt mechanism and trunnion mounts therefor; and

Fig. 7 isa diagrammatic perspective view of important features of the device, showing the'manne'r of its operation.

The usual lock comprises a bolt operated by a key controlled tumbler device in which a rotary barrel mounted in an outer tumbler casing is locked by a double set ottumblers and can be turned to operate the lock bolt only when the tumblers are correctly positioned byth-e right key.

In accordance with one aspect of my invention, I so construct a lock of this general type as to release an alarm when the lock is improperlyoperated. This may be accomplished by mounting the rotary barrel so that it the wrong key is inserted and an attempt is made to'turn the barrel. when the tumblers are still in a locking position, the torque is transmitted to sound an in cessant alarm, i. e. one of long duration, either locally through a mechanical device or at a distance by electrical apparatus, or

'by' both types, and particularly to release a mechanical wind up device and make an electric circuit with an electric bell andbattery. l/Vhile the invention in its broader aspects, as determined by the scope of the appended claims, applies to locks for va rious uses, such as on an automobile to hold 7 some movable part of the machine, I have merely illustrated and described its applicability to closures or doors of houses.

To accomplish this end, and as one embodiment of the invention, I may mountthev tumbler barrel for movement relative to a tumbler casing which is also yieldingly mow able. This casin which aretterabl surrounds the barrel and is rotatable thereon,

is mechanically connected with the alarm mechanism; and I so construct and arrange the parts that aslngle movement of. the casing will efiect a permanent release of the alarm mechanism without moving the looking bolt far enough to affect the security of the lock. To provide for soundmg an alarm 'When transverse pressure is applied against the lock in such cases where it is used onl a closure, I may mount the belt or its sup-.

ports in such a manner that a yielding transverse movement of the bolt relative to the on trunnions for swinging movement and resiliently holding the housing in an inoperative position under the slight pressures normally applied for opening a door.- Similarly, the key and tumbler alarm controlling mechanism is resiliently held so that the ordinary friction oi turning the lock with the proper key will not sound an alarm, but it is preferably so arranged that an improper use even of the right key will release the alarm. In order to give an alarm at a distant station as well as locally I may also provide the mechanism with electrical contacts connected with electric bells and annunciators or similar apparatus.

As illustrated in the drawings, I may combine the-various features of my invention in a unitary and simplified construction of a mechanical and 'electricalalarm lock suitable for a door. In the exemplified construc hole .in the door and. fastened thereto as by means of a rear plate 13, (Figs. 1 and 5) fixed on the inside of the door and "bolted to the plate 14 fastened to the flanged cup 12 by bolts 15. As is well known in this art, the rotary barrel is provided with sockets 16' which may be aligned with 'similar sockets 17 mounted in the outer rotary casing 11.

Two sets of tumb ers 18 and 19 are located in the sockets, these being of such lengths relative to the shape oi thekey 20 that when the right key is properly inserted in the key slot 21 which intersects the bottoms of the sockets in the barrel, the lugs" on the keyv will raise the tumblers against the pressure of s rings 22, located in the upper ends of thesockets 1.7, and all the tum- .blers will be positioned with their inner rounded faces substantially coinciding with the peripheral surface of the rotary barrel 10, so that the barrel may be rotated by turning the key. If the wrong key is used, ol viously some of the tumblers will overlap the parting plane between the barrel and its casing and so prevent turning of the barrel relative to its casingll. Loosely fastened to the end of the barrel 10 is a shank 23 which is adapted to operate the'lock bolt mechanism. The end of the shank projects into a recess in the end of cylinder 10 and has a slot 24 engaged by a: projecting lug on a clip 25 screwed to the barrch (Fig. 8.)

The door bolt or latch and its associated parts may be of suitable construction except as modified to accomplish the desired results. As shown particularly in Fig. 6, the bolt 26 which projects through a hole 27 in the housing 28 may be provided with two paral lel slide members 30 which are slidablymounted in a plate 31 fixed within the housing. Springs '32 surround the slides and tend to maintain the bolt 26 in an outside to push back on the lugs 39 and withdraw the 7 bolt from-its locked position. In order to combine abell clock work mechanism with the lock I mount the housing 28 on a base or casing 40, this casing having an extended plane portion 41 on which is secured the alarm mechanism.

While I may employ various types of mechanical alarms within the scope of my invention, I have indicated in the drawings a well known form of wind up clock work and-bell mechanism which is suitable for my purpose. As shown, the bell 43 is freely mounted for vibration on the bushing 44 which is fastened to a plate 45. This plate is mounted on posts 46, fastened to the rear plate 47 which in turn is suitably fixed on the support 41. The bell is secured on the bushing by a screw threaded collar 48 which engages'a reduced portion of the bushing passing through a central aperture in the ell. A bell hammer 50 pivotally mounted on the post 51 is operated-by means of a wheel 52 which is rotated by a spring driven mechanism. Each of the pins 54 projecting from the sides of the wheel 52 is adapted when revolved to engage the bent up end 55' of the bell hammer lever, asillustrated in Fig. 2, and lift the hammer 50 against the action of gravity and a spring 56 and then release it for a stroke against the bell. have shown three pins 90' degrees apart on the wheel 52, the fourth pin being omitted so that three taps will be given on the bell followed by a period of silence so as to make the alarm more noticeable.

The alarm once released operates in this intermittent fashion incessantly until it is silenced either by the spring running down or by a control lever operated from inside the door. This control lever 58 is preferably L-shaped and pivotally mounted on the post '59 with its long arm projecting upwardly above the bell for manipulation. The short arm 60 of the lever normally projects heneath the short arm55 of the bell hammer and maybe supported in such a position as to hold the bell hammer inoperative and prevent it beingraised to permit the wheel 52 to revolve.

The wheel 52 is driven by a set of clock work gears and pinions which may be of well known construction. The intermediate geared members 61 and 62 which are operatively connected with wheel 52 are driven by a bull gear '63 fixed on a rotatable post 64 and adapted to be driven by the spring 65. The'spring 65 which is held stationary at one end and connected to the gear 63 at the other end is wound up by means of the usual construction comprising a. winding key 67 attached to the post 64. Unwinding of the spring is prevented by a spring pressed'pawl 68 and ratchet 69.-

Inv order to combine the various features so far described into a unitary mechanism for giving a desired alarm, I may utilize the arrangement of parts illustrated in the drawings. The lever arm 60 is pressed against the bell hammer arm 55 to hold it in the path of one of the pins 54 by means of a rocking arm or trigger 70 mounted beneath lug 71 which projects laterally from,

the arm 60 these parts being soconstructed and arranged that displacement of the arm 70 from a normal holding position, which is shown in the'drawing, will permit lever arm 60 to fall downward under the action of gravity or a spring if desired, and release the wheel 52 and permit it to operate the bell hammer. In order to connect the rocking arm 70 with thetwo essential portions of the lock, I fasten it to a rod 72 mounted to rotate on pivots 73, which are screw threaded into opposite portions of the easing 40 and engage bearing sockets. 74 in the rod. A pin 75 projecting laterally from the rod/72 has its outerend passing loosely through a hole 76 in a slide plate 77. This slide is. secured in a vertically movable position by means of headed screws ,78 passing through elongated narrow slots 79min the slide and threaded into a portion of. the sup port 40. Movement of the slide will swing arm 70 to one side and permanently release I the alarm.

The slide 77 is operably connected with the outer rotary'tumbler casing 11 by means of lugs 80 projecting rearwardly from a central portion of the slide, which is -en larged to provide for an aperture 81 through which the shank 23 passes. The slide 77 is adapted to be lifted by means ofa rocking plate 83 engaging the lugs 80. This plate is threaded on the projecting end of a hollow cylinder '84 which telescopes with another hollow cylinder 85 and to which it is keyed by projecting lugs 86 oncylinder 84 riding in slots 87 in the othercylinder. As shown particularly in Fig; 1, cylinder 84 is mounted for rotation in an aperture in the plate 13 and endwise movement is prevented by plate 83 and flange 88 which engage opposite sides of plate 13. This telescoping connection is employed to accommodate different thicknesses of door. The inner smaller cylinder 85 is fastened to the rear of therotatable tumbler casing 11 by means of screws 90 passing through lugs 91. on the casing 11 and engaging a thickened portion of the cylinder 85 which engages the rear of plate 1i and holds this part in place.

The tumbler casing 11 is rotatably iounted on the inner cylinder 10, the latter in turn bein su inert-ed at its front end b the flanged. cup 12 and at the rear end by the cylinder 85 and plate 14. The casing 11, which is shaped like cylinder provided with a projecting flange or key as shown in Fig. l, is resiliently held in a central position by nieans'of the c -shaped spring 93 which surrounds the cylinder, pressing against the ends of the flanged portion there of and an inwardly depending lug 9 1 formed on the interior of the cup 12.

It will therefore be seen that if the turnblers'are not correctly positioned when an attempt is made to turn the lock, the casing 11 will be turned against the resilient action of the spring 93, thus rotating the telescoping cylinders and the plate 83, which results in an upward pressure on one of the 'lugs 80, and moves plate 77 and the rocking arm 70. A certain degree of freedom may be provided sothat a slight motion of the casing 11 will not set oil the alarm, but as illustrated it will not take much movement thereof to permit the lever arm 60 to fall down beside the rocking arm 70. It will also be clear that once the lever arm 60 has fallen nothing can be done from outside the door to stop the alarm. When the alarm has beenreleased, the arm 7 0 cannot get under the lug 71 until the lever 58 is moved by hand, after which the weight of the slide and 7 associated parts will swing arm to a locking position.

In order to'release the alarm when excessive lateral pressure is applied to, the door, as by an attempt to jimmy the look, I mount the locking bolt 26 for lateral movement which may be communicated to the lever arm 60. Inthe construction illust ated the housing which carries tl'ie slidable bolt is made movable for this purpose- To this end, I provide the housing 28 with t-runnions 06 which are pivotally mounted in sockets 97 provided in the casing 40 which for the purpose of assembling may be made in two or more parts and fastened together as by means of screws to form a suitable support mg base for the various parts.

Springs 98 secured to the plate l1 project downwardly and resiliently press ag inst the rear of the housing, en side the in a central position. L-shaped arms 99 fixed to and depending from the rod 72 contact with springs 98 adjacent the housing 28. It will therefore be. seen that if the housing 28 swings about its trunnions in either direction the rocking arm 'Z'Owill be moved-from its holdingposition. and so release the alarm; The springs 98 are given sufficient rigidity to prevent the alarm bein sounded by ordinary usage of the door. Rotation of the housing relative to the shank 23 is permitted by having the shank lit loosely in its associated parts within the lock. y

V The alarm mechanism so far described. will sound an alarm locally at the door. If it is desired to give a distant signal I may utilize an electric hell or buzzer in circuit with a source of electrical energy and a switch adapted to be closed by anyone tampering with the lock, and 1 preferably so arrange the parts that the switch arm may be held normally in' a raised position by a trigger, such as rocking arm 70, and released to close the circuit by movement of the trigger. I may also combine the electrical alarm with a mechanical local alarm, as illustrated in the drawings, but it is to be understood that in a simplified apparatus it is feasible to employ either type of alarm alone. To combine an electrical device with the structure above described, I attach a terminal wire 100 to a post 101 suitably fastened on the casting 40 and in electrical contact therewith. The other terminal 102 is attachedv to a switch which is adapted to be closed by improper attempts at opening the door- In the switch illustrated I make use of the lever'arm 60 for one contact element. The wire 102 is suitably connected with a contact 103 mounted on a post 104 which is fastened to and insulated from the casing, as shown in Fig. 1. This contact is located below and spaced from a similar contact 106 mounted on the lever arm 60, these parts being so positioned that when the lever arm is released and falls down, an electrical circuit is made through this contact and the metal bearing of the arm 60 and the post 59. Various electrical devices and arrangements may be employed as is obvious to one skilled in this art. l have illustrated an electric bell 10S andan annunciator. 109 of any well lrnown construction, in line with the battery 110 so that a continuous alarmwill be given when the lever arm 60 falls, and the location of the attempted heusebreaking may be determined by the annunciator.

The operation of this device. will be ob vious from the above description. It also will be evident that various changes may be made in this construction within the scope of the appended claims and that the invention may eapplied to various ineclianismswliich m h ll: may

not need to use all of the elements associated in. the door lock above described but I will select those features which are particularly applicable to accomplish the desired end.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent 1s:,

between said support and holding means ac-- tuated in one direction only by movementof the support t release the alarm mechanism,

2. An alarm lock comprising a reciprocable bolt, a key and tumbler device including a rotary barrel, a yieldingly movable tumbler casing surrounding the barrel and key operated tumblers which permit rotation of said barrel relative to the casing when.

the tumblers are correctly positioned by the use of the right key, connections from the barrel to operate the bolt, a mechanically operated bell and clock work mechanism for sounding an incessantalarm, a trigger device capable of being set to restrain opera tion of said mechanism and independent connections between said casing and said trigger device to move the latter and release the alarm when the casing is moved with the barrel by the use of the wrong key and permit return of the barrel to a normal position without stopping the alarm.

3. An alarm lock comprising a clock work alarm mechanism, a reciprocable bolt, a key controlled tumbler device connected to reciprocate the bolt, a locking device effective to hold the alarm mechanism normally inoperative, means operated by the use ofthe wrong key to move said device and thereby cause an incessant alarm and manually operable means independent of the tumbler device to reset the locking device and hold the alarm mechanism in an inoperative condi tion.

4:. An alarm lock for a closure comprising an alarm mechanism, a trigger device to hold the same normally inoperative, areciprocable and laterally movable bolt, means permitting lateral movement of the bolt only under excessive pressure, a key controlled device to reciprocate the bolt normally, and connections between the bolt and the trigger device operable by lateral movement of the bolt to release said mechanism and thereby sound an incessant alarm.

5. An alarm lock for a closure, comprising an alarm mechanism normally held inoperative, a reciprocable bolt, 21 key controlled tumbler device connected to reciprocate "the bolt, a support for the bolt capable of lateral movement, andmeans connectmg said.

support and alarminechanism effective to:

sound an incessant alarm, when said support is moved by excessive lateral pressure appliedagainst the closure. e

6. An alarm lock comprising a bell and, spring operated clock w0rk-mechanism for sounding an incessant alarm, a, releasable trigger to hold the same normally inoperative, a reciprocable bolt, a laterally movable support therefor, resilient means to restrain lateral movement of said support, a,

key and tumbler device connected to reciprocate the bolt and operative connections be.- tween said support and trigger to. release. the latter and give an incessant alarm when the bolt support is moved momentarily in alateral direction.

7. In combination with an alarm, a recipro'cable locking bolt, a base, a housing for the bolt having trunnings pivotally mounted on the base, resilient meanstopermit yielding movement of said housing, a key controlled deviceconnected to operate the bolt, a releasable trigger which normally holds the alarm mechanism inoperative and connections between said housingandv trigger which move th'elatter and release the alarm: when force is applied to move the bolt housing laterally.

8. An alarm lock for aclosurecomprising a bolt which is movable normally into and out of a locked position as well as movable laterally under abnormal pressure applied against the closure to force it open, a key controlledtumbler mechanism to lock and unlock the bolt, an alarm mechanism, means which will normally restrain said mechanism from sounding an alarm, means oper able by said lateral movement of the bolt which will release the alarm restraining means and means operable by the use of the wrong key on the tumbler mechanism to release said restraining means;

9. An alarm lock for a closure comprising a bolt which is movable into and out of a locked position as well as laterally, means restraining the lateral movement thereof except underexcessive pressure, a key controlled tumbler mechanism to lock and unlock the bolt without sounding the alarm, an alarm mechanism, means which will normally restrain said mechanism from sounding an alarm, means operable by lateral movement of the bolt which will release the alarm restraining means, and manually operable means to reset the releasable means after the alarm has been sounded.

10. An alarm lock for a door comprising a bolt mounted for reciproeatory and lateral movement, a key controlled tumbler device connected to reciprocate the bolt, an alarm mechanism, a releasable trigger device which normally holds the alarm inoperative, means operable by lateral movement of the bolt to move said trigger device, and inde-' pendent means operable by use of the positively, whereby an incessant alarm' is sounded upon an attempt to utilize the wrong key in the lock, or when the bolt is i moved laterally relative to the frame.v v

12. An alarm lock for a door comprising an alarm mechanism, a reciprocable and laterally movable bolt, a key controlled tumbler device to reciprocate the'bolt, a movable casing for: said device, a member arranged to be manually set to prevent operation of the alarm mechanism, a trigger releasably holding said member in position during normal operation of the bolt, connections between the casing and said trigge to move the latter when the casing is moved by improper force applied tothe tumbler device, and means resiliently opposing lateral movement of the bolt which'is capable ofreleasing said trigger it the bolt is moved laterally. A r V v Y 13. Analarm lock for a door comprising an alarm mechanism, a movable trigger normally holding said mechanism inoperative, a reciprocable and laterally movable looking bolt, resilient means holding the bolt from lateral movement, a key controlled tumbler device having an inner rotary barrel connected to reciprocate the bolt and a rotary outer casing which has c0- ope r'ating sets of tumblers arranged for locking the barrel to the casing except when positioned by the right key, aspring to hold the outer casing against movement during normal usage of the lock connections from the casing to the trigger to release the latter When the wrong key is used and separate connections from the laterallymovable bolt to the trigger arranged to release the alarm when excessive pressure is applied laterally against the bolt.

14. An alarm lock for a door comprising a wind up alarm mechanism having a bell hammer and means to operate the same, a releasable rocking arm adapted to prevent i movement of the hammer, a reciprocable bolt, a housing therefor mounted on trunmons for lateral movement of the bolt, a

key controlled device to operate the bolt including a rotary barrel, tumblers and a rotary tumbler casing, a spring-adapted to hold said casing normally'stationary and permit the barrel to turn when the right key is used, a slide operatively connected with,

the rockingarm to move the same, operative connectlons to imove the sl1de when the tumbler casing is rotated and means

Images