US1768040A - Automobile lock - Google Patents

Description

c. N. FAIRCHILD 1,768,040

AUTOMOBILE LOCK June 24, 1930.

Filed May 25, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 24, 1930' c. N. FAIRCHHLD AUTOMOBILE LOCK Filed May 23, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet i2 0 W alu //////////////////////////ZZZ// MM a different mechanismby Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES N. FAIRCHILD, OF PLANTSVILLE, CONNECTICUT, ,ASS'I GNOR TO FAIRCHILD LOCK CORPORATION, 01? NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0E DELAWARE AUTOMOBILE Loci:

Application filed May 23',

This invention relates to-automobile locks and has for one of its objects the vprovision of a lock which controls the ignition and which permits of variation of this control while its locking status remains unchanged,

A further and important object is to provide a novel arrangement of parts whereby it will be impossible for the ignition to be cut off simultaneously with the locking of the car accidentally or by inadvertence and whereby it will be impossible to lock or unlock the car without the use of both hands'of the driver,

The arrangement in my device is such that in order to lock the car both hands must be used an act which cannot occurrinadvertently or by accident while; driving, but requires'a deliberate and premeditated coincidence of separate acts.

The present invention coincides in the above objects with my co -pending applica tion, Serial No. 255,440, filed February 18, 1928, but differs therefromin the provision of Which'the objects are accomplished.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a'locking. bolt with meansassociatedtherewith for completing or'breaking the ignition circuit at will, and key operated means for moving the bolt to and from locking position. It further contemplates the control of the ignition switch either simultaneously withor independently ottheopen ation of the vbolt. The abovestructure coincides substantially with that of the co-pending application mentioned abovebut in place of the rock shaft and lever of that device for preventing accidental locking of the car I provide in the present embodiment a push pin which is'so located as normally to prevent the key actuated means from operating the bolt by obstructing the turning of the key at key entry position, The obstructing functioning of the pin is relieved by-the pushing in of the pin against the force of a helical spring arranged in a suitable housing and surrounding the pin where the pin is in its normal position. The key 1 is free to turn throughout the major portion of a complete rotation but is prevented from making the 1928. Serial No. 279,978.

last part of thercvolution i. e. that necessary 2 to move the bolt from running position to locking position. To eliminate the hazard of accidentally moving the bolt to locking-position -I provide a latch which is normally held by a helical spring-in the path of a collar formedon the push pin and which prevents operation of the push pin except bythe use of bothhands.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation.

Figure 2 is a plan View.

FigureB is a fragmentary detail View showing the casing in section and illustrating the relation of the push pins to each other.

Figure 4 is a sectionshowing the bolt and ignition moving camand the bolt pin in elevation. v

-Figurez5is a vertical section thru the axis of the locking bolt. 5

axis of the push .pin.

Figure 7 is a section thru the axisof the latch the plane being at 45 to vertical and horizontal,

Referring now to the details of the mechanism by reference numerals, 1O designatesthe lock housing, 11 denotes the lock cylinder which may be. turned by the key 12, and 13 denotes a cam secured to the rotatable cylinder andradapted :tocoopcrate with a pin 14 secured to the locking bolt 15 for operating the latter. The vignition circuit control switchinember includes a vertically slidable stem 1'7j having a follower 18 attached thereto which iseprovided with a depending finger 19 projecting normally across the path of rotation of the cam 13 and adapted to be raised thereby to force the switch memberupwardly to complete the ignition circuit by contacting with the terminals 20 of the conductorsof said circuit. Both'the stem 17 and the bolt 15 tend to assume-their lowermost posit-ions v I i I Flgure 6 1s a horizontal section thru the therefrom. Suitably located within the housing 10 I provide a bore 23 in which is slidably mounted the push pin or rod 24. This push rod is held normally in retracted position by means of a helical spring 25 abutting at its opposite ends against the shoulders 26 and 27 provided respectively integral with the housing and with the pin, the latter shoulder being provided by the formation on the pin of an annular ridge or collar 28.

The bore 23 communicates at its inner end with the slideway of the bolt 15 through an aperture 29 which is of sufficient diameter to permit the end 30 of the push rod 24 to project therethrough into one or the other of the notches 31 or 32 formed in the bolt 15. The end 30 of the pin is reduced in diameter and tapered to its tip from a point a short distance from the tip and is provided with a shoulder 33 as a line of demarkation between the cylindrical portion and the tapered portion of the pin.

The opposite end of the pin is provided with a head 34, affording a hand grip for use in manipulation of the pin as will hereinafter be set forth. The head 34 is provided with a central knob or umbo 35 which normally lies in the path of rotation of a lug 36 formed on the head 37 of the key 12, the key and knob being so related that the knob will prevent the key from turning thru the phase of its rotation effective in looking the car while at the same time permitting the key to freely turn thru the phase effective in manipulation of the ignition circuit.

In order that the key may be turned thru the effective locking phasethe push rod 24 must be forced inwardly against the resistance of its spring 25 and manually held in such inner position for a portion of the time at least while the key is being turned. Thus it is seen that accidental turning of the key is rendered fairly impossible as it requires either wonderful dexterity or the use of both of the drivers hands to accomplish the looking or unlocking of the car. However, to eliminate entirely all hazard, I provide an obstruction 38 on the inner headed end of a latch stem 39, the head of the latch being designated by the numeral 40. The head 40 also serves to provide a shoulder 41 aflording an abutment for one end of a helical spring 42 the opposite end of which abuts against a flange 43 of casing 44 fast to the casing 10 and having a bore 45 communicating at its inner end with the bore 23 in which pin 24 moves. The spring 42 normally holds the latch end 38 in the path of the shoulder 27 so that it is necessary to withdraw the latch by an outward pull on the latch against the influence of this spring. v

To facilitate this movement the pin 39 is provided with a knob 46. The head 40 is of a size to have a snug sliding lit in the bore 45 and the stem of pin 39 has a snug sliding fit thru an aperture 47 in the wall of the easing 44.

It will appear from the above that before of the rod. Rod 24 is now free to move to clear the key.

The operation of the above described mechanism is as follows, the parts being in position as represented in the drawings, that is, in car locking position. Presuming that it is desired to unlock the car and start the ignition, the latch 39 is drawn outwardly freeing the path of collar 28 of obstruction, and push .rod 24 is pushed inwardly, the key 12 is now turned until the push rod is free to snap back. The key is now turned further for the locking bolt is no longer held by the push rod so the cam 13 contacts with finger 19 and the locking bolt pin 14 so that further turning will raise the member 17 cansing the bridging of the gap between contacts 20 and will unlock the car.

With the parts in unlocked or running position the key is free to turn the ignition on or off as desired by the driver but is held in the locking cylinder so that it cannot be with drawn, once the parts have been moved to running position, except by'using both hands to turn the key to withdrawing position. The key cannot make a complete revolution because it would engage the push rod. The push rod, however, can be pushed inwardly if the latch is pulled out to permit this movement. Such'an act requires the use of both hands and obviously both hands can never be free inadvertently While driving for the car would be out of control the moment both hands are taken from the steering wheel. It is obvious, therefore, that the. key can be turned to key removing position only when the car is still so that both hands are free to manipulate the necessary elements as outlined. \Vhen the push rod has been depressed the key can be moved to the so-called 360 position whichv is a complete revolution from entry position and at this time the spring 25 is free to move the push rod to its normal position moving the key with it.

I rather prefer to have a small lug 49 integral with the key so that in case of any accident the pulling out of the key would pull the push rod out which would permit the making of the spring 25 considerably lighter. It is proposed, however, to make the spring fairly heavy so that it can eject the key. It will be understood that thelatch affords no obstruction whatsoever to the outward movement of the push rod and also that in its inward position after the car has been running the push rod itselfholds the bolt up by its engagement with the smaller notch 32 which permits only very slight movement of the bolt When the push rod is in active position, Whereas the large notch 31 necessarily permits a rather considerable movement of the bolt under the action of the locking cylinder cam While the push rod is in depressed position.

WVhat I claim is 1. In a. device of the character described, a bolt, a key operated mechanism for manipulating said bolt, means lying normally in the path of rotation of the key but movable out of the path of the key, and means positively holding the first named means in key obstructing position, but manually movable to permit movement of the first means out of the path of the key.

2. In a device of the character described, a bolt for looking a vehicle against operation, means operable by a key for manipulating the bolt, means normally held yieldably in the path of rotation of the key and in such relation thereto as to prevent its rotation thru its bolt manipulating phase When in normal position.

3. In combination With a locking bolt, means for moving the bolt to unlocking position and a push pin normally in position to obstruct the operation of the bolt for the above purpose, said push pin being so devised that it may be manually released from obstructing position, and means for automatically returning the push pin to obstructing position When released.

4. In combination With a key operated locking bolt, means for moving said bolt to locking position, and means for preventing accidental and inadvertent movement of said bolt, including key obstructing means movable from obstructing position, said means so related that they must be simultaneously and separately operated to effect locking movement of the bolt.

5. In combination with a bolt, key operated means for moving said bolt, a push pin having a knob normally in obstructive relation to the key for preventing the movement of the bolt thereby, said push pin being yieldably held in obstructing position.

6. In combination With a bolt, key operated means for moving said bolt, a push pin having a knob normally in obstructive relation to the key for preventing the movement of the bolt thereby, said push pin being yieldably held in obstructing position, and a latchnormally preventing the movement of said push pin from obstructing position.

7 In combination With a locking bolt, key operated means for moving said bolt to locking position, and means for preventing accidental and inadvertent movement of said bolt, including key obstructing means movable from obstructing position, said means so related that they must be simultaneously and separately operated to effect locking movement of the bolt, and means for normally preventing the movement of said obstructing means, removable at Will from its movement preventing position.

8. In combination with a steering post lock having a bolt,'key operated means for moving said bolt, and means insuring against accidental movement of said operating means to efiect the movement of the bolt consisting in a pair of co-related push pins, one of Which serves to yieldably obstruct the operation of the key and the other serving to latch the first against accidental operation.

9. In combination With a steering post lock having a bolt, key operated means for moving said bolt, and means insuring against accidental movement of said operating means to efifect the movement of the bolt consisting in a pair of co-related push pins, one of Which serves to yieldably obstruct the operation of the key and the other serving to latch the. first against accidental operation, said push pins being so related and constructed as to require simultaneous and separate operation to permit movement of the bolt to steering post locking position.

1.0. In combination, a bolt, key operated revolving means for moving the bolt, and a member lying in the path of rotation of the key but movable parallel to the axis of the means to free the key. 7

11. In combination, a bolt, key operated revolving means for moving the bolt, and a member lying in the path of rotation of the key but movable parallel to the axis of the means to free the key, and means normally holding the member against movement but movable to free the member so it may be moved out of the path of the bolt.

12. In a lock, a spring pressed bolt, key operated means for moving the bolt against the spring, and amember adapted to move to hold the bolt in unlocked position While the key is rotated to key removing position,

and a spring to remove the member from bolt holding eject the key. I

18. In a look, a bolt, a key operated revolv-. ing cylinder lock for moving the bolt, a member for holding the bolt in unlocked position, and means to prevent independent sliding movement of the key and member when the key is in key Withdrawing position.

14. In a look, a bolt, having a groove therein at right angles to its axis, a member slidable into the groove to hold the bolt in position and simultaneously to unlocked position, means including a key operated revolving cylinder lock adapted to move thru a small angle While said member is holding the bolt in unlocked position, and means for ejecting the key at the end of said small angular movement of the key, said key ejecting means also releasing said member from its locking engagement With the bolt. 15. In combination With a key operated lock, a push rod slidable in relation to the 100k, adapted to prevent operation of the key when the push rod is in operative position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES N. FAIROHILD.

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