US1929598A

US1929598A - Keyless lock

Info

Publication number: US1929598A
Application number: US556701A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward M Miller
Original assignee: J B MILLER KEYLESS LOCK CO
Current assignee: J B MILLER KEYLESS LOCK CO
Priority date: 1931-08-12
Filing date: 1931-08-12
Publication date: 1933-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 1950-10-10

Description

Oct. 10, 1933. R 1,929,598

KEYLESS LOCK I Filed Aug. 12, 1931. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Uttomqq E. M. MILLER Oct. 10, 1933.

KEYLESS LOCK Filed Aug. 12, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TEE.

JYvuv Mb'z flow/7R4 M. MILLER- Patented Oct. 10, 1933 1,929,59s"-' KEYLES'S' Look .Edward M. Miller, Kent, Ohio, assigno r to The J. B. Miller K'eyless Lock Co., Kent, Ohio, 3.

corporation Application August-12, 1931. Serial No.55am1 6 Claims. (01. 70-112) positions, which, under a giv'en sequence of oper- 10 ating conditions, willgactuate an arm which in turn operates a catch member to release the shackle of the lock. l

gFromuthe nature of the constructon of the mechanism, this arm is loosely pivoted to the pivoted end of thelock shackle, with the result that if the lock be inverted,'the .arm will drop into the position which it should take in operating the aforesaid catch so that it is possible when in such invertedpositionbysimply turning the disc inthe same directiontohave one of the lugs upon the disc come in contact with the pin usually' carried on the arm so as to depress the arm and release the catchwithout utilizing any combination. It, theretoravbecomes frequently easy for an unauthorized person knowing the-trick of operating the lock in this manner to open the lock and gain access to whatever is intendedto be protected thereby. v I I v v Furthermore, in standard lock constructions of this character, it is sometimes easy for unauthorized individuals having practice in the opening of locks of this character to be'able through their sense of touch to work out the combination of such 7 a lock.

ciently trained toascertain the character of clicks in the usual lock construction when the combination of the lock is reached,iand thus be'able to open the lock.. 40 Again', it is sometimes customary for individuals to set the standard look by first operating the combination and releasing the shackle thereby, nd as the shackle is released by turning the operating disc in'the' proper direction, usually backwards, it is possible to subsequently release the shackle by simply turning the disc back a comparatively short distance to its unlocking posi tion, so that the lock may be operated without go-' 7 ing through the entire cycle of combinations, thus 0 rendering the look easy of operation by an unauthorized individual knowing this tendency to leave the lock in a set position. p V

It is also easy'in'rnany of the forms of the standard lock constructions for an unauthorized person to open the look by operating; the arm- Also, it is possible by one having an ear suffi through theinsertion of a wire orother instrument, and thereby pressing the arm against the lock catch to release the shackle. r

The present invention deals with a keyless lock construction'which avoids the aforesaid disad- F vantages in .the standard construction of locks of this character, which maintain a simple construction.

The invention will be, more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in 5 which'z- Figure 1 is a view through the casing of an improved lock made .in accordance with this invention, showing details of themechanism.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view illustrating an 7c improved shackle as employed on the locks made in accordance with this invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view ofsuch a shackle.

' Figure 4115 a perspective view of an improved disc used in locks formed in accordance with this 7.5; invention.

1 Figure 5 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2 showing the interior construction of a still somewhat different form of lock.

Figure 6 is an outside view showing in'elevaso in this invention; and I Figure 8 shows in elevation, the lock of Figure 8 looking on the outside of the casing and showing the numbered dial employed for indicating the combination of this form of lock.

Figure-9 is a partialview of the lock casing and the shackle. illustrating the relation between the lock casing and the shoulder on the shackle.

It is known that in combination padlocks the construction is such, that the shackle 6 of the lock'is pivoted to the casing 1 atone end of the shackle. as at land is provided. at the other end with a projection 8 for interengaging with a latch member 9 positioned within the casing of the lock and pivoted thereto as at 10 and which is maintained in properposition by the pressure of .a suitably arranged spring 11, which normally maintains an arm formed on the latch in engagement with the projection 8 on the free end of the shackle.

Release of the latch member is accomplished by suitable manipulations of. a disc 2 rotatably mounted within" the casing and operable from outside of the casing. ."This'disc is provided with peripheral notches at spaced points along the disc, andis provided on its interior surface with a plurality of lugs 4, through the proper combi- 0 nation of which the lock may be opened in a manner known in the art.

The members 4 are diiferently shaped and are arranged in different positions relatively to the periphery of the disc 2 so that through proper manipulation of this disc with the members, a pin 15 projecting from an arm 12, which is pivoted to the casing at 13, will be engaged to press the pin .and the end 14 of the arm 12 outwardly against the latch 9 to depress the latch outof engagement with the shackle 6 so as to release the shackle.

To avoid the possibility-of unauthorized opening of the look by the various tricks, previously referred to, which may be successfully resorted to in the standard lock construction, the construction of Figure 1 is provided. This construction simply consists in providing the disc 2 with a projecting flange 16, so that the pin 15 of the arm 12 will always be inside of the flange 16, and thereforeyheld away from the :catch 9 until the proper combination has be'enreached, when it willdrop out through the opening 17 between the flange and one of the members 4 to thereby release the shackle in the aforesaid manner, the

pin 15 then bearing against the outside of the flange 16. The provision of this flange around the periphery of the disc 2 will prevent the opening o'f the lock in the aforesaid :manner.

It has already been pointed out that in locks of the previous standard construction, it has been possible to operate the arm 12 by inserting a wire or some similar member through the shackle apertures in the housing, but this is prevented in the-presentinstance by providing the latch end of the shackle with an upstanding shoulder portion or rib 18, which will effectively prevent access to thelatch 9 or arm12 by any suchmeans, and also by providing the pivoted end of the shackle with a shoulder 19, also an upstanding shoulder, all possibility of access to the arm 12 from this position will be avoided.

It will be clearly seen from the figures that

shoulders

18 and 19 are higher than the areas 7 cm of the United-States,is:

of the 'shackle adjacent them.

Thus the present invention has been further designed to render substantially totally inaccessible the interior mechanism of a lock of this type without necessitating the destruction of the lock.

In order toovercome the discovery of the combination of the lock through the sense of touch, the disc 2, is provided with a knurled surface 'dge20 against which thespring 21 is adapted to ride. This provision of the knurled surface of theedge prevents an individualfrom feeling the friction between the extensions 4 and pin 15,

' which friction might indicate to a person with a sufficiently delicate touch the position of the arm 12 and thus enabling him to open the lock.

'InFigure 5 there is representeda construction which will'prevent the lock from being opened withoutusing the full combination. In this construction, the disc 2 is provided with a bifurcated member 41) and has also the flange 16 of the construction previously described, there being positioned in the "casing adjacent the latch end of the shackle 6 an arm 22 under pressure of spring 23, the arm 22 being pressed normally by the spring 23 against the catch end, 8 of the shackle E6. This arm 22 has an inwardly projecting por registry with the pin 15 in the arm 12.

2 in a backward direction because of the interengagement of the member 24 with the bifurcated member ib on the disc, thus locking the said disc against clockwise rotation.

In order to'lock the shackle 6, therefore, the disc 2 ,must be moved in a counter clockwise direction, which will result in the arm 12 assuming the interior position relatively to the flange 16, asso'on as an opening in this flange comes into 1 When this arm drops down in the lower position shown YinFigure 7, of course, the full combination must be operated in order to reopen the look.

In Figure .6 the exterior of the lock is shown in elevation with the operating handle or knob 25 provided with an upstanding lug 26 serving as operations, in connection with the arrow 26a.

If it is desired to omit the audible clicks usually present in the standard combination lock construction the construction in Figure 7 may be had, wherein the notches are omitted so that the spring 21 rides continuously withoutinterruption along the outer rim of the disc .2. In this connection to guide the combination operations,

there is provided anumbered dial 27, as there is no audible click in this instance, and since the .stop member is omitted in these improved conan indicator for the start of the combination structions, it will be seen that there is rendered,

a lock-in which .the possibility of 'itsbeing opened by an unauthorized person is reduced to an absolute minimum.

It will be apparent tha't various details in the,

specifically illustrated and designed .forms'of Ithe.

inventionmay be changed without departing from the spirit of this invention, and 'thatsuch changes will become obvious to one skilled in this art.

It will, therefore, be iunderstoodtha't it 'isintendedand desired to embrace Within the scope 1. A lock comprising the combination with a casing, having the usual Shacklalatch, and actuating arm .therefoigof a rotative disc within the casing having aplurality of combination members thereon, the said disc being provided with anupstanding .flange extending substantially around the discbutspaced sufliciently from the. periphery thereof to prevent engagement of the actuating arm withthe latch except through proper 'operation of the combination members on the disc.

2. A lock comprising the combination with a casing havingv the usual shackleflatch and'ac'tuating arm therefor, of arotative disc within the casing having a plurality of combination members thereon, means on the disc for preventing engagement of the actuating-arm with the latch except through proper operation 'of the combination members 'on the disc and a depressibleinterlocking member adapted to engage one "of the combination members on the disc aniito interlock therewith upon release-of the shackle to prevent further operation of the direc'tion; I

'3. A lock comprising the combination with a disc in but one casing having 'the 'usual'shackle, latch and -actuexcept through proper operation ofthe combination members on the disc, and an inter-locking member adapted to engage the disc and to interlock therewith upon release of the shackle to pre vent further operation of the disc in but one direction, the said member being held in depressed position by the shackle While the shackle is locked. 1

4. A lock comprising the combination with a casing having the usual shackle, latch, and actuating arm therefor, of a rotative disc within the casing having a plurality of combination members thereon, one of the said members serving as a stop member and an interlocking member adapted to'engage the said stop member on the disc upon release of the shackle to prevent further operation of the disc in but one direction.

5. A look comprising the combination with a casing having the usual shackle, latch and actuating arm therefor, of a rotative disc within the casing having a plurality of combination members thereon, one of the said members serving as a stop member, an upstanding peripheral flange on the disc for preventing engagement of the actuating arm with the latch except through proper operation of the combination members on the disc and an interlocking member adapted to engage the said stop member on the disc upon release of the shackle to prevent further operation of the disc in but one direction which operation of the disc will cause the said actuating arm to-drop behind. the said peripheral flange thereby preventing reopening of the lock except through the operation of the complete combination.

6. A look comprising a casing having the usual shackle, latch and actuating arm therefor, the

said shackle being provided with raised shoulders I to prevent access to the latch and operating arm from outside of the casing, the said shoulders being on the interior of the casing when the shackle is in looking position, the said shoulders blocking introduction of any unlocking instrumentality through the casing to the latch.

EDWARD M. MILLER.