US2318908A - Lock - Google Patents

Description

May ll, 1943.

N. A. wELH- Lock` Filed March 8, 1941 INVENTOR /V/C/OL Patented May 11, 1943 UNIED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOCK Nicholas A. Welch, West Hartford, Conn., assignor to The American Hardware Corporation, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application March 8, 1941, Serial No. 382,350

(Cl. 'l0-1.5)

Claims.

the plug, after which the plug may be rotated the same as by a key. However, the opening of a lock by means of known picks takes an appreciable amount of time. My invention is based upon the fact and I have devised means for dogging or otherwise rendering locking means ineifeetive after the lapse of a certain time after attempted picking of the lock has begun.

It is the general object of my invention to provide a substantially non-pickable lock.

A further object is to provide a lock which may be readily actuated by authorized persons possessed of a key so arranged that the lock may be actuated only within a reasonable time after the insertion of a key in the lock.

A more specific object is to provide a lock provided with means for rendering lock actuating means ineifective after a reasonable time after an attempt to open the lock has started.

Other minor objects and various features of novelty and invention will be hereinafter pointed out or will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

Briey stated in a preferred form of the invention I employ a lock having a locking member which may be actuated in a suitable fashion, as by means of the key-controlled plug of a cylinder lock. Some part of the lock is so arranged that within a certain time after an attempt is made to pick the lock the locking means or actuating means will be rendered ineffective, either by dogging a part of the mechanism against actuation or by other means. In other words, the lock is so arranged that it may be actuated in the usual manner by means of a key, knob, or otherwise within a reasonable time after insertion of, say, a key, but when an attempt is made to pick the lock, if the picking cannot, be accomplished within a short period of time (too short for picking) the lock mechanism may not be actuated.

In the drawing which shows, for illustrative purposes only, 4a preferred form of the invention- Fig. 1 is an'interior View in side elevation of a more or less conv'entional type of lock embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line 2-2 in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of time-lag adjusting means.

In the particular lock shown there is the usual lock case 5 and `a locking member, which may be in the form of a latch, lock bolt, or other locking member 6. The locking member Sniay be ac-4 tuated by key-controlled means, such as the rotatable plug 7 of a cylinder lock, connected, as by means of connectors 8, to a cylinder lock rollback member 9, which serves to actuate the lock member 6. In the form shown the cylinder lock roll-back 9 is engageable when rotated with a knob roll-back I0, which in turn is engageable with the usual notch II in the tail of the lock bolt; E. The usual operation, as will be understood, involves merely the insertion of a key andVv rotation thereof to rotate the plug, roll-back 9 and roll-back I and reciprocation of the lock bolt e, for locking and unlocking the door.

My invention involves the application of means to render a part of the locking means ineffective after the lapse of a reasonable timeafter cylinder lock actuation or lock picking is started.

The particular means for rendering the locking means ineffective is herein disclosed by Way of illustration as a dogging member I2, whichV may be raised from the inoperative position shown'in full lines in Fig. 1 to an upper or dotdash line position where the end I3 may engage within an aperture Ill in or behind a stump or other abutment I5 in the lock case. In the form illustrated the dogging member I2 is suitably guided in a guide stump IIS in the lock' case and the boli; 6 may have an apertured lug Il thereon, for the passage of the end I3 of the dogging` means. The dogging member I2 is moved from and to its upper or dogging position by means preferably in the,f0rm of resilient means, such as a nat plate spring I8, to which the upper end of the dogging member I2 may be pivotally secured. As illustrated, the spring I8 is xedly carried by a lever I9, pivoted at 2Il in the lock case. The lever I9 has a transversely projecting arm ZI which, in the form shown, extends over some or all of the pin tumbler extensions 22 of the cylinder lock 23, which carries the plug 1 heretofore referred to. Normally the dogging member I2 is held in its inoperative or downward position as viewed in Fig. 1 by means, such as av the dogging member I2 toward its dot-and-dash,

line position of Fig. 1. Without some restraining or time-lag influence, the dogging member would be practically instantaneously raised upon the insertion of a key in the cylinder lock and thus make it impossible to subsequently actuate the locking member 6. Such action would, of

course, be satisfactory to avoid unauthorized' opening of the lock as by means of a pick, but would render the lock useless for its normal use. I therefore provide time-lag mechanism, so as to permit ample time for normal key actuation of the lock. Such time-lag mechanism may be in the form of a clock mechanism or other timing mechanism, such as the dashpot shown for illustration.

In the particular form shown a braking action or timing action is impressed upon the dogging member I2, as by connecting a part, such as the end of the spring I8, by means of a link 25 to one end of a lever 26, pivoted at 2'I in the lock case. The lever 26 at its opposite end is connected by means of a link 28 to a piston 2S, operable in a cylinder 30, and forming a dashpot. The speed of action of the dashpot may be controlled by means of an adjustable screw 3|, which limits to the desired degree the rate of escape of the air from the cylinder beneath the piston.

The operation of the lock illustrated is as follows:

With the parts in the full line positions shown in Fig. 1, the locking member 6 is projected and the door is locked. A person with a key 32 may insert the same in the cylinder lock 23, so as to line up all of the parting lines in the tumbler means and permit key rotation of the plug with consequent rotation of the roll-backs and retraction of the lock member 6. It will be understood that after the key is inserted the tumbler extensions 22 serve to elevate the crank arm extension 2| and thus rock the lever I9, so as to start the dogging member I2 on its upward course for dogging the locking member 6, and it is therefore necessary to turn the key promptly and thus withdraw the locking member 6 before the dogging means reaches its dogging position. The control screw 3| is so set as to delay the nal dogging action of the dogging member long enough to permit normal key operation for retracting the locking member 6. Now, if a person attempts to pick the cylinder lock with a pick it is presumed that the parting lines of the tumblers could eventually be lined up, but quite an appreciable length of time is required to line up the tumblers successively so as to permit rotation of the plug. But, as soon as a pick is inserted in the lock and the tumblers are raised so as to cause one or more of the extensions 22 to engage beneath the lever extension 2|, the lever I9 will be rocked so as to bow the spring I8 and start the dogging member I2 on its upward or dogging course, and before all of the tumblers can be raised so as to align the parting lines the dashpot will have permitted the dogging member I2 to be raised and thus dog the locking member 6. With the dogging member in its full up position, the end I3 engages in apertures through both of the lugs I5--I'|, but it will be understood that, with the particular construction shown, when the end I3 enters the aperture in the lug Il the locking member 6 will also be dogged.

There are various refinements which might be incorporated in the embodiment shown and `which will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, it may be desirable to omit the lug Il altogether or to space the normal upper end I3 farther away from the lug I1, or it may be desirable to reposition the lugs or stumps I5-I6 relatively to each other. Furthermore, it may be desirable to extend the abutment I'I or some equivalent stop member much farther to the right, so that it will always be beneath the end I3 when the locking member 6 is fully retracted. Otherwise, if a key be left in the lock after retraction of the locking member 6, the dogging member I2 would be raised completely and might stand forwardly of the lug I'I, and thus prevent the locking member 6 from being again projected. However, all such details are believed to be within the realm of ordinary design. Under the term locking member as used in the claims, I mean to include not only a latch or lock bolt specifically, but also any member such as a roll-back, plug, or other part that may be dogged to prevent lock or latch operation.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail and a preferred form illustrated, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a lock, locking means, means for dogging said locking means, pick-controlled means for controlling said dogging means, and time-lag mechanism for controlling the time of effective operation of said dogging means.

2. In a lock, a locking member, key actuable means for actuating said locking member, means for dogging the said locking member, pick actuable means for controlling the operation of said dogging means, and time-lag mechanism for controlling the operation of said dogging means.

3. In a lock, a locking member, a dogging member therefor, resilient means for actuating said dogging member, pick-controlled means for stressing said resilient means, and time-lag means for controlling the time of actuation of said dogging means by said resilient means.

4. In a lock, a locking member, key-actuable means for actuating said locking member, dogging means for said locking member, pick actuable means for actuating said dogging means, and time-lag means for controlling the rate of actuation of said dogging means.

5. In a lock, a locking member, dogging means for said locking member, a cylinder lock including tumbler mechanism, means actuable by a part of said tumbler mechanism for controlling the movement of said dogging means to dogging position, and time-lag means for controlling the rate of movement of said dogging means to dogging position.

6. In a lock, a locking member, a dogging member therefor, resilient means for moving said dogging member, tumbler actuated means for stressing said resilient means, and time-lag mechanism for controlling the rate of actuation of said dogging means by said resilient means.

'7. In a lock, a locking member, dogging means for said locking member, resilient means for urging said dogging means into dogging position, tumbler mechanism for controlling said resilientl means, and dashpot means for braking said resilient means to control the time of eiective actuation of said dogging member by said resilient means.

8. In a lock, a locking member, key-controlled means for normally actuating said locking member, dogging means for said locking member, pin tumbler means, and means actuable thereby for actuating said dogging means, and time-lag means for braking the actuation of said dogging

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