US2491779A - Combination lock - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 20, 1949 SMITH 2,491,779

COMBINATION LOCK Filed April 2, 1947 INVENTOR. 17 03 E-K- SMITH La f yl /6.

pawl engages with the ratchet it rotates it a predetermined amount and then turns in its mounting 30 against the pressure of the spring 3| to cause the pawl to disengage from the lever as indicated at 38 in Figure 1. Thus, further actuation of the lever will not actuate the ratchet more than the predetermined amount. As soon as the actuating lever is returned to its original position the spring 33 draws the lever back to its normal position and the spring 31 causes the pawl 29 to assume its normal position. Thus, each time that a pin 36 is actuated its corresponding disc moves a predetermined increment.

In the embodiment of the invention shown, the actuating surfaces of the four levers are designed to lie in a cross-like configuration as seen from Figure 1 and the actuating pins 36 are all mounted on a plate 39. The plate 39 is slidably mounted within the guide channels 40'formed in a door 4| 'or the like, in which the lock is mounted.- A

cover plate 42 secured to the door 4| byrivets as at 43' has guide grooves 44 formed therein to permit the projection of an actuating knob 45. By actuating the knob 45 within the guide grooves 44 the pins 36 are caused to actuate the levers.

The pins 33 are mounted in spaced apart relation on the plate 39 to normally take up'the dotted line positions shown in Figure 1. When they are in this position they each contact a separate arm 21 in its normal position. To actuate the lock the plate 39 is actuated within its guides 40 by moving the knob 45 from its normal position at the centre of the cross-like configurations formed by the guide grooves 44. Thus,

when the knob is moved in the guide groove 44*- the pins 33 will all move from the dotted line positions to the solid line positions shown in Fig. 1. It will be noted that only one of them operatively engages a lever to ca'useits respective disc to rotate one notch of its ratchet wheel (shown by the dotted lines of Fig. 1). Similarly,

when the knob 45 is actuated in any of the other three grooves it will operatively engage one of the-other levers to move that respective disc a predetermined distance. It will be apparent that the disks I!) can be rotated to a predetermined position such that a known number of actuations will cause the notches H to align with the locking bar M to unlock the look by moving the knob 45 within the grooves 44.

In Fig. 4 I show a preferred type of locking disk. It comprises a disk l notched as at ll in a somewhat similar manner to the disk H].

This disk, however, is not stamped'in one piece as is the disk It. It is made from a thicker piece of metal and has a plurality of radially extending holes 46 in its circumference each adapted to receive a stop peg H With this disk if it is desired to change the lock combination it is merely necessary to move the pin I! from-"one hole to another so that it will require a different number of actuations of the lever to move the diskfrom the reference position in which the pin is in contact with the stop l8.

From the above, it will be apparent that I have disclosed a combination lock which can be operated in the dark or by a blind person. The

' principal component parts of the lock can all be stamped thus providing a lock which is cheap to manufacture. The lock is very rugged and it can be made in a form in which it is possible to vary the combination with a minimum of trouble. Changes and modifications in the form of the invention shownwill be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is therefore not intended that my invention should be limited to the specific form shown. V

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a combination lock having a. plurality of .pivotally mounted notched discs, a locking bar designed to fall into the notches of the discs when aligned for an unlocking position, a ratchet means for each disc, actuating means ,for causing incremental rotation of said discs 7 member in a selective direction transversely of the pivotal axis of each of said levers, certain of said levers being actuable by movement of said actuating member in a diiierent selected direction than the direction of movement of said member employed for actuation of certain other of said levers.

2. In a combination lock the combination claimed in claim 1 and a guide means determining the bounds of selective movement of said actuating member.

3. In a combination lock the combination claimed in claim 1 and a guide means determining the bounds of selective movement of said actuating member said bounds being a crosslike configuration.

4. In a combination lock having a housing, a plurality of notched pivotally mounted discs,- a locking bar designed to fall into the notches of said discs when said notches are aligned corresponding to an unlocking position and a ratchet means for each disc; actuating me'ansfor causing incremental rotation of said discs when the notches thereof are not engaged by saidf'l'ock- 'ing bar comprising; a pivotally mounted lever mounted adjacent each disc, a pawl extending from one free end of each lever designed to engage the ratchet means of its adjacent disc upon positive swinging movement of the corresponding lever, an actuating member slidably mounted relatively to said housing and moveable 'in'a 'plane transverse to the axisof each lever,

means extending from said actuating memb'e'r -for -'-'selective engagement with each lever, spring means in connection with said levers for biasing the same toward the means extending from said actuating member, said actuating member being moveable to cause swinging movement of-a selected lever by engagement of the means extending from said actuating member with said selected lever and to provide incremental rotation of its adjacent disc by engagement of it's associated pawl with its associated ratchet means.

ERNEST KER'I LAND SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED v 1 ';T

The following. references are of record in, the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS.

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