US2993362A

US2993362A - Key guide for locks

Info

Publication number: US2993362A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jack A Baccolla
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-12-29
Filing date: 1958-12-29
Publication date: 1961-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 1978-07-25

Description

July 25, 1961 J. A. BACCOLLA KEY GUIDE FOR LOCKS Filed Dec. 29, 1958 INVENTOR. Jae/r 1i Baccafla. BY W 2,993,362 KEY GUIDE FOR LOCKS Jack A. Baccolla, '334 E. 21st St., Paterson, NJ. Filed Dec. 29, 1958, 'Ser. No. 783,234 6 Claims. (Cl. 7 8-454) This invention relates to a key guide for looks to be used with doors for residences, automotive vehicles, and other structures which require stationary type locks as distinguished from padlocks.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a guide for a key which will enable a person to find the keyhole and insert the key therein even in total darkness without undue delay.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a device having surfaces for guiding the key toward the keyhole or key slot.

A further object is the provision of a device of this kind which may be made of any suitable type of material, preferably plastic material, and which may be manufactured in quantity and at a minimum expense.

Yet another object is the provision of a keyhole guide which in one of its forms may be molded to shape and which is readily connected or disconnected from a door adjacent the keyhole thereof.

Other objects will appear hereinafter throughout the specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front View of one form of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the structure shown in FIGURE 1, with parts shown in dotted lines;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view of the component parts of the invention;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded view of the parts of the second form of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of the form shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a perspecitve view of a third form of the invention; and

FIGURE 7 is an exploded view of the parts used in the construction shown in FIGURE 6.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 18 indicates a casing or shell, which may be of any suitable configuration so as to fit over the ordinary door lock. The casing is provided with a pair of ears 12 having attaching means 14, such as screws, for attaching the casing to the door so as to enclose the lock 19. Preferably the casing has a rim 16 which forms the outermost portion of the housing and comprises a conelike portion 18. The inner end of the conelike portion is provided with an opening 20 which may be circular, oval, or any other shape that will expose the slot of the lock, shown at 159. Adjacent the lower central portion of the opening 20 and extending from this opening to the rim 16 is a guide or track 22.

It will be understood that the casing and conelike portion 18 may be molded or otherwise formed from a single piece of material, or they may be separately formed and attached to each other by providing a pair ofnotches 24 which are adapted to engage a pair of tongues 26, the former preferably being formed on the conelike portion and the latter being a part of the casing 10. Should the parts he made of plastic, it will be easy to connect these parts to each other by heat fusion or by coating their surfaces with an adhesive, or if they are made of metal, the tongues may be bent into the notches.

It will be understood that the parts of the key guide casing and conelike portion, as previously indicated, are preferably composed of plastic material, and various colors may be used to conform to the color of the door to which they are to be afiixed. However, various other Patented July 25, 1961 materials may be utilized for these parts, such as metal, wood, or glass.

The second form of the invention is illustrated in FIG- URES 4 and 5. This structure is preferably composed of plastic material in various colors and consists of a casing 28 having an upper straplike portion 30. The lower half of the casing has a curved flange portion 32 provided with inwardly directed pins or bosses 42. The conelike portion 34 is provided with an opening 36 which, when the casing with the conelike portion in place thereon is in position over the lock, will be in alignment with the slot or keyhole of the door. In positioning this structure on the door, the strap 30 engages between the door lock and the face of the door, not shown. The conelike portion is joined to the casing by the engagement of the notches 40 with the bosses 42. As the several parts are preferably composed of resilient material, the conelike portion may be dropped into position and then snapped into place, as seen in FIGURE 5. As shown, the conelike portion is provided with a slot 44 which will serve to guide the key toward the keyhole, similar to the guide 22 shown in FIGURE 1. The top of the conelike portion is cut away at 38 in FIGURES 4 and 5.

The second form of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 4 and 5 is similar in all respects to that shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, except for the shape of the casing, conelike portion, and the means for attaching the casing to the door. This means in the second form comprises the straplike portion 30 which is adapted to engage under the doorlock casing, i.e. between the casing and the door to which it is attached.

The third form of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 6 and 7 comprises a pair of

wings

46 and 48 which are pivoted at their bases and which are maintained in the position shown in FIGURE 6 by a spring construction hereinafter described. Wing 46 is provided with an inclined upper portion 50 and wing 48 is provided with a similar inclined upper portion 52, the said inclined portions extending to

vertical portions

54 and 56, as seen in FIGURE 6, the vertical portions terminating in

steps

58 and 60. These vertical portions and steps, 54, 56, 58, and 60, form a key guide or track, the device being so mounted on a door that this key guide will be in alignment with the keyhole of the door, not shown.

Wing 46 is provided at its lower end with a pintle supporting sleeve 62 for engaging the hollow pintle 64 of the wing 48. As shown in FIGURE 7, there is a split sleeve 66 forming a spring having edges 68; a washer 70 and a screw 72. These parts serve to mount, as hereinafter explained, the wings in position so that they will be resiliently urged by the split sleeve 66 in the position shown in FIGURE 6. These parts are mounted on the body 74 which is provided with a plurality of openings 76 for the screws 78. As shown to the right of FIGURE 7, the body 74 is provided with a boss 80 having internal screw threads 82 which are adapted to be engaged by the threads of the screw 72 when the parts are assembled in the position shown in FIGURE 6. The pintle 64 is hollow in order to house the screw 72.

In the assembly of the structures shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, the body 74 is first mounted in proper position on the door by the screws 78 which pass through the openings 76 and engage in the door below the door lock. The hollow pintle 64 is then threaded into the pintle supporting sleeve 62, after which the spring split sleeve 66 which is biased to a contracted position is expanded or opened. It is then caused to surround the sleeve 62 with its left side edge 68 in the depressed portion formed at the junction of the sleeve 62 with the underside of the wing 46, and its right edge engaging in the depressed portion between the hollow pintle 64 and where it joins the underside of the wing 48. The assemblage is then slid onto the boss 80, and the washer 70 and screw 72 are applied so that the screw threads of the screw engage the threads 82 of the boss 80.

'Care must be taken not to tighten the screw 72'unduly, as this would interfere with the free pivoting of Wings 46 and 43. These Wings are biased by the split sleeve 66 to their closed position, shown in FIGURE 6. It will be found that either of the inclined portions will serve to guide the key toward the

vertical walls

54 and 56, and once the key reaches these walls and is inserted between them, it may be pushed forwardly into the keyhole of the lock.

When the key is inserted in the keyhole of a lock, the side surfaces of the key will lie closely adjacent the

vertical surfaces

54 and 56 of the wings. When the key is turned,.these side surfaces will cause the wings to pivot, wing 48 moving in a clockwise direction and wing 46 moving in a counterclockwise direction. When the key is withdrawn from the lock or returned to a vertical position, the split spring sleeve 66 will automatically return the wings to the position shown in FIGURE 6.

It will be noted that the purpose of the hollow split spring sleeve 66 is to bias the parts toward each other, i.e. to cause rotation of wing 48 in a counterclockwise direction and wing 46 in a clockwise direction until their lower edges meet in a vertical line, as indicated at 84 in FIGURE 6.

The above description and drawings disclose several embodiments of the invention, and specific language has been employed in describing the several figures. It will, nevertheless, be understood that no limitations of the scope of the invention are thereby contemplated, and that various alterations and modifications may be made such as would occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. a

I claim:

1. In a key guide for looks, means having inclined surfaces comprising a pair of wings, means pivoting said wings,.means biasing said wings toward each other, the inclined surfaces of said wings forming a V, said wings having walls located at the apex of the V and forming a 3. The structure of claim 2 wherein saidmeans mounting said wings on said boss includes a supporting sleeve on one of said wings, a hollow pintle on the other of said wings, and means connecting said supporting sleeve and hollow pintle to each other in operative relationship on said boss.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said last named means comprises internal screw threads on said boss and a screw. adapted to engage said internal screw threads when said wings are mounted in position on said boss.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said means biasing said wings toward each other comprises a spring sleeve having a slot extending longitudinally thereof, one of the edges of said slot being adapted to engage one wing and the other edge of said slot being adapted to engage the other wing.

6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said means biasing said wings toward each other comprises a spring sleeve having a slot extending longitudinally thereof, one of the edges of said slot being adapted toengage one wing and the other edge of said slot being adapted to engage the other wing.

France Apr. 21,