US3064463A

US3064463A - Keyless lock

Info

Publication number: US3064463A
Application number: US102256A
Authority: US
Inventors: Johnson John Gerard
Original assignee: PLANETARY LOCK Co Ltd
Current assignee: PLANETARY LOCK Co Ltd
Priority date: 1961-04-11
Filing date: 1961-04-11
Publication date: 1962-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 1979-11-20

Description

J. G. JOHNSON KEYLESS LOCK Nov. 20,1962

6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 11, 1961 v Fm R aw vm Jo/m Gerard Johnson 1 N VEN TOR.

AIM-rags (Fwy Nov. 20, 1962 J. G. JOHNSON KEYLESS Locx Filed April 11. 1961 Fig 6 6 Sheets-Sheet S John Gerard Johnson Fig 7 IN VENTOR- 1962 J. G. JOHNSON 3,064,463

KEYLESS LOCK Filed April 11, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig, 9 2 m2,

222 John Gem/o Johnson INVENTOR.

Nov. 20, 1962 J. G. JOHNSON 3,064,463

KEYLESS LOCK Filed April 11, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 John Gerard Johnson INVENTOR.

Nov. 20, 1962 J. G. JOHNSON KEYLESS LOCK 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 11, 1961 John Gerard Johnson INVENTOR.

United States Fatent 3,064,463 KEYLESS LOCK John Gerard Johnson, North Vancouver, British Colum- This invention relates to locks and in particular to combination locks which require no separate keys for their operation and in which the bolt may only be released from its operated position upon the setting up of a series of internal control members in a predetermined sequence.

The lock according to this invention is adaptable for use as an ordinary household door lock set, as a car door and/or ignition lock, or as a Window lock and it has a multiplicity of uses as an industrial lock. This enables all the locks in a persons possession to be set for and controlled by one simple and easily remembered combination whereby knowing the combination it would be impossible ever to be locked out of ones home or ones car, etc. This lock would also be particularly attractive for use by landlords since upon changing of tenants it is only necessary to change the combination setting, thus avoiding extra costs incident to changing of locks.

It is an object of this invention to provide a combination lock which requires no dials and which has no external working parts liable to become clogged or frozen.

Another object of this invention is to provide a combination lock which when mounted upon a door or the like can be opened from the outside of said door only by use of the predetermined combination.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combination lock which will readily foil any attempt by an unauthorized person to open the same since the actual locking mechanism is separate from the combination setting mechanism.

A further object of this invention is to provide a combination lock which is of relatively simple, inexpensive and compact construction rendering it suitable for use in a diversity of applications.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a combination lock in which the number of combinations to which the lock may be set is very large and in which the combinations may be changed as and when desired.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a keyless lock operable upon rotation of the operating shaft thereof in a pre-assigned manner, said lock including a casing; a shaft mounted co-axially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough; means connected to one end of said shaft for effecting rotation thereof; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith; latch means mounted in said casing for reciprocal movement transversely of the axis of said shaft; a plurality of locking elements operable in sequence by said operating member and adapted to be released upon consecutive predetermined rotations of said shaft; and means normally held against movement by said locking elements and operable by said operating member upon further rotation of said shaft after release of all of said locking elements to actuate said latch means.

The locking elements are preferably under the control of the operating member through the intermediary of a plurality of control elements, each of the locking elements being associated with and rotatable in synchronism with a different one of the control elements. The lock is set up so that the latch actuating means which preferably consists of a master plate mounted on the shaft cannot be rotated and consequently the latch member cannot be released until each of the locking elements has been set to its open position by rotating the associated control elements in sequence through a predetermined angular distance. The operating member is enabled to pass through the control elements into engagement with the latch actuating means after operating each one of the control elements in sequence. With all of the locking elements set to their open positions, the latch actuating means is freed for rotation and subsequent rotation of the operating shaft is effective to operate the latch actuating means through its engagement with the operating member thereby to move the latch member.

Other features which may be included in accordance with the invention will hereinafter be described and referred to in the appended claims.

The invention will now be more particularly described in connection with the accompanying drawings which show by way of example, an embodiment of the invention as applied to a door lock set. In the drawings:

'FlGURE 1 is a front elevation view showing the lock mounted on a door;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 4 to 11 are cross-sections taken respectively on the lines 44 to 1111 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 12 is an exploded perspective of the combination setting mechanism; 1

FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of the operating member;

FIGURE 14 is an exploded perspective view of the latch shift mechanism;

FIGURE 15 is a perspective view of the master plate.

Referring to the drawings, FIGURE 2 shows a sec-' tion of a door to which the lock indicated generally by the reference 12 is secured. The lock is operated by means of a spindle 14 which is provided at each end and on opposite sides of the door with

handles

16 and 18.

The handle 16 (FIGURE 5) comprises an annular casing 20 mounted on bearings 22 for rotation relative to the casing. The casing 26 is provided with an internal annular disc 24 formed integrally therewith and has a section 26 of enlarged internal diameter. A push button member 28 having a flanged base 30 is mounted for sliding engagement within this section 26 and is confined within said section by means of the internal shoulder 32 and the outer hollow grip portion 34 of the handle which forms a tight fit over the casing 20. The grip portion 34 may be made of pressed metal, wood, plastic or any other suitable material and is formed with a cup-shaped depressionv 36 having a central aperture 38 within which the push button 28 forms a sliding fit. A rod 40 is secured at one end 42 to the push button 28 and has its other end 44 extending into a central bore 46 formed in the operating spindle 14. A spring 48 is positioned within the bore 46 and normally tends to bias the rod 40 outwardly of the bore. A pair of crossed 0

frames

50 and 52 are pivotally mounted within the casing 20 by means of pins 54 which are secured to the inner wall of the casing 20. The

ends

56 and 58 of the frames are in engagement with the flange 30 of the push button Whilst the

transverse members

60 and 62 of the frames engage a plate 64 fast on the operating spindle 14. These crossed-frame assemblies have a function in the resetting of the lock as will be described hereinafter.

The other handle 18 comprises a hollow grip portion. 66 having a cup-shaped end 68 with a central aperture 70 therein. The grip portion 66 is fast on a sleeve 72 and is provided with a push button 74 slidab-le in an internal chamber 76 formed the handle. The

3 sleeve 72 is itself secured to another sleeve 78 which is mounted on spindle 14 add the push button 74 is secured directly to the operation spindle 14 which is slidable within sleeve 78. p

Theoperatirig mechanism for the lock is housed in a generally cylindrical casing indicated by the reference 80 which is positioned :within a hole 82 exteiiding through the door. The casing 80 is rigidly attached to the door by means of screws 82 passing through apertures 84 formed therein. The operating mechanism is concealed by means of

plates

86 and 88 located on either side of the door and locked together by means of bolts 90 which pass through apertures 92 formed in the inner plate '36 into internally threaded extensions 94 projecting from the outer plate 88. With this arrangement, access to the locking mechanism cannot be gained from outside the door since the bolts 90 can only be released from the inner side of the door.

The casing 80 is formed of three co-axially arranged

annular sections

96, 98 and 100 (FIGURE 3) the center section 98 being provided with a number of symmetrically disposed internally threaded passages 102 adapted to receive bolts 1194 which pass through holes 106 drilled through

sections

96 and 100 respectively to secure the three sections together. The operating spindle 14 extends through the casing 80and projects outwardly from either end thereof. The spindle 14 is formed for part of. its length with a square section 108. The spindle is located coaXially within the casing 80 by means of the aperture 109 formed in section 100 of casing 80 and by means of the axial sleeve 78, one end of which forms a snug fit within the aperture 110 in the end wall 112 of section 96 of the casing 80. The inner end 79 of sleeve 78 is provided withan arcuate lug 114 projecting outwardly therefrom. The axial movement of spindle 14 is limited -by means of a collar attached thereto which collar is adapted to engage the inner end 79 of sleeve 78.

A- latch member 120 is mounted in a transverse recess 132 formed in section 96 of the casing for slidable movement transversely of the operating spindle 14 which passes therethrough. In the embodiment of the invention shown, lat'ch member 120 is in the form of a cage adapted to engage a strike plate secured to the door jambbut it will be appreciated that the latch member may be of any suitable form or it may be replaced by a suitable bolt member. Thev latch member 120.comsists of a generally l J shaped frame, the upper ends of the arms, 122 and, 124 of the U being joined together by means of a cross member 126. The base of the frame is formed with a U-shaped recess 128 adapted to engage acooperating tongue secured to the jamb of the door. The latch member- 120 is biased by means of springs 130 .and 121 extending between the base of the reeess 1'34 and projections '136 and 138 respectively which project inwardlyfrom the

arms

122 and 124 of latch member 120 to a position whereatone end thereof project's outwardly from the section 96 of the casing through the open end of transverse recess 132 formed therein, 7

Concentricwith the operating spindle 14, there is disposed a plurality of control plates generally designated 1:40 ih'dividual, plates being designated 140a, 140b, 1400 and 140d, Each of the control plates has a toothed periphery and aishaped aperture 141 provided with internal shoulders 142 and143. Separate spacer rings 144 aredispos'ed between adjacent ones of the plates 140, although, if desired, the spacer rings may be formed integrally with the control plates.

A like plurality of locking elements, each consisting of a pinion shaft 146 having one end thereof formed with adiametral slot 48 and having two spaced-apart pinions 1 50 and 152 fast therewith are mounted parallel with the, axis of spindle 14. Each of pinion shafts 146 has its slotted end disposed in one of the recesses 238 formed between arcuate ridges 236 which project from the surface 226 of a master plate 220 as will be described here: inafter. The other end of each of pinion shafts 146 is supported by means of a pin 160 which passes through an aperture 162 formed in the section of the casing 80. One end of each of the pins is formed with a diametral slit 162 adapted to be slid over one end of a coil strip spring 164 which is mounted in .an annular recess formed in the pinion 152, the other end of the spring being firmly secured in a radial slot extending from the recess. along the pin 160 is prevented by a collar 166 formed integral with the pin. The other end of the pin 160 is formed with a threaded portion 168 adapted to be screwed into a lock-nut 170 which controls the infeed' of the pin into the aperture 162 formed in section 100 of casing 80. The tension on the spring may be varied by releasing the locknut 170 and adjusting the infeed of the pin 160 into the casing 89. While describing a particular form of spring, it will be appreciated that other types or shapes of spring may be used to achieve the same purpose.

The pinion gears 152 are mounted on their associated pinion shafts 160 and positioned so as to lie in a common plane whilst the pinion gears 150 are arranged in echelon, each of the gears 150 meshing with adiiferent one of the control plates 140. The teeth of the pinion gears 152 are adapted to engage with pawls, which in the embodiment shown consist of spring (172) loaded. balls 174 mounted in radial slots 176 formed. in a circular plate 178. The plate 178 is mounted coaxially with the operating spindle 14, the teeth of pinion gears 152 and the balls 174 forming ratchets normally efiective to maintain the associated control plates in their set positions. The plate 178 is biased towards the left, as viewed in FIGURE 3 of the drawings, by means of springs 180 wound upon headed pins 182 which project through apertures 184 formed in the plate 178 and are threadably engaged at one end 186 with the section 100 of the casing 80. This arrangement for disengaging the ratchet is only one of many and it will be. appreciated that the same effect can be obtained by suitable lugs to prevent rotating and limit travel with one or more springs to return to the engaged position. Furthermore, in the embodiment shown, four control plates are employed but it will be understood that the number of control plates employed is a matter of choice and may be varied as desired and obviously the possible combinations increase when the number of control plates areincreased.

An operating member consisting of an annulus 190 hav ing a square aperture 192 formed centrally therein and having a lug 194 extending radially therefrom is mounted on the square section 108 ofthe operating spindle 14 and is slidable therealong. T he lug 194 has a T-shaped cross section, the

flanges

198 and 199 constituting the cross arms of the T, being adapted to engage with the

shoulders

142 and 143 of the control plates; In the set position of the device, flange 1918 engages shoulder 142 of the first control plate 140a, there-by restraining the operating member from passing through the first control plate. The T-shaped section of the lug 194 is only one way of holdingthe member 190 in engagement with the control plate 140 and other ways of achieving the same result can be envisaged; The operating member 190 is slidable on the square section 108. of the spindle 14 and is adapted to turn with the spindle'wh'en the latter is rotated. The operating member 190, is biased towards the left as viewed in- FIGURE 3 of the drawings, by a spring 201, one end 202 of which abuts the inner face of wall 208 of the section 100 of casing 80, Whilst the other end engages the operating member 190 which is slidably keyed to the-square section 108 of the spindle 14. The operating spindle 14 is also normally biased in the same direction by means of the spring 48, one end of which pushes against the rod 40, which in turn pushes the push button 28 and the shoulder 30 against the Axial movement of the spring 164 control plate.

shoulder or face 32 of the handle 16 the othef end of the spring 44 pushes the spindle 14 and the Washer 15 against the face 79 of the sleeve 73 inside the arcuate lug 114. In the initial position of the operating member, the leg 197 of the T-shaped lug 194 is aligned with the keyway 200 formed by the

opposed shoulders

142 and 143 of an adjacent pair of control plates but is restrained from passing through keyway 200 by the flange 193 which abuts against the shoulder 142 of the first control plate 140a. The lug 194 on the operating member is adapted upon clockwise rotation of the operating spindle to rotate the first control plate by virtue of the engagement of flange 193 with the internal shoulder 142 of control plate 146a. Upon release of the operating spindle, it is returned to its normal position by means of spring 214 and the operating member 190 then passes through the aperture in the first control plate 1413a made by rotating the control plate, and stops on the third control plate 1400 in a position to engage with the second control plate 14912. The operating member is restrained from passing through the second control plate 14% by the flange 199 which engages shoulder 143 of the second. The sequential operation of the control plates in this manner enables the operating member 198 to pass through all of the control plates into engagement with the master control plate 220.

The master control plate 220 is in the form of a disc provided with an aperture 222 and is mounted on the operating spindle 14 between the latch member and the series of control plates 14%). The aperture 222 is shaped so as to receive the operating member 190 therein, the lug 194 of the operating member being adapted to fit within the radial slot 224 formed in the master plate. The

flanges

198 and 199 of the lug 194 of the operating member are adapted to engage the surface 229 of a boss 227 which projects from the surface 226 of the master plate to prevent the operating member from passing completely through the master plate. Master plate 226 is provided on its other face 22 with a pair of spaced-apart nrcuate lugs 230 and 232, the opening 234 between the lugs being aligned with the radial slots 224 in the aper- -cure 222 and adapted to form a keyway extending through the master plate to receive the radial lug 240 which projects from a sleeve member 242 axially slidable upon the operating spindle 14. The surface 226 of the master plate 220 is also provided with a series of spaced-apart arcuate ridges 236 upstanding from the peripheral edge thereof. The slotted ends of the pinion shafts 146 project into the recesses 238 between adjacent ones of the ridges 236 and normally serve to lock the master plate against rotation. The master plate may be freed for rotary movement by rotating each of the pinion shafts 146 in such a manner as to bring the slotted ends 148 thereof into alignment with the ridges 236. When each of the slotted ends 148 of pinion shaft 146 is correctly aligned with the ridges 236, the master plate is freed for rotation, the ridges 236 travelling through the slots formed in the ends of the pinion shafts upon rotation of the master plate. Upon rotation of the master plate 220, the end face of one of the

arcuate lugs

230 and 232 depending upon the direction of rotation, engages with one or other of the

projections

136 and 138 on the latch member 120 to move the latter transversely of the axis of the lock.

To move the operating member 190 to the left through the series of control plates 140, it is necessary to set each of the control plates 140 in sequence to a position whereat the

shoulders

142 and 143 of each of the control plates are out of alignment with the flanges 19S and 199 of the lug 194 of the operating member 190. The operating member 1943 upon its passage through all of the control plates 140 is adapted to engage the master plate 220. At this time if the master plate 220 is freed to rotate, further rotation of the spindle 14 will rotate the master plate 220, and thereby release the latch member. However, the master plate 220 is only freed for rotation when all of the locking elements have been set to their open posi tions and to eflect this it is necessary to rotate the con trol plates 14% in sequence and in the appropriate direction through a predetermined angular distance which is dependent upon the setting of the locking elements when in their closed positions. Once a control plate has been rotated through a distance sufficient to'disengage the flange 142 and/or 143 of the lug 194 from the control plate, upon return of the operating member to its rest position, it passes through the control plate into engagement with the next plate in the series. It follows that even when the operating member has passed through all of the control plates and into engagement with the master plate, if one or more of the plates has not been rotated through the correct distance as determined by the combination setting of the locking elements, the operating member will not be effective to rotate the master plate and thus release the latch member since the master plate will be held against rotation by the closed one or more of said locking elements. Furthermore, it is to be noted that anyone endeavoring to open the lock and not knowing the combination is unlikely to succeed since no indication is given as to the setting of the locking elements and there is no clicking of tumblers to indicate when the locking elements have been moved to their open positions. The only indication of the internal working of the lock discernible to an operator is the click which can be felt as the pinions are stepped past their pawls upon rotation of the control plates and this, of course, provides no indication of the setting of the locking elements to anyone not knowing the combination. Thus the present lock is virtually pick-proof and an unauthorized person faced with finding the combination is presented with a truly formidable task. Obviously also, a person knowing the combination and inadvertently making a mistake when rotating the handle in accordance with the sequence would upon completion of the sequence be unable to open the lock and in that case would have to re-set the lock and go through the complete sequence accurately before he would be able to open the lock. In setting up the combination, the individual locking elements are set to a position whereat they require to be rotated through a distance corresponding to the distance between predetermined number of the teeth on their associated pinion gears in order to bring the apertures in the ends of pinion shafts 146 into correct angular positions relative to the ridges 236 formed in the surface 226 of the master plate 220. The rotation of the locking elements is effected by rotating the operating handle 16 and thus rotating the operating member 190. The

flanges

198 or 199 of the lug 192 of the operating member 190 engaging the

internal shoulders

142 or 143 of each of the control plates in sequence, thereby to rotate the control plates in sequence. Rotation of the operating member is effective to rotate the control plate engaged thereby and simultaneously to rotate the associated one of pinion shafts 146 through the engagement of the control plate with an associated one of the pinion gears 150. The rotation of the pinion shaft 146 through a predetermined angular distance dependent upon the setting of the locking elements is effective to bring the slotted end 148 of shaft 146 into register with the ridges 236 formed in the face 226 of the master plate 220. Each control plate 140 and its associated locking element is held in its set position by the spring loaded balls 174 which act as pawls for the associated pinion gears 152, thereby holding the control plates and their associated locking elements in their set positions. The rotation of the pinion gears 152 also causes the teeth thereof to travel over the spring loaded balls 174 and as the balls move from tooth to tooth of the pinion gears 152, a click is felt. Since the lock is set up in such a manner that each locking element and its associated control plate has to be rotated through a distance corresponding to that between a different number of the teeth of the pinion gears in order to open the locking elements it is merely necessary when releasing In the embodiment of the invention shown, the latch.

member 121! is always capable of being withdrawn from inside of the door upon rotation of the handle 18. Rotation of the handle 18 is effective to withdraw the latch member since any rotation of the handle 18 is effective to rotate the sleeve 73 and the lug 114 formed integrally therewith. One of. the plane faces of the lug 114 abuts against one of the projections 136 and 13-8 on the latch member 126 and in consequence any rotation of the lug 114 produces a corresponding transverse movement of the latch member. In some applications such as a night latch for installation on a store it may be as desirable to keep unauthorized persons from opening the door from.

either side. In such an application the inner handle 18 would be directly coupled with the shaft 14 so that the lock can only be opened upon setting up the locking elements to release the master plate for rotation by one or other of the handles.

To re-lock the latch and reset the combination, it is only necessary to press either of the push buttons 28 or 27.

Depression of the push button 28 causes the crossed

rectangular frames

50 and 52 to open out about their pivot pins 54 whereupon the inner transverse members 60- and 62 of the frames are effective to withdraw the plate 64, and as a consequence, the operating spindle 14 towards the right as viewed in FIGURE 3 of the'drawin'gs. Withdrawal of the spindle 14 in this manner is eflective to move sleeve 242' through the master plate thereby disengaging the operating member 190 from the master plate 220 and moving it through the series of control plates 140 and is also effective to move the sleeve 242 through the master plate and into the apertures 141 of the series of control plates. In its passage to its extreme right position, the operating member 190 is also efiective to move the plate 178 to the right against, the

action of the spring loaded pins 182 thereby moving the spring-loaded balls 174'out of engagement with the pinions gears 152 enabling the pinion shafts 146 to return under the action of the associated spring 164 to their rest position whereat the slotte'd ends 148 thereof are moved into a position to lock the master plate 220 against rotation and simultaneously to reset the control plates 140 to their normal position by pressing the

faces

142 and 143 against the key 240 on the sleeve 234. The return movement of the control plates is limited by the lug 240 formed on the sleeve 242. The lug 240 extends through the keyway 200 formed by the series of

shoulders

142 and 143 of the control plates, upon movement of spindle 14 to its extreme right hand position a disengagement of the pawls 174. from pinions 152 the control plates 140 are rotated to their reset position whereat the

shoulders

142 and 143 of adjacent ones of the control plates about opposite surfaces of the lug 240 which thus ensures that the control plates and the associated locking elements are always returned to the correct position upon resetting the lock. In an alternative embodiment of the invention the sleeve 242 may be omitted in which case the return movement of the control plates could be limited by forming the peripheral edge of each plate with only a limited number of teeth whereby the angular movement of each control plate is limited by its associated pinion 150. Upon release of the push button 28, the spring-loaded pins 182 re assert themselves and urge the plate 178 towards the left thereby bringing the spring-loaded balls 174 back into engagement with the pinio'hs gears 152 and resetting the operating member 190 into its reset position whereat its leading face abuts against the outer face of the second of the series of toothed plates 140.

To reset the combination from the inner side of the door, it is merely necessary to depress the push button 74 which is directly coupled to the operating spindle 14. Movement of the spindle 14 towards the right causes the sleeve member 242 which is fast thereon to move through the master plate 220 into engagement with the operating member 190 whereupon further movement of the spindle 14 forces the operating member 190 to the right and through the series of toothed plates 14! thereby re-setting the lock in the manner as described hereinabove. 7

Although in the foregoing description reference has been made to a household door-lock set, it'will be appreciated that the lock according to this invention can be used for many other purposes. Thus, for example, the lock according to this invention may readily be adapted for use as a vehicle ignition system lock. In its application as an ignition lock, the lock may be mounted, for

example, on the instrument dash-board of the vehicle in the same manner as conventional ignition locks and arranged so that one end of the operating spindle 14 protrudes upwardly through thedash-board'. A suitable control knob having a reset button slidably mounted therein is fixedly attached to the protruding end of the operating spindle and all the functions of the lock are effected by manipulating this control knob. In this application, the latch member would be replaced by suitable switch means connected in the ignition circuit of the vehicle, the

arrangement being such that upon releasing the lock r0.-

tation of the control knob is effective to actuate the switch means thereby to make and break the ignition circuit.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention, Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A keyless lock comprising a casing; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough; an inner door handle assembly and an outer door handle assembly fixed to opposite ends of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed centrally thereof and having a toothed peripheral edge; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith and adapted to engage each of said control plates in sequence; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely of said casing; a master plate mounted within said casing coaxially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch memher and a plurality of locking elements, each of said lockmg elements associated with and rotatable in synchronism Wll'h a different one of said control plates and each including a pinion gear adapted to mesh with the toothed peripheral edge of its associated control plate, whereby rotation of said control plate is effective to drive the associated locking elements in synchronism therewith, said locking elements being set in sequence to their open posi tion thereby to free said master plate for rotation on the consecutive predetermined rotation of their associated control plates, said operating member engaging said master plate upon its passage through all of said control plates whereafter further rotation of said shaft is effective to rotate said master plate thereby to move said latch means to release the lock.

2. A keyless lock comprising a casing; a shaft mounted 9 coaxially' within said casing and extending tranversely therethough; an inner door handle assembly connected to opposite ends of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing and coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed centrally thereof and having a toothed peripheral edge; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely of said casing; a master plate mounted within said casing coaXially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member; and a plurality of locking elements normally effective to hold said master plate against rotation, each of said locking elements associated with and rotatable in synchronism with a different one of said control plates and each comprising a shaft having a diametral slot formed in one end thereof and having first and second spaced-apart pinions mounted thereon, said first pinions mounted intermediate the ends thereof and each adapted to engage the toothed peripheral edge of its associated control plate and said second pinions mounted adjacent the ends of said shaft remote from said slotted ends, each of said second pinions lying in a common plane and meshing with a pawl, associated ones of said pawls and said second pinions forming ratchets adapted to lock said shaft and the associated control plate in a se lected position, said locking elements being set in their open position thereby to free said master plate for rotation when their associated control plates have been rotated in sequence through a predetermined angular distance, said operating member engaging said master plate on its passage through all of said control plates whereby with all of said locking elements in their open position further rotation of said shaft is effective to rotate said master plate thereby to move said latch means to release the lock.

3. A keyless lock as claimed in claim 2 wherein each of said pawls comprises a spring-loaded ball positioned in a radial slot formed in an annular disc mounted coaxially with said shaft intermediate said control plates and said outer handle assembly.

4. A keyless lock as claimed in claim 3 wherein said annular disc is normally biased to a position whereat said spring-loaded balls engage asociated ones of said second pinions.

5. A keyless lock comprising a casing; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough; a handle assembly fixed to each end of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing and coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed centrally thereof and having a toothed peripheral edge; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith and adapted to engage each of said control plates in sequence; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely of said casing; a master plate mounted within said casing coaxially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member; and a plurality of locking elements, each of said locking elements associated with and rotatable in synchronism with a different one of said control plates and each comprising a shaft having a diametral slot formed in one end thereof and having first and second spaced apart pinions mounted thereon, said first pinion mounted intermediate the ends thereof and adapted to engage the toothed peripheral edge of the associated control plates and said second pinions mounted adjacent the ends of said shaft remote from said slotted ends, each of said second pinions lying in a common plane and meshing with a pawl, associated ones of said pawls and said second pinions forming ratchets, said ratchets being effective to maintain said pinion shafts and their associated control plates in a selected position, said locking elements being set to their open position thereby to free said master plate for rotation when their associated control plates have been rotated in sequence through a predetermined angular distance, said operating member engaging said master plate upon its passage through all of said control plates and effective upon further rotation of said shaft to rotate said master plate thereby to move said latch means to release the lock.

6. A keyless lock comprising a casing adapted to be mounted in a door; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough, said shaft biased so that after rotation thereof it is automatically re' turned to its normal posiion upon release thereof; an inner door handle assembly and an outer door handle assembly connected to opposite ends of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing and coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed therein; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith said operating member biased so that it is normally urged in a direction towards said control plates and adapted to engage each of said control plates in sequence; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely thereof; a plurality of locking elements normally effective to lock said master plate against rotation, each of said locking elements associated with and rotatable in synchronism with a different one of said control plates; and a master plate mounted Within said casing coaxially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member, said master plate normally held against rotation by said locking elements, said control plates and said locking elements being set up in such manner that each control plate has to be rotated by said operating member in sequence through a predetermined angular distance to open its associated locking elements, said operating member adapted to engage said master plate upon its passage through all of said control plates, rotation of said operating member upon engagement thereof with said master plate adapted when each of said locking element is in its open position to rotate said master plate thereby to move said latch member transversely of the casing.

7. A keyless lock comprising a casing; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough; a handle assembly connected to each end of said shaft; a plurality of control plates ararnged in said casing and coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed therein; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely thereof; a plurality of locking elements normally effective to lock said master plate against rotation, each of said locking elements as sociated with and rotatable in synchronism with a different one of said control plates, and a master plate having an aperture formed therein mounted within said casing coaxially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member, said master plate normally held against rotation by said locking elements, said control plates arranged in such manner that each plate has to be rotated in sequence by said operating member through a predetermined angular distance to open its associated locking elements, said operating member adapted to engage said master plate upon its passage through all of said control plates, rotation of said operating member upon engagement thereof with said master plate adapted when each of said locking elements is in its open position to rotate said master plate thereby to move said latch member transversely of the casing.

8. A keyless lock comprising a casing adapted to be mounted in a door; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough; an inner door handle assembly and an outer door handle assembly connected to opposite ends of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing and coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed therein; an operating member rotatably mounted on said shaft and slidable thereon, said operating member adapted to engage each of said control plates and said master plate in sequence; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely thereof;

1 l a plurality of locking elements, each of said locking elements associated with and rotatable in synchronism with a different one of said control plates, means for retaining said locking elements in a selected position; a master plate mounted within said casing coaxially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member, said rnaster'plate normally held against rotation by said locking elements. said locking elements being set to their open position when their associated control plates have been rotated in sequence by saidoperating member through a predetermined angle whereafter further rotation of said operating member is effective to rotate said master plate, thereby to move said latch member to release the lock; and means operable upon longitudinal movement of said shaft for moving said operating memher out of engagement with said master plate and back through the series of control plates, said operating member upon its return passage releasing the locking element retaining means thereby to return said locking elements, together with the control plates, to their normal locked positions.

9. A keyless lock comprising a casing adapted to be mounted in a door; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing, and extending transversely therethrough; an inner door handle assembly and an outer door handle assembly connected to opposite ends of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing and oaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed therein; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely thereof; a master plate mounted within said casing coaxially with said shaft, and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member; a plurality of locking elements, each of said locking elements associated. with and rotatable in synchronism with a different one of said control plates, said master plate normally held against rotation by said locking elements and said locking elements being set to their open position thereby to release said master plate when their associated control plates have been rotated in sequence by said operating member through a predetermined angular distance whereafter further rotation of said operating membet. is effective to rotate said master plate, thereby to move'said latch member to release the lock; means operable upon longitudinal movement of said shaft for moving said, operating member out of engagement with said master'pl'ate and back through the series of control plates, said operating member upon its return passage releasing the locking elements which are returned together with the control plates to their normal locked positions; and means for effecting longitudinal movement of said shaft, said means including a pair of crossed rectangular frames pivotally mounted on the inner walls of the outer door knob assembly, a plate fixedly attached to the shaft adjacent the outer end thereof and in engagement with the inner transverse sides of said frames and a push-button slidably mounted within said outer door knob assembly and adapted to engage the outer trans verse sides of said frames, depression of said push-button being effective to open said frames about their pivot points thereby to withdraw said plate to effect a longitudinal movement of said shaft.

10. A keyless lock as claimed in claim 9 including a push-button fixedly attached to the inner end of said shaft and slidably mounted within the inner door knob assembly, depression of said push-button effecting longitudinal movement of the shaft.

- 1-1. -A keylesslock comprising a casing; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough; a handle assembly fixed to each end. of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing and coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed therein; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely thereof; a master plate mounted within said casing coaxially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member; a plurality of locking elements, each of said locking elements associated With'and rotatable in synchronism with a different one of said control plates; means for retaining said locking elements in a selected position; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith, said operating member adapted to engage each of said control plates in sequence and effective upon a predetermined rotation thereof to set the associated locking elements to their open positions, said operating member being movable into operative engagement with said master plate upon its passage through all of said control plates, further rotation of said operating member upon engagement thereof with said master plate and with all of said locking elements in their open position adapted to rotate said master plate thereby to move said latch member transversely of the casing to release the lock; and means operable upon longitudinal movement of said shaft for moving said operating member out of engagement with said master plate and back through the series of control plates, said operating member upon its, return passage resetting the locking elements to their normal locked positions.

12. A keyless lock as claimed in claim 11 including means operable upon longitudinal movement of said shaft for moving said operating member out of engagement with said master plate and back through the series of control plates, said operating member upon its return passage releasing the locking elements which are returned together with the control plates to their normal locked positions and means for effecting longitudinal movement of said shaft, said means including a pair of crossed rectangular frames pivotally mounted on the inner walls of the outer door knob assembly, a plate fixedly attached to the shaft adjacent the outer end thereof and in engagement with the inner transverse side of said frames, and a push-button slidably mounted within said outer doorknob assembly adapted to engage the outer transverse sides of said frames, depression of said push-button being effective to open said frames about their pivot point, thereby to withdraw said plate to effect longitudinal movement of said shaft. 7

13. A keyless lock comprising a casing; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough; a handle assembly fixed to each end of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing and coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed centrally thereof, and having a toothed peripheral edge; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely thereof; a master plate mounted within said casing coaxially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith and adapted to engage each of said control plates and said master plate in sequence; a plurality of locking elements each of said locking elements associated with and rotatable in synchronism with a difierent one of said control plates and each including a pinion adapted to mesh with the toothed perihperal edge of its associated control plate whereby rotation of said control plate is effective to rotate the associated locking elements in synchronism therewith, said locking elements normally efiective to prevent rotation of said master plate and being set to their open position upon a predetermined rotation of the associated control plates, said operating member engaging said master plate upon its passage through all of said control plates, said master plate being rotatable by said shaft upon engagement therewith of said operating member after all of said locking elements have been set to their open position; and means operable upon longitudinal movement of said shaft for moving said operating member out of engagement with said master plate and back through the series of control plates, said operating member upon its return passage releasing the locking elements which are returned together with the control plates to their normal locked positions.

14. A keyless lock comprising a casing; a shaft mounted coaxially within said casing and extending transversely therethrough; a handle assembly fixed to each end of said shaft; a plurality of control plates arranged in said casing and coaxially disposed along said shaft, each of said control plates having an aperture formed centrally thereof and having a toothed peripheral edge; a latch member mounted in said casing and movable transversely of said casing; a master plate mounted within said casing coaxially with said shaft and adapted upon rotation thereof to engage said latch member; an operating member slidably mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith, said operating member adapted to engage each of said control plates in sequence and to engage said master plate upon its passage through all of said control plates; a plurality of locking elements, each of said locking elements associated With and rotatable in synchronism with a difference one of said control plates and each including a pinion adapted to mesh with the toothed peripheral edge of its associated control plate whereby rotation of said control plates is effective to rotate the associated locking elements in synchronism therewith, said locking elements being set to their open positions in sequence upon a predetermined rotation of the associated control plates by said operating member, said master plate being rotatable by said shaft upon engagement therewith of said operating member after all of said locking elements having been set to their open positions; means operable upon longitudinal movement of said shaft for moving said operating member out of the engagement with said master plate and back through the series of control plates, said operating member upon its return passage releasing the locking elements which are returned, together with the control plates, to their normal locked positions; and means for effecting longitudinal movement of said shaft, said means including a pair of crossed rectangular frames pivotally mounted on the inner walls of one of said handle assemblies, a plate fixedly attached to the shaft adjacent the outer end thereof and in engagement with the inner transverse sides of said frames and a push-button slidably mounted within said one handle assembly and adapted to engage the outer transverse sides of said frames, depression of said push-button efiective to open said frames about their pivot points thereby to withdraw said plate to effect longitudinal movement of said shaft.

15. A keyless lock as claimed in claim 14 wherein the other of said inner handle assemblies includes a pushbutton slidably mounted therein, depression of said pushbutton effecting longitudinal movement of the shaft thereby to return said locking elements and said control plates to their normal locked positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,308,521 Butter -1 July 1, 1919 2,920,473 Hansen Jan. 12, 1960 2,966,788 Amo Jan. 3, 1961