US3844147A

US3844147A - Combination lock

Info

Publication number: US3844147A
Application number: US00355415A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Windle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-04-30
Filing date: 1973-04-30
Publication date: 1974-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-29

Abstract

A combination lock having means for fastening it on a door, and also means for obscuring the fastening means. The combination is capable of being set from inside the door or outside the door. The lock has a spring latch for emergency use to escape from the building. The lock has an improved locking bar. Also optionally for use in motels and the like, it has a separate combination which may be used by the motel personnel to take off the inner housing for changing the lock.

Description

United States Patent 91 Windle 51 Oct. 29, 1974 COMBINATION LOCK [76] Inventor: John Charles Windle, PO. Box 370,

l-Ioney Brook, Pa. 19344 [22] Filed: Apr. 30, 1973 21 Appl. No.2 355,415

[52] US. Cl. 70/298, 70/443 [51] Int. Cl E05b 137/16 [58] Field of Search 70/287, 298, 315, 319,

70/333 R, 443, DIG. 56, DIG. 57

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 834,817 10/1906 Leighton ..70/443 3,585,825 6/1971 Windle ..70/298 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 4/1924 Great Britain 70/298 Primary Examiner-Albert G. Craig, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Jackson, Jackson & Chovanes 5 7 ABSTRACT A combination lock having means for fastening it on a door, and also means for obscuring the fastening means. The combination is capable of being set from inside the door or outside the door. The lock has a spring latch for emergency use to escape from the building. The lock has an improved locking bar. Also optionally for use in motels and the like, it has a separate combination which may be used by the motel personnel to take off the inner housing for changing the lock.

6 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures FIG. 4

FIGS

l COMBINATION LOCK DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION This invention is an improvement on Windle, US. Pat. No. 3,585,825, granted June 22, 1971 for Combination Lock.

One purpose of the invention is to obscure or protect the heads of screws or other fastening devices which are used -to secure-the lock to a door, preferably by a cover plate which is fastened by means which are dependent upon knowing the combination for their removal.

A further purpose is to make the lock capable of being locked or unlocked from either inside or outside of the building or both.

A further purpose is to provide an emergency release from inside the building used by a person who is in too much of a hurry or too confused to stop to work the combination.

A further purpose is an improved construction of a locking bar.

A further purpose is to provide a separate combination useable by the maid or other motel personnel to take off the inner housing for resetting the lock after the'patron leaves the motel room or hotel room.

Further purposes appear in the specification and the claims.

In my prior patent, US. Pat. No. 3,585,825, the lock could be reset by a person who did not know the combination, but had access to the inside of the door. In this invention the lock is completely impregnable to anyone not knowing the combination, even though the person has access to the inside of the door. The lock is fastened to the door suitably by screws. Then the heads of the screws are protected and concealed by a plate which is fastened by bolts, the bolts being protected against tampering by a housing which cannot be removed unless by a person who knows the combination of the lock.

The pins which must be set are accessible from the inside and the outside of the door by a person .who wants to lock orunlock the lock.

While it is possible to unlock the lock by a person working from the inside, it is possible that such a person might become confused or be in a hurry and for this reason it is made possible to use an emergency spring latch from inside the building.

The construction of the lockingbar particularly has been improved.

In case the lock is used on motel rooms or hotel rooms, there is a dangerthat a former guest may keep a record of the combination of the lock and open it when he is no longer a guest. Because of this, in an optional form, the lock is provided with a portion having a separate combination on the inside only so that it can be unlocked by a maid or the like, and the main combination can be reset either routinely or at any desired periodic interval. by removing the inner housing.

The drawings are illustrative of the invention, choosing the form shown which will best illustrate the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective showing the lock mounted on the inside of a door or the like.

FIG. 2 is a perspective showing the lock of FIG. 1 from the outside.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective of certain parts of the lock of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an elevation from inside the door showing the outer housing broken away and the inner housing in part broken away.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of FIG. 4 partially broken away.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged section of FIG. 4 on the line 6-6.

FIG. 7 is a perspective of the locking bar.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective of the locking bar.

FIG. 9 is a vertical section of a modified form of lock.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the lock of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the outside housing removed from the rest of the lock.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the lock showing the inner housing with the outside housing removed.

FIG. 13 is a top view of the lock showing the inner housing with the outside housing removed.

The lock comprises pin assemblies 20, triangular guides 22 in two banks which comprise the lock, a locking bar 24, an inner housing 26, an outer housing 28, an intermediate cover plate 30, an outer plate 32, and an inner plate 33.

The pin assembly has a triangular contour as explained in my patent, to prevent jiggling and also has threaded pins 34 at each end and suitable lock nuts before threading into the triangular pins. Unlike my patent, however, the pin assembly has pins 34 on each end so that the combination can be set from inside and also outside the building in an appropriate case. The pins have a slot which will allow the bolt assembly to pass if they are put in a suitable position.

The locking bar 24 consists of two special racks 40, one above and one below, which have triangular contours fitting the pins. These are united to the bar 42 by a screw at one end. At the other end there is a slot 45 to permit a bolt 62 to slide. This bar 42 is manipulated from outside the building by a handle 46 united by a screw 48 to handle component 50 which is screwed into a socket 54 on the bar. From the inside of the bar, the bar is manipulated by handle 56 which is held to handle component 58 by a suitable screw and the handle component is bolted to a socket 60 on the bar 42.

To provide a latch for emergency release, the bolt 42 has an articulated latch 62 which has at its rear end longitudinally extending spring guides 64 which have around them spiral compression springs 66 and on their end have plate 68 which is mounted on bar 42. There are wells 70 extending longitudinally of the bar 42. The Keeper is engaged by latch 62.

Thus if the lock is engaged and someone within the room wants to get out without unlocking the lock, latch 62 can be depressed by handle 74 engaging the latch and held thereto by a suitable screw but on the other hand from the outside of the building it is impossible to do so;

At the end of the inner housing 26 adjoining the keeper, the sliding bolt is guided by a guide 76 which is attached to the inner housing by suitable screws. On the outer housing 28 there is a guide 78 in the form of a cross and a restricting guide 80 is superimposed to engage the ends of the racks and prevent the bolt from escaping.

In order to attach the lock to a door or the like, screws 90 are used to mount the intermediate plate 30 and permissibly the inner plate 33 to the door, and the .Access to studs 92 is permitted when the lock is unlocked, but not when the lock is locked, by removing the outer housing by sliding the bar and by a long screwdriver through the bolt hole unscrewing a screw at location 94 which secures together the outer housing and the inner housing and permits the outer housing to be removed.

In case of a motel or hotel, where it is desirable to change the combination after each guest, the form of FIGS. 9 to 13 is used. This has a secondary combination 100 available only on the inside of the lock as best seen in FIGS. 9 and 12. The combination 100 works on the back locking bar 104, which is joined by screws 106 to inner back plate 108 which is joined by screws 109 to outside back plate 110 which is joined to outside housing 112. This outside housing is made removable by sliding it by slots 114 which pass the-pins.

The maid knowing the combination 100 removes the outside housing 112, exposing the inside housing 116 which is connected to front plate 120 and by screws 122 is connected by the inside cover plate 118 and the remainder of the inside housing. Thus, the maid can remove the inside cover plate and take apart the inside housing. Having changed the combination, she can then reassemble the inside housing 116 and then apply the outside housing 112. If desired, the maid can change the combination 100 as well as the main combination.

it will be evident that various expedients can be adopted to permit the maid to. make separate correction of the main combination without knowing it.

In view of my invention and disclosure, variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I therefore claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, What 1 claim as new and desire to secure by letters patents is:

1. In a combination lock, a lock consisting of a housing, pins and guides in the housing, a sliding locking bar operating in the pins and guides, and permitting removal of the sliding locking bar when thelock is unset, an intermediate plate on the lock for mounting the lock and permitting fastening of the lock to a door, screws fixing the intermediate plate to the door, an outer plate covering the screws, means for fastening the outer plate to the intermediate plate, and means for covering the means for fastening the outer plate to the intermediate plate, said means for covering being operative when the lock is locked and said means for covering being exposed for removal when the lock is unlocked and the locking bar removed.

2. The invention of claim 1, in which the last means is an outer housing which is capable of being removed when thelock is unlocked.

3. In a combination lock, two sets of guides having cooperating triangular contours, pins of triangular contour cooperating with the guides, a bar slidable with respect to the pins, consisting of two sets'of teeth of triangular contour on opposite sides of the bar, cooperating with the pins, the bar forming a cross contour and means for stopping the bar from sliding at the end.

' 4. The invention of claim 3, in which the bar is of two parts, one part slidable with respect to the other part, spring means between the two parts of the bar and means capable of being grasped by the hand to permit the end of the bar to he slid against the action of the spring when the other part of the bar is locked.

5. In a combination lock, a housing for the lock, pins of triangular contour, guides having a contour which fits the pins, a bar slidable in the guides and capable of passing the pins in one position of the pins and being obstructed by the pins in another position of the pins, an auxiliary lock consisting of auxiliary pins accessible from the inside of the building, auxiliary guides matching the auxiliary pins, an auxiliary bar capable of cooperating with the auxiliary guides and pins, and means connecting the auxiliary lock to the housing whereby the housing can be removed and the main lock reset by a person knowing the combination of the auxiliary lock.

6. A combination lock comprising a housing, a main combination lock in the housing, and an auxiliary combination lock within the housing, whereby on opening the auxiliary combination lock, the housing may be removed and the main combination reset.

Claims

1. In a combination lock, a lock consisting of a housing, pins and guides in the housing, a sliding locking bar operating in the pins and guides, and permitting removal of the sliding locking bar when the lock is unset, an intermediate plate on the lock for mounting the lock and permitting fastening of the lock to a door, screws fixing the intermediate plate to the door, an outer plate covering the screws, means for fastening the outer plate to the intermediate plate, and means for covering the means for fastening the outer plate to the intermediate plate, said means for covering being operative when the lock is locked and said means for covering being exposed for removal when the lock is unlocked and the locking bar removed.

2. The invention of claim 1, in which the last means is an outer housing which is capable of being removed when the lock is unlocked.

3. In a combination lock, two sets of guides having cooperating triangular contours, pins of triangular contour cooperating with the guides, a bar slidable with respect to the pins, consisting of two sets of teeth of triangular contour on opposite sides of the bar, cooperating with the pins, the bar forming a cross contour and means for stopping the bar from sliding at the end.

4. The invention of claim 3, in which the bar is of two parts, one part slidable with respect to the other part, spring means between the two parts of the bar and means capable of being grasped by the hand to permit the end of the bar to be slid against the action of the spring when the other part of the bar is locked.