WO2002070842A1

WO2002070842A1 - Miniaturised cylinder lock

Info

Publication number: WO2002070842A1
Application number: PCT/AT2002/000063
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gaston Glock
Original assignee: Gaston Glock
Priority date: 2001-03-07
Filing date: 2002-03-04
Publication date: 2002-09-12
Also published as: ATA3542001A; AT411780B

Abstract

The invention relates to a miniaturised cylinder lock (1) having a dwell angel of at least 360 °. The invention is characterised in that a pin (5) which rotates with the closing cylinder (2), having an extension on the periphery thereof, measured as a centering angle in relation to the axis of rotation of the lock, is disposed on the closing cylinder (2) at a pin angel (α). The invention is further characterised that an annular groove (10) is arranged concentrically with respect to the axis of rotation of the lock in a rotationally fixed manner with regard to the receiving element (3) of the lock, wherein a stop piece (7) is slidingly introduced at a centering angle (β), said stop piece being able to be displaced in the groove by the pin, on the proviso that the length of the groove (10), measured as the centering angle thereof in relation to the axis of rotation of the lock, the groove angle (η), is at least equal to the sum of the pin angel (α) and two times the stop piece angle (β).

Description

Miniaturized cylinder lock

The invention relates to a miniaturized cylinder lock.

Of the various available locking and locking devices of modern technology, cylinder locks are probably the most widespread and have been used in a wide variety of embodiments in a large number of application areas.

The basic principle of such cylinder locks is that a cylinder can only be rotated in a hollow cylinder if the correct key is inserted into a receptacle located in it, the closing movement or opening movement of a locking element connected to the cylinder being derived from this rotary movement , It is immediately apparent that as miniaturization of the cylinder locks progresses for various areas of application, the problem arises that with a single turn of the key, as is customary with cylinder locks, and with the permissible load on the components transmitting the torques or the forces, they are not sufficient Closing path of the actual locking element is more achieved.

Now cylinder locks of normal size, such as those used for apartment doors, can be turned several times and the various transmission elements or the locking element itself take on the task of limiting the rotary movement of the locking cylinder by means of various stops. Due to the robust design of cylinder locks of normal size, it is also mechanically harmless if the user tries to pull the key out of the cylinder in a rotary position of the key and thus of the locking cylinder that deviates slightly from the pull-off position. However, these attempts can be detrimental to the life of the lock in the case of miniaturized cylinder locks and, moreover, the miniaturization means that the components which transmit the closing or opening movement to the locking element are not suitable for absorbing corresponding end stops for the rotary movement and the forces acting on them endured reliably and permanently.

There is therefore a need for a device for limiting the rotary movement of a cylinder lock, by means of which the rotary movement is to be limited both when the lock is opened and when it is closed, up to the withdrawal position of the key. At first glance, this requirement looks easy to meet, but it is not since the stops of the rotary movement must be offset by exactly 360 ° to one another, so that there is no peripheral region between them in which the stop could be carried out physically and mechanically.

A solution to this problem is known from US 1,487,900 A: Two rotatable plates are arranged on the end face facing the user of the lock, which have lugs that protrude from the plane of the plate and with recesses on the one hand in the other plate and on the other hand in the end face of the lock interact. The front plate is turned by the key, the stops allow the key to be turned exactly 360 degrees. Disadvantages of this device are the low mechanical stability of the two plates when they rotate around the lock cylinder and the arrangement on the “outside” of the lock, which is mostly exposed to dirt and damage more than the inside.

Another solution is known from US 2,276,655 A: Here, in the lock cylinder on the side facing away from the key, a kind of crank is rotatably inserted with its first leg as an output element for the locking movement, the cylinder carries projections that interact with the second leg and the angle of rotation limit the crank with respect to the cylinder, the lock housing also carries projections which cooperate with the second leg and limit the angle of rotation of the crank with respect to the lock housing. The combination of these restrictions results in a rotatability of the cylinder in the housing of exactly 360 °. The major disadvantage of this solution, which at first glance looks elegant, is that in the course of turning the key through 360 °, a derived movement of significantly less than 180 ° is available on the second leg of the crank, which in particular with small locks leads to completely insufficient locking movements for a bolt od.dergl. leads. The invention aims to provide a lock of the type defined in the opening paragraph, which does not have the disadvantages mentioned.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in that a pin rotating with it and having an extension on the circumference, measured as a central angle with respect to the lock axis of rotation, is arranged with the pin angle α, and that the lock receptacle bores a circular groove concentrically with respect to the lock Axis of rotation of the lock is arranged, in which a stop piece is slidably inserted, which is displaceable in the groove by the pin, with the proviso that the length of the groove is measured as their central angle with respect to the lock axis of rotation, the groove angle γ, is at least equal to the sum of the pin angle α and twice the stop piece angle ß.

In this way, it is actually achieved that when the locking cylinder is rotated from one end position, in which, for example, the stop piece rests at one end of the groove and the pin at the other end of the stop piece, it first covers an area in which the pin does not rest against the stop piece until, at the end of a complete turn, it hits the flank of the stop piece with the other flank (leading in the direction of movement), which up to this point still lies against the end of the groove. When the lock cylinder is turned further, the pin now takes the stop piece with it, which is displaced by the torque or tangential force exerted in its circular-shaped groove until its front flank in the direction of movement (against which the pin started at the start of the rotary movement) ends reached the groove, and thus also ended the rotational movement of the pin and thus of the locking cylinder.

If, according to the invention, the groove circumferential angle γ is equal to the sum of the pin angle α and twice the stop angle ß, the locking cylinder actually performs a 360 ° movement, the two end points of which are precisely fixed. If the groove circumferential angle γ is chosen to be larger, the lock angle of the lock is greater than 360 ° and can, for example, also be 450 °, so that the key position (in the stop) gives an indication of the position of the lock: open or locked. Since the pin can be connected directly to the locking cylinder or can preferably be formed in one piece with it, it is able to transmit or absorb large moments (always taking into account the small dimensions), and it is both the stop piece and the guide groove and to form their ends so stable that the forces or moments that occur can be absorbed permanently. It should be noted that the lock itself must be installed in the object to be locked in this area, so that there is sufficient meat and space available in this area.

The measures according to the invention reliably protect the further closing linkage and also the locking element itself from forces or moments which could lead to damage or even destruction.

The mechanism according to the invention is located "inside" the object to be secured and is thus protected as best as possible from manipulation and external influences allows sufficient movement of the subsequent locking mechanism to achieve sufficiently large locking movements even with locks with small dimensions. This overcomes the disadvantages of the previously known solutions.

The invention is explained below with reference to the drawing. 1 to 3 show a lock according to the invention in an open position in three views, FIGS. 4 to 6 show the lock according to FIG. 1 in its closed or locked position, FIG. 7 shows the relationship of the individual angles to one another schematically and Fig. 8, purely schematically, the axial position of the individual parts of the invention

Locking mechanism.

In Fig. 1, a lock 1 according to the invention is shown in plan view, in Fig. 2 in side view and in Fig. 3 in a section along the line III - III. A rotor or cylinder 2 is rotatably mounted in a lock receptacle 3, the lock receptacle 3 having an outer contour such that it is best suited for the intended installation purpose. A key 4 can be inserted into the key holder of the cylinder 2, this side of the lock is referred to below as the outside. On the inside of the lock, a lock cap 9 is connected to the lock receptacle 3, screwed in the illustrated embodiment. The lock cap 9 has a groove 10 which is concentric with the axis 13 (FIG. 7) of the cylinder 2. A stop piece 7 is seated in the groove 10. The stop piece 7 is displaceable in the groove 10 and naturally moves about the axis 13 of the cylinder 2.

A pin 5 is connected to the cylinder 2 and is arranged at such a radial distance from the axis of the cylinder that, when the cylinder is rotated, strikes one of the two end faces of the stop piece without its movement being limited by the groove 10.

As can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 3 and 6, a driver 8, which is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the cylinder 2 and thus to the key 4, has both in the open position of the lock 1 shown in FIG. 3 and also in the closed position of the lock 1 shown in FIG. 6, the same angular position normal to the flattened side of the lock receptacle 3. A comparison of the two figures in the cut area shows, however, that in the open position (FIG. 3) the stop piece 7, seen in the clockwise direction, lies in front of the pin 5, while in the closed position (FIG. 6) the stop piece 7, seen in the clockwise direction, is behind the pin 5. In both cases, the stop piece 7 is pressed by the pin 5 against one of the two ends of the groove 10, in the open position against the front end of the groove 10 (again in the clockwise direction) and in the closed position against the rear end of the groove. As explained above and illustrated in FIG. 7, the relationships of the individual angles with respect to the axis of rotation 13 of the lock 1 are such that the slot angle γ is equal to the sum of the pin angle α and twice the stop angle ß, expressed as a formula: γ = α + 2 ß.

Looking at Figures 3 and 6 on the surface gives the impression that the pin 5 protrudes through the groove 10 and would therefore be restricted in its mobility. The real situation is shown purely schematically in FIG. 8, a section along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7: the pin 5 ends (in the orientation of the drawing) below the groove 10 in an area free of internals, the stop piece 7 protrudes into the groove 10 and is therefore restricted in its movement, but it also protrudes into the area of movement of the pin 5 and is therefore carried along by it. In this figure, the storage of the stop piece 7, its actual design etc. is not shown for reasons of clarity, only the relative position of the relevant areas to one another is to be shown.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the stop piece 7 also has the following special feature: it has an extension 11 projecting upwards, beyond the actual area of the lock cap 9, which projects into a groove-like recess or depression in a plate-like indicator 6. When the cylinder 2 is rotated, the stop piece 7 and thus the extension 11 (which can also include the entire stop piece) are shifted by the pin 5 from the position shown in FIG. 3 into the position shown in FIG. 6, as a result of which the indicator 6 is moved moved from the flattened side of the lock receptacle 3 and thus clearly protrudes beyond the round contour of the lock receptacle 3 when the lock is locked. In Figures 2 and 5, a small section of a housing 12 is shown purely schematically, in which the lock 1 is installed. As can be clearly seen from a comparison of these figures, in the closed position of the lock the indicator 6 projects so far beyond the lateral surface of the lock receptacle 3 that it projects through a slot in the housing 12 and is clearly visible or palpable from the outside. The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment shown, but can be modified in various ways. So it is possible to reach lock end positions over 360 °, as can easily be seen from the drawing, if you imagine the groove lengthened accordingly. The above specification of the central angle to each other is correct for the creation of a 360 ° working lock, with a corresponding increase in the circumferential angle of the groove, one can also obtain, for example, a 450 ° lock in which the respective position can be recognized from the key holder and therefore requires no indicator, apart from the fact that the indicator would require more complex training at such an angle. Fig. 7 shows the relationship of the individual angles purely schematically and does not require any further explanations in the light of the above explanations. However, it should also be pointed out that a “longer” design of the groove 10 can achieve a closing angle of more than 360 °. As FIG. 7 clearly shows, an extension by, for example, 90 ° is not a problem, also not if one imagines the purely schematic FIG. 7 applied to the real application, so that in this way a lock is obtained in which the key, as is usual in many applications, rotates 90 ° with respect to the locked position in the open position is, but you can or must not turn the key by 90 ° or 270 ° but by 450 °.

The lock holder does not have to have the shape shown, the shape of which depends, as mentioned above, on the particular installation situation and is only significant in connection with the groove 10 and the configuration of the stop piece 7, but not from the outer contours, for the invention.

The materials used depend on the respective application and can be easily selected by the person skilled in the art knowing the invention and the field of application. In most cases, metals or high-strength plastics will be suitable.

Locks can also be realized with the invention which have a closing angle of just under 360 ° and which could not be realized in the prior art either, but in the light of the invention such "crooked" locks only fall under the worsened embodiments.

Claims

claims:

1. Miniaturized cylinder lock with a locking angle of at least 360 °, characterized in that on the locking cylinder (2) a rotating with it pin (5) with an extent on the circumference, measured as a central angle with respect to the lock axis of rotation, with the pin angle (α) is arranged that a ring-shaped groove (10) is arranged concentrically to the lock axis of rotation with respect to the lock receptacle (3), in which a stop piece (7) with a central angle (β) is slidably inserted, which is displaceable in the groove by the pin the proviso that the length of the groove (10), measured as its central angle with respect to the lock axis of rotation, the groove angle (γ), is at least equal to the sum of the pin angle (α) and twice the stop piece angle (ß).

2. Lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the stop piece (7) protrudes beyond the groove (10) in the direction away from the cylinder (2) and into a groove, recess, etc. of an indicator which is displaceable with respect to the lock receptacle (3) (6) protrudes.