US1237138A - Lock. - Google Patents

Description

A. A. WYCKOFF.

LOCK.

APPLICATION I'ILED AUG.23, |915.

5% lll Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A. A. WYCKOFF.

LOCK.

APPLICATION I'ILED AUG-23. i915.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Amos A. WYcKorr,

or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

0F SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T0 COIN TIME LOCK C0.,

A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

Loox.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented A110-, 14, 1917 Application led August 23, 1915. Serial No. 46,810.

'o all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMos A. VVYoKoFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Santa Cruz, in the county of Santa Cruz and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to locks, and has more particular reference to coincontrolled locks of the type employed on parcel lockers, safety deposit vaults and the like, the operation of which requires the deposit of a coin in the lock before the bolt can be thrown to locked position. When parcel lockers are equipped with these locks the locking bolt is normally in unlocked position. The user opens the door, places his parcels or baggage inside the locker, then deposits a coin in the lock which serves as an intermediary to enable the locking bolt to be thrown to' locked position. Then after turning the key to throw the bolt the key is withdrawn and serves as a check by which the user can identify his locker. Upon his return the patron reinserts the key in the lock` throws the bolt to unlocked position and removes his parcels, the bolt being then locked in an unlocked position so as to be releasable only by the deposit of another coin. l

Locks of this general character haveheretofore been equipped with what is known as a fool proof device, that is, a device which acted on the key so that after the bolt had been thrown to locked position it could'not be unlocked until the key had been withdrawn and reinserted in the lock. This safety guard or so-called foolproof dev ice has proven disadvantageous in some 1nstances for the reason that the patron after locking the locker and before removing his key would discover that he desired to obtain access to his baggage again before leavinv'. This he was unable to do by reason of the fact that the coin which was utilized to throw the bolt to locked position h ad dropped from the lock into the coin till. consequently the lock could only .be unlocked by the insertion of another coin. The patron therefore, in order to obtain access to his baggage was required to deposit another coin, the use of his first coin having been 10st.

One'of the primary objects of my present Invention is to eliminate this fault of these locks which had been equipped with fool proof devices by providing alock which will be so constructed that the key can be turned readily to throw the bolt from locked to unlocked position and vice versa, after a coin has been deposited in the lock so long as the key is left in the lock, but after the key has been removed and reinserted the locking bolt can be unlocked but cannot be relocked until another coin has been deposited in the lock. In other Words, the coin instead of beingreleased and permitted to drop from controlling position into the till, as soon as the locking bolt is moved to lockednpositio'n is retained in my present invention in controlling position so long as the key remains in the lock, the coin being released by longitudinal movement of the key in the lock either when the key is withdrawn or when it is reinserted, depending upon the embodiment of my invention with which the lock is equipped, both the forms being conteniplated wit-hin the scope of the present invention.

Another objectof my invention is to provide a lock of this character which will be less intricate in structure, therefore cheaper to manufacture and assemble than the locks equipped with fool proof devices heretofore employed.

Other objects and attendant advantages ofthe invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. Referring to the drawings- Figure 1 is a fragmentary i'ear elevation of a lock embodying my invention:

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 1s a transverse sectional view 0n thc line 3 3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a slightly different form of the invention;

I Fig. 5 isk a View similarpto Fig. 1,illus trating another embodiment of my invention' Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-.-6 of Fig. 5, showing the position of the arts during the insertion of a key into the ook.; and

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the position of the parts after the key has been tion. The linger 14 is formed on the lower end of a slide 15 which is shaped to rovide a coin chute and operates substantia ly like a similar construction shown in Patent No. 1,105,052, granted to E. L. Williams July 28, 1914.

The bolt is cut away on its front face to provide a coin slot 16, as is best shown in Fig. 3, and is operated by an arm 17 mounted von the inner end of a lock cylinder 18 which may be of any Well known construction such as a Yale or Corbin lock, or may be of any other preferred-structure, the arm 17 being rigidlymounted on the inner end of the cylinder and positively connected at its outer end to the bolt 12. The lock is shown in Fig. 1 in locked position but when it is in unlocked position the coin slot 16 in the bolt is disposed in alinement with the slot in the slide 15, the linger 14 of which is then disposed in the notch in front of the shoulder 13 so that the bolt cannot be moved to locked position. Upon the deposit of a coin in the slot the coin passes downwardly in the chute formed by the slide 15 into the coin slot 16 of the bolt where it rests upon the upper edge of that portion of the lock cylinder which contains the plunger pins. The key, of course, is locked in the lock so that it cannot be withdrawn when the lock is in unlocked position by reason of the fact that the plunger pins are not in alinement, this function being common to locks of this character. After the coin has been deposited in the slot of the bolt, turning movement of the key to move the bolt toward the right or into the position shown in Fig. 1 will cause the coin shown in dotted lines and indicated by reference character 19 to abut against the curved portion of the slide l5, thereby raising the slide out of the notch and out of the path of the shoulder 13 so that the bolt can be moved to locked position. The construction thus far described is well known in the art and the details ofthe various mechanisms described may assume any preferred form, as this part of the structure is not embraced in my resent invention.

Heretofore in locks of this character when the locking bolt was moved to locked position, as shown in Fig. 1, the coil` would drop from the locking bolt through a coin chute 21 into the till. When the bolt was .next thrown to unlocked position it would be immediately locked in that position by the finger 14 so that the bolt could not be again thrown into locked position until another coin had been deposited'to raise the slide 15. My 'present invention contemplates the provision of means for maintaining the com in its controlling position in thecoin slot of the locking bolt so long as the key remains in the lock so that the patron may lock and unlock the lock as many times `as he desires without losing his coin, but when he withdraws the key the coin becomes ineffective for a subsequent operation of the bolt.

In order to accomplish this result I have pivoted upon the rear of the ycoin chute 21 `upon a suitable pivot pin 22 disposed through stationary ears 23 on the coin chute a device or member 24 having ears 25 carried on the pin 22. The'upper end of this device 24 is turned inwardly to providev a 95 linger 26, as shown in Fig. 2, which. extends across the coin chute 21 and immediately beneath the locking bolt 12 to prevent the release of the coin-from the bolt and maintain the coin in controlling position in the bolt so long as the key remains in the lock. The lower end of the member 24 is provided with a laterally projecting arm 27 provided with an upwardly extending rib 28 adapted to be engaged by the key 29. lThe key is provided at its lower edge near its inner`end with a groove or recess 31 adapted to receive the l rib 28. y

When the key is inserted in the lock the end of the key pushes against the rib 28, thereby 110.

swinging the member 24 on its pivot into the position shown in Fig. 2, wherein the finger 26 closes the upper end of the coin chute 21. When the key is fully insertedits extremity will pass inwardly over the rib 28 so that the 115 rib will be engaged in the groove or recess 31 in the lower edge of the key to thereby hold the member 24 in the position shown in Fig. 2 so long as the key remains in the lock. The key may now be turned in the cylinder tomove the locking bolt to locked position, as shown in Fig. 1, which will bring the coin 19 directly over the finger 26 but the coin will be supported by the linger in controlling position in thelocking bolt and be prevented from dropping down the coin chute 21 into the till. Should it now be desirableJ to unlock the lock again before withdrawing the key the same may be done as the coin is still in the bolt and will be elfeckey, however, the

retaining port the coin 19.

, coin only upon tive `to raise the slide 15 when next the bolt vis locked. Upon unlocking movement of the bolt the key 29 'movesin a rib 28.` The cylinder 18 is -providedwith a groove 32 in alinement with the groove 31 in the key so that as the ke the rib 28 the other end oi gage in said groove in the cylinder,

the lrib will'v en- As previously withdrawn when the latter is in unlocked position but counter-clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 2, upon its pivot 2,2 by reason of lthe engagement of the rib 28 in the slot 31 of the key.

As the key is withdrawn the finger 26 will be simultaneously inoved to the left, viewing Fig. 2, thereby permitting the coin to drop from the coin slot in thejbolt-down the coin chute 21. When the member 24 .hasreached the limit of its swinging movement in this direction the arm 27 will yield suflicientlyto permit depression of the rib 28 from the oove 31 so as to allow the ,complete withawal of the key. It will thus be manifest that each time the key is inserted the finger 26 will be moved beneath the bolt position to support a coin in the bolt and will be `re tained in this position so longlas the key remains in the lock. Upon wit drawal ofthe finger 26 is withdrawn from voperative position and the coin is permitted to -drop into the till. j

In Fig. 4 I have shown a slightly different form in which instead of employing a resilient arm 27 upon which the rib 28 is' mounted lI provide the member 24 with a rigid laterally projecting arm 33 provided 'with a slot 34 through which a rib 35 -carried upon a spring 36 projects. The thrust exerted upon the rib by the insertion'and withdrawal of the key is therefore received by the rigid arm 33 which is notv liable to become bent, and the rib 35 may be more readily depressed by the end of the key as the leaf spring 36 may be much lighter than the spring arm 27, shown inFigs. 1 to 3 inclusive. In Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive'I have disclosed another embodiment of the invention which, instead of releasing the coin upon withdrawal "mf the key is designed to release the subsequent key. In this instance the member 37 is pivoted at 38 beneath the key, this member being equipped at its upper end with a finger 39 performing the same function as the nger 26, previously described. A leaf-spring 41 overlyingthe member 37 normally holds the finger 39 in operative position as `shown counter-clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 1,-' traveling along the travels olf from member 37 inwardly to withdraw the nger thereby 39 'into the position shown \in Fig. 6. ...The the member 24 in position to sup-.

. v j 'the till.'A The keyin this instance, stated the key cannot be` when the bolt is in locked os- `groove 31 reviousl tion the patron may withdraw the key wlhich 4 p y bodiment of my invention until the key insertionV of the being adapted to inI Fig. 7.

42 carrying a rib'43 similarto the rib 28, reviously described. This rib is disposed in thepath of the innen end of the key 44 en'd engages the rib 43,"thereby swinging the key, upon insertion, has vswung the member 37 to its extreme outer position, which is determined by engagement of small lateral `lugs 46 on. the freeend of linger 39 with Iabutment shouldersA 47 on the rear wall of the coin slot 21, the end of the key rides over the rib '43 whereupon the member is swung into the position shown in Fig. 7 by the spring 41 to close the coin chute. This movement of the member is permitted by reason of the cut-away portion 45 of the key which permi s the rib '43 to move beieath the key without interference by the It is believed that my invention and its mode of operation will be' readily apparent from the foregoing and it should be understood .that by the `employment of my invention which maintains a coin in controlling position with respect to the bolt, at least until the key is withdrawn, and in one lmthe use of a so-calle fool which necessitated the withbeen reinserte proof device,

drawal and reinsertion of a key beforethev bolt could be unlocked, is entirely eliminated. By the use of my invention the lock' may be locked and unlocked repeatedly with one coin so long as the key remains in the lock, but after t e key has been withdrawn the'lock cannot .be locked again until another coinhas been deposited. While I have shown and described those embodiments of my invention which appear at present to be preferable, it should be understood that various modifications in the size, shape, proportion and arrangement of various parts may be resorted to within the scope of my invention, as defined in the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a lock, the combination of a bolt key-actuated mechanism for operating said bolt, coin-releasable means for locking said bolt -in unlocked position, andmovable means structurally independent of the key for controlling a coin so vas to permit repeated actuations of the bolt before withdrawal of the key from the lock, said means be Aactuated by longitudinal movement of the key so as to permit Aboveas pivot' the member e7 is provided with a laterally projecting arm 'so vtliat when thewkey is inserted its inner discharge of the coin before the key is fully reinse'rted in the lock.

2. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, key-actuated mechanism for operating said bolt, coin-releasable means for locking said bolt in unlocked position, and movable means structurally independent of the key but controlled thereby so as to maintain a coin in operative relation to said coin releasable means until actuated to release said coin by longitudinal movement of the key.

3. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, key-actuated mechanism for operating said bolt, coin-releasable means for maintaining said bolt in unlocked position, and pivotally mounted means structurally independent of the key but controlled thereby so as to maintain a coin in operative relation to said coin-releasable means when the key is in operative position in the lock but adapted to release said coin upon longitudinal movement of said key.

4. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, key-actuated mechanism for operating the same, coin-releasable means for locking said bolt in unlocked position, and a pivotally mounted coin-controlling device constructed to normally maintain a coin in operative relation to said coin-rel'easable means, said device being provided with a projection adapted to be engaged by the key upon longitudinal movement thereof, whereby said device is actuated to release the coin. AMOS A. l/VYCKOFF.

Images