US1270717A - Coin-controlled lock for lockers. - Google Patents

Description

S. L. FLOWERS.

com CONTROLLED LOCK FOR LOCKERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-4.1917

Patented June 25, 1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET I fill EN TOR J I. flan/era mrusssss 119M 9% gmfim A HORNE Y8 S. L. FLOWERS.

cum CONTROLLED LOCK FOR LOCKERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.4. 1917 1,270,717. Patented June 25,191&

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR WWW: $.z. Flowers HTTORNEYS S. L. FLOWERS.

COIN CONTROLLED LOCK FOR LOCKERS.

APPLICATION FILED LL19- Patented June 25, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INYENTOH 5. Z. flower:

ll TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SUMPTER LEE FLOWERS, OF BURNS, OREGON.

COIN-CONTROLLED LOOK FOR LOCKERS.

Application filed January 4, 1917.

1 '0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, SUMMER Lne FLownns, a. citizen of the United States, and a resident of Burns, in the county of Barney and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in (Join-Controlled Locks for Lockers, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to coin controlled locks for lockers designed for public uses in public places'and is an improvement over the form shown and described in Letters Patent No. 1,180,993, issued to me on the 25th day of April, 1916, and among the objects thereof are to provide a special type of key and a special type of tumbler practically impossible of imitation by dishonestly inclined persons, to provide means for instant substitution of a tumbler by another at very slight cost, to provide positive batlles against the picking of the look, as by a. wire or the like, to provide an automatic spring detent for the bolt in either of its two positions, to provide hinged doors for the lock casing wherein the hinges are hidden and inaccessible and are also without pintles, to provide a bolt stop for each bolt position and adapted to be rocked out of bolt stopping positions by a coin in one position and by a key in the other position, to provide tortuous runways to prevent the passage of a wire in an effort to reach an operable part of the device, to form such runways and battles struck up from a metal sheet forming the casing, and to provide such devices in a simple, etlicient, and inexpensive form occupying but little room in a locker.

My invention is fully described in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which like characters refer to like parts in each of the views, and in which Figure 1 is a face view of a cabinet pro vided with my luck connected with the door thereof, said cabinet. being considered as a locker in miniature, with the parts of the lock in normal or unoperated positions;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the lock on the line Q2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-.3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, of the interior of the lock, with the parts in operated or cabinet locking positions;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 191 8.

Serial No. 140,568.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fi 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. l, but with the cabinet in operated or locked position;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 77 of Fig. 1;

Fi 8 is a ii'ragmentary section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a detached, perspective, view of the type of tumbler which I, employ;

Fig. 10 is a section taken through the type of key which I employ, on the line 10-10 of Fig. ll; and

Fig. 11 is a fare view thereof, looking down on Fig. 10.

Referring to the drawings, 12 represents a locker having a door 13 hinged thereto at ll and being of any size or form to adapt it to any desi red purpose, being illustrated as a demonstrating cabinet with a carrying handle 15.

Within the cabinet, secured to the inner side of the door, is a lock casing formed of a base plate 16 and a cover plate 17, the latter being lunged at the edges and one of the flanges being beaded at lH Fig. (3, to form a concealed hinge with a flange 19 on the respective edge oi the plate ll), a lock 2) being provided for locking the cover in closed position through the medium of the usual bolt and a. flange El on the rcspcw tivc edge of the plate 11']. the hinge thus formed balllingany attempt to remove the cover by an unauthorized person.

A slide .32 is provided on the Front of the door and in operative connection with a. bolt 23 within the lock casing and held in either of its two positions by means of a spring dotent 24 adapted to engage in either of two notches in the under side of the bolt, Figs. 2 and 4, this bolt being normally in retracted position whereby the locker door 13 remains open until the use of the locker is desired.

Pivot ed to the bolt at 25 is a rocking detcnt All the outer end of which is heavier than the inner and is adapted to rest on a. looped member 27 carried by the bolt to limit movement of said detent 26. The inner end of the detent 26 is bent upwardly and inwardly to form a finger 28 extended normally into a coin chute 29, Figs. 5 and (l, and of a width approximately that of the chute whereby a coin may not fall between said finger 28 and the side of the chute but will be held on said finger to rock the detent 26 on its pivot. The inner arm of the detent 26 is rovidcd, intermediate its length, with a she f 30 of a length slightly less than the distance of bolt movement and is adapted to bear against one side or the other of a fixed stop 31 in the respective bolt positions to prevent bolt movement until said detent is rocked to carry the shelf 30 beneath said stop 31, by the weight of a coin when the bolt is in retracted position and, when the detent 26 is coin rocked, the bolt may be manually forced outwardly by means of the slide 22 to lock the door 13.

The coin chute 29 is arranged between a coin runway 32, arranged adjacent a coin slot 33 in the door 13, and is carried by the bolt 23, and a coin receiving box 34 detachably held in the casing, and said chute 29 is provided with a member 35 adapted to cover the inner side of the coin slot 33 when the bolt is in outward position to prevent the introduction of a coin when the locker is in use. The base plate 16 is provided with a member 36 preventing the escape of a coin when dropped from the runway 32 and which also serves to force the coin out of the chute 29 in the movement of the latter with the bolt 23 into door locking position, and thus deposit the coin in the box 34.

The detent shelf 30, when the bolt 23 is in outermost position, is below the lower end of an inclined runway 37 in turn arranged below an oppositely inclined runway 38 arranged beneath the lower end of a key chute 39 opening to the front of the door 13, and beneath a detachable tumbler 40 forming, when in position, a part of the key chute whereby, when a key is inserted into the opening 41 in a manner to be described, said key will drop upon the runways 38 and 37 and upon the shelf 30 and thereby depress the detent 26 to clear said shelf from the stop 31 and permit manual bolt retraction, said stop also serving to limit key movement and prevent its escape from the shelf until the bolt is retracted.

In the bolt retraction, the key drops to a runway 42 where it is intercepted by the looped member 27, suitable baffles 43 and 44 guiding the key in the right direction and said key is held in this position until the detent 26 is again coin rocked to permit manual bolt movement outwardly to lock the locker, the key then falling to runways 45 and 46 and into a delivery pocket 47 opening through to the front of the door 13 ready to be removed by the person who had inserted the coin to permit door locking.

A person desirous of temporarily storing an article, clothing, suit-cases, or other personal wear, finds an unused locker with its door open, places his article or articles in the locker, closes the door, drops the proper coin through the coin slot to release the bolt, shoots said bolt outwardly to lock the door and, in such movement, causes the key to be delivered to him for carriage with him until he desires to unlock the locker.

When he inserts the key into the opening 41, as before stated, the detent 26 is rocked to permit bolt release, after which he retracts the bolt, opens the door, removes his property, and leaves the door open as he found it, ready for another user.

The key chute 39 is formed on an. arc of a circle and ribbed, as at 48, also on an are having the same center as the chute 39, and the key 49 is provided with a complemental groove 50 for the reception of said rib and being also on the same arc as that of the rib 48, the rib 48 and groove 50 being of any desired height and depth, being arranged along lines other than the central one illustrated, and being duplicated or multiplied if desired, or made of any desired cross sectional configuration, to make the possible key and chute combinations practically with. out limit, and said key carries side flanges 51 and flat extensions 52 thereon to fit the key into the chute and prevent key movement transversely of the chute, and the key may be provided with a hole 53 whereby it may be attached to a kcy'ring.

This arcuate formation of the chute, rib, and groove, requires that the key be inserted in a certain manner so as to have the rib and groove register, and positively preeludes the use of a key having straight grooves and, as there is no visible means of determinirg the radius of the are, a dishonest person would find it practically impossible to make a spurious my and, if found. desirable, key chutes could be substituted in existing locks having arcuate ribs or grooves on a different. radius than the old chute, and thus forestall any dishonest attempt to inake spurious keys.

To further protect. the lock against dishonest persons, or against opening by keys other than the particularone designed for a. locker, I provide the tumbler 40 held in a quickly removable manner, as by spring clips 54 and 55, a particular tumbler formation being provided for a particular key formation and, in the event of the loss of a key by a locker user, the locker may be opened by a duplicate key in the possession of the person in charge ofvall the lockers and a new tumbler instantly substituted and thus prevent subsequent opening of the locker by means of the old key, and the complemental key and tumbler formations are also practically without limit.

Suitable identification cards will be provided whereby the loser of a key may prove the contents of a locker, and the key and tumbler substitution costs pra tically nothing as they will probably, although not necessarily, be made of stampings, no two lockers having the same tumbler formation.

The runways, stops, eta, hereinbefore described as being on the plate 16 will preferably be stamped therefrom and thus provide a. simple, inexpensive, and uniform structure, but I reserve the right to make changes in and modifications of the form shown and described, providing such changes for detent engagement in either bolt position, said detent being released from said stop by the weight of a. coin to permit ontward bolt movement and by the weight of a key to permit inward bolt movement.

2. In a look, a manually operable bolt, a rocking detent thereon, and a stop for detent engagement in both outer and inner bolt positions, said detent being released from said stop by the weight of a coin to permit outward bolt movement and by the weight of a key to permit inward bolt movement.

3. In a look, a manually operable bolt, L rocking detent thereon. a stop for detent engagement in either outer or inner bolt positions, said detent being released from said stop by the weight of a coin to permit outward bolt movement, and a gravity key normally retained within the lock for releasing said detent from said stop to permit inward bolt movement.

4. In a lock, a manually operable bolt, a rocking detent thereon, a stop for detent engagement, and a gravity key for releasing said detent to permit inward bolt movement, the weight of a coin releasing said t'letent to permit outward bolt movement and to deliver a key exteriorly of said lock.

5. In a look, a manually operable bolt, a rocking detent thereon, a stop for detent engagement in either outer or inner bolt positions, a gravity key held by said bolt when in its inner position, said detent be ing released by the weight of a coin to permit outer bolt movement and to thereby release said key, and means for delivering said key exteriorly oi said lock, the weight of said key when inserted into said lock releasing said detent to permit inward bolt movement.

(3. In a lock, a manually operable bolt, a rocking detent thereon. a stop for detent engagement in either outer or inner bolt positions. a gravity key, means .on said bolt for holding said key when said bolt is in inner position, and means for delivering said key exteriorly of said lock when said bolt is moved to outer position, said detent being released by the weight of a coin to permit outward bolt movement and by the weight of said key to permit inward bolt movement.

7. In a lock, a manually operable bolt. a rocking detent thereon, a stop for detent engagement in either outer or inner bolt positions, a. gravity key, means on said bolt for holding said key when said bolt is in inner position, means for delivering said key exteriorly of said lock when said bolt is moved outwardly, and a coin chute carried by said bolt. said detent being released by the weight oi. a coin to permit outward bolt movement and by the weight of said key to permit inward bolt movement.

8. In a lock, a manually operable bolt, a rocking detent thereon. a stop for detent engagement in either outer or inner boltpositions, a gravity key. means on said bolt for holding said key when said bolt is in inner position, means for delivering said key exteriorly oF said look when said bolt is moved outwardly, a coin rbute carried by said bolt and covering the coin slot when said bolt is in outward position, and means for forcing a coin out of said chute when said bolt is moved outwardly, said detent being released to permit outward bolt movement by the weight of a coin and to permit inward bolt movement by the weight of said key. I

9. In a'lock, a manually operable bolt, a rocking detent thereon, a stop for detent engagement in either outer or inner bolt positions, a gravity key, means on said bolt; when in inner position for holding said key, means for delivering said key exteriorly oi said luck when said bolt: is moved outwardly, a key chute provided with an arcuate guide for said key, said key having arcuate means for guide engagement, and a coin chute, said detent being released to permit outward bolt movement by the weight of a coin and to permit inward bolt movement by the weight of said key.

10. In a lock, a manually operable bolt, a rocking detent thereon, a stop for detent engagement in either outer or inner bolt positions, a gravity key, means on said bolt when in inner position for holding said key, means for delhering said key exteriorly of said lock. when said bolt is moved 0utwardly. a key chute, and a tumbler. said chute and tumbler being provided with arcuate guiding means for said key and said key being provided with arcuate means for engagement with said guiding means.

11. In a lock, a manually operable bolt, a roeking detent thereon, a stop for detent engagement in either outer or inner bolt; po sitions, a gravity key, means on said bolt when in inner position for holding said key,

means for delivering said key exteriorly of said look when said bolt is moved outwardly, a key chute, a detachable tumbler forming a continuation thereof, and arcuate means on said chute, tumbler, and key for preventing movement through said chute and tumbler of a key other than the predetermined key.

12. In a lock of the class described, a manually operable bolt, a rocking member thereon, a stop for member engagement in either outer or inner bolt positions, a gravity key having channels on opposite sides thereof arranged in parallelism along arcuate lines, means on said bolt when in inner position for holding said key, means for delivering the key exteriorly of the lock when the bolt is moved outwardly, a key chute, and a tumbler, said chute and tumbler having arcuate ribs fitting certain of said 20 key channels.

SUMPTER LEE FLOWERS.

Images