US1328074A - Key-lock - Google Patents

Description

E. 0. BENNETT- KEY LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED APII. I7. 191s.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920;

A INVENTOR. i 2n/7@ @BEA/NET? A TTORNE Y v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. EDWARD o. BENNETT, or OAKLAND, cALIFoItNIAAssIeNon or FIFTY PER CENT. To H EPBUBN anni., or sAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AND HIeAeo, ILLINOIS,

KEY-LOCK.

Lia/28h74..v

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 13 1920.

Application led April 17, 1918, Serial No. 229,192.

i To'aZZ-.whom tg/nay concern:

Beit knovifn ,that I, EDWARD O. BENNETT, a citizen of the' United States, and a resident i of the city of Oakland, county of Alameda,

State of California-have made a new and useful invention, to wit: Key-Locks; and I do hereby` declare the'following to be a f full, clear, concise, and exact description of the same.

The invention relates particularly to keyv locks having movable tumblers therein engaging deviations in the key, and it relates also to a new form of key.

Among the objects of the invention are to roducea lock capable ofan infinite numer of vtumbler combinations, simple in construction and operation, strong in construe-I tion and proof against picking or fraudulent operation. Other objects 'and advantages will appear as this description progresses.

In the accompanying specification and the annexed drawings, the invention is Illustrated in the form considered to be the best, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such form, because it may be embodied in other forms, and it is-also to be understood that in and by the claims following the description it is desired to cover the invention in whatever form it may beembodied. Y v

The present embodiment of this invention illustrates its application to the construction 'of cylinder or barrel type locks, the outstanding advantage of which is the total elimination of'springs and gravity operated parts, all of the parts operated by the key positively engage the same, compelling the tumblers to positively arrange themselves in accordance with the deviations in the key m s: i

'igure 1 is a front elevation of a lock constructed in accordance with this invention looking into the keyhole of the lock.

Fi 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line H II Fig. 1 of the same.

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of a lock as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation looking into the keyhole of the tumbler cylinder.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 6 is a cross section of the same taken on the line VI VI Fig. 2.

Flg. 7 is a disassociated View ofthe cylinder assembly.

Fig. 8 is an end view of the same.

Fig. 1s a detailed view in side elevation of a pa1r of opposed tumblers.

Flg. 10 i s a plan view of a key adapted to the operatlon of a lock constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 11 is an end view of the same, looking toward the entrance end of the key.

In detail the construction illustrated'v in the drawings includes, a cylinder for con taining and guiding aplurality of tumblers and made up of a pair of semi-cylindrical segments 1 and 2 having the transverse cuts 3 3 and 4 -4 therein, respectively forming the lugs 5 5 and 6 6 arranged in offset relatlon, whereby the lugs 5 and 6 lit within the cuts 3 and 4 respectively when the Iends of the segments are flush. The Hush ends of the assembled segments 1 and 2 are diametrically reduced as at 7 and 8 toreceive the snugly fitting rings 9 and 10 respectively, to hold the segments l and 2 in assembly, see F 1g. 5. The cuts 3 4 are conveniently formed by arranging the segments l and 2 1n transverse alinement, then passing the segments beneath a gang milling cutter which forms cuts leaving the lugs 5 6 be' tween. For convenience in cutting I pro'- vide the web portions 11 12 to provide grlps lfor the chuck jawsl during the milling operation. To hold the assembled segments 1 and2 in proper relation so that the periphery Ydescribes a true circle or cylinder, the shoulders 13 and 14 extend beyond the axial line of the cylinder and abut the . depressed shoulders 15 and 16 respectively where by the extensions of the lugs 5 and 6 into the cuts 3 and 4 respectively leave the transverse rectangular spaces 17 and 18 above and below the axial line of the cylinder, which act as guides for the parallel bodies 19 and 20 of the opposed tumblers,

-which slide freely in"the guide spaces 17 and 18. These tumblers are each provided with the integral lugs 21 and 22 respectively and arranged in .opposed relation within the cylinder. The tumblers are alike in construction except vthat the end extensions on opposite sides of the lug are ofI various lengths for reasons which will hereafter appear. A

The dylinder is assembled by laying the tumblers 20' within the groove 4 in the lower segment, see Fig. 2, then the tumblers 19 are inserted linthe grooves 3 3 and the segments laid together as in' Fig. 5, and the rings 9 and 10 slipped over the ends of the segments to hold them in cylindrical alinement. Thus assembled the cylinder'is inserted within the casing or barrel.` The'casing 23 may be of any desirable exterior contour, cylindrical, as shown, or square, as the purpose for which thel lock is constructed may require. The outer end of the casing is provided with the internal shoulder 24: to engage the flange 25 on the ring 10. At the opposite end of the casing the follower ring 26 is inserted over the ring 9 and fixed to the casing by the pins 27 extending therethrough to prevent longitudinal movement ofthe cylinder within-'the casing, but leaving it free to rotate therein. The sides o f the casing are provided with the lon itudinal grooves 28-28 and 29-29, placev within the casing to aline with the ends of the tumblers 19 and 20 when the same are in the locked relation. l

In the present instance the determination of the key combination reverses the usual order of procedure, in that the key is made first. The key consists of a flat blank having parallelsides and of a thickness slightly greater than the height of the tumbler lugs 21 and 22, and of proper length to engage all of the tumbler lugs when inserted withinthe keyhole 30. The key combination is accomplished by routing out the groove 31 in the plane of the key blank with an end mill cutter or otherwise in which operation no particular design need be followed, except that it is desirable to form frequent `deviations to form a groove of irregular contour. rThis groove is repeated on the opposite side of the key as at 32, in the formation of which it is likewise unnecessary to follow a set design as the two groovesY are not interdependent. The keys thus formed are inserted in the keyhole 30, the grooves 31 engaging the lugs 21 and the groove`32 engaging the lugs 22 on their respective tumblers, disalining the lugs in accordance with the lateral deviations in their respective grooves, which causes the ends of the tumblers 19 and 20 to protrude beyond the perimeter of the cylinder. With the key in place, these protruding ends-are then iiled or turned oif flush with the perimeter of the cylinder be# fore it is inserted within the casing 23, as

previously described, 'and within which the cylinder may' rotate freely' without engaging the casing. When the lock is installed, the casing becomes a xe'd part of the .door

or door jamb or other part to be locked and is the immovable part of the lock, while the cylinder therein is the movable part. 'When e5 the key is removed fromthe lock, thelugs 21 ti ying extensionv 3,0

and 22 on all the tumblers travel in thefdel viatin contour of'theirv respective grooves 31 an 32 and are'thrown into different-poder and engage the longitudinal grooves 28--28 and 29e-29 respectively, which locks the cylinder against rotation within the casin 23. The key is provided with an idenproperly. In the present instance there are 12 tumblers, one end of each engaging a groove in the casing, resulting in twelvelocking points that must .be alined before the cylinder can be rotated, a possibility so remote, without -the use of the key, that lthe lock is practically unpickable, for the reason that the last tumbler is soreinote from the entrance of the keyhole that it could not be reached without disturbing those ahead of it and the chance of moving all of them into correct position ser'z'atz'm is likewise a remote possibility, considering that the lateral movement of one end of the tumbler out of onev of the grooves 28 or 29' enters 'it intol the similar groove on the opposite side of the casingunless the exact proper point is known. j

It is obvious that the number of tumblers within the same space may be multiplied byl reducing their thickness, making it possible `to construct a lock of maximum vsafety in very compact form. With the number of digits shown the variation in combinations runs practically intoinfinity; unless it is desired to keep the permutations within to aid in inserting itil a master key; which is one of the possibilil ties of this invention but not one of its essentials. f

The rotation of the cylinder within the casing is utilized inany desirable manner, a.' simple form being shownin Fig. 3, in which,

a pin 33 is ixed in the end of the cylinder eccentric to the axis thereof and engages ai.

slot 34 in the bolt 35 which is guided within a rectangular frame 36, known in mechanics as a scotch yoke 4connection for transforming rotary into reciprocating motion, where-.` by the'rotation of the cylinder moving-the 'pin 33 to opposite'sides of the axis of the cylinder moves the bolt 35 forward and backv to engage and disengage from a suitable keeper or latch plate, to lock the door or other movable part to the frame with which' it coperates. A It is obvious that the rotation of the cylinder within the casing may be votherwise utilized without departing from the spirit of this inventioi'nv Likewise,

kother modifications. within the range ofmechanical knowledge will suggest themselves to those skilled in this art in vapplying this of one segment 4partially engaging in the 0pposed recesses of the opposite segment to provide transverse tumbler guides in the cyllnder on opposite sides of the key-Way, tumblers slidable in the guides and having lugs extending into said key-Way, and a flat key; insertible in the key-Way and having deviating grooves on oppositesides thereof adapted to engage the lugs of the tumblers on opposite sides of the key-Way.

2..A lock including a casing; a cylinder revoluble in saidcasing and having a longitudinal keyhole; independently movable tumblers transversely slidable on opposite sides of said keyhole. and having lugs eX- tending into said keyhole; and a key to fill and fit the key-hole in said cylinder and having deviating grooves in the sides to engage said lugs.

3. A lock including a casing; a cylinder revoluble inCv said casing comprising a pair of opposed segments having registering lugs and recesses forming transverse tumbler Uuides; tumblers slidable in said guides; and key means for moving said tumblers into and and out of enga-gement with said casing.

4. A lock including a casing, a cylinder revoluble in said casing and having a longitudinal key hole and comprising a pair of opposed segments having registering lugs and recesses forming transverse tumbler guides; tumblers slidable in said guides and having lugs extending into said keyhole; and a key having deviating grooves therein adapted to engage said lugs. i

5. A lock including a casing having internal grooves therein; a cylinder revoluble in said casing and having a longitudinal keyhole located axially therein; tumblers transversely slidable in said cylinder adapted to engage said grooves and having lugs extending into said keyhole; and a key having deviating grooves therein adapted to lengage said lugs.

In testimony whereof I have hereuntoset my hand at San Francisco, California, this 13th day of April, 1918.

' EDWARD O. BENNETT.

' HARRY A. MUNROE,

LINCOLN V. JOHNSON.

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