EP0063185B1

EP0063185B1 - Door-locking mechanisms for security enclosures

Info

Publication number: EP0063185B1
Application number: EP19810201408
Authority: EP
Inventors: Anton Johan Jacot
Original assignee: Chubb Lips Nederland BV
Current assignee: Chubb Lips Nederland BV
Priority date: 1981-04-14
Filing date: 1981-12-31
Publication date: 1985-09-04
Also published as: AU548431B2; AU8101582A; IE52238B1; PT74224B; EP0063185A3; ES508530A0; EP0063185A2; BR8200036A; NZ199237A; ES8304254A1; IE820017L; DE3172172D1; PT74224A; NZ199236A

Description

The present invention relates to locking mechanisms for the doors of safes, vaults, strong- rooms and the like security enclosures.
It is customary for the door of a safe or the like enclosure to be locked by means of bolts thrown from the door into engagement with the surrounding frame, for which purpose there may be provided an externally-accessible handle or the like control member which drives the boltwork through a mechanical transmission mounted within the door, the same mechanism, of course, being used to withdraw the bolts when the door is to be opened. For maximum security bolts are thrown through the top, the bottom, and both side edges of the door (ie four-way boltwork). This boltwork is in turn locked in its thrown condition by the operation of one or more locks which may, for example, throw bolts into engagement with portions of the main boltwork to resist the subsequent withdrawal of the main bolts. It is usual for the bolts which are thrown from the vertical (side) door edges to be arranged in opposed pairs - that is to say the bolts which are thrown from one side door edge are aligned with the bolts which are thrown from the opposite side door edge. It is of course vital to the security of the enclosure that the door bolts have a high degree of resistance to forced retraction. One measure to this effect is known from GB-A-8268098 where the structures which interconnect respectively the sets of top and bottom bolts in a four-way boltwork carry abutments which are placed between the inner ends of opposed pairs of side bolts when thrown whereby forced retraction of either bolt in a said pair can be resisted by its engagement with the opposite aligned bolt through the respective abutment. The present invention seeks to provide an improved locking mechanism of this character which can offer optimal security without resort to an unduly complex disposition of parts.
Accordingly the invention resides in a locking mechanism for the door of a security enclosure comprising in accordance with the mechanism disclosed in GB-A-268098: boltwork including two sets of side bolts arranged in opposed pairs to be thrown from opposite side edges of the door, a set of top bolts arranged to be thrown from the top edge of the door and a set of bottom bolts arranged to be thrown from the bottom edge of the door; transmission means for throwing and withdrawing the boltwork in response to a control member accessible from outside the door; and means for selectably locking the boltwork in its thrown condition; structures which interconnect respectively said set of top bolts and said set of bottom bolts carrying abutments which are placed between the inner ends of the two bolts in respective said opposed pairs of side bolts when thrown, whereby forced retraction of either bolt in any said pair can be resisted by the engagement of that bolt with the opposite aligned bolt through the respective said abutment; characterised in that said transmission means include a thrower rotatable in either sense by said control member and linked in driving engagement to structures which interconnect respectively said two sets of side bolts, said set of top bolts and said set of bottom bolts; said locking means are adapted to engage said thrower to lock the same with the boltwork in its thrown condition, thereby to resist the forced retraction of any bolt of the boltwork; and said locking means and thrower are located in a space which lies substantially entirely between the parallel lines of action of two neighbouring said opposed pairs of side bolts.
It is of advantage, in maximising the supported length of the side bolts and in order to place the aforementioned abutments closely between them, to stagger the movement the side bolts and of the abutments so that, upon throwing, those bolts commence movement before or at a faster rate than the abutments and, upon withdrawal, the abutments commence movement before or at a faster rate than the side bolts.
In a preferred embodiment, the mechanism according to the invention also comprises means for selectably disengaging the coupling of said control member to the boltwork when in its thrown condition. By this means, in the event of burglarious attack on the enclosure it is impossible to use the control member to put force on the boltwork or to withdraw the bolts even if the action of the aforesaid locking means can be overcome. Preferably such disengaging means are operatively associated with said locking means whereby operation of the locking means to lock the boltwork acts also to disengage the coupling of the control member as aforesaid. Alternatively, however, the disengaging means could be embodied e.g. as an independent key or combination operated mechanism, separate from any such locking means, if desired.
It is highly desirable that the bolts which are thrown from the door edges are well supported over an appreciable axial length within the door, in order to resist attempts at twisting the bolts in their mountings, by use of explosives or jacks for example; this is particularly so in the case of bolts thrown from the door edges which are parallel to the hinge line - i.e. from the vertical (side) door edges. If such support for the bolts is to be achieved it follows that the side bolts will occupy at least a substantial proportion of the width of the door, if not the entire width, when withdrawn. In accordance with the present invention this can readily be achieved by virtue of the location of the aforesaid locking means and thrower (and preferably also any said disengaging means) in a space as defined above which lies substantially entirely between the parallel lines of action of two neighbouring said opposed pairs of side bolts, thus leaving the entire width of the door free for accommodating those bolts if desired.
These claimed features of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating portions of a preferred embodiment of a safe door equipped with a locking mechanism according to the invention, including also a handle/bolt isolating mechanism, in which:

Figure 1 is a section, taken on the line I-I of Figure 2, through the locks and handle/boltwork- isolating mechanism of the safe;
Figure 2 is a section taken on the line II-II of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an elevation, partly in section, of the boltwork incorporated in the safe, shown in its withdrawn condition;
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the boltwork in its thrown condition; and
Figure 5 is a section on the line V-V of Figure 4.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the illustrated locking and isolating unit A includes a mounting block 1 which is secured within a steel pan 2 on the inside face of the safe door. Two locks 3 and 4 are mounted to the block 1, in the illustrated example lock 3 being a combination lock and lock 4 being a keylock, although other permutations of lock type are possible. The boltwork of the door is operated by turning an external handle (not shown) mounted on the end of a shaft 5, it being necessary to establish a driving connection between the shaft 5 and a coaxial thrower 6 borne by the block 1 if the turning of the handle is to be effective to throw or withdraw the boltwork. Movement of the thrower 6 is transmitted to the boltwork through four drive rods 7-10 pinned to the thrower (of which three are seen in Figure 1), as will be more fully described hereafter.
As will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the thrower 6 has a longitudinal slot 11 within which is borne a drive element 12 of rectangular cross- section. This drive element is capable of axial movement relative to the thrower within limits set by a cross-pin 13 held by the thrower and extending through a slot 14 in the element 12. The drive element is biased towards one of its limiting positions by means of a compression spring 15 captive in the thrower, and when the element 12 is free to move under the bias of the spring it can project from the thrower to engage in a rectangular recess 16 in the adjacent end of the shaft 5; (in Figure 1 the shaft 5 is shown rotated through 90° from the position in which it can engage with the element 12). When these components are engaged rotation of the shaft is transmitted into rotation of the thrower for throwing or withdrawing the boltwork as appropriate.
Normally, however, when the safe door is closed and locked, the drive element 12 is maintained in the position in which it is shown in Figure 1, i.e. out of engagement with the shaft 5 which latter can accordingly turn without putting any force on the boltwork. This disengagement is achieved by operation of the locks 3 and 4.
To this end, each lock has a bolt 17, 18 with a tapered nose which, when the bolt is thrown, extends through the block 1 and into a respective radial aperture 19, 20 in the thrower 6, where the nose engages a respective inclined surface 21, 22 on the drive element 12 to withdraw that element from the shaft 5 by a camming action, against the bias of the spring 15. As will be appreciated, throwing either of the lock bolts 17 or 18 will achieve this disengagement, although in point of fact the inclined surface 21 of the element 12 which cooperates with the combination lock bolt 17 is undercut slightly as compared with the other inclined surface 22, so that when both lock bolts have been thrown the force of the spring 15 is met by the keylock bolt 18 only and the combination lock bolt 17 is not loaded. By their entry into the apertures 19 and 20 the bolts 17 and 18 also, of course, interlock the thrower 6 to resist any subsequent attempt at forced retraction of the boltwork. Furthermore, the lock bolts have lateral extensions 23, 24 which in this position block withdrawing movement of rods 25 and 26 carried with the top and bottom boltstraps of the main boltwork, as will be more fully described hereafter. Arranging the locks as shown in the Figures, with their bolts facing each other across the thrower, assists not only in the provision of a very compact unit but also in resisting attempts to overcome the locking mechanism by knocking in the lock bolts.
In the illustrated embodiment there is also a mechanism, operated by the combination lock 3, for blocking access to the keyhole 27 of the keylock 4 in all conditions except when the combination lock is released. This mechanism comprises a plate 28 which can be slid relative to the keylock between two positions, in one of which an aperture 29 in the plate (Figure 2) registers with the keyhole 27 to provide acess for the key and in the other of which (as illustrated) the aperture 29 is withdrawn from registry with the keyhole. The plate 28 is connected via a toggle lever 30 and slide 31 to a bar 32 which moves together with the bolt assembly of the combination lock 3 to effect the required movement of the plate. It is also preferred to block the whole of the key-entrance 33 (Figure 1) which extends through the safe door, whenever the door is closed and locked. To this end, after the keylock 4 has been thrown and the key removed, but before the combination lock is thrown, a profiled steel section (not shown) is inserted into the entrance 33 and through the plate aperture 29 into the keyhole, and the combination lock 5 is then thrown to slide the plate 28 so that a narrow extension 34 of the plate aperture 29 moves over a waisted portion at the end of the steel section to retain it in place.
It will also be seen from Figure 2 that the thrower 6 has a third radial aperture 35. The purpose of this is to enable the keylock 4 to be re- thrown after the main boltwork has been withdrawn and the door has been opened, in withdrawing the main boltwork the thrower 6 having been rotated into the position in which the aperture 35 aligns with the lock bolt 18. This is of value both in enabling the key to be removed from the lock 4 (if the lock is of a key-retaining kind) and in re-locking the thrower to prevent tampering with the throwing mechanism. The presence of the rod 25, which in this condition will have been withdrawn with the main boltwork to extend through the whole of its guideway in the block 1, does not block this re-throwing of the keylock as the rod 25 is provided with an appropriately positioned notch (not shown) which permits the bolt extension 24 to pass. Throwing of the combination lock 3 is, however, precluded in this condition as there is no corresponding additional aperture for the bolt 17 in the thrower 6.
Turning now to Figures 3 and 4, these show the general arrangement of the boltwork within the door. This is a four-way boltwork comprising a pair of bolts 36 and 37 interconnected by a strap 38, thrown from the hinge side of the door; a pair of bolts 39 and 40 interconnected by a strap 41, thrown from the top of the door; a pair of bolts 42 and 43 interconnected by a strap 44, thrown from the opening side of the door; and a pair of bolts 45 and 46 interconnected by a strap 47, thrown from the bottom of the door. The side bolt straps 38 and 44 are linked to the thrower 6 by respective pinned drive rods 7 and 9, and the top and bottom boltstraps 41 and 47 are secured to bars 48 and 49 which in turn are linked to the thrower 6 by respective pinned drive rods 8 and 10. Each one of the bolts is journalled at two positions along its length, one position provided by the side wall of the pan 2 and the other by a respective bearing block 50 welded to the face of the pan.
The hinge-side and opening-side bolts are arranged in opposed pairs 36, 42 and 37, 43 and it will be seen from Figure 3 that in the withdrawn condition these bolt pairs extend across virtually the entire width of the door. It will be appreciated from Figures 3 and 4, together with Figure 5, that this is made possible by mounting the locking and osolating unit A completely within the space between the lines of action of the successive vertically-spaced bolt pairs 36/42 and 37/43. Movement of the bolts from the Figure 3 to Figure 4 position is achieved by appropriate rotation (in the clockwise sense as viewed) of the thrower 6, and it will be further appreciated from Figure 4 that the arrangement maximises the length over which the side bolts 36, 37, 42 and 43 are supported within the door and at the same time permits the bolts to be thrown through a relatively long distance. Typically with the illustrated arrangement the hinge-side, top and bottom bolts are thrown a distance of 50 mm while the opening- side bolts 42 and 43 opposite the hinge line are thrown through 80 mm, the increased throw for the latter being achieved by linking the drive rod 9 to the thrower 6 at a greater radius from the axis of rotation X of the thrower than the other drive rods 7, 8 and 10.
As previously indicated, when the boltwork is thrown and the locks 3 and 4 operated, the external handle is disengaged from the thrower and forced retraction of the boltwork is resisted by the lock bolts engaging the thrower 6. Retraction of the top and bottom bolts 39, 40, 45 and 46 will also be resisted by the lock bolts blocking the paths of movement of rods 25 and 26 carried with the boltstraps 41 and 47 and extending into the central section of the mounting block 1. In addition, forced retraction of the side bolts will be resisted by the positioning of respective abutment bars 51 and 52, which are carried by the bars 48,49 together with the top and bottom boltstraps 41,47, between the inner ends of the bolts in each opposed pair 36/42 and 37/43. For example, if an attempt were made to knock the bolt 42 inwards when thrown it would engage the bar 51 and eventually through it the bolt 36 which latter is received in a detention in the opposite side of the door frame. The bolt 36 therefore is prevented from being knocked further outwards from the door and thus prevents the bolt 42 from being knocked inwards sufficiently far to disengage from its own detention; in effect, the bolts react against each other to resist retraction of either one.
In order to permit the bars 51 and 52 to be placed closely between the side bolts without fouling the bolts in their movement the relative angular positions at which the drive rods 7-10 are linked to the thrower 6 are so selected that during the initial stage of throwing movement the boltstraps 38 and 44 move at a higher linear rate than the boltstraps 41 and 47 to make way for the bars 51 and 52, and conversely during the initial stage of withdrawing movement of the boltstraps 41 and 47 move at a higher linear rate than do the straps 38 and 44.
Although described and illustrated in terms of its application to boltwork having only two bolts thrown from each vertical door edge, this locking mechanism can readily be adapted for doors of sizes and proportions which require a greater number of vertical-edge bolts. In such a case the boltstraps 38 and 44 are extended in length (upwards and/or downwards relative to the position of the locking/isolating unit A) to carry the required number of bolts, and the bars 48, 49 are correspondingly extended between their points of connection to the drive rods 8, 10 and boltstraps 41, 47, to carry the requisite number of abutment bars 51, 52 for each opposed pair of side bolts.

Claims

1. A locking mechanism for the door of a security enclosure, comprising: boltwork including two sets of side bolts (36, 37; 42, 43) arranged in opposed pairs (36/42, 37/43) to be thrown from opposite side edges of the door, a set of top bolts (39/40) arranged to be thrown from the top edge of the door and a set of bottom bolts (45, 46) arranged to be thrown from the bottom edge of the door; transmission means (5, 6, 8) for throwing and withdrawing the boltwork in response to a control member accessible from outside the door; and means (3, 4) for selectably locking the boltwork in its thrown condition; structures (41, 48; 47, 49) which interconnect respectively said set of top bolts (41, 48) and said set of bottom bolts (47, 49) carrying abutments (51, 52) which are placed between the inner ends of the two bolts in respective said opposed pairs of side bolts (36/42, 37/43) when thrown, whereby forced retraction of either bolt in any said pair can be resisted by the engagement of that bolt with the opposite aligned bolt through the respective said abutment; and characterised in that said transmission means include a thrower (6) rotatable in either sense by said control member and linked (7, 9, 8, 10) in driving engagement to structures (38; 44; 41, 48; 47, 49) which interconnect respectively said two sets of side bolts (36, 37; 42, 43), said set of top bolts (39, 40) and said set of bottom bolts (45, 46); said locking means (3, 4) are adapted to engage (17, 18) said thrower (6) to lock the same with the boltwork in its thrown condition, thereby to resist the forced retraction of any bolt (36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46) of the boltwork; and said locking means (3, 4) and thrower (6) are located in a space which lies substantially entirely between the parallel lines of action of two neighbouring said opposed pairs of side bolts (36/42, 37/43).

2. A locking mechanism according to claim 1 characterised in that the movement of said side bolts (36/42, 37/43) and of said abutments (51, 52) is staggered such that, upon throwing, the side bolts commence movement before or at a faster rate than the abutments and, upon withdrawal, the abutments commence movement before or at a faster rate than the side bolts.

3. A locking mechanism according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that the bolts (42, 43) which are arranged to be thrown from the side edge of the door remote from the hinge line are thrown through a greater distance than the bolts (36, 37, 39, 40, 45, 46) which are arranged to be thrown from any other door edge.

4. A locking mechanism according to any preceding claim characterised in that there are carried with said top and bottom bolts (39, 40; 45, 46) respective rods (25, 26) which translate as those bolts are thrown and withdrawn, and said locking means (3,4) have members (17, 18) which block forced retraction of said rods when thrown.

5. A locking mechanism according to any preceding claim characterised by means (12, 17, 18) for selectably disengaging the coupling of said control member to the boltwork when in its thrown condition.

6. A locking mechanism according to claim 5 characterised in that said disengaging means (12, 17, 18) are operatively associated with said locking means (3, 4), whereby operation of the locking means to lock the boltwork acts also to disengage the coupling of said control member as aforesaid.

7. A locking mechanism according to claim 5 or claim 6 characterised in that said disengaging means (12, 17, 18) are located together with said locking means (3, 4) and thrower (6) in the aforesaid space.

8. A locking mechanism according to any preceding claim characterised in that the side bolts (36/42, 37/43) in the respective said opposed pairs are of such length that when withdrawn they collectively occupy substantially the entire width of the door.