US1533628A - Post-office mail-box lock - Google Patents

Description

' F. E. BEST 'POST OFFICE MAIL BOX LOCK Filed June 19, 1923 Patented Apr. 14, 1925.

UNITED STAT PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK E. BEsT, OF SEATTLE, wA'sHINGTou'AssIeNoR o FRANK E. BEST, me, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION or WASHINGTON.

POST-OFFICE MAIL-Box LOCK.

To all ii /m it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E. Bns'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of VV-ash- 5 ington, have invented a new and useful Postlttice Mail-Box Lock, of which the followiug is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in locks and latches of the form commonly used on post oflice mail boxes and an object of my improvement is to provide lock mechanisln of this nature that is simple in construction, etlicient in operation and not expensive to manufacture.

Another object is to provide lock mechanism of this nature having a latch which may be manually lockedby a person on the inside of the door on which this lockImechanism is installed to make it impossible for a person having a proper key to unlock the door from the outside.

A further object is to provide a lock structure of this nature in which pin tumbler locking mechanism may be successfully used and in which a relatively long look housing is used in a relatively thin door and is allowed to protrude inwardly therefrom the lock housing having an externally disposed rotatable sleeve by which latch mechanism so that is mounted on the inside of the door is operated.

Other and parent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying draw- 35 ings.

In the d 'awings Figure 1 1s a vlew 1n elevation showing the outeror front side of a mail box door on which this'lock mechanism is installed. I

Fig. 2 is a. view .in elevation showing the top edge of the same certain parts being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a view'in elevation showing the inner or rear side of the door. Referring to the drawings, throughou which like reference numerals designate like parts, designates a metal door, of the form commonly used on post oflice mail boxes, said door being provided at one edge with an integral guide 6 through which a latch bolt 7 is arranged to project to lock the door to any suitable frame in which it may be installed. The latch bolt 7 is provided with a rearwardly protruding integral stud 8 more specific objects will be ap I position.

Application fiIed Jun e 19, 1923. Serial No. 646,335.

within which the end of a latch bolt operatmg rod is screwed, said rod 9 extending rearwardly in an upwardly inclined direction as shown and passing thru a fixed guide lug 10 on the door 5, a compression spring 11 being provided on the rod 9 between the stud 8 and the guide lug 10 to urge the latch bolt 7 into a locked position.

The outer end of the operating rod 9 is provided with a screw head 12 the inner flange portion of which is arranged to be engaged by a throw bar 13on the, inner end of a cup-like sleeve 14 that fits like a cap over cylindrical lock housing 15 that is anchored in the 'door, the outer face of the lock housing being flush with the outer surace of the door and the innerend of thelock housing protruding inwardly a considerable distance from the door as more clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Lock mechanism, preferably of the pin tumbler type is provided within the lock housing 15 and arranged to be operated by the insertion of a key in a key slot 16 to permit rotation of a key plug 17 An eccentric pin 18 on the inner end of the key plug 17 is operatively positioned in a slot 19 in the end of the sleeve 14 and is arranged to turn said sleeve on the lock housing when the key plug is turned to retract the latch bolt .7.

A manually operated latch member 20 mounted on a pin 21 and arranged to be moved by placing a finger on a 'finger piece 22 is provided for locking the bolt 7 to prevent the door from being unlocked from the outside by the use of a key in the look. When the latch member 20 is in the position shown by broken. lines in Fig. 3 it does not interfere with the operation of the bolt 7 but when the same is moved in the direction indicated by i the arrow into the position shown by full lines in Fig. 8 it engages with said bolt 7 and holds the same in a. locked A strip 23 integral with or rigidly secured to the door 5 forms a shoulder against which the latch member 20 may rest when it is ineither a locked or unlocked pomail box, which is accessible to persons from the inside but which can be opened only by the insertion of a proper key in the look from the outside makes it possible for a lOO to snap into locked engagement with th member with which it engages hen the door is closed and the spring 11 will maintain said bolt in its locked position. \Vhen the proper key is inserted in the lock and the throw bar .18

moved to the left from the position shown in F i g. 8 the latch bolt 7 will be withdrawn from the locked position.

It will be understood that this look may be adapted for various uses aside from its use on the door-s of post office mail boxes hereinbefore mentioned.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclose what I now consider to be a preferred embodiment of the invention but it will be understood that the disclosure is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made as are within the scope and spirit of the following claims.

I claim: I

1. In a lock of the class described, a door, a lock housing protruding inwardly from said door, a sleeve rotatable on said lock housing, latch mechanism on said door and means on said sleeve adjacent said door for operating said latch mechanism.

2. In a lock of the class described, a door, a lock housing protruding inwardly from said door, a sleeve arranged to fit over said lock housing and rotatable thereon, lock mechanism in said housing controlling the movement of said sleeve, a throw bar on the end of said sleeve adjacent the inner surface of said door and latch mechanism on said-door arranged to be operated by said throw bar.

3. A lock of the [class described embodying a cylindrical lock housing, a sleeve arranged to ifit over the innenend of said lock lions ing and extending to a point adjacent the miter end thereof, latch operating means on the outer end of said sleeve and lock mech anism in said housing connected with the inner end of said sleeve for controlling the rotary movement of said sleeve.

4. A lock of the class. described embodying a lock housing, a sleeve rotatable on said lock housing and latch operating means on the open end of said sleeve for operating said latch mechanism.

6. A look of the class described embodying a relatively long cylindrical lock housing, a sleeve arranged to fit over said lock housing, said sleeve having a closed end arranged to fit against the inner end of said lock housing and an open end extending to a point near the outer end of said lock housing, key operated means in said lock housing for rotating said sleeve on said lock housing, latch operating means adjacent the open end of said sleeve, latch mechanism arranged to be connected therewith and manually controlled devices arranged to be moved into engagement with said latch mechanism to prevent operation of said latch mechanism.

7. Lock mechanism of the class described embodying a relatively thin door, a cylindrical lock housing secured to said door, the face of said lock housing being flush with the front side of saiddoor and the rear portion of said lock housing protruding from the rear side of said door, pin tumbler locking mechanism including a rotatable key plug in saidlock housing, an eccentric pin .on the inner end of said key plug, a sleeve arranged to fit over said lock housing and supported for rotation thereon the inner end of said sleeve having a slot that fits over said eccentric pin whereby said sleeve will be rotated by rotation of said key plug, a throw bar projecting outwardly from said sleeve adjacent the surface of said door, a

bolt operating rod having a head arranged to be engaged by said throw bar, a guide for said bolt operating rod, a latch bolt scoured tothe end of said bolt operating rod,

a compression spring on said bolt operating rod between said guide and said latch bolt,

guid means for shid latch bolt and, man

ually operated means accessible from the inside of said door and arranged to be moved into engagement with said lat-ch bolt to hold said latch bolt in a locked position. FRANK E. BlQSl

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