US2036767A - Delayed control timelock - Google Patents

Description

April 7, 1936., MHLLER r AL zfi fifi g? DELAYED CONTROL TIMELOCK Filed Sept. 8, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l Apfififl 7 19380 C {WELLER AL zfl fifiw DELAYED CONTROL TIMELOCK Filed Sept. 8, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ja \T Patented Apr. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DELAYED CONTROL TIMELOOK Application September 8, 1933, Serial No. 688,692

2 Claims.

This invention relates particularly to a delayed control timelock which is equipped with means for preventing the opening of a safe door until a predetermined time has elapsed after the combination has been set for unlocking. The broader phases of the invention are, however, applicable to control timing mechanism used in other combinations. In many respects, the invention constitutes an improvement upon Miller and Kuenzel 10 application, Serial No. 613,954, for Delayed control timelock.

In delayed control timelocks employing clockwork, it has been found that jarring or other effects sometimes causes the escapement of a clock- 15 work to catch or bind, with the result that considerable difiiculty and expense is encountered in opening the safe.

An object of the present invention is to provide timing mechanism with two or more escapements 20 and with interconnecting means between the escapements so that one may function to control the clockwork even though the others become inoperative. A further object is to provide a delayed control timelock which is automatically 25 wound and placed in operation by the setting of the combination for opening the safe, the timelock being provided with a pair of escapements joined by differential gear connections so that if one escapement does not work, the other will func- 30 tion as a control of the clockwork. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, by the accompanying drawings, in

35 which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a timelock embodying our invention, the timelock being shown applied to the wall of a safe door; Fig. 2, a view taken as indicated at line 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a view taken 40 as indicated at line 3 of Fig. 1; Fig.4, a detail end view of the winding mechanism and winding gear; Fig. 5, a rear view of the clockwork showing the index gear; Fig. 6, a top plan view of the timing mechanism; Fig. '7, a broken detail view in 5 elevation of. one of the escapements employed; and Fig. 8, a longitudinal sectional View of the differential gear connections between the escapement devices.

In the illustration given, A and A represent the 5 two-part casing which houses the operating mechanism; B represents a combination lock apparatus which is enclosed by easing A; and C represents the clockwork within casing A.

The casing parts A and A may be of any suit- 55 able construction and may be secured by screws or other suitable means. In the illustration given, the casing A is provided on one side with a slot l!) through which a locking bolt ll extends.

The combination lock may also be of any suitable construction. In the drawings, a combination lock of a standard or well-known design is illustrated. The lock is provided with the usual operating spindle l3 which extends through the safe door and carries the operating knob M. The knob is equipped with the usual dial l5. Upon the spindle l3 are mounted, in the usual manner,

a series of notched tumblers l6. Keyed to the inner end of spindle I3 is the bolt operating disk H. The disk H is provided with a notch [8 arranged to receive the lug l9 upon the bolt slide lever 26, the pin 2! upon the lever being arranged to enter the notches of the safe tumblers when the notches are brought into alignment. In view of the fact that the combination lock illustrated is well known, further detailed description 20 will not be necessary.

The combination lock mechanism B differs from the standard design only in two particulars. The operating disk I! carries a curved member 22 which is eccentrically and pivotally mounted on disk H. The member 22 has at its forward end, a long curved arm 23, and at its rear, 2. short arm 24, the rear arm 24 being slotted to engage a spring 25 which is secured by posts 26 to the disk ll. The rear arm 24 of the member 22 is adapted to engage a fixed post 2! on disk E1. The member 22 is employed for winding the main spring of the clockwork as will be described more in detail hereinafter. Secured to the bolt slide lever 20 near the point of its pivotal connection with bolt l l is a fixed metal post 28. The post 28 cooperates with means hereinafter described for preventing the withdrawal of the bolt until a predetermined time has elapsed after the setting of the combination for unlocking.

The clockwork C may also be of any suitable construction. The winding gear 29 is connected by pinion 38 to a gear 3! fixed to shaft 32. The shaft 32 carries a main spring not shown, but housed within casing 33. The shaft 32 carries at its rear end a pinion 34 which drives an index gear 35 pivotally mounted on the rear frame wall of the clockwork. The index gear 35 is provided with a plurality of threaded openings 36 on one side of the gear, and a similar series of 5 spaced openings M at the other side of the gear. Threaded pins 33 and 353 are adapted to engage openings 36 and 3?, respectively, as illustrated more clearly in Fig. 5, the pin 39 being adapted to engage an actuating lever arm 40, and the other pin being adapted to engage a stop 4| carried by the rear wall of the clockwork frame. The lever arm is fixed to shaft 42 rotatably mounted in the clockwork frame. To the other end of the shaft 42 is fixed an arm 43 having a reduced end portion 44 received within the slotted end 45 of the pivoted detent or guard 46. As shown more clearly in Fig. 6, the guard 46 has its inner end 41 pivotally mounted on stud 48. The lower front portion 49 of the guard 46 is adapted to engage the pin 28 on bolt-withdrawing arm 20, and thus to prevent the bolt from being retracted. The rotary movement of shaft 42, however, which lifts the arm 43, raises guard 46 so as to move it away from obstructing position with respect to pin 28. A spring 46 normally urges the guard 46 toward its lower or obstructing position.

The index gear 29 is provided with a fixed pin 56 which is adapted to be engaged by the member 22 carried by the operating disk I! to wind the clockwork. The axis of rotation of disk I! is eccentric to that of index gear 29 whereby arm; 23 will engage pin 50 and rotate gear 29 for a part of the revolution only of the disk, as shown in Fig. 4.

In our improved clockwork and, as shown more clearly in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, we provide a. pair of escapements joined by differential gear connections so that when one escapement is rendered inoperative, the other may continue to function as a control for the clockwork. A rotatably mounted shaft 5| carries a pinion 52 secured thereto. A pair of gears 53 and 54, equipped with collars 53 and 54 respectively, are freely mounted on shaft 5|, as shown more clearly in Fig. 8. Between the collars 53 and 54 is mounted a block 55 which is fixed to shaft 5|. To the upper side of block 55 is pivotally mounted a small gear 56, the gear 56 being in a plane substantially at right angles to gears 53 and 54. As shown more clearly in Fig. 6, the collars 53 and 54 are provided on their inner sides with a circular row of teeth 51 meshing with the teeth of gear 56. To hold the assembly together in proper position, a collar 58 may be fixed to shaft 5| adjacent gear 54 and its collar 54*. Escapement devices 59 are connected to each of the gears 53 and 54. In view of the well known construction of the escapements, a detailed description will not be given.

In the operation of the mechanism, before the safe door is closed, the operator determines the period of delay by placing the pin 38 in one of the openings 36, and the pin 39 in a corresponding and diametrically opposed opening 31. Preferably, the gear 35 is provided with numbers adjacent the openings to indicate the period of delay. The safe door may then be closed and locked by scattering the tumblers. When it is desired to unlock the safe, the combination is set for unlocking, the setting operation serving to wind the clockwork. Referring to Fig. 2, when the disk I1 is turned in clockwise direction, the arm 23 of the winding member 22 slips under the pin 50 of winding disk 29. However, when the disk H is moved in counter-clockwise direction, the end of arm 23 engages the pin 50 and moves it a certain distance until the arm 23 clears the pin, due to the oil-center mounting of the spindles I3 and 32 with relation to each other. This movement of pin 50 and gear 29 serves to wind the main spring. The dialing is continued until the notches of the tumblers are aligned and pin 2| drops into the notches. This allows the lug 9 of the bolt-retracting arm 20 to enter the notch |8 of the operating disk l1. The combination lock mechanism is now in position to retract bolt However, the retraction of bolt is prevented by engagement of pin 28 with guard 46 which is held in lower or obstructing position by spring 46 The bolt therefore cannot be withdrawn until the clockwork has run the predetermined length of time. The index gear 35 is slowly rotated by the timelock mechanism until pin 39 engages the lever arm 40 and turns shaft 42. The rotation of shaft 42 swings arm 43 in an upward direction and raises the pivoted guard 46 until it clears pin 28. The bolt may then be retracted in the usual manner.

In the operation of the escapement mechanism, the shaft 5| is driven by the chain of connecting gears between the main spring and pinion 52, and the gears 53 and 54 operate together with their respective escapements. Should one of the escapement devices, for any reason, become inoperative, its respective collar will remain fixed, the shaft 5| turning freely therein. The horizontal gear 56, however, will permit the other collar to rotate freely in connection with its escapement. It will be observed that either of the escapement devices may stop without affecting the operation of the other escapement and its respective gear collar.

While in the foregoing illustration, we have described the differential gear and double escapement in combination with a delayed control timelock, it will be understood that the mechanism may be employed with other types of clockwork or control timing mechanism. Also, while in the embodiment illustrated, the bolt, after the setting of the combination, is ultimately Withdrawn (after retraction of the auxiliary guard, or detent) by further operation of the combination lock, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, but is applicable to various embodiments, regardless of the specific character of the means employed for effecting the ultimate retraction of the bolt, or boltwork, which locks the door to the jamb.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in View of the prior art.

We claim:

1. A look comprising a bolt, auxiliary guard means for preventing Withdrawal of the bolt, normally idle clockwork arranged to operate upon winding and after operation for a time to release said guard means, a combination lock mechanism, means operated by the setting of the combination for winding said clockwork, said last mentioned means comprising a bolt-operating disk carried by said lock mechanism, an arm connected by a pivot at an intermediate point to said disk and eccentrically thereof, a spring having one end fixed to said disk and the other secured to said arm, and a spring-winding gear eccentrically mounted with respect to said disk and equipped with a post adapted to be engaged by said arm on said operating disk when the disk is rotated in one direction.

2. A look comprising a bolt, guard means for preventing withdrawal of the bolt, normally idle clockwork arranged to operate and after operation for a time to release said guard means, a combination lock mechanism, means operated by the manipulation of the combination lock for winding said clockwork, said last-mentioned means comprising an operating disk carried by said lock mechanism, an actuating arm pivotally connected to said disk, a stop, a spring urging said arm against said stop, and a spring winding gear eccentrically mounted with respect to said disk and equipped with a post adapted to be engaged by said curved arm on said operating disk when the disk is turned in one direction.

WILLIAM C. MILLER. PAUL M. HAWICINS.

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