US3802231A - Combination lock - Google Patents

Combination lock Download PDF

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Publication number
US3802231A
US3802231A US00254914A US25491472A US3802231A US 3802231 A US3802231 A US 3802231A US 00254914 A US00254914 A US 00254914A US 25491472 A US25491472 A US 25491472A US 3802231 A US3802231 A US 3802231A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
rings
rotatable member
actuating
recesses
spring
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00254914A
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English (en)
Inventor
B Piq
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3802231A publication Critical patent/US3802231A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05B—LOCKS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; HANDCUFFS
    • E05B37/00—Permutation or combination locks; Puzzle locks
    • E05B37/02—Permutation or combination locks; Puzzle locks with tumbler discs or rings arranged on a single axis, each disc being adjustable independently of the others
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T70/00—Locks
    • Y10T70/50—Special application
    • Y10T70/5093—For closures
    • Y10T70/554—Cover, lid, cap, encasing shield
    • Y10T70/5562—Removable
    • Y10T70/5571—Freely movable when locked
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T70/00—Locks
    • Y10T70/50—Special application
    • Y10T70/5611—For control and machine elements
    • Y10T70/5854—Bolt, nut, stud, stud-cap
    • Y10T70/5863—Freely movable when locked
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T70/00—Locks
    • Y10T70/70—Operating mechanism
    • Y10T70/7153—Combination
    • Y10T70/7322—Permutation
    • Y10T70/7328—Compound tumblers
    • Y10T70/7339—Pin and socket

Definitions

  • ABSTRACT A combination lock comprises a plurality of manually rotatable rin s coaxial] mounted about a rotatable [3O] Forelgn 9 Pnomy Data member, a p rotruding Zam end of a bowed annular May 19, 1971 Switzerland 7348/71 Spring fixed in an annular groove in the member press ing outwardly against inner cylindrical surfaces of the [52] US.
  • a combination lock including at least two manually rotatable coaxial actuating rings each carrying a series of external reference marks, the actuating rings being placed about a rotatable member including a non-manually rotatable external surface carrying at least one reference mark, the actuating rings having coaxial cylindrical inner walls each provided with a recess, and an intermediary driving piece fixed for rotation with the rotatable member, an elastically radially outwardly urged active part of the driving piece being adapted to bear against said cylindrical inner walls when at least one of the recesses is out of alignment with the active part and to engage in the recesses to lock the rotatable member for rotation with at least one of the actuating rings when the rings are placed with a combination of their reference marks corresponding to alignment of all of .the recesses with the active part, in which the driving piece is formed by a bowed spring constrained to the form of a split ring andlodged in an annular groove defined between a peripheral wall of
  • a lock according to the invention may conveniently be incorporated in a fuel tank cap, for example for an automobile vehicle.
  • a door lock in which case the actuating rings would form part of a handle, and the rotary member would be integral with a door-catch actuating shaft.
  • FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in axial crosssection, of a fuel tank cap incorporating a lock according to the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-section taken along linen-11 of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cap shown in FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 5 is a plan view of the intermediary driving member, in the form of an open spring, in its unstressed condition;
  • FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the spring shown in FIG. 5;
  • FIG. 7 and 8 are elevational views of the actuating rings of the lock.
  • FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing the cap of FIG. 1 in a locked" position.
  • the combined combination lock and cap 1 for a fuel tank of an automobile comprises a tubular rod 2 open at its threaded lower end 4 and closed at its upper end with a flange-like disc 3.
  • a tubular rod 2 open at its threaded lower end 4 and closed at its upper end with a flange-like disc 3.
  • the rod 2 are placed two sleeve-like parts Sand 6, axially held by means'of a nut 28 screwed onto end 4, the upper part 6 having a central counterbore receiving the disc 3.
  • the lower end of part 5 has an extemal'screw thread 27, or other means enabling the cap 1 to be secured in or removed from a cooperating recess (not shown) at an end of a conduit leading to a fuel tank, by a rotary motion of the member formed by parts 5 and 6.
  • Parts 5 and 6 each have, in axial cross-section as shown in FIG. 1, facing housings 5a and 6a each of substantially L-shape, together forming a substantially T- shaped annular housing, the central stem of the T- being directed radially outwards and therefore opening at the periphery of member 5/6.
  • each of substantially U-shaped cross-section with the inner arms 9 and 10 of the Us shorter than the outer arms, are axially superimposed so as to form an overall substantially H-shaped section, and are lodged with the arms 9 and 10 engaging in the T-shaped annular housing of member 5/6.
  • the outer cylindrical surface of the member 5/6 is thus rendered inaccessible from outside the cap 1 and, since the only accessible outer part of the surface of member 5/6 is substantially flat and smooth, the member 5/6 therefore cannot be manually turned from outside the cap 1.
  • Member 5/6 can thus mediary driving member in the form of a spring 20 provided with an outwardly protruding cam 21 and lodged in an annular groove 11 in the part 6, the lower wall of this groove 11 being formed by the upper face of part 5.
  • the spring 20 which may be in metal or a synthetic plastics material, when in its unstressed state has approximately the shape of a horseshoe whose arm opposite that of cam 21 is cut away. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the spring is bowed in groove 1 1, it takes the form of a split annulus or ring. With the exception of its end carrying the cam 21, the spring 20 is connected to parts 5 and 6' by means of five equally spaced-apart pins 22 (FIG. 6) protruding from opposite faces thereof, these pins 22 engaging in five of six corresponding equally spaced apart axial blind bores in each of the facing annular walls of parts 5 and 6 which axially define the groove 11.
  • One of these bores in part 6, i.e. the one in which no pin 22 is engaged, is schematically indicated by reference numeral 24 in FIG. 2.
  • the outer face of groove 11 is limited by the neighboring zones of the cylindrical inner walls of rings 7 and 8.
  • the inner cylindrical wall of ring 8 is provided with a recess 26 (FIG. 2) having substantially the same rectangular cross-sectional shape as the cam 21, and adapted when it receives the cam 21 to lock the ring 8 and the member 516 for rotation together.
  • the inner cylindrical wall of the other ring 7 is provided with a recess 25 (FIG. 3) also adapted to receive cam 21.
  • the recess 25 has inclined lateral walls profiled such that if the ring 7 is turned whilst the cam 21 is engaged in the recesses 25 and 26, the cam is moved by these lateral walls out of engagement with the recesses, and comes to bear against the inner cylindrical surface of the ring 7. In other words, the ring 7 is not locked.
  • the cam 21 can only engage in the recesses 25 and 26 when these two recesses are in alignment with one another and with the cam 21. If, as shown in FIG. 9 for example, the recesses 25 and 26 are not so aligned, the outer face of the cam 21 bears against the inner cylindrical walls of the rings 7 and 8 and, when the rings are turned, the cam 21 slides over these surfacesln this position, the ring 8 is therefo e not locked for rotation with the member 5/6.
  • the first series of marks 29 (FIG. 4-) is carried bythe non-manually rotatable external surface of the member 6, i.e. on the upper part of the cap I, and is composed, for example, of the signs Roman I to VI equally spaced in an annular arrangement.
  • the other series of reference marks 30 and 31 (FIGS. 7 and 8) are engraved on the cylindrical outersurfaces of two rings 12 and 13. These graduated rings 12 and 13 are fitted in peripheral annular grooves in the actuating rings 7 and 8.
  • Rings 14 and 15 each carry six pins 16, 17 respectively protruding from one face thereof in an axial direction, adapted to be received in six corresponding axially directed blind bores 18 and 19 (FIGS. 2 and 3) in the rings 7 and 8.
  • Graduated ring 12 is thus fixed for rotation with the actuating ring 7, and likewise for rings 13 and 8.
  • the reference marks 30 and 31 are formed by the numbers 1m 6 and 1 to 6' equally spaced about the peripheries of the rings 14 and 15, these numbers being schematically indicated, enclosed within circles, in FIGS. 1, 7, 8 and 9 for the purpose of explanation.
  • the correct combination which enables the cap 1 to be screwed onto or unscrewed from its cooperating recess is formed by an alignment of the marks I, 1 and 1', and a liaison enabling the ring 8 to be locked for rotation with the member 5/6 can only be obtained if this combination is shown.
  • the rotatable member could be made in a single piece instead of two parts as described in order to simplify the construction. It would also be possible to dispense with the separate graduated rings, and reference marks could be engrayed directly on the actuating rings. It is also possible to use more than two coaxial actuating rings each bearing a series of external reference marks and a recess in an inner cylindrical surface, thereby increasing the number of possible combinations of reference marks and consequently decreasing the chance of finding the correct combination by hazard. In such a case, preferably only one of the recesses would have the shape of recess 26 (FIG.
  • Another possibility of increasing the number of available combinations is to increase the number of reference marks, e.g. from O to 9 instead of from I to 6, and provide a corresponding number of cooperating pins and bores in the various components.
  • the number of reference marks could also be a whole number multiple of the number of cooperating pins and bores.
  • a lock according to the invention can also be incorporated into a door handle unit.
  • the actuating rings form part of a door knob, and the rotatable member is integral with a latch actuating shaft, generreference mark 1 is no longer in face with mark I, i.e.
  • FIG. 9 Such a random position of the rings is illustrated in FIG. 9 and, in this position, a person who is unaware of the correct combination cannot unscrew the cap 1, since it is extremely unlikely that the correct combination could be found by hazard.
  • the described combination lock also has the feature of permitting changing of the operative combination whenever desired by the user.
  • the parts composing the cap 1 are dismantled axially by removing the lock nut 28, which is only accessible when the cap 1 is removed from its cooperating recess.
  • the combination can be changed by re-assembling the cap 1 with its component parts disposed with a different relative angular disposition to one another, by changing the bores 18, 19 and 24 in which the pins 16, 17 and ally of square cross-section.
  • the knob and/or the latch mechanism could be made removable in a known manner.
  • a lock according to the invention could also be put to other uses, for example as an adjusting or control knob for a mechanical or other installation, whenever it is desired that only authorized persons should be able to manipulate the knob.
  • Combination lock including a rotatable member including a non-manually rotatable surface carrying at least one reference mark, at least two manually rotatable coaxial actuating rings each carrying a series of external reference marks, the actuating rings being placed about said rotatable member, the actuating rings having coaxial cylindrical inner walls each provided with a recess, an intermediary driving piece fixed for rotation with the rotatable member, an elastically radially outwardly urged active part of the driving piece bearing against said cylindrical inner walls when at least one of the recesses is out of alignment with the active part and engageable in the recesses to lock the rotatable member for rotation with at least one of the actuating rings when the rings are placed with a combination of their reference marks corresponding to alignment of all of the recesses with the active part, said driving piece comprising a bowed spring constrainedto I the form of a split ring, said rotatable member and actuating rings defining an annular groove defined between a peripheral wall of the rot
  • actuating rings comprise two axially superimposed actuating rings, said actuating rings each having a substantially U-shaped section which when the rings are placed together form a substantially H-shaped section, the inner arms of the U-sections being shorter than the outer arms, said rotatable member defining an annular housing for said shorter arms and freely rotatably mounting them in said annular housing, and said annular housing having a corresponding cross section as said shorter arms.
  • the rotatable member comprises a central tubular member having one end closed and two sleeve-like parts, mounted on said tubular member concentric therewith, the two sleeve-like parts defining therebetween an annular recess in which said two actuating rings are freely rotatably mounted, said tubular mem-

Landscapes

  • Lock And Its Accessories (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)
  • Cooling, Air Intake And Gas Exhaust, And Fuel Tank Arrangements In Propulsion Units (AREA)
US00254914A 1971-05-19 1972-05-19 Combination lock Expired - Lifetime US3802231A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH734871A CH542349A (de) 1971-05-19 1971-05-19 Kombinationsschloss

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3802231A true US3802231A (en) 1974-04-09

Family

ID=4323720

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00254914A Expired - Lifetime US3802231A (en) 1971-05-19 1972-05-19 Combination lock

Country Status (9)

Country Link
US (1) US3802231A (fr)
AT (1) AT315668B (fr)
BE (1) BE783718A (fr)
CH (1) CH542349A (fr)
DE (1) DE2224412C3 (fr)
FR (1) FR2139544A5 (fr)
GB (1) GB1329537A (fr)
IT (1) IT959742B (fr)
NL (1) NL161539C (fr)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4794768A (en) * 1987-09-21 1989-01-03 Moser Douglas J Push button combination lock type gas cap and actuator employed therein
US4884422A (en) * 1986-06-13 1989-12-05 Dom Sicherheitstechnik Gmbh & Co Kg Device for securing automobile wheels against theft
US20050115287A1 (en) * 2003-10-24 2005-06-02 Jason Chapnik Case with securable closure and method

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US972171A (en) * 1909-12-07 1910-10-11 Louis H Dupont Combination-padlock.
US1898947A (en) * 1932-06-28 1933-02-21 John E Frey Combination lock
US2355888A (en) * 1941-09-19 1944-08-15 Nusbaum Mortimer Lock
US3521471A (en) * 1967-04-05 1970-07-21 Donato Aretola Combination locks

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US972171A (en) * 1909-12-07 1910-10-11 Louis H Dupont Combination-padlock.
US1898947A (en) * 1932-06-28 1933-02-21 John E Frey Combination lock
US2355888A (en) * 1941-09-19 1944-08-15 Nusbaum Mortimer Lock
US3521471A (en) * 1967-04-05 1970-07-21 Donato Aretola Combination locks

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4884422A (en) * 1986-06-13 1989-12-05 Dom Sicherheitstechnik Gmbh & Co Kg Device for securing automobile wheels against theft
US4794768A (en) * 1987-09-21 1989-01-03 Moser Douglas J Push button combination lock type gas cap and actuator employed therein
US20050115287A1 (en) * 2003-10-24 2005-06-02 Jason Chapnik Case with securable closure and method
US7966850B2 (en) * 2003-10-24 2011-06-28 Jason Chapnik Case with securable closure and method
US8272238B2 (en) * 2003-10-24 2012-09-25 Jason Chapnik Case with securable closure and method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2224412C3 (de) 1980-02-07
CH542349A (de) 1973-09-30
AT315668B (de) 1974-06-10
DE2224412B2 (de) 1979-06-07
FR2139544A5 (fr) 1973-01-05
GB1329537A (en) 1973-09-12
NL7206786A (fr) 1972-11-21
DE2224412A1 (de) 1972-11-30
IT959742B (it) 1973-11-10
NL161539C (nl) 1980-02-15
NL161539B (nl) 1979-09-17
BE783718A (fr) 1972-09-18

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