CENTRAL LOCKING SYSTEM

Abstract: The invention relates to a central locking system including a number of locking units (2a..2n) provided with a bolt member (3) movable into a locking and open position, and a control unit (1) provided with a locking mechanism, said locking units being operated simultaneously by said control unit. For controlling the movements of the bolt member (3) the locking units (2a..2n) include a two directionally operable electric motor (12) arranged to be operated electromechanically from the control unit (1) so that switching on and off of current and choice of the direction of current is achieved by means of a backwards and forwards movable selecting member (14) connected to said locking mechanism. The system also includes an accumulator unit (4) connectable to a power source, preferably to the mains, for increasing the current strength momentarily when current is connected by said selecting member (14).

Description: CENTRAL LOCKING SYSTEM This invention relates to a central locking system according to the preamble of claim 1. Many sorts of central locking system are known whereby the locking units in a system can be mechanically coupled to each other so that all the locking units are locked or opened at the same time. For example such a solution is well suited to vehicles, in which the doors connected to the lock are close to one another, and when the system can be installed already in the construction or assembly phase. Electric locking systems are also common in buildings, when separate door locks are fitted with their own electric motors, by which the doors can be opened or closed manually from "the control room" by one or several switches. These kind of electrical systems need rather powerful mains connected electric motors requiring high voltages, as a result of which the whole system must be carefully insulated from its surroundings. For these reasons such systems are quite expensive, and are awkward to install, especially at a later phase. The aim of the invention is to achieve a new, constructional- ly uncomplicated central locking system, advantageous as to its costs and simple to assemble and which is particularly suited to an office environment, in order to provide central locking and unlocking of different items such as the doors and locks of cupboards, chests of drawers and other storage units and also the locks of furniture, data processing and storage means etc. In addition it is the aim of the system that it should be easy to install even afterwards. The aims of the invention are achieved in the manner described in detail in claim 1 and the subclaims. In the system according to the invention a two directional electric motor is used to control the movement of the bolt member of the locking units, and this is controlled by switching on and off the electric current by means of a backwards and forwards moving selecting member. The system also includes an accumulator connected to the power source in order to increase momentarily the current strength when current is connected via the selecting member. As the control unit includes a locking mechanism, it is not necessary to limit entry to the place where the system is installed. As the system is designed for locking items such as are described above, the bolt members of the locking units do not require much power and so quite small electric motors can be used. On the other hand, even when the system includes a rather large number of locking units, use of the accumulator will provide the momentary power required to effect locking or unlocking. It is not necessary to have the system con- tinuously connected to the mains and because the voltages used are low, the system does not need special attention paid to insulation. This makes the system economical and easy to assemble. Right of use " to the system is easy to arrange and control if the lock mechanism used is a key operated rotatable locking disk cylinder lock. In this case said selecting member is installed on a force transmission member connected to the locking mechanism so that turning of the selecting member into a position allowing power to be switched on to open the locking units is not possible until the cylinder mechanism is turned by its key to the open position. As the cylinder lock referred to, could be used a convention¬ al bi-directionally operable rotatable locking disk mechanism such as is described in Patent FI-74320. In another advantageous embodiment the cylinder lock comprises a rotatable locking disk mechanism operable in one direction in a way known as such, in which is a lock housing containing a rotatable inner cylinder and locking bar, which is in part located in a groove in the inner surface of the lock housing when the mechanism is in the locked state. In this case, in order that the selecting member can move in the opposite direction to the operating direction of the lock mechanism the groove is extended in that opposite direction. A switch can be connected to the selecting member, having a neutral position, when current is not connected and, on each side of this neutral position, extreme positions when power is switched on to the locking units. It is an advantage to choose a switch in which turning the switch from one extreme to the other changes the direction of the current at the same time. In this way the electric motors can simply be operated by the same switch for providing both locking and unlocking. This switch can, with advantage, be fastened to the lock housing of the control unit cylinder lock. It is an advantage if the switch is loaded to return from either of the extreme positions to the neutral position. If in addition the said selecting member is spring loaded in the neutral position, in which it does not affect the switch, it will ensure that the locking units circuit is only closed when one actually wants to either open or close the locks. In this way, in practice, the accumulator unit will always have plenty of time to become charged so as to accomplish said operations. The locking unit includes a lock housing enclosing the electric motor, and is provided with limiting members to limit, in either turning direction, the turning movement of the spindle of the electric motor and the guiding member attached thereto and acting on the bolt member. In this way all movements of the bolt member can be simply achieved by the electric motor. The accumulator unit can with advantage include a number of capacitors connected in parallel. When current is switched the locking units it is of advantage to arrange the accumulator unit to feed the electric motors momentarily with a substantial overvoltage in comparison to their nominal voltage. In this way the electric motors achieve much greater power than when using the nominal voltage. Hence, it is possible to use quite small and cheap electric motors in the locking units. However there is no danger of damaging the motors because the overvoltage is for such a short duration. In practice the electric motors for use in such locking units should be in the nominal power range 1 to 15 volts, or preferably 3 to 12 volts. In the following the invention is described more in detail with reference to the attached drawing, in which figure 1 shows schematically a central locking system according to the invention, - figure 2 shows a circuit diagram of the central locking system of figure 1, - figure 3 shows a control lock for a system according to the invention viewed from the back side, - figure 4 shows the lock of figure 3, of which some parts has been removed, figure 5 shows an embodiment of a locking unit according to the invention, figure 6 shows an arrangement made in the body of the locking unit, figure 7 shows another embodiment of a locking unit according to the invention. In the drawing reference numeral 1 indicates a control lock for a central locking system. By means of the control lock it is possible to simultaneously accomplish movement of bolt members 3 of locking units 2a-2n positioned at separate locking locations into a locking position or into a releasing position. The control lock can be a cylinder lock of ordinary construction, preferably provided with rotatable locking discs, the locking mechanism of which being turnable on either side of the insertion position of the key (not shown in the drawings) at least for some distance. Opening of the locking units takes place by turning the key in the control lock in the direction A and locking thereof by turning the key in the direction B respectively. Control of the operation of the locking units is provided electrical¬ ly, and for this purpose the system includes an accumulator unit 4 and a transformer 5, through which the system is connected to the mains network. The control lock includes three light diodes to indicate the state of operation of the control lock and of the system. Light diode 7 burns when the switch members (cf. figure 2) of the control lock are switched so as to be connected to the voltage. Light diode 8 burns when the locking units 2a- 2n are moved into the opening position, and light diode 9 burns when the locking units 2a-2n are moved into the locking position. An electric circuit diagram for the central locking system is disclosed in figure 2. An essential component for the control of electric motors 12 in the locking units 2a-2n is a switch 6, to be operated by the control lock 1 and having a neutral position, into which it is mechanically urged to move and in which there is no current connected to the locking units. In the position shown in figure 2 the switch 6 is in its neutral position. In addition the switch 6 has an operating position on either side of the neutral position for controlling the operation of the locking units 2a-2n. When the switch 6 is turned by means of the control lock 1 from its neutral position to the operation position corresponding to the opening the locking units, in other words in accordance with figure 1 in the clockwise direction A, the switch 6 connects the poles 28/29 and 31/32. Then the electric motors 12 rotate in a direction, in which they are arranged to allow movement of the bolt members 3 into the position in which the locking is released. Correspondingly, when the switch 6 is turned into a position, in which it connects the poles 29/30 and 32/33, the direction of the current is changed and, due to the electric motors 12, the bolt members 3 move into the locking position thereof. The accumulator unit 4 comprises a number of capacitors 10 connected parallel and the capacitance of which can be for instance in the order of 0,04 F. When for instance electric motors of the size of three volts are used in the locking units, the system can without difficulties include over 20 locking units, for the accumulator unit provides a momentari¬ ly high current peak for operating the electric motors of the locking units. Due to the accumulator unit it is also possible to use high overvoltages in the system, whereby increased power can be obtained from the electric motors in comparison with when their nominal voltage would be used. Hereby, at the same time, undisturbed operation of the bolt members of the locking units can be secured. As the overvoltage is only momentary, the electric motors cannot get damaged irrespective of the fact that the rotational movement thereof is limited by stationary limiting members (cf. limiting members 26 in figure 6). Figure 3 shows the control lock 1 viewed from the back side thereof. A force transmission member 13 attached to the locking mechanism of the control lock is arranged to turn a selecting member 14, which includes guiding members 15 and 16 acting on the switch 6. Thus, when the selecting member 14 is turned by the key of the control lock, either one of the guiding members 15 or 16 presses the switch 6 into a position, in which the circuit of the locking units closes thereby getting the electric motors 12 started. As a result of this the bolt members 3 of the locking units move either into the locking or into the opening position thereof. When the key is turned back into its initial position, or the grip from the key is released, the selecting member 14 turns under the influence of a spring 17 back towards its initial position away from the reach of the switch 6. Thereby, also the switch 6 is free to move back into its neutral position, into which it is urged to move, whereby current is switched off. The control lock 1 can be a conventional bi-directionally operable cylinder lock provided with rotatable locking discs. A corresponding cylinder lock operating only in one turning direction can with advantage be applied for the purpose as well, for instance when modified in a way as disclosed in figure 4. The lock of figure 4 corresponds to that shown in figure 3, but the selecting member 14 and the switch 6 have been removed. As obvious from figure 4, a groove 21 in the lock housing 18, provided for locking bar 20 included in a conventional locking mechanism based on rotatable locking discs, has been enlarged into the direction opposite to the normal operation direction of the locking mechanism so that an inner cylinder 19 and the force transmission member 13 attached thereto can be turned from the initial position of the key, or from the insertion position thereof, into said direction a distance so as to enable the switch 6, due to the selecting member 14 attached to the force transmission member 13, to connect current into the electric motors 12 in the locking units so as to provide locking. Otherwise the operation of the locking mechanism is fully conventional. The arrows A and B in figure 4 correspond to those shown in figure 1. Figure 4 also shows a slot 22 provided with stop surfaces 23 arranged in the lock body for a return spring 17 arranged to urge the selecting member 14 into a position corresponding to the neutral position of the switch 6. Figure 5 shows an embodiment of the locking unit 2, which is provided with two steel balls serving as bolt members 3 arranged to be pressed into a protruding position for providing locking by a guiding member 24, which is fixed to the spindle of the electric motor 12 by means of a screw 25. Correspondingly, when the guiding member 24 is turned in the other turning direction whereby the electric motor 12 rotates in the opposite direction, the guiding member 24 allows the bolt members 3 to move inside the lock body into the releasing position. Figure 6 shows the cross-sectional form of the guiding member 24 as well as the limiting members 26 made ' in the lock body and determining the freedom of rotation allowed for the guiding member 24 and, thus, for the electric motor 12. Figure 7 shows an alternative embodiment for the locking unit 2, in which a conventional turnable cam member 27 serves as the bolt member. The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown but several modifications are feasible within the scope of the attached claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A central locking system including a number of locking units (2a..2n) provided with a bolt member (3) movable into a locking and open position, and a control unit (1) provided with a locking mechanism, said locking units being operated simultaneously by said control unit, characterized in that for controlling the movements of the bolt member (3) the locking units (2a..2n) include a two directionally operable electric motor (12) arranged to be operated electromechani- cally from the control unit (1) so that switching on and off of current and choice of the direction of current is achieved by means of a backwards and forwards movable selecting member (14) connected to said locking mechanism, and that the system also includes an accumulator unit (4) for connecting the system to a power source, for instance to the mains, and for increasing the current strength momentari¬ ly when current is connected by said selecting member (14). 2. A central locking system according to claim 1, characte¬ rized in that the locking mechanism is a key operated rotatable locking disk cylinder lock, and that the selecting member (14) is fitted to a force transmittimg member ( 13) attached to the locking mechanism in such a way that turning the selecting member (14) into a position in which power is connected to the locking units (2a..2n) for opening them, can happen only when the cylinder lock mechanism is turned to the releasing position by its key. 3. A central locking system according to claim 2, characte¬ rized in that the cylinder lock (1) includes a rotatable locking disk mechanism operable in a known way bi-direc- tionally. 4. A central locking system according to claim 2, charateri- zed in that the cylinder lock (1) includes a rotatable locking disc mechanism operable in a known way in one direction and which includes a lock housing (18) containing a turnable inner cylinder (19) and a locking bar (20) which, when the mechanism is in the locked position is partly situated in a groove (21) in the inner surface of the lock housing, and that for moving the selecting member (14) in the opposite direction to the operating direction of the locking mechanism the groove (21) is extended in said opposite direction. 5. A central locking system according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the selecting member (14) is through its movement arranged to move a switch member, which has a neutral position, in which current is not connected, and on either side of this neutral position an extreme position in which current is connected to the locking units (2a..2n), and that by moving the switch from one extreme position to the other the direction of the current is simultaneously changed. 6. A central locking system according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the switch member (6) is connected to the cylinder lock housing (18). 7. A central locking system according to any of the above claims, characterised in that the switch member (6) is loaded to return from either extreme position to the neutral position. 8. A central locking system according to any of the aabove claims, characterized in that the selecting member (14) is spring loaded (17) into a neutral position, in which it does not act on said switch member (6). 9. A central locking system according to any of the above claims, characterized in that said locking unit (2) includes a lock body enclosing the electric motor (12), and being fitted with limiting members (26) for limiting, in either turning direction, the turning movement of the spindle of the electric motor or a guiding member (24) attached to the spindle and acting upon the bolt member (3). 10. A central locking system according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the accumulator unit (4) includes a group of capacitors (10) connected in parallel. 11. A central locking system according to any of the above claims, characterized in that on switching current to the locking units (2a..2n) the accumulator unit (4) is arranged to momentarily supply the electric motors of the locking units with a substantial overvoltage in comparison with their nominal voltage. 12. A central locking system according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the electric motors of the locking units (12) are selected so that their nominal voltage is in the range 1...15 volts, and preferably 3 12 volts.

Inventors: HURSKAINEN OIVA, HURSKAINEN, OIVA
Applicants: WAERTSILAE OY AB, OY WAERTSILAE AB
Application year: 1989
Main classification: E05B47
IPC codes: E05B47, E05B63