Patent GB-917516-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to locks
IPC: E05B37/00
Filed: 1960-12-02
Abstract: 917,516. Locks; latches. PLANETARY LOCK CO. Ltd. Dec. 2, 1960 [April 12, 1960], No. 41551/60. Class 44. A keyless lock comprises a plurality of control elements 140, each associated with and movable in synchronism with a different one of a plurality of locking elements 150 and an operating member 190 adapted to engage each of the control elements and a latchoperating member 220 in sequence to unlock the latch. The operating member is slidably mounted on a squared part of a rod 14, one end of which is fixed to a part 20 of a knob 16. On rotation of the knob and hence the rod, the flange 194 on the operating member 190, which is biased by a spring 501, engages a shoulder 142 on the first control member 140a to turn it and thus turn a locking member 150 until a groove 148 therein aligns with a ridge 236 on the latch-operating member 220. In the locked position the locking members 150 engage in recesses 238 in the latch-operating member 220 with their grooves out of alignment with the ridge 236. The locking member is held in the position to which it is set by a spring- loaded ball 147 engaging a cog 152. To engage the second control member the operating member is moved back to its next position by a spring 214 acting on the rod 14 and the control member can then be moved so that the groove 148 in its associated locking member aligns with the ridge 236. When the operating member has been moved through all the control members its flange 194 engages in a groove 234 so that upon rotation of the knob 16 the latch-operating member is turned so that one of the projections 230 and 232 thereon engages one of the projections 138 and 136 on a latch bolt 120 and thus slides the bolt to an unlocked position. The bolt is normally spring-biased to the locked position. The inside handle 18 is fastened to sleeve 78 having projection 114 which engages the projections 138, 136 on the latch bolt so that the bolt may be unlocked at all times from the inside. In order to release the mechanism to reset the lock the rod 14 is moved axially either by the inside push-button 70 attached directly to the rod or by the outside push-button 28 which spreads two pivoted levers 56, 58 so that their ends 60, 62 pull on a washer 64 attached to the rod 14. Movement of the rod moves projection 240 between the control members to push the operating member 190 out of engagement therewith and to move a plate 178, which is biased by springs 180, to release the spring- loaded balls 147 from the cogs 152 associated with the locking members whereby these members are turned by springs 164 back to the unlocked position. The projection 240 forms an abutment for the control members to ensure accurate resetting of the lock. In an alternative form the projection 240 is dispensed with and the control members are formed with only a limited number of teeth to control angular movement thereof. The device according to the invention may be used to operate a switch instead of a latch bolt. The inside handle 18 may be directly coupled to the rod 14 so that the latch is locked for both the inside and outside handles. The combination can be changed by first removing the handle 18, the casing section 96 and the control plates 140 thereby exposing the shafts 146 the position of which can be altered to change the combination.