Patent Publication Number: US-9422746-B1

Title: Locker lock with outer and inner housings

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is concerned with lockers for temporary use, but also encompasses lockers for longer term use. In particular, the invention is directed to an electronic locker lock for use on such lockers. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,886,644 and 5,894,277, owned by the assignee of this invention describe locker locks similar to the locks disclosed herein. Those locks each include two housings, one on the outside of the door, one on the inside, secured together with the door panel sandwiched between, preferably using the standard three-hole locker door prep typically included on locker doors. 
     Those patents featured a pin connector without cable, the two components of the pin connector mating together as the inner and outer housings were put into place on the door. In some circumstances such a connection could be problematic, such as when different thicknesses of doors need to be accommodated. Pins of different length had to be provided, and in some cases long pins could be misdirected and deformed as the housings were put in place, preventing a proper connection. 
     It is therefore desirable to have a cable, such as a ribbon connector cable, extending from one of the housings, the end of the cable having a pin connector component that mates with a fixed-position opposing pin connector component on the other housing. Although this arrangement has been used on some locker door locks having inner and outer housings, the cable has presented a problem. The length of the cable must be sufficient for convenience in use for assembling the lock on the locker door, but this length must then be stowed between the housings when attached to the door. Usually the cable was simply stuffed into the small amount of space afforded by the hole through the door. With a sufficiently thick door, such as a ¾ inch wood door, the cable was jammed into the depth of the hole in a somewhat disorganized way, potentially causing damage to the cable. In some cases there has been no place to store the cable. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The electronic locker lock of the invention has outer and inner housings and is somewhat similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,644, but with a cable connector extending from one housing to the other. When the two housings are installed against outer and inner sides of a locker door, the inner housing provides a pocket adjacent to the door for storage of the cable after pin connections have been made. 
     The pocket on the inner housing provides a space for neatly doubling the cable over on itself and stowing the cable between the housings. 
     In addition, a locking connection is made between the two parts of the pin connector, with a plastic spring lock, preventing disconnection while the lock is in service. Prior two-housing electronic locker locks often had the problem of pin connectors being disconnected inadvertently, such as by occasional slamming of the locker door. 
     A further feature of the invention is in the manner the two housings engage together through the locker door. The locker door preferably has a standard three-hole locker door prep, with the cable of the electronic lock extending through a central hole of the three-hole door prep and a pair of machine screws extending through the upper and lower holes of the door prep. The outer housing has internally threaded cylinders extending back on the rear side of the outer housing and through the upper and lower holes of the door prep, and the inner housing has tubular guide recesses receiving the threaded cylinders. This allows the cylinders to extend to varying distances into the tubular recesses in order to accommodate locker doors of different thicknesses, thus different separations between the housings. The machine screws extend from a back side of the inner housing through the tubular recesses and into the internally threaded nut cylinders to secure the two housings in place on the locker door. Machine screws of different lengths can be provided. 
     The lock of the invention is efficiently constructed and installed and reliable and rugged in service. These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, considered along with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a view showing a locker door having an electronic lock according to the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view in perspective showing the inner and outer housings of the lock. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the inner housing. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view showing the inner and outer housings, without the locker door. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross section view showing the connection made between the two housings when secured to the door. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing an alternative embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows a locker  10  with a locker door  12 , and a lock  15  of the invention secured to the door. The front (outer) housing  16  is visible in  FIG. 1 , having an electronic access means, preferably a keypad  18  with other keys  20  for operation of the lock, and also preferably including a terminal  22  for jump power and/or programming or emergency access.  FIG. 4  shows the housing  16  in better detail. 
       FIG. 2  shows the lock  15  in exploded view, the front housing  16  being shown for connection with a rear housing  24 . The inner housing  24  is to be installed against the inside surface of a locker door, directly behind the front housing  16 . The inner housing contains an electromagnetic drive means to operate a bolt or latch, preferably a motor but this could be a solenoid as well. This housing  24  may also contain a microcontroller to operate the electronic lock, although the microcontroller could alternatively be in the outer housing  16 . 
     As discussed above, several features of the lock  15  of the invention add significantly to efficiency of installation and use, reliability and ruggedness in service. One of these features, demonstrated clearly in  FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 , is a pocket or recess  26  in the front side of the inner housing  24 , i.e. the side of that housing facing forward, for contact against the inner surface of the locker door. This pocket or recess is formed by a protruding rim  28  extending around the periphery of the housing  24  at its forward side. As shown in the drawing, the rim  28  preferably is simply a forward extension of top, side and bottom walls  30 ,  32  and  34 . The depth of the pocket  26  can be about ¼ inch, or in the range of about 3/16 inch to ⅜ inch. 
     The function of the pocket  26  is for efficient and organized stowage of an electrical cable  36  that connects electrical components of the two housings when installed on a locker.  FIGS. 2, 3 and 4  all show the cable  36 , which can be a ribbon connector cable. The cable  36  has an outer end with a pin/socket connector component  38 , for connection to a mating component  40  on the back side of the outer housing  16 , as shown. In this view the female connector (socket) is shown on the cable, at  38 , while the male connector (pin) is shown fixed on the outer housing, at  40 . The pin and socket connectors can be reversed in position if desired. As illustrated, the pocket  26  of the inner housing allows the electrical cable  36  to be folded over on itself for stowage, as the two housings are brought together against the inner and outer sides of a locker door. 
     The pin/socket connection is made before housings have been secured, and with the cable  36  extended, generally as indicated in  FIG. 3 . At this point the outer housing  16  can be in place (but not secured) on the outside of the locker door, via upper and lower internally threaded cylinder posts  42  that have been positioned through holes in the locker door. These holes may be part of a three-hole standard locker door prep. 
     After connection, the cable  36  is positioned as shown in  FIG. 3 , then as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4  as the two housings are secured together via the pin/socket connector  38 ,  40 . The excess length of the cable  36  is stowed within the pocket  36 , without crimping, pressure or sharp bends. 
     As seen particularly in  FIG. 3 , the cable in this embodiment emerges from a cable well or depression  44  which extends deeper into the inner housing as shown. This well  44 , if present, is directly opposed to the position of the outer housing&#39;s pin connector element  40 . When the connection has been made and the housings  16  and  24  are secured to the locker door, the pin/socket connector element  38  can extend back slightly into the well  44  if needed. This is seen in  FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a variation in which a cable-storing pocket  26   a  is formed by a rim  28   a  at the back of the outer housing  16   a , rather than on the inner housing. The cable can still extend from the inner housing (not shown) in this case, although it could originate in either housing, provided space (such as the well or depression  44  in  FIG. 3 ) is provided, preferably in the inner housing, to accommodate the two connected pin/socket connector elements  38  and  40 . The pocket  26   a  provides some of the space. 
     Another important feature, as explained above, is the pin/socket connector lock that retains the two pin/socket connector elements together, resisting separation even under repeated locker door slamming. A pair of plastic springs or spring arms  46  are provided on one of the connector elements, here shown at top and bottom of the element  38  at the end of the electrical cable. These spring arms  46 , preferably integral with the plastic body of the pin connector element  38 , each have a small barb  48  at the outer end as shown, for engagement in a recess or over a ledge or edge (see  FIG. 5 ) provided on the opposing pin/socket connector element  40  that is secured in the outer housing  16 . The cross section view of  FIG. 5  shows, somewhat schematically, the two connector components  38  and  40 , the spring arms  46  and the engagement of the barbs  48  each over a ledge  50  that forms part of the outer housing&#39;s fixed pin/socket connector element  40 . Note that the spring arms can be released by pinching back ends  46   a  toward one another, which spreads apart the barb ends. 
     As indicated in the drawings, the connector component  40  preferably extends out rearwardly somewhat from the back wall  52  of the outer housing, and it may include top and bottom tracks or grooves  54  as shown in  FIG. 2  to guide the plastic spring arms  46  as the two connector elements are mated. The locker door  12  is also seen in  FIG. 5 , in this case shown as a sheet metal door which is relatively thin. 
     Although plastic spring locks generally similar to the illustrated locking device have been known for securing together pin connectors in other types of devices, they have not been applied to electronic locker locks having inner and outer housings as in the invention. This has caused problems of occasional dislodging of the connection, whereby the locker lock is rendered inoperable, and a locker door may have to be forced open. 
     A third important feature of the invention involves the internally threaded cylindrical posts  42  of the outer housing, discussed above. The inner housing  24  includes generally tubular guideways  56 , preferably formed by the inside of the housing walls, to receive the cylindrical posts  42 . This provides for a smooth and accurate alignment of the inner and outer housings as they are moved together, and also helps provide for different thicknesses of locker doors that result in variation of distances between the two housings when assembled. Upper and lower machine screws  58  are inserted into the inner housing from a back side, not shown in these views. The machine screws engage with the threaded interior  60  of each post  42 . With considerable thread length in each cylindrical post  42 , a range of different housing separations can be accommodated. Machine screws of different lengths can be provided, but even a single length of machine screw will accommodate a good range of separation distances, as can be envisioned from  FIG. 2 . 
     The above described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but not to limit its scope. Other embodiments and variations to these preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.