Patent Publication Number: US-11655653-B1

Title: Electronically operated lock cylinder

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates generally to a European style electronically operated lock cylinder for a door lock. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Mechanical lock cylinders in the European style are well known. A user pushes a key into the slot, which aligns the pins in the cylinder. The user turns the key, thereby turning a cam within the lock, which can translate a latch or a bolt in and out of the lock casing. 
     In recent years, attempts have been made to replace the mechanical lock cylinder with an electronically actuated lock. These include US2010/011822, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,591,160, 8,459,071, 8,689,594, EP2665045, EP3271532, and EP1079051. But despite these efforts, a need remains for an effective, efficient, and dependable electronic lock cylinder. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is an exterior perspective view of an electronically operated lock cylinder assembly as mounted on a door. 
         FIG.  2    is an interior perspective view of the lock cylinder assembly of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  2   a    is an exploded perspective view of an access housing and cylinder assembly of the lock cylinder assembly of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a detail perspective view of a cylinder assembly of the lock cylinder assembly of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  4    is a perspective exploded view of the cylinder assembly of  FIG.  3   . 
         FIG.  5    is a perspective cut-away view of the cylinder assembly of  FIG.  3    in the locked position. 
         FIG.  6    is a perspective cut-away view of the cylinder assembly of  FIG.  3    in the unlocked position. 
         FIG.  7    is an exploded perspective view of the electronically operated lock cylinder assembly of  FIG.  1    as mounted on a door. 
         FIG.  8    is a perspective view of the access housing and the cylinder assembly of the lock cylinder assembly prior to insertion into the door. 
         FIG.  9    is a perspective view of the access housing as mounted to the door. 
         FIG.  10    is a perspective view of a mounting plate of a control housing of the lock cylinder assembly prior to mounting to the door. 
         FIG.  11    is a perspective view of the mounting plate as mounted to the door. 
         FIGS.  12  and  13    are detailed perspective views of the assembly of a connector to a receiver. 
         FIGS.  14  and  15    are perspective views of the assembly of the batteries to the mounting plate. 
         FIGS.  16  and  17    are perspective views of the assembly of a cover of the control housing to the mounting plate. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  and  2   , an electronically operated European style lock cylinder assembly  10  useful in a mortise-type door lock is shown. The lock cylinder assembly  10  can replace an existing standard European-style deadbolt cylinder in a mortise lock to convert the lock from a manual key-operated lock to a lock that can be operated by an electronic credential including, without limitation, RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, BLE, keypad, or biometric. It can further be connected wirelessly to the internet or an intranet, either directly or indirectly via controllers, which act as an intermediate between the lock and the internet, including connecting to cloud-based servers. It can then be accessed remotely via, e.g., a personal computer, cell phone, or tablet. 
     The lock cylinder assembly  10  can be mounted to standard mortise lock housing  12  disposed in a door  14 , the lock housing  12  including a bolt  16  and a faceplate  18 . The lock housing  12  is secured to the door  14  in standard fashion via screws  20 . The lock cylinder assembly  10  includes an access housing  22  having an access knob  24  disposed on an outside of the door  14 , and a control housing  26  having a control knob  28  disposed on an inside of the door  14 . As will be described in more detail below, the lock cylinder assembly  10  secures the door  14  in a closed position in known manner by extending the deadbolt  16  into a strike in the door jamb to secure a room or other space, and a user may provide a credential to the access housing  22  which will allow the user to rotate the access knob  24 , retract the bolt  16  from the strike, which will allow the user to open the door  14  and enter into the space. 
     Referring specifically to  FIG.  2 A , the access housing  22  includes a back panel  21  and a cover  23  fastened together by screws  25 . The access knob  24  is rotatably maintained on the cover  23  by a clip  27 . A circuit board  29  is disposed within the access housing  22 , and it may contain one or more sensors  31  such as antennas for receiving one or more wireless signals, including without limitation Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, NFC, and RFID. The wireless signals may comprise the credentials that authorize the user to open the lock. The access housing  22  may also include a keypad for entering a code, or may include any other known or yet to be developed structure or methods of entering an electronic credential, including fingerprint, facial scanning, retinal scanning, voice reader, other biometrics, and so forth. As will be described further, the lock  10  is constructed such that whether the lock is in a locked state or an unlocked state, a user within the space may rotate the control knob  28  on the control housing  26 , and extend and retract the bolt  16 . The circuit board  29  may also include a wireless internet antenna to allow the lock to be connected wirelessly to the internet for remote access control, usage data, audit trails, and the like. 
     Referring now to  FIGS.  3  and  4   , an internal cylinder assembly  30  of the lock cylinder assembly  10  is depicted in an assembled state and an exploded state, respectively. The cylinder assembly  30  includes a lock core  32  rotatably housing an access shaft  34  and a control shaft  36 . The access shaft  34  includes an access spline  38  and is mounted to the access knob  24  such that rotation of the access knob  24  is transmitted to the access shaft  34  via the access spline  38 . Likewise, the control shaft  36  includes a control spline  40  and is mounted to the control knob  28 . Rotation of the control knob  28  rotates the control shaft  36  via the control spline  40 . The internal cylinder assembly  30  further includes a first cam  42  having a first lug  43  and a second cam  44  having a second lug  45  that operate to retract and extend the bolt  16  in known fashion. A motor cover  46  is mounted to the core  32  to allow installation of an electric motor  48  within the core  32 . The core  32  includes a threaded mounting hole  50  used to mount the core to the mortise lock housing  12 . The core  32  further includes a wiring channel  51  extending the length of the core to allow for control wiring to extend from the access housing  22  to the control housing  26 . In this example the motor  48  is depicted as an electric motor, but those of ordinary skill will understand that other devices, such as gearmotors and electronic actuators, may work as well. 
     Referring specifically to  FIG.  4   , the access shaft  34  is disposed in an access channel  52  within the core  32 . The access shaft  34  is maintained within the access channel  52  by a first clip  54  which sits in a first slot  56  in the core  32  and engages a circumferential recess  58  in the access shaft  34  to maintain the access shaft  34  axially but allow it to rotate. The access shaft  34  also includes a cylindrical recess  60  that accommodates a first spring  62  and a first ball  64 . The first ball  64  can engage a detent on an inside surface of the access channel  52  to locate the access shaft  34  at a predetermined rotational orientation. 
     The control shaft  36  likewise is disposed in a control channel  66  within the core  32 . Similarly, the control shaft  36  is maintained within the control channel  66  by a second clip  68  disposed within a second slot  70  in the core  32  that engages a circumferential recess  72  in the control shaft  36 . The second clip  68  also maintains the control shaft  36  longitudinally but allows for rotation. The control shaft  36  also includes a cylindrical recess  74  that houses a second spring  76  and a second ball  78  which can engage a detent on an inner surface of the control channel  66  to maintain the control shaft  36  in a predetermined rotational orientation. 
     The control shaft  36  includes a second spline  80  and a control rod  82 . Disposed on the control rod  82  is a clutch  84  having a hub  86  and a clutch spline  88 . The hub  86  includes recesses (not seen in  FIG.  4   ) that receive the second spline  80  such that rotation of the control shaft  36  causes rotation of the clutch  84 . The clutch  84  is axially translatable along the control rod  82  such that clutch spline  88  selectively engages either (a) the first cam  42 , or (b) the second cam  44  and hub recesses  90  of the access shaft  34 , as will be discussed further below. 
     The motor cover  46  is detachably connected to the core  32  via two screws  92 . The motor cover  46  and the core  32  define a seat  94  that houses the motor  48  and a worm gear  96  connected to the motor  48 . A slider  98  is also disposed in the seat  94 , the slider  98  having a spring  100  disposed therein. The spring  100  includes a narrowed portion  102  which is disposed on the worm gear  96  and engages the teeth of the worm gear  96  such that rotation of the worm gear  96  pushes the spring  100  in directions U and L, and therefore the slider  98 , forward and backward. The slider  98  has a finger  104  extending upwardly into a circumferential recess  106  in the clutch  84 . 
     Referring now to  FIG.  5   , the core  32  is shown in the locked position. In this position, the motor  48  has rotated the worm gear  96  and pulled the spring  100  in direction L. This action pulls the slider  98  and the clutch  84  in the same direction. The second spline  80  engages recesses  108  in the hub  86 , and the clutch spline  88  engages recesses in the first cam  42 . Accordingly, in this position, a user may rotate the control knob  28 , which will rotate the first cam  42 , which will operate to retract and extend the bolt  16  as is known. The clutch  84  is disconnected, however, from the second cam  44  and the access shaft  34 . Thus, a user can freely rotate the access knob  24  and access shaft  34 , and no action is made upon either the first cam  42  or the second cam  44 , and therefore the position of the deadbolt  16  does not change. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  6   , the core  32  is shown in the unlocked position. The motor  48  has rotated the worm gear  96  and pushed the spring  100  in direction U. This action pushes the slider  98  and clutch  84  in the same direction. With the clutch  84  pushed in direction U, the clutch spline  88  engages the second cam  44 , and, at the same time, the clutch spline  88  engages the block recesses  90  in the access shaft  34 . In this position, a user rotating the access knob  24  will rotate the second cam  44 , and extend or retract the bolt  16  as known. The second spline  80  of the control shaft  36  still engages the recesses  108  of the hub  86  of the clutch  84 , and therefore rotation of the control knob  28  will rotate the control spline  40  and the second cam  44 . Accordingly, in this position, rotation of both the access knob  24  and the control knob  28  will cause rotation of the second cam  44 , moving the bolt  16  in and out as is known. 
     Referring now to  FIGS.  2   a    and  7 - 18 , installation of the lock cylinder assembly  10  is disclosed. The back panel  21  of the access housing  22  can be mounted to the cylinder assembly  30  by a screw  121  extending through a through hole  123  of the back panel  21  and into a threaded hole  125  of the lock assembly. The screws  25  then affix the back panel  21  to the cover  23  and also support the circuit board  29 . Typically this would be done by the manufacturer and not in the field. 
     Referring specifically to  FIG.  7   , the door  14  includes a core through hole  120  and a pair of fastener through holes  122 . The access housing  22  includes a pair of internally threaded cylinders  124  extending laterally and generally in parallel with the core  32 . The control housing  26  includes a mounting plate  126  having a keyway  128  for receiving the core  32  and through holes  130  coaxial with the threaded cylinders  124  of the access housing  22 . The control housing  26  further includes a cover  132 . First control wiring  134  extends from within the access housing  22  to a connector  136  and travels through the wiring channel  51 , thereby connecting, at least in part, the sensor  31  in the access housing  22  to the connector  136 . Accordingly, credentials captured by the sensor  31  in the access housing  22  can be transmitted to the connector  136 . Second control wiring  138  extends from the motor  48  to the connector  136 . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  7 - 10   , the core  32  is mounted to the access housing  22  and the access knob  24  as described above. The core  32  is disposed within the door  14  in the core through hole  120 , and the internally threaded cylinders  124  are disposed within the fastening through holes  122 . A core mounting screw  140  is then inserted through the faceplate  18  and into the core threaded mounting hole  50  to fix the core  32  within the door  14 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS.  10  and  11   , the mounting plate  126  is affixed to the access housing  22  by inserting fasteners  142  through the through holes  130  and into the internally threaded cylinders  124 , thereby clamping to the access housing  22  and the mounting plate  126  to the door  16 . Disposed on the mounting plate is a circuit board  144 . The circuit board  144  may include one or more of a processor, memory, and/or other components useful for receiving the credential, analyzing the credential, and providing instructions to power the motor  48 . A receiver  146  is disposed on the circuit board  144  configured to receive the connector  136  that can connect the processor with the motor  48  and sensors  31 . See  FIGS.  12  and  13   . 
     Also in connection with the circuit board  144  is a battery pack  148  for powering the lock  10 . As shown in  FIGS.  14  and  15   , batteries  150  may be installed in the battery pack  148 . As shown in  FIGS.  16  and  17   , the cover  132  can then be mounted to the mounting plate  126  via fasteners  152 . Other means of fastening can be employed, such as latches and snaps. 
     In use, a user provides an electronic credential to the access housing  22 . The sensor  31  disposed within the access housing  22  reads the credential and passes it on to the connector  136  via wiring  134 . The processor on the circuit board  144  then receives the credential and determines if it meets predetermined conditions. If so, it sends a signal to the motor  48 , which then rotates the worm gear  96 , thereby either pulling or pushing the clutch  84  in direction U or L. The spring  100  allows for misalignment of the clutch spline  88  and the hub recesses  90  of the access shaft  34 . Thus, if the clutch spline  88  is not aligned with the hub recesses  90  of the access shaft when the clutch  84  is pushed in direction U, the user can rotate the access shaft  34  until they are aligned, and he or she will feel the spring  100  push the spline  88  into the hub recesses  90  once the two are aligned. At this point, the user can then rotate the access knob  24  and operate the lock  10 . Other applications of the lock cylinder assembly  10  described herein will be within the scope and spirit of this disclosure.