Electric Locking Mechanism for Safes and for other Purposes.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 10th Aug., 1889-Accepted, 9th Nov.. 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Electric Locking Mechanism for Safes and for other Purposes.
We, Dr. LOUIS HUEBNER, Professor, and RUDOLPH BUSSE, Locksmith, both of
Schweidnitz, Germany, do hereby declare the nature of our invention to be as
follows:-
Onr invention relates to apparatus for securing or closing locks by the aid of the
electric current.
For this purpose we employ specially shaped keys acting on a number of special
tumblers or bolts in such a manner, that the latter cause an electric current to be
closed, when they occupy a given position to one another, whereby are brought into
operation, one or more electro-magnets which act either directly or by means of
suitable levers, auxiliary bolts adapted to lock either the main bolts or the rotary cams
which operate the same.
The release or opening of this apparatus may also be produced by the aid of the
electric current, the reversal of the current bringing into action other magnets, which
serve to release the bolt.
The mechanism inay, however, be modified in such a manner, that in closing the
main bolt of the lock, the bolts, connected with the electro-magnets, fall automatically
and without the intervention of a current, behind suitable detents, from which they
are only kept away by the effect of the current.
Instead of electro-magnets, solenoids may be employed, and the core of the same
may directly act on the main bolt, by entering a lateral recess of the same and thus
preventing its motion.
The locking mechanism of a safe may, for instance, be constructed as follows:
To the inside of the safe-door are secured two electro-magnets horizontally, each
magnet acting by means of a lever on a separate auxiliary bolt, or directly upon a
spring provided with a detent acting on a lateral projection of the main bolt.
The current may be closed, first automatically by the closing of the door, and finally
by means of a series of tumblers actuated by a special key. This key is preferably
formed of a hollow prismatic core provided with a pair of longitudinal strips diametri-
cally opposite each other, one of them being curved and serving to lift the tumblers,
while the other is straight and serves as a guide for the key.
Instead of arranging the tumblers in a row, they may be arranged as radii of a
circle having in the centre a key, shaped so as to drive the tumblers outward against
a circular bar by means of oblique faces or grooves. Instead of acting by longitudinal
motion, the key may be adapted to move the tumblers by turning it on its axis.
The tumblers may close the current in the following manner. Each tumbler has a
cross cut sitnated at different levels, as may be required by the shape of the key.
Above these cross cuts or notches, and in front of the same, is situated a cross bar
pressed towards the tumblers by a spring. This cross bar can only form electric
contact, if the cross cuts of all tumblers are situated in a straight line level with the
cross bar.
The cross bar may, however be arranged, so, as to make electric contact
at its ends, when the cross cuts form a given curve or broken line. Or each tumbler
may carry a conductor adapted to come in contact with a pair of springs, so that the
circuit can only be complete, when each conductor is in contact with the corresponding
spring. To avoid the necessity of specially closing the current when the lock is being
closed, the vertical main bolt has an oblique lateral projection which comes in contact
with the auxiliary bolt, so as to push the latter back until it has slipped off the said
projection, after which it can only be withdrawn by means of an electric current.
The auxiliary or electric bolt may act direct upon the cam which operates the main
halt instead of looking the bolt

page_text: The mechanism may be constructed in such a manner, that the specially shaped key
is necessary both for opening and for: closing the lock. In this case, the direction of
the current is reversed and the latter caused to act on a separate electro-magnet placed
opposite the first, so that the lever operating the electric bolt is alternately moved in
opposite directions.
For reversing the current, we may employ a circular disc pivoted on its centre and
provided with a pair of radial contact springs, one spring pressing on a conducting
pin, or terminal situated in the axis of the disc, while the other comes alternately in
contact with two diametrically opposite contact pins. This commutator disc has
several false key holes, the real key holes being easily recognisable by the initiated.
Dated this 10th day of November 1888.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
433, Strand, London, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Electric Locking Mechanism for Safes and for other Purposes.
We, Dr. LOUIS HUEBNER, Professor, and RUDOLPH BUSSE, Locksmith, both of
Schweidnitz, Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be perforined, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to apparatus for securing or closing locks by the aid of the
electric current.
For this purpose we employ specially shaped keys acting on a number of special
tumblers or bolts in such a manner that the latter cause an electric current to be
closed, when they occupy a given position to one another, whereby are brought into
operation one or more electro-magnets which act either directly or by means of
suitable levers on auxiliary bolts adapted to lock either the main bolts or the rotary
cams which operate the same.
The release or opening of this apparatus is also produced by the aid of the electric
current, the reversal of the current bringing into action other magnets, which serve
to release the bolt.
The mechanism may, however, be modified in such a manner, that in closing the
main bolt of the lock the bolts connected with the electro-magnets fall automatically.
and without the intervention of a current, behind suitable detents, from which they
are released only by the effect of the current.
Instead of electro-magnets, solenoids may be employed, and the core of the same
may act directly on the main bolt, by entering a lateral recess of the same and thus
preventing its motion.
In the further description of this invention, reference will be made to the
accompanying drawings, Figs. 1 to 27 which represent various locks and details
embodying our invention.
The lock is constructed as follows:-To the inside of the door of a safe Fig. 1 are
secured two electro-magnets M, each magnet or coil acting by means of a lever E¹ on
a separate auxiliary bolt D, or directly upon a spring G provided with a detent l
(Fig. 9) or on a solenoid core H adapted to lock the main bolt L (Fig. 10).
The current may be closed, first automatically by the closing of the door by means
of contact faces m, n (Fig. 1), and finally by means of a series of tumblers actuated
by a special key B. This key B is preferably formed of a hollow prismatic core
(Figs. 5 and 14) provided with a pair of longitudinal strips diametrically opposite
each other, one of them being curved and serving to lift the tumblers, while the other
is straight and serves as a guide for the key. Instead of arranging the tumblers A in
a row, they may be arranged as radii of a circle (Figs. 11 and 12) having in the centre
a key (Fig. 13) shaped so as to drive the tumblers outward against a circular bar
by means of oblique faces p or grooves. Instead of acting by longitudinal motion,
the key may be adapted to move the tumblers by turning on its axis.

page_text: The tumblers A (Figs. 5, 8 and 20) are constructed in a special manner for closing
the current when required. The tumblers A (Figs. 5 to 8) have cross cuts r situated
at different heights, as may be required by the shape of the key. In front of these
cross-cuts there is a cross-bar K pressed towards the tumblers by a spring J.
This cross-bar is adapted to form contact at q and q¹, and close the circuit, but only
when the cross-cuts of all the tumblers A are so placed that the bar can be pressed
into the same by the spring J. For this purpose, the bar K need not be straight,
but may form any desired curve, in which case the cross-cuts must be arranged to
correspond. Or the circuit a mnay be closed by internal contacts formed on the
tumblers A, as illustrated by Fig. 20.
The locking appliance actuated by the current consists of the electro-magnet M
acting on the lever E¹ so as to set in motion the bolt D and release the main bolt L,
as indicated in Fig. 2 by dotted lines. To avoid the necessity of specially closing the
circuit when the lock is being closed, the projecting stop or detent & on the main
bolt L has an oblique face, so that in closing the main bolt L, the secondary bolt D
will be pressed back, until it snaps again behind the detents under the influence of
the spring g; after which it can only be re-opened by means of the electric current.
The electro-magnet or solenoid may be so arranged, that the iron coil serves
directly as a bolt. (See Fig. 10). Such a direct-acting bolt D may also be arranged
to act immediately upon the cam N (Figs. 1 to 4) whereby the safety of the lock is
materially increased.
Fig. 9 shows an electro-magnet which acts directly upon a retaining spring G
which holds the noses of the bolt L. If it is required that the auxiliary bolt D must
be moved by means of the key or the electric current, for opening as well as for
closing, we adopt the modification represented by Figs. 15 to 21. This consists chiefly
in establishing two alternative circuits for opening and for closing, which circuits
include two different electro-magnets, so that the armature E causes the lever E¹,
and the bolt D to move alternately forward and backward. To obtain this result, we
employ two electro-magnets M, M' instead of one; the said magnets being placed
opposite each other, as shown by Fig. 17, while the locking lever E¹ and armature E
are placed between them.
According as the electric circuit is completed either through the magnet M or
through M', the lever E¹ will turn to one side or to the other, so that the bolt D may
be shifted at will to one side or to the other.
For switching the current from one circuit to the other, a special appliance is
required. In the present case,
it consists chiefly of a rotary disc F (Figs. 19 to 21)
provided with radial slots for the key B and with contact springs i, . These
contact springs, of which one presses on the pin a situated in the axis of the disc,
establish two different circuits, according to the position of disc F because the
spring closes the circuit once through the contact pin b in the direction of the
arrow d. and another time through the pin c in the direction of the arrow d¹ (see
Figs. 20 and 21), so that the current is conducted through the electro-magnet M, or
through M', and corresponding motion is imparted to the armature E, lever E' and
bolt D.
The locking disc F is provided with several dummy slots k, while the slots ' which
serve for opening and closing, are easily recognisable by the initiated.
For moving the bolt D in one direction or in the other, it is necessary first to turn
the disc For the commutator, and then to introduce the key B into the locking canal,
after which the circuit is closed (the contact pins b and c being in the correct position),
and the locking bolt is moved in one direction or in the other. The means for
reversing the current, as well as the arrangement of the electro-magnets may be
modified according to requirements and abnormal conditions; and the whole locking
mechanism may be used for a variety of purposes. For door locks the electric
locking system may be combined with mechanical locks in the manner illustrated
by Figs. 22 to 27.
The contact lock O, shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 8 and 20, is sunk into the door
in proximity to the mechanical lock P (Figs. 22 and 23) and its conducting wires

page_text: are connected with the electro-magnet M, which on the closing of the circuit,
releases the plate t of the mechanical lock, without which action the locking bolt u
cannot be opened.
The operation is as follows:-For closing the lock P, the door is first pressed into
its closing position, so that the latch v falls in. Subsequently the bolt is closed;
that is, it is moved from the position shown in Fig. 24, into the position shown in
Fig. 22, which the latch t will allow in spite of the pressure of the spring wo, owing
to the shape of the nose t¹, on t and the recesses u¹ and u¹¹ on u.
In this position, the lock can no longer be opened from the outside, without closing
the circuit in O by means of key B (Fig. 26); whereby M" becomes magnetized,
attracts the plate t and lifts t' out of ul (Fig. 24). The bolt is now pushed back by
pressure of the spring w¹, or by a closing motion.
the
The lock, which from the outside can only be opened electrically, may be opened
from the inside by the button R; by lifting the latter, the nose t' is also lifted out of
u or u¹. In a similar manner, the lock may be adapted for a variety of purposes
and offers in all cases a high degree of safety.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion and what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A lock having the characteristic feature, that suitably shaped keys serve to set
in motion tumblers A which effect the closing of an electric circuit, whereby a bolt D
or nose t acting upon the locking mechanism, is operated by means of electro-magnets
and levers E' or springs G, or the main bolt is directly locked by means of a solenoid
core H.
2. For opening and closing the secondary bolt D, mentioned in claim 1., with the
aid of the electric current and of the key B, the use of two electro-magnets M, M¹
adapted to act alternately on the secondary bolt D, for which purpose a disc F,
provided with contact springs i, and key holes k, k¹ serves as commutator.
3. Auxiliary bolts or tumblers A as specified by claim 1, and provided with
recesses adapted to receive a bar K, when all the bolts A are in the correct position,
and thereby to effect the closing of the current.
4. The modified arrangement of the electro-magnet, in which the solenoid core H
acts directly as a bolt, (Fig. 10) or upon a spring G (Fig. 9) with nose 1, which on
the closing of the main bolt L, is automatically pressed back by means of an oblique
face of nose s, and then snaps forward behind the nose s.
5. The modification of the key B, in such a manner, that the same acts upon a
number of radially arranged bolts A', adapted to close the circuit, the said bolts being
adapted to touch simultaneously the circular contact bar, when the key B (Fig. 13)
provided with suitable recesses and projections, is correctly introduced.
6. The electric lock specified by claim 1. and illustrated by Figs. 22 to 24, in
combination with a mechanical lock P, in such a manner that by closing the circuit
at O, the magnet M' attracts at P the locking plate t, thereby releasing the nose
from the recess u¹ or u¹¹ and allowing the return motion of the bolt u, which motion
may also be effected from the inside of the door by the means of the bolt R.
Dated this 10th day of August 1889.
LOUIS HUEBNER.
RUDOLPH BUSSE.
By Fairfax & Wetter,
433, Strand, London, Patent Agents.