Miniaturized electronic cam lock

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9631399-B1
Application number	US-201514931773-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Nov 3, 2015
Priority date	Nov 3, 2015
Publication date	Apr 25, 2017
Grant date	Apr 25, 2017

Abstract

A very small and efficiently compact electronic cam lock has a motor-driven worm drive lock/unlock actuator that moves a blocking pin to block or to allow unlocking rotation of a locking cam of the device. A spring in the actuator provides for the actuator to move to the locking position while the cam is still in the unlocked position, but to spring into the locking position when the cam is moved back to the locking position. The lock housing includes a threaded bore for a mounting machine screw, strategically placed within the limited space of the lock mechanism.

First claim

We claim:

1. An electronic cam lock on a door, cabinet, panel or drawer in a cabinet or furniture that provides ingress and no egress without a mechanical key, comprising:
a compact housing containing electronics and having a terminal enabling entry of a code by a user, such code when properly entered causing the electronics to permit access, the housing being positioned on a panel of said door or other structure of said cabinet or furniture to which the lock is affixed,
a lock plug driver extending from a back side of the housing near one end of the housing on a driver rotation axis and engaged with a cam for locking a cabinet or furniture, and including a knob or handle on the housing for operating the lock manually without a mechanical key to rotate the lock driver when permitted by the electronics,
a lock actuating mechanism within the housing, including a reciprocal blocking pin engageable with a notch in a rotatable member secured to the knob or handle and the driver, so that the blocking pin is effective to prevent rotation or allow rotation of the handle and the plug driver depending on whether the pin is extended or retracted,
a driving mechanism to extend and retract the pin, including a motor with a worm drive gear, an actuator arm having a pivoted end pivotally attached to the housing for rotation about a pivot axis fixed relative to the housing and having a driven end with a worm gear follower engaged with the worm gear so that rotation of the worm gear swings the actuator arm in a first direction of rotation or a second direction of rotation, and the actuator arm being connected via a spring to the blocking pin such that rotation of the actuator arm in the first direction of rotation or the second direction of rotation is effective to move the blocking pin to an extended position or a retracted position but with flexibility for lost motion in extending or retracting the blocking pin when the blocking pin is not aligned with the notch or is binding temporarily in the notch, and
a machine screw securing the housing to the door, cabinet, panel or drawer, the machine screw extending into the housing at a position close to the driver rotation axis, in a space bounded at least in part by the motor, the actuator arm and the spring,
whereby said one end of the compact housing is mounted securely against the door, cabinet, panel or drawer solely by the machine screw extending into the housing at said space.

2. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , the housing including an internally threaded nut post extending into said space near the driver rotation axis and receiving said machine screw that secures the cam lock on the door, cabinet, panel or drawer.

3. The electronic cam lock of claim 2 , wherein the spring is a coil spring cantilevered from the actuator arm and engaging the locking pin near an outer end of the spring so that the spring acts in flexure to provide said lost motion, said space being between the motor and the spring.

4. The electronic cam lock of claim 3 , wherein the blocking pin is generally Z-shaped to provide an inner end offset from an outer end of the blocking pin, and the spring being connected to the offset inner end.

5. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the machine screw is located no more than about 13/16 inch from the driver rotation axis center to center.

6. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the machine screw is located no more than about ¾ inch from the driver rotation axis center to center.

7. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the machine screw is located no more than about ⅝ inch from the driver rotation axis center to center.

8. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the machine screw is located a center-to-center distance from the driver rotation axis that is no more than about one-fifth the length of the housing.

9. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the housing has dimensions no greater than about four inches as a length dimension, one inch as a width dimension and ½ inch as a depth dimension excluding the knob or handle.

10. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the housing has a length of about 3½ to 4½ inches, a width of about ⅞ inch to 1½ inch, and a depth of about ⅜ inch to ⅝ inch excluding the knob or handle.

11. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the lock plug driver comprises a dummy cylinder plug.

12. The electronic cam lock of claim 11 , wherein the dummy plug is engaged for rotation with the knob or handle but not fixed to the knob or handle.

13. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a battery compartment with an access door accessible on the housing as installed on the door, cabinet, panel or drawer.

14. The electronic cam lock of claim 1 , wherein the terminal comprises an electronic keypad.

Assignees

• Digilock Asia Ltd

Inventors

• Zhang An
• Gokcebay Asil T

Classifications

• E05C3/042

  the handle being at one side, the bolt at the other side or inside the wing · CPC title

• E05B47/0012 Primary

  with rotary electromotors (actuators with rotary electromotors per se H02K7/06, H02K23/68) · CPC title

• E05B47/0673

  with a rectilinearly moveable blocking element · CPC title

• E05B47/06

  Controlling mechanically-operated bolts by electro-magnetically-operated detents · CPC title

• E05B2047/0031

  of the elastic type · CPC title