Attachment for keys.

Application filed March 13,1917. Serial No. 154,561.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Solomon Stein, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Saratoga Springs, in the county of Saratoga 5 and State of New . York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Keys; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will en10 able others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying, drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this 15 specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in means for indicating whether a lock is in a locked or unlocked relation, the object being to provide means 20 whereby, when the key is removed from the lock, it will indicate whether or not the lock is locked or unlocked.

The invention consists of a simple and efficient device of this nature having various 25 details of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts which will be hereinafter fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:—

Figure 1 is a view showing the key applied to a lock.

Fig. 2 is a face view of the key with at35 tachment applied thereto.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the key removed and illustrating in elevation the mechanism within.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the parts 40 in another position, and

Fig. 5 is a face view of the lock.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a key and B a casing, which is held to one side of 45 the key in any suitable manner as by means of a screw D, passing through registering apertures in the key and wall of the casing. Said casing contains two sliding plates, designated respectively by letters E and F, 50 each of said plates having lateral extensions E' and F' respectively, and each of the plates is slotted as at FI to receive guide pins I which are fixed to the bottom of the casing and project through and adapted to 55 guide the plates as they are moved back and forth. A spring J is mounted upon a pin J' projecting from tlie bottom of the casing and its free end is adapted.to engage one or another of the notches Q formed in the edge of the plate N and provided as a precaution 60 against accidental movement of the plate. An oscillating member, designated by letter K, is mounted upon, a pin K' projecting from the wall of the casing and the ends of said member engage recesses having coh-. 65 caved ends in the adjacent edges of the' plates, said member being adapted to cause the plates,. when actuated, to move in opposite directions.

It will be noted upon reference to the 70 drawings that the casing is provided with notches, designated respectively by letters L and M, into which the outer ends respectively of the two plates are adapted to move accordingly as the key is turned in one di- 75 rection or the other for the purpose of locking or unlocking the lock. A cam projection, designated by letter R, is fastened to the lock in the manner shown and is so positioned that, when the casing is turned in 80 the key, one portion or another of said cam projection will enter one of said.recesses for the purpose of moving one or the other of the plates, whichever may be positioned in the recess. A lug, designated by letter T, 85 projects from the marginal wall of the recess and which is adapted to be engaged by the end of the key in the manner shown in the sectional view of the the drawings for the purpose of cooperating with said screw 90 for holding the casing and key together.

In order to guide the outer ends of the two plates, a washer C, which is apertured, is placed between the plates and is adapted to receive the screw which holds the key to the 95 casing.

In operation, when the parts are assembled by the attachment of the casing to the key, the latter is inserted in the keyhole of the lock in the usual way and,'when the key 100 is turned in one direction or the other, one or the other of the slots will receive one encl or the other of the cam projection upon the lode and.whichever of the saicl plates is projecting in the recess which first engages the cam 105 will be actuated and move toward the outer encl of the key as, for instance, if the key is turned to the left in the act of throwing the bolts of the lock into a locked relation, the actuation of the plates will be such as to 110 close the aperture M of the head of the key and which will designate that the bolt is in

1,237,115 a locked relation. The operator may remove the key and the plates closing oyer the opening in the head of the key will indicate that, when the key was withdrawn from the lock, 5 the latter was locked. By inserting the key in the lock and turning the same in a reverse direction, the same operation will be repeated but in a reverse manner, causing the plates to be thrown back to their normal positions 10 and which will cause the same to be removed from the opening in the key head, thus designating that the lock is unlocked..

By the provision of an indicating device embodying the features of my invention, it 15 will be noted that the person may always .know whether or not the key, when withdrawn from the lock, left the latter locked or unlocked, it being necessary to insert the key in the lock and give the same a partial rotary 20 movement in order to change the relative positions of the plates within the casing.