Keyless lock.

(Application filed Apr. 16, I960.)

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THE NORRIS PETERS CO¹. PHOTO-LITHO., WASHINGTON. 0. C.

United States Patent Office.

MARTIN L. LAWSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

KEYLESS LOCK.

SPECIFICATION· forming part of Letters Patent No. 666,231, dated January 15,1901.

Application filed April 16, 1900. Serial Ko. 12,989. (Ko model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Martin L. Lawson, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illi5 nois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Keyless Locks, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a keyless lock which may be made of few parts, io of small size, and adapted either for practical use or for a toy or puzzle lock.

My invention consists in novel means for engaging and disengaging the shackle by the slight oscillatory movement of the cover-plate 15 of the lock and in certain details of construction incident thereto, as will hereinafter appear.

The preferred forms of construction are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, 20 wherein—

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved keyless padlock; Fig. 2, a front elevation thereof with a hinged shackle closed and locked and the cover-plate removed; Fig. 3, 25 an elevation of the inner face of the coverplate; Fig. 4, a front elevation of the padlock with the hinged shackle or bolt open and the spring-detent pushed back by the cover-plate, the outline of the cover-plate when in this po30 sition being shown by dot-lines; Fig. 5, a front elevation of a padlock with a sliding shackle or bolt closed, and Fig. 6 a similar view of the same with the sliding shackle open.

The lock-case A may be made of any pre35 ferred shape or design and is made open upon one side and provided with a pillar pin or stud a and fitted with a closely-fitting coverplate B,adapted to turn slightly upon the stud a and secured thereby to the case, and the 40 inner face of the cover-plate is fitted with a slotted stud a', which embraces the vibratory end of a latch-spring C, the latter serving both to engage a notch d upon the end of a shackle or bolt D and also serving to hold the cover45 plate at all times when not pressed aside in its normal position to accurately conform in contour with the outlines of the lock-case.

The spring C has a coil c' at its middle to give resiliency thereto and also provide an 50 eye which fits around the stud a and is held thereby in place within the case, and the inner face of the case is provided with lugs a²a³, between which the vibratory end of the latch-spring is held to provide stops to limit the movement of the latch in both directions, 55 thus to accurately adapt the margin of the . cover-plate to that of the lock-case.

The shackle is pivoted to the lock-case, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, and is made to slide therein, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the 60 drawings, and various changes may be made to adapt the novel features of my invention to various forms of locks. The spring-latch, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, engages a notch on the inner side of the shackle-nose, and the 65 said latch engages a notch upon the outer side of the nose of the latch. This change of detail will require that the cover-plate be pushed from either side to open the lock and makes it more difficult for the uninformed to 70 operate the lock.

The cover-plate may be applied to either or both sides of the lock, and thus serve as a blind and a further means for concealing the modus operandi of the device. ^; 75

The lock-case may be adapted for a mortise or other fixed lock, and the cover-plate may serve as an escutcheon and operate a springlatch to engage a bolt in any suitable manner.