Key capture lock
AssigneeUnited States Postal Service
InventorsDonald Eugene Irwin, William Albert Tartal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lock assembly includes a bolt movable between a first position and a second position, a rotating body rotatable between a first position and a second position, and a pawl member rotatable between a first position and a second position. Rotation of the rotating body from the first position to the second position is configured to cause the bolt to move from the first position to the second position. The pawl member is configured to prevent rotation of the rotating body from the first position to the second position when the pawl member is in the first position and the rotating body is in the first position.
Claims16
A lock assembly comprising:
- a bolt movable between a first position and a second position;
- a rotating body rotatable between a first position and a second position and comprising an arm coupled to the bolt, wherein rotation of the rotating body from the first position to the second position is configured to cause the bolt to move from the first position to the second position;
- and
- a pawl member rotatable between a first position and a second position, wherein the pawl member is configured to prevent rotation of the rotating body from the first position to the second position when the pawl member is in the first position and the rotating body is in the first position.
A method for operating a lock assembly, comprising:
- rotating a pawl member from a first position to a second position, wherein the pawl member is configured to prevent rotation of a rotating body from a first position to a second position when the pawl member is in the first position and the rotating body is in the first position;
- and
- rotating the rotating body between the first position and the second position, wherein the rotating body comprises an arm coupled to a bolt, wherein rotation of the rotating body from the first position to the second position is configured to cause the bolt to move from a first position to a second position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.