Combination lock

A combination lock comprising a plurality of wheels each having a radial slot, a rectilinearly movable slide having a finger positioned to enter the slots in the wheels when all of the wheels are oriented to place their respective slots in alignment with said finger, a spring tending to move said slide in a direction to draw said finger into said slots, and a latch member engaged by said slide and moved to an unlatched position by movement of said slide during movement of said finger into said slots, the movement of the slide and the movement of the latch member being parallel to each other.

A combination lock comprising a slide movable between a locked position and an unlocked position, a plurality of wheels mounted for rotation about a common axis of rotation and arranged to obstruct movement of said slide toward its unlocked position except when said wheels are in a predetermined rotational position, a latch movable relative to said slide between a latching position and an unlatching position, housing means including a plurality of housing parts assembled relative to each other to constitute a housing enclosing major portions of said slide and said latch but not enclosing said wheels, a first coiled spring within said housing engaging said slide and tending to move said slide toward its unlocked position, and at least one other coiled spring within said housing reacting between said slide and said latch and tending to move said latch to its latching position relative to said slide.

A combination lock comprising a rotary spindle, a drive wheel connected to said spindle to rotate therewith, a first lock wheel and a second lock wheel both rotatable concentrically with said spindle, means for rotating said first lock wheel from rotation of said drive wheel, means for rotating said second block wheel from rotation of said first lock wheel, a latch, a slide having a part movable toward and away from said spindle and operatively connected to said latch to move said latch to an unlatching position when said slide part moves toward said spindle, said lock wheels each having a radial slot and serving to prevent said slide part from moving toward said spindle except when the radial slot is aligned with said slide part, said drive wheel having a periphery shaped like a cam circular through the major portion of its circumference and having a low point and rising in both directions from said low point to its circular portion, so that when said slide part is located in the slots of the lock wheels and at the low point of the periphery of the drive wheel, rotation of the spindle and drive wheel in either direction will cam the slide part out of the slots and move it away from the spindle.

A combination lock comprising a plurality of wheels each having a radial slot and a movable member having a finger positioned to enter the slots in the wheels when all of the wheels are oriented to place their respective slots in alignment with said finger, and resilient means tending to move said finger into said slots, one of said wheels being of non-metallic material and being of such size that when the wheels are rotated, said finger will ride mainly on the periphery of said one wheel out of contact with peripheries of other wheels during at least a substantial part of a revolution of said one wheel, said one wheel having a periphery which is circular and concentric with the center of rotation of the wheel throughout the major part of its circumference, the slot in said one wheel being formed as an inwardly extending notch at one point, the wheel having peripheral portions of cam-like curved shape extending from the bottom of said notch to a circular part of the periphery, in each of two opposite circumferential directions from the bottom of said notch, so that when said finger is positioned at the bottom of said notch, it will be cammed out of the notch by rotation of the wheel in either direction.

A combination lock comprising a plurality of wheels each having a radial slot, a latch member movable along a straight line between a projected latching position and a retracted unlatching position, spring means tending to move said latch member toward its latching position, a slide also movable along a straight line parallel to the direction of movement of said latching member between a projected position and a retracted position, spring means tending to move said slide toward its retracted position, a finger on said slide positioned to engage the peripheries of said wheels to prevent movement of said slide toward its retracted position except when the radial slots of all of said wheels are aligned with said finger, whereupon the spring means of said slide may move the slide to its retracted position, a portion of said slide engaging said latch member during such movement of the slide to retracted position and serving to move the latch member to its retracted position.