Electronic touch key providing a tactile pressure signal for an electronic lock
AssigneeSchlage Lock Company LLC
InventorL.C. Derek Chamberlain
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electronic touch key for operating an electronic lock in an electronic lockset, includes a handle having front and rear surfaces; an electronic touch button mounted to the front surface of the handle; and a device, mounted to the rear surface of the handle, for providing a tactile signal to the user by oil-canning when the electronic touch button has been touched to a lock with the proper force.
Claims13
An electronic touch key for operating an electronic lock in an electronic lockset, comprising:
- a key handle having front and rear surfaces;
- an electronic touch button mounted to the front surface of said key handle, for touching and operating an electronic lock as the key handle is moved toward the lock with said front surface facing the electronic lock;
- and
- means, mounted to the rear surface of said key handle, for providing a tactile signal when said electronic touch button has been touched to a lock with a proper force, the means for providing a tactile signal comprising a convex spring diaphragm mounted with its convex surface facing outward from the rear surface of said key handle.
An electronic touch key for operating an electronic lock in a lockset, comprising:
- a key handle having a hole of a certain shape;
- an electronic touch button having a shape, congruent to the certain shape of the hole in said handle, and mounted within said hole such that one face of said electronic touch button protrudes above a surface of said key handle and may be pressed against a lock;
- and
- a convex spring diaphragm mounted to said key handle, on the surface of said key handle opposite that from which said electronic touch button protrudes, said spring diaphragm oil-canning to provide a tactile signal to a user, said signal indicating adequate touch force as said touch button is pressed against a lock.
An electronic touch key for operating an electronic lock in a lockset when a portion of said key is pressed against the lock, said key comprising:
- a key handle having an opening therein;
- an electronic touch button for contacting a lock, said touch button being disposed in said opening;
- and,
- a flexible spring diaphragm mounted on said key handle, said diaphragm being disposed on said key handle in alignment with said touch button so that application of a manual force by a finger of a user tending to press said touch button against a lock causes said diaphragm to suddenly change state upon application of a predetermined manual force thereby providing a tactile pressure signal to the user's finger that the touch button has been pressed against the lock with sufficient force to cause operation of the lock.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.