Abstract: A lock mechanism for an emergency exit door or the like is constructed with a tongue pivotable between two positions--an extended position and a retracted position, the former for use when the door is closed and locked, and the latter when the door is open--and a pawl arranged for releasably retaining the tongue in either or both of the two positions, the tongue being releasable from the pawl by depressing a breakable seal or by a cylinder key. The mechanism has the advantage of being readily releasable from the inside yet capable of being sealed against unauthorized use.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for precisely positioning a locksmith tool in the area of a dial ring of a combination lock of a safe. The apparatus includes a derrick that holds and supports the locksmith tool. An offset, annular base forms a part of the derrick and has an opening with an inner diameter substantailly corresponding to the diameter of the outer periphery of the dial ring. The base is placed over the dial ring and radially extending set screws in the base are tightened into engagement with the dial ring. In this manner, the derrick is securely attached to the safe. The apparatus also includes a mechanism for precisely controlling and adjustably positioning the tool relative to the safe.

Abstract: A lock arrangement for a vehicle spare wheel hoist and storage construction including a lock member mounted on the input shaft of a winch and having a curvilinear groove therein, an elongated plastic tube having one end mounted on the lock member by a spring clip and the other end extending through an aperture in the frame of the vehicle, and an elongated shaft having a key mounted therein for insertion through the elongated plastic tube and into mating engagement with the curvilinear groove for turning the input shaft of the winch.

Abstract: A door push-bar lock-out retainer which includes a block for mounting onto a door and it has a flexible strap for surrounding the push-bar and holding it in the door unlatched position. The strap is adjustable to accommodate various sizes of push-bars. The block has an opening which receives one end of the strap which has a latch end which is trapped in the opening by a latch member on the block. A key is utilized for releasing the strap from the latched position to thereby release the push-bar and thereby place the door in its locked position.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for use by a locksmith for ascertaining the combination of a locked safe of a known type without destruction of the lock or safe includes the location of a position beneath the dial or dial ring of the safe at which a repairable access hole can be drilled into the lock at a known angular position relative to the lock's fence and coaxially with an unoccupied, cylindrical region generally normal and tangential to the tumbler wheels of the lock, through which a probe may be inserted to sense the outer circumference of the wheels and to detect the alignment of the gate in each wheel with the probe by manipulation of the spindle of the lock in a predetermined, sequential order. From the known angular position of the axis hole and the angular position of the spindle required to align the gates in the wheels with the probe, the combination of the lock can be computed.

Abstract: A door lock is provided for use with a building wall having a door opening formed by building framing members and in which a door is pivotally mounted and movable between a closed and an open position. The door lock has a locking bolt which is slidably mounted by a slide block to the building framing members on the inside of the wall. A key operated assembly accessible from the outside of the wall is operable to move the locking bolt between a locking position in which a portion of the bolt extends behind the door and thus into the path of the door swing, and a nonlocking position in which the bolt is retracted into the slide block and thus spaced downwardly from the path of the door swing. Since the slide block is mounted to the building framing member, typically a two by four wooden stud, the door lock utilizes the strength of the building itself rather than just the strength of the door or its jamb.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for use by a locksmith for ascertaining the combination of a locked safe of a known type without destruction of the lock or safe includes the location of a position beneath the dial or dial ring of the safe at which a repairable access hole can be drilled into the lock at a known angular position relative to the lock's fence and coaxially with an unoccupied, cylindrical region generally normal and tangential to the tumbler wheels of the lock, through which a probe may be inserted to sense the outer circumference of the wheels and to detect the alignment of the gate in each wheel with the probe by manipulation of the spindle of the lock in a predetermined, sequential order. From the known angular position of the axis hole and the angular position of the spindle required to align the gates in the wheels with the probe, the combination of the lock can be computed.

Abstract: Disclosed is improved locksmith tool of the probing type wherein a locksmith, stationed externally of a locked motor vehicle operator's compartment, inserts the elongate probing tool between the door glass window and the hollow door supporting the window, and fishes deeply beneath the glass pane within the hollow door for the lock-rod which (upon tool engagement and manipulation) will unlock the vehicle door. Unlike prior art elongate probing tools which entail the tedious and unreliable hooking-around flexure of the lock-rods, the improved elongate probing tool concept herein disclosed easily and reliably engages the lock-rod (whether it be of the horizontal or vertical type) with an aptly positioned sawteeth member as the tool forward lower end, and which sawteeth member includes at least two multi-teeth rows that occupy distinctly different planes.

Abstract: A latch has spaced inner and outer plates formed with respective coaxial bores. The outer plate is formed at its bore with at least one notch and the inner plate is formed adjacent its bore with at least two angularly offset and axially extending cutouts. A plug extending through the bores and rotatable therein about the axis has an outer head in the outer bore and accessible from outside the plates and an opposite inner end exposed inward past the inner plate. A locking dog extends radially from the plug in the space between the plates. An inner abutment washer is secured to the inner end of the plug and spaced axially inward of the inner plate and a retaining washer angularly nondisplaceable on the inner end of the plug has a bump engageable in the cutouts of the inner plate. A compression spring braced between the washers urges the bump into the cutouts. A key engageable with the plug head has a radial tab complementary with the notch of the outer plate.

Abstract: Apparatus for keyless entry into locked automobiles of the type having a horizontally movable door interior locking linkage comprises a slender, stiff, elongate rod bent through about 90 degrees at the lower end so as to form a short, sidewardly projecting arm. The free end of the arm is bent into an inverted U-shaped hook sized to fit downwardly over the horizontally movable door lock linkage. The upper end of the rod is bent through a small angle in the direction away from the arm and hook so as to form a handle. The upper end of the handle is bent into an open loop, the loop also being directed away from the arm and hook. The entire rod is formed to lie in a single, common place. A thin, flexible wire or cable is connected at one end to the hook and is releasably connected at its other end to the open loop of the handle.

Abstract: A refrigerator door pull and latch assembly in which the locking mechanism is disposed in the handle. The locking mechanism connected to a strike bolt assembly, which assembly has secured to one end thereof a safety release member. The door handle thus includes the locking mechanism and the locking mechanism can be disengaged from inside the refrigerator by operating the safety release lever.

Abstract: The central locking system for motor vehicles comprises a plurality of electric locking drives 1 and a time control means 15 which can be triggered by at least one manually switchable control switch 25 in the setting of a switch position allocated to the unlocking direction. The time control means switches on the locking drives 1 for a predetermined time duration in the unlocking direction. In parallel with the contacts 23, 27 of the control switch 25 which are allocated to the unlocking direction there is connected an electronic short-circuit switch 31, 33 which together with the control switch automatically holds the short-circuit switch position and is switchable into its short-circuit position by means of an acceleration switch 28 responding to its acceleration.

Abstract: To prevent passengers in an elevator from opening the hoistway door when the car is well above the floor, a rotatable arm is located below the car and engages the hall door to prevent it from being opened. This arm may be reached from the floor, by opening the hoistway doors slightly, and rotated to disengage it from the door, which may then be fully opened.

Abstract: A device and method for unlocking elevator doors from the outside comprises a flexible metal rod having a handle, two arms, a rectangular, "U"-shaped portion formed by the arms, and an unlocking finger remote from the handle.

Abstract: A cabinet lock which includes a housing having a latch mounted in the housing for pivotal movement into and out of the housing together with a push plate slidably mounted in the housing for releasing the lock. The latch has a slot formed therein and a first spring urges the push plate away from the latch whereby a lug on the push plate engages the slot of the latch which prevents the latch from pivoting from a position extending outwardly of the lock. A second spring connected to the latch and the housing urges the latch inwardly of the housing when the lug of the push plate is removed from the slot of the latch as the push plate is pushed inwardly of the housing against the action of the first spring.The housing carries a frangible plate covering the push plate which may be broken whereby the push plate may be pushed.

Abstract: A tool for lifting a latch operator of a locked vehicle door which tool is composed of a strip of spring steel bent back upon itself defining a first long operator leg and a second normally diverging shorter latch manipulator leg; the tool is adapted to be inserted, bent end first, between an automobile window and door with the legs in generally parallel relation and pushed downwardly until the upper end of the shorter latch manipulator leg is beneath the latch operator of a locked door and the spring steel will spring outwardly into engagement with the latch operator for lifting it upwardly to unlock it by lifting the longer operator leg and by so doing lifting the shorter leg and with it the latch operator; a string is connected to the end of the shorter leg for pulling it back into generally parallel alignment with the operator leg after the door has been unlocked, so that the tool can be readily removed from the door after it is unlocked.

Abstract: A system for locking the doors of a vehicle by central command includes a reversible motor driving a worm gear. A traveling nut operated by the worm gear engages a lock-actuating lever through an overload clutch. The overload clutch includes a cam and a cam follower. The cam has a normal central stable position bounded on either side by regions of neutral stability which permit override by small manually applied forces in case the motor or worm gear malfunctions. The system further includes a spring powered mechanism for unlocking the doors in the event of an accident. The spring powered mechanism is tripped electrically by an acceleration-sensing switch, and can be recocked by applying a relatively large force to a plunger located on the window sill.

Abstract: An automobile trunk lock which permits the trunk to be opened from outside or inside thereof. One end of a release arm is connected to a cylinder lock in the trunk lid and the opposite end extends through the latch release of a latch mechanism. A key is engaged with the inner terminal of the release arm. Actuation of the cylinder lock by a key or rotation of the interior key effects rotation of the release arm about its longitudinal axis to trip the latch release to disengage the latch mechanism and open the trunk.

Abstract: A safety release for unlocking the trunk lid of an automobile from within the trunk compartment. The release is an integral part of the lid locking mechanism and includes a clutch assembly for disconnecting the latch shaft from the key tumblers and a hand operated linkage for actuating the clutch and rotating the disconnected shaft to move the latch components from the normally locked to the unlocked position.

Abstract: A radio-operated lock construction is adapted to be mounted on a door and is positioned to engage a mating piece mounted on the adjacent door jamb to lock the door in the closed position. The lock comprises a lock housing having means for mounting the housing on the door. A drop bolt is movably mounted on the housing for movement between an extended position wherein the bolt engages with the mating piece and a retracted position wherein the bolt and mating piece are disengaged. The drop bolt comprises an operating member which is movable from a first position corresponding to the extended position of the bolt to a second position corresponding to the retracted position of the bolt. An opening slide is connected with the operating member and is movable upon actuation from a first to a second position to move the operate member from the first to the second position thereby retracting the drop bolt.