CYLINDER FOR LOCK

Abstract

 A lock cylinder set to a lock has an outer cylinder serving as a housing. In the outer cylinder, a first inner cylinder into which an electronic key is inserted and a second inner cylinder connected to a locking/unlocking mechanism of the lock are rotatably set. A connecting pin is movably held by the first inner cylinder to connect the first inner cylinder with the second inner cylinder when the pin advances. A connecting pin control mechanism advances the connecting pin to mechanically hold the advance state of the pin when a proper key is inserted and retreats the connecting pin when the key is extracted. The connecting pin control mechanism has a cam plate contacting the protrusion of the connecting pin. The connecting pin retreats when the cam plate tilts and advances when the cam member rises.

Description

Technical Field:

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric lock cylinder to be set to a lock.

Background Art:

[0002] A locking device comprises a key and a lock. An electric locking device superior in crime-preventive performance has spread in recent years. In the case of this type of electric locking device, an electric lock cylinder is connected to a lock's locking/unlocking mechanism. An electronic circuit for discriminating among electronic keys is set in the cylinder. Therefore, a locking or unlocking operation can be performed by inserting a proper electronic key into the cylinder.

[0003] A conventional electric locking device using this type of cylinder is disclosed in, for example, the official gazette of Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 6-138001. In the case of this prior art, a lock cylinder comprises an outer cylinder set to a lock, an inner cylinder rotatably set to the outer cylinder and connected to a locking/unlocking mechanism of a lock, a pin for preventing the inner cylinder from rotating in the outer cylinder, and electric driving means for removing the pin from the inner cylinder by driving the pin only when a proper key is inserted into the inner cylinder and thereby allowing the inner cylinder to freely rotate. In the case of this structure, by inserting the proper key into the key seat of the inner cylinder, the pin is removed from the inner cylinder. Then, by rotating the key, it is possible to perform a locking or unlocking operation.

[0004] In the case of the conventional electric cylinder, however, it is possible to break the pin and perform locking by inserting a hard piece of metal (e.g. screw driver) into the inner cylinder key seat and forcibly rotating the inner cylinder. Therefore, there is a safety problem.

[0005] Moreover, in the case of an electric cylinder to which electric power is supplied from a battery, it is desirable to minimize the pin driving power consumption in order to maintain battery life. However, it has so far been difficult to decrease the power consumption while securing exact pin operations.

[0006] Moreover, a complex mechanical combinational relationship, as seen in the relationship between a key and a lock of a mechanical cylinder locking device, is not at all present between an electronic key and an electric cylinder of a conventional electric locking device as seen in the . In the case of a conventional electric cylinder, it is possible to remove an electronic key from an inner cylinder key seat, regardless of the inner cylinder's present rotational position. Therefore, there is a problem that pin operations cannot be secured when the rotational positional relationship between inner and outer cylinders is brought under an improper state. That is, the key is frequently removed from or inserted into the key seat when the positional relationship between the pin and the pin hole is improper. In the case of a locking/unlocking mechanism connected to an inner cylinder, a rotational position where the operations of the pin can be performed is determined and therefore, the ease of operation is greatly compromised because it is necessary to search a position where the locking/unlocking operation can be performed by first inserting an electronic key into the mechanism and thereafter rotating the key when a state in which an improper relationship between the pin and the pin hole occurs.

Disclosure of the Invention:

[0007] The present invention is made to solve the above conventional problems and its object is to provide an electric lock cylinder superior in crime preventive performance and with a high reliability.

[0008] Moreover, it is another object of the present invention to provide an electric lock cylinder capable of securely operating a connecting pin and decreasing the power consumption.

[0009] Furthermore, it is still another object of the present invention to provide an electric lock cylinder capable of maintaining the advance state of a connecting pin and also retracting the connecting pin without electric power.

[0010] Furthermore, it is still another object of the present invention to provide an electric lock cylinder in which key operations (insertion and extraction of a key) can be used for control of a connecting pin.

[0011] Furthermore, it is still another object of the present invention to provide an electric lock cylinder superior in operability in which a key can be inserted and extracted only while an inner cylinder is present at a proper rotational position.

[0012] To achieve the above objects, the present invention uses a lock cylinder set to a lock, comprising an outer cylinder, a first inner cylinder which is rotatably set in the outer cylinder and into which a key is inserted; a second inner cylinder which is rotatably set in the outer cylinder and connected to a locking/unlocking mechanism of the lock; a connecting pin which is movably held by the first inner cylinder and connects the first inner cylinder with the second inner cylinder when the pin advances; and a connecting-pin control mechanism which advances the connecting pin when a proper key is inserted, holds the advance state of the connecting pin, and retreats the connecting pin when the key is extracted.

[0013] In the case of the above structure, the outer cylinder corresponds to a housing of the lock cylinder. The first inner cylinder having a key seat into which a key is inserted and the second inner cylinder connected to the locking/unlocking mechanism are rotatably set in the outer cylinder. The first inner cylinder is connected with the second inner cylinder by the connecting pin. It is preferable that the second inner cylinder has a opening into which the front end of the connecting pin is inserted.

[0014] By rotating the first inner cylinder while the two inner cylinders are connected, the second inner cylinder rotates together with the first inner cylinder, thereby performing locking or unlocking. While the connecting pin retreats, the first inner cylinder is idle even if it is rotated while the second inner cylinder is not.

[0015] The advance and retreat of the connecting pin are controlled by the connecting-pin control mechanism. The connecting-pin control mechanism is provided with a first function for advancing the connecting pin (advance control function), a second function for mechanically holding the advance state (latch function), and a third function for retreating the connecting pin (retreat control function).

[0016] It is advantageous from the viewpoint of torque to make the advance/retreat direction of the connecting pin perpendicular to the rotation-axis direction of the first and second inner cylinders. On the other hand, by making the advance/retreat direction of the connecting pin parallel with the rotation-axis direction of the first and second inner cylinders, key inserting/extracting motion can be directly transferred to the connecting pin, that is, the mechanism for transferring the driving force can be simplified.

[0017] A suitable aspect of the present invention further includes a key discrimination circuit for detecting the inserted key and outputting a driving signal when it decides that the key is proper. In the case of the above structure, it is preferable that the key discrimination circuit comprises an electronic circuit and decides whether an inserted electronic key is proper by transferring data between the circuit and the key.

[0018] In the case of the suitable aspect of the present invention, the connecting-pin control mechanism comprises an energizing member for always applying a retreat force to the connecting pin, a protrusion is set to the connecting pin, a cam plate serving as a rotary plate which contacts the protrusion, drops the protrusion to a retreat stabilized position when the plate is tilted and holds the protrusion at an advance stabilized position when it rises, and an actuator for generating a driving force for raising the tilted cam plate by receiving the driving signal.

[0019] In the case of the above structure the energizing member applies, an energizing force to the connecting pin in the retreat direction. Therefore, the connecting pin is normally present at the most retreated position (retreat stabilized position) and, even if the first inner cylinder rotates, it merely idles because the rotation of the first inner cylinder is not transferred to the second inner cylinder. In this case, it is preferable that the energizing member be a blade spring, one end fixed, and the protrusion be pressed in the retreat direction by the other end of the spring. It is preferable that the protrusion comprises a stud provided with a rotatable roller.

[0020] The cam plate serving as a rotary plate has an important role for realizing the above three functions. When the cam plate is tilted, the protrusion contacting the cam plate (and the connecting pin provided with the protrusion) is present at the most retreated position. By operating the actuator to change the attitude of the cam plate from the tilted state to a raised state, the protrusion advances in accordance with the attitude change and the front end of the connecting pin fits into the second inner cylinder. In this case, the force for advancing the protrusion (in other words, the rotational force of the cam plate) must be larger than the retreat energizing force by the energizing member. When the cam plate completely rises, the protrusion is latched by the cam plate and a stabilized state (advance stabilized state) is realized. Thereafter, even if stopping feed of the driving force to the cam plate, two inner cylinders are continuously connected without natural retreat of the connecting-pin.

[0021] In the case of the suitable aspect of the present invention, the cam plate has a slope on which the protrusion rolls and a recess formed at a position where the protrusion mounts the slope to latch the protrusion. Moreover, in the case of the suitable aspect of the present invention, the connecting-pin control mechanism further includes a magnet for maintaining the tilted state of the cam plate.

[0022] That is, to realize an advance stabilized state, it is necessary to keep the cam plate raised by using electrical, mechanical, and magnetic actions. To latch the cam plate, it is preferable to form a recess to which the protrusion drops at the top of the cam plate or use the magnetic force of the magnet. It is thereby possible to save electrical power.

[0023] In the case of the suitable aspect of the present invention, the cam plate is formed with an elliptic or droplet-shaped plate with its rotation axis set to a position deviated from the center as a whole and the recess is formed on the top of the plate.

[0024] In the case of the suitable aspect of the present invention, the connecting-pin control mechanism further includes accumulation means for accumulating the key insertion force and a latched-state resetting mechanism for tilting the raised cam plate by using the accumulation force of the accumulation means when the key is extracted.

[0025] In the above structure, when a key is inserted into the key seat of the first inner cylinder, some or the whole of the insertion force is accumulated in the accumulation means. When the key is extracted from the key seat, the raised cam plate is tilted because the accumulated force is used by the latched-state resetting mechanism. That is, the latched state is forcibly reset.

[0026] In the case of the suitable aspect of the present invention, the latched-state resetting mechanism includes an arm for tilting the cam plate and a key interlocking mechanism for converting the inserting motion of the key into the retreating motion of the arm when the key is inserted and the extracting motion of the key into the tilting motion of the arm by using the accumulated force when the key is extracted.

[0027] According to the above structure, it is possible to decrease the force for advancing the connecting pin because the arm retreats from the cam plate when the key is inserted. Thereby, electric power can be saved and the actuator can be downsized. Moreover, because the arm can be driven using the accumulated force when extracting the key, electrical power can also be saved.

[0028] In the case of the suitable aspect of the present invention, the connecting-pin control mechanism includes an actuator to which the driving signal is supplied to generate a driving force for advancing the connecting pin and a key interlocking mechanism for allowing the connecting pin to advance when the key is inserted and for retreating the connecting pin by transferring the key extracting motion to the connecting pin when the key is extracted.

[0029] In the above structure, the connecting pin is allowed to advance by the key interlocking mechanism and the connecting pin is advanced by the actuator when the key is inserted. Moreover, when the key is extracted, the key extracting force is transferred to the connecting pin by the key interlocking mechanism and the connecting pin is forcibly retreated.

[0030] The suitable aspect of the present invention further includes key guide means for allowing insertion of the electronic key only when the second inner cylinder is present at a predetermined rotational position. It is preferable that the key guide means comprise a cap member having a predetermined key seat.

[0031] The suitable aspect of the present invention further includes a power supply section for receiving electric power from an inserted key.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

[0032] 

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a lock cylinder of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of an electronic key;

Figure 3 is a top view of an electronic key;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the key guide means of a lock cylinder;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a rotary actuator;

Figure 6 is an A-A sectional view of Fig. 1;

Figure 7 is an illustration for explaining actions of a cam plate;

Figure 8 is an illustration showing a lock cylinder set to a lock;

Figure 9 is an enlarged view of a sleeve with a lead;

Figure 10 is a block diagram showing the structure of a control circuit;

Figure 11 is an illustration showing latch means using a magnet;

Figure 12 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the lock cylinder of the present invention;

Figure 13 is an illustration showing a local structure of latched-state resetting mechanism;

Figure 14 is an illustration showing another key guide means; and

Figure 15 is an illustration showing still another key guide means.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention:

[0033] Figure 1 is a sectional view of a lock cylinder of the present invention. A lock cylinder 1 includes a cylindrical outer cylinder 10 secured to a lock and a first inner cylinder 14 (first rotational member) and a cylindrical second inner cylinder 16 (second rotational member) rotatably supported by the inner periphery 12 of the outer cylinder 10. A very small gap exists between the inner periphery 12 of the outer cylinder 10 and the outer periphery of the first inner cylinder 14 and second inner cylinder 16 and grease is injected into the gap. Thereby, entrance of water drops and dust through the gap it is effectively prevented.

[0034] A panel portion 22 is integrally formed at an end of the first inner cylinder 14 and a key seat 20 into which an electronic key 18 is inserted is formed on the panel portion 22. A cap member 30 covers one end of the outer cylinder 10. The margin 24 of the panel portion 22 is put between the outer end 26 of the outer cylinder 10 and the back of the cap member 30. Thereby, movement of the first inner cylinder 14 in the rotation-axis direction is restricted, though the inner cylinder 14 can freely rotate.

[0035] The second inner cylinder 16 is formed as a bottomed cylinder in the case of this embodiment. The second inner cylinder 16 is put between an inward flange, 40A provided on the other end 40 of the outer cylinder 10, and an end of the first inner cylinder 14 and housed in the outer cylinder 10. Therefore, movement of the second inner cylinder 16 in the rotation-axis direction is restricted, though the inner cylinder 16 can freely rotate the same as the first inner cylinder 14.

[0036] In Figs. 2 and 3, in the case of this embodiment the electronic key 18 is formed like a plate and a small battery B and a signal generation circuit SC to be operated by receiving electric power from the battery B are set in the holding portion 18A of the key 18. The signal generation circuit SC outputs a code inherent in the electronic key. A code signal output from the signal generation circuit SC is supplied to a transmitting coil TC set in the inserting portion 18B of the key 18 and a transmission signal is emitted from the transmitting coil TC. This is a known structure (for example, see Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 62-280083.

[0037] In Fig. 4, the key seat 20 is formed on the panel portion 22. The key seat 20 is a slit-like groove fitted to the shape of the inserting portion 18B of the electronic key 18. When the electronic key 18 is completely inserted into the key seat 20, the electronic key 18 rotates integrally with the inner cylinder 14 and the rotational positional relationship between them does not deviate. Moreover, a key seat 42 serving as key guide means is formed on the cap member 30. Only when the rotation angle of the key seat 42 coincides with that of the key seat 20, the electronic key 18 can be inserted into the key seats.

[0038] In the case of this embodiment, a protrusion 18C is formed on the inserting portion 18B of the electronic key 18 (see Fig. 2) and the key seat 42 comprises a hole 42A having a diameter equal to the width W of the front end of the inserting portion 18B and a nick 42B having a length equal to the height H of the protrusion 18C and a width allowing passage of the protrusion 18C. In the case of the electronic key 18, a gap portion 18D is formed between the holding portion 18A and the protrusion 18C and the thickness of the portion 18D is slightly larger than the thickness T (see Fig. 1) of the cap member 30 and the length of the portion 18D is G.

[0039] Therefore, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the protrusion 18C can pass through the key seat 42 only when the first inner cylinder 14 is present at a predetermined rotational position (rotational position where the key seat 20 coincides with the key seat 42), that is, only when the inner cylinder 14 is present at the rotational position shown by the continuous line in Fig. 4. Therefore, only when the first inner cylinder 14 is at a predetermined rotational position to the outer cylinder 10, is it possible to insert the electronic key 18 into the key seat 20 or extract the electronic key 18 from the key seat 20.

[0040] When the electronic key 18 is inserted until the shoulder portion 18E of the holding portion 18A contacts the cap member 30, the protrusion 18C is located inside the cap member 30 (see Fig. 1). Therefore, the first inner cylinder 14 can be rotated by the electronic key 18 because the cap member 30 does not interrupt the rotation of the electronic key 18. As shown in Fig. 4, however, when the first inner cylinder 14 is present at a position deviating from the position shown by the continuous line, or when the inner cylinder 14 is present at the position shown by the two-dot chain line, it is impossible to insert or extract the electronic key 18 through the key seat 42 because the protrusion 18C of the electronic key 18 is caught by the back of the cap member 30. As a result, the electronic key 18 is inevitably inserted or extracted only at a position where the position of the nick 42B coincides with the key seat 20 and the relative positional relation between the first inner cylinder 14 and the outer cylinder 10 can always be kept at a predetermined state.

[0041] If for any reason the key seat 20 does not coincide with 42 for any reason though the key seat 42 works, it is possible to cancel the incoincident state by inserting a screw driver into the key seat 20 through the key seat 42 to rotate the first inner cylinder 14. In this case, however, only the first inner cylinder 14 is rotated and the rotation is not transferred to the second inner cylinder 16.

[0042] In Fig. 1, a connecting unit 44 for connecting the first inner cylinder 14 with the second inner cylinder 16 is set in the first inner cylinder 14. The connecting unit 44 comprises an electromagnetic rotary actuator 46, which operates by responding to an electric signal, and a connecting mechanism 48 to be driven by the rotary actuator 46. In this case, the connecting unit 44 includes a mechanism for to be described later controlling the movement of connecting pin 54.

[0043] First, the structure of the rotary actuator 46 is described below by referring to Fig. 5.

[0044] The rotary actuator 46 has a cylindrical housing 46C provided with a pair of permanent magnets 46A and 46B, a rotation output shaft 46D rotatably pivoted to the housing 46C, and a rotor 46E secured to the rotation output shaft 46D. The housing 46C is screwed to the first inner cylinder 14. The rotor 46E is provided with a rotor winding 46F and is set to the position shown by the line X-X or Y-Y in Fig. 5.

[0045] In Fig. 1, a cap member 46J prevents water or dust from entering through the bearing of the rotation output shaft 46D. The cap member 46J is secured to the housing 46C by means of spot welding or screwing.

[0046] A connecting mechanism 48 is described below by referring to Fig. 6.

[0047] The connecting mechanism 48 includes a connecting pin 54. The connecting pin 54 is supported and guided by a pair of support guide bodies 50 and 52 set on the housing 46C. Thereby, the connecting pin 54 can freely advance or retreat. A slot 56 extending in its advance-retreat direction is penetratingly formed on the connecting pin 54 and the rotation output shaft 46D passes through the slot 54. A cam plate 58 is screwed to the front end of the rotation output shaft 46D.

[0048] The connecting pin 54 is provided with a stud 62 rotatably holding a roller 60. Moreover, the housing 46C is provided with a stud 64 and one end of a blade spring 66 serving as retreat energizing means is secured to the stud 64. Thereby, the connecting pin 54 is continuously pressed in the retreat direction and the connecting pin 54 is stationary at a position where the roller 60 slightly contacts the cam plate 58 (that is, retreat-side stable position). Thus, because the connecting pin 54 is continuously pressed in the retreat direction, it does not erroneously advance due to vibrations.

[0049] Under the above stable state, the front end 54A of the connecting pin 54 is present at the position shown by the continuous line in Fig. 6 and the first inner cylinder 14 is separate from the second inner cylinder 16. Therefore, even if the first inner cylinder 14 is rotated, the rotation of the cylinder 14 is not transferred to the inner cylinder 16.

[0050] A recess 54 into which the front end 54A of the connecting pin 54 is inserted is formed on the second inner cylinder 16 (see Figs. 1 and 6). The recess 16A is not a through-hole. When a predetermined driving current flows through the rotor winding 46F of the rotary actuator 46, the rotation output shaft 46D of the actuator 46 rotates counterclockwise (see Fig. 6) and the cam plate 58 advances the connecting pin 54 by interlocking with the shaft 46D. Thereby, the front end 54A enters the recess 16A. This advance-side stable state is shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 6.

[0051] Functions of the cam plate 58 are described below in detail by referring to Fig. 7.

[0052] When the cam plate 58 is in a tilted state (a reset state), that is, the first inner cylinder 14 is not connected with the second inner cylinder 16, the cam plate 58 is present at the position shown by the continuous line in Fig. 7. That is, the roller 60 is pressed toward the cam plate 58 by the blade spring 66. When a driving current is supplied to the rotary actuator 46, the rotation output shaft 46D of the actuator 46 rotates counterclockwise as shown in Fig. 7 and the stud 62 provided with the roller 60 is pressed in the advance direction against the spring force of the blade spring 66. Because of the attitude change of the cam plate 58, that is, the change of the plate 58 from the tilted state to the raised state, the connecting pin 54 provided with the stud 62 advances. Then, the front end 54A of the connecting pin 54 enters the recess 16A.

[0053] A recess 58A for accepting the roller 60 is formed at the front end (top) of the cam plate 58. The lateral of the cam plate 58 at the roller 60 side functions as a slope on which the roller 60 rolls. The rotary actuator 46 rotates the cam plate 58 until the roller 60 is accepted by the recess 58A. When the cam plate 58 is raised, the electrical power feed to the rotary actuator 46 is stopped. In this case, the front end 54A of the connecting pin 54 enters the recess 16A. While the roller 60 is fitted into the front end 54A of the connecting pin 54, it cannot naturally come out of the recess 58A due to the pressure of the blade spring 66. In other words, the roller 60 is caught by the recess 58A and the advance stabilized state is realized by a mechanical action. This latched state is shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 7.

[0054] Under the above state, the first inner cylinder 14 and the second inner cylinder 16 are rotated and connected to each other by the connecting pin 54. By rotating the first inner cylinder 14, the second inner cylinder 16 can be rotated connected to a locking/unlocking mechanism.

[0055] Figure 8 shows the lock cylinder 1 set to a door locking device. The outer cylinder 10 is secured to a lock 100. The second inner cylinder 16 has a protruded piece 16B integrated with the lock 100. The protruded piece 16B is connected to a locking/unlocking mechanism 104 for advancing or retreating a bolt 102 of the lock 100. Therefore, by inserting a proper electronic key 18 into the first inner cylinder 14 and turning it after the first inner cylinder 14 and the second inner cylinder 16 are connected by the connecting mechanism 48, the second inner cylinder 16 rotates and it is possible to perform locking/unlocking operations. That is, it is possible to advance or retreat the bolt 102 similarly to a conventional pin tumbler lock. In Fig. 8, symbol 106 represents a thumb-turn, 108 represents a latch, and 110 represents a grip.

[0056] Then, a latched-state resetting mechanism 68 for resetting the above connected state is described below by referring to Figs. 1 and 6.

[0057] The resetting mechanism 68 includes a piano wire 72 (see Fig. 1) serving as a line spring member and a rod 74. The base end 72A of the piano wire 72 is held by a stud 70 formed on the housing 46C. The action end 72B of the piano wire 72 oscillates by interlocking with insertion and extraction of the electronic key 18. At the time of key insertion, the piano wire 72 is elastically deformed and the inserting force of the electronic key 18 is accumulated as elastic deformation of the piano wire 72. The rod 74 is supported and guided by the housing 46 in parallel with the rotation output shaft 46D. One end of the rod 74 is connected to the action end 72B of the piano wire 72. A spline groove 74A is formed at the other end of the rod 74 and a guide pin 76A of a guide 76 is inserted into the spline groove 74A. The guide 76 is secured to the housing 46C.

[0058] According to the above structure, rotation of the rod 74 is controlled and the motion of the rod 74 is allowed only in the axis direction is allowed. When the inserted electronic key 18 displaces the piano wire 72, the rod 74 moves in its axis direction without rotating by interlocking with the piano wire 72.

[0059] As shown in Fig. 6, a sleeve 78 rotatably supported by a stud 77 is provided near the other end of the rode 74. The stud 77 is secured to the housing 46 of the rotary actuator 46. A lead 78A serving as a spiral groove is formed on the sleeve 78 as shown in Fig. 9. The rod 74 and a pin 80 are set in the lead 78A (see Fig. 6). By the above motion converting function, linear motion of the rod 74 is converted to rotation of the sleeve 78.

[0060] A resetting arm 82 is screwed to the sleeve 78. The front end 82A of the resetting arm 82 extends up to the vicinity of the cam plate 58. When the rod 74 advances by inserting the electronic key 18, the resetting arm 82 is set to the state shown by the continuous line in Fig. 6. Under the above state, the front end 82A of the resetting arm 82 separates from the cam plate 58 and therefore, the resetting arm 82 does not interrupt operations of the connecting mechanism 48. Therefore, the above connection is realized by the rotary actuator 46.

[0061] When extracting the electronic key 18 from the key seat 20, the elastically-compressed piano wire 72 returns to its original form and the rod 74 retreats by interlocking with the wire 72. Thereby, the sleeve 78 rotates clockwise (see Fig. 6). As a result, the front end 82A of the resetting arm 82 tilts the cam plate 58 clockwise to make the roller 60 escape from the recess 58A. Thereby, the cam plate 58 returns to the state (tilted state) shown by the continuous line in Fig. 7. As a result, the front end 54A of the connecting pin 54 escapes from the recess 16A and the connection state between the first inner cylinder 14 and the second inner cylinder 16 is reset. In the case of the above latched-state resetting, no electrical driving is necessary and it is possible to effectively use the key inserting and extracting operations to reset the latched state.

[0062] To prevent water or dust from entering the rotary actuator 46 trough the gap between the rod 74 and the housing 46C, the gap is designed so that movement of the rod 74 is not interrupted and the size is minimized. Grease is injected into the gap.

[0063] However, because the rotary actuator 46 is fitted to the inner periphery of the first inner cylinder 14 as shown in Fig. 1, water or dust does not enter the connecting mechanism 48 through the gap between the first inner cylinder 14 and the rotary actuator 46.

[0064] According to the above structure, even if water or dust come in through the key seat 20, they do not enter the connecting mechanism 48 side. In this case, the recess 16A has dust- and moisture-preventive effects because it is not a through-hole.

[0065] Because the above dust- and drop-preventive structure is an example, it is also possible to use a sealing member such as rubber. The lock cylinder 1 of the present invention can securely execute the original function for a long time even under an inferior environment.

[0066] Then, a control circuit 84 is described below by referring to Fig. 10.

[0067] The control circuit 84 includes a receiving coil RC, a power supply section PS, a decision section DC, and a driving section OT. When the electronic key 18 is inserted into the key seat 20 and the state shown in Fig. 1 is set, the receiving coil RC electromagnetically couples with the transmitting coil TC of the electronic key 18. The power supply section PS obtains DC power in accordance with an output of the receiving coil RC and electrical power is supplied to the cylinder side from the key side. The decision section DC is operated by a DC output of the power supply section PS and decides whether an electronic key code input from the receiving coil RC is the code entered as the key of the lock cylinder 1. When it is decided by the decision section DC that the electronic key code is correct, the driving section OT responds to a decision signal DS output from the decision section DC to supply a driving current I to the rotary actuator 46.

[0068] Therefore, when the electronic key 18 is inserted, the control circuit 48 completes discrimination of the electronic key and driving of the rotary actuator 46 in a relatively short time by using a signal transmitted from the electronic key 18 in order to minimize the consumption of the battery BT in the electronic key 18.

[0069] Then, the whole operation of the lock cylinder 1 is described below.

[0070] When the electronic key 18 is not inserted into the lock cylinder 1, the latched state of the connecting mechanism 48 is reset by the resetting mechanism 68. That is, the front end 54A of the connecting pin 54 is out of the recess 16A and the first inner cylinder 14 is not connected with the second inner cylinder 16. Therefore, though the first inner cylinder 14 can freely rotate in the outer cylinder 10, the rotational force of the first inner cylinder 14 is not transferred to the locking/unlocking mechanism 104 of the lock 100 through the second inner cylinder 16.

[0071] The key seat 20 of the first inner cylinder 14 is constantly kept at a position proper to the outer cylinder 10 by the action of the key seat 42. Therefore, it is possible to securely insert the electronic key 18 into the cylinder through the key seat 42.

[0072] According to the above key insertion, the rod 47 advances to set the resetting arm 82 to the state shown by the continuous line in Fig. 6 and also to ready the connecting mechanism 48 for operation.

[0073] Simultaneously with the above operations, the control circuit 84 operates by receiving a signal transmitted from the electronic key 18 and decides whether the electronic key 18 is proper. When the electronic key 18 determined proper, the driving current I is supplied to the rotary actuator 46 and the rotation output shaft 46D of the actuator 46 rotates to drive the connecting mechanism 48. Thereby, the connection latched state shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 7 is set.

[0074] In this connection, the first inner cylinder 14 is constantly kept at a rotation angle proper to the outer cylinder 10 by the key guide means and the connecting pin 54 constantly faces the recess 16A. Therefore, it is unnecessary to adjust the direction of the connecting pin 54 to the recess 16A by rotating the pin 54. Thereby, the time for supplying the driving current I from the control circuit 48 is greatly shortened and, thus, the consumption of power from battery BT in the electronic key 18 can be decreased. If the position of the first inner cylinder 14 is indeterminate, it may be necessary to search a proper rotation angle by rotating the first inner cylinder after inserting the electronic key 18 and, moreover, it is necessary to continuously supply electric power to the rotary actuator 46 while the above operation is performed. The cylinder of this embodiment makes it possible to solve the above problems, improve the manipulating condition, and decrease the replacement frequency of the battery BT in the electronic key 18.

[0075] As described above, when the first inner cylinder 14 and the second inner cylinder 16 are ready to rotate together by the connecting mechanism 48, it is possible to operate the locking/unlocking mechanism 104 of the lock 100 through the first and second inner cylinders 14 and 16 by turning the electronic key 18.

[0076] By extracting the electronic key 18 after locking or unlocking, the rod 47 retreats and the unlocking arm 82 tilts the cam plate 58 to tilt the raised plate 58. In this case, the front end 54A of the engaging pin 54 escapes from the recess 16A and the connection state between the first inner cylinder 14 and the second inner cylinder 16 is reset.

[0077] Thereafter, even if the first inner cylinder 14 is rotated, the rotational force of the cylinder 14 is not transferred to the locking/unlocking mechanism 104 of the lock 100. Therefore, unlike a conventional cylinder, no breakable object is present where a screw driver or the like could be inserted into the key seat 20 and it is impossible to operate the locking/unlocking mechanism while the first inner cylinder 14 only idles. Therefore, the cylinder of the present invention is very superior in crime preventive performance.

[0078] Then, another embodiment of latching means is described below by referring to Fig. 11.

[0079] In the case of the former embodiment, latching means comprises the blade spring 66 and the recess 58A of the cam plate 58. However, the latter embodiment uses a magnet.

[0080] In the case of means 148 shown in Fig. 11, a cam plate 158 is made of iron or nickel which is a soft magnetic material. A permanent magnet 159 functions as a stopper member and a latching member to a protrusion 158A at the top of the cam plate 158. That is, when the protrusion 158A contacts the permanent magnet 159, the protrusion 158A is attracted by the permanent magnet 159 due to the magnetic action and thereby, the raised state of the cam plate 158 is maintained. In this case, the front end 54A of the engaging pin 54 enters the recess 16A. Of course, the magnetic action must be larger than the energizing action in the retreat direction of the blade spring 66.

[0081] The above structure has the advantage that the rotation degree of the rotation output shaft 46D of the rotary actuator 46 required to operate a connecting mechanism can be decreased compared to the structure shown in Fig. 6. That is, it is possible to decrease the rotation degree of the rotation output shaft 46D down to a value equivalent to the rotation degree required to make the roller 60 enter the recess 58A. This represents reduction of the power consumption of the rotary actuator 46 and makes it possible to prevent consumption of power from battery BT by the electronic key 18.

[0082] Figure 12 shows still another embodiment of the lock cylinder of the present invention.

[0083] In the lock cylinder 200, symbol 202 represents an outer cylinder, 204 represents a first inner cylinder, and 206 represents a second inner cylinder. A key seat 208 into which the electronic key 18 is inserted is formed on the first inner cylinder 204. A key seat 212 is formed on a cap member 210 and the key seat 212 has a function equipment to that of the key seat 42 in Fig. 1. That is, the electronic key 18 can be inserted or extracted only when the first inner cylinder 204 has a predetermined positional relationship with the outer cylinder 202.

[0084] A connecting unit 214 for setting the first inner cylinder 204 and the second inner cylinder 206 to a predetermined connection state and a resetting mechanism 216 for resetting the predetermined connection state set by the connecting unit 214 are provided in the first inner cylinder 204. The connecting unit 204 comprises a rotary actuator 218 and a connecting mechanism 220 to be driven by the actuator 218. The connecting mechanism 220 has a connecting pin 222 movably guided by a guide (not illustrated). The connecting pin 222 is provided with a stud 224 and an operating rod 226 secured to the rotation output shaft 218A of the rotary actuator 218 is inserted into the hole 224A of the stud 224.

[0085] When a signal transmitted from the electronic key 18 is received by a control circuit (not illustrated), processings such as discrimination and collation of the key are performed and thereafter, the rotary actuator 218 is driven. Thereby, the operating rod 226 is set to the position shown by the continuous line or two-dot chain line in Fig. 12.

[0086] When the operating rod 226 is under the state shown by the continuous line, the connecting pin 222 advances to the position shown by the continuous line and the front end 222A of the pin 222 enters a recess 228 formed on the second inner cylinder 206. Thus, the first inner cylinder 204 connects with the second inner cylinder 206.

[0087] When the operating rod 226 is under the state shown by the two-dot chain line, the connecting pin 222 retreats to return to the position shown by the two-dot chain line, thereby the front end 222A escapes from the recess 228, and the connection state between the first inner cylinder 204 and the second inner cylinder 206 is reset.

[0088] The connection state is reset by the resetting mechanism 216. The resetting mechanism 216 includes a blade spring 232 and a resetting lever 236. The base end of the blade spring 232 is secured to a partition 230 formed in the first inner cylinder 204 by bolts. The resetting lever 236 is guided by the partition 230 and a guide sleeve 234. As shown in Fig. 13, an oscillating end of the blade spring 232 is connected to one end of the resetting lever 236, a bent pawl 236A is formed at the other end of the resetting lever 236, and the pawl 236A is hung on the operating rod 226 as shown in Fig. 13.

[0089] Operations of the resetting mechanism 216 are described below by referring to Figs. 12 and 13.

[0090] When the electronic key 18 is not inserted, the blade spring 232 is present at the position shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 12 and therefore, the resetting lever 236 is retreated. Therefore, the operating rod 226 is maintained at the position shown by the two-dot chain line by the engaging pawl 236A and, moreover, the connecting pin 222 is maintained at the retreat position shown by the two-dot chain line. In this case, the connection state between the first inner cylinder 204 and the second inner cylinder 206 is reset.

[0091] When the electronic key 18 is inserted into the key seat 208, the blade spring 232 is pushed by the electronic key 18 to move to the position shown by the continuous line and the resetting lever 216 thereby advances and the restriction of movement of the operating rod 226 is canceled. Therefore, when the electronic key 18 is a proper key, the rotary actuator 218 is driven, the connecting pin 222 advances, and the first inner cylinder 204 connects with the second inner cylinder 206.

[0092] Thereafter, by turning the electronic key 18, it is possible to rotate the second inner cylinder 206 and operate the locking/unlocking mechanism through the protruded piece 238.

[0093] When the electronic key 18 is extracted, the blade spring 232 returns to the position shown by the two-dot chain line and the resetting lever 236 simultaneously retreats. In this case, the operating rod 226 is forcibly returned to the position shown by the two-dot chain line, the front end 222A of the connecting pin 222 is ejected from the recess 228, and the connection state between the first inner cylinder 204 and the second inner cylinder 206 is reset.

[0094] In Fig. 12, it is possible to use a latching mechanism as a rotary actuator in order to latch the state in which the operating rod 226 is present at the position shown by the continuous line. Also, in the case of the structure shown in Fig. 12, each necessary portion is sealed and the connecting unit 214 and the rotary actuator 218 are protected from dust and water similarly to the case of the above embodiment.

[0095] Where the lock cylinder 1 in Fig. 1 most greatly differs from the lock cylinder 200 in Fig. 2 is the way of setting a connecting pin. In the case of the lock cylinder 1, a connecting pin is set in the direction along the radius direction of an outer cylinder. In the case of the lock cylinder 200, however, a connecting pin is set along the axis direction of an outer cylinder. It is possible to select either of the above two types in accordance with the purpose and the location of the cylinder.

[0096] The structure of the key seat serving as key guide means is not restricted to the above structure. As shown in Figs. 14 and 15, for example, it is possible to form two, instead of one, notches 42B and 42B in a key at an interval of 180° which allows the protruded piece 18C of the electronic key 18 to pass on a key seat. According to the above structure, it is possible to insert or extract the electronic key 18 at two rotational positions (every 180°) among rotational positions of 360°. Among various locking/unlocking mechanisms, there are some mechanisms which make it possible to perform locking/unlocking at a position every 180° among the rotation angles of 360°. The structure shown in Figs. 14 and 15 is more convenient than these mechanisms.

[0097] The present invention makes it possible to provide a lock cylinder which cannot easily be broken by an intruder and which is superior in safety and has a high crime preventive performance. Moreover, the present invention makes it possible to securely operate a connecting pin and decrease power consumption. Furthermore, the present invention makes it possible to maintain the advance state of a connecting pin and retreat the connecting pin without electric action. Furthermore, the present invention makes it possible to effectively use key operations (insertion and extraction of a key) for the control of a connecting pin. Furthermore, the present invention makes it possible to provide an electric lock cylinder with a high operability in which a key can be inserted or extracted only when an inner cylinder is present at a proper rotational position.

Claims

1. A lock cylinder set to a lock, comprising:

an outer cylinder;

a first inner cylinder which is rotatably set in said outer cylinder and into which a key is inserted;

a second inner cylinder which is rotatably set in said outer cylinder and connected to a locking/unlocking mechanism of said lock;

a connecting pin which is movably held by said first inner cylinder to connect said first inner cylinder with said second inner cylinder when the pin advances; and

a connecting pin control mechanism which advances said connecting pin when a proper key is inserted, holds the advance state, and retreats said connecting pin when said key is extracted.

2. The lock cylinder according to claim (1), wherein a key discrimination circuit is further included which discriminates said inserted key and outputs a driving signal when the circuit decides that the key is proper.

3. The lock cylinder according to claim (2), wherein said connecting pin control mechanism includes;

an energizing member for continuously supplying a retreat force to said connecting pin,

a protrusion set to said connecting pin,

a cam plate which is a rotary plate contacting said protrusion and which drops said protrusion to a retreat stabilized position when it is tilted and holds said protrusion at an advance stabilized position when it is raised, and

an actuator to which said driving signal is supplied to generate a driving force for raising said tilted cam plate.

4. The lock cylinder according to claim (3), wherein said cam plate has;

a slope on which said protrusion rolls, and

a recess formed at a position where said protrusion mounts on said slope to latch said protrusion.

5. The lock cylinder according to claim (3), wherein said connecting pin control mechanism further includes;

accumulation means for accumulating the inserting force of said key, and

a latched-state resetting mechanism for tilting a raised cam plate by using the accumulated force of said accumulation means when said key is extracted.

6. The lock cylinder according to claim (3), wherein said connecting pin control mechanism further includes a magnet for maintaining the tilted state of said cam plate.

7. The lock cylinder according to claim (5), wherein said latched-state resetting mechanism includes;

an arm for tilting said cam plate, and

a key interlocking mechanism for converting the inserting motion of said key into the retreating motion of said arm when said key is inserted and for converting the extracting motion of said key into the tilting motion by said arm by using the accumulated force when said key is extracted.

8. The lock cylinder according to claim (2), wherein said connecting pin control mechanism includes;

an actuator to which said driving signal is supplied to generate a driving force for advancing said connecting pin, and

a key interlocking mechanism for allowing said connecting pin to advance when said key is inserted and for retreating said connecting pin by transferring the extracting motion of said key to said connecting pin when said key is extracted.

9. The lock cylinder according to claim (1), wherein key guide means is further included which allows said electronic key to be inserted only when said second inner cylinder is present at a predetermined rotational position.

10. The lock cylinder according to claim (1), wherein a power supply section is included which receives electric power from an inserted key.

Drawing