Sargent & Greenleaf, Inc.

John R Bishop

Harry C Miller

Gregory C Lainhart

Scott M Beatty

Stephen Helesfai

A combination lock dial ring and rotatable dial assembly for combination locks and the like designed to provide limited range top reading of the dial indicia and graduations, including a rotatable dial component having a circular dial formation and a knob formation integral therewith, wherein the dial formation has a peripheral flange formation providing a cylindrical outer surface on which dial graduation marks and numeral indicia are provided. A dial ring member includes a generally circular base wall portion and an interrupted cylindrical annular shield portion defining a forwardly opening cylindrical well to receive said dial formation nested therein. An annular detenting land formation is provided inwardly adjacent the cylindrical shield portion defining a detenting surface having a number of dial graduation marks. A resilient biased detenting plunger is provided in the dial peripheral flange formation to interact with the detenting slots to locating the graduation marks in precise alignment with a fixed index mark on the dial ring.

Dial and dial ring assembly with detenting feature

A combination lock of the type adapted for changing of the combination by a change key, a lock case housing, a stack of a plurality of tumbler wheels loosely journaled on a tumbler post for rotation about its axis and each including an annular outer rim portion and an inner annular hub portion having teeth releasably intercoupling the hub portion and rim portion at any of a plurality of relative angular positions. The rim portions of the tumbler wheels have specially shaped peripheral gates to receive confronting portions of a fence on the fence lever when the tumbler wheels are properly aligned. The tumbler post is supported within the tumbler wheel hub portions for nonrotatable axial movement to shift the hub portions axially relative to the outer rim portions between coupled and decoupled relation. An actuator is activated by rotation of the change key for axially moving the tumbler post and the tumbler wheel hub portions to shift the hub portions to decoupled relation for combination change and a secondary change fence member is slidable rectilinearly into inserted relation in the tumbler wheel gates and retractable therefrom upon movement the of the actuator to selectively hold the rim portion against rotation.

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Lexington, KY, United States of America

John R Bishop