Message door lock apparatus

• US 5,241,427 A
• Filed: 08/19/1991
• Issued: 08/31/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fu-Tung Lin
• Original Assignee: Fu-Tung Lin
• Inventors: Lin, Fu-Tung
• Primary Examiner(s): Pascal, Robert J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DINH, TAN X
• Application Number:
  US07/747,277
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• Field of Search: 360/1, 360/12, 369/22, 369/20, 369/69, 340/545, 340/692, 365/244
• US Class Current: 360/1
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 39/00 Locks giving indication of authorised or unauthorised unlocking with key identification means E05B35/001; alarm locks E05B45/00
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 45/06 Electric alarm locks E05B45/005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 15/00 Identifying, scaring or incapacitating burglars, thieves or intruders, e.g. by explosives

Abstract

A message door lock includes a trigger switch for trigging a playing operation of a recorder and player operatively recorded for leaving a message in the recorder formed on a door lock, an actuator of the trigger switch mounted on a thumbturn or doorlock spindle having an insulator flange normally interrupting the trigger switch from a circuit of the recorder and player and having a pair of notches diagonally recessed in the flange, whereby upon a rotation of the thumbturn inside a door or unlocking the doorlock outside the door, the flange of the actuator is rotated to match the notch in the flange with the trigger switch for resiliently contacting the trigger switch with the contact of the recorder and player circuit for playing the message already recorded in the recorder whenever rotating the thumbturn or unlocking the doorlock for a convenient and safe messaging purpose.

Claims

1. A message door lock comprising:

a casing secured inside a door;

a recording and playing circuit means having a recording and playing circuit mounted in said casing for operatively recording a message speech therein and for playing or outputting the message speech therefrom, and having a trigger switch operatively actuating a first contact and a second contact electrically connected with said recording and playing circuit for triggering said recording and playing circuit means for playing a recorded message pre-recorded therein; and

a trigger means formed on a door lock operatively rotated for triggering said trigger switch of said recording and playing circuit means for playing the recorded message pre-recorded in said recording and playing circuit means;

said recording and playing circuit means including;

a main switch for switching on or off of a power source of the circuit means, the trigger switch operatively actuated by said trigger means for conducting the first contact and the second contact both contacts normally opened and operatively closed to be connected to the recording and playing circuit having function for receiving input speech signal when recording for the memory of the input speech signal and for outputting speech signal which is transduced as audible speech when playing a lamp indicator selected from a light emitting diode which is lit indicating the circuit ready for recording and is flashed indicating the circuit ready for playing, a microphone for receiving the input speech signal when recording, and a loud speaker for sounding the audible speech when playing; and

said trigger means including;

a thumbturn secured on an inner end portion of a sleeve portion rotatably mounted in the casing, a spindle secured in the sleeve portion and the thumbturn of the trigger means protruding outwardly along a longitudinal axis to be secured with a deadbolt to be operatively locked on a door frame and secured with a locking core of the door lock formed on an outside of the door, and a trigger-switch actuator secured on a middle portion of the spindle to be operatively rotated within the casing.

2. A message door lock according to claim 1, wherein said trigger-switch actuator includes a cylindrical portion having a spindle hole formed in a central portion of the cylindrical portion engageable with the spindle for securing the actuator with the spindle, and an insulator flange made of electrical insulative material secured with the cylindrical portion, and a pair of notches diagonally recessed in an outer perimeter of the flange.

3. A message door lock according to claim 1, wherein said trigger switch made of electrical conductive material includes:

a fixed end portion secured to and electrically conducted with the first contact of the recording and playing circuit means, and a free plate portion generally spoon shaped having a side edge portion sloping upwardly sidewardly for slidably guiding the flange of the actuator in between the free plate portion of the trigger switch and the second contact of the recording and playing circuit means.

4. A message door lock according to claim 2, wherein each said notch of the trigger-switch actuator has an area slightly larger than an area of the free plate portion of the trigger switch.

5. A message door lock according to claim 3, wherein said trigger switch has the free plate portion normally separated from the second contact of the circuit means as shielded by the flange of the actuator, and operatively conducted with the second contact when rotating the actuator to unshield the flange to match the notch with the free plate portion of the trigger switch.

6. A message door lock according to claim 2, wherein each said notch and the free plate portion of the trigger switch define an acute angle smaller than a spindle rotating angle for rotating the spindle for actuating the trigger means for playing the recording and playing circuit means when rotating the thumbturn from inside the door or rotating the lock core of the door lock when unlocking the lock by a key from outside the door.