Granted Patent B2

US 12,747,614 · App. 18/668,410 · Granted Sep 29, 2026

Inventors: J. Clayton Miller (Nicholasville, KY); Michael P. Harvey (Laguna Niguel, CA)

Assignee: LOCK II, LLC

E05B65/0075E05B37/0044E05B37/16E05B2047/0067E05G1/04

Abstract

Claims (89)

1 . An electromechanical combination lock comprising:

a dial ring assembly including:

a housing configured to be mounted on an exterior of a securable enclosure, and

a dial rotatably disposed on the housing, the dial being rotatable about a dial axis for use in connection with entry of a combination; and

a lock assembly including:

a bolt, the bolt being selectively extendable and retractable,

an internal generator configured to generate electrical energy, operatively coupled to the dial such that rotation of the dial causes the internal generator to produce electrical energy, and

a sensor integrated into the internal generator and configured to detect both a rotation of the dial and a rotational speed of the dial;

wherein the sensor provides an output signal based at least in part on the rotation of the dial and the rotational speed of the dial, the rotational speed being represented by a temporal characteristic of the output signal; and

wherein the sensor is configured to detect the rotation of the dial over a range of the dial rotational speeds.

2 . The dial ring assembly of claim 1 wherein the sensor is a Hall effect sensor.

3 . The dial ring assembly of claim 1 wherein the sensor is an optical sensor.

4 . The dial ring assembly of claim 1 wherein the sensor is configured to detect a direction of the rotation.

5 . The dial ring assembly of claim 1 wherein a resolution of the output signal of the sensor dynamically changes based on a rotation speed of the dial.

6 . The dial ring assembly of claim 1 , further comprising an external generator disposed in the housing and configured to generate electrical energy;

wherein the external generator is operatively coupled to the dial such that rotation of the dial causes the external generator to produce electrical energy.

7 . The dial ring assembly of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic display disposed on the housing, the electronic display being configured to display at least one indicium associated with entry of the combination.

8 . The dial ring assembly of claim 7 , wherein the sensor is configured to communicate with the electronic display.

9 . The dial ring assembly of claim 7 , further comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the sensor.

10 . The dial ring assembly of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the electronic display.

11 . A securable enclosure, comprising:

a plurality of walls at least partially defining an interior;

an access component arranged to selectively close an opening through the plurality of walls; and

the electromechanical combination lock of claim 1 disposed on one of the door or one of the plurality of walls;

wherein the electromechanical combination lock is configured to secure the door in a closed position.

12 . A dial ring assembly for an electromechanical combination lock, the dial ring assembly comprising:

a housing configured to be mounted on an exterior of a securable enclosure;

a dial rotatably disposed on the housing, the dial being rotatable about a dial axis for use in connection with entry of a combination;

an external generator disposed in the housing and configured to generate electrical energy; and

a sensor integrated into the external generator and configured to detect both a rotation of the dial and a rotational speed of the dial;

wherein the external generator is operatively coupled to the dial such that rotation of the dial causes the external generator to produce electrical energy;

wherein the sensor provides an output signal based at least in part on the rotation of the dial and the rotational speed of the dial, the rotational speed being represented by a temporal characteristic of the output signal; and

wherein the sensor is configured to detect the rotation of the dial over a range of the dial rotational speeds.

13 . The dial ring assembly of claim 12 wherein the sensor is a Hall effect sensor.

14 . The dial ring assembly of claim 12 wherein the sensor is an optical sensor.

15 . The dial ring assembly of claim 12 wherein the sensor is configured to detect a direction of the rotation.

16 . The dial ring assembly of claim 12 wherein a resolution of the output signal of the sensor dynamically changes based on a rotation speed of the dial.

17 . The dial ring assembly of claim 12 , further comprising an electronic display disposed on the housing, the electronic display being configured to display at least one indicium associated with entry of the combination.

18 . The dial ring assembly of claim 17 , wherein the sensor is configured to communicate with the electronic display.

19 . The dial ring assembly of claim 17 , further comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the sensor.

20 . The dial ring assembly of claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the electronic display.

21 . An electromechanical combination lock, comprising:

the dial ring assembly of claim 12 ; and

a lock assembly comprising a bolt, the bolt being selectively extendable and retractable.

22 . A securable enclosure, comprising:

a plurality of walls at least partially defining an interior;

an access component arranged to selectively close an opening through the plurality of walls; and

the electromechanical combination lock of claim 21 disposed on one of the door or one of the plurality of walls;

wherein the electromechanical combination lock is configured to secure the door in a closed position.

23 . A dial ring assembly for an electromechanical combination lock, the dial ring assembly comprising:

a housing configured to be mounted on an exterior of a securable enclosure;

a dial rotatably disposed on the housing, the dial being rotatable about a dial axis for use in connection with entry of a combination;

an external generator disposed in the housing and configured to generate electrical energy; and

a sensor integrated into the external generator and configured to detect a rotation of the dial;

wherein the external generator is operatively coupled to the dial such that rotation of the dial causes the external generator to produce electrical energy;

wherein the sensor provides an output signal based at least in part on the rotation of the dial;

wherein the sensor is configured to detect the rotation of the dial over a range of dial rotational speeds; and

wherein a resolution of the output signal of the sensor dynamically changes based on a rotation speed of the dial.

24 . The dial ring assembly of claim 23 wherein the sensor is a Hall effect sensor.

25 . The dial ring assembly of claim 23 wherein the sensor is an optical sensor.

26 . The dial ring assembly of claim 23 wherein the sensor is configured to detect a direction of the rotation.

27 . The dial ring assembly of claim 23 , further comprising an electronic display disposed on the housing, the electronic display being configured to display at least one indicium associated with entry of the combination.

28 . The dial ring assembly of claim 27 , wherein the sensor is configured to communicate with the electronic display.

29 . The dial ring assembly of claim 27 , further comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the sensor.

30 . The dial ring assembly of claim 29 , wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the electronic display.

31 . An electromechanical combination lock, comprising:

the dial ring assembly of claim 23 ; and

a lock assembly comprising a bolt, the bolt being selectively extendable and retractable.

32 . A securable enclosure, comprising:

a plurality of walls at least partially defining an interior;

an access component arranged to selectively close an opening through the plurality of walls; and

the electromechanical combination lock of claim 23 disposed on one of the door or one of the plurality of walls;

wherein the electromechanical combination lock is configured to secure the door in a closed position.

33 . A method of operating an electromechanical combination lock, the method comprising:

choosing between at least two modes associated with a combination necessary for a user to input for unlocking the lock, wherein the inputted combination appears on an electronic display disposed on a housing of a dial ring assembly, each mode including a type of indicium associated with the inputted combination;

entering the combination by rotating a dial disposed on the dial ring assembly about a dial axis, wherein rotating the dial comprises producing electrical energy by rotating an external generator shaft of an external generator disposed in the housing of the dial ring assembly and generating an output signal based at least partly on the rotation of the dial; and

viewing the inputted at least one indicium associated with the combination on the electronic display.

34 . The method of claim 33 , wherein entering the combination comprises axially displacing the dial along the dial axis in a single press to actuate at least one switch.

35 . The method of claim 33 , wherein entering the combination comprises axially displacing the dial along the dial axis in a double press to change between the modes.

36 . The method of claim 33 , wherein entering the combination comprises activating a switch to change between the modes.

37 . The method of claim 33 , wherein entering the combination comprises viewing one of the types of indicium including a random alphabetic character, a random numeric character, and a random symbol, selecting one of the modes including an alphabetic mode, a numeric mode, and a symbol mode, and entering a combination element.

38 . The electromechanical combination lock of claim 21 ;

wherein the lock assembly further comprises an internal generator;

wherein the internal generator is configured to generate electrical energy; and

wherein the internal generator is operatively coupled to the dial such that rotation of the dial causes the internal generator to produce electrical energy.

39 . The electromechanical combination lock of claim 31 ;

wherein the lock assembly further comprises an internal generator;

wherein the internal generator is configured to generate electrical energy; and

wherein the internal generator is operatively coupled to the dial such that rotation of the dial causes the internal generator to produce electrical energy.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (91)