Apparatus for automatically returning a lock to a desired orientation

摘要

An electromechanical lock includes a spring-biased cylinder plug return mechanism for automatically rotating the rotatable plug to a home position after the plug has been rotated from the home position and thereafter released. In one embodiment, the cylinder plug return mechanism comprises a torsional spring coupled to the plug, In a second embodiment, the cylinder plug return mechanism comprises a slider that is coupled to the plug so that rotation of the plug moves the slider, thereby increasing the potential energy in a return spring, and when the plug is released, the increase potential energy is released by moving the slider, and the coupling between the slider and the plug causes the plug to rotate back to a home position.

主权项

1. A cylinder lock comprising:
a housing; a cylinder plug rotatably mounted within the housing, and configured such that the cylinder lock is unlocked by rotation of said cylinder plug from a home rotational position; and a spring-biased cylinder plug return mechanism, operatively coupled to said cylinder plug and configured to exert a rotating force to said cylinder plug that will cause said cylinder plug to rotate toward the home rotational position, wherein said spring-biased cylinder plug return mechanism is configured so that the cylinder plug can be rotated from the home rotational position beyond 360 degrees in either direction and will return to the home rotational position from any rotational position when the cylinder plug is released by the user.