US-20260125933-A1 - LOCKING DEVICE

US20260125933A1US 20260125933 A1US20260125933 A1US 20260125933A1US-20260125933-A1

Abstract

A locking device includes two locks, a supervisor-lock that controls the operability of a user-lock, and the user-lock that can unlock an associated door is disclosed. The locking device requires that both the supervisor-lock and the user-lock are unlocked for an associated door to open. Thus, if the supervisor-lock is locked, the user-lock cannot be unlocked.

Inventors

Mark J. Berger
David MATE

Assignees

SECURITECH GROUP, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251029

Claims (14)

1 . A locking-device with a locked locking-device state and an unlocked locking-device state comprising: a supervisor-lock, wherein the supervisor-lock is movable between a supervisor-lock locked position to a supervisor-lock unlocked position; and a user-lock, wherein the user-lock is movable from a user-lock locked position to a user-lock unlocked position; wherein, when the supervisor-lock is in the supervisor-lock locked position, the user-lock is not movable from the user-lock locked position to the user-lock unlocked position, and wherein, when the supervisor-lock is in the supervisor-lock unlocked position, the user-lock is movable between the user-lock locked position and the user-lock unlocked position.
2 . The locking-device of claim 1 , wherein when the supervisor-lock is in the supervisor-lock locked position and the user-lock is in the user-lock locked position, the locking-device is in the locked locking-device state.
3 . The locking-device of claim 2 , wherein when the user-lock is in the user-lock unlocked position and the supervisor-lock is moved from the supervisor-lock unlocked position to the supervisor-lock locked position, the user-lock is moved from the user-lock unlocked position to the user-lock locked position.
4 . The locking-device of claim 1 , wherein when the supervisor-lock is in the supervisor-lock unlocked position and the user-lock is in the user-lock unlocked position, the locking-device is in the unlocked locking-device state.
5 . The locking-device of claim 4 , wherein when at least one of the supervisor-lock is in the supervisor-lock locked position and the user-lock is in the user-lock locked position, the locking-device is in the locked locking-device state.
6 . The locking-device of claim 5 , further comprising a handle actuator, wherein the handle actuator is movable between a first handle actuator position and a second handle actuator position, wherein when the locking-device is in the locked locking-device state, the handle actuator is not movable between the first handle actuator position and the second handle actuator position, and wherein when the locking-device is in the unlocked locking-device state, the handle actuator is movable between the first handle actuator position and the second handle actuator position.
7 . The locking-device of claim 2 , wherein the user-lock includes: a user-lock key cylinder, wherein the user-lock key cylinder is movable between a first user-key cylinder position and a second user-lock key cylinder position; and a rotatable trident wherein the rotatable trident is movable between a first rotatable trident position and a second rotatable trident position; wherein movement of the user-lock from the user-lock locked position to the user-lock unlocked position moves the user-lock key cylinder from the first user-lock key cylinder position to the second user-lock key cylinder position, and the rotatable trident from the first rotatable trident position to the second rotatable trident position, and wherein when the rotatable trident moves from the first rotatable trident position to the second rotatable trident position, the locking-device is in the unlocked locking-device state.
8 . The locking-device of claim 7 , wherein the user-lock further includes: a sliding plate wherein the sliding plate has a first sliding plate position and a second sliding plate position, wherein movement of the rotatable trident from the first rotatable trident position to the second rotatable trident position moves the sliding plate from the first sliding plate position to the second sliding plate position.
9 . The locking-device of claim 8 , wherein the supervisor-lock includes: a supervisor-lock key cylinder, wherein the supervisor-lock key cylinder is movable between a first supervisor-lock key cylinder position and a second supervisor-lock key cylinder position, a switch movable between a first switch position and a second switch position, and a slide gate having a first slide gate position and a second slide gate position, wherein movement of the supervisor-lock from the supervisor-lock locked position to the supervisor-lock unlocked position moves the supervisor-lock key cylinder from the first supervisor-lock key cylinder position to the second supervisor-lock key cylinder position, the switch from the first switch position to the second switch position, and the slide gate from the first slide gate position to the second slide gate position.
10 . The locking-device of claim 9 , wherein the slide gate further includes a slide gate bar, wherein the slide gate bar has a first slide gate bar position and a second slide gate bar position, and wherein when the slide gate bar is in the first slide gate bar position, the rotatable trident is in the first rotatable trident position.
11 . The locking-device of claim 10 , further comprising: a handle actuator, wherein the handle actuator is movable between a first handle actuator position and a second handle actuator position; and an obstruction, wherein the obstruction is movable between a first obstruction position and a second obstruction position by the movement of the sliding plate, wherein when the obstruction is in the first position, the handle actuator cannot move from the first handle actuator position to the second handle actuator position, wherein when the obstruction is in the second obstruction position, the handle actuator is movable from the first handle actuator position to the second handle actuator position, wherein when the slide gate bar is in the first slide gate bar position, the sliding plate is in the first sliding plate position, and the obstruction is in the first obstruction position.
12 . The locking-device of claim 6 , wherein the supervisor-lock includes an electromechanical actuator.
13 . The locking-device of claim 12 , further comprising a sliding plate, the sliding plate having a first sliding plate position and a second sliding plate position, wherein the electromechanical actuator is a solenoid, wherein when the supervisor-lock is in the supervisor-lock locked position, the solenoid cooperates with the sliding plate to prevent the sliding plate from moving from the first sliding plate position into the second sliding plate position, and the user-lock cannot move into the user-lock unlocked position.
14 . The locking-device of claim 12 , further comprising a slide gate, the slide gate having a first slide gate position and a second slide gate position, wherein the electromechanical actuator is a servo, wherein when the supervisor-lock is moved from the supervisor-lock locked position to the second position, the servo moves the slide gate from a first slide gate position to the second slide gate position, and the user-lock can move into the user-lock unlocked position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/715,201 titled “LOCKING DEVICE” filed on Nov. 1, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. FIELD Disclosed embodiments are related to a locking device having a first lock that controls the operability of a second lock. BACKGROUND Locking devices routinely include a locking mechanism that is freely actuatable with the appropriate key. Once a user has the appropriate key, they can unlock the locking mechanism and enter the secured space—even if a supervisor wishes to limit the accessibility of a secured area. Currently, there are no means for the supervisor to govern keyholder access to a space by limiting the functionality of the locking mechanisms within the lock itself to control the unlockability of a door lock. SUMMARY In some embodiments, a locking-device is disclosed. The locking-device has a locked locking-device state and an unlocked locking-device state comprising. The locking-device includes a supervisor-lock that is movable between a supervisor-lock locked position and a supervisor-lock unlocked position. The locking-device also includes a user-lock that is movable between a user-lock locked position and a user-lock unlocked position. When the supervisor-lock is in the supervisor-lock locked position, it is configured to prevent the user-lock from moving from the user-lock locked position to the user-lock unlocked position. And when the supervisor-lock is in the supervisor-lock unlocked position, the user-lock is movable between the user-lock locked position and the user-lock unlocked position. It should be appreciated that the foregoing concepts, and additional concepts discussed below, may be arranged in any suitable combination, as the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. Further, other advantages and novel features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of various non-limiting embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings: FIG. 1 depicts a locking-device with a handle actuator on an associated door; FIG. 2 is a front view of the locking-device; FIG. 3 is an internal back view of the locking-device; FIG. 4 is an expanded internal view of the handle actuator portion of the locking-device; FIG. 5 is an internal back view of the locking-device wherein a supervisor-lock is in an unlocked position and a user-lock is in a locked position; FIG. 6 is the internal view of FIG. 5 wherein the supervisor-lock is in the unlocked position and the user-lock is in an unlocked position; FIG. 7 is the internal view of FIG. 5 wherein the supervisor-lock is in the locked position; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the locking-device without its outer shell, and FIG. 9 is an alternative embodiment of the locking-device with an electromechanical actuator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Generally, a single lock is used to control access to a space. However, in some instances, a supervisor may want to limit an authorized user's ability to enter a secured location. To achieve this goal with traditional locking-devices, a supervisor could reclaim the physical key from the authorized user. However, reclaiming keys may be laborious, particularly if the authorized user cannot be located, or if multiple keys were distributed. Furthermore, to reauthorize access, the supervisor would need to return the keys. Alternatively, the supervisor could change the key cylinder. However, then the supervisor must purchase and install new components, and they would still need to reissue new keys to reauthorize access. It is apparent that both solutions are cumbersome, and neither offer the supervisor a way to easily and reversibly limit the access to a secured location to an authorized key holder with minimal intervention. In view of the above, the inventors appreciate that a primary supervisor-lock may be implemented to control the functionality of a user-lock. The ability of the user-lock to function, i.e., to lock and unlock a locking-device affixed to an associated door, can be controlled by a supervisor-lock. In this case, when the supervisor-lock is unlocked, the user-lock can unlock or lock the locking-device; and when the supervisor-lock is locked, the user-lock cannot be unlocked. As detailed below, the supervisor-lock functions by prohibiting actuation of the user-lock into the user-lock unlocked position by obstructing the movement of its associated components. Accordingly, the locking-device (and therefore the associated door) can only be unlocked when