Electronic lock

Claim 2

An electronic lock comprising: bolt releasing means responsive to an electrical input to move from a locked position to an unlocked position; a plurality of EXCLUSIVE OR gates, each having first and second input terminals and an output terminal; a first plurality of shorting leads interconnecting at least some of said first input terminals in a predetermined combination; means including a second plurality of shorting leads and connectable to said second input terminals to interconnect said second input terminals in a combination corresponding exactly to that in which said first input terminals are connected; means to apply pulses sequentially to said EXCLUSIVE OR gates to pulse simultaneously both of the input terminals of each gate being pulsed; and means to apply said electrical input to said bolt releasing means in response to the nonoccurrence of any outputs from said gates after said pulses have been applied thereto.

Claim 3

An electronic lock comprising: bolt releasing means responsive to an electrical input to move from a locked position to an unlocked position; a plurality of EXCLUSIVE OR gates, each having first and second input terminals and an output terminal; a first plurality of shorting leads interconnecting at least some of said first input terminals in a predetermined combination; means including a second plurality of shorting leads and connectable to said second input terminals to interconnect said second input terminals in a combination corresponding exactly to that in which said first input terminals are connected; means to apply pulses sequentially to said EXCLUSIVE OR gates to pulse simultaneously both of the input terminals of each gate being pulsed; and means to apply said electrical input to said bolt releasing means in response to the nonoccurrence of any outputs from said gates after said pulses have been applied thereto.

Claim 4

An electronic lock comprising: bolt releasing means responsive to an electrical input to move from a locked position to an unlocked position; a plurality of EXCLUSIVE OR gates, each having first and second input terminals and an output terminal; a first plurality of shorting leads interconnecting at least some of said first input terminals in a predetermined combination; means including a second plurality of shorting leads and connectable to said second input terminals to interconnect said second input terminals in a combination corresponding exactly to that in which said first input terminals are connected; means to apply pulses sequentially to said EXCLUSIVE OR gates to pulse simultaneously both of the input terminals of each gate being pulsed; and means to apply said electrical input to said bolt releasing means in response to the nonoccurrence of any outputs from said gates after said pulses have been applied thereto.

Claim 5

An electronic lock comprising: bolt releasing means responsive to an electrical input to move from a locked position to an unlocked position; a plurality of EXCLUSIVE OR gates, each having first and second input terminals and an output terminal; first and second receptacle means each having a plurality of terminals equal to said plurality of EXCLUSIVE OR gates with the terminals of said first receptacle connected to said first input terminals, respectively, and with the terminals of said second receptacle connected to said second input termInals respectively, first and second plugs each having a plurality of terminals corresponding to said first and second receptacle terminals for engagement therewith, a first plurality of shorting leads interconnecting at least some of said first plug terminals in a predetermined combination, a second plurality of shorting leads interconnecting said second plug terminals in a combination corresponding exactly to that in which said first plug terminals are connected; said first plug being inserted in said first receptacle to determine the lock combination and said second plug being insertable in said second receptacle as the key for the lock; pulse producing means connected to said EXCLUSIVE OR gates to apply pulses sequentially thereto to pulse simultaneously both of the input terminals of each gate being pulsed and, furthermore, to produce a control pulse immediately thereafter, and means connected between said EXCLUSIVE OR gates, said bolt releasing means and said pulse producing means to apply said electrical input to said bolt releasing means in response to said control pulse when said gates do not produce any output in response to said pulses.

Claim 6

An electronic lock comprising: bolt releasing means responsive to an electrical input to move from a locked position to an unlocked position; a plurality of EXCLUSIVE OR gates, each having first and second input terminals and an output terminal; first and second receptacle means each having a plurality of terminals equal to said plurality of EXCLUSIVE OR gates with the terminals of said first receptacle connected to said first input terminals, respectively, and with the terminals of said second receptacle connected to said second input termInals respectively, first and second plugs each having a plurality of terminals corresponding to said first and second receptacle terminals for engagement therewith, a first plurality of shorting leads interconnecting at least some of said first plug terminals in a predetermined combination, a second plurality of shorting leads interconnecting said second plug terminals in a combination corresponding exactly to that in which said first plug terminals are connected; said first plug being inserted in said first receptacle to determine the lock combination and said second plug being insertable in said second receptacle as the key for the lock; pulse producing means connected to said EXCLUSIVE OR gates to apply pulses sequentially thereto to pulse simultaneously both of the input terminals of each gate being pulsed and, furthermore, to produce a control pulse immediately thereafter, and means connected between said EXCLUSIVE OR gates, said bolt releasing means and said pulse producing means to apply said electrical input to said bolt releasing means in response to said control pulse when said gates do not produce any output in response to said pulses.

Claim 7

An electronic lock in accordance with claim 2 which further comprises means operable for disabling said last-mentioned means.

Claim 8

An electronic lock in accordance with claim 2 which further comprises an alarm mechanism, and means to activate said alarm mechanism in response to the occurrence of an output from any of said gates after said pulses have been applied.

Claim 9

An electronic lock in accordance with claim 3 which further comprises an alarm mechanism, means to activate said alarm mechanism in response to the occurrence of an output from any of said gates after said pulses have been applied, and means to activate said alarm mechanism in response to said disabling means having been operated and said pulses having been applied to said gates.

Claim 10

An electronic lock comprising: bolt releasing means responsive to an electrical input to move from a locked position to an unlocked position; a plurality of N EXCLUSIVE OR gates where N is an integer and each of said gates has first and second input terminals and an output terminal; first and second receptacle means each having N terminals with the terminals of said first receptacle connected to said first input terminals, respectively, and with the terminals of said second receptacle connected to said second input terminals, respectively, first and second plugs each having N terminals and mateable with said receptacles, respectively, a first plurality of shorting leads interconnecting at least some of said first plug terminals in a predetermined combination, a second plurality of shorting leads interconnecting said second plug terminals in a combination corresponding exactly to that in which said first plug terminals are connected; said first plug being inserted in said first receptacle to determine the lock combination and said second plug being insertable in said second receptacle as the key for the lock; pulse producing means having (N+1) output terminals on which pulses appear in a sequential manner, means connecting the first N of said pulse producing means terminals to said gates, respectively, to pulse simultaneously both of the input terminals of each gate being pulsed, a flip-flop circuit having two input and two output terminals, means connecting one of said flip-flop circuit input terminals to said gate output terminals whereby said flip-flop circuit is responsive to a pulse output from any one of said gates to place said flip-flop circuit in a first state when not already in that state, an AND gate having input terminals connected to said (N+1) output terminal and to one of said flip-flop circuit output terminals respectively, to produce an output from said AND gate in response to said flip-flop being in said first state and a pulse occurring on said (N+1) terminal, and means connecting said AND gate to said bolt releasing means to apply said AND gate output to said bolt releasing means as said electrical input.

Claim 11

An electronic lock comprising: bolt releasing means responsive to an electrical input to move from a locked position to an unlocked position; a plurality of N EXCLUSIVE OR gates where N is an integer and each of said gates has first and second input terminals and an output terminal; first and second receptacle means each having N terminals with the terminals of said first receptacle connected to said first input terminals, respectively, and with the terminals of said second receptacle connected to said second input terminals, respectively, first and second plugs each having N terminals and mateable with said receptacles, respectively, a first plurality of shorting leads interconnecting at least some of said first plug terminals in a predetermined combination, a second plurality of shorting leads interconnecting said second plug terminals in a combination corresponding exactly to that in which said first plug terminals are connected; said first plug being inserted in said first receptacle to determine the lock combination and said second plug being insertable in said second receptacle as the key for the lock; pulse producing means having (N+1) output terminals on which pulses appear in a sequential manner, means connecting the first N of said pulse producing means terminals to said gates, respectively, to pulse simultaneously both of the input terminals of each gate being pulsed, a flip-flop circuit having two input and two output terminals, means connecting one of said flip-flop circuit input terminals to said gate output terminals whereby said flip-flop circuit is responsive to a pulse output from any one of said gates to place said flip-flop circuit in a first state when not already in that state, an AND gate having input terminals connected to said (N+1) output terminal and to one of said flip-flop circuit output terminals respectively, to produce an output from said AND gate in response to said flip-flop being in said first state and a pulse occurring on said (N+1) terminal, and means connecting said AND gate to said bolt releasing means to apply said AND gate output to said bolt releasing means as said electrical input.

Claim 12

An electronic lock in accordance with claim 6 which further comprises means operable for disabling said AND gate.

Claim 13

An electronic lock in accordance with claim 6 which further comprises an alarm mechanism, and an AND gate having a first input terminal connected to the remaining output terminal of said flip-flop circuit, a second input terminal connected to said (N+1) terminal and an output terminal connected to said alarm mechanism.