Patents
US 8978428 B2: Apparatus for automatically returning a lock to a desired orientation
- Granted
- 2015-03-17
- Filed
- 2012-09-06 application 13605607
- Type
- Utility · 17 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
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.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg150317.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDECO SECURITY LOCKS, INC. 10 patents | US company or organization | Salem, VA | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Trent | Roanoke, VA | 3 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Glenn Hartman | Salem, VA | 6 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| E05B | Locks; accessories therefor; handcuffs | E05B47/0012 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y10S | Technical subjects covered by former uspc cross-reference art collections [xracs] and digests | Y10S70/33 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y10T | Technical subjects covered by former us classification | Y10T70/7062 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-09 | Name change Change of name | MEDECO SECURITY LOCKS, INCORPORATED signed 2015-12-31 | ASSA ABLOY HIGH SECURITY GROUP INC. SALEM, VA | 38934/595 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2013-04-19 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | TRENT, DOUG signed 2013-02-08 HARTMAN, GLENN signed 2013-02-13 | MEDECO SECURITY LOCKS, INC. SALEM, VA | 30254/34 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.