Electronic combination lock selector unit

Claim 1

A selector unit for an electronic combination lock comprising: a first generally planar surface having a window therein; a shaft extending through said surface at a point spaced from said window, said shaft being rotatable about the axis thereof in either direction and axially displaceable relative to said surface; a disc fixedly carried by said shaft beneath said surface, said disc having indicia spaced around the periphery thereof in position to be viewed through said window from a point above said surface; means for biasing said shaft to a predetermined axial position relative to said surface and for rotatably biasing said shaft to position the indicia of said disc into a predetermined position relative to said window, said rotatably biasing means including spring means in contact with said shaft and said surface; control means adapted to be manually engaged and carried by said shaft above said surface for rotating selected indicia into view through said window from a point above said surface and for axially displacing said shaft relative to said surface; shield means above said surface for significantly limiting the points above said surface from which the indicia of said disc may be viewed through said window; and, switch means beneath said surface responsive to axial displacement of said shaft a predetermined distance from said surface for providing an electrical signal representative of the indicia of said disc then in view through said window from a point above said surface.