Electronic card key lock

Claim 1

In an electronic lock and card key system, a lock, a card slot for said lock, an electronic card made of insulating material and including a pair of elongate spaced parallel contact strips connected by a cross bar, said strips and cross bar being embedded in the upper surface of the insulating card, such card having a plurality of contact plugs embedded in the upper surface thereof and said contact plugs having indicia contiguous thereto, contact wires embedded in the card connecting certain of said contact plugs together, the connection of the contact plugs being variable from lock to lock so as to make each lock operable with a different circuitry in the card, said slot having a plurality of bores formed in the upper portion thereof, and a circuit board having a plurality of contact members positioned above the slot with the contact members extending downwardly through the bores, the contact members being spring pressed into a portion of the slot and being secured to the circuit board by securing elements, said circuit board having a plurality of terminals arranged along one edge thereof, wires connecting certain of the terminals to certain of said contact members, a circuit including a magnetic switch, a solenoid embodying an armature, a toggle switch connected to said armature by means of a pivoted link, the contact strips of said card being selectively engageable with the contact members in the circuit board to selectively energize the magnetic switch, a spring contact member for actuating said toggle switch, and wherein the opening of the lock occurs only when the correct card is inserted, and an alarm is actuated when a wrong card is inserted.