This Continuation-In-Part application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/141,412 filed Dec. 30, 2008, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/212,687 filed Sep. 18, 2008, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/133,520 filed Jun. 30, 2008, the complete disclosures of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
The subject invention relates to security devices, and in particular, to security seals that incorporate a bolt and lock body.
It is well known to use security seals in the shipping industry to provide tamper resistant and tamper indicating closures for a variety of shipping containers and receptacles. For example, it is common to place one or more security seals on the exterior of the shipping container through a hasp or other hardware after the contents of the container have been verified.
For numerous reasons a shipper would be required to seal a container after the contents had been placed therein. For example, in international shipping, customs may require that the freight container be sealed. In addition, in domestic shipping, it is often desirable to seal the freight container to prevent tampering or theft of the contents.
As such, it is desirable to have a security seal that both discourages and prevents unauthorized opening of the container and further provides an indication if the container has been opened during transportation. Accordingly, if a seal is broken, it will enable the recipient to readily determine that the container has been opened and may take appropriate action, such as rejecting the shipment or evaluating what is missing or tampered with.
There are varieties of different types of container seals, and some incorporate cables or plastic ties that cannot be removed once locked without breaking the seal or cutting the cable or tie. Other seals incorporate a bolt and are often known as a bolt seal. One example of a bolt seal is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0007776 A1 to Beard et al. The bolt seal in Beard et al. utilizes a bolt having a shaft and an enlarged head at one end and a tapered end at the other end. It is common for such bolts to include a circumferential groove adjacent the tapered end. The bolt seal also includes a cover surrounding a locking body. The locking body includes a stepped pair of grooves, and a locking ring is located in the grooves and configured to lock with the groove adjacent the tapered end of the bolt.
Another locking seal device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,443 to Brammall. The device in Brammall includes a bolt having a U-shaped shaft and an enlarged head on one end, a tapered end on the opposite end, and a circumferential groove adjacent the tapered end. The device also includes a lock body having a body member with an annular recess therein and a retainer having a hole therethrough and fixed to the body to overlie the recess. A pair of locking jaws are supported above the bottom of the recess and are biased together. In one aspect, the recess is tiered to define a shoulder upon which the locking jaws rest, and an elastic O-ring extends around the locking jaws to bias them together.
Another sealing device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,095 B2 to Huang. As with the devices discussed above, the sealing device in Huang also includes a bolt having a shaft and an enlarged head at one end, and the other end is tapered with a circumferential groove located adjacent the tapered end. The sealing device further includes a cylindrical metal barrel and an overmolded plastic sleeve surrounding the barrel. The device also includes a metal disk at the bottom of the overmolded plastic sleeve and a wire clip designed to spring and lock into the circumferential groove of the bolt when the bolt is inserted in the barrel to prevent the bolt from being subsequently withdrawn therefrom.
Other examples of bolt seals are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,040 to Van Gompel; U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,009 to Burnett et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,612 to Kohn.
It is an object of the subject invention to provide an improved bolt seal including a unique combination of a lock ring or clip, washer, lock body, and overmold.
In one embodiment of the invention, a sealing device is provided that includes a bolt having a shaft, a tapered end and a circumferential groove; a lock body having an open end leading into a bore; an overmold substantially surrounding the lock body and including an aperture aligned with the open end of the lock body; a lock ring located in the bore of the lock body; and a washer having a hole aligned with the aperture in the overmold and the opening in the lock body and located between the overmold and the lock ring.
The lock ring may include a plurality of spokes extending inwardly from an outer ring portion with at least some of the spokes including an inner flange extending generally perpendicular to the spokes so that the inner flanges form a non-continuous inner ring portion.
The lock body may have a generally cylindrical configuration including a closed end opposite the opening with a plurality of axially extending ridges formed along an inner surface of the bore. The lock body may also include radially extending ridges on an inner surface of the closed end. Some of the axially extending ridges and radially extending ridges may intersect at a bottom of the bore and may include a central hub-like ridge from which the radially extending ridges extend. The hub-like ridge may include a central opening. The lock body may also have a counterbore above the axially extending ridges, and there may be twice as many axially extending ridges as radially extending ridges.
The overmold may have a hollow interior and partially closed ends. The overmold may also have a central opening at one end and a plurality of external cavities surrounding the central opening, and the other end of the overmold may have a tapered central hole extending into the interior. The lock body can also include scallops in a side wall surrounding the open end. The lock body can also include an annular lip extending around the counterbore. The lock ring can be located at the top of the axially extending ridges, and the washer is located over the lock ring in the counterbore.
In another embodiment of the invention, a sealing device is provided that includes a bolt having a shaft, a tapered end and a circumferential groove; a generally rectangular lock body having an open end leading into a hollow portion; an overmold substantially surrounding the lock body and including an aperture aligned with the open end of the lock body; a lock clip located in the hollow portion of the lock body; and a washer having a hole aligned with the aperture in the overmold and the open end in the lock body and located between an end of the overmold and the lock clip.
The lock clip may have a generally square configuration and include a plurality of spokes extending inwardly from corners of an outer periphery portion. At least some of the spokes can include an inner flange extending generally perpendicular to the spokes. The inner flanges can form a non-continuous inner ring portion.
The overmold can have a generally rectangular configuration including a square opening in the end opposite the end with the aperture, and the lock body can include a plurality of axially extending ridges projecting from an inner surface in the hollow portion. The lock body may include radially extending ridges on an inner surface of the end opposite the open end, and at least some of the axially extending ridges and some of the radially extending ridges may intersect. Some of the axially extending ridges may extend along a central portion of side walls of the lock body and other axially extending ridges may extend along corners where the side walls intersect. The lock body may include a central hub-like ridge wherein the radially extending ridges project, and the hub-like ridge may include a central opening.
The overmold can have a hollow interior and partially closed ends, and one of the partially enclosed ends may have a plurality of external cavities surrounding the aperture. The other end of the overmold may have a tapered square opening aligned with a square cavity in the lock body. The lock clip can be located at the top of the axially extending ridges, the washer can be located over the lock clip in the lock body, and the washer can be located between the end of the overmold having the aperture and the lock clip.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, a sealing device is provided that includes a bolt having a shaft, a tapered end and a circumferential groove; a lock body having an open end leading into a hollow portion and an opposite end having a generally square cavity therein; an overmold substantially surrounding the lock body and including an aperture in one end that is aligned with the open end of the lock body and a generally square opening in the other end aligned with the cavity in the lock body; a lock clip located in the bore of the lock body and engaging the circumferential groove and the bolt; and a washer having a hole aligned with the aperture in the overmold and the open end in the lock body and located between the end of the overmold having the aperture and the lock ring.
Each of the ends of the overmold may include cavities, a central hub, and spokes extending from the central hub between the cavities. The lock body and overmold can have a generally rectangular configuration with a generally square cross section and the lock clip and said washer can have a generally square planar configuration.
The lock body may include axially extending ridges along internal surfaces thereof and radially extending ridges on the end having the square cavity. The lock body can have side walls that form a generally rectangular configuration and some of the axially extending ridges are located in a central portion of each of the side walls and others of the axially extending ridges are located in corners of the lock body formed by intersecting side walls.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a sealing device is provided that includes a bolt having a shaft, a tapered end and a circumferential groove; a lock body having an open end leading into a hollow portion; an overmold substantially surrounding the lock body and including an aperture aligned with the open end of the lock body and an opposite end having an opening, each of the ends including cavities surrounding a central hub wherein the respective aperture and opening are located; and a lock clip located in the hollow portion of the lock body.
The lock body and the overmold can have generally rectangular configurations and the lock clip can have a generally square planar configuration. The seal device may further include a washer having a hole aligned with the aperture in the overmold and the open end in the lock body, and the washer may also have a generally square planar configuration.
The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the present invention. The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which are described below. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. The invention includes any alterations and further modifications in the illustrated devices and described methods and further applications of the principles of the invention, which would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
Referring now to
Now referring to
Details of lock body assembly 12 are shown in
Lock body 30 also includes a counterbore 54 in side wall 40 adjacent opening 44, and further includes scallops or slots 56 at the top end of side wall 40. Also, lock body 30 includes an annular locking lip 58 extending around the upper end of side wall 40 and counterbore 54 (as best shown in
Referring now to
Details of lock ring 32 are shown in
Now referring to
To assemble the lock body assembly 12, lock ring 32 is placed in the open end 44 of lock body 30 and bearing upon the end of axially extending ridges 46. Then, washer 34 is placed in counterbore 54 over lock ring 32 and is held in place by locking lip 58. After the lock ring 32 and washer 34 are in place, overmold 36 can be molded around or otherwise fixed around lock body 30.
In operation, the tapered end 24 of bolt 14 is inserted through opening 66 in overmold 36 through opening 90 of washer 34 and inside non-continuous inner ring portion 86 of lock ring 32. The non-continuous ring portion 86 of lock ring 32 is can flex allowing shaft 20 of bolt 14 to enter into and expand the inner ring portion opening; however, when circumferential groove 25 encounters ring-like portion 86, the tensile stress in the lock ring will cause the inner ring portion 86 to snap into the circumferential groove 25. The right angle wall adjacent circumferential groove 25 towards the tapered end will thereby prevent bolt 14 from being removed or otherwise pulled out of lock body assembly 12. As such, the only way to remove bolt 14 is to cut the bolt or destroy lock body assembly 12, thereby providing evidence of tampering.
It should also be appreciated that the cavities 68 around overmold 36 can be used to provide a grip on the lock body assembly. One use thereof can be to prevent the lock body from rotating. It should further be appreciated that the cavities and spokes in the overmold as well as the axial and vertical ridges in the lock body provide a unique configuration providing both weight reduction and strength/rigidity.
Referring now to
Details of lock body assembly 112 are shown in
Referring now to
In addition, lock body 130 includes a plurality of radially extending equally spaced ridges 148a and 148b on an inner surface of bottom wall 142. One ridge 148a extends to each sidewall 140 and one ridge 148b extends into each corner formed by intersecting side walls 140. Ridges 148a and 148b extend from or intersect a central hub-like ridge 150 on bottom wall 142, and a central opening 152 is located in hub-like ridge 150. In the embodiment shown, there are an equal number of axially extending ridges 146 and radial extending ridges 148a and 148b; however, it should be appreciated that the number of either axially or radial extending ridges can be varied as desired.
Lock body 130 includes an upper region 154 in side walls 140, wherein axially extending ridges 146 do not extend. In addition, lock body 130 includes a cavity 157 extending into bottom wall 142 as best shown in
Now referring to
Details of lock clip 132 are shown in
Now referring to
Lock body assembly 112 is assembled in a similar manner as lock body 12. In operation, sealing device 110 functions similar to sealing device 10 wherein the tapered portion of locking bolt 114 is inserted through opening 166 in the overmold 136 of lock assembly 132. The circumferential groove on locking bolt 114 encounters inner ring portion 186 on lock clip 132, wherein the inner ring portion 186 snaps into the circumferential groove. End 162 of overmold 136 and washer 134 prevent bolt 114 and lock clip 132 from being removed or otherwise pulled out of lock body assembly 112 (
It should also be appreciated that the rectangular configuration of lock body assembly 112 and generally square cross section help prevent the lock clip 132, washer 134, and lock body 130 from rotating relative to overmold 136. Furthermore, square cavity 157 in lock body 130 and square opening 172 in overmold 136, which is aligned therewith, can be used to orient sealing device 110.
While the invention has been taught with specific reference to these embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the described embodiments are to be considered, therefore, in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. As such, the scope of the invention is indicated by the following claims rather than by the description.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61141412 | Dec 2008 | US | |
61133520 | Jun 2008 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12212687 | Sep 2008 | US |
Child | 12358312 | US |