Patent Application
20100170313
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card lock structure, and particularly relates to a card lock structure for selectively locking or releasing a lock barrel.
2. Description of Related Art
Locks are widely used and consist of many types, such as key locks, cabinet locks and number locks, which are opened by keys or number combination, or card locks, which are opened by magnetic cards.
Cabinet locks can be used in some special locations, for instance, natatorium, gymnasium, and so on. Users can put belonging into a cabinet and lock the cabinet with a key to avoid losing something. However, keys of said cabinets can be inserted and withdrawn freely, which leads to keys becoming lost or discarded. This has costly consequences for the owners of the cabinets who may have to remake keys or even to change entire cabinets. Thus, it is very important to prevent keys from being removed from cabinets while the cabinets are not in use. The inventors of the present invention are of the opinion that the shortcomings above can be remedied and therefore suggest the present invention, which is a reasonable design and an effective improvement based on deep research.
One particular aspect of the present invention is to provide a card lock structure for selectively locking or releasing a lock barrel. The present invention selectively locks or releases the lock barrel so as to control the rotation of the lock barrel. When the lock barrel cannot be rotated, the key inserted into the lock barrel cannot be taken out. Hence, the lock such as key lock or number lock that uses the lock barrel cannot be used, for example, the key inserted into the lock barrel of the key lock cannot be rotated and taken out or the turn wheel of the number lock cannot be rotated.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aspects, the present invention provides a card lock structure for selectively locking or releasing a lock barrel, including: a card lock casing and a card barrel limiting mechanism. The card lock casing has a card-inserting groove formed on a lateral side thereof. The card barrel limiting mechanism is disposed in the card lock casing. The card barrel limiting mechanism has a lock barrel limiting push rod pivotally disposed in the card lock casing, an elastic element disposed between an inner surface of the card lock casing and the lock barrel limiting push rod and a movable pressing unit for pressing the lock barrel limiting push rod. One end of the lock barrel limiting push rod projects outside the card lock casing in order to selectively lock or release the lock barrel. Therefore, when the movable pressing unit presses the lock barrel limiting push rod, the lock barrel is locked by the lock barrel limiting push rod; when a card passes through the card-inserting groove to push the movable pressing unit to release the lock barrel limiting push rod, the lock barrel limited push is moved by the elasticity of the elastic element in order to release the lock barrel.
The advantage of the present invention is the following: the card lock structure of the present invention can be built into the cabinet. When the card is not inserted into the lock barrel, the key cannot rotate the lock barrel, because the lock barrel is locked by the card lock structure. At the same time, the key is inserted into the lock barrel and cannot be taken out so as to prevent losing the key. When the lock barrel is released by the card lock structure, the key can be taken out. Thereby, by controlling the card, it can be avoided that a key of a cabinet is lost or willfully discarded.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. Other advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description, drawings and claims.
The various objectives and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:
Referring to
The card lock casing 1 has a card-inserting groove 10 formed on a lateral side thereof for receiving a card C (as shown in
Furthermore, the card barrel limiting mechanism 2 is disposed in the card lock casing 1. The card barrel limiting mechanism 2 has a lock barrel limiting push rod 20, an elastic element 21 and a movable pressing unit 22. In addition, the lock barrel limiting push rod 20 is pivotally disposed in the card lock casing 1, the elastic element 21 is disposed between an inner surface of the card lock casing 1 and the lock barrel limiting push rod 20, and a movable pressing unit 22 presses the lock barrel limiting push rod so as to forcedly lock the lock barrel L by the lock barrel limiting push rod 20.
Moreover, the top side of the lock barrel limiting push rod 20 is pivotally disposed between the inner surface of the card lock casing 1 and the pivot portion 130. The lock barrel limiting push rod 20 has a receiving groove 201 formed on a middle portion thereof in order to receive the elastic element 21. One end 202 of the lock barrel limiting push rod 20 projects outside the card lock casing 1 in order to selectively lock or release the lock barrel L, and the lock barrel limiting push rod 20 is received in the opening 131.
Furthermore, the movable pressing unit 22 has a pin body 220, a movable body 221 and a torsion spring 222. The pin body 220 is disposed in the retaining portion 132, the movable body 221 is disposed around the pin body 220, and the torsion spring 222 is disposed around the pin body 220. In addition, one end 2220 of the torsion spring 222 is retained in the movable body 221, and another end 2221 of the torsion spring 222 abuts against the support 13. Hence, the end 2220 of the torsion spring 222 is fixed by the movable body 221, and the another end 2221 of the torsion spring 222 is fixed by the interference of the support 13. Therefore, the torsion force generated by the torsion spring 222 is forced on the movable body 221 to press the lock barrel limiting push rod 20.
Referring to
In other words, referring to
Referring to
In conclusion, the card lock structure of the present invention can be built into a cabinet. When the card has not been inserted into the lock barrel, the key cannot rotate the lock barrel, because the lock barrel is locked by the card lock structure, and the key can also not be taken out. When the lock barrel is released by the card lock structure, the key can be taken out. Thus, by controlling the card, it can be avoided that a key of a cabinet is lost or discarded.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred best molds thereof, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
