The present invention relates to a connection lock capable of executing locking operation without keys adopted for use to couple a portable first article and chain to a second article through a connection element to lock the first article and particularly for use on a portable article that has an insertion hole to receive coupling.
To prevent portable articles such as notebook computers from being stolen, there are many theft-deterrent locks being developed and introduced on the market. The most commonly used lock includes a lock head connecting to a steel cable. The lock head may be latched on the computer case, while the steel cable may be chained to a stationary object such as a table leg or a post.
Many references can be found in the prior art regard the techniques of the computer lock. For instance, R.O.C. patent publication No. 434556 entitled “Lock for computer equipment” discloses a lock structure that targets the insertion hole of the computer case. It adopts a design that can achieve the locking condition from the unlocking condition without using keys.
In the cited reference the relative angular positions of the latch bolt and the pin may be changed through the movements of the core and case. However the rotation center must be on the same axis. To prevent the interference during relative movements, the latch bolt has to be carved to form a hollow interior to couple with the pin in a staggered manner. Hence to avoid the interference between the latch bolt and the pin during operation, a complicated shape has to be adopted. As a result, fabrication and assembly are difficult and tedious.
Moreover, the latch bolt is clamped by two fingers extended from the front end of the core and moved with the core in an integrated manner. If the interval between the two fingers were not adequate, coupling of the latch bolt and the core is difficult or impossible. On the other hand, if the coupling allowance were too large, a gap will be formed to result in a undesirable moving relationship between the core and the latch bolt. All of this could make locking and unlocking operations unreliable. Hence there is still room for improvement for the cited reference in terms of structural design and operation.
Therefore the primary object of the invention is to provide a connection lock that has a simpler structure and reliable operation, and is easier to assemble.
The connection lock according to the invention includes a case and an actuation mechanism, an elastic element, a rotary cylinder and a nudging member located on the rotary cylinder that is housed in the case. The actuation mechanism includes a movable leg and fixed leg. The movable leg is pushed by the elastic element to be close to the fixed leg at an unlocking position in normal conditions. The nudging member may be driven by the rotary cylinder to alter the angular relationship with the case and to move the movable leg away from the fixed leg to form a locking condition.
The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Refer to
The actuation mechanism 20 includes a movable leg 21 and a fixed leg 22 that have respectively a first aperture 211 and a second aperture 221 in the vertical direction to couple with a fastening bolt 23 for fastening to the case 10. One end thereof is extended outside the case 10. The fixed leg 22 has a portion located in the case 10 to form a head 222 that is substantially rectangular encased by the case 10 to become an integrated body. The movable leg 21 is extended to two ends from the first aperture 211. One end is extended outside the case 10 and other end is extended into the case 10 to form a bulged tip 212 to couple with one end of the elastic element 40. Hence the movable leg 21 is compressed by the elastic element 40 and turnable about the fastening bolt 23 to be close to the fixed leg 22 as shown in
The rotary cylinder 30 is a cylindrical barrel housed in the round opening 111 of the case 10. It has one or more bucking members 31 on the outer side corresponding to and engageable with the first wedge trough 112 or the second wedge trough 113 to enable the rotary cylinder 30 and the case 10 to form a latched relationship without moving. In addition, the rotary cylinder 30 has a rear end extended to form a grasp section 32 to receive an external force to turn the rotary cylinder 30 and to change the relative position of the rotary cylinder 30 and the case 10. The grasp section 32 may have slip-resistant teeth 33 formed on the perimeter to increase the friction to facilitate grasping, or be covered by a slip-resistant ring.
The rotary cylinder 30 further has a nudging member 34 at the front end extending outwards axially, and is movable therewith. The nudging member 34 has a nudging surface 35 which may be a helical surface, an arched surface, a sloped surface or a parabolic surface on which every point is more and more closely to the rotational center of the rotary cylinder 30, or as shown in the drawings, includes a holding section 351 and a raising section 352 that are connected to each other and spaced from the rotational center at different distances. It is mainly to generate a nudge action on the movable leg 21 and to alter the relative position between the movable leg 21 and the fixed leg 22. The movement relationship will be discussed later.
By means of the construction set forth above, the connection lock 1 according to the invention may be unlocked or locked through a key 60 inserting into a key way 36. However, when the rotary cylinder 30 and the case 10 are in a condition in which the bucking member 31 drops into the first wedge trough 112, as the first wedge trough 112 and the second wedge trough 113 are bridged by the one-way hump 114, when the rotary cylinder 30 is driven because of the grasp section 32 is subject to an external force, and the bucking member 31 is moved towards the second wedge trough 113 as shown in
During the bucking member 31 is driven by the rotary cylinder 30 and moved from the first wedge trough 112 to the second wedge trough 113, the nudging member 34 also is driven. The holding section 351 of the nudging surface 35 is moved to the bottom of the movable leg 21 and holds the movable leg 21. When the rotation continues, the nudging surface under the bottom of the movable leg 21 shifts to the raising section 352 to tilt the movable leg 21 outwards relative to the fixed leg 22 to reach the locking position as shown in
Hence the actuation mechanism 20 can switch the movable leg 21 and the fixed leg 22 between a coupling position and a bifurcating position to enable the connection lock 1 to be coupled with the first article 50 through the insertion hole 51. Referring to
Based on previously discussion, it is clear that the operation of switching the two legs of the actuation mechanism 20 from the coupling condition to the bifurcating condition may be accomplished without using the key 60. This is mainly due to the one-way hump 114 located in the case 10. Hence it achieves the objective of the invention of executing locking operation without keys. However, reverse operation has to rely the key 60. Referring to
In summary, in the present invention various elements in the lock do not have to be aligned on the same rotational axis. The structure is simpler, and operation is more reliable, and assembly also is easier.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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