The present invention generally relates to padlocks, and more particularly to a padlock having more than one unlocking function and a reset function.
The combination padlock discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,209 entitled Padlock with Fully Integrated Dual Locking System, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, is one of the most commonly used travel padlocks. The previous padlocks may only allow user to push the reset button and allow only one hand to rotate dials which make the entire reset process to be very difficult.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to a padlock having dual locking control mechanisms, where one locking control mechanism is a key controlled mechanism and the other locking control mechanism is a combination controlled mechanism. The key controlled mechanism is configured to allow for unlocking and locking of the padlock through the use of a correct cut key, and the combination controlled mechanism is configured to allow for unlocking and locking of the padlock through the use of a preset combination entered into the combination controlled mechanism. Also, the padlock contains a new combination reset function which enhances the user experience by allowing the user to have both hands to turn the dials when resetting and/or reconfiguring the combination of the combination controlled mechanism.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is directed to padlock including a lock body, a bolt-cam mounted in the lock body and configured for rotational movement between a lock state and unlock state, a combination controlled mechanism configured to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam at least from the lock state to the unlock state, a key controlled mechanism configured to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam between the lock state and the unlock state, and a cable having a flexible-end neck configured for retention and removal from the lock body and a fixed end terminal neck mounted in the lock body, and the flexible-end neck is operatively engaged with the bolt-cam for configuring the padlock between a locked mode when the flexible-end neck is retained in the locked body and an unlocked mode when the flexible-end neck is removed from the lock body.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the combination controlled mechanism may include a spindle mounted for rectilinear movement within the lock body, one or more clutches and a reset clutch mounted in the lock body and configured to control rectilinear movement of the spindle within the lock body, and the one or more clutches and the reset clutch are configured for rotational movement about the spindle.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the combination controlled mechanism may also include a plurality of dials mounted in the lock body, the plurality of dials may include dial for each clutch of the one or more clutches and the reset clutch, and each dial of the plurality of dials are configured to control the rotational movement of the corresponding clutch or reset clutch.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam may include a pair of surfaces positioned on opposite sides of the bolt-cam, and the bolt-cam further may include a center-pole extending from at least one surface of the pair of surface and configured to restrict movement of the bolt-cam within the lock body to only the rotational movement of the bolt-cam between the lock state and the unlock state.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam may include a locking surface configured to engage with the flexible-end neck of the cable during the locked mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam may include an opening notch configured to align with the flexible-end neck of the cable when the bolt-cam is in the unlock state to allow the flexible end cable to be removed from the lock body in the unlocked mode of the padlock.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam may include a spring receiving arm configured to receive a bolt-cam spring, the bolt-cam spring is configured to urge the bolt-cam to the lock state such that the locking surface is urged into engagement with the flexile-end neck of the cable, the bolt-cam spring is further configured to receive a spring-receiving pin of a snap plate, and the bolt-cam spring is further configured to urge a tail of the snap plate toward an indicator such that when the key controlled mechanism controls the bolt-cam from the lock state to the unlock state the tail of the snap plate will engage into a neck surface of the indicator.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam may include a control surface configured to allow the key controlled mechanism and combination controlled mechanism to control the rotational of the bolt-cam from lock state to the unlock state.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam control surface is configured to allow the key controlled mechanism to operate the padlock from the locked mode to the unlocked mode without interference with the combination controlled mechanism.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam control surface is configured to allow the combination controlled mechanism to operate the padlock from the locked mode to the unlocked mode without interference with the key controlled mechanism.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the combination controlled mechanism further may include a button, and a reset plate to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam from the lock state to the unlock state.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the key controlled mechanism may include a cylinder mounted in the lock body, a cam operatively connected to the cylinder, and a key controlled latch to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam from the lock state to the unlock state.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the indicator is configured to be activated by the key controlled mechanism and reset by the combination controlled mechanism, the indicator may include a middle-surface configured for engagement with the tail of the snap plate, and when the key controlled mechanism is operated an indicator-slope of the key controlled latch will engage with a slope of the indicator to cause at least a portion of the indicator to protrude from the lock body, the bolt-cam spring will urge the tail of the snap plate to engage with the neck surface of the indicator to lock the indicator in position protruding from the lock body, and the indicator is configured to be reset by the combination controlled mechanism allows movement of the bolt-cam to the unlocked state.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the reset plate is configured to at least partially extend out from the lock body as an indication the padlock is in the reset mode; and a correct lock open code must be set on all the dials to operate the padlock to the reset mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the spindle comprising at least one extended-fin configured to align with the opening gap of the clutches and reset clutch to allow the reset plate to slide the clutches and reset clutch upward to operate the padlock into the reset mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the reset plate contains a slope member to slide a slope of the reset clutch upward during the reset mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the reset plate contains an edge to align an edge of the reset clutch such that the reset clutch will hold the reset plate in position during the reset process and allow the user to have both hands free for setting the new lock open code.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the spindle may include an extended-fin for each of the one or more clutches and the reset clutch, and each of the one or more clutches and the reset clutch comprise an opening gap formed therein to allow the corresponding extended-fin to pass therethrough.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, when a correct lock open code has been set on all the dials the opening-gaps of the one or more clutches and reset clutch align with the corresponding extended-fins of the spindle, the button is configured to be pushed inward into the lock body when the correct lock open code has been set, and a slope of the button will push a slope of the spindle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the movement of the button such that the extended-fins of the spindle travel into the corresponding opening gaps of the one or more clutches and reset clutch, the movement of the spindle allow the button to travel further inward and a control wall of the button to contact the bolt-cam which will allow the bolt-cam to rotate to the unlock state, such that an opening notch of the bolt-cam aligns with the flexible-end neck of the cable which alignment allows a spring rod to push the flexible end cable out of the lock body to operate the padlock to the unlocked mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the button further may include an indicator-contact-surface configured to push a tail of a snap plate away from a neck surface of an indicator which an indicator spring to push the indicator into the lock body.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the key controlled mechanism may include a cylinder mounted in the lock body, a cam operatively connected to the cylinder, and a key controlled latch to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam from the lock state to the unlock state, when a correct cut key is inserted into the cylinder, the cylinder is configured to rotate and transfer such rotational movement to the cam as a result of operative engagement of a joint slot of the cylinder and a joint square of the cam, the cam may include an extended round tip which is configured for engagement with a catcher of the key controlled latch and the rotational movement causes rectilinear movement of the key controlled latch, the key controlled latch may include a bolt-contact-surface configured for operative engagement with a control wall of the bolt-cam to transfer the rectilinear movement of the key controlled latch to rotational movement of the bolt-cam such that the bolt-cam is placed in the unlocked state, the bolt-cam may include an opening notch configured to align with the flexible-end neck of the cable when the bolt-cam is in the unlock state to allow the flexible end cable to be removed from the lock body in the unlocked mode of the padlock.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, as the key controlled latch may include an indicator-slope configured to slide a slope of an indicator upward and cause a tail of a snap plate to engage into a neck surface of the indicator, the indicator is extended out of the lock body indicating that the padlock has been operated to the unlocked mode by the key controlled mechanism.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, a padlock according to the exemplary aspect of the present invention may include a lock body, a bolt-cam positionable between a lock state and unlock state, a combination controlled mechanism configured to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam, wherein one rotational direction of the bolt-cam is the locked state and the other rotational direction of the bolt-cam is the unlocked state, a key controlled mechanism configured to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam, a spindle configured to control the locking and unlocking of the combination controlled mechanism, one or more clutches mounted in the lock body and configured to control the vertical movement of the spindle within the lock body, a reset clutch mounted in the lock body and configured to control the vertical movement of the spindle within the lock body, one or more dials mounted in the lock body and configured to control the rotational movement of the clutches to control the vertical movement of the spindle within the lock body, and a cable having a flexible-end neck and a fixed end terminal neck, and the flexible-end neck is controlled by the bolt-cam for configuring the padlock between a locked mode and an unlocked mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam contains a center-pole to allow the bolt-cam to only have rotational movement.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam contains a locking surface which is to align to the flexible-end neck of the cable during the locked mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam contains an opening notch which is to align to the flexible-end neck of the cable to allow the flexible end cable to be pushed out of the locking holes of the lock body to the unlocked mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam contains a spring receiving arm to receive a bolt-cam spring, and the bolt-cam spring is also configured to receive a spring-receiving pin of a snap plate, wherein the bolt-cam spring will always push the bolt-cam to the lock state such that the locking surface will always tend to be pushed to the lock state, wherein the bolt-cam spring will have secondary force to push a tail of the snap plate toward an indicator such that when the key controlled mechanism is activated the tail of the snap plate will engage into a neck surface of the indicator, and the bolt-cam spring pushes the bolt-cam toward the lock state and the snap plate toward the indicator.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam further includes a control surface which is configured to allow the key controlled mechanism and combination controlled mechanism control the rotational of the bolt-cam from lock state to the unlock state.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam control surface will allow the key controlled mechanism to open the padlock from the locked to the unlocked mode without interference with the combination controlled mechanism.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the bolt-cam control surface will allow the combination controlled mechanism to open the padlock from the locked mode to the unlocked mode without interference with the key controlled mechanism.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the combination controlled mechanism comprises a button, the spindle, the one or more clutches, the one or more dials, the reset clutch, and a reset plate to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam from lock state to unlock state.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the key controlled mechanism comprises the cylinder, a cam, and a key controlled latch to control the rotational movement of the bolt-cam from lock state to unlock state.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the indicator is configured to be activated by the key controlled mechanism and reset by the combination controlled mechanism, wherein the indicator contains a middle-surface which is a lock state/preset state so that prior activation by the key controlled mechanism the tail of the snap plate will lay on the middle-surface, and the alignment will change when the key controlled mechanism is activated such that the indicator-slope of the key controlled latch will slide the slope of the indicator upward, wherein the bolt-cam spring will push the tail of the snap plate to the neck surface of the indicator to lock the indicator in the upright position, and as the indicator is being pushed upward, it will indicate the lock is being open via key controlled mechanism, wherein the indicator will set back downward position via the combination controlled mechanism open state by pushing the button inward such that the indicator-contact-surface of the button will push the tail of the snap plate away from the neck surface of the indicator, and the indicator spring will push the indicator downward back to the preset state (lock state) position.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the reset plate will have some portion extend out of the lock body as a showing of the padlock is in the reset mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, a portion of the reset plate can only be pulled out of the lock body when the dials, clutches, reset clutch, spindle are all aligned into the correct lock open code.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the extended-fins of the spindle align to the opening gap of the clutches and reset clutch which allow the reset plate to slide the reset clutch upward and also further pushes the clutches above upward for reset dial code.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the reset plate contains a slope member to slide the slope of the reset clutch upward during the reset mode.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the reset plate contains an edge to align the edge of the reset clutch such that the reset clutch will rest and hold on the reset plate during the reset process and allow the user to have both hands free for setting the new combination code.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, in combination controlled mechanism lock open mode, the dials, clutches and reset clutch, rotate in the same manner allowing opening-gap of the clutches and reset clutches to align to the extended-fin of the spindle, wherein the button pushes inward to the lock body, the slope of the button will push the slope of the spindle downward such that the extended-fin of the spindle travel into the opening gap of the clutches and reset clutches, wherein this allows the button to travel inward and the control wall of the button will contact the bolt-cam which will allow the bolt-cam to rotate to the open state, such as clockwise, such that the opening notch of the bolt-cam aligns to the flexible-end neck of cable which then allow the spring rod to push the flexible end cable out of the lock body for lock opening via combination.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the button also contains an indicator-contact-surface which will push the tail of the snap plate away from the neck surface of the indicator which will yield the indicator spring to push the indicator downward to make the indicator travel from upward position back to downward (rest position).
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, in the lock open via key controlled mechanism, a cylinder, cam, key controlled latch and key as the key component to control the rotation of the bolt-cam from lock state to open state, wherein as a correct key cut key is inserted into the cylinder, the cylinder will rotate and the cam in the same manner due to a joint slot and joint square is connected and the rotational movement from the cylinder joint slot will direct transfer to the joint square of the cam, wherein the cam contains an extended round tip which is to assemble into the catcher of the key controlled latch and the rotational movement of the cam will then transfer to a horizontal (left-right) movement for the key controlled latch, wherein as the cylinder/cam rotate clockwise to lock open, the key controlled latch will drag and move leftward toward lock open direction, and as the key controlled latch moves leftward then the bolt-contact-surface will contact the control wall of the bolt-cam to make the bolt-cam to have rotational movement (such as clockwise) such that the alignment of the flexible-end neck of the cable from aligning locking surface of the bolt cam to opening notch of the bolt cam, wherein the spring rod spring will push the spring rod upward, and as the spring rod pushes upward, it will align the opening notch of the bolt-cam and the flexible end will pop out of the cable end channel-flexible end of the lock body and the padlock is opened.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, as the key controlled latch is operated by the key controlled mechanism, the indicator-slope of the key controlled latch will slide the slope of indicator upward and the tail of the snap plate will engage into the neck surface of the indicator, wherein the indicator is extended out of the lock body showing to the user that the lock has been activated by the key controlled mechanism.
According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, a reset plate will extend some portion to the lock body to demonstrate to the user that the lock is in reset mode.
The reference numbers and corresponding elements are summarized below:
For a fuller understanding of the nature and object of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
Referring now to
Still referring to
Still referring to
Each of the one or more dials 140 may have teeth 141 positioned along an interior perimeter of the dials 141, which teeth 141 are configured for engagement with the one or more extended-fins 131/151 of the one or more clutches 130 and/or reset clutch 150 so that rotation of the dials 140 around the spindle 120 results in corresponding rotation of the clutches 130 and reset clutch 150 about the spindle 120. The extended-fins 131/151 are assembled in the teeth 141 of the dials 140 so that turning of dials 140 will turn the clutches 130 and the reset clutch 150 and the extended-fins 131/151 in the same manner. Each of the dials 140 has one or more indicia, which may be in the form of numbers, symbols, letters, colors or the like, corresponding to each tooth of the teeth 141. For example, in the exemplary embodiment ten indicia in the form of the numbers 0-9 are illustrated, and each of the dials 140 have ten teeth 141. A ratchet plate 190 may be positioned in the padlock 10 in order to give an indication when a distinct indicia of each of the dials 140 of the combination controlled mechanism has been selected. The sub-body 180 may include a bolt-cam cutout zone 181, a bolt-cam spring cutout 182 and a snap plate tail receiving zone 183. A spindle spring 200 may be positioned between the upper most clutch 130 of the one or more clutches 130 and the spring-load area 123 of the spindle 120 so as to urge the spindle 120 in a direction towards the slope 92 of the button 90. An indicator spring 210 may be positioned between the body rear side 30 and the large diameter 101 of the indicator 100 to urge the indicator 100 in a direction towards the interior of the padlock 10.
Still referring to
Referring again to
Still referring to
If all of the dials 140 are in the correct lock open code, the control wall 94 of the button 90 can be pushed to contact the control surface 83 of the bolt-cam 80 to let the bolt-cam 80 rotate from the locking-surface 81 to the opening-notch 85 to align with the flexible-end-neck 172 of the cable 170 to operate the padlock 10 to the unlocked mode. The spring rod 60 has a spring 230 to let the spring rod 60 pop upward to push the flexible-end 171 of the cable 170 away from the cable end channel-flexible end 21/31 of the lock body 20/30.
The snap plate 110 contains the spring-receiving-pin 111 to engage with the bolt-cam spring 220. The other end of the bolt-cam spring 220 will engage with the spring-receiving-arm 84 of the bolt-cam 80. The tail 112 of the snap plate 110 will be in contact with the middle surface 104 of the indicator 100 in the locked mode. When the key controlled mechanism opens the padlock 10, the indicator-slope 73 of the key controlled latch 70 will engage with the slope 103 of the indicator 100 and move the indicator 100 upward. As the indicator 100 moves upward, the neck surface 102 of the indicator 100 aligns to the tail 112 of the snap plate 110. The bolt-cam spring 220 will exert force such that the tail 112 will completely engage into the neck surface 102 of the indicator 100 which makes the indicator 100 stay in the popped-up position to indicate to the user the padlock 10 has been opened by the key controlled mechanism. To reset the indicator 100 back into the padlock 10, the user must open the padlock 10 via the combination controlled mechanism, such that indicator-contact-surface 93 of the button 90 moves and pushes the tail 112 of the snap plate 110 away and disengages the neck surface 102 of the indicator 100. In such position, the indicator spring 210, will push the indicator 100 downward and the indicator 100 will be set back to the original position.
The spindle 120 contains a slope 121 which is configured to contact the slope 92 of the button 90. If the correct lock open code has been set on all of the dials 140, the slope 92 of the button 90 will push the slope 121 of the spindle 120 and will make the spindle 120 have rectilinear movement. As the spindle 120 moves downward, the extended-fin 122 of the spindle 120 will travel through the opening-gap 132/152 of the clutch 130/reset clutch 150. The opening-gaps 132/152 will align with all of the extended-fins 122 of the spindle 120 when the correct lock open code has been entered on all of the dials 140. The opening gap 132/152 of the clutch 130/reset clutch 150 allows the extended-fin 122 to travel through so that the spindle 120 may have rectilinear movement within the lock body of the padlock 10.
The spindle 120 contains the spring-load-area 123 to engage with the spindle-spring 200, which is configured to push the slope 121 of the spindle 120 upward toward the slope 92 of the button 90. The other end of the spindle-spring 200 will push the clutches 130 and the reset clutch 150 downward. In the locked mode, at least one of the opening gaps 132 of the clutch 130 and/or the opening gap 152 of the reset clutch 150 is not aligned with the corresponding extended-fin 122 of the spindle 120 which prevents the spindle 120 from moving downward. The spindle 120 further comprises a tail 124 which is to engage into the spindle tail slot 28/39 of the body 20/30. Such engagement will restrict the spindle 120 from having any rotational movement to ensure the one or more extended-fins 122 will have no rotational movement.
The fixed end 173 of the cable 170 contains the fixed-end terminal neck 174 which is to be assembled into the fixed neck slot 30d and passed through the cable end channel-fixed end 22/32 of the body 20/30 to restrict any vertical movement to the fixed end 173 of the cable 170.
The lock body 20/30 of the padlock 10 further contains the cylinder hole 23 to house the cylinder 40, the cam holes 24/34 to house the cam 50, the button slots 26/37 to house the button 90, the reset wing slots 27/38 house the wings 161 of the reset plate 160 to give the reset plate 160 to have a certain horizontal (left and right) moving area for the reset function, the clutch holes 29/30a to receive the clutches 130/reset clutch 150, the dial holes 29/30b which are cut outs to receive the dials 140 and for the user to be able to access the dials 140, the clutch protrusion slots 20b/30b which are to receive the extended fins 131/151 of the clutch 130 and reset clutch 150 during the reset mode to restrict rotational movement from the clutches 130 and reset clutch 150 during the reset mode, and the sub-body slot 25 which is to assemble the sub-body 180 for easier for assembly of the bolt-cam spring 220 during the assembly process.
Referring now to
At the same moment, as the key controlled latch 70 is being pushed leftward, the indicator slope 73 of the key controlled latch 70 will contact and slide the slope 103 of the indicator 100. As the key controlled latch 70 continues to move leftward, the indicator slope 73 will drag the slope 103 of the indicator 100 upward until the tail 112 of the snap plate 110 engages the neck surface 102 of the indicator 100. The tail 112 will snap into the neck surface 102 due to the placement of bolt-cam spring 220 such that one end is assembled on the spring-receiving-arm 84 of the bolt-cam 80 and the other end of the bolt-cam spring 220 is assembled on the spring-receiving-pin 111 of the snap plate 110. The bolt-cam spring 220 has three purposes: 1. The bolt-cam spring 220 will push the bolt-cam 80 such that the bolt-cam 80 will have rotational movement (e.g., counterclockwise locking movement) such that the locking surface 81 will engage with the flexible-end neck 172 of the cable 170 in the locked mode. 2. In the unlocked mode via the combination control mechanism or key control mechanism once the flexible-end neck 172 pops out of the lock holes 21/31 of the lock body, the bolt-cam spring 220 will push the opening notch 85 of the bolt-cam 80 to engage the spring rod 60 to inhibit the bolt-cam 80 from rotating counterclockwise back to the lock state. 3. In the unlocked mode via key control mechanism, with the engagement of the opening notch 85 of the bolt-cam 80 and the spring rod 60, the bolt-cam spring 220 will push the snap plate 110 rightward such that the tail 112 engages to the neck surface 102 of the indicator 100. The indicator 100 is now popped upward and showing to the owner that the padlock 10 has been opened by a key, for example, that luggage on which the padlock is engaged has been inspected by the inspectors. The only way to let the indicator 100 retract is to have the correct lock open code to let the indicator 100 retract. After inspection, the inspector could push the flexible end 171 of the cable 170 back into the cable end channel-flexible end 21/31 of the body 20/30. The flexible end 171 will push the spring rod 60 downward and the flexible-end neck 172 will align to the opening-notch 85 of the bolt cam 80. As they align, the bolt-cam spring 220 will push and rotate the bolt cam 80 (e.g., counterclockwise) such that the locking surface 81 will engage to the flexible-end neck 172 of the cable 170. The control surface 83 of the bolt-cam 80 will force the bolt-contact-surface 72 rightward back to the locking position. The catcher 71 is engaged to the extended round tip 54 which will cause the cam 50 to rotate counterclockwise back to the locked position. Then the key user or inspector could now withdraw the correct cut key 240 out of the padlock 10. In addition, as a result of the tail 112 of the snap plate 110 engaged with the neck surface 102 of the indicator 100, the indicator 100 remains popped upward. In the unlocked mode via the key controlled mechanism, the button 90, spindle 120, clutch 130, dial 140, reset clutch 150, and the reset plate 160 are all undisturbed, which means that operation of the padlock 10 to the unlocked mode via key controlled mechanism does not interfere with these combination controlled mechanism parts.
Referring now to
As described in the opening in key mode, the indicator 100 has been popped upward. In the operation of the padlock 10 to the unlock mode via the combination controlled mechanism, if the user pushes the button 90 in leftward, the indicator contact surface 93 will push the tail 112 of the snap plate 110 leftward such that the tail 112 will disengage away from the neck surface 102 of the indicator 100. The indicator slot 36 is assembled on the indicator 100 for the indicator 100 to reset and travel in the indicator slot 36. The indicator spring 210 pushes the large diameter 101 of the indicator 100 downward, and the indicator 100 will pop back to the original place. As the indicator 100 moves downward, the middle-surface 104 will align to the tail 112 of the snap plate 110 for the next inspection using the key controlled mechanism.
After opening the padlock 10 via the combination controlled mechanism and resetting the indicator 100 back to the original position, the user can release the push button 90. The user could insert the flexible end 171 of the cable 170 back to the cable end channel-flexible end 21/31 of the lock body. The flexible end 171 will push the spring rod 60 downward and the flexible-end neck 172 will align to the opening-notch 85 of the bolt cam 80. As they align, the bolt-cam spring 220 will push and rotate the bolt cam 80 counterclockwise such that the locking surface 81 will engage back to the flexible-end neck 172 of the cable 170. In addition, the bolt-cam 80 rotates counterclockwise then the control surface 83 of the bolt-cam 80 will push the control wall 94 of the button 90 rightward. As the button 90 pushes rightward the slope 92 of the button 90 will move rightward and it will yield a space to let the slope 121 of the spindle 120 push upward. The spindle 120 is being pushed upward due to the spindle spring 200 is assembled between the spindle-load-area 123 of the spindle 120 and the first clutch 130. The spindle spring 200 will exert force to push the spindle 120. As the spindle 120 is pushed back upward the extended-fin 122 of the spindle 120 moves away from the opening-gaps 132/152 of the clutches 130 and reset clutch 150. As the opening-gap 132/152 is disengaged from the extended-fins 122 of the spindle 120, the user can rotate the dials 140 such that the opening-gap 132/152 of the clutches 130/150 would move away from the extended-fins 122 of the spindle 120. The teeth 141 of the dials 140 are engaged with the extended-fin 131/151 of the clutches 130/150 such that the rotation of the dials 140 will move the clutches 130/150 in the same manner. In the operation of the padlock 10 to the unlocked mode via the combination controlled mechanism, the cylinder 40, cam 50, and key controlled latch 70 are all undisturbed, which means that the combination controlled mechanism does not interferer these key controlled mechanism parts.
The body rear side 30 contains the indicator slot 36 to receive the indicator 100. The sub-body 180 is to cover the bolt-cam 80, the indicator 100, and the bolt-cam spring 220. Such sub-body 180 is for ease of assembly since to the bolt-cam spring 220 will force the bolt-cam 80 to rotate and with the sub-body 180 it will be easier to assemble the components into the entire padlock 10. The sub-body 180 contains the bolt-cam cutout zone 181 which is to provide space to assemble the bolt cam 80 into the sub-body 180. The sub-body 180 also includes the bolt cam spring cutout 182 to let the bolt-cam spring 220 have action within the cam spring cutout 182. The snap plate tail receiving zone 183 is to let the tail 112 of the snap plate 110 move within this area. The clutches 130/150 are assembled on the clutch holes 29/30a of the lock body 20/30. The ratchet plate 190 is assembled to give ratchet feeling to the dial 140.
Referring now to
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above article without departing from the scope of this invention, it is intended that all matter contained in this disclosure or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted, as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is to be understood that all of the present figures, and the accompanying narrative discussions of corresponding embodiments, do not purport to be completely rigorous treatments of the invention under consideration. It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Appl. No. 63/617,808 filed Jan. 5, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
63617808 | Jan 2024 | US |