Patent Application
20080141745
Due to the many outdoor uses of padlocks, protective covers have been provided to minimize the exposure of the padlock, particularly the keyway and the internal components of the padlock, to moisture and other contaminants, in an effort to extend service life by minimizing corrosion or oxidation of metallic lock components and damage caused by contamination. Previously proposed covers have been provided with a keyway cover to be fitted over a portion of the lock body on which the keyway is disposed.
To open the lock, the keyway covering portion of the previously proposed covers may be removed to access the keyway. However, this may present the risk of loss or accidental removal of the keyway cover. In other proposed embodiments, a keyway covering portion may be provided with an expandable opening to access the keyway without removing the keyway cover. The opening in some proposed covers has been limited to a slit in the flexible bottom portion, allowing the material at the slit to be pressed open when a key is pressed against the slit for insertion in the keyway, or allowing the slit to be opened by squeezing the ends of the cover, similar to the operation of a plastic coin purse. After the key is removed from the lock, the slit contracts back to its original form. However, this type of slit in the bottom cover may allow moisture or other contamination to enter the keyway through the slit, particularly if repeated unlocking of the lock has resulted in plastic deformation of the cover material, causing the slit to widen.
The present application contemplates providing a keyway cover for a lock. In one embodiment, the keyway cover may be assembled with the lock and movable between covering and uncovering orientations, without removal (and risk of loss) of the cover.
Accordingly, in one embodiment, a lock assembly includes a lock body and a keyway covering member. The lock body includes a keyway disposed on an outer surface. The keyway covering member is assembled with the outer surface of the lock body, and is slideable between a covering orientation and an uncovering orientation. When the keyway covering member is in the covering orientation, a covering portion of the keyway covering member aligns with the keyway to cover the keyway. When the keyway covering member is in the uncovering orientation, an opening in the keyway covering member aligns with the keyway to permit insertion of a key in the keyway.
Features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
This Detailed Description of the Invention merely describes embodiments of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims in any way. Indeed, the invention as claimed is broader than and unlimited by the embodiments described herein, and the terms used have their full ordinary meaning.
According to an inventive aspect of the present application, a padlock may be provided with a protective keyway cover, for example, to prevent the keyway from being exposed to moisture and other contaminants. In one embodiment, a keyway cover is assembled with the padlock such that the keyway cover is slideable between a covering position and an uncovering position. Many different types of locks may be configured to utilize a keyway cover. As one example, a keyway cover may be provided for a padlock having a lock body configured to define a recess for receiving aligned locking tabs, with a locking shackle pin extending from the lock body through the recess to engage the locking tabs. This type of lock is often referred to as a “hidden shackle” or “shackleless” padlock, as there is no exposed shackle when the padlock is locked, or as a “hockey puck” lock, as the padlock's lock body may (but need not) be shaped like a cylindrical disk or hockey puck. In one such exemplary lock, a keyway may be disposed on an outer periphery of the lock body.
While the specification and drawings of the present application specifically describe a shackleless lock including various inventive features, it should be apparent that these inventive features may be applied to other types of key-operated locks, such as, for example, padlocks, cable locks, U-bar locks, and door locks.
The exemplary lock 10 includes a shackle pin 13 which is movable between an extended or locking position and a retracted or unlocking position. In the locking position, the shackle pin 13 passes through the staples 7a, 7b of plates 5a, 5b and across at least enough of the recess 12 to prevent removal of the lock 10 from the locking plates 5a, 5b. In the unlocking position, the shackle pin 13 is withdrawn from the plates, allowing the lock 10 to be removed from the plates 5a, 5b, and allowing the plates to be separated to access the locked area or equipment. A keyway 15 is disposed in a key cylinder 16 and is located on an outer periphery of the lock body 11.
In the illustrated embodiment, the shackle pin 13 is movable between locking and unlocking positions by a key operated mechanism, in which a key (not shown) is inserted into the keyway 15 and rotated to unlock the locking mechanism and retract the shackle pin 13. While many different locking mechanisms may be provided, in the illustrated embodiment, rotation of the keyway 15 using an authorized key (e.g., in a pin and tumbler locking arrangement, as known in the art) rotates the connected shackle pin 13 to disengage the shackle pin 13 from one or more locking members 18 in the lock body 11, as shown in
Many different types of cover members may be used to selectively cover the keyway of a padlock when the lock is not in use. In one embodiment, a cover member may be assembled with a lock body such that the cover member is slidable between a covering position and an uncovering position. In one such embodiment, the cover member may be assembled with the lock body such that the cover member is retained by the lock body in both covering and uncovering positions. The cover member may be secured to the lock body using many different sliding configurations, including, for example, projections (such as pins or tabs) which slide in corresponding grooves or a sliding cover member disposed between the lock body and an outer cover having an opening aligned with the keyway. When provided with a lock having a circular or cylindrical lock body, such as, for example, the illustrated lock 10 of
To facilitate movement of the sleeve 21 between covering and uncovering positions, the sleeve may be provided with a user graspable portion 23 that may be manipulated by the user to slide the sleeve 21. The user graspable portion 23 may be any suitable structure, including, for example, a knob, pin, or tab 23 (as illustrated). The user graspable portion 23 may be integrally molded with the sleeve 21 or assembled to the sleeve 21. The user graspable portion 23 may be textured or ribbed to facilitate grasping by a user.
To securely retain the sleeve 21 in the covering and/or uncovering positions, many different mechanisms may be provided. In one embodiment, a detent (which may, but need not, be spring loaded) may engage the keyway cover in covering and/or uncovering positions, for example, to provide sufficient resistance to prevent inadvertent movement of the keyway cover (for example, due to bumping or vibration), while permitting movement of the keyway cover through manipulation by the user. In the illustrated embodiment, a pocket 19 in the outer periphery of the lock body 11 retains a biasing member 31 (such as a compression spring) and a detent 32 (such as a ball bearing), as shown in
While various inventive aspects, concepts and features of the inventions may be described and illustrated herein as embodied in combination in the exemplary embodiments, these various aspects, concepts and features may be used in many alternative embodiments, either individually or in various combinations and sub-combinations thereof. Unless expressly excluded herein all such combinations and sub-combinations are intended to be within the scope of the present inventions. Still further, while various alternative embodiments as to the various aspects, concepts and features of the inventions—such as alternative materials, structures, configurations, methods, circuits, devices and components, software, hardware, control logic, alternatives as to form, fit and function, and so on—may be described herein, such descriptions are not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of available alternative embodiments, whether presently known or later developed. Those skilled in the art may readily adopt one or more of the inventive aspects, concepts or features into additional embodiments and uses within the scope of the present inventions even if such embodiments are not expressly disclosed herein. Additionally, even though some features, concepts or aspects of the inventions may be described herein as being a preferred arrangement or method, such description is not intended to suggest that such feature is required or necessary unless expressly so stated. Still further, exemplary or representative values and ranges may be included to assist in understanding the present disclosure; however, such values and ranges are not to be construed in a limiting sense and are intended to be critical values or ranges only if so expressly stated. Moreover, while various aspects, features and concepts may be expressly identified herein as being inventive or forming part of an invention, such identification is not intended to be exclusive, but rather there may be inventive aspects, concepts and features that are fully described herein without being expressly identified as such or as part of a specific invention. Descriptions of exemplary methods or processes are not limited to inclusion of all steps as being required in all cases, nor is the order that the steps are presented to be construed as required or necessary unless expressly so stated.
This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/875,111, entitled KEYWAY COVER FOR A LOCK and filed on Dec. 15, 2006, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, to the extent that it is not conflicting with the present application.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60875111 | Dec 2006 | US |
