This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 109139020, filed on Nov. 9, 2020.
The disclosure relates to a lock assembly, and more particularly to a lock assembly for a bicycle.
A conventional lock assembly for a bicycle is mounted on the bicycle for immobilizing a wheel of the bicycle when it is locked for securing the bicycle against theft. The conventional lock assembly is usually configured to be openable only by a key. During a use of the conventional lock assembly, a user must carry the key for the conventional lock assembly, which is usually so tiny that it is very easy to lose. Such loss of the key makes the conventional lock assembly inoperable.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a lock assembly for a bicycle that can alleviate the drawback of the abovementioned prior art.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, the lock assembly includes a casing, a blocking unit, a lock unit, and a power supply unit. The blocking unit includes a blocking member and a knob. The blocking member has an engaging slot and is operable to move between an open position, where the blocking member is inside the casing, and a block position, where the blocking member protrudes from the casing. The knob extends into the casing, is connected to the blocking member, and is configured to be operable manually for driving the blocking member toward the block position. The lock unit is mounted within the casing and includes a mount base, an engaging member, a biasing member, an electric unlock module, and a manual unlock module. The engaging member has a main body that is disposed in the mount base, and a pin that is connected to the main body. The main body of the engaging member has a first abutment portion and a second abutment portion. The engaging member is movable between an engaging position, where the pin engages the engaging slot when the blocking member is in the block position so as to prevent movement of the blocking member, and an unlocked position, where the pin is disengaged from the engaging slot so as to allow movement of the blocking member. The biasing member is disposed between the mount base and the engaging member for biasing the engaging member toward the engaging position. The electric unlock module has a motor, a first push member that is connected to the motor, and a controller. The motor is operable for driving the first push member to abut against the first abutment portion of the main body of the engaging member and to move the engaging member. The controller is electrically connected to the motor for controlling operation of the motor. The manual unlock module has a lock cylinder that is rotatable and that has a keyhole adapted for insertion of a key, and a second push member that is connected co-rotatably to the lock cylinder. Rotation of the lock cylinder is actuated upon rotation of the key to drive the second push member to abut against the second abutment portion of the main body of the engaging member and to move the engaging member. The engaging member is operable by one of the electric unlock module and the manual unlock module to move to the unlocked position. The power supply unit is electrically connected to the electric unlock module.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
Referring to
The blocking unit 2 includes a blocking member 21, and a knob 22 that extends into the casing 1 and that is connected to the blocking member 21.
The blocking member 21 is operable to move between an open position, where the blocking member 21 is inside the casing 1 and disposed within the track space 14 (See
Specifically, as shown in
The knob 22 has a threaded rod portion 222 that extends through the curved slot 112a and that has an end connected to the arc-shaped top wall 213, and a head portion 221 that is connected to another end of the connecting portion 222 and that is accessible to a user such that the knob 22 is operable manually by the user to move along the curved slot 112a for driving the blocking member 21 toward the block position. Specifically, the end of the threaded rod portion 222 threadedly engages the threaded hole 213b of the arc-shaped top wall 213.
Further referring to
The base plate 11 further has a stopper block 113 that protrudes from the C-shaped plate part 112 into the track space 14 for positioning the blocking member 21 relative to the casing 1 while the blocking member 21 is in the open position. Specifically, the stopper block 113 is configured to abut against the end wall 214 of the blocking member 21 when the blocking member 21 is moved to the open position so as to hold the blocking member 21 at the open position.
Referring to
The engaging member 32 has a main body 321 that is disposed in the mount base 31 and a pin 322 that is connected to the main body 321. The main body 321 has a first abutment portion 321a and a second abutment portion 321b. The engaging member 32 is movable between an engaging position (see
The biasing member 33 is disposed between the mount base 31 and the engaging member 32 for biasing the engaging member 32 toward the engaging position.
In this embodiment, when an external force is not applied to the blocking member 21 via the knob 22, the blocking member 21 is in the open position due to the biasing of the resilient member 23, and the biasing member 33 biases the engaging member 32 toward the engaging position such that the pin 322 slidably abuts against the arc-shaped outer wall 211 of the blocking member 21. When the user moves the blocking member 21 from the open position to the block position against the resilient force of the resilient member 23, the engaging member 32 is not limited by the blocking member 21, and is biased by the biasing member 33 to the engaging position with the pin 322 engaging the engaging slot 211a of the blocking member 21 so as to hold the blocking member 21 at the block position. In this embodiment, when the engaging member 32 is in the engaging position, the pin 322 extends out of the casing body 12 to engage the engaging slot 211a of the blocking member 21. The lock unit 3 further includes a gasket ring 36 that is mounted on the base plate 11 of the casing 1 and that is sleeved on the pin 322 to be disposed between the pin 322 and the casing body 12 for maintaining water-tightness between the pin 322 and the casing body 12 (see
The electric unlock module 34 has a motor 341, a first push member 342 connected to the motor 341, and a controller 343.
In this embodiment, the first push member 342 is eccentric with a rotary axis of the motor 341, and the first push member 342 and the engaging member 32 constitute a cam mechanism. As such, operation of the motor 341 drives the first push member 342 to abut against the first abutment portion 321a of the main body 321 of the engaging member 32 and to linearly move the engaging member 32.
The controller 343 is electrically connected to the motor 341 for controlling operation of the motor 341. In this embodiment, the controller 343 is configured to activate the motor 341 upon receiving a wireless signal that is transmitted from, for example, a smart phone of the user, a key card, and a key fob, so that the user can control the activation of the electric unlock module 34.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the engaging member 32 further has a protruding portion 323 that protrudes from the main body 321 toward the electric unlock module 34; and the electric unlock module 34 further has a micro switch 344 that is electrically connected to the controller 343. The micro switch 344 is electrically connected to the protruding portion 323 of the engaging member 32 when the engaging member 32 is in the engaging position, and transmits a signal to the controller 343 so that the controller 343 can detect the position of the engaging member 32. Additionally, the electric unlock module 34 may further have a sensor (not shown) that can detect whether the first push member 342 is in the original position.
Referring back to
In this embodiment, the main body 321 of the engaging member 32 has a guide groove 321c that is defined by a groove-defining surface, and a portion of the groove-defining surface forms the second abutment portion 321b of the main body 321. The second push member 352 is inserted into the guide groove 321c and is eccentric with a rotary axis of the lock cylinder 351. The second push member 352 and the engaging member 32 constitute a cam mechanism. As such, rotation of the lock cylinder 351, which is actuated upon rotation of the key 353, moves the second push member 352 along the guide groove 321c to abut against the second abutment portion 321b to linearly move the engaging member 32.
Referring again to
Referring to
Referring to
By virtue of the electric unlock module 34 and the manual unlock module 35, the engaging member 32 is operable by one of the electric unlock module 34 and the manual unlock module 35 to move to the unlocked position. Therefore, the user can unlock the lock assembly of the present invention remotely such as with an application installed on a smart phone of the user, and the user also can unlock the lock assembly with a physical key when remote access is not available.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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109139020 | Nov 2020 | TW | national |