The present invention relates to locking devices for locking or sealing items, such as cargo containers or doors or the like, and, more particularly, to a locking device having opposite end pieces that secure to a rod or locking member extending between the end pieces and through a locking clasp or the like of the cargo container or door.
It is known in the art to provide a locking device for locking or sealing an item, such as cargo containers or doors or the like, in a closed or sealed state. The locking devices often include a pair of end pieces that connect to an end of a rod to secure the rod through the sealed item. The locking devices are often packaged with one end piece attached to one end of the rod, and the other end piece tied or packaged with the end piece—rod assembly. This typically requires additional packaging of the parts to ship the parts together as a unit. Also, in applications where the end pieces are labeled or marked with identification numbers or the like (often the same number or identification is applied to both end pieces so that it will be readily apparent if the locking device is tampered with and one or both end pieces are replaced), the matching end pieces must be sorted and combined or packaged together, which may require further processing of the components prior to packaging.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a locking device that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.
The present invention provides a locking device that has a pair of end pieces that are molded or formed together or joined together during a molding or forming process, such that the matching end pieces are joined together and thus do not have to be sorted or packaged in separate processes. The joined end pieces may be readily separated or broken apart when it is desired to use the locking device. One of the end pieces may be molded onto or connected to an end of a locking member or rod, while the other end piece may be joined to the first end piece and formed to receive the other end of the rod therein to lock the locking device to an item. Multiple sets or pairs of end pieces may be molded or formed together or joined together during a molding or forming process, such that a pair of end pieces of a particular locking device may be separated or broken from the strip of locking devices. The matching end pieces are thus formed together and remain joined together such that sorting of the end pieces is not required.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a locking device includes first and second end pieces or portions formed together via a forming process, and a substantially rigid locking member. The second end piece is joined to the first end piece via at least one frangible element. The first end piece is attached to one end of the locking member and the locking member extends from the first end piece. The second end piece is separable from the first end piece via breaking the frangible element or elements. The second end piece is configured to receive the other end of the locking member when separated from the first end piece to lock the locking device to an object.
The first and second end pieces may be molded together, with the frangible element comprising interconnected portions of the first and second end pieces. The first end piece may be molded around the end of the locking member. The second end piece may be molded around a locking element that is configured to receive and secure to the other end of the locking member.
Optionally, the first and second end pieces may be formed with a surface thereon for forming indicia to identify respective pairs of first and second end pieces. The surface may comprise a substantially flattened surface for printing or applying indicia thereon, and/or may comprise a roughened surface for printing or applying indicia thereon.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of forming and using at least one locking device includes providing a mold with a cavity. The cavity comprises first and second cavity portions interconnected together via at least one connecting cavity portion extending between the first and second cavity portions in the mold. At least one pair of end pieces is molded from a polymeric material disposed within the mold cavity. The pair of end pieces comprises first and second end pieces connected together via at least one frangible portion formed by the material disposed within the connecting cavity portion or portions. A locking member is provided, and one end of the locking member is attached to the first end piece. The second end piece is separated from the first end piece by breaking the frangible portion. The second end piece is attached to the other end of the locking member when the locking member is inserted through an item to be locked or sealed.
The locking member may be inserted partially within the first mold cavity, and the first end piece may be molded around the end of the locking member. Likewise, a locking element may be inserted at least partially within the second mold cavity and the second end piece may be molded around the locking element. The locking element may be configured to receive the other end of the locking member therein to secure the second end piece to the locking member.
Optionally, and desirably, the mold cavity comprises a series of pairs of first and second cavity portions, with the first or second cavity portion of one pair of cavity portions being interconnected with the first or second cavity portion of another pair of cavity portions via at least another connecting cavity portion. A series of pairs of first and second end pieces may be molded together via a molding process, whereby each pair of first and second end pieces is connected to at least one other adjacent pair via at least one frangible portion formed by the connecting cavity portion or portions. A locking member may be inserted partially within each of the first cavities, and the first end pieces may be molded around the inserted ends of the locking members. A pair of first and second end pieces may be separated from the strip or series of pairs to provide a single locking device for use.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a series of locking devices includes a series of pairs of end pieces formed together via a forming process, and a plurality of locking members. Each of the pair of end pieces comprises first and second end pieces joined together via at least one first frangible portion between the first and second end pieces. The first and/or second end piece of one pair of the series is joined to the first and/or second end piece of another pair of the series via at least one second frangible portion between the pairs of end pieces. The plurality of locking members are attached to respective ones of the first end pieces and extend from the end pieces. The pair of first and second end pieces and the respective locking member comprise a locking device. The locking devices are individually separable from the series via breaking of the second frangible portion or portions between the pairs of end pieces. The second end piece of the removed or separated locking device is separable from the first end piece and is configured to attach to the other end of the locking member when the locking member is inserted through an object to lock the locking device to the object.
Therefore, the present invention provides a locking device that has a pair of end pieces that are formed together via a single forming or molding process. The end pieces are joined together via one or more frangible elements that are formed during the forming or molding process of the end pieces. One or more pairs of end pieces may be formed or molded together to provide a strip or series of end pieces and locking devices joined together by the frangible elements. Each respective pair of end pieces may be readily separated from the strip of locking devices to provide a single locking device for use on a particular object. The end pieces of the separated locking device are readily separable from one another via breaking the frangible element or elements. The end pieces may be formed or molded around a locking member or rod and a locking element, such that the entire locking device is formed via the forming or molding process and is retained together or joined together, such that no additional ties or packaging or the like is needed to keep the respective end pieces of a particular locking device together and not mixed with other end pieces of other locking devices. Multiple end pieces and locking devices may be formed in this manner, such that each locking device is joined to the other locking devices, yet the respective end pieces are not mixed between the locking devices. The present invention thus maintains the end pieces of multiple locking devices joined or connected to the respective other end pieces so that no other ties or packaging or sorting is required before using the locking devices. The end pieces of each locking device may have identification numbers or characters or indicia formed or printed thereon or otherwise attached or applied thereto, such that the respective end pieces are correspondingly marked or identified.
These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of the present invention will become apparent upon review of the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.
Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depicted therein, a locking device 10 includes a pair of end pieces 12, 14 and a locking member or rod 16 (
End piece 12 includes a generally cylindrical body portion 12a for receiving end 16a of rod 16 therein. End piece 12 also includes a generally flat or planar surface 12b extending therealong and on which identification numbers or letters or characters or other indicia may be formed or printed or applied, in order to provide identification of each end piece 12. Preferably, generally flat surface 12b includes a roughened surface portion 12c, which may be roughened or uneven and may have a plurality of ridges and grooves formed therealong (as best shown in
End piece 14 includes a generally cylindrical body portion 14a and a generally flat or planar surface 14b extending therealong and on which identification numbers or letters or characters or other indicia may be formed or printed or applied, in order to provide identification of each end piece 14. Preferably, generally flat surface 14b includes a roughened surface portion 14c, which may be roughened or uneven and may have a plurality of ridges and grooves 14d (
Body portion 14a of end piece 14 is configured to receive end 16b of locking member 16 therein to lock the locking device 10 to an object (as shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, end piece 12 further includes a tab or loop 26 extending therefrom, while end piece 14 also includes a tab or loop 28 extending therefrom. Tabs 26, 28 are configured to receive an identification strip or secondary seal 30 (
Locking member or rod 16 comprises a substantially rigid cylindrical rod formed of a metallic material (although the rod may be formed of other materials, without affecting the scope of the present invention). End 16a of rod 16 may include a base or disc portion 32 (
The opposite end 16b of rod 16 includes a tapered or ramped or conical end portion 34 with a narrowed section 36 at the end of the tapered end portion 34. The tapered end portion 34 is insertable into locking element 24 of end piece 14 and engages lock ring 24b. As the tapered end 34 is inserted further into locking element 24, lock ring 24b may slide along the ramped surface 34 and may expand to allow the tapered end portion to insert into locking element 24. As can be seen in
End pieces 12, 14 may be integrally formed or molded together in a mold cavity. The mold cavity may include first and second cavity portions for forming the respective end pieces, and may also include one or more connecting cavity portions that interconnect the first and second cavity portions. When the end pieces are molded or formed, such as by disposing a polymeric or plastic material into the mold cavity, the molded end pieces are joined together via the frangible connecting elements 18 extending therebetween. The connecting cavity portions may be narrowed at one or both end pieces, such that the frangible connecting elements are narrowed at one or more locations therealong (such as shown at the ends 18a of the frangible elements 18 in
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the first end piece 12 is joined to the respective second end piece 14 via a pair of frangible connecting elements 18, while the adjacent pairs of end pieces are connected together via a frangible portion 20 extending along and between the outer end portions of the tabs 26, 28 of the adjacent end pieces. Each pair of respective end pieces 12, 14 (which may have the rod 16 and locking element 24 insert molded therein) are thus removably or separably joined together via frangible elements 18, while the adjacent locking devices 10a-d (each of which comprises a respective pair of end pieces 12, 14) are removably or separably joined together via frangible elements 20. Similar to frangible elements 18, frangible elements or portions 20 may be tapered or narrowed (such as at the center region 20a shown in
Although shown and described as separating respective pairs of end pieces by breaking the frangible elements 20 between the tabs, it is envisioned that the pairs may be separated from the strip by breaking the frangible elements 18 between the body portions of the adjacent end pieces, while the end pieces of a particular locking device may be separated for use by breaking the frangible element between the tabs, without affecting the scope of the present invention. Also, although shown as having the pairs of end pieces being separated by breaking a frangible element 20 at and between the tabs 26, 28 and separating the end pieces of a particular locking device by breaking the frangible elements 18 between the body portions of the end pieces, it is envisioned that other types of frangible connecting elements may be formed elsewhere between the end pieces (such as discussed below), without affecting the scope of the present invention.
The strip 22 of locking devices thus may be provided at an area and each locking device 10a-d may be readily removed from the strip 22 (by breaking the frangible element 20) for use at a particular object. The end pieces 12, 14 of the removed locking device may be readily separated by breaking the frangible element or elements 18 and the rod 16 may be inserted through the particular object to be locked or sealed. The removed or separated end piece 14 may then be secured to the end 16b of the rod 16 to lock or seal the locking device to the object. Optionally, the metallic tamper indicating strip or identification strip or secondary seal 30 may be routed through the tabs or loops 26, 28 and secured so that the strip cannot be readily removed from the locking device without damaging or destroying the strip and/or the end pieces of the locking device.
Optionally, one of the locking members or end pieces may include an identification chip or element embedded in or attached to or molded in or otherwise incorporated into or onto the end piece so that the end piece and locking device may be readily identified to ensure that the right locking device is on a particular item or cargo container or the like. Such an identification element provides or facilitates electronic tracking of the locking devices and provides a check to ensure that the locking device that was applied to a particular cargo container or item is still on the cargo container or item at a later date and, thus, provides a tracking and tamper resistant or tamper detection function. For example, and with reference to
Such RFID chips or tags are known and may comprise a microchip with an antenna, and may be used in conjunction with an interrogator or reader with an antenna (which may be located at a shipping or receiving area or facility where the locked or sealed cargo items are shipped from or received at or the like). The reader may send out electromagnetic waves and the RFID tag antenna may be tuned to receive these waves. A passive RFID tag may draw power from the field created by the reader and may use the drawn power to power or enable or energize the microchip's circuits. The chip may then modulate the waves that the tag sends back to the reader, and the reader may convert the new waves into digital data for processing.
Although shown and described as including an RFID chip, clearly other means for identifying the end piece or end pieces or locking devices may be implemented, such as bar codes and the like, on or in one or more of the end pieces or locking rods of the locking devices, so as to provide a means for readily identifying the particular locking device on a particular cargo item or the like. In some applications, the RFID chip may be preferred because a scanner does not need to be directed at the chip to “read” the chip, as is typically required with barcode scanners and the like. The radio frequency identification doesn't require line of sight, so that the RFID tags may be automatically read as long as they are within range of the reader. The identification chip or element or the like may be attached to or embedded or molded in one or both of the end pieces of each locking device to provide the desired identification function for the locking devices.
In the illustrated embodiment of
Optionally, it is envisioned that the end pieces or members of the locking devices may have a tab or loop for the secondary seal or identification strip extending from different portions or regions of the end pieces, such that the loops or tabs of adjacent end pieces are not joined together via a frangible portion or element. For example, and with reference to
The tabs or loops may extend from the body portions 112a, 114a, and may extend in a direction generally opposite from the flat or identifying surfaces 112b, 114b. Because the loops or tabs 126, 128 are not positioned between the respective end pieces 112, 114, the end pieces of adjacent locking devices may be positioned closer together, such that a strip of locking devices may provide a greater number of locking devices for a given length of the strip (or may provide a desired number of locking devices in a shorter length strip). In the illustrated embodiment of
Optionally, and as shown in
Therefore, the present invention provides a locking device that has a pair of end pieces that are formed together via a single forming or molding process. The end pieces are joined together via one or more frangible elements that are formed during the forming or molding process of the end pieces. The end pieces are readily separable from one another via breaking the frangible element or elements. The end pieces may be formed or molded around a locking member or rod and a locking element, such that the entire locking device is formed via the forming or molding process and is retained together or joined together, such that no additional ties or packaging or the like is needed to keep the respective end pieces of a particular locking device together and not mixed with other end pieces of other locking devices.
The present invention also provides a series or strip of a plurality of locking devices that are formed or molded together via a single forming or molding process. The respective end pieces of each locking device may be joined together via frangible connecting elements, while adjacent end pieces of adjacent pairs of end pieces may likewise be joined together via one or more frangible connecting elements. Each respective pair of end pieces may be readily separated from the strip of locking devices to provide a single locking device for use on a particular object. The end pieces of each locking device may have identification numbers or characters or indicia formed or printed thereon or other identifying items attached thereto, such that the respective end pieces are correspondingly marked or identified and/or the respective locking device is readily identifiable. Optionally, one or both end pieces may have an identification chip or element attached thereto or embedded or molded therein to provide an identification function for the particular end pieces and/or locking devices.
Changes and modifications to the specifically described embodiments may be carried out without departing from the principles of the present invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law.
The present application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application, Ser. No. 60/521,745, filed Jun. 29, 2004, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. design patent application Ser. No. 29/206,196, filed May 27, 2004, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US04/37838 | 11/12/2004 | WO | 2/9/2006 |