This application is a U.S. National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/CN2012/080908 filed on Sep. 3, 2012, and published in Chinese as WO 2013/107183 A1 on Jul. 25, 2013. This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 201210013762.6 filed on Jan. 17, 2012. The entire disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to the mechanics field, in particular, to a lockset and a detachable pallet container using the lockset.
With the development of the logistics industry, pallet containers have been widely applied in the container transportation area due to their detachable and collapsible features.
Not withstanding the simple structure of the abovementioned lockset, this locket still has the following defects to overcome for the purpose of improvement: the lockset has a relatively large size, which has to consume a great deal of material; limited by the thickness of the side wall 120, the size of the hook part 143 and the diameter of the lock rod 142 are both relatively small, thus resulting in relatively poor rigidity and being liable to distort; the lock bracket 141 adopts a cantilever structure to support the lock rod 142, and consequently, the lock bracket 141 is liable to distort under the tension from the lock rod 142; after the hook part 143 hooks onto the side edge of the oblong through-hole 131 to connect the end wall 130 and the sidewall 120, there exists activity space along the length of the oblong through-hole 131, and when there is only one pair of end walls 130 or one pair of sidewalls 120 fixed to the base plate 110, the walls not fixed thereto will move up and down relative to the fixed walls, thus impairing the stacking stability of the detachable pallet container, while the play of end walls or sidewalls in the process of transportation will affect the cargo contained therein; in addition, in the closing of locksets, only one lockset can be operated at a time, and therefore, the efficiency is very low.
Therefore, a lockset and a detachable pallet container using this locket are required to solve the abovementioned problems.
A series of concepts in simplified forms will be introduced to the Summary of the Invention part, and will be further explained in detail in the part of Detailed Description. The Summary of the Invention is not intended for trying defining key features or essential technical features of the technical solutions claimed for protection, and neither is it intended for trying defining the scope of protection of the technical solutions claimed for protection.
For the purpose of solving the abovementioned problems, the present invention discloses a lockset. The lockset comprises: a connection pin, wherein a first end of the connection pin is for being fixed to a first connection, and a notch is provided on a sidewall of a second end of the connection pin; a lock bracket for being fixed to a second connection; and a lock rod, which is rotatably provided within the lock bracket such that the lock rod has an open position and a closed position, wherein a groove is provided on a sidewall of a first end of the lock rod. In an assembled state, the groove of the first end of the lock rod can accommodate the second end of the connection pin passing through the second connection when the lock rod is at the open position, such that the connection pin is moveable in an axial direction; and the first end of the lock rod is accommodated within the notch of the second end of the connection pin passing through the second connection when the lock rod is at the closed position so as to prevent the connection pin from moving axially.
Preferably, a handle is disposed on a second end of the lock rod for driving the lock rod to rotate.
Preferably, the lock bracket has a locking component provided thereon to lock the handle when the lock rod rotates to the closed position.
Preferably, the lock rod is provided within the lock bracket with the lock rod immovable in both axial and radial directions.
Preferably, the lock bracket is provided with an oblong through-hole encompassing the lock rod, and a handle is disposed at a second end of the lock rod, wherein a first end of the handle passes through the oblong through-hole to connect to the lock rod, with the size of the first end of the handle matching with the width of the oblong through-hole so as to restrain the lock rod from moving in its axial direction, and wherein the first end of the handle is moveable in the oblong through-hole along its length direction.
Preferably, the groove is located in such a position as to accommodate the second end of the connection pin when the first end of the handle moves to one end of the oblong through-hole.
Preferably, an accommodating hole is arranged on the lock rod at a position connected to the first end of the handle, and the first end of the handle is accommodated within the accommodating hole in which the first end of the handle is connected to the lock rod.
Preferably, the handle is U-shaped, and a second end of the handle is connected to the lock rod outside the lock bracket.
Preferably, an opening direction of the groove is perpendicular to a plane on which the handle is located.
Preferably, the lock bracket is provided with an arc groove extending along the axial direction of the lock rod, and the lock rod is accommodated within the arc groove and matches with the arc groove so as to cooperate with the second connection in restraining the lock rod from moving in the radial direction.
Preferably, the connection pin is cylindrical, and the groove is semicircular for matching with the connection pin.
Preferably, the lock rod is cylindrical, and the notch is semicircular for matching with the lock rod.
The present invention also provides a detachable pallet container. The container comprises a base, a pair of sidewalls detachably connected to one pair of opposite edges of the base, and a pair of end walls detachably connected to the other pair of opposite edges. The detachable pallet container also comprises a lockset as mentioned above, wherein the connection pin is perpendicularly fixed to an end face of the sidewall, the lock bracket is fixed on an exterior side of the end wall to which the lock rod is parallel, and a through-hole for the connection pin passing therethrough is arranged on the end wall at a position corresponding to the connection pin, wherein in the assembled state, the second end of the connection pin passes through the through-hole on the end wall to cooperate with the lock rod, so as to enable the side wall and the end wall to interlock with each other.
Preferably, an opening direction of the notch is upward.
Preferably, a press plate is disposed on the end wall over the through-hole, and the space formed between the notch and the press plate fits with the lock rod after the connection pin passes through the through-hole.
The lockset according to the present invention has a relatively small size, which therefore, compared to the prior art, enables the connection pin and the lock rod to have a relatively large diameter in limited space, thus improving connection strength. And there is no play between connections connected by this locket, resulting in reliable connection. In addition, the lockset also has the advantages including simple structure, less material consumption, convenience of processing, easy operation, low cost, etc.
The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein as a part of the specification to provide further understanding of the present invention. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. In the drawings,
Great specific details will be provided in the following description to facilitate more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is implementable without requiring one or more of these details. In other examples, some technical features well-known in the art will not be described, in order to avoid causing confusion with the present invention.
For the purpose of thorough understanding of the present invention, detailed structures will be provided in the following description. Evidently, implementation of the present invention is not limited to particular details familiar to those skilled in the art. Detailed descriptions of preferred embodiments of the present invention will be provided as follows. However, besides these detailed descriptions, there may be other embodiments of the present invention.
The present invention provides a lockset, comprising a connection pin, a lock bracket and a lock rod.
As shown in
As shown in
In the assembled state (that is, the connection pin 210 is fitted onto the first connection 200 and the lock 310 and the lock rod 320 are fitted onto the second connection 300), the groove 321 at the first end of the lock rod 320 can accommodate the second end of the connection pin 210 passing through the second connection 300 so that the connection pin 210 is movable axially, when the lock rod 320 is at the open position (as shown in
As an example, the connection pin 210 is cylindrical, and the groove 321 on the lock rod 320 is semicircular. The groove 321 matches with the connection pin 210, such that the connection pin 210 fits and locks the groove 321 as well as possible in the assembled state, so as to reduce the space occupied by the lockset, and to improve the lockset strength on the premise of using the same size of lock rod 320. As an example, the lock rod 320 is cylindrical, and the notch 211 is semicircular. The notch 211 matches with the lock rod 320, such that in the assembled state, the lock rod 320 can be locked by the notch 211 when the lock rod 320 is at the closed position, so as to improve the locking stability and reduce the space occupied by the lockset as well.
Preferably, as shown in
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lock rod 320 is provided within the lock bracket 310 and the lock rod 320 is immovable axially and radially, so that the lock rod 320 is prevented from moving in axial and radial directions and only able to rotate. As an example, by referring to
For the convenience of operation, preferably, when the first end of the handle 330 moves to one end of the oblong through-hole 311, the groove 321 is located at such a position as to accommodate the second end of the connection pin 210, as shown in
The lock rod 320 and the handle 330 can be connected by means of welding or by other means. Preferably, as shown in
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the handle 330 is U-shaped, the opening direction of the groove 321 is perpendicular to the plane on which the handle 330 is located, as shown in
The present invention also provides a detachable pallet container, as shown in
In assemblage of the detachable pallet container 700, the underbeams of the two end walls 730 and the two sidewalls 720 can be inserted into the edge slots of the base 710, respectively; then, the side walls 720 stands upright to align the connection pin 210 on the sidewall 720 with the through-hole 731 in the end wall 730; and then, the lock rod 320 is rotated until the groove on the lock rod 320 exposes the through-hole 731; and lastly, the end wall 730 is pushed until the connection pin 210 passes through the through-hole 731 and the groove on the lock rod 320, and the lock rod 320 is rotated to make the lockset work.
Preferably, the opening direction of the notch on the side wall of the second end of the connection pin 210 is upward, such that in a closed state, the lock rod 320 can be accommodated within the notch over the connection pin 210. Furthermore, a press plate 750 is provided over the through-hole 731 on the end wall 730, such that when the connection pin 210 has passed through the through-hole 731, the space formed between the notch on the connection pin 210 and the press plate 750 can fit with the lock rod 320. This can prevent the lock rod 320 from moving upwards and leaving the notch of the connection pin 210 when the lockset is under external force.
The lockset according to the present invention has a relatively small size, which therefore, compared to the prior art, enables the connection pin and the lock rod to have a relatively large diameter in limited space, thus improving connection strength. And there is no play between connections connected by this lockset, resulting in reliable connection. In addition, the lockset also has the advantages including simple structure, less material consumption, convenience of processing, easy operation, low cost, etc.
The present invention has been described by virtue of the abovementioned embodiments. However, it should be appreciated that the abovementioned embodiments are exemplary and illustrative, but not intended for limiting the present invention to the embodiments described above. In addition, it is also appreciated for those skilled in the art that more types of variation and modification can be made based on the teachings of the present invention, with these variations and modifications all falling within the scope of protection of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims and equivalent scope thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2012 1 0013762 | Jan 2012 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CN2012/080908 | 9/3/2012 | WO | 00 | 7/16/2014 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2013/107183 | 7/25/2013 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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