Patent Application
20070295040
With reference to
The shell (10) is hollow and has a front end, a rear end, an outer wall and an optional connecting part (11). The connecting part (11) is formed radially on the outer wall of the shell (10) to connect to a cable.
The external sleeve (20) is hollow, is mounted on the front end of the shell (10) and has a sidewall, a rear end (21), a front end (22), a notch (23), a through hole (24) and an optional fastening hole (25). The rear end (21) may be an opening end and the front end (22) may be a closed end. The notch (23) is formed through the sidewall of the external sleeve (20) adjacent to the rear end (21) of the external sleeve (20). The through hole (24) is formed through the front end (22) of the external sleeve (20). The fastening hole (25) is formed through the sidewall of the external sleeve (20).
The internal sleeve (30) is mounted in the shell (10), is mounted securely in the external sleeve (20), has a sidewall, a rear end (31), a front end (32), a mounting recess (34), a notch (35), an optional receiving hole (301) and a first spring (302) and may have an annular flange (33), a fastening hole (36), a fastening pin (37), two pivoting holes (38), a slot (39), a mounting hole (391) and a partition (303). The rear end (31) of the internal sleeve (30) may be an opening end and the front end (32) of the internal sleeve (30) may be a closed end. The mounting recess (34) is formed axially in the front end (32) of the internal sleeve (30). The notch (35) is formed through the sidewall of the internal sleeve (30), communicates with the mounted recess (34) of the internal sleeve (30) and corresponds to the notch (23) of the external sleeve (20). The receiving hole (301) is formed through the side wall of the internal sleeve (30) and communicates with the mounted recess (34) in the internal sleeve (30). The first spring (302) is mounted in the sidewall of the internal sleeve (30), extends into the mounted recess (34) in the internal sleeve (30) and may mounted in the receiving hole (301) of the internal sleeve (30). The annular flange (33) is formed around the rear end (31) of the internal sleeve (30) and abuts the shell (10) to keep the internal sleeve (30) from axially separating out of the shell (10). The fastening hole (36) is formed in sidewall of the internal sleeve (30) and aligns with the fastening hole (25) in the external sleeve (20). The fastening pin (37) extends through the fastening holes (25.36) in the external and internal sleeves (20, 30) to fasten the internal sleeve (30) in the external sleeve (20). The pivoting holes (38) are formed through the sidewall of the internal sleeve (30), align to each other and communicate with the mounted recess (34) in the internal sleeve (30). The slot (39) is formed through the sidewall of the internal sleeve (30) near the rear end (31) of the internal sleeve (30). The mounting hole (391) is formed through sidewall of the internal sleeve (30) and is opposite to the slot (39). The partition (303) is formed radially in the internal sleeve (30) between the notch (35) and the slot (39) and has a central hole (304).
Each stationary locking sheet (40) is mounted in the mounting recess (34) in the internal sleeve (30), extends out of the external sleeve (20), has a front end, a rear end, a locking recess (42) and a stationary tongue (43) and may have a pivoting hole (41). The locking recess (42) is formed in the rear end of the stationary locking sheet (40) and may correspond to the central hole (304) of the partition (303) in the internal sleeve (30). The stationary tongue (43) is formed on the front end of the stationary locking sheet (40), extends out of the through hole (24) in the external sleeve (20) and has a distal end and a protrusion (431). The protrusion (431) is formed on the distal end of the stationary tongue (43). The pivoting hole (41) is formed through the stationary locking sheet (40) and aligns with the pivoting holes (38) of the internal sleeve (30).
The movable locking sheet (50) is mounted pivotally in the mounting recess (34), is pushed by the first spring (302), extends out of the external sleeve (20), has a front end, a rear end, a side edge, a locking recess (52), a movable tongue (53) and a stem (54) and may have a pivoting hole (51). The locking recess (52) is formed in the rear end of the movable locking sheet (50) and selectively aligns with the locking recess (42) of the stationary locking sheet (40). The movable tongue (53) is formed on the front end of the movable locking sheet (50), extends out of the through hole (24) in the external sleeve (20), selectively aligns with the stationary tongue (43) of the stationary locking sheet (40) and has a distal end and a protrusion (531). The protrusion (531) is formed on the distal end of the movable tongue (53). When the locking recess (52) of the movable locking sheet (50) aligns with the locking recess (42) of the stationary locking sheet (40), the movable tongue (53) misaligns with the stationary tongue (43). When the movable tongue (53) aligns with the stationary tongue (43), the locking recess (52) of the movable locking sheet (50) misaligns with the locking recess (42) of the stationary locking sheet (40). The stem (54) is formed transversely on the side edge of the movable locking sheet (50), extends through the notch (35) in the internal sleeve (30) and extends out of the notch (23) of the external sleeve (20). The pivoting hole (51) is formed through the movable locking sheet (50) and aligns with the pivoting holes (41, 38) of the stationary locking sheet (40) and the internal sleeve (30). The movable locking sheet (50) may be mounted between two stationary locking sheets (40)
The lock cylinder (60) is mounted in the internal sleeve (30) and has an extension rod (623). The extension rod (623) extends out of the lock cylinder (60), may extend through the central hole (304) of the partition (303) and selectively engages the locking recesses (42, 52) of the stationary and movable locking sheets (40, 50). When the lock cylinder (60) is locked, the extension rod (623) engages with the locking recesses (42, 52) of the stationary and movable locking sheets (40, 50). When the lock cylinder (60) is unlocked, the extension rod (623) disengages from the locking recesses (42, 52) of the stationary and movable locking sheets (40, 50). The lock cylinder (60) may comprise a housing (61), a stationary segment (62), a rotatable segment (63), a locking pin assembly (64) and a lock actuating assembly (65).
The housing (61) is mounted in the internal sleeve (30) and has a sidewall, a through hole (611) and a passing hole (612). The through hole (611) is formed through the sidewall of the housing (61) and corresponds to and align with the slot (39) in the internal sleeve (30). The passing hole (612) is formed through the sidewall of the housing (61) and corresponds to and aligns with the passing hole (391) in the internal sleeve (30).
The stationary segment (62) is tubular, is mounted in the housing (61) and has a front end, a rear end, a sidewall, a through hole (624) and a passing hole (625). The front end may be a closed end (621). The rear end may be an opening end (622). The extension rod (623) of the lock cylinder (60) is formed longitudinally on the front end of the stationary segment (62). The through hole (624) is formed through the sidewall of the stationary segment (62) and corresponds to and aligns with the through hole (611) in the housing (61). The passing hole (625) is formed through the sidewall of the stationary segment (62) and corresponds to and aligns with the passing hole (612) in the housing (61).
The rotatable segment (63) is mounted in the housing (61) and has a front end, a rear end, an active turning protrusion (631) and a central post (632). The active turning protrusion (631) is semicircular, is formed on the front end of the rotatable segment (63) and extends into the stationary segment (62). The central post (632) is formed on the rear end of the rotatable segment (63).
The locking pin assembly (64) is mounted in the stationary and rotatable segments (62, 63). When the locking pin assembly (64) is locked, the rotatable segment (63) is restricted to be not rotatable with respect to the stationary segment (62). When the locking pin assembly (64) is unlocked, the rotatable segment (63) is allowed to be rotatable with respect to the stationary segment (62).
The lock actuating assembly (65) is mounted in the stationary segment (62) of the lock cylinder (60) and has a guide rod (651), an actuating rod (653), a stop spring (654) and a bearing (652).
The guide rod (651) is mounted in the stationary segment (62) of the lock cylinder (60) and has an outer end, an inner end, a head (655) and a receiving recess (656). The outer end of the guide rod (651) extends through the through holes (624, 611) of the stationary segment (62) and the housing (61) and extends into the slot (39) in the internal sleeve (30). The head (655) is formed on the inner end of the guide rod (651). The receiving recess (656) is formed in the inner end of the guide rod (651).
The actuating rod (653) is mounted movably in the stationary segment (62) of the lock cylinder (60) and has an outer end, an inner end, an inactive turning protrusion (657) and a receiving recess (658). The outer end extends through the passing holes (625, 612) of the stationary segment (62) and the housing (61) and selectively extends into the passing hole (391) of the internal sleeve (30). The inactive turning protrusion (657) is formed on the inner end of the actuating rod (653) and abuts the active turning protrusion (631) of the rotatable segment (63) of the lock cylinder (60). The receiving recess (658) is formed in the inner end of the actuating rod (653) and corresponds to the receiving recess (656) of the guide rod (651).
The stop spring (654) is mounted respectively in the receiving recesses (656, 658) of the guide rod (651) and the actuating rod (653) and is attached respectively to the inner ends of the guide rod (651) and the actuating rod (653).
The bearing (652) is mounted in the through hole (611) of the housing (61) and is mounted around the guide rod (651) to abut the head (655) of the guide rod (651) to keep the guide rod (651) from escaping the through hole (611) of the housing (61).
The shaft (70) extends through the pivoting holes (38, 41, 51) of the internal sleeve (30), the stationary locking sheet (40) and the movable locking sheet (50) to mount the movable locking sheet (50) pivotally in the internal sleeve (30).
The second spring (80) is mounted in the internal sleeve (30), is mounted between the front end of the stationary segment (62) of the lock cylinder (60) and the internal sleeve (30) and is mounted around the extension rod (623) on the stationary segment (62).
The merchandise lock as described is used to connect an electrical appliance to a cable that is fastened at a specific place. Therefore, the electrical appliance is safe to sell in open-shelf malls. The first spring (302) pushes the movable locking sheet (50) to make the locking recess (52) of the movable -locking sheet (50) align with the locking recess (42) of the stationary locking sheet (40). When the lock cylinder (60) is locked, the extension rod (623) engages with the locking recesses (42, 52) of the locking sheets (40, 50). Then the movable locking sheet (50) cannot be pivoted so the movable tongue (53) misaligns with the stationary tongue (43). Therefore, the tongues (43, 53) of the locking sheets (40, 50) cannot be inserted into or pull out of a fastening hole of the electrical appliance.
With further reference to
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
