Patent Application
20140076010
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relate to locks, in particular to locks for bicycles, motor scooters and motorcycles.
2. General Background and State of the Art
A type of lock device which is popular for bicycles, motor scooters and motorcycles is a lock series made by Kryptonite Corp of Canton, Mass. These locks are typified by a U shaped shackle attached at its ends to a cross bar which has a lock mechanism to hold and release the shackle. These are commonly referred to as a U-lock. In these locks, the keyway can be placed at the end of the cross bar or midway of the cross bar between the ends of the shackle. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,812 (lock at end of cross bar) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,746 (lock between ends of shackle).
A lock of this type which does not have the disadvantage of difficult access to the lock keyway or combination dials would be advantageous especially during circumstances where the bike rack is full and difficult to maneuver.
The present invention is based on the realization that the problem of difficult access to the locking mechanism can be solved by having two cross bars each having a locking mechanism so that, while one cross bar may be inaccessible or difficult to access, the other will be more easily accessed and the user then can select the one more conveniently situated. One common circumstance, for example, is that the lock is placed downward facing which along with congestion makes its removal even more problematic.
Another advantage of the present invention, in one embodiment is that the parts of the lock can be dismantled and stored more securely and conveniently than the prior locks of this type. Current U shaped locks when disassembled break into two pieces; however the present invention will allow the lock to be disassembled into four small parts which will ease carrying or transport.
In these exemplary embodiments, the keyway or combination dials is between the shackles. However, both the placement of the keyway and combination discs can be at the end of the cross bar. Also, the particular mechanism of the lock and how it engages and releases the shackles can be selected from numerous examples or created anew; although it is preferable that both shackles at the cross bar whose lock is operated are released so as to allow the lock to be put in place and removed; however as mentioned above, a design that only releases one shackle is possible. Examples of lock placements can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,155,231; 5,010,746; 5,406,812 and 5,647,520 the content of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In particular, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,812 a mechanism is shown that locks and releases both ends of the U-shaped shackle from the single cross bar (lock case 2) as applied to the present invention, each of the two shackles would be locked and releasable at both ends.
Another embodiment is shown in
In further embodiments, the cross bars can have any conveniently selected cross-sectional shape such as a round, square (rectangular) or hexagonal cross-sectional shape as shown in
While the shackles have been shown as straight, they could have any selected shape.
Also, the shackles could be made of a stiff cable which while rigid could be bent by hand to enable it to be fitted to an awkwardly arranged bicycle and locking safety place. In such case, it would be only necessary that a cross bar release one of the shackles because it could be bent away so as to allow the lock to be applied and removed. This is shown in
In that regard, as seen in
In use the lock will be applied to a bicycle or other personal vehicle such as a motor scooter or a motorcycle generally referred to as a locking subject and some fixed structure, which will often, but not always be a bicycle rack. Other structures could of course, be utility poles, benches and fences.
While the invention is described in terms of specific embodiments, other embodiments could readily be adapted by one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is limited only by the following claims.
The foregoing Detailed Description of exemplary embodiments is presented for purposes of illustration and disclosure in accordance with the requirements of the law. It is not intended to be exhaustive nor to limit the invention to the precise form(s) described, but only to enable others skilled in the art to understand how the invention may be suited for a particular use or implementation. The possibility of modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. No limitation is intended by the description of exemplary embodiments which may have included tolerances, feature dimensions, specific operating conditions, engineering specifications, or the like, and which may vary between implementations or with changes to the state of the art, and no limitation should be implied therefrom. This disclosure has been made with respect to the current state of the art, but also contemplates advancements and that adaptations in the future may take into consideration of those advancements, namely in accordance with the then current state of the art. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims as written and equivalents as applicable. Reference to a claim element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated. Moreover, no element, component, nor method or process step in this disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component or step is explicitly recited in the claims.
