Padlock by combining key-operated lock and combination lock

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6539761
  • Patent Number
    6,539,761
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, June 28, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 1, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Gall; Lloyd A.
    • Kyle; Michael J.
Abstract
A padlock includes: a lock body; a shackle operatively locked in or unlocked from the lock body; a key-operated locking device formed in the lock body for operatively unlocking the shackle for unlocking the padlock by using a key, and a combination locking device juxtapositionally formed in the lock body for operatively unlocking the shackle for unlocking the padlock merely by dialing the combination to an unlocking number.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




A conventional padlock, if provided with a key-operated locking mechanism therein, should be unlocked by a key. For someone, he or she does not like to carry a key or may lose the key easily, he or she would prefer to use a combination padlock rather than a key-operated padlock.




Comparatively, someone may dislike to use the combination lock due to poor vision to watch a small combination as shown on the combination lock and he or she may then prefer to use the key-operated padlock.




However, there is no padlock ever disclosed to provide the double-function padlock both for a key-operated lock and a combination lock.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The object of the present invention is to provide a padlock including: a lock body; a shackle operatively locked in or unlocked from the lock body; a key-operated locking device formed in the lock body for operatively unlocking the shackle for unlocking the padlock by using a key, and a combination locking device juxtapositionally formed in the lock body for operatively unlocking the shackle for unlocking the padlock merely by dialing the combination to an unlocking number.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an illustration showing the padlock of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a sectional drawing showing the present invention as locked.





FIG. 3

shows an unlocked state of the present invention by operating the key-operated locking means.





FIG. 4

shows the unlocked state by operating the combination locking means.





FIG. 5

is an illustration showing the change of the combination of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




As shown in the drawing figures, the present invention comprises: a lock body


1


, a shackle


2


of U shape operatively locked in or unlocked from the lock body


1


; a key-operated locking means


3


formed in the lock body


1


; and a combination locking means


4


juxtapositionally formed in the lock body


1


.




The shackle


2


is generally formed as a U shape and includes: a short rod


21


lockable in a first rod hole


11


formed in the lock body, and a long rod


22


lockable in a second rod hole


12


formed in the lock body


1


. The long rod


22


is downwardly protruded to form a core rod


23


slidably engageable with a sleeve rod


24


which is slidably held in a sleeve hole


13


vertically formed in the lock body and communicated with the second rod hole


12


.




The lock body


1


may be formed by two half shells (not shown) combinable for forming the lock body.




The key-operated locking means


3


includes: a locking core


31


rotatably mounted in a cylinder


32


formed in the lock body


1


, a locking tongue


33


connected to the locking core


31


and resiliently protruding outwardly adapted for locking the shackle


2


, a control member


34


which may be formed as a biasing member formed in the lock body


1


and a locking ball


35


operatively engaging the core rod


23


of the shackle


2


.




The core rod


23


of the shackle


2


is formed with a flange


231


circumferentially formed on the core rod


23


and upwardly limited by an upper end of the sleeve hole


13


and downwardly retarded against an upper end of the sleeve rod


24


, and an arcuate recess


232


recessed in the core rod


23


for engaging the locking ball


35


when locked as shown in FIG.


2


. The core rod


23


is slidably engageable with the core-rod hole


241


longitudinally formed in the sleeve rod


24


; while the locking ball


35


may be slid along a side ball hole


242


transversely formed in the sleeve rod


24


when unlocking the padlock.




The sleeve rod


24


, as slidably held in the sleeve hole


13


, is formed with a V-shape or arcuate shape recess


243


for engaging the locking head


41




a


of the locking bolt


41


of the combination locking means


4


as shown in FIG.


2


.




For locking the key-operated locking means


3


of the present invention as shown in

FIG. 2

, the shackle


2


is downwardly depressed to engage the short rod


21


with the first rod hole


11


in the lock body, a restoring spring


30


formed in the locking core


31


resiliently restoring the locking tongue


33


clockwise for forcibly urging a depression portion


342


formed on the biasing member (or control member)


34


pivotally mounted in the lock body


1


by a pivot


341


; and an end hook portion


343


formed on a bottom end portion of the biasing member


34


for blocking or limiting the locking ball


35


within the ball hole


242


transversely formed in the sleeve rod


24


and allowing the locking ball


35


to be engaged with the arcuate recess


232


in the core rod


23


.




Upon an upward pulling of the shackle


2


by an intruder trying to allow the arcuate recess


232


in the core rod


23


to thrust the ball


35


leftwardly (into slot


14


in lock body) for unlocking the rod


23


and the shackle


2


. However, the end hook portion


343


of the biasing member


34


will not be retracted leftwardly (

FIG. 2

) as the depression portion


342


of the biasing member


34


is locked against the locking tongue


33


which is now placed at locking state, thereby locking the present invention.




Meanwhile, the V-shaped recess


243


of the sleeve rod


24


is engaged by the locking head


41


a of the locking bolt


41


of the combination locking means


4


, also ensuring the present invention to be placed at a real locking state as shown in FIG.


2


.




For unlocking the present invention from

FIG. 2

to

FIG. 3

, a key is inserted into a key hole


311


formed in the locking core


31


to rotate the locking tongue


33


counter-clockwise; and upon an upward pulling of the shackle


2


and the rods


22


,


23


, the arcuate recess


232


will thrust the ball


35


leftwardly since the end hook portion


343


of the biasing member


34


no longer retarding the ball


35


, thereby unlocking the ball


35


and allowing an upward pulling of the core rod


23


(

FIG. 3

) for unlocking the key-operated locking means


3


and the padlock of the present invention. The sleeve rod


24


has its recess


243


still engaged and locked by the locking head


41




a


(FIG.


3


).




When withdrawing the key from the key hole of the locking core


31


, the locking core


31


as restored by the spring


30


will be restored and rotated clockwise to allow the locking tongue


33


to depress the depression portion


342


of the biasing member


34


in a tendency to bias the end hook portion


343


rightwardly to thrust (re-locate) the ball


35


to be engaged with the recess


232


of the core rod


23


when further depressing the shackle


2


and the rod


23


downwardly or re-locking the padlock of the present invention (FIG.


2


).




Besides the locking mechanism of the key-operated locking means as aforementioned and illustrated in

FIGS. 2

,


3


, other modifications or other key-operated mechanisms may be applied in this invention, not limited by the present invention.




The combination locking means


4


includes: a locking bolt


41


held in the lock body


1


and having a V-shaped (or arcuate shape) locking head


41




a


formed on an end portion of the bolt


41


to be engaged with the V-shaped recess


243


as recessed in the sleeve rod


24


of the shackle


2


; a plurality of sleeves


42


and dials


43


with each sleeve


42


engaging with each dial


43


at the annular portion


420


′,


430


of each sleeve


42


and each dial


43


and rotatably disposed about the locking bolt


41


; and a tension spring


44


resiliently retained between the sleeves


42


and the locking head


41




a


for normally urging the locking head


41




a


to be engaged with the V-shaped recess


243


of the sleeve rod


24


for locking the shackle


2


in the lock body


1


(FIG.


2


).




Each sleeve


42


includes: a central hole


420


rotatably engageable with the locking bolt


41


, a retaining ring


421


annularly formed in the sleeve


42


for retarding at least a projection


411


formed on the locking bolt for locking the bolt


41


and the shackle


2


of the present invention at a locking state (FIG.


2


), and at least a slot


422


longitudinally formed in the retaining ring


421


for passing (retracting) the projection


411


of the locking bolt


41


when unlocking the combination locking means


4


of the present invention (

FIG. 4

) by upwardly pulling the shackle


2


; whereby upon unlocking, the bolt


41


is retractable leftwardly to allow the V-shaped recess


243


of the sleeve rod


24


to thrust the V-shaped locking head


41




a


of the locking bolt


41


leftwardly, the locking head


41




a


of the bolt


41


is thereby unlocked for allowing the upward pulling of the rod


24


and the shackle


2


for unlocking the present invention.




When unlocking the combination locking means


4


from a locking state of the present invention by upwardly pulling the shackle


2


, the key-operated locking means


3


should be kept at a locking state to allow the end hook portion


343


of the biasing member


34


to retard (limit) the ball


35


without disengagement of the ball


35


from the recess


232


in the core rod


23


. Accordingly, when unlocking the combination locking means


4


, the core rod


23


as coupled with the sleeve rod


24


will be simultaneously pulled upwardly for unlocking the shackle


2


(FIG.


4


).




For locking the combination locking means


4


, the shackle


2


is then downwardly depressed to allow the recess


243


of the rod


24


to be re-engaged with the locking head


41


a of the bolt


41


as restored by the spring


44


(FIG.


2


). The combination should then be dialed to a locking state.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the combination locking means


4


further includes a combination changing device


44


which is substantially an end sleeve


44


slidably held in a side portion (for example, a left side portion) of the lock body


1


opposite to the locking head


41




a


of the locking bolt


41


to be circumferentially contacted with the sleeve


42


, whereby upon unlocking of the combination locking means


4


to engage the projection


411


on the locking bolt


41


with the slot


422


in the sleeve


42


and upon an inward pushing (P) as shown in

FIG. 5

to disengage the sleeves


42


from the dials,


43


, the dials


43


will then be free rotated for re-setting a new combination. At this time, the shackle


2


should be downwardly depressed to allow the recess


243


to be engaged with the locking head


41




a


of the bolt


41


and to engage the projection


411


of the bolt


41


with the slot


422


of the sleeve


42


to lock the sleeves


42


to prevent “free rotation” of the sleeves when free rotating the dials


43


.




The present invention has double duties to satisfy both the users of key-operated locks and the users of combination locks for a very convenient locking and unlocking operation either by using a key or by dialing a combination of the padlock.




After locking the padlock of the present invention, a further safety check may be done such as by further trying to pull the shackle


2


upwardly. If the shackle


2


can not be pulled upwardly (to lift the rods


21


,


22


from the corresponding rod holes


11


,


12


), it indicates the padlock is really locked. However, when locking the key-operated locking means


3


, the combination locking means


4


is forgotten to be locked by a “former user” of the combination locking means. The shackle


2


will still be pulled upwardly as shown in

FIG. 4

to lose the locking effect of the present invention. By the way, the shackle


2


should be further depressed downwardly and the dials are rotated to a locking state, thereby finally locking this padlock.




The present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, such as by further modifying or changing the combination locking mechanism as illustrated in the drawings of this application.



Claims
  • 1. A padlock comprising:a lock body; a shackle operatively locking in or unlocking from said lock body; a key-operated locking means formed in said lock body for unlocking said shackle from said lock body by a key for unlocking the padlock; and a combination locking means juxtapositionally formed in said lock body for unlocking said shackle from said lock body by dialing an unlocking combination of said combination locking means; said shackle, generally U shaped, including a short rod engaging with a first rod hole in said lock body; a long rod engaging with a second rod hole in said lock body; said long rod having a core rod protruding downwardly from said long rod and slidably engaging a sleeve rod which is slidably held in a sleeve rod hole formed in said lock body positioned under and communicated with said second rod hole.
  • 2. A padlock according to claim 1, wherein said core rod includes a flange circumferentially formed on said core rod for limiting an upward and downward movement of said core rod in the sleeve rod hole in said lock body; an arcuate recess recessed in said core rod to engage a locking ball of said key-operated locking means; with said core rod slidably engaging a core-rod hole longitudinally formed in said sleeve rod.
  • 3. A padlock according to claim 2, wherein said key-operated locking means includes: a locking core rotatably mounted in a cylinder formed in the lock body, a locking tongue connected to the locking core and resiliently protruding outwardly adapted for locking the shackle, a control member formed in the lock body and said locking ball operatively engaging the core rod of the shackle when locking said padlock; and said locking ball operatively slid along a side ball hole transversely formed in the sleeve rod when unlocking the padlock.
  • 4. A padlock according to claim 3, wherein said control member is a biasing member which includes a pivot for pivotally mounting said biasing member in said lock body; a depression portion formed on said biasing member to be depressed by said locking tongue of said key-operated locking means; and an end hook portion formed on a bottom end of said biasing member for retarding and locking said locking ball when said depression portion is depressed by said locking tongue when locking said padlock.
  • 5. A padlock according to claim 1, wherein said combination locking means includes: a locking bolt held in the lock body and having a V-shaped locking head formed on an end portion of the locking bolt to be engaged with a V-shaped recess as recessed in said sleeve rod of the shackle; a plurality of sleeves and dials with each said sleeve engaging with each said dial and rotatably disposed about the locking bolt; and a tension spring resiliently retained between the sleeves and the locking head for normally urging the locking head to be engaged with the V-shaped recess of the sleeve rod for locking the shackle in the lock body; each said sleeve including: a central hole rotatably engageable with the locking bolt, a retaining ring annularly formed in each of the sleeves for retarding at least a projection formed on the locking bolt for locking the locking bolt and the shackle, and at least a slot longitudinally formed in the retaining ring for retracting the projection of the locking bolt when unlocking the combination locking means by upwardly pulling the shackle.
  • 6. A padlock according to claim 5, wherein said combination locking means further includes a combination changing device which is formed as an end sleeve slidably held in a side portion of the lock body opposite to a locking head of the locking bolt to be circumferentially contacted with one of the sleeves, whereby upon unlocking of the combination locking means to engage the projection on the locking bolt with the slot in the sleeve and upon an inward pushing to disengage the sleeves from the dials, the dials will be free rotated for re-setting a new combination.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Number Name Date Kind
972171 Dupont Oct 1910 A
2163852 Pond Jun 1939 A
2931203 Check Apr 1960 A
2931204 Check Apr 1960 A
3448598 Niilola Jun 1969 A
3750431 Atkinson Aug 1973 A
3823584 Gill Jul 1974 A
4325240 Gable Apr 1982 A
4341099 Garro Jul 1982 A
4730467 Lebrecht Mar 1988 A
5953940 Ling Sep 1999 A