AU2011100823A4 - Enhanced Safety Hook - Google Patents

Abstract

An enhanced safety hook generally comprises a hook body, a closure lever, a control lever, and a spring. The closure lever is pivotally mounted with the hook body for closing or opening the hook body. The control lever is 5 pivotally mounted with the hook body for controlling the operation of the closure lever to close or open the hook body. The spring is provided for urging the closure lever and the control lever each to a predetermined position so that the safety hook can be a device having two steps of operation, which can increase the safety of operating a hook Moreover, when the closure lever is in 10 a closed position, since it is directly engaged with the hook body, the closure lever can transfer lateral impact force to the hook body effectively, so that the closure lever is allowed to withstand a large amount of lateral impact force.

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT ENHANCED SAFETY HOOK The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: TITLE: Enhanced Safety Hook (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an enhanced safety hook, whereby the closure lever thereofis allowed to withstand a large amount oflateral impact 5 force. (b) Description of the Prior Art To solve the problem of conventional safety hook unable to withstand large stress, the applicant had disclosed a safety hook, which is a Taiwan Utility Models patent, and the application number of which is 098221304. As 10 shownin FIGS 9 and 10, the saf hook comprises a closu lever 20 that is pivotally mounted on a hook body 10 at a top end thereof and is engaged with the periphery of the mouth 11. In the disclosure, the closure lever 20 itself cannot resist a lateral impact force toward the mouth 11. Thus, another structure including a bolt 25 and a control lever 30 defining a recess 35 are 15 employed to resist the lateral impact force, so that the lateral impact force can be transferred to the hook body 10 by way of the bolt 25 and the control lever 30. In this regard, since the lateral impact force cannot be directly transferred to the hook body 10 and the path for transferring the lateral impact force to the hook body 10 is too long, the closure lever 20 is liable to be damaged and 20 cannot be used for a long time.

2 Thus, there is a need to further improve the disclosure for allowing a safety hook to withstand a large amount of lateral impact force and to service for a long time.

3 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide an enhanced safety hook, whereby the closure lever thereof is allowed to withstand a large amount of lateral impact force. 5 The enhanced safety hook comprises a hook body, a closure lever, a control lever, and a spring. The hook body defines a mouth, a primary through slot and a guiding slot wherein the mouth has an entrance, through which a loop for suspending an object can be inserted, the hook body is formed with a seat above the entrance of the mouth, the primary through slot being located 10 below the entrance of the mouth. The closure lever includes a primary plate and two side plates respectively extending from two opposing edges ofthe primary plate, the primary plate having a top edge, each said side plate being formed with a stopping tab at a top edge thereof, the top edge of the primary plate and the 15 stopping tabs being capable of mating with the seat of the hook body, the closure lever being pivotally mounted with the hook body by means of a primary bolt inserted through the primary through slot and being guided by a guiding rod inserted through the guiding slot, the primary bolt being capable of sliding along the primary through slot, so that the top edge of the primary 20 plate and the stopping tabs may move away from the seat so that the closure 4 lever can be rotated to open the entrance of the mouth, and the closure lever will not collide with the periphery defining the mouth. The control lever is pivotally mounted with the hook body by a secondary bolt and defines one or more actuating holes for receiving the primary bolt 5 therein so that the control lever can drive the primary bolt to move along the primary through slot. The spring is provided for urging the closure lever so that the closure lever has a tendency of closing the entrance of the mouth ofthe hook body. Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will 10 become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG I is an exploded view ofthe present invention. FIG 2 is a partially exploded view of the present invention. FIGS. 3 and 4 are respectively a 3-dimensional view of the present 5 invention. FIGS. 5A and 5B are respectively a schematic plan view of the present invention, in which the closure lever is in a closed position. FIG 6 is a schematic view of the present invention, which shows the first step of opening the present invention 10 FIG 7 is a schematic view of the present invention, which shows the second step of opening the present invention FIG 8 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG 9 is an exploded view of a safety hook of prior art. 15 FIG 10 is a plan view of the safety hook of prior art.

6 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1-7, an enhanced safety hook according to the present invention generally comprises a hook body 10, a closure lever 20, a control lever 30, a spring 40, and a locking mechanism. 5 For illustrating the hook body 10 more easily, some terms are defined in this specification, in which the hook body 10 is shown to have a front side 10 A and a rear side lOB, between which is a periphery that includes a first periphery IOC (or right periphery) and a second periphery 10 D (or left periphery) generally opposite to the first periphery 1 OC. 10 The hook body 10, as shown in FIG 1, defines a hanging hole 11, a mouth 12, a recess 13, a primary through slot 15, a primary through hole 16, a guiding slot 17, and a first pivot hole 18. The hanging hole 11 is provided for securing the hook body 10 to a safety belt. The mouth 12, being defined at the first periphery 1 GC of the hook body 10, contains an entrance 12A, through 15 which a loop for suspending an object can be inserted. The recess 13 is defined at the second periphery 10 D ofthe hook body 10, which contains a second recess 13A. A seat 14 is formed on the hook body 10 and located above the entrance 12A of the mouth 12. The seat 14 is formed with a first engaging surface 14A at the first periphery 1 OC and a second engaging surface 20 14B at the periphery that defines the mouth 12. The second engaging surface 7 14B has a dimension greater than the first engaging surface 14A The primary through slot 15 is located below the entrance 12A of the mouth 12. The primary through slot 15 is communicated with the primary through hole 16 at one end thereof which is away from the entrance 12A more distant than the 5 other end ofthe primary through slot 15. The primary through hole 16, being a cylindrical hole, has a dimension greater than the primary though slot 15. The guiding slot 17, being a curved path centered on the primary through hole 16, is communicated with the mouth 12. The first pivot hole 18 is located near the recess 13 of the hook body 10. 10 Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the closure lever 20, which can open or close the entrance 12A of the mouth 12, includes a primary plate 21 and two side plates 22, 23 extending respectively from two opposing edges of the primary plate 21. The seat 14 ofthe hook body 10 can cooperate with the closure lever 20, wherein the primary plate 21 of the closure lever 20 has a top 15 edge corresponding to the first engaging surface 14A of the hook body 10, the side plates 22, 23 ofthe closure lever 20 are each formed with a stopping tab 221, 231 at a top edge thereof to act as a stopper. The stopping tabs 221, 231 are located corresponding to the second engaging surface 14B of the hook body 10. The top edge of the primary plate 21 and the stopping tabs 221, 231 20 are formed together into a shape that can mate with the seat 14 of the hook 8 body 10. The side plates 22, 23 each defines a bolt hole 24, which has a non-circular shape and corresponds to the primary through slot 15, so that a primary bolt 25 can be fixedly fitted with them. The side plates 22, 23 each defines a guiding hole 26 corresponding to the mouth 12 to be fitted with a 5 guiding rod 27. The primary bolt 25 has one or more cut flat surfaces 251 at a periphery thereof so that it can slide along the primary through slot 15 and can be fixedly fitted with the bolt holes 24, so that the primary bolt 25 can be fitted with the closure lever 20 to be integrally rotated therewith, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. When the primary bolt 25 is moved to the primary through hole 16 10 along the primary through slot 15, the top edge of the primary plate 21 can be moved to keep clear of the first engaging surface 14A while the stopping tabs 221, 231 are still engaged with the second engaging surface 14B. In such condition, the guiding rod 27 can move to a position corresponding to the guiding slot 17, so that the closure lever 20 can be rotated toward the mouth 15 12, with the primary bolt 25 and the primary through hole 16 as a center, to open the entrance 12A of the mouth 12. In such condition, the primary bolt 25 can be rotated about the primary through hole 16. Since the guiding rod 27 is forced to move along the guiding slot 17, the closure lever 20 will not collide with the periphery that defines the mouth 12. 20 The control lever 30 includes an end plate 31 located at the second recess 9 13A and two side plates 32, 33 respectively extending from two opposing edges of the end plate 31. The side plates 32, 33 each defines a second pivot hole 34 corresponding to the first pivot holes 18, so that a secondary bolt 35 can be inserted through the first pivot holes 18 and the second pivot holes 34, 5 so that the control lever 30 can be rotated at a predetermined angle about the second bolt 35. The side plates 32, 33 each defines an actuating hole 36, so that the primary bolt 25 can be inserted through the actuating holes 36, the bolt holes 24 of the side plates 22, 23 of the closure lever 20, and the primary through slot 15 of the hook body 10. Referring to FIGS. 5B, 6, and 7, the 10 control lever 30 can be rotated about the secondary bolt 35 so as to move toward the recess 13, so that the control lever 30 can drive the primary bolt 25 to move from the primary through slot 15 to the primary through hole 16. Furthermore, when the end plate 31 ofthe control lever 30 returns to its original position, i.e. the second recess 13A, the control lever 30 can drive the 15 primary bolt 25 to move from the primary through hole 16 back to the primary through slot 15. The spring 40 is formed with a coil portion 41 for receiving the primary bolt 25 therein, the coil portion 41 being mounted across the hook body 10, wherein some coils maybe located on the front side IOA while the other coils 20 may be located on the rear side I OB, and being received between the two side 10 plates 32, 33 of control lever 30. A first leg portion 42 and a second leg portion 43 respectively extend from the coil portion 41 in two different directions, so that the first leg portion 42 can urge the end plate 31 of the control lever 30 at a first predetermined force and the second leg portion 43 can urge the primary 5 plate 21 of the closure lever 20 at a second predetennined force, so that the end plate 31 of the control lever 30 tends to be positioned to the second reess 13A, and the closure lever 20 tends to close the entrance 12A of the mouth 12. The locking mechanism includes locking lugs 52 respectively formed on the side plates 32, 33 of the control lever 30 and locking recesses 51 10 respectively defined on the side plates 22, 23 of the closure lever 20, the locking lugs 42 capable of being engaged with the locking recesses 51, whereby the spring 40 can urge the control lever 30 to have the locking lugs 52 engaged with the locking recesses 51 so that the end plate 31 of the control lever 30 can be fixedly positioned to the second recess 13A, and thus the 15 primary bolt 25 can be positioned in the primary through slot 15. When the control lever 30 is depressed by overcoming the first predetermined force of the spring 40, the locking lugs 52 can be rotated about the secondary bolt 35 to disengage from the locking recesses 51. In such condition, the control lever 30 can drive the primary bolt 25 to move toward the primary through hole 16 by 20 means of the actuating holes 36, so that the closure lever 20 can be rotated, 11 with the primary bolt 25 and the primary through hole 16 as a center, to open the entrance 12A of the mouth 12. Furthermore, in such condition, the guiding rod 27 can be forced to move along the guiding slot 17 ofthe hook body 10, so that the closure lever 20 can be guided by the guiding rod 27 and the 5 guiding slot 17 to open the entrance 12A of the mouth 12. When the control lever 30 is released, the spring 40 may urge the control lever 30 to return to its original position. In such condition, the primary bolt 25 can be moved from the primary through hole 16 back to the primary through slot 15. Particularly, in the process of closing the entrance 12A of the mouth 12, the closure lever 10 20 will be guided by the guiding rd 27 ofthe hook body 10, so that the stopping tabs 221, 231 of the closure lever 20 will not collide or interfere with the periphery that defines the mouth 12, and the entrance 12A of the mouth 12 can be closed accurately. In light of the foregoing, the present invention has the following features: 15 1. When the closure lever 20 is in a closed position and is subjected to a lateral impact force toward the mouth 12, since the top edge of the primary plate 21 of the closure lever 20 is engaged with the first engaging surface 14A of the hook body 10 and the primary bolt 25 is positioned in the primary through slot 15, the lateral impact force can be directly transferred to the hook 20 body 10 by way of a short path, so that the closure lever 20 is allowed to 12 withstand more than 1600 KGs (about 3600 pounds) of force so as to meet a demand of higher safety and mitigate a deformation of the closure lever 20. 2. When the closure lever 20 is in a closed position and is subjected to a lateral impact fore outward of the mouth 12, since the stopping tabs 221, 231 5 of the closure lever 20 are engaged with the second engaging surface 14B of the hook body 10 and the primary bolt 25 is positioned in the primary through slot 15, the lateral impact force can be directly transferred to the hook body 10 by way of a short path to ensure the safety of operating a hook. 3. The present invention provides a guiding rod 27 and a guiding slot 17, 10 so that when the closure lever 20 closes or opens the entrance 12A of the mouth 12, the guiding rod 27 is forced to move along the guiding slot 17, so that the stopping tabs 221, 231 of the closure lever 20 will not collide with the periphery that defines the mouth 12, and the closure lever 20 can be operated to close or open the entrance 12A ofthe mouth 12 with accuracy. 15 4. The control lever 30 is pivotally connected with the hook body 10 by the secondary bolt 35. When the user applies a force Fl to overcome the first predetermined force of the spring 40, the top edge of the primary plate 21 of the closure lever 20 can disengage from the seat 14 of the hook body 10. Thereafter, the user can apply another force F2 to overcome the second 20 predetermined force of the spring 40, so that the closure lever 20 can be 13 rotated, with the Primary bolt 25 and the primary through hole 16 as a center, to open the entrance 12A of the mouth 12. Therefore, the present invention is a device having two steps of operation. The F2 force, being greater than the F1 force, will be sufficiently large to overcome the second predetermined force of 5 the spring 40 so as to open the entrance 12A of the mouth 12 of the hook body 10. This two-step operation of the present invention can further enhance the safety of operating a hook. Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure is made by way of 10 example only and the combination and arrangement ofparts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention hereinafter claimecL

Claims (5)

1. An enhanced safety hook comprising; a hook body having a first periphery and a second periphery generally opposite to the first periphery, said hook body defining a mouth at the first 5 periphery, a primary through slot, and a guiding slot at the first periphery, wherein said mouth has an entrance, through which a loop for suspending an object can be inserted, said hook body is formed with a seat above the entrance of said mouth, said primary through slot being located below the entrance of said mouth, 10 a closure lever including a primary plate and two side plates respectively extending from two opposing edges of said primary plate, said primary plate having a top edge, each said side plate being formed with a stopping tab at a top edge thereof said top edge of said primary plate and said stopping tabs being capable of mating with said seat of said hook body, said closure lever 15 being pivotally mounted with said hook body by means of a primary bolt inserted through said primary through slot and being guided by a guiding rod inserted through said guiding slot, said primary bolt being capable of sliding along said primary through slot, so that said top edge of said primary plate and said stopping tabs of said side plates may move away from said seat, so that 20 said closure lever can be rotated to open the entrance of said mouth, and said 15 closure lever will not collide with the periphery defining said mouth; a control lever being pivotally mounted with said hook body by a secondary bolt and defining one or more actuating holes for receiving said primary bolt therein so that said control lever can drive said primary bolt to 5 move along said primary through slot; and a spring for urging said closure lever so that said closure lever has a tendency of closing the entrance of said mouth of said hook body.

2. The enhanced safety hook of claim 1, wherein said hook body defines a primary through hole communicated with one end of said primary 10 through slot said seat is formed with a first engaging surface at the first periphery, and a second engaging surface at the periphery that defines said mouth, so that when said closure lever is engaged with said seat, said top edge of said primary plate is aligned with said first engaging surface while said stopping tabs of said side plates are aligned with said second engaging surface, 15 so that when said primary bolt is moved to said primary through hole, said top edge of said primary plate of said closure lever can be moved to keep clear of said first engaging surface while said stopping tabs of said closure lever are still engaged with said second engaging surface; and wherein said guiding slot of said hook body is a curved path centered on said primary through hole, said 20 guiding slot being communicated with said mouth, when said primary bolt is 16 positioned in said primary through slot, said guiding rod is located in said mouth, when said primary bolt is positioned in said primary through hole, said guiding rod can be moved to a position corresponding to said guiding slot of said hook body, so that when said closure lever is operated to close or open the 5 entrance of said mouth, said guiding rod can be forced to move along said guiding slot of said hook body.

3. The enhanced safety hook of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said hook body further defines a primary through hole communicated with one end of said primary through slot so that when said primary bolt is moved along said 10 primary through slot to said primary through hole, said top edge of said. primary plate of said closure lever will keep clear of said seat of said hook body, so that said closure lever can be rotated to open the entrance of said mouth through rotation of said primary bolt about said primary through hole; and wherein said closure lever defines a bolt hole at each side plate thereof 15 corresponding to said primary through slot said primary bolt having a cut flat surface at a periphery thereof, so that said primary bolt can slide along said primary through slot and fixedly fitted to said bolt holes of said closure lever.

4. The enhanced safety hook of claim I or claim 2, further comprising a locking mechanism including locking lugs provided on said control lever and 20 locking recesses defining on said closure lever, said spring can urge said 17 control lever as well as said closure lever simultaneously, so that when said closure lever closes the entrance of said mouth, said locking lugs are engaged with said locking recesses so that said control lever can be fixed at a position, when said control lever is depressed by a force that overcomes a 5 predetermined force of said spring, said locking lugs can be rotated about said secondary bolt to disengage from said locking recesses.

5. The enhanced safety hook of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said hook body defines a recess at the second periphery, said recess containing a second recess, said control lever includes an end plate and two side plates respectively 10 extending from two opposing edges of said end plate, said actuating holes of said control lever being respectively defined on said two side plates of said control lever, each side plate of said control lever further defining a pivot hole to be inserted with said secondary bolt; and wherein said spring has a coil portion for receiving said primary bolt therein, and a first leg portion and a 15 second leg portion respectively extending from said coil portion, said first leg portion being mounted for urging said end plate of said control lever at a first predetermined force, said second leg portion being mounted for urging said primary plate of said closure lever at a second predetermined force, so that said end plate of said control lever can be fixedly positioned to said second 20 recess, said control lever can be depressed to rotate about said secondary bolt 18 to move toward said recess, said primary bolt can be driven to move along saidprimary through slot so that said top edge of primary plate of said closure lever can be moved to keep clear of said seat of said hook body, when said end plate of said control lever returns to said second recess, said control lever can 5 drive said primary bolt to move back to its original position, so that said top edge of said primary plate of said closure lever can engage with said seat of said hook body again. 10