AU661630B1 - Shackle protector for padlocks - Google Patents

Description

'l-661630 P/00/00 I Rcgulalion 32

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

sc Name of Applicant: ROBERT ANDREW JAMES GILLMAN Actual Inventor: Robert Andrew James Gillman Address for service in Australia: CARTER SMITH BEADLE 2 Railway Parade Camberwell Victoria 3124 Australia Invention Title: Shackle Protector for Padlocks The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us L I -2- SHACKLE PROTECTOR FOR PADLOCKS Field of the Invention This invention relates to tamper resistent protectors for padlocks.

Background of the Invention Padlocks are widely used to lock doors, gates or lids of boxes holding valuable goods. The most common method of tampering with a padlock is to cut the shackle by means of a hacksaw or by neans of large bolt cutters.

Numerous examples of protectors for padlocks may be found in the patent literature, for example, U.S. Patents 4,033,155 De Lucia, 4,106,315 Dohanyos, 4,122,693 Barr and 4,896,518 Appelgren. While each of the protectors described in these patents offers some protection against tampering, most suffer from the disadvantage that they are expensive to manufacture or offer less protection than is required to more fully deter interference.

Summary of the Invention and Object 15 It is an object of the present invention to provide a shackle protector for padlocks which is particularly simple in construction and which nevertheless provides a high level of protection against tampering.

The invention therefore provides a protector for a padlock having a body and a lockable shackle, said protector comprising means defining a pair of spaced flanges 1: ~20 defining a gap and adapted to be secured to or forming part of one member of a lockable closure, securing means adapted for rigid securement to the other member of the lockable closure, said means defining said flanges being formed to allow said securing means to be located in use within said gap, said flanges being configured i to substantially enclose the shackle and an adjacent part of the body of the padlock on opposite sides when the shackle engages the securing means and is received with said adjacent part of the body in said gap, to protect the shackle against tampering.

In one form of the invention, the securing means is in the form of a heavy pin formed with a bore for receiving the shackle of the padlock, said pin being capable of entering said gap through an opening in one of said flanges or through a hole positioned between said flanges.

tnbdmw:#15348 2.1 Novmbu 1994 -3- In one presently preferred form of the invention, the flanges are defined by a pair of angle brackets rigidly secured together to define said gap, the thus connected angle brackets being capable of securement, say by welding, to one member of a lockable closure. Alternatively, one or more of the flanges may be integrally formed with one member of a lockable closure, such as a lid or door, with the second flange most conveniently being in the form of an angle bracket secured in spaced relation to the integral flange to define said gap.

The use of flanges to define a gap receiving the securing means, the padlock shackle and part of the padlock body is a simple and inexpensive way of achieving significant protection for the padlock against tampering. The flanges can be made from i,expensive angle sections of significant strength and can be ,asily fitted to an existing lockable closure or incoiporated into a new lockable closure.

Brief Description of the Drawings In order that the invention may be more readily understood, embodiments of 15 the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the elements of one embodiment of the shackle protector embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a sectional elevation through a shackle protector fitted to a box 20 and lockable lid; Figure 3 is a sectional plan view taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of one part of the shackle protector of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a rear perspective view of the element of Figure 4, and 444*44 S 25 Figure 6 is a front elevation of a modified protector arrangement.

Description of Preferred Embodiments Referring firstly to Figures 1 to 5 of the drawings, the shackle protector embodying the invention comprises a pair of spaced parallel flanges 1 and 2 secured to or forming part of a lockable lid 3, and a securing pin 4 having a shackle receiving bore 5 se.cured to the body 6 of a box or the like closed by the lid 3 in the tnb:PJD:#15348 16 May 1994 -4manner shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. As shown in Figure 2, the pin 4 threadably engages a nut 7 welded to the inner face of the box body 6 and has a locking nut 8 whi h locks the pin 4 in any desired position.

In the embodiment shown, the flange 2 and the adjacent portion of the lid 3 is formed with a slot 9 so that the pin 4 can be received in the gap between the flanges 1 and 2 when the lid 3 is closed, as illustrated most clearly in Figures 4 and of the drawings. Thus, when the lid 3 is closed, the pin 4 passes through the slot 9 and is housed between the flanges 1 and 2 in a manner which significantly reduces access to the pin 4. When the lid 3 is in the closed position, the shackle S of a padlock P is received within the bore 5 and the padlock locked so that the shackle S a.d part of the body of Ihe padlock P are housed within the gap between the flanges 1 and 2. Since the shackle S is fully protected by the flanges 1 and 2, a less expensive padlock which does not have a hardened shackle S may be used.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, the slot 9 is replaced 15 by a hole 10 formed in the lid 3 and dimensioned to receive the pin 4 in a manner similar to that shown in the earlier drawings.

As mentioned above, the flanges 1 and 2 can be formed by angle brackets which are welded together and then welded to the lid 3. Alternatively, plates having the configuration shown in Figure 1 of the drawings can be welded directly 20 to the lid 3 or, as schematically illustrated in Figure 2, one flange 1 is formed integrally at the lower edge of the lid 3 and a pair of spaced angle brackets B are welded to the lid 3 to provide the other flange(s) 2 and to define the slot 9 (Figure Since modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention may be readily effected by persons skilled in the art, it is to bea understood that 'he inve-ltion is not limited to the particular embodiment described, by way of example, hereinabove.

tnb:PJD:#15348 16 May 1994

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Claims (9)

1. A protector for a padlock having a body and a lockable sha kle, said protector comprising means defining a pair of spaced flanges defining a gap and adapted to be secured to or forming part of one member of a lockable closure, securing means adapted for rigid securement to the other member of the lockable closure, said means defining said flanges being formed to allow said securing means to be located in use within said gap and to allow said padlock to be manually engaged with and locked to said securing means, said flanges being configured to substantially enclose the shackle and an adjacent part of the body of the padlock on opposite sides when the shackle engages the securing means and is received with said adjacent part of the body in said gap, whereby the shackle is not exposed to tampering implements.

2. The protector of claim 1, wherein said securing means comprises a heavy pin formed with a bore for receiving the shackle of the padlock.

3. The protector of claim 1 or 2, wherein one of said flanges is formed with an opening for receiving said securing means into said gap.

4. The protector of claim 1 or 2, wherein said one member of said lockable closure and said means defining said pair of spaced flanges is formed with a hole positioned between said flanges and dimensioned to receive said securing means within said gap when said lockable closure is closed. 20

5. The protector of any preceding claim, wherein said means defining said pair of spaced flanges comprises anrle brackets rigidly secured together to define said gap, the thus connected angle brackets being adaptea for rigid securement to said one member of said lockable closure.

6. The protector of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein one of said flanges is integrally formed with said one member of said lockable closure, the second flange being defined by one or more angle brackets rigidly secured to said one member of said lockable closure so as to define said gap.

7. The protector of any preceding claim, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A protector for a padlock substantially as hereinbefore described with tib:dmw:#15345 a20 Anuty 1995 II- -6- reference to Figures 1 or 2 and 3 or 4 and 5 or 6 of the accompanying drawings.

9. A lockable closure having a first member including means secured to or forming part of said first member and defining a pair of spaced flanges defining a gap, a second member having securing means rigidly attached, said means defining said flanges being formed to allow said securing means to be located within said gap and to allow a padlock to be manually engaged with and locked to said securing means, said flanges and said gap being configured to substantially enclose a shackle and an adjacent part of a body of said padlock on opposite sides when the shackle engages the securing means whereby the shackle is not exposed to tampering implements. The lockable closure of claim 9, wherein said flanges and said securing means are as defined in any one of claims 2 to 8. DATED: 20 January 1995 CARTER SMITH BEADLE Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: SOBERT ANDREW JAMES GILLMAN o*oo *go• o *if *oo• lo nbxldm rl1534M8 I0 Janury 1995