CN210918592U - Lock and corresponding bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a lock and a corresponding bicycle. The lockset comprises a lock shell, an electric bin box and a lock cover. The lock housing is adapted to be secured to an object to be locked, and the electrical cartridge is disposed within the lock housing. The lock cover is adapted to be coupled to the lock housing and to receive the electrical cartridge, a surface of the lock cover being provided with an aperture. The electrical bin comprises a circuit board which is arranged in the electrical bin, wherein the circuit board comprises a luminous body arranged on the circuit board. The electrical magazine also includes an upper cover plate provided with an outer light guide, wherein the outer light guide is coupled to the light emitter and protrudes into the aperture of the locking cap. According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user can see the light indication in the lock from the outside of the lock, thereby improving the user experience.

Description

Lock and corresponding bicycle

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to locksets and corresponding bicycles and, more particularly, to an improved structure that facilitates a user's observation of light indications within the lockset.

Background

The bicycle is used as a travel tool, and the popularization rate is higher and higher. The bicycle is equipped with a lock for locking or unlocking the bicycle. The existing lock integrates functions of communication, electric control, positioning and the like besides the traditional lock, and the complex functions complicate the operation state of the bicycle lock. It is therefore desirable to provide an indicating device suitable for use with a lock for a bicycle.

Conventional designs achieve optical indication of the lockset by using a light guide element alone. However, this approach adds additional expense to the lock. In addition, the light guided out through the existing light guide element is often too glaring, which also degrades the user experience. One challenge facing designers of bicycles is how to better enable users to view the instructions within the bicycle lock, thereby enhancing the user experience.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

As mentioned above, there is a need for an improved way to enable a lock for a bicycle to better provide an indication to a user.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a bicycle that is intended to at least partially address the above and/or other potential problems with bicycle designs.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a lockset. The lock includes: a lock case adapted to be fixed to an object to be locked; the electric bin box is arranged in the lock shell; a lock cover adapted to be coupled to the lock case and to receive the electrical cartridge, a surface of the lock cover being provided with a hole; wherein the electrical cartridge comprises: a circuit board disposed within the electrical compartment, wherein the circuit board includes a light emitter disposed thereon; and an upper cover plate provided with an outer light guide, wherein the outer light guide is coupled to the light emitter and protrudes into the hole of the lock cover.

In some embodiments, the upper cover plate is further provided with an inner light guide, and the outer light guide is optically coupled to the luminaire via the inner light guide.

In some embodiments, the inner light guide and the outer light guide are integrally formed with the upper cover plate.

In some embodiments, the outer light guide is cylindrical and extends from a side of the upper cover plate in a direction away from the upper cover plate.

In some embodiments, the upper cover plate, the inner light guide, and the outer light guide all comprise a base resin.

In some embodiments, the upper cover plate, the inner light guide, and the outer light guide all comprise color masterbatch.

In some embodiments, the upper cover plate, the inner light guide, and the outer light guide all comprise light scattering powder.

In some embodiments, the light emitter is an LED.

In some embodiments, the shape and size of the outer light guide matches the shape and size of the aperture.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a bicycle. The bicycle includes a lock according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more readily understood through the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described by way of example and not limitation in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic front view of a bicycle used with a lockset according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a lock according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of a lock according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a lock according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a view of the upper cover plate from the outside according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and is

Fig. 6 illustrates a view of an upper cover plate from the inside according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to various exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. It should be understood that these examples are described merely to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and further implement the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. It should be noted that where feasible, similar or identical reference numerals may be used in the figures and that similar or identical reference numerals may indicate similar or identical functions. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a bicycle 100 that is intended to at least partially address the above and/or other potential problems with bicycle designs. Fig. 1 shows a schematic front view of a bicycle 100 using a lock 50 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Some example embodiments will now be described with particular reference to fig. 2-5.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, generally, a lock 50 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a lock housing 52. The lock case 52 is adapted to be fixed to an object to be locked. In some embodiments, the locked object may be a vehicle such as a bicycle. The lock ring 54 is partially disposed within the lock housing 52 and is adapted for movement relative to the lock housing 52 for locking the locked object.

As shown in fig. 3, an electrical cartridge 54 is disposed within the lock housing 52. The latch 50 also includes a latch cover 64. The lock cover 64 is adapted to couple to the lock housing 52 and house the electrical cartridge 54 to protect the electrical cartridge 54 from the external environment. As shown in fig. 3, the surface of the locking cap 64 is provided with a hole 66. The electrical magazine 54 includes a circuit board 56. The circuit board 56 is disposed within the electrical cartridge 54. In some embodiments, a battery adapted to provide power to the latch 50 may be disposed within the electrical cartridge 54. In some embodiments, circuit board 56 also includes a control unit (not shown) that controls the opening and closing of latch 50. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the circuit board 56 includes a light emitter 57 disposed thereon. The light 57 can be used to present different visual effects depending on the state of the lock 50. In some embodiments, the lights 57 can indicate different states of the latch 50 by changing the brightness or color of the light they emit. The electrical magazine 54 also includes an upper cover plate 58. As shown in fig. 5, the upper cover plate 58 is provided with an outer light guide 62, wherein the outer light guide 62 is optically coupled to the light emitter 57 and protrudes into the hole 66 of the lock cover 64.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the different states assumed by the light emitters 57 on the circuit board 56 via the outer light guide 62 may be displayed to the outside through holes 66 provided in the lock cover 64. In this way, the user can conveniently see the state of the light 57, and thus the current state of the lock 50. Furthermore, the outer light guide 62 is securely coupled to the upper cover plate 58 and is therefore less likely to be damaged or lost than prior designs.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the outer surface of the outer light guide 62 and the outer surface of the locking cap 64 may be flush. In this manner, the aesthetic appeal of the latch 50 may be increased.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, the upper cover plate 58 may also be provided with an inner light guide 60, and an outer light guide 62 is optically coupled to the light emitter 57 via the inner light guide 60. In this way, the effect of optical coupling can be greatly increased due to the provision of the inner light guide 60. Furthermore, by providing the inner light guide 60 in the path of travel of the light, the outer light guide 62 need not always be aligned with the light 57, which provides greater convenience and flexibility in the design of the lock 50 in more confined spaces.

In this context, inner and outer are relative to latch 50, "outer" refers to a direction toward the outside of latch 50 or toward a user, and "inner" refers to a direction toward the inside of latch 50 or away from a user.

In some embodiments, the inner light guide 60 and the outer light guide 62 may be integrally formed with the upper cover plate 58. In this way, the inner light guide 60 and the outer light guide 62 may be arranged in a simple and easy manner to provide a light indication.

In some embodiments, the upper cover plate 58, the inner light guide 60, and the outer light guide 62 may all comprise a matrix resin. In this way, since the base resin is transparent, such an arrangement enhances the light transmission of the light guide.

In some embodiments, the substrate resin may be a PC (polycarbonate) resin. In other embodiments, the substrate resin may be a PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) resin. Of course, the materials listed herein for the base resin are merely exemplary, and not limiting. The base resin may be made of other materials as long as it is transparent and can function as a light guide. The specific materials are not limited by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the upper cover plate 58, the inner light guide 60, and the outer light guide 62 may all include color concentrate. In this way, the light emitted by the luminous body 57 can be made to appear more uniform and soft from the outside. In some embodiments, the upper cover plate 58, the inner light guide 60, and the outer light guide 62 may also include toner. In some embodiments, by including color concentrate in the upper cover plate 58, the inner light guide 60, and the outer light guide 62, the upper cover plate 58, the inner light guide 60, and the outer light guide 62 may appear yellowish. Of course, the colors recited herein are exemplary and not limiting. In some embodiments, color concentrate may cause the upper cover plate 58, the inner light guide 60, and the outer light guide 62 to appear in colors other than amber. The specific color is not limited by the embodiment of the present disclosure as long as it can make the light emitted from the light emitter 57 look more uniform and soft from the outside.

In some embodiments, the upper cover plate 58, the inner light guide 60, and the outer light guide 62 may all contain light scattering powder. In this way, the light scattering powder can scatter the light emitted by the light emitter 57 to a greater extent, increasing the scattering effect, thereby improving the indicating effect of the lock 50.

In some embodiments, the base resin, color concentrate, and light scattering powder may be mixed in the appropriate proportions and melted together. The upper cover plate 58, the inner light guide 60 and the outer light guide 62 are formed in a simple and cost-effective manner by injection molding of molten material.

In some embodiments, the light 57 may be an LED. In some embodiments, the light emitter 57 may be a patch LED. Such a structure can reduce the space occupied by the LED, so that the latch 50 of the vehicle is miniaturized. In some embodiments, the light 57 may also be an in-line LED.

In some embodiments, the outer light guide 62 may be cylindrical and extend from a side of the upper cover plate 58 in a direction away from the upper cover plate 58. In some embodiments, the outer light guide 62 is tapered in the optical axis direction. Such a shape is advantageous for reducing light propagation loss.

In some embodiments, the shape and size of the outer light guide 62 may match the shape and size of the aperture 66. In this manner, gaps between the two may be eliminated, preventing rain or dust from entering the space between outer light guide 62 and aperture 66, thereby protecting lock 50 from the external environment.

In some embodiments, the shape of outer light guide 62 and inner light guide 60 may be configured to direct light by total internal reflection. In this way, the loss of light along the conduction path can be reduced, thereby improving the light guiding effect.

A bicycle 100 using the latch 50 as described above is described below in conjunction with fig. 1. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the object to be locked is a bicycle 100. The bicycle 100 may include a frame 10 and wheels 20. A latch 50 is secured to the wheels 20 of the bicycle 100 for providing locking and unlocking functions to the bicycle 100.

In some embodiments, the bicycle 100 may be a shared bicycle. In other embodiments, the bicycle 100 may be a non-shared bicycle.

Although claims have been formulated in this application to particular combinations of features, it should be understood that the scope of the disclosure also includes any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or implicitly or any generalisation thereof, whether or not it relates to the same aspect as presently claimed in any claim.

Claims (10)

1. A lock (50), comprising:

a lock case (52) adapted to be fixed to an object to be locked;

an electrical cartridge (54) disposed within the lock housing (52);

a lock cover (64) adapted to be coupled to the lock housing (52) and to receive the electrical cartridge (54), a surface of the lock cover (64) being provided with an aperture (66);

wherein the electrical cartridge (54) comprises:

a circuit board (56) disposed within the electrical magazine (54), wherein the circuit board (56) includes a light emitter (57) disposed thereon; and

an upper cover plate (58) provided with an outer light guide (62), wherein the outer light guide (62) is optically coupled to the light emitter (57) and protrudes into the aperture (66) of the locking cover (64).

2. The lock (50) according to claim 1,

the upper cover plate (58) is further provided with an inner light guide (60), and the outer light guide (62) is optically coupled to the light emitter (57) via the inner light guide (60).

3. The lock (50) according to claim 2,

the inner light guide (60) and the outer light guide (62) are integrally formed with the upper cover plate (58).

4. The lock (50) according to claim 1,

the outer light guide (62) is cylindrical and extends from a side of the upper cover plate (58) in a direction away from the upper cover plate (58).

5. Lock (50) according to any one of claims 2 to 4,

the upper cover plate (58), the inner light guide (60), and the outer light guide (62) all comprise a base resin.

6. Lock (50) according to any one of claims 2 to 4,

the upper cover plate (58), the inner light guide (60) and the outer light guide (62) all contain color masterbatch.

7. Lock (50) according to any one of claims 2 to 4,

the upper cover plate (58), the inner light guide (60) and the outer light guide (62) all contain light scattering powder.

8. Lock (50) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the light emitter (57) is an LED.

9. Lock (50) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the shape and size of the outer light guide (62) matches the shape and size of the aperture (66).

10. A bicycle, characterized in that it comprises a lock (50) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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