EP0659144B1

EP0659144B1 - Locking device for separable parts

Info

Publication number: EP0659144B1
Application number: EP93921155A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kent Wahlen
Original assignee: Nefab AB
Current assignee: Nefab AB
Priority date: 1992-09-17
Filing date: 1993-09-17
Publication date: 1997-06-04
Anticipated expiration: 2013-09-17
Also published as: SE9202678L; DE69311351T2; EP0659144A1; SE507333C2; SE9202678D0; WO1994006692A1; AU4837093A; DE69311351D1

Abstract

A locking device for interlocking parts (1, 2, 3) separable from each other comprises at least a first locking means (11) arranged on a first (1, 3) of said parts and having a projection (14) and at least a second locking means (17) arranged in the second part (2), co-operating with the first one and having a corresponding recess. The projection (14) is arranged movable with respect to the first part (1, 3) and displaceable out of and into locking engagement with the recess (17) of the second part without any movement of the parts with respect to each other.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART

The present invention relates to a locking device according to the preamble of claim 1.
Thus, the invention is directed to locking devices for interconnecting parts or members of arbitrary types broadly spoken with in very different fields of use.
A locking device of this type is known through GB-A-700 501 and in this it is possible, thanks to the movability of the projection, in the way that this is displaceable completely out of and into locking engagement with the recess of the second part without any requirement of a relative movement of said parts, to bring different parts to be interlocked or separated comparatively comfortable towards each other to the position suited for interlocking and away from each other, respectively.
However, it is highly desirable that said element carrying the projection and the grippable operating member are arranged in such a way that they will constitute no obstacle when any object is to be placed close to that part on which this element is arranged. Otherwise an attempt to obtain packaging or for instance storing of the assembly formed by the two parts will risk to deform or damage the operating member or the latter will scratch or damage said object.
In order to avoid this problem the locking device according to GB-A-700 501 has not been provided with any grippable operating member in the real sense of this definition, but it is the very head of the bolt-like projection that has to be gripped for operating the locking element provided with this projection. Thus, the accessibility to said element for operation thereof is very restricted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a locking device of the type defined in the preamble of claim 1, which solves the problem adhered to the locking device of GB-A-700 501 and discussed above in connection therewith.
This is obtained by providing a locking device according to the appended claim 1.
Thanks to the construction of the operating member as a freely flexible flap-like element, the operating member may easily be gripped in the interconnecting state thereof, but it will nevertheless easily be folded away and may be pressed flat against that part on which the element carrying the projection is arranged when this is required, and it will accordingly not in any way be in the way for any object to be placed directly next to said part. This means that there is no risk for any damage on such an object by the grippable operating member when said part is packed closely with respect to said object, and there is also no risk for damages of the operating member and through that of the element carrying the projection caused by such an object. Thanks to the free flexibility of the operating member it is also possible to easily grip it and in every given situation bring it to the most suitable angle with respect to said element when forces are applied thereon through the operating member, so that these forces may be applied exactly in that direction that is instantaneously desired.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the first locking means in the locking device is in the active locking position thereof spring-loadedly actuated into engagement in the recess and movable out of this engagement while overcoming this spring-load. Thus, it is through this possible to move the projection out of the engagement with said recess while overcoming said spring-load for easily separating the parts, but a secure interlocking thereof will nevertheless be obtained thanks to said spring-load function to maintain the projection in the recess.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the projection of the first locking means is carried by an element, which is pivotally arranged on said first part, whereby it is after pulling the projection out of said recess possible to pivot the element carrying the projection, so that this may be released without any risk that the projection will by mistake or through the spring-load present unintentionally be brought into the recess again.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention the locking device is provided with an elongated tongue-like element arranged to carry the projection, this tongue-like element is arranged to provide said spring-load by having a leaf spring character, and the projection is made movable out of said engagement by bending the tongue-like element. The spring-load present in the preferred embodiment discussed above is obtained in a very simple and thereby inexpensive and reliable way.
Further advantages and preferred features of the invention will appear from the rest of the dependent claims as well as the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference to the appended drawings, below follows a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention cited as an example. In the drawings:

Fig 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a container, onto which the locking device according to the invention is applied,
Fig 2 is an enlarged perspective partial view of a part of the bottom member, the wall arrangement and the lid of the container in Fig 1 in the interlocked state,
Fig 3 is a view corresponding to Fig 2 of the container with the parts mutually separated for a complete separation or an interlocking following thereupon,
Fig 4 is a partially sectioned perspective partial view of a portion of a container according to Fig 1 in the folded state thereof,
Fig 5 is a side elevation of the first locking means of the locking device according to Figs 1-4 in the free state,
Fig 6 is a partially sectioned view of the locking means in Fig 5 mounted on a part of the container and in the interlocking position, and
Fig 7 is a perspective view of the locking means according to Fig 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The container illustrated in Fig 1 comprises a bottom member 1, a foldable wall arrangement 2 and a lid 3. The container has in the example a parallelepipedic basic form. The wall arrangement 2 is in the unfolded state of the container locked with respect to the bottom member 1 in a way which will be described hereinafter, and the lid 3 is securable to the wall arrangement 2 while closing the container. The lid and the bottom member as well as the wall arrangement may in the practice consist of sheets of plastic, plywood or the like and edge and corner garniture of metal secured thereto. It is suitable to once again underline that the locking device according to the invention is not at all restricted to the use for interlocking the bottom member, the wall arrangement and the lid of such a foldable container with respect to each other, but this use is here only described for illustrating one of many possible uses of the locking device according to the invention and explaining the invention.
The wall arrangement 2 has in the four corners thereof hinge armatures and furthermore two opposite walls of the wall arrangement are divided into two hingedly interconnected parts 4, 5, which in their turn are hingedly connected to the other walls 6 of the wall arrangement 2. The wall arrangement is thereby foldable by pivoting the wall parts 4, 5 inwardly towards the center of the wall arrangement at the same time as the walls are moving towards each other. The walls 6 and wall parts 4, 5 will be directed substantially parallelly while forming a comparatively thin package (see the middle of Fig 2) in the completely folded state of the wall arrangement 2. The container described so far corresponds to the one according to the Swedish patent application 9001887-0.
Two first locking means 11 are arranged on preferably surrounding edge flanges 7 and 8, respectively, of the bottom member 1 as well as the lid 3 at each of two opposite edges 9, 10, which flanges extend substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the bottom member and the lid, respectively. Reference is now also made to the rest of the Figures. The first locking means is formed by an elongated tongue-like element 12, which at one end thereof is pivotally connected through a rivet 13 to the outside of the respective edge flange about an axis being substantially perpendicular to the respective edge flange 7, 8. A projection 14 protruding substantially perpendicularly is secured to the other end of the tongue-like element 12. The tongue-like element 12 is of a material, for example spring steel, which gives it a leaf spring-like character, and it has in a free, relaxed state, when it is not mounted to any edge flange yet, a slightly curved extension (see Fig 5), which means that it is designed to bear substantially flat towards the outside of the edge flange under pretension in the locking state (see Fig 6) in which it is applied on the edge flange. The advantages thereof will be explained further on.
Second locking means 17 in the form of through recesses are arranged at the upper 15 and the lower edge 16 of the walls 6 of the wall arrangement. These recesses are carried out in and reinforced by metal armatures 18 arranged on the walls 6. The recesses 17 are so located with respect to the distance to the upper and lower edge, respectively, of the walls and the corners of the wall arrangement, that the projection 14 of the tongue-like element 12 will fit therein when the tongue-like element extends substantially in the longitudinal direction of the edge flange and the bottom member and the lid, respectively, is brought into the desired position for interconnecting it with the wall arrangement. The recess 17 is designed elongated in the direction of said upper 15 and lower 16 edge, respectively, i.e. substantially perpendicular to the direction of the movement of approaching and removing, respectively, of on one hand the bottom member or the lid and on the other the wall arrangement. A displacement of the projection 14 into the corresponding recess 17 is facilitated thereby, but a substantial movement of the lid and the bottom member, respectively, in the direction away from the wall arrangement is nevertheless prevented in the interlocked state.
It is shown in Fig 2 how the bottom member 1 and the lid 3 are interlocked with respect to the wall arrangement 2 by the cooperation of the first and second locking means. It appears from Fig 3 that the respective edge flange 7, 8 has a second recess 19, which is arranged to come to a substantially completely corresponding overlap of the respective recess 17 in the wall arrangement in the mutual position of the wall arrangement and the bottom member and the lid, respectively, so that the projection 14 is arranged to grip through the recess 19 in the edge flange in question as well as the recess 17 in the wall arrangement in the interlocking state of the locking device.
The projection 14 has a shape tapering slightly towards the extremity thereof so as to facilitate the introduction thereof in the recesses 17 and 19. A flap- or strip-like element 20 of a freely flexible material, such as for example a substantially inelastic plastic, is heeled or struggled onto the projection 17. The flap-like element 20 is intended to function as a member for operating the tongue-like element 12 and thereby the projection 14 by being gripped and pulled substantially in the direction of the heeling thereof onto the projection. Thanks to the free flexibility of the flap-like element 20 this may be gripped easily in the interlocking state (see Fig 6), but it still gives easily way and may be pressed flat against the outer surface of the respective edge flange if required and is accordingly not an obstacle in any way.
The locking according to the invention functions in the following way: we assume that the wall arrangement 2 and the bottom member 1 are to be interlocked. It is firstly ensured that the first locking means 11 are located in the position according to Fig 3 by pulling the flap-like element 20 in the direction away from the edge flange 7 while bending the leaf spring formed by the tongue-like element 12, so that the projection 14 leaves the engagement with the recess 19, and the tongue-like element 12 is then pivoted with respect to the edge flange about the pivot point defined by the rivet 13, so that the projection 14 after releasing the flap-like element 20 will bear from the outside against portions 23 of the edge flange 9 surrounding the recess 19. The wall arrangement 2 is then lowered straight downwardly towards the bottom member inside the edge flanges 9 and so that the lower edge thereof arrives in a groove 21 extending in the bottom member internally of the edge flange and parallelly thereto. When this is done the flap-like element 20 is gripped again and the tongue-like element 20 is pivoted so that the projection 14 arrives just in front of the mutually overlapping recesses 19 and 17, whereupon releasing the flap-like element 20 means that the projection 14 is pressed by the inherent spring force of the tongue-like element 12 through the two recesses and arrives to flat, biased bearing against the outside of the edge flange 9 (see the position according to Figs 2 and 6). The pretension or biasing produced by the shape of the element 12 in the free, relaxed state thereof ensures a permanently flat bearing of the element against the enclosure part and it avoids thereby the risks of hooking into other containers or the like and being damaged or causing damage during loading or the like. When it is then desired to separate the wall arrangement from the bottom member starting from the position according to Fig 2, the flap-like element 20 is gripped and the tongue-like element 12 is bent away from the edge flange and pivoted to the position shown in Fig 3. The wall arrangement may then without any problem be lifted straight upwardly and away from the bottom member without any requirement of a preceding folding thereof. Moreover, the first locking means is already located in a position which later on immediately allows lowering of the wall arrangement into the bottom member for interlocking thereof. It is evident that the interlocking and the separation, respectively, of the lid and the wall arrangement is carried out in an analogous way.
It appears from Figs 1, 2 and 3 that the locking means on the bottom member and at the lower edge of the wall arrangement are arranged displaced in the extension direction of this edge with respect to the locking means on the lid and at the upper edge of the wall arrangement. The reason for this is that the first locking means on the lid shall be able to be used for interlocking the lid and the bottom member while gripping into further recesses 22 in the edge flange 7 of the bottom member without the formation of any obstacle by the locking means of the bottom member, so that the lid and the bottom member in the interlocked state according to Fig 4 form a substantially closed box, the volume of which is mainly predetermined by the localization of the first locking means on the lid and the further recesses 22 in the bottom member. The space formed inside the box is intended to receive the foldable wall arrangement. It will in this way be possible to transport the container in a very compact state back to a supplier for refilling it with goods. Thus, the first locking means on the lid then fulfils a double function by securing the lid to the wall arrangement in the unfolded state of the container as well as to the bottom member in the state in which the box is formed. The edge flange 8 is arranged to describe a slightly longer and wider frame than the edge flange 7 so as to make it possible to bring the edge flange 8 outside the edge flange 7 in the position according to Fig 4. It would of course also be possible to see to that the relationship between the edge flanges would be the reversed and arrange further recesses 22 in the edge flange 8 instead, so that the first locking means on the bottom member would be those which interlock the lid and the bottom member when said compact box is formed.
It is also possible to provide the spring-load of the element carrying the projection through any other spring, for example a tension spring, and said element could also be rigid and movable only by a translation movement.
It is natural that it is the outer one of the two parts partially overlapping each other that has the first locking means and the inner one that has the second locking means when a container is concerned, but the reversed arrangement is of course also possible within other applications.
The shapes of the different parts included in the locking device according to the invention may of course differ from what is shown in the drawings, especially the shape of the projection, the element carrying the projection and the recesses. The number of locking means could also be arbitrary.

Claims

A locking device for interlocking parts (1, 2, 3) separable from each other, said device comprising at least a first locking means (11) arranged on a first (1, 3) one of said parts and having a projection (14) and at least a second locking means (17) arranged in the second part (2), cooperating with the first one and having a corresponding recess, said projection (14) being arranged movable with respect to the first part (1, 3) and displaceable out of and into locking engagement with the recess (17) of the second part without any movement of the parts with respect to each other, said first locking means comprising an element (12) carrying the projection (14) and said element (12) and thereby the projection (14) being arranged to be operated through gripping and pulling a grippable operating member (20) connected to the element carrying the projection, characterized in that the operating member is formed by a flap-like element (20), and that the flap-like element is freely flexible.
A locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that the flap-like element (20) is heeled onto the projection (14) through a recess therein.
A locking device according to claim 2, characterized in that the flap-like element (20) is adapted to be pulled substantially in the direction of the heeling thereof onto the projection (14) on actuating the first locking means (11).
A locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that the two parts (1, 2, 3) form parts of an enclosure.
A locking device according to claim 4, characterized in that the enclosure is a container, and that the first locking means (11) is arranged on a lid (3) and/or a bottom member (1) and the second locking means is arranged on a wall arrangement (2) of the container for interlocking on one hand the lid and/or the bottom member and on the other the wall arrangement.
A locking device according to claim 5, characterized in that the wall arrangement (2) and the container are foldable, that the first locking means (11) is adapted to interlock on one hand the lid (3) and/or the bottom member (1) and on the other the wall arrangement (2) in the unfolded state of the container and to grip into corresponding second recesses (22) of the one of the lid and the bottom member (1) it is not itself arranged on in the folded state of the container so as to interlock the lid (3) and the bottom member (1) so that they in the interlocked state create a space therebetween, in which the folded wall arrangement (2) is receivable.
A locking device according to any of the claims 4-6, characterized in that the two enclosure parts (1, 2, 3) are arranged to partially overlap each other in the interlocked state, and that an element (12) carrying said projection (14) is arranged on the outer side of the part (1, 3) being the outermost one in the interlocked state and to grip through a recess (19) in the outermost part (1, 3) as well as said recess (17) of the second locking means by means of said projection (14).
A locking device according to any of the claims 1-7, characterized in that the first locking means (11) is in the active locking position thereof spring-loadedly actuated into engagement in the recess (17) and movable out of this engagement while overcoming this spring-load.
A locking device according to claim 8, characterized in that the first locking means (11) comprises an elongated element (12) carrying the projection (14), and that the projection (14) is movable out of said engagement with the recess (17) by a movement of the elongated element against a spring force acting in the opposite direction.
A locking device according to claim 9, characterized in that the elongated element (12) is tongue-like.
A locking device according to claim 10, characterized in that the tongue-like element (12) is arranged to provide said spring-load by having a leaf spring-like character, and that the projection (14) is movable out of said engagement with the recess (17) by bending the tongue-like element.
A locking device according to any of the claims 7 or 9-11, characterized in that the element (12) carrying the projection (14) is pivotally arranged on and with respect to said first part (1, 3).
A locking device according to claims 9 and 12, characterized in that the pivot point (13) of the elongated element with respect to the first part (1, 3) and the projection (14) thereof are located at the opposite ends of this element (12).
A locking device according to claims 7, 9 and 12, characterized in that the element carrying the projection (14) is arranged to be pivotable substantially parallelly to the recess (19) in the outermost part (1, 3) after pulling the projection out of the two recesses (17, 19) while overcoming a spring-load into an inactive position, in which the projection bears externally against portions of the outer part surrounding the recess through said spring-load.
A locking device according to claim 11, characterized in that the tongue-like element (12) in the locking state of the device is adapted to bear substantially flat against the outside of said first part (1, 3) under pre-tension by the fact that it is formed by an element with a slightly curved extension in the free, relaxed state thereof.