EP2180120B1 - Locking apparatus for rear doors of trailers or cargo containers - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a closing and opening arrangement of a leaf such as the door of the loading space of a transport vehicle, of the type described in the preamble of claim 1.

An arrangement of this type is already known from the patent application. US 2002/0056999 . The arrangement described in this document has the disadvantage that the locking rod extends perpendicular to the rod so that both ends of the dispute are accessible from the outside, which makes the arrangement easily violable.

The invention aims to overcome this disadvantage.

To achieve this purpose, the arrangement according to the invention comprises the features which are set forth in the characterizing part of claim 1.

Other features of the invention are the objects of the dependent claims.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique d'un agencement de fermeture et d'ouverture d'un vantail selon l'invention ;
• les figures 2 et 3 sont deux vues en perspective différentes d'un dispositif à gâche et à pêne selon l'invention;
• les figures 4 et 5 sont des vues respectivement latérales et de dessus, en direction des flèches IV et V de la figure 1, montrant le dispositif dans sa position de verrouillage du pêne dans la gâche ;
• les figures 6 et 7 sont deux vues en coupe selon les lignes VI, VII de la figure 5;
• les figures 8 et 9 sont des vues respectivement latérales et de dessus d'un exemple d'un dispositif de verrouillage ne faisant pas partie de la présente invention;
• la figure 10 est une vue similaire à la figure 6 d'un second mode de réalisation du dispositif de verrouillage selon l'invention, et
• les figures 11 et 12 sont des vues en coupe, schématiques, de l'extrémité de blocage d'une serrure selon l'invention.

The invention will be better understood, and other purposes, features, details and advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the explanatory description which follows with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings given solely by way of example illustrating several embodiments of the invention and in which:

• the figure 1 is a schematic view of an arrangement for closing and opening a leaf according to the invention;
• the Figures 2 and 3 are two different perspective views of a latch and bolt device according to the invention;
• the Figures 4 and 5 are respectively lateral and top views, in the direction of the arrows IV and V of the figure 1 , showing the device in its locking position of the bolt in the striker;
• the Figures 6 and 7 are two sectional views along the lines VI, VII of the figure 5 ;
• the Figures 8 and 9 are respectively side and top views of an example of a locking device not forming part of the present invention;
• the figure 10 is a view similar to the figure 6 a second embodiment of the locking device according to the invention, and
• the Figures 11 and 12 are schematic sectional views of the locking end of a lock according to the invention.

The invention will be described hereinafter, by way of example, in its application to a cremone type arrangement mounted on the rear part of a truck. More specifically, the arrangement comprises a rod which is mounted vertically and rotatably on the leaf and carries at each end a bolt which engages in a striker mounted at the top and bottom on the framing structure of the leaf. The rod is rotated by a control device which is mounted on the leaf.

The figure 1 schematically shows the latch and bolt device, denoted 1, which is the device at the bottom of the fixed frame structure of the leaf. This structure is designated 2 and the leaf bears the reference 3. The rod, the bolt at the end of the rod and the striker are respectively noted 5, 6 and 7. The figure also shows schematically the locking device 9 of the bolt 6 in the keeper 7 in the closing position of the leaf 3.

The figure illustrates, always schematically, at 11 a seal which is disposed between the edge face 12 of the leaf 3 and the opposite face 13 of the frame structure 1.

Referring to the figures, the latch device and bolt 1 are described in more detail below. This device comprises the member forming the striker which essentially comprises a sole portion 15 provided at each of its ends with a hole 16 of passage of a striker fixing screw on the fixed support structure 2. At one end, next to the hole 16, protrudes a portion 18 in the shape of an L whose free branch 19 and the branch 20 integral with the sole form with it a U with a median inner wall in the form of a sail 21 for guiding the bolt, as will be explained below. The striker comprises at its other end a perpendicular stud 22, of a height less than the height, above the sole, of the end of the free inclined branch 19.

The bolt 6 secured in rotation, via a spigot end 24, of the rod of the cremone is made in the form of a lever 26 which projects perpendicularly from the axis of the endpiece. The free end 27 of the lever has in its plane perpendicular to the sole the profile of a V whose tip portion is rounded so as to slide on the inner face of the U of the striker. This end 27 has a cutout 28 in the form of a V in which the guide edge of the sail 21 engages.

The bolt has, diametrically opposed to the lever 26, a rounded recess 29 of complementary shape to the shape of the pad 22 of the striker so that this stud can engage in this commitment and serve as a guide means.

The dimensions of the parts of the striker and the bolt are chosen in such a way that during the rotation of the rod and therefore of the spigot end 24, the end 27 of the lever slides on the U-shaped part and the sail 21 of the striker, which causes first of all the sliding of the rounded recess 29 along the stud 22 in the direction of the arrow F, and then the disengagement of the bolt 6 from the striker 7.

According to the invention, the bolt 6 is lockable in its engaged position in the striker 7, when the leaf 3 is closed. The locking device 9, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. Figures 2 to 7 , constitutes a lock whose fixed outer portion has the shape of a tube 33 and whose inner portion 34 which forms the barrel is coaxial with the tube. The lock has a head portion 31, in the illustrated example of a spherical shape, in which a not shown key engages, the rotation of which causes rotation of the barrel rod 34.

This lock comprises at the other end of the coaxial structure of the tube 33 and the rod 34 of the locking members 35, which are engaged in holes 36 in the tube 33 whose outward opening has a smaller diameter than diameter of the balls, and movable between a retracted position and a position in which they project, partially, from the cylindrical outer face of the tube 33. The displacement of the balls is done under the effect of the rotation of the barrel member 34 whose outer face has an appropriate profile as illustrated by the Figures 11 and 12 . At the holes 36, the barrel comprises for each ball 35 a depression 37 in which the ball is housed in the retracted position, in the open position of the lock. During the rotation of the barrel 34, the balls 35 are pushed by the bottom face of the depressions and then by a shallower portion 38 or the peripheral face of the barrel, in the holes 36 outwards to their position represented. The lock is then in its locking position. Any removal of the balls towards the inside of the tube 33 is impossible because they are in abutment against the peripheral face of the barrel.

According to the first embodiment, to lock the bolt in the striker, the outer tube 33 of the lock is passed, with the locking balls 35 in their retracted position, through a perpendicular through hole 39 in the lever 26 and a through hole 41 in the sole 15 of the striker. The end which comprises the locking balls 35 also passes through a through hole 42 in the wall of the frame structure 2. The lock installation movement ends when the head 31 abuts against the end 43 of the branch 19 of the U-shaped part of the striker. This end comprises, in the example shown, a rounded recess complementary to the circular shape of the tube 33 of the lock, and in the form of a segment of a cap 44 complementary to the spherical head 31. In the final position of the implementation, the portion of the end of the tube 33 which has balls 35, is located on the other side of the support sole, relative to the head 31, or the rear face of the structure. To lock the bolt in the latch 7, simply turn the key until the balls 35 are in their position partially projecting from the tube. Of course the diameter of the hole 41 of the sole plate 15 of the striker and the hole 42 in the support must be such that, in the partially extended position, the balls engage behind the respective hole so that removal of the tube is impossible. .

The invention also provides means that make the locking lock inviolable in its closed position. Firstly, the configuration of the assembly formed by the striker and the bolt and the head 31 of the lock is such that an access to the tube 33, for example with the intention of cutting it, with the aid of an appropriate tool, is impossible if not so difficult for the operation of such a break would require too much time. Anyway, a forced cut in such circumstances would cause a deformation of the outer tube 33 and / or the barrel rod 38, so that these two elements are then secured in rotation so that any rotation of the barrel in the tube to cause the removal of logs in their homes is excluded. The figure 6 illustrates well the inaccessibility to the tube 33 because the end of the branch 19 of the keeper matches the shapes of the tube and the head 31.

The invention also excludes any attempt, after a possible removal of the head, to push the rod 33, with its barrel 34, towards the inside of the frame structure, by providing inside thereof a hood 45 which is fixed on the inner face of the wall 46 of the support structure and caps the free end 47 of the rod, as seen in the figures. This cap is opposed to any movement towards the inside of the tube 33. The abutment effect can also be achieved by fixing a piece of sheet metal 48 on the internal face facing the through hole 42.

Another possibility of locking the bolt 6 in the latch 7 by means of a lock as described above, is shown in FIGS. Figures 8 and 9 . In this case the tube 33 is made to pass through the free space 40 ( figure 2 ) available in the sail 21 of the striker under the end 27 of the bolt lever 26. The tube 33 thus crosses the strike transversely, in a plane parallel to its sole plate 15. The locking of the bolt in the striker is then done by a second spherical member 49 locked on the ball end 35 in their partially extended positions.

This possibility has the advantage of being applicable to existing striker and bolt devices without the passage holes required in the first embodiment.

The figure 10 shows another embodiment of the locking device 9 according to the invention. This embodiment provides an electric motor 50 which is mounted in 53 on the inner face of the wall 46 of the frame structure 2 and the shaft in the form of a rod 51 is axially movable between a withdrawn position and an extended position in which the rod 51 extends through the holes 39, 41, 42 already described in the first embodiment. In this extended position, the bolt lever 26 is locked inside the striker. It is the motor 50 that controls the movement of the shaft in both directions. Since the motor is inside the frame structure, it is inaccessible from the outside so that the locking device is tamper-proof since the end of the shaft does not allow the in place of a tool that would pull the motor shaft.

Indeed it is found that the end 43 of the branch 19 of the striker is configured faces to cap the end of the rod 51, making the rod inaccessible from the outside and prevents any action tending to push the rod 51 from the outside or tear it off.

Claims (12)

1. A set-up for closing and opening a door leaf such as the door of the loading space of a transport vehicle, of the door lock bar type comprising a rotatable rod (5) under the effect of a control member, a bolt (6) at least at one end of the rod and a striking plate (7) fixedly mounted with a portion bearing a sole (15) on the frame structure of the door leaf and intended to receive the bolt in its position for closing the door leaf, as well as a device (9) for locking the bolt (6) in the striking plate (7) in the position for closing of the door leaf (3), which includes an element (33, 51) in the form of a rod for locking the bolt (6) in the striking plate (7), characterized in that, in its position for locking the bolt (6) in the striking plate (7), the locking rod (5) extends perpendicularly to the axis of the rotatable rod by passing through a passage hole (39) in the portion (26) of the bolts engaged into the striking plate (7) and, through one end, at least through a passage hole (41) in the sole (15) of the striking plate.
2. The set-up according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking device (9) includes an outer body in the form of a tube (33) in which a barrel-forming rod (34) is rotatably mounted and one end (31) of which is configured for receiving and elements for driving the barrel (34) into rotation while the other end includes elements (35) for blocking the tube in its position for locking the bolt (6) in the striking plate (7).
3. The set-up according to claim 2, characterized in that the locking elements (35) may be displaced by the barrel (34), during its rotation, between a retracted position in the tube (33) and a position in which they partly protrude from the outer face of the tube.
4. The set-up according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the engagement end of the elements for driving the barrel (34) into rotation is made in the form of a head (31).
5. The set-up according to one of claims 3 to 4, characterized in that the locking device (9) is placed in its position for locking the bolt (6) in the striking plate (7) so that its tube (33) extends perpendicularly through the bolt, the striking plate and the wall (46) of the frame structure (2), the blocking elements (35) being placed behind the striking plate (7) or from this wall and the head (31) being capable of abutting against the striking plate.
6. The set-up according to claim 5, characterized in that the device (1) with a striking plate and bolt and the locking device (9) are configured so that the tube (33) of the locking device is inaccessible from the outside in the aforementioned blocked position.
7. The set-up according to one of claims 5 to 6, characterized in that it comprises on the side of the internal face of the wall (46) of the frame structure (2) an abutment member (45, 48) of the tube, opposing any movement of the latter towards the inside of the structure.
8. The set-up according to claim 7, characterized in that the abutment member is placed facing the end (47), on the side of the blocking elements (31), of the tube (33).
9. The set-up according to claims 2 to 8, characterized in that the blocking elements (35) are balls.
10. The set-up according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking device (9) comprises a device (50) for axial displacement of the locking rod (51), which is placed inside the frame structure and is adapted for displacing the rod (51) between a withdrawn position inside the frame structure and an extended position in which the rod (51) extends through the passage holes made in the wall of the frame structure, the sole and the bolt (42, 41, 39).
11. The set-up according to claim 10, characterized in that the device (50) for axial displacement of the rod (51) is an electric motor.
12. The set-up according to one of claims 10 or 11, characterized in that the striking plate (7) includes a portion (43) which is configured so as to cap the outer free end of the rod (51).

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