GB2240578A

GB2240578A - Lock

Info

Publication number: GB2240578A
Application number: GB9001371A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sidney Bayes; Ronald Thomas Craddock
Original assignee: Henry Squire and Sons Ltd
Current assignee: Henry Squire and Sons Ltd
Priority date: 1990-01-20
Filing date: 1990-01-20
Publication date: 1991-08-07
Also published as: GB9001371D0

Abstract

The lock has a lock body 10 and a cable 11, which cable 11 has a termination 100 at one end by which it is anchored to the body 10, and a termination 102 at its opposite end by which it is detachably engageable in the lock body 10. A flexible metal tube 120 formed by helically winding a profiled strip surrounds the cable 11 and is secured at each end to a respective one of the terminations 100 and 102. As particularly described the tube 120 is galvanized steel with a nylon coating 122 thereon. Sleeve 104 of termination 100 is provided with integral screw-thread 124 to cooperate with the ribbing within tube 120. <IMAGE>

Description

LOCK This invention relates to a lock and is more particularly concerned with a cable lock.

Cable locks are known for relatively large items such as bicycles and motor bicycles wherein one end of a cable is anchored to the lock body permanently and the opposite end can be engaged in the lock body in a detachable manner, detachment being permitted either by a key operated mechanism or a combination wheel type of operating mechanism. Previously proposed cable locks use a flexible metal cable having an appropriate termination at each end. It is common for such cables to have a flexible plastic sleeve fitted thereon for most of the length of the cable. Such a sleeve serves to reduce the risk of damage to the article being secured when the cable is looped around appropriate parts of the article prior to securing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of cable lock having added security.

According to the present invention, there is provided a lock comprising a lock body and a cable, said cable having a termination at one end serving to anchor the cable to the lock body and having a termination at the other end which is detachably engageable in the lock body, wherein a flexible metal tube is provided over said cable and is secured at each end to a respective one of said terminations.

The flexible metal tube is preferably covered with a protective plastics layer.

The flexible metal tube is preferably ribbed and the plastics layer preferably follows the ribs.

In a particularly convenient embodiment, the ribbing on the tube is helical. With such a helical arrangement of ribbing, it is possible to provide the terminations with appropriate screw threading for engagement with the helical ribbing in order to secure the metal tube to each termination.

Preferably, each termination includes a sleeve into which the cable extends and is secured, eg by upsetting a portion of the sleeve inwardly, the outer surface of the sleeve having the screw threading thereon for engagement with the helical ribbing of the metal tube.

Most preferably, the metal tube is formed by a helically wound configurated metal strip with interlocking of the edges between the turns.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a part-sectional, partcutaway view of a cable lock according to the present invention The cable lock comprises a lock body 10 and a loop of cable 11 whose ends only are shown in the drawing.

The lock body 10 is of the combination type wherein the release combination can be changed. The lock body illustrated in the drawing is similar to and operates in a similar way to that described in our copending British Application No. 8906289.7 filed on 18 March 1989. For the sake of convenience, parts of the lock body 10 which are similar to those described and shown in our co-pending British Patent Application 8906289.7 are accorded the same reference numerals.

Briefly, combination wheels 50 are mounted on a shaft 42 which is displaceable in the body 10 upon depression of push-button 48 against the action of spring 44. However, displacement of the shaft 42 is only permitted to take place when the release combination is set on the wheels 50. Axial displacement of the shaft 42 upon depression of the push-button 48 causes boss 72 to be displaced away from bolt 74 so that inward movement of the latter is permitted. Inward movement of the bolt 74 enables one end of the cable to be released. A clutch arrangement (not shown) is provided between the wheels 50 and the shaft 42 to enable the release combination to be changed.

This is described in further detail in the above mentioned co-pending British Patent Application. Each end of the cable 11 is secured to a respective termination 100, 102. The termination 100 includes an integral sleeve 104 into which one end of the cable 11 is fitted and secured by inward upsetting of diametrically opposed regions 106 of the sleeve 104. The opposite end of the cable is anchored in a similar fashion to termination 102.

Termination 100 includes a boss 108 which is disposed within bore 32 in the lock body 10. A transverse bore 110 is provided in boss 108. A spring loaded retaining peg 112 is provided in the bore 110. The length of the retaining peg 112 and associated spring is such that they can be completely contained within the bore 110 when the spring is fully compressed. In this way, the boss 108 can be inserted into the bore 32 of the lock body 10 until the retaining peg 112 lies opposite a recess 114 communicating with the bore 32. The retaining peg 12 partially enters the recess 114 under the action of the associated spring and thereby firmly locks the termination 100 within the body 10.

Termination 102 is provided with boss 116 which is disposed within bore 24 of lock body 10 in the locked position of the cable lock. Boss 116 has an annular recess 118 of curved cross-section. The bolt 74 is engageable in the recess 118 to lock the termination 102 in the body 10. In accordance with the present invention, the whole of the cable 11 is surrounded by a flexible, galvanized steel tube 120 which has a nylon coating 122 thereon. The metal tube 120 is formed by helically winding a profiled strip so that the edges of the turns interlock in a way which provides a continuous tube but which, nevertheless, permits flexing thereof.

The profile of the strip used to form the tube 120 is such that a helical rib is defined on the inner and outer walls of the tube 120. The sleeve 104 of termination 100 is provided with an integral screw-thread 124 on its outer surface, the screw thread 124 being of a size to co-operate in screw-threaded manner with the ribbing within the tube 120. Thus, one end of the tube 120 is firmly secured to the sleeve 104, a cup-shaped washer 126 being provided over the end of the tube 120 to provide a neat finish and to protect the end of the tube against damage. The opposite end of the tube 120 is secured in like manner to the termination 100.

The cover 120 is provided over the whole of the cable 11 which may be of any desired length, eg one or one and half metres.

The provision of a plastics coated tube over the cable 11 provides a neat and pleasing visual appearance to the lock and further strengthens the cable against attack. It will be appreciated from a comparison with the drawing accompanying our co-pending British Patent Application No. 8906289.7 that the construction also permits the lock body 10 illustrated in the present application to be used with a shackle as opposed to a cable, thus simplifying production of both types of lock.

Claims

1. A lock comprising a lock body and a cable, said cable having a termination at one end serving to anchor the cable to the lock body and having a termination at the other end which is detachably engageable in the lock body, wherein a flexible metal tube is provided over said cable and is secured at each end to a respective one of said terminations.

2. A lock as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the flexible metal tube is covered with a protective plastics layer.

3. A lock as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the flexible metal tube is ribbed.

4. A lock as claimed in Claim 3 when appended to Claim 2, wherein the plastics layer follows the ribs.

5. A lock as claimed in Claim 3 or 4, wherein the ribbing on the tube is helical.

6. A lock as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the terminations are provided with appropriate screw threading for engagement with the helical ribbing in order to secure the metal tube to each termination.

7. A lock as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each termination includes a sleeve into which the cable extends and is secured.

8. A lock as claimed in Claim 7 when appended to Claim 6, wherein the cable is secured by upsetting a portion of the sleeve inwardly, the outer surface of the sleeve having the screw threading thereon for engagement with the helical ribbing of the metal tube.

9. A lock as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the metal tube is formed by a helically wound configurated metal strip with interlocking of the edges between the turns.

10. A lock as claimed in Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.