IL85043A - Padlock locking mechanism - Google Patents

Description

PADLOCK LOCKING MECHANISM " The present invention relates to padlocks, particularly of the type comprising a housing with a horseshoe shaped shackle, and a multi-pin type cylinder lock mechanism which 1 comprises a lock cylinder with a profiled key slot, rotatable within a blind bore formed at the rear side of the housing .

The locking mechanism comprises a plurality of two-part, spring loaded pins, normally urged into an extended position partly projecting into the cylinder key slot. Upon insertion of the correct key, i.e. with a preset combination of ridges and recesses at its bit, each pin is pushed to a level that enables the rotation of the cylinder within its bore .

A lock insert is coupled to the inner end of the lock cylinder, usually by a projection-and-slot coupling arrangement, to rotate with the cylinder when it is released from the lock mechanism. The lock insert is provided with a notched or recessed circular disc, forming a circular tooth which is adapted to engage a suitable slot at the end of one leg of the lock shackle.

The above -described general principles of construction have now been followed for decades without any change or innovation whatsoever. As a direct consequence, it was also traditionally accepted that the number of combination pins that could be used -- and thus govern the safety level of the lock was dictated by the size of the lock housing. Hence, for a lock housing measuring forty milimeters (in width- the so-called "40" lock), the maximum number of pins employed can be four, whereas in the "30" lock, namely a The reason for following this design was, as explained above, the fact that the extra space for receiving the lock insert further extended the overall length of the cylinder blind bore which, of course, was limited by the size of the lock housing.

For better understanding the contribution of the present invention to the padlock design art, reference shall be made first to Figs. 1a-1c. As schematically shown, a conventional "40" padlock comprises a housing 10, with a shackle ryoke 12, one of its legs 12a having a slot 12b by which the yoke is locked within bore 10a of the housing, in a manner to be described below.

As further shown, the locking mechanism of the padlock 10 comprises a blind bore 14 in which there are accommodated a lock cylinder 16, for receiving a key 18, and a lock insert 20 (see below). Further provided are lock combination pins (four in this case) denoted P1 , P2, P3 and P4, and, usually, with an additional, lock pin PL which restricts the amount of rotation of the lock cylinder 16 upon opening and closing thereof.

As best seen in Fig. 1c, the lock insert 20 comprises a disc 22 with a partly removed portion 24, connected by a leg 26 to a lower disc 28 provided with a diametrically extending straight slot 30. The slot 30 is designed to receive a projecting end portion 32 of the lock cylinder 16, thereby forming a coupling for the combined rotation of the two parts when the lock cylinder is rotated by the key 18.

All the above described constructional features of the padlocks are conventional, well known, and need not be described in more detail.

Reference shall now be made to Figs. 2a-2c, referring to being of a size "30". Similar reference numerals are used to denote corresponding parts and components of the small size padlock.

Hence, it will be readily seen that due to the more restricted size (in fact -- length) of the housing 110 --while the diameter of the bore 114, the lock cylinder 116 and the insert 120 remain the same -- there is room left for only three combination pins P1 , P2 and P3, .with the additional lock pin PL.

As already mentioned above, the number of combinations that can be achieved using three pins is significantly less than the number of combinations that can be made with four pins. It is therefore an inherent disadvantage of smaller locks that their level of safety is considerably lower than larger size locks.

It is therefore the major object of the present invention to devise a padlock of a given size that will ■a -employ a larger number of combination pins relative to the conventional padlocks.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a lock insert which is adapted to be coupled to the lock cylinder in a more space-saving manner. .

A still further object of the invention is to provide a lock insert comprising a notched disc, extended by a profiled projection designed to fit into the profiled key slot of the lock cylinder — rather than be coupled thereto by the conventional arrangement.

It is therefore provided, according tb the present, invention a padlock comprising a housing, a shackle , and a multiple-pin type cylinder lock mechanism, the mechanism comprising of a lock cylinder, with a profiled throughgoing and a lock insert coupled to the cylinder to rotate therewith upon rotation of a key which unlocks the lock mechanism, characterized in that the lock insert is coupled to the cylinder by a profiled projection fitting into the key slot thereof.

Preferably, the projection is adapted to fit into a central portion of the slot.

These and further features of the invention will be more clearly understood in the light of the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof given with references to the attached drawings, wherein -- Fig. 1a is a schematic elevational view of a conventional, relatively large size padlock (size "40"); Fig. 1b is a side view of Fig. 1a; Fig. 1c is a three dimensional view of a lock insert included in the padlock of Fig* 1a; Fig. 2a is a schematic elevational view of a padlock being of a smaller size than the padlock of Fig. 1a (size "30"); Fig. 2b is a side view of Fig. 2a; Fig. 2c is a similar to Fig. 1c, namely showing a three dimensional view of the insert used in both the padlocks of Figs. 1a and 2a; Fig. 3a is a schematic elevational view of a padlock of the same size as that of Fig. 2a, incorporating the improvement according to the present invention; Fig. 3b is a side view of the padlock of Fig. 3a; Fig. 3c is a three dimensional view of a lock insert incorporated in the padlock of Fig. 3a, according to the principles of the presennt invention; Fig. 4 illustrates the mounting of the insert of Fig. 3c Fig. 5 is a front view of the insert of Fig. 3c; and Fig. 6 is a side view of the insert of Fig. 5.

Referring to Figs. 3a-3c, it will now be readily appreciated that the only difference between the pladlock 210 and the conventional padlocks 110 or 210 resides in that the conventional insert 120 (and 220) is replaced by an insert 220 of a novel design, as best seen in Figs. 3c and 4-6.

Hence, there is employed a lock cylinder 216 of the same diameter and length as in the case of the padlock 10 of Fig. 1. However, the inner end of the cylinder 216 does not terminate with a diametrical ridge 32, but with a centrally extending cylindrical shoulder 232 - ' as see i Fig. ; 4.1 ' 'The key 218 is of the same, length as that of the key 18, and therefore allows the same, number of combinations relative to the key 118 (four instead of three).

The insert 220 is comprised of an upper disc .222, which is the same as the disc portion 22 of Fig. 1c, extended by a profiled projection denoted 234.

As clearly seen in Fig. 4 the projection 234 is shaped so as to allow its complete insertion into key slot 236 of the lock cylinder 216, which slot extends through the shoulder 232. Thus, the profiled projection 234 is directly attachable into the end of the key slot 236 (defined by the height of the shoulder 232), leaving a gap for the locking slot 212b at the end of the shakel leg 212a.

The lock insert 220 can thus be* simply made, either of two parts - the notched disc 222 and a short section of a key forced thereinto, or as an integral part, made by die . casting. , ,. .

It is thus evident that the extra length conventionally combination pin P4. This was impossible according to the conventional design of the padlock 110.. - ■ ■ . · r '; * ■:·>. - Those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will readily appreciate that various changes, modifications and variations ma be applied to the preferred embodiment of the invention as described above with reference to Figs. ''3-6'';¾4 · withou 'departing from the scope of the invention as defined in and by the apppended claims.

Claims (6)

85043/2 - 7 - WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A padlock comprising a housing, a Shackle, and a multiple-pin type cylinder lock mechanism, the mechanism comprising of a lock cylinder, with a profiled, throughgoing key slot, rotatable within a cylinder bore in the housing, and a lock insert coupled to the cylinder to rotate therewith upon rotation of a key which unlocks the lock mechanism, characterized in that the lock insert is coupled to the cylinder by a profiled projection fitting into the key slot thereof.

2. The padlock as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the projection fits into a central portion of the slot.

3. The padlock as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the projection fits into an extended, cylindrical shoulder of the cylinder.

4. The padlock as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the profiled projection of the lock insert is separately made of a profiled section.

5. The padlock as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the profiled projection is integrally formed with the lock insert.

6. The padlock substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 3-6 of the accompanying drawings. 85043/2 -7a- The lock ^insert jfor padlocks as claimed in any of the preceding claims substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 3C, 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings. For the Applicants, FfcEIMANN, Advocate