SE543997C2

SE543997C2 - Padlock

Info

Publication number: SE543997C2
Application number: SE2050477A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Johan Hörberg; Magnus Nilsson
Original assignee: Swedlock Ab
Priority date: 2020-04-27
Filing date: 2020-04-27
Publication date: 2021-10-26
Also published as: WO2021221549A1; EP4143405A4; SE2050477A1; EP4143405A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a padlock (1) comprising a lock body (3), a shackle (5), a locking mechanism (10) for locking the shackle (5) to the lock body (3) and a selectively rotatable lock core (25) being arranged to operate said locking mechanism (10) and comprising at least three locking elements (51, 53, 55, 57, 59) which, when the locking mechanism is in a locked state, are aligned in a first direction.The padlock further comprises a rotatable member (29) being attached to said lock core (25) and comprising a retaining portion (31) and a release cavity (33).The release cavity (33) is configured to allow movement of the first locking element (51) in a second direction, which is different from said first direction, from a locking position to a non-locking position in which the shackle (5) is disengaged from the lock body (3), thereby allowing withdrawal of the shackle (5).

Description

PADLOCK Technical Field The present invention relates to a padlock comprising a lock body, ashackle having two shackle legs, a Iocking mechanism for Iocking the shackleto the lock body, a selectively rotatable lock core, wherein said lock core isarranged to operate said Iocking mechanism for Iocking and unlocking the padlock. The present invention also relates to a replaecable padlock shackle.

BackgroundUS 8,904,833 shows a padlock which includes a lock body, a shackle having two legs and a Iocking mechanism for Iocking the shackle to the lockbody. The Iocking mechanism comprises a rotatable cam and two Iockingballs. When the padlock is in locked status, the Iocking balls are engaged withnotches of the first and second shackle legs. When the lock is in unlockedstatus, the cam is rotated to a position where the two Iocking balls are locatedcorresponding to recesses formed in the cam, so that the Iocking balls areable to be located in the recesses, and the shackle can be pulled upward untilthe first shackle leg is completely removed from the lock body. The shackle isreplaceable by use of a tool.

However, this padlock may be considered bulky. Also, replacement of the shackle may be considered cumbersome.

Summary of the lnventionAn object of the present invention is to provide a compact padlock.Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact padlockthat can be operated independently by two different keys.According to a first aspect of the invention, this and other objects are achieved, in full or at least partly, by a padlock comprising a lock body, a shackle having two shackle legs, a locking mechanism for locking the shackleto the lock body, a selectively rotatable lock core, wherein said lock core isarranged to operate said locking mechanism for locking and unlocking thepadlock, wherein said locking mechanism comprises at least three lockingelements in the form of locking balls which, when the locking mechanism is ina locked state, are disposed side by side in a first direction extendingbetween a first locking element recess formed in the first shackle leg and asecond locking element recess formed in the second shackle leg, saidpadlock further comprising a rotatable member being attached to said lockcore and comprising a retaining portion, which is configured to retain a firstlocking ball of the locking mechanism in a locking position when said lockcore is situated in a first lock core position, and a release cavity which isconfigured to, upon rotation of said lock core from its lock core position to asecond lock core position, receive said first locking ball, wherein said releasecavity is configured to allow movement of the first locking ball in a seconddirection, which is different from said first direction, from its locking position toa non-locking position in which the shackle is disengaged from the lock body,thereby allowing withdrawal of the shackle.

A compact padlock is provided, since the locking element is arrangedto be moved in a second direction upon unlocking. Hence, the retainingportion of the rotatable member only need to, in a locked state, support thefirst locking element to prevent it from moving in the second direction and donot need to block the locking elements from lateral displacement, whichenables a compact solution. Especially, a compact solution as seen in the firstdirection is provided. ln the locked state the first locking element thus itselfholds the other locking elements in place and prevents them from leavingtheir respective locking recesses. Also, a padlock with a high level of securityis enabled, since unlocking movement of each of said locking elements ismechanically blocked by the retaining portion of the rotatable member. lt itthus not possible to move any of the locking elements from its locking positionusing e.g. a picking tool and/or padlock shims. ln fact, rotation of the rotatablemember, to such extent that the locking element cavity is to at least some extent exposed to the first locking element, is required to disengage theshackle from the lock body. Furthermore, a compact padlock, and/or apadlock having a simple design, in which two different locking devices can beused independently of each other to disengage the shackle from the lockbody is enabled. When the padlock is situated in an upright position the firstdirection corresponds to a horizontal direction.

According to one embodiment said release cavity is configured to,upon rotation of said lock core from its first lock core position to its secondlock core position, completely receive said first locking ball, which provides fora very compact solution.

According to one embodiment said second direction is orthogonal tosaid first direction. ln this embodiment, when the padlock is situated in anupright position the first direction corresponds to a horizontal direction and thesecond direction corresponds to a vertical direction.

According to one embodiment said lock core form part of anelectromechanical lock. Such an electromechanical lock may be configured tobe operated by a programmable key, in the form of a physical programmablekey configured to be inserted into a key receptacle of the electromechanicallock cylinder, or in the form of a mobile device, such as a mobile phone,which mobile device is configured to communicate with a lock core rotationdevice of the electromechanical lock.

According to one embodiment said rotatable member comprises aguiding surface which is configured to, upon rotation of said lock core, movethe first locking ball from its non-locking position to its locking position.

According to one embodiment said padlock further comprises a releasemember which is arranged to apply a force on said first locking ball, whichforce, upon rotation of the rotatable member acts to initiate movement of saidfirst locking ball into said release cavity.

According to one embodiment said release member comprises aspring-biased element and preferably a spring-biased ball.

According to one embodiment said release member is a leaf spring.

According to one embodiment at least one release member forms apositioning element configured to, when the first locking ball is situated in itslocking position, hold the first locking ball in an offset position relative to theother locking balls. ln this embodiment, the release member is a non-movable memberwhich holds the first locking element pre-positioned in such a position thatmovement thereof is initiated upon rotation of the first lock core. The non-movable member thus forms a static member of the padlock. The non-movable release member may be formed integral with or secured to the lockbody. The retaining portion of the rotatable member may then, if the retainingportion is flat, be arranged such that the first locking ball is situated verticallybelow the other locking balls, i.e. in an offset position, as seen when thepadlock is situated in an upright position, i.e. in a position in which the visibleportion of shackle is located vertically above the lock body. Alternatively, theretaining portion may be formed with a recess, the depth of which is adaptedto hold the first locking ball in such an offset position.

According to one embodiment said locking mechanism comprises atleast five locking balls which, when the locking mechanism is in a lockedstate, are disposed side by side in said first direction, and said padlock furthercomprising a second selectively rotatable lock core, arranged toindependently operate said locking mechanism for locking and unlocking thepadlock, and a second rotatable member being attached to said second lockcore and comprising a retaining portion, which is configured to retain asecond locking ball of the locking mechanism in a locking position when thesecond lock core is in a first lock core position, and a release cavity which isconfigured to, upon rotation of the second lock core from the first lock coreposition to a second lock core position, receive said second locking ball,wherein said second rotatable member is configured to allow movement ofsaid second locking ball in the second direction from its locking position to anon-locking position in which the shackle is disengaged from the lock body,thereby allowing withdrawal of the shackle.

A first opening device, such as a programmable key in the form of aphysical key or in the form of a mobile device, may operate the first lockingdevice and a second opening device, such as a mechanical key, may operatethe second locking device. ln this embodiment the padlock may thus beunlocked by a key inserted in the key receptacle of a first lock or by a keyinserted in the key receptacle of a second lock. A padlock that is possible toindependently operate with two different keys is thus achieved. Furthermore,each rotatable member provides for a robust and reliable operation of thelocking mechanism.

According to one embodiment said first shackle leg is formed with acircumferential groove, a first recessed portion between the first lockingelement recess and the circumferential groove, and a second recessedportion which extends from said circumferential groove and terminates at theoutermost part of the free end of said first shackle leg. The second recessedportion permits the shackle to be completely withdrawn from the lock bodywithout the use of a tool. This has the advantage that the shackle of a padlockcan be replaced by a replacement shackle in a very easy and fast manner.Such a replacement shackle may e.g. be a shackle providing larger clearancebetween the body and the shackle. The same lock body may thus be usedtogether with shackles having different clearance between the shackle andthe lock body.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provideda padlock shackle comprising a first shackle leg and a second shackle leg,wherein the first shackle leg is formed with a first locking element recess, acircumferential groove and a first recessed portion therebetween, andwherein the first shackle leg is formed with a second recessed portion whichextends from said circumferential groove and terminates at the outermostportion of the free end of said first shackle leg.

The first recessed portion and the second recessed portion are thussituated on opposite sides of the circumferential groove as seen in thelongitudinal direction of the shackle leg. The padlock body can be insertedinto a padlock body and used therewith. The second recessed portion permits the shackle to be easily inserted into a padlock body, which provides for easyand fast assembly of a padlock. The second recessed portion also permitsthe shackle to be completely withdrawn from a lock body to which it isconnected.

The first recessed portion is configured to, when the padlock shackle isconnected to a padlock body, permit a biased connecting member, such ase.g. a spring-biased connecting ball, of a shackle retaining device to bereceived in said circumferential groove. When the connecting member isreceived in the circumferential groove, the shackle is permitted to rotaterelative the padlock body. Hence, the first recessed portion enables theshackle to be withdrawn a predetermined distance relative the padlock bodyto which it is connected and the circumferential groove enables rotation of theshackle relative the padlock body to which it is connected.

The second recessed portion allows the first shackle leg to becompletely withdrawn from the lock body without the use of a tool.

Replacement of such a shackle may thus be carried out in a tool-free manner.

This has the advantage that the shackle of a padlock can be replaced by areplacement shackle in a very easy and fast manner. Such a replacementshackle may e.g. be a shackle providing larger clearance between the bodyand the shackle. The same lock body my thus be used together with shackleshaving different clearance between the shackle and the lock body.

According to one embodiment said first recessed portion and saidsecond recessed portion are situated on opposite sides of said first shackleleg.

According to one embodiment at least one of said release memberscomprises a magnetic element.

The depth to which the second recessed portion is recessed into thefirst shackle leg is preferably less than the depth of the circumferential grooveand more preferably about half of the depth of the circumferential groove.

According to one embodiment said second recessed portion is flat.

Further advantages and characteristics of the invention emerge fromthe description below and from the following patent claims.

Brief description of the drawinqs The invention will be described in more detail with reference to theappended schematic drawings, which show examples of presently preferredembodiments of the invention.

Figs. 1A-B are exploded views showing a padlock according to a firstembodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2A is a partly cross-sectional perspective view and i||ustrates partsof the padlock shown in Figs. 1A-B.

Figs. 2B-C are partly cross-sectional perspective views and i||ustrateunlocking of the padlock using a programmable key.

Fig. 2D is a partly cross-sectional view and i||ustrates a shackleretaining device of the padlock shown in Figs. 1A-B.

Fig. 2E is a partly cross-sectional perspective view and i||ustrates alocking of the padlock shown in Figs. 1A-B with the programmable key.

Fig. 3A is a partly cross-sectional perspective view and i||ustrates partsof the padlock shown in Figs. 1A-B.

Figs. 3B-C are partly cross-sectional perspective views and i||ustrateunlocking of the padlock using a mechanical key.

Figs. 4A-B are partly cross-sectional perspective views and i||ustrateremoval of the shackle of the padlock shown in Figs. 1A-B.

Fig. 4C is a partly cross-sectional perspective view and i||ustrates areplacement shackle and insertion of the replacement shackle into to the lockbody of the padlock shown in Figs. 1A-B.

Fig. 5 is a partly cross-sectional perspective view and i||ustrates a padlock according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

Description of preferred embodiments The invention will now for the purpose of exemplification be describedin more detailed by means of examples and with reference of theaccompanying drawings, in which currently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided forthoroughness and completeness, and to fully convey the scope of theinvention to the skilled addressee. Like reference characters refer to likeelements throughout.

Figs. 1A-B illustrate a padlock 1 according to a first embodiment of theinvention. The padlock 1 comprises a lock body 3, formed by a first lock bodypart 3a and a second lock body part 3b, a shackle 5 having a first shackle leg7 and a second shackle leg 9. The first shackle leg 7 is longer than thesecond shackle leg 9. The lock body 3 has a first shackle leg bore 11 forreceiving the first shackle leg 7 and a second shackle leg bore 13 forreceiving the second shackle leg 9. The first lock body part 3a further has afirst locking device bore 15 for receiving a first locking device and a secondlocking device bore 17 for receiving a second locking device. ln thisembodiment the first locking device is an electromechanical lock 19, and thesecond locking device is a mechanical cylinder lock which comprises amechanical lock cylinder 21.

The electromechanical lock 19 comprises a first lock core 25 which isreceived in the first locking device bore 15. The first lock core 25 is selectivelyrotatable with respect to a combination of the first lock body part 3a and alocking device part 23 in a known manner. The first lock core 25 is providedwith a key receptacle 27 for receiving a programmable key.

A first rotatable member 29 is attached to the first lock core 25. Thefirst rotatable member 29 comprises a first retaining portion 31 and a firstrelease cavity 33, as illustrated in Fig. 1A. ln this embodiment, the firstrotatable member 29 further comprises a first guiding surface 34 which isdisposed in connection to the first release cavity 33. The first rotatablemember 29 is attached to the first lock core 25 so as to rotate therewith uponrotation thereof. The guiding surface 34 raises from the bottom surface of thefirst release cavity 33 to the first retaining portion 31. ln other words the firstguiding surface 34 connects the the bottom surface of the first release cavity33 and retaining surface of the first retaining portion 31.

The mechanical lock cylinder 21 comprises a lock cylinder body 35 anda second lock core 37 located within the lock cylinder body 35. The secondlock core 37 is provided with a key receptacle 38 for receiving a key and isselectively rotatable with respect to the lock cylinder body 35.

A second rotatable member 39 is attached to the second lock core 37.The second rotatable member 39 comprises a retaining portion 41 and arelease cavity 43, as illustrated in Fig. 1A. ln this embodiment, the secondrotatable member 39 further comprises a second guiding surface 40 which isdisposed in connection to the second release cavity 43. The second rotatablemember 39 is attached to the second lock core 37 so as to rotate therewithupon rotation thereof. The second guiding surface 40 raises from the bottomof the second release cavity 43 to the second retaining portion 41. ln otherwords the second guiding surface 40 connects the the bottom surface of thesecond release cavity 43 and the retaining surface of the second retainingportion 41.

The padlock 1 further comprises a locking mechanism 10 for lockingthe shackle 5 to the lock body 3 in order to place the padlock 1 in a lockedstate. The locking mechanism 10 comprises a first locking element recess 45,which is formed in the first shackle leg 7, a second locking element recess 47,which is formed in the second shackle leg 9, and locking elements 49 in theform of locking balls 51, 53, 55, 57, 59. A first locking ball 51 is arranged to besupported by the first retaining portion 31 when the first lock core 25 issituated in a first lock core position. A second locking ball 53 is arranged to besupported by the second retaining portion 41 when the second lock core 37 issituated in a first lock core position. When both lock cores 25, 37 are situatedin their respective first lock core positions, as illustrated in Fig. 2A, thepadlock 1 is in a locked state. ln the locked state, the locking balls 51, 53, 55,57, 59 are disposed side by side in such a manner that adjacent locking ballsare in contact with each other. Then, the locking balls 51, 53, 55, 57, 59 aredisposed side by side in a first direction extending between the first lockingball recess 45 and the second locking ball recess 47. When the padlock 1 is situated in an upright position the first direction corresponds to a horizontaldirection.

A third looking ball 55 is arranged to be received in the first lookingelement recess 45 and engage the wall thereof. A fourth looking ball 57 isarranged to be received in the second looking ball recess 47 and engage thewall thereof. A fifth looking ball 59 is disposed between the first 51 andsecond 53 looking balls. The three intermediate looking balls 51, 53, 59 areoonfigured to maintain the third looking ball 55 in the first looking ball recess45 and the fourth looking ball 57 in the second looking ball recess 47 whenthe padlook 1 is in its looked state.

As illustrated in Fig. 1B, a looking ball oavity 61 is formed in the secondlock body part 3b. The looking ball oavity 61 is oonfigured to receive thelooking balls 51, 53, 55, 57, 59 of the looking mechanism 10.

The padlook 1 further comprises a shackle retaining device 63 forretaining a portion of the shackle 5 within the lock body 3 to maintain theshackle 5 connected to the lock body 3 when the padlook 1 is unlocked. Theretaining device 63 comprises a spring-biased connecting element, in theform of a spring-biased ball 65, which is received in a oavity 67 formed in thesecond lock body part 3b. To this end, a compression spring 69 is arrangedbetween the connecting element 65 and a support surface 71. The supportsurface 71 is in this case formed by a plug 73 which is secured to the secondlock body part 3b. The connecting element 65 is arranged to be biasedagainst a first flat portion 66 of the first shackle leg 7.

At the free end 7a of the first shackle leg 7 a circumferential groove 75is formed. The circumferential groove 75 is oonfigured to receive the spring-biased ball 65 of the shackle retaining device 63 to allow rotation of theshackle 5 relative the lock body 3. The first flat portion 66, which provides abearing surface to the spring-biased ball 65 upon withdrawal of the shackle 5,extends from the first looking ball recess 45 to the circumferential groove 75.The depth to which the first flat portion 66 is recessed in to the first shackleleg 7 is approximately the same as the depth of the circumferential groove 75.

At the free end 7a of the first shackle leg 7 a second flat portion 77 isformed. The second flat portion 77 extends from the circumferential groove 75and terminates at the outermost portion of the free end 7a. The first flatportion 66 and the second flat portion 77 are formed on opposite sides of thefirst shackle leg 7.

The padlock 1 further comprises a first release arrangement 79 and asecond release arrangement 81. The first release arrangement 79 is receivedin a recess 83 formed in the second lock body part 3a at the bottom of thelocking ball cavity 61 and the second release arrangement 81 is received in asecond recess 85 formed in the second lock body part 3a at the bottom of thelocking ball cavity 61.

Now referring to Fig. 2A, the first release arrangement 79 comprises arelease member, in the form of a spring-biased ball 87, as illustrated in theenlarged part of Fig. 2A. The spring-biased ball 87 is arranged to apply aforce on the first locking ball 51 and thereby press the first locking ball 51against the retaining portion 31 of the first rotatable member 29.

Now referring to Fig. 3A, the second release arrangement 81comprises a release member, in the form of a spring-biased ball 89, asillustrated in the enlarged part of Fig. 3A. The spring-biased ball 89 isarranged to apply a force on the second locking ball 53 and thereby press thethird locking ball 53 against the retaining portion 41 of the second rotatablemember 39.

With reference to Figs. 2A-C, unlocking of the padlock 1 with anappropriate programmable key 91 inserted in the key receptacle of theelectromechanical lock cylinder 19 will be described hereinafter.

The programmable key 91, which is used to operate theelectromechanical lock 19, comprises an energy source, such as a battery,and a control unit powered by the energy source. The key 91 can access acloud based or locally hosted access control system which transferauthorization data to the key or log information from the key 91 to the accesscontrol system via internet and a synchronization unit or via a mobile communication system such as the GSM net and a mobile device, such as a mobile phone. ln one embodiment the mobile device is the key itself. The key91 access the synchronization unit or the mobile device by a physical contact,by near field communication, such as NFC, or by radio communication, suchas Bluetooth. The key 91 can store all data necessary to access at least onespecific electromechanical lock 19, but cannot access any electromechanicallocks for which it does not have the appropriate authorization data. Lockingand unlocking of a lock using the programmable key 91 is rendered possibleonly if the programmable key is synchronized appropriately via thesynchronization unit or a mobile device. Further, the programmable key 91 isprovided with means by which electrical power, data and mechanical effortcan be transmitted to the lock in a known manner. The electromechanical lock19 is configured to be powered by and communicate with the programmablekey 91 upon the insertion of the key 91 in the key receptacle 27. To this endthe electromechanical lock 19 comprises power receiving means,communication means, access control device for controlling access of a key91 inserted in the key receptacle 27 and an electrical control unit.

Fig. 2A illustrates the padlock 1 in a locked state. ln this state, the thirdlocking ball 55 engages the wall of the first locking ball recess 45 and thefourth locking ball 57 engages the wall of the second locking ball recess 47.Further, in the locked state, the first locking ball 51 is situated in a lockingposition, in which it is supported by the first retaining portion 31, and thesecond locking ball 53 is situated in a locking position, in which it is supportedby the second retaining portion 41. Also, in the locked state, the fifth lockingball 59, which is disposed between the first locking ball 51 and the secondlocking ball 53, prevents the other locking balls 55, 57, 59 from beingdisplaced laterally. Hence, the intermediate locking balls 51, 53, 59 togetherprevent the third and fourth locking balls 55, 57 from being displaced fromtheir respective locking ball recesses 45, 47. When the padlock is in thelocked state the locking balls are disposed side by side in the first direction.

Upon rotation of the first lock core 25, and thereby the first rotatablemember 29, in an unlocking direction using the programmable key 91, asillustrated by arrows A in Fig. 2B, the first release cavity 33 is exposed to the first locking ball 51. Then, the first locking ball 51 is free to move in a seconddirection, which is orthogonal to the first direction, from its locking position intothe first release cavity 33, as schematically illustrated by arrow B in Fig. 2B. lnthis embodiment, the first locking ball 51 is forced to move away from itslocking position by the releasing member 87, as illustrated by arrows C and Din the enlarged part of Fig. 2B. The movement of the first locking ball 51 awayfrom its locking position is thus initiated by the spring-biased ball 87 whichexerts a force on the first locking ball 51.

The third locking ball 55 and the fourth locking ball 57 are then free tomove out of the first locking element recess 45 and the second lockingelement recess 47, respectively, as illustrated by arrows E and F in Fig. 2C,which allows the shackle 5 from to be withdrawn, as illustrated by arrows G inFig. 2C, to place the padlock 1 in an unlocked state. The shackle 5 iswithdrawn until the spring-biased ball 65 is received in the circumferentialgroove 75, as best illustrated in Fig. 2D. Then, the second shackle leg 9 iscompletely withdrawn from the lock body 3 while the first shackle leg 7 is stillwithin the shackle leg bore 11 and connected to the lock body 3 by theshackle retaining device 63.

The first lock core 25 is thus rotated to permit movement of the lockingballs 51, 53, 55, 57, 59 for disengaging the shackle 5, thereby permittingmovement of the shackle 5 in a direction away from the lock body 3 andremoval of the shorter leg 5 from the corresponding shackle leg bore 13 forplacing the padlock 1 in an unlocked state. The locking mechanism 10 thuscomprises locking elements, in the form of locking balls 51, 53, 55, 57, 59,each of which is movable between a locking position, in which it, together withthe other locking elements, prevents the shackle 5 from being withdrawn fromthe lock body 3, and a releasing position in which it permis the shackle 5 frombeing withdrawn from the lock body 3.

With reference to Fig. 2E locking of the padlock 1 will be describedhereinafter. Upon rotation of the first lock core 25 in the opposite direction, asillustrated by arrows H in Fig. 2E, the first locking ball 51 is moved back to its locking position under the guidance of the first guiding surface 34, as illustrated by arrows I in Fig. 2E. The guiding surfaoe 34 of the first rotatablemember 29 is thus oonfigured to, upon rotation of the first look oore 25 in alooking direction, whioh is opposite to the unlooking direction, move the firstlooking ball 51 to its looking position. Upon this movement, eaoh looking ball51, 53, 55, 57, 59 is foroed to its respeotive looking position, i.e. the thirdlooking ball 55 is moved into the first looking ball reoess 45, the fourth lookingball 57 is moved into the seoond looking ball reoess 47 and the intermediatelooking balls 51, 53, 59 are moved into positions in whioh they togetherprevent the third 55 and fourth 57 looking balls from being displaoed fromtheir respeotive looking ball reoesses 45, 47.

With referenoe to Figs. 3A-C, unlooking of the padlook 1 with anappropriate meohanioal key 93 inserted in the key reoeptaole of themeohanioal look oylinder 21 will be desoribed hereinafter. Fig. 3A illustratesthe padlook 1 in the looked state, whioh has been desoribed hereinbefore withreferenoe to Fig. 2A.

Upon rotation of the look oore of the meohanioal oylinder 21, andthereby the seoond rotatable member 39, in an unlooking direotion using thekey 93, as illustrated by arrows J in Fig. 3B, the first release oavity 43 isexposed to the seoond looking ball 53. Then, the seoond looking ball 53 isfree to move in a seoond direotion, whioh is orthogonal to the first direotion,from its looking position into the seoond release oavity 43, as sohematioallyillustrated by arrow K in Fig. 3B. ln this embodiment, the seoond looking ball53 is foroed to move away from its looking position by the releasing member89, as illustrated by arrows L and M in the enlarged part of Fig. 3B. Themovement of the seoond looking ball 53 away from its looking position is thusinitiated by the spring-biased ball 89 whioh exerts a foroe on the seoondlooking ball 53.

The third looking ball 55 and the fourth looking ball 57 are then free tomove out of the first looking oavity 45 and the seoond looking oavity 47,respeotively, as illustrated by arrows N and O in Fig. 3C, whioh allows theshaokle 5 from to be withdrawn, as illustrated by arrows P in Fig. 3C, to plaoethe padlook 1 in an unlooked state. The shaokle 5 is withdrawn until the spring-biased ball 65 is received in the circumferential groove 75. Then, the second shackle leg 5 is completely withdrawn from the lock body 3 while thefirst shackle leg 7 is still within the shackle leg bore 11 and connected to thelock body 3 by the shackle retaining device 63.

Upon rotation of the lock core of the mechanical cylinder 21 in anopposite direction, the second locking ball 53 is moved back to its lockingposition under the guidance of the second guiding surface 40. The secondguiding surface 40 is thus configured to, upon rotation of the second lock core38 in a locking direction, which is opposite to the unlocking direction, guidethe second locking ball 53 to its locking position. Upon this movement, eachlocking ball 51, 53, 55, 57, 59 is forced into its respective locking position, i.e.the third locking ball 55 is moved into the first locking ball recess 45, the thirdlocking ball 57 is moved into the second locking ball recess 47 and theintermediate locking balls 51, 53, 59 are moved into positions in which theytogether prevent the third 55 and fourth 57 locking balls from being displacedfrom their respective locking ball recesses 45, 47.

The first rotatable member 29 may thus be operated by an appropriatekey inserted into the key receptacle of the electromechanical lock and thesecond rotatable member 39 may be operated by an appropriate key insertedinto the key receptacle of the mechanical lock cylinder 21. Each of the lockcores 25, 37 is thus arranged to independently operate the lockingmechanism for locking and unlocking the padlock 1.

The release cavities 33, 43 thus enables the third locking ball 55 andthe fourth locking ball 57 to be moved from the first locking ball recess 45 andthe second locking ball recess 47, respectively and thereby the lockingmechanism to be moved to an unlocking position in which it permitsWithdrawal of the shackle 5 from the lock body 3.

Now referring to Fig. 4A, the first shackle leg 7 is provided with asecond flat portion 77 that serves to facilitate replacement of a shackle 5 by areplacement shackle. The second flat portion 77 extends from thecircumferential groove 75 to the outermost portion of the free end 7a of thefirst shackle leg 7. The depth to which the second flat portion 77 is recessed in to the first shackle leg 7 is less than the depth of the circumferential groove75. This provides for some resistance to withdrawal of the shackle 5. Apredetermined force is thus needed to withdraw the shackle completely inorder to secure that the shackle is not detached from the lock body in anundesirable manner. ln this embodiment the depth to which the second flatportion 77 is recessed in to the first shackle leg 7 is about half of the depth ofthe circumferential groove 75. ln this embodiment the first flat portion 66, illustrated in Fig. 1A, andthe second flat portion 77 are situated on opposite sides of the first shackleleg 7, as best illustrated in the enlarged part of Fig. 4A.

With reference to Figs. 4A-C, replacement of a shackle 5 is describedhereinafter. ln a first step, the shackle 5 to be replaced is rotated as illustratedby arrow Q in Fig. 4A. The shackle 5 is rotated, with the spring-biasedconnecting ball 65 disposed in the circumferential groove 75, 180° to ashackle changing position. ln the shackle changing position, illustrated in Fig.4A, the connecting element 65 faces the side of the shackle leg 7 that has thesecond flat portion 77. Hence, by rotating the shackle 180°, the second flatportion 77 is exposed to the connecting ball 65. When the shackle 5 issituated in the shackle changing position, which is illustrated in Fig. 4A, theshackle 5 is permitted to be completely withdrawn from the lock body 3, asillustrated by arrow R in Fig. 4B. Upon such withdrawal of the shackle 5, theconnecting element 65 abuts the second flat portion 77, as illustrated in theenlarged part of Fig. 4B. ln a second step, the shackle 5 is completely withdrawn from the lockbody, as illustrated by arrow S in Fig. 4B. ln a third step, the longer shackle leg 95 of a replacement shackle 97,e.g. a shackle with more clearance between the shackle 97 and the lock body3, can be inserted into the first shackle leg bore 11, as illustrated by arrows Tin Fig. 4C, and used together with the lock body 3 in the manner previouslydescribed for the replaced shackle 5. Upon insertion of the replacementshackle 97 it is oriented such that the second flat surface 99 of the longer shackle leg 95 faces the spring-biased ball 65 of the shackle retaining device63.

Hereinafter a padlock 201 according to a second embodiment will bedescribed with reference to Fig. 5. Many features disclosed in the firstembodiment are also present in the second embodiment with similarreference numerals identifying similar or same features. Having mentionedthis, the description will focus on explaining the differing features of thesecond embodiment.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that thepadlock 201 comprises one single lock core 25 instead of two lock cores.

The single lock core 25 is selectively rotatable with respect to acombination of a first lock body part 203a and a locking device part 23,illustrated in Fig. 1A. The lock core 25, which is configured to receive aphysical programmable key 91, form part of an electromechanical lock 19. Arotatable member 29 is secured to the lock core 25 so as to rotate therewithupon rotation thereof. The rotatable member 29 comprises a first retainingportion 31 and a release cavity 33 and a guiding surface 34 which is disposedin connection to the first release cavity 33.

Furthermore, the padlock 201 differs in that the locking mechanism forlocking the shackle 5 to the lock body 203 comprises only three lockingelements, in the form of three locking balls 51, 55, 57. The lockingmechanism thus comprises a first locking element recess 45, which is formedin the first shackle leg 7, a second locking element recess 47, which is formedin the second shackle leg 9, and locking elements in the form of three lockingballs 51, 55, 57. A first locking ball 51 is arranged to be supported by theretaining portion 31 of the rotatable member 29 when the lock core 25 is in afirst lock core position. When the lock core 25 is in its first lock core positionthe padlock 201 is in a locked state. Then, the locking balls are disposed sideby side in a first direction extending between the first locking element recess45 and the second locking element recess 47 in such a manner that the firstlocking ball 51 is in contact with each of the second locking ball 55 and thethird locking ball 57.

A second Iocking ball 55 is arranged to be received in the first Iockingelement recess 45 and engage the wall thereof and a third Iocking ball 57 isarranged to be received in the second Iocking ball recess 47 and engage thewall thereof. The first Iocking ball 51, i.e. the intermediate Iocking ball, isconfigured to maintain the second Iocking ball 55 in the first Iocking ballrecess 45 and the third Iocking ball 57 in the second Iocking ball recess 47when the padlock 1 is in its locked state.

Unlocking and Iocking of the padlock 201 with an appropriateprogrammable key 91 inserted in the lock core 25 is carried out in the samemanner as described hereinbefore with reference to Figs. 2A-2E. lt will be appreciated that many variants of the above-describedembodiments are possible within the scope of the appended patent claims.

Hereinbefore, with reference to Fig. 2A, it has been described that thepadlock may be provided with a movable release member. lt is appreciatedthat such a release member may instead comprise a non-movable memberconfigured to hold a Iocking ball in an offset position and, upon rotation of alock core, act to initiate movement of the Iocking element into the releasecavity of the corresponding rotatable member.

Claims

1. Padlock (1; 201) comprising a lock body (3; 203), a shackle (5) having two shackle legs (7, 9), a locking mechanism (10) for locking the shackle (5) to the lock body(3; 203), a selectively rotatable lock core (25), wherein said lock core (25) is arranged to operate said lockingmechanism (10) for locking and unlocking the padlock (1),characterized in that said locking mechanism comprises at least three locking elements (51,53, 59) which, when the locking mechanism is in a locked state, are disposedside by side in a first direction extending between a first locking elementrecess (45) formed in the first shackle leg (7) and a second locking elementrecess (47) formed in the second shackle leg (9), said padlock further comprising a rotatable member (29) beingattached to said lock core (25) and comprising a retaining portion (31), whichis configured to retain a first locking element (51) of the locking mechanism(10) in a locking position when said lock core (25) is situated in a first lockcore position, and a release cavity (33) which is configured to, upon rotationof said lock core (25) from its first lock core position to a second lock coreposition, receive said first locking element (51 ), wherein said release cavity (33) is configured to allow movement of thefirst locking element (51) in a second direction, which is different from saidfirst direction, from its locking position to a non-locking position in which theshackle (5) is disengaged from the lock body (3; 203), thereby allowingwithdrawal of the shackle (5).

2. Padlock (1; 201) according to claim 1, wherein said release cavity(33) is configured to, upon rotation of said lock core (25) from its first lock core position to its second lock core position, completely receive said firstlocking element (51 ).

3. Padlock (1; 201) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said second direction is orthogonal to said first direction.

4. Padlock (1; 201) according to any one of the preceding claims,wherein at least one of said locking elements is a ball (51, 53, 59).

5. Padlock (1; 201) according to any one of the preceding claims,wherein said lock core (25) form part of an electromechanical lock (19).

6. Padlock according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein saidrotatable member (29) comprises a guiding surface (34) which is configuredto, upon rotation of said lock core (25), move said first locking element (51)from its non-locking position to its locking position.

7. Padlock (1; 201) according to any one of the preceding claims,wherein said padlock further comprises a release member (79) which isarranged to apply a force on said first locking element (51 ), which force, uponrotation of the rotatable member (29) acts to initiate movement of said firstlocking element (51) into said release cavity (33).

8. Padlock (1; 201) according to claim 7, wherein said release member(79) comprises a spring-biased element and preferably a spring-biased ball(87).

9. Padlock according to claim 7, wherein at least one release memberforms a positioning element configured to, when the first locking ball issituated in its locking position, hold the first locking element in an offsetposition relative to the other locking elements.

10. Padlock (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, whereinsaid locking mechanism (10) comprises at least five locking elements (51, 53,55, 57, 59) which, when the locking mechanism is in a locked state, aredisposed side by said in said first direction, and said padlock furthercomprising a second selectively rotatable lock core (37), arranged toindependently operate said locking mechanism (10) for locking and unlockingthe padlock (1), anda second rotatable member (39) being attached to said second lockcore (37) and comprising a retaining portion (41), which is configured to retaina second locking element (53) of the locking mechanism (10) in a lockingposition when the second lock core (37) is situated in a first lock core position,and a release cavity (43) which is configured to, upon rotation of the secondlock core (37) from its first lock core position to a second lock core position,receive said second locking element (53),wherein said second rotatable member (39) is configured to allow movement of said second locking element (53) in a second direction, which isdifferent from said first direction, from its locking position to a non-lockingposition in which the shackle (5) is disengaged from the lock body (3), therebyallowing withdrawal of the shackle (5).

11. Padlock (1; 201) according to any one of the preceding claims,wherein said first shackle leg (7) is formed with a circumferential groove (75),a first recessed portion (66) between the first locking element recess (45) andthe circumferential groove (75), and a second recessed portion (77) whichextends from said circumferential groove (75) and terminates at the outermostportion of the free end (7a) of said second shackle leg (7), said secondrecessed portion (77) being configured to allow complete withdrawal of thefirst shackle leg (7) from the lock body (3; 203).

12. Padlock shackle (5; 97) comprising a first shackle leg (7; 95) and asecond shackle leg (9), wherein the first shackle leg (7) is formed with a first Iocking element recess (45), a circumferential groove (75) and a firstrecessed portion (66) therebetween, characterized in that the first shackle leg (7; 95) is formed with a second recessed portion (77; 99) which extends from said circumferential groove (75) and terminatesat the outermost portion of the free end (7a) of said second shackle leg (7).

13. Padlock shackle (5; 97) according to claim 12, wherein said firstrecessed portion (66) and said second recessed portion (77) are situated on opposite sides of said first shackle leg (7).

14. Padlock shackle (5; 97) according to any one of claims 12-13, wherein said second recessed portion (77; 99) is flat.