US1938342A

US1938342A - Lock

Info

Publication number: US1938342A
Application number: US567995A
Authority: US
Inventors: Levine Abraham
Original assignee: Presto Lock Co Inc
Current assignee: Presto Lock Co Inc
Priority date: 1931-10-10
Filing date: 1931-10-10
Publication date: 1933-12-05
Anticipated expiration: 1950-12-05

Description

A. LEVINE Dec. 5, 1933.

LOCK

Filed Oct. 10, 1931 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 5, 1933 LOCK Abraham Levine, Elizabeth, J., assignor to Presto Lock Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 10, 1931. Serial No. 567,995

d'Claims. (01. 292- 7) This invention relates to locking devices.

The invention is described herein in its particular application for locking devices used on flexible bags, such as leather envelopes or the like; it is to be understood, however, that this application is not intended to be restrictive, but merely to illustrate a possible application of the invention. The invention is capable of application to any situation where two parts of a locking device are to be moved substantially in alignment at, or during, the time of their engagement. Also, by giving curvature to certain elements of the locking device, features of the invention maybe applied for locking together elements which do not have aligned movement at the time of their engagement.

In the particular constructionherein involved, a plug lock is received within a strike, the plug and strike being constructed so that a resilient member inone of them is engaged in a notch or recess in the other to prevent their separation, a push button being provided to force the resilient member, at will, out of the engaging relationship. In association with these parts is a spring member or like element, the tendency of which is to move the plug and the strike apart, when they have been associated as indicated. Upon actuation of the push button, there results the separation of the resilient member from its notch or recess, the spring member separating plug and strike to a suificient extent to make impossible thereengagement of the resilient memher with its notch or recesss when the push buttonis released. Also, the action of thespring member causes the plug tomove out of the strike in order that further and more complete separation of these parts, as desired, may be effected.

It is an object of the invention to provide a locking device capable of retaining two members associated merely by pushing together two parts of the device, these parts being released for separation upon actuating a releasing means, and means being provided to separate, at least slightly, at such time, the two parts of the device to prevent reengagem nt of the locking elements after the releasing means is permitted to return to inactivity. 7

Other objects of this invention will be hereinafter set forth, or will be apparent from the desoription and the drawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment of apparatus for carrying out the invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to any particular construction and arrangement of parts, or to any particula application of such construction, or to the specific methods of use, or to any ofthe various details thereof, herein shown and described, as the same may. be modified in various particulars or be applied in many varied relations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the practical embodiment herein illustrated and described being merely to show one of the various forms and modifications in which the invention may be embodied. a

For the attainment of these objects and of such other objects as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustratedthis embodiment of my invention in the drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of portions of a pouch with which has been associated a locking device, embodying the invention; I

Fig.2 is an exploded view, in elevation, of the locking elements;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,-through the strikeand the plug of the lock;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view, to an enlarged scale, on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, to illustrate the internal construction of the plug;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, to the same scale as Fig. 4, taken on the line 55 of Fig. 12, toillustrate the arrangement'ofparts of the strike; I 7

Fig. 6 is a view, similar to Fig. 3, except that the parts are shown in locking relation and to an enlarged scale; and

Fig.7 is a detail sectional view, on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6, demonstrating the action of a portion of the mechanism.

A look 10, embodying the invention, is shown on the drawing as associated with a pouch 12, the strike 14 being mounted directly upon the body 16 of thepouch, while the plug 18 is secured to a flap 20, whereby the flap mayybe secured to close the open top of the pouch, or for similar purposes.

Strike 14 may be constructed in any desired manner; a preferred assembly includes a shield plate 22 and an housing 24. The housing may be formed from a piece of sheet metal, properly dished, and having prongs 26 left extending therefrom. These prongs are intended for reception through openings 28 in plate 22. They preferably are also passed through openings 30 in a clip 32 and are bent down to retain the housing, plate and clip fixedly associated. Wings 34 of the clip are, in this particular construction, passed through slits 36 cut in the leather of the body wall and have a Washer 38 positioned thereover. The wings are then bent over the washer and serve to retain the assembled strike firmly associated with body 16.

In plate 22, a slot 40 is formed so as to leave at one end an ear 42, preferably integrally formed with the plate, extending into the slot. A leaf spring 44 is seated against the bottom face of the plate and within the space 46 provided by the flanged edges 48 of the plate. Thespring is retained in this relationship by extending ear 42 through a hole 50 in the spring, and hammering the ear down against the spring. The spring is deformed to extend normally through slot 40; at its free end, in an opening therefor provided, the stem 52 of a button 54 is retained. The stem is slightly riveted over, as at 56, to enlarge the end sufiiciently to prevent separation of the stem from the spring, yet permitting considerable rocking movement of the stem, and, therefore, of the button with relation to the spring. The button, when the elements of the strike are completely assembled, extends through an opening 58 in housing 24 so that it may be engaged by a finger for depressing spring 44.

Just to the rear of stem 52 is struck up a boss 60; the normal upward biasing of the spring will position this boss above the level of plate 22, and tend to force it into a recess 62 in plug 18, when the latter is positioned within the strike, as hereinafter appears, a face 6401? the recess and an edge 66 of the boss interlocking to retain the strike and the plug against separation.

The plug is constructed in any desired manner, either as a solid piece or, in a preferred embodiment, by forming two

shells

68 and 70 with flanged edges '72 and 74. These shells are so dimensioned that they may be interfitted snugly. In such case recess 62 would be formed by a sloping, tapering surface '76 in shell 70 and a wall of flanged edge 72, face 64 being that of flanged edge '72. These two shells preferably are held in interlocked relationship by a pair of tongues 78 on one shell, brought into engagement with the other shell and soldered or otherwise secured fixedly thereto.

Shell 68 is formed with a pressed, enlarged section 80. When section 82 of the plug is inserted into passage 84 of the strike, within which it is intended to fit snugly, the plug will be stopped by section against excess inward movement. An opening 86 is provided in the vertical wall 88 of the section 80 and has extending therethrough the looped end 90 of a leaf spring 92, housed within a chamber 94 provided by section 80. When the plug is inserted into the strike, and edge 72 moved over boss 60, preferably formed as a carnming surface to permit this relative movement ofedge and boss, end 90 is located so that it will come: into abutment with edge 96 of the housing and, as the plug is forced into the strike to complete the interlocking engagement of recess and boss, spring 92 will be compressed. Thus, when the engagement of boss and recess is finally effected, there will be active a positive force, tending to drive the plug out of the housing. If button 54 now be pressed and the boss thus be separated from the recess, spring 92 will push the plug at least partially out of the housing andwill separate the boss and the recess to a sufficient extent that, upon release of the button, the recess and the boss may not reengage.

Briefly, therefore, the operation of this device involves merely the insertion of the plug into the housing, against the action of spring 92, until the recess engages over the boss, whereupon. the

two members are engaged against separation. On depression of the button 54, spring 92 separates the strike from the plug to make inactive the locking mechanism of the device until strike and plug are again positively driven together.

While the specific plug and strike herein are associated by movement along a straight line, it will be obvious that they may be associated otherwise than by motion in a straight line.

Many other changes could be effected in the particular apparatus designed, and in the methods of use set forth, and in specific details thereof, without substantially departing from the invention intended to be defined in the claims, the specific description being merely for an operative embodiment carrying out the spirit of the invention.

' Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In latching mechanism for containers, a hollow plug member, a thin walled receptacle adapted to receive said plug in close-fitting sliding engagement and of substantially the same size and contour as the plug, a hollow elongated enlargement extending transversely across the outer side of said plug, said enlargement forming a shoulder to limit the entrance of the plug into the receptacle and having an opening in its shoulder portion adjacent the outer side of the plug, a resilient member within said hollow enlargement and having a portion thereof extending through said'opening in close proximity to the front wall cf said plug, said extending portion of said resilient member being adapted to force said plug away from said receptacle when they are not interlocked, and to be forced within the confines of said enlargement when said plug and receptacle are brought into interlocking relation, a depression in the inner face of said plug provided with a shoulder, a resilient member on the rear wall of said receptacle adapted to engage said shoulder'and to hold said plug and receptacle in locking relation, and means projecting out of the forward wall of the receptacle and adapted for manual operation to cause disengagement of said resilient member and said plug.

2. 'In latching mechanism for containers, a plug member, a thin walled receptacle adapted to receive said plug in close-fitting sliding engagement, so as to prevent lateral relative motion, and of substantially the same size and contour as the plug, a hollow elongated enlargement extending transversely across the outer side of the plug, said enlargement forming a shoulder to limit the entrance of the plug into the receptacle and having an opening in its shoulder portion adjacent the outer side of the plug, a resilient member within said hollow enlargement and having a portion thereof extending through said opening, in close proximity to the front wall of said plug, said extending portion of said resilient member being adapted to engage a terminal portion of said receptacle toforce said plug away from saidreceptacle when they are not interlocked, and to be forced within the confines of said enlargement when said plug and receptacle are brought into interlocking relation, a depression in the inner face of said plug provided with a shoulder, and a resilient member on the rear wall of said receptacle adapted to engage said shoulder and to hold said plug and receptacle in looking relation.

3. In latching mechanism for containers, a plug member, a thin walled receptacle adapted to receive said plug in close-fitting sliding engagement, so as to prevent relative motion laterally, and of substantially the same size and contour as the plug, a hollow elongated enlargement extending transversely across the outer side of the plug, said enlargement forming a shoulder to limit the entrance of the plug into the receptacle and having an opening in its shoulder portion adjacent the outer side of the plug, a resilient member within said hollow enlargement and having a portion thereof extending through said opening in close proximity to the front wall of said plug, said extending portion of said resilient member being adapted to engage a terminal portion of said receptacle to force said plug away from said receptacle when they are not interlocked, and to be forced within the confines of said receptacle when said plug and receptacle are brought into interlocking relation, a depression in the inner face of said plug provided with a shoulder, a resilient member on the rear wall of said receptacle adapted to engage said shoulder and to hold said plug and receptacle in looking relation, and means projecting out of the forward wall of the receptacle, adapted for manual operation to cause disengagement of said resilient member and said plug.

4. In a locking device for flexible bags and the like, comprising a plug and a strike, said plug comprising a plurality of sheet metal parts constituting the 'walls thereof, a hollowed-out portion in one of said parts and said part also provided at its free terminal portion with an abutment adapted to interengage with locking means carried by the strike, said strike comprising a sheet metal walled receptacle adapted to receive said plug in close sliding engagement therewith and provided with resilient locking means adapted to engage said abutment for locking purposes, and resilient means'within said hollowed out portion adapted to engage a terminal portion of the wall of said strike and to automatically move said plug away from the position Where interlocking between plug and strike becomes possible, and manually operative means for disengaging said resilient locking means from said abutment.

ABRAHAM LEVINE.