US3185513A - Luggage fittings - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent O 3,185,513 LUGGAGE FITTINGS William E. Chance, Hockley, Birmingham, England, assigner to C. W. Cheney & Son Limited, Hockley, Birmingham, England, a British company Filed Oct. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 229,705 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Aug. 25, 1962, 32,735/ 62 3 Claims. (Cl. 292281) This invention relates to luggage fittings and particular to hasps which are spring loaded to ily off when released. These ttings are comparatively diicult to assemble because of the spring loading and in fact it is usual to assemble with the spring dead and then tension the spring and engage it with part of the fitting to retain the tension; this is not a task lending itself to mass production, and in the case of small fittings, the labour cost for tensioning the spring may be equal to or greater than the remainder of the labour cost in making and assembling the complete article.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved fitting.

In accordance with the invention, the fitting comprises an attachment plate and a hasp tted to the plate, the hasp being spring loaded to Hy olf when released, the arrangement being such that in the spring driven olf position the spring is not tensioned.

The invention further consists `in a luggage fitting comprising a hasp pivoted to an attachment plate upon a pin, the hasp being formed with a knuckle which houses a coiled torsion spring, the tails of which project tangentially in opposite directions, the attachment plate being formed with a window through which said knuckle can be located to align the bore of the knuckle with apertured ears projecting from the attachment plate so that the pin may be inserted through the bore of the spring and through said ears to assemble the parts together when the hasp is in its extreme off position .and the spring is untensioned.

It will be appreciated that swinging the hasp about the pivot pin to the on position tensions the spring, so that when the hasp is released from another part of a piece of luggage, the hasp will ily off.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a hasp in its olf position;

FIGURE 2 is an underside plan thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE l but with the hasp in its on position;

FIGURE 4 is 1an underside plan of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale of the parts of the hasp shown in FIGURES 1-4 prior to assembly;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view corresponding to FIGURE 2 of another hasp; and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional side elevation of part of the hasp of FIGURE 6.

Referring first to FIGURES 1-5, the hasp shown therein comprises a loop plate, generally indicated at 10, an attachment plate, generally indicated at 11, and a pivot pin 12. The plates 10, 11 are each fabricated from a single piece of sheet metal, as a pressing.

The loop plate has one end portion provided with a lug 13 a portion of which is formed into a cylindrical knuckle of which the axis is transverse to the length of the loop plate, and each side of the lug carries integral tongues 14 bent to lie in parallel planes spaced from respective ends of the knuckle. The tongues are apertured co-axially at 15, FIGURE 5.

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A helical torsion spring is located in the knuckle and has substantially tangentially extending tails 17, 18, each of which projects through a corresponding one of the two slots 19 formed between the ends of the knuckle and the tongues 14. The tail 18 lies flat against the underside of the loop plate 10 whereas the tail 17 projects generally normally of the loop plate. A hasp loop 20 is welded to the plate.

The attachment plate 11 has a pair of holes 21 for fixing it to a suitcase lid, for example, and is substantially elliptical in shape. From a longer side of the plate project a pair of ears 22 which are united by a bar 23. Respective portions of the ears constitute integral tabs 24 bent into parallel planes and apertured co-axially at 25, FIGURE 5. The ears 22 are bent into a somewhat C shape to form a somewhat cylindrical open box provided with a window 26, FIGURE 5.

The litting is assembled by locating the spring in the knuckle before finally closing same, then placing the loop plate 10 in the position shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 5 so that the complete knuckle passes through the window 26 and the two sets of apertures 15, 25, are aligned. The tail 17 then abuts the bar 23 which forms a stop or abutment therefor. The pin 12 is then passed through the assembly and headed over to retain it in position.

Hence, assembly is simple :and cheap for no tensioning of the spring is necessary. When the loop plate is swung through to the FIGURE 3 and 4 position, in which the loop 20 can engage in a latch mechanism provided on the suitcase body, for example, the spring is automatically tensioned to that when released the loop plate will ily olf to the FIGURES 1, 2 and 5 position.

Turning now to FIGURES 6 and 7, these show a second hasp in which lighter gauge sheet metal is used. In this case the loop plate is made from atop pressing having a flange 30 extending around its periphery, except for the side provided with lug 13, and a bottom pressing 31 which fits within the flange and is retained by an integral tab 32 on the flange which abuts against the plate, and by a second tongue 33 which ts inside the knuckle.

The loop 34 is rivetted to the bottom pressing, and the hollow construction of the loop plate enables tail 18 of the spring to be accommodated therein and dispenses with the need for one of the slots between the knuckle lug 13 and the adjacent tongue 14, as most clearly seen in FIG- URE 6.

The attachment plate used in the FIGURES 5 and 6 construction likewise has a peripheral flange 35 to give it an increased apparent thickness.

The hasp shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 is assembled in the same convenient manner as that shown in FIGURES 1-5.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A hasp fitting comprising an attachment plate, a loop plate, a spring and a pivot pin; said attachment plate having a pair of ears united by a bar, the ears, plate and bar defining a window, said ears having co-axial apertures; said loop plate comprising a lug having a portion bent into a cylindrical knuckle which houses the spring and having integral tongues disposed parallel to one another and spaced from respective axial ends of the knuckle; said spring being a helical torsion spring having tangentially extending tails each of which extends through a space between the knuckle and tongues; said loop plate being disposed with its knuckle and said tongues extending through said window and with one of the tails abutting the loop plate and the other .abutting the bar, said pin extending through the knuckle tongues and spring and through said co-axial apertures in the attachment plate ears.

2. A hasp fitting comprising an attachment plate, a loop plate, a spring and a pivot pin; said attachment plate having a pair of ears united by a bar, the ears, plate and bar dening a Window, said ears having co-axial apertures; said loop plate comprising a pair of assembled parallel plates one of which has van integral lug formed into a cylindrical knuckle which houses the spring; said spring being a helical torsion spring having tangentially extending tails, one of said tails extending between the said assembled parallel plates; said loop plate being disposed with its knuckle extending through saidwindow and with the other of 'said tails of the spring abutting the bar, said pin extending through the knuckle and spring and through said co-axial apertures in the attachment plate ears.

3. A hasp tt'ing comprising, in combination: (a) an attachment plate having a pair of ears united by a bar, the ears, plate, and bar defining a window, and said ears being formed with apertures having a cornmon axis; (b) a helical torsion spring having tangentially extending tails; (c) a loop plate including two plate members, Y

(l) one of said plate members having an integral lug, a portion of said lug being bent into a cylindrical knuckle about said axis, said knuckle being coaxially received in said window and coaxially receiving said spring, and two other portions of said lug constituting integral tongues at axially opposite ends of said knuckle, one of said tongues abutting against the associated end of said knuckle, and the other tongue being axially spaced from the associated other end of the knuckle `so as to dene a space therewith, said tongues being apertured coaxially with said apertures, said one plate member further having an integral tab spaced from said lug,

(2) the other one of said plate members having tongue means engaging said knuckle, and being engaged by said integral tab, said plate members being secured in parallel spaced relationship by said tongue means and said tab;

(3) one of said tails extending through said space and abutting said bar, and the other tail being Y retained between said plate members; (d) a loop member on said other plate member; and (e) a pin member coaxially extending through said knuckle, said spring, said apertures in said lug portions, and said apertured tongues, the axial end portions of said pin member being headed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,871,126 8/32 Morley 16-191 1,892,584 12/32 Olson 16-189 2,054,360 9/36 Cheney 292-281 2,803,850 8/57 Hooper 16-191 2,960,363 ll/60 Cheney 292--281 FOREIGN PATENTS 140,910 4/20 Great Britain.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner.

30 ALBERT H. KAMPE, THOMAS J. HECKEY,

Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. A HASP FITTING COMPRISING AN ATTACHMENT PLATE, A LOOP PLATE, A SPRING AND A PIVOTAL PIN; SAID ATTACHMENT PLATE HAVING A PAIR OF EARS UNITED BY A BAR, THE EARS, PLATE AND BAR DEFINING A WINDOW, SAID EARS HAVING CO-AXIAL APERTURES; SAID LOOP PLATE COMPRISING A LUG HAVING A PORTION BENT INTO A CYLINDRICAL KNUCKLE WHICH HOUSES THE SPRING AND HAVING INTEGRAL TONGUES DISPOSED PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER AND SPACED FROM RESPECTIVE AXIAL ENDS OF THE KNUCKLE; SAID SPRING BEING A HELICAL TORSION SPRING HAVING TANGENTIALLY EXTENDING TAILS EACH OF WHICH EXTENDS THROUGH A SPACE BETWEEN THE KNUCKLE AND TONGUES; SAID LOOP PLATE BEING DISPOSED WITH ITS KNUCKLE AND SAID TONGUES EXTENDING THROUGH SAID WINDOW AND WITH ONE OF THE TAILS ABUTTING THE LOOP PLATE AND THE OTHER ABUTTING THE BAR, SAID PIN EXTENDING THROUGH THE KNUCKLE TONGUES AND SPRING AND THROUGH SAID CO-AXIAL APERTURES IN THE ATTACHMENT PLATE EARS.

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