US3350902A

US3350902A - Key-operated locks for articles of luggage

Info

Publication number: US3350902A
Application number: US487145A
Authority: US
Inventors: Chance William Ernest
Original assignee: CW Cheney and Son Ltd
Current assignee: CW Cheney and Son Ltd
Priority date: 1965-09-14
Filing date: 1965-09-14
Publication date: 1967-11-07
Anticipated expiration: 1984-11-07

Description

7 Nov; 7, 1967 w. E. CHANCE 3,350,902

KEY-OPERATED LOCKS FOR ARTICLES OF LUGGAGE Filed Sept. 14, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l iNVE'NTOR'.

WILLIAM E NESTCHANCE Xw m ATTORNEY Nov. 7, 1967 w. E. CHANCE KEY-OPERATED LOCKS FOR ARTICLES OF LUGGAGE Filed Sept. 14, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (NVENTOR:

WJ'IJUAM ERNESTCHANCE ATTORNE7 United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention provides a lock for articles of luggage having a locking plate pivoted at one end and with a key engaged projection at the other end, the projection being provided to extend inwardly of a central aperture of the plate, and the plate being arranged so that it is held in the locked or unlocked position by a hair pin spring which also serves to urge the bolt in a hasp engaged position.

This invention relates to key-operated locks for articles of luggage such as, for example, suitcases, travel bags, and portable typewriter cases, and comprising a linearly slidable bolt spring-urged into engagement with a hasp part such as a hasp loop for example.

Hitherto such a lock has had a locking plate which in one position abuts the bolt and holds it against sliding out of said engagement, and in another position is spaced from abutment with the bolt to permit sliding, the plate being rotatable by engagement of a tongue bent or pressed up from the locking plate to form a key-engaging projection. Whilst this is satisfactory for many purposes, it has two limitations: first the strength of the key-engaging pro jection depends wholly on the thickness of the metal, but the bending or pressing of the projection weakens it; secondly the height of the projection above the locking plate increases the overall thickness of the lock thus mitigating against a shallow construction.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved lock minimising the above two limitations.

In accordance with the invention a key-operated lock for articles of luggage comprises a casing containing a linearly slidable bolt spring-urged into engagement with a hasp part, and a locking plate provided with pivot means, an aperture, and a key-engaging projection, the

latter projecting into the aperture from a part of the margin thereof most remote from the pivot means.

Preferably the lock additionally comprises front and back plates within which are mounted the bolt and locking plate and which include a pivotal post such as a rivet or plunged part which supports the locking plate pivot point.

A typical example of the invention and a modification of the example will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the lock engaged with a hasp loop;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the lock shortly prior to the engagement shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevation of the lock, certain parts being cut away for clarity;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of components of the lock prior to their assembly together;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the modified lock engaged with the loop of a modified hasp; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of two components of the modified lock.

Referring to FIGURES 1-4 of the drawings, a lock comprises a casing consisting of front and

back plates

5 and 6 which are metal pressings and are held together by four tabs 7 extending from a substantially continuous plate 6, and'can pivot thereabout 23 and this causes the spring 7 3,350,902 Patented Nov. 7, 1967 peripheral skirt 8 about the front plate 5 to secure the back plate 6 therewithin. The

plates

5 and 6 define an internal cavity which opens to the exterior at one end through an aperture 9 in the skirt 8. A rectangular hole 10 in the front plate 5 opens into the cavity, and is shaped to receive a loop 11 on a hasp 12 pivoted to an attachment plate 13 for securing said hasp 12 on a lid of an article of luggage.

The cavity between the

plates

5 and 6 receives a linearly slidable bolt 14 (see FIGURE 4) which is a metal pressing in the form of a shallow tray. The bolt 14 has a generally rectangular piercing 15 adjacent one end, and a catch portion 16 projects into the piercing 15 and points towards the other end of the bolt 14. Said other end projects through the aperture 9 and has a thickened and rounded off part 17 to facilitate manual sliding of the bolt 14 along the cavity. In one position of the bolt 14, as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 2, the piercing 15 is aligned with the hole 10 in the front plate, and the catch portion 16 is wholly withdrawn from projecting across the hole 10. In the position shown in full lines in the drawing, the piercing 15 is not fully aligned with the hole 10, and the catch portion 16 projects across the hole 10 to engage in the hasp loop 11. The bolt 14 is urged by a spring 18 towards the full line position. In the dotted line (FIG. 2) position of the bolt 14, which can be achieved by manual sliding against the spring 18, the catch portion 16 does not project across the hole 10 and so permits free ertry and exit of the hasp loop 11 into and from the hole 1 The spring 18 is a hairpin spring and is trapped between a wall of the bolt, and a lug 20 upstanding from the adate tail 22. The tail 22 presses against the edge of a locking plate 23, as will be described, and this urges the bolt 14 into the position where the catch portion 16 projects partly across the hole 10. In movement of the bolt 14 to the dotted line position, FIG. 2, the lug 20 is free to travel towards and into recess 32 in the locking plate 23, but the spring tail 22 is prevented from movement by the plate to flex and take tail 22 towards lug 19. This provides the restoring force which returns the bolt to the full line position.

, The locking plate 23 is of quadrant. shape and has a pivot hole 24 adjacent the apex of the plate 23. The pivot hole 24 is engaged by a part 25 plunged from the back between two limits determined by lugs 26 struck up from the back plate '6. The locking plate 23 has a substantially elliptical slot 27 which is transverse of a line passing through the pivot axis and a key hole 28 in the front plate 5. Symmetrical about said line, when the locking plate 23 is in a mid-position between locking and unlocking positions, is a key-engageable projection 29 which extends inwards of the elliptical slot 27 from a part of the margin thereof most remote from the pivot hole. The tip of the ward 29 sweeps somewhat tangentially of a key bearing hole 30 in the back plate as the locking plate 23 pivots, the key bearing hole 30 being aligned into the key hole 28. The edge of the quadrant remote from the pivot hole and on the opposite side of the projection 29 to the latter has a pair of adjacent

concave recesses

31 and 32 which snap engage the tail of the spring and hence hold the plate 23 in either position so that the spring fulfills two functions, namely to position and return the bolt 14 and also to locate the locking plate in either of two positions, but permit key-operated movement between the two positions: the said edge also includes an abutment edge 33 which registers with the lug 20 on the bolt 14 when the locking plate is in the locking position, but which clears the lug 20 when in the unlock- 3 ing position, the lug 20 then registering with the adjacent recess 32.

The key hole 28 in the front plate houses the conventional top hat-shaped slotted pressing 34 which controls the cross-section of key acceptable in the lock, and the key when inserted is supported in the crown of this pressing 34 and in the key-bearing hole 30 in the back plate 6. The key insertion position is controlled by the placing of the key hole 28 in the front plate 5, so that the key bit lies at one side of the locking plate projection 29, necessitating one complete turn of the key, of which only the last few degrees have any action, to transfer the key bit across the key slot from one side to the other and hence lock or unlock the lock. Turning of the key in the opposite direction is prevented by the projection 29, and hence a positive locking and unlocking action is provided.

The strength of the projection 29 depends merely on its thickness, and so can readily be as strong as required. The projection 29 does not increase the lock thickness other than the metal thickness alone.

Referring now to FIGURES 5 and 6 of the drawings, the lock shown therein differs from the lock described above principally in that it is reversed with respect to the hasp 12 with the part 17 of the bolt 14 adjacent the attachment plate 13, as can be seen in FIGURE 5. As a consequence the hasp 12 is apertured at 40 to permit access to the pressing 34 for locking of the lock, has its sides further cut away as at 41 to receive the lock, and is recessed at 42 for convenience in lock operation; the attachment plate 13 is recessed as at 43 to accommodate said part 17.

With reference to FIGURE 6, the lock is modified by having an aperture 44 in the skirt 8 of the front plate 5 opposite the aperture '9. This permits access to the bolt 14 at its end portion 45 opposite to the part 17 and exposed even when the catch portion 16 is engaged with the hasp loop 11. Said end portion 45 is bent outwardly through the aperture 43 and through the aperture 43 and through the plane of the front plate 5 so that it can be manually displaced against the action of the spring 18 to move the catch portion 16 out of the position projecting partly across the hole 10.

The effect of the modification is that the bolt 14 can be manually pulled downwardly away from the hasp part by the end portion 45 of the bolt 14 to release the hasp loop 11 in contrast to being manually pushed upwardly towards the hasp part by the part 17 to release the hasp loop 11. This has certain advantages, particuarly when the suitcase is of light construction.

I claim:

1. A key-operated lock for articles of luggage, compris- (i) a casing provided with an aperture for the reception of a hasp loop;

(ii) a bolt slidable in said casing and having an aperture formed in said bolt, with a catch portion integral with the bolt and projecting into said aperture;

(iii) said catch portion being located so as to normally extend across said aperture in the casing, but being adapted to be withdrawn from the said aperture for insertion and removal of the hasp loop;

(iv) a hairpin spring carried in said bolt for movement therewith;

(v) a fiat locking plate pivotally mounted on said casing and having a central aperture, said locking plate being provided on its end edge remote from its pivot with a pair of arcuate recesses either of which cooperates with said spring depending upon the angular position of said plate, said edge including an abutment edge adapted to co-operate with and abut the bolt in one of said angular positions of the plate, and said plate having a key-engageable projection lying in the plane of the plate and provided remote from the pivot and extending inwardly of the said central aperture of the plate, so that in one key-turned angular position of the plate the bolt is locked against sliding by the abutment edge, and the plate is locked against accidental displacement by one of said arcuate recesses co-operating with the spring, and in the other key-turned angular position of the plate the plate is again locked against accidental displacement by co-operation of the other said arcuate recess with the spring but the bolt is free for sliding accompanied by loading of the spring between the bolt and said recess.

2. A key-operated lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bolt is a shallow tray-like part, and said spring is trapped between a wall of the bolt and a lug upstanding from the bolt, and said lug also serves to contact said abutment edge when the locking plate is in the one angular position, and the spring tail co-operates with one recess in said plate, but the lug registers with said one recess when the plate is in the other angular position and the spring co-operates with the other said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,791,900 2/ 1931 Leventhal 74 2,444,247 6/1948 Cheney 7067 2,641,123 6/1953 Cheney 70-67 2,717,795 9/1955 Cheney 7067 X FOREIGN PATENTS 464,457 4/ 1937 Great Britain. 696,467 9/ 1953 Great Britain.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A KEY-OPERATED LOCK FOR ARTICLES OF LUGGAGE, COMPRISING: (I) A CASING PROVIDED WITH AN APERTURE FOR THE RECEPTION OF A HASP LOOP; (II) A BOLT SLIDABLE IN SAID CASING AND HAVING AN APERTURE FORMED IN SAID BOLT, WITH A CATCH PORTION INTEGRAL WITH THE BOLT AND PROJECTING INTO SAID APERTURE; (III) SAID CATCH PORTION BEING LOCATED SO AS TO NORMALLY EXTEND ACROSS SAID APERTURE IN THE CASING, BUT BEING ADAPTED TO BE WITHDRAWN FROM THE SAID APERTURE FOR INSERTION AND REMOVAL OF THE HASP LOOP; (IV) A HAIRPIN SPRING CARRIED IN SAID BOLT FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH; (V) A FLAT LOCKING PLATE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID CASING AND HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE, SAID LOCKING PLATE BEING PROVIDED ON ITS END EDGE REMOTE FROM ITS PIVOT WITH A PAIR OF ARCUATE RECESSES EITHER OF WHICH COOPERATES WITH SAID SPRING DEPENDING UPON THE ANGULAR POSITION OF SAID PLATE, SAID EDGE INCLUDING AN ABUTMENT EDGE ADAPTED TO CO-OPERATE WITH AND ABUT THE POSITION OF SAID PLATE, SAID EDGE INCLUDING AN ABUTSAID PLATE HAVING A KEY-ENGAGEABLE PROJECTION LYING IN THE PLANE OF THE PLATE AND PROVIDED REMOTE FROM THE PIVOT AND EXTENDING INWARDLY OF THE SAID CENTRAL APERTURE OF THE PLATE, SO THAT IN ONE KEY-TURNED ANGULAR POSITION OF THE PLATE THE BOLT IS LOCKED AGAINST SLIDING BY THE ABUTMENT EDGE, AND THE PLATE IS LOCKED AGAINST ACCIDENTAL DISPLACEMENT BY ONE OF SAID ARCUATE RECESSES CO-OPERATING WITH THE SPRING, AND IN THE OTHER KEY-TURNED ANGULAR POSITION OF THE PLATE THE PLATE IS AGAIN LOCKED AGAINST ACCIDENTAL DISPLACEMENT BY CO-OPERATION OF THE OTHER SAID ARCUATE RECESS WITH THE SPRING BUT THE BOLT IS FREE FOR SLIDING ACCOMPANIED BY LOADING OF THE SPRING BETWEEN THE BOLT AND SAID RECESS.