WO1997009502A1

WO1997009502A1 - A lock

Info

Publication number: WO1997009502A1
Application number: PCT/GB1996/002135
Authority: WO
Inventors: William Rossiter
Original assignee: William Rossiter
Priority date: 1995-09-01
Filing date: 1996-09-02
Publication date: 1997-03-13
Also published as: GB9517844D0; AU6833896A

Abstract

A lock (26) comprises a body (2a) provided with an aperture (30). A bolt (31) is moveable between a closed position in which it extends into the aperture (30) and an open position in which it is at least partially retracted from the aperture (30). The bolt (31) carries an integral locking mechanism (31a) which operates a releasable locking member (33).

Description

A LOCK

The present invention relates to a lock, and to an apparatus and method for locking two members (such as double doors) together.

There are many different types of locking apparatus available for locking together two members such as double doors, or a door and surrounding door frame. Amongst these are surface mounted locking apparatus such as the well known hasp and staple fittings. Such fittings are widely used, being both simple to fit and compatible with a variety of available padlocks.

However, with conventional hasp and staple fittings the padlock shackle and/or the staple can be forced open relatively easily by using readily available tools such as a pipe wrench, a crow bar or a bolt cutter.

A number of proposals have been put forward to overcome this security problem. For instance, hasp and staple fittings have been modified to provide a shroud designed to enclose, at least partially, the staple and the padlock shackle. This restricts access to the staple and shackle and prevents the insertion of wedges, crowbars etc which might otherwise be used to force the lock open. However, whilst offering an improvement over conventional hasp and staple fittings, such modified fittings are still vulnerable to attack using commonly available tools such as a pipe wrench.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved lock, locking apparatus and method for locking two members together.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a lock comprising a body defining an aperture having first and second opposed face portions, a bolt which is moveable between a closed position in which it extends into said aperture from said first face portion and an open position in which it is at least partially retracted from the aperture relative to the closed position, a releasable locking member operable to secure the bolt in said closed position against movement into said open position, a locking mechanism which selectively prevents or permits releasing of said locking member, wherein the locking mechanism is substantially located within a region of said body defined between said first face portion of the aperture and an edge of the body at least when the bolt is locked in said closed position.

When in the locked closed position, the bolt may extend right across the aperture, or may terminate short ofthe second face.

With a lock according to the present invention, the location of the locking mechanism is such that the bulk of the body may readily be adapted for securing to a surface without interfering with the locking mechanism. For instance, the body can be provided with holes to receive fixing bolts. It will be appreciated that this is not readily possible with existing locks (such as conventional 'C shaped padlocks) in which parts of the locking mechanism are distributed throughout substantially the whole ofthe lock body.

For instance, in one embodiment of the invention the body is generally "C" shaped having two opposing arm portions which define said first and second face portions respectively, such that the locking mechanism is substantially located within one of said arm portions at least when the bolt is locked in said closed position.

It will be appreciated that the term "generally "C" shaped" covers a variety of different shapes, including substantially cylindrical locks provided with a "cut-a-way" to define the aperture and "arms".

Alternatively the aperture may be a bore extending into an end face of the body.

The locking mechanism may be disposed on the same axial line as the bolt or may be off set to one side of the bolt. For instance the locking mechanism may be located within a bore which communicates with said aperture.

The locking mechanism is preferably carried by the bolt.

The locking mechanism may take a variety of forms, such as conventional straight pin or radial pin locking cylinders.

The locking member is preferably carried by the locking mechanism. For instance, the locking member may protrude generally laterally from the locking mechanism to engage a formation provided by the body of the lock. Such a suitable locking mechanism could be based on a conventional type of locking mechanism known in the locksmith trade as a ' bullet lock'.

As one possible alternative, the locking member could comprise a cam located on the bolt shaft, the cam being rotated into engagement with the lock body by operation ofthe locking mechanism.

The lock/bolt may be adapted either so that the bolt is retained within the lock body when in the open position, or so that it is entirely removable from the lock body.

According to a second aspect ofthe present invention there is provided locking apparatus for locking two members together, the apparatus comprising a first part which is securable to a first of said members and a second part which is engagable with a second of said members, wherein the first part comprises a lock according the first aspect of the present invention, and the second part comprises a locking member which is dimensioned to be a snug fit between the opposed first and second face portions of the lock, and wherein the locking member is adapted to engage the bolt of the lock when the bolt is in the locked position to thereby prevent separation of the lock and locking member.

Because the locking member ofthe second part is a snug fit within the aperture of the first part, the locking apparatus provides a high level of security against tampering. That is, a pipe wrench or other levering tool cannot readily be inserted into the locking apparatus to force the lock open.

As an alternative, according to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided locking apparatus for locking two members together, the aparatus comprising a first part which is securable to a first of said members and a second part which is securable to a second of said members, the first part comprising a generally "C" shaped body defining two opposing arms, and a bolt which is lockable in a closed position in which it extends between said arms, and the second part comprising a protruding portion which is dimensioned to be a snug fit between said arms of said first part, said protruding portion being adapted to receive said bolt when in said locked position to thereby lock the first and second parts together with the bolt substantially enclosed within said protruding portion, wherein said first part comprises a generally "C" shaped casing adapted to receive said body, the casing being adapted for securing to said first member.

For instance, the first part of the locking apparatus could comprise a lock according to the first aspect of the present invention described above. Alternatively, the first part of the locking apparatus could simply comprise a conventional 'C shaped padlock. In this later case, the first part of the locking apparatus preferably includes a hardened generally 'C shaped casing adapted to receive a conventional 'C shaped padlock, the casing being adapted for securing to said first member. For instance, the casing could be provided with key-hole slots on an inner surface thereof by way of which the casing can be secured to the first member using fixing bolts, the heads of which will then be enclosed within the casing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of locking together two members, the method comprising:

(i) securing to a first of said members a first part comprising a generally 'C shaped lock defining two opposing arms, and a bolt which is lockable in a closed position in which it extends between said arms;

(ii) securing to a second of said members a second part comprising a protruding portion which is dimensioned to be a snug fit between said arms of said first part and which is adapted to receive said bolt when in said closed position; and

(iii) bringing together the first and second members so that the protruding portion of the second part is received between the arms of the first part, and locking the two members together by locking the bolt in said closed position.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lock in accordane with a first embodiment ofthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation, showing hidden detail, ofthe lock ofthe Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an alternative locking bolt to that illustrated in Figure 2;

Figures 4 to 6 illustrate the lock of Figures 1 and 2 in use in a locking apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 7 illustrates a modification of the locking apparatus of Figures 4 to 6; and

Figure 8 illustrates a component of a further modification of the locking apparatus of Figures 4 to 6;

Figure 9 illustrates a modification ofthe lock of Figure 1 ;

Figure 10 is a perspective illustration of locking apparatus in accordance with a further embodiment ofthe present invention; and

Figs 1 1 and 12 are cross-sectional views ofthe lock of Figure 10.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the illustrated lock, indicated generally by the reference 1 , is generally 'C shaped having a solid body 2 (preferably fabricated from hardened steel) and opposing arms 3 and 4. The arms 3 and 4 are provided with in¬ line bores 5 and 6 respectively, to receive a locking bolt 7, shown in Figures 1 and 2 in a locked closed position. The bore 5 is open at both ends to permit insertion and removal ofthe bolt 7 but the bore 6 is blind.

The locking bolt 7 includes an integral locking mechanism in the form of a key operated locking barrel 7a which controls the movement of a laterally protruding locking member 8. The locking member 8 is spring loaded so that in the locked closed position it protrudes from the locking barrel 7a into a recess 9 provided within the bore 5. Inter-engagement of the locking member 8 with the recess 9 prevents removal ofthe bolt 7.

To remove the bolt 7, a key (not shown) is used to rotate the locking barrel 7a and withdraw the locking member 8 from the recess 9 and into the locking barrel 7a. The illustrated locking bolt 7 is derived from a conventional type of lock, commonly referred to within the locksmith trade as a 'bullet lock'.

The detailed structure of the locking mechanism, and the manner of inter- engagement between the bolt and the lock body and/or arms may vary widely. For instance, the locking barrel 7a could be a conventional radial pin or straight pin cylinder.

One example, of an alternative locking bolt incoφorating a cam locking mechanism instead of the 'bullet lock^' type mechanism described above is illustrated in Figure 3. The bolt 10 incorporates a locking barrel 10a which is generally oval in cross-section having flattened sides. A similar shaped cam 11 is fixed to the bolt shaft 10b. The locking barrel 10 is key operated such that rotation of the barrel rotates the bolt shaft 10b and cam 11. From Figure 3 it will be seen that rotation of the cam through 90° from the position illustrated will cause the ends ofthe cam 1 1 to protrude from the flattened sides of the locking barrel 10a (see the scrap view to Figure 3). This corresponds to a locked closed position. It will be readily appreciated by the skilled person that the body ofthe lock 1 could be provided with a generally oval bore to receive the locking barrel 10a, and a recess or the like to inter-engage with the cam 11. In said locked position to prevent withdrawal ofthe bolt from the lock 1.

It will be understood by the skilled person that the above two described locking mechanisms are only two examples of a wide variety of possible locking mechanisms that could be employed in the illustrated lock.

As a modification to the above described lock, the locking mechanism (i.e. locking barrel 7a) could be separate from the shaft of the bolt 7, either in line with the bolt or offset to one side thereof. For instance, with the particular ^'bullet lock' type locking mechanism illustrated, the barrel could be permanently housed within, but towards one side ofthe arm 3, adjacent the bore 5, and the bolt could be provided with -a circumferential recess to receive the locking member 8.

With the lock in accordance with the present invention in which the locking mechanism is carried by the bolt (or otherwise housed within one of the arms of the lock), the body 2 of the lock may be configured to suit a variety of applications. In particular, the body 1 may be a simple solid block enabling the lock to be secured to a surface by means of fixing bolts. This would not generally be possible with existing 'C shaped locks in which the body of the lock carries the locking mechanism and therefore cannot readily be provided with the necessary fixing bolt holes. This feature renders the lock in accordance with the present invention suitable for applications for which conventional locks are not suited. An example of such an application is illustrated in Figures 4 to 6. Referring to Figures 4 and 5, these illustrate a locking apparatus incorporating the lock of Figure 1, used to lock a door 12 to its surrounding frame 13. The locking apparatus essentially comprises two parts, the lock 1 forming the first part and a staple

14 forming the second part.

The lock 1 is provided with blind screw threaded bores which receive fixing bolts 15 by way of which the lock is secured flush to the outside surface of the door 12 adjacent one edge thereof. The staple 14 comprises a fixing plate 14a which is screwed to the door frame 13 by screws 16, and a protruding portion 14b. The protruding portion 14b is dimensioned to be a snug fit between the arms 3 and 4 ofthe lock 1, and is provided with a bore 17 to receive the locking bolt 7.

Figure 5 is a plan view which shows the relative positioning of the lock 1 and staple 14 with the door 12 in an open position. From Figure 5 it will be seen that as the door 12 is closed the protruding portion 14b of the staple 14 is received between the arms 3 and 4 ofthe lock 1, the bore 17 lining up with the bores 5 and 6 in the arms 3 and 4. Once in the closed position, the locking bolt 7 may be inserted through the arms 3 and 4 and the protruding portion 14b ofthe staple 14 to thereby secure the lock 1 and staple 14 together and lock the door 12 to its frame 13. The locked closed position is shown in Figure 6.

From Figure 6 it can be seen that in the locked closed position the bolt 7 is entirely concealed and there is very little room between the staple 14 and the lock 1 to insert a levering tool to force the lock. Similarly, it will be seen that the fixing bolts

15 which secure the lock 1 to the door 12 are entirely concealed, as are the screws 16 which fix the staple 14 to the door frame 13 which are hidden behind the arms 3 and 4 of the lock 1. It will thus be appreciated that the locking apparatus provides a high level of security against forcing.

The manner in which the lock 1 and staple 14 are mounted to the door 12 and door frame 13 may be varied. For instance the lock 1 and/or staple 14 could be mortised into the door 12 and door frame 13 respectively instead of being simply surface mounted. Also, the exact configuration, orientation and positioning of the lock and staple may be varied to suit different door structures, for insurance double doors, sliding doors etc.

Similarly, it will be appreciated that the exact structure of the lock 1 and locking bolt 7 could be varied significantly as mentioned above in relation to Figures 1 and 2. For instance, the lock 1 may be constructed so that the bolt 7 is either retained within one ofthe arms 3 and 4 when in the open position, or retracts entirely from the lock. When used as part of a locking apparatus as described above, it is clear that the bolt 7 cannot not be left in a locked closed position when the door (etc) is un¬ locked as this will prevent proper closing of the door. If stowing of the bolt 7 in the locked closed position when the locking apparatus is open is desired, the staple and/or lock could be mounted to the door or door frame in a pivotable manner as illustrated by the example shown in Figure 7.

Referring to Figure 7, this illustrates a modification of the above locking apparatus particular suited for locking double doors such as van doors etc. In this embodiment the lock 1 is bolted to one door 18 in the manner described above, and a modified staple 19 is piviotably bolted to the other door 20. The arrangement is such that when the doors are open the staple pivots about a pivot bolt 21 so as to hang vertically thereby clearing the edge ofthe door 20 and allowing the doors 18 and 20 to be closed even with the lock bolt 7 locked in the closed position. To lock the doors closed, the bolt 7 is simply first removed from the lock 1, and the staple 19 is pivoted to the horizontal position so that it is received between the arms 3 and 4 of the lock 1 as the doors are closed. The bolt 7 is then returned to the closed position passing through the staple 19, and locked in place.

As a modification of the locking apparatus illustrated in Figure 7, the staple (and/or lock) could be mounted so as to be slidable to and fro so as to clear the lock when the doors are open, as opposed to being pivotably mounted as described.

As an alternative application for the locking apparatus described above, the apparatus could be adapted to function as a lockable hinge. In such an application the lock 1 will form one part of the hinge and the staple 14 the other, the protruding portion 14b ofthe staple 14 being adapted so that it can rotate about the locking bolt 7 when in the locked closed position. Further details ofthe manner in which features of the locking apparatus would be adapted and varied to suit the application as a lockable hinge will be evident to the skilled person and so will not be discussed here.

With the locking apparatus described above, a lock 1 according to the present invention is used. However, the apparatus could be adapted to incoφorate existing conventional 'C shaped padlocks. As mentioned above, one of the problems with such conventional padlocks is that the locking mechanism is contained within the body of the padlock so that the padlock cannot readily be adapted to receive fixing bolts. In some applications, for instance a locking apparatus used to close double doors of a van, a conventional lock could however, for example, be welded to one of the doors overcoming the problem associated with the use of fixing bolts. Alternatively, fixing studs could themselves be welded to the body of a conventional lock, to be received by holes in a door etc, which also obviates the need to provide bores in the lock body to receive bolts. It will be understood that the present invention in one of its aspects covers locking apparatus incoφorating such conventional locks, modified appropriately if necessary.

The locking apparatus could further be modified to incoφorate a conventional 'C shaped padlock without the need to fix the padlock directly to the surface of one ofthe members to be locked, and thus without the need to modify the padlock. This is achieved by provision of a hardened steel cover adapted to receive the padlock. An example of such a cover is illustrated in Figure 8, and comprises a hollow hardened steel casing 22 into which a conventional 'C shaped padlock can be inserted, so that when locked the lock bolt extends between arm portions 23 and 24 of the casing 22. The casing can be provided with any appropriate fixing means suitable to a given application. For instance with the illustrated example, the casing is substantially longer than a conventional 'C shaped padlock and is provided with key hole shaped holes 25 on its inner surface so that it may be fixed flush to a door etc using, for example, normal flat headed bolts. In this manner, a conventional 'C shaped padlock can be incoφorated in locking apparatus in accordance with the present invention without modification, the hardened casing 22 serving both to fix the lock in position and to protect it from tampering.

It will be appreciated that there will be many alternative ways in which the cover could be fixed to any given surface, for instance the cover could be provided with threaded studs protruding from its inner surface in place of the fixing bolts described above or could even be constructed as an integral part of a door etc.

Fig 9 illustrates a modification of the lock of Fig 1. The lock is a generally "C" shaped lock which has all of the features of the lock of Fig 1 but differs in that it has a cylindrical body rather than a rectangular body.

Locking apparatus in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figures 10 to 12. Referring firstly to Figure 10, the apparatus comprises a lock 26, a member 27 and a generally cylindrical locking bar 28. The lock 26 comprises a rectangular body 29 (preferably fabricated from hardened steel) which is provided with a blind bore 30 dimensioned to receive the locking bar 28 (in this example the bore 30 is a blind bore, but it could also be a through bore). A locking bolt 31 is located within a bore 32 which extends laterally from the bore 30.

The locking bolt 31 includes an integral locking mechanism in the form of a key operated locking barrel (31a) which controls the movement of a protruding locking member 33. The lock body 29 is provided with an generally oval aperture 34 which opens into the bore 32. A lateral bar 35 extends between opposing long sides ofthe oval aperture. In Figure 9 the locking bolt is shown in a locked closed position which is described in more detail below with reference to Figures 10 and 11.

Figure 11 is a cross-section ofthe lock 26 taken on the line 11-11 of fig 9 and looking in the direction of arrow A. From fig 10 it will be seen that in the locked closed position the locking bar 31 extends partially into the bore 30 and is prevented from being retracted from the bore 30 by engagement of the locking member 33 with the bar 35 which extends across the aperture 34.

Figure 12 on the other hand is a similar cross-section but illustrates the locking bolt 31 in an open position. Here it will be seen that the locking member 33 is retracted into the locking bolt 31 (by suitable operation of the key-operated locking mechanism) so that the locking bolt 31 may be retracted from the bore 30. However, the locking member 33 still extends slightly from the locking bolt 31 so that although it is free of the bar 35 it catches on an edge 34a of the aperture 34 to prevent the locking bolt 31 from being entirely removed from the lock body 29.

Returning now to Figure 10, it will be seen that the locking bar 28 is provided with an annular recess 28a. The configuration is such that with the locking bolt 31 in the open position the recessed end of the locking bar 28 may be inserted into the bore 30, but in the locked closed position the locking bar 31 extends into the bore 30 and engages within the recessed portion 28a of the locking bar 28, thereby preventing removal ofthe locking bar 28 from the lock 26.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in fig 10, the lock 26 is part of a locking apparatus which includes the locking bar 28 and a further member 27 which is provided with a bore 27a dimension to receive the locking bar 28. In addition, the lock 26 is provided with blind bolt holes 36 and the member 27 is provided with blind bolt holes 37. The apparatus is designed for use in locking together two members, such as double doors or a door to a door frame. The lock 26 may be bolted to one of the members (by virtue ofthe bolt holes 36) whereas the member 27 may be bolted to the other (by way of the bolt holes 37). The locking bar 28 may then be inserted through the member 27 and into the bore 30 ofthe lock 26 and locked therein. It will be appreciated that the lock 26 and member 27 may be positioned such that when the members (e.g. doors) are closed together there is no gap between the lock 26 and member 27 so that with the locking bar 28 in position there is no room for a wrench or lever to be inserted to "break" the lock.

It will be appreciated that many modifications may be made to the detail ofthe locking apparatus illustrated in figs 10 to 12. For instance, this apparatus may incoφorate many of the modifications discussed in relation to the other embodiments ofthe invention described above.

Claims

1. A lock comprising a body defining an aperture having first and second opposed face portions, a bolt which is moveable between a closed position in which it extends into said aperture from said first face portion and an open position in which it is at least partially retracted from the aperture relative to the closed position, a releasable locking member operable to secure the bolt in said closed position against movement into said open position, a locking mechanism which selectively prevents or permits releasing of said locking member, wherein the locking mechanism is substantially located within a region of said body defined between said first face portion ofthe aperture and an edge ofthe body at least when the bolt is locked in said closed position.

2. A lock according to claim 1, wherein the body is generally "C" shaped having two opposing arm portions which define said first and second face portions respectively, such that the locking mechanism is substantially located within one of said arm portions at least when the bolt is locked in said closed position.

3. A lock according to claim 1, wherein the aperture is a bore extending into an end face ofthe body.

4. A lock according to any preceding claim, wherein the locking mechanism is located within a bore which communicates with said aperture.

5. A lock according to claim 4, wherein the locking mechanism is carried by the bolt.

6. A lock according to claim 5, wherein the locking member is carried by the bolt.

7. A lock according to claim 4, wherein at least a portion of the locking member protrudes generally laterally from the bolt so as to engage a formation provided by the body of the lock when the bolt is locked in the closed position but to be disengagable from said formation by operation of the locking mechanism to enable movement of the bolt from the closed to the open position.

8. A lock according to claim 7, wherein the locking member comprises a cam which is rotated into engagement with the lock body by operation of the locking mechanism to lock the bolt in said closed position.

9. A lock according to any preceding claim, wherein when the bolt is in the open position there is mutual engagement between the bolt and the body to prevent the bolt from being entirely removed from the body.

10. A lock according to claim 9 when dependant from claim 7, wherein with the bolt in the open position the locking member engages a further formation provided by the body ofthe lock to prevent the bolt from being removed from the lock body.

11. Locking apparatus for locking two members together, the apparatus comprising a first part which is securable to a first of said members and a second part which is engagable with a second of said members, wherein the first part comprises a lock according to any preceding claim, and the second part comprises a locking member which is dimensioned to be a snug fit between the opposed first and second face portions of the lock, and wherein the locking member is adapted to engage the bolt ofthe lock when the bolt is in the locked position to thereby prevent separation of the lock and locking member.

12. Locking apparatus for locking two members together, the aparatus comprising a first part which is securable to a first of said members and a second part which is securable to a second of said members, the first part comprising a generally "C" shaped body defining two opposing arms, and a bolt which is lockable in a closed position in which it extends between said arms, and the second part comprising a protruding portion which is dimensioned to be a snug fit between said arms of said first part, said protruding portion being adapted to receive said bolt when in said locked position to thereby lock the first and second parts together with the bolt substantially enclosed within said protruding portion, wherein said first part comprises a generally "C" shaped casing adapted to receive said body, the casing being adapted for securing to said first member.

13. A lock, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. Locking apparatus, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of locking two members together, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.