TWM678040U - Locks - Google Patents

Abstract

The lock of this invention comprises an outer lock shell, an inner lock shell, a lock cylinder, a lock plate, and a lock rod. The inner lock shell is fixed inside the outer lock shell and has a first groove and a second groove. The lock cylinder is rotatably disposed in the inner lock shell. The lock plate is displaceably disposed within the lock cylinder and has a first insert and a second insert. The width of the first insert of the lock plate is smaller than the width of the first groove of the inner lock shell, and the width of the second insert of the lock plate is larger than the width of the first groove of the inner lock shell. The width of the lock cylinder is such that when the lock cylinder is locked, the first part of the lock cylinder is engaged in the first groove of the inner lock shell, allowing the key to be inserted into the lock cylinder and drive the lock cylinder to rotate. When the lock cylinder drives the lock plate to rotate to the unlocked state, the second part of the lock cylinder, due to its larger width, cannot be engaged in the first groove of the inner lock shell, thus preventing the key from being pulled out.

Description

Locks

This creation relates to locks, specifically a type of lock that prevents the key from being removed when the lock is unlocked.

The lock disclosed in TW M581626 U, when the key is inserted into the lock cylinder's keyhole and the through hole of the moving part, each through hole is subjected to external force from the key, which causes the stop part to retract inward and disengage from the stop groove, thereby releasing the locking relationship between the lock cylinder and the lock body, allowing the lock cylinder to rotate relative to the lock body to the unlocked position.

However, in the aforementioned patent, because the stop grooves on both sides have the same width, the key can be inserted or removed from the lock cylinder whether it is locked or unlocked. This could lead to a situation where the lock cylinder is unlocked, but the rider mistakenly believes it is locked and removes the key, causing the battery box, which should be secured by the lock, to detach during riding. Therefore, the aforementioned patent still has room for structural improvement.

The main purpose of this invention is to provide a lock that prevents the key from being removed when the lock is unlocked.

To achieve the aforementioned main objectives, the lock provided by this invention includes an outer lock housing, an inner lock housing, a lock cylinder unit, and a lock rod unit. The outer lock housing has an inner lock housing mounting groove and a lock rod mounting groove communicating with the inner lock housing mounting groove; the inner lock housing is fixed within the inner lock housing mounting groove of the outer lock housing, and the inner lock housing has a lock cylinder mounting groove, a first recess, and a second recess, the first recess and the second recess being radially recessed from one of the groove walls of the lock cylinder mounting groove, wherein the width of the first recess is smaller than the width of the second recess. The lock cylinder unit includes a lock cylinder, a lock plate, and a lock plate elastic member. The lock cylinder is disposed within a lock cylinder mounting slot in the inner lock housing and can rotate relative to the inner lock housing between a locked position and an unlocked position. Furthermore, the lock cylinder has a keyhole and a lock plate mounting slot radially connected to the keyhole. The lock plate passes through the lock plate mounting slot in the lock cylinder and can rotate relative to the inner lock housing along with the lock cylinder. The lock plate has a first insert and a second insert, the width of the first insert of the lock plate being smaller than the width of the first groove in the inner lock housing. Furthermore, the width of the second insert of the lock cylinder is greater than the width of the first groove of the inner lock housing. When the lock cylinder is in the locked position, the first insert of the lock cylinder is engaged in the first groove of the inner lock housing. When the lock cylinder is in the unlocked position, the second insert of the lock cylinder abuts against the groove wall of the lock cylinder mounting groove and corresponds to the first groove of the inner lock housing, so that the second insert of the lock cylinder cannot be engaged in the first groove of the inner lock housing. The elastic element of the lock cylinder acts on the lock cylinder and pushes the lock cylinder toward the first groove of the inner lock housing. The locking bar unit has a locking bar and a locking bar elastic member. The locking bar is disposed in the locking bar mounting groove of the outer lock housing and connected to the lock cylinder. When the lock cylinder is in the locked position, the locking bar is restricted by the lock cylinder and cannot move relative to the outer lock housing. When the lock cylinder is in the unlocked position, the locking bar can move relative to the outer lock housing. The locking bar elastic member acts on the locking bar and pushes the locking bar away from the outer lock housing.

As described above, when the lock cylinder is in the locked position, inserting a key into the keyhole of the lock cylinder and rotating the lock cylinder to the unlocked position will cause the lock plate to rotate 180 degrees simultaneously during the rotation of the lock cylinder. When the lock cylinder reaches the unlocked position, the second insert of the lock cylinder cannot be engaged in the first groove of the inner lock case due to its larger width. This prevents the key from being pulled out. At this time, the lock cylinder must be rotated back to the locked position in order to successfully pull out the key.

Preferably, the lock plate further includes a key slot axially connected to the keyhole, the keyhole and the key slot for inserting a key. Furthermore, the lock plate includes a protrusion extending from one wall of the key slot to engage with a groove of the key. Thus, when the key is inserted into the key slot, the engagement of the groove and the protrusion causes the first insert of the lock plate to disengage from the first groove of the inner lock housing.

Preferably, the first and second recesses are opposite to each other, and the first and second inserts are located at opposite ends of the key slot. Thus, when the lock cylinder is in the locked position, the first and second inserts of the lock plate correspond to the first and second recesses of the inner lock housing, respectively; when the lock cylinder is in the unlocked position, the second and first inserts of the lock plate correspond to the first and second recesses of the inner lock housing, respectively.

Preferably, the lock cylinder has a deflector and the lock lever has a slot. When the lock cylinder is in the locked position, the deflector of the lock cylinder abuts against the top of the lock lever, preventing the lock lever from moving relative to the outer lock housing to complete the locking. When the lock cylinder is in the unlocked position, the deflector of the lock cylinder is inserted into the slot of the lock lever, allowing the lock lever to move relative to the outer lock housing to unlock.

The detailed structure, features, assembly, or usage of the locks provided in this invention will be described in the subsequent detailed description of the embodiments. However, those skilled in the art should understand that such detailed descriptions and the specific embodiments listed in this invention are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the patent application.

The applicant hereby clarifies that throughout this specification, including the embodiments described below and the claims within the scope of this patent application, all directional terms are based on the directions shown in the drawings. Secondly, in the embodiments and drawings described below, identical component designations represent identical or similar components or their structural features.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. The lock 10 of this invention is used to lock a battery box (not shown in the figure). It includes an outer lock shell 20, an inner lock shell 30, a lock cylinder unit 40, and a lock bar unit 50.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the outer lock housing 20 has an inner lock housing mounting groove 22 and a lock bar mounting groove 24 that is vertically connected to the inner lock housing mounting groove 22.

The inner lock housing 30 is fixed within the inner lock housing mounting groove 22 of the outer lock housing 20. As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the inner lock housing 30 has a lock cylinder mounting groove 32, four first recesses 34 and four second recesses 36. The four first recesses 34 and four second recesses 36 are formed radially recessed from the groove wall 322 of the lock cylinder mounting groove 32 and are arranged in pairs. The width of the first recess 34 is smaller than the width of the second recess 36.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the lock cylinder unit 40 has a lock cylinder 41, four lock plates 43 (actually, at least one is sufficient) and four lock plate elastic elements 46 (compression springs are used as an example here, but actually, at least one is sufficient). The lock cylinder 41 is located in the lock cylinder mounting groove 32 of the inner lock housing 30 and can rotate relative to the inner lock housing 30 between a locked position P1 and an unlocked position P2; the lock cylinder 41 has a keyhole 411, a lock plate mounting groove 412 that connects to the keyhole 411 in four radial directions, and a receiving groove 413 that connects to the lock plate mounting groove 412 in four radial directions. In addition, the rear end of the lock cylinder 41 has a deflector 415. The four locking plates 43 are inserted into the four-plate mounting slots 412 of the lock cylinder 41 in a one-to-one manner and can rotate synchronously with the inner lock case 30 of the lock cylinder 41. Each locking plate 43 has a key slot 431 axially connected to the keyhole 411. The keyhole 411 and the key slot 431 are used for inserting a key 60. Each locking plate 43 also has a protrusion 432, which protrudes from the groove wall of the key slot 431 to match a groove 62 of the key 60. The lock plate 43 also has a first insert 44 and a second insert 45, which are located at two opposite ends of the key slot 431. The width of the first insert 44 of each lock plate 43 is smaller than the width of the first groove 34 of the inner lock case 30, and the width of the second insert 45 of each lock plate 43 is larger than the width of the first groove 34 of the inner lock case 30. In addition, a stop 433 protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of each lock plate 43 and penetrates into the receiving groove 413. Four locking plate elastic members 46 are arranged in a one-to-one manner in the four receiving grooves 413 of the inner lock case 30. One end of each locking plate elastic member 46 abuts against the stop block 433 of the locking plate 43, and the other end of each locking plate elastic member 46 abuts against the end wall 414 of the receiving groove 413, so as to provide elastic force to push the locking plate 43 towards the first recess 34 of the inner lock case 30.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the locking bar unit 50 has a locking bar 51, which is disposed in the locking bar mounting groove 24 of the outer lock housing 20, and the bottom end of the locking bar 51 protrudes from the outer lock housing 20. The outer peripheral surface of the locking bar 51 has a slot 512. When the locking cylinder 41 is in the locked position P1 as shown in Figure 3, the actuating part 415 of the locking cylinder 41 abuts against the top surface 514 of the locking bar 51, preventing the locking bar 51 from moving relative to the outer lock case 20 to complete the locking. When the locking cylinder 41 is in the unlocked position P2 as shown in Figure 7, the actuating part 415 of the locking cylinder 41 is inserted into the slot 512 of the locking bar 51, allowing the locking bar 51 to move relative to the outer lock case 20 to unlock. The locking bar unit 50 further includes a locking bar elastic element 53 (a compression spring is used as an example here). The top end of the locking bar elastic element 53 abuts against the outer lock housing 20 and is sleeved on a positioning post 26 of the outer lock housing 20. The bottom end of the locking bar elastic element 53 is engaged in a positioning groove 516 of the locking bar 51 and abuts against the top surface 514 of the locking bar 51, so that the locking bar elastic element 53 provides elastic force to push the locking bar 51 away from the outer lock housing 20.

As can be seen from the above, when the lock cylinder 41 is in the locked position P1, as shown in Figure 4, the first insert 44 of each lock piece 43 corresponds to the first groove 34 of the inner lock shell 30, and the second insert 45 of each lock piece 43 corresponds to the second groove 36 of the inner lock shell 30. The first insert 44 of the lock piece 43 is engaged in the first groove 34 of the inner lock shell 30. At this time, the lock bar 51 is locked by the lock cylinder 41 (as shown in Figure 3). When the key 60 is inserted into the keyhole 411 of the lock cylinder 41 and the key slot 431 of each lock piece 43, the lock pieces 43 are pushed by the key 60 through the cooperation of the groove 62 of the key 60 and the protrusion 432 of each lock piece 43, forcing the first insert 44 of each lock piece 43 to disengage from the first groove 34 of the inner lock case 30 (as shown in Figure 5). At this time, the elastic element 46 of each lock piece is compressed by the stop 433 of each lock piece 43 to accumulate elastic restoring force. Next, the key 60 drives the lock cylinder 41 to rotate 180 degrees from the locked position P1 as shown in Figure 1 to the unlocked position P2 as shown in Figure 6. When the lock cylinder 41 is in the unlocked position P2, as shown in Figure 8, the first insert 44 of each lock piece 43 corresponds to the second groove 36 of the inner lock case 30, and the second insert 45 of each lock piece 43 corresponds to the first groove 34 of the inner lock case 30. However, due to its larger width, the second insert 45 of each lock piece 43 cannot be locked into the first groove 34 of the inner lock case 30, but instead abuts against the groove wall 322 of the lock cylinder mounting groove 32. At this time, the lock bar 51 will not be restricted by the lock cylinder 41 and will be unlocked (as shown in Figure 7). In this situation, since the lock plates 43 cannot move freely, the protrusions 432 of each lock plate 43 and the grooves 62 of the key 60 will interfere with each other, making it impossible to remove the key 60. To remove the key 60, the key 60 and the lock cylinder 41 must be rotated back to the locked position P1. The elastic restoring force released by the elastic members 46 of each lock plate will cause the first insert 44 of each lock plate 43 to engage in the first groove 34 of the inner lock case 30, so that the key 60 can be successfully removed.

In summary, the lock 10 of this invention utilizes a design with different widths to prevent the key 60 from being pulled out after the lock cylinder 41 is unlocked. This serves as a reminder to the rider that the lock has not been fully engaged, and the key 60 can only be pulled out after the lock cylinder 41 is re-locked, thereby effectively preventing the battery box from accidentally falling out.

10: Lock 20: Outer Lock Case 22: Inner Lock Case Mounting Groove 24: Lock Bar Mounting Groove 26: Positioning Post 30: Inner Lock Case 32: Lock Cylinder Mounting Groove 322: Groove Wall 34: First Insert Groove 36: Second Insert Groove 40: Lock Cylinder Unit 41: Lock Cylinder 411: Keyhole 412: Lock Plate Mounting Groove 413: Receiving Groove 414: End Wall 415: Actuating Part 43: Lock Plate 431: Key Slot 432: Protrusion 433: Stop Block 44: First Insert 45: Second Insert 46: Lock Plate Elastic Member P1: Locking Position P2: Unlocking Position 50: Lock bar unit; 51: Lock bar; 512: Slot; 516: Positioning slot; 53: Lock bar spring element; 60: Key; 62: Channel.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the lock in use with a key, showing the lock cylinder in the locked position. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lock. Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lock, showing the lock bar in the locked position. Figure 4 is a sectional view along section line 4-4 of Figure 3, showing the first insert of the lock plate engaged in the first groove of the inner lock housing. Figure 5 is similar to Figure 4, showing the first insert of the lock plate disengaging from the first groove of the inner lock housing. Figure 6 is similar to Figure 1, showing the lock cylinder in the unlocked position. Figure 7 is similar to Figure 3, showing the lock bar unlocked. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 7 along section line 8-8, showing the second insert of the lock plate abutting against the groove wall of the lock cylinder mounting groove of the inner lock case.

20: External Lock Shell

30: Inner Lock Case

322: Tank wall

34: First slot

36: Second slot

41: Lock

414:End wall

43: Lock

433: Block

44: First Embedded Part

45: Second insert

46: Locking plate elastic component

Claims (4)

A lock includes: an outer lock housing having an inner lock housing mounting groove and a lock bar mounting groove communicating with the inner lock housing mounting groove; an inner lock housing fixed in the inner lock housing mounting groove of the outer lock housing, the inner lock housing having a lock cylinder mounting groove, a first recess and a second recess, the first recess and the second recess being radially recessed from a groove wall of the lock cylinder mounting groove, and the width of the first recess being smaller than the width of the second recess; A lock cylinder unit includes a lock cylinder, a lock plate, and a lock plate elastic member. The lock cylinder is disposed in a lock cylinder mounting groove within an inner lock housing and can rotate relative to the inner lock housing between a locked position and an unlocked position. The lock cylinder has a keyhole and a lock plate mounting groove radially connected to the keyhole. The lock plate passes through the lock plate mounting groove of the lock cylinder and can rotate relative to the inner lock housing along with the lock cylinder. The lock plate has a first insert and a second insert. The width of the first insert of the lock plate is smaller than the width of the first groove in the inner lock housing, and the lock plate... The width of the second insert is greater than the width of the first groove of the inner lock housing. When the lock cylinder is in the locked position, the first insert of the lock piece is engaged in the first groove of the inner lock housing. When the lock cylinder is in the unlocked position, the second insert of the lock piece abuts against the groove wall of the lock cylinder mounting groove and corresponds to the first groove of the inner lock housing, preventing the second insert of the lock cylinder from engaging in the first groove of the inner lock housing. The elastic element of the lock piece acts on the lock piece and pushes the lock piece towards the first groove of the inner lock housing; and A locking bar unit includes a locking bar and a locking bar elastic member. The locking bar is movably disposed in the locking bar mounting groove of the outer lock housing and connected to the lock cylinder. When the lock cylinder is in the locked position, the locking bar is restricted by the lock cylinder and cannot move relative to the outer lock housing. When the lock cylinder is in the unlocked position, the locking bar can move relative to the outer lock housing. The locking bar elastic member acts on the locking bar and pushes the locking bar away from the outer lock housing. The lock as described in claim 1, wherein the lock plate has a key slot communicating with the keyhole, the keyhole and the key slot being for inserting a key, and the lock plate having a protrusion extending from one of the groove walls of the key slot to engage with one of the grooves of the key. The lock as described in claim 2, wherein the first slot and the second slot are opposite to each other; the first insert and the second insert are located at two opposite ends of the key slot; when the lock cylinder is in the locked position, the first and second inserts of the lock plate correspond to the first and second slots of the inner lock shell respectively; when the lock cylinder is in the unlocked position, the second and first inserts of the lock plate correspond to the first and second slots of the inner lock shell respectively. The lock as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lock cylinder has an actuating part and the lock bar has a slot, wherein when the lock cylinder is in the locked position, the actuating part of the lock cylinder abuts against the top end of the lock bar, preventing the lock bar from operating relative to the outer lock case, and when the lock cylinder is in the unlocked position, the actuating part of the lock cylinder is inserted into the slot of the lock bar, allowing the lock bar to operate relative to the outer lock case.