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US 2003/0140669 A1Published application
Interlock mechanisms
AssigneeFortress Interlocks Limited
InventorsSimon Bailey, Timothy Christopher Stubbs, Justin Titus Tun
Life of this patent
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AssigneeFortress Interlocks Limited
InventorsSimon Bailey, Timothy Christopher Stubbs, Justin Titus Tun
Estimating the term…
An interlock unit (10) for use with at least one other like unit (11) to form an interlock mechanism has a top face (13) and opposed pairs of side walls (12) with at least one runner bar (17, 18) mounted in the unit for lateral sliding movement. An actuator (14, 15, 22) is supported on the top face (13), to effect lateral sliding movement of the runner bar (17, 18). One wall of the unit is provided with one part (27) of a two-part connector with the other part (33) on the opposed wall whereby two similar units may be joined together by relative sliding movement of the two units in the plane of the side walls (12). Joining together of two units (10, 11) in this way also joins together the runner bars (17) or (18) of the two units such that sliding motion of the runner bar (17) of one unit (10) is transferred to the runner bar (17) of the connected unit (11), for at least one direction of sliding movement of the runner bars (17).
An interlock unit for use with at least one other like interlock unit to form an interlock mechanism, which interlock unit has a top face and opposed pairs of side walls, at least one runner bar mounted in the unit for lateral sliding movement, an actuator for effecting lateral sliding movement of the runner bar which actuator is supported on the top face of the unit, one wall of an opposed pair thereof being provided with one part of a two-part unit connector and the opposed wall with the other part of the connector, which connector is arranged to permit two similar units to be joined together by relative sliding movement of the two units in the plane of the side walls to inter-engage the respective connector parts, the runner bar of one unit being engageable with the runner bar of a connected unit to transfer sliding motion thereto for sliding movement of the runner bar of said one unit in at least one direction.
An interlock unit as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the unit connector allows the joining together of two units by relative sliding movement in a direction normal to the top surfaces of the two units.
An interlock unit as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the one part of the unit connector defines a re-entrant slot on the one face of the unit and the other part defines a projection of a complementary form to the re-entrant slot whereby the slot of one unit and the projection of a second unit are inter-engageable by relative sliding movement of the units, along the length of the slot.
An interlock unit as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the runner bar is arranged for sliding movement in a direction normal to the opposed pair of side walls carrying the connector parts.
An interlock unit as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein motion is transferred from one runner bar of one unit to the runner bar of a connected unit by the ends of the respective runner bars abutting one another.
An interlock unit as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the unit is generally of rectangular shape having two pairs of opposed side walls, each pair of side walls having the two parts of a unit connector whereby a similar unit may be joined to any one of the side walls of the unit.
An interlock unit as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein a cam is rotatably mounted within the unit to effect sliding movement of the or each runner bar of the unit, which cam is rotatably coupled to the key receptor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.