Attack-resistant and weather-resistant lock
AssigneeUnited States Postal Service
InventorsWilliam Albert Tartal, Donald Eugene Irwin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lock can include attack-resistant and/or weather-resistant features. Attack-resistant features can include a sacrificial link between a locking mechanism and an external keyway covering an exterior face of the locking mechanism. The sacrificial link can break during a torque attack on the lock such that the full force of the torque attack is not applied to the locking mechanism. Weather-resistant features can include drain openings in one or more housing components external to the locking mechanism to facilitate drainage of liquid matter from the lock before the liquid matter reaches the locking mechanism.
Claims20
A securable receptacle comprising:
- a wall at least partially surrounding an inner volume of the receptacle;
- a hinged door coupled to the receptacle;
- and
- a lock coupled to and extending through the wall or the hinged door, the lock comprising:
- a locking mechanism at least partially disposed within the inner volume of the receptacle, the locking mechanism configured to be actuated by a key;
- an external keyway disposed external to the inner volume and aligned with a keyway of the locking mechanism;
- and
- a sacrificial link at least partially coupling the external keyway to the locking mechanism, the sacrificial link configured to fail when a threshold torque is applied at the external keyway.
An attack-resistant lock comprising:
- a housing comprising an internal section and an external section;
- a locking mechanism disposed at least partially within the internal section of the housing, the locking mechanism comprising a keyway configured to receive a key blade for actuating the locking mechanism;
- and
- an external keyway structure disposed within the external section of the housing, the external keyway structure comprising:
- a scalp covering an externally facing side of the locking mechanism;
- an opening sized and shaped to receive the key blade, the opening aligned with the keyway such that a key blade can be inserted into the keyway through the opening;
- and
- a sacrificial fixing structure configured to prevent rotation of the external keyway relative to the locking mechanism;
- wherein the sacrificial fixing structure is further configured to separate from the external keyway structure when a threshold torque is applied at the opening, and wherein the threshold torque is insufficient to dislodge the locking mechanism from the housing.
A weather-resistant lock comprising:
- a locking mechanism comprising a keyway configured to receive a key blade for actuating the locking mechanism;
- and
- a housing at least partially surrounding the locking mechanism, the housing comprising:
- an internal section retaining the locking mechanism and configured to be disposed in an interior volume of a receptacle when the weather-resistant lock is in an installed configuration;
- and
- an external section configured to be disposed outside the interior volume, the external section comprising a drain opening;
- wherein, in the installed configuration, the drain opening is disposed at a lower height relative to the locking mechanism to facilitate drainage of liquid matter from the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.