Portable shockproof locking mechanism
OwnerThomas T. Brunoski, Kenneth A. Rissoloinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
For a mobile door or container, a lock that will hold firm against shock. The lock can be opened using a keypad to turn on a motor that disengages it, or manually, using a key. To disengage the lock, a shockproofer element of the lock includes components that must first be pivoted about one axis and components that must then be pivoted about a second, different axis, usually nearly perpendicular to the first axis. The lock resists opening under shock loading because the two pivoting rotations about different axes must be made to occur in a particular sequence, and cannot occur simultaneously.
Claims19
A lock for holding together in latched engagement two movably connected first and second segments of a protective shell structure, latchable together along respective mating latching edges and separable by relative movement to afford access to an interior chamber enclosed by said shell when said segments are latched together, comprising
- a pair of latches each pivotably anchored by a latch pivot to the interior of said first shell segment and resiliently biased toward inwardly protruding latched positions juxtaposed in spaced-apart facing relationship,
- means forming a latch slot in each said latch,
- a cam follower ramp aligned with said slot, terminating each said latch,
- a pair of lockbar arms having beveled distal cam ends and adjacent proximal ends, mounted on the interior of said second shell segment for sliding movement, between a locked extended position, wherein the distal cam end of each lockbar arm is engaged extending through the latch slot of one said latch, and an unlocked retracted position, wherein the distal cam end of each lockbar arm is withdrawn from its latch slot,
- first resilient spring means urging said lockbar arms toward said retracted unlocked positions,
- a locking lever, pivotably mounted to a pivot shaft on the interior of said second shell segment, having a handle protruding in a first direction toward said first shell segment and having a lever stop protruding from said lever, with crank pivots joining the proximal ends of the lockbar arms to the locking lever at crank arm distances on opposite sides of said pivot shaft along a direction substantially parallel to said first direction, said locking lever being movable between a first locked position with said lockbar arms extended and a second unlocked position with said lockbar arms retracted,
- a shockproofer turret pivotably mounted inside said second shell segment, with a turret cap mounted thereon for first tilting movement about a first tilt axis substantially parallel to said pivot shaft past a restraining edge, freeing said shockproofer turret for subsequent swiveling movement about a second swivel axis extending in an independent and different direction from said tilt axis, with a shockproofer tab extending substantially perpendicular to said swivel axis into blocking engagement with said protruding lever stop until after said swiveling movement occurs,
- second resilient spring means urging the shockproofer turret toward its unswiveled position with the tab blocking the lever stop,
- third resilient spring means urging the turret cap toward its untilted position, and
- at least one unlocking means in said second shell segment presented for actuation by a user outside said shell and connected upon actuation to first induce said turret cap tilting and thereafter to induce said shockproofer turret swiveling, releasing said tab from blocking engagement with said locking lever stop,
- whereby said locking lever is freed for movement to its unlocked position, urged by said first resilient spring via said lockbar arms acting through said crank pivots.
A lock for holding together in latched engagement two movably connected first and second segments of a protective shell structure, latchable together along respective mating latching edges and separable by relative movement to afford access to an interior chamber enclosed by said shell when said segments are latched together, comprising a shockproofer having rotatable elements including a turret cap that tilts about a first axis and further including a turret which along with said cap the swivels about a second axis different from the first axis, wherein the tilting and swiveling motions are executed in three dimensions, and further comprising a means for tilting and then swiveling the rotatable elements, a lockbar assembly having at least one lockbar arm that extends and retracts, and means connected to the first segment forming a lockbar arm receiver for the at least one lockbar arm, wherein the lock is engaged when the at least one lockbar arm is extended so as to pierce its lockbar arm receiver and the lock is disengaged when the at least one lockbar arm is retracted from its lockbar arm receiver and wherein the at least one lockbar arm is prevented from retracting by a positive latching mechanism, comprising a holding assembly resiliently holding a surface of said turret cap in a notch of the shockproofer, the notch mechanically preventing the swiveling motion until the force of the holding assembly is overcome by a downward force acting on said turret cap.
A lock for holding together in latched engagement two movably connected first and second segments of a protective shell structure, latchable together along respective mating latching edges and separable by relative movement to afford access to an interior chamber enclosed by said shell when said segments are latched together, comprising
- a lockbar arm receiver adapted to be anchored to the first shell segment,
- a lockbar arm mounted on the interior of said second shell segment for sliding movement between a locked extended position, wherein a distal end of the lockbar arm is engaged extending through the lockbar arm receiver, and an unlocked retracted position, wherein the distal end of the lockbar arm is withdrawn from the lockbar arm receiver,
- a first resilient spring means urging the lockbar arm toward said retracted unlocked position,
- a locking lever, pivotally mounted to a pivot shaft on the interior of said second shell segment, having a handle protruding in a first direction and having a lever stop protruding from said lever, with a crank pivot joining the proximal end of the lockbar arm to the locking lever at a crank arm distance from said pivot shaft along a direction substantially parallel to said first direction, said locking lever being movable between a first locked position with the lockbar arm extended and a second unlocked position with the lockbar arm retracted,
- a shockproofer turret pivotally mounted inside said second shell segment, with a turret cap mounted thereon for first tilting movement about a first tilt axis substantially parallel to said pivot shaft past a restraining edge, freeing said shockproofer turret for subsequent swiveling movement about a second swivel axis extending in an independent and different direction from said tilt axis, with a shockproofer tab extending substantially perpendicular to said swivel axis into blocking engagement with said protruding lever stop until after said swiveling movement occurs,
- second resilient spring means urging the shockproofer turret toward its unswiveled position with the tab blocking the lever stop,
- third resilient spring means urging the turret cap toward its untilted position, and
- at least one unlocking means in said second shell segment presented for actuation by a user outside said shell and connected upon actuation to first induce said turret cap tilting and thereafter to induce said shockproofer turret swiveling, releasing said tab from blocking engagement with said locking lever stop,
- whereby said locking lever is freed for movement to its unlocked position, urged by said first resilient spring via said lockbar arm acting through said crank pivot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.