Locking magnetic fastener

A locking magnetic fastener including manually separable male and female assemblies,

• a. said female assembly comprising at least one permanent magnet in an interior chamber;
• b. said male assembly including a projecting male member formed in whole or in part of a ferromagnetic material, the forward end of said male projecting member including a cam surface;
• c. said female assembly including an exterior aperture for receiving said projecting male member, said exterior aperture communicating with said interior chamber;
• d. said female assembly further comprising at least one slide lock member above the at least one permanent magnet, at least one ferromagnetic contact member joined to the at least one slide lock member, each of the at least one slide lock members having a distal end projecting from the chamber and a proximal end in the chamber, the distal end being movable from a first position (I) in which each of the at least one ferromagnetic contact members is in contact with or proximate to one of the at least one permanent magnets, to a second position (II) in which each of the ferromagnetic contact members is within the range of attraction of the at least one permanent magnet, said at least one slide lock member defining an aperture, alone or in combination with another of said slide lock members, said aperture being partially aligned with the exterior aperture in the first position and fully aligned with the exterior aperture in the second position;
• e. said at least one slide lock member including a cam follower surface which initially engages said cam surface at the forward end of said projecting male member, said cain follower surface operatively configured to move said at least one ferromagnetic contact member away from the permanent magnet in opposition to the magnetically induced attractive force as said cam surface moves along said cam follower surface during entry of said projecting male member into said interior chamber;
• f. lock means adjacent the cam surface to receive the at least one slide lock member in locking engagement with said projecting male member to thereby retain said projecting male member in the female assembly;
• and
• g. lock release means for manually releasing said slide lock member from said lock means.

A locking magnetic fastener comprising:

• a. a male assembly having a projecting male member terminating in a forward end, the forward end of said male member including a cam surface, said male member including lock means;
• b. a female assembly comprising
• (i) a housing having an exterior aperture for receiving the projecting male member;
• (ii) a permanent magnet in an interior chamber formed by the housing,
• (iii) a slide lock member which is slidable with respect to the housing and the permanent magnet, the distal end of the slide lock member extending from the housing and the proximal end terminating in the housing, the slide lock member including a ferromagnetic contact member that is movable from a first position (I) to a second position (II), both positions being within the attractive range of the permanent magnet, the slide lock member further including a receiving aperture that in the first position (I) is partially aligned with the exterior aperture and in the second position (II) is fully aligned with the exterior aperture and to receive the projecting male member, the slide lock member further including a cam follower surface to engage said cam surface at the forward end of the projecting male member, said cam follower surface operatively configured, whereby said ferromagnetic contact member is caused to move away from the permanent magnet and against the magnet's attractive force as said cam surface moves along said cam follower surface during the progressive entry of said ferromagnetic projecting male member into said interior chamber and in the direction of the magnet when the lock means is engaged.

A female assembly for use in cooperation with a male assembly to provide a locking magnetic fastener, said female assembly comprising:

• a. a housing that defines an interior chamber, an exterior aperture formed in a first wall of the housing for receiving a portion of the male assembly;
• b. a permanent magnet positioned in the interior chamber opposite the first wall of the housing;
• c. a slide lock member which is slidable with respect to the housing and the permanent magnet, the slide lock member comprising:
• (i) a distal end extending through an aperture in a second wall of the housing and a proximal end terminating in the interior chamber;
• (ii) a ferromagnetic contact member that is movable from a first position (I) to a second position (II), both positions being within the attractive range of the permanent magnet;
• (iii) a receiving aperture that in the first position (I) is partially aligned with the exterior aperture and in the second position (II) is fully aligned with the exterior aperture and to receive a portion of the male assembly;
• (iv) a cam follower surface to engage a cam surface formed in the male assembly, said cam follower surface operatively configured to move said ferromagnetic contact member on the slide lock member away from the permanent magnet in opposition to the magnetically induced attractive force as said cam surface moves along said cam follower surface during the progressive entry of said portion of the male assembly into said interior chamber and in the direction of the magnet when the lock means is engaged;
• (v) a lock release formed at the distal end of the slide lock member, whereby the position of the interior aperture can be changed in response to a manual force applied to the lock release.

A locking magnetic fastener including manually separable male and female assemblies,

• a. said female assembly including a permanent magnet in an interior chamber formed by a housing;
• b. said male assembly having a projecting male member, the forward end of said male member including a cam surface;
• c. said female assembly including an exterior aperture for receiving said projecting male member, said exterior aperture communicating with said interior chamber,
• d. said female assembly further comprising a slide lock member in juxtaposition to the permanent magnet and having a distal end projecting outward from the chamber and a proximal end within the chamber and being movable between a first position and a second position, said slide lock member including a ferromagnetic contact that is adapted to be proximate the permanent magnet in the first position and that is within the range of attraction of the permanent magnet in said second position;
• e. said slide lock member including a cam follower surface responsive to the cam surface on the male assembly, said cam follower surface extending across at least a portion of the opening defined by and is partially aligned with the exterior aperture of said female assembly in the first position and movable toward the periphery of said exterior aperture in the second position to permit passage of the forward end of the male member;
• said cam follower surface aligned in the first position to engage the cam surface towards the forward end of said projecting male ferromagnetic member, said cam follower surface operatively configured to laterally move said ferromagnetic contact member on the distal end of the slide lock member away from the permanent magnet in opposition to magnetically induced attractive force as said cam follower surface advances along said cam surface during entry of said projecting male member into said interior chamber;
• f. lock means adjacent the cam surface to receive the slide lock member in locking engagement with said projecting male member to thereby mechanically retain said projecting male member in said female assembly;
• and
• g. lock release means for manually releasing said lock means.