CA2557223A1 - Locking system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a locking system that comprises a locking mechanism that has a keyed access to be locked and unlocked by a key. The locking mechanism has an inner body within the cavity of the mechanism that has two links which are connected together at their proximal ends. The keyed access is hidden from view and is housed within a protective enclosure, and includes a convex nut with a convex top face with cutouts and a flat bottom surface. The flat bottom surface is connected to the inner body by a shaft which extends from a surface of the inner body perpendicular to a concave mating member on the key.

Description

Title: Locking System Field of the Invention The present invention relates to locking systems. In particular, this invention relates to a locking system that can be used in the recreation industry in relation to locking up bicycles and other small recreational vehicles.
Background Various key and cylinder locking systems are known where the locking cylinder is exposed so that a key can be inserted to unlock the device. Such systems can be relatively easily picked or tampered with by inserting a slender object into the cylinder opening. Recently it has been shown that even a pen can open some known locking systems.

Forcing a sharp-pointed object into the cylinder opening can also easily damage Key and cylinder systems. Key and cylinder systems are large and bulky and are not practical in many applications where space is not available such as bicycle wheels.

There is a need for a locking system that is more secure and theft resistant than traditional key and cylinder systems.

Brief Description of Drawings In drawings which illustrate by way of example only one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view in cross-section of one embodiment of a bicycle lock having a shackle and lock housing according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a key to be used with the bicycle lock of Fig. 1.

FIG. 3 is an expanded perspective schematic view of the lock housing of the bicycle lock of FIG. 1 without a protective enclosure.

Similar references are used in different figures to denote similar components.

Detailed Description While the present invention can be used in various applications, one embodiment will be described with reference to a bicycle locking system. While a bicycle u-lock shackle is described in the preferred embodiment, any shackle having a free end can be used for locking a variety of objects. Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG.
1 illustrates a bicycle u-lock (40) comprising a shackle (10) releasably engaged on both ends in a lock housing (20) The ends (11), (12) of the shackle (10) have inward facing grooves (11) which engage in the locked position with a left stop (31) and right stop (32) as described more fully below. When connected to the lock housing (20), the shackle (10) is designed to lock a bicycle wheel and or frame to a secure post, such as a standard bicycle rack.

The lock housing (20) has two sides, a shackle facing side (21) and a key facing side (22). The lock housing (20) is illustrated in the embodiment shown as rectangular-shaped but other shapes and size are within the scope of the present invention. On the shackle facing side (21), there are two cylindrical lock bodies (80), (81) as shown in FIG.
3, each of which receives a respective end (11), (12) of the shackle (10), as best illustrated in FIG. 1.

As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the lock housing (20) includes an inner body (30), including, on its key facing side (22) a keyed access means, shown generally at (24).
The inner body (30) is comprised of two links (33), (34) which are diametrically opposed to each other, each of which have a stop link (31) (32) on each opposite end (70), (71) and wrench faces (35) and (36) on each facing end (72), (73). The two links (33) and (34) are connected with each other through their wrench faces (35) and (36), each of which is connected to a tooth (37) and (39) for each face. The teeth (37 and (39) are both mounted on a disc (39), which can be seen in FIG. 1. The bottom side of the disc (38) is connected to a driveably connectable means, such as a nut shaft (51), which houses a convex nut (50) at its distal end (54). Nut (50) has a convex top face (55) and a flat opposite surface (56). The nut (50) has at least one cutout (52) on its convex face and houses a spring (53) within the cavity of the nut (50).

With reference to FIG. 2, a key (100) is provided. The key (100) has a handle (110), a plug (130), and a t-shaped shaft (120) connecting the handle (110) to the plug (130).
With reference to the embodiment shown, a key (100) having only a mating member (130) and some form of handle can also be used, even where the shaft itself forms the handle. The t-shaped shaft (120) pivots about pivot screw (140) which connects the t-end of the shaft (120) to the handle (110), thereby allowing flexibility in operating the key (100) and locking system (40). The mating member (130) is concave-shaped having at least one protruding pin (131) which projects out of the concave face of the mating member (130) and is ready to be inserted into a cutout (52) having the same size, space and location to ensure a secure interaction.

To operate the bicycle u-lock (40) of FIG. 1, a key (100), as shown in FIG 2, is inserted onto and into engagement with the nut (50) through the keyed access means so that the pin (131) interlocks with the cutout (52) and secures 5 the nut with the mating member (130). Once engaged, when the key (100) turns left and has pressure applied in the direction of the shackle facing side (21), the spring (53) is compressed from its resting and expanded state simultaneously while the shaft (51) rotates about its vertical axis, causing the disc (39) to rotate left along its horizontal axis. The teeth (37) and (38) then pull each respective wrench faces (35) and (36) and consequently pull each link (33) and (34) towards each other. When the links (33) and (34) are pulled toward each other, their respective stop links (31) and (32) are also pulled inwards and create an opening in the cylindrical lock bodies and release the inward facing grooves (11) of a shackle (10).
Once the inward facing grooves (11) are released, the ends of a shackle (10) are then free to slide out of the aperture and into the open position. Conversely, rotation of the key (100) to the right results in the stop links (31) and (32) wedging into the inward facing grooves (11), securely locking the ends of the shackle (10) within the lock housing (20) and into the closed/locking position.

As shown in FIG. 1, the means to access the mating member(130) with a nut (50) is unhindered. Nut (50) is recessed within nut end cover (60) to prevent direct access from the key facing side (22). As such, nut (50) cannot be engaged or rotated other than with a corresponding key (100) and is more difficult to tamper with than locks disclosed in the prior art. In order to operate the bicycle u-lock (40), the key (100) must be inserted sideways through a narrow slot in the key facing side (22) of the lock housing (22). Once inserted, the key (100) can then be plunged towards the nut (50) to create a positive and secure engagement.

To deter thieves from simply cutting through the shackle (10) and releasing the secured objects, the shackle (10) is preferably constructed of a sturdy, corrosion-free metallic material which cannot be readily broken, even with the use of a crowbar and the like.

Numerous modifications, variations, and adaptations may be made to the particular embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the claims.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A locking system comprising:

a locking mechanism that is locked and unlocked by rotation of a key inserted into keyed access means on the locking mechanism;

an inner body within the cavity of said locking mechanism having two links, each of which having a stop link on each distal end and connected together at their proximal ends by a connection means;

said keyed access means hidden from view and housed within a protective enclosure which prevents engagement and rotation of the keyed access means by common tools, and includes a convex nut having a convex top face with cutouts and a flat bottom surface;

said key having a body portion with a concave mating member with projections coded to match the size, shape and location of said cutouts on said keyed access means;

said bottom surface driveably connectable to said inner body by a shaft;

a u-lock having a u-shaped shackle inserted within said inner body; and, said shaft extending from a surface of said inner body perpendicular to said concave mating member.