Keyless padlock, system and method of use

Abstract

A keyless padlock having a padlock body, a shackle, a locking mechanism located in the body and associated with the shackle to lock the shackle to the body in a locked condition and to release at least a part of the shackle in an unlocked condition, the locking mechanism including a signal receiver, at least one control assembly and at least one actuator, the locking mechanism being unlocked upon verification of a signal including an unlock code transmitted by a mobile computing device.

Claims

1. A keyless padlock system, comprising: a keyless padlock, comprising: a padlock body; a shackle; and a locking mechanism located in the body and associated with the shackle to lock the shackle to the body in a locked condition and to release at least a part of the shackle in an unlocked condition, the locking mechanism including: a signal receiver; at least one control assembly; and at least one actuator; and an application comprising instructions executable by a personal computing device to: initialize operation of the keyless padlock by: pairing the keyless padlock with the personal computing device; receiving an identifying code unique to the keyless padlock; storing the identifying code in a memory of the personal computing device; and transmitting to the keyless padlock one or more details that are unique to the personal computing device; and operate the keyless padlock by: accessing the identifying code; and transmitting the identifying code to the signal receiver with the one or more details that are unique to the personal computing device; wherein the at least one control assembly of the padlock triggers the at least one actuator to unlock the padlock shackle if the identifying code received by the signal receiver matches that of the padlock and will not open if the identifying code does not match.

2. The keyless padlock as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the locking mechanism further includes a battery and a camming member within the padlock body movable between the locked and unlocked conditions; the at least one actuator comprises a camming member actuator in order to move the locking mechanism; and the at least one control assembly is configured to control operation of the camming actuator according to the received signal.

3. The keyless padlock as claimed in claim 2, wherein the locking mechanism further includes a switch associated with a short arm of the shackle such that when the short arm the shackle is aligned with a respective opening in the padlock body and depressed by a user in order to lock the padlock, the switch is activated which in turn is used to signal the actuator to rotate the camming member to lock the shackle.

4. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the unique identifying code is a code or signal which is matched to the keyless padlock.

5. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the unique identifying code is generated substantially in real time each time the operation of the keyless padlock is prompted and communicated to both the keyless padlock and to the personal computing device for transmission to the keyless padlock.

6. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the keyless padlock utilises a multifactor authentication protocol.

7. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 6 wherein the keyless padlock includes a transmitter configured to request additional information either from a user, from a third-party, or from an external system administrator implementing a multifactor authentication protocol.

8. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one or more details unique to the personal computing device are obtained directly from the personal computing device each time a transmission is made rather than being stored in the application.

9. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the unique identifying code is transmitted by a third party on behalf of an authorised user in order to allow the third-party to operate the keyless padlock with the unique identifying code being provided to the third-party by the authorised user or with the authorised user's consent from a system administrator, the third party also having a personal computing device operating the application.

10. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 9 wherein authorisation is provided to the third party by an authorised user on a single use basis.

11. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 9 wherein once the authorised third-party has operated the keyless padlock, the application operating on the third party's personal computing device provides feedback to the authorised user's personal computing device allowing the authorised user to ascertain the identity of the third-party operating the keyless padlock in confirmation.

12. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the application further comprises instructions to provide an interface that allows a location of the keyless padlock paired with the personal computing device to be determined geographically.

13. A keyless padlock system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the application further comprises instructions to, upon the padlock being locked, note a geographic position of the personal computing device using a positioning system of the personal computing device and store the geographic position in a memory of the personal computing device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a keyless padlock according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention with the body transparent for clarity purposes.

(3) FIG. 2 is an axonometric view of the keyless padlock illustrated in FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic view front view of the keyless padlock illustrated in FIG. 1 in the locked condition.

(5) FIG. 3A is a schematic illustration from the top showing relative positions of the camming member and locking balls of the keyless padlock illustrated in FIG. 3.

(6) FIG. 4 is a schematic view front view of the keyless padlock illustrated in FIG. 1 in the unlocked condition.

(7) FIG. 4A is a schematic illustration from the top showing relative positions of the camming member and locking balls of the keyless padlock illustrated in FIG. 4.

(8) FIG. 5 is a schematic view front view of the keyless padlock illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the movement from the unlocked condition to the locked condition.

(9) FIG. 5A is a schematic illustration from the top showing relative positions of the camming member and locking balls of the keyless padlock illustrated in FIG. 5.

(10) FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the keyless padlock and smartphone operating the software application according to a preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention.

(11) FIG. 7 is a more detailed view of an interface generated on the smartphone of an owner by the software application according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

(12) FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a message interface generated on the smartphone of a third party by the software application upon receipt of authorisation to unlock a keyless padlock belonging to an owner.

(13) FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of an interface generated on the smartphone of a third party by the software application upon receipt of authorisation to unlock a keyless padlock belonging to an owner.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(14) According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, a keyless padlock system is provided.

(15) With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a keyless padlock 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprising a padlock body 12 and a shackle 14. Shackle 14 comprises a long leg 16 and short leg 18, and body 12 comprises a long leg bore 20 and a short leg bore 22. Long leg 16 is adapted to be insertable into long leg bore 20, and short leg 18 is adapted to be insertable into short leg bore 22.

(16) Referring now to shackle 14 it can be seen that, in the orientation in FIG. 1, the general shape of shackle 14 is similar to that of an inverted U. Therefore, the two parallel portions of the U form long leg 16 and short leg 18, and the upper end of the respective legs are integrally connected by an arcuate member 24 corresponding to the curved portion of the U. More specifically, in the embodiment shown, long leg 16 and short leg 18 are both substantially cylindrical (i.e. having a substantially circular cross-section) of equal diameter, and long leg 16 is substantially longer than short leg 18 so that the lower end of long leg 16 extends substantially below the lower end of short leg 18. Because the respective legs are substantially cylindrical, therefore arcuate member 24 (which is integrally formed with the legs) has a substantially semi-toroidal shape connecting the tops of the two legs and having approximately the same cross-section as the legs.

(17) Both long leg 16 and short leg 18 have a locking notch 26, 28 therein. Notches 26, 28 comprise substantially semi-tubular cutouts in the inner side of the respective legs, the cutouts being oriented such that the longitudinal axis of each semi-tubular cutout is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the respective legs and offset inwardly thereof. Notch 28 in short leg 18 is located towards the lower end of short leg 18, and notch 26 in long leg 16 is located approximately midway down the length of long leg 16 such that both the notches are located at substantially the same level, thus effectively making each notch a mirror image of the other.

(18) Long leg 16 further comprises a groove 30, a retaining flat aperture in the form of inner flat 32, and a bottom surface 34. Groove 30, located towards the lower end of long leg 16, has a substantially semicircular cross-section and extends all the way around long leg 16. Thus, groove 30 forms a substantially circumferential cutout around the lower end of long leg 16. Importantly, the maximum depth to which groove 30 is recessed into long leg 16 is substantially less than the maximum depth to which notches 26, 28 are indented into the respective leg members.

(19) Inner flat 32 comprises a substantially flat surface extending down the inner side of long leg 16 from the lower edge of notch 26 to groove 30. Inner flat 32 is also slightly indented into long leg 16 and it therefore forms a slightly recessed flat surface. The depth to which inner flat 32 is recessed into long leg 16 is approximately the same as the depth of groove 30. Therefore, inner flat 32 effectively blends smoothly into groove 30 at the point where the two intersect, and there is no distinct ridge, edge or other delineation between the two.

(20) Referring again to FIG. 1, it can be seen that padlock assembly 10 has an internal locking mechanism 38 for locking and unlocking the padlock. Locking mechanism 38 comprises battery 40, at least one actuator 41, a printed circuit board 42, micro USB port 43, camming member 44, and locking balls 46, 48.

(21) It can be seen that camming member 44 comprises a pair of convex camming surfaces 56 located on opposite sides thereof, and a pair of concave cavities 58 also located on opposed sides thereof and interposed between the camming surfaces 56. The locking balls 46, 48 are positioned one on either side of camming member 44. Camming member 44 is pivotable between a locked position and an unlocked position. FIG. 1 shows camming member 44 in the locked position wherein the camming surfaces 56 contact with the balls 46, 48, thereby pushing ball 46 into engagement with notch 26 in long leg 16 and pushing ball 48 into engagement with notch 28 in short leg 18. It will be clearly understood that the diameter of each of the balls 46, 48 is such that balls 46, 48 fit snugly and sufficiently deeply into notches 26 and 28 so as to prevent vertical movement of the respective legs within the body. Thus, when camming member 44 is in the locked position and both legs of the shackle are inserted into their respective bores in body 12, the legs are retained within body 12 by engagement of the balls 46, 48, and the padlock is locked.

(22) Camming member 44 can be pivoted from the locked position into the unlocked position by rotating camming member 44 approximately 90 (counterclockwise when viewed from above). This is done by operating actuator 41, as explained in greater detail below.

(23) When camming member 44 is pivoted into the unlocked position, locking balls 46, 48 are no longer in engagement with camming surfaces 56 and therefore they are not being pushed into engagement with the notches 26 and 28 in the legs. Instead, locking balls 46, 48 are allowed to retreat into the cavities 58 in camming member 44. It will be understood that cavities 58 are sufficiently deep, and that locking balls 46, 48 can retreat sufficiently far into cavities 58, such that the bottom edges of the respective notches 26 and 28 can move upwardly past balls 46, 48. Hence, rotation of camming member 44 into the unlocked position allows legs 16 and 18 of the shackle to move upwardly within the body 12. In particular, it allows short leg 18 to be retracted entirely out of short leg bore 22, thus opening the padlock.

(24) However, it will also be understood that, even when balls 46, 48 are retracted into recesses 58, they are not retracted entirely within the cavities. Therefore, balls 46, 48 extend outwardly to some extent even when they are retracted into cavities 58, albeit to a lesser extent than they do when they are pushed into engagement with notches 26, 28 by camming surfaces 56. This is particularly important in relation to ball 46. It will be recalled that inner flat 32 (which is recessed slightly into long leg 16 but less deeply than notch 26) extends down the inside of long leg 16 between the lower edge of notch 26 and groove 30. Therefore, even though ball 46 retracts out of notch 26 when the balls are retracted into cavities 58, nevertheless ball 26 still extends outwardly sufficiently to engage with inner flat 32. It will also be recalled that the lower edge of groove 30 forms a lip 37. Therefore, even when ball 46 is retracted into cavities 58 and the short leg 18 is retracted out of short leg bore 22 so that the padlock is open, nevertheless the engagement of ball 46 with inner flat 32 and lip 37 prevents long leg 16 from being retracted out of long leg bore 20.

(25) The circumferential shape of groove 30 allows long leg 16 to rotate within long leg bore 20 (i.e. shackle 14 can be rotated about long leg 16) when the padlock is open. Groove 30 effectively creates track within which ball 46 can roll as shackle 14 rotates.

(26) The locked and unlocked positions of the camming member 44 and locking balls 46 and 48 is illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 3 to 5A.

(27) The actuator 41 provided in the body 12 of the keyless padlock 10 is energised as required by the battery 40 provided in the body 12 and controlled by the printed circuit board 42. As illustrated, the actuator 41 is typically approximately centrally located within the body 12 of the keyless padlock 10 in a position similar to that held by the key cylinder in a conventional padlock.

(28) In the preferred embodiment, a switch 50 is provided in the body 12 associated with the short arm 18 of the shackle 14 such that when the short arm 18 of the shackle 14 is aligned with the short arm bore 22 in the body 12 and depressed by the user in order to lock the padlock, the switch 50 is typically activated which in turn is used to signal the actuator 41 to rotate the camming member 44 to lock the shackle 14.

(29) The software application operating on the personal computing device will typically access a unique identifying code which is particular to the keyless padlock and, as desired, transmit that unique identifying code to be keyless padlock. Once the keyless padlock receives the unique identifying code via the receiver, the at least one control assembly will typically trigger the at least one actuator to lock or unlock the padlock if the unique identifying code received matches that required by the keyless padlock and the keyless padlock will not be locked or unlocked if the unique identifying code does not match.

(30) The provision of a unique identifying code means that the keyless padlock does not require a physical key, nor preferably as the provision in the keyless padlock for insertion of a physical key in order to open the padlock.

(31) The system of the present invention preferably includes two component parts, namely the keyless padlock and software application which is operable on a personal computing device such as a smartphone 60 as illustrated in FIG. 6 which is carried by a person and is therefore easily accessible to the user at the majority of times. Smartphones include a processor having an associated memory for storing instructions and a display upon which an interface can be generated and displayed allowing user interaction with the software application. As mentioned above, smartphones also have access to a number of communications pathways such that the unique identifying code can be transmitted via any one or more of a variety of communications pathways. These communications pathways typically include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth as well as telecommunications networks and data links. According to the most preferred embodiment, the keyless padlock 10 will operate via Bluetooth connection with the smartphone.

(32) Normally the software application operates according to instructions stored in the memory of the smartphone 60 and put into effect using the processor and controlled by interaction with the user via the interface generated and displayed on the display and/or other input apparatus provided with the personal computer device in order to retrieve and transmit the unique identifying code to the padlock 10 as required. In the simplest form, the unique identifying code is stored on the smartphone 60 (typically in the memory associated with the software application) which has been paired with the keyless padlock 10.

(33) The preferred embodiment of the software application is preferably relatively simple. The first time the software application is initialised by tapping the application icon 61 on the display of the smartphone 60 (or alternatively at any time there after), the software application then establishes the communications pathways using the smartphone upon which it is operating to search for devices which can be paired with the smartphone. This will typically identify the keyless padlock 10 as a device which can be paired. Pairing the keyless padlock 10 with the smartphone 60 then allows the unique identifying code for the keyless padlock 10 to be stored in the memory of the smartphone 60. The pairing process may also provide information in relation to the user and/or the smartphone 60 of the user, to the keyless padlock. Thereafter, as required, the authorised user will typically use the paired smartphone 60 to send the unique identifying code to the padlock 10 in order to operate the padlock 10. If the unique identifying code is a match to that of the keyless padlock, then the padlock can be operated and if not, the lock cannot be operated.

(34) As illustrated in FIG. 7 in particular, the software application of the preferred embodiment provides an interface that allows the location of the keyless padlock which has been paired with the particular smartphone 60 to be determined geographically in the form of a map 61. The interface may provide other information including status of the padlock and the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 does so graphically via icon 63 and also in text 64.

(35) Due the complexity of the smartphones 60 which would typically be used according to the present invention, many of these will have access to positioning systems such as GPS. Typically, the software application, upon the padlock being locked, will typically note the position of the smartphone 60 (which will typically be relatively close to the keyless padlock 10) using the positioning system of the smartphone 60 and store this in the memory of the smartphone 60 or the software application. This will allow a user to locate the keyless padlock which has been paired to the smartphone 60 if the user forgets where the padlock is located.

(36) This information can be forwarded to a third party if the authorised user request that third party operate the lock as illustrated in FIG. 9. Typically, this information will be capable of display on the interface of the third party's smartphone 60 as seen in FIG. 9.

(37) The software application can also preferably be used to authorise third parties to operate the keyless padlock. This authorisation may be provided to a third party by an authorised user permanently until revoked or alternatively, as outlined above, authorisation may be given on a single use basis. Normally, the owner of the padlock can authorise third parties using the software application on their smartphone 60 in association with the contacts list of the smartphone 60. The interface on the smartphone 60 of the owner may therefore also include identification, typically photos 65 of the third parties that can be authorised to unlock the padlock on the owner's behalf as illustrated in FIG. 7.

(38) The interface includes an action (lock/unlock) icon 66, and a pin icon 67 to save the location of the padlock in the memory of the smartphone 60. There is also an icon 68 provided to authorise third parties.

(39) In circumstances in which the owner wants to authorise a third party to operate the padlock, the unique identifying code will normally be provided to the third party by the owner. According to the preferred embodiment, the owner is able to authorise third parties using their smartphone 60 which then allows the owner to transmit a message to third parties as and when the owner wishes, to authorise the third party to operate the keyless padlock. Once an owner has chosen a third party to authorise, normally from the contacts list stored on the smartphone 60 or using the identifiers on the interface illustrated in FIG. 7, the software application transmits an information package or signal to the smartphone 60 of the third party which the third party can then use to provide the unique identifying code to the keyless padlock. Importantly, this system may operate such that the third party does not ever have knowledge of the particular unique identifying code but the unique identifying code is simply provided from the authorised user's smartphone 60 to the third party's smartphone 60 and once transmitted to the keyless padlock 10, is preferably erased or deleted from the third parties smartphone 60 or otherwise rendered inactive.

(40) A message such as that displayed in FIG. 8 is normally delivered requesting the third party's assistance. The third party would then access their smartphone 60 and the software application would normally display an interface such as that illustrated in FIG. 9. This interface is similar to the interface illustrated in FIG. 7 in that it indicates the status of the padlock 10 for which they have been granted authorisation to operate and also provides a map 62 showing the geographic location of the padlock 10 as well as a location in text. The interface also includes a message 69 requesting assistance and indicating that the unique identifying code of the particular padlock 10 has been provided. A photo 70 of the owner of the padlock is also included as well as their account details.

(41) The third party can then use the provided unique identifying code on behalf of the owner to operate the padlock is required.

(42) In the present specification and claims (if any), the word comprising and its derivatives including comprises and comprise include each of the stated integers but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers.

(43) Reference throughout this specification to one embodiment or an embodiment means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases in one embodiment or in an embodiment in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more combinations.

(44) In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims (if any) appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.