Padlock

Abstract

A padlock comprises a lock body, a hoop which is displaceably held at the lock body, a cylinder core into which at least one core pin is inserted and which is supported directly in a reception opening rotatable about a cylinder axis in order selectively to lock or release the hoop at the lock body, and a tumbler housing into which at least one housing pin is inserted and which is received in a fixed position in the lock body.

Claims

1. A padlock comprising: a lock body; a hoop, the hoop being displaceably held at the lock body; a cylinder core into which at least one core pin is inserted and which is rotatably supported about a cylinder axis in direct contact with a reception opening of the lock body in order selectively to lock or release the hoop at the lock body, wherein the padlock does not comprise a cylinder housing for the cylinder core; and a tumbler housing that is received as a separate element from and in a fixed position relative to the lock body and into which at least one housing pin is inserted.

2. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, in which the tumbler housing is pressed in the lock body.

3. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a securing pin to hold the cylinder core axially fixedly in the lock body.

4. The padlock in accordance with claim 3, in which the securing pin is inserted in a pin passage of the tumbler housing extending in parallel with the at least one housing pin.

5. The padlock in accordance with claim 3, in which the securing pin is inserted in a throughgoing pin passage of the tumbler housing.

6. The padlock in accordance with claim 3, in which the securing pin is arranged behind the at least one housing pin in the key insertion direction.

7. The padlock in accordance with claim 3, in which the cylinder core is axially fixedly held in the lock body only by the securing pin.

8. The padlock in accordance with claim 3, in which the securing pin engages into a groove of the cylinder core extending in the peripheral direction with respect to the cylinder axis.

9. The padlock in accordance with claim 8, in which the capability of being rotated of the cylinder core is restricted to an angular range of less than 180, in that the groove only extends over a corresponding angular range of the periphery of the cylinder core.

10. The padlock in accordance with claim 9, in which the capability of being rotated of the cylinder core is restricted to an angular range of less than 120.

11. The padlock in accordance with claim 9, in which the capability of being rotated of the cylinder core is restricted to an angular range approximately 110.

12. The padlock in accordance with claim 8, in which the groove is arranged behind the at least one core pin in the key insertion direction.

13. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, in which the reception opening is configured as a reception borehole and the lock body has a further reception opening for receiving the tumbler housing.

14. The padlock in accordance with claim 13, in which the further reception opening is a further reception borehole.

15. The padlock in accordance with claim 13, in which the two reception boreholes are arranged next to one another and mutually overlapping.

16. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, in which the tumbler housing is substantially cylindrical and is aligned in parallel with the cylinder core.

17. The padlock in accordance with claim 16, in which the tumbler housing has a cut-out arcuate in cross-section which extends in the axial direction and which the cylinder core contacts.

18. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a locking device for the selective locking and release of the hoop, the locking device comprising a rotational latch drive-effectively coupled to the cylinder core and two blocking balls which can be pressed into a respective locking recess of the hoop limbs of the hoop by means of the rotational latch.

19. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein the lock body is free of pin tumbler passages.

20. A padlock comprising: a lock body; a hoop, the hoop being displaceably held at the lock body; a cylinder core into which at least one core pin is inserted and which is rotatably supported about a cylinder axis in direct contact with a reception opening of the lock body in order selectively to lock or release the hoop at the lock body; and a tumbler housing that is received as a separate element from and in a fixed position relative to the lock body and into which at least one housing pin is inserted, the tumbler housing surrounding only a portion of a full periphery of the cylinder core.

Description

(1) The invention will be explained in the following only by way of example with reference to the drawings.

(2) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a padlock in accordance with the invention in a schematic perspective view;

(3) FIG. 2 shows the same embodiment without a lock body so that elements in the interior of the padlock can be seen; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows the same embodiment in a perpendicular plan view of a cross-section.

(5) An exemplary embodiment of a padlock 11 in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The padlock 11 comprises a solid lock body 13, for example of iron or of an iron alloy such as steel, which is coated (e.g. provided with corrosion protection) and/or colored at its outer surface. In this respect, the lock body 13 can in particular be formed by cutting an extruded material to length. It is, however, also conceivable that the lock body 13 is produced by molding. A hoop 15 having a long hoop limb 17 and a short hoop limb 19 (cf. FIGS. 2 and 3) is inserted into two hoop receivers (which cannot be recognized in the FIG.) of the lock body 13. The hoop 15 is held linearly displaceably in the hoop receivers so that the short hoop limb 19 can exit the associated hoop receiver in an open position of the padlock 11 and can thus open the padlock.

(6) A reception opening in the form of a reception borehole 21 is formed at the side of the lock body 13 disposed opposite the hoop receivers and a similar further reception opening in the form of a further reception opening 25 is formed for a tumbler housing 27 inserted therein. The reception boreholes 21, 25 formed in circular form in cross-section are arranged next to one another and overlapping one another. The cylinder core 23 and the tumbler housing 27 substantially terminate flush with the lock body 13, with a peripheral chamfer in the cylinder core 23 leading to the outer end face of the cylinder core 23 projecting slightly out of the lock body 13. A key insertion opening 29, which forms an opening to a sectional keyway 31 extending in the cylinder core 23 (cf. FIG. 3) is located in this end face.

(7) As can be recognized in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cylinder core 23 is formed cylindrically in one part and is aligned in accordance with a cylinder axis Z. The tumbler housing 27 is equally also formed cylindrically in one part and has the same diameter as the cylinder core 23 to which it is aligned in parallel. In this respect, the tumbler housing 27 has a cut-out arcuate in cross-section which extends in an axial direction and which corresponds to the overlap of the reception boreholes 21, 25 circular in cross-section. The cylinder core 23 contacts the tumbler housing 27 at this overlap.

(8) The remaining jacket surface 33 of the cylinder core 23 directly contacts the inner jacket surface of the reception borehole 21 in the lock body 13 and is slidingly guided from the jacket surface of the reception borehole 21 on a rotation of the cylinder core 23. In this manner, the cylinder core 23 is supported rotatable about the cylinder axis Z directly in the lock body 13.

(9) The tumbler housing 27 is in contrast received in a fixed position in the further reception borehole 25 of the lock body 13 and is for this purpose fixed in a force-transmitting manner by pressing in the reception bore 25. A securing pin 35 extends perpendicular on the cylinder axis Z from the tumbler housing 27 into a groove 37 of the cylinder core 23, the groove extending in a region of the cylinder core 23 distal from the key insertion opening 29 in the peripheral direction. The cylinder core 23 is held axially non-displaceably relative to the tumbler housing 27 by the engagement of the securing pin 35 into the groove 37. Since the tumbler housing 27 is pressed in a fixed position in the lock body 13, the cylinder core 23 is thus also fixed in its axial position relative to the lock body 13. No other fixing of the cylinder core 23 in the lock body 13 takes place. The groove 37 extends over an angular range of approximately 110 along the periphery of the cylinder core 23 so that the interaction of the securing pin 35 and the groove 37 also has the effect that a rotational movement of the cylinder core 23 in the reception borehole 21 is restricted to at most this angular range.

(10) A locking device 39 can furthermore be recognized in FIGS. 2 and 3 which comprises a rotational latch 41 drive-effectively coupled to the cylinder core 23 and two blocking balls 43. Depending on its rotational position, the rotational latch 41 presses the blocking balls 43 radially outwardly into respective locking recesses 45 of the hoop limbs 17, 19 of the hoop 15 or makes it possible that the blocking balls 53 can exit from the locking recesses 45. In this manner, the hoop 15 can be selectively (as shown) locked or released by means of the locking device 39 in its shown closed position.

(11) The drive-effective coupling between the cylinder core 23 and the rotational latch 41 in this respect does not have to be rotationally rigid, but can rather have a defined clearance in order to allow an automatic function in a manner known per se such that the hoop 15 can also be moved in a latching manner from the open position into the closed position in the position of the cylinder core 23 shown in the Figures. For this purpose, a restoring spring 47 is furthermore provided which is arranged between the cylinder core 23 and the rotational latch 41. A further spring 49 is arranged in the hoop receiver associated with the long hoop limb 17 and preloads the hoop 15 into its open position so that, when the rotational latch 41 adopts a releasing position, the blocking balls 41 are pressed out of the locking recesses 45 and the hoop 15 is moved into its open position.

(12) As can above all be recognized in FIG. 3, the cylinder core 23 has a row of six equidistant boreholes 51, 51 of the same diameter, the row extending in parallel with the cylinder axis Z and the boreholes extending perpendicular to the cylinder axis Z radially from the outside toward the keyway 31. The securing pin 35 projects partly into the borehole 51 spaced furthest away from the key insertion opening 29, with the groove 37 opening into this borehole 51. Respective core pins 53 of different lengths are inserted into the other boreholes 51.

(13) In the closed position of the cylinder core 23 shown in the Figures, the boreholes 51, 51 are flush with corresponding throughgoing boreholes 55, 55 of the tumbler housing 27. The securing pin 35 is arranged in the borehole 55 spaced furthest away from the key insertion opening 29. In the other boreholes 55, respective housing pins 57 are inserted toward the cylinder core 23 and respective pin springs 59 are inserted toward to the other side. When the tumbler housing 27 is inserted, as shown, into the further reception opening 25 of the lock body 13, the pin springs 59 are supported directly against the lock body 13 and thus preload the housing pins 57 and the core pins 53 in the direction of the keyway 31.

(14) The core pin 53 of the housing pin 57 and the pin springs 59 of two flush bores 51, 55 each form a pin tumbler. Just that position of the pin tumblers is shown in the Figures which is only adopted against the preload of the pin springs 59 as a rule when a key (not shown) associated with the padlock is inserted into the keyway 31. The associated key then aligns the pin tumblers 53, 57, 59 just so that the separating surface between the core pins 53 and the housing pins 57 coincides with the separating surface between the cylinder core 23 and the tumbler housing 27 so that the cylinder core 23 can be rotated. In all other positions of the pin tumblers 53, 57, 59, the cylinder core 23 is blocked against a rotation by at least one pin tumbler 53, 57, 59.

(15) The shown embodiment of a padlock 11 in accordance with the invention can be produced particularly inexpensively due to the simplified design, in which only a cylinder core 23 without a cylinder housing is provided instead of a complete lock cylinder, without the security of the padlock 11 being disproportionately impaired. The lock body 13 in particular remains undamaged due to the provided tumbler housing 27, in whose boreholes 55 the housing pins 57 are inserted, and also does not have to be post-machined or post-coated after the assembly of the padlock 11. This is not only advantageous with respect to the security, but also makes it possible to color and/or to coat the lock body 13 before the assembly, without the coloring or coating being impaired by the further production. It is possible in this manner also to produce secure padlocks 11 with a colored and/or coated appearance in the starting price segment.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

(16) 11 padlock 13 lock body 15 hoop 17 long hoop limb 19 short hoop limb 21 reception borehole 23 cylinder core 25 further reception borehole 27 tumbler housing 29 key insertion opening 31 keyway 33 jacket surface 35 securing pin 37 groove 39 locking device 41 rotational latch 43 blocking ball 45 locking recess 47 restoring spring 49 spring 51 borehole 53 core pin 55 borehole 57 housing pin 59 pin spring Z cylinder axis