Padlock

Abstract

A to a padlock comprising a lock body and a hoop that is movable between a closed position and an open position and that has a first hoop end and a second hoop end, wherein a first hoop receiver for the first hoop end and a second hoop receiver for the second hoop end are formed in the lock body, and wherein a latch mechanism is provided that is adjustable by a cylinder core that is rotatable about a cylinder axis between a locked position in which the latch mechanism fixes the hoop in the closed position and a release position in which the latch mechanism releases the hoop for a movement into the open position.

Claims

1. A padlock having a lock body and a hoop, the hoop being movable between a closed position and an open position and the hoop having a first hoop end and a second hoop end, wherein a first hoop receiver for the first hoop end and a second hoop receiver for the second hoop end are formed in the lock body, wherein a latch mechanism is provided that is adjustable by means of a cylinder core rotatable about a cylinder axis between a locked position in which the latch mechanism fixes the hoop in the closed position and a release position in which the latch mechanism releases the hoop for a movement into the open position, wherein the hoop is formed as one of a rigid hoop and a flexible hoop, with both a first retaining pin passage for a rigid hoop and a second retaining pin passage for a flexible hoop being formed in the lock body, with the first retaining pin passage opening into the first hoop receiver and the second retaining pin passage opening into the second hoop receiver; and with a retaining pin being provided that is inserted into the first retaining pin passage with a rigid hoop and is inserted into the second retaining pin passage with a flexible hoop, with the retaining pin, in the open position of the hoop, plunging into the first retaining pin passage and securing the first hoop end against a removal from the first hoop receiver with a rigid hoop, and plunging into the second retaining pin passage and securing the second hoop end against a removal from the second hoop receiver with a flexible hoop.

2. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein the two retaining pin passages have the same cross-section.

3. The padlock in accordance with claim 2, wherein the two retaining pin passages have the same diameter.

4. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second retaining pin passage is arranged above the first retaining pin passage and/or beneath the latch mechanism.

5. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein a plurality of tumblers arranged above one another are provided, with the second retaining pin passage being arranged above the plurality of tumblers and/or the first retaining pin passage being arranged next to and/or beneath the uppermost of the plurality of tumblers.

6. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein with a rigid hoop, the first hoop end has a longitudinal groove into which the retaining pin engages to displaceably secure the first hoop end in the first hoop receiver.

7. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein with a rigid hoop, no further retaining pin is inserted into the second retaining pin passage.

8. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein with a flexible hoop, the second hoop end has a cutout into which the retaining pin engages to fixedly secure the second hoop end in the second hoop receiver.

9. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein a compression spring is received in the first hoop receiver that urges the first hoop end in the direction of the open position of the hoop.

10. The padlock in accordance with claim 9, wherein with a flexible hoop, an extension piece is received in the first hoop receiver.

11. The padlock in accordance with claim 10, wherein the extension piece has a longitudinal groove and a further retaining pin is inserted into the first retaining pin passage that engages into the longitudinal groove of the extension piece to displaceably secure the extension piece in the first hoop receiver.

12. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein the cylinder core cooperates via an end face entrainer device with the latch mechanism.

13. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein the latch mechanism comprises two latches preloaded in opposite directions and respectively radially outwardly into the locked position in which the latches in the closed position of the hoop engage into respective locking sections formed in the first and second hoop ends to fix the hoop in the closed position.

14. The padlock in accordance with claim 13, wherein the latches have a respective chamfer at their radially outwardly directed latch ends.

15. The padlock in accordance with claim 13, wherein the locking sections are each formed as a groove at least partially peripheral around the longitudinal axis of the respective hoop end, with the latches having a respective concave cutout at their radially outwardly directed latch ends, said cutout being respectively counter-shaped to a part of the respective groove facing the respective latch end.

16. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein the cylinder core is directly received in a cylinder core receiver formed in the lock body.

17. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein housing pins and pin springs are directly received in housing pin bores that are formed in the lock body.

18. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein a plastic jacket is pushed onto the lock body from the hoop side and a plastic flap at the counter-hoop side is clipped onto it to form an outer housing for the lock body.

19. The padlock in accordance with claim 1, wherein both a rigid hoop and a flexible hoop are provided that are selectively mountable to the lock body.

Description

(1) The invention will be described in the following by way of example with reference to the drawing. There are shown

(2) FIG. 1 a cross-section through a padlock in accordance with the invention with a lock body, a latch mechanism, an outer housing, and a rigid hoop; and

(3) FIGS. 2A, 2B the padlock in accordance with FIG. 1 in a view from the front and above, with the lock body and the outer housing being omitted, and with the rigid hoop being replaced with a flexible hoop; and

(4) FIG. 3 the latch mechanism in accordance with FIG. 1 in a perspective individual representation.

(5) The padlock 11 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a lock body 13 and a rigid or fixed U-shaped hoop 15, in particular composed of steel, for example stainless steel, and/or with a plastic cover 77, or composed of plastic, whose first hoop end 17 and whose second hoop end respectively engage into a first hoop receiver 21 respectively a second hoop receiver 23 of the lock body in the closed position shown. The first hoop end 17 has a greater length than the second hoop end 19. The first hoop receiver 21 correspondingly has a greater depth than the second hoop receiver 23. The lock body 13 is produced from aluminum. A key 25 is further shown that is associated with the padlock 11 and with which the rigid hoop 15 can be released for a displacement into the open position in which only its first hoop end 17 engages into the first hoop receiver 21.

(6) The key 25 is inserted into a keyway of a cylinder core 27. The cylinder core 27 is formed substantially cylindrically with respect to a cylinder axis Z, is directly received in a cylinder core receiver 49 formed in the lock body 13, and is part of a cylinder arrangement that comprises eight tumblers 33 in addition to the cylinder core 27. The tumblers 33 each comprise a core pin 41, a housing pin 43, and a pin spring 45. Each tumbler 33 is received in a respective tumbler receiver that is formed by two bores of which one is formed directly in the lock body 13 and of which the other is formed in the cylinder core 27 and which are aligned radially to the cylinder axis Z. The bores in the lock body 13 are closed by a common tumbler cover 47 at their radially outwardly directed ends (cf. FIG. 2A).

(7) The cylinder arrangement is coded by a respective combination of core pins 41 of different lengths for a specific key 25. If the key 25 introduced into the cylinder core 27 has suitably coded teeth, the core pins and the housing pins 41, 43 are displaced against the preload of the pin springs 45 such that the boundary surface between the core pin 41 and the housing pin 43 for all of the tumblers 33 coincides with the boundary surface between the cylinder core 27 and the cylinder core receiver 49. Only in this state can the cylinder core 27 then be rotated about its cylinder axis Z with respect to the lock body 13 and can thus be displaced out of the shown latching position into the unlatched position to release the hoop 15.

(8) A holding pin 35 that engages radially inwardly into a cutout, not recognizable in the selected view, at the cylinder core 27 is received in parallel with the tumblers 33 in the lock body 13. This cutout is formed as a partial annular groove that extends over an angular range of effectively approximately 90° in the peripheral direction about the cylinder axis Z along a jacket surface 55 (cf. FIG. 2A) of the cylinder core 27. The length of the extent here restricts the rotational movability of the cylinder core 27 to a corresponding angular range. An axial displacement of the cylinder core 27 in the direction out of the cylinder core receiver 49 is additionally blocked relative to the lock body 13 direction with respect to the cylinder axis Z by the engagement of the holding pin 35 in the axial. In this manner, the cylinder core 27 is held axially in the cylinder core receiver 49 of the lock body 13.

(9) The cylinder core 27 cooperates via an end face entrainer device 61 with a latch mechanism 63 (cf. in this respect also FIGS. 2A and 2B) that comprises two latches 65 preloaded by means of the compression spring 75 in opposite directions and radially outwardly. The latches 65 are preloaded into the shown position which corresponds to the latching position of the cylinder core 27 and in which they engage into respective annular locking sections 67 of the hoop 15 with a completely inserted hoop 15. In this respect, the latches 65 are chamfered (cf. the chamfer 81) such that the latches 65 are urged back against their preload on an introduction of the hoop 15 into the lock body 13 until they finally latch into the locking sections 67 again. The hoop 15 is subsequently locked in a shape-matching manner in the opposite direction of movement by the latches 65. A release of the hoop 15 can then only take place in that the cylinder core 27 is rotated out of the shown latched position about the cylinder axis Z into the unlatched position in which the entrainer device 61 displaces the latches 65 against their preload out of the locking sections 67. As soon as the hoop 15 is released, it is automatically displaced into its open position by a compression spring 69 that is only shown in FIG. 2A, that is inserted into the first hoop receiver 21, and that acts at the front face on the first hoop end 17 of the hoop 15.

(10) The locking sections 67 are each formed as a completely peripheral annular groove that respectively extends around the longitudinal axis of the respective hoop end 17, 19. Matching this, the latches 65 have a respective concave, partly cylindrically shaped cutout 79 at their radially outwardly directed latch ends, said cutout 79 being counter-shaped to the part of the respective groove 67 facing the respective latch end (cf. FIG. 3).

(11) To prevent the rigid hoop 15 from releasing from the lock body 13 in the open position, a longitudinal groove 29 is formed in the first hoop end 17 and a retaining pin 31 engages into it. The longitudinal groove 29 is bounded by a blocking projection 37 of the first hoop end 17 that abuts the retaining pin 31 in the open position. The rigid hoop 15, in particular the first hoop end 17, is thus displaceably supported in the lock body 13, on the one hand, and is secured against a removal from the lock body 13, on the other hand. The retaining pin 31 is inserted into a retaining pin passage 39 that completely passes through the lock body 13 and in so doing perpendicularly crosses the first hoop receiver 21, i.e. the retaining pin passage 39 opens into the first hoop receiver 21 so that the aforesaid engagement of the retaining pin 31 into the longitudinal groove 29 of the first hoop end 17 is possible. The second hoop end 19 in contrast travels out of the lock body 13 in the open position of the rigid hoop 15.

(12) A second retaining pin passage 51 is furthermore formed in the lock body 13 and has the same cross-section as the first retaining pin passage 39 that likewise completely passes through the lock body 13 and that does not cross the first hoop receiver 21, but rather crosses, or opens into, the second hoop receiver 23. The second retaining pin passage 51 is arranged between the tumblers 33, on the one hand, and the latch mechanism 63, on the other hand. The first retaining pin passage 39 in contrast is arranged next to the tumblers 33 and thus beneath the second retaining pin passage 51. On a use of a rigid hoop such as is shown in FIG. 1, the second retaining pin passage 51 is not occupied, i.e. no retaining pin is inserted into the second retaining pin passage 51.

(13) The second retaining pin passage 51 in contrast is used when the padlock 11 shown in FIG. 1 is not used with a rigid hoop 15, but rather as a padlock 11′ having a flexible hoop 15′ such as is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in particular a cable hoop or wire hoop, whose two hoop ends 17′, 19′ have rigidly formed sleeves and plunge at least approximately equally far into the lock body 13. In this case, the retaining pin 31 is inserted into the second retaining pin passage 51. An annular recess 53 into which the retaining pin 31 engages is accordingly formed at the second hoop end 19 of the flexible hoop 15′. The second hoop end 19 of the flexible hoop 15′ is thus flexibly secured in the second hoop receiver 23, i.e. it can also not be removed from the lock body 13 in the open position of the flexible hoop 15′. However, the first hoop end 17 is now removable rom the lock body 13 in the open position of the flexible hoop 15′.

(14) Depending on whether the padlock 11 is manufactured with a rigid hoop 15 (FIG. 1) or a flexible hoop 15′ (FIGS. 2A and 2B), the retaining pin 31 is inserted either into the first retaining pin passage 39 or into the second retaining pin passage 51 to retain the (respective) hoop 15, 15′. Either a padlock having a rigid hoop 15 or having a flexible hoop 15′ can therefore be manufactured simply by the provision of two retaining pin passages 39, 51 with otherwise the same components—with the exception of the hoop.

(15) To also enable the above-explained automatic ejection of the hoop 15′ or of the first hoop end 17′ of the hoop 15′ from the lock housing 13 on an adjustment of the latch mechanism 63 into the release position with the padlock having a flexible hoop 15′, an extension piece or adapter piece 71 is received in the first hoop receiver 21 that communicates the force exerted by the compression spring 69 to the first hoop end 17′ of the flexible hoop 15′. To prevent a loss of the extension piece 71, the extension piece 71—like the first hoop end 17 of the rigid hoop 15—has a longitudinal groove 29′ into which a further retaining pin 73 is inserted that engages into the longitudinal groove 29′ of the extension piece 71 to hold the extension piece 71 displaceably and simultaneously in a secured manner in the first hoop receiver 21.

(16) As can be seen from FIG. 1, a plastic jacket 57 is pushed onto the lock body 13 from the direction of the hoop 15 and a plastic flap 59 at the counter-hoop side is clipped onto it. An outer housing for the lock body 13 is thus formed so that access to the retaining pin or pins 31, 73 for manipulating the padlock 11 can be prevented.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

(17) 11, 11′ padlock

(18) 13 lock body

(19) 15, 15′ hoop

(20) 17, 17′ first hoop end

(21) 19, 19′ second hoop end

(22) 21 first hoop receiver

(23) 23 second hoop receiver

(24) 25 key

(25) 27 cylinder core

(26) 29, 29′ longitudinal groove

(27) 31 retaining pin

(28) 33 tumbler

(29) 35 holding pin

(30) 37 blocking projection

(31) 39 first retaining pin passage

(32) 41 core pin

(33) 43 housing pin

(34) 45 pin spring

(35) 47 tumbler cover

(36) 49 cylinder core receiver

(37) 51 second retaining pin passage

(38) 53 recess

(39) 55 jacket surface

(40) 57 plastic jacket

(41) 59 plastic flap

(42) 61 entrainer device

(43) 63 latch mechanism

(44) 65 latch

(45) 67 locking section

(46) 69 compression spring

(47) 71 extension piece

(48) 73 further retaining pin

(49) 75 compression spring

(50) 77 plastic cover

(51) 79 cutout

(52) 81 chamfer

(53) Z cylinder axis