Anti-sensing locking mechanism for combination padlock

• US 4,733,548 A
• Filed: 02/24/1987
• Issued: 03/29/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Chong-Kuan Ling
• Original Assignee: Chong-Kuan Ling
• Inventors: Ling, Chong-Kuan
• Primary Examiner(s): Gall, Lloyd A.
• Application Number:
  US07/018,173
• Time in Patent Office: 399 Days
• Field of Search: 70/22, 70/25, 70/26, 70/312, 70/315-318, 70/323, 70/301, 70/311
• US Class Current: 70/25
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 37/025 in padlocks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/424 Sliding
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/7305 Manually operable

Abstract

A combination padlock includes a casing, a shackle having a longer leg formed with plural projections thereon and a shorter leg adapted to be locked into a socket formed on the casing, a plurality of sleeves each having several keys formed on the outer perimeter and an inner annular extension having a slot operatively engaging with the shackle projections for locking purpose or disengaging the shackle by passing the shackle projections through the slot for opening purpose, and plural dials each operatively engaging or disengaging with each sleeve within each dial for changing or setting a combination of the lock by operating the shackle.

Claims

1. A locking mechanism for a combination padlock comprising:

a casing including a vertical cylindrical hole longitudinally formed on a left portion of the casing, a plurality of horizontal dial slots transversely formed on the left portion of the casing to intersect the vertical cylindrical hole to form plural collars adapted for mounting a plurality of dials therein, a spring socket formed under said vertical cylindrical hole for inserting a compression spring therein, a latching socket formed on a right portion of said casing, a right projection socket and a rear projection socket apart from said right projection socket at an angle of 90 degrees formed on the top portion of the left portion of said casing, and a longitudinal key groove formed across the plural collars of said casing;

a shackle having a first leg formed with a plurality of projections longitudinally formed on the first leg and a second leg shorter than said first leg having a latching end operatively inserted into said latching socket on said casing, an uppermost projection of said shackle operatively engaging with either said right or said rear projection socket of said casing;

a plurality of sleeves rotatably mounted on said shackle each including at least one coupling key having a half height of the height of a dial and an individual setting key formed on a central outer perimeter of each sleeve, each key having a central angle less than 36 degrees around a center of said sleeve, and an annular extension formed on a central circumference of a bore inside said sleeve having a sleeve slot projectively relative to said individual setting key, said annular extension operatively engaging each said projection of said shackle except said uppermost projection under said annular extension and operatively allowing free passing of said projections through said sleeve slot formed on said annular extension, all said sleeves being superimposedly inserted in said vertical cylindrical hole and having the lowest sleeve retained by a retainer as normally tensioned by said compression spring inserted in said spring socket, each said setting key operatively moving along said longitudinal key groove formed on said collars of said casing; and

a plurality of dials each including ten numerals formed on the outer perimeter of each dial having a notch formed between every two neighboring numerals and ten recesses circumferentially formed on an upper half circumference of a bore of each dial operatively engaging with said keys of said sleeve, whereby upon the rotation of each dial to synchronously rotate the engaged sleeve to deviate the sleeve slot of each said sleeve from said projection of said shackle, each projection of said shackle is engaged under the annular extension of each said sleeve to thereby lock said shackle in said casing, and upon the rotation of said shackle at an angle from its locking position and upon the depression of said shackle downwards to force said projections downwardly on said annular extensions to uncouple said sleeves from said dials, said dials can be optionally rotated for setting a new combination.

2. A locking mechanism for a combination padlock according to claim 1, wherein said coupling key of said sleeve has half height of that of said setting key.

3. A locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a center-to-center spacing of the projections of said shackle except its uppermost projection is equal to the height of said sleeve.

4. A locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of said bore of said dial is limited and projectively defined within a lower periphery of each said collar of said casing.

5. A locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said retainer of said compression spring is formed with a central hole adapted for the downward movement of said shackle.

6. A locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said annular extension has a height of one fifth of the sleeve height and said projection of said shackle has a height of two fifths of the sleeve height.