Barrel lock

• US 6,619,078 B1
• Filed: 12/07/2000
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Horizon Global Americas Inc. (Horizon Global Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Life-Long Locks, Inc.
• Inventors: Reese, Mark H.
• Primary Examiner(s): BARRETT, SUZANNE LALE DINO
• Application Number:
  US09/735,289
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: 70/32--34, 703/86
• US Class Current: 70/34
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 67/365 with locking means in the form of balls or rollers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/443 Single stem or shank
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/7751 With ball or roller

Abstract

A barrel lock for locking two structures together that includes two lock portions, each portion being generally cylindrical and elongated, one of which is substantially solid and one of which is substantially hollow. The first lock portion has one section of a substantially greater diameter than a second section, the two sections being separated by a beveled annular shoulder. The smaller diameter section is provided with a cylindrical axial aperture into which are disposed a plurality of spheres adapted to be received in apertures in the first portion of the lock, and also adapted for engagement in an annular groove on the interior surface of the second portion of the lock, the locking balls thereby effectively locking the two portions of the lock together. The second portion is axially aligned with the first portion and is provided with a keyway adapted for movement in a rotatable and axially slideable fashion within said second portion. The second portion is provided with a longitudinal and a cylindrical groove in its inner cylindrical surface, the grooves adapted for receiving a detent mounted on the exterior cylindrical surface of the keyway, the grooves intersecting at one point to permit axial and rotational movement of the detent within the grooves

Claims

1. A barrel lock assembly structure comprising:

a) a first generally cylindrical lock body portion;

b) a second generally cylindrical lock body portion disposed coaxially relative to said first lock body portion;

c) said first lock body portion being substantially solid, and said first lock body portion further having a first end section of more substantial diameter than a second end section, the first and second end sections being joined by a shoulder;

d) said second end section of the first lock body portion having a coaxial cylindrical aperture in the second end section remote from said first end section, and provided with a radial passageway containing a pair of radially disposed locking balls;

e) said second lock body portion including a hollow cylindrical passageway and a keyway locking cylinder mounted for both axial and rotational movement within said passageway;

f) said hollow cylindrical passageway of said second lock body portion including a longitudinal groove and a circumferential groove, said longitudinal and circumferential grooves meeting at one end of each, said grooves being of the same generally rectangular cross-sectional dimension;

g) a detent on an outer cylindrical surface of said keyway locking cylinder, said detent adapted to fit slideably within said grooves;

h) said second lock body portion further including a spring biasing means disposed within said hollow cylindrical passageway between said keyway locking cylinder and the end of the first body portion having the coaxial cylindrical aperture, said spring biasing means biasing said keyway locking cylinder in an axial direction away from said end;

i) said keyway locking cylinder including a pointed extension, said pointed extension extending into said coaxial cylindrical aperture and terminating in a beveled point remote from said keyway locking cylinder; and

j) said hollow cylindrical passageway of said second lock body portion further including an annular groove in an inner surface of the passageway for receiving portions of the locking balls;

whereby, when said keyway locking cylinder is moved axially toward said first body portion, said pointed extension becomes inserted into said coaxial cylindrical aperture and thereby spreads said locking balls radially apart from each other and into the annular groove in the hollow cylindrical passageway of the second lock body portion, thereby locking said second body portion to said first body portion of said barrel lock assembly structure.

2. The barrel lock assembly structure of claim 1, wherein said first section of the first body portion serves as a handle and said second section of the first body portion is substantially elongated relative to said first section and adapted to pass through chain links and trailer tongues and of a smaller diameter than the second body portion.

3. The barrel lock assembly structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radially disposed locking ball apertures is at least two and the number of locking ball aperture openings is at least two.

4. The barrel lock assembly structure of claim 1, wherein the keyway locking cylinder includes a detent protruding radially outwardly from the outer cylindrical surface.

5. The barrel lock assembly structure of claim 4, wherein an inner surface of the hollow second body portion includes a longitudinally extending groove and a circumferential radially extending groove, said grooves being of equal size in cross-sectional dimension and complementary to said detent to receive said detent therein.

6. The barrel lock assembly structure of claim 5, wherein said keyway locking cylinder is provided with a coaxially extending cylinder section terminating in a beveled point and said spring biasing means surrounds said cylinder extension point and is compressed between a shoulder on said keyway locking cylinder and an end of the second section of the first body portion of the barrel lock assembly structure.