Title of Invention

A PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR A CYLINDER LOCK

Abstract The invention provides for a protective device for a cylinder lock comprising a base with a rotor and a shutter mounted thereon and a cover mounted over the rotor and shutter, the shutter moveable between an open and close position for opening the key hole of the cylinder lock and restrained in the close position by a locking element, the rotor has a cam element and means for auto return of rotor to home position, such that rotation of the rotor causes the cam element to move the locking element from the path of the shutter so that the shutter may move to the open position and rotor moves back to home position on opening the shutter.
Full Text The invention relates to a protective device for a cylinder lock. Background of the Invention: -
Cylinder locks are commonly employed and find wide spread use in industry. Most present day vehicles also employ cylinder locks. The key is inserted in the cylinder lock and turned to unlock, e.g. a vehicle ignition lock, as the case may be. There is often a requirement to prevent unauthorized access to the keyhole of the cylinder lock as also to keep the keyhole protected from external environmental factors.
When vehicles employing cylinder locks, particularly two and three wheelers, are parked with the key removed from the cylinder lock, the key insertion hole of the said cylinder lock is open to the environment. This leads to the following disadvantages namely: -
1. Miscreants may insert sharp metallic objects such as scissors, wires, nails or
even sticky fluids and adhesives into the keyhole, causing damage and
inconvenience to the vehicle owner. An easily accessible key hole, as in the
case of two and three wheelers and also open top four wheelers, provides an
opportunity for thieves to tamper with the lock and drive the vehicle away.
2. A keyhole open to the environment also allows water, dust, grime and other
foreign particles to enter the keyhole and jam the cylinder lock. This ingress
of rainwater and dust also results in reduction in the life of the cylinder lock
and sometimes failure of the lock at an inappropriate moment.
To overcome these drawbacks, numerous solutions have been proposed in the prior art such as providing a shutter or cover over the cylinder lock when the vehicle is not in use. Japanese patent publication number 09-054448 describes one such cover that is easily detachable and uses a number lock system. A
detachable cover however leads to complications of the cover being misplaced or lost as also the inconvenience of storing the cover on the vehicle or with the user when the vehicle is in use.
To remedy the drawbacks of a detachable cover as set forth by Japanese patent publication number 09-054448, Japanese patent application number S61-5175 provides for a protective device installed on the cylinder lock such that the rotation of a rotor by a magnet key results in the movement of a shutter for opening or closing the keyhole of cylinder lock. The rotor is locked in the closed position by magnets. To release the rotor, magnets embedded on the key are used to repel the locking magnets, and rotation of the key results in the rotation of the rotor that in turn opens a shutter covering the keyhole. This type of lock gained popularity and various modifications and improvements of the protective device are now available.
Present day protective devices available may be broadly classified as locks having a single rotary piece that serves both as a rotor and the shutter and, locks in which the rotor and the shutter are two separate components. Of the second category examples may be found in Japanese patent publication number JP 2003-161061 and Japanese patent publication number 2003-239581, and the same are incorporated herein by reference. Locks employing the rotor and shutter as two separate components offer a greater degree of freedom for the components and also the flexibility in the choice of materials that may or may not be the same for the two components.
However, in most protective devices, a magnet key, or an ignition key with magnets embedded in the tongue section, is to be inserted into the magnet keyhole in the cover of the protective device and rotated by a substantial amount in order to open the ignition keyhole. Most protective devices require the magnet key to rotate between 45 to 65 degrees to open the ignition keyhole.
Furthermore, most protective devices require the magnet key to be inserted and rotated to close the shutter after use. This added task of requiring the magnet key for closing the shutter adversely affects user convenience. Japanese patent publication number 2003-239581 attempts to address this solution and discloses a system of closing the shutter by depressing a button.
There is therefore a requirement to reduce the excessive rotation of the magnet key to improve user friendliness of the protective device as also to increase the life of the protective device on account of the reduced rotation of the components involved. There is also a requirement to allow the user to manually close the shutter without requiring the magnet key to be inserted. It is a requirement and need of vehicular locks to improve user friendliness and to reduce wear of the lock.
The invention aims at overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks and provides for an improved protective device that does not require excessive rotation of the magnet key to open the shutter and also can be closed manually without requiring a magnet key.
To overcome the aforementioned drawbacks the invention provides for a protective device for a cylinder lock comprising a base with a rotor and a shutter mounted thereon and a cover mounted over the rotor and shutter, the shutter moveable between an open and close position for opening the key hole of the cylinder lock and restrained in the close position by a locking element, the rotor has a cam element and means for auto return of rotor to home position, such that rotation of the rotor causes the cam element to move the locking element from the path of the shutter so that the shutter may move to the open position and rotor moves back to home position on opening the shutter.
Brief description of the drawings:
Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of the protective device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 illustrates a top view of the protective device with the cover removed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3 illustrates a top view of the protective device in closed position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 4 illustrates a side view of the protective device of figure 3 as indicated by direction 'P'.
Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view along line A-A of figure 4. Figure 6 illustrates a sectional view along line B-B of figure 5.
Figure 7 illustrates a top view of the protective device in the open position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 8 illustrates the side view of the protective device of figure 7 as indicated by direction 'Q'.
Figure 9 illustrates a sectional view along line A1-A1 of figure 8. Figure 10 illustrates a sectional view along B1-B1 of figure 9.
Figure 11 illustrates a top view of the protective device without the cover and the rotor at home position after opening the shutter.
Figure 12 illustrates a perspective view of the base in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 13 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the cover in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 14 (a, b, c) illustrates the shutter in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
Figures 15 (a, b) illustrate top and bottom perspective views of the shutter in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figures 16 (a, b, c) illustrate the rotor in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 17 (a, b) illustrate a top and bottom perspective view of rotor in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 18 (a, b) illustrate the locking insert in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 19 illustrates the locking element with a torsion spring in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 20 illustrates the magnet key in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Detailed description of the invention
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be
understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof. The invention has been explained for a vehicle cylinder lock, but as would be obvious to a person in the art, the invention may be employed to any cylinder lock.
Throughout the patent specification, a convention employed is that in the appended drawings, like numerals denote like components.
The invention provides for a protective device that does not require excessive rotation of the magnet key in order to open the shutter covering the keyhole of the cylinder lock. The invention also provides for a protective device in which the shutter can be manually closed without requiring the use of the magnet key. Further the invention provides for a protective device in which the rotor automatically comes to its home position by virtue of an auto return mechanism. The invention provides for a protective device that improves user convenience.
With reference to accompanying figures, and initially to figure 1, an exploded view of the protective device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The figure illustrates a protective device that is to be fitted with a cylinder lock (not shown) of a vehicle. The protective device comprises of a base (1) and a cover (20).
As shown, the key (120) has magnets (122) embedded in the tongue section (121) forming a magnet key. The magnet key is inserted into the magnet key
insertion recess (57) in the rotor (50) and is rotated to release the shutter. The rotation of the key rotates the rotor that causes the shutter to move to the open position, thereby providing access to the key insertion hole (130) of the cylinder lock. It is within the scope of the invention that the separate magnet key be used.
The base comprises of an insertion hole (2) that is aligned with the key insertion hole of the cylinder lock below it, and a pivot (3) that houses at least one magnet for the magnet lock. The magnet enters a cavity in the rotor and the magnet lock is formed with the rotor (50) that rotates about the pivot.
The pivot (3) has cavities (4) for housing the magnets (80) that are spring (81) loaded. In the closed position, the spring-loaded magnets enter partly in the holes on the inner side of the rotor (50), thereby locking the rotor from the rotation. Any attempts to insert an object in the magnet key insertion hole and an attempt to rotate the rotor by such an object will be unsuccessful on account of the magnet lock on the rotor by magnets (80) that are housed in the pivot (3). When the magnet key is inserted in the magnet keyhole, the magnets (122) in the tongue section (121) of the key repel the magnets (80). The repulsive force generated release the rotor from the magnet lock, and rotation of the magnet key will now result in rotation of the rotor that, in turn, releases the shutter (30) causing it to open the key insertion hole. A minimal rotation of the magnet key is required to release the shutter causing it to move to the open position.
The invention therefore provides for a protective device for a cylinder lock that houses a rotor and shutter as two separate components, thereby allowing different materials to be used for both, and wherein a minimum rotation of the magnet key is required to open the key hole of the cylinder lock. The shutter is provided with a projecting pin (33) that is used to manually close the shutter when required. The invention, therefore, eliminates the requirement of a magnet key for closing the shutter.
With reference to figures 16 and 17, a rotor (50) in accordance with an embodiment of an invention has been illustrated. The rotor comprises of a hollow bottom surface that has at least one hole (56), four in the embodiment illustrated, for receiving the magnets (80) when the rotor is in the locked position. The magnets (80), when the rotor is in the locked position, remain partly in the hole (56) and partly in the hole (4). The top surface of the rotor has a magnet key receiving recess (57). The profile of the recess (57) matches the profile (123) of the magnet key (120), such that the magnet key may be inserted in a particular direction only. The magnet key is further guided by the projection (58) in the recess (57) that fits in the slot (124) of the magnet key. The rotor also has a surface (51) in the form of a projection that aligns with the insertion hole (21) of the cover on assembly. The rotor has a surface (52) that abuts with bottom surface (27) of the cover during assembly to minimize or eliminate free play. The rotor has a cam profile or element (53) that is used to release the shutter when the rotor is rotated. This cam (53) of the rotor causes a locking element (70) to be pushed back and thereby, allowing the shutter to move to the open position. In addition, the rotor also has an arm (54) that projects from the rotor orthogonal to the central axis of the rotor. The rotor is provided with means to move the rotor back to the home or initial position after opening the shutter. This arm (54) has a pin (55) on it that is used to mount one end of a spring (90) to the rotor. The pin (55) moves in a guide channel (10) when the rotor is rotated. The projection (54) has a surface (59) that is restricted by a projection (8) from the base to limit the rotation angle of the rotor during auto-return of the rotor, after the shutter has been opened. The opposite surface (60) of arm (54) is restricted by another pin (9) that limits rotation angle of the rotor when the rotor is rotated to unlock the shutter. The angular distance traveled by the arm (54) between the stoppers (8 and 9) is between 15 to 25 degrees in the preferred embodiment, though the angle may be more or less as per the requirement and the situation. The bottom surface of the rotor (61) is hollow and it is this hollow cavity that is used to mount the rotor on the pivot (3).
With reference now to figure 14 and 15, a shutter (30) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The shutter comprises of an extension in the form of a ring (31) that is mounted on pivot (5) of the base, which is coaxial with (he pivot (3). This ring (31) has a projection (38) that is restricted by the locking element along face (32) of the shutter. The projection (38) also comprises of a hump (42) that is used to move the locking element (70) away from the rotor (50) during opening of shutter (30). Details of the cam action and the requirement of the hump have been explained below.
The top surface of the shutter is provided with a pin (33) that is used to manually bring the shutter to the closed position against a spring (100) force. In order to accommodate the travel of the pin when the shutter is in the open position, a corresponding guide slot (23) has been formed on the cover. The guide slot is covered by an extension arm (34) of the shutter when the shutter is in the closed position with the pin out of the guide slot. The bottom surface of the shutter has projections (35) that are used to reduce the surface-to-surface contact thereby reducing friction and increasing the overall life of the protective device. The shutter has another projection in the form of an arm (36) that is used to mount a pin (37). The pin (37) is used to mount one end of a spring (100) to the shutter. The shutter when in the closed position tends to move to the open position on account of spring force on it. To restrict the travel of the shutter between the open and closed position pins (9 and 15) are provided on the base. The shutter has a face (39) that abuts with the pin (9) when in the locked position and a face (40) that abuts with the pin (15) when in the open position.
With reference now to figures 18 and 19, a locking element (70) in accordance with an embodiment of an invention has been illustrated. When the shutter is in the closed position, the spring (100) connected to it is under tension thereby causing the shutter to move towards the open position. The locking element (70) is provided with a torsion spring (112) that causes it to be pressed against cam
surface (53) of the rotor and thereby also obstructing the path of projection (38). The locking element is used to restrict the shutter from opening when the shutter is in the closed position, and opposes the spring force acting on the shutter. This is achieved by obstructing the path of projection (38) of the shutter. When the rotor is rotated, the cam (53) pushes the locking element (70) away from the path of the projection (38). As the path of the projection (38) has now been cleared on account of the cam action, the shutter moves to the open position. In the open position, the locking element abuts with the surface of projection (38).
Face (71) of the locking element remains in contact with the cam (53) during the closed position. The locking element has a leg (72) that is used to mount the torsion spring that causes the element to press against the cam. Face (73) of the element is the locking face that abuts surface (32) of the projection (38), thereby restricting its motion. The bottom face (74) of the element rests on the arm of the torsion spring whereas the surface (75) of the element has the leg (111) of the torsion spring pressed against it. The surface (76) of the element is a surface that remains in contact with the projection (38) of the shutter while the shutter rotates between the open and closed positions.
With reference now to figure 12, the base in accordance with an embodiment has been illustrated. The base comprises of a key insertion hole (2) that is aligned with the insertion hole of the cylinder lock below. As described above, the base also comprises of a pivot (3) having holes (4) for housing magnets and for mounting the rotor. In addition, the base has another pivot (5) coaxial with pivot (3) that is used for mounting the shutter. The base has a hole (6) that is used to mount the leg of the element (70) and the torsion spring (110). Surface (7) of the base surrounding pivots (4 and 5) is used as the resting surface for the shutter. As also described earlier, the base has projection (8) that restricts the rotation of the shutter during auto return after unlocking the shutter. The projection (9) is used to limit the shutter rotation during locking of the shutter. The base has a guide slot (10) for mounting the spring (90) that is connected to the rotor. The
base also has a guide slot (11) that is used for mounting the spring (100) that is connected to the shutter. To facilitate mounting of the spring, a pin (12) is provided to fix one end of the spring (90), the other end of the spring connected to the rotor, and a pin (13) is provided to fix one end of the spring (100), the other end of spring connected to the shutter. The base is also provided with a pin (15) that restricts further movement of the shutter when the shutter is in the open position. In addition, the base is also provided with pins (14) that are used for mounting the cover (20), the pins are received in holes (24) on the bottom surface of the cover.
With reference now to figure 13, the cover (20) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention has been illustrated. The cover has an insertion hole (21) that is aligned with the hole (2) of the base (1). The cover also has a hole (22) for receiving the rotor from below. The hole (21) is provided with an extension (23) that forms a guide slot for the pin (33) from the shutter. The pin (33) extends beyond the top surface of the cover on assembly and can be manually moved along the guide slot. In order to prevent the springs (90 and 100) from coming out of their respective slots projections (25 and 26) are provided on the inner surface (27) of the cover.
With reference now to figure 2, a top view of the protective device without the cover in accordance with an embodiment of the invention has been illustrated. As shown, the shutter is mounted about pivot (5) with spring (100) connected to it at one end and to the base at the other end. In the figure, the shutter has been shown in the closed position with the spring (100) in tension. As also illustrated, the projection (38) of the shutter is restricted by the element (70).
The rotor (50) is also coaxially mounted with the shutter about pivot (3) and has arm (54) with a spring connected to it at one end and to the base at the other end. The rotor is shown at the home position with the cam (53) pressed against the surface (71) of the element. The surface (71) of the element remains
pressed against the cam surface on account of the torsion spring (110). By inserting a magnet key in the recess provided on the top surface of the rotor and rotating the rotor, the cam (53) will push the element (70) away causing the path of projection (38) to be free. The spring (100) will thus cause the shutter to move towards the open position as the projection (38) can now rotate about the pivot (5) unobstructed.
It is to be noted that the projection (38) is provided with a hump (42). The spring (90), once the cam action is complete and the shutter has opened, will tend to bring the rotor back to its home position. At the same time, the torsion spring on the element causes the element to press against the cam. To overcome the frictional force, and to account for a possibility that the force of the torsion spring may become more than the force of spring (90) during use, and may cause rotor to be prevented from returning to its home position. The hump (42) is therefore provided, such that when the shutter moves to the open position, the hump (42) will push the element away from the cam (53) and thereby ensure that the rotor returns to its home position.
With reference now to figures 3 and 4 a top view of the protective device in closed position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention and a side view of the protective device of figure 3 as indicated by direction 'P', has been illustrated. Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view along line A-A of figure 4 when the shutter is in the open position, and figure 6 illustrates a sectional view along line B-B of figure 5. As can be seen from figure 6, magnets (80) that are spring loaded (81) are partly housed in the holes (4) in the pivot (3) and partly housed in the holes (56) on the bottom surface of the bottom. This prevents the rotor from rotation and thereby prevents the shutter from opening.
With reference now to figure 7 and 8 a top view of the protective device in the open position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention and a side view of the protective device of figure 7 as indicated by direction 'Q', has been
illustrated. Figure 9 illustrates a sectional view along A1-A1 of figure 8, where the shutter is in the open position and the rotor has been rotated to the maximum extent that has caused the shutter to be open. As can be seen from the figure 9, the energized spring (100) has resulted in opening of shutter as the locking element (70) is pushed back by rotor (5O).Thus the keyhole (130) is now visible. As can also be seen, the projection (38) has traveled along its path and the hump (42) on the projection is pressing the element (70) away from the cam (53). Thus, the rotor is free to return to its home position and the same is achieved on account of the tension in the spring (90) that tends to cause the rotor to move back to the home position.
Figure 10 illustrates a sectional view along B1-B1 of figure 9, and as depicted the magnets (80) do not enter the recesses (56) on the bottom surface of the rotor. Thus, the rotor is free to rotate back to its home position, as there is no magnet lock present.
With reference now to figure 11, the rotor has now been shown to move back to its home position while the shutter is in the open position. As there is no force that causes the shutter to move towards the closed position, the shutter remains in the open position till it is manually moved by pin (33). It is also to be noted that the cam (53) has now moved away from the element (70) and that the hump (42) of the projection (38) is pressing the element away from its path.
When the shutter is moved to the closed position, the projection (38) will travel back to its position as shown by figure 2 and the torsion spring will cause element (70) to again obstruct its path thereby not allowing movement of the shutter. It is also to be noted that the rotor having moved back to its home position now has magnets again entering the holes (56) and thereby forming the magnet lock.





We claim:
1. A protective device for a cylinder lock comprising a base (1) with a rotor (50) and a shutter (30) mounted thereon and a cover (20) mounted over the rotor (50) and shutter (30), wherein the shutter (30) moveable between an open and close position for opening the key hole (130) of the cylinder lock and restrained in the close position by a locking element (70), the rotor (50) has a cam element (53) and means for auto return of rotor (50) to home position, such that rotation of the rotor (50) causes the cam element (53) to move the locking element (70) from the path of the shutter (30) so that the shutter (30) may move to the open position while the rotor (50) moves back to home position on opening the shutter (30).
2. A protective device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said shutter has a pin (33) projecting from the top surface that is used to manually move the shutter (30) to close position.
3. A protective device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the said cover (20) has a guide slot (23) for the movement of pin (33).
4. A protective device as claimed in claim 1 wherein a spring is connected between the shutter (30) and the base (1) that urges the shutter (30) towards the open position.
5. A protective device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said shutter (30) has a projection (38) that is restrained from movement by the locking element (70).
6. A protective device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the said projection has a hump (42) that pushes the locking element (70) away from the cam (53) when the shutter (30) is in the open position.

7. A protective device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the said shutter (30) has an
extension arm (34) that covers the guide slot (23) from below when shutter (30) is in
close position.
8. A protective device as claimed in claim 1 wherein a torsion spring (112) is connected to the locking element (70) for pressing the element towards the rotor (50) and or the shutter (30).

Documents:

1301-del-2006-abstract.pdf

1301-DEL-2006-Claims-(20-06-2011).pdf

1301-DEL-2006-Claims-(22-03-2011).pdf

1301-del-2006-claims.pdf

1301-del-2006-Correspondence Others-(15-05-2012).pdf

1301-DEL-2006-Correspondence Others-(20-06-2011).pdf

1301-DEL-2006-Correspondence Others-(22-03-2011).pdf

1301-del-2006-Correspondence-Others-(10-01-2008).pdf

1301-DEL-2006-Correspondence-Others-(22-02-2011).pdf

1301-del-2006-correspondence-others-1.pdf

1301-del-2006-correspondence-others.pdf

1301-del-2006-description (complete).pdf

1301-del-2006-Drawings-(15-05-2012).pdf

1301-del-2006-drawings.pdf

1301-del-2006-Form-1-(15-05-2012).pdf

1301-del-2006-form-1.pdf

1301-del-2006-form-18.pdf

1301-del-2006-Form-2-(15-05-2012).pdf

1301-del-2006-form-2.pdf

1301-del-2006-form-3.pdf

1301-DEL-2006-GPA-(22-02-2011).pdf

1301-DEL-2006-GPA-(22-03-2011).pdf

1301-del-2006-gpa.pdf

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Patent Number 253268
Indian Patent Application Number 1301/DEL/2006
PG Journal Number 28/2012
Publication Date 13-Jul-2012
Grant Date 10-Jul-2012
Date of Filing 30-May-2006
Name of Patentee MINDA CORPORATION LIMITED
Applicant Address D 6-11, SECTOR 59, NOIDA-201301, UP, INDIA.
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 HARDEEP SINGH ARORA D 6-11, SECTOR 59, NOIDA-201301, UP, INDIA.
2 VIKRAM PURI D 6-11, SECTOR 59, NOIDA-201301, UP, INDIA.
PCT International Classification Number B62H 5/00
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 NA