SECURITY LOCK PARTICULARLY FOR CONTAINER DOORS.

Abstract

Verrou de sûreté pour rendre solidaires deux parties à verrouiller, selon la revendication 1 du brevet principal. Il comporte un axe (1) dont la section présente la forme d'un cylindre aplati destiné à assembler deux pièces (2) et (3) solidaires chacune d'une des parties à verrouiller, et comportant chacune au moins deux bagues qui présentent, vues de dessus ou de dessous, une forme trapézoïdale, les bagues (31, 32, 33) de la pièce (3) présentant chacune un évidement (31', 32', 33') dont la forme est identique à celle de l'axe (1) et dont les dimensions sont adaptées à recevoir ledit axe (1), tandis que les bagues (22, 23) présentent chacune un évidement (22', 23') de même forme que l'axe (1) mais de dimensions sensiblement supérieures, une serrure (11) disposée à l'extrémité de l'axe (1) permettant d'en faire sortir latéralement, à travers des lumières (13, 13'), deux linguets (12, 12') qui viennent se loger dans deux logements (36, 36') ménagés dans les bagues (32, 33) de la pièce (3).

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement to the safety lock which is the subject of the main patent application. The main patent application relates to a safety lock intended to make two elements to be locked together, said lock comprising a cylindrical axis passing through two series of rings each fixed to one of the parts to be locked, and being characterized essentially in that the two series of rings are alternately fixed to one and the other of said parts, in that rings are juxtaposed axially with a minimum play and in that the cylindrical axis is provided at the end with a safety closure operable with a key and allowing a latch to be extended laterally from the axis to come into position in a recess made in one of the rings at a place inaccessible from the outside when the locking is carried out. When the device is used to lock a container, the rings can be welded directly onto each of its doors, but they can also be welded onto two pieces intended to be subsequently attached to the container doors. However, the device described in the main patent has a drawback related to the shape of the rings and the axis used. Indeed, the cylindrical axis can rotate in its housing formed by the superimposed openings of the rings, so that its correct positioning requires a rather delicate adjustment to allow locking by means of the latch. On the other hand, the rings, which are also cylindrical in shape, must be positioned precisely relative to each other when the container is closed, which necessarily implies that there is no play in any of the elements used to achieve the closure. However, we know that loading a container frequently leads to difficulties in closing its doors, causing slight deformations of its rear frame which result in a more or less pronounced misalignment of the rings of said doors, which it becomes very difficult to assemble properly in order to be able to insert the cylindrical shaft. The present invention aims to remedy this drawback by proposing an improved safety lock that can be easily implemented, even in the event of deformations of the container doors causing play in the adjustment of the lock elements. The present invention thus relates to an improved safety lock which differs from that described in the main patent in that its rings are no longer cylindrical but have, viewed from above and below, a trapezoidal shape, delimiting a hollow space whose cross-section has the shape of a flattened cylinder, and in that it consists of two parts, one of which has three rings of this type and the other has two rings suitable for fitting exactly into the two spaces delimited by the three rings, the axis intended to assemble the two parts having a shape such that it can be inserted without play into the hollow space delimited by the three rings, the two rings of the other part each delimiting a slightly larger space. Thus, due to its characteristics described above, the lock according to the invention has the advantage of being able to be easily implemented even in the case where there is play between the two parts intended to be assembled by means of the axis. Indeed, the trapezoidal shape of the rings allows them to be fitted together even if the two pieces opposite are slightly offset from each other, the larger space delimited by the two rings allowing the introduction of the shaft assembling the two pieces. According to a variant of this device, the safety lock includes a third piece consisting of a sheet metal plate bearing approximately in the middle of one of its faces a ring of the shape described above, the piece bearing two rings remaining unchanged while the piece opposite has a trapezoidal cutout suitable for receiving on one side the two rings of the other piece and on the other side the ring attached to the sheet metal plate. In this case, the sheet metal plate also serves to block the control levers of the vertical bars which operate the latches located at the top and bottom of the container frame. The present invention will be better understood upon reading the following description, which refers to the attached drawing, it being understood that this description is not limiting in any way with respect to the invention. In the attached drawing - Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a safety lock according to the invention. - Figure 2 shows a top view of the safety lock of Figure 1; - Figure 3 represents a perspective view of a second embodiment of a safety lock according to the invention. If we refer first to figure 1, we see that the safety lock according to 1 invention consists of three parts, namely an axis 1 and two parts 2 and 3 intended to be assembled. Part 2 includes a base 21 extended on one of its sides by two trapezoidal rings 22 and 23, separated by a space which allows the insertion of a ring of the same shape, in this case the central ring 31 of part 3, said central ring 31 of said part 3 being framed by two rings 32 and 33, the two spaces thus delimited allowing the insertion of the rings 22 and 23 of part 1. Rings 31, 32 and 33 each define a recess 31', 32', 33' whose shape and dimensions are adapted to receive the shaft 1, the cross-section of which has the shape of a rectangle extended at its two ends by two semicircles, and which has at one of its ends a lock 11 intended to actuate two latches 12 and 12' so as to make them come out laterally of the shaft 1 through openings 13 and 13' made in said shaft 1 and so that they come to be housed in two recesses (not shown) made in rings 32 and 33. Rings 22 and 23, for their part, each define a recess 22', 23' whose shape is the same as that of axis 1 but whose dimensions are significantly larger. The three parts 1, 2, 3 of the lock each also have, at their lower end, a tab 14, 24 and 34 with a hole allowing them to be joined together by means of a cable which may be part of a customs seal. The advantages offered by the lock shown in Figure 1 are clearly evident. Indeed, once the container is loaded, the closing of its doors causes parts 1 and 2 to interpenetrate, with rings 22 and 23 of part 2 coming into position in the spaces delimited by rings 31, 32, 33 of part 3. Because of the slightly larger dimensions of the recesses in rings 22 and 23, the shaft 1 can be inserted into the space formed by the juxtaposition of the five rings, even if any deformation of the container doors prevents rings 22 and 23 from being positioned exactly in the spaces intended for them. Furthermore, the particular shape of the axis 1 prevents its rotation in the rings once it is in place, thus facilitating its positioning and the actuation of the tabs 12 and 12' using the lock 11. A chamfer 15 made at the end of the axis 1 opposite the lock 11 facilitates its insertion into the space delimited by the set of rings 22, 23, 31, 32, 33. Furthermore, a groove 35 formed in the middle of the median ring 31 of part 3 opposite a groove 25 formed in the base 21 of part 2 allows, if necessary, to tighten, with the help of screws not shown, the ring 31 and / or to bring the rings 22 and 23 closer together slightly, which may be required by a greater deformation of the container frame. If we now refer to figure 2, we find on this figure the elements of figure 1, namely the parts 2 and 3 with their rings 22, 23 respectively 31, 32, 33, as well as the two housings 36, 36' made in the rings 32, respectively 33, to receive the tabs 12 and 12' of the axis 1. The cross-sectional views along lines AA' and BB' highlight the difference in dimensions existing between the recess 23' of rings 22 and 23 and that 33' of rings 31, 32 and 33, the latter being further enlarged by the housing 36' intended to receive the latch 12. Referring to Figure 3, we see another variant of the safety lock according to the invention. In this variant, part 2 remains identical to that of Figure 1, but part 3 now only has two rings 32 and 33 delimiting a trapezoidal space intended to accommodate, on the one hand, the two rings 22 and 23 and, on the other hand, a ring 41, of the same shape and dimensions as the ring 31 of Figure 1, attached to a sheet metal plate 4, which extends well beyond parts 2 and 3 on both sides. This embodiment has the advantage, already explained, of allowing the control levers of the vertical bars of the container to be locked, said control levers being positioned on either side and close to parts 2 and 3.

Claims

DEMANDS 1) A safety lock for joining two parts to be locked together, according to claim 1 of the main patent, characterized in that it comprises an axis (1) whose cross-section is approximately in the shape of a rectangle extended at its two ends by two semicircles, said axis (1) being intended to assemble two parts (2) and (3), each of which is fixed to one of the parts to be locked, and each of which comprises at least two rings which, viewed from above or below, have a trapezoidal shape, part (2) comprising two rings (22, 23) separated by a space into which the middle ring (31) of part (3) can be inserted, which comprises three rings (31, 32, 33) delimiting two spaces into which the rings (22, 23) of part (2) can be inserted, the rings (31, 32, 33) of part (3) each having a recess (31', 32', 33') whose shape is identical to that of the axis (1) and whose dimensions are adapted to receive said axis (1),while the rings (22, 23) each have a recess (22', 23') of the same shape as the axis (1) but of significantly larger dimensions, a lock (11) disposed at the end of the axis (1) allows two latches (12, 12') to be extended laterally through openings (13, 13') which fit into two housings (36, 36') made in the rings (32, 33) of the part (3). 2) Safety lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the middle ring (31) of the part (3) has a groove (35) intended to allow tightening of the ring (31) by means of screws and positioned opposite a groove (25) formed in the base (21) of the part (2) and intended to allow bringing the rings (22 and 23) together by means of screws. 3) Safety lock according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a sheet metal plate (4) on which is welded a ring (41) identical in shape and dimensions to the ring (31), the part (3) no longer comprising in this case a ring (31), and the shaft (1) being then put in place after the rings of the parts (2), (3) and (4) have been juxtaposed axially, the plate (4) extending well beyond, bilaterally, the parts (2) and (3).