Two-part Protective Cover For Padlocks

Abstract

This invention relates to a two-part protective cover for padlocks, one part of which comprises a sleeve open at the bottom and partially covered on top, sized and shaped so as to only accept the shackle and body of a padlock passed up through the open bottom, and a second part consisting of a subassembly that includes a lid and base detachably connectable to opposite open ends of the sleeve and a flexible connector linking said base and lid together. The invention also encompasses a protective cover of the type aforementioned wherein the second part comprises a lid with a pair of apertures therein positioned to pass the parallel legs of the shackle one at a time and cooperate therewith when mounted thereon to prevent removal of the body through the open bottom of the sleeve.

Description

Various vehicles, particularly trucks, trailers and the like, carry their spare tires in some readily accessible position where they are easily stolen. Usually a wing nut is all that has to be removed to get the tire loose. However, by far the most widespread problem today seems to be that of stealing bicycles.

In all of these instances, undoubtedly the simplest and most convenient of the many security devices available is that of the standard padlock used together with a chain, armoured cable or other suitable accessory. Since, for all practical purposes, padlocks, chains and cables must be fabricated from metal, they have a tendency to jiggle around when the vehicle is in motion knocking against painted surfaces and marring the finish to say nothing of the noise they make. The padlocks, in particular are exposed to the elements and, in the case of those used to secure spare tires mounted underneath a truck bed, it is not uncommon to find the keyhole plugged with dirt and ice thrown up off the road.

The instant invention deals specifically with an improved protective cover for padlocks which both covers same with a relatively softer plastic envelope that does away with most of the damaging metal-to-metal contact and, in addition, effectively seals same against gross intrusion of the elements. There are presently on the market other such protective covers for padlocks, one in particular that deserves specific mention. It consists of a cup-shaped receptacle molded from plastic and sized to receive the body of the lock passed down through the open top, and a detachable lid with two holes in it positioned to receive the parallel legs of the shackle. While such a device solves the marring, rattling and sealing problems in much the same way as the instant device, it still has a number of shortcomings.

To begin with, the cup-shaped receptacle has to be completely removed from the lid which remains on the shackle in order to gain access to the keyhole in the bottom of the padlock. Secondly, the very jiggling about of the padlock which is one of the important reasons for having the protective cover in the first place, is the same factor that can easily cause the receptacle to shake loose from the lid, drop free of the body and become lost. Finally, even ordinary use of the unit demands that the receptacle be separated physically from its lid and the lock which is not only inconvenient but creates a further chance of losing it.

It has now been found in accordance with the teaching of the instant invention that these and other shortcomings of the prior art protective devices for padlocks can, in large measure, be eliminated by the simple, but unobvious, expedient of doing such things as encasing the body in a sleeve open at both ends, covering the bottom with a detachably connected base that provides ready access to the keyhole in the lock body with the sleeve still in place, linking the base and lid together with an externally located connector, and providing the upper marginal edge of the sleeve with some type of stop forming element that projects out over a portion of the top of the lock body and is effective to prevent the latter from being removed through the open top of the sleeve. With a lid having spaced apertures therein to receive the parallel legs of the shackle mounted thereon, the web between said apertures prevents removal of the body even through the open bottom of the sleeve. As such, with the padlock locked, all elements of the protective cover are either connected to the latter or to one another so as to remain in assembled relation where they cannot be lost or stolen.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved protective cover for padlocks.

A second objective is the provision of a device of the type aforementioned which provides immediate access to the keyhole.

Another object of the within described invention is to provide a case for the body of a padlock, no element of which can be completely disassociated from the other elements or the lock itself without first unlocking the latter and removing the lid from its shackle by detaching its parallel legs one at a time from the spaced apertures in said lid.

Still another object is to provide a unit of the type disclosed and claimed herein in which the lock body can only be removed through the bottom of the sleeve thus effectively preventing these elements from becoming separated accidently or on purpose by a thief while the lock is locked.

An additional objective is to provide a two piece lock protective assembly wherein a sleeve open at both ends comprises one part and the subassembly consisting of the lid and base detachably connectable to the opposite open ends of the sleeve together with the strap linking said lid and base together comprise the second element.

Further objects are to provide a padlock protector that is simple, inexpensive, rugged, versatile, compact, lightweight, readily adaptable to various types, shapes and styles of padlocks and a unit of the type aforementioned that is even decorative in appearance.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out specifically hereinafter in connection with the description of the drawings that follows, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective looking down upon a padlock encased in the protective cover of the present invention as the above assembly would be seen from a vantage point above and in front of its upper right hand corner;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view to a slightly smaller scale than FIG. 1 showing the assembly from the same vantage point but with it laid over on its back, the lock unlocked and the base detached from the sleeve, portions of the base having been broken away to conserve space;

FIG. 3 is yet another prerspective view to still a further reduced scale showing only the two elements that cooperate to define the two piece assembly that encases the lock;

FIG. 4 is a section of the protective assembly alone taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 1 and to a slightly larger scale than the latter; and,

FIG. 5 is a section of the case by itself taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 1 and to the same scale as FIG. 4.

Referring next to the several figures of the drawing for a detailed description of the present invention, the protective cover forming the subject matter thereof has been broadly designated by reference numeral 10 and it will be seen to consist of two parts, namely, a rectangular sleeve open at both ends that has been generally referred to herein by reference numeral 12 and a subassembly broadly referred to by number 14 that includes a lid 16, a base 18 and a connector 20 linking the latter elements together. The padlock is conventional and has been given general designation 22. In the particular form illustrated, the padlock has a body 24 with a more or less rectangular cross section, parallel top and bottom ends designated by reference numerals 26 and 28, respectively, an inverted U-shaped shackle 30 emerging from the top, and a keyhole 32 in the bottom. As illustrated, both pieces 12 and 14 of the protective cover 10 are molded from a suitable plastic material which is deformable enough to accommodate the bending action of connector 20, is softer than the painted finishes it is likely to come in contact with, and is weather resistant to the extent that it can withstand extremes of heat and cold along with such things as mud, sand and water that will surely fall thereon or be thrown thereagainst during normal use.

Now, the sleeve 12 is obviously shaped and dimensioned to loosely enclose the sides and ends of the body 24 of the lock while projecting slightly above and below both the bottom and top surfaces thereof as is clearly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In the specific form shown, both the top and bottom marginal edges of the sleeve are externally recessed to narrow the walls at this point and define shoulders 34 and 36 against which the lid 16 and base 18 rest. It is these relatively thinner wall sections 38 and 40 that telescope up into the marginal flanges 42 and 44 that border the lid and base, respectively. If desired, small interlocking tongue and groove subassemblies 46 can be molded into opposed telescoped surfaces 38 and 42 or 40 and 44 or both of the sleeve and mating lid and base to insure their remaining fastened together although the assembly works quite well without them.

Of considerable significance, on the other hand, are the stop forming elements 48 that are formed integral with the top margin of the sleeve and project inwardly therefrom so as to partially block the opening in the top thereof. These stop forming elements are so designed and positioned as to be effective in preventing removal of the body 24 of the padlock 22 through the open top of the sleeve. This means that even with the base removed from the sleeve, it cannot drop down over the body of the lock and become detached threrefrom either accidently or on purpose. In fact, to mount the protective cover on the lock, the user must first pass the body and shackle up through the open bottom of the sleeve, then open the shackle and swing it aside for insertion through the apertures 50 therefor in the lid, and finally telescope the lid and base onto opposite ends of the sleeve.

As far as the configuration and location of stop forming elements 48 is concerned, they can, if desired, completely cover the open top of the sleeve leaving only a slot for the shackle to pass through. Note also, that the inside of the base is grooved at 52 to accept the relatively thinner wall portion 40 at the bottom of the sleeve. If, perchance, the user mistakenly gets the sleeve turned upside down, the stop forming elements will engage the upstanding platform 54 bordered by said groove thus preventing the base from seating properly in fully telescoped relation. The gap that is left between shoulder 34 and the top of upstanding flange 44 of the base will give the user an immediate indication of his error.

As far as the lid 16 is concerned, it is bordered by a downturned flange 42 as previously mentioned that telescopes down over the relatively thinner wall section 38 at the top of the sleeve and seats against the upwardly facing shoulder 34 at the base thereof. The two apertures 50 in the top of the lid are known in the prior art protective cover previously mentioned and their function is, of course, to pass the parallel legs of the inverted U-shaped shackle. While such a lid is known in the prior art, its function is not in that it cooperates with the shackle upon which it is mounted to prevent removal of the lock body even through the open bottom of the sleeve as the web between said lid apertures acts as a stop.

In the specific embodiment of the lid illustrated, however, a platform 56 is located on the underside thereof between the apertures 50, the function of which is to engage the top 26 of the padlock 22 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 so as to maintain enough of a space between the latter and the surrounding lid portions to receive stop forming elements 48. Here again, while novel, this feature is by no means essential to proper operation of the unit.

The base is, likewise, conventional except for the groove 52 already described and the projection 58 on the edge thereof opposite connector 20 that defines a fingerhold to facilitiate its detachment from the sleeve. Obviously, this is but a convenience feature that can be eliminated with no loss in function whatsoever.

Last, but by no means least, is the integrally formed connector or bail 20 that keeps the base permanently attached to the lid at all times and cooperates therewith to define subassembly 14 which is the second part of the two-part unit. This connector is shown in the form of a flexible strap that allows the base to be attached from the sleeve and swing aside to gain access to the keyhole 32 in the bottom of the lock. Since, as already noted, the lid remains attached to the shackle at all times during normal use, the base cannot be lost or misplaced. Furthermore, the sleeve cannot be removed either with the lid in place so that the parts of the protective cover cooperate with one another and the lock itself to always remain in assembled relation when the latter is locked.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A protective cover for padlocks having a body, an inverted U-shaped shackle emerging from the top of the body and means in the bottom of the latter for unlocking the shackle which comprises: a sleeve open at both ends sized to accept the body through the opening in the bottom thereof and define a casing covering its walls; a lid detachably connectable to the top of the sleeve as a cover for the top of the body, said lid having at least one aperture therein positioned and adapted to pass the shackle; a base detachably connectable to the bottom of the sleeve as a removable cover for the bottom of the body; and, a flexible connector interconnecting the lid and base externally of the sleeve cooperating therewith to define a unitary subassembly, said connector being effective to permit removal of the base while leaving same attached to the lid in order to gain access to the bottom of the body.

2. The protective padlock cover as set forth in claim 1 which includes: stop forming means positioned and adapted to partially block the opening in the top of the sleeve while leaving a passageway for the shackle to pass therethrough, said stop forming means being effective to prevent removal of the body through the opening in the top of the sleeve thus obstructed.

3. The protective padlock cover as set forth in claim 1 in which: the lid has a pair of apertures therein separated by a web, said apertures being positioned to pass the parallel legs of the shackle and said web defining a stop effective to prevent either attachment or removal of said lid other than one leg at a time, and said lid cooperating with said shackle when in place on the latter to prevent removal of the body through the open bottom of the sleeve.

4. The protective padlock cover as set forth in claim 1 in which: the connector comprises an integrally-formed strap.

5. The protective padlock cover as set forth in claim 1 in which: the lid and base each include marginal flanges adapted to telescope over their respective ends of the sleeve.

6. The protective padlock cover as set forth in claim 2 in which: the stop forming means comprise a pair of opposed integrally-formed ears on opposite sides of the shackle-receiving aperture.

7. A protective cover for padlocks having a body, an inverted U-shaped shackle emerging from the top of the body and means in the bottom of the latter for unlocking the shackle which comprises: a sleeve open at both ends sized to accept the body through the opening in the bottom thereof and define a casing covering its walls; stop forming means depending from the upper end of the sleeve partially blocking the opening in the upper end thereof while leaving a passageway for the shackle to pass therethrough, said stop forming means being effective to prevent removal of the body through the opening in the top of the sleeve thus obstructed; and, a lid detachably connectable to the top of the sleeve, said lid having a pair of spaced apertures therein separated by a web positioned and adapted to pass the parallel legs of the shackle one at a time, and said lid when mounted on the shackle cooperating therewith to prevent removal of the body through the opening in the bottom of the sleeve.