Laminated Padlock Assembly Jig

Abstract

A jig especially adapted for use by a locksmith or other such skilled person in the assembly of a laminated padlock in a small shop or similar location where locks are ordinarily sold or serviced by hand. The jig comprises a base member provided with a plurality of upright pins defining an opening corresponding to the outer contour of the body laminations forming the padlock housing. The jig provided for stacking and aligning the laminations within the opening provided by the pins enables the other parts of the padlock to be fitted within the housing as it is being formed. Upon completion of the assembly of the padlock parts on the jig a clamping arm on the jig provides for pressing and holding the laminations of the padlock housing together such that the assembly of parts can be properly anchored by riveting in operating relationship.

Description

This case is related to copending application Ser. No. 136,976 filed Apr. 23, 1971, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,195.

This invention relates to jigs and more particularly to a jig for use in assembling a padlock having a housing constructed of a multiple number of parallel body laminations.

There are available many types and forms of padlocks including those having a laminated housing and a pin tumbler mechanism inserted therein which undertakes to provide strengh and security at low cost. This type of padlock is conventionally supplied as a complete item having its own keys and providing no possibility of it being operated by some other key such as a house key. Other types of padlocks currently available have the capability of being keyed alike to other types of locks, but these are limited to the extent that both the padlocks and such other types of locks must accept the same shaped key. Padlocks of this nature are customarily expensive and require the keyed alike feature to be normally accomplished by the manufacturer.

It is thus seen that it would be very desirable to provide a padlock of the type having a laminated housing with a pin tumbler mechanism inserted therein whereby some person such as a locksmith operating an individual shop can, by being given the key for a door of a residence, for example, actually assemble a laminated padlock by use of his own limited facilities, the padlock so constructed and assembled being of low cost, but at the same time having built in it a security commensurate with the security of the door lock from which the key has been taken for matching.

Inasmuch as a padlock of the type described involves many parts which have to be assembled by the locksmith operating an individual shop it is thus seen that it would be of great advantage to provide a low cost, simple, hand operated jig which could be used in the assembling of such a padlock and as an aid in thereafter fastening the laminations of the housing and the other parts of the padlock enclosed therein together in an operating relationship.

Briefly, the present invention is directed to a simple, manually operable jig adapted for use in the assembly of a padlock having a laminated housing with a key-actuated mechanism inserted therein. The jig comprises a base plate on which means are provided for defining an opening corresponding to the outer contour of the body laminations forming the housing. The laminations are positioned and held in a stacked relationship in the opening so formed to facilitate the inserting of the key actuated mechanism and other parts of the padlock within the housing. A clamping arm provided with pressure contact means on the outer end thereof is pivotally mounted on the base plate of the jig adjacent the stack of laminations. A lever is effective to pivot the clamping arm such that the pressure contact means exerts a force on the top of the stack of laminations such that all of the laminations are pushed firmly against each other. The lever acting through a linkage means serves to move the clamping arm such that the pressure contact means on the end thereof is locked in a pressure exerting position on the top of the stack of laminations as a result of an over-center action of the linkage means so as to facilitate the permanent anchoring of the parts of the padlock assembly in operating relationship.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a jig useful for assembling a padlock having a housing formed of a multiple number of body laminations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a jig of simple construction and operation for use by a locksmith or other such skilled person in assembling a laminated padlock in a small shop or similar location where locks are ordinarily sold and serviced by hand.

Another object of the invention is to provide a manually operated jig for effectively locking a pressure contact means in a pressure exerting position on the top of a stack of parallel body laminations by use of an over-center action of a linkage means so as to facilitate the permanent anchoring of the laminations together to form a padlock assembly.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a laminated padlock exterior construction of the type assembled by use of the jig of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the interior construction of the padlock.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the sundry parts used in the padlock.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the jig of the present invention useable in assembling the padlock.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the jig as taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view partially broken away similar to FIG. 5 but showing the jig in an open position.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view, partially broken away, of a second form of the jig, taken on the line 8--8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view at right angles to the view of FIG. 7 and partially broken away.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view on the line 9--9 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view on the line 10--10 of FIG. 7.

Referring to the drawings, a laminated padlock 10 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and the jig 71 of the present invention which is adapted for use in assembling the padlock 10, is shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. As will be disclosed in the ensuing description, the jig 71 provides for positioning the number of different internally shaped laminations 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 in forming the housing and facilitates the assembling of the sundry other parts of the padlock mechanism within the housing. The jig 71 further provides for pressing and holding the laminations of the housing together so as to enable the parts of the padlock assembled therein to be properly anchored together in an operating relationship.

Referring first to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, the jig 71 is seen to be comprised of a base plate 70 provided with upright pins 72 which are positioned to form a nest conforming with the outer contour of the laminations 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 forming the housing of the padlock. The jig 71 further includes a clamping arm 76 provided with an angular extension, the inner end of which is pivotally mounted on a linkage 75 secured to the base plate 70 adjacent the nest of pins 72. The outer end of clamping arm 76 is provided with an adjustable screw 77, the head of which forms a pressure contact for clamping arm 76. A lever 73 is also provided with an angular extension, the outer end of which is pivotally connected to the outer end of the extension of the clamping arm 76. A linkage 74 pivotally connects the inner end of the angular extension of the lever 73 to the fixed linkage 75. As shown in FIG. 6, when the lever 73 is in its upper position, clamping arm 76 is moved by the action of linkage 74 to a vertical position clear of the nesting pins 72. As shown in FIG. 5, when the lever 73 is moved to its lowered position, the clamping arm 76 is moved down to a substantially horizontal position by the action of linkage 74 in which position the pressure contact head of screw 77 rests on the top of the housing of padlock 10. A further forcing of the lever 73 in a downward direction causes the inner end of linkage 74 to move to an over center position in which it locks the clamping arm 76 and therefore the head of the screw 77 in a pressure exerting position against the stack of laminations forming the housing of padlock 10. As will be discussed hereinafter, a hand tool 80 having an end pocket 81 is then used to form rivet heads 68 on the ends of rivets 42 protruding above the housing of padlock 10 so as to permanently anchor the laminations of the housing together.

In order to further understand the construction and operation of the jig 71 for use in assembling the padlock 10 shown in FIG. 1, the details of the parts comprising the assembled padlock 10 will next be presented.

Thus as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pin tumbler key-actuated mechanism that is inserted as a unit in the housing during the assembly of the padlock is indicated by the reference character 12 and is shown in partially broken away form in FIG. 2 and exploded view in the upper central portion of FIG. 3. The key-actuated mechanism includes what may aptly be described as a pin tumbler housing 13, shown separately in FIG. 3, a cylindrical portion or barrel 14 of which is adapted to rotatably contain a cylinder plug 15.

In the finished and assembled key-actuated mechanism 12 as shown in FIG. 2, is a series of lower pin tumblers 17, 17', etc. mounted in tumbler bores 18, 18', etc. in the cylinder plug 15. These bores and tumblers align with upper pin tumblers 19, 19' respectively, which are mounted in appropriate bores 20, 20', the bores 20, 20' being contained within a projection 21 of the pin tumbler housing 13. Conventional springs 22, 22' operate between the bottoms of bores 20 and 20' and the respective upper pin tumblers 19, 19'.

Although the lower pin tumblers 17, 17', etc. are shown as being of different length when matching with cuts 23, 23' of a key 24, in the construction of the padlock in a small shop, the pin tumblers 17, 17' are normally somewhat longer so that they can be sized with respect to a selected key whereby when the key is inserted the mating end areas of pin tumblers 17, 17' and pin tumblers 19, 19' coincide at a shearline 25 whereby to permit the cylinder plug 15 to be rotated with respect to the pin tumbler housing 13 to an unlocked position of the mechanism.

The housing of the padlock 10 which the jig 71 is especially adapted to facilitate the assembly thereof is shown in FIG. 2 to comprise a series of laminated members 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 all having the same exterior shape and size, but being differently constructed on the interior. For example, a bottom lamination 30 is shaped on its interior differently from adjacent lower laminations 31. Intermediate laminations 32 are somewhat differently shaped on the interior, above which is an inside top lamination 33 and an outside top lamination 34. By coding the laminations 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 with numbers or other insignia, the workman will always have a guide as to how the laminations should be correctly oriented when stacked in the jig 71 when he is constructing a padlock.

The bottom lamination 30 is provided with a circular opening 40 sufficient to provide clearance for the head of the cylinder plug 15 and a bead 40'. A series of holes 41 accommodate a series of rivets 42. A group of lower laminations 31 are also provided with holes 43 for the rivets and additionally provided with openings 44 shaped such that when they are stacked together they form a cylindrical chamber 45 in alignment with the circular opening 40. An approximately rectangular chamber 46 extending on one side from the chamber 45 is adapted to accommodate the projection 21 of the pin tumbler housing 13 and a somewhat similar chamber 47 extends on the opposite side from the chamber 45 to accommodate the spring 52 and a long leg 48 of the shackle 11.

The shackle 11 has also a short leg 49. The long leg is adapted to project through bearing holes 50 and 51 and into the chamber 47, where the lower end of the long leg 48 is in engagement with a spring 52. The short leg 49 is adapted to extend through access apertures 53 and 54 when the shackle is snapped into a locked position. A stop lug 55 on the long leg 48 retains the long leg in engagement with the body 10 by engagement of the stop lug 55 with the inside top lamination 33 when the shackle 11 is in its outermost or unlocked position, as shown in FIG. 2.

A locking plate 56 is adapted to engage a segment 57 of the cylinder plug 15 so as to be rotated by action of the cylinder plug 15 whereby to move locking lugs 58 and 59 respectively out of engagement with a heel notch 60 in the long leg 48 and a toe notch 61 in the short leg 49. Engagement of the locking plate 56 with the segment 57 also serves to retain the cylinder plug 15 in assembled condition in the cylinder mechanism 12. A large substantially rectangular opening 64 in the intermediate laminations 32 when assembled provides space for accommodation of the locking plate 56. A torsion spring 62 retained on a boss 63 adjacent the segment 57 acts between the wall of the chamber 64 and the locking plate 56 to normally rotate the locking plate to locked position, from which it can be rotated by actuation of the cylinder plug 15 through the agency of a proper key 24.

Rivet holes 43 in the lower laminations 31 as well accommodate the rivets 42. The rectangular opening 64 is of a size to permit the rivets to pass through the intermediate laminations 32 without need for specially providing rivet holes and yet maintain alignment. Similar rivet hoels 66 and 67 in the inside top lamination 33 and the outside top lamination 34 respectively accommodate the rivets 42 so that they protrude outwardly and can ultimately be formed with rivet heads 68 to hold all the laminations 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 in assembled condition.

Having described the internal structure of the finally assembled padlock 10, the steps in the assembly of the laminations to form the housing and enclose the other parts of the padlock therein, and the details of the role of the jig 71 of the present invention in the assembly operation will next be described.

In the construction of the padlock the first step is to pin the cylinder assembly 12 in the conventional manner by inserting the selected key 24 in the keyway 16 of cylinder plug 15 and loading the pin tumblers 17, 17' in the bores 18, 18' which are then properly sized in order to match the shear line 25. Whether the key be of one cross-sectional shape or another, it is sufficient only that it be capable of being accepted in the keyway 16 for the pin tumbler sizing step. Following this the cylinder plug 15 and its pin tumbler 17, 17' is assembled with the pin tumbler housing 13 containing upper pin tumblers 19, 19' and springs 22, 22'. Addition of the locking plate 56 retains the plug 15 within the cylinder housing 14 thus forming the completed cylinder assembly 12 for insertion in the padlock housing.

Upon the bottom lamination 30 are placed the lower laminations 31 in stacked relationship, with each being properly positioned in the stack by reference to the aforementioned coding. The rivets 42 are then passed through this stack of laminations in an upward direction, first through holes 41 of the bottom laminations 30 and extending through holes 43 of the lower laminations 31.

The group of parts thus assembled is positioned within the nesting pins 72 of the jig 71 and so positioned to have the heads of rivets 42 and the bottom lamination 30 adjacent the base 70 of the jig 71. Additionally the intermediate laminations 32 are stacked in proper position over the rivets 42 and between the nesting pins 72. The assembly on jig 71 now presents the major portion of the housing for the padlock 10 creating the chamber and openings 45, 46, 47 and 64 receivable of and properly retaining in operation alignment the shackle spring 52, the cylinder mechanism 12, including the locking plate 56, and the torsion spring 62. The shackle 11 is then assembled with the inside top laminations 33 and the outside top laminations 34. This is accomplished by inserting the short leg 49 of the shackle 11 in an inverted position first through the bearing hole 51 of the inside top lamination 33 and then through the bearing hole 50 of the outside top lamination 34 and continuing to loop the shackle 11 until the long leg 48 is properly positioned within the bearing holes 50, 51 respectively of the top laminations 33, 34. The long leg 48 of the shackle 11 is then inserted into the chamber 47 and the top laminations 33, 34 are placed over the rivets 42 and between the nesting pins 72 of the jig 71.

Once the foregoing has been accomplished, i.e., all the parts of the padlock have been assembled within the housing on the jig 71, lever 73 acting through the linkage 74 and 75 serves to move a clamping arm 76 to the position shown in FIG. 5 where an over-center action locks the linkage in the position shown. It should be noted that the screw 77 can be adjusted in proper position and there secured by lock nuts 78 and 79 so that in the over-center position of the linkage all of the laminations are pushed firmly against each other and held in such position. By use of a hand tool 80 having an end pocket 81 applied seccessively over the tops of the rivets 42, the tool when subjected to a driving operation forms the rivet heads 68, thereby to anchor the parts of the padlock assembly in operating relationship.

It should now be clearly understood that the jig is of such simple construction and the successive steps in the operation sufficiently simple that a laminated padlock with the specially keyed pin tumbler key-actuated mechanism can be assembled by use of the jig 71 of the present invention in a small shop by hand thereby to make a secure padlock, one which is effectively keyed alike with respect to the lock from which the key 24 is taken or on the other hand can be keyed to match other padlocks with which the key 24 fits.

In the form of the invention of FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 the jig 71' is so constructed that the padlock 10, after being assembled in upright position and having the rivets 42 inserted in the holes 41 for initial assembly of the laminations, is then turned upside down, the rivets 42 removed and reinserted from the top toward the bottom and the padlock 10 then placed in reverse position in the jig, as shown advantageously in FIGS. 7 and 8. Additional improvements and advantages flow from this reverse handling of the final assembly.

In order to make the reverse assembly possible there is provided a base 90 mounted upon a work surface 91, the base being relieved at 92 and the work surface 91 being relieved at 92' to clear the shackle 11.

Also in this form of the invention end pins 72' which form a portion of the nest for holding the housing, are made slightly higher than the other pins 72 located at the sides. Cooperating with the long pins 72' is a guide block 93, shown in operative position in FIGS. 7 and 8. At opposite ends of the guide block are guide holes 94 and 95 of a diameter adapted to slidably receive the end pins 72', when those are the pins which are made longer. Although in the present example it is the end pins which are made as the longer guide pins, it will be appreciated that two or more guide pins can have locations elsewhere in the nest of pins as long as they are spaced one from another to provide adequate guidance during the final operation.

Also in the guide block 93 are other holes 96, 97, 98 and 99 which coincide with the system of rivet holes in the laminations and the rivets 42 mounted therein. As a further incident to the relationship of jig parts defined, there is additionally provided a recess 100 on the bottom face of the guide block 93 which is adapted to receive the bead 40' surrounding the circular opening 40 in the bottom lamination 30 of the housing body 10.

In making use of this form of the invention the laminations, as previously noted, are stacked sequentially in upright position, the interior portion of the padlock such for example as the pin tumbler housing containing the cylinder plug and the shackle assembled with the body. The jig 71' may be used in the regular manner for this initial assembly, namely, by inserting the rivets 42 through the rivet holes in the lowermost lamination 30 and the remaining laminations and lock parts successively built up on the rivets. After the assembly has been completed in this fashion the body 10 is then removed from its nested relationship within the pins 72, 72', turned upside down, the rivets 42 removed and reinserted in reverse direction one by one as shown in FIG. 7 and the body 10 then replaced in a nested relationship with respect to the pins 72, 72' but with the shackle 11 protruding downwardly into the relieved spaces 92, 92' as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

After the foregoing step has been completed the guide block 93 is then placed over the long pins 72' as shown in FIG. 8 and allowed to move downwardly until it rests upon the bottom lamination 30 of the housing 10. The lever 73 is then manipulated to move the linkage in the manner previously described in order to bring the lower end of the screw 77 as a pressure element downwardly upon the exposed upper face of the guide block 93 and the linkage then firmly locked in position. Guided as described each of the holes 96, 97, 98 and 99 are positioned in proper registration with the exposed ends of the rivets 42, the heads of which are at the opposite end resting upon the upper face of the base 90.

By use of the hand tool 80 which is, in fact, a rivet iron with its end pocket 81 extending over the exposed ends of each of the rivets 42, the end is headed over into rivetted engagement with the adjacent lamination. During this operation one or another of the holes 96, 97, 98 and 99 serves as a guide or bushing for the hand tool 80.

After the rivetting operation has been completed the linkage is released and removed from the guide block 93 which can then be lifted out of position and the finished and assembled padlock removed.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what is conceived to be a practical and effective embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention.

Claims

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is:

1. A manually operable jig for use with a rivet iron in the assembly of a padlock which has a housing for the key actuated mechanism thereof formed of a multiple number of parallel body laminations with aligned sets of rivet holes and rivets adapted to extend through the holes in either direction and which has a shackle on said housing, said jig comprising: a guide block, a base member, a plurality of side and end pins on said base member positioned at locations which define an opening corresponding to the outer contour of said laminations and which are adapted to receive and position said multiple number of laminations in a stacked relationship wherein said laminations have aligned sets of rivet holes, said base member having a recess therein of cross-sectional dimensions exceeding the cross-sectional dimensions of said shackle, a vertically extending support on the base member spaced from and parallel to said pins, a clamping means pivotally supported on said support, a pressure contact means on the outer end of said clamping means, and a lever means effective to pivot said clamping means and said pressure contact means into operating position, said pressure contact means having an operating position over the laminations at a location clear of said rivet holes, said guide block having dimensions larger than the dimensions of the respective laminations, oppositely located guide holes through said guide block and a set of clearance holes through said guide block in respective alignment with said rivet holes, the pins at those locations coinciding with said guide holes having an exposed length in excess of the height of the housing and the remaining pins having an exposed length no greater than the height of said housing, said clearance holes being in axial alignment with portions of the base members at a location spaced from said recess whereby said base serves as a buck during a riveting operation, said pins which coincide with said guide holes comprising both guides for locating said laminations during stacking and positioners for said guide block during a riveting operation.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of pins at the sides of the padlock housing and pins at the ends of the padlock housing longer than the pins at the sides, said clearance holes in the guide block being of cross-section larger than the cross-section of said rivet iron whereby to enable setting of set rivets with said guide block in place.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the length of said pins is not less than the aggregate height of the padlock housing between outermost laminations.

4. A manually operable jig as in claim 1 wherein there are at least two pins in each long side of said opening for the laminations and at least one pin at each short side of said opening for the laminations, the pins at the short sides having an exposed length greater than the height of the housing, said pins at the short sides having a guiding engagement with the guide block.