Abstract:
A high security padlock for use with a pair of companion locking bars having apertured hasp end portions to be disposed in alined abutment and locked together, the padlock comprising a padlock body having a rearwardly opening cavity to receive the alined abutting hasp end portions therein and the padlock including a shackle extending through said cavity to pass through a pair of alined apertures in the hasp end portions, and a lock mechanism with the padlock body, together with a wedge attack resisting collar member shaped to surround three sides of the pair of alined hasp end portions having a portion disposed in the rearwardly opening cavity of the lock body and portions protruding rearwardly beyond the rear surface of the lock body. The collar member has a knuckle formation received in a socket in the lock body for pivotally locating the collar for swinging movement about a vertical pivot axis, and the collar member has surface portions coacting with confronting surface portions of the cavity to tightly grip the opposite lateral surfaces of the pair of hasp end portions within the cavity when an attack wedge-like tool is driven against the rear of the lock body into engagement with rearwardly projecting end portions of the collar member.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates in general to high security lock devices for use with paired adjacent staple formations of locking bars or so-called hasps, one or both of which may be L-shaped flange bars, whereby the adjacent alined staple formations receive a locking bolt or shackle therethrough and are shrouded or surrounded forwardly and laterally by the lock device for protection against attack by persons seeking unauthorized forced opening of the locking assembly. 
     The conventional type of padlock previously used with hasp and staple assemblies for locking doors, security containers and the like have usually included a U-shaped shackle formed of a pair of spaced parallel straight legs joined by a curved intermediate portion, together with a padlock body provided with a key lock plug or combination locking mechanism and bolt means within the padlock body for interlocking with grooves or notches in the shackle leg portions which extend into shackle sockets or openings in the padlock body. In the locked position, the U-shaped shackle normally projects in exposed upstanding relation from the padlock body and is thus exposed to attack by cutting instruments or other burglary tools. In many applications where padlocks have been previously used, the padlock was in an exposed environment where it was not under constant supervision by security personnel, watchmen, or people charged with protecting the area in which the lock was located. In such exposed or unsupervised padlock situations, a person seeking unauthorized entry into the space secured by the padlock has the opportunity to open the lock by any of a number of conventional techniques, such as picking, rapping, sawing, or forcing the padlock open by inserting a wedge type tool between the hasp members and padlock body or shackle to wedge or chisel the lock open. 
     In recent years, much effort has been devoted to improving lock security for the doors or closures in such exposed situations, by providing a pair of steel plate locking bar members having staple, loop or apertured flange formations, for example a pair of locking bars or L-shaped steel flange plate or straight hasp plates, each having a foot or base portion to be fastened by tamper-resisting screws to adjacent mounting surface portions of a pair of doors, or of a door and door jamb or comparable surface with the plates each providing an integral outwardly projecting apertured staple or loop formation to be disposed in mated or laterally alined relation and secured by a hardened high security padlock shackle. To further improve security, the number of pin tumblers or levers employed in the key cylinder or key locking plug of such padlocks has been increased and the key cylinder made to resist drilling, picking and similar attack techniques. To protect the shackle against attack from the sides and from all directions by sophisticated cutting instruments, hardened padlock bodies have been developed having shroud formations which shield the sides and front of the shackle from attack by cutting instruments. 
     In some of such locks, the shackle is completely recessed in the padlock body in locking position and the shackle recess has a rearwardly opening slot to receive the pair of outwardly projecting flat apertured flange or staple formations of the locking bars with the padlock shackle passed through the apertured in the flange or staple formations interfitted into the rearwardly opening recess of the lock body. Examples of padlocks of the shrouded type and of other lock devices designed for use with similar locking bars are found in prior U.S. Pats. Nos. 3,652,114 to Cady, 3,759,557 to Athas, 3,769,821 and 3,817,062 to Randel, 3,858,923 to Bunn, 3,901,058 and 3,996,774 to Best, 3,744,280 to Brown and 3,638,460 to Berry. FIG. 8 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,603 and FIG. 10 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,309 to Miller, both assigned to the assignee of the present application, also show shrouded shackle padlocks with a cruciform shaped recess in the upper end portion of the padlock body opening rearwardly to receive the laterally juxtaposed forwardly projecting apertured legs or end flanges of such locking bars. 
     A particular problem with these L-shaped flange type locking bars secured by padlock or enshrouding lock devices has been the ability of burglars or unauthorized persons to force the lock off of the locking bars by driving a wedge down between the rear portion of the lock body and the locking bars and thereby tear the shackle through the ear or staple portion of the locking bars and thereby destroy the holding action of the lock on the locking bars. 
     An object of the present invention is the provision of a novel anti-wedge shackle lock construction for use with L-shaped flange type locking bars or the like constructed with a knuckle type attack resisting device so that attack on the lock mechanism with wedges to attempt to force it off the apertured flange portions, will further increase binding action of the lock mechanism components on the apertured flange portions as the wedges are driven, provididng additional strength and support to the locking bar flanges and shackle. 
     Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel anti-wedge padlock of the type described in the preceding paragraph, wherein the lock body is provided with a movable pivoted knuckle device having portions flanking the locking bar flanges to tightly grip the flanges to lend support to them and resist ripping of the shackle from the locking bars. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel shackle type locking device of the concealed shackle or shrouded shackle type adapted for use with L-shaped flange type locking bars and the like, wherein progressively tighter grasping or binding against the flange portions is achieved responsive to movement of a wedge relative to the lock body during attempted forced entry by wedge attack. 
     Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a shrouded shackle padlock constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the shackle swung to open position and shown adjacent a pair of L-shaped flange type locking bars with which the same is designed to be used; 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical transverse section view of the padlock, taken along the transverse side-to-side axis along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a vertical section view thereof taken along the fore and aft vertical plane indicated by the line 3--3 of FIG. 2, showing an attack driving wedge in broken lines positioned to begin attack on the lock; 
     FIG. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation view of the rear upper end portion of the padlock in the region of the rearwardly opening slot portion of the shackle and locking bar flange recess, to enlarged scale, showing one form of the anti-wedge mechanism of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a horizontal section view taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 7 is a fragmentary horizontal section view taken along the same section plane as FIG. 5, but showing the antiwedge device in the position to which it is driven by a wedge during attack. 
     FIG. 8 is a fragmentary vertical rear elevation view similar to FIG. 4 showing the anti-wedge device of the present invention applied to a concealed shackle padlock construction; 
     FIG. 9 is a fragmentary horizontal section view thereof taken along the line 9--9 of FIG. 8. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, there is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 a shrouded shackle padlock, indicated generally by the reference character 10, embodying the construction of the present invention and designed to be used with a pair of locking bars 11, 12 of the L-shaped flange type. The locking bars, as illustrated, are of L-shaped steel plates having a flat foot or base mounting portion 13 adapted to be secured by tamper-proof screws, not shown, to mounting surfaces, for example the forwardly facing adjacent surface portions near the meeting edge of a pair of sliding doors, and having at the ends of the mounting foot or base portions 13 which are nearest each other outwardly projecting flanges 14 which are of rectangular or near rectangular profile, forming heavy apertured outwardly projecting end portions which we sometimes call apertured hasp portions or locking ears 14, designed to be abutted in side-by-side registered relation when the doors are closed to be secured tightly together in that condition. In this manner, the apertured hasp portions 14 project outwardly substantially perpendicular to the mounting surfaces of the doors to which they are secured. It will be appreciated, of course, that the base or foot portions 13 of the bars may be of other configurations than that shown in the drawings, and may, for one of the locking bars, extend rearwardly in the same plane as the outwardly projecting flange 14 of that locking bar, where it is desired to mount that locking bar on the face of a door jamb or frame surrounding the door opening and lying perpendicular to the front face of the door, in which case that locking bar serves as a conventional keeper. In either case, the apertured hasp portion 14 of the locking bar 12, whether it is an L-shaped angle member or a flat plate member, is designed to be disposed in laterally alined registering abutment with the flange 14 of the companion locking bar 11 in the locked condition. 
     The padlock body 15 of the shrouded shackle padlock herein illustrated is of generally elliptical configuration in top plan view, having an upper end portion 16 terminating in a top surface 17 and having a lower end portion 18 terminating in a bottom surface 19. The padlock body 15 is preferably a unitary casted body, formed for example of hardened steel, and in the illustrated embodiment has an upwardly opening cruciform shaped recess 20 opening through the top surface 17 and extending through a predetermined height inwardly therefrom through the upper end portion 16 of the padlock body having lateral wings or recess extensions 21a, 21b extending in a first lateral or side-to-side plane defining the portion of the recess shaped and sized to accommodate the padlock shackle 22 and having a front wing or recess extension 21c extending forwardly in a second fore and aft plane perpendicular to the first mentioned plane and a rearward extension forming a slot 21d opening through the rear of the upper end or shroud portion of the padlock body at the location indicated at 23 to define a recess for snuggly accommodating the apertured hasp portions 14 of the pair of locking bars 11 and 12 with the shackle 22 extending through the apertures 14a, 14b of the flanges 14. At the foot or bottom of the cruciform shaped recess 20, which forms a shackle and staple flange receiving recess, a shoulder surface 24 is provided which is interrupted by a pair of closed bottom sockets or bores 25, 26 extending downwardly through the surface 24 for receiving the legs of the shackle 22. 
     The shackle 22 is preferably in the form of a U-shaped rod of hardened steel material having a longer shackle leg 27 and a shorter shackle leg 28. The longer shackle leg 27 passes through the circular entrance opening at the top of the socket in the intermediate surface 24 of the padlock body at the bottom of the recess 20 and extends a substantial distance within the padlock body 15 toward the bottom surface 19. The longer shackle leg 27 is permitted a selected amount of axial and rotary movement relative to the padlock body 15, but is normally restrained against withdrawal from the socket 25 by the usual restraining pin provided in the padlock body. The free end portion of the shorter shackle leg 28 enters through the circular entrance opening of the socket 26 in the platform surface 24 into the closed bottom socket 26, when the shackle is in locking position. By this construction, the shorter leg 28 of the shackle can be withdrawn a sufficient distance from the platform surface portion 24 of the padlock body to dispose its free end at or immediately above the level of the top surface 17 of the padlock body or of a slight recess provided therefor in the top surface, whereupon the shackle can be swung to an exposed position by rotating it about the axis of its longer leg 27 to the position illustrated in FIG. 1. The U-shaped shackle 22 also comprises the usual curved intermediate or bridging portion 29 extending between the legs 27 and 28, which serves as the portion which engages the laterally alined apertured hasp portions 14 of the pair of locking bars 11, 12 in the locking position. The apertures 14a, 14b of the hasp portions 14 of the locking bars are of a diameter closely approximating the diameter of the shackle and are adapted to register with each other to receive the shackle, so that when they are nested within the forward wing 21c and rearward slot portion 21d of the cruciform shaped recess 20, with the upwardly arching bridge portion 29 of the shackle extending through the alined locking bar apertures 14a, 14b, the locking bar flanges are securely held and protected against attack from the sides or the front. 
     The shackle legs 27 and 28, in accordance with usual practice, have confronting notches 27a, 28a located within the padlock body when the shackle is in the locking position and disposed to receive end portions of a rotatable locking bolt 30 of conventional construction, for example of the type disclosed in earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,609 to Harry C. Miller. The padlock body 15 also includes a closed bottom lower central bore portion 31, in the illustrated embodiment, which communicates with the sockets 25 and 26 and is shaped and sized to accommodate a key lock plug 32, which may be of conventional construction, having the usual rotatable plug therein responsive to insertion of the proper key through a key opening in the bottom surface 19 of the padlock body to effect rotation of the bolt member 30 through a sufficient angle to withdraw its end portions from the confronting locking notches 27a, 27b in the shackle legs and release the shackle to be manually withdrawn outwardly of the padlock body parallel to the axis of the longer shackle leg and then rotated about that axis to shift the shackle to a position permitting it to be withdrawn from the staple forming flanges of the locking bars. 
     The locking bolt 30 and the mechanism by which it is operated from the rotatable plug of the key lock cylinder may be like the construction disclosed in the earlier Miller U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,309, and the padlock body may be provided with a closure seal of the slide type as disclosed in that patent or a closure seal of the rotatable type as disclosed in the companion Miller U.S. Pat. No.3,710,613, to permit selective opening of the closure seal over the housing cavity for the key lock cylinder and replacement of the key lock cylinder in the manner described in either of those earlier patents. 
     It will be appreciated that locks of this construction may be forcibly driven off of the locking bars 11, 12 by inserting the sharp ends of heavy metal wedges as indicated at 34 in FIG. 3, directed downwardly, laterally or upwardly against the upper rear wall portions of the padlock body between the mounting base or foot portions 13 of the locking bars and the rear of the padlock body, and driving them by sledges or heavy hammering tools so as to exert great outward wedging forces against the padlock body and thereby tear the case hardened shackle 22 forwardly through the apertured hasp portions 14 nested within the recess portions 21c, 21d of the cruciform recess 20. To resist destruction of the security of the padlock and locking bar assembly by such wedge destruction techniques, the padlock of the present invention is additionally provided with a special anti-wedge device, indicated generally by the reference character 35, which in the illustrated embodiment is of a type which we refer to as the &#34;knuckle&#34; type, which is located in suitable cavities or recesses in the lock body to dispose rearwardly projecting end portions of the anti-wedge device 35 in the path of attack of any lock destroying wedges which one may attempt to insert between the padlock body and the base or foot portions of the locking bars to lend additional support to and exert greater holding action on the apertured hasp portions 14 of the locking bars and further resist tearing of the shackle from the locking bars. In the illustrated embodiment, the anti-wedge device 35 is made in the form of a single unitary U-shaped collar or saddle member 36 which, in rear elevation, is of U-shaped configuration having a height approximating the distance from the bottom of the rearwardly opening entrance slot 21d of the padlock body recess for the locking bar hasp portions 14 and the underside of the bridging portion or arched portion 29 of the padlock shackle 22. The integral collar or saddle shaped anti-wedge member 36 has a bottom wall portion 37 of distorted triangular configuration having a short vertically extending side wall 38 at the rear corner at one side of the collar or saddle member 36, shown as the right hand side wall in FIG. 5, and a longer side wall 39 at the other lateral edge of the collar or saddle member 36 especially shaped to define a rounded knuckle portion 40 for the anti-wedge device extending laterally into a rounded substantially semi-cylindrical space 41 therefor centered for example on the axis of the long shackle leg 27 to surround or pivot about the latter. The side walls 38 and 39 and bottom wall 37 of the collar or saddle member 36 form an upwardly opening channel defining a channel recess 42 having a width corresponding very close to the combined width of the pair of hasp portions 14 when they are in lateral abutment with each other and extend into the padlock recess 21, and the height of the channel recess 42 corresponds very closely to the distance from the bottom of the shackle openings 14a, 14b in the hasp portions 14 to the bottom of the formation 14. 
     The corner of the padlock body portion laterally bounding the rearwardly opening entrance slot portion 21d of the padlock recess 20 nearest the short side wall 38 is cut away, as shown at 43 in FIG. 5, to accommodate the corner portion of the anti-wedge device 35 adjacent the short side wall 38 for a predetermined amount of forward swinging movement inwardly of the padlock body recess 21 about the axis of shackle leg 27. The opposite or longer side wall member 39 of the anti-wedge device 35 lies in recess 44 therefor in the lateral bounding wall portion of the padlock body for the rearwardly opening entrance slot 21d. The rearmost surface of the anti-wedge device 36 formed by the rear surfaces of the side walls 38, 39 and bottom 37 extends in a plane inclined slightly rearwardly progressing from the region of shackle leg 27 toward the side of the lock body containing shackle leg 28. The anti-wedge device 35 is captured in the recess 20 by the bottom surface of the bottom wall 37 thereof abutting against the rearwardly opening cavity in the padlock body for tiltably accommodating the anti-wedge device 35 and by the top surfaces of the side walls 38 and 39, which are of the same height, bearing against downwardly facing confronting surfaces of the overhang formations 50 and 51 of the padlock body defining the lateral bounding surfaces of the entrance slot portion 21d of cruciform recess 20 between the top of the anti-wedge device 35 and the top surface 17 of the padlock body. The anti-wedge device 35 is restrained against accidental dislodgement from the cavity therefor formed in the cruciform recess 20 by any suitable detent means, such as by a spring loaded detent ball 52 formed in a drilled cylindrical socket therefor opening through the lower surface of the bottom wall portion 37 below the longer side wall portion 39, which is resiliently urged to releasable protrude into a spherical detent recess 53 in the confronting bottom wall portion of the cruciform recess 20. Alternatively, a frangible pin may be seated in a drilled socket therefor in the bottom wall portion 37 of the anti-wedge device, for example near the center of the bottom wall portion 37 lying between the adjacent surfaces of the side walls 38 and 39, which protrudes below the lower surface of the bottom wall 37 into a drilled socket or forwardly extending slot formed in the bottom surface of the cruciform recess 20 at an appropriate location to receive the downwardly protruding portion of the restraining frangible pin when the anti-wedge device 35 is located at the proper position. 
     It will be appreciated that with this construction, any attempt to forcibly wedge the padlock body off of the locking bars 11, 12 by the usual wedge attack techniques would cause the wedges, when driven between the rear wall portion of the padlock body and the closely adjacent forwardly facing surfaces of the locking bar mounting base portions 13 will bring the driving wedges into engagement with the rear surface 36a of the anti-wedge device 35, and due to the inclined disposition of the rear surface 36a, the knuckle device 35 will swing forwardly about the pivot axis of the knuckle formation 40, shortening the distance between the fixed wall 21e of the cruciform recess portions 21c and 21d and the contact surface portion 39a of the side wall 39 to tightly clasp the pair of hasp portions 14 therebetween. Preferably, the rounded face of the knuckle formation 40 is a series of radii to create quick contact and optimum bearing pressure. The effect of the driving of the anti-wedge device 35 about the knuckle pivot axis relative to the padlock body by the driven attack wedges causes the anti-wedge device to progressively tighten the binding action between the surface 39a and surface portions 21e of the cruciform recess and the locking bar hasp portions 14 to both reinforce the hasp portions and more tightly grasp them against being torn from the cruciform recess 20 of the padlock body. If desired, the confronting surfaces of the portions of the cruciform recess bounding surfaces and the anti-wedge surfaces which are forced into clamping action with the surfaces of the locking bar hasp portions can be roughened by various treatment to further enhance the binding action, and can, if desired, be provided with saw tooth configurations, file-like roughened surfaces, or the like, to greatly enhance the holding action of the anti-wedge device 35 and padlock body on the locking bar hasp portions 14. 
     An alternate version is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 in fragmentary form, wherein the U-shaped collar or saddle member here indicated by reference character 36&#39;, providing the anti-wedge device 35&#39;, extends alongside the lateral bounding wall portions of the rearwardly opening cavity 20&#39; of a concealed shackle padlock body l5&#39; to flank the opposite side portions of the pair of laterally alined abutting hasp portions 14&#39; of the locking bars 11&#39;, l2&#39; to operate in the same fashion as the anti-wedge device 35 of the first described embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the preferred embodiment herein illustrated for concealed shackle padlocks is of U-shaped configuration having a bottom wall portion 37&#39; and short and long side walls 38&#39;, 39&#39;. The longer side wall 39&#39; is shaped to define a rounded knuckle portion 40&#39; located in a substantially semi-cylindrical shaped socket therefor, indicated at 40a&#39; having its front portion relieved as indicated at 40b&#39; to accommodate a predetermined amount of forward swinging movement of the collar member 36&#39; to swing the contact surface 39a&#39; against the laterally alined abutting hasp portions 14 of the locking bars and tightly clasp them between the surface 39a&#39; and the cavity surface 21e&#39; as occurs with the previously described embodiment. The concealed shackle padlock includes a bolt or shackle member 29&#39;, which may be straight or curved, and which is actuated by usual bolt activating structure as known in the art in connection with previously available or publicly disclosed concealed shackle padlocks, and the anti-wedge device 35&#39; is held in the cavity 20&#39; against accidental dislodgement by suitable means such as the spring-loaded ball detent or a frangible pin as in the previous embodiment.