Abstract:
A bonding lock comprises a body and a connecting member. An end of the connecting member joins to a fixed object, another end connecting to the body and constructing a loop for locking objects. The body has a slot with a slot opening, and the connecting member enters the slot via the slot opening for quickly completing buckling after a loop is formed by the connecting member and the body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention generally relates to a bonding lock for preventing theft of computer peripherals, valuable objects, bicycles, or other goods, and especially to a lock being able to fasten such objects by way of a loop.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Generally, the most common method of preventing stealing of mobile electronic products, such as portable computers, PDAs, tablet PCs, or other movable goods, is to bind aforesaid objects to a fixture such as a table leg for an example. Therefore, any of the objects will not be lost.  
         [0005]     In U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,718, entitled “Cable Lock”, Yang discloses a joint lock. FIG. 16 shows a preferred embodiment of a circle lock that fixes an object without through holes, such as a LCD display. The cable lock mainly consists of a body and a connecting component, wherein an end of the connecting component links to the body, and another end penetrates through a through hole on the body to make a loop by restriction from the body. A length of the loop may be adjusted as needed.  
         [0006]     Exploring the structure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,718, the body has a through hole allowing the connecting component to go from side to side so that a circled portion is formed by a portion of the connecting component attaching to the body.  
         [0007]     In practice, the dimension of the circled portion may then be defined by a position of the connecting component relative to the through hole of the body. As can be seen, adjustment for the position of the connecting component relative to the through hole shall be made under a condition of the connecting component properly piercing into the through hole; hence in case of a smaller diameter of the through hole, to insert the connecting component into the through hole and adjust the circled portion may be difficult, and thus inconvenient operation obviously exists.  
         [0008]     Besides, a curved end  20  in the body  2  is to provide a restricting function for limiting movement of the connecting component in the through hole so as to secure a constant circled portion. Due to the curved end  20  being shaped as a curve, it makes the connecting component move only in one way in the through hole while the curved end  20  pushes onto the connecting component. At the state of the curved end  20  pushing onto the connecting component, the circled portion can only be smaller gradually by the one-way movement. Furthermore, the active curved end  20  can be a weakness in preventing stealing. That is, sticking an acicular object into the connecting component (cable  3 ) and pushing the curved end  20  aside may thus release the connecting component.  
         [0009]     In U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,502, which teaches locking a good without any hole for protection, since the body and the cable are connected and fastened, another good with a hole for locking is difficult to be secured. In this case the teachings in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,507 can be utilized. As a conclusion, none of the prior arts can be applied for both situations.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The main objective of the present invention is to quickly and easily complete fastening actions of the connecting component and the body and provide more stable buckling of the connecting component and the body.  
         [0011]     The present invention specially designs a creative bonding lock for the fastening actions. The bonding lock features a slot for holding the connecting component instead of the through hole in prior arts. Additionally the slot has a slot opening. Hence, the connecting component crosses and enters the slot by means of the slot opening after a loop dimension is determined. The loop dimension can also be set after the connecting component is inserted into the slot opening. Thus, the connecting component is more steadily fixed in the slot.  
         [0012]     Other and further features, advantages and benefits of the invention will become apparent in the following description taken in conjunction with the following drawings. It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory but are not to be restrictive of the invention. The accompanying drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention in general terms. Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the disclosure. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     The objects, spirits and advantages of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be readily understood by the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions, wherein:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a view of a 3-D assembling structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a view of a 3-D separating structure of a body and a connecting member of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a 3-D view of another means of the body and the connecting member of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a 3-D exploded view of the body of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIGS. 6-7  are sketches of continuous motions of a bolt being inserted into the body of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a sectional view of the body bonding to the connecting member of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a sectional view of the connecting member being held in the slot of another preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a sketch of the bonding lock in application of the present invention;  
         [0023]      FIGS. 11, 12  are sketches of other preferred embodiments in application of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0024]     Refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , which are a view of a 3-D assembling structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and a view of a 3-D separating structure of a body and a connecting member of the present invention. A bonding lock  1  comprises a connecting member  2  and a body  3  having a casing  31  and a locking member  32 , and the connecting member  2  and the body  3  can be assembled or separated.  
         [0025]     The connecting member  2  may be a rope or a strip with high hardness, and it is capable of bending while in application or binding while in storage. Besides, the connecting member  2  is possibly another structure as well, such as a chain or an interrupted rod with a plurality of sectional elements. The connecting member  2  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  is a cable. Two ends of the connecting member  2  are defined as a connecting end  201  and a fixing end  202 . The connecting end  201  connects to the body  3 , and a top of the connecting end  201  is a bolt  21 , which is placed into an inserting hole  311  of the body  3 . Around the bolt  21  is an embedding slot  211 , and the embedding slot  211  is buckled after the bolt  21  is in the inserting hole  311 . Once the embedding slot  211  is fastened by the body  3  the assembly of the bolt  21  and the body  3  is completed. As mentioned, another relationship of assembly of the connecting member  2  and the body  3  can be made as well, as shown in  FIG. 3 . For example, the bolt  21  can connect to the body  3  pivotally. The fixing end  202  is capable of fastening with a fixed member  4  such as a table leg or a column, as shown in  FIG. 10 . For the fixing end  202 , which can connect a fixed object  4 , such as a table leg or a pillar, as shown in  FIG. 10 , the body  3  makes a connecting relationship with the fixed member  4  by means of the connecting member  2 . A cable loop  22  of the fixing end can be looped around the fixed object  4  while in application; or the fixing end can be a structure, which directly or indirectly connects to the fixed object  4  for combination.  
         [0026]     Refer to  FIG. 4 , which is a 3-D exploded view of the body of the present invention. The body  3  consists of the casing  31 , the locking member  32  assembled on the casing  31 , a movable latch  33  and a stopper  34 . A room  331  connecting the inserting hole  311  is in the movable latch  33 , and a shoulder  332  elongated toward the room  331  is formed on a front edge of the room  331 . The movable latch  33  is in an applying slot  312  of the casing  31  and receives a first flexible member  35  in the applying slot  312  allowing the movable latch  33  to always keep in an upper dead point, shown as an upper dead end of  FIG. 5 . Furthermore, a top edge of the movable latch  33  slightly extends out of the body  3  to define an accepting portion  333  for receiving an external force to move. Refer to  FIG. 5 , which is a sectional view of the present invention. While the movable latch  33  stays in the upper dead end, the bolt  21  is blocked by the shoulder  332  and thus cannot move in and out of the inserting hole  311 . Forcing the movable latch  33  to a position shown in  FIG. 6 , the bolt  21  is then not blocked by the shoulder  332 , and can freely slide back and forth. Hence, the body  3  and the connecting member  2  can be assembled or separated from each other, as shown in  FIG. 7 . A slot  313  designed on the body  3  has a slot opening  3131  as an entrance for the connecting member  2  to pass through. After the connecting member  2  enters the slot  313 , the locking member  32  closes the entrance of the slot opening  3131  to prevent the connecting member  2  from being removed, and therefore the body  3  and the connecting member  2  cooperate to construct a loop  5 . The loop  5  is free to be adjusted by the above components.  
         [0027]     After deciding on a location of the connecting member  2 , the positions of the connecting member  2  and the body  3  are fixed by means of the locking member  32  to keep a certain dimension of the loop  5 . Furthermore, the locking member  32  has a closing member  321  to be moved to a stopping position by control, shown as in  FIG. 8 . Thus, the closing member  321  cooperates with an inner surface of the slot  313  to clamp the connecting member  2  in between, and the connecting member  2  receives radial and axial friction forces simultaneously.  
         [0028]     In the preferred embodiment, if the locking member  32  is a key lock, a key k is able to switch either an opening state or a closing state. Of course, other examples can be adopted, such as a combination lock.  
         [0029]     The stopper  34  is an active member combined with the body  3 , and it is held by a second flexible member  36  in the body  3  to normally stay in a position that does not block the movable latch  33 . While in the way of the locking member  32  driving the plug  331  to move toward the closing position, the movable latch  33  cannot then move to the bolt  21 , and the bolt  21  fastened by the movable latch  33  cannot be removed.  
         [0030]     Concerning the slot  313  and the closing member  321  blocking the connecting member  2 , please refer to  FIG. 8 . The inner surface of the slot  313  further has at least one penetrating head  314 . The connecting member  2  embedded in the slot  313  cannot be moved corresponding to the slot  313  by way of friction from the penetrating head  314 . Thus the loop  5  cannot be moved to change an inner diameter thereof. Refer to  FIG. 9 , which is a sectional view of the connecting member  2  being held in the slot  313  of another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The slot  313  and the connecting member  2  respectively have a pin  315  and an inserting slot  23 . While the connecting member  2  is held in the slot  313  by the locking member  33 , the pin  315  cooperates with the inserting slot  313  to prevent the diameter of the loop  5  from being changed. Besides, using a friction force between the connecting member  2  and the slot  313  as a stop is another option as well. Refer to  FIG. 10 , which is a sketch of the bonding lock in application according to the present invention. The connecting member  2  securely connects and fastens the fixed object  4 , and the connecting member  2  completely connects to the body  3 , and thus the connecting member  2  and the body  3  cooperate to construct the loop  5  to bundle a neck portion of a locked object  6 . Further, the loop  5  is adjustable to be suitable to variable locked objects.  
         [0031]     Refer to  FIGS. 11, 12 , which are sketches of other preferred embodiments in application of the present invention. The connecting member  2  can be put through a locked object  6  with a hole  7  in advance, or combined with a fixed object  8  or a locking head  9  on the locked object  6 . Then the connecting member  2  is just assembled with the body; thus, all the objects connected to the connecting member  2  are protected.  
         [0032]     As a conclusion, the bonding lock  1  is capable of offering the locking protection of the loop  5 , simultaneously to protect locked objects  8 ,  9  featuring the hole  7 .  
         [0033]     Although this invention has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, the principles involved are susceptible for use in numerous other embodiments that will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. This invention is, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.