Abstract:
The present invention discloses a lock and the application thereof. The lock is applied on a base having an inner surface and an outer surface. The lock comprises a locking plate and a motion module. The motion module has a curved surface facing the locking plate. The curved surface has a first surface and a second surface. A main feature of the present invention is that the lock has a close status and a far status. The locking plate contacts with the first surface and has a first distance from the base in the close status, and contacts with the second surface of the base and has a second distance, which is greater than the first distance, from the base in the far status. The invention has the advantages of low cost and simplicity, and solves the long lasting problem of the prior arts.

Description:
This application claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 101208199 filed on May 2, 2012. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to a lock and the application thereof and, more particularly, to a lock capable of converting a horizontal axial rotation into a vertical displacement and the application thereof. 
     Electronic apparatus and storage devices in market are provided with a lock on the housing thereof to prevent access of components resided in the housing from people without authorization for security purpose. However, such lock currently available in market has disadvantages such as a large number of movable elements, a complex structure and a high cost. 
     It may therefore be desirable by one skilled in the art to provide a lock that allows a user to easily lock and unlock an object such as a cover plate of a housing with a simple, compact structure and low cost of. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To achieve the aforesaid objective, examples of the present invention may provide a lock mounted to a base. The base has an inner surface and an outer surface. The lock comprises a lock plate and a motion module. The motion module has a curved surface facing the lock plate. The curved surface comprises a first surface and a second surface. A main feature of the present invention is that the lock has a close status and a far status. The lock plate abuts against the first surface and has a first distance from the base when the lock is in the close status, and abuts against the second surface and has a second distance, which is greater than the first distance, from the base when the lock is in the far status. 
     For example, the lock disclosed above comprises a fixed portion, a movable portion and an abutting portion in practical applications. The fixed portion is fixed to the inner surface of the base. The movable portion extends outwards from the fixed portion and can be elastically deformed under the action of an external force. The through-hole portion is formed in the movable portion and through the lock plate, and has a sidewall. The abutting portion extends in a normal direction from the sidewall and abuts against the curved surface of the lock to adjust a relative distance between the lock plate and the base. Furthermore, the fixed portion, the movable portion, the through-hole portion and the abutting portion are all selectively formed integrally with the lock plate (ONE PIECE FORMED). 
     The motion module further has an extending portion that extends vertically towards the base and extends through the through-hole portion to be pivotally connected with the through-hole portion. The base comprises a through-hole, and the motion module comprises an interfacing part having a head portion and a tail portion. The tail portion is fixed to an end of the extending portion and penetrates through the base to be pivotally connected with the base, and the head portion abuts against the outer surface of the base. Both the head portion and the extending portion have a cross-sectional area greater than that of the tail portion. Meanwhile, the motion module has two blocking surfaces, and the two blocking surfaces are disposed on the first surface and the second surface respectively and extend in a normal direction from the first surface and the second surface respectively to limit a rotation angle of the abutting portion. 
     Besides, an angle of smaller than 6° is included between the base and an extending direction of the movable portion of the lock plate. The motion module has a back surface facing away from the lock plate, and a vertical distance between the back surface and the base in the close status is the same as that in the far status. It is worth noting that, the lock of the present invention can be used in an electronic device or a computer housing. 
     According to the above descriptions, some examples of the present invention may provide a novel lock that allows the user to easily lock and unlock an object such as a cover plate of a housing effectively in a limited space. As compared to the prior art, the lock of the present invention has a simple structure, a low manufacturing cost and a small volume. Thereby, the long-lasting problem with the prior art is solved. 
     Some examples of the present invention may provide a lock applied to a base of an electronic device, the base has an inner surface and an outer surface, the lock comprises a lock plate comprising: a fixed portion; and a movable portion; and a motion module having a curved surface facing the lock plate, the curved surface comprising a first surface and a second surface. 
     Some examples of the present invention may provide a lock applied to a base of a computer housing, the base having an inner surface and an outer surface, the lock comprises a lock plate comprising: a fixed portion fixed to the inner surface of the base; a movable portion extending outwards from the fixed portion; a through-hole portion formed in the movable portion and through the lock plate, and the through-hole portion having a sidewall; and an abutting portion extending in an normal direction from the sidewall and abutting against the curved surface of the lock to adjust a relative distance between the lock plate and the base; and a motion module having a curved surface facing the lock plate, the curved surface comprising a first surface and a second surface, the motion module comprising: an extending portion extending vertically towards the base and extending through the through-hole portion; an interfacing part having a head portion and a tail portion, the tail portion is fixed to an end of the extending portion and penetrates through the base to be pivotally connected with the base, and the head portion abuts against the outer surface of the base, wherein both the head portion and the extending portion have a cross-sectional area greater than that of the tail portion; two blocking surfaces disposed on the first surface and the second surface respectively and extending in a normal direction from the first surface and the second surface respectively to limit a rotation angle of the abutting portion; and a back surface facing away from the lock plate. 
     Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings examples which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1A  is an assembly diagram of elements of a lock in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1B  is a partially cross-sectional front view of the lock in a close status in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1C  is a partially cross-sectional back view of the lock in a far status in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view of a lock plate in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic perspective view of a motion module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4A  is a partially cross-sectional front view of a lock in a close status in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4B  is a partially cross-sectional back view of the lock in a close status in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present examples of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
     Hereinbelow, the aforesaid subject matter will be further described. The present invention relates to a lock that allows for locking and unlocking in a limited space. However, it shall be appreciated that, unless otherwise defined, all scientific and technical terms used in this specification shall have the same meanings as generally known by those skilled in the art. Additionally, what described in this specification is only some of various embodiments of the present invention, and any methods or devices similar to or equivalent to what described herein may be used in practical implementations of the present invention. 
     The wording “above or below” a numeric value as set forth herein shall be interpreted to include the numeric value itself. It shall be appreciated that, the wording “the present invention” and similar wordings used in this specification are all intended to mean the lock of the present invention. Furthermore, the sequence of steps of methods or flow processes used to execute disclosed functions in this specification shall not be limited to what described in this specification, but may be adjusted freely depending on the user&#39;s needs unless otherwise specified. Moreover, unless otherwise specified, the scale, sizes, relative positions and shapes of individual elements shown in the figures are all similar to what shall be in practical applications and this shall also be a basis for subsequent supplement or amendment of the specification. Considering that elements described in different embodiments of this specification have similar properties, like designations and reference numerals represent like elements throughout the attached drawings. Further, it shall be noted that, structural parts such as devices, modules and units set forth in this specification shall not be limited to hardware implementations independent of each other, but may also be integrated into a single unit. 
     Now, the lock of the present invention will be described. Referring to  FIG. 1A  through  FIG. 1C  together,  FIG. 1A  is an assembly diagram of a lock in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 1B  is a partially cross-sectional front view of the lock in a close status S 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 1C  is a partially cross-sectional back view of the lock in a far status S 2  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Additionally,  FIG. 1C  has been turned over horizontally in order to distinguish  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  from each other. As can be seen, the lock  1  of the present invention is disposed on a base B to lock the base B to an external latching element L so that a relative position of the base B is maintained. The aforesaid base B generally refers to any object or a surface thereof on which the lock  1  of the present invention can be disposed. In this embodiment, the base B is a cover plate of a computer housing, but it is not limited thereto. The term “base B” may also refer to an electronic device, a door sheet, or any other object or a surface thereof that conforms to the aforesaid definition. The base B has an inner surface B 1  and an outer surface B 2 . The inner surface B 1  is defined as a surface of the base B that faces a lock plate  10 , and the outer surface B 2  is defined as the other surface of the base B that is opposite to the inner surface. Further, as can be known from the figures, the lock  1  of the present invention generally comprises the lock plate  10  and a motion module  20 . Taking  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  as an example, in the present invention, the lock plate  10  is sandwiched between the motion module  20  and the base B and, through axial rotation of the motion module  20 , the lock plate  10  is driven to abut against a surface of the motion module  20  so that the lock plate  10  is elastically deformed correspondingly in compliance with thickness variations of the surface of the motion module  20 . The lock  1  of the present invention has a close status S 1  and a far status S 2  depending on different relative positions of the lock plate  10  with respect to the base B. Simply speaking, the lock plate  10  is closer to the base B when the lock  1  is in the close status S 1 , and is farther from the base B when the lock  1  is in the far status S 2 . Thereby, the lock  1  of the present invention allows for locking and unlocking. 
     After having generally described the operation mode of the present invention, structures of the lock plate  10  and the motion module  20  will be described respectively now. Referring to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a schematic perspective view of a lock plate of a lock in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The lock plate  10  refers to an element of the lock  1  that is used to mate with or abut against an external latching element L so that the base B and the lock  1  can be locked to each other. Furthermore, the lock plate  10  of the present invention generally has a fixed portion  11 , a movable portion  12  and a lock opening  13 . 
     The fixed portion  11  is disposed at an end of the lock plate  10  to fix the lock plate  10  to the surface of the base B. Taking  FIG. 2  as an example, the fixed portion  11  is disposed on the lock plate  10  and comprises a large protrusion, a recess and a small protrusion so that the fixed portion  11  can be embedded into a corresponding structure of the base B. It shall be noted that, the large protrusion, the recess and the small protrusion illustrated herein are only provided as an example and are used to prevent wrong assembly by the user. However, the fixed portion  11  of the present invention is not limited to what described above, and any part or structure that is located on the surface of the lock plate  10  and used to connect the lock plate  10  to the surface of the base B can be considered as the fixed portion  11  of the lock plate  10 . Furthermore, the means for connection between the fixed portion  11  and the base B is not limited to the protrusions and the recess disclosed above, and the fixed portion  11  and the base B may also be fixed to each other through adhesion, soldering, snap-fitting and so on. 
     The movable portion  12  of the lock plate  10  is adjacent to the fixed portion  11  of the lock plate  10 , and extends outwards from the fixed portion  11 . The movable portion  12  can be elastically deformed under the action of a force to adjust a vertical position of the locking opening  13 . Furthermore, as depicted, an angle A is included between an extending direction of the movable portion  12  and a surface on which the fixed portion  11  is disposed. Taking the design of  FIG. 2  as an example, the angle is approximately 6°, but it is not merely limited thereto. Rather, the angle may be changed or adjusted correspondingly depending on such factors as the size of the lock plate  10 , the position of the fixed portion  11  and the shape of the motion module  20 , and is preferably smaller than 20°. On the other hand, the surface of the movable portion  12  is formed with a through-hole portion  14  which has a sidewall  15 , and the through-hole portion  14  is used for inserting the motion module  20  therethrough. The sidewall  15  further has a protrusion for use as an abutting portion  16 . The abutting portion  16  extends from the sidewall  15  in a normal direction T of the sidewall  15 . The abutting portion  16  is used to abut against the curved surface  23  of the lock  1  so as to adjust a relative distance between the movable portion  12  of the lock plate  10  and the base B according to the shape of the curved surface  23 . 
     The lock opening  13  extends outwards from the movable portion  12 , and is used to interlock with or abut with an external latching element L for purpose of locking the base B. 
     Generally speaking, the fixed portion  11  of the lock plate  10  is fixed to the base, and the lock opening  13  can be elastically deformed correspondingly in compliance with the varying height of the movable portion  12  so that the lock  1  is switched between a locking status and an unlocking status. Incidentally, the fixed portion  11 , the movable portion  12 , the through-hole portion  14  and the abutting portion  16  may be (but not limited to) integrally formed with the lock plate  10  (ONE PIECE FORMED). 
     Referring next to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a schematic perspective view of the motion module  20  of the lock  1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In the present invention, the motion module  20  generally refers to any object capable of controlling a vertical distance between the lock plate  10  and the base B so that the lock  1  can be switched between the locking status and the unlocking status by controlling the position of the lock plate  10 , or a combination of such objects. For example, in the design depicted in  FIG. 3 , the motion module  20  has a main body  21  and an interfacing part  22 . The motion module  20  is disposed on the surface of the lock plate  10  and is adapted to apply a force to the lock plate  10  in a direction towards the base B. The motion module  20  has a curved surface  23  facing the lock plate  10 , and the curved surface  23  comprises a first surface  23 A and a second surface  23 B. As can be seen, the first surface  23 A and the second surface  23 B are disposed at two ends of the curved surface  23  respectively and have a different height or thickness from each other. Additionally, the motion module  20  has two blocking surfaces  24 , which are disposed on the first surface  23 A and the second surface  23 B respectively and extend outwards in a normal direction from the first surface  23 A and the second surface  23 B respectively to limit a rotation angle of the abutting portion  16 . Besides, the motion module  20  has an extending portion  25 , which extends vertically towards the base B and is formed with a hollow hole portion  26  for another element to be inserted therein. Meanwhile, the motion module  20  further comprises an interfacing part  22  corresponding to the hollow hole portion  26 . The interfacing part  22  has a head portion  221  and a tail portion  222 . The tail portion  222  is fixed to an end of the extending portion  25  and extends through the hole of the base B to be pivotally connected with the base B, and the head portion  221  abuts against the outer surface of the base B. To achieve the aforesaid effect, the hole of the base B must have a horizontal cross-section area smaller than that of the head portion  221  and the extending portion  25 . Meanwhile, the tail portion  222  is connected into the hollow hole portion  26  through a conventional means so as to move along with the motion module  20 . For example, as shown in this figure, the hollow hole portion  26  and the interfacing portion are fixed with respect to each other by an adhesive or a thread structure. Furthermore, the outer surface of the head portion  221  is formed with a recess so that an unlocking tool can be inserted therein to rotate the interfacing part  22 . However, the present invention is not limited to the form of a recess, and the recess may also be replaced by a manually operated screw or other tool-free designs depending on the design requirements. Additionally, the reference plane of the aforesaid horizontal cross-sectional area is parallel to the base B. 
     Next, how the lock of the present invention is used and relationships among individual elements will be further described. Referring back to  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C , the motion module  20  is disposed on the other surface of the lock plate  10  opposite to the base B and is connected to the base B via an extending portion  25  that extends through the base B. After being fixed to the base B, the motion module  20  can only rotate axially and the position thereof or the maximum distance between the motion module  20  and the base B becomes invariable. Meanwhile, the abutting portion  16  of the lock plate  10  will abut against any position of the curved surface  23  of the motion module  20 . 
     Furthermore, the lock  1  has a close status S 1  and a far status S 2  in use. When the lock  1  is in the close status S 1 , the abutting portion  16  of the lock plate  10  abuts against the first surface  23 A and has a first distance D 1  from the base B; and when the lock  1  is in the far status S 2 , the abutting portion  16  of the locking plate  10  abuts against the second surface  23 B and has a second distance D 2  from the base B. It shall be appreciated that, switching between the first surface  23 A and the second surface  23 B of the motion module  20  has no influence on the position of the motion module  20  relative to the base B. It shall be emphasized again that, the motion module  20  can only rotate axially with respect to the base B but cannot perform other axial movements, so the distance between a back surface  27  of the motion module  20  and the base is invariable. Incidentally, the first distance D 1  and the second distance D 2  are defined as respective minimum vertical distances between the abutting portion  16  of the lock plate  10  and the base B. Simply speaking, the close status S 1  refers to a status in which the lock plate  10  is closer to the base B, while the far status S 2  refers to a status in which the lock plate  10  is farther from the base B. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A  again, as can be seen, the motion module  20  has a back surface  27 , which is defined as a surface of the motion module  20  opposite to the curved surface  23 . When the lock  1  is disposed in the close status S 1  and the far status S 2 , the vertical distance between the back surface  27  and the base B remains unchanged and is not affected by variations of the distance between the lock plate  10  and the base B. 
     More specifically, when the first surface  23 A at a higher level abuts against the abutting portion  16  of the lock plate  10 , the lock plate  10  is pressed to be elastically deformed towards the base B to move closer to the base B, as shown in  FIG. 1B . On the other hand, when the second surface  23 B at a lower level abuts against the abutting portion  16  of the lock plate  10 , the lock plate  10  is elastically deformed, with the fixed portion  11  being as a fulcrum, in a direction opposite to the base B to move away from the base B, as shown in  FIG. 1C . Through the aforesaid operations and through use of an external latching element L, the lock  1  of the present invention can be switched between the locking status and the unlocking status. It shall be appreciated that, switching between the first surface  23 A and the second surface  23 B of the motion module  20  is accomplished through the horizontal axial rotation of the motion module  20  itself, and the vertical distance between the back surface  27  of the motion module  20  and the base B is not affected by variations of the distance between the lock plate  10  and the base B. 
     It shall also be emphasized that, any module that has a curved surface  23  for the abutting portion  16  to abut against and that can utilize the curved surface  23  to adjust the relative vertical position between the lock plate  10  and the base B can be considered as the motion module  20  of the present invention. For example, besides the design depicted in  FIG. 1A , the motion module  20  may also be disposed between the lock plate  10  and the base B with the curved surface  23  thereof facing the lock plate  20  to accomplish the aforesaid movements as shown in  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B . In the latter case, the motion module  20  may selectively comprise a reset element  28  (e.g., a spring or a reed) for applying a force to the lock plate  10  in a direction towards or opposite to the base B. However, the motion module  20  is not limited to having the aforesaid reset element  28 , but may also be reset by virtue of elasticity of the lock plate  10  itself. Furthermore, because  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  correspond to  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  respectively, reference may be made to the above descriptions for design of individual elements and no further description will be made herein again. This design is different from the design depicted in  FIG. 1A  in that, the blocking surfaces  24  are omitted, so a user may lock and unlock the lock in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction and the rotation direction of the motion module during the locking and unlocking operations is not limited. Moreover, the lock of the present invention may also be adjusted to operate reversely, i.e., the locking and unlocking operations are accomplished by having motion module move together with the external latching element and sandwiching the lock plate therebetween. 
     According to the above descriptions, the present invention provides a novel lock that allows the user to easily lock and unlock an object such as a cover plate of a housing effectively in a limited space. As compared to the prior art, the lock of the present invention has a simple structure, a low manufacturing cost and a small volume. Thereby, the long-lasting problem with the prior art is solved. 
     The detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments of the present invention are provided to disclose the features and spirits of the present invention more clearly but not to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. Rather, it is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements into the scope claimed in the present invention. Accordingly, the scope claimed in the present invention shall be interpreted in the broadest sense to cover all possible modifications and equivalent arrangements.