Abstract:
A suitcase lock with indicator that can be opened either by setting a combination or by a key, in which a key tumbler is additionally fitted to the suitcase lock, and tongues located at a lower portion of a swing plate clamp connect to a slider. A groove at one end of the slider enables a push rod of the key tumbler to be clamped therein, and sloping grooves defined on another end enable the tongues of the swing plate to be displaced therein. In general, dials are used to control cuttings or circular arcs on the sleeves to operate the swing plate and enable hooking or unhooking to a locked object, thereby opening and closing the lock. The suitcase lock of the present invention is characterized in having an indicator for indicating whether the suitcase lock has been opened by a key, wherein the indicator includes an indicator member connected to the housing to enable movement between first and second positions, and the indicator member displays a first surface that is viewable through a window of the housing when in the first position, and displays a second viewable surface when in the second position, wherein the first surface and the second surface differ in appearance from each other.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    (a) Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a suitcase lock with indicator that can be opened either by setting a combination or by a key, and more particularly to a traditional suitcase dial lock in which is installed an additional key tumbler device, which not only enables using dials to open and close the lock, a key can also be used to rotate the key tumbler to force unlocking, thereby providing the present invention with double effectiveness. Moreover, the suitcase lock includes an indicator for indicating whether the suitcase lock has been opened by a key, wherein the indicator includes an indicator member connected to the housing to enable movement between first and second positions. 
         [0003]    (b) Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Referring to  FIG. 11 , which shows a conventional suitcase dial lock, wherein a swing plate  200  is installed within a housing  100 , and three dials  300  are fitted to the swing plate  200 . Sleeves  301  are respectively sleeve joined to the dials  300 , and the assembly is sleeve disposed on a shaft  400 . Accordingly, such a conventional suitcase dial lock only uses a correct combination of numbers on the dials to enable opening or closing of the lock, and is not provided with a device to force unlocking. Hence, there is a need for improvement in prior art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention relates to a suitcase lock with indicator fitted with a key tumbler and a swing plate, wherein an owner of a suitcase is able to lock or unlock the suitcase using a combination of numbers on dials, and an inspector is able to use a specific key to rotate a key tumbler to open the suitcase for inspection, whereafter the key can be used to rotate to open and restore the key tumbler and lock to its original state. When a combination of numbers on the dials are not those to enable opening the lock (that is, a locked state), then a specific key can be used to rotate the key tumbler and displace a slider, thereby displacing tongues at one end of a swing plate within sloping grooves of the slider, at which time the swing plate is made to tilt in an opposite direction causing a stopper at another end to be no longer hooked to a slot of a locked object, thus enabling the lock to assume an unlocked state. 
         [0006]    To enable a further understanding of said objectives and the technological methods of the invention herein, a brief description of the drawings is provided below followed by a detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1˜1  is a perspective view depicting an indicator member and indicator of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 1˜2  is a front elevational view of a swing plate of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1˜3  is a front elevational view of a slider of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2˜1  is a top sectional view of the present invention in a locked state. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2˜2  is a top sectional view of the present invention with the lock, having a locking combination of numbers on dials, opened by a key. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2˜3  is a top sectional view of the present invention with the lock, having a locking combination of numbers on dials, in a locked state after being opened by the key. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2˜4  is a top sectional view of the present invention with a combination of numbers on the dials being such to enable the lock to be opened. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a partial elevational view of the present invention when in an unlocked position, having an unlock combination of numbers on the dials, with a swing plate positioned at a first angle. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3˜1  is a partial structural view of the present invention when in an unlocked position, having an unlock combination of numbers on the dials, with the swing plate positioned at the first angle. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of the present invention when in a locked position, having a locking combination of numbers on the dials, with the swing plate positioned at a second angle. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4˜1  is a partial structural view of the present invention when in a locked position, having a locking combination of numbers on the dials, with the swing plate positioned at the second angle. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the present invention with the lock, having a locking combination of numbers on the dials, opened by a key, and a third angle of the swing plate is shown. 
           [0020]      FIG. 5˜1  is a partial structural view of the present invention with the lock, having a locking combination of numbers on the dials, opened by a key, and the third angle of the swing plate is shown. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5˜2  is an enlarged view of the circled section in  FIG. 5  of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is another exploded perspective view of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6˜1  is another perspective view depicting an indicator member and indicator of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6˜2  is another front elevational view of a swing plate of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 6˜3  is another front elevational view of a slider of the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 7˜1  is another top sectional view of the present invention in a locked state. 
           [0027]      FIG. 7˜2  is another top sectional view of the present invention with the lock, having a locking combination of numbers on dials, opened by a key. 
           [0028]      FIG. 7˜3  is another top sectional view of the present invention with the lock, having a locking combination of numbers on dials, in a locked state after being opened by the key. 
           [0029]      FIG. 7˜4  is another top sectional view of the present invention with a combination of numbers on the dials being such to enable the lock to be opened, and indicator having been moved to first surface. 
           [0030]      FIG. 8  is another partial elevational view of the present invention when in an unlocked position, having an unlock combination of numbers on the dials, with a swing plate positioned at a first angle. 
           [0031]      FIG. 8˜1  is another partial structural view of the present invention when in an unlocked position, having an unlock combination of numbers on the dials, with the swing plate positioned at the first angle. 
           [0032]      FIG. 9  is another schematic view of the present invention when in a locked position, having a locking combination of numbers on the dials, with the swing plate positioned at a second angle. 
           [0033]      FIG. 9˜1  is another partial structural view of the present invention when in a locked position, having a locking combination of numbers on the dials, with the swing plate positioned at the second angle. 
           [0034]      FIG. 10  is another schematic view of the present invention with the lock, having a locking combination of numbers on the dials, opened by a key, and a third angle of the swing plate is shown. 
           [0035]      FIG. 10˜1  is another partial structural view of the present invention with the lock, having a locking combination of numbers on the dials, opened by a key, and the third angle of the swing plate is shown. 
           [0036]      FIG. 10˜2  is another enlarged view of the circled section in  FIG. 5  of the present invention. 
           [0037]      FIG. 11  is a top sectional view of a prior art suitcase lock. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0038]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , which shows the present invention comprising a housing  10 , a swing plate  20 , three dials  30 , three sleeves  40 , a slider  50 , a shaft  60 , an indicator seat  70  (also part of housing  10 ), a key tumbler  80  and an indicator member  90 , wherein the swing plate  20  is movable relative to the housing  10 . Three openings  21  are defined within the swing plate  20 , and one end of the swing plate  20  is provided with a stopper  22  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) and another end is provided with tongues  23 . An arm  25  having a recessed clasp notch  251  is located on a side of the swing plate  20  (as shown in  FIG. 1˜2 ). The three dials  30  are respectively sleeve disposed with the sleeves  40 , thereby enabling the shaft  60  to pass therethrough. A rim of each of the sleeves  40  is provided with a cutting  41  (as shown in  FIG. 3˜1 ), and teeth provided on an inner side of each rim mesh with teeth of an inner ring of each of the dials  30  (not shown in the drawings). When the sleeves  40  and the dials  30  are clamp connected, a portion of each of the rims is exposed, and an inner side of each of the three dials  30  is disposed within the respective three openings  21  of the swing plate  20  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ), thereby facilitating dialing of outer sides respectively protruding from an outer portion of the housing  10 . A spring  61  is sleeve joined to one end of the shaft  60 , and the tongues  23  located at a lower portion of the swing plate  20  (as shown in  FIG. 1˜2 ) are used to clamp connect to the slider  50 , one end of which is provided with a straight groove  51  to enable a push rod  81  of the key tumbler  80  to clamp therein. The key tumbler  80  is configured with a key hole  82  to enable a key to be inserted therein. 
         [0039]    Referring to  FIG. 1˜3 , the slider  50  is configured with two sloping grooves  52 , upper and lower ends of each of which are respectively provided with a transverse upper groove  521  and a lower groove  522 . 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 3˜1 , a spring  12  is fixedly mounted between spring seats  11 ,  24  of the housing  10  and the swing plate  20  respectively. 
         [0041]    The present invention is primarily characterized in that: the arm  25  is located on a side of the swing plate  20 , and the clasp notch  251  is defined in a tail end of the arm  25  (as shown in  FIG. 1˜2 ). The L-shaped indicator seat  70  is part of the housing  10 , and a square-shaped through hole  71  of a side plate of the indicator seat  70  enables the arm  25  of the swing plate  20  to penetrate therethrough, while another circular-shaped shaft hole  72  enables the shaft  60  to penetrate and be disposed therein. A faceplate of the indicator seat  70  is provided with a lock hole  73  and an arc-shaped indicator hole  74 , wherein the lock hole  73  enables the key tumbler  80  to penetrate therein, and the indicator hole  74  enables the indicator member  90  to be held therein. An inner side of the key tumbler  80  near an eccentric rod  81  is provided with an end cam  83  (as shown in  FIG. 2˜1 ). The indicator member  90  is separated into a green indicator (first surface)  901  and a red indicator (second surface)  902 . A front panel  10 ′ of the suitcase lock is provided with an indicator window  11 ′ that enables disclosing whether the indicator member  90  is the green indicator  901  or the red indicator  902 . An inner side of the indicator member  90  is a raised member  903 , a top portion of which is pin connected to a shaft  75  of the indicator seat  70  through a shaft hole  904 . A frame slot  905  of an inner portion of the raised member  903  enables the arm  25  of the swing plate  20  penetrate therethrough. The frame slot  905  is provided with an elastic inverted hook  9051 , and the inverted hook  9051  having a bevel face is able to fixedly hook within the clasp notch  251  of the arm  25 . A spring  906  is installed on one end of the raised member  903 , and another end of the spring  906  abuts against a side panel of the indicator seat  70 . 
         [0042]    The swing plate  20  of the suitcase lock of the present invention can be positioned at least three angles: 
         [0043]    Referring to FIGS.  3  and  3 ˜ 1 , which depict the first angle position of the swing plate  20 , wherein when a combination of numbers on the dials  30  are such to place the lock in a locked state, the cutting  41  of each of the sleeves  40  is outwardly deviated from an edge of the swing plate  20 , and the arm  25  is simultaneously outwardly displaced, while the indicator window  11 ′ of front panel  10 ′ discloses the green indicator  901  of the indicator member  90 , and the inverted hook  9051  of the indicator member  90  has not yet hooked into the clasp notch  251  of the arm  25  of the swing plate  20 . 
         [0044]    Referring to  FIGS. 2˜1 ,  4  and  4 ˜ 1 , which depict the second angle position of the swing plate  20 , wherein when a combination of numbers on the dials  30  are such to place the lock in a locked state (that is, the dials  30  have been rotated to a state that does not allow opening the lock), an inspector can insert a key into the key hole  82  of the key tumbler  80  to rotate the key tumbler  80  (as shown in  FIGS. 2˜2 ,  5  and  5 ˜ 1 ), whereupon the cam  83  of the key tumbler  80  pushes the raised member  903  of the indicator member  90 , thereby laterally deviating the raised member  903  about the shaft hole  904  of the indicator member  90  as center and simultaneously compressing the spring  906 , which causes the indicator  70  to be displaced, and the green indicator  901  originally disclosed by the indicator window  11 ′ of the front panel  10 ′ is changed to the red indicator  902 . At which time the bevel face and elasticity of the inverted hook  9051  of the indicator member  90  enables the inverted hook  9051  to be pushed into and be fixedly hooked within the clasp notch  251  of the arm  25 , thereby preventing the spring  906  from restoring to its original position. 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIGS. 2˜2 ,  5  and  5 ˜ 1 , which depict the third angle position of the swing plate  20 , wherein when a combination of numbers on the dials  30  have placed the lock in a locked state, after inspected, an inspector can rotate and return the key tumbler  80  to its original position with the key, and the inverted hook  9051  of the indicator member  90  is still fixedly hooked within the clasp notch  251  of the arm  25 , thus preventing the spring  906  from restoring to its original position, and the indicator window  11 ′ of the front panel  10 ′ still discloses the red indicator  902 . 
         [0046]    Referring to  FIG. 2˜4 , wherein when a combination of numbers on the dials  30  are such to enable opening the lock, the restoring force of the spring  12  drives the swing plate  20 , thereby inwardly displacing to its first angle, and causing the clasp notch  251  of the arm  25  to separate from the inverted hook  9051  of the indicator member  90 . The spring  906  then pushes the indicator member  90  about the shaft hole  904  as center to the position as shown in  FIG. 2˜4 , and the indicator member  90  is simultaneously displaced causing the red indicator  902  disclosed by indicator window  11 ′ of the front panel  10 ′ to restore to the green indicator  901 . 
         [0047]    Referring to  FIG. 3˜FIG .  5 , which show the relationship between the slider  50 , the swing plate  20  and the key tumbler  80 , wherein a portion of the component members, such as the shaft  60 , the dials  30 , and so on, are not shown in the drawings. 
         [0048]    Referring to FIGS.  7 ˜ 1 - FIGS. 7˜4 , which show the present invention comprising the housing  10 , the swing plate  20 , the three dials  30 , the three sleeves  40 , the slider  50 , the shaft  60 , the indicator seat  70 , the key tumbler  80  and the indicator member  90 , wherein the swing plate  20  is movable relative to the housing  10 . The three openings  21  are defined within the swing plate  20 , and the end of the swing plate  20  is provided with the stopper  22  (as shown in  FIG. 8 ) and the other end is provided with the tongues  23 . The arm  25  having the recessed clasp notch  251  is located on the side of the swing plate  20  (as shown in  FIG. 6˜2 ). The three dials  30  are respectively sleeve disposed with the sleeves  40 , thereby enabling the shaft  60  to pass therethrough. The rim of each of the sleeves  40  is provided with the cutting  41  (as shown in  FIG. 8˜1 ), and the teeth provided on the inner side of each rim mesh with the teeth of the inner ring of each of the dials  30  (not shown in the drawings). When the sleeves  40  and the dials  30  are clamp connected, a portion of each of the rims is exposed, and the inner side of each of the three dials  30  is disposed within the respective three openings  21  of the swing plate  20  (as shown in  FIG. 8 ), thereby facilitating dialing of outer sides respectively protruding from the outer portion of the housing  10 . The spring  61  is sleeve joined to the end of the shaft  60 , and the tongues  23  located at the lower portion of the swing plate  20  (as shown in  FIG. 6˜2 ) are used to clamp connect to the slider  50 , the end of which is provided with the straight groove  51  to enable the push rod  81  of the key tumbler  80  to clamp therein, and the inner side of the straight groove  51  is configured with a raised member  53 . The key tumbler  80  is configured with the key hole  82  to enable a key to be inserted therein. 
         [0049]    Referring to  FIG. 6˜3 , the slider  50  is configured with the two sloping grooves  52 , the upper and lower ends of each of which are respectively provided with the transverse upper groove  521  and the lower groove  522 . 
         [0050]    Referring to  FIG. 8˜1 , the spring  12  is fixedly mounted between the spring seats  11 ,  24  of the housing  10  and the swing plate  20  respectively. 
         [0051]    The present invention is primarily characterized in that: The L-shaped indicator seat  70  is part of the housing  10 , while the other circular-shaped shaft hole  72  enables the shaft  60  to penetrate and be disposed therein. The faceplate of the indicator  70  is provided with the lock hole  73  and the arc-shaped indicator hole  74 , wherein the lock hole  73  enables the key tumbler  80  to penetrate therein, and the indicator hole  74  enables the indicator member  90  to be held therein. The indicator member  90  is separated into the green indicator (first surface)  901  and the red indicator (second surface)  902 . The front panel  10 ′ of the suitcase lock is provided with the indicator window  11 ′ that enables disclosing whether the indicator member  90  is the green indicator  901  or the red indicator  902 . The top portion of the indicator member  90  is pin connected to the shaft  75  of the indicator  70  through the shaft hole  904 . An end of the indicator member  90  is provided with a raised member  9031 , which is disposed within a protrusion slot  13  of a back side of the housing  10  to enable one end of the raised member  9031  to be exposed outside a notch  131  of the protrusion slot (as shown in  FIG. 6 ). 
         [0052]    The swing plate  20  of the suitcase lock of the present invention can be positioned at least three angles: 
         [0053]    Referring to FIGS.  8  and  8 ˜ 1 , which depict the first angle position of the swing plate  20 , wherein when a combination of numbers on the dials  30  are such to place the lock in a locked state, the cutting  41  of each of the sleeves  40  is outwardly deviated from an edge of the swing plate  20 , while the indicator window  11 ′ of the front panel  10 ′ discloses the green indicator  901  of the indicator member  90 . Referring to  FIGS. 7˜1 ,  9  and  9 ˜ 1 , which depict the second angle position of the swing plate  20 , wherein when a combination of numbers on the dials  30  are such to place the lock in a locked state (that is, the dials  30  have been rotated to a state that does not allow opening the lock), an inspector can insert a key into the key hole  82  of the key tumbler  80  to rotate the key tumbler  80  (the key hole  82  is now horizontal as  FIGS. 10 ,  10 ˜ 1 ), whereupon the eccentric rod  81  of the key tumbler  80  drives and displaces the slider  50  in a rightward direction, and the raised member  53  of the slider  50  pushes the indicator member  90 , thereby laterally deviating the shaft hole  904  of the indicator member  90  as center, which causes the indicator member  90  to be displaced, and the green indicator  901  originally disclosed by the indicator window  11 ′ of the front panel  10 ′ is now changed to the red indicator  902 , at which time the raised member  9031  of the indicator member  90  is exposed outside the notch  131  of the housing  10 . Referring to  FIGS. 7˜2 ,  10  and  10 ˜ 1 , which depict the third angle position of the swing plate  20 , wherein when a combination of numbers on the dials  30  have placed the lock in a locked state, after inspected, an inspector can rotate and return the key tumbler  80  to its original position (as  FIG. 7˜3 ) with the key (the key hole  82  is now vertical). Moreover, because the raised member  9031  of the indicator member  90  remains exposed outside, and has not yet returned to within the protrusion slot  13 , thus, the indicator window  11 ′ of the front panel  10 ′ still discloses the red indicator  902 . 
         [0054]    Referring to  FIG. 7˜4 , wherein when a combination of numbers on the dials  30  are such to enable opening the lock, the restoring force of the spring  12  drives the swing plate  20  to first angle, allowing the owner can open the suitcase he/she now can manually press the raised member  9031  to return it to within the protrusion slot  13  of the housing  10 , at which time the indicator member  90  is moved about the shaft  75  as center to the position as shown in  FIG. 7˜1 , and the indicator  70  is simultaneously displaced causing the red indicator  902  disclosed by indicator window  11 ′ of the front panel  10 ′ to change to the green indicator  901 . 
         [0055]    Referring to  FIG. 8˜FIG .  10 , which show the relationship between the slider  50 , the swing plate  20  and the key tumbler  80 , wherein a portion of the component members, such as the shaft  60 , the dials  30 , and so on, are not shown in the drawings. 
         [0056]    As is apparent from the foregoing, apart from the suitcase lock of the present invention enabling the dials  30  of the housing  10  to open and close the lock, a key can also be used to rotate the key tumbler  80  to enable force opening of the lock when the dials  30  are in a locked position. The present invention also includes the indicator window  11 ′ in the housing  10 , whereby when the key rotates the key tumbler  80 , the indicator  70  is simultaneously caused to rotate, and different colors of first and second surfaces of the indicator member  90  are disclosed by the indicator window  11 ′. Hence, the indicator window  11 ′ enables viewing the different colors of the first and second surfaces, thereby disclosing the state of the suitcase lock at that time. 
         [0057]    It is of course to be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention and that a wide variety of modifications thereto may be effected by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.