Abstract:
A lock guard is provided which is particularly well suited to protect a padlock employed to secure a stanchion lever securing one or more doors of a cargo container, trailer truck or moving van. The lock guard provides protective housing or shield for the shackle of the padlock when the padlock is in its installed locking position.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Applicant claims the benefit of United States of America provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/612,328 filed Sep. 23, 2004 for a Lock Guard. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Thieves who break into moving vans, tractor trailers and other cargo containers use a variety of tools such as sledge hammers, acetylene cutting torches, saws, grinders and the like. The bolt cutter is a favored tool of burglars for cutting padlocks because of its portability. Thus there is a need to protect padlocks used on containers, moving vans, semi-trailers, truck trailer units. Tractor trailers with twin rear doors are secured by a pair of stanchions, at least one of which having an operating handle or lever, which is normally secured by a padlock to prevent rotation of the stanchion, thus maintaining the doors in a locked condition. Many moving vans have side doors, which are secured by stanchions. A recess with a locking tab is provided in each side door. The stanchion locking lever, in its locking position, is disposed within the recess with the locking tab extending through a slot in the lever. A padlock is customarily connected to the tab to prevent operation of the stanchion lever. It is also desirable to provide protection for padlocks securing side doors of moving vans.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     This invention is directed to a lock guard, which prevents bolt butters or the like from being employed to cut the shackle of a padlock. The lock guard has a top wall, a front wall, a pair of laterally opposite sidewalls and an interior tab extending rearwardly from the front wall with an opening through which a padlock shackle passes when the latter is in its installed locking condition. In the installed position of the padlock the shackle is shielded by the top, front and side walls of the housing and only the key end of the padlock casing is exposed at the open bottom of the protective shell formed by the walls. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]     Three embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the rear end of a tractor-trailer with one embodiment of the lock guard protecting a padlock securing the operating lever of one of the locking stanchions;  
         [0006]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of the stanchion operating handle and lock guard shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0007]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the lock guard;  
         [0008]      FIG. 4  is a section showing the lock guard of  FIG. 3  applied to a padlock securing a stanchion operating lever having a right angle reinforcing ridge;  
         [0009]      FIG. 5  is a section showing the lock guard of  FIG. 2  applied to operating lever keepers;  
         [0010]      FIG. 6  is a side view of moving van showing a side door;  
         [0011]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the stanchion locking lever for the side door shown in  FIG. 6 ;  
         [0012]      FIG. 8  is a view taken on line  8 - 8  in  FIG. 7 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 9  is a section taken on line  9 - 9  in  FIG. 7  with a third embodiment locking guard installed, and  
         [0014]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the locking guard shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     The lock guard  11  shown in  FIGS. 1, 3  and  4  of the accompanying drawings is used with a padlock  12  securing the operating lever  13  of the stanchion  14  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 . The lock guard  11  is a box like structure without a bottom and one side wall. Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4  the lock guard includes a front wall  21 , a top wall  22  and laterally opposite sides walls  23 ,  24 . Notches  26 ,  27  are formed in the side wall  23  and the side wall  24 , respectively, to accommodate the reinforcing ridge  28  on the stanchion operating lever  13 . A retainer tab  31  is welded to the backside of the front  21  and extends therefrom parallel to the top wall  22 . The tab  31  has an appropriately sized opening or bore  32  to accommodate the U shaped locking bar or shackle  33  of the padlock  12 . A push block  35  protruding downwardly from the underside of the top wall  22  serves as an abutment when locking the padlock  12 . When installing the padlock  12  and the lock guard  11 , the padlock  12  is unlocked, in which condition the U shaped locking bar  33  is extended from the case  36  of the lock  12  to an open position, not shown. The free or distal end  34  of the locking bar  33  is passed through the opening  32  in the tab  31  of the lock guard  11 . The lock guard  11  and padlock  12  are then moved toward the door  37  being secured and the free end  34  of the shackle  33  is passed through an opening  38  in the ridge  28  of the lever  13  and an opening  39  in a pivotable keeper  41 , shown in  FIG. 4 . The padlock  12  is then locked, as shown in  FIG. 4 , by placing the shackle  33  against the push block  35  and forcing the end  34  into the case  36 .  
         [0016]     Some stanchion locking levers do not have a reinforcing ridge. Such a locking lever  16  is shown in  FIG. 2  connected to stanchion  14 ′. A second embodiment lock guard  11 ′, shown in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , is used to secure the locking lever  16 . The lock guard  11 ′ includes a top wall  22 ′, a front wall  21 ′, a tab  31 ′ and a pair of side walls, only side wall  24 ′ being illustrated. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the shackle  33  of the lock  12  is passed through opening  32 ′ in the tab  31 ′ and through aligned openings  42 ,  43  in pivotable keepers  44 ,  46 .  
         [0017]      FIGS. 6, 7 ,  8 ,  9  and  10  illustrate a side door  101  of a moving van  102  and a third embodiment lock guard  111  used to protect the padlock  112  securing the side door  101  in its closed position. One side of the side door  101  is hinged to the side wall  103  of the moving van  102  on a vertical axis  104 . The side door  101  is releasably secured in its closed position by a vertically extending and rotatable stanchion  114  having latching fingers near its top and bottom ends. The stanchion  114  extends through one end of an elongated horizontal recess  116  in the door  101  and a stanchion operating lever  117  is rigidly secured to the stanchion  114 . In the closed or locking position of the stanchion  114  shown in the drawings, the locking lever  117  is substantially disposed within the recess  116  and a locking tab  121  rigidly secured to the door  101  at the bottom of the recess  116  extends horizontally outward through a slot  118  in the lever  117 . The portion of the tab extending outward through the slot  118  has a vertical hole or opening  122  through which the shackle  123  of the padlock  112  extends. The operating lever  117  and the tab  121  are substantially disposed within the recess  116  in the locking position of the stanchion  114 .  
         [0018]     Referring to  FIG. 10 , the lock guard  111  has laterally opposite side walls  131 ,  132 , and a top wall  133  of equal height. The side walls  131 ,  132  and the top wall  133  of the lock guard  111  are not as high as the corresponding walls of lock guards  11  and  11 ′ because the tab  121  is substantially disposed within the recess  116 . The retainer tab  134 , which includes a shackle opening  136 , is welded to the side walls  131 ,  132  and the front wall  137 . An abutment  141  for engagement by the shackle to aid in locking the padlock  112  is provided on the inside of the top wall  133 . The lock guard  111  and the previously described lock guards  11  and  11 ′ provide protection for the padlock against destruction by bolt cutters and other cutting tools at a reasonable cost.