Abstract:
An apparatus is provided having a casing to firmly engage a first and second object. The apparatus contains a control knob assembly rotatably connected to the casing. A hooking engagement mechanism is operably connected to the control knob assembly to transform the control knob assembly rotation into lateral movement within the hooking engagement mechanism. The hooking engagement mechanism has a follower member with a hole therethrough. The follower member is capable of engaging the second object. A cam is operably connected to the control knob assembly. Rotation of the control knob assembly results in rotation of the cam. The rotation of the control knob assembly causes the follower member to move linearly so as to attach to and detach from the second object.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The invention relates generally to an apparatus for securing two objects together by selectively rotating a rotatable knob to activate a hook locking mechanism.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     When referring to a lock with a control knob and a hook driven by the rotatable movement of the control knob, normally the hook is firmly mounted on the control knob so that, when the control knob is rotated, the hook is driven to rotate in a direction the same as that of the control knob. When the hook is rotated, the hook is able to connect to or disconnect from a locking bar to switch between a locked and an unlocked status. In general, a wide variety of different elements may be involved to fixedly mount the hook on the control knob, which complicates the structure of the lock and hence increases the manufacturing cost. Furthermore, the circular displacement of the hook requires a large space to allow the hook to engage and disengage with the locking bar, and that space occupies a large proportion of the room inside the lock body. As a result, the other lock components must be squeezed into the resulting compact space, thus weakening the structural strength of the lock.  
         [0005]     As demonstrated above, a need exists for a lock design that does not require the fixed attachment or mounting of a hook to a control knob. Desirably, the space required to allow the hook to engage and disengage with a corresponding locking bar would be relatively small such that the lock components would not need to be squeezed into a compact space.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     An apparatus is provided having a casing to firmly engage a first and second object. The apparatus contains a control knob assembly rotatably connected to the casing. A hooking engagement mechanism is operably connected to the control knob assembly to transform the rotation of the control knob assembly into lateral movement of the hooking engagement mechanism. The hooking engagement mechanism has a follower member with a hole therethrough. The follower member is capable of engaging the second object. A cam is operably connected to the control knob assembly. Rotation of the control knob assembly results in the rotation of the cam. The rotation of the control knob assembly causes the follower member to move linearly and attach and detach with the second object, as required. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     The invention will be more readily understood with reference to the following drawings, wherein like reference numbers represent like elements and wherein:  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of the lock of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a rear view elevational view of the lock, in an unlocked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the lock, in an unlocked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a rear perspective view of the lock, in a locked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  is a cutaway perspective view of the lock, in a locked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  is an elevational view of the hooking engagement mechanism, in a locked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  is an elevational view of the hooking engagement mechanism, in an unlocked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  is an exploded perspective view of the lock of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 9  is a cutaway perspective view of the lock, in a locked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 10  is a cutaway perspective view of the lock, in an unlocked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 11  is a cutaway elevational view of the lock, in a locked position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 12  is a cutaway elevational view of the lock, in an operating position, of one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 13  is an elevational view of the hooking engagement mechanism, in a locked position, of one embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 14  is an elevational view of the hooking engagement mechanism, in an unlocked position, of one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     FIRST EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]     A first embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 1  and includes a lock  100  including a casing  102 , a control knob assembly  104  and a hooking engagement mechanism  106 . The casing  102  further contains a casing face  112 , a casing back  114 , a first engagement portion  116 , a bottom ridge  118 , a casing aperture  120 , a casing aperture recess  122  and a first engagement portion aperture  124 . The casing  102  is preferably, although not exclusively, used in conjunction with a gun case (not shown) such that the casing  102  helps provide a way to secure the top of the gun case to the bottom of a gun case. Here, to secure a top of a gun case to the bottom of a gun case, the casing  102  is hingedly connected to the top of the gun case via a bolt (not shown) or other suitable member rotatably connected to or through the first engagement portion aperture  124  such that the casing  102  can rotate about the first engagement aperture  124 . This is particularly useful, as it allows the casing  102  to swing away from a securing appendage, i.e., locking bar, lip, edge, aperture or other structure capable of receiving a portion of the hooking engagement mechanism, located on the bottom of the gun case thus allowing the top and bottom of the gun case to be separated.  
         [0023]     The casing face  112  represents the front of the lock  100 . The casing back  114  represents the back of the lock  100 . The first engagement portion  116 , again, is connected to the top of the gun case. In other embodiments, first engagement portion  116  is not hingedly connected to the top of the object, but, rather, simply engages a securing appendage thereon such that, when disengaged, the first engagement portion  116  is free of a connection to the securing appendage of the object.  
         [0024]     The first engagement portion  116  provides a way of securing the top of the gun case to the bottom of the gun case via casing  102 . The bottom ridge  118  is used to engage a securing appendage located within or extending from the bottom of the gun case such that the top and bottom of the gun case are held together, although not locked. Here the case provides a repelling force when the two sides meet such that then the repelling force is engaged and the top and bottom of the gun case are forced closer together, such that the casing  102  can be rotated past the bottom securing appendage of the gun case such that the bottom ridge  118  engages the underside of the securing appendage when the repelling force is allowed to separate the top and bottom portions of the gun case. Although the above-described embodiment is used in conjunction with securing a top and bottom of a gun case, other embodiments are used to securely engage other objects, including, but not limited to, other hinge-type enclosures such as suitcases and golf cases. Further, another embodiment does not include a repelling force such that the bottom ridge  118  is free to swing away from the case when the lock  100  is in an unlocked position.  
         [0025]     The casing aperture  120  in casing  102  allows the control knob assembly  104  to pass therethrough. The casing aperture  120  further includes an inner face  125  and annular recessed areas  126 . The inner face  125  defines the casing aperture  120  and is in contact with pre-tensioned ball bearings discussed below in relation to control knob assembly  104 . The annular recessed areas  126  are used to receive the pre-tensioned ball bearings therein. The casing aperture recess  122  receives a portion of the control knob assembly  104  therein. Other embodiments do not provide such a recessed area and, therefore, maintain a portion of the control knob assembly  104  above the casing face  112 . In addition, other embodiments do not contain annular recessed areas  126  such that the rotation of the control knob assembly  104  does not require a varying force during its rotation.  
         [0026]     The control knob assembly  104  includes a control knob head  142  and a neck  144 . The control knob head  142  and neck  144  are integrally formed. The control knob assembly  104  is used to operate or drive the hooking engagement mechanism  106  by the clockwise and counterclockwise turning of the assembly. The control knob head  142  contains a key port  146  for receiving a key to open lock  100 . Typically, a key is inserted into the key port  146  and the key is then rotated, which in turn rotates the control knob head  142  along with the entire neck  144 .  
         [0027]     The neck  144  has a rotational axis about which it rotates. The neck  144  also has six portions: a ball bearing section  148 , a knob casing securing groove  150 , a follower member portion  152 , a control plate portion  154 , a control plate securing groove  156  and a backstop portion  158 . The end of the neck having the backstop portion  158  is the free end of the neck  144 . The ball bearing section  148  is an annular ring containing two opposing recesses  160 , with corresponding springs  162  and ball bearings  163  (together, a ball-spring combination) located therein. When the control knob assembly  104  is secured within casing  102 , the ball bearing section  148  is within the casing aperture  120  of casing  102 . When the control knob assembly  104  is rotated, the two sets of corresponding springs  162  and ball bearings  163  engage the inside of the casing aperture  120  of casing  102 . When the ball bearings  163  reach the annular recessed areas  126 , a larger force is required to move the control knob assembly  104  in either rotatable direction. Accordingly, the ball-spring combination allows for the positioning of the control know assembly  104  into a specific predefined orientation such as an unlocked or a locked position.  
         [0028]     The knob casing securing groove  150  is an annular groove having a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter of the neck  144 . The follower member portion  152  is an annular ring having a diameter equal to the maximum diameter of neck  144 . The control plate portion  154  is an annular ring having a general diameter equal to the maximum diameter of neck  144  and further contains a notched portion therefrom on opposite sides of the neck  144 . The control plate securing groove  156  is an annular groove having a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter of the neck  144 . Finally, backstop portion  158  is an annular ring having a general diameter equal to the maximum diameter of neck  144  and further contains a notched portion therefrom on opposite sides of the neck  144  in a location corresponding to the notched portions of the control plate portion  154 .  
         [0029]     The hooking engagement mechanism  106  includes a first C-shaped clamp  164  (bushing), a follower member assembly  165 , a control plate  168  and a second C-shaped clamp  170  (bushing). The first C-shaped clamp  164  corresponds to, and when assembled is engaged with, the knob casing securing groove  150  of neck  144  such that the control knob assembly  104  is securely attached to the casing  102  where the control knob assembly  104  is free to rotate with respect to casing  102 , but is otherwise restricted in movement with respect to the casing  102 . Another embodiment omits the use of the first C-shaped clamp  164  and utilizes the second C-shaped clamp  170  for performing the functions of the first C-shaped clamp  164 . In such an embodiment, the casing back  114  provides the sole opposing force to C-shaped clamp  170  to maintain contact between control plate  168  and follower member assembly  165 .  
         [0030]     The follower member assembly  165  includes a follower member  172  and a hook  174 . The follower member  172  further includes a follower member aperture  176 , a pair of positioning recesses  178  and two springs  180 . The follower member aperture  176  has a follower aperture surface  181  defining the shape thereof. A portion of the follower aperture surface  181  is designed to abut or receive a cam such that movement of the cam along the follower aperture surface  181  causes or drives the linear movement of the follower member assembly  165  with respect to the casing  102 . The springs  180  in the positioning recesses  178 , located on the top face of the follower member assembly opposite the hook  174 , provide a downward force upon the follower member assembly  165  urging it towards an unlocked position. In the unlocked position the springs  180  are in a compressed state, and when in the locked position, are in a decompressed state. The hook  174  has a bottom portion  182  and a lip  184 . In the unlocked position the hook  174  rests below the bottom ridge  118  of the casing  102 . In the locked position the hook  174 , including lip  184  is located above the bottom ridge  118 . In the locked position, the raised location of the lip  184  above the bottom ridge  118  prevents the disengagement of the securing appendage on the bottom of the gun case from the lock  100 .  
         [0031]     The control plate  168  contains a control plate aperture  186 , a control plate contact surface  187  and a cam  188  (boss). The control plate aperture  186  has a shape complementary to that of the control plate portion  154  of the neck  144 , namely, the control plate aperture  186  is substantially circular with corresponding filled-in portions defined by opposing flat surfaces  190 . When the hooking engagement mechanism  106  is assembled about neck  144 , the control plate aperture  186  is mated to the control plate portion  154  of the neck  144  such that the neck  144  and the control plate  168  are rotatably attached. Here, the control plate  168  is immovable with respect to neck  144 , and vice versa. The cam  188  protrudes from the control plate contact surface  187  and has a cam surface  192 . The cam surface  192  does not form a circle with respect to the rotational axis of the neck  144  (and with respect to the rotational axis of cam  188 ) such that rotation of the cam about the rotational axis of the neck  144  results in the oscillation of the cam surface with respect to a fixed radius about such rotation. In other words, the cam surface  192  does not form a perfect circle about the rotational axis of the neck  144 . Therefore, a body in contact with the cam surface  192 , as the cam surface  192  rotates, experiences linear movement with respect to the rotational axis of the neck  144 . Where, as here, the cam  188  is fixedly attached to the neck  144  at a location having a fixed radius from the neck  144 , the rotational axis of the cam  188  and the neck  144  are one and the same.  
         [0032]     Further, the cam  188  is attached to the control plate  168  such that it extends away from the control plate contact surface  187  towards the space occupied by the follower member  172 . When the hooking engagement mechanism  106  is assembled about neck  144 , the cam  188  lies within the follower member aperture  176  of the follower member  172  such that the cam surface  192  is in contact with the follower aperture surface  181 . The operational relation between the follower member assembly  165 , the control plate  168  and the cam  188  is described in greater detail in relation to  FIGS. 3 and 4  below.  
         [0033]     The second C-shaped clamp  170  corresponds to, and when assembled is engaged with, the control plate securing groove  156  of neck  144  such that the hooking engagement mechanism  106  is securely attached to the neck  144  where the hooking engagement mechanism  106  is secured immediately adjacent to the casing  102  within a linear passageway therein. Consequently, the control plate  168  and the follower member assembly  165  are sandwiched between the second C-shaped clamp  170  and both the first C-shaped clamp  164  and the casing back  114 .  
         [0034]     Other embodiments use different hooking engagement mechanism  106  components. For example, another embodiment contains a control plate  168  that further contains a noncircular outer edge that works as a cam itself. Here, the follower member  165  has a follower member aperture  176  that receives the entire width of the control plate  168  and moves linearly as the control plate  168  is rotated. Here, an outer edge of the control plate acts as the cam surface  192 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 2  shows a direct rear on view of the casing back  114  with the lock  100  in an unlocked position. As shown in  FIG. 2 , two recessed areas are located in casing  102  for receiving the hooking engagement mechanism  106 . A first recessed area  202  generally extends from about the top portion of bottom ridge  118  upward to slightly above the top of control plate  168 . The first recessed area  202  is generally for locating the free end of the neck  144 , the first C-shaped clamp  164 , the follower member  172 , the control plate  168  and the second C-shaped clamp  170 . A second recessed area  204  generally extends from about the top portion of bottom ridge  118  downward to near the bottom portion of casing  102 . The second recessed area  204  is used for guiding the hook  174  in a linear direction.  
         [0036]      FIG. 3  shows a back side perspective view of the lock  100  in its unlocked position. Here the top edge of the bottom ridge  118  is substantially aligned with the top edge of lip  184  of hook  174 , thus allowing selective disengagement of a securing appendage of a bottom portion of a gun case (not shown) from lock  100 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows a back side perspective view of the lock  100  in its locked position. Here the top edge of the bottom ridge  118  is located substantially below the top edge of lip  184  of hook  174 , thus preventing selective disengagement of a securing appendage of a bottom portion of a gun case (not shown) from lock  100 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 5  shows a perspective cutaway view of lock  100  in its locked position. Here, a subrecess  502 , within recess  202 , is visible between casing  102  and the follower member assembly  165 . Located in this subrecess  502  is the first C-shaped clamp  164 . The subrecess  502  has a depth substantially equal to the width of the first C-shaped clamp  164 . Therefore, as the follower member  172  travels within the first recess area  202 , it is in sliding contact with both the first C-shaped clamp and the back of the first recess area  202 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 6  shows a view of hooking engagement mechanism  106  in a locked or attached position with a securing appendage B. Here the securing appendage B represents a locking bar, lower lip, edge, aperture or other structure of a second object capable of mating with the hooking engagement mechanism  106 . As shown, the securing appendage B is shown locked between the hook  174  and the follower member  172  of the follower member assembly  165 . Another embodiment achieves a locking engagement between the hooking engagement mechanism  106  (see  FIG. 1 ) and an aperture within a bottom object. Yet other embodiments use latches, hooks or other structures that are capable of achieving a locking connection with the hooking engagement mechanism  106  (see  FIG. 1 ).  
         [0040]      FIG. 7  shows a view of hooking engagement mechanism  106  in an unlocked or detached position with an external lip or securing appendage B. Here, the securing appendage B is located above the hook  174  of the follower member assembly  165 . As so located, the securing appendage B is free to move away from the hooking engagement mechanism  106 .  
         [0041]     In operation, and in accordance with one embodiment, the lock  100  operates as follows. Lock  100  is attached to a gun case having top and bottom portions. The casing  102  is hingedly connected to the top of the gun case via a bolt passing through a first engagement portion aperture  124 . Initially, the gun case is in a clamped shut position, but not in the locked position, with the bottom ridge  118  of casing  102  engaged with a lip (external securing appendage B) extending from the bottom of the gun case.  
         [0042]     With the lock  100  in an unlocked status, the case is opened by pressing down on the top of the gun case, causing the top and bottom portions of the gun case to approach one another (i.e., by further collapsing a rubber sealing material located between such portions, or by repelling a force generated by other like or similar means that tend to cause a separating force between such top and bottom portions of the gun case), such that the bottom ridge  118  clears the lip on the bottom of the gun case. Here, the lock  100  can be pivoted about the first engagement portion aperture  124  such that the gun case may be opened to expose the contents therein. Another embodiment uses multiple locks  100  on the same gun case. In this case, the same operations associated with individual lock  100  would be further required for the additional locks.  
         [0043]     With the lock  100  in an initial clamped and unlocked position, the lock  100  is in position to move from an unlocked state to a locked state such that the top and bottom portions of the gun case are locked together.  FIGS. 2, 3  and  7  show the lock  100  in its unlocked state. To lock the lock  100 , a key is inserted into the key port  146  in the control knob head  142 . The key, along with the control knob head  142 , is rotated in the clockwise direction to an angle of approximately 90 degrees. As a result, the lock assumes the relative positioning of the components of the lock  100  as reflected in  FIGS. 4 and 6 . The transition from the unlocked to the locked position is described as follows.  
         [0044]     The neck  144  rotates 90 degrees in a clockwise direction such that its corresponding springs  162  and ball bearings  163  move from a position substantially horizontal to the width of the lock  100  to a corresponding vertical position. At the initial position, ball bearings  163  are in contact with one set of annular recessed areas  126 , and at the rotated position the ball bearings  163  are in contact with another set of annular recessed areas  126 . The flat portion of the control plate portion  154  of the neck  144  rotates from a position where the flat portion is substantially vertical to the width of the lock  100  to a correspondingly horizontal position.  
         [0045]     The hooking engagement mechanism  106  transforms the 90 degrees of rotational motion of neck  144  into the linear movement of hook  174  from a position free of the lip on the bottom of the gun case to an engagement position where the lip is incapable of being freed from the hook  174  without the counterclockwise rotation of the neck  144 . Here, the first bushing or C-shaped clamp  164  rotates  90  degrees in the clockwise direction where the casing side of the bushing  164  is in slideable rotational contact with the casing back  114 . The follower member side of the bushing  164  is in slideable rotational contact with the follower member assembly  165 .  
         [0046]     Control plate  168 , with the lock  100  in the initial unlocked position, maintains the control plate aperture  186  in a position corresponding to the position of the neck  144  in the same unlocked position. Here, the flat portions of control plate portions  154  of neck  144  are substantially vertical with respect to the width of lock  100 . In the initial unlocked position, the cam  188  is positioned such that the cam  188  is at a nine o&#39;clock location when viewed from a front perspective facing the lock  100 . At the final locked position, the cam  188  is located at a 90 degrees offset in a twelve o&#39;clock position. Between the unlocked and locked position, the cam surface  192  slides along the follower aperture surface  181  of the follower member  172  such that the contact point between the cam surface  192  and the follower aperture surface  181  changes by approximately 90° with respect to such contact point and the center of circular cam  188 .  
         [0047]     Follower member  172 , in the initial unlocked position, is positioned with lip  184  below the lip on the bottom of the gun case. However, in the final locked position, the follower member  172  is positioned with lip  184  in engagement with the lip on the bottom of the gun case. In its initial unlocked position, the two springs  180  are decompressed within the pair of positioning recesses  178 . Although decompressed, the springs  180  are not fully decompressed. The springs  180  retain at least enough force to keep the lip  184  positioned below the lip on the bottom of the gun case. When in the final locked position, the springs  180  are compressed, although ideally not fully compressed, such that any counterclockwise rotation of the neck  144  would cause movement of the cam and a corresponding downward movement of the follower member  172 . As best shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , it should be noted that the follow member aperture  176  should be wide enough to allow the relative positioning of the neck  144  as the follower member  172  rises and falls in relation thereto.  
         [0048]     Second bushing or C-shaped clamp  170  rotates 90 degrees in the clockwise direction in response to the corresponding rotation of neck  144 . Because control plate  168  also follows the same rotational displacement, the second bushing  170  remains in static contact with both the neck  144  and the control plate  168 . Although the above describes the transitioning of lock  100  from a locked to an unlocked state, the same description is also applicable to the transitioning from an unlocked to a locked state when viewed in reverse. That transitioning includes the counterclockwise movement of the control knob assembly  104  and the corresponding resulting movements of the affected lock  100  components.  
       SECOND EMBODIMENT  
       [0049]     A second embodiment is shown in  FIG. 8  and includes a lock  800  including a casing  802 , a control knob assembly  804  and a hooking engagement mechanism  106 . The casing  802  further contains a casing face  812 , a casing back  814 , a first engagement portion  816 , a bottom ridge  818 , a casing aperture  820  and a first engagement portion aperture  821 .  
         [0050]     The casing aperture  820  in casing  802  allows the control knob assembly  804  to be located therein. The casing aperture  820  further includes a casing aperture recess  822 , an inner face  823 , a casing bushing  824  and annular recessed areas  825 . The inner face  823  defines the casing aperture  820  and is in contact with pre-tensioned ball bearings discussed below in relation to control knob assembly  804 . The casing bushing  824  provides the attachment mechanism by which control knob assembly  804  and hooking engagement mechanism  106  are attached to casing  802 . Here, the casing bushing  824  has extended portions about its circumference that engage with corresponding slits in the inner face  823  of casing aperture  820 , thus securing the casing bushing  824  thereto. In other embodiments, the portion represented by the casing bushing  824  may be a contiguous portion of the casing  802  rather than a separate component. The annular recessed areas  825  are used to receive the pre-tensioned ball bearings therein. The casing aperture recess  822  receives a portion of the control knob assembly  804  therein. The inner face  823  also includes attached thereto a protruding bar  826  (protruding member) for use in locking and unlocking the lock  800 .  
         [0051]     The control knob assembly  804  includes a control knob head  828  and a neck  830 . The control knob head  828  and neck  830  are integrally formed. Here, the control knob head  828  is hollow and the neck  830  extends into the hollow head. The control knob assembly  804  is used to operate or drive the hooking engagement mechanism  106  by the clockwise and counterclockwise turning of the assembly. The control knob head  828  contains a key port  831  for receiving a key to open lock  800 . Further, control knob head  828  further includes a ball bearing section  832 , a knob casing travel groove  834  and multiple receiving recesses  836  defined in its inner surface to receive therein locking pins  838  (moveable members) and locking pin springs  840 . The ball bearing section  832  is an annular ring containing two opposing recesses  842 , with corresponding springs  844  and ball bearings  846  (together, a ball-spring combination), and two control knob head cutouts  848  located on the outer surface thereof. When the control knob assembly  804  is secured within casing  802 , the ball bearing section  832  is within the casing aperture  820  of casing  802  with protruding bar  826  located within knob casing travel groove  834 . When the control knob assembly  804  is rotated, the two sets of corresponding springs  844  and ball bearings  846  engage the inside of the casing aperture  820  of casing  802 .  
         [0052]     As mentioned above, the inner surface of control knob head  828  contains multiple recesses  836 . In these recesses are contained the locking pins  838 . The locking pins  838  are cylindrical in nature and are defined by cylinder ends  849  having a larger diameter than the diameter of its cylinder center  850 . Thus, when compared to outer or ends of the locking pins  838 , the cylinder center  850  has a reduced diameter. The locking pins  838  are located on opposite sides of a protruding bar  826  such that there are generally two locking pins  838  for every protruding bar  826 . In this embodiment, there are four locking pins  838 . The locking pin springs  840  urge the locking pins towards the face of the control knob head  828 . In so doing, the cylinder ends  849  of the locking pins  838  are located within knob casing travel groove  834 , thereby reducing the depth of the travel groove  834  to a height less than protruding bar  826 . As a result, any attempt to rotate the control knob head  828  without disengaging the cylinder ends  849  of the locking pins  838  from within the knob casing travel groove  834  (i.e., not engaging the cylinder center  850  with the knob casing travel groove  834 ) results in the cylinder ends  849  contacting the protruding bar  826  and preventing the rotation of the control knob head.  
         [0053]     To properly align the cylinder center  850  of locking pins  838  with the protruding bar  826  a compatible and properly configured key is inserted into key port  831  wherein the key is allowed to travel down the key port  831  and contact the locking pins  834  such that they are displaced into alignment with the protruding bar  826 . Now properly aligned, the control knob head  828  may be rotated wherein the protruding bar  826  falls within the two cylinder ends  849  of the locking pins  838 . The key is designed such that peripheral edge has a pattern that engages the locking pins, via receiving recesses  836  within key port  831 , to displace each locking pin  838  by the appropriate amount. Each of the locking pins is designed to have a different traveling distance (not shown) such that the correct key with the correct pattern is needed to displace each by the appropriate amount to be aligned with knob casing travel grove  834 .  
         [0054]     In this embodiment, only two protruding bars  826  are used, and these are in the form of partial length tongues protruding from the inner face  823  of a casing aperture  820 . Others possessing ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other quantities or designs of locking pins  838  and protruding bars or the like may be used to achieve the same or similar functionality.  
         [0055]     The neck  830  has a rotational axis about which it rotates. The neck  830  also has five portions: a knob casing securing groove  852 , a follower member portion  853 , a control plate portion  854 , a control plate securing groove  856  and a backstop portion  858 . The end of the neck having the backstop portion  858  is the free end of the neck  830 . The follower member portion  853  is an annular ring having a diameter equal to the maximum diameter of neck  830 . The control plate portion  854  is an annular ring having a general diameter equal to the maximum diameter of neck  830  and further containing a notched or flat portion on opposite sides of the neck  830 . The control plate securing groove  856  is an annular groove having a smaller diameter than the maximum diameter of the neck  830 . Finally, backstop portion  858  is an annular ring having a general diameter equal to the maximum diameter of neck  830  and further containing a notched portion therefrom on opposite sides of the neck  830  in a location corresponding to the notched portions of the control plate portion  854 . Attached to neck  830  is a stopping plate  860  having a center cutout portion  862  with a diameter equal to the maximum diameter of neck  830  and stopping plate cutout portions  864  located on the outer side face of the stopping plate and sized to pass over protruding bar  826 . The stopping plate cutout portions  864  correspond in shape and depth to the control knob head cutouts  848  in the control knob head  828 . The stopping plate  860  is attached to neck  830  such that locking pin springs  840  and locking pins  838  are secured in the receiving recesses  836  such that the distal ends of the locking pin springs  840  are in contact with the stopping plate  860 . Thus, the location of the stopping plate  860  prevents the locking pins  838  and the locking pin springs  840  from escaping from the receiving recesses  836 .  
         [0056]     The hooking engagement mechanism  106  is the same as or similar to that described with regard to the first embodiment. Here, the second C-shaped clamp  170  engages with the control plate securing groove  856  of the second embodiment rather than control plate securing groove  156  of the first embodiment. In addition, the first C-shaped clamp  164  engages knob casing securing groove  852  of the second embodiment rather than knob casing securing groove  150  of the first embodiment. Also, the follower member  172  is located above the follower member portion  853  of neck  830 , and the control plate  168  is located above the control plate portion  854  of the neck  830 .  
         [0057]      FIG. 9  shows a perspective cutaway view of lock  800  in its locked position. Here, a recess area  902  is visible between the casing  802  and the follower member assembly  165 . Therefore, as the follower member  172  travels within the recess area  902 , it is in sliding contact with the back of the first recess area  902 . Also, the springs  180  are shown in a compressed position, with the follower lip  184  located substantially above the bottom ridge  818 .  
         [0058]      FIG. 10  shows a perspective cutaway view of lock  800  in its unlocked position. Here, the springs  180  are shown in an extended position with the follower lip  184  located near the bottom ridge  818  shown in the drawing (see  FIG. 9 ).  
         [0059]      FIG. 11  shows a side cutaway view of a portion of lock  800  in a locked position. Here, the locking pins  838  are shown out of alignment or misaligned with protruding bars  826 . Consequently, the cylinder center  850  is not lined up with the protruding bars  826 , and the control knob head  828  cannot rotate and is otherwise immovable.  
         [0060]      FIG. 12  shows a side cutaway view of a portion of lock  800  in an operating position. Here, the locking pins  838  are shown in alignment with protruding bars  826 . As a result, the cylinder center  850  is lined up with the protruding bars  826 , and the control knob head  828  can be rotated to open or close the lock. Further, the alignment is shown being achieved via the insertion of a key (shown in phantom) where the teeth (not shown) of the key have engaged the locking pins  838  and compressed the corresponding locking pin springs  840 .  
         [0061]      FIG. 13  shows a view of hooking engagement mechanism  106  (see  FIG. 8 ) in a locked or attached position with a securing appendage B. As shown, the securing appendage B is shown locked between the hook  174  and the follower member  172  of the follower member assembly  165  (see  FIG. 8 ).  
         [0062]      FIG. 14  shows a view of hooking engagement mechanism  106  (see  FIG. 8 ) in an unlocked or detached position with an external lip or securing appendage B. Here, the securing appendage B is located above the hook  174  of the follower member assembly  165  (see  FIG. 8 ). As so located, the securing appendage B is free to move away from the hooking engagement mechanism  106  (see  FIG. 8 ).  
         [0063]     In operation, in this embodiment, to engage the lock  800 , a key is inserted into the key port  831  in the control knob head  828 . The key then meshes with the locking pins  838  extending into the key port  831  via receiving recesses  836 , causing the locking pins  838  to move while compressing the associated locking pin springs  840 . The locking pins  838  move backward until their cylinder centers  850  are lined up with protruding bars  826 . Once lined up, the key, along with the control knob head  828 , is rotated in the clockwise direction to an angle of approximately 90 degrees. As a result, the lock assumes the relative positioning of the components of the lock  800  as reflected in  FIGS. 9 and 13 . The transition from the unlocked to the locked position is described as follows.  
         [0064]     The neck  144  rotates 90 degrees in the clockwise direction such that its corresponding springs  844  and ball bearings  846  move from a position substantially horizontal to the width of the lock  800  to a corresponding vertical position. At the initial position, ball bearings  846  are in contact with one set of annular recessed areas  825 , and at the rotated position the ball bearings  846  are in contact with another set of annular recessed areas  825 . The flat portion of the control plate portion  854  of the neck  830  rotates from a position where such flat portion is substantially vertical to the width of the lock  800 , to a correspondingly horizontal position. As a result, the hooking engagement mechanism  106  functions as described above with regard to the first embodiment.  
         [0065]     While only a few embodiments and aspects of the invention have been described above, including the preferred embodiment, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that these embodiments and aspects may be modified and altered without departing from the central spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the embodiments and aspects described above are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced herein.