Patent Publication Number: US-8118333-B2

Title: Lock device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a lock device, and more particularly, to a lock device whose release button and cover are integrally designed to make the cover lock the base firmly. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     If a cover (e.g., a cap, door, etc.) was designed to perform the actions of “locking” or “releasing” relative to a base in the past, a known approach was to make the cover lock a fastener on the base. Besides, a release button was disposed on the base beyond the cover. Each of the foregoing release button and the cover was an individual component. When a user closed the foregoing cover to the base, the cover would push away the fastener of the base first and got locked later. When the user pushed the release button, the release button would push the fastener of the base away to make the fastener release from the cover. Moreover, after the user took off the cover and released the release button, the fastener which was pushed away by the release button would return back to its original position. 
     With the development of information and the progress of technology, applications of electronic products are getting more and more universal. In order to cope with the developments of industry and commerce, and the frequent and close interaction of business, almost all electronic products are produced to cope with the requirements of lightness and impact size. It can be obviously known that the designs of space are getting very strict and limited. That is to say, the above-mentioned approach and the mechanism of designing a button to release the lock situation at the space beyond the cover will confront a strict test in space design and limit the application scope. 
     In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the integration of the foregoing cover into release button is the first approach which can be directly thought of. In other words, the foregoing cover can operated as a release button to comply with the limitations of space design. Thereby, when the user pushes the foregoing cover to close on the base, the cover will push the retainer of the base away and then gets locked; when the user pushes the cover downward, the cover will push the retainer of the base away, so as to release the lock situation between the retainer and the cover. 
     Besides, if one wants to realize the functions of “pushing to lock” and “pushing to release” toward a cover on the same axle in the profile of the cover, a door lock device will be regarded as a major lock structure in the second approach. Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a known door lock device  20 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the door lock device  20  has a housing  21  with proper thickness. A flange  22  is formed at one side of the housing  21 , and two hooks  23  are formed at both sides of the housing  21 . A locking space  26  with a universal thickness of 2 mm is defined between the flange  22  and the hooks  23 . Besides, an accommodating trough is formed in the interior of the housing  21  so that an elastic hook  25  which can move backward and forward can be adapted to be disposed in the accommodating trough. An opened clip arm  24  is formed at the front end of the elastic hook  25 . The assembling method of the door lock device  20  is to form a positioning hole on a straight plate  11  of a casing  10  for the door lock device  20  to position, and to force the clip arm  24  with a lock  31  which is formed on a corresponding door  30  in advance. When the lock  31  on the door  30  is pushed into the clip arm  24  of the door lock device  20 , the door  30  can be positioned on the casing  10 , and the lock  31  can be mounted in the locking space  26 . 
     In general, the method and mechanism which are used by the foregoing door lock device to release the lock situation can be often seen on door designs of middle-sized or large-sized electronic equipment, such as a photocopier, a printer, a computer, etc. Besides, a common ball-point pen in the market has a switch button. When the switch button is pushed, the pen point of the ball-point pen will expose out for writing; when the switch button is pushed again, the pen point of the ball-point pen will return back to its original position and be stored away. The mechanism is the same as that of the foregoing second approach. 
     However, the foregoing first approach will encounter the follow-up problems in practical operations. After pushing the cover to push the retainer of the base away, the user must take off the cover in a very short time (approximately in a flash), or the retainer which was pushed away will return to its original position and keep the cover in the lock situation. Therefore, if the foregoing first approach is adopted, the take-off speed of the cover must be faster than the returning speed of the retainer of the base, after pushing the cover. 
     Moreover, although having the advantages of ease to disassemble and ease to assemble, the second approach still has the follow-up problems. The door lock device is always on the same axle during locking and releasing, and an excess stroke is used to achieve the functions of locking and releasing. Therefore, an idle stroke must be reserved under the cover, which makes the cover be supported improperly and fix on the base unstably. This situation may cause a cover to be released and separated from the base of goods due to an unexpected crash or users&#39; inadvertent pushes during the transportation of the goods. The situation is very dangerous for packing an electronic product (e.g., a hard disk) which is easily damaged. Furthermore, another situation will occur by utilizing the door lock device; that is, when the foregoing excess stroke is not enough, the cover will not be switched and returned back. 
     Accordingly, the major objective of the invention is to provide a lock device whose release button and cover are integrally designed, so as to make the cover to firmly lock the base. Moreover, by controlling the particular spring stroke which is designed under the release button, the function of taking off the cover under the release situation can be achieved. Thus, the lock device of the invention can achieve the function of locking and releasing certainly and solve the above-mentioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the invention is to provide a lock device. The lock device is used to detachably mount a cover on a base. A recess is formed on the cover. A first hole is formed on the bottom of the recess, and a first retainer is extended out of the bottom of the recess. A groove is formed on the base. The lock device includes a first sliding member, a first elastomer, and a second sliding member. The first sliding member is adapted to be accommodated in the recess and is capable of limitedly sliding along a first axle relative to the cover. A column which is capable of passing through the first hole is formed on the first sliding member. The first elastomer is disposed between the cover and the first sliding member along the first axle and is used to support the first sliding member. The second sliding member is adapted to be accommodated in the groove and is capable of limitedly sliding along a second axle relative to the base. A second retainer which is used for the first retainer to lock is formed on the second sliding member. When the first sliding member slides toward the base along the first axle, the column will push the second retainer to make the second sliding member to slide along the second axle, so as to make the second retainer separate from the first retainer. 
     Accordingly, the release button and cover of the lock device according to the invention are integrally designed, so as to make the cover lock the base firmly. Moreover, by controlling the particular spring stroke which is designed under the release button, the function of taking off the cover under the release situation can be achieved. 
     The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the following recitations together with the appended drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE APPENDED DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a known door lock device  20 . 
         FIG. 2  is an appearance drawing illustrating a lock device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an explosion diagram illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4A  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 , wherein the first sliding member is not pressed. 
         FIG. 4B  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 , wherein the first sliding member compresses the first elastomer along the first axle. 
         FIG. 4C  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 , wherein the third elastomer pushes the cover to compress the first elastomer along the first axle. 
         FIG. 4D  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 , wherein the third elastomer pushes the cover to separate the base. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a lock device. And more particularly, the release button and cover of the lock device are integrally designed, so as to make the cover lock the base firmly. With the embodiment of the invention below, the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is an appearance drawing illustrating a lock device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the lock device of the invention is mainly to detachably mount a cover  4  on a base  6  by pressing a first sliding member (i.e., the foregoing release button)  52 . The details of the necessary components in every embodiments of the invention will be described and explained below. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is an explosion diagram illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , a recess  42  is formed on the cover  4 . A first hole  422  is formed on the bottom of the recess  42 , and a first retainer  424  is extended out of the bottom of the recess  42 . Besides, a groove  62  is formed on the base  6 . The lock device includes the first sliding member  52 , a first elastomer  54 , and a second sliding member  56 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 4A .  FIG. 4A  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 , wherein the first sliding member  52  is not pressed. The shape of the first sliding member  52  is adapted to be accommodated in the recess  42  on the cover  4  and is capable of limitedly sliding along a first axle A 1  relative to the cover  4 . A column  522  which is capable of passing through the first hole  422  is formed on the first sliding member  52 . The first elastomer  54  is disposed between the cover  4  and the first sliding member  52  along the first axle A 1 . The first elastomer  54  is used to support the first sliding member  52 . When the first sliding member  52  is pressed, the elastomer  54  will generate an elastic force which can push against the first sliding member  52  because of being compressed. The shape of the second sliding member  56  is adapted to be accommodated in the groove  62  and is capable of limitedly sliding along a second axle A 2  relative to the base  6 . A second retainer  562  which is used for the first retainer  424  to lock is formed on the second sliding member  56 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the cover  4  includes a first engagement portion  46 , and the base  6  includes a second engagement portion  64  corresponding to the first engagement portion  46 . The cover  4  is mounted to the base  6  by engaging the first engagement portion  46  to the second engagement portion  64  of the base  6  and locking the first retainer  424  of the first sliding member  52  to the second retainer  562  of the second sliding member  56 . In the embodiment, the foregoing first engagement portion  46  on the cover  4  can be a block which is extended from the portion adjacent to the edge of the cover  6 , and the foregoing second engagement portion  64  on the base  6  can be an aperture corresponding to the block, as shown in  FIG. 3 . Of course, the engagement relationship between the cover  4  and the base  6  is not limited to the foregoing engagement form. For example, in another embodiment of the invention, the foregoing first engagement portion  46  on the cover  4  can be an aperture inversely, and the foregoing second engagement portion  64  on the base  6  can be a block corresponding to the aperture. Or, in another embodiment of the invention, the foregoing first engagement portion  46  on the cover  4  can be a shaft member which is extended from the portion adjacent to the edge of the cover  6 , and the foregoing second engagement portion  64  on the base  6  can be a bearing member which can accommodate the shaft member (not shown in figures). 
     Please refer to  FIG. 4B .  FIG. 4B  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 , wherein the first sliding member  52  compresses the first elastomer  54  along the first axle A 1 . With the proper arrangements among components, when the first sliding member  52  slides toward the base  6  along the first axle A 1 , the column  522  on the sliding member  52  will push the second retainer  562  on the second sliding member  56  to make the second sliding member  56  to slide along the second axle A 2 , so as to make the second retainer  562  separate from the first retainer  424  and release the original lock situation. It is needed additional explanations that the first elastomer  54  includes a first compression stroke. And, when the first sliding member  52  compresses the first compression stroke of the first elastomer  54  along the first axle A 1 , the second retainer  562  which is pushed by the column  522  on the first sliding member  52  will separate the first retainer  424  simultaneously. It is needed to be pointed out that the first elastomer  54  is not completely compressed at this time. 
     Besides, the lock device of the invention can further include a second elastomer  58 , as shown in  FIG. 4B . The second elastomer  58  is disposed between the base  6  and the second sliding member  56  along the second axle A 2 . Thus, the second elastomer  58  can push the second sliding member  56  toward the first sliding member  52  along the second axle A 2  during the time of locking the first retainer  424  to the second retainer  562 . It can be known that the major function and objective is to make the second sliding member  56  return back to its original position after the cover  4  performs the actions of “locking” or “releasing” relative to the base  6  so that the first retainer  424  on the first sliding member  52  can perform the actions of “locking” or “releasing” repetitively. 
     It is needed additional explanations that the cover  4  which was in the lock situation originally can be taken off to separate the base  6  by hands after the first sliding member  52  compresses the first compression stroke of the first elastomer  54 . However, if the first sliding member  52  is released without taking off the cover  4 , the second sliding member  56  will return back to the lock situation again since the second elastomer  58  pushes the first sliding member  52 . Therefore, in an embodiment, the cover  4  can further include a third elastomer  44 . As shown in  FIG. 4A , the third elastomer  44  is compressed between the cover  4  and the base  6  when the cover  4  is mounted to the base  6 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 4C .  FIG. 4C  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 , wherein the third elastomer  44  pushes the cover  4  to compress the first elastomer  54  along the first axle A 1 . It is needed additional explanations that the first elastomer  54  can further include a second compression stroke. When the second retainer  562  which is pushed by the column  522  on the first sliding member  52  separates the first retainer  424 , the compressed third elastomer  44  can push the cover  4  to compress the second compression stroke of the first elastomer  54  along the first axle A 1 , so as to make the cover  4  separate the base  6 . It can be known that by disposing the third elastomer  44  between the cover  4  and the base  6 , it is unnecessary to worry that the second sliding member  56  will return back to the lock situation again since the second elastomer  58  pushes the first sliding member  52  (If the first sliding member  52  is released without taking off the cover  4 ). Contrarily, after pressing the first sliding member  52  to make the first retainer  424  and the second retainer  562  release from the lock situation, the elastic force of the compressed third elastomer  44  will push the cover  4  along the first axle A 1  to compress the first elastomer  52 , so as to make the cover  4  separate from the base  6 . 
     Subsequently, please refer to  FIG. 4D .  FIG. 4D  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lock device in  FIG. 2 , wherein the third elastomer  44  pushes the cover  4  to separate the base  6 . It is needed additional explanations that when the first sliding member  52  is completely released, the first elastomer  54  can recover its first compression stroke and second compression stroke. Also, the column  522  on the first sliding member  52  will release the situation of pushing the second retainer  562  on the second sliding member  56 . Furthermore, because the first engagement portion  46  on the cover  4  and the second engagement portion  64  on the base  6  are still in engagement, the cover  4  will rise substantially relative to the second engagement portion  64  by regarding the second engagement portion  64  as an axle after the elastic force of the third elastomer  44  is released. Accordingly, the cover  4  of the lock device of the invention will jump up after being released, which can greatly increase the convenience of taking the cover  4  off. 
     It is needed to be emphasized again that the foregoing first elastomer  54  mainly includes the first compression stroke and the second compression stroke. When the first sliding member  52  compresses the first compression stroke of the first elastomer  54  along the first axle A 1 , the second retainer  562  which is pushed by the column  522  on the first sliding member  52  will separate the first retainer  424  simultaneously. Furthermore, when the second retainer  562  which is pushed by the column  522  on the first sliding member  52  separates the first retainer  424 , the compressed third elastomer  44  can push the cover  4  to compress the second compression stroke of the first elastomer  54  along the first axle A 1 , so as to make the cover  4  separate the base  6 . It can be known that the major spirit of the invention is to design the first compression stroke and the second compression stroke on the first elastomer  54  so that the release button (i.e., the first sliding member  52 ) can be disposed on the cover  4  rather than on the base  6  far from the cover  4  (i.e., the foregoing known approach). It is needed additional explanations that the ratio between the first compression stroke and the second compression stroke of the first elastomer  54  can be designed to be, but not limited to, 6:4. That is to say, the ratio is designed according to the needs of the practical design. 
     In an embodiment, the foregoing first elastomer  54  is, but not limited to, a first spring, the foregoing second elastomer  58  is, but not limited to, a second spring, and the foregoing third elastomer  44  is, but not limited to, a clip spring. In a word, if the materials (e.g., rubber) or the components (e.g., torsion spring) can provide enough elastic force, they can be embodied in the foregoing first elastomer  54 , the second elastomer  58 , and the third elastomer  44  of the invention. 
     In an embodiment, the first axle can be, but not limited to, perpendicular to the second axle. The angle between the first axle A 1  and the second axle A 2  can be determined based on the space design in the practical application. And, the functions of the invention will not be influenced. 
     It is needed additional explanations that in order to prevent the first sliding member  52  which is accommodated in the recess  42  of the cover  4  from separating from the recess  42 , the first sliding member  52  can has at least one first retaining member  524 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Thereby, the at least one first retaining member  524  can be used for retaining the first sliding member  52  during the time that the first elastomer  54  supports the first sliding member  52 . In the embodiment, the at least one retaining member  524  can be at least one hook. Besides, the recess  42  can further form at least one side hole  426 , corresponding to the at least one hook, for the at least one hook to lock, so as to make the first sliding member  52  not separate the recess  42 . But the lock device of the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned design. For example, it can derive the same result by inversely forming at least one side hole  426  on the first sliding member  52  and disposing at least one hook on the recess. 
     Similarly, in order to prevent the second sliding member  56  which can slide in the groove  62  of the second sliding member  56  from separating from the base  6 , the base  6  can further include at least one second retaining member  66 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Thereby, the least one second retaining member  66  can be used for retaining the second sliding member  56  during the time that the second sliding member  56  slides along the second axle A 2 . Furthermore, in the embodiment, a second hole  564  can be formed on the second sliding member  56 , and the at least one second retaining member  66  can pass through the second hole  564  to mount to the base  6  and retain the second sliding member  56  between the base  6  and the at least one second retaining member  66 , as shown in  FIG. 4A . In an embodiment, the at least one second retaining member  66  can be, but not limited to, a screw bolt. 
     With the foregoing detail descriptions of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it can be clearly known that the release button and cover of the lock device according to the invention are integrally designed, so as to make the cover lock the base firmly. Moreover, by controlling the particular spring stroke which is designed under the release button, the function of taking off the cover under the release situation can be achieved. Not only the problem of being not able to dispose a release button on the cover in the past can be solved, but also the problem of switching to release situation owing to an unexpected crash can be solved. 
     With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.