Patent Abstract:
A combination padlock with a name card has a housing, a card clamp, multiple dial cores, a shackle, a locking shaft and a key core. The housing has a card surface. The card clamp is mounted detachably on the card surface and holds a name card to indicate who owns the padlock. The dial cores are mounted in the housing, have a combination and provide a combination locking capability. The shackle is U-shaped and has a mounting end and a locking end. The mounting end is mounted through the dial cores. The locking end detaches from the housing. The locking shaft is mounted in the housing and selectively meshes the shackle with the dial cores. The key core is mounted in the housing, locks and releases the shackle by a key and allows a person to unlock the padlock when the combination is forgotten.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a padlock, and more particularly to a combination padlock that includes a name card to indicate who owns the padlock. 
   2. Description of the Prior Arts 
   A conventional padlock is often used to lock a door, a box or the like that a person doesn&#39;t want other people to open. However, a corresponding key is required to open the padlock. Keeping the key is not always convenient. 
   A conventional combination padlock comprises a dial core with numbers and is unlocked by rotating the dial core to a particular sequence of numbers. The combination padlock is unlocked without a key, but a particular sequence of numbers is always used. The particular sequence of numbers is called “the combination” of the lock, and the combination must be remembered all the time. If the combination is forgotten, the padlock cannot be unlocked. This is particularly inconvenient for people who don&#39;t remember numbers well. 
   In some situations like luggage checks at airports, luggage should be locked and have a nametag. The nametag detaching from the luggage might cause the luggage to be transferred to an improper destination or to be lost. 
   To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a combination padlock with a name card to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a combination padlock that includes a name card and can be unlocked either by a key or a combination. 
   A combination padlock with a name card in accordance with the present invention has a housing, a card clamp, multiple dial cores, a shackle, a locking shaft and a key core. The housing has a card surface. The card clamp is mounted detachably on the card surface and holds a name card to indicate who owns the padlock and has a top and a locking hole defined in the top. The dial cores are mounted in the housing, have a combination and provide a combination locking capability. The shackle is U-shaped and has a mounting end mounted slidably and rotatable in the housing and being selectively latched, and a locking end corresponding to and selectively aligning with the locking hole of the card clamp, being selectively mounted through the locking hole of the card clamp. The mounting end is mounted through the dial cores. The locking end detaches from the housing. The locking shaft is mounted in the housing and selectively meshes the shackle with the dial cores. The key core is mounted in the housing, locks and releases the shackle by a key and allows a person to unlock the padlock when the combination is forgotten. 
   Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a combination padlock with a name card in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the combination padlock in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the combination padlock in  FIG. 1  with half of the housing removed; 
       FIG. 4  is an operational exploded perspective view of the combination padlock in  FIG. 1  with a name card being mounted on the padlock; 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged side view in partial section of the combination padlock along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 9 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a top view in partial section of the combination padlock along line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 7  is an operational front view in partial section of the combination padlock in  FIG. 1  with the dial cores being unlocked; 
       FIG. 8  is an operational front view in partial section of the combination padlock in  FIG. 1  with an appropriate key unlocking the key core; 
       FIG. 9  is an operational top view of the combination padlock in  FIG. 1  with the shackle being rotated to press the positioning protrusion into the positioning slot; and 
       FIG. 10  is an operational front view in partial section of the combination padlock in  FIG. 1  with the shackle and the shafts of the dial cores being pressed downwards to change the combination. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a combination padlock with a name card in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing ( 10 ), a card clamp ( 20 ), multiple dial cores ( 30 ), a locking limit ( 40 ), a shackle ( 50 ), a locking shaft ( 60 ) and a key core ( 70 ). 
   With further reference to  FIG. 4 , the housing ( 10 ) comprises two housing halves and has an outside surface, a top, a bottom, a proximal side, a distal side, a dial core cavity ( 13 ), a cavity extension ( 14 ), a locking shaft cavity ( 15 ), a key core cavity ( 16 ), a locking recess ( 17 ) and a card surface ( 18 ). 
   The dial core cavity ( 13 ) is formed longitudinally in the proximal side of the housing ( 10 ) through the top, has an inner surface, an opening ( 131 ), multiple annular recesses ( 132 ), multiple windows ( 133 ), multiple protrusions ( 134 ), a slot ( 135 ) and may have a positioning slot ( 136 ). 
   The opening ( 131 ) is formed in the top of the housing ( 10 ) and communicates with the dial core cavity ( 13 ). 
   The annular recesses ( 132 ) are larger than the dial core cavity ( 13 ) and are formed coaxially in the dial core cavity ( 13 ). 
   The windows ( 133 ) are formed in the proximal side of the housing ( 10 ), communicate with the dial core cavity ( 13 ) and correspond respectively to the annular recesses ( 132 ). 
   The protrusions ( 134 ) are formed on and protrude in from the inner surface of the dial core cavity ( 13 ) adjacent respectively to the annular recesses ( 13 ) and are arranged in a row. 
   The slot ( 135 ) is formed longitudinally in the opening ( 131 ) and has a bottom. 
   The positioning slot ( 136 ) is formed longitudinally in the opening ( 131 ) and is deeper than the slot ( 135 ). 
   The cavity extension ( 14 ) is formed in the housing ( 10 ) coaxially with the dial core cavity ( 13 ), communicates with the dial core cavity ( 13 ) and has a bottom. 
   The locking shaft cavity ( 15 ) is straight, is formed in the housing ( 10 ) and has two ends. One end of the locking shaft cavity ( 15 ) communicates with the cavity extension ( 14 ). 
   The key core cavity ( 16 ) is formed in the bottom of the housing ( 10 ) on the distal side, communicates with the other end of the locking shaft cavity ( 15 ) and has an opening ( 161 ). The opening ( 161 ) of the key core cavity ( 16 ) is formed in the bottom of the housing ( 10 ) coaxially with the key core cavity ( 16 ) and communicates with the key core cavity ( 16 ). 
   The locking recess ( 17 ) is formed in the top of the housing ( 10 ) on the distal side. 
   The card surface ( 18 ) is formed in the housing ( 10 ) on the distal side, holds a name card ( 90 ), may be recessed from the outside surface of the housing ( 10 ), has a mounting surface and may have multiple connecting slots ( 181 ). The connecting slots ( 181 ) are formed in the mounting surface of the card surface ( 18 ). 
   The card clamp ( 20 ) is transparent, corresponds to and is mounted on the mounting surface of the card surface ( 18 ) to hold a name card ( 90 ) on the card surface ( 18 ) and has a top and a locking hole and may have multiple tabs ( 22 ). The locking hole is defined in the top of the card clamp ( 20 ) and selectively corresponds to the locking recess ( 17 ) of the housing ( 10 ) when the card clamp ( 20 ) is mounted on the mounting surface of the card surface ( 18 ) (with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 ). The tabs ( 22 ) correspond respectively to and are detachably mounted in the connecting slots ( 181 ) to hold the card clamp ( 20 ) in place and allow the card clamp ( 20 ) to be removed so the name card ( 90 ) can be changed or replaced. 
   The dial cores ( 30 ) are coaxially mounted rotatably in the dial core cavity ( 13 ), are arranged in a row and provide a locking capability for the combination padlock, and each dial core ( 30 ) has a shaft ( 31 ) and a dial ring ( 32 ). 
   With further reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the shaft ( 31 ) is tubular, is mounted coaxially, slidably and rotatably in the dial core cavity ( 13 ), abuts adjacent shafts ( 31 ) and has an outside surface, multiple ribs ( 311 ), a gap ( 312 ) and a through hole ( 313 ). 
   The ribs ( 311 ) are formed longitudinally on the outside surface of the shaft ( 31 ) around the shaft ( 31 ), protrude radially from the outside surface of the shaft ( 31 ) and are between adjacent protrusions ( 134 ). One of the ribs ( 311 ) protrudes into the two corresponding protrusions ( 134 ) to keep the shaft ( 31 ) from moving longitudinally when the dial core ( 30 ) is locked. Each rib ( 311 ) has an outer end. The outer end points to the opening ( 131 ). 
   The gap ( 312 ) is formed on the outside surface of the shaft ( 31 ) by removing one of the ribs ( 311 ) and is bigger than the corresponding protrusions ( 134 ) to allow the shaft ( 31 ) to move upwards and downwards when the gap ( 312 ) corresponds to the protrusion ( 134 ) by rotating the shaft ( 31 ). The gaps ( 312 ) of all the shafts ( 31 ) align with the protrusions ( 134 ) when the dial cores ( 30 ) are unlocked. 
   The through hole ( 313 ) is formed coaxially through the shaft ( 31 ). 
   The dial rings ( 32 ) are mounted rotatably respectively in the annular recesses ( 132 ) and are mounted coaxially, slidably and rotatably around the shaft ( 31 ), and each dial ring ( 32 ) has a ring hole, an outer surface, an inner surface, multiple teeth ( 321 ) and multiple numbers ( 322 ). 
   The outer surface of the dial ring ( 32 ) is exposed partially in the corresponding window ( 133 ), which allows the dial ring ( 32 ) to be rotated. 
   The teeth ( 321 ) are formed on and protrude in from the inner surface of the dial ring ( 32 ), are flush with the shaft ( 31 ) and engage the outer ends of the ribs ( 311 ) to connect the dial ring ( 32 ) to the shaft ( 31 ). 
   The numbers ( 322 ) are formed sequentially around the outer surface of the dial ring ( 32 ) and the numbers ( 322 ) of the dial rings ( 32 ) corresponding to a combination to unlock the combination padlock are exposed respectively in the windows ( 133 ) when the gaps ( 312 ) of all the shafts ( 31 ) align with the protrusions ( 134 ). Each number ( 322 ) composing the combination can be changed by rotating the number ( 322 ) only when the shafts ( 30 ) move downwards to release the outer ends of the ribs ( 311 ) from engaging with the teeth ( 321 ). 
   The locking limit ( 40 ) is mounted coaxially, slidably and rotatably in the cavity extension ( 14 ), abuts the nearest shaft ( 31 ) of the dial cores ( 30 ), is able to enter the ring hole of the dial ring ( 32 ) when moving upwards and has a bottom, an outer surface, a rod hole ( 41 ), an annular hole ( 42 ), a retaining ball ( 43 ) and a spring ( 44 ). 
   The outer surface is annular and corresponds and is adjacent to the locking shaft cavity ( 15 ). 
   The rod hole ( 41 ) is formed coaxially through the locking limit ( 40 ) and aligns with the through holes ( 313 ) in the shafts ( 31 ). 
   The annular hole ( 42 ) is formed in the outside surface of the locking limit ( 40 ) and communicates with the rod hole ( 41 ). 
   The retaining ball ( 43 ) is mounted movably in the annular hole ( 42 ) and is able to partially enter the rod hole ( 41 ) and the locking shaft cavity ( 15 ). 
   The spring ( 44 ) is mounted between the bottom of the cavity extension ( 14 ) and the bottom of the locking limit ( 40 ) to keep the locking limit ( 40 ) from dropping. 
   The shackle ( 50 ) is U-shaped, is mounted in the dial core cavity ( 13 ) and the cavity extension ( 14 ) and has a mounting end ( 51 ), a locking end ( 52 ) and a positioning protrusion ( 53 ). 
   The mounting end ( 51 ) is mounted slidably and rotatably through the through holes ( 313 ) in the shafts ( 31 ), is mounted in the rod hole ( 41 ) of the locking limit ( 40 ) and has a recess ( 511 ). The recess ( 511 ) is bowl-like and corresponding to the retaining ball ( 43 ). 
   The locking end ( 52 ) corresponds to and selectively aligns with the locking recess ( 17 ) and the locking hole of the card clamp ( 20 ) (with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 ), is mounted slidably and detachably in the locking recess ( 17 ) and is extending through and positioned securely in the locking recess ( 17 ) and the locking hole of the card clamp ( 20 ) when the combination padlock is locked, thereby effectively lock securely the card clamp ( 20 ) on the housing ( 10 ). 
   The positioning protrusion ( 53 ) is formed on and protrudes from the shackle ( 50 ), corresponds to the slot ( 135 ) and the positioning slot ( 136 ), is positioned in the slot ( 135 ) when the combination padlock is locked, reaches the bottom of the slot ( 135 ) to prevent the shackle ( 50 ) from extending into the housing ( 10 ) too deeply. 
   The locking shaft ( 60 ) is mounted slidably in the locking shaft cavity ( 15 ) and has a pressing end ( 61 ) and a leading end ( 62 ). 
   With further reference to  FIG. 7 , the pressing end ( 61 ) corresponds to the retaining ball ( 43 ), may be flat and selectively presses the retaining ball ( 43 ) into the recess ( 511 ) in the shackle ( 50 ) to lock the shackle ( 50 ), the shafts ( 31 ) and the locking limit ( 40 ) together. 
   With further reference to  FIG. 8 , the leading end ( 62 ) may be round, faces the key core cavity ( 16 ) and is able to move partially into the key core cavity ( 16 ) to release the retaining ball ( 43 ). 
   The key core ( 70 ) is able to be unlocked and rotated by an appropriate key ( 91 ), is mounted securely in the key core cavity ( 16 ) and has an outside surface, a keyhole ( 71 ) and a recess ( 72 ). 
   The outside surface of the key core ( 70 ) presses the locking shaft ( 60 ) to keep the retaining ball ( 43 ) in the recess ( 511 ) of the shackle ( 50 ) when the key core ( 70 ) is locked to make the combination padlock only be unlocked by dialing the correct combination to unlock the dial cores ( 30 ). 
   The keyhole ( 71 ) communicates with the opening ( 161 ) and allows the user to insert the appropriate key ( 91 ) to rotate the key core ( 70 ). 
   The recess ( 72 ) is formed on the outside surface of the key core ( 70 ), corresponds to the leading end ( 62 ) of the locking shaft ( 60 ) and faces the leading end ( 62 ) when the key core ( 70 ) is unlocked. The recess ( 72 ) allows the locking shaft ( 60 ) to move in and release the shackle ( 50 ) from the shafts ( 30 ) and the locking limit ( 40 ) and allows the combination padlock to be unlocked by pulling out the shackle ( 50 ) when the correct combination is lost. 
   With further reference to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the combination can be changed by rotating and pressing the shackle ( 50 ) downwards to make the protrusion ( 53 ) enter the positioning slot ( 136 ) against the spring ( 43 ) and detaching the shafts ( 31 ) from the dial ring ( 32 ) when the dial cores ( 30 ) are unlocked. 
   Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4