GB2111586A - Staples for padlocks - Google Patents

Abstract

A fastening means for shutters, doors or windows, particularly as a "ground lock" for roller shutters, comprises: an eye-bolt (3) forming a staple removably screwed into an anchorage element (2) secured in the group and having an internally threaded portion (11) spaced from the open end of the anchorage element (2); and an abutment member (40) secured to the leading edge of the shutter (1), door or window, and having a slot (48) into which the eyebolt (3) can pass. The abutment member (40) comprises a hasp portion (43) and two wall portions (44, 45) forming a housing for a padlock (41). A guard plate (52) is provided at one end of the abutment member to bridge the wall portions (44,45) and prevent the bolt being forcibly driven through the padlock. In a second embodiment, the abutment member has no wall portions but has an upstanding lug adjacent the slot, the lug having an aperture adapted to register with the aperture of the eyebolt so that both apertures can receive the bolt or shackle of a lock. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A fastening means This invention relates to a fastening means for padlocks and other locking devices, in particular when used to secure shutters, doors and windows, and especially roller shutters for lock-up business premises. Such shutters are normally made of channel slats of aluminium or other metal.

There is a need for a strong, tamper-proof fastening means for use in conjunction with padlocks and the like when these are used to secure the leading edge of roller shutters or doors (particularly sliding doors or "up and over" cantilever doors) to a base such as the ground, a floor, or sill or frame member, including a vertical frame member if the shutter or door is horizontally slidable rather than vertically slidable.

A known fastening means for padlocks and the like for roller shutters includes a padlock receiver projecting from and embedded in a base such as the ground and an aperture into which the receiver can pass in the leading edge or flange of the shutter. The leading edge of the shutter is then secured to the ground by passing the bolt or shackle of a padlock through the receiver and locking the padlock thereon. The leading edge or flange acts as an abutment member against the padlock, thus resisting movement of the shutter when the padlock is in place.

Alternatively, a separate abutment member can be secured to the leading edge of the shutter for additional strength. It is known to provide a receiver in the form of a link which can be removed from the base so as not to project therefrom, when not in use.

According to the present invention, there is provided a fastening means comprising a receiver link having an aperture for receiving the bolt or shackle of a lock, and an anchorage element adapted to engage with the receiver link and to be secured in a base, wherein a threaded portion of the receiver link is engageable with a complementary threaded portion of the anchorage element.

Suitably, the receiver link has an externally threaded spindle integral therewith, and the anchorage element which is open at at least one end has a complementary internally threaded portion intermediate its ends. Preferably, the internally threaded portion of the anchorage element is spaced from an open end thereof by an unthreaded collar portion adapted to guide the spindle of the receiver link into axial alignment with the internally threaded portion of the anchorage element when the receiver link is placed therein. The internally threaded portion of the anchorage element can conveniently be formed by the threaded portion of a nut secured within the anchorage element.

Preferably, the free end of the threaded spindle of the receiver link has a rounded nose.

The fastening means of the present invention may also comprise a separate abutment member adapted to be secured to the leading edge of a shutter, door, or window and having a slot into which the receiver link can pass.

The separate abutment member may optionally include an upstanding lug adjacent the slot having an aperture adapted to receive the bolt or shackle of a lock and to register with the aperture of the receiver link such that both apertures when brought into register can together receive the bolt or shackle of a lock.

According to another aspect of the invention, an abutment member for fastening means of the kind described above comprises a hasp portion having a slot therein and a pair of wall portions upstanding from said hasp portion to house a padlock with the bolt or shackle of the padlock in register with said slot. Preferably the slot extends into the wall portions.

Preferably the padlock is a padlock of rectangular configuration having two main flat parallel faces which abut against the said wall portions when the padlock is in position on the abutment member.

Three embodiments of the fastening means according to the invention will now be described by way of Example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the first embodiment showing those parts below ground level in cross-section.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the receiver link of the first embodiment.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of a second embodiment, similar to Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a third embodiment and a padlock for use therewith.

Figure 6 is a front elevation of the third embodiment, similar to Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the abutment member in the third embodiment.

Figure 8 is one end view of the abutment member of the third embodiment showing the padlock, and the receiver link in storage position.

Figure 9 is the other end view of the assembly of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a side view of the receiver link of the third embodiment.

Figures 1-3 show one embodiment of a fastening means for a padlock when used to secure the leading edge of a roller shutter 1 to an anchorage 2 embedded in the ground.

The fastening means comprises a receiver link 3 (shown particularly in Figure 3) having an aperture 4 in a flat staple portion and a threaded spindle portion 5 integral therewith. The opening of the aperture 4 is countersunk as shown at numeral 6 in Figure 3, the end 7 of the staple portion is rounded, and the end 8 of the spindle portion has a rounded nose to prevent damage to the leading thread.

The receiver link 3 fits within the anchorage 2 and projects above ground level in engagement therewith. The anchorage element 2 comprises an open-ended cylindrical barrel 9 having a circumferential flange 10 at the bottom to hold the barrel in the ground. A hexagonal nut 11 having the same diameter as the internal diameter of the barrel 9 is a tight fit within the barrel near to its upper end. A collet 12, also having substantially the same external diameter as the internal diameter of the barrel 9, forms an extension from the barrel adjacent to the nut 11 and rests on top of the nut. The collet 12 can be welded to the barrel around its rim 13. The inside wall of the collet 12 is smooth and acts as a guide for the spindle 5 which is a free fit therein.By turning the staple portion of the receiver link 3, the lower end of the threaded spindle 5 can be engaged with the internal thread of the nut 11, before the shutter 1 is pulled down to ground level.

When in use, only the staple portion of the receiver link 3 projects above ground level, as seen in Figure 1. The leading edge of a roller shutter 1 has secured thereto a separate abutment member 14 (also shown in Figure 2) consisting of an angle iron which is secured to the bottom angle section of the shutter by a bolt 15 and nut 16, the bolt being spot welded at its edges 17 to the angle iron. Two bolts could be used if necessary, and the bolt(s) can also be countersunk. The foot of the angle iron forms a hasp portion 22 which projects beyond the flange 1 8 of the leading edge of the shutter and has a slot 1 9 into which the staple portion of the receiver link 3 can freely pass, when the leading edge of the shutter is pulled down to ground level.

A padlock bolt or shackle can be passed through aperture 4 in the receiver link and when the padlock is locked, the hasp portion 22 of the angle iron 14 acts as an abutment against the padlock (not shown) thus fastening the shutter and preventing the shutter from being raised when the padlock is securely locked. As can be seen in Figure 1, when the threaded spindle portion 5 of the receiver link 3 is engaged with the anchorage 2, the threaded portion is completely below ground level and inaccessible from above.

The abutment member 14 could be omitted and a slot corresponding to slot 19 could be formed in the flange 18 of the bottom angle section of the shutter. However, this would weaken the flange, and for additional strength a separate abutment member is preferred, which projects beyond the flange 1 8 so as not to weaken the flange. Alternatively, a flat abutment member similar to hasp portion 22 could be welded onto the flange 18 so as to project beyond the flange.

Optionally, a lug 20 can be welded to the hasp portion 22 adjacent the slot 19, which lug is upstanding therefrom and has an aperture 21 of approximately the same dimensions as aperture 4 of the receiver link 3. When the two apertures 21, 4 are brought into register, both apertures can together receive the bolt or shackle of a padlock such that the padlock has a reduced freedom of movement when locked in position about the receiver link 3. The combined width of the receiver link 3 and the lug 20 can be varied so as to fit a variety of padlocks. However, the lug 20 is not absolutely necessary when heavy duty padlocks such as that sold under the Trade Mark "Chubb Battleship" are used in conjunction with the fastening means of the present invention.

When the lug 20 is present, examples of suitable padlocks which can also be used include the rectangular sliding bolt padlock sold under the Trade Mark ALA, or the round padlock sold under the Trade Mark Abus "Diskus No. 24".

The receiver link 3 can be cast as one piece of any strong metal alloy, or made of steel by welding threaded spindle into a recess in a blank and by milling down the blank to form a staple portion as shown in the drawings. The barrel and collet parts of the anchorage 2 can be made of gun barrel, or the whole anchorage element can be cast in one piece, with the internal thread formed on a lathe. All parts are suitably electroplated for protection from corrosion.

The receiver link 3 can conveniently be removed from the anchorage 2 and locked into the padlock when not in use. The collet 12 allows the receiver link to be dropped into the barrel in axial alignment with the nut 11, so as to be easily engageable with the internal thread. The rounded nose 8 prevents damage to the thread of the receiver link.

A plastic plug (not shown) can be employed to cover the opening of the anchorage at ground level to prevent ingress of dust when the shutter is raised and the fastening means is not in use.

Such a plug would preferably be flush with the upper rim of the anchorage element and ground level, and can be adapted for removal by means of a key inserted in a recess in the plug.

Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of the fastening means of the invention. A separate abutment member 30 is formed by an angle iron as before, but that part of the hasp portion 33 which extends beyond the flange 1 8 of the shutter is adapted to be level with the underside of the flange 18 so as to lie flush with ground level when the shutter has been pulled down.

The profile of the staple portion of receiver link 31 is tapered upwardly from the spindle. The slot 32 in the hasp portion 33 is likewise tapered.

Alternatively, a flange may be provided around the staple portion of the receiver link at its junction with the spindle portion. In either case, the receiver link 31 is thus more securely held onto the abutment member 30 when locked thereto for safekeeping when the shutter is not secured to the anchorage in the ground.

If desired, an extension piece can be fixed to the anchorage to extend downwardly therefrom, if a deep foundation is required. Suitably, the extension piece may comprise a long bolt which can be screwed into a second internally threaded portion (e.g. a nut, similar to nut 11) located at the base of the barrel 9.

Figures 5-10 show a third embodiment of the fastening means. The same reference numerals are used to indicate parts which are similar to those of Figures 1-3.

In this embodiment, the abutment member 40 is designed to accommodate a sliding bolt padlock 41 of rectangular configuration. The padlock has two main flat parallel faces, two end faces and two side faces, all of which are rectangular. At one side the body of the padlock has a deep slot so that two arms are formed, with the slot forming a gap between them. A cylindrical bolt slides in bearings in the two arms: the bolt bridges the gap when the padlock is closed, and protrudes from one end face of the body when the padlock is open. The lock is operated by a key, inserted in a keyhole in the other end face. The arm of the padlock which contains the key-operated mechanism is wider than the other arm, so that the slot between the arms is offset from the centre line of the padlock.

Padlocks of this kind, made of brass, are commercially available, for example under the Trade Mark ALA from Naples, Italy.

The abutment member 40 comprises a fixing portion 42 at the rear, a hasp portion 43 at right angles thereto and two parallel wall portions 44, 45 at right angles to the hasp portion. The fixing portion 42 is secured through fixing holes 57 by a pair of bolts 15 and nuts 16 to the vertical portion of the bottom angle section of shutter 1. The bolt head can be welded in position, as in Figure 2.

One wall portion 44 is located at the forward edge of the hasp portion. The fixing portion 42, hasp portion 43 and forward wall portion 44 are conveniently formed of one piece of steel plate bent into U-shape. The inner wall portion 45, which is located approximately midway between the forward wall portion 44 and the fixing portion 42, comprises a piece of steel plate welded to the hasp portion 43. The two wall portions 44, 45 are both of approximately equal height to the main faces 46, 47 of the padlock 41, and are separated by a distance which is marginally greater than the width of the padlock, so that the padlock is a sliding fit between the wall portions. The abutment member has a length which is marginally greater than that of the padlock.Thus the wall portions 44, 45 and hasp portion 43 define a housing having dimensions roughly equally to those of the padlock so that the padlock is received and shielded in the housing.

The hasp portion 43 and forward wall portion 44 are penetrated by a slot 48 which is offset with respect to the middle of the abutment member so that it comes into alignment with the slot 49 in the padlock. The slot 48 extends behind the inner wall portion 45. If necessary, a shallow indentation may be cut in the forward edge of the shutter flange 1 8 so as to register with the rear edge of slot 48. A coincident slot 50 is provided in the inner wall portion 45, similar to that in forward wall portion 44. The space created by the slots 48, 49, 50 is dimensioned so as to receive the staple portion 51 of the receiver link in said slots with good tolerance for moving the staple portion 51 within the said space, in order to adjust for variations in the relative positions of the shutter and the anchorage 2.The staple portion 51, in this particular embodiment, does not fit between the two wall portions but is accommodated by the slots 48 and 50 in the wall portions (see Figures 8 and 9).

As shown in Figure 8, one end of the abutment member is provided with a guard plate 52 which bridges the lower parts of the two wall portions 44, 45 and is welded to said wall portions and to the hasp portion 43. The guard plate 52 strengthens the structure of the wall portions and prevents bolt 53 of the padlock being driven out through end wall 54 of the padlock by a person hammering on the exposed end of the bolt at the other end wall 55. Due to the offset position of the slot 49, there is only one correct orientation of the padlock in the housing. The keyhole 56 of the padlock is accessible above the guard plate 52 and, by virtue of the upright position of the padlock, is spaced sufficiently far from the ground surface for convenient operation of the key without contact between the operator's hand and the ground.

The space between the inner wall portion 45 and the rear fixing portion 42 can be used to accommodate the padlock 41 if there is a need to store it in a position where it does not engage with the staple portion 51. The separation of the inner wall portion 45 from the rear fixing portion 42 is sufficient for the bolts 1 5 to be introduced at either end of the abutment member into the fixing holes 57. The bolts are suitably coach bolts having a stock portion of square cross section between the head and the threaded shank. The fixing holes have a diameter which is larger than that of the shank but marginally smaller than the diagonal dimension of the square stock portion (for example), in the case of a hole having a shank of 10 mm diameter and a stock portion with a diagonal dimension of 13.5 mm, a fixing hole of 12.5 mm is suitable).Then as the nut 1 6 is tightened on the bolt, at the rear of the shutter, the corners of the square shank portion cut into the metal around the fixing hole and when the bolt is fully installed it is gripped firmly against rotation. This minimises any risk of the bolts being loosened from the front of the shutter.

The staple portion 51 differs from that of Figures 1-3 in that the shackle portion 56 is formed from steel rod bent into a U-shape and welded at the ends of both of its limbs to the threaded spindle 5. The circumferential flange 10 at the bottom of the anchorage element 2 is part of a plate which closes the bottom end of the barrel 9.

When a shutter is being closed, for example at night, the leading edge of the shutter is brought down to about waist level and the padlock is opened by a key inserted in keyhole 56 and the bolt 53 springs out to the position shown in Figure 5. If the shutter has two or more similar locking mechanisms, the padlocks can be chosen such that a single key opens all of them. The receiver link 3 is screwed down into the anchorage 2 and the leading edge of the shutter is lowered again until the staple portion 51 enters the space provided by slots 48 and 50. Padlock 41 is placed into its housing between wall portions 44 and 45 and is closed so that the bolt 53 bridges slot 49 and engages in the aperture in the staple portion 51 (see Figure 6). The padlock is shielded on three faces by wall portions 44, 45 and hasp portion 43.It cannot be slid endways or lifted upwards because of the engagement of the staple portion 51 with the bolt 53.

When the shutter is to be opened, the padlock is opened by the key and the padlock is then preferably lifted up out of its housing. The bolt can be closed (out of engagement with staple portion 51) and the key can be used to open one or more similar padlocks. The shutter is raised to about waist height; the padlock 41 is restored to its housing; the receiver link 3 is unscrewed from the anchorage 2 and inserted into the space provided by slots 48, 49, 50; the bolt 53 is closed to retain the receiver link in a storage position; and the shutter is raised to its fully open position.

The present invention, more particularly in the embodiment of Figures 5-10, provides a locking mechanism which is strong and resistant to tampering and yet.which is convenient to use and which makes provision for storage of the various components when the mechanism is not in use.

The padlock, and particularly its slotted face adjacent to the bolt, is shielded from tampering by its housing.

If desired, the padlock can be secured in position in the housing, e.g. by a rivet or bolt.

However it is preferred to leave the padlock free so that it can be lifted out of the housing in the manner described above, and also so that it can be taken away for maintenance of the lock mechanism, or for replacement if keys are lost or compromised, e.g. with reason to believe that they have been duplicated.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a shutter moving upwardly and downwardly relative to the ground, it can be adapted for use with a shutter or door or window which moves in a horizontal direction to close against a vertical frame or post, in which or to which the anchorage is secured. In this case, the receiver can be integrated into the anchorage because it is not necessary to remove the receiver during daytime.

Claims (14)

Claims

1. A fastening means comprising a receiver link having an aperture for receiving a bolt or shackle of a lock, and an anchorage element adapted to engage with the receiver link and to be secured in a base, wherein a threaded portion of the receiver link is engageable with a complementary threaded portion of the anchorage element.

2. A fastening means according to Claim 1, wherein the threaded portion of the receiver link is an externally threaded spindle and the threaded portion of the anchorage element is an internally threaded portion.

3. A fastening means according to Claim 2, wherein the internally threaded portion of the anchorage element is spaced from an open end thereof by an unthreaded collar portion.

4. A fastening means according to any of the preceding claims which also comprises an abutment member adapted to be secured to the leading edge of a shutter, door or window and having a slot into which the receiver link can pass.

5. A fastening means according to Claim 4, wherein the abutment member is provided adjacent the slot with an upstanding lug having an aperture adapted to register with the aperture of the receiver link such that both apertures when brought into register can together receive the bolt or shackle of a lock.

6. A fastening means according to Claim 4, wherein the abutment member comprises a hasp portion having a slot therein and a pair of wall portions upstanding from said hasp portion to house a padlock with the bolt or shackle of said padlock in register with said slot.

7. A fastening means according to Claim 6, wherein said slot extends into said wall portions.

8. A fastening means according to either of Claims 6 and 7, wherein said wall portions and hasp portion define a housing to receive and shield a padlock of rectangular configuration having two main flat parallel faces and a flat side lace having a slot therein in register with the slot in the hasp portion.

9. A fastening means according to any of Claim 6-8, wherein a guard plate is provided at one end to bridge said wall portions for part of their height.

10. A fastening means according to any of Claims 6-9 which also comprises a padlock having two main parallel faces which abut against said wall portions when the padlock is housed therebetween and having a bolt which slides transversely of said slot to engage the aperture in the receiver link.

11. An abutment member for fastening means of the kind comprising a receiver adapted to be secured in a base and having an aperture for receiving the bolt or shackle of a lock, said abutment member comprising a hasp portion having a slot therein and a pair of wall portions upstanding from said hasp portion to house a padlock with the bolt or shackle of the padlock in register with said slot.

1 2. Fastening means substantially as described herein with reference to Figures

1-3 or 4 of the accompanying drawings.

1 3. Fastening means substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 5-10 of the accompanying drawings.

14. An abutment member for fastening means, substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 5-1 0 of the accompanying drawings.