CA2623641A1 - Locking device for cargo container doors - Google Patents

Abstract

A locking device and apparatus for engagement with a cargo container door latch assembly comprises an enclosure having a top closure, an open bottom, and an open rear side, plus a shackle pin extending downward from the top closure. The lower rear edges of the enclosure's sidewalls are notched to receive the latch assembly's locking rod lever when the locking device is mounted over the latch assembly. The shackle pin is sized to pass through the hasps of the latch assembly, with a lower portion projecting below the hasps. The locking device is mountable by being lowered over the latch assembly such that the shackle pin passes through the aligned hasps, with locking rod lever becoming disposed within the notches in the enclosure's sidewalls. The device may then be secured to the latch assembly by engaging a receiver lock with the lower end of the shackle pin.
When the device is thus installed, the enclosure surrounds the shackle pin and shields it from damage by vandals and thieves.

Description

LOCKING DEVICE FOR CARGO CONTAINER DOORS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to devices for locking the doors of cargo containers such as intermodal cargo containers, and in particular to tamper-resistant locking devices for use with conventional container door latch mechanisms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Metal intermodal shipping containers are widely used to transport cargo by sea, rail, and truck, and are also commonly used as stationary storage containers.
The typical intermodal cargo container has a pair of hinged doors at one end. In a common form of container door construction, each door is externally fitted with at least one vertical locking rod with latching elements at each end, for engagement with mating latch means associated with the container's roof and floor structures. The locking rod is rotatable about its longitudinal axis to engage or disengage the latching elements according to the direction of rotation, and for this purpose an elongate locking rod lever is connected to the locking rod, extending generally radially outward therefrom. Typically, the connection between the lever and the locking rod is a hinged connection, so that the lever is pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis.

In order to disengage the locking rod's upper and lower latching elements, the locking rod lever is swung outward away from the container door, whereupon the door may be opened. To engage the latching elements, the container door is closed and the locking rod lever is swung inward toward the face of the door. When the locking rod is in the engaged (locked) position, the locking rod lever will typically lie adjacent and parallel to the container door.

To deter break-in and theft from the container, a lockable latch assembly is mounted to the container door in association with each locking rod lever. As will be described in greater detail hereinbelow, the latch assembly includes upper and lower hasps, one or both of which are notched or otherwise adapted such that the two hasps can cooperatively receive and retain the locking rod lever. With the lever being thus retained by the hasps, the shackle of a conventional padlock can be inserted through aligned shackle holes in the hasps, thereby securing the locking rod lever in the locked position.
Unfortunately, it is fairly simple for thieves to use bolt cutters or other tools to cut through the padlock shackle, and thus gain unauthorized access to the container.

The prior art discloses several devices and apparatus for preventing or deterring thieves or vandals from breaking into cargo containers having hasp-and-lever container door latch assemblies of the type described above. Examples of such prior art devices may be seen in U.S. Patent No. 5,168,258 (Radke), U.S. Patent No. 6,233,984 (Blehi III), U.S. Patent No. 6,581,419 (Strodtman), U.S. Patent No. 7,201,028 (Gogel), and U.S.
Patent No. 7,278,284 (James). Other examples of prior art devices include the War-LokTM "TL-10" and "IR-20" container door locks. Although these prior art devices can be effective for their intended purposes, they have various drawbacks. For example, some of these devices have multiple components, including moving parts, and may entail comparatively complicated and expensive fabrication; some may shield a padlock passing through a hasp assembly, but fail to completely shield the hasps.

For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a locking device for use with a conventional cargo container door latch assembly which is simple and economical to fabricate, has no moving parts, and is simple to use in the field, while being effective to shield the hasps of the latch assembly so as to prevent or deter thieves and vandals from breaking into the container. The present invention is directed to this need.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In general terms, the present invention is a locking device and apparatus for engagement with the hasps of a standard cargo container door latch assembly, as an alternative to a conventional padlock or combination lock. The locking device comprises an enclosure having a top closure, an open bottom, and an open rear side, plus a shackle pin securely anchored to and extending downward from the top closure into the enclosure, such that the enclosure shields the shackle pin so as to prevent or deter access and damage thereto by vandals and thieves. The lower rear edges of the enclosure's sidewalls are notched such that when the locking device is mounted over a conventional door latch assembly in its engaged (locked) position, the locking rod lever of the locking device will be disposed within the sidewall notches, thus allowing the upper rear edges of the sidewalls to be disposed immediately adjacent to the face of the container door, thereby further deterring access to the shackle pin.

The shackle pin is sized to pass through the hasps of the latch assembly, with a lower portion of the shackle pin projecting below the hasps and being lockingly engaged by a receiver lock. Accordingly, the locking device is readily mounted to a conventional cargo container door latch assembly by lowering the device over the engaged assembly such that the shackle pin passes through the aligned hasps of the latch assembly, and such that the notched rear edges of the enclosure's sidewalls pass over the latch assembly's locking rod lever. The device may then be secured to the latch assembly by engaging a receiver lock with the lower end of the shackle pin. In preferred embodiments, the height of the enclosure is sufficient to completely shield the receiver lock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which numerical references denote like parts, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a prior art cargo container door locking apparatus comprising a rotatable locking rod, a locking rod lever, and a hasp assembly.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a cargo container door locking device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section through a cargo container door illustrating the locking device of FIG. 2, mounted and locked to a prior art container door hasp assembly.

FIGURE 4 is a partial cutaway perspective view of the locking device of FIG. 2, mounted and locked to a prior art container door hasp assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates what may be referred to, for purposes of this patent specification, as a standard latch assembly for a cargo container door 100.
The latch assembly comprises an elongate vertical locking rod 110, rotatable about its longitudinal axis and rotatably retained by two or more locking rod brackets 112 mounted to the outer face 101 of door 100. The latch assembly further includes a locking rod lever mounted to locking rod 110 by means of a lever bracket 122 with a swivel pin 124, such that locking rod lever 120 is vertically swivellable about swivel pin 124. The latch assembly also includes an upper hasp 130 and a lower hasp 140, both mounted to outer face 101 of door 100 by means of mounting bolts 132 and 142 respectively.

Upper and lower hasps 130 and 140 have shackle openings 134 and 144 respectively, and are configured such that they can enclosingly receive locking rod lever 120, with shackle openings 132 and 142 in mutual alignment for receiving the shackle of a padlock or other suitable locking device. For this purpose, one or both of the hasps are formed with lever-receiving notches 126 (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3). As well, at least a first one of the hasps is swivellably mounted to door 100 so that locking rod lever 120 can be moved into the engaged (locked) position relative to the other hasp, whereupon the first hasp can be swivelled back into position with its shackle opening aligned with that of the other hasp. In a typical latch assembly, uppei- hasp 130 is swivellable about its corresponding mounting bolt 132, with lower hasp 140 being non-swivellable.
This arrangement, while probably most convenient from an operational standpoint, is not essential; in alternative arrangements, lower hasp 140 could be swivellable instead of, or in addition to upper hasp 130.

In any event, once locking rod lever 120 has been enclosing received by upper and lower hasps 130 and 140, a padlock shackle may be passed through the aligned shackle openings 134 and 144, thereby retaining locking rod 110 within the hasp assembly and preventing locking rod 110 from being operated to open door 100.
As noted earlier, however, it is unfortunately all too easy for thieves or vandals to cut the padlock shackle and thus gain unauthorized access to the container. The present invention provides alternative means for locking the hasps of a standard cargo container door latch assembly, in the form of a locking device 10, a preferred embodiment of which is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. Locking device 10 includes an enclosure 20 having an upper end 20U and a lower end 20L, and being generally U-shaped in lateral cross-section. Enclosure 20 also includes a top closure member 26 - preferably but not necessarily in the form of a flat plate as shown in the Figures - which substantially closes off upper end 20U of enclosure 20. Lower end 20L of enclosure 20 is open.

As used in this patent specification with reference to enclosure 20, the term "U-shaped" is intended to cover a broad range of shapes having one open side.
In the illustrated embodiments of locking device 10, enclosure 20 is essentially rectangular in cross-section, like a square or rectangle with one side missing. However, the cross-section of enclosure 20 could also be of a curvilinear shape (e.g., defining a semi-circle, or a circular segment smaller or larger than a semi-circle), a partial ellipse, a partial hexagon (or other partial non-rectangular polygon shapes), or any similar or analogous shape, while still being considered "U-shaped" in accordance with the intended meaning of that term.

By virtue of its U-shaped configuration, enclosure 20 has an open rear side defined by two sidewall elements on either side of open rear side 20R, said sidewall elements forming part of enclosure 20. In the illustrated embodiments, in which enclosure 20 is of a rectangular cross-sectional configuration, enclosure 20 comprises a pair of sidewalls 22 and a front wall 24. Each sidewall 22 has a rear edge 28 adjacent to open rear side 20R, with a notch 29 being formed along rear edge 28 and extending upward from lower end 20L of enclosure 20 to a selected point between lower end 20L
and upper end 20U of enclosure 20. As may be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the purpose of notches 29 in sidewalls 22 is to allow locking device 10 to be positioned over a locking rod lever 120 in its engaged (locked) position adjacent to a cargo container door 100, with the unnotched upper portions of rear edges 28 lying along and closely adjacent to cargo container door 100.

Persons skilled in the art will readily appreciate that there are a variety of ways to fabricate enclosure 20 using known fabrication methods. One particularly simple and efficient method is to fabricate enclosure 20 from a length of square or rectangular hollow structural steel tubing (such as, for example, 3" x 3" square tubing).
One sidewall of the tubing can be cut away to form open rear side 20R, and the removed sidewall piece can be used to fashion top closure member 26, which can then be welded in place across upper end 20U of enclosure 20. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not restricted or limited to the use of any particular means or method of constructing enclosure 20.

The locking device 10 of the present invention also includes a shackle pin 30 having an upper end 30U and a lower end 30L, with upper end 30U being connected to top closure member 26 such that shackle pin 30 extends downward from top closure member 26 within enclosure 20. The connection between shackle pin 30 and top closure member 26 may be made by any suitable means including welding (as conventionally indicated by reference numeral 31 in FIG. 3). For example, upper end 30U of shackle pin 30 could alternatively be threaded for connection to top closure member 26 by means of threaded engagement with one or more retainer nuts or with a threaded opening in top closure member 26.

Shackle pin 30 may be considered as having an upper section 34 and a lower section 32. Lower section 32 of shackle pin 30 is of a sufficiently small cross-section to allow a lowermost portion of shackle pin 30 to pass through the shackle openings 134 and 144 of the upper and lower hasps 130 and 140 of a standard cargo container door latch assembly of the type previously described. At least a lowermost portion of lower section 32 is of circular cross-section to permit insertion into the shackle channel 42 of a receiver lock 40 of the general type illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. As used in this patent specification, the term "receiver lock" denotes a known padlock variant comprising a lock body 41 with a single cylindrical shackle channel 42 extending partially into lock body 41. Receiver lock 40 also has an internal lock cylinder assembly 44 and a retractable shackle-engaging pin 46 which is operatively connected to cylinder assembly 44 and which is biased (typically by means of a spring) to extend transversely and partially into shackle channel 42. Receiver lock 40 also includes a key slot 48 associated with cylinder assembly 44, into which a key may be inserted to actuate cylinder assembly 44 so as to retract shackle-engaging pin 46 from shackle channel 42.

To facilitate engagement with receiver lock 40, a recess is formed into lower section 32 of shackle pin 30 to receive shackle-engaging pin 46, at a suitable point above lower end 30L of shackle pin 30. In preferred embodiments, and as shown in FIGS. 2-4, recess is provided in the form of an annular groove 38 extending around the full perimeter of shackle pin 30, such that engagement with shackle-engaging pin 46 will not be dependent on receiver lock 40 being in any particular angular orientation relative to shackle pin 30.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, lower end 30L of shackle pin 30 preferably is chamfered to facilitate insertion into shackle channel 42 of receiver lock 40 when shackle-engaging pin 46 is projecting into shackle channel 42. When shackle pin 30 is inserted into shackle channel 42 and pressed against the projecting shackle-engaging pin 46, the chamfered end of shackle pin 30 will exert a horizontal force to push shackle-engaging pin 46 laterally outward from shackle channel 42, such that shackle pin 30 can be inserted further into shackle channel 42 until shackle-engaging pin 46 snaps into place within annular groove 38.

In its simplest form, shackle pin 30 can be a round bar of constant cross-section.
In preferred embodiments, however, upper section 34 of shackle pin 30 has a larger cross-section than that of lower section 32, such that upper section 32 cannot pass through the shackle openings 134 and 144 of hasps 130 and 140. In this configuration, an annular shoulder 34A is formed in upper section 34 where it adjoins lower section 32. In the most preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 2-4, an uppermost subsection 36 of upper section 34 is of further enlarged cross-section, thereby optimizing the rigidity of shackle pin 30 and its connection to top closure member 26.

The purpose and function of locking device 10 may now be readily understood with reference to the foregoing description and to FIGS. 3 and 4 in particular. Locking device 10 may be installed when the locking rod lever 120 of a standard cargo container door latch assembly is in its engaged (locked) position, disposed alongside outer face 101 of cargo container door 100 and retainingly enclosed by the latch assembly's upper and lower hasps 130 and 140. Locking device 10 is lowered over the hasp assembly so that lower end 30 of shackle pin 30 passes through shackle openings 134 and 144 of upper and lower hasps 130 and 140, with the notched sidewalls 22 of enclosure 20 passing over and around locking rod lever 120 on either side of the hasps. In the illustrated embodiments, annular shoulder 34A bears against the upper hasp 130, thus fixing the length of the portion of shackle pin 30 that extends below the hasps assembly, and allowing that length to be optimized for secure engagement with a receiver lock 40 (as described below).

With locking device 10 thus held in position, receiver lock 40 may be inserted upwardly through the open lower end 20L of enclosure 20, such that a lowermost portion of shackle pin 30 passes into shackle channel 42 of receiver lock 40, and such that the shackle-engaging pin 46 of receiver lock 40 engages the annular recess 38 of shackle pin 30 (with the aid of the receiver lock key if necessary or desirable). Locking device 10 is thus locking secured through hasps 130 and 140, with enclosure 20 shielding both shackle pin 30 and receiver lock 40 from damage and tampering.

To enable cargo container door 100 to be opened, a key is inserted into key slot 48 of receiver lock 40 and turned to retract shackle-engaging pin 46 from annular recess 38 of shackle pin 30, thereby allowing receiver lock 40 to be removed from shackle pin 30. Locking device 10 may then be lifted from the latch assembly, thus withdrawing shackle pin 30 from the hasps, and allowing locking rod lever 120 to be operated in the usual fashion.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the distance from the centerline of shackle pin 30 to the rearmost edge of enclosure 20 is preferably just slightly less than the distance from the centerline of shackle openings 134 and 144 to outer face 101 of cargo container door 100.

This arrangement allows the upper portion of enclosure 20 to fit closely against door 100, thereby enhancing the shielding effect of locking device 10 with respect to upper hasp 130 in particular.

The locking device of the present invention is readily portable for use with different containers. However, the device may also be flexibly anchored to a container door in association with a particular locking rod lever by means of a chain or cable connected (such as by welding) to the locking device and the door. This prevents inadvertent loss of the device and ensures that it will be available for use when needed.

It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the present invention may be devised without departing from the essential concept of the invention, and all such modifications are intended to come within the scope of the present invention and the claims appended hereto. It is to be especially understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to illustrated embodiments, and that the substitution of a variant of a claimed element or feature, without any substantial resultant change in the working of the invention, will not constitute a departure from the scope of the invention.

In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following that word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one such element.

Claims (20)

1. A locking device for use with a cargo container door latch assembly comprising a locking rod lever and a pair of hasps with alignable shackle openings, said hasps being adapted and operable to enclosingly receive the locking rod lever; said locking device comprising:

(a) a generally U-shaped enclosure having an upper end, a lower end, and an open rear side, wherein:

a.1 said enclosure defines a pair of sidewall elements on either side of said open rear side; and a.2 each sidewall element has a rear-edge notch extending to the lower end of the enclosure;

(b) a top closure member disposed across and closing off the upper end of the enclosure; and (c) an elongate shackle pin having an upper end and a lower end, and comprising an upper section and a lower section, wherein:

c.1 said upper end of the shackle pin is connected to the top closure member and extends downward within the enclosure c.2 said lower section of the shackle pin is passable through the shackle openings of the hasps; and c.3 said lower section of the shackle pin incorporates recess means, to facilitate locking engagement with a receiver lock.

2. The locking apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the recess means comprises an annular groove.

3. The locking apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the lower end of the shackle pin is chamfered.

4. The locking apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the upper section of the shackle pin is of larger cross-section than the lower section, and is not passable through the shackle openings.

5. The locking device of Claim 4 wherein the upper section of the shackle pin defines an annular shoulder adjacent to the lower section of the shackle pin

6. The locking apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the enclosure is of a rectangular shape in cross-section.

7. The locking apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the enclosure is of a curvilinear shape in cross-section.

8. The locking apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the upper end of the shackle pin is connected to the top closure member by welding.

9. The locking apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the upper end of the shackle pin is connected to the top closure member by means of a bolted connection.

10. The locking apparatus of Claim 1 wherein the upper end of the shackle pin is connected to the top closure member by means of a threaded connection.

11 11. A locking apparatus for use with a cargo container door latch assembly comprising a locking rod lever and a pair of hasps with alignable shackle openings, said hasps being adapted and operable to enclosingly receive the locking rod lever;
said locking apparatus comprising:

(a) a receiver lock having a shackle channel and a shackle-engaging pin;

(b) a generally U-shaped enclosure having an upper end, a lower end, and an open rear side, wherein:

b.1 said enclosure defines a pair of sidewall elements on either side of said open rear side; and b.2 each sidewall element has a rear-edge notch extending to the lower end of the enclosure;

(c) a top closure member disposed across and closing off the upper end of the enclosure;

(d) an elongate shackle pin having an upper end and a lower end, and comprising an upper section and a lower section, wherein:

d.1 said upper end of the shackle pin is connected to the top closure member and extends downward within the enclosure d.2 said lower section of the shackle pin is passable through the shackle openings of the hasps and insertable into the shackle channel of the receiver lock; and d.3 said lower section of the shackle pin incorporates recess means, to facilitate locking engagement with the shackle-engaging pin of the receiver lock.

12. The locking apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the recess means comprises an annular groove.

13. The locking apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the lower end of the shackle pin is chamfered.

14. The locking apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the upper section of the shackle pin is of larger cross-section than the lower section, and is not passable through the shackle openings.

15. The locking apparatus of Claim 14 wherein the upper section of the shackle pin defines an annular shoulder adjacent to the lower section of the shackle pin

16. The locking apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the enclosure is of a rectangular shape in cross-section.

17. The locking apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the enclosure is of a curvilinear shape in cross-section.

18. The locking apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the upper end of the shackle pin is connected to the top closure member by welding.

19. The locking apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the upper end of the shackle pin is connected to the top closure member by means of a bolted connection.

20. The locking apparatus of Claim 11 wherein the upper end of the shackle pin is connected to the top closure member by means of a threaded connection.