BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to a door lock of a cargo container, and more particularly,
to an improved door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function and to
easily check a tamper-evident of the container during the transportation of cargo
containers.
Description of the Related Art
[0002] In general, a cargo container is widely used as a device to transport cargos, and
particularly, cargos are accommodated in a container and the container is transported
by a ship when the cargos are imported from foreign countries or exported to foreign
countries. When the cargos are transported by a ship, since the containers have to
wait for the shipping in a container port for a long time and it takes a long time
for the transportation of the containers after the shipping, there is a considerable
risk of the cargos accommodated in the containers to be robbed during the transportation
and robbery cases frequently occur actually.
[0003] Furthermore, since burglars ingeniously disguise a door lock of the container after
robbing the cargos in the container such that an evidence of robbery is so hardly
found with the naked eye that the fact of robbery is not perceived for a long time
after the robbery of the cargos.
[0004] For this reason, there are continuous efforts to prevent burglar accidents and to
easily check tamper-evident of the door lock caused by the robbery. As an example
of the efforts, there is
Korean Patent No. 10-0425540, filed with Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) by the applicant of this application
and registered in 2004, entitled "Cargo Container Door Lock With Theft Prevention
Means." Moreover, there is a PCT Application No.
WO 2004/014764 A1, filed based on the Korean Patent Application claiming a conventional priority and
published in 2004 entitled "Cargo Container Door Lock With Theft Prevention Means."
[0005] According to the cargo container door lock disclosed in
Korean Patent No. 10-0425540 and PCT Publication No.
WO 2004/014764 A1, since a theft must cut a sealed fastening strap (container seal) in order to open
a container door, the tamper-evident can be directly confirmed when the container
door is opened by force.
[0006] However, according to the cargo container door lock, since a handle and a handle
hub are coupled by a rivet, if a theft cuts the rivet off with a grinder or makes
a hole with a drilling machine, the cargos in the cargo container may be robbed. The
theft may rob the cargos and may ingeniously disguise the rivet after robbery. In
a state of being innocent of the fact that the broken door lock is disguised with
a new rivet, a person in charge at the time when the cargos are robed does not bear
the responsibility for the robbery but a person who release the sealed door lock when
the sealed fastening strap (container seal) is released. Therefore, due to this, it
may give rise to a trouble of making clear where the responsibility lies.
[0007] If the door lock of a cargo container were implemented such that a theft cannot cut
the door lock off with a grinder or make a hole with a drilling machine and it is
hard to disguise the door lock, it may be effective to prevent the robbery.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above and/or other
problems, and it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a door lock of a
cargo container having an improved burglarproof function available for preventing
robbery of cargos accommodated in the cargo container.
[0009] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a door lock of a cargo container
having a burglarproof function of preventing of a theft from cutting the door lock
off with a grinder or from making a hole with a drilling machine and of making the
door lock be disguised by the theft.
[0010] In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished
by the provision of a door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function
comprising: a handle hub, in which a pair of supporting pieces is integrally formed,
welded to a side of a locking rod; a rear supporting piece of the supporting pieces
having a fastening hole; a front supporting piece of the supporting pieces integrally
formed with an inward locking protrusion having a screw coupling groove; a handle
including a connecting part formed at a side thereof and having a locking recess with
a fastening hole such that the inward locking protrusion of the front supporting piece
is inserted into and locked in the fastening hole due to pivot of the handle; and
a bolt fastened into the screw coupling groove through the fastening hole of the rear
supporting piece.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] These and/or other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent
and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a use of a cargo container employing a door lock of
a cargo container according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the door lock of a cargo container according to
an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a handle hub in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the handle hub in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the coupling between the handle hub and
a handle;
FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view illustrating a main part of the handle hub in a state
of coupling the handle with the handle hub;
FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a final process of the coupling of the handle;
FIG. 8 is a partial sectional perspective view illustrating the handle hub with which
the handle is coupled; and
FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views illustrating modifications of the handle hub
in FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0012] Hereinafter, an apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention will
be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following
description of the present invention, if the detailed description of the already known
structure and operation may confuse the subject matter of the present invention, the
detailed description thereof will be omitted.
[0013] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a use of a cargo container 2 employing a door lock
14 of a cargo container according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] The door lock 14 of a cargo container (hereinafter, referred to as a "fastener")
according to the embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1, is
mounted to a side of a locking rod 12 installed to open and close a door 10 of the
cargo container 2. A reference numeral 16 of FIG. 1 is assigned to a lock.
[0015] FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view illustrating the door lock 14 of a cargo container
according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view
illustrating a handle hub 20 in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the
handle hub 20, FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the coupling between the
handle hub 20 and a handle 22, and FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view illustrating a
main part of the handle hub 20 in a state of coupling the handle 22 with the handle
hub 20.
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 6, the door lock 14 according to the embodiment of the present
invention, as illustrated in FIG. 2, includes the handle hub 20 welded to a side of
the locking rod 12. The handle 22 is coupled with the handle hub 20 such a way that
a connecting part 50 provided at a side of the handle 22 is coupled with the handle
hub 20. A central portion of the handle 22 is locked by a locking piece 62 and a catch
64 of a fixing plate 60 that is fixed to an outer surface of a door 10 of the cargo
container 2 and coupled with the fixing plate 60.
[0017] The handle hub 20 has a material characteristic and a structural property such that
a fastening bolt 42 cannot be perforated or cut off by a grinder or a drilling machine.
Moreover, the handle hub 20 has a configuration such that, even if a main body is
perforated or cut off, it is hard for a theft to disguise the main body due to the
robbery trace. The coupling between the handle hub 20 and the handle 22 has a structural
property such that, even if the bolt 42 of the handle hub 20 is cut off, the handle
22 is unable to be released from the handle hub 20 without releasing a container seal
70.
[0018] In more detail, the handle hub 20 of the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS.
3 and 4, is configured in a way that a tungsten carbide plate of high carbon steel
having a predetermined thickness is bent to have a U-shape by a forging press such
that a pair of supporting pieces 30a and 30b, which face each other and are integrally
formed with each other, is formed and an insertion portion 32 is defined therebetween.
[0019] A rear supporting piece 30b of the pair of supporting pieces 30a and 30b of the handle
hub 20 has a fastening hole 34 formed in the central portion thereof, and a front
supporting piece 30a includes an inward locking protrusion 38 having a screw coupling
groove 36 formed at the rear central portion. A protrusion 40 is integrally with the
front portion of the front supporting piece 30a.
[0020] On the other hand, the handle 22 coupled with the handle hub 20, as illustrated in
FIG. 5, has a locking recess 51 formed in the connecting part 50 and having a fastening
hole 52 such that the inner locking protrusion 38 of the front supporting piece 30a
of the handle hub 20 is inserted into the locking recess 51.
[0021] The fastening hole 34 and the screw coupling groove 36 of the supporting pieces 30a
and 30b of the handle hub 20 are provided for the fastening of the bolt 42 when the
handle 22 is coupled with the handle hub 20. The inner locking protrusion 38, as illustrated
in FIG. 5, is provided to serve as a lock when the inner locking protrusion 38 is
inserted into the locking recess 51 of the connecting part 50 of the handle 22 and
the handle 22 is pivoted.
[0022] When the handle 22 is inserted into the handle hub 20 and is pivoted, the handle
22 is locked and fixed by the handle hub 20 and the bolts 42 fastened at the rear
side of the handle hub 20 is not exposed over the front side of the handle hub 20
after the bolt 42 is fastened. Particularly, the protrusion 40 formed at the front
central portion of the front supporting piece 30a is provided such that a theft cannot
perforate the front supporting piece 30a with a cutting machine such as a drilling
machine and the handle hub 20 is made of a tungsten carbide plate of high carbon steel
so that it is next to impossible for the theft to perforate with the cutting machine
such as the drilling machine.
[0023] In the embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion 40 integrally formed with
the front central portion of the front supporting piece 30a of the handle hub 30,
as illustrated in FIG. 3, may be formed on the front supporting piece 30a in the form
of a dome shape, or, as illustrated in FIG. 9, on the front supporting piece 30a in
the form of a curved cone shape. Moreover, the protrusion 40 may be protruded from
the front supporting piece 30a in the form of a plate having the same size as the
front supporting piece 30a as illustrated in FIG. 10.
[0024] The protrusion 40 having the above-mentioned shapes makes a drill bit be slid or
has a thickness as impossible as perforating with the drill bit.
[0025] The coupling of the handle 22 to the handle hub 20 will be described in detail with
reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 as follows.
[0026] When coupling the handle 22 with the handle hub 20, firstly the handle 22 is vertically
erected, the connecting part 50 of the side of the handle 22 is inserted into the
insertion portion 32 of the handle hub 20 such that the inner locking protrusion 38
of the front supporting piece 30a is inserted into the locking recess 51 of the connecting
part 50. By doing so, the fastening hole 52 of the connecting part 50 is naturally
aligned with the fastening hole 34 of the rear supporting piece 30a. In this state,
as illustrated in FIG. 5, the bolt 42 is inserted into the fastening hole 34 of the
rear supporting piece 30b from the rear side of the handle hub 20 and is fastened
into the screw coupling groove 36 of the front supporting piece 30a. Moreover, if
necessary, a head of the bolt 42 is welded in a recess in which the head of the bolt
42 is placed such that the bolt 42 is welded to the rear supporting piece 30b.
[0027] As described above, after the handle 22 is coupled, the handle 22 is pivoted toward
the door 10 about the locking rod 12 to contact the door 10 and the handle 22 vertically
hung is pivoted up counterclockwise, as illustrated in FIG. 7, to be locked by the
locking piece 62 of the fixing plate 60 fixed to the outer surface of the door 10.
Next, the catch 64 is so pivoted that the central portion of the handle 22 is locked
by the locking piece 62 and the catch 64 of the fixing plate 60.
[0028] The fastened and locked state of the handle 22 to the handle hub 20 and by the fixing
plate 60 can be clearly understood with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. In other words,
since the locking recess 51 formed at the connecting part 50 of the handle 22 is downwardly
opened, although the bolt 42 of the handle hub 20 is perforated or cut off, the inward
locking protrusion 38 of the front supporting piece 30a is still locked by the locking
recess 51. Thus, a theft cannot detach the handle 22 from the handle hub 20 without
releasing the container seal 70.
[0029] According to this embodiment of the present invention, since a theft may cut the
catch 64 off with a cutting tool, it is preferable that the catch 64, like the case
of the handle hub 20, is made of tungsten carbide of high carbon steel and has a thickness
of 5 mm to 10 mm.
[0030] After the handle 22 is locked by the locking piece 62 and the catch 64 of the fixing
plate 60, a user welds the container seal 70 penetrating the catch 64 and the handle
22 to seal the handle 22. There are various types of container seals 70 such as a
bolt, a nut, a fastening strap, and other known types. It is preferable that the container
seal 70 is made of high carbon steel, like the case of the handle hub 20.
[0031] In this configuration, it is difficult for the theft to perforate or cut the handle
hub 20 and to cut the catch 64 and the container seal 70 too.
[0032] As described above, according to the present invention, since a theft cannot cut
or perforate the door lock of a cargo container with a grinder or a drilling machine,
the cargos in the cargo container can be prevented from robbing. Moreover, in addition
to the function of preventing robbery, the tamper-evident is easily checked during
the transportation of the cargo container so that a measure against the tamper-evident
can be easily taken.
[0033] Although, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inward locking
protrusion 38 is formed in the handle hub 20 in which a pair of supporting pieces
30a and 30b are integrally formed with each other and the locking recess 51 is formed
in the connecting part 50 of the handle 22 such that the handle 22 is inserted into
the handle hub 20 and pivots to be locked by the handle hub 20, on the contrary, it
is possible that the locking recess 51 is formed in the handle hub 20 and the inward
locking protrusion is formed in the connecting part 50 of the handle 22. Moreover,
although the fastening hole 34 and the screw coupling grove 36 are formed in the handle
hub 20 to couple the bolt 42, those skilled in the art appreciate that the handle
hub 20 can be configured without the bolt 42, the fastening hole 34, and the screw
coupling groove 36.
[0034] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for
illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications,
additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit
of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
1. A door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function comprising:
a handle hub, in which a pair of supporting pieces is integrally formed, welded to
a side of a locking rod;
a rear supporting piece of the supporting pieces having a fastening hole;
a front supporting piece of the supporting pieces integrally formed with an inward
locking protrusion having a screw coupling groove;
a handle including a connecting part formed at a side thereof and having a locking
recess with a fastening hole such that the inward locking protrusion of the front
supporting piece is inserted into and locked in the fastening hole due to pivot of
the handle; and
a bolt fastened into the screw coupling groove through the fastening hole of the rear
supporting piece.
2. The door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function according to claim
1, wherein the handle hub is made of a high carbon steel.
3. The door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function according to claims
1 or 2, wherein the front supporting piece of the handle hub further comprises a protrusion
integrally formed with a front side of the front supporting piece.
4. The door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function according to claim
3, wherein the protrusion is protruded from the front supporting piece in the form
of a dome shape.
5. The door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function according to claim
3, wherein the protrusion is protruded from the front supporting piece in the form
of a curved cone shape.
6. The door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function according to claim
3, wherein the protrusion is protruded from the front supporting piece in the form
of a plate.
7. The door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function according to claim
1, further comprising a fixing plate installed to a door of the cargo container,
wherein the handle, in which the connecting part is fastened to the handle hub by
the bolt, is locked by a locking piece and a catch of the fixing plate, and
the catch has a thickness of 5 mm to 10 mm and is made of a high carbon steel.
8. A door lock of a cargo container having a burglarproof function comprising:
a handle hub, in which a pair of supporting pieces is integrally formed, welded to
a side of a locking rod;
a handle locking device having a locking groove and a locking protrusion respectively
formed in a pair of supporting pieces and a connecting part formed at a side of the
handle such that the connecting part of the handle is inserted between the pair of
supporting pieces to pivot the handle to be locked; and
a locking piece formed in a fixing plate fixed to a door to lock an opposite side
of the handle when the handle is locked.