US 12,139,327 B2
Locking device and methods
David L. Reeb, Sykesville, MD (US); and James L. Martin, II, Gambrills, MD (US)
Assigned to Serio-Us Industries, Inc., Baltimore, MD (US)
Filed by Serio-Us Industries, Inc., Baltimore, MD (US)
Filed on Mar. 3, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/686,171.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/156,638, filed on Mar. 4, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0281681 A1, Sep. 8, 2022
Int. Cl. B65F 1/16 (2006.01)
CPC B65F 1/1615 (2013.01) [B65F 1/1646 (2013.01); B65F 2210/148 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A locking device with a housing having a cavity therein, the cavity houses a locking mechanism, the locking mechanism comprising:
a. a shaft protruding through the housing and rotatable around a central axis of the shaft;
b. a cam fixed to a perimeter of the shaft;
c. a locking bar extending parallel to and non-rotatably connected to the shaft; and
d. a rolling member disposed in a slot provided within the housing,
wherein when the rolling member is located at a bottom of the slot, the rolling member abuts the cam and blocks the cam from rotating, thereby blocking the shaft from rotating to an open position, and
wherein when the rolling member is located at a top of the slot, the cam is free from the rolling member to allow the shaft to rotate to the open position,
wherein the housing comprises a plurality of flat plates fixed together, and
wherein the plates include framing plates, rolling plates adjacent to each other and sandwiched between the framing plates, and an outer plate covering one of the framing plates.