UNAUTHORIZED USE

The invention relates to a lock-type device controlled by an electronic control circuit, intended for use in automated systems of secure locking of objects after their prior authorization in the control system of the lock. The lock can be used in systems such as automated rental stations for bicycle or other types of vehicles, in trolley parking systems for commercial areas or in any other types of applications where the locking and unlocking by means of automatic control of objects is required, in order to retrieve them for use and then lock them back into the respective system after prior verification of the identity and authorization of those objects to be allowed for locking.

The patent application with publication number WO/2019/117742 discloses a lock whose construction and operation provide, in addition to the main locking function of an object, additional functions of: restricting the use for locking only objects that are identified and authorized by the control system; detecting of non-compliant use; and re-assuring of blocking states in the "locked" or "unlocked" position if the user who ordered the lock or unlock of the object does not introduce the object into, or pulls it out of the lock, respectively, within a predetermined time interval. That lock has an active locking element consisting of a single rotary latch which has two shoulders in which is positioned the end of each of two blocking levers, the first one in the "unlocked" position and the second one in the "locked" position, wherein the two blocking levers are actuated by an actuator. When switching the rotary latch from the "unlocked" position to the "locked" position or vice versa, the rotary latch is firmly biased by a follower either to the "locked" position or to the "unlocked" position, the reaching of each of these positions being signaled by closing, respectively opening a position sensor. The possible presence of an object locked inside the locking area is only determined indirectly, by a signal transmitted by the sensor corresponding to the "locked" position correlated in the control system with the conventional interpretation that the lock could have reached this“locked” position only by locking an object inside. Thus, a disadvantage of that solution is that the presence of an object in the lock can be determined only indirectly by reading the value of the sensor corresponding to the locked position. Also, the respective solution provides a mechanism for detecting unauthorized locking or unlocking attempts, which has the effect, in the case of the unauthorized use attempt, that a very small angular displacement of the rotary lock in the direction of the unlocking is sufficient to cause switching the state of the sensor corresponding to the "locked" position, thus alerting about the eventual unauthorized attempt of use. Another disadvantage of that lock is that the mechanical structure provides a single active locking element, which has the effect of receiving the entire external striking force only by a single latch and a single rotational joint. Thus, in the event of an attempt of a brute force unauthorized removal of the locked object, the mechanical resistance of the entire lock is limited to the resistance of the latch or its rotational joint or of one of the two blocking levers.

The problem of a higher overall mechanical strength of the lock in the event of any unauthorized attempts to brute force an object into / out of the locked state is solved by the present invention by using a pair of locking hooks, each being individually rotationally coupled with the lock housing, and by using a redundant elastic biasing of the two hooks so that in case one of the elastic biasing means gets broken, the locking subassembly still remains functional due to the second elastic biasing means.

Also, the problem of determining only by indirect means the presence of a closed object within the lock is solved by the present invention by using a sensor that is dedicated to determining the presence or absence of an object inside the locking mechanism.

The lock according to the present invention comprises two rotary locking hooks with profiles mutually conjugated by shape in the area of the active ends of locking, each locking hook being rotationally coupled with the lock case through a separate rotational joint, thus distributing the pressure exerted by an object to be locked or unlocked on a double number of active elements compared to other solutions. The two locking hooks are permanently biased one towards another by at least one spring, which ensures that the hooks return to the closed resting position after the complete insertion or removal of the locked object. The lock can be put in one of the blocked or unblocked states for both locking and unlocking an object, by using an actuator that moves a blocking drum so to block or allow the rotation of the locking hooks. Each of the two locking hooks has a spur gear sector by means of which they are mutually engaged, so that opening or closing of one of the two hooks automatically causes opening, respectively closing of the second hook. In preferred embodiments, two or more biasing springs can be used to ensure a redundancy for biasing the two hooks in the sense of closing one to the other even in the event of breaking of any of the two biasing springs. Also, the lock according to the invention also contains at least two sensors to identify, by the one hand, the presence or absence of an object locked inside the lock and, by the other hand, the eventual attempts to use the lock in an unauthorized or improper way, such as trying to forcibly lock or unlock an object, this latter event not altering the ability of the first sensor to still witness the eventual presence of a locked object inside the lock. The lock according to the present invention has the following advantages:

- it confirms by direct determination the presence of an object inside the locking area so that even in case of an authorized attempt of locking a locked object by pulling it outwards and causing a very small movement of the locked object outwards the lock but without the possibility of actual unlocking it when the lock is in blocked state, the presence of the locked object inside the lock is still signalized by a sensor;

- it provides a very high mechanical strength, rendering the lock able to safely stand unauthorized use attempts, such as forcibly inserting or removing an object;

- it ensures mechanical redundancy for returning the locking hooks to their safe closed position even if during operation one of the elastic elements that bias them breaks;

- it provides easier guidance of the locking object upon entering the locking area, so to accommodate more efficiently any possible deviations of the relative positioning of that object relative to the lock position.

Two preferred embodiments of the lock according to the invention are presented next, for exemplification. Nevertheless, other embodiments that are not presented in this description are possible to be realized in conjunction with the specific novel elements presented in this description. The two preferred embodiments herein presented are in conjunction with Fig. 1...16, which represent:

- Fig. 1 shows a top perspective view of the lock in a first embodiment of the invention, in the complete assembly state and with the representation of a striker which can be attached to a locking object;

- Fig. 2 shows a bottom perspective view of the lock in a first embodiment of the invention, in the complete assembly state and with the representation of a striker that can be attached to a locking object;

- Fig. 3 shows a rear view of the lock according to the invention for any of the embodiments presented, in the complete assembly state and with the representation of a striker which can be attached to a locking object;

- Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the lock in the first embodiment of the invention, with the upper semi-casing suppressed;

- Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the lock in the first embodiment of the invention, without the representation of the upper semi-casing and the spacer between the locking hooks and the upper semi-casing;

- Fig. 6 highlights, in a vertical top view, the areas of the locking jaws of the two locking hooks in the resting position of the lock, in any of the embodiments; - Fig. 7 shows an exploded view, in perspective, only of the pair of the locking hooks, in the first embodiment of the invention;

- Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the lock according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention, with the upper semi-casing, the spacer and the pusher removed from assembly;

- Fig. 9 shows a top view of the lock according to any of the two preferred embodiments presented, in the "locked in the free position" state, with the upper semi-casing, the spacer and the pusher removed from assembly;

- Fig. 10 shows a top view of the lock according to any of the two preferred embodiments presented, in the "unlocked position" state, whit the upper semi-casing, the spacer and the pusher removed from assembly;

- Fig. 11 shows a top view of the lock according to any of the two preferred embodiments presented, in the "locked in the occupied position" state, with the upper semi- casing, the spacer and the pusher removed from the assembly;

- Fig. 12 shows a top view of the lock according to any of the two preferred embodiments presented, in the "unlocked position", with the upper semi-casing, with the spacer and with the pusher removed from the assembly;

- Fig. 13 shows a top view of the lock according to any of the two preferred embodiments presented, in the state of "unauthorized locking attempt", with the upper semi- casings, the spacer and the pusher removed from the assembly;

- Fig. 14 shows a top view of the lock according to any of the two preferred embodiments presented, in the state of "unauthorized unlocking attempt", with the upper semi-casings, with the spacer and with the pusher removed from the assembly;

- Fig. 15 shows a perspective view of the lock in a second preferred embodiment of the invention, without the upper semi-casing, the spacer and the pusher;

- Fig. 16 shows an exploded view, in perspective, only of the pair of subassemblies that make up the locking hooks in the second preferred embodiment of the lock.

In both preferred embodiments presented below, the lock casing comprises, according to Fig. 1 - 2, a lower semi-casing 1 and an upper semi-casing 2, between which all the components of the lock mechanism are arranged. The two semi-casings 1 and 2 are mutually coupled with two fasteners 3 and 4 that can be two screws mounted in two fixed rods 5 and 6 or two rivets or other types of fasteners.

The lock assembly may be rigidly coupled with an exterior body or frame or any other type of support, for which purpose four through holes la, lb, lc and Id are provided in the lower semi-housing 1 and four corresponding through holes 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d are provided in the upper semi-casing 2.

A striker of a locking object 7 will be secured in the lock by two active mechanical locking members, which comprise each a rotary locking hook hinged on separate axis and which are arranged face to face in the same horizontal plane: a first locking hook 8 and a second locking hook 9. Each of the first and second locking hooks 8 and 9 has one end oriented towards the receiving slot of the lock, wherein said ends constitute the active locking zones of the two hooks 8 and 9 hence fulfilling the role of retaining of the striker in the lock. Each of said active locking zones has a protuberance that is disposed on the respective hook’s side that is oriented towards the longitudinal central axis of the lock, the two protuberances being hereinafter referred to as first locking jaw 8a and, respectively, second locking jaw 9a, _. so that they are in relative position facing each other in the lock assembly. Fig. 4 highlights by dotted line circles the first and second locking jaws 8a and 9a in the resting position of the first locking hook 8 and second locking hook 9 when the angular opening between them is minimal and the two locking jaws 8a and 9a are in contact with each other, either in the free state of the lock when no locked object is inside it, or in the occupied state of the lock when the striker of a locking object 7 is inside the lock and when no outside force is exerted for the purpose of locking or, respectively, unlocking such a striker.

In the preferred embodiments of the lock according to the invention, each of the first locking jaw 8a and second locking jaw 9a has a profile characterized by an alternation of at least two shaped elements that are superimposed on each other in the direction of the thickness of the respective locking jaw 8a and 9a, at least one of the said profile elements being in the form of a first tip 8b and at least another of the said profile elements being in the form of a first recess 8c provided in the first locking jaw 8a and, respectively, a second tip 9b and a second recess 9c provided in the second locking jaw 9a, such that two sets of shaped elements, first tip 8b and first recess 8c by the one hand and second tip 9b and second recess 9c by the other hand are so arranged that in the working position of the first and second locking hooks 8 and 9 the following two conditions are met simultaneously:

1. the first tip 8b is located face to face with the second recess 9c and, respectively, the second tip 9b is located face to face with the first recess 8c; and

2. the shapes of each tip 8b and 9b and the shapes of each recess 8c and 9c from both pairs of corresponding tip - recess are so designed as to allow each of the respective tips to fit inside its corresponding opposite recess when the two locking hooks 8 and 9 are in the resting position, at minimum angular opening between them and with the first and second locking jaws 8a and 9a being in contact with each other.

The cross positioning of a tip of each locking jaw 8a and 9a with a recess of the other locking jaw 9a and 8a respectively ensures, in the resting position of the lock, an arrangement conjugated by shape of the tip - recess zones of the locking jaws 8a and 9a, as shown in detail and in Fig. 6 - 7. This provides two constructive and functional advantages:

a. the fist tip 8b and the second tip 9b are overlapping on the vertical when the two locking hooks 8 and 9 are closed, which has the advantage that, for unlocking, the striker of the locking object 7 will be able to exit the locking area only when a sufficiently wide angular opening is obtained between the first locking hook 8 and the second locking hook 9, being necessary that the first and second tips 8b and 9b move away from one another by a distance at least equal to the thickness of the striker of the locking object 7 plus the dimension of the height of one of the first and second tips 8b and 9b plus the dimension of the depth of one of the first and second recesses 8c and 9c, thus conferring a greater safety in the operation of the lock than if the locking hooks 8 and 9 had a simple tip-to-tip closure;

b. the main bodies of the locking hooks 8 and 9 have greater thicknesses than the individual thicknesses of the first and second tips 8b and 9b. This ensures greater overall mechanical resistance of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 with tip - recess profiles compared to the eventual use of two regular simple hooks, each having the same thickness as each of the first and second tips 8b and 9b, which arranged in two horizontal planes so that their assembly fit within the same height as that in the embodiments of the present invention in order to accommodate the same dimension of strikers. Moreover, the combined tip-recess arrangement as in the present invention avoids eventual gaps above or below each locking hook where foreign objects or dirt could slip into the lock affecting its operation and integrity.

A first preferred embodiment of the lock according to the invention is shown in Fig. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8. Fig. 7 shows in detail the shapes of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 in the first embodiment of the invention. The first locking jaw 8a has exactly one tip, that is, the first tip 8b, and exactly one recess, that is, the first recess 8b, and the second locking jaw 9a has exactly one tip, that is, the second tip 9b, and exactly one recess, that is, the second recess 9b. As shown in Fig. 6 and 7, the pair of the first tip 8b and second recess 9c and the pair of the second tip 9b - first recess 8c are arranged in crossed positions. In this first exemplary embodiment, the first locking hook 8 and the second locking hook 9 are each made from a single piece in which the first recess 8c and, respectively, the second recess 9c can be made by any technological process, for example by milling, and the tips 8b and 9b would result in the profiles after execution of recesses 8c and 9c.

The first locking hook 8 can be rotated around a first joint 10 and the second locking hook 9 can be rotated around a second joint 11. The two rotational joints 10 and 11 may be constituted by any mechanical elements that can fulfill this functional role of articulation, for example, but without limitation to these, a cylindrical bolt or a rivet or a screw. In the figures shown in this description, there is presented the variant of the two rotational joints 10 and 11 comprising each a cylindrical bolt, which are secured within the lock housing by two elastic safety rings 12 and 13.

In preferred embodiments, the resting position of the lock is ensured by the forces exerted by a first spring 14 on the first locking hook 8, respectively by a second spring 15 on the second locking hook 9, these two elastic forces permanently pushing the two locking hooks 8 and 9 towards each other in order to keep them in contact with each other in the area of their conjugated tip-recess profiles. In the exemplary embodiments, the first and second springs 14 and 15 are hinged in the lower semi-housing 1 by two cylindrical bolts, 16 and respectively 17. In other embodiments, not shown in the presented drawings, other elastic element may be used instead of the springs 14 and 15, for instance a spring element having one of its ends acting on the first locking hook 8 and the other of its ends acting on the second hook 9 so to bias them towards one another.

The first locking jaw 8a has a first outer flank 8d and a first inner flank 8e and the second locking jaw 9a has a second outer flank 9d and a second inner flank 9e. The two outer flanks, 8d and, respectively, 9d, are oriented towards the front of the lock, and the two inner flanks, 8e and, respectively 9e, are oriented towards the interior of the locking zone. During the operation of the lock, a striker of a locking object 7 slides on the pair of the first and second outer flanks 8d and 9d at the locking operation and on the pair of the first and second inner flanks 8e and 9e at the unlocking operation. The geometry of the first and second outer flanks 8d and 9d and the geometry of the first and second inner flanks 8e and 9e are so designed that each of these flanks forms an acute angle with the longitudinal direction of translation of the striker at both the locking operation and the unlocking operation, in order to allow the relative displacement of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 when pushing or pulling the striker in the lock or out of the lock. Hence, for the locking and unlocking operations, the user has to push and, respectively, pull the locked object 7 with a certain minimum force that must exceed the results of the elastic forces determined by the springs 14 and 15 and the frictional forces between the striker and the locking hooks 8 and 9 and the other frictional forces between the other moving parts inside the lock.

The first locking hook 8 has a first blocking shoulder 8f and the second locking hook 9 has a second blocking shoulder 9f, provided so that in the resting state of the lock, the first locking hook 8 and the second locking hook 9 are blocked against their rotations around the corresponding joints 10 and 11 by the positioning of a blocking drum 18 between said first and second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f, as shown in Fig. 7-13. The positioning of the blocking drum 18 between the two blocking shoulders 8f and 9f ensures the blocking of the lock both in its free state, that is without a striker inside, to secure against an unauthorized locking, and in its occupied state, that is with a striker inside, to secure against unauthorized unlocking.

In the two preferred embodiments presented in this description, the two blocking shoulders 8f and 9f are disposed at the ends of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 that are opposite the ends with the locking jaws 8a and 9a, respectively. Other embodiments of the locking hooks 8 and 9, not shown in the presented drawings, are possible, in which the blocking shoulders 8f and 9f can be arranged in other areas of the two locking hooks 8 and 9, with the condition to allow introducing and withdrawing the blocking drum 18 between the two blocking shoulders 8f and 9f to achieve the functional purpose of blocking, respectively unblocking the rotation the locking hooks 8 and 9 around the joints 10 and 11.

The blocking drum 18 is retired from between the blocking shoulders 8f and 9f by an actuator 19 that can be mounted inside or outside the lock housing and which is electronically controlled from a controller not shown in the figures presented. Depending on the type of the actuator 19 chosen in practice, the return of the blocking drum 18 between the blocking shoulders 8f and 9f can be done at the termination of the actuation command of the actuator 19, by the force exerted by a spring 19a or through another electronic command to the actuator 19 so to act in the opposite direction when required to return to the resting position, that is in a blocked state of the lock. The actuator 19 can be for instance of the type of a pulling solenoid provided with a compression spring 19a for returning of the actuator piston to its extended position when the actuator 19 is not energized. The mechanical coupling between the actuator 19 and the blocking drum 18 is made by a link 20.

The resting position of the locking hooks 8 and 9 (that is, the position where the first locking hook 8 and the second locking hook 9 are at the minimum angular opening between them, with the blocking jaws 8a and 9a in contact through their tip - recess pairs 8b - 9c and 9b - 8c as shown in detail in Fig. 6) is sensed and communicated electronically to the controller by means of a first sensor 21. In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, this first sensor 21 is of the type of a switch with a mechanical receiver, such as a pivoting blade, for instance. The actuation on the mechanical receiver of the sensor 21 is provided by a spur 9g provided in the second locking hook 9 at its second end, which is opposite the end with the second locking jaw 9a.

In the first preferred embodiment, the first locking hook 8 has a first toothed sector 8h and the second locking hook 9 has a second toothed sector 9h by means of which the two locking hooks 8 and 9 are reciprocally engaged, in order to ensure the following purposes:

- providing a symmetrical displacement of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 during operation, respectively, ensuring that the first sensor 21 confirms the resting position of the locking hooks 8 and 9 and also perceives an angular displacement of the two hooks 8 and 9 even if the user would try to act only upon the first hook 8 which has no direct contact with the first sensor 21;

- ensuring a uniform distribution of the compression force exerted by the first and second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f on the lateral parts of the blocking drum 18;

- ensuring a redundancy of the elastic force for the return of both locking hooks 8 and 9 in their resting positions when no external force exerts on them, in case the first spring 14 or the second spring 15 would either break or jam or otherwise not work properly.

The relative positioning of the blocking drum 18 with respect to the blocking shoulders 8f and 9f during the operation of the lock as well as the mode of action from the user determine putting the lock in one of the following eight possible states:

- the state "blocked iri free position", represented in Fig. 9, a state in which no striker is inside the locking jaws 8a and 9a and the blocking drum 18 is inserted between the first and second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f;

- the state "unblocked in the free position", represented in Fig. 10, a state in which no striker is inside the locking jaws 8a and 9a and the blocking drum 18 is withdrawn by the actuator 19 outside the first and second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f;

- the state "blocked in occupied position", represented in Fig. 11, in which the striker of a locked object 7 is within the locking jaws 8a and 9a and the blocking drum 18 is positioned between the first and second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f;

- the state "unblocked in the occupied position", represented in fig. 12, in which the striker of a locked object 7 is inside the locking jaws 8a and 9a and the blocking drum 18 is withdrawn by the actuator 19 outside the first and second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f; - the state "unauthorized locking attempt", represented in Fig. 13, in which the blocking drum 18 is inserted between the first and second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f and an attempt from outside is made to insert a striker or some other body into the lock;

- the state "unauthorized unlocking attempt", represented in Fig. 14, in which a striker is inside the locking jaws 8a and 9a and the blocking drum 18 is inserted between the blocking shoulders 8f and 9f and an attempt is made to remove the striker from the lock;

- the transient state between the free position and the occupied position, not shown in the presented figures, is the state that starts with the commencement of the reciprocal displacement of the locking hooks 8 and 9 during the locking of a striker of a locked object 7 and that ends when the tip-recess junctions 8b - 9c and 9b - 8c are reestablished after the striker has completely entered the locking area;

- the transient state between the occupied position and the free position, not shown in the presented figures, is the state that starts with the commencement of the reciprocal displacement of the locking hooks 8 and 9 when the striker of the locked object 7 is being unlocked and ends when the tip-recess junctions 8b - 9c and 9b - 8c are reestablished after the striker of the locking object 7 has completely exited the locking area.

In order to allow the access of the striker of the locking object 7 in the lock, the lock must first be switched by the controller from the state "blocked in the free position" in the state "unblocked in the free position" state. This is done by the controller commanding the actuator 19 to pull the blocking drum 18 out from the two blocking shoulders 8f and 9f. The command to put the lock in the state“unblocked in the free position” to allow the locking of a striker of an authorized object 7 is conditioned by authenticating the locking object 7 by any technically applicable means, for instance through RFID or a barcode applied on the respective locking object 7 that is read by a compatible reader that is coupled with the body or structure or frame or system onto which the lock is mounted, said reader being able to send a signal to the lock controller in respect to the reading made. Placing the lock in the "unblocked in the free position" state is recommended to be done for a limited time allowing for operation, which can be preconfigured through the control system. The rationale of this time limitation for the actuator 19 to be energized to its position corresponding to the blocking drum 18 withdrawn from the two blocking shoulders 8f and 9f covers two reasons: first, if the user who required the locking of an object 7 does not physically insert the locking object 7 in the lock during this time, either because he has changed his mind or because of other reasons, the system must be secured back in the "locked in the free position" state; on the other hand, in the preferred embodiments of the lock in which the actuator 19 is of the type of a pull or push solenoid, its holding power inherently decreases with the time it is energized, thus the energizing time should be limited. To effectively lock the object 7, the user must push that object 7 between the first hook 8 and the second hook 9 within the preset time for locking, defeating the elastic forces acting on the hooks 8 and 9 from the springs 14 and 15 and the frictional forces with the outer flanks of hooks 8 and 9 and those among the other moving parts of the lock.

In order to allow the unlocking of a locked object 7, the lock must be switched by the controller from the "blocked in the occupied position" state in the "unblocked to the occupied position" state beforehand. This is done by the controller commanding the actuator 19 to pull the blocking drum 18 out from the first and second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f. Placing the lock in the state "unblocked in the occupied position" is also recommended to be done for a limited time, for similar reasons as in the case of the locking operation: firstly, if the user who requested the unlocking does not physically pull the striker of the locking object out of the lock within this time, either because he has changed his mind or because of other reasons, the lock must be secured back in the "blocked in the occupied position" state so that it is no longer possible to release the locked object 7; on the other hand, in the embodiments of the lock in which the actuator 19 is of the type of a pull or push solenoid, critical decrease of its holding power due to too long energizing duration must be avoided. To effectively unlock the locked object 7, the user must pull it out from the lock within the predetermined time for unlocking, defeating the elastic forces acting on the hooks 8 and 9 from the springs 14 and 15 and the other frictional forces arising in the lock.

During the insertion or removal of the striker of the locking object 7 in or out of the lock, it will be biased towards one of two stable equilibrium positions, that is either completely inserted into the lock or completely removed from the lock, due to the shapes of the first and second outer flanks 8d and 9d and those of the first and second inner flanks 8e and 9e of the first and, respectively, second looking hooks 8 and 9 that are pushed towards one another by the first and second springs 14 and 15. Hence, once the striker of the locking object 7 is pushed into the lock or pulled out of the lock beyond the tips of the locking jaws 8a and 9a, the locking hooks 8 and 9 tend to close behind the striker and push this latter to continue its translation.

The first sensor 21 is engaged in all four fixed states of the lock, that is in the states "blocked in the free position", "unblocked in the free position", "blocked in the occupied position" and "unblocked in the occupied position", because in all these four states the first locking hook 8 and the second locking hook 9 are in their resting positions, with minimum angular opening between them.

The dimensions of the blocking drum 18 and the distance between the first and the second blocking shoulders 8f and 9f are so designed that in the resting positions of the lock there is a mechanical gap either between the blocking drum 18 and the first blocking shoulder 8f or between the blocking drum 18 and the second blocking shoulder 9f or both of these two gaps. The total mechanical gap such resulted allows a small angular displacement of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 when attempting to insert or release an object in, respectively out from the lock in an unauthorized state, that is whenever the blocking drum 18 is positioned between the two blocking shoulders 8f and 9f, displacement which causes the sensor 21 to disengage; however, the said mechanical gaps are not large enough to allow a displacement of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 that would be large enough to allow the striker of the locking object 7 to be effectively passed between the tips of the locking jaws 8a and 9a when the blocking drum 18 is between the two blocking shoulders 8f and 9f. This technical feature is provided to ensure the functionality of detecting, by means of the first sensor 21, the attempts of unauthorized or non-compliant use of the lock, both in the case of an unauthorized operation of locking or an unauthorized operation of unlocking an object in or out of the lock. The first sensor 21 is disengaged in the states of "unauthorized locking attempt", "unauthorized locking attempt" as well as in the transient states between the free (no object locked unlocked) and occupied (object locked) positions of the lock.

The lock according to the invention also comprises a pusher 22 which acts on a second sensor 23 to confirm the presence of the striker of a locked object 7 in the locking space inside the first and second locking jaws 8a and 9a. In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the second sensor 23 is of the type of a switch with a mechanical receiver. When the striker of a locking object 7 is inserted in the lock while this latter is in the "unblocked in the free position" state, the said striker acts upon the pusher 22, which will in turn push on the mechanical receiver of the second sensor 23 so that the second sensor 23 changes its state from disengaged to engaged when the striker advances inside the lock beyond the point where it provokes the maximum displacement of the tips of the two locking jaws 8a and 9a. The detection domain of the presence of a striker inside the lock is greater than the distance that the respective striker can move axially inside the locking area due to an eventual unauthorized unlocking attempt, since the mechanical gaps between the blocking drum 18 and two blocking shoulders 8f and 9f allow only a very small rotational displacement of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 thus allowing only a very short axial movement of the striker of the locked object 7 towards outside the lock, which is much too short to actually allow a sufficient opening of the locking hooks 8 and 9 to allow the striker to pass through them and to allow the change of state of the second sensor 23.

The pusher 22 is permanently biased by a third spring 24 towards the zone of the locking jaws 8a and 9a in order to always be in contact with the striker of the locked object 7 when such a striker is inside the locking space inside the lock. When removing the striker of the locked object 7 from the lock when this latter is in the state "unblocked in the occupied state", the pusher 22 will be biased by the third spring 24 towards the line of the tips of the first and second locking jaws 8a and 9a until it reaches its resting position that corresponds to the resting position of the lock in the free position. The third spring 24 has one of its arms stably positioned in a slot 22a of the pusher 22. The pusher 22 has a predominantly flat shape and is located over the first and second locking hooks 8 and 9. In order to have a rectilinear movement between the positions corresponding to the free and occupied positions of the lock as well as to limit the stroke of the pusher 22 between these two positions, the pusher 22 has a first side cut 22b and a second side cut 22c, which guide and limit the translation movement of the pusher 22 between the bodies of the bolts 10 and 11.

In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the lock also comprises a spacer 25 disposed between the locking hooks 8 and 9 and the upper semi-casing 2, which has a cut 25a in which is located the pusher 22 so that the outer lateral edges of the pusher 22 are guided between the inner lateral edges of the cut 25a, as shown in fig. 4. Also, the spacer 25 is recommended to have a thickness slightly greater than the thickness of the pusher 22 to allow this latter to slide smoothly between the locking hooks 8 and 9 and the semi-casing 2.

The electrical wires from the first sensor 21 and second sensor 23 as well as those of the actuator 19 are coupled to a connector 26, as illustrated in Fig. 3 and 4.

In a second preferred embodiment of the lock according to the invention, in relation to Fig. 15 and 16 that are specific to this second preferred embodiment and in conjunction with Fig. 3 and 9 - 14 that are common to both preferred embodiments presented, the two locking hooks 8 and 9 are made each of at least two overlapping plates. These four overlapping plates can have each approximately half the thickness of the locking hooks 8 and 9 presented in the first preferred embodiment of the invention, described above. Hence, the first locking hook 8 comprises a first lower plate 27 and, superimposed on it, a first upper plate 28. The first lower plate 27 has a first lower locking jaw 27a and the first upper plate 28 has a first upper locking jaw 28a. The second locking hook 9 comprises a second lower plate 29 and, superimposed on it, a second upper plate 30. The second lower plate 29 has a second lower locking jaw 29a and the second upper plate 30 has a second upper locking jaw 30a.The first upper plate 28 has mainly the same profile as the first lower plate 27 except for the areas of the first lower locking jaw 27a and first upper locking jaw 28a where the first lower plate 27 has a first tip 27b while the first upper plate 28 has a first recess 28c. The second lower plate 29 has mainly the same profile as the second upper plate 30 except for the areas of the second lower locking jaw 29a and of the second upper locking jaw 30a, where the second lower plate 29 has a second recess 29c while the second upper plate 30 has a second tip 30b. Thus, the geometry of the assembly of the four elementary plates 27, 28, 29 and 30 is so designed that the first tip 27b is positioned face to face and has the same shape as the second recess 29c, and the first recess 28c is positioned face to face and has the same shape as the tip 30b, which allow that in the resting positions of the lock the first lower locking jaw 27a and the first upper locking jaw 28a by the one hand be conjugated with the second lower jaw 29a and, respectively, with the second upper locking jaw 30a by the other hand, through the two tip-recess pairs 27b - 29c and 30b - 28c.

Preferably, in the second embodiment, the first lower plate 27 and the first upper plate 28 are rigidly attached to each other by welding or bonding or by another mechanical coupling. Similarly, the second lower plate 29 and the second upper plate 30 are preferably rigidly attached to each other. These features ensure the simultaneous movement of the first lower plate 27 and the first upper plate 28 by the one hand, and the simultaneous movement of the second lower plate 29 and the second upper plate 30, by the other hand.

The first lower plate 27 has a first lower outer flank 27d and a first lower inner flank 27e; the first upper plate 28 has an first upper outer flank 28d and a first upper inner flank 28e; the lower second plate 29 has a second lower outer flank 29d and a second lower inner flank 29e; the second upper plate 30 has a second upper outer flank 30d and a second upper inner flank 30e. The second lower plate 29 has a lower spur 29g and the second upper plate 30 has an upper spur 30g, which are superimposed when the second lower plate 29 and the second upper plate 30 are coupled together and which act together on the first switch 21. The first lower plate 27 has a first lower toothed sector 27h and the first upper plate 28 has first upper toothed sector 28h; the second lower plate 29 has a second lower toothed sector 29h and the second upper plate 30 has a second upper toothed sector 30h. The first lower and upper toothed sectors 27h and 28h permanently conjugate with the corresponding second lower and upper toothed sectors 29h and, respectively, 30h.

In other possible embodiments of the lock according to the present invention, not shown in the presented drawings, the locking hooks 8 and 9 may be each provided with other numbers of tips and/or recesses in the areas of their locking jaws 8a and 9a, wherein any of the locking hooks 8 and 9 is made of a single body or as an assembly of superimposed plates. The simplest embodiment is one in which one of the two locking hooks 8 or 9 has a tip and the other hook 9 or 8 respectively has a recess. The technical condition in any such embodiment with any number of tips and/or recesses provided in each of the two locking hooks 8 and 9 is that each tip or recess of the first locking hook 8 be arranged at the same level and in conjugated shape with a corresponding recess provided in the second locking hook 9 so the to locking hooks establish conjugated positions in the areas of their locking jaws 8a and 9a through alternances of tip-recess profiles when the lock is in the resting position, with the first and second locking hooks 8 and 9 closed.