FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT
(39 OF 1970)
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
SECTION 10
TITLE
A TWISTER SEAL
APPLICANT WARNER INDUSTRIES
An Indian company Kohli House, 6-D, Nesbit Road, Mazagaon, Opposite Sales Tax Office, Mumbai-400010, India
The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
Introduction:
The present invention is directed towards a security system. More particularly, the invention is intended to provide a seal which can provide security to items to highest satisfaction of the user and which cannot be opened without damaging the seal system thereby giving indication of tempering.
The particular feature of these seals is that, once they have been closed, they cannot be opened without destroying them, and they cannot be reconstructed to their original state. To achieve this, the,, are provided with unidirectional seal mechanisms or structures and Hey codified in an indelible manner.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
There is a substantial need for security seals that may be manufactured efficiently and economically, and that are easy to use. Many such seals are currently available including seals formed of molded plastic in which a hollow body is formed as a single unit with internal flexible fingers for engaging a shackle
Unfortunately, in order to efficiently mold plastic security seals of this type, the conventional wisdom is that the housing must be open at both ends to enable molding in a single step without the use of collapsible care molding
tool members. However, an open housing typically makes it easy to pass a pick or other tool into the housing to disengage the locking fingers that retain the shackle, thereby circumventing the security function of the device. Various approaches to overcoming these shortcomings of folded plastic security seals have been suggested over the years. None are without shortcomings.
Some of the prior art are discussed herein below to demonstrate the need and object of the present invention.
EP-A-0223 905 discloses a padlock-type seal which comprises a plastic housing having a pair of apertures for receiving a shackle formed of a U- shaped piece of wire. The shackle can be passed over the member to be locked and pushed into the housing, to irreversibly lock therein. The seal is released by cutting of the wire. This particular seal cannot be reused.
US-A-5230541 discloses a seal which is in the form of a fastener for cabinets. The fastener is closed by means of a flexible, elongated band which engages on first and second latches within the fastener body- The band can be released for reuse.
WO-A-97/48603 discloses a seal having a J-shaped hasp which may be locked in the seal housing by means of a pressure sensitive catch. The seal can be opened by one leg of the hasp being cut. A product based on the design of WO-A-97/48603 is manufactured and sold by ITW Envopak under the name "Padseal" (registered trade mark). This product has a J-shaped hasp with parallel arms which are inserted into slots within the seal housing. The arms are locked within the housing by means of a sprung catch which is a hairpin shaped spring steel strip assisted by a helical spring
The hasp is removed by one leg being cut, the lower part of that leg then being pulled out of the bottom of the housing, which allows the remainder of the hasp to be removed from the top. The hasp may bear an identification code or serial number.
EP-A-1672607 discloses another seal of the above type. A locking mechanism in the form of a V-shaped resilient clip is provided within the housing, which clip is biased to resist withdrawal of a first leg of the hasp. As above, the hasp is lockable within the housing such that it can only be removed by cutting of the first leg of the hasp. The legs of the hasp are connected together by a resilient hinge such that in a first, relaxed position the legs adopt a position in which they are not parallel, the legs being movable to a second, parallel position against the resilient force of the hinge for insertion into the housing.
Patent document HK1101725 a security seal for cargo containers and freight trailers which has a gas cartridge which supplies gas through a two position valve when it is opened and onto a two way valve which in the activated position supplies gas under pressure to a pressure hose looped around the locking bar or bars of a container or trailer. This gas pressure hose holds the two way valve in the activated position so that gas is supplied to the pressure hose. If the pressure hose is broken or disconnected, pressure means move the two way valve to the security breached position allowing gas to go into an ink reservoir which releases the ink onto the container leaving a permanent identified mark. The two position valve can be deactivated by means to move the valve. This valve can be moved into the deactivated position by a magnet. This security seal can also be deactivated by supplying gas under pressure from an external source to hold the two way valve in the activated position which will allow the pressure hose to be disconnected.
Patent Publication W02009046510 provides a security seal, especially of the type used in the transport of valuables or chemical/petroleum products, in drums, trucks, tankers, railway cars and the like, as well as in electrical equipment and doorways. The seal comprises a seal body and a steel cord fixed at one end to the body. In use, the free end is passed through the elements to be sealed and then introduced through a passage through the body. The seal body also has locking means associated with the passage to prevent withdrawal of the steel cord .The body may be personalized by the manufacturer to as to make the seal unique and thus with a high degree of security.; So as further to increase the degree of security and to permit the user to introduce his own marking or personalization, the invention provides for a transparent cover which receives the seal body as well as an identification element which is inserted and locked into body and, at the same time, locks the body within the cover .The identification element may be, for example, a label or an electronic chip which may be identified from the exterior when the system is in the sealed configuration.
GB 2326620 Provides a seal arrangement consisting of a flexible wire ends of which are inserted in the seal in a loop manner to seal the wire. However the feature of the lock arrangement is like normal locks and it is not properly tamper proof. 3
KR20080077226 provides a high security seal that can be reused an indefinite number of times because the authenticating part evolves in a chaotic manner each time the seal is opened and then put back into service. This seal is composed of at least two authenticators and at least one of which is movable with respect to the other into the open position. These two authenticators become fixed and stable in the closed position. In each new fixed position, the two authenticators cooperate to generate a new authenticating feature that is stored in a database in order to be compared during a check. This feature will be cancelled and replaced with another one when said seal is fraudulently or deliberately opened and thus will provide proof that it has been opened.
All the prior arts indicated above are providing seal$ of various natures. Yet it was felt that a simple yet tamper proof seal is also sought for by prospective users which is easy to construct in terms of economy yet can provide efficient service .
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION:
One object of the invention is to provide a seal which is resistant to tempering and provide the users an efficient solution for security of items.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a seal which is economical and yet very much simple to use.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a seal which after tempered, cannot be returned to original locked in condition thereby providing full security solution.
SUMMERY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION:
Accordingly, The invention provides a twister seal having a flexible wire for locking an item to be secured, the seal consisting of an outer housing member of cylindrical shape defined by a base at one end and the other end being open , thereby forming a chamber of circular cross section defined by open end and base connected by a inner vertical wall, the said circular chamber is configured with upper and lower annular grooves, said vertical wall connecting the base and the upper portion is provided with two pairs of aligned holes parallel to the base and a rotatable twister inner body configured to be received within the circular chamber of the outer housing, said twister consisting of one holder tab monolithically connected to the twister body, said twister having annular ridges thereby defining spaces in between wherein two pairs of holes on opposite sides extending there through the body of the twister forming channel through the body of the twister whereby a wire can be inserted the outer housing and the twister are capable of being interfiled in locked in position of the seal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:
The basic concepts relating to the present invention as well as the preferred embodiments will now be detailed in reference to the accompanying drawings wherein,
Fig 1 Shows the twister seal in assembled condition according to the present invention
Fig 2 Shows side perspective view of the twister seal shown in Fig 1
Fig 3 Shows the schematic view of the inner twister member according to the invention
Fig 4 Shows a cross sectional view of the twister member of fig 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SEAL ACCORDING TO THE PRESENT INVENTION IN ACCORDANCE TO ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:
The seal according to the present invention comprises a security seal system consisting of a flexible wire and one inner member which can be concentrically interfiled within an outer housing. Both the inner body and the outer housing are capable of relative rotation.
The concept of providing the flexible wire is that the seal or the locking security system cannot be opened without destruction of the seal or damaging the wire. The arrangement of such a flexible wire is always made in such a way that whenever the wire is taken out of the seal, it cannot be placed again within the seal. Thus intactness of such a seal can be easily determined by the user.
The wire is preferably made of metal. However, wires of other material like plastic and /or synthetic fibre can be used.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings shows an image of the seal (1) in assembled condition. As shown in the figure, the seal is of cylindrical shape. As seen from Fig 2, one end of the seal is closed and the distant end receives an inner rotatable twister body which will be discussed further below.
As described herein above, the seal basically consists of following components:
1. Flexible wire
2. An outer housing
3. A rotatable inner twister member 5
The outer housing (4) of the seal is basically a female part adapted to receive an another member within it. The rotatable member (5) is configured to be received in the housing (4).
As may be seen from the drawings, the outer housing member <4) is of cylindrical shape of which one end is closed and the other end is open thereby defining an enclosed cylindrical chamber within the housing (4).
The closed of the cylindrical cross section of the housing (4) is defined by a base (6) which is shown in Fig. 2.
Towards the closed end of the housing and near the base, the housing is configured to have protruding tabs (7) in alignment on opposite sides.
The open end of the housing (4) and the base (6) is connected by the inner vertical wall of the chamber within the housing (4). The junction of the base (6) and the wall is configured to have peripheral features.
In the distant open end of the housing (4) and inside inner wall of the cylindrical chamber, parallel annular grooves are provided so that it can receive the corresponding inner member in substantially interfiled manner. The annular grooves are at least two in numbers. The grooves may be defined as upper annular groove and lower annular groove respectively. The diameter of the upper groove is slightly more than that of the lower groove.
Above the tabs (7) and the opposite sides of the cylindrical outer housing member {4), there are provided at least two pairs of holes (8) in vertical alignment of the tabs. The holes (8) are configured to receive the flexible wire. The pair of the holes on one side of the housing is exactly in alignment with the pair of holes on the other side. In other words, the pair of holes (8) are axially aligned across the housing (4) and the holes are parallel to the base(6).
It is also to be noted there may be more number of holes in the housing (4) to provide more effective sealing.
Near the open end of the housing (4) there is provided a tab (3). This tab is monolithically constructed and is parallel to the base (6) of the housing (4).
On the upper portion (9) of the housing (4), instructions for rotation of the inner twister member (5) may be provided indicating by arrows.
The housing member (4) is made of polycarbonate material so as to provide visual clearance regarding the function and intactness of the seal.
Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings shows a schematic diagram of the rotatable inner twister member (5) according to the present invention. As can be seen from the figure, the twister (5) is of substantial cylindrical shape with an uneven configuration. The shape and configuration of the twister member (5) largely depends on the shape of the enclosed cylindrical chamber of the outer housing (4). The twister also made of polycarbonate material for reasons already explained herein above.
The top portion of the twister is circular and the diameter of the top portion is substantially equal to that of the outer housing (4).
The twister at the top is configured to have a holder tab (10) formed integrally with the twister.
The twister has annular ridge like configurations (11 and 12). There may be three such ridges thereby separating the body of the twister into two parts having enclosed boundary of ridges.
As the twister is received within the housing (4) in operation, the ridges (11,12) are configured in such a way that these exactly matches with the annular groves (upper and lower) of the chamber of the housing (4).
The two parts (13,14) thus encompassed by the ridges is provided with holes (8', 8") extending through the body of the twister.
The holes are provided in such a manner that when the twister (5) is fitted within the housing (4), the holes (8) of the housing (4) comes in alignment with the holes (8', 8") of the twister (5).
The holes extending through the body of the on opposite sides in alignment thus create a channel connected by the holes on opposite alignment on the twister. The diameter of the channel is such that the flexible wire can be inserted and moved through the channel formed by the holes (8', 8")
The bottom of the twister is configured as serrations or teeth (15)
There is provided a winder (shown by numeral 10 integrally in fig 3). The purpose of the winder is that it can be operated manually by the user. The user has to manually wind the wire to the last limit on usage of fixing the seal. This tab or the winder is configured in such a way that it is broken after the winding of the wire is completed by the user. The tab breaks of at the portion as shown by numeral 5 in fig 3 when the user moves counter clockwise (from east to west) which breaks off with ease due to sharpness.
There is a circular ring on top of the Transparent part (Female part) .This is an additional security feature as when the insert (male part) is fitted and in case a intruder tries to tamper by pulling out the male insert .The intruder would have to use sharp long needles or picks and would have to keep them at a angle to scoop out the insert at that time the thin ring would interfere and visual cracks would form making it obvious that intrusion was attempted on the seal.
There are 2 separate chambers in the insert for the wire when the winding is done, this feature is an additional feature so that when wire is passed from each hole the wire is wound in the chamber allocated so that the wire does not get jumbled or mixed up.
MODE OF OPERATION OF THE SEAL:
To seal a container or the like, a flexible wire is firstly routed through the locking holes and then the ends of the flexible wire are inserted in the holes of the seal (1). The ends of the wire will be routed through aligned holes of both the housing (4) and the interfiled twister (5).
Then the twister is rotated thereby imparting relative motion between the partially interfiled members. Due to this relative motion, the wire becomes wrapped around the twister (5) and deformed. After that the twister is then fully inserted within the housing and then the hoes are misaligned further.
Now the housing and the twister become completely interfiled and locked. The deformed wire now cannot be withdrawn from the seal assembly without causing damage to it. The damage such caused indicates the event of theft or breaking of the security.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY:
From the foregoing description, the industrial applicability of the sea according to the present invention is quite evident. This type of sea can be widely used in seals of containers, electrical equipments, or at any other place where vigilance is required to restrict unauthorized use.
I Claim:
1. A twister seal (1) having a flexible wire for locking an item to be secured, the seal consisting of
an outer housing member(4) of cylindrical shape defined by a base (6) at one end and the other end being open , thereby forming a chamber of circular cross section defined by open end (9) and base (6) connected by a inner vertical wall,
the said circular chamber is configured with upper and lower annular grooves,
said vertical wall connecting the base and the upper portion is provided with two pairs of aligned holes (8) parallel to the base (6),
a rotatable twister inner body (5) configured to be received within the circular chamber of the outer housing (4), said twister (5) consisting of one holder tab or winder (10) monolithically connected to the twister body, said twister having annular ridges (11,12) thereby defining spaces in between wherein two pairs of holes (8', 8") on opposite sides extending there through the body of the twister forming channel through the body of the twister whereby a wire can be inserted.
Wherein the outer housing (4) and the twister (5) are capable of interfiled in locked in position of the seal and the tab or the winder is configured in such a way that it is broken after the winding of the wire is completed by the user and two separate chambers are provided in the insert for the wire when the winding is done so that when the said wire is passed from each hole the wire is wound in the allocated chamber enabling the wire not to get jumbled or mixed up.
2. A twister seal (1) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the diameter of the upper groove is higher than the diameter of the lower groove.
3. A twister seal (1) as claimed in claim 1 wherein tabs (7) are provided on the outer housing in between the holes (8) and the base (6) in alignment.
4. A twister seal (1) as claimed in claim 1 wherein a tab (3) is provided in the vicinity of the upper end of the outer housing (4).
5. A twister seal (1) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the no. of pair of holes (8', 8") in outer housing and twister respectively are more than two.
6. A twister seal (1) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the outer housing member (4) and twister (5) are made of polycarbonate material.
7. A twister seal (1) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the twister inner body has the provision of two separate chambers to accommodate the two ends of wire.
8. A security ring for the twister seal as claimed in claim 1 substantially as herein described and illustrated with reference to accompanying drawings.