Locking Assembly for Distribution Boards/ Enclosures
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a lock for distribution boards and enclosures and more particularly, to a locking assembly for a slider latch on a door of the distribution boards/enclosures.
Background of the invention
Distribution boards (DB)/ enclosures provide a housing for electrical installations/devices such as miniature circuit breaker (MCB), energy meters, cables and wires. Since these installations ensure supply of electricity round the clock, it is essential for them to be secured at all time. Frequent opening of the DB/ enclosures for maintenance may lead to a possibility of a live part or an open circuit being unattended. In order to provide safety and protection to the installations/ devices and to the users, the door of the enclosures should be locked with a lock.
The DB/enclosure door is closed with a box of the housing by using a slider latch. The slider latch is free to slide and hence the door can be opened and closed whenever required. Allowing free/ unauthorized access to the devices inside the DB can be hazardous to the personal and also to the enclosed electrical devices. The enclosures using the slider latch like the one stated above do not have a mechanism to arrest the movement of the slider latch.
In case the DB has to be locked, a customer needs to explicitly replace the standard latch with a lockable latch (often not a slider latch) which is a drawback. Another drawback is that some lockable latches cannot be replaced on site and hence has to

be factory fitted. On addition to the above drawbacks, the customer is forced to use the lock and key given by the DB supplier to lock the DB/ enclosures and hence does not have the choice of opting for a custom lock and key which ensure more safety through person specific choice of lock instead of common key.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a lock for locking the slider latch of the DB/enclosure that overcomes the problems in the prior art.
Objects of the present invention
An object of the present invention is to prevent unauthorized access to distribution boards/ enclosures.
Yet another object of the present invention is to restrict access to a latch of the distribution boards/ enclosures and also to prevent movement of the latch.
Still another object of the present invention is to facilitate use with multiple distribution boards without requiring on-site replacement of existing latch.
Further object of the present invention is to enable use of customized lock and key for locking the latch,
Summary of the invention
Accordingly, the present invention provides a locking assembly for distribution boards/enclosures. The enclosure is capable of being closed by a slider latch positioned on a door of the enclosure. The locking assembly comprises a bottom plate, a top plate and a pin member.

The bottom plate is capable of mounting on the slider latch. The bottom plate includes a first central cavity and a slot. The bottom plate is hinged with the top plate. The top plate includes a second central cavity. The top plate is adapted to lie on the bottom plate to forming housing. The housing encloses the slider latch thereby preventing access to the slider latch.
The pin member is adapted to undergo compression when the top plate closes over the bottom plate. The pin member includes a first portion, a second portion and a third portion. The first portion is adapted to secure into the slot of the bottom plate. The second portion is capable of protruding upward from the bottom plate onto the top plate of the housing by passing through the first central cavity and the second central cavity. A padlock is capable of being secured to the second portion thereby preventing movement of the slider latch. The third portion includes two free ends capable of engaging into grooves of the slider latch.
Brief description of the invention
The objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in accordance with the accompanying drawings wherein,
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a locking assembly for a slider latch of distribution boards/enclosures, in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the locking assembly of figure 1 locked with a padlock;

Figures 3a and 3b show perspective views of a pin member configured in a housing of the locking assembly of figure 1;
Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the housing of the locking assembly of figure l;and
Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the slider latch of figure 1.
Detailed description of the invention
The foregoing objects of the present invention are accomplished and the problems and shortcomings associated with the prior art, techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention as described below in the preferred embodiment.
The present invention provides a locking assembly for a latch arrangement used in a door of distribution boards/ enclosures. The locking assembly of the present invention provides dual locking by preventing access to the latch and further preventing movement of the latch to prevent unauthorized access to the distribution board/ enclosure. The locking assembly of the present invention enables latch locking by using a customized lock and key.
The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the various figures.
Referring now to figures 1-4, there is shown a locking assembly (50) for distribution boards/enclosures (not shown), in accordance with the present invention. The enclosure is closed by a slider latch (100). The slider latch (100) is

positioned on a door (not shown) of the enclosure. The slider latch (100) includes at least two grooves (90) as shown in figure 5. The locking assembly (50) ensures that the distribution board and the enclosure are locked in all conditions by achieving dual locking of the slider latch (100) firstly by preventing access to the slider latch (100) and secondly by preventing movement of the slider latch (100). The locking assembly (50) comprises a bottom plate (10), a top plate (20) and a pin member (30).
The bottom plate (10) is capable of mounting on the slider latch (100). The bottom plate (10) includes a first central cavity (not numbered) and a slot (8). The bottom plate (10) hinges to the top plate (20). The top plate (20) includes a second central cavity (not numbered). Specifically, the top plate (20) is adapted to lie on the bottom plate (10) to form housing (40). The housing (40) is adapted to enclose the slider latch (100) thereby preventing access to the slider latch (100).
The housing (40) includes the pin member (30) configured therein. The pin member (30) is adapted to undergo compression when the top plate (20) closes over the bottom plate (10). The pin member (30) is designed/bent in such a way to form a first portion (12), a second portion (14) and a third portion (16). The first portion (12) is adapted to secure into the slot (8) of the bottom plate (10) by any suitable means known in the art. The second portion (14) is the middle part of the pin member (30) that protrudes upward from the bottom plate (10) onto the top plate (20) of the housing (40) by passing through the first central cavity and the second central cavity. Specifically, the second portion (14) protrudes upward due to the compression of the pin member (30) when the top plate (20) closes over the bottom plate (10). The second portion (14) on the housing (40) is capable of being locked with a padlock (60) to restrict the access to the slider latch (100) for preventing sliding movement. In an embodiment, the padlock (60) is a customer selected lock

and key. The third portion (16) includes two free ends that are capable of engaging into the grooves (90) of the slider latch (100) by any suitable means known in the art.
In another aspect, the present invention illustrates dual locking of the slider latch (100) using the locking assembly (50). When the door of the enclosure is closed with the slider latch (100), the locking assembly (50) is mounted onto the slider latch (100) through the bottom plate (10) in such a way that the third portion (16) of the pin member (30) gets inserted into the grooves (90) of the si ider latch (100). The second portion (14) of the pin member (30) protrudes upward from the bottom plate (10) onto the housing (40). The top plate (20) is brought over the bottom plate (10) enclosing the slider latch (100) therein thereby causing compression of the pin member (30). Then, the second portion (14) is locked using the padlock (60) that prevents the slider latch (100) from being accessed and also arrests the sliding movement of the slider latch (100). Thus, the locking assembly (5) ensures that the door of the enclosure remains closed in all conditions and as a result the access to the enclosure is blocked.
Advantages of the present invention
1. The locking assembly (50) ensures that there is no unauthorized access to the enclosures.
2. The locking assembly (50) arrests the movement of the latch slider (100).
3. The locking assembly (50) is used in the existing latch and the latch need not be replaced on-site.
4. The locking assembly (50) is used in any DB that has the corresponding slider latch (100) on the door as the latch replacement is not required for making the latch lockable.

5. The customer is free to choose the lock and the key for use with the locking assembly (50) and hence more flexibility.
6. No technical expertise is required for usage of the locking assembly (50).

7. The locking assembly (50) performs dual locking by restricting the access to the slider latch (100) and restricting the slider latch (100) from sliding. Dual lock ensures that the DB is locked in all cases.
8. The top plate (20) and the bottom plate (10) of the locking assembly (50) are designed to compress the pin member (30) so as to restrict the movement of the slider latch (100).
9. The locking assembly (50) is economically designed for easy mounting on the slider latch (100).
10. The pin member (30) is designed to hold weight of the padlock (60) and in
locked state; the pin member (30) is rigid and strong.
The foregoing objects of the invention are accomplished and the problems and shortcomings associated with prior art techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention described in the present embodiment. Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein; however, it is to be understood that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure, or matter. The embodiments of the invention as described above and the methods disclosed herein will suggest further modification and alterations to those skilled in the art. Such further modifications and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We Claim:
1. A locking assembly (50) for distribution boards/enclosures, the enclosure being capable of closed by a slider latch (100) positioned on a door of the enclosure, the locking assembly (50) comprising:
a bottom plate (10) capable of mounting on the slider latch (100), the bottom plate (10) having a first central cavity and a slot (8);
a top plate (20) hinged with the bottom plate (10). the top ptate (20) having a second central cavity, the top plate (20) adapted to lie on the bottom plate (10) forming a housing (40) for enclosing the slider latch (100) thereby preventing access to the slider latch (100); and
a pin member (30) configured in the housing (40). the pin member (30) being adapted to undergo compression when the top plate (20) closes over the bottom plate (10). the pin member (30) having,
• a first portion (12) adapted to secure into the slot
(8) of the bottom plate (10),
• a second portion (14) capable of protruding upward from the bottom plate (10) onto the top plate (20) of the housing (40) by passing through the first central cavity and the second central cavity to which a padlock (60) is capable of being secured thereby preventing movement of the slider latch (100). and
• a third portion (16) having two free ends capable of engaging into grooves (90) of the slider latch (100).