Patents by Inventor Karl Lai

Karl Lai has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240133210
    Abstract: A padlock including a shackle having a short leg and a long leg, a lock body having a first hole configured to receive the short leg of the shackle, and a second hole configured to receive the long leg of the shackle, where the long leg is configured to at least partially remain within the lock body, a latch movable between a first position engaged with the short leg of the shackle and a second position disengaged from the short leg of the shackle, a cylinder configured for rotational movement within the lock body and operatively engaged with the latch, a sleeve configured to control rotational movement of the cylinder, and wherein when the latch is in the first position the padlock is in a locked mode, and when the latch is in the second position the padlock is in an unlocked mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2023
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Inventor: Karl LAI
  • Patent number: 11954959
    Abstract: A biometric lock comprising a lock body, a shackle with a long leg and a short leg, wherein the long leg of the shackle never comes out of the lock, and a fingerprint panel wherein the fingerprint panel and an associated memory, battery, and processor are configured to associate a fingerprint of a user to one of a plurality of lock control levels, said associated fingerprint considered a registered fingerprint, wherein each lock control level allows an associated lock control level user to unlock said lock, the lock including a driving electronic circuit, electro-mechanical control motor, and a latch, that are configured to unlock the lock if a registered fingerprint is placed on said fingerprint panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: THE SUN LOCK COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: 11713593
    Abstract: The lock has a hook, a locking finger and a latch. The locking finger is engaged with the hook and the latch when the lock is in the locked mode. The locking finger is disengaged from the hook and the latch when the lock is in the opened mode. The lock can be opened by a combination mechanism or by an overriding key mechanism. The combination mechanism has a button, and a plurality of dials and clutches to control the movement of the button. When the dials are set to a correct combination, the button can be moved to disengage the latch from the locking finger, allowing the locking finger to disengage from the hook. The key mechanism has a cylinder with a key slot to receive a key for rotating the cylinder to disengage the latch from the locking finger, allowing the locking finger to disengage from the hook.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: THE SUN LOCK COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Publication number: 20230212887
    Abstract: An object padlock comprising, an object looking cover/body shape, at least one dial to control the opening of the lock as a primary control mechanism which is said to be a combination mode, a locking means such as a cable with one end always in the padlock and the other end such as a flexible-end can be locked and opened via a combination dial control, and at least a cylinder to control the opening of the lock as a secondary control mechanism which is said to be unlock by key mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2022
    Publication date: July 6, 2023
    Inventor: Karl LAI
  • Publication number: 20230089763
    Abstract: A biometric lock comprising a lock body, a shackle with a long leg and a short leg, wherein the long leg of the shackle never comes out of the lock, and a fingerprint panel wherein the fingerprint panel and an associated memory, battery, and processor are configured to associate a fingerprint of a user to one of a plurality of lock control levels, said associated fingerprint considered a registered fingerprint, wherein each lock control level allows an associated lock control level user to unlock said lock, the lock including a driving electronic circuit, electro-mechanical control motor, and a latch, that are configured to unlock the lock if a registered fingerprint is placed on said fingerprint panel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2022
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Inventor: Karl LAI
  • Publication number: 20230045238
    Abstract: A combination padlock comprising a body, true gates, a locking ball, a spindle and a plurality of clutches and dials, a shackle which contains a neck, a locking bolt with a neck, the spindle to control the lock opening of the locking bolt and control the alignment of the true gates of the clutches, the plurality of clutches to prevent the lock from being opened when the dials are not in a locked opened combination, the clutches having extended fins with rounded edges, and the plurality of dials to control the rotational movement of the clutches, so that when the extended fins of the clutches are fully aligned with the true gates, a user can pull a knob-side of the spindle to the right so that the neck of the shackle forces the locking-ball to move upward away from the neck of the shackle so as to unlock the padlock.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2022
    Publication date: February 9, 2023
    Inventor: Karl LAI
  • Patent number: 11391063
    Abstract: A lock has a flexible cable, instead of a shackle. The lock has a shaft moveable relative to the lock body so the top part of the shaft is moved out of the lock body to open the lock. The lock has a combination unlocking system and a key-overriding system. The lock can be unlocked by a lock-opening combination or by a correct key. The first end of the cable is fixedly attached to the lock body and the second end is removably engaged with a shaft slot. When the lock is in the locked mode, the shaft slot is located inside the lock body, preventing the removal of the second end of the cable from the shaft slot. When the lock is in the open mode, the shaft slot is located outside the lock body, allowing the second end of the cable to be removed from the shaft slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: THE SUN LOCK INTERNATIONAL COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: 11346127
    Abstract: A lock has a hook and a locking finger to form a locking loop. The hook is fixedly attached to the lock body, whereas the locking finger can be pivoted to disengage from the hook to open the lock. The pivotal movement of the locking finger is controlled by a latch and an extended edge. The latch has a tip and the locking finger has a cut-out to receive the tip when the lock is locked. When the lock is locked, a spindle prevents the extended edge from moving toward the latch for releasing the tip from the cut-out. When the lock is opened by the combination mechanism, the spindle is moved away to allow the extended edge to move toward the latch to release the tip from the cut-out. When the lock is opened by the key mechanism, turning the cylinder causes the extended edge to move the latch downward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: THE SUN LOCK COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Publication number: 20220065001
    Abstract: A padlock comprising a lock body, a combination mechanism to control the movement of the cam-spindle vertically, a key mechanism to control the movement of the cam-spindle rotationally, more than one clutch that is mounted in the cam-spindle which controls the vertically movement of the cam-spindle, wherein the cam-spindle is configured to control the locking and unlocking of the combination mechanism, and wherein more than one dial is mounted in the lock body, a locking bolt contacts the shackle, and the shackle has a long leg and a short leg with a bolt-receiving-cutout.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2021
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: 11261622
    Abstract: A combination lock has a body formed from a stack of plates each having various openings to form some of the channels or holes such as the locking hole to receive the short leg of the shackle, the long-leg channel, the spindle hole, the dial slots, the ratchet-pin holder slot and the bolt slots. The short leg and the long leg of the shackle each has a cutout to receive a locking bolt. The spindle has a locking surface to engage the locking bolts with the cutouts when the lock is in locked mode. The spindle also has a neck to release the locking bolts from the cutouts when the lock is in opened mode. The lock has a directional plate and a reset button near the lock's bottom end to control the rotation and the downward movement of the spindle in the reset mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: The Sun Lock Company Limited
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: 11261621
    Abstract: A zipper lock has two locking members to secure two zipper pulls of a suitcase and a control plate to cause the locking member to disengage from the zipper pulls. The lock has a latch engaged with the control plate, the latch positionable in a first latch position when the lock is in a locked mode or in a second latch position to open the lock. The lock has a combination mechanism using dials and clutches to control the movement of a spindle which allows the latch to move the second latch position when the arrangement of the dials matches the correct combination code. The lock also has a key-overriding mechanism using a cylinder to cause the movement of the latch when a correct key is used to turn the cylinder to open the lock. A recovery mechanism allows a user to recover the lost combination code.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: THE SUNLOCK COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: 11199025
    Abstract: A padlock comprising a body/housing which contains a fin-catcher and a plate-hole to receive the coupling-plate, a shackle which contains a short-leg and long-leg, so that the short-leg can move away from the locking-hole to control the locking and opening position, a plurality of clutches to prevent the lock from being opened when the dials are not in a lock open by combination code, and a plurality of dials to control the rotational movement of the clutches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: The Sun Lock Company Limited
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: 11136787
    Abstract: A cable lock has lock body, a cable and a wheel. The first end of the cable can be securely latched to the lock body and the second end is securely attached to the wheel so that the cable can be retracted into the lock body when the lock is in the open mode. The lock has a plurality of clutches and a plurality of dials to control the rotational movement of the clutches. The dials and clutches form a combination mechanism to control the locking and the unlocking of the lock using a combination code. When the setting of the dials matches the combination code, a release button can be used to release the first end of the cable from the lock body. The lock also has a retract button to enable the retraction of the cable, and a reset button to disengage the dials from the clutches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: THE SUN LOCK INTERNATIONAL COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Publication number: 20210189766
    Abstract: The lock has a hook, a locking finger and a latch. The locking finger is engaged with the hook and the latch when the lock is in the locked mode. The locking finger is disengaged from the hook and the latch when the lock is in the opened mode. The lock can be opened by a combination mechanism or by an overriding key mechanism. The combination mechanism has a button, and a plurality of dials and clutches to control the movement of the button. When the dials are set to a correct combination, the button can be moved to disengage the latch from the locking finger, allowing the locking finger to disengage from the hook. The key mechanism has a cylinder with a key slot to receive a key for rotating the cylinder to disengage the latch from the locking finger, allowing the locking finger to disengage from the hook.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2020
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventor: Karl LAI
  • Patent number: 11024107
    Abstract: A combination lock has a touch panel to receive a keypad entry code indicative of a combination code for unlocking the lock with various access levels, including a first level and second level. The combination lock is also arranged to receive the combination code from a mobile device via wireless signals. The combination lock also has an independent key-lock mechanism for unlocking the lock with a key. The mobile device has an application icon, when activated, prompting the wireless signals indicative of the combination code. The mobile device also has a deactivation icon and re-activation associated with the combination code of the first level. The deactivation icon causes the disablement of the touch panel and the key-lock mechanism when activated. The re-activation icon terminates the disablement of the touch panel and the key-lock mechanism when activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: THE SUN LOCK COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Publication number: 20210062542
    Abstract: A combination lock has a body formed from a stack of plates each having various openings to form some of the channels or holes such as the locking hole to receive the short leg of the shackle, the long-leg channel, the spindle hole, the dial slots, the ratchet-pin holder slot and the bolt slots. The short leg and the long leg of the shackle each has a cutout to receive a locking bolt. The spindle has a locking surface to engage the locking bolts with the cutouts when the lock is in locked mode. The spindle also has a neck to release the locking bolts from the cutouts when the lock is in opened mode. The lock has a directional plate and a reset button near the lock's bottom end to control the rotation and the downward movement of the spindle in the reset mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2020
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Inventor: Karl LAI
  • Patent number: 10890013
    Abstract: A lock has a cable engageable with a lock body. The cable has two ends, each of which has a cable neck. The lock has a shaft operatively engaged with a stack of clutches and a plurality of dials. The shaft has a top portion with a shaft slot engageable with the cable neck on the first cable end. The first cable end can be released from the lock body with a combination mechanism. The lock has a fixed cam having a cam slot engageable with the cable neck of the second cable end. The lock further comprises a blocking plate slideably engaged with the fixed cam, and a rotatable cam configured to control the positions of the blocking plate. The rotatable cam is connected to a cylinder operable with a key to rotate the rotatable cam to release the second cable end from the fixed cam slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: THE SUNLOCK COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: D914481
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: The Sun Lock Company Limited
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: D999044
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: THE SUN LOCK COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Karl Lai
  • Patent number: D1011865
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: THE SUN LOCK COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Karl Lai