Computer security locks and system therefor
View Patent ↗A lock assembly for preventing theft of an electronic mobile device (EMD) is configured to engage a security cavity formed in the 2 mm thick outer wall of the EMD. The security cavity has left and right outwardly-flaring side walls extending away from the opening. The lock body supports first and second locking elements, each of which is configured to be insertable into the security cavity and has an arcuately-shaped side wall that is complementary in shape to the right/left outwardly flaring side wall of the security cavity. The first and second locking elements cooperate structurally to become wedged inside the security cavity in manner that prevents separation of the lock body from the EMD while the first and second locking elements are positioned inside the security cavity. Preferably, the arcuately-shaped sides of the locking elements extend over an arc angle of 180 degrees. A cable is coupled to the lock body to enable tethering the EMD to an immovable object, to prevent its theft.
1. An electronic mobile device (EMD) including a security facility that enables the EMD to be tethered to an immobile object to prevent theft of the EMD, the EMD comprising:
a housing defining an interior that holds electrical components and circuits of the EMD, said housing being partially defined by an outer wall that is made of metal and has a wall thickness of less than 2.3 mm, an outside surface and an inside surface of said outer wall both extending parallel to a flat plane associated with the outer wall;
an electrical port comprising a generally rectangular port slot formed in the outer wall and an electrical connector located inside the housing juxtaposed to the port slot, the port slot being defined by an elongate upper wall edge, an elongate lower wall edge, a left side, arcuate wall edge and a right side, arcuate wall edge, the four edges defining a security port slot configured to receive locking elements of a lock assembly;
wherein the upper and lower wall edges extend perpendicularly to the plane of the outer wall and the left and right side arcuate edges flair away from the outer surface of the outer wall and extend at angles in the range of 45 to 75 degrees relative to the plane of the outer wall, away from an ingress into the security port slot, and each arcuate edge extending between the lower and upper edges of the outer wall over an arc angle in the range of 120 to 180 degrees, each of the arcuate edges being defined by a respective interior surface shape; and
wherein the arcuate edges are formed so that a pair of said locking elements associated with a lock body that have outer surfaces that complementarily match the surface shapes of the arcuate edges are capable of being inserted into the port slot and hold onto the outer wall when being pulled out by a force greater than 100 pounds.
2. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the arc angle extension of each of the arcuate edges is between 160 to 180 degrees.
3. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the electrical connecter has a shroud that surrounds a PCB (printed circuit board) and the arcuate edges of the port are laterally spaced away from the shroud.
4. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the wall thickness of the outer wall is in a range from 1.9 to 2.25 mm.
5. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the locking elements is slidable within the security port slot to engage tightly one of said arcuate edges.
6. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the arcuate edges are sufficiently sturdy as to retain the locking elements in the security port slot, without the locking elements protruding beyond the inside surface of the outer wall.
7. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the respective surface shapes of the arcuate edges are mirror images of each other.
8. The EMD of claim 1 , including at least one slit in each of the upper and lower edges, so configured as to allow protrusions associated with the lock assembly to pass through the slits and then be inserted into the upper and lower edges to improve the holding power of the security port slot on the lock assembly.
9. The EMD of claim 8 , including at least two of said slits in each of said upper and lower edges of said security port slot.
10. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the lower edge is located at a height above a bottom surface of said EMD that is less than 2.5 mm.
11. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the EMD is a laptop.
12. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the metal of the outer wall is one of aircraft grade aluminum, magnesium, titanium, tungsten, chromium and a steel alloys that score very high on the Mohs and Vickers Scales.
13. The EMD of claim 1 , wherein the electrical connector is a USB-C electrical socket.
14. The EMD of claim 1 , in combination with a lock assembly comprising said locking elements.
15. The EMD of claim 14 , wherein the locking elements comprise first and second locking elements that are insertable serially one after the other into said security port slot.
16. The EMD of claim 14 , wherein the locking elements comprise first and second locking elements that are insertable together into the security port slot and including a third locking element located between the first and second locking elements.
17. An electronic mobile device (EMD) including a security facility that enables the EMD to be tethered to an immobile object to prevent theft of the EMD, the EMD comprising:
a housing defining an interior that holds electrical components and circuits of the EMD, said housing being partially defined by an outer wall that is made of metal and has a wall thickness of less than 2.3 mm, an outside surface and an inside surface of said outer wall both extending parallel to a flat plane associated with the outer wall; and
a security slot formed inside said outer wall, said security slot comprising first and second slits that are parallel to each other and extend obliquely into the thickness of the outer wall and a third slit that extends between and connects the first and second slits at a deeper end thereof, the first, second and third slits being configured to receive a locking element of a lock that is locatable on the outer surface of the outer wall and then slidable between the first and second slits and then into the third slit, and a locking hole formed in the outer wall adjacent the slits and configured to receive a locking pin insertable into it from the lock to prevent the lock element from being withdrawn in a locked state of the lock.
18. The EMD of claim 17 , including an access opening to reach an electrical connector inside the EMD, and wherein the security slot is formed around said access opening.
19. The EMD of claim 18 , wherein the electrical connector is a USB-C socket.