GB2198934A - Lever handle - Google Patents

Abstract

A manually graspable lever handle suitable for use on doors or windows has a root portion (12) and an elongate manually graspable portion (14) extending from the root portion (12), wherein at least the manually graspable portion (14) comprises a rounded surface region (15) and a relatively flat surface region (17), whereby grasping of the lever (10) is facilitated. The graspable portion (14) has a cross-sectional shape corresponding to a circular or generally circular shape with at least one chordal or generally chordal portion removed therefrom. An additional or alternative feature is that the graspable portion (114) has an end portion (116) which extends in a different direction to the remainder of the graspable portion (114) and which is inclined to a plane containing axes of the root portion (112) and the remainder of the graspable portion (114). <IMAGE>

Description

Title: "Lever" Description of Invention This invention relates to manually graspable levers suitable for use primarily but not exclusively on (or in association with) articles such as wings, for example doors or windows, for opening and closing movement of the wings and/or for operation of lock or latch mechanisms on (or associated with) the wings.

Conventionally such a lever comprises a root portion through which it may be mounted on an article, and an elongate manually graspable portion extending from the root portion, around which graspable portion a user may pass a plurality of fingers in order to grasp the lever.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever having a root portion and an elongate manually graspable portion extending from the root portion, wherein at least the manually graspable portion comprises a rounded surface region and a relatively flat surface region.

In this manner, grapsing of the lever by a user may be facilitated, by virtue of the resulting non-round cross-section of the graspable portion.

Preferably, at least the graspable portion has a cross-sectional shape corresponding to a circular or generally circular shape with at least one chordal or generally chordal portion removed therefrom.

The relatively flat surface region may be provided on a surface of the graspable portion which, in use, is generally engaged by outer portions of a user's fingers, and where the graspable portion extends generally horizontally, this surface may for example be the underside of the graspable portion.

Alternatively or additionally, such a relatively flat surface region may be provided a surface of the graspable portion which, in use, is generally engaged by inner portions of the user's fingers and/or by the user's palm, which surface region would, in said example, be the upper side of the graspable portion.

The relatively flat surface region, whilst being relatively flat in relation to the rounded surface region, may be slightly convex.

The graspable portion may extend generally transversely from the root portion.

The graspable portion may be of generally uniform or (e.g.) outwardly tapering cross-section in a direction extending from the root portion.

The graspable portion may have an end portion at the opposite end to the root portion which extends in a different direction e.g. towards the article, compared with the remainder of the graspable portion.

Preferably said end portion is inclined to a plane containing the root portion and the remainder of the graspable portion, which may facilitate comfortable grasping of the lever.

Such inclination may be such that an extremity of the end portion lies on the same side of said plane as the relatively flat surface region, or on the opposite-side of said plane from the relatively flat surface region.

The extremity may be formed so as to have an end face which, in spite of said inclination, lies normal to said plane.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a lever comprising a root portion and an elongate manually graspable portion extending generally transversely therefrom, the graspable portion having an end portion, at the opposite end thereof to said root portion, which extends in a different direction (e.g. towards an article) compared with the remainder of the graspable portion and which is inclined to a plane containing axes of the root portion and the remainder the graspable portion.

Said inclination may be such that although the end portion, by its presence, helps to prevent a user's hand from slipping longitudinally from the graspable portion, it does not inhibit grasping of the graspable portion by a user.

Several embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE I is a perspective view of a lever embodying the invention; FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the lever of Figure I when mounted on a face plate; FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the lever and face plate of Figure 2; FIGURE 4A is a sectional view of the lever on the plane X-X of Figure 2; FIGURE 4B is a sectional view, corresponding to Figure 4A, but of another lever embodying the invention; FIGURE 4C is another corresponding sectional view of still another lever embodying the invention; and FIGURE 5 is an end elevation of a further (oppositely handed) lever embodying the invention, mounted on a face plate.

Referring to the drawings, a lever 10, which is suitable for use on or in association with articles such as wings (e.g. doors or windows) for opening and closing movement of the wings and/or for operation of lock or latch mechanisms on or associated with the wings, comprises a frusto-conical root portion 12 from which a mounting hub (not shown) of conventional form protrudes rearwardly to enable the lever 10 to be mounted on a wing or associated mechanism, for example through the intermediary of a face plate II shown in Figures 2 and 3. The lever 10 further comprises an elongate manually graspable portion 14 extending generally transversely from, and integrally formed with, the root portion, around which portion 14 a user may pass a plurality of fingers in order to grasp the lever.An integrally formed end portion 16 of the graspable portion extends, from the remainder of the graspable portion, in the same direction as the root portion 12.

The portion 14 comprises a rounded underside/side surface region 15 and a relatively flat upper surface region 17. The portions 14 and 16 are of generally uniform cross-section (in fact they taper very slightly towards the free end of the lever) of the shape shown in Figure 4A, which is a crosssectional view on the plane X-X of Figure 2, which shows that this shape is generally circular with a generally chordal portion removed to afford the surface region 17. The region 17 is visible in its entirety in Figure 3.

By virtue of the non-round cross-section of the portion 14, grasping of the lever 10 by a user may be facilitated. In more detail, although the graspable portion 14 illustrated has a cross-section of sufficient size to give the handle a "chunky" feel, the non-round shape helps to keep the user's fingers comfortably in position on the graspable portion during use of the lever, by virtue of inner portions of the fingers and/or the palm of the hand lying generally flat on the region 17 and being impeded from subsequent sliding movement around the longitudinal axis of the graspable portion 14 by abutment with one or other of shoulders 19 which are present due to the relatively sudden change of direction which occurs between the region 17 and the adjacent rounded surface region 15.

The region 17, whilst generally flat in comparison with the region 15, is slightly convex (though of a much larger radius of curvature than the region 15) as may be seen from the drawings.

Another lever embodying the invention has a cross-section, seen in Figure 4B, which is the same shape as that of Figure 4A, and which is correspondingly labelled in the drawing, but in which the relatively flat surface region 17 is on the underside of this alternative lever where, in use, it will generally be engaged by outer portions of a user's lingers (when grasping the lever from above.) It will be appreciated that whilst the lever 10 illustrated in Figures I to 4A is generally left-handed, the invention is equally applicable to a righthanded lever (obtainable e.g. by inverting one of the above-described levers.) Still another example of cross-section possible whilst remaining within the scope of the invention is shown in Figure 4C, which is a cross-sectional view of a graspable portion having a shape which is generally circular but with two chordal portions removed, at an (acute) angle to each other, the corresponding two generally flat surfaces 1 7 being engaged in use by respective successive portions of each finger of a user (the lever being mounted with the right-hand one of the regions 1 5 shown in Figure 4C facing the wing or other article in use.) A further lever Ill embodying the invention is shown in Figure 5.The lever 110 illustrated is mounted on a face plate I I' so as to be right-handed, but the concepts embodied are equally applicable to a left-handed version.

The lever Ill has a root portion 112 and a manually graspable portion 114 corresponding to the portions 12 and 14 described for the lever 10, of the same or similar cross-section to the corresponding portions of the lever 10, with a rounded surface region 115 and a relatively flat surface region 117, but the lever 110 has a differently formed end portion 116 which, as is apparent from Figure 5, is inclined downwardly from where it meets the remainder of the grapsable portion so as to extend out of a nominal plane containing (e.g. the axes of) the portion 112 and the transverse portion of the graspable portion 114, so that the end portion I 16, by its presence helps to prevent a user's hand from slipping longitudinally from the graspable portion, whilst said inclination of the end portion prevents the end portion 116 from itself obstructing and inhibiting (e.g. by interference with the fingers) grasping of the lever throughout use thereof.

In the lever 110, an extremity 120 of the graspable portion lies generally on the opposite side of said nominal plane to the region 117, but alternatively the portion 116 could be formed so as to be inclined upwardly rather than downwardly, in which case the extremity 120 would lie on the same side of said nominal plane as the region 117.

The extremity 120 has an end face which in spite of said inclination is normal to said plane and, in the example illustrated, will remain vertical during rotation of the lever 110 about a central axis of the root portion 112.

As with the lever 10, the relatively flat surface region could be formed on the underside of the lever, or there could be more than one such relatively flat region.

Although the levers described above have been described primarily in relation to their use on wings, such levers may advantageously be used on any other articles on which it is appropriate to provide manually graspable levers.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, or a class or group of substances or compositions, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (21)

1. A lever having a root portion and an elongate manually graspable portion extending from the root portion, wherein at least the manually graspable portion comprises a rounded surface region and a relatively flat surface region.

2. A lever according to Claim I wherein at least the graspable portion has a cross-sectional shape corresponding to a circular or generally circular shape with at least one chordal or generally chordal portion removed therefrom.

3. A lever according to Claim I or Claim 2 wherein the relatively flat surface region is provided on a surface of the graspable portion which, in use, is generally engaged by outer portions of users fingers.

4. A lever according to Claim 3 wherein, where the graspable portion extends generally horizontally, said surface is the underside of the graspable portion.

5. A lever according to any one of Claims I to 4 wherein such a relatively flat surface region is provided on a surface of the graspable portion which, in use, is generally engaged by inner portions of the users fingers and/or the users palm.

6. A lever according to Claim 5 wherein, where the graspable portion extends generally horizontally, said surface region is the upper side of the graspable portion.

7. A lever according to any one of Claims I to 6 wherein the relatively flat surface region, whilst being relatively flat in relation to the rounded surface region, is slightly convex.

8. A lever according to any one of Claims I to 7 wherein the graspable portion extends generally transversely from the root portion.

9. A lever according to any one of Claims I to 8 wherein the graspable portion is of generally uniform cross-section in a direction extending from the root portion.

10. A lever according to any one of Claims I to 8 wherein the graspable portion is of outwardly tapering cross-section in a direction extending from the root portion.

11. A lever according to any one of Claims 1 to 10 wherein the graspable portion has an end portion at the opposite end to the root portion which extends in a different direction compared with the remainder of the graspable portion.

12. A lever according to Claim II wherein said different direction is towards the article.

13. A lever according to Claim II or Claim 12 wherein said end portion is inclined to a plane containing the root portion and the remainder of the graspable portion.

14. A lever according to Claim 13 wherein such inclination is such that an extremity of the end portion lies on the same side of said plane as the relatively flat surface region.

15. A lever according to Claim 13 or Claim 14 wherein such inclination is such that an extremity of the end portion lies on the opposite side of said plane from the relatively flat surface region.

16. A lever according to Claim 14 or Claim 15 wherein the extremity is formed so as to have an end face which, in spite of said inclination, lies normal to said plane.

17. A lever comprising a root portion and an elongate manually graspable portion extending generally transversely therefrom, the graspable portion having an end portion, at the opposite end thereof to said root portion, which extends in a different direction compared with the remainder of the graspable portion and which is inclined to a plane containing axes of the root portion and the remainder of the graspable portion.

18. A lever according to Claim 17 wherein said different direction s towards an article.

19. A lever according to Claim 17 or Claim 18 wherein said inclination is such that although the end portion, by its presence, helps to prevent a users hand from slipping longitundinally from the graspable portion, it does not inhibit grasping of the graspable portion by a user.

20. A lever substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

21. Any novel feature or novel combination or features described herein and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.