HK1099356B - Door lock with controllable handle operation - Google Patents

Description

Door lock with controllable handle operation

The present invention relates to a door lock with controllable handle operation according to the preamble of claim 1.

The control of the handle operation on the door lock by means of a solenoid device or the like can be done in different ways depending on the application. For example, it may be a device that allows or enables access using the handle when the solenoid is energized, thereby connecting the force transfer from the handle to the latch of the lock. Alternatively, the scheme may be reversed such that when the solenoid is de-energized, the device allows access using the handle. The selection of the mode of operation of the device depends on whether ingress security, i.e. egress security or security of the locked space, is emphasized.

In practice, it is common to have a device such that the door can always be opened from the outside with a key-operated lock mechanism or the like and from the inside with a handle, knob or the like, whereby the selected handle-operated coupling requires a two-piece drive shaft at the same time, i.e. a separate drive shaft. Depending on the location of application, the device may also be, for example, a device in which the door is provided with handles or the like on both sides, whereby the door can always be opened with a handle from one side and only selectively depending on the situation from the other side.

When installing a door lock of the above type, a choice must be made to decide, for example, on which side of the door, and thus on which side of the lock housing of the door lock a chosen handle operation needs to be arranged, so that the same lock housing can be used on doors that are turnable in different directions. In the solution disclosed in patent publication EP1354112, separate adapter members mounted on the operating shaft of the actuator of the lock are used, whereby it prevents direct operation of the follower by the actuator on the selected side of the lock. In this case, the force transmission from the operation shaft to the follower is achieved by the torsion unit controlled by the solenoid, using the latch as a coupling member. On the other side of the lock, the force transmission is continuously connected.

Patent publication EP537531 discloses a solution by which a constant force transmission from the operating shaft to the follower is established, and the constant force is transmitted from one side of the lock to the other. In this solution, a separate selection member is used, which is movable from one side of the lock to the other and interlocks the bolt with the torsion unit on the selected side, thereby providing a force transmission from the operating shaft to the driven member via the torsion unit and said bolt. In this device, a constant force transmission through the bolt is thus always established and, on the other hand, no force transmission from the other side of the lock can be provided, whereby the device also does not comprise any kind of solenoid-based selection process.

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel solution which offers a wide range of possibilities for installing and utilizing a door lock, so that the lock can always be used from one side of the door and selectively control the use from the other side of the door. According to this solution, the lock housing should be changeable when mounted on the door, so that it can be used inside the door independently of the direction in which the door is turned. A further object is that the changes made on the lock case can be implemented as simply and easily as possible by means of the mounting device without opening the lock case. The solution should also have a simple and reliable construction.

The object of the invention is achieved by the method described in more detail in claim 1 and in the other claims. According to the invention, the door lock comprises a selection member which is movable from one lock side to the other, which selection member holds the torsion unit (6a, 6b) selected in each case against rotation relative to the follower (5) so that the force transmission from the operating shaft (4) to the follower (5) is connected at a specific side of the lock, and at the other side of the lock, the force transmission from the operating shaft to the follower can be selectively connected or disconnected by said coupling member under the control of the solenoid device. The device does not require a separate adapter to be mounted on the operating shaft. Thus, the torsion unit and its spindle opening can be designed such that the driven member cannot be rotated at all directly from the operating shaft, which tends to contribute to the safety of the device. On the other hand, the strength required of the bolt is less because no selection is made by the bolt serving as a link and the force transmission on the lock side exposed to the continuous force transmission is not established by the bolt.

In practice, the selection member is preferably a screw or the like movable in the direction of the operating axis. The follower is provided with a threaded opening for the selector. The selection member can thus be firmly mounted in its position, which ensures a connection between the torsion unit and the driven member.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the torsion unit is provided with a recess or the like, which is shaped to receive at least a part of the selection element. The selection element can therefore preferably be provided with an enlarged head which cooperates with said recess or the like when the selection element is mounted in the recess or the like.

From the point of view of force transmission, an advantageous application is achieved when the follower is provided with a guide which extends in the direction of the middle axis of the follower opening to said recess or the like of the torsion unit and cooperates with the selection member. In addition, the guide member may be provided with a guide surface arranged to cooperate with a protrusion on the torsion unit when the follower is rotated.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention said openings of the follower are arranged in protrusions and each of the torsion units is provided with a respective protrusion, wherein openings for the selection members are arranged, whereby these openings can be arranged concentrically with respect to the openings in the follower for mounting the selection members.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figures 1 to 3 illustrate a door lock according to the invention, showing a first embodiment of the follower unit in its different operative positions;

fig. 4 to 6 illustrate an embodiment of the follower unit according to fig. 1 to 3, enlarged in its different operating positions;

figures 7 and 8 illustrate another door lock according to the invention, showing a second embodiment of the follower unit in its different operative positions; and

fig. 9 and 10 illustrate an embodiment of the follower unit according to fig. 7 to 8, enlarged in its different operating positions.

In the figures, reference numeral 1 designates a lock housing of a door lock having a front plate 2, a locking pin 3 and an operating shaft 4 provided with a rotatable follower 5, which is arranged by means of a force transmission member 20 to move the locking pin 3 from its locking position to its retracted position within the lock housing 1. Rotation of the follower 5 is effected by an actuator (not shown) mounted on an operating shaft, for example by a handle or lock mechanism, whereby force transmission from the actuator to the follower 5 occurs from either side of the follower 5 through torsion units 6a and 6b, the torsion units 6a and 6b being rotatably fixed to the follower 5.

The door lock is further provided with a selector 7, preferably a screw, by means of which selector 7 one of the torsion units 6a and 6b can be held such that it cannot rotate relative to the follower 5, whereby the force transmission from a specific side of the lock is constantly connected. Thus, the operation of the other torsion unit is operable by the solenoid 8 such that the lever arrangement 9 rotated by the solenoid 8 impinges on a latch 10a or 10b, the latch 10a or 10b acting as a link and pivoting on a stub shaft 11 arranged on the follower 5, the latch being selected to connect or disconnect the force transmission from the torsion unit to the follower 5. To complete the force transmission, the lever means 9 presses the latch into its connected position. The force transmission can be provided to be switched off when the solenoid 8 turns the lever means 9 away from the operating shaft 4, for example by providing the lever means 9 with a magnet (not depicted) which attracts the bolt. The basic operation of the device is also discussed in the above-mentioned publication EP1354112, which is incorporated by reference in this respect.

In the case shown in fig. 1, the foremost torsion unit 6a, i.e. the one shown in the figure, is interlocked with the driven part 5 by means of the selector 7, whereby the force transmission is continuously connected on the front side of the lock, i.e. from the operating shaft via the driven part 5 to the locking pin 3. In this case the actuator is a key operated lock mechanism or a handle or the like. A suitable actuator on the back side of the lock is a handle or the like, the operation of which can be controlled by the solenoid 8 so that there is a selective force transmission from the handle to the locking pin 3. In the situation according to fig. 2, the locking pin is retracted into the lock housing by turning the follower 5.

In the assembly according to fig. 3, the selector 7 is moved to the other side of the lock and thus it holds the torsion unit 6b (not depicted in fig. 1 to 3) on the back side of the lock. In this case, the movement of the latch 3 depends on the position of the link 10a controlled by the solenoid 8. In fig. 3, the coupler (10 a) is in its uncoupled position, whereby the locking pin (3) cannot move from the lock side as shown in the figure.

Fig. 4 to 6 show the structure and cooperation of the follower 5 and the torsion units 6a and 6b in more detail. Here, two torsion units 6a and 6b are rotatably fitted to respective sides of the follower 5. Since the torsion units have the same structure and only one torsion unit 6a is clearly visible in the figures, the structure of the torsion units will be discussed below by referring mainly to the torsion unit 6a described in the figures. The torsion unit has a spindle opening 6a1 for mounting an actuator (not shown) on the operating shaft 4. The torsion unit is shaped and arranged together with the follower such that there is no direct force transmission from the operating shaft 4 to the follower 5.

The driven member 5 is equipped with a stub shaft 11 on which pins 10a and 10b serving as coupling members are rotatably fixed, and the driven member 5 has a threaded opening 12, and a selector 7 is mounted in the opening 12 at one side of the torsion unit to hold the particular torsion unit so that it cannot rotate relative to the driven member. For this purpose, the torsion unit 6a (6b) is provided with a recess 13a (13b), in which recess 13a (13b) the enlarged head 7a of the selector 7 can be placed. The follower 5 has a guide 14a (14b) extending to the recess 13a (13b), and the guide 14a (14b) is provided with a guide surface 14a1(14b 1). When the selector 7 is in its locking position, it cooperates with the recess 13a (13b) and the guide surface 14a1(14b 1). The guide 14a (14b) also cooperates with the protrusion 15a (15b) of the torsion unit by means of its guide surface 14a2(14b 2). As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the projection 15a (15b) is affected by a spring means 16, which is intended to keep the handle mounted on the operating shaft in a horizontal position.

According to fig. 4, the torsion unit 6a is fixedly connected to the follower 5 by means of the selector 7, and similarly in fig. 5, the rearmost torsion unit 6b is fixedly connected to the follower 5. In the latter case, the foremost torsion unit 6a in the figure is free to rotate and no force is transmitted from the operating shaft 4 to the follower 5 when the coupler 10a is not in its coupling position.

Figures 7 and 8 show another door lock utilising a second embodiment of the follower unit, the construction of which is shown in more detail in figures 9 and 10. The basic operation is similar to the door lock in fig. 1 to 6, but in this case the threaded opening 12 for the selector 7 is arranged on the projection 17 of the follower 5. Thus, the torsion units 6a and 6b are provided with respective projections 18a and 18b having openings 19a and 19b for the links 7, respectively. Also in this case, the torsion unit to be exposed to the continuous transmission of force is selected by a selection member fitted into an opening in the driven member through an opening in said torsion unit.

In fig. 9, the selector 7 is fitted into the opening 19a of the torsion unit 6a, whereby the torsion unit 6a provides a continuous force transmission to the driven member 5. Similarly, the rearmost torsion unit 6b can be selectively connected to the force transmission with the follower 5 by the link 10 b. According to fig. 9, the coupler (10 b) is not in its coupled position, whereby the torsion unit (6b) is independently rotatable relative to the follower (5) and no force is transmitted. In fig. 10, the selector 7 is moved from the foremost torsion unit 6a to the rearmost torsion unit 6b, whereby it is likewise interconnected with the driven member and there is a continuous transmission of force via the torsion unit 6b to the driven member 5. Since the bolt 10a is also in this case in its connected position, there is also a force transmission from the torsion unit 6a to the follower 5.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and a number of other modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (6)

1. Door lock with controllable handle operation, comprising a locking pin (3), a follower (5) for moving the locking pin and an operating shaft (4), at both ends of which operating shaft (4) actuators for operating the follower (5) can be mounted, whereby force transmission from either side of the lock to the follower (5) is established by means of movable coupling pieces (10a, 10b) controlled by solenoid means (8, 9), and where the follower (5) is provided with two separate torsion units (6a, 6b) mounted on the operating shaft (4) on different sides of the follower (5), and where the torsion units (6a, 6b) are rotatably fixed to the operating shaft (4), which torsion units can be connected to force transmission with the follower (5) by means of said coupling pieces (10a, 10b), characterized in that the door lock comprises a selector piece (7), the selector (7) is a screw which is movable in the direction of the operating shaft (4), the selector (7) being movable from one lock side to the other, the selector holding the torsion unit (6a, 6b) selected in each case non-rotatable relative to the follower (5) so that the force transmission from the operating shaft (4) to the follower (5) is connected on that particular side of the lock, said follower (5) being provided with a threaded opening (12) for the selector (7), and on the other side of the lock the force transmission from the operating shaft (4) to the follower (5) being selectively connectable or disconnectable by means of said coupling (10a, 10b) under the control of the solenoid device (8, 9).

2. A door lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the torsion unit (6a, 6b) is provided with a recess (13a, 13b) shaped to receive at least a part of the selector (7).

3. A door lock according to claim 2, characterized in that the selector (7) is provided with an enlarged head (7a) which cooperates with said recess (13a, 13b) when the selector (7) is mounted on said recess (13a, 13 b).

4. A door lock according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the follower (5) is provided with guides (14a, 14b) extending in the direction of the centre axis of the threaded opening (12) therein to said recesses (13a, 13b) of the torsion units (6a, 6b), and which cooperate with the selector (7).

5. A door lock according to claim 4, characterized in that the guide (14a, 14b) is further provided with a guide surface (14a 1, 14b1) arranged to cooperate with a protrusion (15a, 15b) on the torsion unit when the follower (5) is turned.

6. A door lock according to claim 1, characterized in that said opening (12) of the follower (5) is arranged in a protrusion (17) of the follower, and that each of the torsion units (6a, 6b) is provided with a corresponding protrusion (18a, 18b), respectively, and that an opening (19a, 19b) for mounting the selector (7) is arranged in the protrusion (18a, 18b) of the torsion unit, so that the opening (19a, 19b) for mounting the selector (7) can be arranged concentrically with respect to the threaded opening (12) of the follower.