The present invention relates generally door handle assemblies and the like, and, more particularly, to a door handle assembly.
Door lever handle assemblies are conventionally mounted with the lever handle positioned horizontally. This orientation requires that the weight of the lever portion of the handle be supported against the force of gravity. In many door handle assemblies, this support normally is provided by spring commonly used in cylinder locks to extend the latching bolt to allow opening of a door on which the lever handle assembly is installed. The spring is compressed as the lever handle is rotated, providing a return bias force for returning the lever handle to a horizontal position when the lever handle is released. However, the use of the cylinder lock bias spring to provide sufficient bias force to return the lever handle to a horizontal position requires that the lever handle be rotated about 60° or more in opening the door.
Thus, most known lever type door handles must be rotated at least 45°, and typically about 60°, from a horizontal position to withdraw the latching bolt to allow opening of a door on which the door lever handle is installed. However, it can be difficult for some physically challenged individuals to rotate a door lever handle 60° or even as much as 45°.
It is accordingly the primary objective of the present invention to provide an improved door handle assembly.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a door handle assembly that requires a relative small angle of rotation between the latching and unlatching positions.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a door handle assembly including an improved bias structure for returning a lever handle from an unlatching position to a generally horizontal latching position.
The door handle assembly of the present invention must also be of construction which is both durable and long lasting, and it should also require little or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughout its operating lifetime. In order to enhance the market appeal of the apparatus of the present invention, it should also be of inexpensive construction to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, it is also an objective that all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives be achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage.
The disadvantages and limitations of the background art discussed above are overcome by the present invention. With this invention, there is provided a door handle assembly. In one embodiment, the door handle assembly includes at least one door handle and a chassis assembly including a body, a spindle and a bias mechanism. The spindle is mounted on the body for rotational movement relative to the body. The door handle is mounted on the spindle and indexed to the spindle handle to prevent relative rotation between the door handle and the spindle. The spindle is rotatable by the door handle between latching and unlatching positions. The bias mechanism is coupled to the spindle for producing a return bias force in response to rotation of the spindle as the door handle is rotated away from the latching position toward the unlatching position for returning the door handle to the latching position upon release of the door handle. The angle of rotation of the door handle between the latching position and the unlatching position is less than 45°. In a preferred embodiment, the angle of rotation of the door handle between the latching and unlatching positions is about 28°.
In one embodiment, the bias mechanism includes at least one bias structure including a bias element and an actuating member coupled to the spindle and cooperating with the bias element for causing the bias element to produce the return bias force in response to rotation of the door handle away from the latching position toward the unlatching position.
The door handle assembly can include a second door handle indexed to the spindle, and a second bias structure that includes a second bias element and a second actuating member for causing the second bias element to produce the return bias force in response to rotation of the second door handle away from the latching position toward the unlatching position. The second actuating member is operated in response to rotation of the second door handle and independently of the operation of the first actuating member. The spindle can be a split member, allowing the first and second actuating members to be operated independently of one another.
The apparatus of the present invention is of a construction which is both durable and long lasting, and which will require little or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughout its operating lifetime. The apparatus of the present invention is also of inexpensive construction to enhance its market appeal and to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives are achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage.
These and other advantages of the present invention are best understood with reference to the drawings, in which:
Referring to the drawings,
In accordance with the present invention, the door handle assembly 10 includes a bias mechanism that maintains the outside handle 12 and the inside handle 14 in a generally horizontal position in which a latching bolt 20 of the latching bolt assembly 18 is fully extended. The latching bolt 20 is retracted upon rotating either the outside handle 12 or the inside handle 14 a predetermined angular distance, represented by angle α in
Referring to
More specifically, reference is now made to
The body 30 of the chassis assembly 16 defines a recess 32 at one end 35 for mounting the actuating member 28 of the inside handle bias structure 26 for rotation relative to the body 30. The recess 32 has a flat inner wall 33 with a circular opening 34 therethrough. The recess 32 has an arcuate inner surface 36 partially surrounding the inner wall 33, the inner surface 36 of the sidewall defining a bearing surface for a curved outer surface 39 of actuating member 28. The body 30 further includes a flat surface 38 for supporting the lower end of the compression spring 27 as will be shown.
Referring also to
The body 30 includes a through bore 40 that receives a pin 42. The ends 44 and 45 of the pin 42 project out from the body 30 at opposite ends 35 and 37 thereof, and extend into the guide slots 64 and 164 of the actuator members for defining length of travel for the actuating members. The body 30 includes aligned pairs of apertures 48 and 49 near the top and bottom of the body to facilitate installation of the chassis assembly 16 on a door.
The body 30 includes a transverse bore 46, shown in
Referring to
The actuating member 24 of the outside handle bias structure 22 can be identical in size and configuration to the actuating member 28 of the inside handle bias structure 26 and accordingly corresponding portions of actuating member 24 have been given the same reference number as like portions of actuating member 28, but with “100” added. Thus, the actuating member 24 includes a drive portion 152 having an index opening 158, a cam portion 154 with a flat surface 166, and a guide slot 164, for example.
Referring also to
When the bias structures 22 and 26 are assembled on the body 30, the actuating members 24 and 28 are located at opposite ends of the body 30 in respective recesses 132 and 32, with the index opening 58 of actuating member 28 aligned with the index opening 158 of actuating member 24. Also, guide slot 64 is aligned with guide slot 164, with opposite ends of pin 42 extending into slots 64 and 164. Guide slots 64 and 164 define the rotational length of travel of the acutating members 28 and 24.
Referring to
The latching bolt assembly 18 includes a generally cylindrical housing 68 that contains a transmission mechanism 70 that converts rotational movement of the handles 12 and 14 into axial movement for the latching bolt 20. The handles 12 and 14 are coupled to the latching bolt assembly 18 by the spindle 31. The latching bolt 20 is extended from the housing 68 when both handles 12 and 14 are in the horizontal position and the latching bolt 20 is retracted into the housing 68 whenever either one of the handles is rotated to the unlatching position.
The housing has a transverse opening 71 in which is exposed a portion of the transmission mechanism 70. The transmission mechanism 70 includes an opening 74 therethrough the inner surface of which is generally rectangular in shape and conforms to the outer surface of the spindle 31. The transmission mechanism 70 has an inside handle operated transmission portion 77 and an outside handle operated transmission portion 78, which are independently operable to extend and retract the latching bolt 20.
The transmission mechanism 70 establishes the amount of rotation of the spindle 31, and thus the amount of rotation of the handles 12 and 14, that is required to retract the latching bolt 20 substantially completely into the housing 68. As is stated above, in the preferred embodiment, the amount of rotation is less than 45° and preferably is about 28°.
The latching bolt assembly 18 can be similar to those known in the art. For example, the latching bolt assembly can be similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,745, assigned to Hoppe Holding AG, which patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. However, the transmission mechanism 70 is set to produce substantially complete retraction of the latching bolt 20 into the housing 68 in response to about 28° of rotation of either one of the handles 12 and 14.
Referring to
The rectangularly-shaped outer surface of the spindle portion 81 mates with a corresponding rectangularly-shaped blind hole in the inside handle 14. Similarly, the rectangularly outer surface of the spindle portion 82 mates with a corresponding rectangularly-shaped blind hole in the outside handle 12. One of the spindle portions 81 includes a longitudinally extending slot 88 to facilitate securing one of the handles, such as the inner handle 14, to the spindle 31.
Referring also to
Referring to
Referring to
Similarly, when, the inside handle 14 is rotated, the actuating member 28 is rotated by the inside handle 14 against the force of the return spring 27, compressing the return spring 27 to provide a bias force for returning the inside handle 14 to the horizontal position when the inside handle 14 is subsequently released.
If the spindle 31 interconnects the inside and outside handles 14 and 12, then rotation of either handle will result in rotation of the other handle and both return springs 23 and 27 will be compressed.
Although an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described with reference to particular embodiments and applications thereof, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes, modifications, or alterations to the invention as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit or scope of the present invention. All such changes, modifications, and alterations should therefore be seen as being within the scope of the present invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
129527 | Calhoun et al. | Jul 1872 | A |
1326450 | Howard et al. | Dec 1919 | A |
2615744 | Colonna | Oct 1952 | A |
2723150 | Teich | Nov 1955 | A |
2727773 | Hagstrom | Dec 1955 | A |
2796272 | Quinn | Jun 1957 | A |
3136572 | Lytle | Jun 1964 | A |
4428212 | Best et al. | Jan 1984 | A |
4756178 | Shen | Jul 1988 | A |
4920773 | Surko, Jr. | May 1990 | A |
4982986 | Gressett et al. | Jan 1991 | A |
4988136 | Gressett, Jr. | Jan 1991 | A |
5083823 | Fann et al. | Jan 1992 | A |
5177987 | Shen | Jan 1993 | A |
5205596 | Ralph | Apr 1993 | A |
5335948 | Norton et al. | Aug 1994 | A |
5335950 | Mirshafiee et al. | Aug 1994 | A |
5433497 | Koenig | Jul 1995 | A |
5529354 | Studt et al. | Jun 1996 | A |
5628216 | Qureshi et al. | May 1997 | A |
5658026 | Nigro et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
5732578 | Kang | Mar 1998 | A |
5752727 | Zues et al. | May 1998 | A |
5775745 | Hoppe et al. | Jul 1998 | A |
6174005 | Norton | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6302453 | Norton | Oct 2001 | B1 |
6386602 | Lan | May 2002 | B1 |
6425273 | Kim et al. | Jul 2002 | B1 |
6491327 | Fan | Dec 2002 | B1 |
6553799 | Bates et al. | Apr 2003 | B2 |
6651466 | Shih | Nov 2003 | B1 |
6676178 | Budhrani | Jan 2004 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
597382 | Jan 1948 | GB |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040135377 A1 | Jul 2004 | US |