The present invention relates to a door handle mounting system wherein the shank portion of the handle is engaged from a rear face of a face plate by a retainer ring formed of flexible material and having integrally formed therewith a tensioning portion to apply a pulling force on the shank portion to retain the handle operationally secured to the face plate.
The door handle mounting system of the present invention is of a type as for example illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,042,268; 4,784,418; 5,067,758 and 7,188,873. In all of these types of door handle mounting systems, the shank portion of the handle is retained captive behind the face plate by an assembly of washers, connecting plates and retaining lock springs, all of which are formed of metal. These retainer assemblies are often difficult to assemble and are subjected to wear and rust over time. This can cause some of the elements to break or disengage thus rendering the door latch handle inoperative and in need of repair. Also, rust marks on the face plate are unpleasing to the eye. Because the face plate can have variations in thickness, this can result in a loose mounting assembly causing the handle to wobble. Still further, from periodic use, the metal component parts which rub about the front and rear face of the face plate cause wear to the face plate and therefore resulting in wear and a loose connection between the handle and the face plate and this is undesirable. Such problems also occur with the deadbolt turnpiece handle which is connected to the face plate, such as illustrated in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,873. When these handles become loose due to the wear in the opposed faces of the face plate about the mounting hole, the handle becomes loose and wobbles and therefore does not rest at a normal level position. This also causes rattling in the door handle assembly and in an attempt to remedy these problems various types of washer configurations have been suggested and this further complicates the assembly of the door handle and results in further parts, therefore increasing the risk of failure.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a door handle mounting system which substantially overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a door handle mounting system wherein the shank portion of the door handle is retained captive behind the face plate by a retainer ring formed of flexible polymer material having a memory, such as nylon, and which exerts a constant pulling force on the shank portion of the handle whereby the handle annular shoulder is biased against the outer face of the face plate about the handle mounting hole.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a door handle mounting system wherein a coupling sleeve is secured to the shank portion of the handle and projects through the mounting hole on the front face of the face plate and is adapted to be retained and biased in the handle mounting hole by a retainer ring formed of flexible material having a memory.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a door handle mounting system which is easy to install in the face plate through a handle mounting hole.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a door handle mounting system having a door handle and a deadbolt turnpiece handle each retained in a respective mounting hole formed in a face plate and held captive therein by a respective retainer ring formed of flexible material having a memory.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a door handle mounting system wherein the handle is retained in a face plate through a handle mounting hole by one or two non-metallic flexible retaining members.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a door handle mounting system which includes a retainer ring which applies a pulling force on the shank portion of the handle whereby to compensate for variations in the thickness of the face plate to prevent the handle from being loosely mounted or exhibiting wobbly motion.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a door handle mounting system comprising a face plate having a handle mounting hole therein. A handle having a shank portion having engageable means is also provided. Circumferential abutment means is associated with the handle for abutment about the mounting hole on an outer face of the face plate when the shank portion is disposed thereinto. A retainer ring, formed of flexible non-metallic material having a memory, is adapted for engagement with the shank portion adjacent a rear face of the face plate. The retainer ring, has an integrally formed locking portion for locking engagement with the engageable means and an integrally formed tensioning portion for flexible engagement with the rear face of the face plate to apply a pulling force on the shank portion while retaining the handle operationally secured to the face plate.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
The door handle mounting system of the present invention will be described with relation to the door handle 13 secured to the face plate 11. As herein shown the handle 13 is provided with a shank portion 15 which is hereinshown as being of cylindrical shape and of smaller diameter than the circumference of the handle 13 and it projects from an annular shoulder 16 formed with the handle. The shank portion 15 is hereinshown as being provided with engageable means in the form of a circumferential groove 17 located at a predetermined spacing from the free end 18 of the shank portion 15. Engageable means in the form of a coupling sleeve 19 is adapted to interlock with the shank portion in the example of
With further reference to
With reference to
The retainer ring 25 is also provided with an integrally formed tensioning portion in the form of flexible tapered shoulder portions 33 formed integral with the circumferential side wall 31 of the retainer ring 25 and disposed between the engaging fingers 30. The diameter of the side wall 31 is selected to prevent the side wall 23 to open and prevents the handle from being pulled out of the face plate 11. The flexible shoulder portions 33 are dimensioned for flexible frictional engagement with the rear face 20′ of the face plate 11 when the retainer ring 25 is pushed over the engageable cylindrical portion 21 of the coupling sleeve with the hook ends 32 snapping into engagement with the engageable edge 24 of the engageable openings 22. Accordingly, the door handle is now retained in clamping engagement by the flexible shoulder portion 33 exerting an inner pulling force onto the coupling sleeve which is immovably secured to the shank portion and accordingly applying a pulling force on the shank of the handle 13.
As better seen from
As shown in
With reference now to
With reference to
With reference again to
It is pointed out that the door handle mounting system as herein described consists of very few parts, either a single retainer ring 25′ or a combination of retainer ring 25 and coupling sleeve 19 whereby to secure handles 40 and 13, respectively, within respective handle mounting holes 12 and 12′ of a face plate, respectively. These retainer rings have the features of being easily connectable to the shank portion, either directly thereto or through a coupling sleeve and also have the further feature of providing a pulling force on the shank portion to bias the annular shoulder of the handle against the face plate while retaining the handle operationally secured to the face plate. Because the retainer ring 25 and coupling sleeve 19 are formed of nylon material or other suitable like flexible material having a memory, there are no oxidizing parts in the connection of the shank portion of the handles 13 and 40 into their respective handle mounting holes 12 and 12′ thus avoiding the formation of rust and the unsightly appearance that it can cause, particularly so on an outdoor face plate where such is exposed to high humidity, rain and snow. Further, the use of structural plastic eliminates the galvanic effect that is produced when different metals are placed in contact with one another. The retainer ring and the coupling sleeve isolate some of the metal parts from each other preventing such contact.
Another advantage in having fewer parts is that there are fewer parts which can be lost in kits wherein the parts are packaged in a loose form within a handle set package. Having fewer parts, it is also easier to ensure excellent quality control in the packaging of these door handle sets. It also provides for easier instructions for the installation of the handles to the face plate and the fact that the parts do not resemble one another further renders the assembly foolproof. As previously pointed out, because these face plates may vary in thickness, the assembly could result in loose or wobbly handle connections. Because the retainer ring 25 is provided with flexible shoulder portions 33, it will compensate for any variation in such face plate thicknesses while still exerting a pulling force on the shank portion of the handle.
It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090267363 A1 | Oct 2009 | US |