This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 095210628, filed on Jun. 16, 2006.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a door lock, more particularly a door lock including an unlocking mechanism that can be operated through an inner latch bolt operator to unlatch a latch bolt mechanism and a deadbolt mechanism simultaneously.
2. Description of the Related Art
To permit a panic exit, it is known to provide a door lock with an unlocking mechanism that can be operated through a latch bolt operator at the inside of a door to unlatch a deadbolt simultaneously with the latch bolt Door locks of the above-mentioned type have existed in various forms. An example of such door locks is disclosed in Taiwanese Utility Model Application No. 88204254 and is shown in
Referring to
U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,019 discloses a door lock of similar type which also includes a slide plate and upper and lower cams all of which are assembled on two cartridge plates to form a cartridge. While the upper cam therein is turnable by 90 degrees or more, a disadvantage therein is that the door lock cannot be changed conveniently between a configuration for a left-hand door installation and a configuration for a right-hand door installation because the entire cartridge must be detached from a place where it is attached and must be turned inside out for configurational changes.
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a door lock of the aforementioned type which can solve the problem due to the turning angle of an upper cam mechanism smaller than 90 degrees and which can be changed conveniently between a left-hand installation configuration and a right-hand installation configuration.
According to the present invention, an unlocking mechanism for a door lock that can be applied to a left-hand door or a right-hand door comprises upper and lower cam mechanisms, and a slide plate disposed between the upper and lower cam mechanisms and driven by the lower cam mechanism to drive the upper cam mechanism. The upper cam mechanism includes a spindle, and an upper cam body mounted on the spindle and having a tab projecting from the upper cam body to be rotated by the slide plate the upper cam body is rotatable relative to the spindle to change the tab between a left-hand installation configuration for a left-hand door installation and a right-hand installation configuration for a right-hand door installation.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Referring to
The unlocking mechanism 7 has a lower cam mechanism 71, a slide plate 72, and an upper cam mechanism 73. The lower cam mechanism 71 has a lower cam body 710. The upper cam mechanism 73 has an upper cam body 730, and a spindle 74.
The inner latch bolt operator 6 includes a shaft portion 62 which has an end provided with an annular indentation 63 and two ear members 61. The ear members 61 extend through a hole 22 in the inner support plate 2B and respective holes 711 in the lower cam body 710. A locking ring 713 is fitted in the annular indentation 63 of the shaft portion 62 so that the inner latch bolt operator 6 is connected to the lower cam mechanism 71 for simultaneous rotation therewith. The lower cam body 710 has a central hole 714 connected to the spindle tube 16 of the outer latch bolt operator 12.
The inner support plate 2B has a base wall 20B, and two opposite side walls 20C projecting from the base wall 20B and extending in a top-to-bottom direction. Spacers 23 protrude from the base wall 20B and are proximate to the side walls 20C. Two guide members in the form of elongate plates 75 are fixed to the spacers 23 by means of screws 76 and screw holes 230 in the spacers 23 so that the guide members or elongate plates 75 are spaced apart from the base wall 20B, and define slide passages (not shown) with the base wall 20B, which are proximate to the side walls 20C, respectively.
The slide plate 72 is disposed slidably on the base wall 20B between the side walls 20C and has two opposite marginal portions 720 (see
The slide plate 72 further has a top end provided with an upper recess 724 to receive the upper cam body 730 when the slide plate 72 moves upward, and left and right upper push members 722 at left and right sides of the upper recess 724. The slide plate 72 further has a bottom end formed with a lower recess 723 to receive the shaft portion 62 of the inner latch bolt operator 6, and left and right lower push members 721 at left and right sides of the lower recess 723.
The inner deadbolt operator 5 has a shaft portion 52 with an axial hole 51. The spindle 74 of the upper cam mechanism 73 has an annulary toothed portion 741 extending through a hole 21 in the inner support plate 2B and is inserted into the axial hole 51 of the shaft portion 52. The spindle 74 further has a cam-holding portion 744 provided with a spindle slot 742, an annular recess 745, and a resilient ring 743 fitted in the annular recess 745.
The upper cam body 730 has a sleeve portion 730B sleeved rotatably around the cam-holding portion 744 of the spindle 74, and a head portion 730A extending from the sleeve portion 730B in a direction away from the spindle 74. The sleeve portion 730B has a tubular inner surface 735 in sliding contact with the cam-holding portion 744, an annular groove 736 formed in the inner surface 735, and a notch 734 that is elongated in an angular direction. When the sleeve portion 730B is sleeved onto the cam-holding portion 744 of the spindle 74, the annular groove 736 engages the resilient ring 743 fitted in the annular recess 745 of the cam-holding portion 744, thereby preventing the upper cam body 730 from being released from the spindle 74.
The head portion 730A has a tab 731 projecting radially from the head portion 730A to be pushed by the upper push member 722 of the slide plate 72, and first and second cam slots 732, 733 extending through the head portion 730A. The first and second cam slots 732, 733 have oblong cross sections and intersect each other at a center line (Y) of the spindle 74.
The upper cam body 730 is rotatable relative to the spindle 74 to enable the tab 731 to change between a left-hand installation configuration for a left-hand door installation of the door lock and a right-hand installation configuration for a right-hand door installation of the door lock. The upper cam mechanism 73 further includes an engagement unit to interengage the upper cam body 730 and the spindle 74 for simultaneous rotation when the tab 731 is in the left-hand or right-hand installation configuration. In this embodiment, the engagement unit has first and second engaging members which are respectively defined by angularly spaced apart first and second notch edges 7342, 7341 that bound the notch 734 in the sleeve portion 730B of the upper cam body 730. The cam-holding portion 744 of the spindle 74 has a pin 746 projecting radially and outwardly from the cam-holding portion 744 and into the notch 734. The pin 746 may be a hollow pin of substantially C-shaped cross section that is formed by rolling a metal plate and that is fitted in a radial hole 747 in the cam-holding portion 744. Alternatively, the pin 746 may be a solid pin fitted in the radial hole 747, or a solid or hollow pin formed integrally with the cam-holding portion 744.
Referring to
Referring to
Note that the tab 731 can rotate by an angle larger than 90 degrees when turning from the level (O) to the level (P) so that the deadbolt mechanism (not shown) can be retracted assuredly into a door panel for unlatching. Thus, the incidence of incomplete or insufficient unlatching or retracting of the deadbolt mechanism can be eliminated.
Referring to
Alternatively, each packing ring 78 may be formed integrally with the respective screw 76 to have a unitary structure.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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95210628 U | Jun 2006 | TW | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20080001414 A1 | Jan 2008 | US |