Patent Application
20090121498
The present invention relates to a door lock and, more particularly, to a door lock with two adjustable mounting posts.
A door lock of the type having two mounting posts generally includes a casing having an inner coupling seat and an outer coupling seat. An inner mounting plate is mounted on the inner coupling seat and includes two diametrically disposed mounting holes. An outer mounting plate is mounted on the outer coupling seat. Two mounting posts are secured to the outer mounting plate and extended through two through-holes in a door to which the door lock is mounted. Two screws are extended through the mounting holes in the inner mounting plate into screw holes in the mounting posts to fix the inner and outer mounting plates to two sides of the door. The spacing between the axes of the mounting posts is either 65 mm or 70 mm. If the spacing between the centers of the through-holes in the door is not the same as that between the axes of the mounting posts, an installer has to drill another two through-holes in the door for receiving the mounting posts. The drilling operation is difficult and time-consuming due to precision requirement and due to overlapping of the new through-holes with the old ones. Enlargement of the new through-holes by a file or the like is often required due to imprecise location of the new through-holes, leading to the risk of poor coupling of the door lock with the door.
A need exists in a door lock with adjustable mounting posts to eliminate the troublesome formation of new through-holes in the door during installation of a door lock.
The present invention solves this need and other problems in the field of door locks by providing, in a preferred form, a door lock including a casing adapted to be mounted in a bore extending from an inner side through an outer side of a door. The casing includes an outer coupling seat and an inner coupling seat coupled with the outer coupling seat. An outer mounting plate is mounted on the outer coupling seat and adapted to abut with the outer side of the door. The outer coupling plate includes two diametrically opposed slots adapted to be located outside the bore of the door. An inner mounting plate is mounted to the inner coupling seat and adapted to abut with the inner side of the door. The inner mounting plate includes a plurality of pairs of diametrically opposed holes. The inner mounting plate is rotatable relative to the inner mounting plate to a position in which one of the plurality of pairs of holes is aligned with the screw holes. Two mounting posts are extended through the two slots and adapted to extend through two through-holes in the door Each mounting post includes a screw hole in an end thereof. Each mounting post further includes a coupling section slideably received in one of the slots of the outer mounting plate, allowing the mounting posts to move in a radial direction toward or away from each other until a spacing between the mounting posts is equal to that between the two through-holes of the door. Two screws are extended through one of the plurality of pairs of holes aligned with the screw holes into the screw holes of the mounting posts.
In the most preferred form, each slot of the outer mounting plate has a length in the radial direction greater than a diameter of each through-hole of the door. Also, each hole of the inner mounting plate has a length in the radial direction greater than a diameter of each through-hole of the door. Each slot of the outer mounting plate has an inner end, an outer end more distant to the outer coupling seat than the inner end in the radial direction, and two parallel, rectilinear sides extending between the inner and outer ends. The coupling section of each mounting post includes two lateral sides slideably abutting the sides of one of the slots, allowing movement of each mounting post in the radial direction relative to the outer mounting plate and preventing rotational movement of each mounting post relative to the outer mounting plate. The outer end of each mounting post includes an outer flange having a diameter greater than a width of each slot perpendicular to the radial direction. A resilient washer is mounted between and frictionally abuts with the outer flange of each mounting post and an outer side of the outer mounting plate, preventing each mounting post from moving in the radial direction but allowing forcible movement of each mounting post in the radial direction. The coupling section of each mounting post further includes an inner flange having a diameter greater than the width of each slot. The inner and outer flanges of each mounting post are located on opposite sides of the outer mounting plate to prevent disengagement of each mounting post.
The present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of this invention described in connection with the drawings.
The illustrative embodiment may best be described by reference to the accompanying drawings where:
All figures are drawn for ease of explanation of the basic teachings of the present invention only; the extensions of the Figures with respect to number, position, relationship, and dimensions of the parts to form the preferred embodiment will be explained or will be within the skill of the art after the following teachings of the present invention have been read and understood. Further, the exact dimensions and dimensional proportions to conform to specific force, weight, strength, and similar requirements will likewise be within the skill of the art after the following teachings of the present invention have been read and understood.
Where used in the various figures of the drawings, the same numerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when the terms “first”, “second”, “inner”, “outer”, “end”, “section”, “periphery”, “longitudinal”, “radial”, “circumferential”, “lateral”, “annular”, “outward”, “inward”, “spacing”, “length”, “diameter”, and similar terms are used herein, it should be understood that these terms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawings as it would appear to a person viewing the drawings and are utilized only to facilitate describing the invention.
A door lock according to the preferred teachings of the present invention is shown in the drawings and generally designated 2. In the preferred form shown, the door lock 2 includes a casing 21 mounted in a bore 31 extending from an inner side through an outer side of a door 3. The casing 21 includes an inner coupling seat 211 and an outer coupling seat 212 coupled with the inner coupling seat 211. In the most preferred form shown, the inner coupling seat 211 includes outer threading 213, and the outer coupling seat 212 includes two diametrically opposed flat faces 214. A transmission mechanism 22 is received in the casing 21 and includes a spindle 221 and a retractor 222 operably connected to the spindle 221. Inner and outer handles 271 and 272 are respectively mounted to inner and outer ends of the spindle 221 for manual operation. The retractor 222 is connected to a latch 261 of a latch mechanism 26. When either handle 271, 272 is turned, the spindle 221 is rotated to move the retractor 222 which in turn retracts the latch 261 for unlatching purposes.
According to the preferred form shown, an outer mounting plate 24 is mounted to the outer coupling seat 212. In the most preferred form shown, the outer mounting plate 24 is in the form of a disc having a mounting hole 241 conform to the shape of the outer coupling seat 212 to prevent rotational movement of the outer coupling seat 212 but allow movement of the outer mounting plate 24 on the outer coupling seat 212 in a longitudinal direction of the casing 21. Specifically, the mounting hole 241 includes two parallel, rectilinear sides 246 abutting with the flat faces 214 of the outer coupling seat 212. An annular wall 249 extends outward from a periphery of the disc and defines a compartment. The disc further includes two diametrically opposed recessed portions 245 in an inner side thereof. Furthermore, the disc includes two diametrically opposed slots 242 extending from the inner side through an outer side of the disc and respectively extending through bottom walls of the recessed portions 245. Each slot 242 includes substantially elliptic cross sections. Furthermore, each slot 242 includes an inner end 248 adjacent to the mounting hole 241, an outer end 247 distant to the mounting hole 241, and two parallel, rectilinear sides 243 extending between the inner and outer ends 248 and 247.
According to the preferred form shown, an inner mounting plate 23 is mounted to the inner coupling seat 211. In the most preferred form shown, the inner mounting plate 23 includes a central, threaded hole 231 threadedly engaged with the outer threading 213 of the inner coupling seat 211. Thus, the inner coupling seat 211 can be moved to a desired longitudinal position on the inner coupling seat 211 by turning the inner mounting plate 23. The inner mounting plate 23 further includes four pairs of diametrically opposed and annularly spaced holes 232. Each hole 232 includes substantially elliptic cross sections. One of the four pairs of holes 232 is aligned with the slots 242 of the outer mounting plate 24.
According to the preferred form shown, the door lock 2 further includes two mounting posts 25 extending through the slots 242 of the outer mounting plate 24 and two screws 28. Each mounting post 25 includes an inner end 251 having a screw hole 252 for receiving one of the screws 28 and an outer end 253. In the most preferred form shown, the outer end 253 of each mounting post 25 includes a coupling section 254 engaged in one of the slots 242 of the outer mounting plate 241 and an outer flange 256 having a diameter greater than a width of the slot 242 perpendicular to the radial direction. The coupling section 254 of each mounting post 25 extends radially outward from the outer end 253 and includes two parallel, lateral sides 257. A distance between the lateral sides 257 of the coupling section 254 of each mounting post 25 is equal to that between the sides 243 of one of the slots 242 of the outer mounting plate 24. The lateral sides 257 of the coupling section 254 of each mounting post 25 slideably abut with the sides 243 of one of the slots 242, preventing relative rotational movement between the mounting posts 25 and the outer mounting plate 24 but allowing radial sliding movement of the mounting posts 25 relative to the outer mounting plate 24. Thus, a spacing between two axes respectively of the mounting posts 25 can be adjusted by moving the mounting posts 25 between the inner and outer ends 248 and 247 of the slots 242 in the radial direction. The coupling section 254 of each mounting post 25 is punched to form an inner flange 255 after the coupling section 254 is extended through one of the slots 242. The inner flange 255 has a diameter greater than the width of the slot 242 perpendicular to the radial direction. It is noted that the mounting posts 25 shown in
When installing the door lock 2 according to the preferred teachings of the present invention to a door 3 having two through-holes 32 (
In a case that the door lock 2 according to the preferred teachings of the present invention is to be mounted to a door 3 having two through-holes 32′ (see
The four pairs of the holes 232 of the inner mounting plate 23 allow the inner mounting plate 23 to be turned through a smaller angle to make one of the four pairs 232 of the inner mounting plate 23 align with the screw holes 252 of the mounting posts 25. Namely, the longitudinal position of the inner mounting plate 23 relative to the inner coupling seat 211 is changed to a small extent in response to the adjustment of the spacing between the mounting posts 25. This assures abutment of the inner mounting plate 23 with the inner side of the door 3 even after the adjustment of the spacing between the mounting posts 25.
Now that the basic teachings of the present invention have been explained, many extensions and variations will be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art. For example, the inner and outer mounting plates 23 and 24 can be utilized with door locks of other types. The door lock 2 according to the preferred teachings of the present invention can be assembled in any suitable ways. More or fewer pairs of holes 232 can be formed in the inner mounting plate 23. The inner flange 255 on each mounting post 25 can be omitted whenever necessary to save the punching procedure. The slots 242 of the outer mounting plate 24, the through-holes 291 of the washers 29, and the coupling sections 254 of the mounting posts 25 can have other cross sectional shapes. Furthermore, the lengths of the slots 242 of the outer mounting plates 24, the through-holes 291 of the washers 29, and the holes 232 of the inner mounting plate 23 can be varied. Furthermore, adjustment of the spacing between the mounting posts 25 can be achieved by moving only one of the mounting posts 25 when the amount of adjustment is small. Furthermore, one of the mounting posts 25 can be fixed and, thus, not adjustable relative to the outer mounting plate 24 according to needs. Further, the diameter of the holes 232 of the inner mounting plate 23 in the radial direction can be equal to the diameter of the through-holes 32 or 32′ of the door 3.
Thus since the invention disclosed herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or general characteristics thereof, some of which forms have been indicated, the embodiments described herein are to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is to be indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.
