Door lock

Abstract
A door lock is proposed, in which an outside knob assembled at the outside of a door can be manually controlled to be operationally associated with or dissociated from the door lock. When the door lock is fastened, the outside knob can be selectively decoupled from the door lock and become idle; this is greatly beneficial as to prevent the door lock from being damaged even if the outside knob is exerted with external impact or forcibly turned by a strong force. The door lock is further provided with a fireproof mechanism, which prevents the door from being opened during a fire, thereby confining spreading of the fire to minimize fire-induced damage.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to door locks, and more particularly, to a door lock by which a doorknob can be selectively decoupled in operation from the door lock and become idle when the door lock is fastened, so as to prevent the door lock from being damaged in case of the doorknob being exerted with external impact or forcibly turned by a strong force.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




As shown in

FIG. 1

, a conventional door lock mainly comprises: a housing


10


′; a dead bolt


201


′ received in the housing


10


′ and operatably driven by a key (not shown); a latch bolt


401


′ retained in the housing


10


′ and operatably driven by at least a doorknob (not shown); a safety bolt


301


′ urged to hold the latch bolt


401


′ at a predetermined position; and a doorknob mechanism


50


′ associated with the latch bolt


401


′ and the doorknob, so as to transfer a force generated by turning the doorknob for driving the latch bolt


401


′ to operate. In practical use, this conventional door lock mounted on a door allows a user to operate the doorknob and the latch bolt


401


′ to open or close the door. When the door is locked by the door lock, the dead bolt


201


′ and the latch bolt


401


′ respectively protrude outwardly from the housing


10


′ to be engaged with a lock coupler, which is installed at a frame of the door and corresponds in position to the door lock. In the meantime, the safety bolt


301


′ is compressed by the frame of the door, and cooperates with a latch board


302


′ to hold the latch bolt


401


′ at the protruding position by which the door lock is fastened and the latch bolt


401


′ is blocked against operation driven by the doorknob. Therefore, with the door lock being fastened, the door can be securely locked without being easily opened.




However, the above conventional door lock is inherent with significant drawbacks. When the door lock is fastened, since the latch bolt


401


′ and the doorknob are operationally blocked, if the doorknob is exerted with external impact and forcibly turned by a strong force, the doorknob mechanism


50


′ and other associated internal components would be easily damaged to impair the door lock. Moreover, the door lock is not provided with a fireproof mechanism for preventing the door from being opened when a fire occurs, and thereby is not applicable to a fire door. This is because, during the fire, if a fire door used for limiting spread of the fire is accidentally opened, fresh air is introduced and helps proliferate the fire, making damage caused by the fire even more severe.




Therefore, it is greatly desired to develop a door lock, which can be prevented from being damaged by externally-applied force or impact, and also suitably used for a fire door.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




An objective of the present invention is to provide a door lock by which an outside knob can be selectively decoupled in operation from the door lock and become idle when the door lock is fastened, so as to prevent the door lock from being damaged in case of the outside knob being exerted with external impact or forcibly turned by a strong force.




Another objective of the present invention is to provide a door lock, whereby when a fire occurs, the door lock is urged by high temperature of the fire to hold a latch bolt at a position for fastening the door lock, so that a door mounted with the door lock is prevented from being opened during the fire, and spreading of the fire can be confined so as to minimize fire-induced damage.




In accordance with the above and other objectives, the present invention proposes a door lock, comprising: a housing integrally connected with a cover, for receiving internal components of the door lock therein; and a first and a second doorknobs externally connected to the internal components of the door lock.




The internal components of the door lock comprise: a dead bolt adapted to be operatably driven by a key through a keyhole formed on the housing; a latch bolt adapted to be operatably driven by at least one of the first and second doorknobs; a first doorknob mechanism associated with the latch bolt and the first doorknob; and a second doorknob mechanism integrally connected to the first doorknob mechanism, and associated with the latch bolt and the second doorknob.




In particular, the first doorknob mechanism comprises: a first body formed with a recessed portion; a first pivot member received in the recessed portion of the first body, and externally connected to the first doorknob, so as to allow the first doorknob to be operationally associated with the first pivot member; at least a first coupling member adapted to be capable of being selectively coupled to the first body and the first pivot member; a first fixture attached onto the first body and associated with the latch bolt, the first fixture being adapted for retaining the first pivot member within the recessed portion of the first body, and for preventing the first coupling member from escaping out of the first body; and a control means associated with the first coupling member, for manually controlling positioning of the first coupling member with respect to the first body and the first pivot member.




The second doorknob mechanism is connected to the first doorknob mechanism, and comprises: a second body formed with a recessed portion, and engaged with the first body of the first doorknob mechanism in a manner that, the recessed portion of the second body is positionally opposed to the recessed portion of the first body; a second pivot member received in the recessed portion of the second body, and externally connected to the second doorknob, so as to allow the second doorknob to be operationally associated with the second pivot member; at least a second coupling member adapted to be simultaneously coupled to the second body and the second pivot member; a second fixture attached onto the second body and associated with the latch bolt, the second fixture being adapted for retaining the second pivot member within the recessed portion of the second body, and for holding the second coupling member in position; and at least a fixing means for integrally connecting the second fixture, the second coupling member and the second body, so as to allow the second pivot member and the second doorknob to cooperate with the second doorknob mechanism as a whole for driving the latch bolt to operate.




In another embodiment, the control means can be associated with the first coupling member by a power means, which provides power for driving operational association between the control means and the first coupling member.




With the use of the above door lock, the first doorknob usually assembled at the outside of a door (i.e. outside knob), can be manually controlled to be operationally associated with or dissociated from the first doorknob mechanism of the door lock. In other words, when the door lock is fastened, the outside knob can be selectively decoupled from the door lock and become idle; this is greatly beneficial as to prevent the door lock from being damaged even if the outside knob is exerted with external impact or forcibly turned by a strong force.




The internal components of the above door lock further comprise: a fireproof mechanism having a blocking member associated with the latch bolt, and a positioning means for allowing the blocking member to be interposed between the latch bolt and the positioning means, the positioning means being formed with a movable portion and a fixed portion, wherein the blocking member is shifted from a first position in contact with the movable portion of the positioning means, to a second position in contact with the fixed portion of the positioning means in response to high temperature. When the blocking member is held at the first position, the latch bolt is operatably driven by the doorknob to freely open the door equipped with the door lock. Alternatively, when a fire occurs and the blocking member is shifted to the second position in response to high temperature of the fire, the latch bolt would be kept in a position for fastening the door lock and operationally blocked by the fixed portion of the positioning means; this prevents the door from being opened during the fire, thereby confining spreading of the fire to minimize fire-induced damage.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:





FIG. 1

(PRIOR ART) is a perspective view of a conventional door lock;





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a door lock of the invention;





FIG. 3

is a top view showing internal structure of the door lock of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 4

is a structurally exploded view of the door lock of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 5

is a perspective view showing doorknobs respectively assembled to doorknob mechanisms of the door lock of the invention;





FIG. 6

is a structurally exploded view showing a first and a second doorknob mechanisms of the door lock of the invention;





FIG. 7

is a schematic diagram showing operational association of the first doorknob with the first doorknob mechanism of the door lock of the invention;





FIG. 8

is a schematic diagram showing operational dissociation of the first doorknob from the first doorknob mechanism of the door lock of the invention;





FIG. 9

is a schematic diagram showing operational association of the second doorknob with the second doorknob mechanism of the door lock of the invention; and





FIG. 10

is a schematic diagram showing internal structure of another preferred embodiment of the door lock of the invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




The following description is made with reference to

FIGS. 2-10

for illustrating preferred embodiments of structural configuration of a door lock proposed in the present invention, and for depicting operational mechanisms in the use of the door lock.




Referring to

FIGS. 2-6

, the door lock of the invention is structurally represented. This door lock comprises: a housing


10


integrally connected with a cover (not shown), for receiving internal components of the door lock therein; and a first and a second doorknobs


70


,


71


externally connected to the internal components of the door lock.




The internal components of the door lock comprise: a dead bolt


201


adapted to be operatably driven by a key


102


through a keyhole


101


formed on the housing


10


, whereby when the dead bolt


201


is urged to protrude outwardly from the housing


10


and to be engaged with a lock coupler (not shown) mounted at a door frame, the door lock is fastened to lock the door equipped with the door lock; a safety bolt


301


for holding a latch bolt


401


in a lock-fastened position when the safety bolt


301


is compressed inside the housing


10


; a latch bolt


401


adapted to be operatably driven by at least one of the first and second doorknobs


70


,


71


, whereby when the latch bolt


401


is urged to protrude outwardly from the housing


10


and to be engaged with the lock coupler, the door lock is fastened; a first doorknob mechanism


50




a


associated with the latch bolt


401


and the first doorknob


70


; and a second doorknob mechanism


50




b


integrally connected to the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


, and associated with the latch bolt


401


and the second doorknob


71


.




In this embodiment, the first doorknob


70


is customarily referred to as an outside knob installed at the outside of the door, and the second doorknob


71


is correspondingly an inside knob assembled inside the door. Nevertheless, reverse arrangement of the doorknobs


70


,


71


with respect to the door is also suitably adopted according to practical requirements.




As shown in

FIGS. 5 and 6

, the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


comprises: a first body


501


formed with a recessed portion


501




a


; a first pivot member


503


received in the recessed portion


501




a


of the first body


501


, and externally connected to the first doorknob


70


, so as to allow the first doorknob


70


to be operationally associated with the first pivot member


503


; at least a first coupling member


507


adapted to be capable of being selectively coupled to the first body


501


and the first pivot member


503


; a first fixture


505


attached onto the first body


501


and operationally associated with the latch bolt


401


, the first fixture


505


being adapted for retaining the first pivot member


503


within the recessed portion


501




a


of the first body


501


, and for preventing the first coupling member


507


from escaping out of the first body


501


; and a control means


60


(as shown in

FIG. 3

) associated with the first coupling member


507


, for manually controlling positioning of the first coupling member


507


with respect to the first body


501


and the first pivot member


503


.




In more detail, the first body


501


of the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


is further formed with a groove


501




b


that extends outwardly from the recessed portion


501




a


of the first body


501


. The first pivot member


503


is formed with a through hole


503




a


penetrating through the same, and a breach


503




b


at a periphery of the first pivot member


503


, by which the first pivot member


503


is coupled to the first body


501


in a manner that, the through hole


503




a


communicates with the recessed portion


501




a


and the breach


503




b


corresponds in position to the groove


501




b


of the first body


501


.




The first coupling member


507


is capable of being engaged in dimension with the groove


501




b


of the first body


501


and the breach


503




b


of the first pivot member


503


. With the first coupling member


507


being coupled to at least the first body


501


, the first coupling member


507


is externally formed with a stopper


507




a


outside the first body


501


, which stopper


507




a


is dimensioned larger in diameter than the groove


501




b


of the first body


501


, allowing an elastic means


508


e.g. a spring to be sleeved about the first coupling member


507


and interposed between the stopper


507




a


and the first body


501


. The elastic means


508


provides a resilient force for pushing the first coupling member


507


toward away from the first body


501


.




The first fixture


505


is formed with an opening


505




a


corresponding in position to the recessed portion


501




a


of the first body


501


, and an arm


505




b


extending outwardly from a periphery of the first fixture


505


. The first fixture


505


can be fixed to the first body


501


by a plurality of screws


505




c


, and the opening


505




a


is dimensioned in a manner that, the first pivot member


503


is accommodated within the opening


505




a


and prevented from escaping out of the first body


501


. The arm


505




b


outwardly extends to be operationally associated with the latch bolt


401


.




The first doorknob


70


is integrally fixed to the through hole


503




a


of the first pivot member


503


by a pivot


701


, by which the first doorknob


70


operates as a whole with the first pivot member


503


.




Further in view of

FIGS. 3 and 4

, the control means


60


is formed with a manually-operatable controller


601


. As shown in the drawing, the manually-operatable controller


601


is a seesaw-shaped button that protrudes outwardly from a side of the housing


10


. The control means


60


is further provided with two movable members


602


,


603


connected to respective seesaw halves of the manually-operatable controller


601


, and a connecting member


604


associated with the first coupling member


507


of the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


. Thereby, by manually operating the manually-operatable controller


601


, the first coupling member


507


is operatably controlled in association with the control means


60


.





FIGS. 7-8

illustrate operational mechanisms in correlation between the above-described first doorknob mechanism


50




a


and the first doorknob


70


through the use of the door lock of the invention.




As shown in

FIG. 7

, it represents operational association of the first doorknob


70


with the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


. When the manually-operatable controller


601


of the control means


60


is pressed at its seesaw half along with the movable member


603


in a way illustrated in the drawing, the connecting member


604


is urged to push the first coupling member


507


toward inside of the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


in a manner that, the first coupling member


507


is simultaneously coupled to the groove


501




b


of the first body


501


and the breach


503




b


of the first pivot member


503


(further in view of FIG.


6


).




By coupling of the first coupling member


507


, the first body


501


and the first pivot member


503


are operationally associated as a whole, whereby the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


can be driven by the first doorknob


70


integrated with the first pivot member


503


(as shown in FIG.


5


), and thus, the latch bolt


401


in connection to the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


can be consequently driven to manipulate the door lock. For example, as also shown in

FIG. 7

, the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


is actuated by the first doorknob


70


to turn clockwise (as indicated by an arrow beside the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


). This makes the arm


505




b


of the first fixture


505


push against a sliding member


402


toward rightward to an extent where the latch bolt


401


in association with the sliding member


402


can be entirely received in the housing


10


, and thereby, the door lock is managed to open the door mounted with the door lock.




Alternatively, as shown in

FIG. 8

, it illustrates operational dissociation of the first doorknob


70


with the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


. When the manually-operatable controller


601


of the control means


60


is pressed at the other seesaw half along with the movable member


602


, the connecting member


604


is sustained at a position where the first coupling member


507


is merely coupled to the groove


501




b


of the first body


501


but not extending into the breach


503




b


of the first pivot member


503


(further in view of FIG.


6


), making the first pivot member


503


operationally decoupled from the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


. As a result, the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


cannot be driven by the first doorknob


70


integrated with the first pivot member


503


(as shown in FIG.


5


), and the first doorknob


70


becomes idle. In the meantime, the door lock or the latch bolt


401


associated with the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


is not capable of being manipulated by the first doorknob


70


.




This is the characteristic feature of this invention that, the first doorknob


70


usually assembled at the outside of the door (i.e. outside knob), can be selectively adapted to be operationally coupled or decoupled with respect to the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


of the door lock. By coupling of the outside knob, the door can be simply opened or closed through the use of the doorknob. In the case of the outside knob in operational dissociation from the door lock, the outside knob becomes idle and cannot operate to open the door when the door lock is fastened; this is greatly beneficial as to prevent the door lock from being damaged even if the outside knob is exerted with external impact or forcibly turned by a strong force.




Further referring to

FIGS. 5 and 6

, the second doorknob mechanism


50




b


is integrally connected to the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


, and comprises: a second body


502


formed with a recessed portion


502




a


, and engaged with the first body


501


of the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


in a manner that, the recessed portion


502




a


of the second body


502


is positionally opposed to the recessed portion


501


a of the first body


501


; a second pivot member


504


received in the recessed portion


502




a


of the second body


502


, and externally connected to the second doorknob


71


, so as to allow the second doorknob


71


to be operationally associated with the second pivot member


504


; at least a second coupling member


507


adapted to be simultaneously coupled to the second body


502


and the second pivot member


504


; a second fixture


506


attached onto the second body


502


and associated with the latch bolt


401


, the second fixture


506


being adapted for retaining the second pivot member


504


within the recessed portion


502




a


of the second body


502


, and for holding the second coupling member


507


in position; and at least a fixing means (e.g. screw)


506




c


for integrally connecting the second fixture


506


, the second coupling member


507


and the second body


502


, so as to allow the second pivot member


504


and the second doorknob


71


to cooperate with the second doorknob mechanism


50




b


as a whole for driving the latch bolt


401


to operate.




The second doorknob mechanism


50




b


is structurally similar to the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


, but arranged with its components in an opposite manner relative to the first doorknob mechanism


50




a.






Similarly in the second doorknob mechanism


50




b


, the second body


502


thereof is formed with a groove


502




b


that extends outwardly from the recessed portion


502




a


of the second body


502


. The second pivot member


504


is formed with a through hole


504




a


penetrating through the same, and a breach


504




b


at a periphery of the second pivot member


504


, by which the second pivot member


504


is coupled to the second body


502


in a manner that, the through hole


504




a


communicates with the recessed portion


502




a


and the breach


504




b


corresponds in position to the groove


502




b


of the second body


502


.




The second coupling member


507


is coupled to both the groove


502




b


of the second body


502


and the breach


504




b


of the second pivot member


504


in a manner that, the second coupling member


507


is externally formed with a stopper


507




a


outside the second body


502


, which stopper


507




a


is dimensioned larger in diameter than the groove


502




b


of the second body


502


, allowing an elastic means


508


e.g. a spring to be sleeved about the second coupling member


507


and interposed between the stopper


507




a


and the second body


502


. The elastic means


508


provides a resilient force for pushing the second coupling member


507


toward away from the second body


502


.




The second coupling member


507


is formed with an aperture


507




b


that penetrates through the same and corresponds in position to the groove


502




b


of the second body


502


. The second fixture


506


is formed with at least a hole


506




d


that penetrates through the same and corresponds in position to the aperture


507




b


of the second coupling member


507


. This allows the fixing means


506




c


to penetrate through the hole


506




d


of the second fixture


506


and the aperture


507




b


of the second coupling member


507


to reach the groove


502




b


of the second body


502


, so as to interconnect the second fixture


506


, the second coupling member


507


and the second body


502


.




The second fixture


506


is further formed with an opening


506




a


corresponding in position to the recessed portion


502




a


of the second body


502


, and an arm


506




b


extending outwardly from a periphery of the second fixture


506


. The second fixture


506


can be fixed to the second body


502


also by a plurality of the fixing means


506




c


, and the opening


506




a


is dimensioned to accommodate the second pivot member


504


therewithin and to prevent it from escaping out of the second body


502


. The arm


506




b


outwardly extends to be operationally associated with the latch bolt


401


.




The primary difference of the second doorknob mechanism


50




b


from the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


is that, the second doorknob


71


together with the second pivot member


504


operate with the second doorknob mechanism


50




b


as a whole, instead of being selectively decoupled from the second doorknob mechanism


50




b.






Therefore, in operation of the second doorknob mechanism


50




b


, as shown in

FIG. 9

, with the provision of the fixing means


506




c


for fixing the second coupling member


507


at a position where the second pivot member


504


is coupled with the second coupling member


507


, the second doorknob


71


that operatably drives the second pivot member


504


would integrally operate with the second doorknob mechanism


50




b


, which is connected to the latch bolt


401


by the arm


506




b


of the second fixture


506


. Therefore, by simply manipulating the second doorknob


71


, the latch bolt


401


can be urged to open or close the door equipped with the door lock of the invention. As such, the second doorknob


71


together with the second doorknob mechanism


50




b


are preferably installed at the inside of the door.




In another embodiment of this invention, as shown in

FIG. 3

, the door lock is further provided with a fireproof mechanism


402


, which comprises a blocking member


403


associated with the latch bolt


401


, and a positioning means


404


for allowing the blocking member


403


to be interposed between the latch bolt


401


and the positioning means


404


. The positioning means


404


is formed with a movable portion


404




a


and a fixed portion


404




b


, wherein the blocking member


403


is shifted from a first position in contact with the movable portion


404




a


of the positioning means


404


, to a second position in contact with the fixed portion


404




b


of the positioning means


404


in response to high temperature.




The blocking member


403


is formed with a groove


403




a


, which is coupled with a protrusion


401




a


for allowing the blocking member


403


to slide in position. As shown in the drawing, the blocking member


403


is held at the first position in contact with the movable portion


404




a


of the positioning means


404


by means of a thermally-meltable support member


403




b


that protrudes toward the latch bolt


401


to be engaged with the latch bolt


401


. In this case, the latch bolt


401


is operatably driven by the doorknob (not shown) to open or close the door. When the door lock is burned with a fire, the support member


403




b


melts under high temperature of the fire, and the blocking member


403


is released from the first position to the second position in contact with the fixed portion


404




b


of the positioning means


404


. The fixed portion


404




b


prevents the latch bolt


401


from being operationally driven by the doorknob, and keeps the latch bolt


401


in a status for fastening the door lock. This therefore inhibits the door from being opened during the fire, thereby confining spreading of the fire to minimize fire-induced damage.




In a further embodiment of this invention, as shown in

FIG. 10

, the control means


60


of the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


is associated with the first coupling member


507


by a power means


61


, which provides power for driving operational association between the control means


60


and the first coupling member


507


.




The power means


61


includes a driving member


611


connected to the connecting member


604


that is operationally associated with the first coupling member


507


, and a power source (e.g. battery)


612


for providing power to operate the driving member


611


. This thereby allows the control means


60


to be electrically motivated for positioning the first coupling member


507


and controlling the operational status of the first doorknob


70


with respect to the first doorknob mechanism


50




a


, as above described with reference to

FIGS. 7 and 8

.




The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.



Claims
  • 1. A door lock, comprising:a housing for receiving internal components of the door lock therein; and a first and a second doorknobs externally connected to the internal components of the door lock; wherein the internal components of the door lock comprise: a dead bolt adapted to be operatably driven by a key through a keyhole formed on the housing; a latch bolt adapted to be operatably driven by at least one of the first and second doorknobs; a first doorknob mechanism associated with the latch bolt and the first doorknob, the first doorknob mechanism comprising: a first body formed with a recessed portion; a first pivot member received in the recessed portion of the first body, and connected to the first doorknob, so as to allow the first doorknob to be operationally associated with the first pivot member; at least a first coupling member adapted to be capable of being selectively coupled to the first body and the first pivot member; a first fixture attached onto the first body and associated with the latch bolt, the first fixture being adapted for retaining the first pivot member within the recessed portion of the first body, and for preventing the first coupling member from escaping out of the first body; and a control means associated with the first coupling member, for manually controlling positioning of the first coupling member with respect to the first body and the first pivot member; and a second doorknob mechanism connected to the first doorknob mechanism, and associated with the latch bolt and the second doorknob; the second doorknob mechanism comprising: a second body formed with a recessed portion, and engaged with the first body of the first doorknob mechanism in a manner that, the recessed portion of the second body is positionally opposed to the recessed portion of the first body; a second pivot member received in the recessed portion of the second body, and connected to the second doorknob, so as to allow the second doorknob to be operationally associated with the second pivot member; at least a second coupling member adapted to be simultaneously coupled to the second body and the second pivot member; a second fixture attached onto the second body and associated with the latch bolt, the second fixture being adapted for retaining the second pivot member within the recessed portion of the second body, and for holding the second coupling member in position; and at least a fixing means for integrally connecting the second fixture, the second coupling member and the second body, so as to allow the second pivot member and the second doorknob to cooperate with the second doorknob mechanism as a whole for driving the latch bolt to operate.
  • 2. The door lock of claim 1, wherein the first body is further formed with a groove that extends outwardly from the recessed portion of the first body.
  • 3. The door lock of claim 2, wherein the first pivot member is formed at a periphery thereof with a breach corresponding in position to the groove of the first body.
  • 4. The door lock of claim 3, wherein the first coupling member is capable of being coupled in dimension to the groove of the first body and the breach of the first pivot member.
  • 5. The door lock of claim 2, wherein the first coupling member is externally connected to a stopper outside the first body, the stopper being dimensioned larger in diameter than the groove of the first body, allowing an elastic means to be sleeved about the first coupling member and interposed between the stopper and the first body.
  • 6. The door lock of claim 5, wherein the elastic means provides a resilient force for pushing the first coupling member away from the first body.
  • 7. The door lock of claim 4, wherein the control means is formed with a manually-operatable controller.
  • 8. The door lock of claim 7, wherein the manually-operatable controller is a button that protrudes outwardly from a side of the housing.
  • 9. The door lock of claim 7, wherein the manually-operatable controller is urged to control the first coupling member to be simultaneously coupled to the groove of the first body and the breach of the first pivot member, so as to allow the first pivot member and the first doorknob to cooperate with the first doorknob mechanism as a whole for driving the latch bolt to operate.
  • 10. The door lock of claim 7, wherein the manually-operatable controller is urged to control the first coupling member to be coupled to the groove of the first body and free of interference with the breach of the first pivot member, so as to allow the first pivot member and the first doorknob to be operationally separate from the first body, the first fixture and the latch bolt associated with the first fixture.
  • 11. The door lock of claim 1, wherein the control means is associated with the first coupling member by a power means, which provides power for driving operational association between the control means and the first coupling member.
  • 12. The door lock of claim 1, wherein the second body is further formed with a groove that extends outwardly from the recessed portion of the second body.
  • 13. The door lock of claim 12, wherein the second coupling member is formed with an aperture that penetrates through the same and corresponds in position to the groove of the second body.
  • 14. The door lock of claim 13, wherein the second fixture is formed with a through hole that penetrates through the same and corresponds in position to the aperture of the second coupling member.
  • 15. The door lock of claim 14, wherein the fixing means penetrates through the through hole of the second fixture and the aperture of the second coupling member to reach the groove of the second body, so as to interconnect the second fixture, the second coupling member and the second body.
  • 16. The door lock of claim 12, wherein the second coupling member is externally connected to a stopper outside the second body, the stopper being dimensioned larger in diameter than the groove of the second body, allowing an elastic means to be sleeved about the second coupling member and interposed between the stopper and the second body.
  • 17. The door lock of claim 16, wherein the elastic means provides a resilient force for pushing the second coupling member away from the second body.
  • 18. The door lock of claim 1, the internal components thereof further comprising:a fireproof mechanism having a blocking member associated with the latch bolt, and a positioning means for allowing the blocking member to be interposed between the latch bolt and the positioning means, the positioning means being formed with a movable portion and a fixed portion, wherein the blocking member is shifted from a first position in contact with the movable portion of the positioning means, to a second position in contact with the fixed portion of the positioning means in response to high temperature.
  • 19. The door lock of claim 18, wherein the latch bolt is operatably driven by a doorknob when the blocking member is held at the first position.
  • 20. The door lock of claim 18, wherein the latch bolt is kept in a position for fastening the door lock and operationally blocked by the fixed portion of the positioning means, when the blocking member is held at the second position.
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Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
685943 Dec 1939 DE
2262770 Jun 1993 GB