Door locking handle assembly with built-in combination lock

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6516641
  • Patent Number
    6,516,641
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, June 27, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, February 11, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A handle assembly of thin type permits through a computerized personal management system a plurality of persons to have easily access to instruments in a box with the handle assembly in which: a combination lock (6); opened by turning each of its dial discs (4) a given number of times to establish a combination of marks of the discs, is incorporated in a handle (2) and disposed adjacent to a cylinder lock (2) in the handle; and, a plate (11), interlocked with a rotor (8) of the lock (2), engages with a shoulder (15) of a lever (16) pivoted to a body (1), so that the handle is held in its folded position. When the lock (6) is held in its unlocked condition and the handle (2) is pulled, the lever (16) is swung upward by the plate (11) to release the handle (2) from the body (1).
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a door locking handle assembly with a built-in combination lock of a pull-out and side-swinging lever-action type, in which a door handle is pivoted to a base body of the assembly so as to be pulled out forward and pushed back rearward relative to the base body and turned on its pivoted end.




2. Description of the Related Art




As is well known in the art, a door locking handle assembly of a conventional type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,623, herein incorporated by reference, has a construction in which: a base body of the assembly is fixedly mounted on a door of a box or container; a door handle is pivoted to the base body so as to be pulled out forward and pushed back rearward relative to the base body and further turned sideward on its pivoted end after completion of its pulling-out operation; when the door handle is pulled out of the base body to assume its pulled-up or raised inclination position relative to the base body and turned sideward after completion of its pulling-out operation, a catch plate (i.e., locking member) which serves as a door bolt directly or indirectly connected with the door handle is released from a receiving portion of a stationary frame element (i.e., door frame) of the box or container. In this type of conventional door locking handle assembly, a cylinder lock is incorporated in either the door handle or the base body. On the other hand, the door handle is pushed back rearward relative to the base body and held in its folded position or locked position in the base body.




In the conventional door locking handle assembly having the above construction, an available space for mounting the assembly is extremely limited in each of opposite sides of the door to which the assembly is fixedly mounted because the interior space of the box or container for housing various instruments therein is relatively limited due to the presence of the instruments housed in the box or container. Due to this, it is necessary to considerably limit in size the projections of the assembly in opposite directions perpendicular to the plane of the door's surface.




In order to fulfill the above need, it is necessary to reduce in thickness the assembly as a whole by reducing in thickness the door handle and in depth the base body. However, this forces the cylinder lock of the assembly to be considerably reduced in thickness.




On the other hand, in such a thin-type cylinder lock, since the number of sets of disc tumblers and/or pin tumblers incorporated in the cylinder lock as essential components of its internal lock mechanism is small, the number of available keys of such a thin-type cylinder lock is naturally limited. Due to this, in the case where there are a large number of eligible users or persons using the instruments contained in the box which is provided with the door locking handle assembly employing the cylinder lock in a condition in which these users or persons are controlled by a control operator through a computerized personal management system, it is difficult to use the conventional door locking handle assembly which employs the thin-type cylinder lock.




Although the conventional door locking handle assembly described above has been fully appreciated by users, a need exists in the art for an improved one of such door locking handle assembly, which is improved in capacity and performance.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Under such circumstances, the present invention was made. Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door locking handle assembly with a built-in combination lock, which assembly is thin in thickness as a whole and capable of providing a very large number of available keys for the combination lock, wherein a large number of eligible persons or users of various instruments contained in a box or container provided with the door locking handle assembly are precisely controlled by a control operator through a computerized personal management system.




It is possible to accomplish the above object of the present invention by providing:




In a door locking handle assembly with a built-in combination lock (


6


), the assembly being provided with a base body (


1


) which is fixedly mounted on a door (


30


) of a box, wherein a door handle (


2


) is pivoted to the base body (


1


) so as to be capable of being pulled out forward and pushed back rearward relative to the base body (


1


) and also turned sideward on a locking shaft (


29


) after completion of its pulling-out operation, wherein a locking member (


3


) serving as a door bolt for locking the door (


30


) to a main body of the box is directly or indirectly connected with the door handle (


2


) so as to be engaged with and disengaged from a receiving portion of a stationary frame element such as the main body of the box when the door handle (


2


) is pulled out forward and then turned sideward on the locking shaft (


29


) after completion of the pulling-out operation of the door handle (


2


), the improvement wherein:




the combination lock (


6


), which is provided with a plurality of marked dial discs (


4


), is incorporated in the door handle (


2


) and opened by turning each of the marked is dial discs (


4


) a given number of times to establish a predetermined combination of marks provided in outer peripheral surfaces of the dial discs (


4


);




the combination lock (


6


) is held in its locked condition when the predetermined combination of marks of the dial discs (


4


) is not established;




a cylinder lock (


13


) is incorporated in the door handle (


2


) and disposed adjacent to the combination lock (


6


) in a longitudinal direction of the door handle (


2


), wherein the cylinder lock (


13


) is provided with a rotor (


8


);




when an eligible key (


7


) is inserted into a keyhole (


9


) of the rotor (


8


) of the cylinder lock (


13


), the cylinder lock (


13


) has its internal lock mechanism (


10


) unlocked to permit the rotor (


8


) to be turned by the key (


7


) thus inserted into the keyhole (


9


) of the rotor (


8


);




when the rotor (


8


) is turned, a stopper plate (


11


) which is slidably received in a side through-hole (


12


) of the door handle (


2


) is driven in a manner such that the stopping plate (


11


) is projected outward from the side through-hole (


12


) and retracted from the outside of the door handle (


2


);




the stopping plate (


11


) has its upper end portion (


14


) abut against a shoulder portion (


15


) of a lower surface of a proximal end portion of a receiver lever (


16


);




the receiver lever (


16


) has its proximal end portion pivoted to an inner wall portion of the base body (


1


) through a first pivot (


17


);




the shoulder portion (


15


) of the receiver lever (


16


) is provided with a cam slope (


18


) through which the receiver lever (


16


) is pushed upward by the upper end portion of the stopper plate (


11


);




the receiver lever (


16


) is rotatably urged toward the stopping plate (


11


) by means of a first spring member (


19


);




a slider (


21


) is disposed in parallel with a center pin (


20


) of the combination lock (


6


), and urged toward the cylinder lock (


13


) by means of a second spring member (


22


) in a manner such that a lower end portion (


23


) of the slider (


21


) abuts against an upper surface of the receiver lever (


16


), so that the slider (


21


) has its restriction portion (


26


) engaged with and disengaged from a locking end portion (


25


) of the lock plate (


5


) when the lock plate (


5


) is held in its locked position and its unlocked position, respectively;




when the lock plate (


5


) is held in its unlocked position, the door handle (


2


) is capable of being pulled forward out of the base body (


1


);




when the door handle (


2


) is thus pulled out forward, the stopping plate (


11


) pushes the cam slope (


18


) of the receiver lever (


16


) swingably upward so that the receiver lever (


16


) is moved to its unlocked position; and




when the lock plate (


5


) is held in its locked position, the lock plate (


5


) has its locking end portion (


25


) engaged with the restriction portion (


26


) of the slider (


21


) to prevent the receiver lever (


16


) from turning on the first pivot (


17


).











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:





FIG. 1

is a front view of an embodiment of the door locking handle assembly of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a right side view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a rear view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 1

, illustrating a predetermined unique combination of the marks of the dial discs of the combination lock;





FIG. 5

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 4

, illustrating the door handle having been slightly pulled out of the base body in a swing manner;





FIG. 6

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 4

, illustrating the door handle further apart from the base body than in

FIG. 5

;





FIG. 7

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 4

, illustrating the door handle still further apart from the base body than in

FIG. 6

;





FIG. 8

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly in a condition in which the unique combination of the marks of the dial discs is not established;





FIG. 9

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly show in

FIG. 8

, illustrates the door handle prevented from being pulled out of the base body even when an external force for pulling the door handle out of the base body is applied to the door handle;





FIG. 10

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 8

, illustrating the key inserted into the cylinder lock for rearrangement or resetting of the dial discs when these dial discs are improperly arranged;





FIG. 11

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 10

, illustrating the door handle slightly pulled out of the base body;





FIG. 12

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 10

, illustrating the door handle further apart from the base body than in

FIG. 11

;





FIG. 13

is a front view of the built-in combination lock of the door locking handle assembly shown in

FIG. 1

, illustrating the dial discs the marks of which are not shown together with the positioning grooves of these marks;





FIG. 14

is a cross-sectional view of combination lock, taken along the line A—A of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 15

is a cross-sectional view of combination lock, taken along the line B—B of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 16

is a cross-sectional view of combination lock, taken along the line C—C of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 17

is a cross-sectional view of combination lock, taken along the line D—D of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 18

is a plan view of the dial disc employed in the combination lock shown in FIG.


2


.





FIG. 19

is a longitudinal sectional view of the dial disc, taken along the line E—E of

FIG. 18

;





FIG. 20

is a bottom view of the cam disc employed in the combination lock shown in

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 21

is a rear view of the cam disc shown in

FIG. 20

;





FIG. 22

is a longitudinal sectional view of the cam disc, taken along the line F—F of

FIG. 20

;





FIG. 23

is a longitudinal section view of the combination lock, taken along the line G—G of

FIG. 14

; and





FIG. 24

is a longitudinal sectional view of the combination lock, taken along the line H—H of FIG.


2


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




The best modes for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail using embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.




As shown in

FIGS. 1

to


4


, an embodiment of a door locking handle assembly with a built-in combination lock


6


according to the present invention is provided with a base body


1


. As is clear from

FIG. 4

, the base body


1


is fixedly mounted on a door


30


(shown in dotted lines in

FIG. 4

) of a box or container(not shown).




On the other hand, a door handle


2


is pivoted to the base body


1


so as to be capable of being pulled out forward and pushed back rearward relative to the base body


1


and also turned sideward on a locking shaft


29


after completion of its pulling-out operation. In this turning operation of the door handle


2


, a locking member


3


(shown in

FIG. 3

) serves as a door bolt for locking the door


30


to a main boy of the box, and is directly or indirectly connected with the door handle


2


so as to be engaged with and disengaged from a receiving portion of a stationary frame element such as the main body of the box (not shown) when the door handle


2


is pulled out forward and turned sideward on the locking shaft


29


after completion of the pulling-out operation of the door handle


2


.




In such a door locking handle assembly having the above construction, the combination lock


6


is provided with a plurality of marked dial discs


4


, incorporated in the door handle


2


and opened by turning each of the marked dial discs


4


a given number of times to establish a predetermined unique combination of marks provided in outer peripheral surfaces of the dial discs


4


.




The combination lock


6


is held in its locked condition when the predetermined combination of marks of the dial discs


4


is not established.




The door locking handle assembly is further provided with a cylinder lock


13


. This cylinder lock


13


is incorporated in the door handle


2


so as to be disposed adjacent to the combination lock


6


in a longitudinal direction of the door handle


2


, and is provided with a rotor


8


.




As shown in

FIG. 10

, when an eligible key


7


is inserted into a keyhole


9


(shown in

FIG. 1

) of the rotor


8


in the cylinder lock


13


, the lock


13


has its internal lock mechanism


10


unlocked to permit the rotor


8


to be turned by the key


7


thus inserted into the keyhole


9


thereof. When the rotor


8


is turned, a stopping plate


11


which is slidably received in a side through-hole


12


of the door handle


2


is driven in a manner such that the stopping plate


11


is projected outward from the side through-hole


12


and retracted from the outside of the door handle


2


.




As shown in

FIG. 4

, the stopping plate


11


has its upper end portion abut against a shoulder portion


15


of a lower surface of a proximal end portion of a receiver lever


16


. This lever


16


has its proximal end portion pivoted to an inner wall portion of the base body


1


through a first pivot


17


. On the other hand, the shoulder portion


15


of the receiver lever


16


is provided with a cam slope


18


through which the receiver lever


16


is pushed upward by the upper end portion of the stopper plate


11


when the door handle


2


is pulled forward. Further, the receiver lever


16


is rotatably urged downward toward the stopper plate


11


by means of a first spring member


19


, as shown in FIG.


4


.




As best shown in

FIGS. 23 and 24

, a slider


21


is disposed in parallel with a center pin


20


of the combination lock


6


, and urged downward toward the cylinder lock


13


by means of a second spring member


22


(shown in

FIG. 23

) in a manner such that a lower end portion of the slider


21


abuts against an upper surface of the receiver lever


16


(see, FIG.


5


). As a result, the slider


21


has its restriction portion


26


engaged with and disengaged from a locking end portion


25


of the lock plate


5


when the lock plate


5


is held in its locked position and its unlocked position, respectively.




More specifically, when the lock plate


5


is held in its unlocked position, it is possible to pull the door handle


2


forward out of the base body


1


. As shown in

FIG. 5

, when the door handle


2


is thus pulled forward, the stopper plate


11


pushes the cam slope


18


of the receiver lever


16


swingably upward so that the receiver lever


16


is moved to its unlocked position. On the other hand, as shown in

FIG. 8

, when the lock plate


5


is held in its locked position, the lock plate


5


has its locking end portion


25


engaged with the restriction portion


26


of the slider


21


to prevent the receiver lever


16


from turning on the first pivot


17


.




In the door locking handle assembly of the present invention having the above construction, a control operator of the instruments housed in the box is capable of allocating to each of a large number of eligible users or persons such a predetermined unique combination of marks of the marked dial discs


4


of the combination lock


6


for unlocking and locking the combination lock


6


.




Each of the eligible users or persons is capable of unlocking the combination lock


6


of the door locking handle assembly by turning in a normal or a reverse direction each of the marked dial discs


4


a given number of times to establish the unique combination of the marks, which combination has been allocated to each of the eligible users or persons, wherein the marks are provided in an outer peripheral surface of each of the dial discs


4


.




Once such a predetermined unique combination of the marks is established, as shown in

FIG. 4

, the combination lock


6


is unlocked and therefore capable of moving to its unlocking position. In such an unlocked condition of the combination lock


6


, as shown in

FIGS. 14 and 15

, the locking end portion


25


of the lock plate


5


is in a predetermined advanced position in which: the locking end portion


25


of the lock plate


5


is released from the restriction portion


26


of the slider


21


; and, the slider


21


is capable of moving upward as viewed in FIG.


4


. At this time, the cylinder lock


13


is in its locked condition, so that the upper end portion


14


of the stopping plate


11


is engaged with the shoulder portion


15


of the receiver lever


16


under the influence of a resilient force exerted by the first spring member


19


. As a result, the door handle


2


is held in its folded position inside a front concave portion


27


of the base body


1


.




Under such circumstances, when the door handle


2


is forcibly pulled forward out of the base body


1


, as shown in

FIG. 5

, the door handle


2


is turned on a second pivot


28


. As a result, the upper end portion


14


of the stopping plate


11


pushes swingably up the cam slope


18


of the shoulder portion


15


of the receiver lever


16


. Due to such pushing operation of the stopping plate


11


, the receiver lever


16


is turned on the first pivot


17


to unlock the door handle


2


. At the same time, the receiver lever


16


pushes up a lower end portion


23


of the slider


21


so that the slider


21


is retracted upward from its lower extended position.




At a stage in which the door handle


2


is swingably pulled out of the base body


1


to reach a predetermined angular position thereof, the receiver lever


16


is released from a pushing force exerted by the upper end portion


14


of the stopping plate


11


. Due to this, as is clear from

FIG. 7

, the receiver lever


16


swingably returns to its initial rest position under the influence of a resilient force exerted by the first spring member


19


. At this time, the slider


21


also returns downward to its initial lower position under the influence of a resilient force exerted by the second spring member


22


(shown in FIG.


23


).




When the door handle


2


, which is in its raised position, is turned sideward on the locking shaft


29


, the locking member


3


which is directly or indirectly connected with the door handle


2


is released from the receiving portion (not shown) of the stationary frame element or main body of the box. This permits the door


30


(shown in dotted lines in

FIG. 4

) to be released from the above-mentioned receiving portion of the main body of the box. Consequently, any eligible person or user is capable of opening the door


30


by simply pulling the door handle


2


forward relative to the base body


1


.




When the predetermined unique combination of the marks of the dial discs


4


is not established by rotating each of the dial discs


4


, the lock plate


5


rotates in the direction of the arrow as shown in

FIG. 14

to lock the combination lock


6


. Due to this, the lock plate


5


has its locking end portion


25


abut against the restriction portion of the slider


21


to prevent the receiver lever


16


from turning upward on the first pivot


17


toward its escape position.




In this locked condition of the combination lock


6


, when the door handle


2


is forcibly pulled forward out of the base body


1


, as shown in

FIG. 9

, the door handle


2


is very slightly pulled forward relative to the base body


1


to have immediately the upper end portion


14


of the stopping plate


11


abut against the cam slope


18


of the receiving lever


16


, so that such a forcible forward pulling operation of the door handle


2


is inhibited by the stopping plate


11


.




For example, the control operator of the instruments housed in the box, who allocates to each of the users or persons the predetermined unique combination of marks of the dial discs


4


, has a broader control power than does each of the users or persons. Consequently, the control operator is capable of pulling forward and turning sideward the door handle


2


to open the door


30


without using the combination of the marks of the dial discs


4


. Furthermore, the control operator is authorized to have the eligible key


7


of the cylinder lock


13


.




As shown in

FIG. 10

, when an illegal person, who is not authorized to use the box closed with the door


30


, illegally operates or turn each of the dial discs


4


of the combination lock


6


to lock the combination lock


6


by accident, it is possible for the control operator to reset the combination lock


6


thus accidentally locked by the illegal person.




In a preliminary stage of the above-mentioned setting operation of the combination lock


6


, the control operator inserts the key


7


into the keyhole


9


(shown in

FIG. 1

) of the rotor


8


in the cylinder lock


13


to unlock the internal lock mechanism


10


of the cylinder lock


13


by using a predetermined coded key ridge portion of the key


7


. This makes it possible for the rotor


8


of the cylinder lock


13


to rotate on its longitudinal center axis. When the key


7


thus inserted into the keyhole


9


of the rotor


8


is turned in the unlocking direction of the cylinder lock


13


, the stopping plate


11


having been projected from the side through-hole


12


of the door handle


2


is retracted from the outside of the door handle


2


to be entirely received inside the side through-hole


12


, so that the upper end portion


14


of the stopping plate


11


is disengaged from the shoulder portion


15


of the receiver lever


16


.




As described above, in the locking condition of the combination lock


6


, since the locking end portion


25


of the lock plate


5


is in a position in which the locking end portion


25


abuts against the restriction portion


26


of the slider


21


, the slider


21


is prevented from moving upward by means of the lock plate


5


. As a result, the receiver lever


16


is prevented from turning on the first pivot


17


in its unlocking direction.




On the other hand, when the cylinder lock


13


is unlocked using the key


7


, the stopping plate


11


is entirely retracted from the outside of the door handle


2


. Therefore, there is no fear that the stopping plate


11


hits the receiver lever


16


. Due to this, as is clear from

FIGS. 11 and 12

, it is possible to pull the door handle


2


forward out of the front concave portion


27


of the base body


1


without any interference between the door handle


2


and the receiver lever


16


.




After the door


30


of the box (not shown) is opened, an appropriate reset means such as a reset lever


63


(shown in

FIG. 24

) is operated from behind the thus opened door


30


so that the combination lock


6


is released from such an accidental locking condition.




In the embodiment shown in the drawings, as is clear from

FIG. 4

, a bearing hole


31


is formed in an upper portion of the base body


1


to extend in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the front surface of the door


30


. Rotatably received in such a bearing hole


31


of the base body


1


in an insertion manner is a locking shaft


29


which is not axially slidable in the bearing hole


31


. The locking shaft


29


is provided with a square-column portion


29




a


in its rear end portion. As shown in

FIG. 2

, all the locking member


3


, a swing-angle limiting plate


71


and a washer


72


are mounted on the rear end square-column portion


29




a


of the locking shaft


29


in an insertion manner. Then, a bolt


32


is threadably connected with a threaded hole (not shown) of a rear end surface of the square-column portion


29




a


of the locking shaft


29


, and then tightened in the threaded hole of the locking shaft


29


, so that the locking member


3


and the swing-angle limiting plate


71


are fixed to the square-column portion


29




a


of the locking shaft


29


through the washer


72


. The base body


1


is mounted in an elongated front receiving hole


33


of the door


30


from the front side of the door


30


in an insertion manner. On the other hand, a mounting plate


34


assuming a U-shaped form in cross section is mounted on a rear surface of the door


30


to mate with the base body


1


, and then fixed to the door


30


by means of a suitable fastening means such as a screw


35


or the like, as shown in

FIGS. 2 and 3

.




As shown in

FIG. 4

, formed in an upper rear portion of the door handle


2


is a concave portion


36


. This concave portion


36


assumes a substantially fan-like shape in longitudinal section to swingably receive therein a front end portion of the locking shaft


29


. More specifically, the door handle


2


had its upper end portion corresponding to its concave portion


36


pivoted to the front end portion of the locking shaft


29


through a second pivot or cross pivot


28


. This cross pivot


28


extends in parallel with a front surface of the door


30


in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the door handle


2


. In operation, when the door handle


2


is folded down so as to be embedded in the base body


1


, it is possible for the front concave portion


27


of the base body


1


to receive therein a rear portion of an essential part of the door handle


2


. As shown in

FIG. 3

, formed in a lower end portion of the door handle


2


is a flange serving as a fingertip engaging edge portion


37


, which bulges out downward in the longitudinal direction of the door handle


2


. As is clear from

FIG. 4

, even when the door handle


2


is in its folded position, the fingertip engaging edge portion


37


of the door handle


2


is still spaced apart forward from a front surface of the corresponding lower portion of the base body


1


, which enables the person or user to pick up the lower free end portion of the door handle


2


in an easy manner.




On the other hand, when the door handle


2


is in its raised position in which the door handle


2


is inclined forward as viewed in

FIG. 7

, it is possible for the user or person to swing sideward or turn the door handle


2


on the locking shaft


29


together with this locking shaft


29


relative to the base body


1


.




Formed in an intermediate portion of the door handle


2


to extend in the longitudinal direction of the door handle


2


is an elongated hollow portion


38


for receiving therein a combination lock


6


. The hollow portion


38


of the door handle


2


is open at the rear side of the door handle


2


to form an opening which is covered by a back plate member


39


, as shown in FIG.


7


.




As is clear from

FIGS. 13

to


24


, the combination lock


6


is constructed of a plurality of its components. Essential ones of these components of the combination lock


6


are: a plurality of the marked dial discs


4


; a plurality of cam discs


41


, each of which has a part thereof inserted into a center through-hole of the dial disc


4


and stacked together into a neat pile; the center pin


20


, which assumes the same shape as that of a round bar and inserted into a center hole


42


of each of the cam discs


41


; a compression coil spring


43


for urging downward such a neat pile consisting of both the dial discs


4


and the cam discs


41


toward the cylinder lock


13


; and, the lock plate


5


, which is provided with a rectangular opening portion


44


(shown in

FIG. 16

) to receive therein a part of each of the dial discs


4


.




As shown in

FIGS. 17

to


19


, the center through-hole


40


(shown in

FIG. 19

) of the dial disc


4


is constructed of: a small-diameter bore portion


40




a


; and, a pair of large-diameter bore portions


40




b


and


40




c


, sandwiched in between which is the small-diameter bore portion


40




a


. In a normal condition, under the influence of a resilient force exerted by the compression coil spring


43


, a small-diameter sleeve portion


41




a


of the cam disc


41


, which is inserted into the small-diameter bore portion


40




a


of the dial disc


4


from above, projects downward from the lower large-diameter bore portion


40




c


of the dial disc


4


, as is clear from

FIG. 24

, so that a large-diameter flange portion


41




b


of the cam disc


41


is received in the upper large-diameter bore portion


40




b


of the dial disc


4


. At the same time, the large-diameter flange portion


41




b


has its upper end surface abut against a lower end surface of the small-diameter sleeve portion


41




a


of the upper adjacent cam disc


41


. As is clear from

FIG. 1

, a part of the peripheral portion of the dial disc


4


projects forward through a laterally elongated slot


68


formed in a front surface of the door handle


2


.




As shown in

FIGS. 20

to


22


, formed in a peripheral surface of a root portion of the small-diameter sleeve portion


41


a of the cam disc


41


are a pair of diametrically opposed projection groups, each of which groups contains three piece of equally-spaced interlocking projections


45


. On the other hand, as is clear from

FIG. 16

, formed in an inner peripheral surface of the small-diameter bore portion


40




a


of the dial disc


4


are ten piece of equally-spaced interlocking grooves


46


which corresponds in number to the marks “1” to “10” provided in the outer peripheral surface of the dial disc


4


. The dial disc


4


and the corresponding cam disc


41


are combined with each other through engagements established between the interlocking projections


45


of the cam disc


41


and the corresponding interlocking grooves


46


of the dial disc


4


, as shown in FIG.


16


.




In order to change the combination of the marks of the dial discs


4


in the combination lock


6


, it is necessary to slide or displace the cam disc


41


upward by a distance equal to an axial length of the interlocking groove


46


. Such an axial displacement of the cam disc


41


relative to the adjacent one of the dial discs


4


makes it possible for the cam disc


41


to have its interlocking projections


45


disengaged from the corresponding interlocking grooves


46


of the dial disc


4


. After that, the cam disc


41


is rotated on its center axis relative to the dial disc


4


by a predetermined angle which is equal to an integral multiple of the interval between adjacent ones of the interlocking grooves


46


. Then, the thus rotated cam disc


41


is returned or displaced downward to its initial level or height. As a result, the combination of marks of the dial disc


4


is changed to a new unique combination of the marks in the combination lock


6


.




As is clear from

FIG. 20

, an outer peripheral portion of the large-diameter flange portion


41




b


of the cam disc


41


is partially cut off to form a pair of V-shaped notch portions


47


which are adjacent to each other to form a large-angle notch in appearance. As is clear from

FIG. 17

, the lock plate


5


is provided with a pair of V-shaped receiving grooves


48


in cross section. As shown in

FIG. 13

, these grooves


48


of the lock plate


5


are formed in a bridge portion between adjacent ones of the rectangular opening portions


44


of the lock plate


5


and correspond, in position and contour, to the V-shaped notch portions


47


of the cam disc


41


. When the V-shaped notch portions


47


of the cam disc


41


engage with the rectangular opening portions


44


of the lock plate


5


, the lock plate


5


is in a position in which the locking end portion


25


of the lock plate


5


is free from the restriction portion


26


of the slider


21


, as shown in FIG.


15


. When the V-shaped notch portions


47


of the cam disc


41


are disengaged from the rectangular opening portions


44


of the lock plate


5


, a crest portion of the lock plate


48


in cross section between its V-shaped receiving grooves


48


abuts against the circular outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter flange portion


41




b


of the cam disc


41


. This permits the lock plate


5


to rotate on its center axis to one of its angular positions, in which one the locking end portion


25


of the lock plate


5


abuts against is the restriction portion


26


of the slider


21


.




As shown in

FIG. 13

, an upper support projection


49




a


and a lower support projection


49




b


are formed in an upper end portion and a lower end portion of the lock plate


5


, respectively. Further, as is clear from

FIG. 13

, the lock plate


5


has its support projections


49




a


,


49




b


oppositely disposed from its locking end portion


25


. The upper support projection


49




a


is supported by an upright wall plate portion


50


of the back plate member


39


. On the other hand, the lower support projection


49




b


is supported in a through-hole


52


(shown in dotted lines in

FIG. 13

) of a partition wall plate


51


which is fixedly mounted on the back plate member


39


. As shown in

FIG. 15

, the lock plate


5


is resiliently urged forward by means of a compression coil spring


53


to prevent its locking end portion


25


from abutting against the restriction portion


26


of the slider


21


.




As shown in

FIG. 24

, the center pin


20


of the combination lock


6


has its upper and its lower end portion inserted into an upper pin hole


54


and a lower pin hole


55


, respectively, wherein: the upper pin hole


54


is formed in the upright wall plate portion


50


of the back plate member


39


; and, the lower pin hole


55


is formed in the partition wall plate


51


. On the other hand, the compression coil spring


43


for urging downward both the dial discs


4


and the cam discs


41


is loosely mounted on the upper end portion of the center pin


20


and compressed between the uppermost one of the cam discs


41


and the upright wall plate portion


50


, as is clear from FIG.


24


.




The slider


21


is constructed of a plate member and capable of sliding along the back plate


39


. As is clear from

FIGS. 16 and 23

, a plurality of inner guide projections


56


are formed in both a main body and a pair of opposite side portions of the back plate


39


to extend inside the back plate


39


to slidably guide the slider


21


. Also formed in the back plate


39


is a first spring support projection


57


, which cooperates with a second spring support projection


59


of the slider


21


to support the compression coil spring or second spring member


22


therebetween. The second spring member


22


is used to urge the slider


21


downward toward the receiver lever


16


. Further, as shown in

FIG. 23

, the slider


21


is provided with a guide groove


58


which receives therein the guide projection


56


of the back plate


39


.




As shown in

FIG. 4

, the first pivot


17


of the receiver lever


16


extends in parallel with the front surface of the door


30


. On the other hand, the slider


21


is provided with an escape opening


60


for preventing both the compression coil spring


53


and the partition wall plate


51


from interfering with the slider


21


in operation. As is clear from

FIG. 23

, an L-shaped opening


61


is formed in the back plate


39


oppositely disposed from the slider


21


.




As shown in

FIG. 24

, the center pin


20


of the combination lock


6


is provided with a flange portion


20




a


which abuts against the lowermost one of the cam discs


41


. The reset lever


62


has its proximal end ring portion


63


rotatably mounted on the center pin


20


in a position between the flange portion


20




a


and the partition wall plate


51


. On the other hand, in a normal condition, a grip portion


64


of the reset lever


62


passes through a vertical portion


61




a


of the L-shaped opening


61


of the back plate


39


, as shown in

FIGS. 23 and 24

.




In order to perform the resetting operation or the changing operation of the combination of the marks of the dial discs


4


in the combination lock


6


, it is necessary for the user to grip and push upward the grip portion


64


of the reset lever


62


. As is clear from

FIG. 24

, the grip portion


64


of the reset lever


62


projects rearward beyond the back plate


39


through its L-shaped opening


61


to facilitate such a pushing-up operation of the reset lever


62


. When the reset lever


62


thus pushed up, the pile of the cam discs


41


is pushed up toward the locking shaft


29


in a manner such that the interlocking projections


45


of the cam discs


41


are disengaged from the corresponding interlocking grooves


46


of the dial discs


4


. In order to keep the pile of the cam discs


41


in their pushed-up position, it is necessary for the user to slightly tilt the reset lever


62


in a manner such that the grip portion


64


of the reset lever


62


is engaged with a lateral portion


61




b


of the L-shaped opening


61


.




After turning each of the dial discs


4


in a normal or a reverse direction a desired number of times, the cam discs


41


have their interlocking projections


45


engaged with the corresponding interlocking grooves


46


of the dial discs


4


to determine a new combination of the marks of the dial discs


4


, wherein such a new combination differs from the previous combination of the marks of the dial discs


4


.




In the outer peripheral surface of each of the cam discs


41


, there are formed a plurality of positioning grooves


65


at predetermined intervals. The number of these positioning grooves


65


of the cam disc


41


is the same as that of the marks of the dial disc


4


. On the other hand, as shown in

FIG. 17

, a third spring member


66


for keeping the dial discs


4


in their desired angular positions is fixedly mounted on the side wall portion of the back plate member


39


in a manner such that the third spring member


66


has its front end projections


67


resiliently engaged with the corresponding positioning grooves


65


of the cam discs


41


.




As the internal lock mechanism


10


of the cylinder lock


13


, there is used a conventional disc tumbler lock mechanism in which: as shown in

FIG. 4

, an eccentric cam projection


69


formed in a rear end surface of the rotor


8


of the cylinder lock


13


is slidably received in a laterally elongated slot


70


formed in the proximal end portion of the stopping plate


11


.




As an example of the internal lock mechanism


10


, there is a pin tumbler lock mechanism or the like which is capable of being employed in the door locking handle assembly of the present invention.




In the door locking handle assembly of the present invention having the above construction: when the predetermined combination of the marks of the dial discs


4


of the combination lock


6


is established, the combination lock


6


is unlocked; the cylinder lock


13


is unlocked using the key


7


; the combination lock


6


is incorporated in the door handle


2


together with the cylinder lock


13


in a manner such that these locks


6


,


13


are disposed adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the door handle


2


; the receiver lever


16


pivoted to the base body


1


is controlled in motion by means of the lock plate


5


; the stopper plate


11


which is engaged with and disengaged from the receiver lever


16


is mechanically interlocked with the rotor


8


of the cylinder lock


13


to make it possible to lock and unlock the door handle


2


to and from the base body


1


, so that it is possible for the present invention to downsize the door locking handle assembly in thickness as a whole in a condition in which a large number of eligible keys


7


are provided in an easy manner; and, it is possible for the control operator of the various instruments contained in the box or container to control a large number of the users or persons in various control modes through the computerized personal management system without fail.




Further, in the door locking handle assembly of the present invention having the above construction, it is possible to prevent the receiver lever


16


from turning or moving toward its unlocked position by simply having the upper end portion


14


of the stopping plate


11


abut against the cam slope


18


of the receiver lever


16


. Due to this, in the door locking handle assembly of the present invention, there is no need for a separate drive mechanism for driving the receiver lever


16


. This makes it possible to reduce the number of the components or parts of the door locking handle assembly and therefore possible to simplify the assembly in construction.




While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments and a modification thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. In a door locking handle assembly with a built-in combination lock (6), the assembly being provided with a base body (1) which is fixedly mounted on a door (30) of a box, wherein a door handle (2) is pivoted to said base body (1) so as to be capable of being pulled out forward and pushed back rearward relative to said base body (1) and also turned sideward on a locking shaft (29) after completion of its pulling-out operation, wherein a locking member (3) serving as a door bolt for locking said door (30) to a main body of said box is directly or indirectly connected with said door handle (2) so as to be engaged with and disengaged from a receiving portion of a stationary frame element such as said main body of said box when said door handle (2) is pulled out forward and then turned sideward on said locking shaft (29) after completion of the pulling-out operation of said door handle (2), the improvement wherein:said combination lock (6), which is provided with a plurality of marked dial discs (4), is incorporated in said door handle (2) and opened by turning each of said marked dial discs (4) a given number of times to establish a predetermined combination of marks provided in outer peripheral surfaces of said dial discs (4); said combination lock (6) is held in its locked condition when said predetermined combination of marks of said dial discs (4) is not established; a cylinder lock (13) is incorporated in said door handle (2) and disposed adjacent to said combination lock (6) in a longitudinal direction of said door handle (2), wherein said cylinder lock (13) is provided with a rotor (8); when a key (7) is inserted into a keyhole (9) of said rotor (8) of said cylinder lock (13), said cylinder lock (13) has its internal lock mechanism (10) unlocked to permit said rotor (8) to be turned by said key (7) thus inserted into said keyhole (9) of said rotor (8); when said rotor (8) is turned, a stopper plate (11) which is slidably received in a side through-hole (12) of said door handle (2) is driven in a manner such that said stopping plate (11) is projected outward from said side through-hole (12) and retracted from the outside of said door handle (2); said stopping plate (11) has its upper end portion (14) abut against a shoulder portion (15) of a lower surface of a proximal end portion of a receiver lever (16); said receiver lever (16) has its proximal end portion pivoted to an inner wall portion of said base body (1) through a first pivot (17); said shoulder portion (15) of said receiver lever (16) is provided with a cam slope (18) through which said receiver lever (16) is pushed upward by said upper end portion of said stopper plate (11); said receiver lever (16) is rotatably urged toward said stopping plate (11) by means of a first spring member (19); a slider (21) is disposed in parallel with a center pin (20) of said combination lock (6), and urged toward said cylinder lock (13) by means of a second spring member (22) in a manner such that a lower end portion (23) of said slider (21) abuts against an upper surface of said receiver lever (16), so that said slider (21) has its restriction portion (26) engaged with and disengaged from a locking end portion (25) of said lock plate (5) when said lock plate (5) is held in its locked position and its unlocked position, respectively; when said lock plate (5) is held in its unlocked position, said door handle (2) is capable of being pulled forward out of said base body (1); when said door handle (2) is thus pulled out forward, said stopping plate (11) pushes said cam slope (18) of said receiver lever (16) swingably upward so that said receiver lever (16) is moved to its unlocked position; and when said lock plate (5) is held in its locked position, said lock plate (5) has its locking end portion (25) engaged with said restriction portion (26) of said slider (21) to prevent said receiver lever (16) from turning on said first pivot (17).
  • 2. The door locking handle assembly of claim 1, wherein said combination lock (6) includes said plurality of said marked dial discs (4) in an alternating relationship with an equal number of adjacent cam discs (41), said dial discs (4) and said cam discs (41) being rotatably mounted on said center pin (20).
  • 3. The door locking handle assembly of claim 2, wherein said marked dial discs (4) can each be interlocked to each adjacent said cam disc (41) by a plurality of positioning projections (45) which are inserted axially into a mating positioning groove (46).
  • 4. The door locking handle assembly of claim 2, wherein each said marked dial disc (4) has a plurality of positioning grooves (65) provided equally spaced apart on the dial disc outer periphery, each said dial disc (4) being held in a predetermined angular position by a third spring member (66) fixedly mounted in said handle (2).
  • 5. The door locking handle assembly of claim 2, wherein said door handle (2) has an elongated hollow portion (30) covered by a back plate member (29).
  • 6. The door locking handle assembly of claim 1, wherein said base body (1) is fixedly mounted onto said door (30) by a mounting plate (34) having a U-shaped form and a screw (35) fastening means.
  • 7. In a door locking handle assembly with a built-in combination lock (6), the assembly being provided with a base body (1) which is fixedly mounted on a door (30) of a box, wherein a door handle (2) is pivoted to said base body (1) so as to be capable of being pulled out forward and pushed back rearward relative to said base body (1) and also turned sideward on a locking shaft (29) after completion of its pulling-out operation, wherein a locking member (3) serving as a door bolt for locking said door (3) to a main body of said box is directly or indirectly connected with said door handle (2) so as to be engaged with and disengaged from a receiving portion of a stationary frame element such as said main body of said box when said door handle (2) is pulled out forward and then turned sideward on said locking shaft (29) after completion of the pulling-out operation of said door handle (2), the improvement wherein:said combination lock (6), which is provided with a plurality of marked dial discs (4), in incorporated in said door handle (2) and opened by turning each of said marked dial discs (4) a given number of times to establish a predetermined combination of marks provided in outer peripheral surfaces of said dials discs (4); said plurality of dial discs (4) being provided in an alternating relationship with an equal number of adjacent cam discs (41), said dial discs (4) and said cam discs (41) being each rotatably mounted on an elongated center pin (20), wherein said marked dial discs (4) can be interlocked to each adjacent said cam disc (41) by a plurality of positioning projections (45) which are inserted axially into a mating positioning groove (46); said combination lock (6) is held in its locked condition when said predetermined combination of marks of said dial discs (4) is not established; a cylinder lock (13) is incorporated in said door handle (2) and disposed adjacent to said combination lock (6) in a longitudinal direction of said door handle (2), wherein said cylinder lock (13) is provided with a rotor (8); when a key (7) is inserted into a keyhole (9) of said rotor (8) of said cylinder lock (13), said cylinder lock (13) has its internal lock mechanism (1) unlocked to permit said rotor (8) to be turned by said key (7) thus inserted into said keyhole (9) of said rotor (8); when said rotor (8) is turned, a stopper plate (11) which is slidably received in a side through-hole (12) of said door handle (2) is driven in a manner such that said stopping plate (11) is projected outward from said side through-hole (12) and retracted from the outside of said door handle (2); said stopping plate (11) has its upper end portion (14) abut against a shoulder portion (15) of a lower surface of a proximal end portion of a receiver lever (16); said receiver lever (16) has its proximal end portion pivoted to an inner wall portion of said base body (1) through a first pivot (17); said shoulder portion (15) of said receiver lever (16) is provided with a cam slope (18) through which said receiver lever (16) is pushed upward by said upper end portion of said stopper plate (11); said receiver lever (16) is rotatably urged toward said stopping plate (11) by means of a first spring member (19); a slider (21) is disposed in parallel with said center pin (20) of said combination lock (6), and urged toward said cylinder lock (13) by means of a second spring member (22) in a manner such that a lower end portion (23) of said slider (21) abuts against an upper surface of said receiver lever (16), so that said slider (21) has its restriction portion (26) engaged with and disengaged from a locking end portion (25) of said lock plate (5) when said lock plate (5) is held in its locked position and its unlocked position, respectively; when said lock plate (5) is held in its unlocked position, said door handle (2) is capable of being pulled forward out of said base body (1); when said door handle (2) is thus pulled out forward, said stopping plate (11) pushes said cam slope (18) of said receiver lever (16) swingably upward so that said receiver lever (16) is moved to its unlocked position; and when said lock plate (5) is held in its locked position, said lock plate. (5) has its locking end portion (25) engaged with said restriction portion (26) of said slider (21) to prevent said receiver lever (16) from turning on said first pivot (17).
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
2001/230989 Jul 2001 JP
US Referenced Citations (13)
Number Name Date Kind
1613550 Wildrick Jan 1927 A
3107513 Walston Oct 1963 A
3633388 Atkinson Jan 1972 A
4557122 Hwang Dec 1985 A
4852371 Pfeiffer Aug 1989 A
4885923 Nakai Dec 1989 A
4901545 Bacon et al. Feb 1990 A
4914931 Shu Apr 1990 A
4972691 Knight Nov 1990 A
5063764 Amis et al. Nov 1991 A
5467623 Yamada et al. Nov 1995 A
5692403 Ling Dec 1997 A
6378344 Gartner Apr 2002 B1