Patent Application
20090133454
The invention relates to deadbolt locks for doors.
The invention provides a deadbolt lock assembly comprising a retractable and extendable deadbolt, a housing, an outside member movably mounted on the housing, the member being normally disconnected from the deadbolt, and an operator input device on the housing, the device connecting the member to the deadbolt in response to presentation of an appropriate credential, such that a force applied to the member by the operator is mechanically transmitted to the deadbolt to move the deadbolt.
The invention also provides a deadbolt lock assembly comprising a retractable and extendable deadbolt, a housing, a credential reading device on the housing, an outside turnpiece pivotally mounted on the housing, the turnpiece being normally disconnected from the deadbolt, and a mechanism operable to connect the turnpiece to the deadbolt so that an operator can turn the turnpiece to move the deadbolt, the mechanism connecting the turnpiece to the deadbolt when an operator presents an appropriate credential to the credential reading device.
The invention also provides a deadbolt lock assembly comprising a retractable and extendable deadbolt, a housing, a credential reading device on the housing, an outside turnpiece pivotally mounted on the housing, the turnpiece being normally disconnected from the deadbolt, a key operated lock mechanism on the housing, and a mechanism operable to connect the turnpiece to the deadbolt so that an operator can turn the turnpiece to move the deadbolt, the mechanism connecting the turnpiece to the deadbolt either when an operator uses a key in the key operated lock mechanism or when an operator presents an appropriate credential to the credential reading device.
The invention also provides a deadbolt lock assembly comprising a retractable and extendable deadbolt, a housing, an outside turnpiece pivotally mounted on the housing, the turnpiece being normally disconnected from the deadbolt, a key operated lock mechanism on the turnpiece, and a mechanism operable to connect the turnpiece to the deadbolt so that an operator can turn the turnpiece to move the deadbolt, the mechanism connecting the turnpiece to the deadbolt when an operator uses a key in the key operated lock mechanism.
The invention also provides a method of operating a deadbolt lock assembly, the assembly including a retractable and extendable deadbolt, a housing, a credential reading device on the housing, a key operated lock mechanism on the housing, and an outside turnpiece pivotally mounted on the housing, the turnpiece normally disconnected from the deadbolt, the method comprising alternatively performing one of the following acts to cause engagement between the turnpiece and the deadbolt: inserting a key in the key operated lock mechanism, and thereafter turning the key, or presenting an appropriate credential to the credential reading device; and thereafter turning the turnpiece to thereby move the deadbolt.
The invention also provides a method of operating a deadbolt lock assembly, the assembly including a retractable and extendable deadbolt, a housing, a credential reading device on the housing, a key operated lock mechanism on the housing, and an outside turnpiece pivotally mounted on the housing, the turnpiece being normally disconnected from the deadbolt, the method comprising presenting an appropriate credential to the credential reading device, thereby connecting the turnpiece to the deadbolt, and thereafter turning the turnpiece to move the deadbolt.
The invention also provides a method of operating a deadbolt lock assembly, the assembly including a retractable and extendable deadbolt, a housing, a credential reading device on the housing, a key operated lock mechanism on the housing, and an outside turnpiece pivotally mounted on the housing, the turnpiece being normally disconnected from the deadbolt, the method comprising presenting an appropriate credential to the credential reading device, thereby connecting the turnpiece to the deadbolt, and thereafter turning the turnpiece to move the deadbolt.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description, claims and drawings.
a is an exploded perspective view of a deadbolt lock assembly embodying the invention.
b is a perspective view of the outside of the assembly mounted on a door.
c is a perspective view of the inside of the assembly mounted on a door.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
The deadbolt lock assembly 10 comprises (see
The deadbolt lock assembly 10 also comprises (see
The deadbolt lock assembly 10 also comprises (see
A clutching cam 132 is mounted on the base plate 104 for pivotal movement about the longitudinal axis 46 of the driver bar 42. The outer end of the cam 132 (the left end in
A retaining wall 144 is movably mounted on the base plate 104 below the holder 124. The wall 144 is operably connected to the coil spring 120 such that the wall is movable by the motor 116 between upper and lower or engaged and disengaged positions. Specifically, the wall 144 and the spring 120 are interconnected, as is known in the art, such that rotation of the spring 120 causes vertical movement of the wall in either direction depending on the direction of rotation of the spring. More particularly, the wall 144 has extending therefrom a pin (not shown) that extends into the coil of the spring 120 such that rotation of the spring 120 acts on the pin in a screw-like manner to move the pin and thereby the wall 144 up or down depending on the direction of rotation of the spring. Such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,640,863 and 6,286,347, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. The wall 144 has an upper extension that extends above the cam 132 and that has a generally horizontal upper surface 148. The wall 144 also has a lower extension below the cam 132. The lower extension has an upwardly facing, arcuate camming surface 152 defining a portion of a circle. The camming surface 152 engages the outer end of the pin 136. When the wall 144 is in its upper position, the camming surface 152 is centered on the axis 46. As the wall 144 moves to its upper position, the camming surface 152 moves the pin 136 to its engaged position. The circular configuration of the surface 152 allows the cam 132 and the pin 136 to pivot about the axis while the pin 136 is engaging the surface 152. This also allows the surface 152 to engage the pin 136 regardless of the location of the pin, which location varies with the pivotal or rotational orientation of the cam 132, which depends on whether the deadbolt is locked or unlocked.
A manual release cam 156 is pivotally mounted on the base plate 104 above the wall 144. The cam 156 extends through an opening in the base plate 104 and through an opening in the inside base plate 54. The inner end of the cam 156 (the right end in
When the wall 144 is in its upper position, the upper surface 148 of the wall abuts or is closely spaced from the camming surface 160 of the cam when the cam 156 is in its engaged position. From this state, pivotal movement of the cam 156 to its disengaged position (this is done manually with a screwdriver, as further described below) causes the camming surface 160 of the cam to push downward on the upper surface 148 of the wall and move the wall 144 to its lower position. Such movement of the wall 144 and the camming surface 152 allows the pin 136 to return to its disengaged position under the force of the spring 140. The reason for this is described below.
A retaining plate 172 is mounted to the base plate 104 over the wall 144. The retaining plate 172 has therein a circular opening 176 centered on the axis, and an adapter 180 is mounted in the opening 176 for pivotal movement about the axis and relative to the base plate 104. A retaining ring 184 holds the adapter 180 in the opening. The inner end (the right end in
An outer thumbturn or turnpiece 200 is mounted on the adapter 180 (and on an outer escutcheon 204 described below) for pivotal movement therewith. The outer end of the adapter 180 extends into the inner end of the turnpiece 200, and the turnpiece has flats engaging the flats 192 on the adapter such that the turnpiece and the adapter pivot together. When the turnpiece 200 is in a vertical position, as shown in
The lock 208 includes an inner portion 220 that can be pivoted relative to the housing 212 with a key 221, as is known in the art. The inner portion 220 is movable between a locked position (
An outer escutcheon 204, mentioned above, is mounted on the base plate 104 over the turnpiece. Alternative escutcheons 204a and 204b are shown in
When the deadbolt 22 is extended (locked), an operator on the outside of the door can retract the deadbolt (unlock the door) either with the keypad or with the key. An operator would choose to use the key if he or she has forgotten the code to be entered on the keypad, or if the keypad is not working, which could happen, for example, if the battery has lost power.
To use the key, the operator inserts the key in the lock 208, turns the key clockwise and pushes the key inward. As described above, this causes the driver tab 224 to enter the slot 134 in the camming clutch 132 and thereby links the camming clutch 132 to the adapter 180. (The possibility of the driver tab 224 not immediately being aligned with the slot 134 is discussed below.) The operator can then turn the turnpiece 200, which pivots the driver bar 42 counterclockwise and retracts the deadbolt 22 in the conventional manner.
To use the keypad, the operator enters the programmed code on the keypad. The circuit board or controller 70 receives the input and sends a signal to the motor 116 causing the motor to move the wall 144 upwardly. This causes the wall to move the pin 136 into an aligned notch 188, which links the camming clutch 132 to the adapter 180. (The possibility of the pin 136 not immediately being aligned with a notch 188 is discussed below.) The operator can then turn the turnpiece 200, which pivots the driver bar 42 counterclockwise and retracts the deadbolt 22. This movement of the driver bar also causes the cam 74 to close the switch 62, which sends a signal to the circuit board or controller 70. The controller 70 then initiates a “relock” time delay, which gives the operator a predetermined amount of time to relock the deadbolt from the outside. After the relock time delay, the controller 70 signals the motor 116 to lower the wall 144 and thereby disconnect the outside thumbturn 200 from the driver bar 42.
The operator can relock the door either from the outside, as mentioned above, or from the inside after entering through the door. From the inside, the operator can always turn the turnpiece 86 to lock the door. Relocking the door from either side pivots the cam 74 to open the switch 62, sending another signal to the controller 70. The controller 70 may either ignore the signal 62 from the switch or use it to truncate the retook time delay. In the former “ignore it” case, the controller 70 waits for the relock time to pass and then the controller signals the motor 116 to lower the wall 144 and disengage the camming clutch 132, after which the outside turnpiece 200 is no longer connected to the driver bar 42. In the latter or “truncate” case, when the controller 70 receives the signal that the switch 62 has opened, because the door has been locked, the controller immediately signals the motor 116 to lower the wall 144 and disengage the camming clutch 132, after which the outside turnpiece 200 is no longer connected to the driver bar 42. Thus, in the latter case, the relock time delay is truncated when the switch 62 opens due to relocking of the deadbolt.
If the operator entered with the key because the electronics were not working, there would be no need to disengage the outside turnpiece 200 if the turnpiece was not connected to the driver bar 42 in the first place. If, however, the electronics failed after connecting the outside turnpiece 200 to the driver bar 42, the controller 70 could not disengage the outside turnpiece 200 after entry. The manual release cam 156 allows the operator to manually disengage the outside turnpiece 200 in the unlikely event of such electronic failure. As described above, the operator can remove the inside escutcheon 82 and use a screwdriver to pivot the cam 156 and lower the wall 144, thereby disengaging the outside turnpiece 200.
To unlock the deadbolt from the inside, the operator merely has to turn the turnpiece 86 clockwise. Because the turnpiece 86 is always engaged with the driver bar 42, this retracts the deadbolt 22. This also closes the switch 62, as described above, which signals the controller 70 to raise the wall 144, thereby engaging the outside turnpiece 200, and initiating the relock time delay. After exiting through the door, the operator has until the expiration of the relock time delay to retook the door. After expiration of the relock time delay, the outside turnpiece 200 is disengaged. If the door has already been relocked, it can no longer be opened from the outside without entering the code or using the key. If the door has not been relocked, it can no longer be locked from the outside without entering the code or using the key. If the controller is set to truncate the relock time delay, the outside turnpiece 200 is disengaged immediately after the door is relocked.
In another mode of operation, the outside thumbturn 200 remains connected with the driver bar 42 indefinitely (i.e., clutch mechanism stays in the engaged configuration) until the operator extends the bolt 22 to secure the door. In other words, the relock time delay is indefinite. When the door is relocked, the controller 70 disengages the outside turnpiece 200.
In another mode of operation, when the operator retracts the bolt 22 from the inside, the controller 70 receives the signal from the switch 62 but the controller does not operate the motor 116 to engage the outside turnpiece 200 until the controller 70 receives a second signal that is generated by pushing a specific key or similar means on the outside keypad 128. Until the designated key is pushed, the outside thumbturn 200 remains disconnected from the driver bar 42 and the bolt 22 remains in the retracted position, with the door thus being in an unsecured/unlocked state. Once the operator pushes the designated key, the controller 70 operates the motor to connect the outside thumbturn 200 with the driver bar 42. The operator may then throw/extend the bolt 22 to secure the door to the doorframe, and such movement opens the switch 62, which causes the controller 70 to operate the motor to disconnect the outside thumbturn 200 from the driver bar 42, thus locking the door.
It should be apparent that the states of the switch 62 could be reversed, such that the switch is closed when the deadbolt is locked and open when the deadbolt is unlocked.
The outside thumbturn 200 could conceivably be in any rotational orientation when an operator tries to turn it, either to lock or unlock the door. The six notches 188 in the adapter 180 allow for this in the event the operator is using the keypad. When the operator uses the keypad to engage the turnpiece 206, the motor 116 tries to raise the wall 144 to move the pin 136 into a notch 188 aligned with the pin 136. If a notch 188 is so aligned, the pin 136 moves into the notch 188 and couples the adapter 180 to the clutching cam 132, which enables use of the thumbturn 200 as described above. If a notch 188 is not so aligned, the pin 136 will engage a portion of the adapter 180 between two notches, and this will prevent further inward movement of the pin 136 and further upward movement of the wall 144. As the motor continues to rotate the spring 120 in an attempt to raise the wall 144, the spring will extend or stretch when upward movement of the wall 144 stops. Thereafter, when the operator starts to turn the turnpiece 200, the pin will quickly become aligned with an adjacent notch 188, and the spring 120 will then return to its normal length and will pull the wall 144 upward causing the pin 136 to move into the now-aligned notch 188. The turnpiece 200 is then engaged.
In the event the operator is using the key, it is possible the driver tab 224 will not be aligned with the slot 134 in the clutching cam 132 when the operator tries to push the key in. Then the driver tab 224 will bump into the end of the cam 132, and the operator will not be able to push the key in. Further turning of the key a slight amount, which will also turn the turnpiece 200, will bring the driver tab 224 into alignment with the slot 134, after which the operator will be able to push the key in and couple the turnpiece 200 to the driver bar 42.
Whether the keypad or the key is used to lock or unlock the door, the force necessary to pivot the driver bar 42 and move the deadbolt 22 is provided by the operator, not by a motor or other device, such as a solenoid. In other words, a force applied to the turnpiece 200 by the operator is mechanically transmitted to the deadbolt, so that the operator manually moves the deadbolt. In the construction described above, the force is transmitted to the deadbolt by, among other things, the driver bar 42. Having the force needed to throw the deadbolt provided by the operator provides advantages over electronic deadbolts that use a motor or solenoid to move the deadbolt when a proper credential is presented. With such devices, if the deadbolt is not properly aligned with the receiving opening in the door frame when the operator attempts to lock the door, the motor or solenoid may continue to attempt to throw the bolt until the battery dies, or the motor or solenoid may stop trying to throw the bolt without the operator knowing that the deadbolt is not secured. With the lock assembly 10, if the deadbolt 22 is not properly aligned with the receiving opening in the door frame when the operator attempts to lock the door, the operator will not be able to fully turn the turnpiece 200, and the operator will thereby become aware of the problem.
An alternative lock assembly 300 is illustrated in
Instead of a slot in its outer end, the adapter 180 of the lock assembly 300 has in its outer end a cylindrical recess 304 into which the inner end of the lock housing 212 can extend. The inner end of the adapter 180 has therein a slot 308 that extends vertically when the turnpiece 200 extends vertically, as shown in
When the key is turned ninety degrees relative to the turnpiece 200, as shown in
The tailpiece 312 can be made collapsible to resist opening of the lock assembly 300 by a physical attack on the cylinder lock 208. If the cylinder lock 208 were hammered or otherwise forced inward without inserting and turning the key, engagement of the tailpiece 312 and the inner end of the adapter 180 (with the tailpiece 312 not being aligned with the slot 308) would cause the tailpiece 312 to collapse, thereby preventing engagement of the turnpiece 200 with the driver bar 42.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US07/09075 | 4/12/2007 | WO | 00 | 10/1/2008 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60744782 | Apr 2006 | US |
