BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the handle knob assembly according to the present invention, the exploded view being viewed in one direction;
FIG. 2 is another exploded view of the preferred embodiment that is viewed in another opposite direction;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment in an assembled state;
FIG. 4 is the same view as FIG. 3 but showing additionally a cylinder lock which has not been assembled in a lock retainer;
FIG. 5 is the same view as FIG. 3 but showing that the cylinder lock is assembled in the lock retainer;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing that an annular plate is provided at the rear end of a drum portion of the lock retainer; and
FIG. 8 is an exploded view showing that the lock retainer and the annular plate of FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a preferred embodiment of a handle knob assembly according to the present invention includes a lock retainer 1 and a knob shell 2. The knob shell 2 has a front end provided with an 8-shaped key hole 21, and a rear end provided with a rear opening 22.
The lock retainer 1 is disposed within the knob shell 2 and may be made from a zinc alloy or a copper alloy. The lock retainer 1 includes a hollow drum portion 10, a hollow neck part 15 extending rearwardly from the drum portion 10 and projecting out of the rear opening 22 of the knob shell 2, and a lock-receiving hole 11 formed in the drum portion 10 and aligned with the key hole 21. A plurality of annularly spaced apart and axially extending ribs 14 project from an outer periphery of the drum portion 10. A ring 13 extends around the ribs 14 and has a distal peripheral end 131 extending toward an inner surface of the knob shell 2.
Preferably, the distal peripheral end 131 is placed in abutment with the inner surface of the knob shell 2 between front and rear ends of the knob shell 2. The front and rear ends of the ribs 14 extend to the front and rear ends of the drum portion 10 and abut against the inner surface of the knob shell 2 at the front and rear ends of the knob shell 2. Furthermore, a rear rim 141 is provided at the rear end of the drum portion 10 to interconnect the rear ends of the ribs 14 and to abut against the inner surface of the knob shell 2 at the rear end of the knob shell 2. However, the rear rim 141 is optional and may be omitted according to the present invention. Alternatively, a front rim similar to the rear rim 141 may be provided at the front end of the drum portion 10 to interconnect the front ends of the ribs 14 and to abut against the inner surface of the knob shell 2 at the front end of the knob shell 2.
The hollow neck part 15 of the lock retainer 1 confines a substantially circular hole 12 and is provided for insertion of a tubular drive spindle (not shown) used to operate a latch (not shown). The hollow neck part 15 is provided with an engaging part 16 to engage the tubular drive spindle. Referring to FIG. 6 in combination with FIG. 3, the lock-receiving hole 11 has a front hole section 111 of 8-shaped cross section corresponding to the 8-shaped key hole 21, and a rear hole section 112 communicated with the front hole section 111 and the circular hole 12. The rear hole section 112 has a portion that is aligned with and corresponds in cross section to the circular hole 12 and that is wider than the 8-shaped front hole section 111. A shoulder face 17 is thus formed between the aforesaid portion of the rear hole section 112 and the front hole sections 111. A substantially C-shaped groove 171 is formed in the shoulder face 17 and extends forwardly from the shoulder face 17. When the handle knob assembly is mounted on a door panel, the tubular drive spindle (not shown) that operates the latch (not shown) will be inserted into the hollow neck part 15, and an engaging end (not shown) of the tubular drive spindle can be inserted into the C-shaped groove 171.
The handle knob assembly of the present invention further includes a cylinder lock 3 disposed within the front and rear hole sections 111 and 112 of the lock-receiving hole 11. The cylinder lock 3 is conventional and has an outer case 30 of substantially 8-shaped cross section and a core 32 mounted in the outer case 30. A retractable wing 31 projects outwardly from the outer case 30.
Referring back to FIG. 2, the rear end of the knob shell 2 is not bent inward before the lock retainer 1 is placed within the knob shell 2 so that the size of the rear opening 22 is larger than that of the ring 13 and the lock retainer 1 can be inserted in the knob shell 1 through the rear opening 22. Referring back to FIG. 3, after the lock retainer 1 is placed within the knob shell 2, the rear end of the knob shell 2 is bent inward using a mechanical working process so that the rear opening 22 is constricted to a size smaller than that of the ring 13 and the lock retainer 1 is positioned within the knob shell 2. The neck part 15 projects out of the rear opening 22.
Referring once again to FIGS. 4 and 5, a key set 4 includes an unlocking key for unlocking the cylinder lock 3 and a wing-operating key for operating the wing 31 of the cylinder lock 3. The cylinder lock 3 is inserted into the lock-receiving hole 11 from the key hole 21 when the wing 31 is placed in a retracted position by inserting the wing-operating key into the cylinder lock 3 and turning the core 32. After the cylinder lock 3 is placed within the lock-receiving hole 11, the core 32 is turned in a reverse direction to project the wing 32 from the outer case 31 behind the shoulder face 17, so that the wing 32 engages the shoulder face 17 and so that the cylinder lock 3 is prevented from being released from the lock-receiving hole 11. To remove the cylinder lock 3 from the lock-receiving hole 11, the wing 31 must be placed in its retracted position so as to disengage the wing 31 from the shoulder face 17 using the wing-operating key.
Referring once again to FIG. 3, the rear end of the knob shell 2 is bent inward to provide a bent part 23 having a substantial bending angle and width so that a large part of the rear end of the drum portion 10 is covered by the bent part 23. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, to facilitate the bending of the rear end of the knob shell 2, the rear end of the knob shell 2 may be bent in such a manner that the bending curvature or angle thereof and the width of the bent part thereof are reduced. An annular plate 5 is placed within the rear opening 22 of the knob shell 2 and is provided with angularly spaced apart engaging studs 51. The drum portion 10 further has an annular rear end face 101 extending substantially radially from a juncture between the drum portion 10 and the hollow neck part 15. The annular rear end face 101 has a plurality of slots 18. The engaging studs 51 of the annular plate 5 are engaged in the respective slots 18. Therefore, the annular plate 5 is attached to the annular rear end face 101 of the drum portion 10 and covers a gap formed between the hollow neck part 15 and the rear end of the knob shell 2.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.