Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6575006
-
Patent Number
6,575,006
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, May 1, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, June 10, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Senniger, Powers, Leavitt & Roedel
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 070 472
- 070 149
- 070 218
- 070 422
- 070 188
- 070 189
- 292 DIG 27
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A lock comprising a locking mechanism and a sleeve disk assembly, wherein the locking mechanism comprises: a housing assembly; an outside actuation tube; a key actuation tube; a transmission element; a spring; an outside holding sleeve; a knob rod; when the transmission element is pushed by the knob rod to the first axial position within the key actuation tube, the rotation of the outside actuation tube rotates the outside holding sleeve and the key actuation tube; when the transmission element is at the second axial position within the key actuation tube, the rotation of the outside actuation tube does not rotate the key actuation tube.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to a lock, in particular, the locking device of a door lock.
2. Description of the Related Art
The structure of one kind of conventional door lock is shown in FIG.
1
. The door lock generally comprises an inside handle A, which is connected with one end of an inside actuation tube C, and an outside doorknob B, which is connected with one end of an outside actuation tube D. A housing assembly E has a triggering mechanism F therein and the triggering mechanism F can be actuated by the other ends C′ and D′ of the inside actuation tube C and the outside actuation tube D, respectively, for controlling a latch mounted on the door. The inside actuation tube C has a knob therein, while the outside actuation tube D has a lock assembly at one end therein, which can be controlled by a key to operate a key actuation tube within the outside actuation tube D. The key actuation tube includes an actuation flange G which actuates the triggering mechanism F upon rotation for triggering the latch mounted on the door.
For the conventional door lock structure, the rotation of the outside doorknob B is restrained when the inside knob is pressed down. Thus, in order to open the door lock from outside, a key is used to control the lock assembly and subsequently the key actuation tube for actuating the triggering mechanism F for withdrawing the latch. When the door lock is locked, the rotation of the outside doorknob B is restrained by the interior structure of the lock, resulting easy damage to the interior structure of the lock. Thus, it is desirable to provide a lock in which the outside doorknob B can still be rotated for a predetermined angle after the door lock is locked, so as to prevent damages to the interior structure of the lock by the force exerted on the outside doorknob B.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the primary object of this invention is to provide a locking device for the door lock such that the handle connected with the outside actuation tube can be rotated without triggering the lock assembly when the door lock is locked.
Another object of this invention is to provide a locking device for the door lock which is suitable to be mounted on the doors having a wide range of different thicknesses.
The primary features of the present invention comprises a locking mechanism for actuating a latch and a sleeve disk assembly for mounting the locking mechanism on a door, wherein the locking mechanism comprises: a housing assembly; an outside actuation tube having a first end and a second end, and the first end of the outside actuation tube being mounted in the housing assembly; a key actuation tube being inserted into the outside actuation tube and having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the key actuation tube has an actuation flange, and second end of the key actuation tube has an actuation plate, the key actuation tube also having at least one projection extending inwardly; a transmission element provided in the key actuation tube and having at least one groove to be meshed with the at least one projection of the key actuation tube, thereby the transmission element is movable between a first axial position and a second axial position in the key actuation tube and is rotated together with the key actuation tube; a spring with one end thereof resisting against the transmission element and the other end thereof resisting against the actuation plate; an outside holding sleeve connected with the first end of the outside actuation tube so as to be rotated together with the outside actuation tube, the outside holding sleeve further having at least one projection extending inwardly; a knob rod having a first end and a second end, in which the first end of the knob rod is connected with the transmission element and the second end of the knob rod is connected with a push button; when the transmission element is at the first axial position within the key actuation tube, the at least one groove of the transmission element is engaged with the at least one projection of the outside holding sleeve, such that when the outside actuation tube is rotated, the outside holding sleeve and the key actuation tube is subsequently rotated thereby; when the transmission element is at the second axial position within the key actuation tube, the at least one groove of the transmission element is not engaged with the at least one projection of the outside holding sleeve, such that when the outside actuation tube is rotated, the key actuation tube is not rotated.
The structures and characteristics of this invention can be realized by referring to the appended drawings and explanations of the preferred embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a partial cross sectional view of a conventional lock;
FIG. 2
is an exploded perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 3
is an exploded perspective view showing the locking mechanism of the preferred embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 4
is an exploded perspective view showing the sleeve disk assembly of the preferred embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 5
is an exploded perspective view showing the push button of the preferred embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 6
is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention after assembly;
FIG. 7
is a cross sectional view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention taken along line
7
—
7
of
FIG. 6
, in which the present invention is mounted on a thicker door and the transmission element is at the first position;
FIG. 8
is a cross sectional view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention taken along line
8
—
8
of
FIG. 6
, in which the present invention is mounted on a thicker door and the transmission element is at the first position;
FIG. 9
is a cross sectional view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention taken along line
8
—
8
of
FIG. 6
, in which the present invention is mounted on a thicker door and the transmission element is at the second position;
FIG. 10
is a cross sectional view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention taken along line
8
—
8
of
FIG. 6
, in which the present invention is mounted on a thinner door;
FIG. 11
is a cross sectional view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention take n along line
11
—
11
of
FIG. 7
;
FIG. 12
is a cross sectional view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention taken along line
12
—
12
of
FIG. 7
, in which the adjustment piece is not pressed down; and
FIG. 13
is a cross sectional view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention taken along line
12
—
12
of
FIG. 7
, in which the adjustment piece is pressed down.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The preferred embodiments of this invention are described in detail as follows in association with the drawings.
FIG. 2
shows one of the preferred embodiments of the lock of this invention, comprising a locking mechanism
5
for actuating a latch
3
, and a sleeve disk assembly for mounting the locking mechanism
5
on a door. As illustrated in
FIG. 3
, the locking mechanism
5
comprises a housing assembly, a trigger
31
, an inside actuation tube
28
, an outside actuation tube
39
, a key actuation tube
37
, an actuation plate
38
, a transmission element
41
, a spring
40
, an outside holding sleeve
42
and a knob rod
29
. The housing assembly is formed by a cylindrical casing
26
, an inside triggering plate
30
, a triggering sleeve
34
, an outside triggering plate
36
and an outside sleeve
35
. The trigger
31
, for actuating the latch
3
, is mounted within the housing assembly and is provided with restoration force from triggering springs
33
. A resilient triggering plate
32
is compressed by one end of the triggering springs
33
such that the knob rod
29
is locked by the resilient triggering plate
32
when the knob rod
29
is pressed down.
The inside actuation tube
28
is a hollow tube having a first end
281
and a second end
282
. The first end
281
may actuate the trigger
31
. The first end
281
is inserted into an inside holding sleeve
27
such that the inside actuation tube
28
can be stably rotated within a hole
261
of the cylindrical casing
26
. The outside actuation tube
39
is also a hollow tube having a first end
391
and a second end
392
. The first end
391
is inserted into the outside sleeve
35
. The outside actuation tube
39
has two radially spaced projections
393
(only one projection is shown in the figure) on the exterior wall of the tube. The key actuation tube
37
is a hollow tube with the outer diameter thereof slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the outside actuation tube
39
for insertion thereinto. The key actuation tube
37
has a first end
371
and a second end
372
, wherein the first end
371
has a pair of laterally extended actuation flanges
373
for actuating the trigger
31
to actuate the latch
3
connected with the trigger
31
to open the door
9
. The second end
372
of the key actuation tube
37
has two laterally opposing T-shaped grooves
374
and each of the T-shaped grooves
374
includes an axial groove
3741
and a transverse groove
3742
. The actuation plate
38
having an 8-shaped hole
381
is mounted in the key actuation tube
37
and the actuation plate
38
has two radially extended projections
382
to be inserted into the transverse grooves
3742
of the T-shaped grooves
374
. Accordingly, the actuation plate
38
may be rotated for a predetermined angle with respect to the key actuation tube
37
without triggering the same. The outside handle
1
is provided with a lock assembly
11
therein which has a locking rod
111
to be inserted into the 8-shaped hole
381
of the actuation plate
38
. Thus, when the user rotates a key (not shown in the figures), the locking rod
111
is first rotated correspondingly for a predetermined angle without triggering the actuation plate
38
, and then the actuation plate
38
is rotated by the locking rod
111
. The actuation plate
38
is also allowed to rotate for a predetermined angle without triggering the key actuation tube
37
, and finally, the key actuation tube
37
is rotated by the actuation plate
38
. The key actuation tube
37
has two radially opposing projections
375
(only one projection is shown in the figures) extended from the inner wall toward the center of the tube
37
. The transmission element
41
is placed in the key actuation tube
37
and has two radially opposing grooves
411
to be meshed with the projections
375
of the key actuation tube
37
. The transmission element
41
is thus axially movable between a first position (as shown in
FIG. 8
) and a second position (as shown in
FIG. 9
) and is rotated together with the key actuation tube
37
. The transmission element
41
has an axial hole
412
at the center thereof. One end of the spring
40
resists against the transmission element
41
and the other end of the spring
40
resists against the actuation plate
38
. The outside holding sleeve
42
is substantially a hollow tube with the inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the outside actuation tube
39
. The outside holding sleeve
42
has two resisting areas
421
(only one shown in the figures) for resisting against the projections
393
of the outside actuation tube
39
such that the outside holding sleeve
42
is mounted on the first end
391
of the outside actuation tube
39
and is rotatable together with the outside actuation tube
39
. In this preferred embodiment, the outside holding sleeve
42
further comprises two radially opposing projections
422
inwardly extending to the center of the sleeve so that the projections
422
can be selectively engaged with the grooves
411
of the transmission element
41
. It should be noted that the number and position of the projections
422
of the outside holding sleeve
42
may be designed in different ways. For example, it is possible that only one projection
422
(not shown in the figures) is provided on the lateral side of the outside holding sleeve
42
while the same function and object of this invention can still be achieved. Of course, the number and position of the grooves
411
should be designed correspondingly. The first end
291
of the knob rod
29
is inserted into the axial hole
412
of the transmission element
41
. Accordingly, when the knob rod
29
is pushed by an external force, it will push the transmission element
41
from the first axial position to the second axial position.
As shown in
FIGS. 7 and 8
, when the transmission element
41
is at the first position within the key actuation tube
37
, the grooves
411
of the transmission element
41
are engaged with the projections
422
of the outside holding sleeve
42
. Thus, if the outside handle
1
is rotated upon an external force to rotate the outside actuation tube
39
, the outside holding sleeve
42
, the transmission element
41
and the key actuation tube
37
will be subsequently rotated together. As a result, the actuation flange
373
of the key actuation tube
37
controls the trigger
31
to actuate the latch
3
for opening the door. When the knob rod
29
is pressed down such that the transmission element
41
is at the second axial position within the key actuation tube
37
, the grooves
411
of the transmission element
41
are not engaged with the projections
422
of the outside holding sleeve
42
. Thus, if the outside handle
1
is rotated upon an external force to rotate the outside actuation tube
39
, the key actuation tube
37
will not be rotated since it is not engaged with the outside actuation tube
39
. Therefore, the trigger
31
will not be activated for actuating the latch
3
and the door cannot be opened.
As illustrated in
FIGS. 2 and 4
, the locking mechanism
5
is mounted on the door
9
by the sleeve disk assembly which includes an inside sleeve disk assembly
7
and an outside sleeve disk assembly
8
at each of the two sides of the door
9
. Each of the inside and outside sleeve disk assemblies
7
and
8
has a rotative spring seat
47
, a handle actuation tube
45
, a fixing block
44
, a sleeve disk
49
, a reinforced sleeve disk
55
and a sleeve disk cover
6
. Each of the inside and outside sleeve disk assemblies
7
and
8
further comprises an inside handle
10
and an outside handle
1
. The rotative spring seat
47
is substantially a hollow cylinder with a hole
471
extending through the center thereof and a first guard ring slot
472
and a second guard ring slot
473
axially spaced on the circumferential wall of the hollow cylinder. The rotative spring seat
47
further has two radially opposing engagement parts
474
radially and inwardly extending from the circumferential wall.
A rotative ring spring
48
is mounted on the exterior surface of the rotative spring seat
47
and is installed in a hole
491
of the sleeve disk
49
. The rotative ring spring
48
is further fixed into the first guard ring
472
of the rotative spring seat
47
by a first guard ring
50
and thus, the rotative spring seat
47
is rotatably and axially positioned on the sleeve disk
49
. The rotative ring spring
48
has two legs
481
which adjacently resist against the two sides of a projection
492
on the sleeve disk
49
. Therefore, when the rotative spring seat
47
is rotated, the protruding leg
475
on the rotative spring seat
47
triggers one of the legs
481
of the rotative ring spring
48
. Because the other leg
481
still resists against the projection
492
of the sleeve disk
49
, a restoration force is thereby produced for turning the rotative spring seat
47
back to its original position prior to rotation.
The handle actuation tube
45
of the inside and outside sleeve disk assemblies
7
and
8
is a hollow tube having a first end
451
passing through the hole
471
of the rotative spring seat
47
and is inserted into a hole
12
of the inside handle
10
and the outside handle
1
. Each of the handle actuation tube
45
has a handle engagement plate
46
for meshing with the handle engagement holes
13
of the inside handle
10
and the outside handle
1
. Thus, the handle actuation tubes
45
can be rotated together with the inside handle
10
and the outside handle
1
. The handle actuation tube
45
has a second end
452
with two radially opposing holes
453
and four radially spaced projections
454
. The second ends
452
of the handle actuation tube
45
of the inside and outside sleeve disk assemblies
7
and
8
are respectively connected with the second end
282
of the inside actuation tube
28
and the second end
392
of the outside actuation tube
39
.
The two fixing blocks
44
are generally arcuate and have projections
441
radially extending from the inner wall of the fixing blocks
44
. The fixing blocks
44
are positioned in the hole
471
of the rotative spring seat
47
. The projections
441
pass through the holes
453
of the handle actuation tube
45
and engage with the grooves
283
, at the second end
282
of the inside actuation tube
28
, and the grooves
394
, at the second end
392
of the outside actuation tube
39
, as illustrated in
FIGS. 8
,
10
and
11
. Thus, the rotation of the inside handle
10
(or the outside handle
1
) rotates the handle actuation tube
45
, the fixing block
44
, and the inside actuation tube
28
(or the outside actuation tube
39
) together. The fixing block
44
has notches
442
to be meshed with the projections
454
of the handle actuation tube
45
so as to increase the torsion strength between the fixing block
44
and the handle actuation tube
45
. A second guard ring
43
is positioned adjacent to the second end
452
of the handle actuation tube
45
and is fixed into the second guard ring slot
473
of the rotative spring seat
47
. Accordingly, the second end
452
of the handle actuation tube
45
is axially positioned in the hole
471
of the rotative spring seat
47
. The fixing block
44
has engagement parts
443
, which are the resisting surfaces formed at the arcuate edges of the fixing block
44
in the present embodiment. The engagement parts
443
respectively engage with and resist against the two engagement parts
474
of the rotative spring seat
47
. Therefore, when the handle actuation tube
45
is rotated, the fixing blocks
44
and the rotative spring seat
47
will also be rotated accordingly.
The knob rod
29
has a plurality of axially spaced grooves
293
at a second end
292
thereof. A push button
51
, as shown in
FIG. 5
, has an axial hole
511
for receiving the knob rod
29
therethrough. The push button
51
comprises a transverse groove
512
for the insertion of a transversely movable adjustment piece
53
. The adjustment piece
53
has a relatively large rectangular groove
531
and a relatively small semicircular groove
532
connected therewith. The knob rod
29
passes through the rectangular groove
531
, while the semicircular groove
532
is selectively engaged with one of the several grooves
293
of the knob rod
29
. A resilient element
52
has a ring portion
521
to be mounted on a mounting groove
513
of the push button
51
, and an axial portion
522
to be inserted into a slot
514
of the push button
51
. The axial portion
522
of the resilient element
52
is adjacent to the bottom of the adjustment piece
53
to provide the restoration force required for returning the adjustment piece
53
to its original position. A push button casing
54
is mounted on the push button
51
for easy compression thereon by the users. If the user wishes to adjust the axial position of the push button
51
with respect to the knob rod
29
, as shown in
FIGS. 12 and 13
, the user first presses down the adjustment piece
53
which bias pushes the axial portion
522
of the resilient element
52
, such that the semicircular groove
532
of the adjustment piece
53
becomes apart from the groove
293
of the knob rod
29
. The push button
51
is then axially moved to a predetermined engagement position along the knob rod
29
, the users then release the adjustment piece
53
so that the semicircular groove
532
of the adjustment piece
53
engages with the groove
293
of the knob rod
29
, and thus, the adjustment of the axial position of the push button
51
is completed.
The assembling screws
2
are inserted into the holes
493
of the sleeve disk
49
of the inside sleeve disk assembly
7
at the inner side of the door and the threaded holes
551
of the reinforced sleeve disk
55
, and are further screwed with the assembling posts
494
of the sleeve disk
49
of the outside sleeve disk assembly
8
at the outer side of the door and the sleeve disk cover
6
, such that the complete locking mechanism
5
is mounted on the door
9
, as shown in
FIGS. 8 and 10
.
FIG. 8
shows that the present invention is mounted on a relatively thicker door, in which the second ends
452
of the handle actuation tubes
45
of the inside and outside sleeve disk assemblies
7
and
8
are inserted into the inside actuation tube
28
and the outside actuation tube
39
respectively at the axial positions further away from the door. On the other hand,
FIG. 10
shows that the present invention is mounted on a relative thinner door, in which the second ends
452
of the handle actuation tubes
45
of the inside and outside sleeve disk assemblies
7
and
8
are inserted into the inside actuation tube
28
and the outside actuation tube
39
at the axial positions closer to the door. The semicircular groove
532
of the adjustment piece
53
of the push button
51
is engaged with the knob rod
29
at the groove
293
closer to the door. Therefore, the present invention is applicable to doors with a wide range of thicknesses.
This invention is related to a novel creation that makes a breakthrough to conventional art. Aforementioned explanations, however, are directed to the description of preferred embodiments according to this invention. Various changes and implementations can be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the technical concept of this invention. Since this invention is not limited to the specific details described in connection with the preferred embodiments, changes to certain features of the preferred embodiments without altering the overall basic function of the invention are contemplated within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A lock, comprising a locking mechanism for actuating a latch and a sleeve disk assembly for mounting the locking mechanism on a door, wherein the locking mechanism comprises:a housing assembly; an outside actuation tube having a first end and a second end, of which the first end being mounted in the housing assembly; a key actuation tube being inserted into the outside actuation tube and having a first end and a second end, of which the first end has an actuation flange, and the second end has an actuation plate, the key actuation tube also has at least one projection extending inwardly; a transmission element provided in the key actuation tube and has at least one groove to be meshed with the at least one projection of the key actuation tube, thereby the transmission element is movable between a first axial position and a second axial position in the key actuation tube and is rotated together with the key actuation tube; a spring with one end thereof resisting against the transmission element and the other end thereof resisting against the actuation plate; an outside holding sleeve connected with the first end of the outside actuation tube so as to be rotated together with the outside actuation tube, the outside holding sleeve further having at least one projection extending inwardly; a knob rod having a first end and a second end, of which the first end is connected with the transmission element and the second end is connected with a push button; when the transmission element is at the first axial position within the key actuation tube, the at least one groove of the transmission element is engaged with the at least one projection of the outside holding sleeve, such that when the outside actuation tube is rotated, the outside holding sleeve and the key actuation tube is subsequently rotated therewith; when the transmission element is at the second axial position within the key actuation tube, the at least one groove of the transmission element is not engaged with the at least one projection of the outside holding sleeve, such that when the outside actuation tube is rotated, the key actuation tube is not rotated therewith.
- 2. The lock according to claim 1, wherein the outside actuation tube has at least one projection and the outside holding sleeve has at least one resisting area for resisting against the at least one projection of the outside actuation tube.
- 3. The lock according to claim 1, wherein the second end of the outside actuation tube has at least one groove; the sleeve disk assembly has a rotative spring seat, a handle actuation tube, at least one fixing block, and a handle for being held and rotated; the rotative spring seat has at least one engagement part; one end of the handle actuation tube is engaged with the handle, the other end of the handle actuation tube has a hole; the at least one fixing block has an engagement part engaging with the at least one engagement part of the rotative spring seat and has a projection passing through the hole of the handle actuation tube and engaging with the at least one groove of the outside actuation tube.
- 4. The lock according to claim 3, wherein the knob rod has a plurality of axially spaced grooves; and the push button comprises an adjustment piece which is selectively engaged with one of the grooves of the knob rod.
- 5. The lock according to claim 4, wherein the adjustment piece of the push button has a large groove and a small groove connected therewith.
- 6. The lock according to claim 3, wherein the at least one engagement part of the rotative spring seat is a projection, while the engagement part of the at least one fixing block is a resisting surface.
- 7. The lock according to claim 3, wherein the handle actuation tube has at least one projection and the at least one fixing block has at least one notch to be meshed with the at least one projection of the handle actuation tube.
- 8. A lock, comprising a locking mechanism for actuating a latch and a sleeve disk assembly for mounting the locking mechanism on a door, wherein the locking mechanism comprises:a housing assembly; an outside actuation tube having a first end and a second end of which the first end is mounted in the housing assembly, and the second end has at least one groove; a key actuation tube being inserted into the outside actuation tube and having a first end and a second end of which the first end has an actuation flange, and the second end has an actuation plate, the key actuation tube also has at least one projection extending inwardly; a transmission element provided in the key actuation tube and having at least one groove to be meshed with the at least one projection of the key actuation tube, thereby the transmission element is movable between a first axial position and a second axial position in the key actuation tube and is rotated together with the key actuation tube; a spring with one end thereof resisting against the transmission element and the other end thereof resisting against the actuation plate; an outside holding sleeve connected with the first end of the outside actuation tube so as to be rotated together with the outside actuation tube, the outside holding sleeve further has at least one projection extending inwardly; a knob rod having a first end and a second end, in which the first end of the knob rod is connected with the transmission element and the second end of the knob rod is connected with a push button; the sleeve disk assembly having a rotative spring seat, a handle actuation tube, at least one fixing block, and a handle for being held and rotated; the rotative spring seat has at least one engagement part; one end of the handle actuation tube is engaged with the handle, the other end of the handle actuation tube has a hole; the at least one fixing block has an engagement part engaging with the at least one engagement part of the rotative spring seat and has a projection passing through the hole of the handle actuation tube and engaging with the at least one groove of the outside actuation tube; when the transmission element is at the first axial position within the key actuation tube, the at least one groove of the transmission element is engaged with the at least one projection of the outside holding sleeve, such that when the outside actuation tube is rotated, the outside holding sleeve and the key actuation tube is subsequently rotated therewith; when the transmission element is at the second axial position within the key actuation tube, the at least one groove of the transmission element is not engaged with the at least one projection of the outside holding sleeve, such that when the outside actuation tube is rotated, the key actuation tube is not rotated therewith.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
090207845 |
May 2001 |
TW |
|
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
12097 |
Jul 1910 |
FR |