The present invention relates to a locking device defined in the preamble of claim 1.
Previously known is a locking device, disclosed in JP 2001003626, according to preamble of claim 1 for locking to the floor and disconnecting from the floor a top-suspended partition wall element, folding door, sliding door or the like. The locking device is provided with a frame which is attached to the lower edge of the door or the like. The frame has an essentially vertical first guide and an essentially horizontal second guide. The latch pin is movable between the stop location and the release location in the guiding of the first guide. In the stop location, the lower end of the latch pin is extended downwards to a distance from the frame outside of the frame for locking to the floor. In the release location, the latch pin is disconnected from the floor essentially withdrawn into the frame to release the door or the like to move in relation to the floor. The first spring is arranged to force the latch pin towards the stop location. The release pin is movable between the stop position and the release position in the guiding of the second guide. In the stop position, the release pin holds the latch pin up in the release location while the outer end of the release pin extends out of the frame. In the release position, the release pin releases the latch pin to move into the stop location. The second spring is arranged to force the release pin towards the stop position. When there is an impact from an outside force on the release pin, as when it hits an obstacle, the release pin moves against the springback factor of the second spring from stop position into release position so that the latch pin can move due to the springback factor of the first spring from the release location into the stop location and the latch pin can lock into the socket in the floor. The socket in the floor is provided with an inclined surface the purpose of which is to return the latch pin back up inside the frame into the release location when the door or the like is being moved. A problem is that the locking of the latch pin into the floor is not very secure and even an unintentional moving of the door may open the lock. Furthermore, a problem is that a rather large sized connection piece provided with inclined surfaces needs to be attached to the floor. Furthermore, a problem in the locking device is that it has no parts with the help of which the latch pin could be easily lifted from the stop location into release location if the latch pin has unintentionally gone into the stop location in a spot other than where the connection piece is attached to the floor.
A more remote prior art presented in FI 111749 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,274 has an opposite function of the locking device than that in said JP publication because the latch pin or the like is being burdened continuously with a spring towards the release location and moving it into the stop location is done by using force against the springback factor. In the FI publication, the release pin strives to hold the latch pin in a locked position from which it relaxes upwards to the release location by moving the release pin. The locking is not secure because it may release easily unintentionally.
The object of the invention is to remove the above-mentioned disadvantages.
Especially the object of the present invention is to present a locking device, which has a simple structure and is economical and secure to use.
Furthermore, the object of the present invention is to present a locking device in which the latch pin is continuously burdened against the stop location and in which its return from the stop location to the release location is as easy as possible and may take place as ergonomically as possible.
A locking device according to the present invention is characterized in Claim 1
According to the invention, the locking device is provided with a rocker which is jointed to the frame so that it turns around the horizontal pivot shaft, and said pivot shaft is horizontally at a distance from the first guide, and said rocker is provided with a first head which is adapted to work together with the upper end of the latch pin in order to move the latch pin when turning the rocker around the pivot shaft, and a second head, to which a downwards directed force can be applied in order to turn the rocker around the pivot shaft in order to lift the latch pin from the stop location into the release location against the springback factor of the first spring.
The advantage of the invention is that the latch pin stays firmly in the stop location until, by using the rocker, it is lifted against the springback factor of the first spring into the release location. By using the rocker, the direction of the opening movement is advantageously downwards and in this way ergonomic so that the latch pin can be released from the stop location to the release location for example by pressing the rocker down by the foot and the user does not need to bend down to lift any lever by hand. Furthermore, an advantage of the present invention is that the locking does not ever unintentionally open for example due to attempts to move the movable wall element while it is in a locked position. Neither does the unintentional touching of the release pin cause the opening of the locking while the latch pin is in the stop location.
In one embodiment of the locking device, the release pin is provided with an arm which has the first waisting. The second guide and the release pin are tangent to the first guide partly crossing it. In the vicinity of the lower end of the latch pin, there is a second waisting which is adapted to receive the arm of the release pin in order to hold the latch pin in the release location. The first waisting of the release pin is adapted so that when the first waisting is moved to be in line with the latch pin, the latch pin is free to move between the stop location and the release location.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the cross sections of the arm of the release pin and the first waisting are round.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the latch pin is a piece made of a single uniform material, in which the said second waisting has been formed.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the cross section of the latch pin is round.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the latch pin has a peripheral groove which forms the second waisting.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the latch pin is provided with an upper part and a lower part which is transversely narrower than the upper part, forming the second waisting.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the upper part and the lower part are separate pieces which are connected to each other by connecting members.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the upper part has a cross section that is round, or a quadrangular parallelepiped, or the upper part is provided with both round and planar shapes.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the cross section of the lower part is round.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the first spring is adapted to act between the frame and the rocker in order to force the latch pin towards the stop location.
In an embodiment of the locking device, in the vicinity of the upper end of the latch pin there is a hole, socket or the like which has been adapted to receive the first head of the rocker.
In an embodiment of the locking device, in the second end of the rocker is disposed a handle or the like which extends horizontally transversely to a distance from the rocker and to which handle the downwards directed force has to be focused manually such as pressing by foot or other suitable tool.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the frame is provided with a first chamber inside of which the rocker and the first spring have been fitted, and a second chamber inside of which the second spring and the release pin have been fitted and which forms the second guide for the release pin.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the frame is made of light alloy such as an extrusion profile made of aluminum.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the frame is a piece formed of one or several extruded plastic pieces connected together.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the sides of the first chamber are limited by two vertical walls which are at a distance from each other, and the pivot shaft supporting the rocker is a pin which is supported by the walls by its ends.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the walls form at least a part of the first guide in order to guide the latch pin.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the first spring is a coil spring fitted to be a bending stress spring which is suspended to be supported by the walls using a through-passing pin.
In an embodiment of the locking device, the second spring is a coil spring fitted to be a pressure spring which is fitted into the second chamber in relation to the frame between a fixed support and the release pin.
In the following the present invention is explained in detail through examples of embodiments and referring to the attached drawing in which
The locking device 1 is provided with a frame 6 which is connected to the lower edge 4 of the movable wall element 2. The frame 6 is provided with an essentially vertical first guide 7 and an essentially horizontal second guide 8. The latch pin 9 is movable between the stop location I and the release location II in the guiding of the essentially vertical first guide 7.
In
In
Further, the locking device 1 is provided with a release pin 13 which is movable between the stop position III and the release position IV in the guiding of the second guide 8.
In
In this position, the outer end 15 of the release pin 13 extends horizontally out of the frame 6.
In
The second spring 16 is arranged to force the release pin 13 towards the stop position III.
Locking of the locking device 1 occurs automatically when there is an impact from an outside force on the release pin 13 such as when it hits a fixed stopper. Then, the release pin 13 moves against the springback factor of the second spring 16 from the stop position III of
The locking device 1 is provided with a rocker 17 which is jointed to the frame 6 so that it turns around the horizontal pivot shaft 18, and said pivot shaft is horizontally at a distance from the first guide. The rocker 17 is provided with a first head 19 which is adapted to co-operation with the upper end 10 of the latch pin 9 in order to move the latch pin 9 when turning the rocker 17 around the pivot shaft 18 and vice versa. A downwards impacting force F can be directed to the second head 20 of the rocker 17 in order to turn the rocker 17 around the pivot shaft 18 in order to lift the latch pin 9 from the stop location I to the release location II against the springback factor of the first spring 12.
In the embodiment of
The release pin 13 is provided with an arm 21, whose cross section is round and in which the first waisting 22 has been formed, as presented in
As is best presented in
The frame 6 is made of light alloy, such as an extrusion profile made of aluminum, in which two chambers 26 and 27 have been formed. The frame 6 is provided with the first chamber 26 inside which the rocker 17 and the first spring 12 have been fitted. Furthermore, the frame 6 is provided with a second chamber 27 inside which the second spring 16 and the release pin 13 have been fitted and which forms the second guide 8 for the release pin 13. The sides of the first chamber 26 are limited by two vertical walls 28, 29 which are at a distance from each other. The pivot shaft 18 supporting the rocker 17 is a pin which is supported by the walls 28, 29 by its ends. The first spring 12 is a coil spring fitted to be a bending stress spring which is supported by the walls 28, 29 using a pin 30. The second spring 16 is a coil spring fitted to be a pressure spring which is fitted into the second chamber 27 in relation to the frame 6 between a fixed support 31 and the release pin 13.
In another embodiment, the frame 6 can be formed of one or several plastic pieces made by injection molding.
There are four pieces of elements 2 in the example of
The system is top-suspended, so-called, so that it is provided with an upper guide 33, which is installed in the fixed structure of the building and which supports and guides the movable wall elements 2 when they are moved. The total weight of the movable wall elements 2 is carried by the upper guide 33.
The movable wall elements 2 are provided with a rectangular glass pane 34 equipped with sash profiles 35, 36. The first sash profile 35 is attached to the horizontal upper edge 3 of the movable wall element 2. The wheelsets 37, 38, which move on the brackets of the upper guide 33, are attached to the first sash profile 35. In the horizontal lower edge 4 of the movable wall element 2 there is an equivalent second sash profile 35 to which the locking device 1 is attached. The locking device 1 is fitted in the box-like space inside the sash profile 36, as presented in
In
In the embodiment of
The invention is not limited to the embodiment examples presented above, but many variations are possible while remaining in the framework of the idea of the invention defined in the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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05112229.9 | Dec 2005 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/FI06/00385 | 11/22/2006 | WO | 00 | 6/13/2008 |