This application claims priority of Taiwanese Utility Model Patent Application No. 096212464 filed on Jul. 27, 2007.
1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to a lockset mountable on a door, more particularly to a lockset having an electrically operated clutch to control transmission of rotation from an outside handle to an outside spindle that has an actuating part to actuate a latch retractor.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the art to provide a door lockset with an electric actuator to actuate a clutch that can couple rotatably an outside spindle to an outside sleeve connected an outside handle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,896 discloses a door lock that includes an electric motor mounted coaxially within an inside spindle and having a motor shaft (31) extending through a cylindrical lock chassis (80) to operably engage a member (40) for locking an outside spindle (50), and a mechanism (42, 45, 61) for selectively moving the member (40) between locked and unlocked positions.
It is also known in the art to provide a door lockset with a non-electrically operated clutch mechanism to couple rotatably an outside spindle to an outside tube that surrounds the outside spindle and that is connected to an outside handle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,138 B1 discloses an outside spindle (42) received in an outside tube (41), a sleeve (43) received in the outside spindle (42), and a lug (44). A ring (441) of the lug (44) is pivotally mounted around an end of the sleeve (43), and an arm (442) of the lug (44) extends through a notch (422) in the outside spindle (42) and a slot (411) in the outside tube (41) and into a restraining recessed portion (332) of an outside hub (33). A push button (15) is connected to a locking bar (14) which has an end (142) securely engaged in a slot (432) of the sleeve (43). When the push button is pressed, the locking bar moves the lug which in turn moves the outside spindle 42 so that the arm of the lug extends into both of the slot (411) in the outside tube and the notch (422) in the outside spindle, thereby permitting the outside spindle and the outside tube to rotate jointly.
While various mechanically and electrically operated clutch mechanisms are provided in the art to control transmission of rotation from an outside handle to an outside spindle, improvements on those clutch mechanisms are still desirable to simplify construction and to reduce manufacturing costs.
An object of the present invention is to provide a lockset with a simple clutch mechanism for controlling co-rotation of an outside spindle and an outside tube connected to an outside handle.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a lockset which comprises: inside and outside drive assemblies adapted to operate a latch retractor; and an electric actuator disposed within the inside drive assembly and including an actuator rod that extends axially and movably into the outside drive assembly and that has a clutch element. The outside drive assembly has an outside sleeve adapted to connect an outside handle, and an outside spindle disposed inside the outside sleeve and adapted to operate the latch retractor. The outside sleeve has a cutout that extends axially and that has a cutout bottom. The outside spindle has a tubular spindle wall surrounded by the outside sleeve, and a notch that extends axially in the spindle wall and that can be aligned with the cutout. The clutch element extends transversely from the actuator rod into the cutout, and is slidable axially in the cutout so as to move toward or away from the cutout bottom when the actuator rod moves axially. The clutch element moves into the notch and rotatably couples the outside sleeve to the outside spindle when moving toward the cutout bottom so that rotation of the outside sleeve can be transmitted to the outside spindle. The clutch element moves away from the notch and uncouples the outside sleeve and the outside spindle when moving away from the cutout bottom so that rotation of the outside sleeve cannot be transmitted to the outside spindle.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
The retractor cage 12 encloses the latch retractor 13 and has inside and outside cover plates 122, 123 on two sides of the latch retractor 13. Passage holes 125, 126 are respectively provided in the inside and outside cover plates 122, 123. The latch retractor 13 is biased by the springs 16 and has a connection part 131 connected to the latch bolt 61. Since the constructions of the retractor cage 12 and the latch retractor 13 are known, the details thereof are omitted herein.
The inside case 14 is substantially cylindrical as is known in the art, and has one end provided with an end plate 142 and a constricted hollow neck 143 projecting from the end plate 142. The other end of the inside case 14 is provided with an opening 141. The end plate 142 is coupled to the inside cover plate 122 in a known fashion. The outside case 15 has a tubular part 151, and an annular flange 152 projecting from the tubular part 151. The annular flange 152 is fitted in the opening 141 and coupled to the outside cover plate 123 in a known manner.
The inside drive assembly 7 has an inside spindle 71, a ring 72 embracing the inside spindle 71, and an electric actuator 73 disposed within the inside spindle 71. The inside spindle 71 has a conventional structure and is connected to the inside handle 4 in a known manner. The inside spindle 71 has a retractor-actuating part 710 that extends into the retractor cage 12 through the passage hole 125 and that has tabs 711 to abut against the latch retractor 13.
The electric actuator 73 has a cylinder body 733 disposed inside the inside spindle 71, an actuator rod 731 extending axially and outwardly from the cylinder body 733, and a clutch element 732 projecting transversely from the actuator rod 731. The actuator rod 731 extends from the inside spindle 71 through the passage holes 125, 126 in the inside and outside cover plates 122, 123 and the latch retractor 13, and the clutch element 732 extends into the outside drive assembly 8. The actuator rod 731 is freely rotatable, and can move axially in one direction when the electric actuator 73 is energized and in an opposite direction when the electric actuator 73 is de-energized.
The outside drive assembly 8 includes an outside sleeve 81, an outside spindle 83 disposed inside the outside sleeve 81, and a ring 82 embracing the outside sleeve 81. The outside sleeve 81 is connected to the outside handle 5 in a known manner. The outside spindle 83 is disposed within the outside sleeve 81 and has a retractor-actuating part 830 that has tabs 831 projecting therefrom for operating the latch retractor 13. The outside spindle 83 is connected to a tail piece (not shown) of a key-operated lock (not shown) in a conventional manner.
Referring to
After assembly of the lockset (A), the actuator rod 731 extends axially and movably into the outside drive assembly 8. The clutch element 732 extends transversely from the actuator rod 731 into the cutout 811 and is slidable axially in the cutout 811. When the actuator rod 731 moves axially, the clutch element 732 moves toward or away from the cutout bottom 8110 without moving out of the cutout 811. The notch 833 is normally aligned with the cutout 811 when the outside handle 5 is not rotated. When the clutch element 732 moves toward the cutout bottom 8110, it moves into the notch 833 (see
Referring to
Referring back to
When the electric actuator 73 is energized to place the lockset (A) in an unlocking state, the actuator rod 731 moves outward, i.e. in a direction toward the outside handle 5, so that the clutch element 732 moves toward the cutout bottom 8110 of the cutout 811. In this state, the clutch element 732 engages the notch 833 (see
The lockset (A) may also be operated by rotating the inside spindle 71 through the inside handle 4 or by using a key to turn the outside spindle 83. Operations as such are known and are therefore omitted herein.
The electric actuator 73 may be any type of known solenoid actuator which has an actuator rod that can move in a direction toward the inside handle 4, or toward the outside handle 5 when the solenoid actuator is energized. In the preferred embodiment described hereinbefore, when the electric actuator 73 is energized, the actuator rod 731 moves toward the outside handle 5 so as to couple and co-rotate the outside sleeve 81 and the outside spindle 83. When the electric actuator 73 is de-energized, the outside handle 5 idles and does not permit a door to open.
Conversely, if the actuator rod 731 moves toward the inside handle 4 when the electric actuator 73 is in an energized state, the outside sleeve 81 and the outside spindle 83 cannot co-rotate in the energized state, and the outside handle 5 will idle. When the electric actuator 73 is de-energized, the actuator rod 731 moves toward the outside handle 5, and the outside sleeve 81 and the outside spindle 83 can co-rotate and permit the door to open when the outside handle 5 is turned.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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096212464 | Jul 2007 | TW | national |