Strikes are generally used in conjunction with a door to selectively retain the door in a closed position. In some instances, the strike is electric, enabling the electric release of a locked mechanism. The keeper of such a strike is arranged to cooperate with a latch bolt of a door lock. The lock lever is formed as a pivotable locking bar having a flat surface that contacts against a flat surface of the keeper. When the lock lever is released, opening the door pushes the latch bolt against the keeper thereby pivoting the keeper from the door-locking to the door-releasing position. The pivoting motion of the keeper also pivots the released locking bar to its unlocking position. Two springs are provided to return the keeper and the locking bar back to their initial position, e.g., a first spring is used to return the keeper to its door-locking position and a second spring is used to return the locking bar to its locking position. The second spring forms the part of the actuation mechanism of the electric strike that pivots the locking bar to the locking position, while the keeper forms the part of the actuation mechanism that pivots the locking bar to the unlocking position when opening the door. To unlock the keeper, two electromagnets are provided that can each displace an anchor element. The anchor elements retain the locking bar in the locking position. Specifically, when both electromagnets are not energized, the anchor elements engage with the locking bar thereby preventing the locking bar, and thus the keeper, from pivoting. When the electromagnets are energized, the anchor elements are rotated by the electromagnets until they do not engage with the locking bar thereby enabling the locking bar, and thus the keeper, to pivot to release the latch bolt.
A drawback of such an electric strike is that the anchors with the electromagnets that keep the locking bar in the locking position form a complex mechanism with several relatively small moving elements. As such, this mechanism is prone to malfunctions and difficult to maintain, especially when used outdoors. Moreover, when using the electric strike for left and for right handed doors, it has to be mounted in one position onto the support for a left handed door and in an upside down position when it is used for a right handed door. This is only possible when the lock contains only one bolt, in particular a latch bolt, since otherwise the dead bolt cavity of the strike would be situated above the latch bolt cavity whilst the dead bolt of the lock would still be situated below the latch bolt.
A further drawback of conventional electric strikes is that the opening force is transmitted from the keeper to the locking bar via the flat surfaces that slide along one another. As such, there is excessive friction when opening the door, especially when the cooperating flat surfaces are not regularly lubricated or when they are covered with dirt. Moreover, when the locking bar is locked by the anchor elements, the opening force of the door is transmitted to the anchor elements, which are small when compared to the strike. As such, when a large force is exerted on the door, e.g., when a person tries to force the door open, this large force is exerted onto the small anchor elements which may be damaged due to the excessive pressures resulting in a defective strike.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In accordance with one aspect the present disclosure, a surface mountable electric strike having a bolt cavity arranged to receive at least one bolt of a door lock is provided. The electric strike generally includes a strike frame; a keeper mounted on the strike frame, the keeper forming a side wall of the bolt cavity and being arranged to pivot about a first pivot axis, which first pivot axis extends in a first direction, between a door-locking position, wherein the keeper is arranged to retain the bolt to prevent door opening, and a door-releasing position, wherein the keeper is arranged to enable the bolt to exit the bolt cavity along a second direction, which second direction is substantially perpendicular to the first direction; a lock lever mounted on the strike frame for locking the keeper in the door-locking position, the lock lever being arranged to pivot about a second pivot axis between a locking position, wherein the keeper, when in the door-locking position, is prevented from pivoting around the first pivot axis to the door-releasing position by the lock lever, and an unlocking position, wherein the keeper, when in the door-locking position, is free to pivot around the first pivot axis to the door-releasing position; and at least one biasing member to urge the lock lever to one of the locking and unlocking positions.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a surface mountable electric strike that has a simpler construction and that is more reliable.
In some embodiments, the second pivot axis extends substantially in the second direction, and the strike further comprises at least one electromagnet to pivot the lock lever to the other one of the locking and unlocking positions. The at least one electromagnet in some embodiments comprising a solenoid with a fixed core that is, in a third direction which is substantially perpendicular to both the first and the second direction, situated next to the lock lever, the electromagnet being oriented to produce a magnetic field that is, inside the solenoid, directed substantially in the third direction to magnetically attract the lock lever.
Due to the fact that the solenoid, which has a fixed core, is placed next to the lock lever, the electromagnet acts directly upon the lock lever. In other words, there are no intermediate moving elements between the electromagnet and the lock lever. This is thus a much simpler and reliable construction when compared to the known surface mountable electric strikes. Furthermore, this strike is also more robust when compared to the known surface mountable electric strikes as there is no need to have small, when compared to the strike, intermediate moving elements. Further, the electromagnet does not comprise a movable core so that the core of the electromagnet cannot get stuck within the solenoid.
By being pivotally mounted in the strike, the functioning of the lock lever is also more reliable since, compared to for example a sliding lock lever, a pivoting lock lever does not get easily stuck, for example when it becomes dirty or when it is not sufficiently lubricated.
Moreover, because the second pivot axis extends substantially in the second direction, the lock lever, and the core that is next thereto, can be arranged above and/or underneath the keeper thereby reducing the total depth of the strike and providing a surface mountable strike. It also enables to provide two keepers, one for cooperating with a left-handed door and one for cooperating with a right-handed door.
Some conventional electric strikes include an electromagnet acting directly upon the lock lever. In these electric strikes, the electromagnet is however placed behind the bottom of the bolt cavity. As such, the electric strike is quite voluminous, e.g., it has a large depth. Therefore, in order to mount this conventional electric strike, a part of the support needs to be cut away so that the strike can be partly mounted inside the support. As such, the conventional electric strike is not suitable as a surface mountable electric strike.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the electromagnet is energized, the fixed core of the electromagnet sticks to a portion of the surface of the lock lever, whilst, when the electromagnet is not energized, a gap is present between the fixed core and the portion of the surface of the lock lever. In some embodiments, the lock lever has a free extremity with the portion of the surface of the lock lever being located between the second pivot axis and the free extremity.
As a matter of fact, the magnitude of the magnetic force increases exponentially with a decreasing distance between the magnet and the attracted surface. As such, by having the lock lever stick to the fixed core, when the electromagnet is energized, the force on the lock lever is maximized to ensure that the lock lever moves between its locking and unlocking position. An advantage of a pivoting lock lever is that, even in its unlocking position, there is only a small gap, or even no gap, at the extremity of the fixed core which is the closest to the pivot axis of the lock lever.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the lock lever comprises: a plate shaped portion extending, substantially along the first direction, away from the second pivot axis, the plate shaped portion having a proximal end near the second pivot axis and a distal end; a bridge element having a proximal end that is joined to the distal end of the plate shaped portion, the bridge element extending substantially along the third direction and having a distal end; and an end portion that is joined to the distal end of the bridge element and that forms the free extremity of the lock lever.
In this embodiment, the plate shaped portion of the lock lever may be placed near the back surface of the strike, e.g., close to the surface upon which the strike is to be mounted, while the free extremity may be provided near the front of the strike to engage the keeper. Because the first pivot axis of the keeper is provided near the back surface of the strike, it is beneficial if the distance between this first pivot axis and the region where the keeper engages the lock lever is as large as possible to optimally use the lever effect. This embodiment allows maximizing this distance, even if the main part of the lock lever, (e.g., the plate shaped portion), is near the back surface of the strike.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second pivot axis is located in a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction with the keeper and the fixed core of the electromagnet being located on the same side of the plane, the fixed core of the electromagnet being, in particular, located between the plane and a closest bounding plane of the keeper that is perpendicular to the first direction.
In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the second pivot axis is located in a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction and the keeper is located on one side of the plane whilst the fixed core of the electromagnet is located on the opposite side of the plane.
By changing the order of the keeper, electromagnet and pivot axis in the longitudinal direction of the strike, these alternative embodiments provide an easy way to create a fail-safe electric strike and a fail-secure electric strike.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one biasing member urges the lock lever to the locking position and, when the electromagnet is energized, it magnetically attracts the lock lever to pivot from the locking position to the unlocking position.
In this embodiment the strike is fail-secure, e.g., when there is a power failure or the electromagnet is defected, the lock lever remains in the door-locking position thereby keeping the door locked.
In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one biasing member urges the lock lever to the unlocking position and, when the electromagnet is energized, the lock lever pivots from the unlocking position to the locking position.
In this alternative embodiment the strike is fail-safe, e.g., when there is a power failure or the electromagnet is defected, the lock lever remains in the door-releasing position thereby releasing the keeper and allowing the door to be opened.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the lock lever and the keeper each have a free extremity, the lock lever comprising a first interlocking element located at the free extremity, which first interlocking element cooperates, when the lock lever is in the locking position and the keeper in the door-locking position, with a second interlocking element on the keeper to prevent the keeper from pivoting around the first pivot axis to the door-releasing position, wherein the second interlocking element may be located at the free extremity of the keeper.
Because the interlocking elements transmit forces, for example lateral forces, between the lock lever and the keeper it is advantageous to position the interlocking elements as far away as possible from respectively the first and the second pivot axis.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the strike frame is provided with a bearing element arranged to bear against the lock lever to prevent the lock lever, when the lock lever is in its locking position and when the keeper is in its door-locking position, from being moved in the second direction when the bolt of the door lock is urged against the keeper.
The bearing element acts as a stop against possible lateral motions of the lock lever (e.g., motions along the second direction). Such motions may be induced by trying to force open the door lock when the lock lever is in its locking position. Such motions may also be induced by closing the door when the keeper is in the door-locking position. By providing the bearing element, it is avoided that the forces due to these lateral motions are exerted onto the second pivot axis that connects the lock lever to the strike. As such, this connection is less prone to being damaged, especially when the second pivot axis (of the lock lever) extends substantially in the second direction so that torsion forces are exerted onto the axis of the lock lever, and a more robust strike is obtained.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the lock lever has a free extremity, the bearing element bearing against the lock lever at the free extremity of the lock lever.
This is advantageous as the largest lateral forces are expected near the free extremity of the lock lever which are then directly transmitted to the bearing element.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the lock lever has a free extremity and comprises a first interlocking element located at the free extremity, which first interlocking element cooperates, when the lock lever is in the locking position and the keeper in the door-locking position, with a second interlocking element on the keeper to prevent the keeper from pivoting around the first pivot axis to the door-releasing position, wherein the bearing element may bear against the first interlocking element.
Because the interlocking elements transmit forces, for example lateral forces, between the lock lever and the keeper it is advantageous to position the bearing element at this location.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the strike comprises a further keeper mounted on the strike frame, the further keeper forming a further side wall of the bolt cavity, the further side wall being opposite to the side wall of the bolt cavity, the further keeper being arranged to pivot about a third pivot axis, which third pivot axis is substantially parallel to the first pivot axis, between a door-locking position, wherein the further keeper is arranged to retain the bolt to prevent door opening, and a door-releasing position, wherein the further keeper is arranged to enable the bolt to exit the bolt cavity in a direction opposite to the second direction.
In this embodiment the strike is suited for both left and right handed doors without having to mount the strike upside down. As such, the strike is easily useable for door locks comprising a latch bolt and a dead bolt.
In some embodiments, in the door-locking position of the further keeper, the further keeper is prevented by the lock lever, in the locking position thereof, from pivoting around the third pivot axis to the door-releasing position and is free to pivot around the third pivot axis to the door-releasing position in the unlocking position of the lock lever.
As such, the lock lever may be arranged to operate both keepers in the same way simultaneously.
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the lock lever has a free extremity and comprises: a first interlocking element located at the free extremity, which first interlocking element cooperates, when the lock lever is in the locking position and the keeper in its door-locking position, with a second interlocking element on the keeper to prevent the keeper from pivoting around the first pivot axis to its door-releasing position; and a third interlocking element located at the free extremity, which third interlocking element cooperates, when the lock lever is in the locking position and the further keeper in its door-locking position, with a fourth interlocking element on the further keeper to prevent the further keeper from pivoting around the third pivot axis to its door-releasing position. In some embodiments, the bearing element is positioned between the first and the third interlocking element.
Because the interlocking elements transmit forces, for example lateral forces, between the lock lever and the keepers it is advantageous to position the bearing element between these interlocking elements.
In some embodiments, the keeper and the further keeper each have a free extremity with the second interlocking element being situated near the free extremity of the keeper and with the fourth interlocking element being situated near the free extremity of the further keeper.
In this way the distance between the pivot axis of each keeper and the point where the keepers are locked by the lock lever is maximized and the forces exerted onto the interlocking elements are minimized.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the strike further comprises a door stop that is mountable to the strike frame on a first side of the strike when the keeper has to co-operate with the bolt and on a second side of the strike when the further keeper has to co-operate with the bolt. In some embodiments, the strike comprises at least one spacer which is configured to be affixed between the door stop and the strike frame.
In this embodiment, the door stop is also reversible so that even with the door stop, the strike can easily be used for both left and right handed doors. Moreover, the at least one spacer may be used to correct the position of the door stop depending on the thickness of the door (gate) onto which the lock is mounted.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of the present disclosure will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings are intended as a description of various embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to represent the only embodiments. Each embodiment described in this disclosure is provided merely as an example or illustration and should not be construed as precluding other embodiments. The illustrative examples provided herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed.
In the following description, specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without embodying all of the specific details. In some instances, well-known process steps have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure various aspects of the present disclosure. Further, it will be appreciated that embodiments of the present disclosure may employ any combination of features described herein.
The present application may include references to directions, such as “forward,” “rearward,” “front,” “rear,” “upward,” “downward,” “top,” “bottom,” “right hand,” “left hand,” “lateral,” “medial,” “in,” “out,” “extended,” etc. These references, and other similar references in the present application, are only to assist in helping describe and to understand the particular embodiment and are not intended to limit the present disclosure to these directions or locations.
The present application may also reference quantities and numbers. Unless specifically stated, such quantities and numbers are not to be considered restrictive, but exemplary of the possible quantities or numbers associated with the present application. Also in this regard, the present application may use the term “plurality” to reference a quantity or number. In this regard, the term “plurality” is meant to be any number that is more than one, for example, two, three, four, five, etc. The terms “about,” “approximately,” “substantially,” “near,” etc., mean plus or minus 5% of the stated value. For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “at least one of A, B, and C,” for example, means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C), including all further possible permutations when greater than three elements are listed.
As shown in the FIGURES, the present disclosure generally relates to an electric strike 1, e.g., a strike 1 comprising a keeper which can be operated electrically. This can be done from a distance, for example from within a house when the strike 1 is mounted on a gate outside, or it can be done by means of a code system. The electric strike 1 is arranged to co-operate with a door lock 2 having a bolt, in particular a latch bolt, and, optionally, a dead bolt. The electric strike 1 therefore has at least one bolt cavity, in particular a latch bolt cavity 6, and optionally a dead bolt cavity 7. The door lock 2 has on at least one side of the door no handle or otherwise a fixed handle (as illustrated in the FIGURES) so that from that side of the door the latch bolt can only be released by unlocking the keeper of the electric strike 1. In other embodiments, if the door lock comprises a dead bolt, the latch bolt can also be opened by means of a second turn of the key that is used to unlock the dead bolt when such a second turn mechanism is provided in the door lock 2.
The electric strike 1 illustrated in the FIGURES is arranged to be mounted onto a support 3 which is, for example, part of a garden fence and which is often placed in the ground. The support 3 can however also be formed by the fixed leaf of a double gate. The door or gate 4 (called hereinafter “a door” in general) onto which the door lock 2 is mounted is hinged on a second support 5 situated opposite the support 3 as shown in
In the illustrated embodiments, the electric strike 1 can be used for left and for right handed doors 4. This is possible since both longitudinal side walls of the latch bolt cavity 6 are formed by a keeper 8, 9 and the door stop 10 can be mounted either adjacent to the first keeper 9 or adjacent to the second keeper 8, as illustrated in
The spacers 20 are used to place the door stop 10 closer or further away from the strike 1. Using the spacers 20 enables to align the latch bolt and/or the dead bolt of the door lock 2 with the latch bolt cavity 6 and/or the dead bolt cavity 7. As such, more or fewer or no spacers 20 may also be used as illustrated in
In some embodiments, both the door stop 10 and the spacers 20 are made from extruded metal, in particular, extruded aluminum. In other embodiments, the door stop 10 also has a polymer strip 24, in particular a rubber strip, to decrease the impact of the door 4 against the door stop 10 thereby avoiding and/or decreasing possible damage.
As illustrated in
It will be appreciated that alternative constructions are possible to fix the door stop 10 relative to the strike 1. For example,
In this alternative embodiment, the door stop 10 is formed as an angular profile having a first leg 86 and a second leg 87. The first leg 86 has the same function as the door stop 10 described in
In order to be able to lock the keeper 9 in its door-locking position, the electric strike 1 further comprises a lock lever 39 which is mounted by means of a second shaft 40 on the strike frame 18 so that it can pivot about a second pivot axis 41 (shown in
The cooperation between the lock lever 39 and the keeper 9 will be described with respect to the cross-sectional view of
Upon rotation of the lock lever 39 to its unlocking position, illustrated in
The electric strike 1 comprises an actuator for actuating the lock lever 39, e.g., for displacing the lock lever 39 between its locking and unlocking positions. This actuator comprises a helical compression spring 46 (shown in
The electromagnet 49 comprises a solenoid (a coil) 52 (shown in
The electromagnet 49 extends in the longitudinal direction, e.g., in the direction of the first pivot axis 35, alongside the lock lever 39. As such, the coil 52 of the electromagnet is substantially located above the keeper 9. Therefore, the total depth of the strike 1, the door stop 10 not included, can be kept sufficiently small, e.g., below 3 cm and, in some embodiments, below 2.5 cm, enabling the strike 1 to be surface mountable.
It will be appreciated that the electromagnet 49 may have a larger height than the lock lever 39 and may therefore project above the lock lever 39.
It will be readily appreciated that the electromagnet 49 may also be provided with a moveable core, instead of fixed core 53. In such an embodiment, the lock lever 39 is mechanically fixed to the moveable core that is located within the solenoid. When the electromagnet is energized, the moveable core will be displaced which in turn also pivots the lock lever 39.
It will be readily appreciated that the covering element 77 may also be omitted, in which case the electromagnet 49 itself forms a part of the backside of the strike 1. The advantage thereof is that it limits the total depth of the strike 1.
As illustrated in
The operation of the electric strike 1 appears clearly from
To release the latch bolt 32 which is caught in the latch bolt cavity 6, the electromagnet 49 is energized so that it attracts the lock lever 39 and forces it into its unlocking position by rotation about its pivot axis 41. This position is illustrated in
Typically, when opening the door, the keeper 9 is first returned by the torsion spring 37 towards its door-locking position before the electromagnet 49 is de-energized so that the lock lever 39 returns under the action of the compressing spring 46 towards its locking position (illustrated in
In one embodiment, the presence of the cam elements 58 and 59 on the lock lever 39 and on the keeper 9 allows the omission of a mechanism for keeping the lock lever in its unlocking position until the keeper 9 has returned to its door-locking position. In this way, a more reliable construction is obtained and more room is available in the electric strike 1 for the electromagnet 49 so that either a stronger electromagnet can be provided or so that the dimensions of the electric strike 1 can be reduced.
As described above, in some embodiments, the strike 1 may comprise two keepers 8, 9. It will be appreciated that the second keeper 8 is constructed similar to the first keeper 9 and operates in an identical fashion. Specifically, the second keeper 8 is mounted to the strike frame 18 by a third shaft 60 (indicated in
When the strike 1 holds the latch bolt 32 of the door lock 2 and the keeper 9 is held in its door-locking position by the lock lever 39, a person may, either accidentally or on purpose, try to open the door. Under such circumstances, the bolt 32 will exert a lateral force onto the keeper 9 thereby attempting to pivot the keeper 8, 9 arounds its pivot axis 35. As illustrated in
It will be appreciated that this bearing element 48 also deals with lateral forces when closing the door. Because, when closing the door, the keeper 8, 9 is normally already in the door-locking position and the lock lever 39 is also in the locking position. As described above, the inclined surface 38 ensures that the door can be closed. However, it is clear that a lateral force is exerted onto the keeper 8, 9 when the bolt 32 impacts the inclined surface 38. This lateral force is also transmitted to the lock lever 39 and the bearing element 48 avoids that this force would be entirely transmitted to the shaft portions 70, 71 which could thereby be damaged.
Furthermore, in other embodiments, the bearing element 48 may be a protrusion, e.g., a circular pin, that is positioned into a corresponding opening in the lock lever 39. In other words, the bearing element 48 is not necessarily positioned between the protrusions 42, 68 of the lock lever 39.
It will be further appreciated that, in other embodiments, two bearing elements may also be provided, a first bearing element for the first keeper 9 and a second bearing element for the second keeper 8.
In the illustrated embodiments, the strike 1 is fail-secure, e.g., when there is a power failure or the electromagnet 49 is defected, the lock lever 39 remains in the door-locking position by the compression spring 46 thereby keeping the door locked.
It will be appreciated that the strike 1 may also be manufactured as fail-safe, e.g., when there is a power failure or the electromagnet 49 is defected, the lock lever 39 remains in the door-releasing position thereby keeping the door open. This may be done in a number of ways.
A first fail-safe embodiment is illustrated in
In this embodiment, the interlocking elements 44, 65 of the respective keepers 8, 9 are formed by hook-shaped elements that are closer to, when compared with the fail-secure embodiment described with respect to
The black arrows in
Besides varying the position and orientation of the interlocking elements, it is also possible to provide a fail-safe strike by changing the configuration of the electromagnet 49 and the lock lever 39.
Such an embodiment of a fail-safe strike 1 is illustrated with respect to
This fail-safe embodiment has the advantage that smaller forces are exerted onto the keepers 8, 9 and the lock lever 39 as the distance between the first shaft 33 and the point at which the elements 43, 44 interlock is larger, and thus the lever effect is smaller, as compared to the embodiment illustrated in
In another alternative embodiment (not illustrated), the core 53 may be located to one side with respect to the plane α (illustrated in
Advantageously, in each of these fail-safe embodiments, there is no need to have a moveable core of the electromagnet 49.
It will be appreciated that, although two keepers 8, 9 were provided for the latch bolt cavity 6, in other embodiments only a single keeper may be provided that forms a single side wall of the latch bolt cavity 6.
It will be appreciated that, although the keepers 8, 9 with the lock lever 39 and electromagnet 49 have been described with respect to the latch bolt cavity 6, in other embodiments one or more keepers may also be used to form one or more side walls of the dead bolt cavity 7. In some embodiments, the corresponding lock lever 39 and electromagnet 49 may then be placed below the dead bolt cavity 7.
It will be further appreciated that there may also be two pairs of keepers, each pair having a lock lever with a corresponding electromagnet to independently control the latch bolt cavity 6 and the dead bolt cavity 7.
Furthermore, it is also possible to provide a strike 1 with two keepers 8, 9 and a single lock lever 39 that only operates one of the keepers 8, 9. For example, the lock lever 39 may only have single protrusion 42. In order for the strike 1 to be useable for both right-handed and left-handed closure members, the lock lever 39 needs to be manually reversed. This may be done by removing the shaft portions 70, 71 and by flipping the lock lever 39 before inserting the shaft portions 70, 71 again.
It will be appreciated that, although the lock lever 39 has been described as being pivotably attached to the strike frame 18 by the second shaft 40, in other embodiments, a slideable lock lever 39 may also be implemented in the strike 1.
The principles, representative embodiments, and modes of operation of the present disclosure have been described in the foregoing description. However, aspects of the present disclosure, which are intended to be protected, are not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Further, the embodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be appreciated that variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes, and equivalents fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as claimed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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17177943 | Jun 2017 | EP | regional |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20180371796 A1 | Dec 2018 | US |