AU1481500A

AU1481500A - Two-way adaptable locking device for door

Info

Publication number: AU1481500A
Application number: AU14815/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Wen-Tien Yeh
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-05-14
Filing date: 2000-01-31
Publication date: 2000-11-16
Also published as: GB0002208D0; TW389253U; GB2358665A

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

ORIGINAL

0 0 0000 *000 Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: WEN-TIEN YEH WEN-TIEN YEH H.R. HODGKINSON

CO.

Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Level 3, 20 Alfred Street MILSONS POINT NSW 2061 TWO-WAY ADAPTABLE LOCKING DEVICE

FOR

DOOR

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: TWO-WAY ADAPTABLE LOCKING DEVICE FOR DOOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention: This invention relates to locking devices, and more particularly, to a two-way ada table locking device for door, which can be adaptably mounted on either side of the door.

2. Description of Related Art: A door is typically mounted with a locking device that includes a pair of handles or turning knobs respectively on the inside and the outside of the door for opening the door 10 fro inside and outside. The locking device is also provided with a keyhole on the outside of te door for a key to be inserted to lock or unlock the locking device. Typically, to open :a dc or mounted with this type of locking device from the inside when the locking device is in .loc ed state, a person needs to first unlock the locking device and then actuate the indoorinstalled handle or turn the indoor-installed knob to thereby withdraw a locking tongue of the ocking device from a locked position to an unlocked position. Since the opening of the door from the inside requires two steps to perform, this type of locking device is laborious and inconvenient in use. There thus exists a need for locking devices that can be more convenienty operated than the prior art. Furthermore, depending on the direction of the door hinled to a doorframe, the lock manufacturer typically furnishes two different types of lopng devices, a right-side type for mounting on the right side of the door which is hinged to the doorframe on its left side, and a left-side type for mounting on the left side of the door which is hinged to the doorframe on its right side. This practice is necessary because unless a locking device is upside down reversed, the outside handle and the keyhole of a right-side locking device would be positioned inside of a right-sided hinged door when the right-side locing device is mounted on the left side of the right-sided hinged door. A two-way 1A ada table locking device which can be upside down reversed to be adaptably mounted on either the right side or the left side of the door is thus desired.

One conventional type of such a two-way adaptable locking device is constructed. in a synmetrical appearance so that it can be arbitrarily mounted on either side of the door. To cop< with this requirement, the manufacturer generally provides two different sets of elements for such a locking device, a right-side set of elements for a locking device for mounting on the right side of the door, and a left-side set of elements for a locking device for mounting on the left side of the door. Therefore, the locking device mounted with the righ -side set of elements is merely suitable for use in a left-sided hinged door and similarly 10 the ocking device mounted with the left-side set of elements is merely suitable for use in a o.o.o rih -sided hinged door. One drawback to this practice, however, is that as these two types o cking devices are fixed in structure and mountable only on one side of the door; they are cor lex in element management and assembly. Further, the inventory cannot be predictable to eet all future customer orders. Moreover, since these two types of locking devices are 15 diff rent in structure, their manufacture is quite cost-ineffective. There exists, therefore, a need in the industry for a type of two-way adaptable locking device that can be adaptably mot ed only either side of the door and is easy to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 20 It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a two-way adaptable locking de ce for door, which can allow a person to open a door mounted with the locking device oftl is invention regardless whether the locking device is in locked or unlocked state.

It is another objective of this invention to provide a two-way adaptable locking device for door, which can be adaptably mounted on either side of the door.

It is a further objective of this invention to provide a two-way adaptable locking, devicq, which is convenient to use.

In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives of this invention, a two-way ada able locking device is provided. The two-way adaptable locking device includes a casi g; a handle linking mechanism mounted in the casing for coupling with a first handle and opposing second handle and having a locking tongue movably projected out of the casig, the locking tongue being movable with the handle linking mechanism which allows the ocking tongue to be withdrawn to the inside of the casing by actuating either one of the han les mounted with the handle linking mechanism; a locking mechanism cooperative with the andle linking mechanism for locking the handle linking mechanism to prevent the locking ;ongue from being withdrawn from a locked position to an unlocked position; a lock device mounted with the locking mechanism for driving the locking mechanism to a locked/unlocked position; and a two-way adapting mechanism coupled to the locking Smechanism for driving the locking mechanism to a first position where if the locking mec anism is driven by the lock device to lock the handle linking mechanism, the first handle is p evented from withdrawing the locking tongue from the locked position to the unlocked 15 pos tion, while the second handle is still free to be actuated to withdraw the locking tongue from the locked position to the unlocked position, and to a second position where if the locling mechanism is driven by the lock device to lock the handle linking mechanism, the second handle is prevented from withdrawing the locking tongue while the first handle is free to be actuated to withdraw the locking tongue from the locked position to the unlocked S* postion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed descrption of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, 2. wherein: FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the two-way adaptable locking device according to the invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded pperspective view of the two-way adaptable locking device of the vention; FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the two-way adaptable locking device of the invetion under locked condition; FIG. 4 shows an enlarged part of the view of FIG. 3 except under unlocked condition1 FIG. 5A is a sectional view cutting through the line 5A-5A in FIG. 3, showing particularly a first adapted state of the two-way adapting mechanism; FIG. 5B is a sectional view cutting through the line 5A-SA in FIG. 3, showing par- S 10 ticulrly a second adapted state of the two-way adapting mechanism; FIG. 6 shows an enlarged part of the diagram of FIG. 3, which is used particularly to "expli the operation of the pry-preventive mechanism utilized in the two-way adaptable loc g device of the invention; FIGs. 7A-7D are schematic side views respectively showing various types of handles that can be utilized to serve as the handle for the locking device of the invention; and FIGs. 8A-8B are schematic diagrams used to depict a mechanism used to restrict the I ran e in which the handle can be turned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 20 FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the two-way adaptable locking device of the jnvention. As shown, the locking device of the invention includes a casing 1, a handle linking mechanism 2 having a locking tongue 20, a locking mechanism 4, a two-way adapting echanism 5, a pry-preventive mechanism 6 having a pry-preventive tongue 60, and a swi h securing mechanism 8 having a threaded bar As shown in FIG. 1, an outer side wall 12 is formed on the front end of the casing 1 and is formed with three holes 122, 124, 126 for the locking tongue 20, the pry-preventive tongue 60, and the threaded bar 80 to respectively slidably penetrate therethrough. The lock ng tongue 20 is adapted to be rotatable by 180° relative to the handle linking mechanis r 2. The pry-preventive tongue 60 can be withdrawn from the pry-preventive mechanism 6 fo rotating by 1800 about the pry-preventive mechanism 6. The rotatable capability of the lock ng tongue 20 and pry-preventive tongue 60 allows a person to reverse the direction of the ocking tongue 20 and pry-preventive tongue 60 to fit the mounting orientation of the lock ng device of the invention. The threaded bar 80 has a front end formed with a straight slot 800 which allows a person to use a driver (not shown) to rotate the threaded bar 80 so as to securely couple the same to a lock device (to be illustrated below), allowing the lock devi e to be held in position relative to the casing 1. A pair of screws 128 are provided 10 respectively at the two ends of the outer sidewall 12 and are used to fix the locking device of the invention to the door. The locking device of the invention further includes a face plate 14 ."having a first opening 142 for the locking tongue 20 to slidably penetrate and a second ope ing 144 for the pry-preventive tongue 60 to slidably penetrate. The face plate 14 is attaed to the outer sidewall 12 by a pair of screws 146 to cover up the front end of the 15 threaded bar 80 and inhibit the locking tongue 20 from rotating and the pry-preventive tongue 60 from being withdrawn.

S...FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the locking device of the invention. As sho v, a cover 11 is provided to cover the casing 1 and formed with a first mounting hole i" 110 and a second mounting hole 112 which respectively correspond to a first mounting hole 100 and a second mounting hole 102 formed on the casing 1. The casing 1 is further provided with three locking posts 104, two mounting posts 106, and a pair of stoppers 108 (FII. The cover 11 is fixed to the casing 1 by means of threading a screw 111 into each of the locking posts 104 respectively.

The handle linking mechanism 2 includes the locking tongue 20, a sliding frame 22, a pai of sliding boards 24, and a pair of rotating members 26. The sliding boards 24 and the rotting members 26 in combination constitute two transmission mechanisms. The handle lining mechanism 2 is linked to a pair of door-opening handles 28, which can be an Lsh ed handle 28a shown in FIG. 7A; or a circular handle 28b shown in FIG. 7B; or a rin -shaped handle 28c shown in FIG. 7C having a rurnable ring 282 shown in FIG. 7D. The har die 28 is linked to the rotating members 26. When the handle 28 is turned, it can actuate the rotating member 26 to rotate.

iThe handle 28a shown in FIG. 7A can be urned only in one direction. FIG. 8 shows a nechanism used to restrict the range in which the handle 28a can be turned. As shown, the me hanism includes a rotation-restrictive member 288 on the inside of the handle base 285.

The rotation-restrictive member 288 has one end formed with a stopper 289 which can be po itioned as shown in FIG. 8A or alternatively positioned as FIG. 8B, for the purpose of 10 stopping the tongue 286 linked to the horizontal bar 284, allowing the horizontal bar 284 to be rtatable either in the counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 8A or in the clockwise dirnction as shown in FIG. 8B. Further, as shown in FIGs. 2 and 3, a post 118 is provided on the inside of the casing 1 for the purpose of stopping the rotating members 26 to allow the horzontal bar 284 to be rotatable only in one direction.

S 1 As shown in FIGs. 1 and 2, the locking tongue 20 has a slanted head 202 inserting thr ugh the hole 122 and the first opening 142 and is linked to an axis 204. The axis 204 pas es through the sliding frame 22 and is fixed in position by means of a snap ring 206.

Fur her, a coil spring 208 is sleeved about the axis 204 between the snap ring 206 and a ring 21 abutted on the stoppers 108, and which is used to provide an elastic restoring force to 20 the locking tongue 20 and the sliding frame 22 afer they are pressed. The sliding frame 22 has a hooked rear end 222 inserting through the slot 242 in the sliding boards 24 to the guide slot 103 in the casing 1, allowing the sliding frame 22 to be slidably mounted on the inner sid of the casing 1. Moreover, the hooked rear end 222 is formed with a bulge 224 which can prevent the hooked rear end 222 from beirg overly inserted into the guide slot 103, 21 all wing the sliding frame 22 to be kept from the sliding boards 24 by a suitable clearance.

The two sliding boards 24 are symmetrically arranged and stacked, respectively hav ng a front protruded rim 244 and a pair of rear protruded rims 246 inserting respectively into a pair of guide slots 105 on the casing 1 and a pair of corresponding guide slots 115 for ed on the cover 11, allowing them to be slidably mounted between the cover 11 and the casiig 1. Each of the sliding boards 24 is further formed with a protruded tongue 250. These Stwo sliding boards 24 are slidably movable between the cover 11 and the casing 1 and rela- 51 tive to each other.

The rotating members 26 are symmetrically arranged, having an axis 262 coupled to the econd mounting hole 112 in the cover 11 and the second mounting hole 102 of casing 1.

Mo eover, an axial hole 264 is formed in the middle of the axis 262 to allow the mounting of the handle 28 shown in FIG. 7A, or FIG. 7B, or FIG. 7C.

1. Further, the rotating members 26 each have a pair of outward-extending arms 266 abu ting on the rear protruded rim 246 of each of the sliding boards 24. When the rotating m: bers 26 is actuated to rotate by the handle 28, the outward-extending arm 266 will act on e protruded rim 246 to cause the sliding boards 24 to slide backwards, thus exerting on the ooked rear end 222 of the sliding frame 22, to force the sliding frame 22 to move to- 15 ward the rotating members 26, thereby withdrawing the locking tongue 20 into the space coned by the casing 1 and the cover 11. A pair of springs 248 are mounted between the slidng board 24 and an inner side wall 16 erected on one side of the casing 1 opposing the out side wall 12, which can be compressed when the sliding boards 24 is moved by the rot tmg members 26 so as to provide an elastic restoring force to the sliding boards 24.

S2Q Also as shown in FIGs. 1 and 2, the locking mechanism 4 includes a pivotal member 42 d a sliding member 44. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the locking mechanism 4 is linked to lock device 46 including a keyhole portion 46a and a hand-tumable portion 46b, which are mounted through the first mounting hole 100 in the casing 1 and the first mounting hole S11( of the cover 11. Alternatively, the hand-turnable portion 46b can be eliminated.

The pivotal member 42 has one side formed with two horizontally-protruded rims 422, each having a cutaway portion 424 and being integral with a bifurcated rear end 426 of the pivotal member 42. The bifurcated rear end 426 of the pivotal member 42 is formed with a pi otal hole 428 which is pivotally coupled to a pivotal axis 430 fixed to the casing 1. The pivo al member 42 has the other side formed with a recessed portion 423.

The top and bottom sides of the sliding member 44 are respectively formed with first prot ided portions 440 inserting in the guide slots 114 formed on the cover 11, allowing the slidig member 44 to be slidably mounted between the casing 1 and the cover 11. Further, the liding member 44 has one side formed with a tooth 442 and a second protruded portion 444 nd is formed with a pair of third protruded portions 446, 448 on the other side opposite to t e side having the second protruded portion 444.

Referring to FIG. 3, the lock device 46 is provided with a rotatable member 462 10 whi h can be turned clockwise to move the third protruded portion 446 of the sliding member allowing the sliding member 44 to slide from an unlocked position (as shown in FIG.

4) ir to a locked position (as shown in FIG. At this position, the second protruded portion 444 of the sliding member 44 is abutted on the front end of the recessed portion 423 in the pivctal member 42, causing the pivotal member 42 to be pivoted toward the handle linking me nsm 2 and the cutaway portion 424 to enclose the arm 266 on the rotating member 26 and the rear protruded rim 246 on the sliding board 24. As a result of this, the rotating me ber 26 is locked in position, making the handle 28 (28a, 28b, or 28c) unable to be tun ed.

Referring to FIG. 4, the rotatable member 462 can be turned counterclockwise to move the third protruded portion 448 of the sliding member 44 in the reverse direction, all ing the sliding member 44 to slide backwards to the unlocked position. At this position, the protruded second portion 444 of the sliding member 44 is engaged with the recessed portion 423 in the pivotal member 42, allowing the pivotal member 42 to be drawn away fro the handle linking mechanism 2 and the cutaway portion 424 to be moved away from the arm 266 on the rotating member 26 and the rear protruded rim 246 on the sliding board 24. As a result of this, the rotating member 26 is unlocked and thus free to rotate. Further, as shown in FIGs. 2 and 3, the sliding member 44 is coupled to an elastic piece 48 which is fo ed with an axis hole 482 'for axially coupling to the mounting post 106 on the casing 1 and atooth-like portion 484 meshed to the tooth 442 on the sliding member 44. This allows the ser to fel whether the lock device 46 has been turned to the locked or unlocked position when the sliding member 44 is being actuated to slide.

Referring back to FIGS. I and 2, the two-way adapting mechaniismn 5 includes an adjustifig bar 52 and an actuating member 54. The adjusting bar 52 is formed with a threaded bod{ 522 and two ends 524 for being inserted into a hole 116 in the cover 1,1 and a corresPorn hole in the casing 1 (not indicated w ith a reference numneral), allowing the adjusting lar 52 to be axialy movable within the space between the casing 1 and the cover 11. The top j~d524 of the adjusting bar 52 can be formed with, for example, a straight slot 526 w allows teuser to turn the adjusting bar 52 through the use of a flat-head driver (not shoF)The actuating member 54 has one end formed with a threaded hole 542, which can be cupled to the threaded body 522 of the adjusting bar 52, and the other end formed with a uhhole 544 for being inserted through the bifurcated rear end 426 of the pivotal 15 me Lber 42 to be coupled with the pivotal member 42 by coupling the pivotal axis 430 throuigh the pivotal hole 428 and the through hole 544.

Referring to FIG. 5 A, the two-way adapting mechanism 5 operates in such a manner that, when the locking device is in locked state as illustrated in FIG. 3, since the adjusting bar 52 i, confined to move only between the casing 1 and the cover- 11, the counterclockwise 20 ugof theadjusting bar 52to itslimit willforcethe actuating member 54 to beraised with respect to the adjusting bar 52; and moreover, since The actuating member 54 has the oth r end coupled to the bifurcated rear end 426 of the pivotal member 42, the upwvard mol ement of the actuating member 54 will force the pivotal member 42 to be upwardly mole d along the axial direction of the pivotal axis 430 until reaching the position illustrated in F1IG. 5 A At this position, the horizontally-protruded rim 422 of the upper pivotal member 42 pstondi such a manner as to block the arm 266 of the lower rotating member 26 fori being slidably moved toward the inner side wall 16 of the casing 1 by the rotation of the lower rotating member 26. In other words, the pivotal movement of the lower rotating member 26 is inhibited by the pivotal member 42. As a result, the turning of the handle 28 coupled with the lower rotating member 26 is prevented from withdrawing the locking tone 20 from the locked position shown in FIG. 3 to an unlocking position, while the 51 oth handle coupled with the upper rotating member 26 is free to be actuated to withdraw Sthe ocking tongue 20 from the locked position to the unlocked position regardless whether or nt the locking mechanism 4 is in locked state. If the adjusting bar 52 is turned clockwise to is limit, it will force the actuating member 54 to move downwards with respect to the adj sting bar 52, which in turn force the pivotal member 42 to be moved along the axial 10 dire ion of the pivotal axis 430 until reaching the position illustrated in FIG. 5B. At this pos tion, the horizontally-protruded rim 422 of the pivotal member 42 is positioned in such am nner as to inhibit the upper rotating member 26 from being rotatable for the same reason as above-illustrated. Similarly, the handle 28 coupled with the upper rotating member 26 is Dow**: 9 thus prevented from withdrawing the locking tongue 20 from the locked position to the 15 unl cked position, while the other handle 28 coupled with the lower rotating member 26 is Sfree to be actuated to withdraw the locking tongue 20 from the locked position to the unloced position regardless whether or not the locking mechanism 4 is in locked state.

oo** The efore, the locking device of this invention allows a person to open a door mounted with the same from the inside simply by turning the handle 28 without the need of releasing the S' 2d locidng mechanism 4 from the locked state.

Referring to FIGs. 1, 2, and 3, the pry-preventive mechanism 6 includes a pry- Spre entive tongue 60, a sliding member 62, a stopper 64, and a pivotal member 66. The pry-preventive tongue 60 has a slanted front end formed with a protruded portion 602 perperdicular to the extending direction of the pry-preventive tongue 60 and a rear end linked to I shaft 604. The shaft 604 is inserted through the sliding member 62 and the stopper 64, anc is sleeved with a spring 608 by means of a snap ring 606. The snap ring 606 is set in a peripheral slot 610 formed in the shaft 604, allowing the pry-preventive tongue 60 to be withdrawable from the sliding member 62 and rotatable. The sliding member 62 is slidably mounted on the inner side of the casing 1, and is formed with a protruded portion 622. The shaft 604 has a rear end coupled to a spring 63 which is positioned between the sliding men ber 62 and the stopper 64, and is used to provide an elastic restoring force when the pry- reventive tongue 60 and the sliding member 62 are pressed into the space between the casig 1 and the cover 11. The pivotal member 66 is pivotally coupled to the axis 106 on the casing 1, and is formed with a horizontal protruded portion 662, a cutaway portion 664, and a no ch 666 having a slanted edge.

Referring to FIG. 3 together with FIG. 6, the pry-preventive mechanism 6 operates 10 in s ch a manner that when the locking device of the invention is in locked state, the prypreventive tongue 60 is pressed by the doorframe 9 to the inside of the casing 1 when the lock ag t ongue 20 is inserted in the lock hole 92 in the doorframe 9. As shown in FIG. 6, whe the door is opened, the pry-preventive tongue 60 is projected out of the hole 124.

Whn the door is being closed, the pry-preventive tongue 60 is pressed against the doorfrarre 9, whereby the pry-preventive tongue 60 together with the sliding member 62 are being moved backwards. In consequence, the protruded portion 602 on the pry-preventive tongue 60 and the protruded portion 622 on the sliding member 62 are both moved straight back wards along the cutaway portion 664, causing the pivotal member 66 to be slightly pivoted clockwise until reaching the position illustrated in FIG. 3. When the pry-preventive tongue 60 is released from the doorframe 9, the protruded portion 602 and the protruded porton 622 are also withdrawn from the cutaway portion 664, allowing the pivotal member 66 to be restored by the coil spring 68 to the position illustrated in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a burglar tries to open the door by using a card or the like to ove the locking tongue 20, it would be impossible for the burglar to open the door since the ocking tongue 20 is stopped from being withdrawn into the casing 1by the horizontal protruded portion 662. When the locking tongue 20 is forced by the rotating members 26 to withdraw, since the protruded tongues 250 on the sliding boards 24 would move along the -11 slan ed edge of the notch 666 to push against the pivotal member 66, the pivotal member 66 wo d be pivoted counterclockwise and meanwhile the horizontal protruded portion 662. is wit rawn from the path along which the locking tongue 20 is to be withdrawn. As a result, the locking tongue 20 can be freely withdrawn into the casing 1.

Referring to FIGs. 1, 2, and 3, the switch securing mechanism 8 includes a threaded bar 0, a nut 82, a support member 84, and a securing member 86. The nut 82 and the suppot member 84 are mounted between the casing I and the cover 11. The threaded bar has front end screwed to the nut 82 and fixed in position by the support member 84 and a rea end coupled to the securing member 86 and fixed in position by a ring 862.

10 The switch securing mechanism 8 is used to secure the lock device 46 46a and 46b shown in FIGs. 7A-7D) tightly in position. This is necessary because the lock device 46 is srewed to the first mounting hole 100 show in FIG. 1 but the screwing is loose so that the cking device of the invention can be adapted for use on doors of various thicknesses.

As rentioned earlier, the threaded bar 80 can be turned by using a driver to allow the thr aded bar 80 to move inward or outward with respect to the first mounting hole 100.

Threfore, when the first mounting hole 100 is mounted with the lock device 46, the th aded bar 80 can be screwed tightly to allow the securing member 86 to abut on the lock device 46, with the forked portion 864 of the securing member 86 being inserted into a slot (no shown) formed in the lock device 46, whereby the lock device 46 is secured tightly in 2d po ition by the switch securing mechanism 8.

In conclusion, the invention has the following advantages over the prior art.

First, the locking device of the invention which is mounted with the two-way adapting mechanism 5 can be adaptably mounted on either side of the door simply by using a dri er to turn the adjusting bar 52 of the two-way adapting mechanism 5. This allows the act ting member 54 to be moved to force the pivotal member 42 to be upwardly or downwa dly moved along the axial direction of the pivotal axis 430. As a result, when the pivotal mepmber 42 is moved upward to its upper limit with respect to the pivotal axis 430, the 12rot1ting member 26 and the sliding board 24 away from the cover 11are inhibited from being movable if the locking mechanism 4 is in locked state, making the handle mounted on the cas ng 1 unable to be turned, while the handle mounted on the cover11 is free to be turned to wit draw the locking tongue 20 from the locked position to the unlocked position. On the S contrary, when the pivotal member 42 is moved downward to its lower limit with respect to the pivotal axis 430, the rotating member 26 and the sliding board 24 adjacent to the cover 11 re inhibited from being movable if the locking mechanism 4 is in locked state, making the anle mounted on the cover 11 unable to be turned. The two-way adaptable locking device of t e invention can therefore be easily adapted for mounting on either side of a door and 10 convenient to use.

Second, since the first mounting holes 100 and 110, the second holes 102 and 112, the sliding boards 24, and the rotating members 26 are arranged in a symmetrical manner, the handle can be arranged on both the casing 1 and the cover 10. For instance, the keyhole por ion 46a of the lock device 46 can be mounted on the outer side of the door, while the ban -turnable portion 46b is mounted on the inner side of the door. The handle 28 can be either an L-shaped handle 28a (FIG 7A), or a circular handle 28b (FIG. 7B), or a ringsha ed handle 28c (FIG. 7C). The invention is therefore very versatile to use.

The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. How-

I

ev it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrngements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the.broadest interpre ation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

-13-

Claims

1. A two-way adaptable locking device, which comprises: a casing; a handle linking mechanism mounted in the casing for coupling with a first handle and n opposing second handle, the handle linking mechanism having a locking tongue movably projected out of the casing, the locking tongue being movable with the handle linkiag mechanism allowing the locking tongue to be withdrawn from a locked position to an unloc ked position by actuating either one of the handles; 10 a locking mechanism cooperative with the handle linking mechanism for locking han le linking mechanism so as to prevent the locking tongue from being withdrawn from the ocked position to the unlocked position; a lock device mounted with the locking mechanism for driving the locking mecha- ni from a locked position to an unlocked position; and a two-way adapting mechanism coupled to the locking mechanism for driving the lockng mechanism to a first position where, if the locking mechanism is driven by the lock device to lock the handle linking mechanism, the first handle is prevented from withdrawing the locking tongue from the locked position to the unlocked position while the second han- dle is free to be actuated to withdraw the locking tongue from the locked position to the unlcked position, and to a second position where, if the locking mechanism is driven by the locc device to lock the handle linking mechanism, the second handle is prevented from withdrawing the locking tongue while the first handle is free to be actuaied to withdraw the loc g tongue from the locked position to the unlocked position.

2. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the handle linking m chanism comprises: a sliding frame slidably mounted on the casing; the locking tongue linked to the sliding frame; and

14- a pair of symmetrically-arranged transmission mechanisms linked to the handles so that the turning of her one of the handles can actuate the locking tongue to withdraw into the casing. 3. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism comprises: a pivotal member pivotally mounted to a pivotal axis on the casing; and a sliding member slidably mounted on the casing and coupled to the lock device; the sliding member, when being moved, being capable of actuating the pivotal member to be pivc ted toward the handle linking mechanism and thereby inhibit the handle linking mecha- 10 nis from being movable. 4. The two-way adaptable locking device of claims 1 or 3, wherein the two-way a ing mechanism comprises: an adjusting bar rotatably mounted on the casing; and an actuating member longitudinally movable on the adjusting bar and being linked to 151 the pivotal member in the locking mechanism; wherein the adjusting bar is rotatable to allow the actuating member to actuate the pivotal member in the locking mechanism to move with respect to the handle linking mechanism. 5. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 4, wherein 2d the adjusting bar is formed with a threaded body screwed to one end of the actuating meber, and the actuating member has the other end coupled with a bifurcated rear end of the pivotal member by means of a pivotal axis on the casing. 6. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 2, wherein the transmission mecha- nisins each includes: a sliding board movably mounted on the casing to actuate the sliding frame to move S thereby; and a rotating member rotatably mounted on the casing and linked to the sliding board to alk w the locking tongue to be withdrawn from the locked position to the unlocked position. 7. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, further comprising: a pry-preventive mechanism including: a pry-preventive tongue slidably mounted on the casing and withdrawable into the casing; and a stopper pivotally mounted on the casing, which is pivotable to the handle lin ing mechanism when the pry-preventive tongue is being withdrawn into the casing, so as i: to prevent the locking tongue from being withdrawn from the locked position to the 1 unil cked position. 8. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the casing is formed with p r of opposite lock mounting holes for the lock device to be mounted therein. 9. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, further comprising: a lock device securing mechanism including a threaded bar and a mounting board for the threaded bar, wherein the threaded bar has one end penetrating through the casing and the other end facing the lock mounting hole and linked to a bifurcated piece for securing the loch device mounted in the lock mounting hole. 'i 10. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the lock device includes a 0 key ole for locking/unlocking the locking device with key. 11. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the lock device includes a han -tunable portion for unlocking the locking device with hand. 12. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the lock device includes; a keyhole portion, mounted on a first side of the door, for locking/unlocking the loc ing device with key; and. a hand-turnable portion, mounted on a second side of the door, for unlocking the loc ng device with hand. -16- 13. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the handle is a ring- sha ed handle. 14. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the handle is a circular hadile.

15. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 1, wherein the handle is an L-shaped har die.

16. The two-way adaptable locking device of claim 15, wherein the L-shaped handle inc udes a rotation-restrictive member for restricting the range in which the handle can be 10 Dated this 31st day of January 2000 WEN-TIEN YEH by: H.R. HODGKINS CO. Patent Attorneys for the Applicant -17-