AU2009200703B2 - Reversible locking device (b) for a switching cabinet - Google Patents

Abstract

- 20 Abstract A reversible locking device for a switching cabinet door, the locking device being reversible from a first orientation to a second orientation. The reversible 5 locking device includes: - a base element for attachment to the door, the base element including a locking mechanism having a drive rotatable about a drive axis and a latch movable from a locked position to and from an unlocked position; and 10 - a handle module removable from the base element, the handle module including an elongate swing handle configured to swing about a swing axis at one end thereof, and a rotation transfer mechanism that operatively connects the swing handle to the drive of the base element to cause movement of the latch, the swing axis being located 15 eccentrically of the drive axis; whereby the rotation transfer mechanism operatively connects the swing handle to the drive such that the directions of movement of the latch from its locked position to and from its unlocked position when the locking device is in its first orientation are the same as the directions of movement of the latch 20 from its locked position to and from its unlocked position when the locking device is in its second orientation. 0( C) rv~ (1m

Description

P/00/0011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: REVERSIBLE LOCKING DEVICE (B) FOR A SWITCHING CABINET Applicant: B&R ENCLOSURES PTY LTD The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: -2 REVERSIBLE LOCKING DEVICE (B) FOR A SWITCHING CABINET This application claims priority from Australian provisional patent application 2008900860 filed on 22 February 2008, the contents of which are to be taken as 5 incorporated herein by this reference. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to locking devices for doors and, in 10 particular, to doors that can be reversed so as to be used as either left handed or right-handed doors. Although the present invention will hereafter generally be described with particular reference to switching cabinets, it should be appreciated that the locking device of the present invention is not necessarily limited to being used only with switching cabinet doors and that it 15 may also be used with other types of doors. Background of the Invention Electrical/electronic power meters, switches, circuit breakers and other 20 electrical/electronic equipment for commercial and industrial installations, houses and other buildings are usually housed inside a switching cabinet located either inside or outside a building. A typical switching cabinet can include side, rear, bottom and/or top walls, together with a door which covers an opening of the cabinet and which is hinged to the cabinet. Opening the 25 door enables the equipment housed in the cabinet to be accessed. Typical switching cabinet doors include a locking bar constrained to slide up and/or down inside an edge of the door in response to a locking device, in order for one or both ends of the locking bar (or intermediate points 30 therealong) to engage at least a part of the door frame to lock and unlock the door. Such switching cabinets are available in many sizes ranging from relatively small cabinets to large wardrobe-sized cabinets which are used in factories, -3 shopping centres, office blocks and other buildings. In some situations, multiple of these cabinets are secured together as modules (referred to in the art as "baying") to form a bayed enclosure. 5 Switching cabinets are typically assembled on-site and are often purpose-built for whatever situation is required. Thus, equipment suppliers prefer to provide an installer with a large number of assembly possibilities using as few parts as possible. With this in mind, as a door can be installed as either a right-handed door (hinged on the right side, when facing the closed door, with a locking 10 device and a locking bar on the left side) or a left-handed door (hinged on the left side with a locking device and a locking bar on the right side), it is preferable to be able to supply a single door that can be reversed during installation to meet either requirement. Additionally, during switching cabinet configuration the door will need to be reasonably frequently reversed from a 15 right-handed installation to a left-handed installation (or vice-versa). While the provision of such a reversible door does not (and has not) presented too many design dilemmas, the provision of a reversible locking device has not proven to be so easy. In this respect, locking devices used 20 with reversible doors in these situations have tended to be quite complex and, where a door needs reversing from a right-handed installation to a left-handed installation (or vice-versa), requires undesirable lengths of time for disassembly and subsequent re-assembly upon the reversed door. 25 It is an aim of the present invention to provide a locking device that can be used on a door in either its right-handed or left-handed orientation, and that can be reversed with a door (when the door is reversed) with minimal disassembly and re-assembly required, such that the operative directions of the locking device do not change from left-handed installation to right handed 30 installation (and vice-versa). In this respect, the operative directions of a locking device relate to the directions that its locking bar must be moved in order to unlock a door and lock a door.

-4 Before turning to a description of the present invention, it is to be appreciated that the above discussion of the background to the present invention is included to explain the context of the present invention. This is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, 5 known, or part of the common general knowledge in Australia (or elsewhere) as at the priority date of any of the claims in this application. Also before turning to a description of the present invention, it is useful to provide an explanation of some of the terms that will be used to define the 10 spatial relationship of various parts thereof. In this respect, spatial references throughout this specification will generally be based upon an assembled switching cabinet standing generally upright on a surface. With this environment as the basis, some parts may then be defined with reference to the surface, and also to the "horizontal" and the "vertical" (or "up" and "down"), 15 allowing further references to "upper" or "upwardly" and "lower" or "downwardly". Further, it will be understood that a switching cabinet always has an interior, and thus some parts may be defined with directional reference to "inner" or "inwardly" and "outer" or "outwardly" with respect to the interior of the switching cabinet. 20 Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a reversible locking device for a switching cabinet door, the locking device being reversible from a first orientation to a 25 second orientation, the reversible locking device including: - a base element for attachment to the door, the base element including a locking mechanism having a drive rotatable about a drive axis and a latch movable from a locked position to and from an unlocked position; and 30 - a handle module removable from the base element, the handle module including an elongate swing handle configured to swing about a swing axis at one end thereof, and a rotation transfer mechanism that operatively connects the swing handle to the drive of the base element -5 to cause movement of the latch, the swing axis being located eccentrically of the drive axis; whereby the rotation transfer mechanism operatively connects the swing handle to the drive such that the directions of movement of the latch from its 5 locked position to and from its unlocked position when the locking device is in its first orientation are the same as the directions of movement of the latch from its locked position to and from its unlocked position when the locking device is in its second orientation. 10 In a preferred form, the base element is configured to be able to receive the handle module in its normal "upright" orientation (which would normally be with the handle extending vertically and the swing axis end uppermost) when the locking device is either in its first orientation or its second orientation. In some forms, this may be achieved by the base element, or at least some part 15 of the base element, being symmetrical about the drive axis. In this preferred form, the base element of the locking device can then be installed on a door in either the first orientation or the second orientation, without the need to disassemble or remove it regardless of the handedness. 20 A locking device according to the present invention is thus able to be installed on a door in either a right-handed (say, the first) or a left-handed (say, the second) orientation, without concern from an installer about whether the base element of the locking device is correctly oriented with respect to its desired use. Thus, an installer need only be provided with one type of locking device 25 rather than with two. Also, a locking device according to the present invention can be reversed, once installed, with a door (when the door is reversed) by only having to remove (and re-attach) the handle module and not the base element (nor the 30 corresponding locking bar). Ideally, the locking device will be configured such that the handle module is easily removable (and re-attachable) from the base element, such as by a snap or friction fit where keyed entry is not required, or by a single fastening means behind a key-locked swing handle where keyed entry is required (as will be explained below).

-6 In relation to keyed entry, it is envisaged that the locking device of the present invention will most often be adapted to permit keyed entry, and thus the handle module will preferably include a handle housing and a keyed handle release, actuation of which releases the swing handle from the housing to 5 permit rotation thereof by a user. In one form, the keyed handle release will be located within the handle module such that it engages the end of the swing handle (the second end) opposite the swing axis end (the first end). With reference to the normal 10 "upright" orientation of the handle module, this would mean that, with the handle extending vertically, the swing axis end would be uppermost and the keyed handle release end would be lowermost. In this form, by configuring the swing handle so as to be pivotable at its first 15 end (in addition to it being rotatable about its swing axis at that end), upon release of the second end (normally the lowermost end) from the handle housing by the keyed handle release, the swing handle can be pivoted out of the handle housing so as to be rotatable for rotation thereof by a user. Ideally, the swing handle will include a biasing means to automatically urge the 20 second end of the swing handle away from the handle housing when released by the keyed handle release. For example, it is envisaged that the keyed handle release would include a keyed locking barrel that could be unlocked with a key and then depressed to 25 release the second end of the swing handle, in the manner mentioned above. Turning to a general description of various of the preferred parts of the locking device of the present invention, the locking mechanism of the locking device is preferably of the rack and pinion type, and includes a drive member in the 30 form of a pinion with teeth on at least a portion of its periphery, the teeth meshing with corresponding apertures in a rack. In this form, the rack is preferably a portion of the latch of the locking mechanism, the latch also including an engaging portion configured to engage with a suitably configured locking bar (as will be further described below).

-7 Preferably, the rack and pinion locking mechanism is operatively connected (or is operatively connectable) to the swing handle, via the rotation transfer mechanism. In this form, rotation transfer mechanism can include a spindle and the pinion can include a spindle-receiving aperture (of a corresponding 5 shape). In this form, the interaction of the rotation transfer mechanism and the pinion (via the spindle) together defines the locking mechanism drive mentioned above. In this form, the spindle preferably extends through an opening in the base 10 element such that the locking mechanism can be located on one side of the base element (ideally, the door side) with the spindle connecting the rotation transfer mechanism and swing handle on one side of the base element to the drive member (pinion) on the other side. Therefore, by securing the base element to a door in the normal manner, the locking mechanism is held in 15 place between the base element and the door, able to receive a spindle extending thereinto to connect the rotation transfer mechanism and the swing handle. The rotation transfer mechanism is preferably provided by dual disc-shaped 20 rotary hubs operatively connected to each other by transfer linkage. Ideally, and with reference to the normal "upright" handle module orientation mentioned above, the hubs will be an upper hub connected to the swing handle for rotation about the swing axis and a lower hub connected to the drive for rotation about the drive axis. The transfer linkage connecting the 25 hubs is preferably then configured such that rotation of the swing handle hub is transferred to cause equivalent rotation of the drive hub. In a preferred form, this transfer linkage is rigid linkage that is provided by opposed linkage bars, each linkage bar being pivotally connected at one end 30 to one hub and at the other end to the other hub, there being a bar located generally tangentially on opposed sides of the hubs. Thus, to provide the rotation transfer mentioned above, as one linkage bar moves downwardly the other linkage bar moves upwardly, and the rotation of the dual hubs (and thus of the swing handle and the locking drive mechanism) is synchronized.

-8 Finally, in one form, the rotation transfer mechanism and the keyed handle release mentioned above may be provided upon an intermediate member that is able to be secured to the rear surface of a cover, ideally being a cover for the handle module mentioned above. In this form, such a cover could be 5 shaped on its front surface to provide a handle housing within which the swing handle may be received to deny access thereto by a user when locked in place, and also to receive the keyed handle release (mounted on the intermediate member) to ensure suitable access to it from outside the locking device. 10 In this form, the handle module then includes the swing handle, the rotation transfer mechanism and the keyed handle release, together with the intermediate member and the cover, such that these parts of the locking device are able to be easily removed from the base element of the locking 15 device (leaving the base element in place upon a door) to provide the benefits mentioned above. However, it will be appreciated that, in other forms, this same functionality will be provided without the need for an intermediate member. Indeed, the following description of a preferred embodiment will describe a situation where such an intermediate member is not required. 20 Brief Description of the Drawings Having briefly described the general concepts involved with the present invention, a preferred embodiment of a locking device that is in accordance 25 with the present invention will now be described. However, it is to be understood that the following description is not to limit the generality of the above description. In the drawings: 30 Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of a reversible locking device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; -9 Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a handle module as used in the preferred embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 2a is an exploded perspective view of a rotation transfer mechanism as 5 used in the preferred embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 2b is an exploded perspective view of a keyed handle release as used in the preferred embodiment of Figure 1; 10 Figure 3a is a perspective view of a base element as used in the preferred embodiment of Figure 1 when assembled; Figure 3b is an exploded perspective view of the base element of Figure 3a; and 15 Figures 4a and 4b and Figures 4c and 4d are schematic representations showing the operation of the rotation transfer mechanism as used in the preferred embodiment of Figure 1. 20 Description of the Embodiment Illustrated in the Drawings Illustrated in Figure 1 is a reversible locking device 10 for a switching cabinet door (not shown). The locking device 10 includes a base element (generally indicated by the letter Y) for attachment to the door, and a handle module 25 (generally indicated by the letter X) that is removable from the base element Y. The locking device 10 is for use with a known type of sliding locking bar 12a,12b such as is partially evident in Figures 4a to 4d. With reference also to Figures 3a and 3b, the base element Y includes a 30 locking mechanism having a drive member 14 and a latch 16, the drive member 14 being rotatable about a drive axis B and the latch 16 being movable from a locked position to and from an unlocked position (with respect to movement of the locking bar 12a,12b with which it engages). The drive -10 member 14 and the latch 16 are engageable (in a manner that will be described below) via a drive plate 18. In this embodiment of the invention, the locking mechanism of the locking 5 device 10 is of the rack and pinion type, with the drive member 14 in the form of a pinion 20 having teeth 22 formed on at least a portion of its periphery, the teeth 22 meshing with corresponding apertures 24 in a rack portion 26 of the latch 16, and the pinion 20 having a central spindle receiving aperture 28. In this form, the rotation transfer mechanism 30 (described below) then includes 10 a spindle 32 (not visible in the figures, but on the rear of hub 34 in Figure 2a) configured to be of a complementary shape to the shape of the spindle receiving aperture 28 of the pinion 20, for engagement therewith. In this respect, it will be appreciated however that the aperture 28 of the pinion 20 could be replaced with a spindle configured to interact with a correspondingly 15 shaped aperture of the rotation transfer mechanism 30. The rack portion 26 is formed integrally as a part of the latch 16, with the latch 16 additionally including an engaging portion 36 configured to engage with the locking bar 12a,12b (as will be further described below). 20 As mentioned above, the drive member 14 of the locking mechanism is operatively connected (or is operatively connectable) to a swing handle 38 (best seen in Figures 1 and 2) via the rotation transfer mechanism 30, and thus the spindle 32, the pinion 20, the rack 16 and the engaging portion 36 25 together can be considered the drive of the locking mechanism, as mentioned above. In this form, the spindle 32 preferably extends through an opening 40 in the mounting body 42 of the base element Y such that the locking mechanism can be located on one side of the mounting body 42 (ideally, the door side, to the right of the page in Figure 1) with the rotation transfer 30 mechanism 30 and the swing handle 38 on the other side of the mounting body 42. Therefore, by securing the mounting body 42 to a door in the normal manner, the locking mechanism is held in place between the mounting body 42 and the door, with the spindle-receiving aperture 28 able to receive the -11 spindle 32 extending into the base element Y from the rotation transfer mechanism 30. It is thus possible to mount the base element Y to the door, in a manner that 5 securely contains all parts of the locking mechanism between the mounting body 42 and the door, in the event that the handle module X needs to be removed therefrom for maintenance or substitution, or for the purposes of reversing the locking device 10 (and/or the door). This minimizes the degree of disassembly required during reversing of the door. 10 The mounting body 42 includes a handle module receiving region 43 that is configured to be able to receive the handle module X in its normal "upright" orientation (evident in Figures 1 and 2), regardless of whether the mounting body 42 is itself oriented as shown in Figures 1 and 2, or is reversed. In this 15 embodiment of the present invention, this is achieved by the mounting body 42 (or at least the receiving region 43) being generally symmetrical about the drive axis through broken line D shown in Figure 3a. In this form, and as mentioned above, the base element Y can then be installed on a door in either the first orientation or the second orientation, without the need to 20 disassemble or remove it regardless of the handedness. The mounting body 42 is also adapted at its rear to receive the drive plate 18 (with the drive member 14 and the latch 16). 25 Referring now particularly to Figure 2, and as suggested above, the locking device 10 of an embodiment of the present invention is advantageously adapted to permit keyed entry, and thus the handle module X of the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings includes a handle housing 44 and a keyed handle release 46, actuation of which releases the swing handle 38 30 from the housing 44 to permit rotation thereof about its swing axis A by a user. The keyed handle release 46 is located within the handle module X such that it engages the second end 48 of the swing handle 38, opposite the swing axis end (the first end 50). With reference to the normal "upright" orientation of the - 12 handle module X as has been illustrated in the drawings, it is thus evident that, with the swing handle 38 extending vertically, the swing axis end 50 is uppermost and the keyed handle release end 48 is lowermost. 5 In this form, by configuring the swing handle 38 so as to be pivotable at its first end 50 about the pivot axis C of the rotation transfer mechanism 30 (in addition to it being rotatable about its swing axis A at that end), upon release of the second end 48 from the handle housing 44 by the keyed handle release 46, the swing handle 38 can be pivoted out of the handle housing 44 so as to 10 be rotatable about the swing axis A for rotation thereof by a user. With this in mind, the swing handle 38 includes a biasing means in the form of a spring 52 to automatically urge the second end 48 of the swing handle 38 away from the handle housing 44 when released by the keyed handle release 46. 15 More specifically in relation to the keyed handle release 46, Figure 2a illustrates the relationship of the various components of the keyed handle release 46, which is configured such that it can be secured to the rear surface of a cover 56 for the handle module X, the cover 56 including the handle housing 44 formed into its front surface. 20 The keyed handle release 46 includes a keyed locking barrel 60 that can be unlocked with a key and then depressed (when assembled, through the opening 70 in the cover 56) against the bias of spring 63 to pivot the keyed handle release 46 about the pivot shaft 62 to release the catching shoulder 66 25 from where it engages a tab on the second end 48 of the swing handle 38 through a catch opening 68 in the cover 56 of the handle module X. Turning now specifically to Figure 2a, the rotation transfer mechanism 30 is shown in the form of dual disc-shaped rotary hubs (one designated by the 30 reference numeral 34, the other formed in two parts designated as 72a and 72b) operatively connected to each other by transfer linkage (to be described below). Again with reference to the normal handle module orientation mentioned above, these hubs (34 and 72a,72b) are thus an upper hub 72a,72b connected to the swing handle 38 for rotation about the swing axis A - 13 (and pivoting about the pivot axis C) and a lower hub 34 connected to the drive member 14 for rotation about the drive axis B. The transfer linkage therebetween is configured such that rotation of the "swing handle" hub (the upper hub 72a,72b) is transferred to cause equivalent rotation of the "drive 5 member" hub (the lower hub 34). The transfer linkage is rigid linkage that is provided by opposed linkage bars 74a,74b, each linkage bar 74a,74b being pivotally connected at one end to one hub and at the other end to the other hub, there thus being a linkage bar 10 arranged generally tangentially on each side of the hubs. Therefore, to provide the rotation transfer mentioned above, as one linkage bar 74a moves downwardly the other linkage bar 74b moves upwardly, and the rotation of the dual hubs (and thus of the swing handle 38 and the drive member 14) is synchronized. 15 In this embodiment, it can thus be seen that the handle module X then includes the swing handle 38, the rotation transfer mechanism 30 and the keyed handle release 46, together with the cover 56, such that these parts of the locking device 10 are able to be easily removed from the base element Y 20 of the locking device 10 (leaving the base element Y in place upon a door) to provide the benefits mentioned above. Reference is now made to the schematic operational representations of Figures 4a to 4d. In considering these figures, it should be appreciated that 25 there is some distortion in that the locking bars 12a,12b and the latches 16 are shown rotated 90 degrees so that their relationship with the drive members 14 is evident. This is merely done for illustrative purposes. Figures 4a and 4b show the operational parts (the swing handle 38, the swing 30 handle hub (the upper hub 72a,72b), the linkage bars 74a,74b, the drive member 14, and the latch 16), operationally engaged with the locking bar 12a in a first orientation that is a right-hand hinged orientation. That is, the door of the switching cabinet is hinged on the right side of the door, so that the locking device 10 is located on the left side of the door and interacts with a left-side - 14 edge 80 of the door. The locking bar 12a includes locking slots 82 (generally evident in Figure 5) that engage with cabinet mounted locking pegs (not shown) in a known manner to lock and unlock the door. 5 In Figure 4a, the locking bar 12a (and thus the latch 16) is shown in its locked position, with the swing handle 38 vertical and housed within the handle housing 44 as mentioned above. The swing handle 38 needs to be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction to move the locking bar 12a downwardly to unlock it, by virtue of the operation of the rotation transfer mechanism, and 10 more particularly the swing handle hub (the upper hub 72a,72b), the linkage bars 74a,74b and the drive member 14. In Figure 4b, the locking bar 12a (and thus the latch 16) is shown after it has been moved downwardly and thus is in its unlocked position, with the swing handle 38 pivoted outwardly of the handle housing 44 and then away from the vertical as mentioned above, 15 advantageously toward the interior of the door (rather than across the junction of the door and the cabinet). The swing handle 38 then needs to be rotated in a clockwise direction to move the locking bar 12a upwardly to again lock it, again by virtue of the 20 operation of the swing handle hub (the upper hub 72a,72b), the linkage bars 74a,74b and the drive member 14. Figures 4c and 4d again show the operational parts (the swing handle 38, the swing handle hub (the upper hub 72a,72b), the linkage bars 74a,74b, the 25 drive member 14, and the latch 16), but this time operationally engaged with a locking bar 12b in a second orientation that is a left-hand hinged orientation. That is, the door of the switching cabinet is hinged on the left side of the door, so that the locking device 10 is located on the right side of the door and interacts with a right-side edge 90 of the door. Again, the locking bar 12b 30 includes locking slots 92 (generally evident in Figure 5) that engage with known types of cabinet mounted locking pegs (not shown) to lock and unlock the door in a known manner.

-15 In Figure 4c, the locking bar 12b (and thus the latch 16) is shown in its locked position, with the swing handle 38 again vertical and again housed within the handle housing 44 as mentioned above. In this orientation, the swing handle 38 needs to be rotated in a clockwise direction to move the locking bar 12b 5 downwardly to unlock it, again by virtue of the operation of the rotation transfer mechanism, and more particularly the swing handle hub (the upper hub 72a,72b), the linkage bars 74a,74b and the drive member 14. In Figure 4d, the locking bar 12b (and thus the latch 16) is shown after it has been moved downwardly and thus is in its unlocked position, again with the swing 10 handle 38 pivoted outwardly of the handle housing 44 and then away from the vertical as mentioned above, and again towards the interior of the door so as not to extend across the door/cabinet junction. The swing handle 38 then needs to be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction 15 to move the locking bar 12b upwardly to again lock it, again by virtue of the operation of the swing handle hub (the upper hub 72a,72b), the linkage bars 74a,74b and the drive member 14. There may be other variations and modifications made to the configurations 20 described herein that are also within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (23)

1. A reversible locking device for a switching cabinet door, the locking device being reversible from a first orientation to a second orientation, 5 the reversible locking device including: - a base element for attachment to the door, the base element including a locking mechanism having a drive rotatable about a drive axis and a latch movable from a locked position to and from an unlocked position; and 10 - a handle module removable from the base element, the handle module including an elongate swing handle configured to swing about a swing axis at one end thereof, and a rotation transfer mechanism that operatively connects the swing handle to the drive of the base element to cause movement of the latch, the 15 swing axis being located eccentrically of the drive axis; whereby the rotation transfer mechanism operatively connects the swing handle to the drive such that the directions of movement of the latch from its locked position to and from its unlocked position when the locking device is in its first orientation are the same as the directions of 20 movement of the latch from its locked position to and from its unlocked position when the locking device is in its second orientation.

2. A reversible locking device according to claim 1, wherein the handle module includes a handle housing and a keyed handle release, 25 actuation of which releases the swing handle from the housing to permit rotation thereof by a user.

3. A reversible locking device according to claim 2, wherein the keyed handle release is located within the handle module such that it engages 30 the end of the swing handle (the second end) opposite the swing axis end (the first end).

4. A reversible locking device according to claim 3, wherein the swing handle is pivotable at its first end and, upon release of the second end -17 from the handle housing by the keyed handle release, can be pivoted out of the handle housing so as to permit rotation thereof by a user.

5. A reversible locking device according to claim 4, wherein the swing 5 handle includes a biasing means to automatically urge the second end of the swing handle out of the handle housing when released by the keyed handle release.

6. A reversible locking device according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the 10 keyed handle release includes a keyed locking barrel that can be unlocked with a key and then depressed to release the second end of the swing handle.

7. A reversible locking device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, 15 wherein the drive includes a drive member in the form of a pinion formed having teeth on at least a portion of the periphery thereof, the teeth meshing with corresponding apertures in a rack portion of the latch. 20

8. A reversible locking device according to claim 7, wherein the latch includes an engaging portion for engaging with a locking bar.

9. A reversible locking device according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the rotation transfer mechanism includes a spindle and operatively 25 connects the swing handle and the locking mechanism.

10. A reversible locking device according to claim 9, wherein the spindle extends through an opening in the base element such that the locking mechanism can be located on one side of the base element with the 30 rotation transfer mechanism and swing handle on the other side of the base element.

11. A reversible locking device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the rotation transfer mechanism is provided by dual disc- -18 shaped rotary hubs operatively connected to each other by transfer linkage.

12. A reversible locking device according to claim 11, wherein the hubs are 5 an upper hub connected to the swing handle for rotation about the swing axis and a lower hub connected to the drive for rotation about the drive axis.

13. A reversible locking device according to claim 12, wherein the transfer 10 linkage is configured such that rotation of the swing handle hub is transferred to cause equivalent rotation of the drive hub.

14. A reversible locking device according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the transfer linkage is rigid linkage that is provided by opposed 15 linkage bars, each linkage bar being pivotally connected at one end to one hub and at the other end to the other hub, there being a linkage bar arranged generally tangentially on each side of the hubs.

15. A reversible locking device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, 20 wherein the rotation transfer mechanism and the keyed handle release are able to be secured to the rear surface of a cover for the handle module.

16. A reversible locking device according to claim 15, wherein the cover is 25 shaped on its front surface to provide a handle housing within which the swing handle may be received to deny access thereto by a user when locked in place, and also to receive the keyed handle release to ensure suitable access to it from outside the locking device. 30

17. A reversible locking device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the base element is configured to be able to receive the handle module in its normal upright orientation (with the handle extending vertically and the swing axis end uppermost) when the locking device is either in its first orientation or its second orientation. -19

18. A reversible locking device according to claim 17, wherein the base element, or at least some part of the base element, is symmetrical about the drive axis. 5

19. A reversible locking device according to claim 18, wherein the base element includes a mounting body having a handle module receiving region that is generally symmetrical about the drive axis. 10

20. A locking device according to claim 1, substantially as herein described in relation to the accompanying drawings.

21. A locking device according to any one of claims 1 to 20, including a locking bar in engagement with the latch. 15

22. A locking device according to claim 21 substantially as herein described in relation to the accompanying drawings.

23. A switching cabinet door including a locking device according to any 20 one of claims 1 to 22.