AU2012201881B2

AU2012201881B2 - Adaptable furniture turnknob

Info

Publication number: AU2012201881B2
Application number: AU2012201881A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Donald John Newman
Original assignee: Assa Abloy Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Assa Abloy Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2012-03-30
Filing date: 2012-03-30
Publication date: 2015-07-16
Anticipated expiration: 2032-03-30
Also published as: AU2012201881A1

Abstract

This invention relates to an actuator assembly 6 for use with a mortice lock assembly 2. The actuator assembly 6 including a rotatable member 18 having 5 a control zone 22 for interaction with a proximal portion 23 of a tailbar 17. The proximal portion 23 is adjustable relative to the rotatable member 18 to allow for doors of different thickness. C,.) Coo C,.)) coo C)

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: ADAPTABLE FURNITURE TURNKNOB Applicant: ASSA ABLOY Australia Pty Limited The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 6067 SYC 2 ADAPTABLE FURNITURE TURNKNOB FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an actuator assembly for use with a lock assembly of 5 the kind having a housing and a bolt movable relative to the housing. The lock assembly is to be located on a door with the actuator assembly being operable from one side of the door. The actuator assembly has a particular application in relation to use with mortice lock assemblies and it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to this particular application. 10 However the actuator assembly may also be useful with other forms of lock assembly. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A mortice lock assembly is designed to be located in a mortice cavity formed in 15 an edge of a door panel, and will have a bolt that is movable relative to the mortice lock cavity. Door furniture located on opposing sides of the door panel will often include an actuator assembly in the form of a handle and or turn knob that is operable to move the bolt. The lock assembly will also include a lock mechanism that controls the function of the lock assembly such as preventing 20 movement of the bolt or operation of the handle. The door furniture will include a further actuator assembly in the form of a turn knob or cylinder lock that is operable to adjust the condition of the lock mechanism. The further actuator assembly can include a tailbar for connecting the turn knob, 25 or barrel of the cylinder lock, to the lock mechanism. The tailbar transfers the rotational force produced by the further actuator assembly to the lock mechanism. The spacing of the further actuator assembly from the lock mechanism will depend upon the thickness of the door. Accordingly it will be necessary for the length of the tailbar to be at a certain length to suit this 30 thickness. One option is to provide tailbars in a range of lengths, or another option is to provide long tailbars that are cut down to size on site. Neither option is particularly efficient. The first option requires the lock supplier/installer to carry a large inventory which may not be practical and is unlikely to be cost 3 effective. The second option adds time to the installation process and can present a problem if the installer cuts the tailbar too short. A reference herein to a patent document or other matter which is given as prior 5 art is not to be taken as an admission that that document or matter was, in Australia, known or that the information it contains was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims. It has been appreciated by the inventor that it would be desirable to provide an 10 actuator assembly for use with a lock assembly that accommodates a range of door thicknesses. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to this invention there is provided an actuator assembly for use with a 15 lock assembly of the kind having a housing and a bolt movable relative to the housing and the lock assembly to be located on a door with the actuator assembly, the actuator assembly including a rotatable member that is rotatable from one side of the door about a longitudinal axis, a tailbar having a proximal portion that interacts with the rotatable member so as to rotate therewith and a 20 distal portion that interacts with the lock assembly so that rotation of the tailbar about the longitudinal axis can adjust a condition of the lock assembly, the rotatable member having a control zone which interacts with the proximal portion of the tailbar whereby the position of the tailbar relative to the rotatable member is adjustable in the longitudinal direction between an extended position 25 and a retracted position to allow for doors of different thickness, and a retainer that interacts with the rotatable member and the tailbar to retain the proximal portion in the control zone while permitting adjustment of the position of the proximal portion within the control zone, the retainer includes a latch portion that engages the rotatable member and is engaged by the tailbar when it reaches 30 the extended position so as to inhibit movement of the retainer from the control zone. The retainer may take any form however it preferably includes a clip portion that engages the rotatable member to prevent movement of the retainer relative to 4 the rotatable member in the longitudinal direction. The clip portion may engage the rotatable member in any suitable way to achieve this, which may for example include a snap fit as later described, a friction fit or some other form of engagement. 5 It is preferred that the rotatable member includes a barrel portion and the clip portion of the retainer engages the barrel portion. The barrel portion preferably includes a surface configuration that facilitates engagement by the clip portion. The surface configuration may take any form however it is preferred that it 10 include a recess formed in an outer surface of the barrel, the recess aligned substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis. The recess is preferably a substantially continuous annular groove however alternatively the recess could be a series of discontinuous blind bores spaced annually around the barrel or some other surface configuration to facilitate engagement by the clip portion. 15 It is preferred that the proximal portion of the tailbar includes at least one shoulder that is engaged by the latch portion when inhibiting movement of the tailbar from the retainer. The latch portion may engage any part of the tailbar however it is preferred that said at least one shoulder includes a pair of 20 opposed shoulders which engage the rotatable member when the tailbar reaches the retracted position. It is preferred that the actuator assembly including a tailbar biasing means which urges the tailbar to move in the longitudinal direction away from the 25 rotatable member. The biasing means may act on any portion of the tailbar however it is preferred that the tailbar includes a nose portion and the biasing means includes a compression spring that is located on the nose portion when the proximal portion of the tailbar is located in the control zone. 30 It is preferred that the actuator assembly include an indicator means for indicating a rotatable position of the rotatable member. It is further preferred that the indicator means includes a visual indicator member that is movable on rotation of the rotatable member between a visible position and an obscured position. The indicator means may take any suitable form however it is 5 preferred that the indicator means includes a cam that rotates on rotation of the rotatable member to drive a follower, the visual indicator member is associated with the follower so as to move therewith. It is preferred that the follower moves radially in response to movement of the cam, however the member may 5 alternatively move circumferentially. It is preferred that the indicator means includes a follower biasing means for biasing the follower. It is further preferred that the cam forms part of the retainer however it may alternatively be formed separately from the retainer. It is preferred that the rotatable member is a turn knob including a hand 10 engagable portion formed at an end of a barrel portion that rotates about the longitudinal axis. The hand engagable portion may take any form however it is preferred that it be in the form of a turn knob, snib or the like. It is preferred that the control zone includes a slot to accommodate the proximal portion of the tailbar. The slot may take any shape so as to allow for driving 15 engagement with the tailbar. It is preferred that the actuator assembly include an escutcheon having an aperture formed therein through which the rotatable member extends. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe a preferred embodiment of the actuator assembly with reference to the attached drawings. It is to be 20 appreciated however that the invention is not to be limited to the actuator assembly as illustrated in the drawings. Rather the drawings are provided in order to aide how the invention might be put into effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more fully understood, some embodiments 25 will now be described with reference to the figures in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the actuator assembly when assembled with a mortice lock assembly and attached to a door stile. Figure 2 is a part sectional view of the actuator assembly and mortice lock 30 assembly from figure 1. Figure 3 is an exploded view of the actuator assembly from figure 1.

6 Figure 4 is an assembled view of the actuator assembly from figure 3. Figure 5 is sectional view of the actuator assembly from figure 4 with the tailbar in an extended position. 5 Figure 6 is the sectional view from figure 5 with the tailbar in the retracted position. Figure 7 is a front isometric view of the actuator assembly from figure 1 with the 10 turn knob in a first position. Figure 8 is the actuator assembly from figure 7 with the turn knob rotated to a second position. 15 Figure 9 is the assembled view of the actuator assembly from figure 4 with the turn knob rotated as shown in figure 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 illustrates a portion of a door panel, often referred to as a lock stile 1 20 with a lock assembly 2 mounted to an edge 3 of the door stile 1. The lock assembly 2 illustrated is in the form of a mortice lock assembly 2 which has a bolt 4 that is moveable relative to a front face 5 of the mortice lock assembly 2. An actuator assembly 6 is mounted to a side 7 of the door stile, and in particular an inner side, and will be described in greater detail with reference to the later 25 illustrations. Figure 1 also illustrates an aperture 8 formed in the side 7 of the door stile 1 which is intended to accommodate a handle spindle (not shown) or the like for retracting the bolt 4 of the mortice lock assembly 2 in a manner that will be understood by those skilled in the industry. 30 Referring now to Figure 2 which illustrates a part sectional view through the lock stile 7 and lock assembly 2 from Figure 1 to reveal a lock mechanism 9 of the mortice lock assembly 2. The invention is not limited to a lock mechanism 9 of one particular configuration or functionality, other than to note that the lock mechanism 9 adjusts its condition in response to operation of the actuator 7 assembly 2. The lock mechanism 9 for example may directly prevent movement of the bolt 4 (see Figure 1) from the extended position, or alternatively prevent rotation of the handle, when the lock mechanism 9 is in a lock condition. When the actuator assembly 2 is operated, the condition of the 5 lock mechanism 9 will change to an unlock condition thereby allowing, for example retraction of the latch bolt 4 or rotation of the handle. Referring now to Figure 3 which illustrates the actuator assembly 6 in an exploded view and in summary the preferred embodiment includes a rotatable 10 member 10, a boss 11, an escutcheon 12, a follower 13, a follower biasing means 14, a retainer 15, a tailbar biasing means 16 and a tailbar 17, the rotatable member 10 illustrated is in the form of a turn knob and includes a hand engageable portion 18 and a barrel portion 19. It can be appreciated from Figures 1 and 2 that the hand engageable portion 18 is accessible by the user 15 on the inner side 7 of the lock stile 1 and rotation of the hand engageable portion 18 will result in rotation of the barrel portion 19 about the longitudinal axis X-X. The barrel portion 19 has its surface configured with two annular recesses 20, 20 21. The recess 21 positioned remote from the hand engageable portion 18 at the free end of the barrel portion 19, is configured to interact with the retainer 15 in a manner that will be described later in the specification. The barrel portion 19 also includes a longitudinally extending slot 22 which defines a control zone for receiving a proximal end 23 of the tailbar 17. 25 When the actuator assembly 6 (see Figure 5) is assembled, the barrel portion 19 is located within the boss 11. The boss 11 is then located within the circular aperture 24 formed in the escutcheon 12. The escutcheon 12 (see Figure 3 again) also includes an elongate aperture 25 which acts as a window through 30 which a visible indicator member 26 (see Figure 7) can be viewed. The window 25 and the indicator 26 will be described in greater detail with reference to later illustrations.

8 The indicator member 26 forms part of the follower 13 which has a pair of legs 27 (see Figure 3) which locate on opposing sides of the barrel portion 19 when assembled (see Figure 4). The legs 27 are located between guide formations 28 formed on the rear surface of the escutcheon 12 when the actuator 5 assembly 6 is assembled. A bore 29 is formed in an upper surface of the follower 13 to partially receive the follower spring 14 which acts between a side wall 30 of the escutcheon 12 and the follower 13 (see Figure 4). The follower spring 14 urges the follower 13 to move away from the side wall 30 of the escutcheon 12. 10 The retainer 15 illustrated in Figure 3 includes a cam portion 31 which locates within a recess 32 formed in the follower 13. The retainer 15 also includes a pair of clips 33 which locate within the annular recess 22 formed in the barrel portion 19 of the rotatable member 10 adjacent its free end. The retainer 15 15 also includes a pair of latch arms 34 which locate behind shoulders 35 formed on the tailbar 17 (see Figure 5). Referring again to Figure 3, the tailbar 17 includes a nose portion 36 over which is located at least partially at one end of the tailbar spring 16 which acts 20 between the tailbar 17 and the rotatable member 10 (see Figure 5). The other end of the tailbar spring 16 engages a distal end of the control zone 22 when the actuator assembly 6 is assembled. The end 37 of the tailbar 17 remote from the nose portion 36 is configured to interact with features of a mortice lock assembly (see Figure 2), and accordingly the particular configuration of this end 25 37 of the tailbar 17 may vary depending upon the type of components within the mortice lock assembly 2. Referring now to Figure 5 which illustrates the actuator assembly 6 in cross section. It can be noted that the tailbar 17 is at its full extended position with its 30 shoulders 35 engaging the latch arms 34 of the retainer 15. The proximal portion 23 of the tailbar 17 is located within the control zone 22 of the rotatable member 10. The proximal portion 23 of the tailbar 17 can be moved within the control zone 22 and it can be appreciated from Figure 6 that the tailbar 17 has been moved to a retracted position. This results in compression of the tailbar 9 spring 16 to allow the shoulders 35 of the tailbar 17 to engage the rotatable member 10. When in use, this movement will be achieved by the distal end 37 of the tailbar 17 engaging the lock mechanism 9 of the lock assembly 2, and the escutcheon 12 moved to engage the surface of the lock stile 1. It ought to be 5 appreciated from Figures 5 and 6 that this arrangement accommodates lock stiles 1 of a range of thicknesses. Referring now to Figure 7 which is front view of the actuator assembly 6 from Figure 4. It should be noted from Figure 4 that the follower 13 is in a retracted 10 position, and from Figure 7 which shows a particular portion of the visual indicator 26 through the window 25. When the rotatable member 10 has been rotated as illustrated in Figure 8 a different portion of the visual indicator 26 is visible through the window 25. This is as a result of the cam portion 31 (see Figure 4) rotating relative to the follower 13. It can be appreciated in Figure 9 15 that this rotation moves the follower to an extended position against the urging of the follower spring 14. The movement of the follower 13 in this manner serves to indicate that the rotatable member 10 has been rotated, and in turn the tailbar 17 rotated, to adjust the condition of the lock mechanism 9 of the lock assembly 12. 20 Various alterations and/or additions may be introduced to the actuator assembly as hereinbefore described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.

Claims

1. An actuator assembly for use with a lock assembly of the kind having a housing and a bolt movable relative to the housing and the lock assembly to be 5 located on a door with the actuator assembly, the actuator assembly including a rotatable member that is rotatable from one side of the door about a longitudinal axis, a tailbar having a proximal portion that interacts with the rotatable member so as to rotate therewith and a distal portion that interacts with the lock assembly so that rotation of the tailbar about the longitudinal axis can adjust a 10 condition of the lock assembly, the rotatable member having a control zone which interacts with the proximal portion of the tailbar whereby the position of the tailbar relative to the rotatable member is adjustable in the longitudinal direction between an extended position and a retracted position to allow for doors of different thickness, and a retainer that interacts with the rotatable 15 member and the tailbar to retain the proximal portion in the control zone while permitting adjustment of the position of the proximal portion within the control zone, the retainer includes a latch portion that engages the rotatable member and is engaged by the tailbar when it reaches the extended position so as to inhibit movement of the retainer from the control zone. 20

2. An actuator assembly according to claim 1 wherein the retainer includes a clip portion that engages the rotatable member to prevent movement of the retainer relative to the rotatable member in the longitudinal direction. 25

3. An actuator assembly according to claim 2 wherein the rotatable member includes a barrel portion and the clip portion of the retainer engages the barrel portion.

4. An actuator assembly according to claim 3 wherein the barrel portion 30 includes a surface configuration that facilitates engagement by the clip portion.

5. An actuator assembly according to claim 4 wherein the surface configuration includes a recess formed in an outer surface of the barrel, the recess aligned substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis. 11

6. An actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the proximal portion of the tailbar includes at least one shoulder that is engaged by the latch portion when inhibiting movement of the tailbar from the 5 retainer.

7. An actuator assembly according to claim 6 wherein said at least one shoulder includes a pair of opposed shoulders which engage the rotatable member when the tailbar reaches the retracted position. 10

8. An actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims including a tailbar biasing means which urges the tailbar to move in the longitudinal direction away from the rotatable member. 15

9. An actuator assembly according to claim 8 wherein the tailbar includes a nose portion and the biasing means includes a compression spring that is located on the nose portion when the proximal portion of the tailbar is located in the control zone. 20

10. An actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims including an indicator means for indicating a rotatable position of the rotatable member.

11. An actuator assembly according to claim 10 wherein the indicator means 25 includes a visual indicator member that is movable on rotation of the rotatable member between a visible position and an obscured position.

12. An actuator assembly according to claim 11 wherein the indicator means includes a cam that rotates on rotation of the rotatable member to drive a 30 follower, the visual indicator member is associated with the follower so as to move therewith.

13. An actuator assembly according to claim 12 wherein the follower moves radially in response to movement of the cam. 12

14. An actuator assembly according to claim 12 or 13 including a biasing means for biasing the follower. 5

15. An actuator assembly according to any one of claims 13 to 14 wherein the cam forms part of the retainer.

16. An actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the rotatable member is a turn knob including a hand engagable portion 10 formed at an end of a barrel portion that rotates about the longitudinal axis.

17. An actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the control zone includes a slot to accommodate the proximal portion of the tailbar. 15

18. An actuator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims including an escutcheon having an aperture formed therein through which the rotatable member extends. 20

19. An actuator assembly substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated.