AU729606B2 - A fixing device - Google Patents

Description

S F Ref: 390483

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

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a S..

Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Gainsborough Hardware Industries Limited 190 Whitehorse Road Blackburn Victoria 3130

AUSTRALIA

Otto Gunther Sprekler Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia A Fixing Device ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION DETAILS [31) Application No(s) [33] Country PO2923 AU [32] Application Date 11 October 1996 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5815

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-1- A FIXING DEVICE This invention relates generally to the fixing in place of household fittings such as door knobs, door handles, soap holders, towel rails, towel rings and other like household, door, kitchen or bathroom products.

More particularly, the invention has been developed for fixing these fittings to substantially planar faces such as doors or walls.

A common arrangement for mounting soap holders, towel rails, towel rings and other like bathroom products to walls entails a grooved mounting spigot fastened to the wall by screws. The fitting includes a shroud to conceal the screws having a recess to receive the spigot. A pin or other locking device is screwed through the shroud and into engagement with the groove in the spigot to lock the two components together.

The removal of such a fitting from the wall is inconvenient, time consuming and requires the use of a tool to remove the locking pin.

A common arrangement for mounting locksets and latchsets to doors entails a pair of mounting plates which abut the respective faces of the door and are fastened together through the intervening cavity which would typically also house the latch or lock assembly. The associated knobs or handles are each attached to a backing plate which is threadably engaged onto the mounting plate. A common arrangement is for the mounting plate to have an outstanding externally threaded spigot and for the rosette to have a central spigot with a matching internal thread. This traditional form of concealed fixing has aesthetic advantages over earlier one-piece fixing plates in which mounting screws are exposed. However, a disadvantage is that special care must be exercised during installation to avoid the risk of thread damage. A disadvantage of this arrangement is the backing plate, and therefore the knob or handle, may work loose in time. The latter disadvantage has been ameliorated by providing lug or friction [N:\libD]O0041:LDP -2configurations to oppose the loosening motion but these add to the cost and complexity of the construction.

International patent publication W092/12314 proposes an alternative configuration in which a backing plate, and mounting plate are interengaged in a bayonet fixing arrangement. A disadvantage of this arrangement is it still involves a rotary attachment motion and remains susceptible to disengagement, especially bearing in mind that the knob or handle repeatedly function with a rotary motion.

It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the prior art disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a fixing device for I a household fitting comprising: 15 a mounting plate assembly adapted for fastening a household fitting to a ~substantially planar mounting surface, the mounting plate assembly including slide means for sliding movement generally parallel to the surface, when in situ, between a locking position and an attachment position, means to bias the slide means to the locking position, and an opening in the slide means to receive a fixing lug attached to the surface, said lug being configured for moving the slide means from the locking position to the attachment position on application of the lug to the opening, and for being thereafter locked into the mounting plate assembly on return of the slide means to its locking position whereby to attach the household fitting and the mounting plate assembly to the surface.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a fixing assembly for a household fitting, the fixing assembly including: a mounting plate assembly adapted for fastening to a household fitting, the mounting plate assembly including slide means for sliding movement generally parallel [N:\libDlO0041:LDP to a substantially planar mounting surface, when in situ, between a locking position and an attachment position, means to bias the slide means to the locking position, and a complementary opening in an outer face of the mounting plate assembly and in the slide means; and a lug attached to the household fitting, said lug complementary to said opening for receipt by the opening, wherein said lug is configured for moving the slide means from the locking position to the attachment position on application of the lug to the opening, and for being thereafter locked into the mounting plate assembly on return of the slide means to its locking position to thereby attach the household fitting and the mounting plate assembly to the surface.

In an embodiment, the mounting plate assembly can include a rosette and a disc member between which the slide means is slidable. The slide means is preferably a slightly elongate plate which extends generally transversely of the rosette and disc member.

The slide means preferably includes a portion exposed for engagement by a tool to move the slide means against the biasing means from the locking position to the attachment position to permit detachment of the lugs and therefore the household fitting and the mounting plate assembly from the surface.

The openings in the slide means are preferably at least partially rectangular to define an edge which is acted upon by a tapered portion of the associated lug, for moving the slide means from the locking position to the attachment position, and for receipt in a complementary groove of the lug to complete a snap-action locking engagement.

Preferably, there are two pairs of complementary openings in the mounting plate assembly and slide means, and an associated pair of lugs.

[N:\libDl]00041:LDP In one preferred arrangement, the lugs are carried by a backing plate which is attached to the surface.

When used to fix an item of door furniture to a door, the mounting plate assembly, for example the rosette, the disc member and the slide plate in a preferred embodiment, can carry apertures to receive a knob spindle or spigot for operating an associated latch mechanism. In another embodiment, the mounting plate assembly includes a releasable snib mechanism and constitutes a so-called privacy adaptor for an associated latch mechanism.

An embodiment of the invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded isometric view of a knob set according to an 15 embodiment of the invention; and ooo• Figure 2 is a side view of a backing plate used with the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectioned view of the assembled knob set; and Figure 4 is a plan view of the knob set shown in Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a knob set 10 which includes a knob 12 with an associated rosette 14. A backing plate 16 is attached to the door by fastening it to the door surface and/or to a similar backing plate on the other side of the door. The rosette 14 carries a mounting plate assembly including a mounting plate or disc 18 and an internal slide plate 22, which sits within the rim 15 of the rosette 14, and washer 23. The backing plate 16 includes a pair of profiled lugs 24 projecting from the plate 16 which engage matching respective rectangular openings 30,31 in mounting plate 18 and slide plate 22, in a snap action fixing with the slide plate 22, [N:\libDO0041:LDP whereby the knob, rosette and mounting plate assembly can be attached to the backing plate 16 after it has been secured to a door.

The mounting plate 18 is fastened to the rear surface of rosette 14 by means of screws 26 of which only one is shown. These are not visible from in front of the knob.

The rosette 14 includes a central outstanding flange 27 which receives the rear of the knob 12. An internal central bearing portion 28 of the rosette is rotatably engaged on a rearwardly projecting spigot 32 of the knob with a circlip or other similar device. The spigot 32 has a keyed bore 29 to receive one end of the operating spindle typical of latch sets and lock sets.

The slide plate 22 has a pair of rectangular openings 31 to either side of the axis of the system which generally match with a pair of similar openings 30 in mounting plate 18. The plate 22 is biased by a heavily compressed helical tension spring 50, which acts on a lateral lug 52 of the slide plate 22, to a locking position defined by abutment of end shoulder 55 of plate 22 with an upper interior rim surface 56 of rosette 14. A similar engagement occurs at the lower rim of the rosette, and defines the attachment position of plate 22. In this attachment position, the holes 30,31 are substantially an exact register, whereas in the locking position, they are offset so that an edge of each opening 31 lies across opening The lugs 24 are configured in their lateral dimensions to fit comfortably through openings 30,31 but at one forward corner edge they are truncated to provide an oblique face 62. When plate 22 is in its locking position and the knob 12 is used to push lugs 24 into openings 30, this oblique face 62 acts on edges 60 of openings 31 to push plate 22 against spring 50 until the lugs can pass fully through the openings 31.

The dimensions are such that on slight further forward motion of the lugs through the openings, the edges 60 of openings 31 snap into matching transverse slots 64 in lugs IN:\IibD100041:LDP 24, thus locking the assembly of the knob 12, rose 14 and mounting plate 18 onto the backing plate 16.

It will be appreciated that the illustrated knob set is normally supplied in two parts, with the mounting plate assembly as a unit and the knob with its rosette 14 and backing plate 16 as a further unit. The installer would fix the latch and/or lock mechanism in the door cavity and then fasten the two backing plates 16 into place over the cavity at the respective sides of the door, using screws 65, of which only one is shown. The respective knobs could then be readily attached by bringing the lugs 24 up to the respective openings 30 in the mounting plates and snap fastening them into position in the manner described above.

To allow for detachment of the knob, slide locking plate 22 has an end tab portion 70 which projects through a complementary recess 72 in the rim of disc portion 20 so that its tip 71 is exposed flush with the outer cylindrical surface 28 of disc portion The fixing can be disassembled by applying a tool such as a screwdriver to the tip 71 to push the slide plate 22 against spring 50 until openings 31 are aligned with openings 30 and the lugs 24 can be extracted and the knob thereby detached.

A major advantage of the fixing device for door furniture according to the invention is that it is adaptable to concealed fixing but does not rely upon the rotary action necessary in prior concealed fixing arrangements.

In a further embodiment (not illustrated), especially suitable for long-plate fixings, the mounting plate assembly is a pair of flat plates held apart, for example by spacer sleeves about screws fastening the plates together, to define a space in which the slide plate is slidable. Pairs of rectangular openings in the assembly plates and a complementary pair of slots in the slide pate are arranged to receive lugs for snap engagement as in the illustrated embodiment.

IN:\libD]00041:LDP In yet a further embodiment the mounting plate assembly can also include a releasable snib mechanism for selectively preventing operation of an associated latch mechanism from one or both sides of the door. In this form the mounting plate assembly can constitute a so-called privacy adaptor which can be substituted for a mounting plate assembly without this facility, at the choice of the installer. One suitable form of privacy adaptor is described in our International patent application PCT/AU92/00609 (WO93/10324).

Instead of a helical tension spring biasing the slide plate by pushing it to the locking position, a helical compression spring can be employed to draw the slide plate to the locking position.

The lugs 24 can, of course, be separately attached to the backing plate 16. For 15 example, with a long plate fitting, each lug can be part of a separate integral T-piece which is riveted or otherwise fastened to the back of the backing plate.

In the above described embodiment, the household fitting is a handle or knob assembly for fixing to a door. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention is equally applicable to fixing various other fittings to other surfaces, such as walls, and is especially advantageous in bathroom and kitchen environments where removal of the fittings makes thorough cleaning of the fitting and the mounting surface quicker and easier.

In these embodiments (not shown) the backing plate 16 is attached to, for example, a wall and the rosette 14 is replaced by a fitting such as a towel rail end piece, soap holder, towel ring or the like.

IN:\libD]00041:LDP These embodiments allow damaged fittings or fittings no longer in style to be quickly and easily removed and replaced without the need for tools or tradesmen.

The described arrangements have been advanced merely by way of explanation and many modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which includes every novel feature and combination of novel features herein disclosed.

[N:\libD]00041:LDP

Claims (16)

1. A fixing device for a household fitting comprising: a mounting plate assembly adapted for fastening a household fitting to a substantially planar mounting surface, the mounting plate assembly including slide means for sliding movement generally parallel to the surface, when in situ, between a locking position and an attachment position, means to bias the slide means to the locking position, and an opening in the slide means to receive a fixing lug attached to the surface, said lug being configured for moving the slide means from the locking position to the attachment position on application of the lug to the opening, and for being thereafter locked into the mounting plate assembly on return of the slide means to its locking position whereby to attach the household fitting and the mounting plate assembly to the surface.

2. A fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the slide means is adapted to receive a plurality of said fixing lugs attached to the household fitting with a snap action upon presentation of the item to the mounting plate assembly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface.

3. A fixing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the slide means includes a portion accessible to an external tool when the household fitting is attached to the surface whereby said slide means is able to be moved by the tool to the 20 attachment position by said tool to thereby permit detachment of the household fitting from the surface.

4. A fixing assembly for a household fitting, the fixing assembly including: a mounting plate assembly adapted for fastening to a household fitting, the mounting plate assembly including slide means for sliding movement generally parallel to a substantially planar mounting surface, when in situ, between a locking position and an attachment position, means to bias the slide means to the locking position, and a complementary opening in an outer face of the mounting plate assembly and in the slide means; and [N:\libD]00041:LDP a lug attached to the household fitting, said lug complementary to said opening for receipt by the opening, wherein said lug is configured for moving the slide means from the locking position to the attachment position on application of the lug to the opening, and for being thereafter locked into the mounting plate assembly on return of the slide means to its locking position to thereby attach the household fitting and the mounting plate assembly to the surface.

A fixing assembly according to claim 4, wherein the surface includes a plurality of lugs attached thereto, said lugs complementary to a plurality of said openings in the mounting plate assembly and the slide means.

6. A fixing assembly according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the mounting plate assembly comprises first and second opposed plates, and the slide means comprises a third plate guided for movement between the opposed plates parallel to the opposed plates.

7. A fixing assembly according to claim 6, wherein the first and second plates comprise disc members.

8. A fixing assembly according to claim 7, wherein one of said disc members includes a slot which defines a guideway for the sliding movement of the third plate.

9. A fixing assembly according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the first and second plates are elongate.

A fixing assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the slide means includes a portion exposed for engagement by a tool to move the slide means against the biasing means from the locking position to the attachment position, to permit detachment of the lugs and therefore the household fitting from the surface.

11. A fixing assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the opening(s) in the slide means define an edge which is acted upon by a tapered portion of the associated lug(s), for moving the slide means from the locking position to the [N:\libD]O0041:LDP -11 attachment position, and for receipt in a complementary groove of the lug(s) to complete a snap-action locking engagement.

12. A fixing assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the lug(s) are carried by a backing plate secured to the surface.

13. A fixing assembly according to any one of claims 4 to 12, wherein said fitting is a door handle or knob assembly and the mounting plate assembly includes- a releasable snib mechanism for selectively preventing operation of an associated latch mechanism by operation of a respective handle or knob at one or both sides of the door.

14. A fixing assembly according to claim 13, wherein the mounting plate assembly includes an aperture for passage of a drive member for operating an associated latch mechanism.

A fixing device for door furniture substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16. A handle or knob assembly for a door substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this Ninth Day of October 1997 Gainsborough Hardware Industries Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON IN:\libD]O0041:LDP