CA2575543C - Handicap exit device retrofit kit - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a retrofit device for use in a door lock. The device comprises an improved actuator cam, a housing for said actuator cam, a threaded hollow tube and a lever handle for opening a door lock. The improved actuator cam is a solid one-piece device which comprises an inverted teardrop shaped cam plate, an actuator shaft, a raised key and a detent.
The raised key when installed into a key-hole shaped slot of the lever arm will engage the locking lever arm to drive the lever arm back and forth, from a locked position to an unlocked position. The detent displaces a latching pin which engages and displaces the lever handle simultaneously and enables the lever handle to come to rest at a desirable angular position.

Description

CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 HANDICAP EXIT DEVICE RETROFIT KIT
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This invention relates to improvement in door locks. This invention relates to improvements in door locks of the type manufactured and sold by Adams Rite Industries as described in Canadian Patent 1,016,975 to Bradstock, dated September 6, 1977.
BACKGROUND

[0002] Conventional lever handles require their actuator shafts to rotate through 360 degrees. This makes it impossible to mount a conventional lever handle on an actuator shaft as the lever handle would foul with the door jamb and not be capable of being rotated through 360 degrees.

[0003] To overcome this difficulty, in some jurisdictions, the fire departments have permitted the use of a short T-shaped handle commonly known as a thumb handle or thumb turn. By making the handle or elongated knob very short, it is possible to obtain the required 360-degree rotation without fouling with the doorjamb. This type of handle is not, however considered to be the most desirable form of handle by those persons responsible for fire safety regulations and those responsible for handicap access. The preferred form of handle is the conventional lever handle which is normally moved through 90 degrees to affect the unlocking and locking of a door lock.

[0004] The actuator cam and the abutment posts of the Bradstock patent are specifically designed and arranged to ensure that the downstream abutment post is displaced out of the path of travel of the detent or cam extension when the rotation of the actuator is completed in a first direction such that when the direction of the rotation of the cam is reversed, the abutment post which had previously been the downstream abutment post and is now the upstream abutment post and is located out of the path of the actuator cam detent so that the detent or cam extension can gain access to the latching pin to effect displacement of the latching pin. To permit a 360-degree rotation of the actuator shaft, the downstream abutment post must be displaced out of the path of travel of the detent.

[0005] Various attempts have been made to modify the Bradstock structure to permit operation by means of a conventional lever handle. These attempts have, however required radical modifications of the abutment posts of the lever arm, and the locks which have been modified have experienced difficulties in use resulting from these modifications and as a result 24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 have not been widely accepted. Other attempts at modifying the lever and cam action through the use of many moving parts which consisted of gears and springs have also been mechanically unsound in the marketplace. Other previous attempts through our own past efforts had also failed and so much more thought and effort had to be applied in our quest for a successful product.
SUMMARY

[0006] It was found that we can obtain the required 90-degree lever handle operation of the lock by providing a simple and inexpensive replacement actuator cam. The actuator cam and its components are quite unique and collectively these parts and the way they are installed make the lever handle and its components work in a totally unique manner.

[0007] The present actuator cam works in a different manner than the conventional known cam or any later types of known cams. The new actuator cam is a solid one-piece cam shaped like an inverted teardrop, with a raised key near the flattened pointed end or detent. The raised key when installed into the key-hole shaped slot of the lever arm in the larger round hole portion end of the key-holed shaped slot will then engage the locking lever arm and will drive the lever arm back and forth, from a locked position to an unlocked position.

[0008] The fact that the raised key is captured in the key-hole shaped slot of the lever arm arrests the movement of the new actuator cam after displacement of the latching pin. When the bolt has reached either the locked or unlocked positions, the rotation of the actuator shaft is halted and the required predetermined angular displacement is achieved.

[0009] The new actuator cam actually bypasses the low strength parts of the lock which are specifically the abutment posts and by engaging the lever arm through the direct engagement with the key-hole shaped slot in the enlarged hole portion of the key-hole shaped slot, the new actuator cam detent not only displaces the latching pin but also directly engages the locking lever arm and displaces it at the same time as well as coming to rest at the properly desired angular position.

[0010] According to one aspect of the new invention, there is provided in a door lock of the type having a rotatably mounted cam which has a detent which serves to displace a latching pin and to engage the downstream abutment post of a pair of abutment posts which are mounted upstream and downstream of the locking pin with respect to the direction of rotation of the actuator cam, the abutment posts being mounted on a lever arm which is connected to a locking 24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 bolt, such that, rotation of the actuator cam in one direction or the other will cause the detent to displace the latching pin and thereafter engage the downstream abutment post to effect movement of the lever arm which in turn effects movement of the locking bolt between an unlocked position and a locked position and to move the downstream abutment post clear of the path of the detent so as to permit the detent to gain access to the latching pin when the direction of rotation of the actuator cam is reversed, the improvement of the raised key formed on the new actuator cam plate is such that the raised key and detent actually bypasses either abutment posts as defined in the previous description of the existing locking device.
The raised key on the new actuator cam plate is so designed in shape and size so as to fit exactly in the enlarged round hole portion of the key-hole shaped slot of the lever arm.

[0011] The direct engagement of the new actuator cam raised key with the enlarged round hole portion of the key-hole shaped slot captures the raised key within the lever arm and drives the lever arm back and forth between the locked and unlocked position of the bolt and the rotation of the actuator cam is less than 90 degrees.

[0012] According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided an actuator assembly for use in a door lock of the type having a detent for displacing a latching pin which is mounted on a lever arm which is connected to a locking bolt, the lever arm having abutment posts located one on either side of the path of travel of the latching pin and the shaft mounted for rotation proximate the latching pin, said actuator assembly comprising of an actuator housing, an actuator shaft mounted for rotation in said housing, said actuator shaft having first and second ends at opposite ends of said actuator housing, a longitudinally elongated actuator handle having one end mounted on said first end of said actuator shaft, the longitudinal extent of said handle projecting radially from one side of said actuator shaft, an actuator cam mounted on said second end of said actuator shaft, said actuator cam having an axis of rotation, a detent projecting radially from said axis of rotation and a raised key formed on the actuator cam plate in such a position so as to engage the enlarged round hole portion in the key-hole shaped slot on the lever arm and effectively arrest the movement of the actuator cam and limit the actuator member rotation to less than 90 degrees.

24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Embodiments will now be described with reference to the appended drawings wherein:

[0014] Figure 1 is a partially exploded side view of a door lock of the Adams Rite type of lock with a known keyed lock cylinder;

[0015] Figure 2 is a sectional side view of the door lock of Figure 1;

[0016] Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed view of the known cam actuator plate of the known invention of Figure 1 and Figure 2;

[0017] Figure 4 is an enlarged detailed front cross-sectional view showing the operation of the known actuator cam plate in Figures 1-3;

[0018] Figure 5 is a perspective view of a known latching pin which is used in the door lock in Figure 1;

[0019] Figure 6 is a perspective view of a known thumb turn cylinder that is used in the door lock in Figure 1;

[0020] Figure 7 is a perspective view of a known keyed mortise cylinder that is used in the door lock in Figure 1;

[0021] Figure 8A is a perspective view of the actuator cam as presently claimed;

[0022] Figure 8B is a perspective view of the presently claimed actuator cam shaft with cam and cam shaft manufactured as one component;

[0023] Figure 9 is an enlarged detailed view of a door lock showing the operation of the presently claimed actuator cam;

[0024] Figure 10 is a detailed view of the cam plug;

[0025] Figure 11 is a detailed view of the threaded hollow tube;

[0026] Figure 12 is an exploded view of the lever handle retrofit;

[0027] Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the lever handle retrofit;

[0028] Figure 14 is an exploded view of the installation/removal tool;

[0029] Figure 15 is an exploded view of the installation/removal rod;

24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001

[0030] Figure 16 is an exploded view of the installation/removal rod engaging with the actuator cam;

[0031] Figure 17 is an exploded view of an alternate embodiment of the level handle retrofit;

[0032] Figure 18 is an exploded view of the installation/removal rod engaging with the actuator cam;

[0033] Figure 19 is a front perspective view of a narrow stile lock;

[0034] Figure 20A shows a series of lever handles in the locked position;
and

[0035] Figure 20B shows a series of lever handles in the unlocked position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] With reference to Figure 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral 10 refers generally to a door lock assembly suitable for use in a narrow stile such as an extruded metal door frame. Assemblies of this type are well known and as previously indicated, one such assembly is described in Canadian Patent 1,016,975. The assembly includes afront casing 12 which has side walls 14 in each of which has a threaded passage 16 is formed.
A side wall slot 18 is formed in each side wall 14 and has dwell notches 20 and 22 extending upwardly at opposite ends thereof. A locking bolt 24 is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 26 which is retained by the side walls 14. A cylinder lock housing 110 has a threaded body portion 108 adapted to be threadedly mounted in either of the threaded passages 16. Set screws 33 are threadedly mounted in threaded holes 35 and serve to extend into slots 112 formed in the threaded body portion 108 to retain the cylinder lock housing 110 against rotation.

[0037] As shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the locking bolt 24 has an arcuate shaped slot 40 located at its inner end. A lever arm 42 has one end pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 44 so as to be movable back and forth in the direction of arrow B. A fixed pin 46 is secured to the other end of the lever arm 42 and extends into the arcuate shaped slot 40. The lever arm 42 has a key-hole shaped slot 48 formed therein. The key-hole shaped slot 48 has within it an enlarged hole portion at its top end and a narrower elongated slot which makes up the rest of the key-hole shaped slot. A pair of abutment posts 50 and 52 are arranged one on either side of the key-hole shaped slot 48 and project from each side-face of the lever arm 42 toward the adjacent side wall 14 of the lock housing 10. A latching pin 54 (see Figure 5) has a central portion 56 of 24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 reduced diameter slidably mounted in the narrow elongated portion 48a of the key-hole shaped slot 48 with the enlarged spacer portions 58 located on opposite sides of the lever arm 42 such that the latching portions 60 project into the sidewall slots 18 as shown in Figure 1.

[0038] The enlarged hole portion 48 b of the key-hole shaped slot 48 is proportioned to permit the enlarged portions 58 of the latching pin 54 to be mounted in a manner illustrated in Figure 2. The inner end of the actuator shaft 106 has a rectangular shaped lug 70 (see Figure 3) which projects into a corresponding rectangular shaped slot 72 in the actuator cam 74.

[0039] The actuator cam 74 has a detent 76 which projects radially outward from the axis of rotation of 78. In order to unseat the latching pin 54 from the dwell notches 20 and 22, the actuator cam 74 is rotated in the direction of arrow C. The upstream abutment post 52 is out of the path of travel of the detent 76 with the result that the detent 76 can move to a point where it engages the latching pin 54 and continued rotation will displace the latching pin 54 in the direction of the arrow D, thus unseating the latching pin 54 from the sidewall dwell notches 20 and 22.

[0040] Continued rotation of the actuator cam 74 in the direction of arrow C will bring the detent 76 into engagement with the abutment post 50 at which time the lever arm 42 will begin to pivot in the direction of the arrow E about its axis of rotation 45.

[0041] Displacement of the lever arm 42 in the direction of the arrow E
will cause the locking bolt 24 to move from the broken line stored position, shown in Figure 2, to the solid line locking position by reason of the interaction of the pivot pin 46 and arcuate shaped slot 40.
When the lever arm 42 is in the position shown in figure 2, the abutment post 50 is displaced out of the path of travel of the detent 76 with the result that the actuator cam 74 may continue its rotation in the direction of the arrow C until a 360-degree rotation has been completed to permit removal of the key. The mechanism described hereinabove is a known mechanism which includes appropriate biasing springs for spring loading the latching pin 54.

[0042] The improvement to the existing invention resides in the configuration of the cam plate 120 in Figure 8. The cam plate 120 is formed with a detent 123 which performs the same function as the detent 76 of the known cam plate 74. The cam plate 120 is however, formed with a raised key 122 which projects out from the face of the cam plate 120. The cam plate 120 has a mounting hole 121 into which the actuator shaft 88 is placed and then welded to securely retain the cam plate 120 to the actuator shaft 88, thus becoming one complete part. As shown in 24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 Figure 9 of the drawings, rotation of the cam plate 120 in the direction of the arrow F will cause the detent 123 to displace the latching pin 54 as previously described and engagement of the detent 123 with the abutment post 50 will cause the lever arm 42 to pivot in the direction of arrow E.

[0043] However, once the lever arm 42 has reached its second operating position, the raised key 122 that is fitted into the key-hole shaped slot 48 will arrest any further movement of the actuator cam 120 because of the fact that the actuator cam 120 is limited in its path of travel due to its engagement in the key-hole shaped slot 48.

[0044] Figure 10 is a detailed view of the cam plug. Figure 11 is a detailed view of the threaded hollow tube. Figure 12 is an exploded view of the lever handle retrofit. Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the lever handle retrofit. Figure 14 is an exploded view of the installation/removal tool 124. Figure 15 is an exploded view of the installation/removal rod 124.
Figure 16 is an exploded view of the installation/removal rod 124 engaging with the actuator cam. Figure 17 is an exploded view of an alternate embodiment of the level handle retrofit.
Figure 18 is an exploded view of the installation/removal rod 124 engaging with the actuator cam. Figure 19 is a front perspective view of a narrow stile lock. Figure 20A
shows a series of lever handles in the locked position. Figure 20B shows a series of lever handles in the unlocked position.

[0045] The detent 123 will have displaced the latching pin and then and will be halted in any further rotation by the fact that it is captured within the key-hole shaped slot of the lever arm and will then come to rest on the inner edge of the abutment post 52, and thus limiting the angular displacement of the actuator cam 120 to less than 90 degrees.
The lever handle 100 is mounted on the outer end of the actuator shaft 88 and at the opposite inner end of the actuator shaft 88 is a rounded lug which is mounted into a round shaped corresponding mounting hole 121, this is then welded so as to create one solid component. This one piece actuator shaft 88 and actuator cam 120 is formed with the result that the 90 degree movement of the actuator cam 120 can be achieved by displacing the lever handle 100 through 90 degrees. By reversing the direction of rotation of the lever handle 100, the actuator cam 120 will be returned from the position shown in broken lines to the position shown in solid lines in Figure 9. as a result of which the latching pin 54 will be again displaced by engagement with the detent 123 and the rotation of the actuator cam 120 will continue until the lever arm 42 has 24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 reached its limited path of travel. The raised key 122 which is captured in the key-hole shaped slot 48 and specifically engaged in the enlarged round hole portion 48b is limited to its path of travel and the detent 123 comes to rest on the inner edge of the abutment post 50. Thus, it will be seen that the improvement of the new invention resides in the provision of the raised cam 122 and the detent 123.

[0046] There are two other components in the new invention which are quite unique and they are the threaded hollow tube 87 and the actuator cam housing 89. The threaded hollow tube 87 has two oval holes 85 strategically placed at the inner end of the threaded hollow tube 87 and these two oval holes 85 allow the two set screws 33 to be screwed into their respective holes in the threaded hollow tube 87 and this procedure then secures the threaded hollow tube 87 in the threaded passageways 16. The two set screws 33 prevent the threaded hollow tube no 87 from rotating in the lock. The threaded hollow tube 87 is a one piece threaded hollow tube that allows the actuator shaft and cam assembly to be inserted into the door and the lock through the threaded hollow tube 87 and to engage the key-hole shaped slot 48 in the lever arm 42 and thus drive the lever arm 42 back and forth which in turn locks and unlocks the bolt 24.
The actuator cam housing 89 is a solid disc shaped component that is flat on either face and is drilled with a round hole completely through its body. The actuator cam housing 89 slides into the threaded hollow tube 87 and at the same time the actuator cam housing 89 slides over and along the actuator shaft 88 and comes to rest against the back of the actuator cam 120. In this unique way of installing the components, the pieces can all fit together to perform the locking and unlocking function as required. The actuator cam housing 89 has a square hole 99 broached longitudinally in its length. Within the same square hole 99 are additional broached squares. The square spindle 92 is then placed into the square hole 99 of the actuator shaft 88.
The lever handle escutcheon plate 93 is then fastened to the door by mounting screws 97.

[0047] The components of the new invention allow for various types of exit devices to be installed with the new invention and for that reason the appropriate mounting hardware would be required for each individual installation. This supplementary disclosure also shows improvement in the new invention in the provision of the threaded hollow tube 87 and the actuator cam housing 89. The lever handle operated cam actuator of the new invention may be located on the inside face of the door, while a key operated lock may be located on the outside of the door. The key operated lock having a cam plate 74 of the type previously described with the result that it is possible to operate the locking bolt from the inside of the door by rotating the 24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 lever handle 100 as previously described, it is necessary to utilize a key to obtain access from the outside of the door. Alternatively, where a security key lock is not required, a handle operated mechanism may be located on both sides of the door. In some instances a key access or handle access from the outside may not be required, but the door still may be required to be locked and in this case the lever handle would be required for exit as well as relocking the door from the inside.

24046162.1 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15

Claims (14)

CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 We claim:

1. A retrofit device for use with a door lock, the retrofit device comprising:
an actuator cam;
a housing for said actuator cam;
a threaded hollow tube; and a lever handle for opening the door lock;
wherein the actuator cam comprises:
an actuator shaft having an aperture for receiving a spindle from the lever handle;
a cam plate having a raised key and a mounting hole for receiving said actuator shaft; and a detent for displacing a latching pin, engaging and displacing the lever handle simultaneously, and enabling the lever handle to come to rest at a desirable angular position;
wherein the housing for the actuator cam comprises:
a cylindrical body;
a cam plug slot for receiving the actuator shaft of the actuator cam; and a mounting pin hole for receiving a mounting pin protruding from the lever handle;
wherein the lever handle comprises:
a handle plate having a spindle for inserting into the aperture of the actuator shaft;
23672493.3 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 abutment posts;
a mounting pin; and key-hole shaped slots for receiving the raised key such that the lever arm arrests the movement of the actuator cam after displacement of the latching pin.

2. The retrofit device of claim 1, wherein the actuator cam is teardrop shaped.

3. The retrofit device of claim 1, wherein the spindle from the lever handle is square.

4. The retrofit device of claim 3, wherein a square broaching is machined in the cam shaft of the actuator cam allowing for the spindle to fit in the said square broaching to allow the actuator cam to turn from a locked position to an unlocked position as required.

5. The retrofit device of claim 1, wherein the detent pushes down a spring-loaded roller in a lock housing to displace the roller and by pushing the roller to a left side and a right side within the lock housing.

6. The retrofit device of claim 5, wherein the threaded hollow tube is used to mount the actuator cam housing in the hollow tube.

7. The retrofit device of claim 6, wherein the threaded hollow tube is threaded into the lock housing.

8. The retrofit device of claim 7, wherein the threaded hollow tube has at least one hole for receiving a screw to affix the threaded hollow tube to the lock housing.

9. The retrofit device of claim 8, wherein the threaded hollow tube has a projection on an inner wall of the said threaded hollow tube.

10. The retrofit device of claim 9, wherein the projection holds the actuator cam housing in the lock housing.

11. The retrofit device of claim 10, further comprising an installation/removal tool configured to cooperate with the hollow threaded tube during installation/removal of the hollow threaded tube in the lock housing; wherein the installation/removal tool is a tube sized to fit inside the threaded 23672493.3 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15 CA 2,575,543 Blakes Ref: 20535/000001 hollow tube; and wherein said installation/removal tool has a notch on one end and said notch engages the projection.

12. The retrofit device of claim 1, wherein the actuator cam housing has a threaded hole for receiving a threaded end of an installation/removal rod.

13. The retrofit device of claim 12, wherein the actuator cam housing is cylindrical in shape, having a raised lip around a circumference of the said cylindrical actuator cam housing.

14. The retrofit device of claim 1, wherein the actuator cam shaft fits into the cam plug slot and rotates within the said cam plug slot.

23672493.3 Date Recue/Date Received 2021-01-15