DE69900729T2 - Lock, especially for metal door frame posts - Google Patents

Abstract

The lock (1), particularly for uprights of metal door frames, comprises a boxlike body or casing (2) associable with a front plate (3), and having a bolt (4) inside it, the bolt (4) is operated by a cylinder through a kinematic means (5), the cylinder is operated by a key, a moving means (6) for moving the rotational fulcrum (14) of the bolt (4) from at least a first position to a second position for preventing the return of the bolt (4) into the casing (2) when the bolt (4) is subjected to an undesired return force to make it return into the casing (2). <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a lock, in particular for posts of metal door frames.

It is known that in the present type of locks (such as FR-A-2 646 873) for metal door or window frames, the bolt is moved by rotation about a rotation axis or by translation by means of gears by one or more turns of the key.

A rotating latch has advantages over a sliding latch, such as greater resistance to breaking, further protrusion from the jamb, and greater resistance to a horizontal thrust that would push a sliding latch back into the housing.

However, a rotating latch is less resistant to an upward thrust than the sliding latch because an upward force would push the rotating latch back into the housing.

In addition, with traditional locks it is not possible to replace the spring latch with a cylinder or vice versa and/or to change the direction of the spring latch with a simple operation without at least partially dismantling the lock.

It must also be said that with traditional locks it is not possible to adjust the return spring of the latch or the roller.

The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned deficiencies of the prior art.

The object of the present invention is to provide a lock in which the bolt is prevented from returning to the housing when it is subjected to an undesirable force, such as an upward force.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock in which the spring latch can be replaced by the roller and vice versa without having to disassemble the lock.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock in which the spring of the spring latch or the roller can be adjusted as required.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a lock in which the latch or roller can be spaced apart from the housing as required.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a lock in which the force required to turn the key is reduced, although the size of the bolt is considerable.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an extremely versatile lock, the housing of which is closed on all sides.

The above aim is achieved, and these and other tasks are solved by means of a lock, in particular for jambs of metal door frames, with a box-like body or housing connectable to a front panel and having at least one latch, the latch being actuated by a cylinder via a kinematic means and the cylinder being actuated by a key, characterized in that it includes movement means for moving the axis of rotation of the latch from at least a first position to a second position to prevent the return of the latch into the housing when the latch is subjected to an undesirable return force to move it back into the housing.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a lock, in particular for jambs or metal door frames, according to the invention, which is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the housing of the open lock and shows the internal kinematics according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the lock of Fig. 1, shown simplified for better understanding of its operation;

Figures 3 to 6 show schematically how rotation of the latch is prevented when an upward force is applied to the latch to retract the latch into the housing;

Fig. 7 is an exploded view of the components of the lock shown in Fig. 1 according to the invention; and

Fig. 8 to 11 show the different and versatile uses of the lock according to the invention.

In the above drawings, the lock generally indicated by the reference numeral 1, in particular for jambs of metal door frames, comprises a box-like body or housing 2 connectable to a front plate 3, as can be clearly seen in Figs. 8 to 11.

The housing 2 contains at least one latch 4 which is actuated by a cylinder for a kinematic means which generally bears the reference numeral 5. The cylinder, which is actuated for example by means of a key, is known per se and is not shown in the drawings.

The kinematic means actuates the latch 4 and comprises a wheel 20 suitably equipped with a toothed sector 21 which engages a rack 22 having a tooth 17 designed to cause rotation of the latch, as shown for example in Figures 2 and 3. When the latch is in a fully external position to the housing, the tooth 17 engages the latch, effectively counteracting any undesirable force attempting to push the latch back into the housing.

By engaging the tooth 17, the bolt transfers the undesired force mainly to its rotation axis, thereby enabling the movement of the rotation axis by a movement means 6. The movement means 6 causes the bolt rotation axis to move from at least a first position to a second position, thereby preventing the bolt from moving back into the housing when the bolt is subjected to an undesired force and in particular an upward force, as shown by the arrow in Figs. 5 and 6. In addition, the lock is provided with securing means which are actuated by the movement of the rotation axis 14 from the first position to the second position.

In particular, the securing means comprise first retaining means for keeping the latch 4 outside the housing 2 as soon as the latch is outside the housing, that is, when the door or window frame is closed.

The first retaining members hold the latch together with the housing 2 and are formed by two movable pins 8 and 9 arranged inside the latch 4.

The pins are loaded by first elastic means or spring means, which are constituted by respective springs, not shown in the drawings, and which, as will be better illustrated hereinafter, load the movable pins to enter a respective seat 10 or 11 provided on a plate 12 connected to the housing 2.

The movement means 6 comprise a preset resistance member adapted to yield when the undesirable force applied to the latch exceeds the resistance of the preset resistance member, but is still less than the counterforce applied to the latch by the tooth 17.

In a preferred embodiment, the preset resistance element is formed, for example, by a membrane 6 which, as can be seen in Figs. 5 and 6, yields when an upward force is applied to the latch and thus moves the pivot axis 14 upwards.

This upward movement causes the pins 8 and 9, which were previously offset with respect to the respective seats 10 and 11, to move into a position coaxial with the seats, whereupon, under the action of the respective Springs, not shown in the drawings, move into the seats.

In this way, the bolt and the housing with the plate 12 become one piece, which enables the bolt to withstand much higher forces than those borne by conventional locks.

Despite the fact that, by means of the above-described embodiment, the lock according to the invention achieves an effectively higher resistance than that provided for by the current regulations for locks, in the event that the undesirable force applied upwards is very high, the bolt is nevertheless prevented from returning into the housing due to the second retaining means outside the housing 2.

The second retaining means has an edge 15 of a housing opening 16 for the latch 4 when the rotation axis is in the first position, i.e. in the operating position.

Once the rotation axis has moved, as shown in Fig. 6, in particular from the first position, as shown in Fig. 3, to the second position, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, whereby the pins 8 and 9 break, the latch rotates as shown in the dashed lines in Fig. 6, but is prevented from returning to the housing through the opening 16 because the movement of its rotation axis causes its end to abut against the edge 15 of the opening 16. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the resistance member 6 can be formed, for example, by a spring (not shown) designed to push the rotation axis 14 back to its first position when the undesirable force is no longer applied to the latch.

In this case, the pins 8 and 9 can, for example, have an inclined surface, whereby, when the undesirable force is no longer applied and the axis of rotation has returned to the first position, the pins automatically return to the bolt and are moved out of the respective seats 10 and 11, thus completely restoring the functionality of the lock, if the lock has not been damaged.

The toothed sector 21 has two teeth 18 which have a different shape from the third tooth 10 and are designed to engage with the rack. The teeth of the rack are suitably shaped and spaced for optimal engagement both when opening and closing the latch.

The tooth 17 of the rack carries a control pawl 23, which does not act directly on the latch, but rather on second elastic means constituted by a spring 24 and designed to maintain a constant perfect engagement between the toothed sector 21 and the rack, thus preventing any undesirable movement of the rack 22 with respect to the toothed sector 21, while the latch moves out of or into the housing 2.

Due to the toothed sector 21 in the above embodiment, the gear 20 enables a reduction in the effort required to open and close the bolt, since the friction on the bolt is less than half the friction in conventional locks.

In addition, the lock according to the invention can be equipped with a translation bolt 26, as shown in Fig. 9. The translation bolt 26 combined with the rotating bolt 4 creates an effective Barrier against accidental activation of the lock.

In fact, the translation latch is designed to be inserted into a hole provided on a counter-plate not shown in the drawings, thus preventing the upright 3 from being raised with respect to the same plate.

Irrespective of the fact that the bolt described above can have the possibility of moving its axis of rotation with the resulting advantages, the lock according to the invention can also be equipped with a connecting means designed to connect a latch 30, a roller 31 or a cap 39 to the housing 2.

In this way, the roller can be exchanged with the latch and vice versa in a simple and quick manner as required, as described here.

The connection means allowing interchangeability between the roller and the pawl and vice versa are constituted by a block 32 with an engagement means formed by a pivot 33 which is acted upon by third elastic means, namely a spring not shown in the drawings, and is designed to be inserted into a seat 34 provided on a plate 35 connected to the housing 2.

By simply pressing on the pivot 33 through a corresponding hole 36 provided on the housing 2, the pivot 33 can be brought out of the seat 34 by compressing the spring, thus making it possible to pull the roller or the pawl away from the housing 2 in order to replace them.

Reinserting the roller or pawl into the housing is done by reversing the above procedure.

The distance between the pawl 30 or the roller 31 and its respective block 32 can also be adjusted by rotating the pawl or the roller about its respective axis, since the pawl or the roller engages with its respective block by a thread 36.

Furthermore, the force of the roller or pawl return spring 40 can be adjusted by means of an adjustment means comprising a seat 41 having two rigid projections 42 engaging the pivot pins 43 around which the spring 40 rotates, thus preventing the rotation of the spring.

In particular, the spring 40 has a portion 45 designed to engage in a seat 46 of the pivot 43 which can be raised by a screwdriver through a hole provided in the housing 2.

By pushing the pivot pin 43 out of the locking projections 42 with the aid of the screwdriver, the screwdriver can be rotated, thereby adjusting the spring 45 as required or depending on whether the roller or the pawl is used, thereby allowing re-engagement of the pivot pin 43 with the locking projections 42, thereby keeping the spring adjusted in the selected position.

It must be said that, as shown in Fig. 8, 9 and 10, the lock according to the invention has a considerable modular capacity.

It is thus possible to obtain arrangements with different combinations that allow various modifications of the product, thus creating greater resistance to attempts to break the lock.

The assembly of the lock and the deflectors 50 is fastened to the front by screws, and the rods connecting the lock to the deflectors 50 are the same for all versions.

The deflections 50 can be equipped with a rotating latch and/or with a sliding latch, thus enabling different versions of the product.

The lock according to the invention can have numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the basic inventive idea. In addition, all details can be replaced by technically equivalent elements.

The materials used and the dimensions can be any depending on the specific needs and the state of the art.

Claims (17)

1. Lock, in particular for jambs of metal door frames, with a box-like body or housing (2) connectable to a front plate (3) and containing in its interior at least one bolt (4), the bolt (4) being operated by means of a cylinder (5) via kinematic means and the cylinder (5) by means of a key, characterized in that it contains movement means (6) for moving the axis of rotation (14) of the bolt (4) from at least a first position to a second position in order to prevent the return of the bolt (4) into the housing (2) when the bolt (4) is subjected to an undesirable return force to move it back into the housing. 2. Lock according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains securing means which are activated by the movement of the axis of rotation from the first position to the second position. 3. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the securing means contain first retaining means holding the bolt out of the housing, the first retaining means being adapted to fix the bolt with respect to the housing. 4. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises second retaining means adapted to keep the bolt out of the housing. 5. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the movement means comprise a preset resistance member adapted to that it gives way when the unwanted force exceeds the resistance. 6. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first retaining means comprise at least one movable pin loaded by first elastic means inside the bolt, the at least one pin being adapted to enter, when the axis of rotation is in the second position, a corresponding seat provided on a plate connected to the housing. 7. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second retaining means, when the axis of rotation is in the second position, is formed by an edge of the opening of the housing through which the bolt moves. 8. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the kinematic means comprise a wheel having a toothed sector and actuated by the cylinder, the wheel engaging a rack having a tooth for rotating the bolt and adapted to hold the bolt out of the housing. 9. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a pawl which is connected to the control tooth and engages second elastic means provided on the bolt. 10. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one translation bolt designed to engage in a hole of its own provided on a counter-plate in order to prevent the metal post from being lifted. 11. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it contains connecting means for connecting either a latch or a roller to the housing. 12. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connecting means comprise a block connected to either the latch or the roller, the block having engagement means adapted to engage the block with a seat provided within the housing so that the block is removably retained in the seat. 13. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the engagement means comprise a movable pin which is loaded by third elastic means in the block. 14. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the latch or the roller has adjustment means for adjusting its distance from the block. 15. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises adjusting means for adjusting the force of the return spring of the latch or the roller. 16. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjustment means comprise at least one seat with at least one locking projection adapted to prevent rotation of a pivot of the spring in a first position and to enable rotation of the pivot in a second position to adjust the force of the spring. 17. Lock according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the preset resistance element is a spring which is adapted so that the rotation axis of the bolt, when the force is no longer applied, is pressed back into its starting position, wherein at least the pivot pin is provided with an inclined surface so that the bolt, when the rotation axis is in the starting position, automatically returns.