EP0854258A1

EP0854258A1 - Door handle

Info

Publication number: EP0854258A1
Application number: EP98300344A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Timothy Richard Coles
Original assignee: Valdemar dos Santos Lda
Current assignee: Valdemar dos Santos Lda
Priority date: 1997-01-18
Filing date: 1998-01-19
Publication date: 1998-07-22
Also published as: GB9701051D0

Abstract

A stub-shaft (5) of a rotatable cylindrical member (4) projects forwardly from a door-plate (2) to enable a lever-handle (1) fitted to the stub-shaft (5) to turn a spindle (10) engaged with the spring-bolt follower of a latch fitted to the door. A coiled-wire spring (11) embracing the rear of the member (4) acts in conjunction with a stop-plate (12) to limit the extent of turning and provide a return bias for the member (4). The door-plate (2) is fitted to the door before or during door-installation, and the stub-shaft (5) is used directly or with a temporary handle to operate the latch until danger of damage is over, whereupon a cover-plate (3) is clipped over the plate (2) to provide a high-standard facing to the lever-handle set, and the high-standard lever-handle (1) is fitted to the stub-shaft (5).

Description

This invention relates to door furniture and is particularly concerned with lever-handle or knob sets of the kind for actuation of the bolt of a door latch (the term "latch" as used herein is to be understood to extend to locks that incorporate a latching function under lever-handle or knob actuation).

It is common during the construction or renovation of buildings or offices, to install the doors required without door furniture, leaving the fitting of the furniture until a later stage when it is less likely to be the subject of damage. However, the absence of provision for latching the doors closed, can lead to damage to the doors themselves, and the fitting of the furniture at a later stage can be uneconomical in terms of both labour and cost.

Although it is possible for the purpose of economy to fit doors with latches before they are installed, and indeed before they are transported to the site of installation, without significant risk of damage, the same is not the case with the lever-handle or knob sets required to actuate the latches. These sets, which involve lever-handles or knobs that project from surface-mounting door-plates or -roses and are normally of metal-alloy finished to a high, decorative standard, are at great risk of damage if fitted before door-installation or even before most of the construction or renovation work has been completed.

The lever-handles or knobs of the set are rotatably mounted on their door-plates or -roses, and behind the plates or roses either incorporate, or are fastened to, a spindle which engages a bolt-follower of the latch for withdrawing the bolt when the lever-handles or knobs are turned. Until the lever-handle or knob set is fitted, withdrawal of the latching bolt can be achieved only by use of a temporary spindle or tool engaged in the follower. This is normally unsatisfactory and can in itself lead to damage to the door, but notwithstanding this, delay in fitting the set to the door with consequent added labour and cost, is generally preferred to the risk of damage to the set if fitted at the same time as the latch.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a form of door lever-handle or knob set that may be used with advantage in the above-discussed context.

According to the present invention there is provided a door lever-handle or knob set for actuation of the bolt of a door-latch, in which a member is mounted for turning on a door-plate or -rose, said member being adapted for engagement behind the door-plate or -rose via a spindle with the follower of the bolt to withdraw the bolt upon turning of said member, characterised in that said member projects forwardly of the door-plate in the form of a stub-shaft, and that a lever-handle or knob of the set is adapted to engage with the stub-shaft such that turning of the lever-handle or knob turns said member.

With the door lever-handle or knob set of the present invention it is readily possible to fit the door-plate or -rose to the door when the latch is fitted and so achieve an economy of cost and labour, and to do so without prejudicing the ultimate decorative standard of the set. More particularly, the plate or rose may be fitted when the latch is fitted, even before the door is transported to the installation site, actuation of the latch being achieved whenever required using the stub-shaft. The stub-shaft may in this respect be of a robust form capable of resisting damage during transportation and during and after installation of the door, and may be turned conveniently for latch actuation using a temporarily-fitted lever-handle or knob that can be readily replaced by an appropriately-finished, permanent lever-handle or knob of the set when construction or renovation is complete and the high risk of damage has passed.

The door lever-handle or knob set of the present invention may include a cover-plate or -rose that is adapted to cover the door-plate or -rose and to clip or otherwise attach to it, to provide a facing therefor. The cover-plate or -rose, which may have an aperture therethrough to enable it to be placed over the stub-shaft with the stub-shaft projecting through the aperture, may be of sheet metal and clip resiliently to the door-plate or -rose.

A spring may be included for providing a resilient bias opposing turning of said member from a rest position relative to the door-plate or -rose. The member may project rearwardly of the door-plate or - rose and in this case the spring may be a coiled-wire spring that embraces said member where it projects rearwardly. Moreover, the spring may act in conjunction with a stop-plate to limit the angular extent of turning of said member relative to the door-plate or -rose.

A door lever-handle set in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a lever-handle and associated door-plate of the door lever-handle set of the invention;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the lever-handle and associated door-plate of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional plan to enlarged scale, taken on the line III-III of Figure 1 showing part of the door lever-handle set of the invention;

Figure 4 is a sectional end view taken on the line IV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the door-plate of Figure 1 with its lever-handle and cover-plate removed; and

Figures 6 and 7 are, respectively, a front elevation and sectional side-elevation of the cover-plate of the door-plate of Figure 1.

The door lever-handle set to be described comprises a lever-handle and an associated door-plate for fitting to one side of a door for actuation of the bolt of a latch of the door from that side. An identical door lever-handle set will generally be fitted to the opposite side of the door for actuation of the bolt from that side, but this will not be described.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4, the lever-handle 1 of the set extends horizontally from a door-plate 2 that is faced by a sheet-metal cover-plate 3. The lever-handle 1 is carried by a hollow cylindrical member 4 that is mounted for turning on the door-plate 2 and projects forwardly of it as a stub-shaft 5 of square cross-section. In this respect, a shank 6 of the lever-handle 1 has a bore 7 of square cross-section that fits closely onto the stub-shaft 5 to be secured to it by a grub screw 8. As shown in Figure 3, the grub-screw 8 extends into the square-section bore 9 of the member 4 and there bears on a spindle 10 for retaining the spindle 10 fast within the bore 9. The spindle 10, which is of a square cross-section to fit closely within the bore 9 and turn with the lever-handle 1 and member 4, extends from the bore 9 rearwardly of the plate 2 to engage in the spring-bolt follower of the latch (not shown) fitted within the door.

A coiled-wire spring 11 that embraces the cylinder 4 where it projects rearwardly from the plate 2, opposes resiliently the limited turning of the spindle 10 required to withdraw the latch bolt from its normal shot condition. More particularly, the spring 11 acts in conjunction with an associated stop-plate 12 to limit the extent of angular displacement of the shaft 4 from a rest position, and therefore correspondingly of the lever-handle 1 and the spindle 10, and also to provide a biasing torque on the cylindrical member 4. This biasing torque returns the member 4 to its rest position with the lever-handle 1 substantially horizontal, after deflection, and, through the spindle 10, augments the action of the spring-bolt follower of the latch to return the latch bolt to its shot condition.

The lever-handle set is prepared for fitting to the door with the lever-handle 1 and the cover-plate 3 disengaged from the stub-shaft 5 and door-plate 2. Holes 13 for screws (not shown) are provided in the plate 2 to enable it to be secured to the surface of the door aligned with the spindle 10 extending from the bore 9 into the spring-bolt follower of the fitted latch; where the latch includes a lock, a keyhole (not shown) will be provided in the plate 2 (and 3) and this will need to be appropriately aligned with the keyhole of the lock at the same time. Fitting is completed by pushing the lever-handle 1 onto the stub-shaft 5 and securing it with the grub-screw 8, after the cover-plate 3 has been clipped over the door-plate 2. In the latter regard and referring especially to Figures 6 and 7, the cover-plate 3, which has an aperture 14 to enable it to be placed over the projecting stub-shaft 5, has a small tongue 15 that slots down into the edge of the plate 2 and a small inward indentation 16 to give resilience for retaining the plate 3 firmly on the plate 2 with the tongue 15 engaged.

The cover-plate 3 and the lever-handle 1 are of metal-alloy finished to a high, decorative standard and are not fitted to the door until risk of damage has passed. However, the door-plate 2 with its projecting stub-shaft 5 is robust enough to allow fitting to the door beforehand, and more particularly at the same time as the latch, even when this is away from the site of installation of the door. The risk of material damage to the door-plate 2 and the stub-shaft 5 during transportation and installation of the door and also until construction or renovation work is complete, is minimal.

The fitting of the plate 2 at the same time as the latch is economical of labour and cost and enables proper, controlled operation of the latch from the start. The latch is operated simply by turning the stub-shaft 5 directly, and whereas this may be achieved by hand, it is preferable to fit an inexpensive, temporary lever-handle (not shown) onto the stub-shaft 5 to facilitate turning, when the door is installed. The temporary lever-handle is replaced by the high-quality lever-handle 1 at the appropriate time when risk of damage has passed.

Although in the example above, a door-plate of generally rectangular form and a lever-handle are used, it will be appreciated that a door-rose and/or a knob, both of generally-round form, may be used instead without departing from the essential concept of the invention.

Claims

A door lever-handle or knob set for actuation of the bolt of a door-latch, in which a member (4) is mounted for turning on a door-plate or -rose (2), said member (4) being adapted for engagement behind the door-plate or -rose (2) via a spindle (10) with the follower of the bolt to withdraw the bolt upon turning of said member (4), characterised in that said member (4) projects forwardly of the door-plate (2) in the form of a stub-shaft (5), and that a lever-handle or knob (1) of the set is adapted to engage with the stub-shaft (5) such that turning of the lever-handle or knob (1) turns said member (4).
A door lever-handle or knob set according to Claim 1 including a cover-plate or -rose (3) that is adapted to cover the door-plate or -rose (2) and to clip or otherwise attach to it, to provide a facing therefor.
A door lever-handle or knob set according to Claim 2 wherein the cover-plate or -rose (3) has an aperture (14) therethrough to enable it to be placed over the stub-shaft (5) with the stub-shaft (5) projecting through the aperture (14) in attaching the cover-plate or -rose (3) to the door-plate or -rose (2).
A door lever-handle or knob set according to Claim 3 wherein the cover-plate or - rose (3) is of sheet metal and clips resiliently to the door-plate or -rose (2).
A door lever-handle or knob set according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 including a spring (11) for providing a resilient bias opposing turning of said member (4) from a rest position relative to the door-plate or -rose (2).
A door lever-handle or knob set according to any one of Claim 5 wherein said member (4) projects rearwardly of the door-plate or - rose (2) and the spring is a coiled-wire spring (11) embracing said member (4) where it projects rearwardly as aforesaid.
A door lever-handle or knob set according to Claim 5 or Claim 6 wherein the spring (11) acts in conjunction with a stop-plate (12) to limit the angular extent of turning of said member (4) relative to the door-plate or -rose (2).
A door lever-handle or knob set according to any one of Claims 1 to 7 wherein the stub-shaft (5) is of rectangular cross-section, and the lever-handle or knob (1) has a bore (7) of corresponding rectangular cross-section to fit closely on the stub-shaft (5).
A door lever-handle or knob set according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 wherein said member (4) has a bore (9) of rectangular cross-section and the spindle (10) has a corresponding rectangular cross-section to fit closely within this latter bore (9) to turn with turning of said member (4).