EP1531221B1

EP1531221B1 - Electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic leaf opening

Info

Publication number: EP1531221B1
Application number: EP04021230A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Deo Errani; Fabrizio Soglia
Original assignee: CISA SpA
Current assignee: CISA SpA
Priority date: 2003-11-12
Filing date: 2004-09-07
Publication date: 2009-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 2024-09-07
Also published as: EP1531221A3; ITBO20030670A1; EP1531221A2; ATE433034T1; PT1531221E; ES2326884T3; DE602004021335D1

Abstract

An electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic leaf opening; in the region where an internal spring (10) acts, it is possible to arrange a tool (20) selectively in one of a plurality of seats (13, 14), even when the lock is already installed, interfering with the stroke of the arms (11, 12) of the spring (10) and being adapted to engage one of the arms (11) of the spring (10) in receptacles (A, B) of the latch (4). Once opening enabling has occurred, when the arm (11) is in a first receptacle (A), the spring (10) is not elastically tensioned and applies no torque to the latch (4), this being the setting for manual opening of the leaf; when the arm (11) is in a second receptacle (B), the spring (10) is elastically tensioned and applies a torque to the latch (4) that is suitable to move it away from said post-equipped selvage (2), this being the setting for automatic leaf opening.

Description

The present invention relates to a lock with manual or automatic leaf opening, particularly for gates and entrance doors.
Conventional electric locks, once they have received the signal that enables opening, maintain a constant mutual alignment of the latch in the selvage until an external action is applied, even though the latch has moved out of the selvage.
Such external action can be the push given to the door by the person who wants to pass through the opening, but can also be the action of a mechanical or electromechanical apparatus, designed to allow automatic opening of the leaf.
In conventional locks, when clearance to open the lock occurs, the leaf does not usually open automatically, i.e., without resorting to other elements that are external to said lock; there are constructive solutions that associate with the retraction of the latch into the opening position the action, applied between the frame of the lock and the selvage, of an appropriately provided body, generally actuated by an elastic force, which opens the leaf automatically.
In locks provided with a pawl-type engagement of the part that is rigidly coupled to the leaf with the selvage provided with a post (such as the one disclosed in Italian Patent Application BO2001A000033 or in WO 02 059 443 A in the name of the same Applicant CISA S.p.A.), two different reactions to the opening enabling impulse can occur.
In a first case, the enabling impulse that trips the electromagnet forces a snap-action disengagement of the part that is rigidly coupled to the leaf with respect to the selvage provided with a post: this snap action automatically forces the opening of the leaf, since the partial rotation of the pawl mechanism from the closed position to the open position tends to space the mechanism with respect to the post-equipped fixed selvage.
In a second constructive solution, if the enabling impulse that trips the electromagnet is provided, the pawl mechanism remains stationary in the closed position and its rotation into the open position occurs only due to an external action (for example the opening push of the person who wants to pass through the opening).
In any case, with currently commercially available locks the installer cannot select the intended type of opening and change its status in time when the lock is already installed.
The aim of the present invention is to obviate the above-cited drawbacks and to meet the mentioned requirements, by providing an electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic leaf opening in which it is possible to set the reaction that follows the opening enabling impulse.
Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a lock that is simple, relatively easy to provide in practice, safe in use, effective in operation, and has a relatively low cost.
This aim and this and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by the present electric or mechanical lock according to claim 1.
Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of an electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic leaf opening according to the invention, illustrated by way of nonlimiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a partially truncated sectional side view, taken along a longitudinal central plane, of a pawl-type engagement assembly that is rigidly coupled to the leaf of an electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic opening according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the position in which the lock is open;
Figure 2 is a partially truncated sectional side view, taken along a longitudinal central plane, of a pawl-type engagement assembly that is rigidly coupled to the leaf of an electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic opening according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the position in which the lock is closed;
Figure 3 is an axonometric projection view of a selvage equipped with a post for coupling to a pawl-type engagement assembly of an electric or mechanical lock according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 is a partially truncated sectional side view, taken along a longitudinal central plane, of a pawl-type engagement assembly that is rigidly coupled to the leaf of an electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic opening according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the configuration for manual opening;
Figure 5 is a partially truncated sectional side view, taken along a longitudinal central plane, of a pawl-type engagement assembly that is rigidly coupled to the leaf of an electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic opening according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the configuration for manual opening.

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a pawl-type engagement assembly that is rigidly coupled to the leaf of an electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic opening according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, and the reference numeral 2 generally designates the corresponding post-equipped selvage; the assembly 1 is fitted on the leaf and the selvage 2 is fitted on the fixed abutment, and the two parts mate to lock the leaf.
The engagement assembly 1 comprises an outer casing 3, inside which a latch 4 and a rocker 5 are pivoted; when the lock is open, the convex surface 6 of the latch 4 is adjacent to the concave surface 7 of the rocker 5, and the two parts are free to move with respect to each other.
When the lock is closed, the flat surface 8 of the latch 4 is forced against the retention lug 9 and this forcing prevents the rotation of the latch 4.
An angularly-acting spring 10 acts on the latch 4 and on the rocker 5, respectively with its arm 11 on the latch 4 and with its arm 12 on the outer casing 3.
Two seats 13 and 14 are provided in the casing 3 and are suitable to accommodate a tool, which is substantially constituted by a metallic cylinder 20 having a diameter suitable for insertion in the seats 13 and 14.
The function of the metallic cylinder 20 is to allow to set the lock: it is possible to use, for this purpose, also normal tools that have similar shape and size characteristics (screwdriver, punch, et cetera).
When the metallic cylinder 20 is inserted in the first seat 13, it interferes with the movement of the arm 11 of the spring 10, preventing its counterclockwise rotation beyond the point of contact between the arm 11 and said tool; in this manner, the arm 11 of the spring 10 is allowed to snap from the position identified by the receptacle A of the latch 4 to the position identified by the receptacle B.
The torque of the spring 10 is applied to the latch 4 by way of the action of the arm 11 engaged in the receptacle B, and the action of the spring 10 is intense, since in the position thus imposed the spring is tensioned.
Once opening has been enabled, therefore, the assembly 1 expels the selvage 2, since inside the casing 3 the rocker 5 rotates, placing its stop lug 9 below the flat surface 8, and the latch 4, released, rotates clockwise by way of the action of the spring 10. When the tool acts in the first seat 13, the lock, and therefore the leaf, is given the characteristics of an automatically-opening lock.
When the tool is inserted in the second seat 14, it rigidly couples the intersection point of the two arms of the spring 10, since it is internal to its turns: in this manner, the arm 11 of the spring 10 is allowed to snap from the position identified by the receptacle B of the latch 4 to the position identified by the receptacle A.
The torque of the spring 10 is applied to the latch 4 by way of the action of the arm 11 engaged in the receptacle A; this action is negligible, since the spring 10 is practically not tensioned.
Once opening has been enabled, therefore, the assembly 1 remains engaged with the selvage 2, while the rocker 5 rotates inside the housing 3, moving its stop lug 9 below the flat surface 8, and the latch 4 remains stationary, since the spring 10 does not act with its arm 11 to turn it, expelling the selvage 2. When the tool acts in the second receptacle 14, the lock, and therefore the leaf, are given the characteristics of a manually-opened lock.
It has thus been shown that the invention achieves the intended aim and object.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.
For example, it is possible to provide other seats for accommodating the tool, in order to make the lock more versatile. A third seat at the rocker 5, when said rocker is in the closed position, might in fact lock it in this position: in the case of secondary doors, one would have the possibility to disable the operation of the lock by locking it constantly in the closed condition, and to restore its operation, if needed, by shifting the tool from said third seat to one of the first two seats.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

An electric or mechanical lock with manual or automatic leaf opening, of the type that comprises a post-equipped selvage (2), which can be fixed to a frame, and a pawl-type engagement assembly (1), which, in use, is rigidly coupled to a leaf, provided with a spring (10) that has angularly acting arms (11, 12) that act on a latch (4) of the lock and on an outer casing (3) of the lock, said latch (4) being retained by a rocker lever (5) provided with a lug (9) for stopping the latch (4) in the closed configuration, said spring (10) actuating said latch (4) rotationally, respectively in the opening direction and in the stopping direction, with respect to its pivoting axis, characterized in that in the region where said spring (10) acts it is possible to arrange a tool selectively in one of a plurality of seats (13, 14) provided in the casing (3), even when the lock is already installed, interfering with the stroke of the arms (11, 12) of said spring (10) and being adapted to engage one of said arms (11, 12) of said spring (10) in receptacles (A, B) of the latch (4), once opening enabling has occurred, when the lug (9) of the rocker (5) frees the latch (4); when said arm (11) is in a first receptacle (A) of the latch (4), the spring (10) is not elastically tensioned and applies no torque to the latch (4), this being the setting for manual opening of the leaf; when said arm (11) is in a second receptacle (B) of the latch (4), the spring (10) is elastically tensioned and applies a torque to the latch (4) that is suitable to move it away from said post-equipped selvage (2), this being the setting for automatic leaf opening.
The lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the first one of said seats (13) for said tool is provided in such a position that said tool, accommodated inside it, is adjacent to the arm (11) of said spring (10) that actuates the latch (4) when said lock, and therefore said arm (11), is in the closed position.
The lock according to claim 1, characterized in that the second one of said seats (14) for said tool is provided at the intersection point of the two arms (11, 12) of the spring (10).
The lock according to claim 3, characterized in that said intersection point of the two arms (11) and (12) of the spring (10) is rigidly coupled to said tool when it is accommodated in said second receptacle (14).