EP1593799B1

EP1593799B1 - A multi-purpose handle for window or door units

Info

Publication number: EP1593799B1
Application number: EP05425276A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marco Lambertini
Original assignee: GSG International SpA
Current assignee: GSG International SpA
Priority date: 2004-05-05
Filing date: 2005-04-29
Publication date: 2009-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 2025-04-29
Also published as: EP1593799A2; DE602005018128D1; ATE451516T1; EP1593799A3; ITBO20040282A1

Abstract

A handle for window or door units comprises, on at least one of its surfaces, a through hole for handle (1) movement means (2); at said hole there being control means for opening and closing the window or door unit. The handle (1) further comprises: a core-body (3) which can be connected, using retaining means (4), to the surface of the window or door unit; the core-body (3) having, on one side, a first part (5) of the movement means (2) which can be connected to the control means and, on the opposite side of the core-body (3), there being a projecting second part (6) of the movement means (2) consisting of a shaft (7) with a square cross-section; a covering element (8) for the core-body (3) which can be positioned on the core-body (3), with a through hole (9) for the shaft (7) with the square cross-section; a grip (10) which can be connected to the shaft (7) with the square cross-section; means (11) for joining the grip (10) and the shaft (7) with the square cross-section to one another, acting from the outside of the grip (10), allowing a co-ordinated opening and closing movement of the window or door unit using the grip (10).

Description

The present invention relates to a multi-purpose handle for window or door units.
At present, handles for window or door units, in particular window or door units made of metal, wood - synthetic material and the like, are divided into two main categories: handles for "exterior" window or door units (doors, French windows, windows, etc.) and handles for "interior" window or door units (for example, doors used to separate rooms).
The most widely used handles for exteriors are the known cremone handles, which comprise a handle body (usually having a prismatic shape with or without rounded edges and with a projecting central bushing for connection to the grip), from which there projects on one side said movement grip and on the other side the parts designed to operate the window or door unit closing device.
The document DE 8327683 U discloses an example of such a handle.
This basic structure gave rise to a series of models of cremone handle (for example, patent EP - 446.566 , patent IT - 1.285.897 , Utility model IT - 234.079 , all by the Applicant) with the aim of diversifying the uses of the cremone handle according to the window or door unit requirements: a bilateral handle (turning to the right, turning to the left) or multi-purpose handle, with lockable grip, a handle for tilt and turn windows, with safety lock. Another example may be the need for its use for outward opening window or door units, where it becomes essential to take into account the reduced outer height dimensions of the handle, which must,however, retain a high and reliable level of efficiency even for the other functions mentioned above: as shown, for example, in the solution by the Applicant in patent application EP-1.036.899 .
Another example, according to the preamble of claim 1, can be seen in EP 0 167 3.86 . This document show a securing system for a hinged panel such as a hollow stile window or door comprising a rotable handle which drives a rotable pinion acting on a slidable rack. The projecting operating member of the rack acts between a pair of abutments fixed to a slidable espagnolette part, to move the slidable part relative to a fixed espagnolette part secured to an edge of the window stile. Rollers, which may be tapered or flanged, can be engaged or disengaged with keepers in a fully locked position or a locked ventilation position. Optional variations of the system incorporate a two or three point locking bar system driven by the rack and pinion and a multi point espagnolette system acting on three or four sides of the hinged window panel. Different widths of stile including slimline stiles can be accommodated using slotted fixing members in one plane and by the configuration of the drive element in a perpendicular plane.
Document FR 2 560 271 relates to a bascule handle, for metal door and window frames, having a body accommodating a pair of spur racks, with lugs to connect with blocks on rods, for opening and closing. Each spur rack comprises a base rod and removable lug. The L-shaped rods have symmetrical double, shallow serrations on their longer side. One of the serrations provides connection with the gearwheel. On the shorter side, the rods have a seat to accommodate the bottom end of the appropriate lug, when firmly connected.
Document IT 1 146 524 shows a handle comprising a casing, preferably made of plastic, with a topping on a handgrip side and a containing topping on a frame side. The handle also comprises a shaft joined to the handgrip and integral with a crown gear enganged to a rack.
Document DE 83 27 683 U discloses a handle having a shaft, with a square cross-section, which is integrally formed with the handle grip. The free end of the shaft is deformable, so that it can be fixed to a movement means in the form of a disc, which includes a toothed area and a cylindrical body to be housed in a seat of the handle base.
The cylindrical body incorporates a plurality of recesses around its periphery, which can be engaged by elastic means, designed to stabilise the position of the grip.
The huge commercial expansion of these handles therefore generated a large number of different models. These may be added to the traditional models for interiors which, unlike the above-mentioned cremone handle for exteriors, have component parts with different technical characteristics (one being the fact that the movement elements are recessed in the thickness of the window or door unit) and cannot be substituted by the known cremone handles.
Moreover, it is important to consider the appearance (shape and colour) of the handles, that is to say, the need to have large numbers of handles of different colours for both types mentioned in order to be able to meet user requirements. Therefore, all of this considerably increases the size of the stores for both producers and fitters, consequently increasing the final costs of the handles and window or door units.
For this reason, the Applicant has invented and produced a set of elements which form a handle for window or doors units with which it is possible to rationalise and optimise stores thanks to the possibility of using common elements for both types of handles, both for exteriors and for interiors, and with the possibility of using some elements irrespective of the type of final colour of the handle.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a handle which includes a system for stabilising the positions assumed by the grip, wherein the dimensions of the core body are reduced.
According to the present invention, this aim is achieved by a handle for window or door units in accordance with claim 1.
The technical features of the present invention, in accordance with the above aims, are apparent in the claims herein, and the advantages are more clearly described in the detailed description below, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, without limiting the scope of its application, and in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a multi-purpose handle for window or door units in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figures 2, 3 and 4 are, respectively, a side view with some parts in cross-section, a bottom plan view and a top plan view with some parts cut away of a detail of the handle of Figure 1, that is to say, a core-body;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of another detail of the handle of Figure 1, that is to say, a covering element;
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the detail of Figure 2, providing a clearer view of the positioning means;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of another detail of the handle of Figure 1, that is to say, movement means;
Figure 8 is a partial perspective view of a part of a grip belonging to the handle illustrated in Figure 1;
Figure 9 is an enlarged view of a detail P illustrated in Figure 2;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of another technical detail of the positioning means illustrated in Figure 6.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and in particular with reference to Figure 1, the handle disclosed can be mounted on various types of window or door units (doors, windows, French windows, for interiors or exteriors, etc.) which are not illustrated here, since they are of the known type and not part of the subject matter of the present invention.
These window or door units normally comprise, on at least one surface, a through hole for handle 1 movement means 2.
At this hole there are usually control means (not illustrated) for opening and closing the window or door unit and whose structure may vary according to the type of window or door unit.
As illustrated in Figure 1, the handle 1 comprises:

a core-body 3 which can be connected, using retaining means 4, to said surface of the window or door unit; this core-body 3 having, on one side, a first part 5 of the movement means 2 which can be connected to the above-mentioned control means and, on the opposite side of the core-body 3, there projecting a second part of the movement means 2 consisting of a shaft 7 with a square cross-section and a cylindrical body 6;
a covering element 8 for the core-body 3 which can be positioned on the core-body 3 and which has a through hole 9 for the shaft 7 with the square cross-section;
a grip 10 which can be connected to the shaft 7 with the square cross-section; and
means 11 for joining the grip 10 and the shaft 7 with the square cross-section to one another, acting from the outside of the grip 10, so as to allow a co-ordinated opening and closing movement of the window or door unit by moving the grip 10.

The retaining means 4 may, for example, be screws 4v which can be applied either from the inside of the window or door unit as illustrated in Figure 1, or from the outside of the core-body 3, since they are then covered by the covering element 8.
In more detail, as Figure 8 shows, the above-mentioned grip 10 comprises one end 10a for connection to the shaft 7 with the square cross-section, which projects from the rest of the body of the grip 10.
Said end is smaller than the zone of the grip 10 it comes out of, forming an undercut designed to allow, in practice, relative locking of the covering element 8 by means of contact between the grip 10 and the core-body 3: this allows rapid covering element 8 locking without other operations.
The projecting end 10a of the grip 10 has a cylindrical external cross-section and a square internal cross-section for connection to the shaft 7 with the square cross-section.
The end 10a also has two longitudinal through holes 10b, 10c, diametrically opposed, designed to connect with the relative walls 16a and 16b in a cup (clearly visible in Figure 7).
The two walls 16a and 16b form means 16 for the predetermined connection and positioning of the grip 10. These two walls 16a and 16b are made inside the cup formed by a cylindrical body 6 and are on opposite sides of the shaft 7 with the square cross-section.
As shown in Figures 4 and 7, each wall 16a, 16b extends from the inner edge of the cup to join a relative side 7a, 7b of the shaft 7 with the square cross-section, forming a fixed connecting zone for the grip 10.
The above-mentioned means 11 for joining the grip and the shaft to one another comprise a threaded grub screw 11g which can be screwed into a respective through hole 10g in the grip 10 and which acts on the shaft 7 with the square cross-section.
The above-mentioned movement means 2 comprise (see also Figures 2, 3, 4 and 7) a single element consisting of a crown gear 5, forming the first part of the movement means 2 and the second part consisting of the shaft 7 and the cylindrical body 6, integral with the crown gear 5 and housed in a seat 3b in the core-body 3.
As illustrated in Figure 7, the cylindrical body 6 is hollow, forming the above-mentioned cup and the shaft 7 with the square cross-section comes out of it, projecting from the centre of the cup and from the core-body 3 (as shown in Figures 2 and 6).
The shaft 7 clearly projects from the core-body 3, since the latter has an outer surface 3a that is regular and extends without interruption along its entire length, without elements or surfaces projecting towards the grip 10 (as is clearly visible in Figures 1, 2 and 6).
Returning to the movement means 2, the crown gear 5 meshes (see Figure 1) with at least one rack 12 located inside the core-body 3.
This rack 12 in turn has a connecting slider 13, projecting from the core-body 3 and designed to connect, in practice and in the well known way, to the control means located in the window or door unit.
Again with reference to Figures 6 and 7, the part of the cylindrical body 6 closest to the crown gear 5 has a plurality of notches 14 around its circumference positioned at a right angle α to one another, at least a pair of notches opposite one another simultaneously engaging with elastic end of stroke snap means 15, designed to allow stabilising and positioning of the crown gear 5, and therefore also of the grip 10, when the configuration of the window or door unit is varied from an open position to a closed position and vice versa.
These elastic means 15 may comprise, in a non-restricting embodiment, a pair of sliders 17 and 18 (of which one is visible in Figure 10) located on opposite sides of the crown gear 5 and slidably positioned inside a relative channel 19 in the core-body 3.
Each of these sliders 17 and 18 has a head 20 for connection to one of the recesses 14 on the crown gear 5 and spring means 21 inserted between the slider 17, 18 and a fixed wall 22 of the channel 19, allowing respectively:

a backward movement of the slider 17, 18, by means of compression of the springs 21, and relative detachment of the head 20 from the recess 14, when the crown gear 5 rotates, and
a forward movement of the slider 17, 18, driven by the action of the springs 21, with subsequent connection of the head 20 and another recess 14 again caused by the rotation of the crown gear 5.

This solution may be substituted, for example, by simple elastic elements arranged parallel with one another along the sides of the core-body 3, and in contact with opposite sides of the ring hear 5 so as to perform the cursor 17 and 18 functions described above.
As illustrated in particular in Figure 9, the elements forming the movement means 2 are stably connected to the core-body 3 by a retaining snap ring 23, inserted between the seat 3b of the core-body 3 and the cylindrical body 6 with the cup of the movement means 2 so as to allow rotating locking of the movement means 2 on the core-body 3. A handle structured in this way, therefore, achieves the preset aims, thanks to a combination of construction elements which bring a series of advantages:

use of a single base element consisting of the core-body and of movement means having a shaft with a square cross-section, which can be made without the need for external colouring and, therefore, one kind of production and reduction of the items held in the stores;
presence of a covering element designed to provide the most suitable colour matching when the handle is fitted;
standardised grip type both for handles for exteriors and those for interiors, thus reducing the number of items that have to be held in the stores;
the grip, like the covering element, can have both its model and colour selected at the last minute and without affecting assembly of the core-body;
connection of the grip to the movement means may also lock the covering element without any further operations which could damage the covering element;
system for stabilising the positions assumed by the grip located in the core-body, reducing the dimensions of the core-body.

Claims

A handle for window or door units, said window or door units comprising, on at least one of its surfaces, a through hole for handle (1) movement means (2); at said hole there being control means for opening and closing the window or door unit, the handle comprising:
- a core-body (3) which can be connected, using retaining means (4), to the surface of the window or door unit; the core-body (3) having, on one side, a first part (5) of the movement means (2) which can be connected to the control means and, on the opposite side of the core-body (3), there being a projecting second part of the movement means (2), comprising a shaft (7) with a square cross-section;

- a covering element (8) for the core-body (3) which can be positioned on the core-body (3) and has a through hole (9) for the shaft (7) with the square cross-section;

- a grip (10) which can be connected to the shaft (7) with the square cross-section;

- means (11) for joining the grip (10) and the shaft (7) with the square cross-section to one another, acting from the outside of the grip (10), allowing a co-ordinated opening and closing movement of the window or door unit using the grip (10), the movement means (2) comprises a single element consisting of a crown gear (5), forming the first part of the movement means (2) and also consisting of said second part, the crown gear (5) meshing with at least one rack (12) located inside the core-body (3), the rack (12) in turn having a connecting slider (13), projecting from the core-body (3) and designed to connect, in practice, with control means located in the window or door unit, the handle being characterized in that said second part also comprises a cylindrical body (6), integral with the crown gear (5) and housed in a seat (3b) in the core-body (3), the cylindrical body (6) being hollow and forming a cup and the shaft (7) with the square cross-section coming out of it, projecting from the centre of the cup and from the core-body (3), the portion of the cylindrical body (6) closest to the crown gear (5) having a plurality of recesses (14) around its circumference positioned at a right angle (α) to one another, at least an opposite pair being simultaneously engaged by elastic end of stroke snap means (15), designed to allow stabilising and positioning of the crown gear (5), that is to say, of a grip (10), when the configuration of a window or door unit is varied from an open position to a closed position and vice versa.
The handle according to claim 1, characterised in that the grip (10) comprises an end (10a) for connection to the shaft (7) with the square cross-section, said end (10a) projecting from the rest of the body of the grip (10) and being smaller than the zone of the grip (10) it comes out of, so as to form an undercut designed to allow, in practice, relative locking of the covering element (8) by means of contact between the grip (10) and the core-body (3).
The handle according to claim 1, comprising connecting means (16) for the predetermined connection and positioning of the grip (10) located inside the core-body (3) and integral with the movement means (2); the connecting means (16) comprising two walls (16a, 16b) made inside the cup formed by the cylindrical body (6) and on opposite sides of the shaft (7) with the square cross-section; each wall (16a, 16b) extending from the inner edge of the cup to join a relative side (7a, 7b) of the shaft (7) with the square cross-section, forming a fixed connecting zone for the grip (10).
The handle according to claim 3, characterised in that the grip (10) has a projecting end (10a) with a cylindrical external cross-section and a square internal cross-section for connection to the shaft (7) with the square cross-section; said end (10a) having two longitudinal through holes (10b, 10c), diametrically opposed, designed to connect with the relative walls (16a, 16b) in the cup.
The handle according to claim 1, characterised in that the core-body (3) has an outer surface (3a) that is regular and extends without interruption along its entire length, without elements or surfaces projecting towards the grip (10); the outer surface (3a) having a seat (3b) in which part of the movements means (2) is housed.
The handle according to claim 1, characterised in that the end of stroke snap means (15) comprise a pair of sliders (17, 18) located on opposite sides of the crown gear (5) and slidably positioned inside a relative channel (19) in the core-body (3); each slider (17, 18) having a head (20) for connection to one of the recesses (14) on the crown gear (5) and spring means (21) inserted between the slider (17, 18) and a fixed wall (22) of the channel (19) allowing, respectively, a backward movement of the slider (17, 18), by compression of the spring means (21), and relative detachment of the head (20) and the recess (14), when the crown gear (5) rotates, and a forward movement of the slider (17, 18), driven by the action of the spring means (21), with subsequent connection of the head (20) and another recess (14) again caused by the rotation of the crown gear (5).
The handle according to claim 1, characterised in that the means (11) for joining the grip and the shaft to one another comprise a threaded grub screw (11g) which can be screwed into a respective through hole (10g) in the grip (10) and acting on the shaft (7) with the square cross-section.
The handle according to claim 1, characterised in that the movement means (2) are stably connected to the core-body (3) by a retaining snap ring (23), inserted between a seat (3b) of the core-body (3) and a cylindrical body (6) which is part of the core-body (3), allowing rotating locking of the movement means (2) on the core-body (3).