EP1611304B1

EP1611304B1 - Handle arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP1611304B1
Application number: EP04726352A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lars-Ake NYSTRÖM; Dick Eriksson
Original assignee: Fix AB
Current assignee: Assa Oem AB
Priority date: 2003-04-07
Filing date: 2004-04-07
Publication date: 2009-07-29
Anticipated expiration: 2024-04-07
Also published as: SE525696C2; DK1611304T3; NO20045013L; SE0301012L; WO2004090268A2; DE602004022267D1; EP1611304A2; SE0301012D0; WO2004090268A3; ATE438005T1; NO333036B1

Abstract

A handle arrangement (1, 101) for being mounted to a door or a window comprises a handle (10) having a grip (11) and a neck (12) and a plate mountable to the door or window. An elastic member (40) has two separated legs (41, 42, 410, 420) with first leg portions (41a, 42a, 410a, 420a) arranged for engagement with a groove (13) provided in the neck of the handle. The neck of the handle exhibits an end portion which tappers in the direction towards the end and which has a smallest diameter, which is smaller than the distance between the first leg portions, whereby the handle may be introduced into a first opening (21, 31, 210, 310) in the plate and maintained by the elastic member. By this means simple mounting of the handle is achieved. The plate further exhibits a second opening (22, 32, 220, 320) for allowing a tool to be introduced to separate the legs of the elastic member in order to dismount the handle. The second opening is covered by the handle when the handle is in a locked position. Fig. 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to handles for opening and closing of doors and windows and relates more specifically to a handle arrangement arranged for easy mounting by means of a snap-in function, with which handle arrangement unauthorized or fraudulent removal of the handle is prevented.

BACKGROUND

Present handles or lever handles for doors and windows etc are usually rotably mounted to a handle plate or plate by means of a locking washer or the like, which washer maintains a neck of the handle in an opening in the plate. The plate is thereafter attached to the door or window with the handle mounted by means of e.g. screws.
Handles for being mounted to doors and windows may either be factory-mounted or mounted on site at the customer. Factory-mounting has the advantage that the door or window is ready to be put in place, thereby avoiding further mounting procedures in the form of on-site attachment of handles and other accessories. This is a great advantage since mounting of handles or the like has been rather time-consuming.
A disadvantage with factory-mounting is though that doors or windows with premounted handles require a larger space during transport since they cannot be stacked close to each other. Further there is a risk that mounted handles damage other doors or windows against which they bear during the transport. This is especially the case at balcony doors and windows or the like which exhibit fragile glass surfaces. Therefore, final mounting is often carried out on site.
A further disadvantage with known ways of mounting is that the plate-handle combination has to be decided in advance. Furthermore, it is cumbersome to demount or exchange a handle since the complete plate has to be demounted.
Thus, a problem at the prior art is to accomplish a method for easy mounting of a handle or a lever handle at a handle arrangement, whereby one can easily mount the handle to the plate on-site at the customer and thereby eliminate the disadvantages mentioned above.
The British patent GB 701 879 describes mounting of a handle, at which a resilient washer is used to retain the mounted handle in place. This washer is pushed in from the side after a disk has been passed over the handle neck and thereby it does not permit a facilitated mounting. On the contrary, the use of the washer contributes to a further mounting step.
EP 754 827 describes a handle arrangement which comprises a handle with a grip and a neck as well as a plate which comprises a lower part, an upper part and a cover. The neck can be introduced into an opening through the plate, whereby a groove around the neck is brought into engagement with an resilient bracket which is received between the lower and upper part of the plate. With the handle arrangement according to EP 754 827 a handle may thus be mounted to the plate afterwards through comparatively easy snapping-in.
However, the arrangement according to EP 754 827 also exhibits disadvantages. For demounting the handle from the plate the cover is first removed from the lower and upper part of the plate by being passed over the handle. When the cover is removed, access to a release opening in the upper part is admitted. By introducing e.g. a screw-driver through the release opening it is then possible to release the engagement between the groove of the neck and the resilient bracket, whereafter the handle may be removed. This design involves a severe disadvantage since the handle at any time may be removed also fraudulent, by proceeding as intended and as described above. The construction according to EP 754 827 furthermore exhibits a drawback since it has shown that the handle may be removed without first removing the cover and releasing the engagement between the resilient bracket and the groove of the neck by means of a tool. The fact is that it has shown possible to forcibly separate the legs of the resilient bracket and thereby release the engagement simply by pulling the handle comparatively strongly and simultaneously twisting and turning the handle somewhat back and forth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a handle arrangement, which allows for easy mounting of as well a plate and a handle forming part of the arrangement and which furthermore prevents fraudulent or unauthorized removal of the handle when it has been mounted.
The invention is based on the insight that the handle itself may be used for preventing unauthorized access to the members which commit releasing and removal of the handle.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a handle arrangement as defined by the attached claim 1 is thus achieved.
With a handle arrangement according to the invention, the above mentioned disadvantages at the prior art is eliminated or at least reduced. The handle arrangement according to the invention comprises a handle, the neck of which exhibits a tapering end portion which may be introduced between two legs of a spring which engages around the neck. This allows for very easy mounting on-site which mounting only consists of introducing the neck in a first opening of the plate. One portion of the legs of the spring is accessible through a second opening in the plate, which allows for easy demounting of the handle when so desired. The second opening is further covered by the handle when this is in a locked position, whereby unauthorized or fraudulent demounting is prevented when the door or window is locked.
According to a second aspect of the invention a handle arrangement as defined by the attached claim 7 is achieved.
According to this aspect of the invention the engagement between the resilient member and the groove in the handle neck is secured, whereby the handle cannot be removed simply by pulling, turning, twisting or in any other way of manipulating the handle. According to this aspect of the invention, it is thus guaranteed that the engagement only can be released when access to the resilient member is allowed.
Further preferred embodiments are defined by the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described more in detail and by means of examples, in connection with the attached drawings, on which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic exploded view in perspective of a handle arrangement according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention,
Fig. 2 shows the rear side of a mounting part, which forms part of the handle arrangement shown in Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 shows the front side of the mounting detail shown in Fig. 2,
Fig. 4 shows a step of introducing a handle at the handle arrangement shown in Fig. 1,
Fig. 5 shows a cross-section through a handle arrangement at the center line of a handle neck,
Fig. 6 shows a handle arrangement according to another embodiment of the invention,
Fig. 7 shows the rear side of a mounting detail, which forms part of a further embodiment of a handle arrangement according to the invention and
Fig. 8 shows a schematic cross-section with certain details eliminated along line A-A in Fig. 7.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following, preferred embodiments of the handle arrangement according to the invention will be described, at first with reference to Fig. 1. Even though the text below refers to mounting of a handle arrangement to a door, it is contemplated that the invention also concerns mounting to a window or the like.
The handle arrangement shown in Figs 1-5, generally referred to with reference number 1, comprises a handle 10, a cover 20, an attachment member 30, a spring 40 and a position-determining holder 50. The cover 20 and the attachment member 30 together form a so-called plate or handle-plate, which receives the spring 40 and the position-determining holder 50. These parts will now be described in detail.
The handle 10 comprises a grip 11 and a neck 12. The grip, which may exhibit different forms depending on functional and design requirements, continues into the neck 12, which is arranged to be introduced into a circular opening 21 in the cover 20 and a corresponding opening 31 in the attachment member 30. A plain spindle 13 with square cross-section is mounted to the handle, which plain spindle is arranged to cooperate with a follower (not shown), which is arranged in the door. The shown handle is further lockable by means of a lock cylinder 14, which is arranged to be introduced into an opening 15 provided therefore in the handle.
The cover 20, which is arranged to be mounted over the attachment member 30 also exhibits an opening 22 which overlaps a corresponding opening 32 in the attachment member 30. The purpose of this opening is to allow for demounting the handle part, as will be explained below.
The attachment member is arranged to be attached to the door by means of screws (not shown) and therefore exhibits two mounting holes 33, 34.
The spring 40 exhibits two legs 41, 42 which are mutually connected by a curved end portion 43. The legs have a form which comprises a first curved leg portion 41a, 42a, which in a mounted position essentially overlaps the attachment member's opening 31 for the handle neck. The legs further exhibit a second leg portion 41b, 42b which essentially overlaps the demounting opening 32 in the attachment member.
The position-determining holder 50 is a part with several functions. It is,manufactured of a flexible material, such as a suitable plastic material and may be pushed in from behind in the attachment member 30, where it by means of a snap-in function is retained in place. Thereby, also the spring 40 which is mounted before the holder 50 is retained in place. The holder 50 further exhibits an opening 51 which essentially overlaps the opening 31 in the attachment member. The material which defines the opening 31 exhibits protrusions 51a, 51b which are arranged to engage with corresponding longitudinal grooves 16 in the handle neck. Thereby, well defined positions for the handle are achieved at turning of the handle, at the same time as the flexibility of the holder 50 allows for turning the handle between different positions.
Fig. 2 shows an attachment member 30 with the spring 40 mounted therein. It may be seen that the attachment member exhibits two backward projecting parts 35, 36 through which the mounting screws (not shown) extend. The curved end portion 43 of the spring 40 extends around the upper one 36 of these protruding parts so that the spring is held in a well defined position. As mentioned earlier, the first leg portions 41a, 42a of the spring overlap the opening 31 in the attachment member and the second leg portions 41b, 42b with the opening 32. This can be clearly seen from Fig. 3, which shows the attachment member 30 from the front, with the therein mounted spring.
Mounting of the handle arrangement 1 will now be described. First, the spring 40 is placed in the attachment member 30 as shown in Fig. 2. Thereafter the holder 50 is snapped into position, whereby these three parts form a unit which is kept together. This unit is attached to a door by securing the above-mentioned screws. Thereafter, the cover 20 is pushed in place over the attachment member 30. This mounting is preferably carried out in a factory but it may of course also be carried out on-site. This mounting does not to any appreciable extent contribute to the thickness of the door and does therefore not render transport of the door more difficult.
Mounting of the handle 10 is carried out simply by introducing the handle neck in the openings 21, 31, therefore provided in the cover and the attachment member. The handle neck 12 contains an end portion 17 which tapers in a direction towards the end of the neck, see Fig. 4, which has a smallest diameter, which is smaller than the distance between the leg portions 41a, 42a of the spring. When the neck is introduced, the legs 41, 42 are thereby pressed away from each other and allows for further introduction of the neck. When the handle is in a fully introduced position, the legs 41, 42 snap into a circumferential groove 18 provided therefore in the neck, whereby withdrawal of the handle is prevented, without first again separating the legs. This may clearly be seen from Fig. 5, which is a cross-section through the handle arrangement, in level with the center of the neck 12.
Demounting of the handle 10 is carried out as follows. By introducing a suitable tool, such as a screw-driver, into the demounting-opening 22, 32 it is possible to separate the second leg portions 41b, 42b and thereafter withdraw the handle, since the first leg portions 41a, 42a have released their engagement with the circumferential groove 18 of the neck. However, the lockable handle does, in its locked position, block the demounting opening by means of a pin 14a, which protrudes from the lock cylinder 14 and which engages the demounting-opening. The handle may be demounted only in its unlocked position, which prevents fraudulent demounting by a person not having access to a valid key.
In an alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the handle 110 is not lockable. The general principals of mounting and demounting, which have been described above with reference to the first embodiment, are however the same.
In Figs 7 and 8 the plate of a handle arrangement according to a further embodiment of the invention is shown. Fig. 8 shows a schematic cross-section along the line A-A in Fig. 7, where the upper protruding part 360 and the spring 400 have been eliminated for increased clarity. Since this embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in Figs 1 to 5, only what concerns the design of the plate, Figs 7 and 8 do not show the handle or the attachment member. As in the embodiment shown in Figs 1 to 5, does the plate according to this embodiment comprise a cover 200 and an attachment member 300. The cover 200 and the attachment member 300 also comprise first overlapping openings 210, 310 for receiving the handle neck and second overlapping openings 220, 320 for demounting the handle. The attachment member further comprises lower 350 and upper 360 backwards projecting parts in which mounting screws (not shown) extend.
A spring 400 is received in the attachment member 300. The spring 400 exhibits two legs 410, 420, which are mutually interconnected by a curved end portion 430. The shape of the legs exhibits a first curved leg portion 410a, 420a which in a mounted position essentially overlaps the attachment member opening 310 for the handle neck. The legs further exhibit a second leg portion 410b, 420b, which essentially overlaps the demounting opening 320 in the attachment member. The curved portion 430 of the spring extends around the upper protruding portion 360, such that the spring is held in a strictly defined position. The spring is formed of a wire with circular cross-section of an elastic material such as spring steel. The cross-sectional diameter of the wire is about 1.3 mm.
The attachment member 300 differs from the attachment member shown in Figs 1 to 5 in that it comprises a cavity 370 in the form of a recess, which is formed in a surface 300a of the attachment member, which surface faces the door or window. The cavity 370 extends around the spring 400 such that the entire spring, when unloaded, is positioned within the boundary line 370a, which encloses the cavity. The boundary line 370a intersects the first opening 310 in the attachment member 300 at each opposite side of the first curved leg portions 410a, 420a of the legs 410, 420, such that the envelope surface of the first opening exhibits full material thickness at opposite portions outside the first curved leg portions 410a, 420a. The depth of the cavity is about 0.5 mm, such that only a portion of the cross-section of the spring will be received in the cavity, while the other portion will protrude above the surface 300a when the spring is placed in the cavity and bears against its bottom.
Mounting of the handle is carried out in the same simple way as described above with reference to the embodiment shown in Figs 1 to 5. When the tapering portion of the handle neck contacts the first leg portions 410a, 420a of the spring 400, the spring is forced a small distance in the direction away from the bottom of the cavity. The small depth of the cavity in relation to the cross-sectional diameter of the spring then accomplishes that the first leg portions 410a, 420a are allowed to move in the direction away from each other on or above the surface 300a. The legs 410, 420 are thus forced apart which allows for further introduction of the neck until the legs snap into the groove of the neck at a position corresponding to fully introduced handle.
When the spring has been engaged with the groove in the handle neck, there is at the embodiment shown in Figs 1 to 5 a certain risk that the engagement can be broken if one pulls the handle strongly and at the same time turns and/or twists it. The legs may then under certain circumstances be forced apart whereupon the handle may be removed. With the embodiment shown in Figs 7 and 8, this risk is eliminated. If the handle is pulled outwardly the spring 400 will be forced down into the cavity 370 and harder and harder against the bottom of the cavity 370, due to its engagement with the groove in the neck. If the legs 410, 420 hereby tend to be forced apart, they will after a very short forcing apart come in contact with the edge of the cavity, which edge is defined by the boundary line 370a. Since at least a portion of the cross-section of the leg portions 410a, 420a are placed in the cavity 370 below the surface 300a, this mechanical contact prevents the leg portions 410a, 420a to move further in the direction away from each other. By this means the legs 410, 420 are prevented from moving away from each other more than that the engagement between the spring 400 and the groove in the handle neck will be maintained, whereby the handle cannot be pulled or twisted loose.
For correct demounting of the handle, the handle is first forced in against the plate a small distance, whereby the spring is forced out of the cavity, such that the legs 410, 420 again are allowed to move in the direction away from each other. Thereafter, the handle is demounted in the way described above for the embodiment shown in Figs 1 to 5. Instead of using the handle for forcing the spring out of the cavity 370, it is also possible to use the tool in order to accomplish this displacement of the spring.
In order to achieve a correct releasable locking of the engagement between the spring and the groove in the handle neck, it is of great importance to form the cavity with a properly adjusted depth in relation to the cross-sectional diameter of the wire or the like, which forms the spring. It has shown that the depth of the cavity ought to be about 25% to 50% of the diameter of the spring wire, in order to accomplish an effective locking when the handle is pulled in a direction away from the door or window and at the same time allow releasing when the spring is brought from the bottom of the cavity in the direction towards the door or window. An especially favourable relation between the depth of the cavity and the diameter of the spring wire has proved to be achieved if the depth is about 38% of the diameter.
Preferred embodiments of a handle arrangement according to the invention have been described. It is understood that these embodiments may be varied within the scope of the attached claims. Consequently, the spring may be exchanged by another resilient element, such as a washer of sheet metal, plastic or other flexible material. Furthermore, the above described blocking cavity may also be used at handle plates which do not comprise any demounting opening. Demounting of the handle may then be accomplished when the spring has been made accessible, e.g. by unscrewing the plate from the door or window. In order to prevent unauthorized or fraudulent removal of the handle, the fastening screws for the plate should not in such a case be accessible from the handle-side of the door. The plate may be designed in a number of different ways and may comprise one, two or several separate elements. For example the cover described above may be eliminated if so is desired.

Claims

Handle arrangement for being mounted at a door or a window, which handle arrangement (1, 101) comprises:
- a handle (10, 110) comprising a grip (11) and a neck (12),

- a plate for being mounted at a door and comprising an opening (21, 31) for receiving the handle neck, and

- a resilient member (40) having two mutually separated legs (41, 42) arranged for engagement with a groove (18) in the handle neck,

- wherein the handle neck comprises an end portion (17) which tapers towards the end of the neck and which has a smallest diameter being smaller than the mutual distance between the legs of the resilient member, at a first leg portion (41a, 42a)
characterized in
that the plate has a second opening (22, 32) which is arranged such that it overlaps a second leg portion (41b, 42b) of the legs of the resilient member and such that the handle (10) covers the second opening, at a position corresponding to a locked position for the door or window.
Handle arrangement according to claim 1, comprising a lock cylinder (14) which is arranged in the handle (10).
Handle arrangement according to claim 2, wherein one part (14a) of the lock cylinder is arranged to engage with the second opening (22, 32) in the position corresponding to a locked position of the door or window.
Handle arrangement according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the resilient member (40) comprises a curved portion (43) which connects the two legs (41, 42) and which in a mounted position is held in position by a protruding part (36) of the plate.
Handle arrangement according to any of claims 1-4, comprising a holder (50) which is fixed over the resilient member for keeping the resilient member in place.
Handle arrangement according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the plate comprises an attachment member (30, 300) and a cover (20, 200), which covers the attachment member.
Handle arrangement for being mounted to a door or a window which handle arrangement (1, 101) comprises:
- a handle (10, 110) comprising a grip (11) and a neck (12),

- a plate for being mounted at a door and comprising an opening (210, 310) for receiving the handle neck, and

- a resilient member (40) having two mutually separated legs (41, 42) arranged for engagement with a groove (18) in the handle neck,

- wherein the handle neck comprises an end portion (17) which tapers against the end of the neck and which has a smallest diameter being smaller than the mutual distance between the legs of the resilient member, at a first leg portion (41a, 42a)
characterized in
that the plate, at a surface (300a) facing the door, exhibits a cavity (370), which when the legs (41, 42) of the resilient member (40) are engaged with the groove (18), prevents the legs (41, 42) from moving in a direction away from each other, when a force for pulling the handle neck (12) out from the plate is applied to the handle.
Handle arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the cavity (370) is formed as a recess around the resilient member (40) in the surface (260) of the plate, which surface faces the door.
Handle arrangement according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the plate comprises an attachment member (300) which exhibits said surface (360) facing the door.
Handle arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the plate comprises a cover (200) which covers the attachment member (300).
Handle arrangement according to any of claims 7-10, wherein the legs (41, 42) exhibit essentially circular cross-sections and the depth of the cavity (370) is between about 0.25 to 0.50, preferably about 0.38 times the cross-sectional diameter of the legs.