EP1621707B1

EP1621707B1 - An assembly of elements comprising a control device for door and window frame handles

Info

Publication number: EP1621707B1
Application number: EP05106666A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marco Lambertini
Original assignee: GSG International SpA
Current assignee: GSG International SpA
Priority date: 2004-07-21
Filing date: 2005-07-20
Publication date: 2007-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 2025-07-20
Also published as: ATE362574T1; EP1621707A1; DE602005001140D1; ITBO20040452A1; DE602005001140T2

Abstract

An assembly of elements comprising a control device (1) for door and window frame handles (2) of the type comprising a fixed portion and a mobile portion (3); the mobile portion (3) has a perimeter channel housing actuators (4) for opening and closing the mobile portion (3); the mobile portion (3) houses operators (5) acting on the actuators (4), controlled by a grip (6) connected to the operators (5), and rotating about a horizontal axis (Y); the operators (5) comprise: a first main box body (7) which can be housed in the mobile portion (3) and designed to contain a partially toothed wheel (8) having a coupling seat (9) for the grip (6); a sliding rod (10) supported by the first body (7) having a surface fitted with an actuating rack (12); a toothed carriage (13) positioned between and coupled to the rack (12) and the partially toothed wheel (8), and designed to transmit motion between these parts when the grip (6) is rotated thus moving the rod (10); and a first cover (14) attached at its edges to the first body (7) so as to define a closed box body.

Description

The present invention concerns an assembly of parts making up a control device for door and window frame handles which can be fitted to side-hung or tilt-and-turn door and window frames made from metal, PVC, wood-PVC or similar materials.
Frames of the type described above are well known and have long been in use. In most cases these frames are fitted with cremone bolt type handles as the device for opening and closing the frame.
This type of handle (see, for example the patent EP - 446.566 in the name of the same applicant) consists substantially of an external grip rotating on and coupled to a handle body, to rods and drives which, running along the usual seats made along the entire edge of the profile section, open and close the door or window frame (of the conventional side-hung or tilt-and-turn type).
The grip is connected, inside the handle body, to a toothed gear wheel engaged by opposing bands to crossways rods which are connected internally to the rods and drives cited previously.
These handles are technically and aesthetically very acceptable but have the drawback that their design gives them a bulky, intrusive appearance, which does not always match the design and appearance specifications of some of the many applications currently in use.
These specifications, particularly in those cases where the appearance of the frame is of primary importance (for example, in the case of mixed aluminium-wood or PVC-wood frames) make it necessary to limit the external dimensions of the entire handle and also to provide the possibility of making one or more changes over a period of time to match changes in the style and colour of surrounding interior furnishings. This would be the case, for example, where the introduction of new furniture necessitates changes in furnishings and fittings.
To make such changes would certainly be more costly and slower with a conventional cremone handle of the type described above (that is, where the grip and the control components form a single unit) than it would be with a simple handle with a grip only.
In order to overcome these drawbacks, solutions were developed where the two parts of the handle, that is, the control components and the grip, were separated into two distinct components.
The control components can be housed inside the hollow tubular profile comprising the mobile frame of the door/window frame, while the grip alone (for example, a hammer type grip) is applied to the outside of the profile and mechanically coupled to the control components which are usually enclosed in a box housing as shown in EP0443177.
While this solution makes it possible to vary the grip alone to match colour and design requirements thus providing considerable economic benefits, difficulties were encountered in rationalising the number of components of the control devices needed to guarantee optimum functioning and, above all, in limiting the number of models and components needed for the various sizes of tubular frame section currently present on the market.
In other words, the advantages previously described are partially cancelled out by the manufacturing and stocking costs of the control components involved.
The purpose of the present invention is therefore to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above by providing an assembly of parts comprising a control device for door and window frame handles which is extremely versatile and which can, therefore, be used as required with various frame sizes and which, at the same time, has an extremely small number of parts; the invention offers these advantages while maintaining a high degree of reliability and mechanical precision.
The present invention achieves this purpose through an assembly of elements according to the subject matter of claim 1.
The technical characteristics of the invention, with reference to the above aims, are clearly described in the claims below and its advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows, and from the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention provided merely by way of example without limiting the scope of the inventive step, and in which:

Figure 1 shows a part of a frame fitted with the control device for door and window frame handles according to the present invention, in a front diagrammatic view with some parts cut away so as to better illustrate others;
Figure 2 shows an exploded, perspective view of a first embodiment of a control device for door and window frame handles as described in the present invention;
Figure 3 shows an exploded, perspective view of a second embodiment of a control device for door and window frame handles as described in the present invention;
Figures 4 and 5 show perspective views of the first and second embodiments respectively, of the control device for door and window frame handles as described in the present invention in their assembled form;
Figure 6 is a side diagrammatic view showing a detail of a frame fitted with the control device where the incorrect operation safety device acting on the control device is visible;
Figures 7 and 8 show two different components of the incorrect operation safety device fitted to the control device shown in the previous figure seen in perspective and side views, respectively.

The attached drawings and in particular the figures 1, 2 and 3 show the assembly of elements herein described and used to form a control device, indicated as a whole with the number 1, for handles applied to door and window frames 2.
Figures 1 and 6 show the frame 2 comprising a fixed portion PF and a mobile portion 3 each made from horizontal and vertical perimeter profiles (the frame is of a known type and therefore only partially shown in the figures).
The mobile portion 3 has a central tubular section and one seat or perimeter channel CP housing the actuators 4 for opening and closing the mobile portion 3 with respect to the fixed portion PF (the drive rods shown in Figure 1 forming part of the actuators are of a known type and are not strictly part of the invention and are therefore only partially shown).
The mobile portion 3 also houses, in a special seat, operators 5 acting on the actuators 4 for opening (to the side-hung or tilted position) or closing the mobile portion 3: this action is controlled by the grip 6 mechanically linked to the operators 5, outside the mobile portion 3, and rotating about a horizontal axis Y.
Figure 2 shows that the operators 5 comprise:

a first element or main box body 7 which can be housed in the seat of the mobile portion 3, to support and contain the following:

a partially toothed wheel 8 having a coupling seat 9 for the grip 6;
a sliding rod 10 supported by the first body 7 having at its ends coupling means 11 for the actuators 4 and a surface fitted with an actuating rack 12;
a toothed carriage 13 positioned between and coupled to the rack 12 and the partially toothed wheel 8 and designed to transmit motion between these parts when the grip 6 is rotated thus moving the rod 10 (see arrows F and F1); and
a first cover 14 attached at its edges to the first body 7 so as to define a closed box body.

To complete the set of elements comprising the operators 5 there is also (see Figure 3) a second box body 15 which is interchangeable with the first body 7 but smaller in size than the same, designed to provide a direct coupling between the partially toothed wheel 8 and the rack 12; there is a second cover 16 attached at its edges to the second body 15 so as to define a closed box body.
In other words, with a limited number of components starting with the two components always present (toothed wheel 8 and rod 10) and with a similarly-shaped but different-sized body, it is possible to cover all frame 2 sizes without the need for a large number of different types of operator 5.
With reference to Figure 2, the toothed carriage 13 comprises a first surface 13a with two end teeth 17a and 17b engaging at the front with the rack 12, and a second surface 13b, opposite the first surface 13a, having gear toothing 18 for engagement with the partially toothed wheel 8: this arrangement enables the direct and precise transfer of movement from the grip 6 to the rod 10 over the wheel 8 and the carriage 13.
The coupling means 11 of the rod 10 comprise pins 11a and 11b coupled to the actuators 4 present at the two ends of the rod 10 and projecting from the first or second body 7, 15. In the case shown in Figure 1, the pins 11a and 11b are coupled to corresponding seats present in the drive rods.
The surface of the rod 10 can also be fitted with a stop element 19 opposite the corresponding surface of the rack 12.
The first and second box bodies 7 and 15 (see Figures 4 and 5), in combination with the first and second covers 14 and 16, have a circular, through seat 20 for inserting the shaft 21 connecting the grip 6 with the toothed wheel 8, and a sliding base surface 22 for the rod 10 between the ends of the body 7, 15 (the shaft 21 is shown as a broken line in Figure 1).
Figures 2 to 5 show the circular through seat 20 on the first and second bodies 7, 15 with a centre-to-centre distance indicated respectively with A1 and A2 and measured from the circular seat base surface 22, this centre-to-centre distance being different for the first and second bodies 7, 15.
In addition, the first and second bodies 7, 15 each house a cursor 23 (see Figure 2) for locking and releasing the sliding action of the rod 10 (this is the incorrect operation safety device).
This cursor 23 extends crossways across the horizontal axis of rotation Y of the grip 6 and passes through a first slot 24 made in the base surface 22 of the bodies 7, 15.
The rod 10 is also in turn provided with a second slot 25 through which the cursor 23 passes and at least three separate seats 26 coupling with part of the cursor 23 and made on the section with the rack 12 (the three seats correspond to the three settings obtained with the mobile portion 3, that is: closed, and opened to the side-hung position and to the tilted position).
Figures 6 and 8 show that the cursor 23 is fitted with elastic means 27, positioned between the cursor 23 and the body 7, 15, designed to assist the movement of the cursor 23 between a first advanced operating position (shown by a continuous line in Figure 6), where the cursor 23 projects outside the body 7, 15 and its base 23a is coupled with one of the seats 26 of the rod 10 in such a way as to block by interference the sliding action of the rod 10, and a second operating position (shown by a dashed line in Figure 6), where the cursor 23 is completely housed inside the body 7, 15 and where the rod 10 is free to slide and thus enable changes in the setting of the frame 2.
The elastic means consist of a spring 27 positioned between the base 23a of the cursor 23 and a support stop 28 which can be coupled to the body 7, 15 (see Figure 8).
In order to enable movement of the cursor 23, there is a guide surface 29 positioned on the fixed portion PF of the frame 2 facing the cursor 23 at the closed setting position of the frame 2; in this way the closing action of the mobile portion 3 and, therefore, the contact between the cursor 23 and the guide surface 29 permits the passage of the cursor 23 from the first advanced position to the second retracted position (shown by the arrow F23 in Figure 6) designed to enable movement of the rod 10.
In a preferred embodiment, the guide surface 29 has an inclined shape in order to assist the capture of the cursor 23, and is made on a plate 30 which can be connected to the fixed portion PF of the frame 2.
A device constructed in this way achieves the aims of the invention thanks to the standardisation of the components making up the device.
The invention enables the use of two types of housing body only. Both bodies have a toothed wheel, a drive rod with cremone bolt system and a incorrect operation safety cursor. The larger of the two box bodies also has a toothed carriage. All these features combine to make a device which enables high levels of rationalisation in manufacturing activities and material stocking.
The design of the device also enables quick and rapid mounting, a high standard of product quality and high levels of functional reliability.
The invention described here may be subject to numerous modifications and variations without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept as claimed.

Claims

An assembly of elements comprising a control device (1) for door and window frame handles (2), the door and window being of the type comprising a fixed portion (PF) and a mobile portion (3) each consisting of horizontal and vertical perimeter profiles; at least the mobile portion (3) has a central tubular section and a seat or perimeter channel (CP) housing the actuators (4) for opening and closing the mobile portion (3) with respect to the fixed portion; the assembly of elements comprising operators (5) housed in mounting condition in a special seat of the mobile portion (3), said operators (5) acting on the actuators (4) for opening and closing the mobile portion (3) this action being controlled by a grip (6) mechanically linked to the operators (5), outside the mobile portion (3), and rotating about a horizontal axis (Y), wherein the operators (5) comprise at least:
- a first element or main box body (7) which can be housed in the seat of the mobile portion (3), to support and contain the following

- a partially toothed wheel (8) having a coupling seat (9) for the grip (6);

- a sliding rod (10) supported by the first body (7) having at its ends coupling means (11) for the actuators (4) and a surface fitted with an actuating rack (12);

- a toothed carriage (13) positioned between and coupled to the rack (12) and the partially toothed wheel (8) and designed to transmit motion between these parts when the grip (6) is rotated thus moving the rod (10); and

- a first cover (14) attached at its edges to the first body (7) so as to define a closed box body; the assembly of elements being characterised in that the operators (5) further comprise:

- a second box body (15) which is interchangeable with the first body (7), but smaller in size than the same, designed to provide a direct coupling between the partially toothed wheel (8) and the rack (12); and

- a second cover (16) attached at its edges to the second body (15) so as to define a closed box body.
An assembly of elements according to claim 1, characterised in that the toothed carriage (13) comprises a first surface (13a) with two end teeth (17a, 17b) engaging with the rack (12) and a second surface (13b), opposite the first surface (13a), having gear toothing (18) for engagement with the partially toothed wheel (8).
An assembly of elements according to claim 1, characterised in that the coupling means (11) of the rod (10) comprise pins (11a, 11b) coupled to the actuators (4) present at the two ends of the rod (10) and projecting from the first or second body (7, 15).
An assembly of elements according to claim 1, characterised in that the surface of the rod (10) has a stop element (19) opposite the corresponding surface of the rack (12).
An assembly of elements according to claim 1, characterised in that each of the first and second box bodies (7, 15) has a circular, through seat (20) for inserting the shaft (21) connecting the grip (6) with the toothed wheel (8), and a sliding base surface (22) for the rod (10) between the ends of the body (7, 15).
An assembly of elements according to claim 5, characterised in that the circular seat (20) is made on the first and second bodies (7, 15) and has a centre-to-centre distance (A1, A2), measured from the base surface (22), which is different for the first and second bodies (7, 15).
An assembly of elements according to claim 1, characterised in that the first and second bodies (7, 15) each house a cursor (23) for locking and releasing the sliding action of the rod (10); this cursor (23) extending crossways across the horizontal axis of rotation (Y) of the grip (6) and passing through a first slot (24) made in the base surface (22) of the bodies (7, 15); the rod (10) being also in turn provided with a second slot (25) through which the cursor (23) passes and at least three separate seats (26) coupling with part of the cursor (23) and made on the section with the rack (12).
An assembly of elements according to claim 7, characterised in that the cursor (23) is fitted with elastic means (27) positioned between the cursor (23) and the body (7, 15) designed to assist the movement of the cursor (23) between a first advanced operating position, where the cursor (23) projects outside the body (7, 15) and its base (23a) is coupled with the seat (26) of the rod (10) in such a way as to block by interference the sliding action of the rod (10), and a second operating position, where the cursor (23) is completely housed inside the body (7, 15) and where the rod (10) is free to slide.
An assembly of elements according to claim 8, characterised in that the elastic means consist of a spring (27) positioned between the base (23a) of the cursor (23) and a support stop (28) which can be coupled to the body (7, 15).
An assembly of elements according to claim 7, characterised in that there is a guide surface (29) positioned on the fixed portion (PF) of the frame (2) facing the cursor (23) at the closed setting position of the frame (2) in such a way as to permit the passage of the cursor (23) from the first advanced position to the second retracted position.
An assembly of elements according to claim 10, characterised in that the guide surface (29) has an inclined shape and is made on a plate (30) which can be connected to the fixed portion (PF).