EP1747335B1

EP1747335B1 - Divided spindle

Info

Publication number: EP1747335B1
Application number: EP05741915A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sauli SEPPÄNEN
Original assignee: Abloy Oy
Current assignee: Abloy Oy
Priority date: 2004-05-19
Filing date: 2005-05-17
Publication date: 2008-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 2025-05-17
Also published as: EP1747335A1; DK1747335T3; FI20045183A0; NO332872B1; WO2005111347A1; RU2354797C2; FI117210B; NO20065851L; DE602005004778T2; ATE386183T1; DE602005004778D1; FI20045183A; RU2006145037A

Abstract

This invention relates to lock spindles divided into two parts and connected by a connecting pin. The invention particularly relates to solenoid locks. The invention eliminates the unwanted effect of an external force applied on the divided spindle. The divided spindle includes at least one flexible element and, in some embodiment, a bore extension that prevents unwanted frictional forces caused by an external force applied to the spindle.

Description

Branch of technology

This invention relates to lock spindles divided into two parts and interconnected by a connecting pin. The invention also relates to locks with a divided spindle. The invention particularly relates to solenoid lock types and corresponding mechanical lock types.

Prior art

Figure 1 illustrates a prior art divided spindle composed of two spindle parts 4, 5 and a connecting pin 6 interconnecting these. In the embodiment of Figure 1, the connecting pin is a one-piece bolt that is screwed into a bore in one of the spindle parts 4 by bolt threads so that the driving end 15 of the bolt 6 remains within an extension of the bore going through the other spindle part 5. The driving end 15 can be turned through the bore in the spindle part 5 by an Allen wrench, for example, depending on the type of tool for which the driving end is machined. The spindle parts 4, 5 of the divided spindle can rotate independently of each other.
A handle of the desired type can be attached to each of the spindle parts. In the example in Figure 1, the spindle parts 5, 4 are fitted with lever handles 3, 2. The lock cover plates are not shown in Figure 1. In some embodiments the handles are not attached to the spindle but to the lock cover plates using bearings and a locking ring, for example.
In the embodiment of Figure 1, a solenoid lock (or a corresponding mechanical type of lock) is fitted to the door 1, and the divided spindle is installed into this. Only the parts of the lock necessary for this description are illustrated. The lock body 8 is fitted with a follower 9 and drivers 10, 11 for both spindle parts 5, 4. When the handle 3 is turned to open the door 1, the spindle part 5 turns, simultaneously turning the driver 10 specific to the spindle part. The driver 10 transfers the torsional force applied to the spindle to the follower 9, which is linked to the lock bolt and opens the lock. Correspondingly, when the handle 2 is turned to open the door 1 from the opposite side of the door, the spindle part 4 turns, simultaneously turning the driver 11 specific to the spindle part. The driver transfers the torsional force to the follower 9.
Furthermore, there is a separate washer 7 between the spindle parts 5 and 4. A separate washer is not required in some embodiments, as the follower 9 is fitted with a sleeve ring that settles into the gap between the spindle parts.
In Figure 1, the handle 3 and spindle part 5 are inside the door, on the so-called exit side. This means that the door can always be opened using handle 3 as necessary. This example does not account for any deadlocking arrangement. In other words, there is always a link from the spindle part 5 through the driver 10 to the follower 9.
The handle 2 and spindle part 4 are outside the door, on the so-called control side. This means that the transmission of torsional force applied to the handle 2 and spindle part 4 to the follower of the lock can be prevented. In this case, the handle 2 makes a dead turn, and the door can only be opened if the lock is opened by a mechanical key, for example. The transmission of torsional force is prevented on the control side using a solenoid, which results in the door becoming locked.
Furthermore, a divided spindle composed of two spindle parts is known from DE 203 15 688 U .
The problem with the embodiment of Figure 1 lies in the fact that a locked door can nevertheless be opened from the outside if a sufficient force affecting the spindle is applied to the handle 2 and the spindle part 4, particularly in the longitudinal direction of the spindle, while the handle is turned. The force 12 can be either a pushing force, a pulling force, or a lateral force.
For example, if the handle 2 is pushed with force, the spindle part 4 moves towards the inner side of the door, simultaneously pushing the driver 11 towards the follower 9. Sufficient friction surfaces 13 are formed at the contact surfaces between the follower 9 and the driver 11, which creates a link from the handle 2 to the follower 9. Simultaneous forceful pushing and turning of the handle causes unwanted opening of the lock.
If the handle 2 is pulled with force, a friction surface 14 is formed between the inside spindle part 5 and the driving end 15 of the bolt. Due to the strong pulling force, the friction surface is sufficient to transfer the torque of simultaneous turning force on the handle 2 through the inside spindle part 5 to the driver 10 and the follower 9. Simultaneous strong pulling and turning force on the handle 2 causes unwanted opening of the lock through its inside driver 10.
It is also possible that in certain types of locks and/or handles, a force applied on the spindle that contains a lateral component will result in either of the cases of unwanted opening of the lock described in the above.
The objective of the invention is to eliminate the described problem. The objective will be achieved as presented in the claims.

Short description of invention

The invention eliminates the effect of an external force (particularly a longitudinal force) applied to a divided spindle on the opposite-side spindle and other parts of the lock. The divided spindle has at least one flexible element, depending on the embodiment. Furthermore, some embodiments of a divided spindle have a separate bore extension part also in the second spindle part. This prevents the formation of a sufficiently large friction surface due to pushing or lateral pulling/pushing.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the divided spindle comprises a flexible element 25 that can be placed into a bore 29 in the first spindle part. The flexible element surrounds the connecting pin 23 installed through it and the first spindle part 21 and remains in the space left between one end 24 of the connecting pin and the first spindle part. Furthermore, the bore 210 in the second spindle part 22 has an extension part 27 at the end of the second spindle part 22 that can be placed against the first spindle 21. A less preferred embodiment is otherwise similar to the one described above, but there is no extension part 27 of the bore 210 in the second spindle part.
In another embodiment of the invention, the divided spindle comprises, in addition to the structures mentioned above, another flexible element 211 that can be placed into the extension part 27 of the bore in the second spindle part. In this case the second flexible element surrounds the connecting pin 23 installed through it and the second spindle part. Thus, in its basic embodiment, a divided lock spindle according to the invention has a first spindle part 21, a second spindle part 22 and a connection pin 23 interconnecting the spindle parts, both parts comprising a bore 29, 210 for the connection pin 23, as well as a flexible element 25 in the first spindle. Furthermore, in other embodiments of the invention, the second spindle part has a bore extension part 27 or a bore extension part 27 and a second flexible element 211.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, which comprises two flexible elements and a bore extension part in the second spindle, the second spindle part comprises an intermediate spindle 22A in addition to the actual spindle part 22. In this embodiment, the second flexible element 211 is placed into the bore extension part 27 of the actual spindle part 22 and the corresponding extension part 212 of the intermediate spindle 22A. The intermediate spindle has a bore through it for the connecting pin. Thus the actual spindle part 22 and the intermediate spindle 22A can be placed against each other at the ends of the bore extension parts 27, 212 in the spindles. The first flexible element 25 can be placed into the first spindle part 21, making the flexible element surround the connecting pin 23 installed through it and the first spindle part and making the flexible element remain in the space left between one end (the driving end) of the connecting pin and the first spindle part, just as in the other embodiments. The second flexible element 27 can be placed into the bore extension parts 27, 212 in the intermediate spindle 22A and the actual spindle 22C within the second spindle part 22. Either one of said flexible elements will yield in the longitudinal direction of the divided spindle when an external force, particularly in the longitudinal direction, is applied to the divided spindle.

List of figures

In the following, the invention is described in more detail by reference to the enclosed drawings, where
Figure 1 illustrates an example of a prior art divided spindle,
Figure 2 illustrates an example of an embodiment of the invention,
Figure 3 illustrates an example of another embodiment of the invention,
Figure 4 illustrates the example of Figure 3 from another angle,
Figure 5 illustrates an example of yet another embodiment of the invention,
Figure 6 illustrates the example of Figure 5 from another angle,
Figure 7 illustrates an example of the realisation of the intermediate spindle in one of the embodiments of the invention, and
Figure 8 illustrates an example of me realisation of the actual spindle part in one of the embodiments of the invention.

Description of the invention

Figure 2 illustrates an example of an embodiment of the invention where a connecting pin 23 has been installed through a bore 29 in the first spindle part 21 to a bore 210 in the second spindle part 22. The connecting pin is screwed by its threads 26 to the second spindle part. The connecting pin end 24 remains in the bore 29 in the first spindle part 21, making the flexible element (the first flexible element) 25 in the bore of the first spindle part remain in the space between the connecting pin end 24 and the body of the first spindle part. A gap 28 remains between the first spindle part 21 and the second spindle part 22.
When the spindle illustrated in Figure 2 is installed to a lock, the flexible element 25 and the bore extension part 27 in the second spindle part prevent the unwanted effects of a force applied to a handle fitted to the second spindle part 22, for example. For example, if said handle is pressed or pulled in a lateral direction compared to the spindle, the bore extension part 27 and the flexible element 25 will prevent the adverse frictional force imposed by this external force on the spindle and/or lock from becoming too great, making it impossible to open the lock in an unwanted way. If, on the other hand, an external force essentially longitudinal to the spindle is applied to the spindle, the flexible element 25 will yield when the handle is pulled, preventing any adverse frictional force. If said handle is pushed with force and the handle has a sliding connection with the spindle part 22, the sliding motion of the handle prevents any adverse frictional force caused by pushing. Therefore the embodiment of Figure 2 is advantageous for applications where the handle is attached to the lock cover plate and can slide in the longitudinal direction of the spindle part.
However, it is also possible to create an embodiment according to Figure 2 with no bore extension part 27 in the second spindle part. The bold-face designation for the extension part 27 illustrates this possibility in Figure 2. In this basic embodiment, it is however required that the handle linked to the second spindle part 22 is fitted to the cover plate in a manner that allows sufficient movement of the handle in relation to the second spindle part. This may be difficult to implement in practice.
Figure 3 illustrates an example of another embodiment of the invention. The structure of this embodiment is similar to the one illustrated in Figure 2, but in addition, it comprises a second flexible element 211 placed in the bore extension part 27 of the second spindle part 22. In this embodiment, the handles can be fitted directly on the spindle part by screws, for example, so that the handle cannot slide in the longitudinal direction of the spindle. The second flexible element 27 prevents any adverse frictional force, for example when the second spindle part 22 or a handle attached to it is pushed with force towards the first spindle part. Naturally, this embodiment takes forces applied to the spindle from other directions into account as well, corresponding to what has been described above. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional illustration of the example in Figure 3.
In the embodiment of Figure 3, where two flexible elements are used, the first flexible element 25 is preferably less flexible than the corresponding flexible element 25 in the embodiment of Figure 2. This creates the desired functionality in both embodiments. Because it is preferred in all practical embodiments of the invention that the flexible elements 25, 211 are springs, greater flexibility in the embodiment of Figure 2 can be achieved by using a spring that is longer but otherwise similar to the one in the embodiment of Figure 3.
When the divided spindle illustrated in Figure 3 is installed into a lock, the end of the second flexible element 211 closer to the first spindle part 21 settles against the lock.
Figure 5 illustrates an example of yet another embodiment of the invention. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional illustration the embodiment of Figure 5 from another angle. Let us assume that the first spindle part 21 is the inside spindle part and the second spindle part 22 is the outside spindle part. Figure 5 illustrates the spindle in its installation configuration (like the previous Figures 2 to 4), where the connecting pin 23 is screwed into the second spindle part 22 by the bolt threads 26, more precisely into the bore 210 in the second spindle part. The driving end 24 of the connecting pin remains in the extension part of the bore 29 in the first spindle part 21. The first flexible element 25 is placed into the bore 29 in the first spindle part and remains between the driving end 24 of the connecting pin and the first spindle part 21. The first flexible element 25 guarantees the flexibility of the spindle, particularly in the longitudinal direction, if the second spindle 22 is pulled away from the first spindle 21, which in a practical installation means away from the door. A gap 28 remains between the spindle parts. The spindle parts 21, 22 can rotate independently of each other, just like in the previous embodiments.
In addition to the actual spindle part, the second spindle part 22 comprises an intermediate spindle 22A. The intermediate spindle and the actual spindle part contain a bore for the connecting pin 23. The bore in the intermediate spindle goes through the intermediate spindle. These bores include the extension parts 27, 212. Thus the second spindle part 22 forms an unity 22S together with the intermediate spindle. The actual spindle part 22 and the intermediate spindle 22A can be placed against each other at the ends of the bore extension parts 27, 212 in the spindles. The second flexible element 211 is placed into the bore extension parts 27, 212 in the actual spindle and the intermediate spindle, leaving a gap 213 between the actual spindle part and the intermediate spindle. The gap 213 and the second flexible element 211 guarantee the flexibility of the spindle, particularly in the longitudinal direction, if the second spindle 22 is pushed towards the first spindle 21, which in a practical installation means towards the door.
Furthermore, in the embodiment of Figure 5, the gap 213 between the second spindle part 22 and the intermediate spindle 22A is covered by a separate collar 22B, which provides support, connects the intermediate spindle to the actual spindle through its body, and protects the second flexible element 211. The actual spindle part, the intermediate spindle, or both are allowed to move within the collar 22B. The collar is not required to be a separate component. It can also be an integral part of either the intermediate spindle or the actual spindle. Figure 7 illustrates an embodiment of the intermediate spindle 22A where the collar 41 is an integral part. In this embodiment, the actual spindle part can move within the collar extension 41. Figure 8 illustrates an embodiment of the actual spindle 22 where the collar 51 is an integral part. In this embodiment, the intermediate spindle can move within the collar extension 51.
Thus the examples in Figures 2 to 6 are based on the assumption that the first spindle part 21 is the inside spindle part and the second spindle part 22 is the outside spindle part. Let us further assume that the spindles according to the Figures are installed in a solenoid lock or a mechanical lock implementing a corresponding function as illustrated in Figure 1. If a force 12 particularly in the longitudinal direction of the spindle is applied to the outside spindle part 22, the flexible element 25 or 211 (please note the embodiment of Figure 2 separately) prevents force from being transferred to the follower 9. The described examples also account for unwanted transmission of force to the follower due to a lateral force being applied to the spindle part.
In the embodiments of Figures 3 to 6, for example, if the second spindle part 22 is pulled and turned simultaneously, the first flexible element 25 will yield, preventing the transmission of force through the inside driver 10 to the lock's follower 9. On the other hand, if the second spindle part 22 is pushed and turned simultaneously, the second flexible element 211 will yield, preventing the transmission of force to the outside driver 11 and through it to the follower.
As described, the invention can be implemented in several different embodiments. The flexible elements 25, 211 can be springs, for example. It is also advantageous to the operation of the spindle that the flexible element 25 (such as a spring) placed into the first spindle part 21 is a less flexible element and the flexible element 211 (such as a spring) placed into the second spindle part 22 is a more flexible element. Both flexible elements 25 and 211 can yield by 1 to 4 mm, for example, with the exact distance depending on the requirements of the embodiment. In the example of Figure 5, the width of the gap 213 remaining between the spindle parts at the second flexible element 211 determines the maximum yield.
Even though the second spindle part 22 in the examples of Figures 2 to 6 is the outside spindle part, a divided spindle can also be placed into a lock so that the second spindle part is the inside spindle part and the first spindle part is the outside spindle part.
It is preferred that the divided spindle according to the invention be constructed so that when an attempt is made to open the lock by force, the handle will break first, followed by the spindle and finally the lock.
The connecting pin can be implemented in different ways. For example, it can be a bolt with threads that can be screwed into the actual spindle of the second spindle part, with the driving end remaining in the bore of the first spindle part upon installation of the divided spindle.
It is evident from the examples presented above that an embodiment of the invention can be created using a variety of different solutions. It is also evident that the invention is not limited to the examples mentioned in this text but can be implemented in many other different embodiments within the scope of the inventive idea, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A divided spindle of a lock comprising a first spindle part (21), a second spindle part (22) and a connecting pin (23) interconnecting the spindle parts, both parts comprising a bore (29, 210) for the connecting pin, characterised in that the divided spindle comprises a flexible element (25) that is placed into a bore (29) in the first spindle part (21), making the flexible element (25) surround the connecting pin (23) installed through it and the first spindle part (21) and making the flexible element (25) remain in the space left between one end (24) of the connecting pin (23) and the first spindle part (21).
A spindle according to Claim 1, characterised in that the bore (210) in the second spindle part (22) includes an extension part (27) at the end of the second spindle part (22) that can be placed against the first spindles part (21).
A spindle according to Claim 2, characterised in that the divided spindle comprises a second flexible element (211) that is placed into the extension part (27) of the second spindle part (22), making the second flexible element (211) surround the connecting pin (25) installed through it and the second spindle part (22).
A spindle according to Claim 3, characterised in that when the divided spindle is installed in a lock, the end of the second flexible element (211) closer to the first spindle part (21) settles against the lock.
A spindle according to any of the Claims 3 or 4, characterised in that the second spindle part (22) additionally comprises an intermediate spindle (22A) with a bore through it for the connecting pin (23), said bore having an extension part at one of the ends of the intermediate spindle (22A) and said intermediate spindle (22A) allowing its placement against the actual second spindle part (22) at the end of the bore extension part in the intermediate spindle, in which case the end of the second flexible element (211) closer to the first spindle part (21) settles into the bore extension part in the intermediate spindle (22A).
A spindle according to Claim 5, characterised in that the intermediate spindle of the second spindle part (22) comprises a collar extension (41).
A spindle according to Claim 5, characterised in that the actual second spindle part (22) comprises a collar extension (51) into which the intermediate spindle (22A) can be placed.
A spindle according to Claim 5, characterised in that it comprises a collar (22B) that can be placed over the bore extension parts in the intermediate spindle (22A) and the second spindle part (22), thus connecting the intermediate spindle (22A) and the second spindle part (22).
A spindle according to any of the Claims 6, 7 or 8, characterised in that the intermediate spindle (22A), the second spindle part (22), or both are allowed to move within a collar.
A spindle according to any of the Claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the flexible elements (25, 211) are springs.
A spindle according to any of the Claims 3 to 10, characterised in that the flexible part (25) placed into the first spindle part (21) is less flexible and the flexible part (211) placed into the second spindle part (22) is more flexible.
A spindle according to any of the Claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the second spindle part (22) is an outside spindle. 2
A spindle according to any of the Claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the connecting pin (23) is a bolt, the threads of which can be screwed into the second spindle part (22), and the driving end of which will remain in a bore in the first spindle part (21) upon installation of the divided spindle.
A spindle according to any of the Claims 1 to 13, characterised in that the bore in the first spindle part (21) comprises an extension part.