EP2045422A2

EP2045422A2 - Lock for a door for a caravan, camper van or the like

Info

Publication number: EP2045422A2
Application number: EP08012545A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Max Zigerlig
Original assignee: Rollbridge Trading Corp
Current assignee: ERMINI, MASSIMO
Priority date: 2007-10-02
Filing date: 2008-07-11
Publication date: 2009-04-08
Also published as: CH702030B1; EP2045422A3

Abstract

Lock for a door for a caravan, camper van or the like, comprising one or more bolts (C) capable of fastening the door to its frame, in which lock the bolt (C) is composed of two rotatable shaped plates (2, 3) mechanically interacting with each other, said plates (2, 3) being pivoted (2p, 3p) within the body of the door, a first plate interacting mechanically owing to its shape with the jamb (M) of the doorframe, so that when it strikes said jamb (M) it is pushed to rotate about its pin (2p) and is locked by a pawl (A) formed on the second plate, thereby closing the door (P).

Description

This invention relates to the technical field of devices for opening and closing doors of vehicles in general and is particularly designed for vehicles such as caravans, camper vans or the like.
The actual subject of the invention is a lock for a door for a caravan, camper van or the like as described in the preamble of Claim 1.
In the context of the present description the term "lock" means a mechanical device which by means of the movement of a bolt opens and closes a door, in this particular case a door of a vehicle in general, and in particular a vehicle such as a caravan, camper van or the like.
To the inventor's knowledge, locks in the prior art currently consist of a series of mechanical parts, specifically one or more bolts, built into the door and shaped in such a way as to allow the door to be fastened to a pin projecting from the frame of said door, the pin being fixed securely to said frame, in particular to the jamb that is not hinged to the door by one or more pintles. This projection of the pin is disadvantageous because in the first place it reduces the minimum breadth of the opening between the two jambs of the doorframe, and in the second place the projection in question can be a hindrance to the passage of people since the clothing of a person moving over the threshold into or out of the vehicle in question can accidentally catch on it.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the abovementioned problems and provide a lock with structural characteristics such as to avoid the use of pins projecting from the doorframe for the door to lock onto. The technical issue therefore which is addressed by the invention is a lock with a device comprising bolts such as to enable the door to be closed and opened where the fastening pins mounted on the jamb do not project or where the jamb is simply reinforced in the region where the fastening takes place.
This object is achieved with the structural features enumerated in Claim 1, particularly in the characterizing part.
Advantageous developments of the lock of the invention are set out in the dependent claims, which represent embodiments necessarily belonging to the technical scope encompassed by Claim 1.
Further advantages which flow from the present invention are principally the following: the fastening pin mounted on the jamb is built into the latter and does not project from it at any point, and the minimum distance between the doorframe jambs is greater than in conventional doors.
The invention will now be explained with reference to the appended drawings, which show schematically certain preferred embodiments given purely by way of non-restrictive example, because technical or constructional variants can always be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view in horizontal section of the door 1, said door P belonging to a vehicle (not shown in the illustration), especially a caravan, camper van or the like. The illustration shows the bolt C, which comprises two shaped plates 2 and 3 rotatable about their pins 2p and 3p.
Figure 2 shows the same view as figure 1, with the same structural elements as already present in figure 1 and as mentioned in the previous paragraph, where the door can be seen in the process of shutting, the connecting plate being made to rotate about the pin 2p by the contact of the connecting plate with the pin fixed to the jamb M.
Figure 3 shows the same view as figure 1, in which the door P is closed and connected to the frame (of which only part is shown, in this case the jamb).
Figure 4 shows in a view and a section similar to figure 1 a lock belonging to the prior art, in which can be seen a fastening pin 10 which projects from the frame and locks the door 11 by means of a bolt 12.
Figure 5 is a front view of the door built into the frame N.
The subject of the invention is a lock S for a door for a caravan or camper van or the like, comprising one or more bolts C located within the door.
The bolt C is a mechanical device provided with elements 2, 3 which are moveable relative to the door P. Said bolt C can be used to fasten the door P to the jamb of the frame M, and consists in particular of two plates 2, 3 of predetermined shape, as can be seen in fig. 1. The plate is made of some strong material, especially a metallic material.
Said two plates are hinged inside the door P and their degree of freedom is limited to rotation about their respective pins 2p, 3p, with which they are provided and by means of which they are connected to the body of the door P.
A first plate, here called the connecting plate 2, allows the door P to be fastened to the doorframe, in particular to the jamb M, and acts as an intermediate fastening element between the door P and said jamb M.
The connecting plate 2 is of a shape such that, when the door P is being closed and makes contact, a pin not projecting from the doorframe PM strikes the connecting plate 2 and causes it to rotate about its pin 2p.
Figure 1 also shows that the connecting plate 2 is of a shape formed by two projections in the shape of an "L" when viewed from above. When the door is in the process of closing, one arm contacts a part of the fastening pin with which the jamb is provided, causing the plate to rotate about its pin 2p.
The second plate 3, here termed the security plate 3, because its function is to prevent rotation of the connecting plate 2, is also hinged to the body of the door P by a pin 3p whose axis is vertical and parallel to the axis of the pin of the connecting plate 2.
The security plate 3 is provided with a pawl A, which is in contact with the outer body of the connecting plate 2. An elastic means acting on the security plate forces the pawl A against the connecting plate 2. In its rotation, as the door is closing, the pawl A of the security plate 3 drops into a cavity formed in the surface of the connecting plate 2.
The security plate 3 is connected mechanically to a handle which if operated disengages the pawl when the latter is engaged in the abovementioned cavity.
In the embodiments described thus far, as is clearly visible in the illustrations attached to the text, the first plate 2 and the second plate 3 lie in mutually parallel planes. Another embodiment is a lock with the same functionalities as indicated above, in which the second plate 3 is positioned in a plane perpendicular to the first plate 2.

Claims

Lock for a door for a caravan, camper van or the like, comprising one or more bolts (C) capable of fastening the door to its frame, said lock being characterized in that the bolt (C) is composed of two rotatable shaped plates (2, 3) mechanically interacting with each other, said plates (2, 3) being pivoted (2p, 3p) within the body of the door, a first plate (2) interacting mechanically owing to its shape with the jamb (M) of the doorframe, so that when it strikes said jamb (M) it is pushed to rotate about its pin (2p) and is locked by a pawl (A) formed on the second plate (3), thereby closing the door.
Lock for a door for a caravan, camper van or the like according to Claim 1, in which said first plate (2) which strikes the jamb has part of its outline shaped like an "L" and has a cavity suitable for housing the pawl (A) of the second plate (3).
Lock for a door for a caravan, camper van or the like according to one of the preceding claims, in which the second plate (3) is connected by mechanical means to a handle.
Lock for a door for a caravan, camper van or the like according to one of the preceding claims, in which the second plate (3) is positioned in a plane perpendicular to the first plate (2).
Use of a lock according to one of the preceding claims in door opening/closing devices.