EP3599328A1

EP3599328A1 - Panic lock for doors

Info

Publication number: EP3599328A1
Application number: EP18000629.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roger Andreu Pallerola
Original assignee: Openers and Closers SL
Current assignee: Openers and Closers SL
Priority date: 2018-07-26
Filing date: 2018-07-26
Publication date: 2020-01-29
Anticipated expiration: 2038-07-26
Also published as: ES2827187T3; PL3599328T3; PT3599328T; EP3599328B8; EP3599328B1

Abstract

A panic lock for doors that comprises a box (1), a base (2), a rotating latch (3) and an electromechanical locking and unlocking mechanism comprising a movable carriage that has windows (43) with cavities (45, 46) with a configuration suitable for housing opposite ends of two cylinders (41, 42), and the movement thereof between: - a locked position of the latch (3), wherein the contact points of the cylinders (41, 42) with respect to each other, of the first cylinder (41) with a contact surface (22) of the base and of the second cylinder (42) with a contact surface (33) of the heel (32) of the latch, are aligned on a plane generally perpendicular to the contact surface (22, 33); and - an unlocked position of the latch (3) wherein said contact points are misaligned.

Description

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a panic lock for doors that comprises a box provided with a base on which a latch is mounted, by means of a shaft, which is capable of rotating between a closed position and an open position, depending on the position of a mechanism for locking and unlocking said latch.

Field of application of the invention

This invention is applicable in the field dedicated to the manufacture and installation of panic locks for doors.

Background of the invention

In this section it is important to note the existence of national utility model ES1182909U held by the same applicant as the present invention and which describes a panic lock for doors.
Said lock comprises a box provided with a base on which a latch is mounted, by means of a shaft, which is capable of rotating between a locked position and an unlocked position of a door; and an electromechanical mechanism for locking and unlocking the latch.
Said electromechanical mechanism comprises a carriage holding two freely-rotating cylinders, parallel to the shaft of the latch, and actuation means to move the aforementioned carriage between a locked position and an unlocked position of the latch.
In the locked position, the cylinders are arranged between the base and the proximal area of a heel of the latch, preventing the rotation of the latch towards the open position, while in the open position, the aforementioned cylinders move in an opposite direction causing the unlocking of the latch and therefore enabling the rotation of the latch towards the open position of the lock.
These panic locks are generally installed in emergency exit doors, the carriage holding the cylinders remaining in a locked position of the latch during the time that the electromagnet responsible for moving the carriage towards the locked position is in an operative position and connected to electrical power.
In this type of panic lock, it is necessary for the latch to unlock automatically in the event of an electrical power failure, thus enabling the door to be opened.
The aforementioned prior art already used elastic elements that move the carriage holding the locking cylinders towards an open position to reach this aim.
A general drawback of this type of panic lock is the risk that the cylinders responsible for keeping the lock in a locked position can enable an undesired unlocking of the lock when a high force is applied on the latch in the opening direction, and that said latch, through the heel or rear area thereof, exerts a push force on the pair of cylinders in an oblique direction, which is capable of causing the movement of the carriage holding the cylinders towards an unlocked position, with the resulting opening of the panic lock.
Therefore, the technical problem posed is the development of a panic lock for doors that prevent an undesired movement of the carriage holding the cylinders towards an unlocked position of the latch due to an unsuitable arrangement of said cylinders when the lock is in a closed or locked position and a high force is exerted on the latch in an opening direction.

Description of the invention

The panic lock for doors object of this invention, which is of the type mentioned above and has a series of known characteristics, included in the preamble of the first claim, has particular constructive features intended to prevent the application of a high force on the latch in the opening direction thereof from causing the movement of the cylinders and the carriage towards an unlocked position when said carriage is in the locked position of the latch.
Therefore, and in accordance with the invention, the carriage comprises two windows parallel to the shaft of the latch, which are vertically elongated and provided with, in an intermediate area, an inner projection that delimits a lower cavity and an upper cavity wherein the opposite ends of the first and second cylinders are mounted; said cavities having configurations suitable for the limited movement of the cylinders between a locked position of the latch and an unlocked position of the latch,
In the aforementioned locked position of the latch, the contact points of the cylinders with respect to each other, the contact points of the first cylinder with a contact surface of the base of the box, and the contact points of the second cylinder with a contact surface of the heel of the latch are aligned on a plane perpendicular to the contact surfaces of the base and the heel of the latch, such that the force applied on the latch in the rotation and opening direction of the same is directly transmitted, regardless of the intensity thereof, to the base of the box, preventing the cylinders from being subjected to forces with lateral components or that are decentralised with respect to the plane of the contact points, in this way preventing the first and second cylinders from transmitting to the carriage a force in the unlocking direction of the latch.
In the unlocked position of the latch, the contact points of the cylinders with respect to each other, the contact points of the first cylinder with the base of the lid and the contact points of the second cylinder with the heel of the latch are misaligned such that when a force is applied to the latch in an opening direction of the lock, said latch causes the cylinders to transmit to the carriage a force in the unlocking direction of the latch through said cylinders.
Preferably in the locked position of the latch, the contact surfaces of the base and the heel of the latch with the first cylinder and the second cylinder respectively define, with respect to each other, an angle comprised between 0 and 2°, which facilitates the free rotation of said cylinders towards an initial unlocked position wherein the second cylinder is arranged facing a curved rear end of the heel of the latch.
In this way, when the electromagnets are deactivated and the carriage begins to move towards the unlocked position of the latch, the misalignment of the contact points determines that the latch transmits to the carriage, through the cylinders, a push force in the locking direction of said latch.

Description of the figures

As a complement to the description provided herein, and for the purpose of helping to make the characteristics of the invention more readily understandable, this specification is accompanied by a set of drawings which, by way of illustration and not limitation, represent the following.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the panic lock according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows a perspective exploded view of the panic lock of the previous figure.
Figure 3 shows an expanded profile view of the panic lock of the previous figures, with the cross section through a vertical plane, in the locked position of the latch.
Figures 4 and 5 both show cross sections, which are similar to those of figure 3, wherein the lock is represented in an initial position and a final open position.

Preferred embodiment of the Invention

In the exemplary embodiment shown in the attached figures, the panic lock for doors comprises a box (1) and a base (2) on which a latch (3) is mounted, by means of a shaft (31), which is capable of rotating between a closed position shown in figures 1 and 3, and an open position shown in figure 5. A carriage (4) holding a first cylinder (41) and a second cylinder (42), arranged parallel to the rotation shaft (31) of the latch (3) and resting against each other, is housed inside the box.
This carriage (4) is mounted to allow the possibility of longitudinal movement on guides (21) of the base (2) between a forward locked position of the latch in the closed position and a rear unlocked position of the latch (3).
The carriage (4) is kept in the locked position shown in figure 3 by the effects of electromagnets (5) when said electromagnets are powered by an electronic board (51) provided with connection strips (52) for external power, arranged on the sides of the box (1).
As can be seen in the aforementioned figure 3, in the locked position, the cylinders (41, 42) are arranged between a contact surface (22) of the first cylinder, said contact surface (22) being delimited by a front stop (23) and the heel (32) of the latch (3), such that the second cylinder (42) is arranged facing a contact surface (33) of the heel (32) of the latch.
The carriage (4) comprises two windows (43), parallel to the rotation shaft (31) of the latch, which are vertically elongated and provided with, in an intermediate area, an inner projection (44) that delimits a lower cavity (45) and an upper cavity (46) to house the ends of the first cylinder (41) and the second cylinder (42).
Said cavities (45, 46) have a configuration suitable for the limited movement of the two cylinders (41, 42) between a locked position and an unlocked position of the latch (3).
As can be seen in figure 3, when the carriage is located in a locked position of the first cylinder (42), it strikes against the front stop (23) of the base (2) and the second cylinder is positioned vertically aligned on the same such that the contact points between the two cylinders (41, 42) and the contact points of the first cylinder (41) with the base of the box and the second cylinder with the contact surface (33) of the heel of the latch are vertically aligned, that is, on a plane generally perpendicular to the contact surfaces of the base and the heel of the latch with said cylinders.
Therefore, in this locked position, the cylinders are kept stable in the indicated position and the force applied on the latch in the opening direction is directly transmitted through said cylinders to the base of the latch, thus ensuring the latch is retained in said closed position.
As shown in figures 4 and 5, when the magnets stop acting on the carriage (4), the latter moves towards a rearmost unlocked position of the latch, which causes the cylinders to rotate about themselves and being arranged in an initial open position wherein the contact points of the cylinders with respect to each other, of the first cylinder (41) with the base of the box, and the second cylinder (42) with the heel of the latch (3) are misaligned, this movement of the cylinders causing the curved rear end (34) of the heel to come into contact with the second cylinder (42) in an area slightly forward with respect to the vertical median plane of said second cylinder, such that when a force is exerted on the latch (3) in the opening direction, said cylinders transmit to the carriage (4) a push force in the unlocking direction, enabling the rotation of the latch to the open position shown in figure 5.
In order to facilitate the movement of the cylinders (41, 42) between the aforementioned locked or closed position of the latch and unlocked or initial open position, the contact surface (22) of the base (2) and the contact surface (33) of the heel with the first and second cylinder respectively define between an angle comprised between 0° and 2° in order to facilitate the free rotation of said cylinders (41, 42) towards the initial locked position wherein the second cylinder is arranged facing the curved rear end (34) of the heel of the latch, in a direction not perpendicular to the contact surface (22) of the base (2) with the first roller (41).
This door opener incorporates a series of springs for the correct operation of the latch (3) and of the carriage (4).
Specifically for the return of the latch (3) to the closed position, the door opener comprises two oblique springs (35), only one of which is shown in figure 2, for greater clarity of the figure. The springs (35) act with one end against the base (2) and the other end against the rear surface of the latch (3),
The movement of the carriage (4) involves elastic means, represented by a rear spring (6), which tends to move it closer to the locking area, and two front springs (7), which tend to move it towards the rear area. In the event of an electrical power failure of the electromagnets (5), the spring-back push force of the springs (6 and 7) cause the carriage to move towards an unlocked position of the latch (3).
Having sufficiently described the nature of the invention, in addition to an example of preferred embodiment, it is hereby stated for the relevant purposes that the materials, shape, size and layout of the described elements may be modified, provided that it does not imply altering the essential characteristics of the invention claimed below.

Claims

A panic lock for doors that comprises: a box (1) provided with a base (2); a latch (3) mounted with the capacity to rotate with respect to a shaft (31) between a locked position and an unlocked position of the lock, and a locking and unlocking mechanism of the latch that comprises a carriage (4) holding cylinders (41 and 42) and capable of moving between a locked position and an unlocked position of the latch (3), characterised in that the carriage (4) comprises two windows (43) parallel to the rotation shaft (31) of the latch, provided with an inner projection (44) that delimits a lower cavity (45) and an upper cavity (46) in which opposite ends of the first and second cylinder (41, 42) are housed; said cavities (45, 46) having configurations suitable for the limited movement of the cylinders (41, 42) between: - a locked position of the latch (3) wherein: the contact points of the cylinders (41, 42) with respect to each other, the contact points of the first cylinder (41) with a contact surface (22) of the base of the box, and the contact points of the second cylinder (42) with a contact surface (33) of the heel (32) of the latch are aligned on a plane perpendicular to the contact surfaces (22, 33) of the base (2) and the latch (3); and - an unlocked position of the latch (3) wherein the contact points of the cylinders (41, 42) with respect to each other, of the first cylinder (41) with the contact surface (22) of the base (2) and of the second cylinder (42) with the contact surface (33) of the latch are misaligned.
The panic lock for doors, according to claim 1, characterised in that in the locked position of the latch (3), the contact surfaces (22, 33) of the base (2) and of the heel (32) of the latch (3) with the first and second cylinder (41, 42), define, with respect to each other, an angle comprised between 0° and 2°, which facilitates the free rotation of said cylinders (41, 42) towards an initial unlocked position, wherein the second cylinder (42) is arranged facing a curved rear end (34) of the heel of the latch, in a direction not perpendicular to the contact surface (22) of the base (2) with the first roller (41).