GB2140070A

GB2140070A - Door or like handle assemblies

Info

Publication number: GB2140070A
Application number: GB08314114A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Henry Tierney
Original assignee: GROUP ARCHITECTURAL IRONMONGER
Current assignee: GROUP ARCHITECTURAL IRONMONGER
Priority date: 1983-05-21
Filing date: 1983-05-21
Publication date: 1984-11-21
Also published as: GB8314114D0

Abstract

A handle assembly comprises a handle 2 rotatably mounted on an attachment plate 1 with its shank 6 passing through the attachment plate into a housing 3 containing a spiral spring 4 which is connected at its inner end to the shank, to spring-load the handle, and is anchored at its outer end to the housing, a drive plate 5 rotatable with the shank co-operating with a stop at the housing to limit the angular movement of the handle. A non-circular spigot 14 of the housing, also providing a bearing for the shank, engages in a complementary aperture 11 in the attachment plate to enable the housing to be located in various positions relative to the attachment plate. The drive plate closes the rear of the housing so that the spiral spring is enclosed within the housing. The housing is preferably formed of a self-lubricating plastics material, e.g. nylon. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Door or like handle assemblies This invention relates to door or like handle assemblies of the kind comprising a handle rotatably mounted on an attachment plate and spring-loaded towards an initial angular position to which it is returned by the springloading after operation. The handle may be of lever or knob form.

According to the present invention a door or like handle assembly is provided which comprises an attachment plate, a handle rotatably mounted on the attachment plate by means of a shank which passes through the attachment plate, a housing located inside or behind the attachment plate against rotation relative thereto and into which the shank extends, a spiral spring accommodated in the housing being anchored at its outer end to the housing and operatively engaged with the shank at its inner end to urge the handle to an initial angular position relative to the attachment plate, and a drive plate rotatable with the shank and engageable with stop means at the housing to limit the extent of the angular movement of the drive plate, and thereby of the handle.

The invention enables a compact drive to the handle to be provided. The assembly is also of relatively simple construction. Furthermore by the use of the spiral spring a strong return force can be exerted on the handle.

The attachment plate may be of round, square, rectangular or other shape as desired.

It may be of simple plate form or it may have a rearwardly extending peripheral flange or side walls. When it is of the simple plate form it is necessary to provide a recess in the surface to which the handle assembly is applied for use to receive the housing and allow the attachment plate to lie against the surface.

When the attachment plate has a peripheral flange or side walls the housing may be contained within the rearward extension of the flange or side walls, or it may project rearwardly beyond the flange or side walls, which arrangement would again require the provision of a recess in the surface to which the assembly is applied for use to receive the projecting part of the housing.

Preferably the housing is adapted to be located in any selected one of a plurality of positions relative to the attachment plate. This is particularly advantageous when the handle is of lever form because it enables the housing to be positioned for the lever to assume a selected one of a plurality of possible attitudes relative to the attachment plate in its initial angular position. Thus it may allow for different hands of operation of the handle and for whether the lever of the handle is required to assume a horizontal, vertical or other angular attitude in the initial angular position. The attachment plate and housing may, for example, have non-circular mating parts which can be interengaged in various relative angular positions to locate the housing at various prcdetermined positions with respect to the attachment plate.Conveniently the attachment plate has an aperture in it of polygonal shape, and the housing has a spigot of complementary polygonal external shape which engages in the aperture.

The housing may have a wall which lies adjacent to the rear surface of the attachment plate and includes a bearing portion for the shank of the handle. The bearing portion may be included in the spigot mentioned above. It is possible for the housing to be made of metal but preferably it is formed of a plastics material, more especially a self-lubricating plastics material, such as nylon, when the housing includes the bearing portion.

The drive plate is preferably arranged to serve also as a closure for the housing at the axially opposite end thereof from that at which the shank enters the housing.

In order that the turning force exerted on the shank of the handle by the spiral spring may be adjusted the housing may include two or more angularly spaced anchorage locations for the outer end of the spring.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which, Figure 1 is a fragmentary front view of a handle assembly in accordance with the invention for a door, Figure 2 is a fragmentary rear view of the handle assembly, and Figure 3 is a fragmentary side view, partly in section, of the handle assembly.

As shown, the handle assembly comprises an attachment plate 1, a lever handle 2, a housing 3, a flat spiral spring 4 and a drive plate 5.

The attachment plate 1 and lever handle 2 are not shown in full in the accompanying drawings but it will be readily understood from what is shown that they may be of various forms, as desired. The lever handle has a shank 6 by which it is rotatably mounted on the attachment plate, and which contains the usual square section axial socket 7 to receive an end portion of a squaresection operating spindle, not shown, of a latch mechanism, when the assembly is fitted to a door for use. Adjacent its root the shank 6 has a cylindrical portion 8 but beyond that its section is modified in the usual way by the provision of opposed flat surfaces 10.

An octagonal aperture 11 is formed in the attachment plate by way of which the shank 6 passes through the attachment plate.

The housing 3 is a nylon moulding of drum shape with a circumferential wall 1 2 extending rearwardly from an annular end wall 1 3.

A short tubular spigot portion 14 projects centrally from the front of the annular end wall. The spigot 14 has an octagonal external shape complementary to the aperture 11 in the attachment plate in which it engages. Its projection from the annular wall 13 is similar to the thickness of the attachment plate so that with the annular end wall of the housing lying against the rear surface of the attachment plate the spigot is contained within the thickness of the plate, as shown. The spigot 14 has a circular section bore of a diameter complementary to that of the cylindrical portion 8 of the shank 6 which is rotatably received into the bore, the spigot thereby serving also as a bearing for the shank.At its rear end the housing is open and a lug 1 5 projects from the end face of the circumferential wall 1 2 as a short extension of that wall.

The shank 6 of the handle extends axially through the housing and projects beyond the rear end of the housing. A washer 1 6 is fitted to the shank 6 immediately in front of the attachment plate 1.

Accommodated in the housing 3 is the spiral spring 4, the axial internal length of the housing being just sufficient for the spring to be contained within the housing. An outer end 1 7 of the spiral spring is engaged in either one of two angularly spaced anchorage holes 1 8 in the circumferential wall 1 2 of the housing. At its inner end 1 9 the spring is bent to fit about and conform closely to the crosssectional shape of the portion of the shank 6 of the handle formed with the opposed flat surfaces 10, so that the spring is operably connected to the shank to urge the shank, and thereby the handle, to turn to an initial angular position.The turning force exerted on the shank by the spring can be adjusted by selection of which of the two anchorage holes 18 in the circumferential wall 1 2 of the housing the outer end 1 7 of the spring is engaged in.

At its rear end the housing 3 is closed by the drive plate 5 which is keyed to the portion of the shank 6 having the opposed flat surfaces 10 by means of a central opening 20 in the drive plate of complementary shape to that portion of the shank. A circlip 21 applied to the shank immediately behind the drive plate, being received into a circumferential groove in the shank, retains the drive plate to the shank and in so doing secures the handle to the attachment plate and holds the housing firmly against the attachment plate with the spigot 14 retained in engagement with the aperture 11 in the attachment plate. The drive plate overlaps the end face of the circumferential wall 1 2 of the housing.It has an arcuate recess 22 in its periphery which straddles the lug 1 5 on the circumferential wall and is arcuately longer than the lug to allow some rotation of the drive plate, and thus of the shank and handle, relative to the housing.

Limits of the rotation are determined by abutment of the ends of the recess 22 against the lug 15, the angular movement being less than 90 . The spiral spring 4 normally urges the shank to a position in which one end of the recess abuts the lug, which determines the initial angular position of the handle, being the position it occupies when it is not being operated.

It will be appreciated that the octagonal shapes of the aperture 11 in the attachment plate and of the spigot 14 of the housing enable the housing to be held in any one of eight different angular positions relative to the attachment plate. The position is selected according to the attitude which the lever of the handle 2 is required to assume relative to the attachment plate when it is in its initial angular position.

For use of the handle assembly on a door, a recess is formed, conveniently by drilling, in the surface of the door concentrically with the hole for the operating spindle of the latch mechanism with which the assembly is to be used and deep enough to receive the housing and the end of the shank. The shank receives the end of the operating spindle into its socket 7. The attachment plate lies against the surface of the door and is secured by screws, not shown, engaged in plain holes in the attachment plate, not shown, and driven into the door.

Since the spiral spring 4 is enclosed within the housing, which is closed by the drive plate 5, it is protected from dust and other extraneous matter which might interfere with its operation.

Claims

1. A door or like handle assembly comprising an attachment plate, a handle rotatably mounted on the attachment plate by means of a shank which passes through the attachment plate, a housing located inside or behind the attachment plate against rotation relative thereto and into which the shank extends, a spiral spring accommodated in the housing being anchored at its outer end to the housing and operatively engaged with the shank at its inner end to urge the handle to an initial angular position relative to the attachment plate, and a drive plate rotatable with the shank and engageable with stop means at the housing to limit the extent of the angular movement of the drive plate, and thereby of the handle.

2. A handle assembly according to claim 1 wherein the housing is locatable in any selected one of a plurality of positions relative to the attachment plate.

3. A handle assembly according to claim 2 wherein the attachment plate and housing have non-circular mating parts which can be interengaged in various relative angular positions to locate the housing at various predeter mined positions with respect to the attachment plate.

4. A handle assembly according to claim 3 wherein the mating parts comprise an aperture in the attachment plate of polygonal shape and a spigot on the housing of complementary polygonal external shape to the aperture which engages in the aperture.

5. A handle assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the housing has a wall which lies adjacent to a rear surface of the attachment plate and includes a bearing portion for the shank of the handle.

6. A handle assembly according to claims 5 as dependent from claim 4 wherein the bearing portion is in the spigot.

7. A handle assembly according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the housing is formed of a self-lubricating plastics material.

8. A handle assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the drive plate serves also as a closure for the housing at the axially opposite end thereof from that at which the shank enters the housing.

9. A handle assembly according to claim 8 as dependent from any of claims 5 to 7 wherein the housing is of drum shape having an annular end wall and a circumferential wall extending rearwardly from the annular end wall, the annular end wall lying adjacent to the rear surface of the attachment plate and having the bearing portion centrally thereof, the spiral spring is contained within the axial length of the housing and its outer end is anchored to the circumferential wall, the drive plate closes the rear end of the housing and overlaps a rear end face of the circumferential wall against which it is retained, and the stop means comprises a lug projecting from the rear end face of the circumferential wall which is straddled by an arcuate recess in the drive plate arcuately longer than the lug such that rotation of the drive plate, and thereby of the shank and handle, relative to the housing is allowed, limits of the rotation of the drive plate being determined by abutment of opposite ends of the recess against the lug and the spiral spring urging the shank to a position in which one of the ends of the recess abuts the lug, thereby determining the initial angular position of the handle.

10. A handle assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the housing includes two or more angularly spaced anchorage locations for the outer end of the spring whereby the turning force exerted on the shank by the spring may be adjusted.

11. A handle according to any preceding claim wherein the attachment plate has a rearwardly extending peripheral flange or side walls.

1 2. A door or like handle assembly substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.