GB2167116A - Latch operating device - Google Patents

Abstract

A latch operating device comprises a housing (12) securable to one side of a door, the housing pivotally mounting a manually operable member (24) which carries spaced pegs (29). A spindle (33) projects into the housing and, in use, the spindle is engaged with a conventional latch bolt actuating mechanism. The spindle has a pin (35) and is, prior to engagement with the latch bolt actuating mechanism, manually rotatable to bring the pin (35) into engagement with a selected one of the pegs (29) thereby handling the device for the side of the door to which it is to be secured. Subsequent pivotal movement of the member (24) causes the pegs (29) to rotate, with accompanying rotation of the spindle, and thus retraction of the latch bolt. The amount of pivotal movement of the member (24) is limited by further pegs (28) engaging abutments on the housing. Thus the device can easily and quickly be handed, on site. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Latch operating device This invention relates to a latch operating device for attachment to a door having a conventional horizontally disposed latch bolt, which is sprung loaded so that in its rest position it extends out from a vertical edge of the door. The latch operating device is of the kind known as a panic latch for allowing emergency escape through the door from the one side at which the panic latch is fitted to the opposite side.

With known panic latches of this type it is a large disadvanage that, in general, the panic latch is constructed for a specific hand of door, so that a panic latch intended for use with a left hand door will not be suitable for use with a right hand door and vice versa. Although with some panic latches this problem can be overcome by installing the latch upside down, and thus reversing the hand, this is not a satisfactory solution as operation then requires an upward pushing action instead of an easier downwards action. Accordingly, a builder installing panic latches on site must specify how many of each hand are required and must thereafter ensure that the correct hand of latch is fitted to each door. It would clearly be advantageous and time saving if the panic latch could be handed on site.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a latch operating device in which the handing thereof is adjustable as required.

According to the invention a latch operating device comprises a housing attachable directly or indirectly to one side of a door, the housing mounting a manually operable member, a spindle at least partly received in the housing and being manually rotatable from the exterior of the housing to a required one of two extreme positions at which it co-operates with said member, the arrangement being such that, in use, the spindle in the housing is disposed in a selected one of said extreme positions corresponding to the use of the device with either a left or right handed door, and the housing is attached to the door with said spindle being operatively engaged with a latch bolt in the door edge, so that operation of the member in one direction rotates the spindle thereby to effect retraction of the latch bolt.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Figure 1 is a part-sectional longitudinal view through part of a latch operating device of the invention, Figure 2 is a rear view of the device of Figure 1, with a different part omitted and part shown in phantom, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line A-A of Figure 2, with part of the device additionally shown in an alternative position, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view on the line B-B of Figure 2, with a spindle of the device shown rotated through 90" for clarity, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line C-C of Figure 1, and Figure 6 is a view of one end of the device with part of the device shown additionally, like Figure 3, in an alternative position.

The latch operated device of the invention is of the type commonly known as a panic latch, and is intended to be fitted to one side of a door, which at its vertical edge remote from its hinges is provided with a conventional horizontally disposed springloaded latch bolt. Normally this bolt is retractable against the spring by means of a conventional door handle and spindle assembly, the handles at opposite sides of the door being of opposite hand. It is intended that the device of the invention would replace the door handle at one side of the door, as well as the spindle, whilst at the other side of the door there could be no operating memberwhatsoever, or alternatively, as will be described, a lock, so that the door could only be opened from that side by an authorised key holder.

The Figures show a flat, rectangular backplate 10 having, in its front surface, four countersunk holes 11 at its respective corners, to receive fixing screws to attach the backplate to a side of a door, in use. The device comprises a housing 12 which at its rear, as shown in Figure 2, is of open, generally rectangular form, with its parallel shorter sides being slightly narrower than the width of the backplate, and its parallel longer sides being approximately half the length of the backplate. The housing is disposed centrally on the backplate 10.

The longitudinal front of the housing is of rounded form as indicated at 13, and the upper and lower flat surfaces 14,15 of the housing diverge away from this rounded part 13, as clearly shown in Figures 3 to 6. Threaded holes 16 are provided at the four corners of the rear of the housing 12, to receive screws 17 passing through the backplate to secure the housing thereto. However in an alternative construction the rear of the housing could beformed with a pair of oppositely directed flanges for securement to the side of the door. At each internal end of the housing 12, there is a configurated end wall 18. Adjacent the rounded front of the housing, the end wall 18 is at its thickest and is provided with a circular bore 19. A passage 20 leads from the bore 19, this passage 20 lying in a plane parallel to the end wall itself.

Opposite surfaces 21,22 of the passage are mutually divergent in a direction away from the bore 19, there being, in this example, an angle of 22.5 between said divergent surfaces. The passage 20 leads into a larger recess 23 which is open at the rear of the housing.

The housing 12 pivotally mounts an operating member 24 which is in the form of a generally rectangular, one piece flap, formed by extrusion.

Along one of its longer sides, the flap is formed with a tubular portion of circular inner and outer crosssection. However this tubular portion is cut away along the length ofthe housing 12 so as merely to provide two cylindrical end sleeves 25 with a rectangular slot therebetween. The majority of the remainder of the flap is generally flat, but along its other longer side, the flap is enlarged outwardly to provide a grip portion.

Cylindrical bushes 26 are fitted in the bores 19 in the end walls 18 of the housing. The bushes 26 are carried on, and form bearings for a circular section bar 27 which extends through the housing and projects at the ends thereof, on which ends it receives the end sleeves 25 of the member 24.

Respective pins 27a between the bar and the end sleeves lock the bar to the member 24 so that the member 24 and bar 27 move together and thus in combination constitute a manually operable member.

Secured to the bar through the bushes 26 and extending transversely from the bar are respective cylindrical pegs 28, each peg 28 extending into the passage 20 in the end wall 18, as best shown in Figure 3. Accordingly, as will be described, the pegs, and thus the operating member 24 are able to move through an arc of 22.5 , since engagement of a peg 28 with the surfaces 21, and 22 prevents movement greater than this amount.

As will be described, in normal use of the device, the member 24 will assume the position best shown in Figures 4 and 5 when the backplate 10 is vertically disposed on one side of a door. Thus the operating member will be disposed vertically downwardly from the housing. It will however be possible to push the member towards the door so that it pivots, the total amount of pivotal movement of the operating member 24 being 22.5 as mentioned. This would bring the member 24to the position shown in chain-dot in Figures 3 and 6, and indicated as 24a. As will be explained, in the position of the member 24 shown in Figures 4 and 5, the pegs 28 will engage the lower surfaces 22 of the respective passages 20 in the end walls 18. In the position indicated at 24a, the pegs 28 will engage the upper surfaces 21.

The portion of the bar 27 contained within the housing 12 is formed with a pair of spaced, cylindrical pegs 29, the pegs being arranged equally at opposite sides of the mid point of the bar along its length. The two pegs 29 are parallel to one another and are also in the same planes as the pegs 28.

Figure 5 shows the orientation of a peg 29 when the member 24 is in the position shown in full in Figure 3, namely when it is vertical. In this position the peg 29 is at an angle of 11.25 to a plane perpendicular to the flat backplate 10.

At its centre, the backplate 10 has a circular hole 30 in which is fitted a cylindrical housing 31. The housing is secured in position by a pair of locknuts 32 (Figures 1 and 4) which engage with threads on the external surface of the housing 31. For clarity these nuts are not shown in all Figures. The housing 31 has a circular bore therethrough, and a square section spindle 33 is carried in the bore of this housing and extends from both ends thereof being rotatable in said bore. At its end adjacent the bar 27, the spindle is received in a cylindrical collar 31 a. A threaded pin 34 is engaged in a threaded transverse bore through the spindle, the pin 34 projecting at one end a short amount into the housing 31.This prevents movement of the spindle 33 through the bore in the housing 31 and collar 31a in a direction to withdraw the spindle from the housing 12, and ensures rotation of the collar with the spindle.

Extending integrally from the other end of the pin 34 and through the collar 31 a is a larger diameter cylindrical pin 35, this pin projecting at 90 to the spindle axis. With the spindle fitted in the housing 31 as described, the axis of the spindle is disposed in a plane lying midway between the two pegs 29 on the operating member 24. Moreoverthe pin 35 is of such a length that its extent from the spindle surface is slightly greater than the distance of the peg 29 from the spindle surface, so that it is possible by manually rotating the spindle from outside of the housing 21 to bring the pin 35 into engagement onto either of the two pegs 29, as shown in Figures 1,2 and 5, with the member 24 in its 'rest' position as shown in full at 24 in Figure 3.

If it was wished to engagethe other peg 29, it is a simple matter merely manually to rotate the spindle 33 until the pin 35 engages onto that other peg. It will be apparent that pivotal movement of the operating member 24 to the position 24a shown in Figure 3, will cause both pegs 29 to rotate upwardly, as viewed in Figure 3. This upward movement will cause the one of the pegs 29 in engagement with the pin 35 to push said pin 35 upwardly, thereby causing rotation of the collar 31a and thus the spindle 33 in its housing 31. For convenience, Figure 4 shows the pin 35 and spindle 33 rotated through 90 from the Figures 1 and 2 position, and this represents a position ofthe spindle midway between its engagemenu with a respective one of the pegs 29.However, in normal use the fact thatthe operating member 24 can only move through a limited arc, would mean that the movement of the pin 35 and thus the spindle is similarly restricted so that the position shown in Figure 4 would not be reached by virtue of movement of the member 24. The fact that the member 24 can only move through 22.5 means that similarly the pegs 29 can only move through that angle. The 11.25 angle of each peg 29 to the horizontal in the rest position of the member 24 ensures that the spindle 33 extends with one of its pairs of parallel flat sides horizontal when pin 35 is engaged with a peg 29. The pin 35 maintains engagement with a peg 29 throughout the 22.5 movement arc of the peg 29.

In use, the spindle 33 replacesthe spindle in a conventional door handle and spring-loaded latch arrangement, and the device of the invention replaces the handle and any corresponding backplate.

Thus the backplate 10 is secured to one side of the door with the spindle 33 projecting into the door and co-operating with the mechanism which operates the latch bolt. The disposition of the spindle, referred to above, ensures that in the rest position of the member 24 the latch is extended. However before engaging the spindle 33 with the latch bolt operating mechanism within the door, the spindle 33 can be rotated so that it engages with a selected one of the pegs 29, so that the device is handed to correspond to the hand of the door, this obviously depending upon which side of the door the device is to befitted.

Thereafter the spring force of the door latch will apply a force to the spindle 33, which through the pin 35 and a peg 29 will bias the operating member 34 to the position shown in full in Figure 3. Application of force to move the member 24 towards the door, in use. will thus cause the pin 35 to be rotated by its associated peg 29 so that the spindle 33 will rotate and retract the latch bolt against its spring. The device would normally be fitted at the side of the door remote from the hinges, so that a force applied to the operating member 24 would also open the door outwardly once the latch bolt is released.

Removal of force to the member 24 would allow the latch bolt to extend by virtue of its spring force, thereby rotating the spindle 33 and returning the member 24 to its 'rest' position.

Thus it can be seen that by rotating the spindle 33 to engage with a chosen one of the pegs 29, the device can be specifically handed, on sight prior to the device actually being secured to a door. Thus a builder would not have to worry about ordering devices of a certain hand, but would merely have easily, manually to adjust the spindle 33, if necessary, to ensure that the device was converted to the correct handing for the side of a door to which it was to be secured. Thus the ease with which the direction of rotation of the spindle 33 can be altered enables the device to be substantially more versatile than conventional panic latches where the problem of handing can necessitate two versions of the same device being produced and supplied, one version being of one hand and the other version being of opposite hand.

At the opposite side of the door to this latch operating device, it would be possible to have a plain surface with no operating memberwhatsoever.This could for example be used where it was wished to prevent access through the door in one direction but to allow emergency escape through the door in the opposite direction by way of the panic latch. Alternatively the opposite side of the door could be provided with a key operated lock, so that only authorised key holders would be able to gain access through the door, whilst retaining the emergency escape facility through the door in the opposite direction. In such an instance, operation of the lock would be linked to withdrawal of the latch, with the panic latch again being automatically actuated once the door was closed.

Claims (9)

1. A latch operating device comprising a housing attachable directly or indirectly to one side of a door, the housing mounting a manually operable member, a spindle at least partly received in the housing and being manually rotatable from the exterior of the housing to a required one cf two extreme positions at which it co-operates with said member, the arrangement being such that, in use, the spindle in the housing is disposed in a selected one of said extreme positions corresponding to the use of the device with either a left or right handed door, and the housing is attached to the door with said spindle being operatively engaged with a latch bolt in the door edge, so that operation of the member in one direction rotates the spindle thereby to effect retraction of the latch bolt.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the manually operable member has spaced formations thereon and said spindle has a projection thereon which engages with a respective one of said formations in each of said extreme positions, whereby operation of the member in said one direction causes said one of the formations engaged with said spindle projection to rotate the spindle and thus retract the latch bolt.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said member is pivotally mounted at said housing and said formations are a pair of pegs which project radially from the member and are equally spaced from the spindle at opposite sides thereof, the projection on the spindle being a pin which projects normally to the pegs on the member and extends further from the spindle than said pegs are spaced therefrom, so that in extreme positions the spindle pin engages one of the pegs on the member, operation of said member in said one direction causing each of the pegs on the member to move in an arc and thereby moving the spindle pin in an arc in a plane normal thereto and thus rotating the spindle.

4. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the manually operable member is mounted for only limited movement relative to the housing.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the degree of limited movement of the manually operable member corresponds to the amount of cooperation between the spindle and the member as the spindle is rotated from one of said extreme positions.

6. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the amount of pivotal movement of the member on the housing is limited by respective further pegs on the member, each further peg being movable with the member in a space at an end of the housing and enaging opposite side walls of the space to limit the movement of member.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein each spindle pin engaging peg on the manually operable member is orientated on the member so that in the rest position of the member with the spindle pin engaged with one peg, upper and lower parallel surfaces of the spindle are horizontal, and said spindle pin engages said one peg throughout the whole of its possible arc of movement.

8. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the manually operable member comprises a bar pivotally mounted on the housing and extending therethrough, with a flap engaged with the respective ends of the bar.

9. A latch operating device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.