GB2214972A

GB2214972A - Door handle coupling mechanisms

Info

Publication number: GB2214972A
Application number: GB8803204A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Angel Fernandez Sanz
Original assignee: Technicas De Seguridad S A
Current assignee: Technicas De Seguridad S A
Priority date: 1985-10-11
Filing date: 1988-02-11
Publication date: 1989-09-13
Anticipated expiration: 2008-02-11
Also published as: IT8536432V0; GB2214972B; IT1181984B; ES289551U; GB8803204D0; ES289551Y; FR2588601A1; IT8548926A0; GR860582B; PT7753U; DE3800517A1

Description

1 r - 1 T ITLE 2 2 14 0 T12' 40337/wsg A Door Lock This invention relates

to a lock primarily for hotels and to be installed in access doors to rooms. The lock can be used in any other similar situation requiring similar facilities.

The lock according to this invention is of the type having a keyhole to provide opening and closing through a suitable key and a hand operated handle. This type of lock, as is known, has a position in which opening is only possible using the applicable key, and another position in which opening is possible simply by actuating the handle.

The lock further provides a construction for the square bar associated with the handles and an auxiliary mechanism by which'the said square bar, which can be operated at all times through the internal handle of the room, becomes selectively operative or not when actuating the external handle.

According to the above, the key operated-mechanism which may be of any conventional type, will be inaccessible to the user and usable solely by 'qualified personnel, while during the occupancy of a room said 2 mechanism will be disabled so that the door may be opened and closed using the handles, the internal handle permitting the room to be vacated while the external handle only permits access to said room with the aid of a card-key which, when inserted in the lock through a suitable slot, will determine the operation of the device and makes operative the external handle, which goes immediately to an inoperative position when the card is extracted. Preferably in the square bar which Joins the two lock handles, the external and the internal, two sectors are defined between each other through a short cylindrical neck, having a sector with the ability to rotate around the other, and being the control mechanism of said square bar fitted with an arm to which is connected a sleeve furnished with an axial hole of the same shape and size as said square bar, so that said arm is transversely movable when the applicable card is inserted in the mechanism, or extracted from it, said sleeve being capable of locating itself only over the sector of the square bar which belongs to the external handle, with.,which the latter rotates freely when acting.on said handle, without transmitting the movement to the square bar associated to the internal handle hich is the one physically related to the lock mechanism thus making 9, 1 said external handle inoperative, or else the sleeve may be axially displaced, in another position for the support arm, position in which said sleeve affects simultaneously the two sectors of the square bar, setting up a rotary link between them, and consequently acting as a transmission means of the first sector of the square bar to the second one, when acting by hand on the external handle.

In the control mechanism for the arm bearing the interconnection sleeve between both sectors of the square bar, said mechanism consists basically of a lock system based on a fixed part and a moving part, furnished with multiple holes in which applicable sets of pins and counterpins are lodged, assisted by the usual springs and balls, so that in the close position the holes of both parts are axially faced and both parts are locked by the moving components, that is by the pins and counterpins, while when the applicable key is inserted, in this case the card key above mentioned, pins and counterpins are located in both parts, with their junction areas located on the adaptation plane between them, thus allowing isplacement!1of one with respect to the other,- being the arm which carries the locking sleeve for the two sectors of the square bar associated with the applicable handles connected to the moving part.

j According to another of the characteristics of the invention, in the mechanism there is not only one slot for inserting card key, rather there are two parallel slots, one accessible from the outside and the other from the inside, after the first having opened a cover located in the lock so that the key is duplicated whereby a sector is inserted in the lock when the room is let, keeping it in permanently until the letting ends, while the other card is used as a key by the room user, it being necessary to use a combination of these two card keys so that the opening can be made.

At the end of the letting of a room, the card which remained inside the lock may be extracted and replaced by another one, so that for one and the same lock there may be set up a virtually unlimited set of keys, thus avoiding possible crime actions by previous users of the establishment, who have kept a key or made a copy of the same, as it would be impossible for them to detect for which lock the card they have is valid at the time they intend to use it, as the complementary card may be arranged in any room in the establishment and even be in reserve, as it is possible to use a'number of-double cards considerably larger than the number of rooms or locks existing in the establishment.

To amplify the description and in order to provide a

11 h j cl f 1 better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, an embodiment is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings as an example only. In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a front elevation view of the plate of the external handle of a lock according to this invention, Figure 2 shows a side profile of the assembly of Figure 1 illustrating in detail the special construction of the square bar which joins the two lock handles, Figure 3 shows a rear view of the plate shown in Figure 1, without the controlling mechanism for the square bar, Figure 4 shows a front view of the mechanism connected to the inside of the plate, Figure 5 shows a side view of the mechanism of Figure 4, Figure 6 shows a section of the mechanism, similar to that of Figure 5, coupled to the external plate and the square bar, the _mechanism being in a locked position, Figure 7 shows a view similar to that of Figure 6, but in the open position of the "mechanism, Figure 8 shows a detail section of the mechanism, at the zone of the coupling slots for a punched card which acts as a key, and Figure 9 shows a plan view of a card key containing the specific code for the mechanism shown in the above figures.

The drawings show how the lock is constructed and as is known, two decorative plates 1 as shown in Figures 1 to 3 are adapted to be attached to the external face and to the internal face respectively of a door (not shown) and are provided with operation handles 2, joined by a square bar through which the toggling movement to the latchbolt on the door is transmitted. The latchbolt is not shown in the drawings as it is conventional.

The latchbolt may be associated with a key lock operated through the keyhole 3 using a conventional key. The handles 2 are urged to a stable rest position using springs 4 against which operation is effected.

This construction is common to locks of this type, the lock of this invention centres one of its characteristics in that the square bar is constructed in two sections 5-.and 6, the first is short and connected rigidly to the external handle 2, while the second is longer and is the transmitter of movement to the latchbolt and is connected to the internal handle (not R C, t 1- shown in the drawings), both sectors 5 and 6 are connected through a short cylindrical neck 7 and may rotate freely one around the other. In this construction, it is obvious that, when acting on the internal handle, sector 6 rotates and opening occurs while when acting on the external handle 2, sector 5, through neck 7, rotates freely inside sector 6 without transmitting the movement to the latter, so that said external handle 6 is inoperative as an opening means.

To effect the said opening a complementary mechanism is provided, shown in detail in Figures 4 to 7. The mechanism incorporates an arm 8, movable in a transverse direction to which is connected a sleeve 9 provided with a hole of the same shape and size as the section of the square bar 5-6, so that in a closing situation, and as shown in Figure 6, said sleeve 9 remains located over sector 5 of the square bar, while when the said mechanism is operated, as shown later, said sleeve 9 is displaced thus setting up a link between both the sectors 5 and 6 of the square bar, as shown in Figure 7, making external handle 2 inoperative, so that its toggling determines the rotation of sector 6 of the square bar and, consequently, the operation of the latchbolt of the lock in,the opening direction.

More specifically, said arm 8 is integral with a r f a - 8 moving part 10 joined with a fixed part 11 through a conventional lock mechanism, based on holes which house sets of pins and counterpins. The said fixed part 11 is connected to plate 1 with the collaboration of the applicable support 12, all this so that according to the operation of a conventional lock, in a closing situation the pins and counter pins of the mechanism in question make it impossible to relatively displace moving part 10 with respect to the fixed part, while when the applicable key is inserted said pins and counterpins are located, by effect of the irregularities, in the specific position in which said relative displacement is possible, and consequently making possible the displacement of arm 8 also.

The "key" comprises a card key 13, shown in detail in Figure 9, capable of insertion into the lock through slot 14 in external plate 1, into a space 14 defined between fixed part 11 and moving part 10. This constitutes another feature of the invention, the existence between these two parts of a second space 15, parallel to the above and in which there is located a matrix 16 that is complementary to "key" 13 and which cooperates with the latter in the correct positioning of pins and counterpins to effect the opening.

As shown in Figure 9, "key" 13 and matrix 16 are at 1 first a single part, furnished with a transverse break line 17 permitting both sectors to be separated, being matrix 16 to be inserted in space 15 by the hotel personnel at the time a room is let while "key" 13 will be used by the user to enter the room, inserting it in space 14. That part of.the pins and counterpins of the lock mechanism will be permanently activated to unlock matrix 16, while the remaining pins will be operated by "key" 13.

There is provided a moving part 10 in the bottom of space 14, of a transverse flange 18 on which bears edge 19 of "key" 13 when inserted, so that when said 91 key" is fully inserted, and immediately after looking the lock mechanism, a push made by the user brings the displacement of the moving part as it acts on said flange 18, making said moving part and consequently sleeve 9 pass to the looking situation between sectors 5 and 6 of the square bar.

Similarly, when extracting said "key" 13, with some of the lock pins lodged in holes 20, there is produced firstly the pull of the moving part towards the inoperative position of external handle 2 and following the release of said "key" 13.

- To insert matrix 16 inside the mechanismfln space 15, the lock internal plate, similar to that referred to as 1 in the Figures, will have a cover which when opened allows access to said mechanism and preferably also with closing means.

As may be seen from the above the usual key actuating through a keyhole 3 may be eliminated as far as the user is cgncerned, being usable only by personnel of the establishment, and_it can even be physically eliminated, setting up an opening and closing system only through the handles but with the special feature that while being only one device, the opening key can be changed as many times as deemed convenient, by using different cards similar to that represented in Figure 9, having a respective matrix 16 and "key" 13, with holes 20 forming different groupings. In this case the requirements defined by the set of pins and counterpins of the device is effected by coupling the lock with a matrix 16, for operation by the specific "key" 13.

1 'f r - 11

Claims

A door lock of the type having two decorative plates that may be attached to the inside and outside faces of a door with associated respective handles joined through a square bar preferably operatively associated with a lock keyhole operated by a conventional key, wherein said square bar joining the two handles has two independent sections coupled, one to the other, through a short cylindrical neck permitting the free rotation of a sector with respect to the other; the sector associated with the inside handle being the larger acting directly on the lock latchbolt, while the sector associated to the outside handle, giving access to the room, rotates freely with respect to the first making said outside handle inoperative, the short cylindrical neck having a sleeve provided with a hole of the same shape and size as the square bar, the sleeve being axially movable by an auxiliary mechanism, whereby in the closing position of said mechanism the sleeve is located only over said neck and the square bar sector is made integral with the -outside handle, while in the opening position-said sleeve moves axially, affecting simultaneously both sectors of the square bar and setting up a link between:.,Phem to. transmit the toggling movement of the ou tside handle to A the operation mechanism of the latchbolt.
2. A door lock according to Claim 1, wherein the controlling mechanism for the sleeve comprises a lock mechanism on which there is established a fixed part and a moving part, the fixed part being fixed to the plate on the outside of the door by means of the applicable support, while the moving part is connected to an arm supporting said sleeve, said fixed and moving parts having bores set up to fit applicable sets of pins and counterpins and that between said parts there are defined two spaces for inserting the opening component, comprising a punch coded card key, having access from the outside through a slot in the outside decorative plate, at the end of the insertion, after positioning the pins for opening, the card contacts through a front edge, a flange of the moving part causing displacement of the same and the consequent displacement of the sleeve up to the position of joining both sectors of the square bar.
3. A door lock according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the second space"d_efined in the said lock mechanism houses-a matrix, comprising a punched plate, so that the opening of said mechanism is achieved by the simultanpous insertion of both cards, the matrix and the one 1 - 13 constituting the "key" to be used by the user, the matrix being kept permanently inserted in the lock during all the time the "key" remains in the possession of a User, the lock having on the decorative plate an opening for access to the mechanism, with a cover, wherein the matrix and "key" may be substituted by others with different codes for the same lock, so as to permit the opening "key" to be changed.
4. A lock according to any preceding claim wherein each group of matrix and "key" form a part of a single card having a transverse break line that permits, immediately before use, detaching the matrix of the "key" to operate the lock.
5. A lock substantially as described herein and exemplified with reference to the drawings.

! 1.7 Published 1989 atThe Patent Office, State House, 6671 High Holborn, London WClR4TP. Further copies maybe obtainedfrom The Patent Office. Sales Branch, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent BR,9 3RD. Printed by Multiplex techniques ltd, St Mary Cray, Kent. Con. 1/87