GB2292969A - Handle mechanisms - Google Patents

Abstract

A handle mechanism comprises a base 10 and a handle 11 that is rotatable on the base. The handle includes a lock 17 which has a bolt 31 for engagement with the base to lock the handle to the base so preventing rotation of the handle. The bolt can be moved out of the locked position by a push button 20 which is pushed into the handle to release the bolt. This is achieved by a mechanism interposed between the push button and the bolt which translates movement of the push button in one direction into movement of the bolt in an opposite direction. An arm 33 is provided that forms a latch holding the bolt out of the locked position as the handle is rotated but permitting automatic return of the bolt to the locked position when the handle is moved to the closed position. <IMAGE>

Description

HANDLE MECHANISMS The invention relates to handle mechanisms such as handle mechanisms which are used to open and close doors and windows and operate catches and latching mechanisms in such windows.

One form of such a handle mechanism is a push and turn mechanism where the handle is rotatably mounted on a base, which is fixed to the door or window, and where the handle is provided with a push button which, when depressed, locks the handle to the base, thus preventing unauthorized opening of the handle. It is, however, a disadvantage of such "push-to-lock" mechanisms that they can be difficult to open in the case of fire or other emergency.

According to the invention, there is provided a handle mechanism comprising a base and a handle rotatable on the base and including a lock for locking the handle to the base when the handle is in the closed position, the lock being releasable to permit rotation of the handle to an open position, the lock including a locking member movable by operation of a push button into and out of engagement with the base to lock the handle, the push button being connected to the locking member by a mechanism such that depressing the push button moves the locking member out of engagement with the base.

In this way, the handle can be easily turned by simultaneously pushing the press button and rotating the handle.

Preferably the locking member is connected to a plunger arranged for reciprocation along a line of movement which is the same as the line of movement of the push button, the mechanism being interposed between the push button and the plunger to convert movement of the push button along said line in one direction into movement of the plunger along said line in an opposite direction.

In this case, the push button may include a slot extending transverse to said line of movement, with the plunger including a slot extending transverse to said line of movement, respective ends of said slots being in register when the locking member is engaged with the base such that one slot is arranged to one side of a plane normal to said line of movement and the other slot is arranged to the other side of said plane, a drive pin being provided which extends through said slots and which is held against movement along the line of movement of the push button and the plunger but can move in said plane so that depressing the push button moves the push button slot along said line of movement, so moving the drive pin in said plane and along the plunger slot to move the plunger in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the push button.

The drive pin may have ends which engage in a slot whose length lies in said plane to prevent movement of said drive pin in the line of movement of the push button and the plunger but to permit movement of the drive pin along said transverse slot.

The transverse slots may be straight and may subtend the same angle to said normal plane.

A latch member is preferably provided which engages the base to hold the locking member unlocked as the handle is rotated from said closed position, the latch member disengaging from said holding position as the handle reaches the closed position so that the locking member engages automatically with the base in this position, the latch member being moved back into said holding position when the locking member is moved out of engagement with the base.

In this case, where a plunger is provided, the latch member may comprise an arm projecting from the plunger in a direction normal to the line of movement of the plunger, an end of the arm remote from the plunger co-operating with a sleeve arranged around the handle axis and including a radial flange engaged by the arm in the holding position and an axial keyway into which the arm moves as the handle reaches the closed position.

Preferably the locking member is movable in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the handle into and out of engagement with the base at a location on the base spaced from the handle axis.

The locking member may comprise a cylindrical bolt received in a recess in the base in the locked position.

A cylinder lock may be provided in the push button to allow key locking of the button in the position.

The following is a more detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a first form of handle mechanism including a base and a handle and showing a push button of a lock carried by the handle, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the lock of the handle of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a partial cross-section of the handle mechanism of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 3 but showing only a part of the mechanism and showing a spring which urges the mechanism into a locked position.

Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second form of handle mechanism including a base and a handle and showing a push-button lock carried by the handle, and Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view, in a plane at right angles to the cross-sectional plane of Figure 5, of the push-button lock of the handle mechanism of Figure 5.

Referring first to Figure 1, the handle mechanism comprises a base 10 and a handle 11 which includes a body 12 and an arm 13 which can be gripped to operate the handle. As seen in Figure 3, the handle body 12 carries a shaft 14 which projects through a sleeve 15 carried by the base 10 so that the handle is mounted on the base for rotation about the shaft axis 16.

A handle 11 carries a lock 17 which is best seen in Figures 2 and 3. The lock comprises an outer casing 18 of rectangular cross-section which is fixed in a passage 19 in the handle which extends in a direction parallel to the shaft axis.

A push button 20 projects from one end of the casing 18 and includes a head 21 and, projecting downwardly from the head into the casing, two spaced cheeks 22. A slot 23 is provided in each cheek 22. Each slot is straight and extends transverse to the axis of the casing 18. This is seen clearly in Figure 3.

A plunger 24 is carried in the other end of the casing 18. One end of the plunger 24 is received between the cheeks 22 and is provided with a slot 25 which is straight and which extends transverse to the axis of the casing 18. In the positions of the cheek slots 23 and the plunger slot 25 shown in Figure 3, one end of all three slots is in register and the slots are arranged on opposite sides of a plane normal to the axis of the casing 18.

A drive pin 26 extends through all three slots 23,25 and has its ends received in two slots in the casing 18, one of which is shown at 27 in Figure 2. As seen in Figure 2, this slot extends in a direction that lies in the plane about which the cheek and plunger slots 23,25 are disposed.

The effect of this mechanism is as follows. When the head 21 is pushed downwardly from the position shown in Figure 3 in the direction of the arrow 28, the cheek slots 23 also move downwardly. The angle of these slots 23 forces the drive pin 26 in the direction of the arrow 29 in Figure 3. The drive pin 26 thus engages the plunger slot 25 and the resultant force causes the plunger 24 to move upwardly in the direction of the arrow 30 in Figure 3.

This continues until the drive pin 26 reaches the end of the casing slot 27. Plainly, the movement is reversible.

The plunger 24 has at its lower end a cylindrical bolt 31 which, in the position of the lock 17 shown in Figure 3, engages in a co-operating cylindrical recess in the base.

In this position, therefore, the handle 11 is locked to the base 10 and cannot be rotated.

The plunger 24 also includes an arm 33 which projects from the plunger 24 in a direction normal to the axis of the casing 18. The outer end of the arm 33, when in the position shown in Figure 3, engages in a keyway 34 provided in the sleeve 15 surrounding the shaft 14. The handle body 13 includes a recess 35 for receiving the arm 33 when the plunger 24 is lifted. When in this lifted position, shown in broken line in Figure 3, the end of the arm 33 is out of engagement with the keyway. As seen in Figure 2, the casing 18 is provided with a slit 36 to allow such movement.

The push button 20 carries a conventional key operated cylinder lock which allows the push button to be locked in the position shown in Figure 3.

The handle mechanism operates in the following way.

When in the position shown in Figure 3, the handle 11 is locked and cannot rotate relative to the base 10. The cylinder lock 37 may be locked or unlocked as required.

With the cylinder lock 37 unlocked, the handle 11 can be unlocked for rotation simply by depressing the push button 20.

This depressing of the push button 20 causes the plunger 24 to be raised by the drive pin 26, as described above.

This moves the bolt 31 out of the recess in the base 32, so releasing the handle 11 for rotation. At the same time, the end of the arm 31 is lifted out of the keyway 34.

As the handle 11 is rotated, the end of the arm 33 engages with a radial surface 38 on the sleeve 15. This holds the arm 33 in the lifted position and so prevents re-engagement of the bolt 31 with the recess 32 in the base 10. However, when the handle 11 is rotated back to the closed position, the end of the arm 33 aligns with the keyway 34 and drops into the keyway 34 thus allowing the bolt 31 to engage in the recess 32 in the base 10 and causing the push button 20 to move from the broken line position shown in Figure 3 to the full line position shown in Figure 3. A spring may be provided to assist this movement and such a spring is shown in Figure 4 where a coil spring 39 bears on the arm 31 to urge the arm 31 into the keyway 34. The other parts of Figure 4 are identical to Figure 3 and will not be described in detail.

A further embodiment of the handle mechanism is shown in Figures 5 and 6 in which parts common to the handle of those Figures and to the handle of Figures 1 to 4 are given the same reference numerals and are not described in detail.

In the handle of Figures 5 and 6, the outer sleeve 18 is provided, to one side, with a flange 50 which provides an abutment for one end of a compression spring 51. The other end of the compression spring 51 bears against the arm 33. The compression spring 51 functions as described above with reference to Figure 4.

In addition, the sleeve 18 is provided with an inwardly projecting lug 52 (seen in Figure 6) which is thus located between the cheeks 22. This lug 52 is aligned with a slot 53 in the barrel of the lock 37. Thus, when the push-button 20 is depressed, the lug 52 enters the slot 53. However, when the barrel is rotated through 1800 (on being locked by use of a key in the lock 37), the slot 53 is no longer aligned with the lug 52 and so any attempt to depress the lock 37 is resisted by engagement of the lug 52 with the barrel.

The sleeve 15 around the shaft 14 is formed with an annular flange 55 and axial slots 56 which allow the sleeve to be a push fit in the base 10 with the flange 55 engaging an undersurface 57 of the base 10 via a spring washer 57.

In this way, therefore, a handle mechanism is provided in which the push button 20 is pushed to allow the handle 11 to be operated. This makes operation of the handle 11 quick and easy in an emergency. In addition, the lock is automatically latching so that, as soon as the handle is moved to the closed position, it is locked.

Of course, the cheek slots 23 and the plunger slot 25 need not be arranged at the same angle relative to the dividing planes. They could be arranged at different angles. In addition, they need not be straight, they could be curved. Further, there need not be two cheeks 22 on the push button 20 with the plunger 24 fitting between them; the arrangement could be reversed with the cheeks on the plunger and the push button fitting between those cheeks.

The arm 33 is optional. The bolt 31 could be held out of the locked position in another way.

Claims (11)

1. A handle mechanism comprising a base and a handle rotatable on the base and including a lock for locking the handle to the base when the handle is in the closed position, the lock being releasable to permit rotation of the handle to an open position, the lock including a locking member movable by operation of a push button into and out of engagement with the base to lock the handle, the push button being connected to the locking member by a mechanism such that depressing the push button moves the locking member out of engagement with the base.

2. A handle mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the locking member is connected to a plunger arranged for reciprocation along a line of movement which is the same as the line of movement of the push button, a device being interposed between the push button and the plunger to convert movement of the push button along said line in one direction into movement of the plunger along said line in an opposite direction.

3. A handle mechanism according to claim 2 wherein the push button includes a slot extending transverse to said line of movement, with the plunger including a slot extending transverse to said line of movement, respective ends of said slots being in register when the locking member is engaged with the base such that one slot is arranged to one side of a plane normal to said line of movement and the other slot is arranged to the other side of said plane, a drive pin being provided which extends through said slots and which is held against movement along the line of movement of the push button and the plunger but can move in said plane so that depressing the push button moves the push button slot along said line of movement, so moving the drive pin in said plane and along the plunger slot to move the plunger in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the push button.

4. A handle mechanism according to claim 3 wherein the drive pin has ends which engage in a slot whose length lies in said plane to prevent movement of said drive pin in the line of movement of the push button and the plunger but to permit movement of the drive pin along said transverse slot.

5. A handle mechanism according to claim 4 wherein the transverse slots are straight and subtend the same angle to said normal plane.

6. A handle mechanism according to anyone of claims 1 to 5 wherein a latch member is provided which engages the base to hold the locking member unlocked as the handle is rotated from said closed position, the latch member disengaging from said holding position as the handle reaches the closed position so that the locking member engages automatically with the base in this position, the latch member being moved back into said holding position when the locking member is moved out of engagement with the base.

7 A handle mechanism according to claim 6 when dependent on claim 2 wherein the latch member comprising an arm projecting from the plunger in a direction normal to the line of movement of the plunger, an end of the arm remote from the plunger co-operating with a sleeve arranged around the handle axis and including a radial flange engaged by the arm in the holding position and an axial keyway into which the arm moves as the handle reaches the closed position.

8 A handle mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the locking member is movable in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the handle into and out of engagement with the base at a location on the base spaced from the handle axis.

9. A handle mechanism according to claim 8 wherein the locking member comprises a cylindrical bolt received in a recess in the base in the locked position.

10. A handle mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein a cylinder lock is provided in the push button to allow key locking of the button in the position.

11. A handle mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 or to Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.