GB2552677A

GB2552677A - Lock assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2552677A
Application number: GB1613317.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Patrick Mccarthy Bruce; Leslie Norcott Stuart; William Waites Joshua; Ian Herbert David; Ryu Sangwoo
Original assignee: Assa Abloy Ltd
Current assignee: Assa Abloy Ltd
Priority date: 2016-08-02
Filing date: 2016-08-02
Publication date: 2018-02-07
Also published as: GB201613317D0

Abstract

A lock assembly 1 comprising a first latching member movable between extended and retracted positions and a second latching member movable between extended and retracted positions and a signal sensor system 29 to detect a remotely transmitted signal such that in response to a signal, an electric motor 41 is operated and the state of the first and second latching members is changed. Preferably the electric motor changes the state of the at least one latch from a deadlocked to undeadlocked and then is able to be moved from the extended to retracted position. Also claimed is a lock assembly comprising a first shaft 7 which is biased in a first position and rotatable in first and second directions to move a latch from retracted to extended positions and a second shaft 19 parallel but spaced from the first shaft and rotatable from a releasing position to a locking position to obstruct movement of the latch, a signal sensor 29 for receiving a signal and instructing an electric motor 41 to move the second shaft thus changing the state of the lock. Preferably the lock is a lift to lock handle assembly.

Description

(54) Title of the Invention: Lock assembly

Abstract Title: Lock assembly with remotely activated latching member (57) A lock assembly 1 comprising a first latching member movable between extended and retracted positions and a second latching member movable between extended and retracted positions and a signal sensor system 29 to detect a remotely transmitted signal such that in response to a signal, an electric motor 41 is operated and the state of the first and second latching members is changed. Preferably the electric motor changes the state of the at least one latch from a deadlocked to undeadlocked and then is able to be moved from the extended to retracted position. Also claimed is a lock assembly comprising a first shaft 7 which is biased in a first position and rotatable in first and second directions to move a latch from retracted to extended positions and a second shaft 19 parallel but spaced from the first shaft and rotatable from a releasing position to a locking position to obstruct movement of the latch, a signal sensor 29 for receiving a signal and instructing an electric motor 41 to move the second shaft thus changing the state of the lock. Preferably the lock is a lift to lock handle assembly.

Fig. 1

1/1

CO

Lock assembly

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns a lock assembly. More particularly, this invention concerns a lock assembly whose state can be changed without physical actuation by a user of any part of the lock mechanism.

Background of the Invention

In recent years it has become increasingly common to provide lock assemblies with a locking member that can be moved from an extended locking position to a retracted position by an electric motor that receives a signal to effect the movement of the locking member from a signalling system of some kind. For example in hotels it is common to find a lock comprising a locking member that can be retracted by placing a key card against or in the proximity of a sensing system of some kind. In response to sensing the contact or proximity of the card, the motor is actuated to withdraw the locking member from its extended position to a retracted position.

An important aspect of a system of this kind is that it is entirely reliable. Otherwise a genuine key holder may be unable to gain access or security of the lock may be compromised. Reliability is most readily achieved with locks of simple design. Accordingly, there are barriers to applying such technology to more complex locking mechanisms .

The present invention seeks to mitigate the abovementioned problem. Alternatively or additionally, the present invention seeks to provide an improved lock assembly.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides, according to a first aspect, a lock assembly comprising a first latching member movable between an extended and a retracted position, a second latching member movable between an extended and a retracted position, an electric motor for changing the state of the first and second latching members, a signal sensor system for detecting a signal transmitted remotely to the lock assembly, the arrangement of the sensor system and the electric motor being such that, in response to a predetermined signal, the electric motor is operated and the state of the first and second latching members is changed.

The invention thus provides a lock assembly that is more sophisticated than a simple assembly in that it has two or more latching members, yet is still able to be operated by a signal transmitted remotely. The term remotely when used in this specification and in this context refers to remoteness in the sense of not being a physical movement that is mechanically coupled to the mechanism of the lock assembly; it is within the scope of the invention for the signal to be transmitted either from a considerable distance from the lock assembly or from adjacent to the assembly, for example by touching it.

Where reference is made to detecting a transmitted signal, it should be understood that the signal may be an actively generated signal but may alternatively be in a wide variety of other forms. For example, the signal could be a particular bar code read by the lock assembly.

The change of state of a latching member may be movement of the latching member, for example, from an extended position to a retracted position. It may, however, not involve movement of the latching member itself. For example, the electric motor may change the state of at least one of, or each of, the first and second latching members from a state in which it is deadlocked in an extended position to a state in which it is able to be moved by a further action from the extended position to a retracted position.

The lock assembly may further comprise a handle. The further action may comprise manual operation of the handle. The manual operation may be rotation. The handle may be a lever handle. A pair of handles may be provided, one handle being arranged to be mounted on the inside and the other handle being arranged to be mounted on the outside.

In an embodiment of the invention described below, a lock assembly comprises a pair of handles, and a thumb-turn is also provided. The thumb turn may change the state of the first and second latching members.

The electric motor may take any of a variety of forms; for example it may be a linear motor in the form of a solenoid, but it is preferred that it is a rotary motor.

The lock assembly may be a multipoint lock. It may be noted that the term multipoint lock is used by the skilled person to refer to a lock assembly with two or more latching members. There is not a requirement for three or more latching members. Some multipoint locks have more than two latching members and in the lock assembly according to the first aspect of the invention may be at least one further latching member.

positions . chamfered.

The latching members may take any of a wide variety of forms. One of the latching members may be a locking bolt mounted for linear movement between retracted and extended The bolt may have a square end or it may be One of the latching members may be a hook latch mounted for rotary movement between retracted and extended positions .

The signal sensor system may be arranged to detect a wireless signal.

The signal sensor system may comprise an RFID device.

The signal sensor system may comprise a device for detecting a signal from a mobile communications device, for example a smartphone.

Any one or more of a variety of wireless communication systems may be employed. For example, the signal sensor system may be arranged to detect a signal complying with the Bluetooth standard, more preferably the Bluetooth low energy (BLE) standard.

The signal sensor system may be arranged to be mounted on the side of the lock assembly that is, in use, the exterior side. That enables the system to detect a signal that has only a short range.

The lock assembly may further comprise a signal transmitting device for transmitting a signal relating to the lock assembly to a remote location. The signal transmitting device may be arranged to be mounted on the side of the lock assembly that is, in use, the interior side .

The transmitting device may be configured to be able to send a signal when the state of one or more of the latching members changes or when some other event in the lock assembly occurs, for example partial or complete actuation of the thumb turn as described below. The lock assembly may be configured to communicate with an auxiliary system. In a general sense, receipt of a signal from the transmitting device when it is not expected, may be treated as a kind of alarm signal and the auxiliary system may be configured to respond as required to such a signal.

The auxiliary system may be an alarm system. The alarm system may be based at the property protected by the lock assembly or at another location. The alarm system may have an armed state. When the alarm system is in an armed state, receipt of the signal may trigger an alarm. For example, the alarm system may be configured to sound an audible alarm. The alarm system may have an unarmed state. When the alarm system is in an unarmed state, receipt of the signal may not trigger an alarm.

The auxiliary system may alternatively or additionally be a system configured to provide a notification to a user, for example via the internet and/or via mobile communication. The auxiliary system may therefore comprise a server. On receipt of the signal the server may be configured to send an electronic notification to a designated person. Such an electronic notification may, for example, be delivered via email, text message and/or a smartphone application. Such a notification may be in the form of a message or similar alert. Preferably, such a notification is only provided in certain circumstances. For example, such a notification is only provided if an alarm system is in an armed state.

The lock assembly may further comprise a first shaft mounted for rotation about a first axis and carrying a handle on one end, the first shaft being rotatable for moving at least one of the first and second latching members between the extended and retracted positions, and a second shaft mounted for rotation about a second axis substantially parallel to, but spaced apart from, the first axis, the second shaft being rotatable from a releasing position to a locking position for obstructing movement of at least one of the first and second latching members between the extended and retracting positions, the second shaft being drivingly coupled to the electric motor. The application of the present invention to such a lock assembly represents a substantial increase in complexity over a simple locking assembly having a single latching member and a single actuator shaft.

A handle may be provided on each end of the first shaft.

The first shaft may be biased into a first position. The first shaft may be rotatable from the first position in a first direction for moving at least one of the first and second latching members from an extended position into a retracted position, and it may be rotatable from the first position in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, for moving at least one of the first and second latching members from a retracted position into an extended position. Such a complex mechanism has become increasingly popular and is commonly referred to as a lift-to-lock mechanism; lever handles may be provided and lifting a handle may move one or more of the latching members into an extended position whilst depressing a handle may retract the latching member(s).

A shaft sensor system may be associated with the first shaft for detecting rotation of the first shaft and for causing rotation of the electric motor in a direction determined by the direction of rotation of the first shaft. This is advantageous in enabling the lock assembly to function correctly independently of its handing on a door. Features of an example of such a lift-to-lock lock handle assembly are described and claimed in United Kingdom patent application GB1613268.0 entitled Lock handle assembly, having the same filing date as the present application and referred to herein as the lift-to-lock patent application. The contents of that application are fully incorporated herein by reference. The claims of the present application may incorporate any of the features disclosed in that patent application. In particular, the claims of the present application may be amended to include the arrangement and features of the lock handle assemblies mentioned therein, in particular features relating to the arrangement of the lift-to-lock lock handle assembly 1

A thumb-turn may be provided for manually rotating the second shaft. The lock assembly may further comprise a thumb-turn assembly, wherein the thumb-turn is movable, against a resilient bias, from a first condition, in which the thumb-turn is inoperative, to a second condition, in which rotation of the thumb-turn rotates the second shaft. The thumb-turn assembly may be a thumb-turn sensor assembly configured to sense when the thumb-turn is moved into the second condition. The thumb-turn sensor assembly may comprise a proximity sensor which may be a capacitive proximity sensor.

The lock assembly may be able to transmit a signal to a remote location in response to sensing that the thumbturn has been moved into the second condition. The signal

- 8 may be transmitted by the transmitting device referred to above .

Features of a thumb-turn assembly that may be employed in the present invention are described and claimed in United Kingdom patent application GB1613300.1 entitled Lock handle assembly, having the same filing date as the present application and referred to herein as the thumbturn patent application. The contents of that application are fully incorporated herein by reference. The claims of the present application may incorporate any of the features disclosed in that patent application. In particular, the claims of the present application may be amended to include the arrangement and features of the assemblies mentioned therein.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a lock assembly comprising a first shaft mounted for rotation about a first axis and carrying a handle on one end, the first shaft being biased into a first position and being rotatable from the first position in a first direction for moving a latching member from an extended position into a retracted position and being rotatable from the first position in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, to move the latching member from a retracted position into an extended position, a second shaft mounted for rotation about a second axis substantially parallel to, but spaced apart from, the first axis, the second shaft being rotatable from a releasing position to a locking position for obstructing movement of the latching member from an extended position into a retracted position, an electric motor for rotating the second shaft, a signal sensor system for detecting a signal transmitted remotely to the lock assembly, the arrangement of the signal sensor system and the electric motor being such that, in response to a predetermined signal, the electric motor is operated and the second shaft rotated to change the state of the lock assembly.

It may be noted that, according to the second aspect of the invention, there may be just one latching member. There may alternatively be at least one further latching member movable between extended and retracted positions. Said at least one further latching member may arranged to move from an extended position into a retracted position when the first shaft is rotated in the first direction and to move from a retracted position into an extended position when the first shaft is rotated in the second direction. Movement of said at least one further latching member from an extended position into a retracted position may be obstructed when the second shaft is rotated from the releasing position to the locking position.

As in the first aspect of the invention, the signal sensor system may be arranged to detect a wireless signal. The signal sensor system may comprise an RFID device. The signal sensor device may comprise a device for detecting a signal from a mobile communications device. The signal sensor system may alternatively or additionally be arranged to detect a signal complying with the Bluetooth standard.

The signal sensor system may be arranged to be mounted on the side of the lock assembly that is, in use, the exterior side.

The lock assembly of the second aspect of the invention may further comprise a signal transmitting device for transmitting a signal relating to the lock assembly to a remote location.

The lock assembly of the second aspect of the invention may incorporate any other features described above in respect of the lock assembly of the first aspect of the invention.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a lock handle assembly for fitting to a lock casing to provide a lock assembly according to the first or second aspect of the invention.

The lock handle assembly may comprise one or more of the following:

the electric motor, the signal sensor system for detecting a signal transmitted remotely to the lock assembly, the arrangement of the sensor system and the electric motor being such that, in response to a predetermined signal, the electric motor is operated and the state of the first and second latching members is changed, a first shaft mounted for rotation about a first axis and carrying a handle on one end, the first shaft being biased into a first position and being rotatable from the first position in a first direction for moving a latching member from an extended position into a retracted position and being rotatable from the first position in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, to move the latching member from a retracted position into an extended position, a second shaft mounted for rotation about a second axis substantially parallel to, but spaced apart from, the first axis, the second shaft being rotatable from a releasing position to a locking position for obstructing movement of the latching member from an extended position into a retracted position.

The lock handle assembly may be able to be retrofitted in place of another handle assembly to a door already fitted with a lock assembly, for example with a lift-to-lock lock assembly. The first and second shafts of the handle assembly may be provided at a standard spacing to facilitate this.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is also provided a kit of parts for assembling into a lock handle assembly according to the third aspect of the invention.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided a lock system comprising an access monitoring and/or controlling unit and a lock assembly according to the first or second aspect of the invention.

The access monitoring and/or controlling unit may be arranged to be notified in response to the predetermined signal being received by the signal sensor system for operating the electric motor to change the state of the first and second latching members.

The access monitoring and/or controlling unit may send a controlling signal to the signal sensor system for changing the state of the first and second latching members .

The access monitoring and controlling unit may be provided at a location that is distanced from a building in which the lock assembly is located, or it may be located in the building. The access monitoring and controlling unit may incorporate an alarm system. It may control other devices, for example lights and/or heating devices. The unit may be provided in a building in which the lock assembly is fitted, and any lights or heating devices that are also controlled by the unit.

In the case where a thumb-turn as described above is provided, the lock assembly may be able to transmit a signal to the access monitoring and/or controlling unit in response to sensing that the thumb-turn has been moved into the second condition.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention there is provided a door comprising a lock assembly according to the first or second aspects of the invention.

It will of course be appreciated that features described in relation to one aspect of the present invention may be incorporated into other aspects of the present invention.

Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying schematic drawing of which:

Figure 1 is an exploded view of a lift-to-lock handle assembly.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 shows a lift-to-lock handle assembly 1. The lock handle assembly 1 has several features in common with prior-art lift-to-lock handle assemblies and those features will first be described. The handle assembly 1 comprises an outside part 3 for mounting upon the outside of a door, and an inside part 5 arranged for mounting upon the inside of the door. A handle shaft 7, which, when the lock handle assembly 1 is mounted upon a door, passes through the door and extends between an inside handle 9 mounted upon the inside part 5 with an outside handle 11, mounted upon the outside part 3. When the handle assembly 1 is mounted upon a door, the handle shaft 7 is arranged such that when the inside handle 9 or the outside handle 11 is pushed downwards from its neutral position (the neutral position being that shown in Figure 1), against the force of a spring set 13 which biases the handle towards the neutral position, the handle shaft 7 is rotated and interacts with a lock mechanism (not shown) in the door to move a latch (not shown) from an extended to a retracted position. Furthermore, when the inside or outside handle 11 is moved upwards, again against the biasing force of the spring set 13, the handle shaft 7 is rotated in the opposite direction and drives one or more locking members, for example rotatable hooks and/or linearly movable bolts (not shown), into a locking position in which they are arranged to secure the door within the door frame. Such a configuration is well known.

A known lift-to-lock handle assembly has the features just described and comprises a key-operated cylinder assembly which is arranged to secure the locking of the door, once the one or more locking members have been moved to the locking position by lifting the handle. That may be achieved by deadlocking one or more of the locking members and/or from preventing rotation of the handle shaft. Such cylinder assemblies are mounted within the door and the door may be locked by using a key from either the inside side or the outside side of the door.

The lock handle assembly 1 is designed to replace a known lock handle assembly as described immediately above, but not to require any modification of the locking mechanism in the door. The lock handle assembly 1 comprises a lock actuator assembly 15, as described in United Kingdom patent application numbers GB1610637.9 and GB1610638.7, in place of a key-operated cylinder assembly. As can be seen from Figure 1, the lock actuator assembly 15 is manually operable to secure the handle shaft 7 from the inside of the door via rotation of a thumb-turn 17 which is engageable with an actuator shaft 19. Rotation of the actuator shaft 19 rotates a cam 20 which is equivalent to the cam actuator of a known cylinder assembly (for example a europrofile cylinder) and operates on the locking mechanism in the door in the same way. The lock actuator assembly 15 is not accessible from the outside of the door. As such, there is no means of manually actuating the actuator shaft 19, and therefore unlocking the door, from the outside of the door.

The inside part 5 of the lift-to-lock handle assembly 1 is arranged to be mounted upon a mounting plate 21, the mounting plate 21 being arranged to be mounted directly upon the inside of the door. The inside part 5 comprises a control subassembly 23 contained within a housing 25, the housing 25 being closed with a cover plate 27.

The control subassembly 23 is arranged to automatically control, via a control unit, rotation of the actuator shaft 19 in response to movement of the handle shaft 7 in the locking direction, the locking direction corresponding to the direction of rotation of the handle shaft 7 which moves the locking members to the locking position. The control subassembly 23 is also arranged to rotate the actuator shaft in the opposite direction in the event that it receives an unlocking signal passed to it by other means referred to below, and also to allow the actuator shaft 19 to be manually rotated in that opposite direction via the thumb-turn 17 which is engageable with the distal end of the actuator shaft 19.

Rotation of the actuator shaft 19 in response to rotation of the handle shaft 7 caused by lifting of a handle when locking is achieved by a sensor system 29 which is arranged to sense rotation of the handle shaft 7 and send a locking signal to a motor 41 that is mechanically linked to the actuator shaft 19. Upon receiving the locking signal, the motor 41 rotates the actuator shaft 19 in a first direction to rotate the cam 20 and thereby lock the door. The arrangement of the sensor system 29 and its interaction with the motor 41 is described in more detail in the lift-to-lock patent application referred to above.

The electric motor 41 is mounted upon the control subassembly 23, adjacent the actuator shaft 19. A drive shaft of the electric motor 41 projects in a direction towards the door, parallel with the axis of rotation of the actuator bar. A gear 45 is fixedly mounted upon the distal end of the drive shaft. The motor 41 and sensor system 29 are powered by four batteries which are mounted within a battery pack 47 located at the lower end of the control subassembly 23.

When the lift-to-lock handle assembly 1 is fully assembled, the actuator shaft 19 is received within a sleeve 49 which passes through and is rotatably mounted within the control subassembly 23, such that rotation of the sleeve 49 causes rotation of the actuator shaft 19. A gear 51 is coaxially mounted upon the outer surface of the sleeve 49 on a first side of the control subassembly 23, the first side of the control subassembly 23 being the side closest to the door when the control subassembly 23 is mounted upon the door. The sleeve 49 and motor 41 are arranged relative to one another with the motor gear 45 meshing with the sleeve gear 51. In this arrangement, upon receiving locking signal from the sensor system 29, the motor 41 drive-shaft is rotated, thereby rotating the actuator shaft 19 and locking the door.

Co-axially mounted upon the outside surface of the sleeve 49 is a thumb-turn clutch member 55, the thumb-turn clutch member 55 being mounted upon the second side (the opposite side to the first side) of the control subassembly 23. The thumb-turn 17 is rotatably mounted upon the subassembly housing 25, the axis of rotation of the thumb-turn 17 being coincident with the axis of rotation of the actuator shaft 19.

The thumb-turn is resiliently biased to a position in which it is not engaged with the shaft 19 but can be pushed against the resilient bias into a position in which it is engaged. Also a sensor system is provided for detecting the pushing in of the thumb-turn. The arrangement of the thumb-turn and the sensor system is described in the thumbturn patent application referred to above.

A RFID unit 57 is mounted in the top of the outside part 3 of the handle assembly with a cover 59 secured over the unit. Also a radio transmitter 61 is mounted on the inside housing 25 with a cover 63 secured over the transmitter. Wires (not shown) interconnect the unit 57, transmitter 61 with electronic components on the control assembly 23.

In use, with the assembly of Figure 1 fixed to a door and the shafts 7 and 19 interacting with a conventional lift-to-lock mechanism, a remotely operable lift-to-lock assembly is provided. For example, if the assembly is in a fully locked position, with latching members extended and deadlocked, a user can approach the door from the outside and with, for example, a card or a smartphone communicate with the RFID device 57 to cause the motor 41 to drive the shaft 19 and release the deadlocking of the latching members. The user can then depress the handle 11 to manually rotate the shaft 7 and retract the latching members. In that way it becomes possible to operate a lift-to-lock assembly remotely.

The radio transmitter 61 may be arranged to transmit a signal to an access monitoring and/or controlling unit.

That may be a dedicated physical unit or it may for example be associated with a smartphone. The transmitter may be arranged to transmit information whenever either of the shafts 7 and 19 are rotated indicating locking/unlocking and/or opening/closing of the door. The transmitter may also transmit information whenever the thumb-turn 17 is pressed in.

Whilst the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention lends itself to many different variations not specifically illustrated herein.

Where in the foregoing description, integers or elements are mentioned which have known, obvious or foreseeable equivalents, then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth. Reference should be made to the claims for determining the true scope of the present invention, which should be construed so as to encompass any such equivalents. It will also be appreciated by the reader that integers or features of the invention that are described as preferable, advantageous, convenient or the like are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that such optional integers or features, whilst of possible benefit in some embodiments of the invention, may not be desirable, and may therefore be absent, in other embodiments .

Claims

Claims :

1. A lock assembly comprising a first latching member movable between an extended and a retracted position, a second latching member movable between an extended and a retracted position, an electric motor for changing the state of the first and second latching members, a signal sensor system for detecting a signal transmitted remotely to the lock assembly, the arrangement of the sensor system and the electric motor being such that, in response to a predetermined signal, the electric motor is operated and the state of the first and second latching members is changed.

2. A lock assembly according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor changes the state of at least one of the first and second latching members from a state in which it is deadlocked in an extended position to a state in which it is able to be moved by a further action from the extended position to a retracted position.

3. A lock assembly according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor changes the state of each of the first and second latching members from a state in which it is deadlocked in an extended position to a state in which it is able to be moved by a further action from the extended position to a retracted position.

4. A lock assembly according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the lock assembly further comprises a handle and the further action comprises manual operation of the handle.

5. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein there is at least one further latching member.

6. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein one of the latching members is a locking bolt mounted for linear movement between retracted and extended positions .

7. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein one of the latching members is a hook latch mounted for rotary movement between retracted and extended positions .

8. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the signal sensor system is arranged to detect a wireless signal.

9. A lock assembly according to claim 8, wherein the signal sensor system comprises an RFID device.

10. A lock assembly according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the signal sensor system comprises a device for detecting a signal from a mobile communications device.

11. A lock assembly according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the signal sensor system is arranged to detect a signal complying with the Bluetooth standard.

12. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the signal sensor system is arranged to be mounted on a side of the lock assembly that is, in use, an interior side .

13. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, further comprising a signal transmitting device for transmitting a signal relating to the lock assembly to a remote location.

14. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, the lock assembly further comprising a first shaft mounted for rotation about a first axis and carrying a handle on one end, the first shaft being rotatable for moving at least one of the first and second latching members between the extended and retracted positions, and a second shaft mounted for rotation about a second axis substantially parallel to, but spaced apart from, the first axis, the second shaft being rotatable from a releasing position to a locking position for obstructing movement of at least one of the first and second latching members between the extended and retracting positions, the second shaft being drivingly coupled to the electric motor.

15. A lock assembly according to claim 14, wherein the first shaft is biased into a first position, and is rotatable from the first position in a first direction for moving at least one of the first and second latching members from an extended position into a retracted position, and is rotatable from the first position in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, for moving at least one of the first and second latching members from a retracted position into an extended position.

16. A lock assembly according to claim 15, further comprising a shaft sensor system associated with the first shaft for detecting rotation of the first shaft and for causing rotation of the electric motor in a direction determined by the direction of rotation of the first shaft.

17. A lock assembly according to any of claims 14 to 16, wherein a thumb-turn is provided for manually rotating the second shaft.

18. A lock assembly according to claim 17, further comprising a thumb-turn sensor assembly; wherein the thumbturn is movable, against a resilient bias, from a first condition, in which the thumb-turn is inoperative, to a second condition, in which rotation of the thumb-turn rotates the second shaft; and the thumb-turn sensor assembly is configured to sense when the thumb-turn is moved into the second condition.

19. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the thumb-turn sensor assembly comprises a proximity sensor.

20. A lock assembly according to claim 19, wherein the proximity sensor is a capacitive proximity sensor.

21. A lock assembly according to any of claims 18 to 20, wherein the assembly is able to transmit a signal to a remote location in response to sensing that the thumb-turn has been moved into the second condition.

22. A lock assembly comprising a first shaft mounted for rotation about a first axis and carrying a handle on one end, the first shaft being biased into a first position and being rotatable from the first position in a first direction for moving a latching member from an extended position into a retracted position and being rotatable from the first position in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, to move the latching member from a retracted position into an extended position, a second shaft mounted for rotation about a second axis substantially parallel to, but spaced apart from, the first axis, the second shaft being rotatable from a releasing position to a locking position for obstructing movement of the latching member from an extended position into a retracted position, an electric motor for rotating the second shaft, a signal sensor system for detecting a signal transmitted remotely to the lock assembly, the arrangement of the signal sensor system and the electric motor being such that, in response to a predetermined signal, the electric motor is operated and the second shaft rotated to change the state of the lock assembly.

23. A lock assembly according to claim 22, wherein there is at least one further latching member movable between extended and retracted positions.

24. A lock assembly according to claim 23, in which said at least one further latching member is arranged to move from an extended position into a retracted position when the first shaft is rotated in the first direction and to move from a retracted position into an extended position when the first shaft is rotated in the second direction, and wherein movement of said at least one further latching member from an extended position into a retracted position is obstructed when the second shaft is rotated from the releasing position to the locking position.

25. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the signal sensor system is arranged to detect a wireless signal.

26. A lock assembly according to claim 25, wherein the signal sensor system comprises an RFID device.

27. A lock assembly according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the signal sensor system comprises a device for detecting a signal from a mobile communications device.

28. A lock assembly according to any of claims 25 to 27, wherein the signal sensor system is arranged to detect a signal complying with the Bluetooth standard.

29. A lock assembly according to any of claims 22 to 28, wherein the signal sensor system is arranged to be mounted on a side of the lock assembly that is, in use, an interior side .

30. A lock assembly according to any preceding claim, further comprising a signal transmitting device for transmitting a signal relating to the lock assembly to a remote location.

31. A lock assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

32. A lock handle assembly for fitting to a lock casing to provide a lock assembly according to any preceding claim.

33. A lock handle assembly according to claim 32, the assembly comprising one or more of the following:

34. A kit of parts for assembling into a lock handle assembly according to claim 32 or 33.

35. A lock system comprising an access monitoring and/or controlling unit and a lock assembly according to any of claims 1 to 31, wherein the access monitoring and/or controlling unit is arranged to be notified in response to the predetermined signal being received by the signal sensor system for operating the electric motor to change the state of the first and second latching members.

36. A lock system according to claim 18 when dependent upon claim 21, wherein the lock assembly is able to transmit a signal to the access monitoring and/or controlling unit in response to sensing that the thumb-turn

5 has been moved into the second condition.

37. A lock system substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10

38. A door comprising a lock assembly according to any of claims 1 to 31.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB 1613317.5 Examiner: Mr Philip Lawrence