GB2553276A

GB2553276A - Door handle assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2553276A
Application number: GB1613316.7A
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: 2018-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 2036-08-02
Also published as: GB2553276B; GB201613316D0

Abstract

A mounting plate assembly 1 for mounting within a door handle assembly 3. The mounting plate assembly 1 having a plurality of lugs 5 for cooperating with fasteners which, in use, pass through a lock casing from one side of a door to the other. At least one lug 5A is moveable between a first and second positions on the mounting plate 15 assembly and is removable from the mounting plate assembly 1 without gaining access to the rear of the assembly. Preferably the lugs are be located in slots 9 in the mounting plate for positional adjustment to suit different mounting holes in a door/lock casing and include extension 51A internally threaded with a square head 53A preventing rotation of the lug; the head 53A may be threadably removable from the extension body 51A. An end of the lug extension 51A may have a slot formation (56A, fig.5) for engagement with screwdriver for positional adjustment.

Description

(71) Applicant(s):

Assa Abloy Limited (Incorporated in the United Kingdom) Portobello, School Street, WILLENHALL, West Midlands, WV13 3PW, United Kingdom (56) Documents Cited:

GB 2453893 A WO 2010/001170 A1 US 20150075236 A1

WO 2016/187542 A1 US 4732418 A (58) Field of Search:

INT CL E05B

Other: Online: EPODOC WPI (72) Inventor(s):

Bruce Patrick McCarthy Stuart Leslie Norcott Joshua William Waites David Ian Herbert Sangwoo Ryu (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Abel & Imray

Westpoint Building, James Street West, Bath, BA1 2DA, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: Door handle assembly

Abstract Title: Door handle mounting plate assembly with removable mounting lugs (57) A mounting plate assembly 1 for mounting within a door handle assembly 3. The mounting plate assembly 1 having a plurality of lugs 5 for cooperating with fasteners which, in use, pass through a lock casing from one side of a door to the other. At least one lug 5A is moveable between a first and second positions on the mounting plate 15 assembly and is removable from the mounting plate assembly 1 without gaining access to the rear of the assembly. Preferably the lugs are be located in slots 9 in the mounting plate for positional adjustment to suit different mounting holes in a door/lock casing and include extension 51A internally threaded with a square head 53A preventing rotation of the lug; the head 53A may be threadably removable from the extension body 51 A. An end of the lug extension 51A may have a slot formation (56A, fig.5) for engagement with screwdriver for positional adjustment.

Fig. 1

1/5

Fig. 1

2/5

53A 55A

11C

Fig. 2

3/5

Fig. 3

4/5

56A

Fig. 5

53A

5/5

111B

112B ^5B 11B QD

53B 9B

Fig. 7

Door handle assembly

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns door handle assemblies. More particularly, but not exclusively, this invention concerns mounting assemblies for door handle assemblies .

Background of the Invention

Door handle assemblies typically comprise mounting assemblies which are arranged to enable the door handle assembly to be mounted upon a lock casing contained within a door.

Lock casings are produced by a range of manufacturers and as such, there is no standard arrangement for the location of attachment points that may be used to attach a mounting plate assembly for a door handle assembly to the door Thus, when selecting a mounting plate assembly for a given situation, it may be necessary to choose a mounting plate assembly which is specifically configured for that particular situation, which restricts choice, or to drill additional holes in a door .

The present invention seeks to mitigate the above mentioned problem.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides, according to a first aspect, a mounting plate assembly suitable for mounting within a door handle assembly for operating a lock, wherein the mounting plate assembly comprises a plurality of lugs for cooperating with fasteners which, in use, are connected to the lugs to define fastening assemblies that pass through a lock casing from one side of a door to the other, wherein a first lug of the plurality of lugs is moveable between a first position and a second position on the mounting plate assembly, and the first lug is removable from the mounting plate assembly without having to gain access to the rear of the assembly.

By providing a mounting plate assembly with such a movable lug on the backplate assembly and, furthermore, enabling the lug to be removed without gaining access to the rear of the assembly it becomes possible to provide a handle assembly that is readily adaptable to a variety of lock casings. Furthermore it is not necessary to gain access to the rear of the assembly and that provides protection for any delicate components that may be provided to the rear of the mounting plate assembly. The lug may be moved to a position aligned with an opening in the lock casing or, if the lock casing does not have an appropriate opening in that region, may be removed entirely. Those adjustments can be made without risk to damage of components located in the handle assembly.

The lugs may extend in a direction transverse to the assembly. That may facilitate engagement of the lugs with the fasteners. The lugs may project forwardly from the assembly. Where reference is made to the lugs projecting forwardly, that is a reference to the direction which, when the mounting plate assembly is mounted on the door is the direction into the door.

Similarly the rear of the mounting plate assembly is the side of the assembly further away from the door.

The mounting plate assembly may be of elongate shape having a length greater than its width. A longitudinal axis of the assembly may be defined parallel to the length direction of the mounting plate assembly and the first lug may be movable between the first and second positions in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. Typically the mounting plate assembly is mounted, in use, on a door with the longitudinal axis of the assembly vertical. The first lug may be movable along a linear path.

The first lug may be able to be fixed in the first or second positions without having to gain access to the rear of the mounting plate assembly. Fixing the first lug in a desired position provides a more robust construction. Whilst reference is made to the first lug being able to be fixed in first and second positions and those may be the only positions in which the lug can be fixed, it is preferred that the lug can be fixed in a range of positions. In an embodiment of the invention described below, the first lug can be fixed in any position between the first and second positions. The first lug may be slidably mounted in a slot. The slot may extend in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mounting plate assembly.

The forwardly projecting part of the first lug may be in screw-threaded enagagement with one of the fasteners which, in use, are connected to the lugs. The forwardly projecting part of the first lug may be internally screw-threaded. The first lug may for example be arranged to be engaged by a screw-threaded bolt or the like that is passed through the door from the opposite side to the side on which the mounting plate assembly is mounted. The mounting plate assembly may be mounted on the exterior of the door and the screw-threaded bolt may be introduced from the interior side of the door.

Together the lug and the bolt may, in use, define a fastener assembly passing though openings in a lock casing mounted in the door.

The first lug may take any of a wide variety of forms and the term lug is to be construed accordingly. The first lug may comprise an elongate body and a head at the rear end of the body, the head being arranged for preventing rotation of the lug within the mounting plate assembly and to retain the lug on the mounting plate assembly. The elongate body of the first lug may be removable from the head.

The head and the body of the first lug may be in screw-threaded engagement. The front end of the first lug may be provided with one or more formations enabling it to be engaged by a tool for altering the screwthreaded engagement of the body of the lug and the head. By that means the body of the lug may be completely unscrewed from the head and the body of the lug may be removed. This removes the main part of the lug and is to be regarded as removal of the lug, even though the head of the lug may be retained in the assembly.

A second lug of the plurality of lugs may be movable between a third position and a fourth position on the mounting plate assembly. The second lug may be removable from the mounting plate assembly without having to gain access to the rear of the assembly. The second lug may have some or all of the same characteristics as those described above in respect of the first lug. The second lug and its mounting may be substantially the same as the first lug and its mounting. The only difference of substance, or at least the main difference, between the first and second lugs and their arrangement within the mounting plate assembly may be their positions. For example the third and fourth positions may be displaced along the longitudinal axis of the mounting plate assembly from the first and second positions. The first, second, third and fourth positions may be aligned along a common line, which may, in use, be vertical. The first lug may be disposed towards one end of the mounting plate assembly. Said one end may, in use, be the upper end.

The second lug may be disposed in a middle region of the mounting plate assembly.

A third lug of the plurality of lugs may be movable between a fifth position and a sixth position on the mounting plate assembly. The third lug may be removable from the mounting plate assembly without having to gain access to the rear of the assembly but alternatively it may not be removable from the mounting plate assembly without gaining access to the rear of the assembly or it may even not be removable at all. In many examples of lock casing there is one region in which provision is made for a fastener and in that case a lug designed for that region need not be removable.

The third lug may have some or all of the same characteristics as those described above in respect of the first lug. The third lug and its mounting may be substantially the same as the first lug and its mounting or it may be different if it is not to be removable without having to gain access to the rear of the assembly. A difference between the third lug and the first lug is the locations of the fifth and sixth positions as compared to the first and second positions.

For example, the fifth and sixth positions may be displaced along the longitudinal axis of the mounting plate assembly from the first and second positions. The first, second, fifth and sixth positions may be aligned along a common line, which may, in use, be vertical. The first lug may be disposed towards one end of the mounting plate assembly. Said one end may, in use, be the upper end. The third lug may be disposed in an opposite end region of the mounting plate assembly.

Whilst reference is made in this specification to first, second and third lugs and respective positions of those lugs, it should be understood that it is within the scope of the invention for there to be only two lugs, one of which is the first lug. In such a case the second lug may be either the second lug or the third lug or, in a broader aspect of the invention, a lug that is neither the second lug nor the third lug.

The present invention provides, according to a second aspect of the invention, a door handle assembly comprising a mounting plate assembly according to the first aspect of the invention and an outer assembly mounted over the rear face of the mounting plate assembly.

One or more electronic components may be housed within the door handle assembly.

The door handle assembly may further comprise a plurality of fasteners for connection, in use, to respective lugs to define fastener assemblies that pass through a lock casing from one side of a door to the other .

The door handle assembly may be a lift-to lock lock handle assembly. Features of an example of such a liftto-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 litt-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.

The present invention provides, according to a third aspect of the invention, a lock assembly comprising a door handle assembly according to the second aspect of the invention, and a lock casing containing a lock mechanism, the lock casing having through openings for receiving the fastener assemblies. The lock assembly may be a multipoint lock.

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

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings of which:

Figure 1 shows an exploded view of a door handle assembly comprising a mounting plate assembly according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the door handle assembly;

	- 8 -
Figure	3 shows an isometric view of the top end of the door handle assembly;
Figure	4 shows an isometric cutaway view of the bottom end of the door handle assembly;
Figure	5 shows an isometric cutaway view of the top end of the door handle assembly; and

Figure 6 shows the view of Figure 5 with the body of the top lug having been removed from the head of the top lug; and

Figure 7 shows an isometric cutaway view of the centre of the door handle assembly, between the top end and the bottom end of the door handle assembly.

Detailed Description

A mounting plate assembly 1 for a door handle assembly 3, according to an embodiment of the invention, is shown in the exploded view of Figure 1. In use, the mounting plate assembly 1 is contained within the door handle assembly 3, as shown in Figures 2 to 6, and is used to mount the door handle assembly 3 upon a lock casing (not shown). Usually the door handle assembly shown is mounted on the exterior side of the door. The mounting plate assembly 1 of the presently described embodiment of the invention is advantageously arranged to enable the door handle assembly 3 to be compatible with a variety of lock casings of different configurations.

The mounting plate assembly 1 provides for the door handle assembly 3 to be located on a door with fastener assemblies passing through openings in the lock casing using up to three lugs 5A, 5B, 5C which are spaced along the vertical length of the mounting plate assembly 1, as shown in Figure 1 and the cross sectional view of Figure 2. Each lug comprises a hollow cylindrical body 51, the inner surface 52 of which is screw threaded such that fasteners, such as bolts, may be screwed into the lug 5 from the other (usually interior) side of the door in order to fasten the door handle assembly 3 to the door and locate the handle assembly on the lock casing and operatively connected thereto. Each lug 5A, 5B and 5C comprises a lug head 53 at one end 55 of the cylindrical body 51.

The mounting plate assembly 1 comprises an elongate mounting plate 7 which, in use, is fastened to an outer assembly 3A of the door handle assembly 3. The mounting plate 7 comprises three vertical slots 9A, 9B, 9C spaced along the vertical length of the mounting plate 7, and each of the three lugs 5 passes through one of the three slots 9 such that the lugs 5 are spaced apart along the vertical length of the mounting plate 7. The head 53 of each lug 5 is positioned on a first side (also referred to herein as the back side) of the mounting plate 7 and the cylindrical body 51 of each lug 5 projects from a second side (also referred to herein as the front side) of the mounting plate 7, the second side of the mounting plate 7 being the side which sits against the door when the door handle assembly 3 is mounted upon the door, as shown in Figure 2. The slots 9 have a width which is narrower than the head 53 of each lug 5, therefore, when the mounting plate assembly 1 is mounted within the door handle assembly 3, the lugs 5A, 5B and 5C cannot fall out of the mounting plate assembly 1. The slots 9 allow the lugs 5A, 5B and 5C to be moveable along the vertical direction within the slots 9, as indicated by the arrow labelled 'X' in Figure 2. The three lugs 5A, 5B and 5C therefore project forwardly from the door handle assembly 3, when the mounting plate assembly 1 is mounted within the door handle assembly 3, and are each moveable over a distance along the vertical length of the door handle assembly 3. Being thus arranged, the mounting plate assembly 1 enables the door handle assembly 3 to be mounted upon a variety of lock casings, as each lug 5 can be moved to a position which is compatible with an opening in the lock casing upon which the door handle assembly 3 is to be mounted.

It is common for lock casings to have either two or three openings for fasteners of a door handle assembly. Generally, there is always an opening on the lock casing which is configured for attachment to the bottom lug 5C on the mounting plate assembly 1 so the bottom lug 5C is a necessary feature of the mounting plate assembly 1. The bottom lug 5C, shown in the cutaway view of Figure 4, consists of a single piece which forms both the lug body 51C and the lug head 53C. The outer surface of the cylindrical body 51C of the bottom lug 5C has been bevelled along its length at two diametrically opposed positions thereby creating a local reduction in diameter of the cylindrical body 51C, the reduced diameter being the distance between the two flat surfaces 57C which are formed by the bevels. The width of the slot 9C associated with the bottom lug 5C is less than the diameter of the cylindrical body of the lug 51C, but slightly greater than the distance between the diametrically opposed flat surfaces 57C which run the length of the body 51C; being arranged in this way, the bottom lug 5C can be placed within the bottom channel 9C and is arranged such that upon rotation of the lug 5C, the flat surfaces 57C of the body 51C abut the edges of the channel 9C, preventing the lug 5C from rotating within the mounting plate assembly 1. Being arranged in this way, the bottom lug 5C is prevented from rotating when a fastener is screwed into the lug 5C from the other side of the door during the process of mounting the door handle assembly 3 on a door .

The requirement of a top lug 5A, at the top of the mounting plate assembly 1, and the requirement of a centre lug 5B, at a central region of the mounting plate assembly 1, between the top lug 5A and the bottom lug 5C, is less common than the requirement of a bottom lug 5C.

In order to make the mounting plate assembly 1 of the presently described embodiment of the invention compatible with a range of lock casings, the top lug 5A and centre lug 5B are arranged to be removable from the mounting plate assembly 1 should the door handle assembly 3 need to be mounted upon a lock casing which does not have an opening at a location corresponding to either the centre lug 5B or top lug 5A.

The top lug 5A and the centre lug 5B are arranged in a nut and bolt type configuration which enables either of the lugs 5A, 5B to be removed from the door handle assembly 3 without having to first remove the mounting plate assembly 1 from the outer assembly 3A. As can be seen from the cutaway views of Figure 4 and Figure 5, which show the top lug 5A only, the lug head 53A and lug body 51A are separate parts; the lug head 53A has a nuttype configuration wherein the lug head 53A comprises a screw threaded hole 54A and the cylindrical lug body 51A has a bolt-type configuration wherein the lug body 51A is screw threaded at a distal end 55A. The lug body 51A is therefore arranged to screw into and unscrew from the lug head 53A. As can be seen in Figure 3, the tip of the projecting end of the lug 5A carries formations in the form of notches 56A arranged such that the lug body 51A can be screwed into and unscrewed from the lug head 53A using a flat head screwdriver. Prior to commissioning of the mounting plate assembly for use with a door comprising a lock casing where the first lug 5A is required, a layer of thread-locking fluid is applied to the screw thread at the distal end of the lug 55A; the lug body 51A is then partially screwed into the lug head 53A using a screwdriver. During subsequent mounting of the mounting plate assembly to the door, the lug body 51A becomes fully screwed into the lug head 53A as the bolt (or other fastening means) which is screwed into the lug body 51A itself is tightened. The layer of thread-locking fluid ensures that when the bolt (or other fastening means) is unscrewed from the lug body 51A during removal of the mounting plate assembly, the lug body 51A does not

unscrew from	the	lug	head 53A. The	centre	lug 5B is
identical	to	the	top	lug 5A.
Each	of	the	lug	heads 53A, 53B	of the	removable

lugs 5A, 5B are square in shape and sit within a respective parallel-sided channel 11A, 11B located at the back side of the mounting plate 7. As can be seen from Figure 5 and Figure 6 in particular, the channel 11A associated with the top lug 5A is wholly formed by the outer assembly 3A. However, as can be seen from Figure 1 and Figure 7 in particular, the channel 11B associated with the centre lug 5B is part-formed by a channel section 111B, which is part of the outer assembly 3A, and part-formed by channel section 112B, which is part of the mounting plate 7 and is formed by walls which project from the backside of the mounting plate 7. Upon rotation of either of the removable lugs 5A, 5B, a surface of the square head 53A, 53B abuts a surface of the channel 11A, 11B, preventing the lug head from rotating within the mounting plate assembly 1. Being arranged in this way, the removable lugs 5A, 5B are prevented from rotating when fasteners are screwed into the lugs 5A, 5B from the other side of the door during the process of mounting the door handle assembly 3 on a door.

Furthermore, the parallel sided channels 11A, 11B ensure that the lug heads 53A, 53B do not rotate when the top lug 5A and centre lug 5B are screwed into or unscrewed from their respective lug heads 53A, 53B as necessary. As can be seen in Figure 6, when the lug body 51A is removed from the lug head 53A, the lug head 53A remains within the door handle assembly 3. This configuration advantageously allows for the top lug 5A and centre lug 5B to be removed from the door handle assembly 3 without having to remove the mounting plate 7 from the rest of the door handle assembly 3. Unmounting the mounting plate 7 from the door handle assembly 3 exposes any components located within the door handle assembly 3 to potential damage. That may be a particular issue when electronic components are mounted in the door handle assembly, which may be the case particularly if the door handle assembly is at least partly able to be operated remotely. In Figure 1, the handle assembly is shown accommodating an electronic unit 61, which may for example be an RFID unit allowing remote actuation of an actuator in the lock assembly.

The handle assembly described above may form part of a lift-to-lock handle assembly as described in the liftto-lock patent application referred to above.

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 mounting plate assembly suitable for mounting within a door handle assembly for operating a lock, wherein the mounting plate assembly comprises a plurality of lugs for cooperating with fasteners which, in use, are connected to the lugs to define fastening assemblies that pass through a lock casing from one side of a door to the other, wherein a first lug of the plurality of lugs is moveable between a first position and a second position on the mounting plate assembly, and the first lug is removable from the mounting plate assembly without having to gain access to the rear of the assembly.

2. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 1, wherein the lugs project forwardly from the assembly.

3. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 2, wherein the assembly is of elongate shape having a length greater than its width, a longitudinal axis of the assembly being defined parallel to the length direction of the mounting plate assembly, wherein the first lug is movable between the first and second positions in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis .

4. A mounting plate assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the first lug is able to be fixed in the first and second positions without having to gain access to the rear of the mounting plate assembly.

5. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 4, wherein the forwardly projecting part of the first lug is in screw-threaded enagagement with one of the fasteners which, in use, are connected to the lugs.

6. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 5, wherein the forwardly projecting part of the first lug is internally screw-threaded.

7. A mounting plate assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the first lug comprises an elongate body and a head at the rear end of the body, the head being arranged for preventing rotation of the lug within the mounting plate assembly and to retain the lug on the mounting plate assembly.

8. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 7, wherein the elongate body of the first lug is removable from the head.

9. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 8, wherein the head and the body are in screw-threaded engagement.

10. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 9, wherein the front end of the first lug is provided with one or more formations enabling it to be engaged by a tool for altering the screw-threaded engagement of the body of the lug and the head.

11. A mounting plate assembly according any preceding claim, wherein a second lug of the plurality of lugs is movable between a third position and a fourth position on the mounting plate assembly.

12. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 11, wherein the second lug is removable from the mounting plate assembly without having to gain access to the rear of the assembly.

13. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the second lug further comprises any of the features of the first lug defined in claims 3 to 10.

14. A mounting plate assembly according any preceding claim, wherein a third lug of the plurality of lugs is movable between a fifth position and a sixth position on the mounting plate assembly.

15. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 14, wherein the third lug is not removable from the mounting plate assembly without gaining access to the rear of the assembly.

16. A mounting plate assembly according to claim 14 or 14, wherein the third lug further comprises any of the features of the first lug defined in claims 3 to 10.

17. A mounting plate assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A door handle assembly comprising a mounting plate assembly according to any preceding claim and an outer assembly mounted over the rear face of the mounting plate assembly.

19. A door handle assembly according to claim 18, wherein one or more electronic components are housed within the door handle assembly.

5

20. A door handle assembly according to claim 18 or 19, further comprising a plurality of fasteners for connection, in use, to respective lugs to define fastener assemblies that pass through a lock casing from one side of a door to the other.

21. A lock assembly comprising a door handle assembly according to any of claim 20, and a lock casing containing a lock mechanism, the lock casing having through openings for receiving the fastener assemblies.

22. A lock assembly according to claim 21, wherein the lock assembly is a multipoint lock.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1613316.7 Examiner: Ben Munns