WO1990006412A1

WO1990006412A1 - Espagnolette handle and lock mechanism assembly

Info

Publication number: WO1990006412A1
Application number: PCT/GB1989/001467
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joseph Moore
Original assignee: Window Machinery Sales Limited
Priority date: 1988-12-09
Filing date: 1989-12-08
Publication date: 1990-06-14
Also published as: GB2244084B; GB9107862D0; GB2244084A; AU4745490A; GB8828824D0

Abstract

An espagnolette handle (1) fixed to a spindel (2) journalled in a backplate (5) carries a relatively fixed lock cylinder (14) having a shaped keyhole through which a key can be inserted to engage a shaped recess in a lock disc (17). The key depresses the disc until ears (18) thereon clear slots in the handle. The key can then be turned to engage under abutments that hold the disc in the depressed position. In this movement the disc (17) depresses a head (20) of a shoot against a spring (22) causing a projection (21) on the shoot to enter a recess (28) in the backplate and thereby prevent rotation of the handle about the spindle axis. In an alternative the rotatable lock disc (17) is replaced by a reciprocable spring-loaded member that traverses the key axis to the locking position when the shoot is depressed, the lock cylinder being in fixed relation to the shoot.

Description

ESPAGNOLETTE HANDLE AND LOCK MECHANISM ASSEMBLY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to espagnolette handle and lock mechanism assemblies for use in fastening and unfastening two objects together such as a window and window frame, a door and door frame, a casket and lid and so forth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a mechanism composed of parts that are not only simple and economical to manufacture but are also very readily assembled and yet provide for a thief-proof installation.

According to the present invention an espagnolette handle and lock mechanism assembly comprises a backplate formed with a through-aperture; a spindle extending through said aperture and journalled therein about the longitudinal axis of said spindle; a handle fixed to said spindle adjacent one face of said backplate, said handle being formed with an internal space extending adjacent one s^'ide of said spindle and presenting an inner opening towards said backplate and an outer opening in an outer surface of said handle opposite said inner opening; means on one side of said space intermediate said inner and outer openings presenting an abutment face facing towards said inner openings; a keyhole member formed with a shaped keyhole extending therethrough on an axis parallel to said handle axis and mounted in said space remote from said inner opening to present said keyhole to said outer surface of said handle; means retaining said keyhole member against rotation in said space; a shoot reciprocably mounted in said space for movement along said keyhole axis towards and away from said inner opening; a projection integral with said shoot and directed towards said backplate said backplate being formed with a cavity in registry with said projection, for mating with said projection when said shoot is moved towards said inner opening to a holding position wherein said handle is held against rotation about said handle axis a lock member interposed between said keyhole member and said shoot and mounted for reciprocation in said space together with said shoot along said keyhole axis, said lock member being formed with a key receiving recess and being slidably mounted on said shoot between an unlocking position and a locking position wherein said lock member engages said abutment face; a control spring .mounted in said handle to be stressed by said shoot when moved towards said holding position and thereafter maintain said lock member in engagement with said abutment face, when moved into registry therewith, and to return said shoot to a position in which said projection is withdrawn from said aperture when said locking member is withdrawn to said unlocking position; and a key shaped for insertion through said keyhole to engage said key receiving recess whereby when said shoot is thrust against the action of said control spring to said holding position to condition said lock member for movement to said locking position said key is operative to withdraw said lock member from said locking position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect one mechanism in accordance therewith will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of an espagnolette handle assembly with associated lock mechanism, only a portion of the handle being shown;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the handle shown in Fig. 1 viewed from beneath;

Fig. 3 is a section through part of the handle shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan of a key;

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are plans of details of the lock mechanism of Fig. 1; and

Figs 5a, 6a, 7a and 8a are side elevations respectively of the details of Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12 show respectively a side elevation, a front elevation, an end view and perspective view of a unit to be used as an alternative for the details of Figs. 5, 5a, 7, 7a; Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a member to be used as an alternative to the detail of Figs. 6, 6a;

Figs. 14 and 15 are diagrams showing the assembly of the unit of Figs. 9 to 12 with the member of Fig. 13 respectively in locking and unlocking conditions; Fig. 16 is a sectional elevation of a portion of a handle adapted for the assembly of Figs. 14 and 15; and Fig. 17 is a view from beneath the handle portion of Figure 16.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to Fig. 1 an espagnolette handle 1 is fixed to a spindle 2 which is journalled in a nylon washer 3 and steel washer 4 carried by a backplate 5 to be permanently fixed, for example, to the rim of a window or window frame. The end of the spindle 2 remote from the handle 1 is adapted, in any well known way, to engage an element for holding the window closed when the handle 1 is in the position shown. To enable the window to be opened the handle 1 and spindle 2 are turned about the spindle axis from the position shown. To limit any movement of the handle 1 away from the backplate 5 a clip 6 is applied to the spindle.

The handle 1 which may be made, for example, from a zinc alloy or plastics material is formed with a base 7 and hand grip 8 and to enable the handle to be locked in the position shown in the base 7 accommodates locking mechanism. For this purposes the base 7 is formed with a through space or passage (Fig. 3) parallel to the spindle 2 and having three parts namely cylinders 9, 10 and a rectangular recess 11. However between cylinders 9, 10 there is a cylinder 12 of the same diameter as the cylinder 9 and formed with diametrically opposite longitudinal slots 13. The cylinder 9 terminates beyond the slots 13 in an abutment face (29). To assemble the locking mechanism a lock cylinder 14 with keyhole 15 (Figs. 5, 5a) is inserted into the cylinder 9 with ears

16 in the lock cylinder 14 located in the slots 13. Beyond the lock cylinder 14 a secondary lock cylinder or disc 17 (Figs. 6, 6a) is inserted against the lock cylinder 14 in the cylinder 11 with ears 18 on the disc

17 in the slots 13. Beyond the lock disc 17 a shoot 19 (Figs. 7, 7a) is inserted. This has a head 20 that bears against the lock disc 17 and has an eccentric projection 21. A helical compression spring 22 surrounding the projection 21 is then inserted into the cylinder 10 and held in place by a spring retainer 23 (Figs. 8, 8a) fixed in the rectangular recess 11. The spring retainer 23 is formed with an aperture 24 through which the projection 21 of the shoot 19 passes.

It will be appreciated that the lock cylinder 14 always remains stationary in rotation with respect to the handle and its axial movement is limited. When it is desired to lock the handle a stem 25 with small flanges 26 at its end forming part of a key (Fig. 4) is passed through the keyhole 15 in the lock cylinder 14 so that the end of the stem 25 with the flanges 26 enter a correspondingly shaped recess 27 in the top of the lock disc 17. Then further pressure on the key depresses the lock disc 17 against the action of the spring 22 until the disc ears 18 clear the slots 13, whereupon the key can be turned to bring the ears 18 beneath the cylinder 12 and away from the slots 13 so that the lock disc 17 is held in this depressed position. During this action the head 20 of the shoot 19 is also depressed against the spring thereby carrying the eccentric projection 21 into a corresondingly shaped recess 28 in the backplate 5. The handle is, therefore, locked against turning.

To unlock the handle, the key stem 25 is again inserted through the keyhole 15 into the recess 27 of the lock disc 17 which can then be turned to bring the ears 18 into register with the slots 13 leaving the spring 22 to raise the shoot 19 and lock disc 17 to their unlocking positions.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the lock mechanism is made from simple and cheaply manufactured parts that are very easily and quickly assembled and yet provide a thief-proof installation.

Referring now to the modification shown in Figures 9 to 15 the lock cylinder 4,^ and the shoot 19 are replaced by a unit 30 in which the lock cylinder 14 and shoot 19 are fixed together by bars 31, on opposite sides of the unit and parallel to the keyhole axis. they are respectively sliding fits in longitudinal slots 32 in the wall of the space or passage 36 through the handle 1. In this case the lock cylinder 14 comprises a cylinder 33 from which a rectangular stub 34 projects to present a bevelled end surface 35 which is flush with the exposed surface of the handle when the handle is unlocked. The stub 34 is reciprocable in a rectangular end 37 of the space 36. The shoot 19 consists essentially of a cylindrical member formed with an inset platform 38 open towards the keyhole and with a recess presenting a surface 39 perpendicular to the platform 38. The base of the shoot is formed with a blind hole 40 that receives a compression spring equivalent in action to the spring 22 and which bears on a retainer plate (not shown) fixed to the lower opening of the passage 36.

The lock member (42) for this embodiment is shaped as shown in Figure 13. When mounted in the unit 30 this member 42 takes up the position shown in Figure 14 by the hatched area when in the locked position and in Figure 15 when in the unlocked position. In these positions a face 43 of the member 42 bears on a face 33a on the cylinder 33 of the lock cylinder 14 and a face 44 at the other end of the member 42 bears on a face 45 that terminates the platform 38 on the shoot 19. The lock member 42 can therefore move transversely of the keyhole axis but a face 46 of a notch 47 in the lock member 42 is provided with a hole 48 containing a compression spring 49. In the unlocked position this spring is held compressed by the engagement of an edge 50 of the lock member with a surface 50a in the handle space 36 along which the edge 50 slides until it reaches the locking position. Thus, on being depressed to the unlocking position the spring 49 pushes the lock member to the locking position of Figure 14 in which the . face 43 engages beneath an abutment face 41 in the space 36 to hold the projection 21 in the backplate against the action of the control spring in the blind hole 40.

To unlock the device a key as shown in Figure 4, is inserted through the keyhole 15 to enter a recess 51 in the lock member 42 and is then turned about its axis to withdraw the lock member against the action of the spring 49, freeing the edge 50 from the abutment face and permitting the control spring to slide the unit 30 to the unlocking position.

To assemble the embodiment of Figures 9 to 17 the unit 30, the lock member 32 and spring 49 are assembled and this assembly is inserted in the handle space 36 and retained therein by fixing the retainer plate in a rectangular recess 52 at the base of the handle. The handle is then fixed to the handle spindle at a blind hole 52 thus providing a very easily and cheaply constructed thief-proof handle lock.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. 'Espagnolette and lock mechanism assembly comprising a handle (1) fixed to a spindle (2) for fastening together and unfastening two objects the assembly comprising a backplate (5) in which the spindle is journalled, the handle being formed with an internal space adjacent the axis of the spindle which space is open at an inner end towards the backplate and at the other end in an outer surface of the handle, a lock member or cylinder (17) mounted in the space to present a shaped keyhole to said handle surface, a shoot (19) reciprocably mounted in said space betwen said keyhole member and said inner open end and formed with a projection (21) arranged to enter a mating recess or cavity (28) in the backplate for locking the handle against rotation about the sprindle axis, and a control spring (22) located in said space for holding the shoot against engagement with the backplate, characterised in that means are provided for holding the keyhole member against rotation in said space and the keyhole extends through the keyhole member parallel to the axis of the spindle towards the lock member (17) the lock member being formed with a key receiving recess (27) and being slidably mounted on the shoot between an unlocking position and a locking position wherein the lock member engages an abutment face (29) adjacent the wall of said internal space and a key (25, 26) manually rotatable for operation and shaped for insertion through the keyhole the key being arranged to engage the key receiving recess whereby when the shoot is thrust against the action of the spring to cause the projection to mate with the cavity for locking the handle against rotation and thereupon condition the lock member for movement towards the locking position, the key is operative to withdraw the lock member from its locking position.

2. An assembly according to Claim 1, characterised in that the lock member (17) is mounted for rotation on the shoot (19) and the key receiving recess (27) is arranged to receive an end of the key for the lock member to be rotated between the unlocking position and the lockin position, whereby the key can depress the lock member and the shoot to the holding position against the action of the control spring thereby to condition the lock member for rotation by the key to the locking position and subsequently for rotation in the reverse direction by the key to the unlocking position to the lock member.

3. An assembly according to Claim 2, characterised in that said space is formed with at least one rectilinear slot (13) parallel to the keyhole axis terminating in the abutment face (29) and the lock member is provided with an ear (18) in sliding engagement with the slot prior to rotation of the lock member to the locking position in engagement with the abutment face and the keyhole member comrpises an ear (16) extending into the slot for holding the keyhole member against rotation.

4. An assembly according to Claim 1, characterised in that a retainer (23) is fixed in the inner opening of said internal space and the shoot is formed with a shoulder located for the control spring to act between the shoulder and the retainer, the spring being a helical compression spring surrounding the shoot and the retainer being formed with an opening (24) for the passage of the projection therethrough.

5. An assembly according to Claim 1, characterised in that means (31) are provided for rigidly connecting the keyhole member and the shoot whereby they are constrained to reciprocate as a unit (30) in the internal space (36) with the lock member (42) located between them, the lock member being constrained to slide linearly on the shoot between the unlocking position and the locking position wherein it engages the abutment face, a secondary spring (49) being interposed between the unit and the lock member for driving the lock member to the locking position, the internal space being formed to retain the lock member in the unlocking position until, in movement of the lock member with the unit into registry with the abutment face, the lock member is thereby freed for the spring to drive r the lock member to the locking position, the key receiving recess (51) being shaped to enable the key to be turned about the keyhole axis to withdraw the lock member to the unlocking position.

6. An assembly according to Claim 5, in which the means rigidly connecting the keyhole member and the shoot are bars (31) fixed thereto on opposite sides parallel to the keyhole axis, the space being formed with opposed slots (32) located for the bars respectively to reciprocate therein, and in which the lock member is formed and mounted transversely to the keyhole axis in contact with opposed faces (33a, 45) on the keyhole member and on the shoot, and the lock member and the shoot being formed with further opposed faces (46, 39) perpendicular to the first-mentioned opposed faces with the secondary spring interposed between the further opposed faces.