WO2002059443A1

WO2002059443A1 - Rotating spring-latch lock and corresponding selvage

Info

Publication number: WO2002059443A1
Application number: PCT/IB2002/000199
Authority: WO
Inventors: Deo Errani; Marco Camelli
Original assignee: Cisa S.P.A.
Priority date: 2001-01-25
Filing date: 2002-01-23
Publication date: 2002-08-01
Also published as: ITBO20010033A1; ITBO20010033A0

Abstract

A rotating spring-latch lock and a corresponding selvage, wherein the spring-latch (14) has a groove (17) for engaging the selvage (2) and is controlled by a pawl which is actuated by tripping means between two stable positions for engaging and disengaging the spring-latch with respect to the selvage which correspond respectively to the closed and open positions of the lock (1), the selvage (2) comprising an engagement pivot (56), which is supported so that it can oscillate by two linkages (50, 51) which are articulated on a base (34) which is fixed to the abutment jamb of the leaf and are retained by elastic means (43, 44) in a position that allows the engagement of the pvot (56) in the groove (17) during the closure of the leaf and thus determines the rotation of the spring-latch (14) into the locking position and the retention of the pivot (56) in the groove (17).

Description

ROTATING SPRING-LATCH LOCK AND CORRESPONDING

SELVAGE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a rotating spring-latch lock and to the corresponding selvage. Background art

Rotating spring-latch locks are already known, for example from US patents No. 2,344,532, 4,896,908, 5,142,890 and from EP-201,244.

In known locks, the spring latch is constituted by a rotating body which can rotate about an axis that is parallel to the abutment edge of the leaf on which the lock is installed and has two axial raised portions or lips that form, between them, a groove which is adapted to receive a suitably shaped engagement element of the selvage. In the open condition of the leaf (door, gate), the spring latch is orientated so that by closing the leaf one lip strikes the selvage and causes its rotation while the selvage engagement element engages the groove of the spring-latch. When the leaf has moved into abutment against the doorjamb, an appropriate device blocks the spring- latch, which therefore retains the leaf in the closed position. The device that blocks the spring-latch can be deactivated manually by means of a handle or button or electrically by means of a remote control.

Electric locks of the above mentioned type have shortcomings as regards their resistance to break-ins, but most of all are prone to jam due to structural failures of the leaf or casing which block the spring-latch in the selvage. Disclosure of the Invention The aim of the present invention is to provide a rotating spring-latch lock and a corresponding selvage in which the above noted drawbacks are substantially eliminated.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a lock that is particularly sturdy, in order to be able to neutralize break-in attempts, and is protected against atmospheric agents in order to ensure perfect operation even in case of outdoor installation.

This aim and this object are achieved with a rotating spring-latch lock and a corresponding selvage, wherein the spring-latch has a groove for engaging the selvage and is controlled by a pawl which is actuated by tripping means between two stable positions for engaging and disengaging said spring-latch with respect to said selvage which correspond respectively to the closed and open positions of the lock, characterized in that said selvage comprises an engagement pivot, which is supported so that it can oscillate by two linkages which are articulated on a base which is fixed to the abutment jamb of the leaf and are retained by elastic means in a position that allows the engagement of said pivot in said groove during the closure of the leaf and thus determines the rotation of the spring-latch into the locking position and the retention of said pivot in said groove. Brief Description of the Drawings Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional side view of the lock and of the corresponding selvage in the closed position;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the frame of the lock; Figure 3 is a sectional view of the selvage;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the spring-latch in the position for engaging the selvage; Figure 5 is a view of the position of the spring-latch with respect to the selvage just before it engages the selvage;

Figure 6 is a view of the spring-latch and of the selvage in the mutual engagement position. Ways of Carrying Out the Invention With reference to the figures, the reference numerals 1 and 2 generally designate the rotating spring-latch lock and the corresponding selvage. The lock 1 is shown without the outer casing in order to better illustrate the internal structure.

The lock 1 comprises an internal frame, which consists of a box-like body 3 (see Figure 2) that contains and supports all the elements of the lock and is composed of two flat and parallel sides 4 and 5 mutually joined by a wall 6.

The sides 4 and 5 are provided with lateral lugs 7, through which screws for fixing the lock on a leaf 8 are driven.

The box-like body 3 comprises a front portion 9 which, when the lock has been assembled, protrudes from the abutment edge of the leaf. Said front portion encloses a cavity, which is formed by two portions of the sides 4 and 5 in which cutouts 10 and 11 are formed and by a wall 12 that joins the front edges of the sides and is substantially perpendicular to the sides 4 and 5 and to the wall 6. A block 13 made of rubber-like material is fixed to the edge of the front wall 12 and in the closure position of the leaf, as will become better apparent hereinafter, abuts against the base of the selvage 2.

The box-like body 3 accommodates the spring-latch 14 of the lock which, as shown more clearly in Figures 5 and 6, has a composite cross-section.

The spring-latch 14 has a hole 15 through which an articulation pivot 16 is guided; the spring-latch is supported in the walls 4 and 5 by means of said pivot. A substantially U-shaped groove 17 is formed eccentrically with respect to the hole 15 and is formed by two lips 18 and 19, the first of which protrudes toward the front wall 12 more than the second one. The groove 17 is arranged so that when the spring-latch is turned the path traced thereby intersects the cutouts 10 and 11.

Diametrically opposite the longer lip 18, the spring-latch has an extension

20, which is suitable to act as a contrast element for a member 21 which is suitable to control the rotation of the spring-latch when said spring-latch is in the position for engaging the selvage 1. The control member 21 is constituted by a lever which is pivoted in a rocker-like fashion and has a first arm which is constituted by a bar 22 articulated in the walls 4 and 5 by a pivot 23 which is parallel to the pivot 16 and has a wedge-shaped cross- section and is suitable to engage, by means of one edge 24, against the end 25 of the extension 20 of the spring-latch. The second arm 26 of the lever is radially rigidly coupled to the bar 22 and is controlled by a resettable tripping device 27, which is actuated by an electromagnet 28. The structure of the resettable tripping device 27 (which is not shown completely in the drawing and is not described in detail because it is beyond the scope of the present invention) can be of any known type widely used in electrically operated locks. In order to understand the described lock, it is merely noted that said device allows the control member 21 to assume two stable positions at which it prevents or allows the rotation of the spring-latch 14. Figure 1 shows the spring-latch engaged with the selvage and prevented from rotating by the member 21, which abuts against the end 25 of the spring-latch with the edge 24 of the bar 22. Vice versa, when the member 21 is turned in the position shown in dashed lines in Figure 1, the spring-latch 14 can rotate freely in order to disengage from the selvage.

In order to lock the spring-latch once it has been turned into the position for disengaging the selvage, there is a retention spring 29, constituted by an elastic lamina that is folded in an arc-like shape and acts between the boxlike body and the spring-latch. More specifically, the opposite edges of the spring 29 are folded so as to form two tubes 30 and 31. A pin 32 is driven through the tube 30, is parallel to the pivot 16 and is fixed between the walls 4 and 5 by means of which the spring is articulately coupled to the box-like body 3. The tube 31 is instead inserted articulately in a complementarily shaped slot 33 formed in the spring-latch. The position of the slot 33 is substantially diametrically opposite with respect to the lip 18 relative to the pivot 16 and is such that during the rotation of the spring-latch 14 the line of thrust A of the spring 29, i.e., the line that passes through the axes of the pin 32 and of the slot 33, passes from one side to the other with respect to the line B that passes through the pin 32 and the pivot 16. In practice, when the slot 33 lies below the line B, in the position shown in dashed lines in Figure 1, the thrust applied by the spring 29 keeps the spring-latch orientated so that the groove 17 faces downward, in order to allow its engagement in the selvage 2. As shown more clearly by Figures 3 and 4, the selvage 2 is constituted by a rectangular base 34 provided with holes 35 for the passage of screws by means of which the selvage is fixed for example to the jamb 35a of the fixed frame of a door or to the abutment post of a gate.

Two lugs 36 and 37 rise from the opposite ends of the base 34, and respective holes 38 and 39 are formed in said lugs. A pin 40 is guided through the holes 38 and 39 and has, at its opposite ends, respective collars 41, 42 wliich are spaced with respect to the lugs 36 and 37 so as to form seats for accommodating the coils of two coiled springs 43, 44. Each spring 43, 44 comprises two parallel stems 45, 46, which engage in lateral notches 47 of respective wings 48, 49 which protrude outward from the lugs 36, 37 above the holes 38, 39.

Two linkages 50, 51 are articulated to the pin 40 and are such that their end portions that are opposite to the ones through which the pin 40 passes protrude beyond the top of the lugs 36, 37. Holes 52, 53 are formed in said end portions, and cylindrical tangs 54, 55 are driven through said holes; said tangs are formed at the opposite ends of a pivot 56 that has a larger diameter.

Annular slots 57 and 58 are formed in the tangs 54, 55 and lie on the plane of the notches 47 of the adjacent wings 48, 49. The depth of the slots

57, 58 is such that the stems 45, 46 of the springs 43, 44, while remaining engaged in the notches 47, engage tangentially in the slots 57, 58. In this manner, when there is no transverse thrust on the pivot 56 and therefore when the selvage is in the inactive position, the stems 45, 46 of the springs 43, 44 retain the axis of the pivot 56 on the plane that passes through the axis of the pin and at right angles to the base 34. The operation of the described lock is as follows. In the condition in which the leaf is open, the spring-latch 14 is orientated as in Figure 5, with the slot 33 above the line B and with the selvage 2 inactive; i.e., the plane that passes through the axes of the pin 40 and of the pivot 56 is perpendicular to the base 34. The orientation of the spring-latch, produced by the thrust of the spring 29, is such that when the leaf 8 is closed the lip 18 abuts on the pivot 56. Due to the shape of the wall 59 that forms internally the lip 18, the pivot 56 is forced toward the bottom of the groove 17 in contrast with the elastic return action applied to the tangs 54, 55 by the stems 45, 46 of the springs 43, 44. The bottom of the groove 17 is conveniently cylindrical in order to accommodate the pivot 56 without play.

As the closure of the leaf continues, the pivot 56 causes the rotation of the spring-latch 14 until the slot 33 moves below the line B, causing completion of the rotation of the spring-latch 14 into the stable engagement position, at which the lip 19 has moved below the pivot 56 and the element 22 for engaging the edge 24 against the end 25 of the spring-latch 14 blocks any further rotation thereof, thus ensuring the blocking of the lock in the leaf closure position.

It should be noted that in the described example the linkages 50, 51 are arranged outside the walls 4 and 5, so that the pivot 56 engages in the cutouts 10, 11 and remains locked in the groove 17 by the edges 60 of the cutouts. Conveniently, in the position for locking the pivot 56, the rubber block 13 rests against the base 34 in order to cushion and prevent any vibration and avoid rebounds during closure, which might cause the spring- latch to fail to engage in the selvage. The lock is opened by activating the electromagnet 28 so as to disengage the element 22 and allow the free rotation of the spring-latch 14 when the leaf is pushed.

Advantageously, the length of the arm 26 with respect to the pivot 23 is a multiple of the length of the edge 24. This allows the electrical opening of the lock even when said lock is subjected to forcing, so that the increase in friction, for example by pushing the leaf, causes a greater jamming pressure of the end 25 against the end 24 of the bar and therefore a greater release effort, which the electromagnet 28 is not always able to provide.

Another advantage of the lock is that the box-like body 3 allows to apply a covering enclosure by means of fixing screws that cannot be accessed from both sides of the leaf but only through the lock region, which in the leaf closure position is concealed by the selvage.

It is evident that the described lock perfectly achieves the intended aim and object. In particular, the mobility of the pivot 26 of the selvage allows to recover any failures that might occur between the leaf and the jamb, both in terms of any mutual spacing and in terms of vertical offset between the selvage and the lock.

Advantageously, the pivot 56 is supported with play in the linkages 50, 51, so as to neutralize any structural warping. In the practical embodiment of the lock, the pivot 56 has a slightly cambered shape, in order to absorb misalignments between the axis of the pivot and the axis of the spring-latch. Moreover, the tripping device 27 can be actuated manually, by means of a button or handle and a key-operated cylinder, instead of by means of an electromagnet. The invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the same inventive concept. In particular, a box-like body is provided which does not have cutouts 10 and 11 and forms a closed compartment in which the selvage can be accommodated fully in order to ensure complete inaccessibility from the outside and thus offer better assurances against break-in attempts by virtue of the sturdy structure of the box-like body 3, capable of compensating for the insufficient protection offered by the enclosure used to cover the lock, which has mainly aesthetic prerogatives.

It should be noted that in the closure position of the lock there is a concatenation between the spring-latch and the selvage, since the lips 18 and 19, in cooperation with the edges of the cutouts 10 and 11, form a ring which closes around the pivot 56: this concatenation allows to close two-leaf doors without having to block the leaf on which the selvage is installed with a bolt which engages in the lintel or floor or by mounting the lock so as to engage a floor-mounted selvage.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. BO2001A000033, from which this application claims priority, are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A rotating spring-latch lock and a corresponding selvage, wherein the spring-latch (14) has a groove (17) for engaging the selvage (2) and is controlled by a pawl which is actuated by tripping means between two stable positions for engaging and disengaging said spring-latch with respect to said selvage which correspond respectively to the closed and open positions of the lock (1), characterized in that said selvage (2) comprises an engagement pivot (56), which is supported so that it can oscillate by two linkages (50, 51) which are articulated on a base (34) which is fixed to the abutment jamb of the leaf and are retained by elastic means (43, 44) in a position that allows the engagement of said pivot (56) in said groove (17) during the closure of the leaf and thus determines the rotation of the spring-latch (14) into the locking position and the retention of said pivot (56) in said groove (17).

2. The lock according to claim 1, characterized in that said spring-latch (14) is rotatably mounted in a box-Uke body (3) which has a portion (9) that protrudes from the abutment edge of the leaf on which it is installed and forms a compartment for accommodating said selvage (2).

3. The lock according to claim 1, characterized in that said linkages (50, 51) are articulated to a pin (40) which is driven through a pair of lugs (36, 37) which are rigidly coupled at right angles to said base (34), and in that said elastic means (43, 44) are constituted by at least one spring which is wound around an end of said pin (40) and has two parallel stems (45, 46) which engage tangentially in diametrically opposite points of a slot (57, 58) of said pivot (56), and in notches (47) of wings (48, 49) which protrude from said lugs (36, 37).

4. The lock according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that said portion (9) of said box-like body that protrudes from the abutment edge of said leaf is formed by two flat and parallel walls which are perpendicular to the abutment edge and are provided with cutouts (10, 11) which are open in the direction in which the leaf closes and intersect the arc traced by said groove (17) of said spring-latch (14), said cutouts (10, 11) having an edge (60) for engaging on said pivot (56) in order to retain said pivot in said groove (17) in the closed position of the lock.

5. The lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said portion (9) of said box-Uke body that protrudes from the abutment edge of said leaf comprises a front waU (12) to which a rubber block (13) is fixed, said block being adapted to rest on said base (34) in the closed position of the lock.

6. The lock according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said spring-latch (14) comprises a U-shaped groove (17) and, in a substantially opposite position with respect to its articulation axis (16), an extension (20) which forms a contrast element for a control member (21).

7. The lock according to claim 6, characterized in that said control member is a lever which is pivoted in a rocker-like manner (21) and comprises a first arm (26) and a second arm (22), said first arm (26) having a length that is a multiple of the length of said second arm (22), said second arm being adapted to act with its end on said contrast element of said extension (20) when said member is in the engagement position.