WO2007050021A1

WO2007050021A1 - Backing washer

Info

Publication number: WO2007050021A1
Application number: PCT/SE2006/001202
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leif Håkan JOHNSON; Jan Christian NYSTRÖM
Original assignee: Beslagshuset Ab
Priority date: 2005-10-27
Filing date: 2006-10-25
Publication date: 2007-05-03
Also published as: SE529242C2; SE0502383L; EP1943390A1; NO20081936L

Abstract

A backing washer for a door handle is disposed for positioning between a so-called rosette and a door. The backing washer is provided with holes for the fixing means of the rosette, a flange and guide means disposed on the flange. The flange extends radially downwards and is intended to be clamped fast between the door and an outer edge of the rosette. The guide means guide the backing washer interiorly in the rosette and include a series of heels which are mutually at least pairwise interconnected by a rigidifying wall which extends between them.

Description

BACKING WASHER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a backing washer for a door handle, disposed for positioning between a so-called rosette and a door, including holes for the fixing elements of the rosette, a radially extending flange for clamping between the door and an outer edge of the rosette and guide means disposed on the flange for guiding the washer interiorly in the rosette.

BACKGROUND ART

On the majority of doors there is a fitting that extends around the door handle and abuts quite closely against it. The fitting covers a hole in the door through which the spindle of the door handle and its opening mechanism extend. The fitting is normally manufactured from metal or plastic and is usually called a rosette. One rosette is disposed on each side of the door. The rosettes are secured to one another and to the door with the aid of fixing elements that extend through the pre-drilled hole in the door. One common problem is that the fixing elements, usually screws with associated nipples may loosen slightly and, as a result, the rosette begins to come loose and chafe against the door. The result will be unsightly scratches and also possibly an irritating rattle when the door is opened or closed. This problem is further aggravated in wooden doors, since they contract and expand depending on the temperature and humidity.

In practice, it has moreover proved that the hole in the door and the opening mechanism inside the door cannot be positioned with total accuracy in relation to one another. Thus, nor is it possible to expect that the rosette is placed precisely coaxially in relation to the hole in the door. As a result, a guiding of the rosette using the hole as a point of departure is difficult or impossible to put into practice.

A backing washer for remedying the above-outlined problems is disclosed in older Swedish Patent Specification SE 514 757. The backing washer that is shown in this specification has, on the one hand, a flange which extends radially outwards for abutment against the door under the edge of the rosette. A substantially cylindrical part extends a short distance into the hole in the door. On the opposite side of the backing washer, there are guide means in the form of sparsely placed flat teeth whose profile corresponds to the space interiorly in the rosette. According to this older Patent

Specification, it is desirable to manufacture the backing washer from an elastic material with a high friction coefficient. However, the material must not be excessively soft, since the washer would then be of defective stability as a result.

In practice, the problem has proved to be that a material which is sufficiently hard to afford the desired stability is not capable of imparting to the backing washer the remaining desirable properties. Thus, it is difficult to attain the desired elasticity properties, and certain parts in the washer will not be sufficiently flexible and, as a result, even run the risk of being broken or cracked as a result of the strains that readily occur on mounting in position.

Materials with the desired properties as far as elasticity is concerned have, however, proved to be far too soft with the result that the washer as a whole becomes sloppy and unstable and the planar teeth or projections in the guide means are easily folded over, as well as the circumferential flange extending radially outwards. This implies that it is difficult to position the washer in the correct manner in the rosette on mounting on a door, and the mounting operation becomes unnecessarily difficult and complicated.

PROBLEM STRUCTURE

There is thus a need in the art to realise a backing washer which is stable and easily mounted in place and which displays a dependable function for a lengthy period of time, at the same time as its manufacture must be uncomplicated and give rise to few rejects. SOLUTION

The objects forming the basis of the present invention will be attained if the backing washer intimated by way of introduction is characterised in that the guide means comprise a series of heels which are mutually at least pairwise connected by a rigidifying wall which extends between them.

Further advantages will be attained if the present invention is further given one or more of the characterising features as set forth in appended Claims 2 to 10.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in greater detail hereinbelow, with reference to the accompanying Drawings. In the accompanying Drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the backing washer according to the present invention where that side which is turned to face towards the door faces upwards in the Figure;

Fig. 2 is a straight side elevation of the backing washer taken in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a straight front elevation of the backing washer taken in the direction of the arrow B in Fig. 2, i.e. a view of that side which is turned to face towards the interior of the rosette; and

Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to that of Fig. 3 of a second embodiment of the backing washer according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Fig. 1 shows a backing washer 1 according to the present invention in perspective, with the side facing towards the door being directed upwards. The underside of the illustrated washer 1 is intended to be turned to face towards the interior of the rosette on mounting in place. This underside will at least partly abut against the inside of the rosette.

The material in the washer is advantageously a thermoplastic elastomer. In practical trials, the material entitled Dryflex® 500800S with a hardness of 80 Shore (A) has proved to be usable, but other materials are naturally also conceivable.

The major components in the backing washer 1 are the upwardly facing cylindrical portion 9 which is intended to be inserted in a pre-drilled hole in a door. In the central, cylindrical portion 9, there is a central hole 12 through which the spindle of a door handle is intended to extend. On either side of the central hole 12 there are, in the preferred embodiment, two holes 2 for the fixing means which fix the rosettes on either side of the door.

The backing washer 1 further displays a flange 3 of radial extent. The flange 3 is intended to abut against the outside of the door and be clamped in place by the edge of the rosette when this has been mounted in position.

On the underside of the flange 3, in the orientation illustrated in Fig. 1, there are provided guide means in the form of a series of projections or heels 4. These guide means 4 are intended to be turned to face towards the inside of the rosette and wholly or partly abut against it, at the same time as clamping of the flange 3 against the door is possible.

On the other side of the flange 3, there are provided engagement devices 16 for engagement with the edge of the hole in the door on mounting of the rosette. The central portion 9 has, on the one hand, an outer circumferential surface 10 and, on the other hand, an inner defining surface 13 to the central hole which also has the form of the circumferential surface of a cylinder.

On both of these circumferential surfaces 10, 13, there is disposed a circumferential retaining bead 14, 15. These two beads 14 and 15 fulfil the function of serving as retainers in a manufacturing process where the backing washer 1 is injection moulded in one piece in a two-part mould. For a fully automated manufacture it is, on opening of the mould, desirable that the just injection moulded backing washer 1 remain in that part of the mould where the retaining guide means or heels 4 are turned to face outwards so that a firm engagement with the backing washer 1 can be realised in order to pick the washer out of the tool. Since the guide means or heels 4 have a relatively large surface area abutting against the tool, compared with the area of the cylindrical portion 9, it is to be expected that factional forces will tend to retain the backing washer 1 in that part of the tool where the heels 4 have been formed. In order to compensate for the larger frictional forces on this side of the backing washer 1, the retaining beads 14 and 15 are thus disposed on the opposite side of the backing washer 1. Although the beads 14 and 15 serve a retaining function, it is still possible, using only limited force, to remove the backing washer 1 from the tool.

As was mentioned previously, the heels 4 are a series of projections in spaced apart relationship from one another. The outer profile of each respective heel 4 corresponds to the inside of that rosette against which the heels 4 are intended to abut.

In order for the heels 4 or the flange 3 not to give way and fold when the backing washer is placed in the rosette before mounting, rigidifying and stabilising walls 5 are provided between at least certain pairs of the heels, possibly between all of the heels 4. The cylindrical wall 5 interconnects the heels, at least pairwise. The cylindrical walls are, in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, of such an extent that together they form the circumferential surface of a cylinder if they are disposed between all of the heels 4, but in any event the walls 5 constitute at least segments of the outer surface of a cylinder. In those regions where they abut against the sides of the heels 4, the walls 5 are transversely directed in relation to them. As a result, an effect will be attained which stabilises the heels 4 substantially in the lateral direction, i.e. in the circumferential direction of the backing washer 1, while the heels 4 proper possess an inherent high stability against flexing in the radial direction in relation to the subjacent flange 3. However, it should be pointed out that even if the outward flexing in the radial direction is already reduced to a minimum by the basic shape of the heels 4, an outward flexing of such heels 4 can nevertheless still take place in this direction as a result of a flexing of the flange 3, the mutual angle between the flange 3 and the heels 4 being maintained. This possibility of an outward flexing is greatly reduced in that the stabilising walls are disposed upstanding on the flange 3. The presence of the stabilising cylindrical walls 4 thus has a stabilising effect not only on the heels 4 but also on the flange 3.

The thickness of the stabilising cylindrical wall 5 is substantially of the same order of magnitude as the thickness of the heels 4. This implies that a substantially homogeneous material thickness will be attained taking the backing washer 1 as a whole. The conditions for manufacture will then be optimal, since, on injection moulding, the intention is often to achieve a homogeneous material thickness so as to avoid stresses and strains or sinkage in the material when it cools. This thickness of the cylindrical stabilising walls 5 is perhaps not directly conditioned by the desired stabilising effect, but functions well from the viewpoint of production engineering.

As will be particularly apparent from Fig. 2, the heels 4 are disposed a greater distance from one another in the area adjacent the holes 2. This permits an increased space for the fixing means which may be passed through the holes 2, and fittings disposed thereon for fixing or retaining the construction in the door, or alternatively for making room for additional fitting components in or on the rosette and its fixing means. Because of the large distance between two adjacent heels 4 in this area, and because the holes 2 for the fixing means are also disposed here, stability will be low and a folding of the flange 3 and the cylindrical portion 9 may take place particularly easily, since the amount of material is quite slight in these areas. In order to prevent such a folding and thereby to make handling of the backing washer 1 especially practical, stabilising walls 11 are provided in the proximity of the two holes 2. As is shown in Fig. 2, these walls are lower than the other stabilising walls 5 between the rest of heels 4. This is because the wall 11 need not be higher than that in order to achieve the requisite stability, and stability is also influenced by other factors than height, for example the thickness of the stabilising wall 11, its direction and its cross-sectional configuration.

In the preferred embodiment, the height is adapted to the configuration of the inside of the rosette, partly to its general shape but also to collars around the holes 2 for fixing means. Even if such an adaptation is not currently pertinent, a reduced height of the stabilising walls 5, 11 is conceivable, for example in order to save materials, with substantially maintained stability in the backing washer 1 as a whole.

In Fig. 2, the surrounding bead 14 can also be observed on the outside of the outer circumferential surface 10 of the cylindrical portion 9.

In Fig. 3, where the backing washer 1 is shown in the direction of the arrow B in Fig. 2, both the guide heels 4 and the stabilising walls 5 and 11 can be seen. From here it is apparent that the walls 5, 1 1 are, in the embodiment shown in the Figure, located at a substantially constant distance from the centre of the backing washer 1 (the centre being located in the central hole 12). hi this embodiment, the positioning of the stabilising walls 5 and 11 is such that they interconnect the heels 4 with one another in those areas where the heels are at their highest. This implies that, if desired, the walls 5 and 11 may be given maximum height, at the same time as making an adaptation to the inner surface of the rosette. In such instance, not only the upper surfaces of the heels 4 will abut against the inside of the rosette, but also the upper surfaces of the stabilising walls 5 as well.

Fig. 3 particularly clearly shows constrictions 6 with a number of slots 7 inside the holes 2. These constrictions are provided for retaining the fixing means on mounting of the rosette. DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 4 shows one alternative embodiment of the backing washer 1 according to the invention. The view according to Fig. 4 corresponds to that of Fig. 3. The difference in relation to the embodiment which is shown in Fig. 3 is that the stabilising wall 11 in the region adjacent the holes 2 has been moved a distance away from the centre of the backing washer 1. Apart from the fact that the height of the stabilising wall 11 is variable, the embodiment according to Fig. 4 makes for an additional possibility of adapting the configuration of the backing washer 1 to that of the rosette and constructional details and components disposed therein, such as fixing means, return springs for the door handle etc.

Instead of disposing the stabilising walls 11 a greater distance from the centre, it is possible, if the purpose is merely to make more room for the fixing means, to provide recesses in the stabilising walls 11 having the form of a part of the circumferential surface of a cylinder.

It is naturally possible to vary the distance to the centre also for the remaining stabilising walls 5 so that they can provide room for additional constructional details or for an adaptation of, for example, the outer edge of the backing washer 1 and the outer edge of the rosette. Thus, it is for example possible that the stabilising walls 5 may alternatingly be disposed at shorter and longer distances from the centre.

Correspondingly, variations may also be made to the height of the stabilising walls 5. On the one hand, the height may be constant between one and the same pair of heels 4, but it may also be varied along the distance between such a pair. Moreover, it is conceivable that the height be substantially zero, i.e. that the stabilising walls 5 have been omitted between one or more pairs of heels 4. However, in such instance it must be kept in mind that the stability will be slightly poorer in these regions.

The cross-sectional profile of the walls 5 and 11 may also be varied. In the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the walls 5 and 11, respectively, are in the form of a thin cylindrical tube taken as whole, whose diameter has been increased in the region of the stabilising walls 11 in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4. Thus, the cross section of the stabilising walls 5, 11 is substantially rectangular. One particularly interesting method of varying this is to impart to the outer defining wall of the stabilising walls 5, 11 the form of a frusto-conical circumferential surface. The cross section will then be substantially triangular or trapezoidal.

The cross-sectional profile of the wall can naturally be varied between different pairs of heels. It would be of particular interest to provide an adaptation that implies a conical outer surface of the outwardly moved stabilising walls 11 in the embodiment which is shown in Fig. 4. In this instance, the outer surface will abut against the inner surface of the rosette, while the cylindrical stabilising walls 5, which are placed more proximal the centre, only abut against the rosette at their upper edges.

For further adaptation to different configurations and forms of the inner surface of the rosette, it is also possible to vary the cross-sectional configuration of the heels. Thus, the heels may have a rectangular cross section for abutment against a straight inner surface of the rosette.

The backing washer 1 which has been shown in the Figures and described in the foregoing with its different embodiments entails a more stable backing washer with a relatively low material consumption. The material thickness in the backing washer is quite homogeneous, which is of major value in manufacture, since sinkage and defective flatness in the surfaces included will be reduced or wholly eliminated. The increased stability of a backing washer with the stabilising walls entails that the function of the backing washer will be reliable, at the same time as it is easy to use by being simple to mount in position.

The present invention may be further modified without departing from the scope of the appended Claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A backing washer for a door handle, disposed for positioning between a so-called rosette and a door, including holes (2) for the fixing elements of the rosette, a radially extending flange (3) for clamping between the door and an outer edge of the rosette and guide means (4) disposed on the flange (3) for guiding the washer (1) interiorly in the rosette, the guide means (4) comprising a series of heels which are mutually at least pairwise interconnected by a rigidifying wall (5, 11) which extends between them, characterised in that the rigidifying wall (5, 11) is transversely directed in relation to the heels (4) in the region of abutment against the sides of the heels (4).

2. The backing washer as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that each respective rigidifying wall (5, 11) extends along at least a part of the height of the heels

(4).

3. The backing washer as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the rigidifying wall (5, 11) extends along the entire height of the heels (4) for at least one pair of the heels (4).

4. The backing washer as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that an upper edge of the rigidifying wall (5, 11) varies in height between the heels (4).

5. The backing washer as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the rigidifying wall (5, 11) is located at a substantially constant distance from the centre of the backing washer (1).

6. The backing washer as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the distance of the rigidifying wall (5, 11) to the centre of the backing washer (1) is different between different pairs of heels (4).

7. The backing washer as claimed in Claim 6, characterised in that the distance between the rigidifying wall (5, 11) and the centre of the backing washer (1) is larger between the heels (4) most proximal the holes (2) than between the remaining heels (4).

8. The backing washer as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 7, characterised in that an inner surface on the rigidifying wall (5, 11) is in the form of segments of the circumferential surface of a cylinder.

9. The backing washer as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that an outer surface on the rigidifying wall (5, 11) is in the form of segments of the circumferential surface of a truncated cone between at least one pair of the heels (4).

10. The backing washer as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that an outer surface on the rigidifying wall (5, 11) is in the form of segments of the circumferential surface of a cylinder.