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(11) | EP 2 022 913 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | An incorrect operation safety lock device for window units |
| (57) An incorrect operation safety lock device (1) for window units comprises at least
one lever (9) that can be associated with a locking device (2) of a window to hold
the locking device (2) in a configuration in which the window is unlocked. The lever
(9) has a shoulder (10) for contact with a first element (6) for operating the locking
device (2) and can be hinged at a first end of it (9a) to a second element (7) for
operating the locking device (2). The device also comprises at least one engagement/disengagement
member (15, 12) for moving the lever (9) from a non-operating position, where the
first operating element (6) and the second operating element (7) can be moved towards
and away from each other so that the locking device (2) can be actuated, to an operating
configuration, where the first operating element (6) abuts the shoulder (10) of the
lever (9) to prevent the locking device (2) from being actuated, and vice versa.
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[0002] The invention applies in particular to tilt and turn, bottom-hung and awning window units, especially those equipped with a multiple closing system.
[0003] In other words, this invention applies to windows equipped with a locking device adapted to preferably provide two or more closing fastening points between the mobile frame and the fixed frame.
[0004] Generally-speaking, window units comprise a mobile frame hinged to a fixed frame along one side of it to enable the sash to be opened.
[0005] Prior art windows, be they of the traditional type, bottom-hung or top-hung are equipped with suitable locking devices which keep the window closed at two or more fastening points, in addition to the traditional fastening point, especially in the case of bottom-hung windows and top-hung, awning windows located half way along the width of the frame.
[0006] The locking device is normally mounted on the mobile frame and comprises one or more rods each provided with at least one pin and/or boss (protruding from the end of the rod in the case of the pin or transversally of the rod in the case of the boss) designed to engage or release a respective contact member formed or mounted on the fixed frame and defining a suitable housing socket. The rods are slidable in a perimetric groove running along a peripheral edge of the mobile frame, usually the side opposite the hinged side.
[0007] The locking device is engaged and disengaged by an operating device (usually a handle) used to open and close the window.
[0008] When the locking device is engaged, the window cannot be opened. When the locking device is disengaged, on the other hand, the mobile frame can be moved away from the fixed frame to open the window.
[0009] The operating device comprises a control element, which may be either manual (handle) or power driven, and which controls the drive means that can be associated with the locking device.
[0010] In the particular case of a power-driven control element (which this specification refers to in particular), a power unit typically comprises an electric motor which drives a chain type actuator and is used, usually, on bottom-hung or top-hung windows.
[0011] The power unit is usually associated with the fixed part of the frame, while the actuator acts directly on the drive means, exerting a pushing or pulling force that respectively opens or closes the window. More specifically, if the window has a closing rod system (generally referred to as a "multiple closing system"), the window is opened, according to prior art, by moving the actuator through a first step, defined as its "overtravel", during which the actuator activates the drive means which disengage the locking device, causing the rods to slide and thereby releasing the fastening elements from the respective contact elements. During this first step, the mobile frame is still in contact with the fixed frame.
[0012] Next, the pushing force exerted by the actuator causes the mobile frame to move away from the fixed frame through a predetermined stroke length.
[0013] When the window is closed, on the other hand, the actuator pulls the mobile frame until it comes into contact with the fixed frame and only then is the locking device engaged.
[0014] Several drive means for windows are known which are designed to switch the locking device from a configuration in which the mobile frame is rigidly fixed to the fixed frame and cannot be moved, to a configuration in which the mobile frame is released from the fixed frame and the window can be opened. For example, chain type actuators driven by electric motors or pneumatic cylinders are known.
[0015] One drawback of these systems, however, is their low "rigidity" and, hence, poor resistance to external pushing forces due mainly to the action of the wind: this may, in some cases, engage the locking device before the mobile frame comes into contact with the fixed frame, thus preventing the window from being closed.
[0016] That is because to enable the window to be closed properly, the locking device must remain in the disengaged configuration until the window is shut, that is to say, until the mobile frame abuts against the fixed frame. In other words, the fastening elements (pins or bosses) must remain in the disengaged position until the mobile frame and the fixed frame come into contact with each other.
[0017] This invention therefore has for an aim to overcome the disadvantages of prior art by providing an incorrect operation safety lock device for windows. In particular, the aim of this invention is to provide an incorrect operation safety lock device for windows that enables the locking device to be kept in the disengaged configuration until its engagement is really required, that is, until the mobile frame comes into contact with the fixed frame.
[0018] According to the invention, these aims are achieved by an incorrect operation safety lock device for windows comprising the technical characteristics set out in one or more of the appended claims.
[0019] The technical characteristics of the invention, with reference to the above aims, are clearly described in the claims below and its advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention provided merely by way of example without limiting the scope of the inventive concept, and in which:
- Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of an incorrect operation safety lock device according to the invention in a first, non-operating configuration;
- Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the incorrect operation safety lock device according to the invention in a second, operating configuration;
- Figure 3 is a side view of the incorrect operation safety lock device according to the invention;
- Figure 4 illustrates a part of a window frame fitted with the device according to the invention;
- Figure 5 is a perspective view of a power-driven awning window in an open configuration;
- Figure 6 is a perspective view of the window of Figure 5 in a closed configuration.
[0020] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 denotes an incorrect operation safety lock device for window units.
[0021] Window units normally comprise a mobile frame 20 hinged to a fixed frame 21 along a respective first side.
[0022] When the window is opened, the mobile frame 20 at least partly moves away from the fixed frame 21, while in the closed configuration of the window, the mobile frame 20 is in full contact with the fixed frame 21.
[0023] The window units preferably have at least one locking device 2 associated with at least one second side S of the mobile frame 20, designed to keep the window in the closed position at two or more fastening points, as for example in prior art units such as bottom-hung windows or (as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6) top-hung, awning windows which this invention addresses in particular but without limiting the scope of the inventive concept.
[0024] An operating device, usually associated with the mobile frame 20, engages or disengages the locking device 2 through suitable drive means 3.
[0025] The locking device 2 is reversibly mobile between an engaged configuration where the mobile frame 20 is locked to the fixed frame 21, and hence the window locked in the closed configuration, and a disengaged configuration where the mobile frame 20 is free of the fixed frame 21 and the window is unlocked and can be opened.
[0026] The locking device 2 usually comprises one or more rods 4 slidable in a straight direction R in a groove C made in the second side S of the mobile frame 20 and one or more fastening elements 5 fixed to the rod 4.
[0027] Typically, the fastening elements 5 are bosses which, in the locked configuration of the window unit, engage a respective contact element made on the fixed frame 21. The contact element (not illustrated in the drawings because it is of known type) is embodied, for example, by a block or by the walls of a socket, rigidly formed on the fixed frame 21 of the window, which define a contact surface.
[0028] In the locked configuration, the bosses engage with or are locked to the respective sockets, interfering with the related contact element and thus preventing the mobile frame 20 from being moved away from the fixed frame 21.
[0029] In the unlocked configuration, on the other hand, the bosses are disengaged from the sockets, in such a way as to lie outside of them, thus enabling the mobile frame 20 to be moved away from the fixed frame 21 to open the window.
[0030] The rods 4 of the locking device 2 are driven by the above mentioned drive means 3, which are of known type and therefore not described in further detail.
[0031] The incorrect operation safety lock device 1 can be associated with the window locking device 2 and, more specifically, with the drive means 3, as illustrated in the accompanying Figures 1 and 2. These two drawings show the drive means 3 and, in particular, a first and a second operating element 6 and 7 of the locking device 2.
[0032] In the configuration illustrated, these operating elements 6 and 7 comprise a first and a second pin connected, for example through a respective slider 8 or other type of connection, to the respective rod 4 of the locking device 2.
[0033] The incorrect operation safety lock device 1 comprises at least one lever 9 that can be hinged at a first end of it 9a to the operating element 7 of the locking device 2, enabling it to be reversibly rotated from a non-operating position to an operating position of the incorrect operation safety lock device 1.
[0034] Near a second end of it 9b, the lever 9 has a contact shoulder 10 which, when the incorrect operation safety lock device 1 is in the operating configuration, abuts the first operating element 6 of the locking device 2.
[0035] Preferably, the lever 9 comprises a first portion 11 and a second portion 12, connected to each other near the shoulder 10. Both portions 11 and 12 constituting the lever 9 are plate-shaped and positioned transversally of each other. More specifically, the second portion 12 extends away from the first portion 11 and parallel to a longitudinal axis 11a of the first portion 11.
[0036] The profile of the lever 9, cut through a plane transversal of the longitudinal axis 11a, is therefore L-shaped.
[0037] Advantageously, the first portion 11 has a substantially L-shaped slot 13 comprising a long main section 13a and a shorter secondary section 13b.
[0038] The main section 13a of the slot 13 is preferably aligned with the longitudinal axis 11a of the first portion 11 of the lever 9, while the secondary portion 13b is located transversally of the axis 11a at the second end 9b of the lever 9, facing the second portion 12 that delimits it.
[0039] An inside edge 14 delimits the slot 13 and comprises the shoulder 10 which at least partly defines the secondary section 13b of the slot 13. Thus, the shoulder 10 is positioned transversally of the axis 11a of the first portion 11, connecting to the second portion 12 of the lever 9.
[0040] The first operating element 6 of the locking device 2 is slidably engaged in the slot 13 and can therefore be moved along the main section 13a of the slot 13 to abut against a straight section 14a of the inside edge 14, parallel to the longitudinal axis 11a.
[0041] The incorrect operation safety lock device 1 also comprises at least one engagement member 15 designed to move the lever 9 from the non-operating to the operating position by causing the lever 9 to rotate about the second operating element 7.
[0042] Advantageously, the engagement member 15 is an elastic element, preferably an arched spring, as shown in the accompanying drawings. In particular, the arched spring 15 has a first end 15a attached to the first portion 11 of the lever 9 and a second, free end 15b acting on the second portion 12 of the lever 9. The engagement member 15, and more specifically, the arched spring, can be interposed between the mobile frame 20 and the lever 9, to switch the incorrect operation safety lock device 1 from the non-operating position to the operating position. In other words, when the device 1 is fitted on the mobile frame 20, the engagement member 15 is interposed between a wall P of the second side S of the mobile frame 20 and the second portion 12 of the lever 9, in such a way that in the non-operating configuration of the device 1, the arched spring is constantly stressed and exerts a pushing force on the second portion 12, acting on the lever 9 in such a way as to keep the straight section 14a of the inside edge 14 closest to the second portion 12 in contact with the first operating element 6.
[0043] When the incorrect operation safety lock device 1 is in the non-operating position, the lever 9 is positioned in such a way that the axis 11a of the first portion 11 is parallel to a longitudinal axis 4a of the rods 4. In this position the first and the second operating element 6 and 7 can move in a straight line towards and away from each other along the axis 4a, enabling the locking device 2 to be moved.
[0044] The movement of the operating elements 6 and 7 away from each other under the action of the drive means 3 causes the rods 4 to slide along the groove C of the second side S of the mobile frame 20.
[0045] As it slides, the second operating element 7 drags the lever 9 along with it and, at the same time, the first operating element 6 slides in the slot 13, remaining in contact with the straight section 14a of the inside edge 14, until it engages the secondary section 13b of the slot, abutting the shoulder 10.
[0046] In actual fact, when the first operating element 6 reaches the secondary section 13b of the slot 13 which extends towards the second portion 12 of the lever 9, it is the lever 9 that is allowed to rotate about an axis 7a of the second operating element 7 (as indicated by the arrow F1 in Figure 2), under the pushing action of the engagement member 15, thereby switching the incorrect operation safety lock device 1 to the operating configuration. This pushing action moves the lever until its second portion 12 abuts the first operating element 6.
[0047] As long as the operating element 6 is held inside the secondary section 13b of the slot 13 and is in contact with the second portion 12 of the lever 9, it engages the shoulder 10, thereby preventing the locking device 2 from moving and, consequently, the rods 4 from returning to their original position.
[0048] The purpose of the incorrect operation safety lock device 1 is therefore to hold the locking device 2 associated with it in the window unlocked configuration; therefore, the incorrect operation safety lock device 1 is, more precisely, a safety device that can keep the locking device 2 and, hence, the rods 4 in a particular configuration which, in this specific case, is the disengaged condition where the window is unlocked. This avoids accidental engagement of the locking device 2 which would prevent the window from being properly closed when required.
[0049] When the window has to be opened, the locking device 2 is disengaged by the respective drive means 3 which act on the operating elements 6 and 7 in such a way as to automatically move the incorrect operation safety lock device 1 into the operating configuration.
[0050] The device 1 remains in this configuration until the window is closed and, more specifically, until the mobile frame 20 comes into contact with the fixed frame 21.
[0051] At this point, the incorrect operation safety lock device 1 is moved back into the non-operating configuration by the second portion 12 of the lever 9, which acts as disengagement member. When the mobile frame 20 abuts the fixed frame 21, the second portion 12 also comes into contact with the fixed frame 21 and is pushed by the fixed frame 21 against the wall P of the second side S of the mobile frame 20, causing the lever 9 to rotate about the axis 7a of the second operating element 7 in the direction (indicated by the arrow F2 in Figure 1) opposite to the previous direction. As it rotates, the lever 9 overcomes the pushing force exerted by the arched spring of the engagement member 15, which tends, instead, to push the lever 9 into the engaged position.
[0052] As a result, the first operating element 6 is disengaged from the secondary section 13b of the slot 13 and can thus slide in the main section 13a; the simultaneous activation of the drive means 3 causes the operating elements 6 and 7 to move closer in such a way that the locking device 2 is engaged and once again locks the window.
[0053] An incorrect operation safety lock device made as described above therefore achieves the above mentioned aims because it prevents atmospheric events, and, more specifically, wind, from varying the configuration of the locking device accidentally by pushing the window sash from the outside towards the fixed window frame, that is to say, it prevents the locking device from switching from the open to the closed configuration before the frames come into contact with each other so that the fastening elements cannot engage the contact elements to lock the window properly when required.
[0054] Further, when the window is closing, the device according to the invention also prevents the drive means 3 from accidentally engaging the locking device 2 before the mobile frame 20 properly abuts the fixed frame 21. That is because only the contact between the two frames causes the lever 9 to rotate in such a way as to disengage the first operating element 6 and allow it to move freely back towards the second operating element 7.
[0055] The rods 4 can then slide in the groove C along the path R, causing the bosses to engage the contact elements.
1. An incorrect operation safety lock device characterized in that it comprises:
- at least one lever (9) that can be associated with a locking device (2) of a window to hold the locking device (2) in a configuration in which the window is unlocked; the lever (9) having a shoulder (10) for contact with a first element (6) for operating the locking device (2); the lever (9) being designed to be hinged at a first end of it (9a) to a second element (7) for operating the locking device;
- at least one engagement / disengagement member (15, 12) for moving the lever (9) from a non-operating position, where the first operating element (6) and the second operating element (7) can be moved towards and away from each other so that the locking device (2) can be actuated, to an operating configuration, where the first operating element (6) abuts the shoulder (10) of the lever (9) to prevent the locking device (2) from being actuated, and vice versa.
2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the lever (9) comprises a first portion (11) and a second portion (12) connected
to the first at a second end (9b) of the lever (9); the second portion (12) being
parallel to a longitudinal axis (11a) of the first portion (11).
3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the second portion (12) extends away from the first portion (11); second portion
(12) constituting a member for disengaging the lever (9).
4. The device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the shoulder (10) extends transversally of the longitudinal axis (11a) of the first
portion (11) of the lever (9).
5. The device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the first portion (11) and the second portion (12) of the lever (9) are plate-shaped.
6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the first portion (11) has an L-shaped slot (13) comprising a main section (13a)
aligned with the longitudinal axis (11a) of the first portion (11) and a secondary
section (13b) transversal of the axis (11a); the slot (13) being designed to receive
the first locking device (2) operating element (6) which slides in the slot (13).
7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that the shoulder (10) partly delimits the secondary section (13b) of the slot (13).
8. The device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the second portion (12) partly delimits the secondary section (13b) of the slot (13).
9. The device according to any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the engagement member (15) is an elastic element.
10. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that the engagement member (15) is an arched spring whose first end (15a) is attached
to the first portion (11) of the lever (9) and whose second, free end (15b) operates
on the second portion (12) of the lever (9).
11. The device according to claims 6 and 10, characterized in that the engagement member (15) can be interposed between the window and the lever (9)
in such a way that when the incorrect operation safety lock device (1) is in the non-operating
configuration and the first operating element (6) is in the main section (13a) of
the slot (13), it exerts a constant pushing force on the second portion (12) of the
lever (9) and causes the lever (9) to rotate about an axis (7a) of the second operating
element (7) to switch the incorrect operation safety lock device (1) to the operating
configuration when the first operating element (6) is in the secondary section (13b)
of the slot (13).
12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that the disengagement member (15) comprises the second portion (12) of the lever (9)
which, by engaging a fixed frame (21) when the window is in the closed position, is
pushed against a wall (P) of a second side (S) of a mobile frame (20) on which the
incorrect operation safety lock device (1) is mounted, causing the lever (9) to rotate
about an axis (7a) of the second operating element (7), overcoming the pushing force
exerted by the engagement member (15).