Lock suited for left- and right-hinged closure members

Abstract

 The lock contains a latch bolt (10) which can be rotated between a first rotational position, wherein the lock is adapted for left-hinged closure members (2), and a second rotational position wherein the lock is adapted for right-hinged closure members. The lock comprises a retaining mechanism containing a first retaining element (29) which is fixed on the latch bolt (10) and a second retaining element (30) which is urged by means of the latch bolt spring (15) against the first retaining element (29) and which cannot rotate. In order to be able to adjust the lock to a left- or to a right-hinged closure member by simply rotating the latch bolt (10), the first retaining element (29) forms a cam whilst the second retaining element (30) forms a cam follower. The cam and the cam follower penetrate into one another in the first and the second rotational positions of the latch bolt to retain the latch bolt (10) in these rotational positions and urge the second retaining element (30) away from the first retaining element (29) against the latch bolt spring (15) when rotating the latch bolt (10) from its first rotational position to its second rotational position and vice versa.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a lock which is suited for left- and right-hinged closure members. The lock is of the type which comprises a frame arranged to be mounted against a first side of an upright member of the closure member so that its latch bolt extends through the upright member and protrudes out of this upright member on a second side thereof, opposite the first side, when the lock is mounted with its frame onto the first side of the upright member. The latch bolt has a longitudinal axis and is mounted on said frame so as to be slidable according to a reciprocating sliding movement along said longitudinal axis between an extended and a retracted position and so as to be rotatable according to a rotational movement around said longitudinal axis between a first rotational position, wherein the lock is adapted for left-hinged closure members, and a second rotational position wherein the lock is adapted for right-hinged closure members. The lock further comprises a retaining mechanism which is provided on said latch bolt and which comprises a first and a second retaining element, the second retaining element being arranged to cooperate with said first retaining element for retaining the latch bolt in either one of said first and second rotational positions. The lock also comprises at least one latch bolt spring, which is arranged between said frame and said retaining mechanism to exert a force on the latch bolt to urge the latch bolt towards its extended position and an actuation mechanism which is arranged to move the latch bolt from said extended to said retracted position against the force of the latch bolt spring.

[0002] A lock of this type is disclosed in WO 03/071061. This known lock is enclosed in a casing leaving one lateral face of the frame free for being mounted with this lateral face against a first side of the outermost upright member of a hinged gate. The latch bolt and the dead bolt are generally cylindrical and have such a length that, when the lock is mounted onto the first side of the upright member, they project through the holes drilled in this upright member and protrude on the opposite, second side of this upright member, over the required distance out of the upright member. The lock is especially intended for gates, in particular outer gates, wherein the distance between the gate and the reception element of the bolts may vary to a larger extend than for inside applications. Moreover, the upright member may have different diameters. In the lock disclosed in WO 03/071061 the distance over which the latch and dead bolts project out of the frame of the lock is therefore adjustable. At the same time, the rotational position of the latch bolt is adjustable so that the lock is suited for both left- and right-hinged closure members.

[0003] In the lock disclosed in WO 03/071061 the mechanism enabling to change the rotational position of the latch bolt comprises first of all a block which has a hole through which the latch bolt extends in its longitudinal direction so that the block can slide onto the latch bolt. In order to be able to fix the block in different longitudinal positions onto the latch bolt, and in first and second rotational positions of the latch bolt, the block is provided with a transverse hole for a cylindrical locking pin which can be locked, by means of a locking screw in different grooves applied tangentially into the surface of the latch bolt. The locking screw is screwed transversally to the hole for the pin in the block in this block and, when tightened, engages the cylindrical locking pin to urge it into one of the grooves in the latch bolt to fix the block into a particular position onto the latch bolt. The block can follow the reciprocating axial movements of the latch bolt but is guided by the frame of the lock to prevent a rotation of the latch bolt. The block, the locking pin and the locking screw thus form a retaining mechanism wherein the locking pin is a first retaining element which co-operates through the intermediary of the locking screw with the block as a second retaining element to retain the latch bolt in one of its two rotational positions.

[0004] For changing the rotational position of the latch bolt to adjust the lock to a left- or to a right-hinged closure member, the locking screw has to be unscrewed so that the locking pin can move out of the groove in the latch bolt. In this way, the latch bolt can be rotated from its first to its second rotational position or vice versa. After a rotation over 180°, the locking screw can be tightened again thereby urging the locking pin into the groove which is provided in that position in the latch bolt.

[0005] A drawback of this known lock is that in order to be able to change the rotational position of the latch bolt, the locking screw has to be unscrewed partially. This locking screw can not be reached through the casing but only through the uncovered lateral side of the frame. In practise, locks as disclosed in WO 03/071061 are usually mounted on gates, in particular on garden gates, before selling those gates. In this mounted position, the locking screw can no longer be reached so that, if one wants to avoid problems with customers who are not able to dismount the lock and carry out the quite complex operations to change the rotational position of the latch bolt, one has to provide a stock of both left- and right-hinged gates. In view of the costs thereof, this is clearly to be avoided.

[0006] Another solution to enable to adjust the rotational position of the latch bolt of a lock, the bolts of which project through the upright member against which the lock is mounted, is disclosed for example in EP 1 118 739. In this known lock, the latch bolt consists of a main part and of a distal part which is fixed by means of a transverse screw onto the main part. By means of this transverse screw, the distal part of the latch bolt can be released and, after rotation over 180°, fixed again onto the main part of the latch bolt.

[0007] A drawback of this known lock is also that, in order to prevent tampering of the lock, the transverse screw onto the latch bolt and the dead bolt is situated within the hole in the upright member of the gate so that, even in the extended (locking) position of the latch bolt, this screw cannot be released. Consequently, these known locks also have to be dismounted from the gate onto which they are mounted in order to be able to change the rotational position of their latch bolts.

[0008] An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a new lock which is of the type that when mounted onto a closure member its latch bolt projects through an upright member thereof but the latch bolt of which can nevertheless be adjusted easily to left- or a right-hinged closure members without having to dismount the lock from the closure member itself.

[0009] To this end, the lock according to the present invention is characterised in that the first retaining element is provided on the latch bolt to follow said reciprocating sliding movement and said rotational movement of the latch bolt and the second retaining element is guided by said frame so as to be irrotatable but slidable along said longitudinal axis with respect to said frame and is urged by means of said latch bolt spring against the first retaining element to follow said reciprocating sliding movement of the latch bolt, the first retaining element forming a cam whilst the second retaining element forming a cam follower which co-operates with said cam, said cam and said cam follower being arranged to penetrate into one another in said first and said second rotational positions of the latch bolt to retain the latch bolt in these rotational positions and to urge the second retaining element against the force of the latch bolt spring away from the first retaining element thereby forcing said cam and said cam follower to move out of penetration with one another when rotating the latch bolt from its first rotational position to its second rotational position and vice versa.

[0010] In the lock according to the invention, the latch bolt is retained in its first or in its second rotational position by means of the second retaining element which is urged by the latch bolt spring against the first retaining element to penetrate therein when the latch bolt is in either its first or in its second rotational position. In order to change the rotational position of the latch bolt, to adapt the lock to a left- or to a right-hinged closure member, the latch bolt has simply to be rotated to the other required rotational position. Indeed, when rotating the latch bolt out of its first or its second rotational position, the first retaining element acts as cam whilst the second retaining element acts as cam follower which is forced by the first retaining element against the force of the latch bolt spring away from this first retaining element so that the cam formed by the first retaining element and cam follower formed by the second retaining element move automatically out of penetration with one another. This initial movement requires a predetermined moment of force which has to be exerted onto the latch bolt. The latch bolt can then be rotated further more easily, with a smaller moment of force, towards its other rotational position. When arriving at that rotational position, the cam and cam follower formed by the first and second retaining elements penetrate again into one another (snap more particularly into one another) to prevent the first and second retaining elements from rotating with respect to one another or in other words, since the second retaining element cannot rotate with respect to the frame, to retain the latch bolt in its first or second rotational position.

[0011] Due to the fact that the first and second retaining elements can be brought out of penetration from one another by means of the latch bolt itself, more particularly by simply rotating the latch bolt, no separate holes need to be provided in the upright member to enable to operate the retaining mechanism. A drawback of such separate holes would be that they should be small so that there is a real risk of getting at least partially closed off when painting or galvanizing the closure member. Moreover, it would be difficult to reach the retaining mechanism by means of a thin elongated tool through the small holes in the tubular upright member. A further problem would be that it is difficult to drill or die cut such small holes right next to the larger hole for the latch bolt, in particular the counter punch would be easily damaged. All of these problems are thus solved in the lock of the present invention by enabling to operate the retaining mechanism of the latch bolt by means of the latch bolt itself.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the lock according to the invention, the latch bolt has a distal extremity provided with a non-circular notch.

[0013] An advantage of this embodiment is that, when the closure member is open so that a mating screw tool can be inserted into the non-circular notch in the latch bolt, the moment of force which is required to initially rotate the latch bolt can more easily be applied to the latch bolt by means of a suitable screw tool, in particular by means of an Allen wrench.

[0014] In a further preferred embodiment of the lock according to the invention, said first retaining element comprises at least one projection projecting laterally from the latch bolt and engaging the second retaining element.

[0015] Preferably, said second retaining element has a surface which engages said at least one projection of the first retaining element and which has at least two notches arranged to receive said at least one projection in the first and respectively the second rotational position of the latch bolt. The notches preferably have bevelled sides.

[0016] Other particularities and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a particular embodiment of the lock according to the present invention. The reference numerals used in this description relate to the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view on the main components of a lock according to a particular embodiment of the present invention (not including the lock casing and the lock cylinder);

Figures 2 and 3 are perspective views on the lock illustrated in Figure 1 but assembled and mounted onto an upright member of a left-hinged gate;

Figures 4 to 7 are side elevational views on the lock shown in the previous figures illustrating a counter-clockwise rotation of the latch bolt over 180° to adjust the lock to a right-hinged gate; and

Figure 8 is a detail of an alternative embodiment of the retaining elements on the latch bolt.

[0017] The lock 1 illustrated in Figures 1 to 7 is in accordance with the present invention suited both for left- and right-hinged closure members 2. These closure members 2 may be doors, gates, windows, etc. They have an upright member 3, in particular a tubular upright member. The lock 1 comprises a frame 4 by means of which it is arranged to be mounted against a first side 5 of this upright member 3. A face plate 6 of this frame is more particularly fixed by means of bolts 7 and nuts 8 to the upright member 3. The lock 1 is entirely enclosed in a casing (not shown), which has only one open side which is closed off by means of the face plate 6 (the casing being fixed by means of a bolt, not illustrated, passing through the hole 9 in the face plate 6).

[0018] Although the lock may contain a dead bolt, in particular a dead bolt operated by means of a lock cylinder, the lock 1 illustrated in the figures only comprises a latch bolt 10. When being mounted against the first side 5 the upright member 3 this latch bolt 10 extends through an opening in this upright member 3 to protrude on the opposite, second side 11 thereof out of this upright member 3. In view of the thickness of the upright members, the latch bolt 10 preferably projects over a distance of at least 40 mm out of the frame 4. The opening in the upright member 3 is preferably circular so that it can be easily drilled or die cut in the tubular member 3.

[0019] The latch bolt 10 has a longitudinal axis 12 and is mounted on the frame 4, more particularly in two circular openings 13 and 14, so as to be slidable according to a reciprocating sliding movement along its longitudinal axis 12. It can move between an extended position, wherein it projects over a maximum distance out of the frame 4 (or out of the upright member 3) and a retracted position. A latch bolt spring 15, in particular a helical compression spring, is arranged between the frame 4 and the latch bolt 10 to urge the latch bolt towards its extended position. The latch bolt 10 has a distal extremity 16 which is bevelled so that when closing the closure member 2 the latch bolt 10 is automatically pushed in by the bolt reception element (not illustrated) against the force of the latch bolt spring and snaps back towards its extended position into the bolt reception element. Optionally, the bevelled extremity 16 of the latch bolt can be formed by a roller to reduce the frictional forces when closing the closure member 2.

[0020] The lock 1 also comprises an actuation mechanism 17 arranged to move the latch bolt 10 from its extended to its retracted position against the force of the latch bolt spring 15 in order to be able to release the lock. This actuation mechanism 17 comprises a follower 18 which has a square hole 19 for receiving the shaft of the handles (not shown). The follower 17 is provided with a latch bolt lever 20 which follows the rotations of the handles and which engages the latch bolt 10 against the action of the latch bolt spring 15 to move the latch bolt 10 towards its retracted position. To assist the latch bolt spring 15 in returning the handles to their rest position, a torsion spring 21 is provided around the follower 18. In this way, the latch bolt 10 can be pushed in quite easily against the force of the relatively weak latch bolt spring 15 whilst the handles are more firmly held in their rest position by the torsion spring 21.

[0021] As an additional feature, the follower 18 is also provided with a locking lever 22 which can be locked by means of up- and downward movable locking element 23. In its uppermost position, this locking element 23 engages the locking lever 22 and thereby blocks the handles whilst in its lowermost position it is moved out of engagement with the locking lever 22 so that the handles can be rotated. To move the locking element 23 up or down, a key operated lock cylinder (not shown) has to be inserted through the holes 24 in the lock 1 so that the driving bit of this lock cylinder penetrates into a lateral recess 25 in the locking element 23. A leaf spring 26 is arranged between the frame 4 and the locking element 23, which leaf spring 26 can co-operated with a first notch 27 in the locking element 23 to keep this locking element in its uppermost, locking position and with a second notch 28 in the locking element 23 to keep this locking element in its lowermost, unlocking position.

[0022] An essential feature of the lock according to the invention is that the latch bolt 10 is rotatably mounted on the frame 4 so as to be rotatable according to a rotational movement around said longitudinal axis 12 between a first rotational position, illustrated in Figure 4, wherein the lock is adapted for left-hinged closure members, and a second rotational position, illustrated in Figure 7, wherein the lock is adapted for right-hinged closure members. In the illustrated lock 1, the latch bolt can be rotated in its extended, in its retracted and in all its intermediate positions. However, the lock could also be arranged so that the latch bolt could only be rotated in one or some of these positions, for example only in its extended position.

[0023] The lock also contains a retaining mechanism which comprises a first retaining element 29 and a second retaining element 30 which co-operates with the first retaining element 29 to retain the latch bolt 10 in its first or in its second rotational position. The first retaining element 29 is provided on the latch bolt 10 and is fixed thereto so as to follow its reciprocating sliding movements and its rotational movements. In the lock illustrated in the drawings, the first retaining element 29 is formed by a pin 29 which extends radially through a hole 41 in the latch bolt 10 and which projects with both extremities 35, 36 over a distance out of the latch bolt 10 (as can be seen in Figure 3 on of these projecting extremities serves as abutment for the latch bolt lever 20). The second retaining element 30 is guided by the frame 4 so as to be irrotatable but slidable along the longitudinal axis 12 of the latch bolt 10 with respect to the frame 4. The latch bolt spring 15 is arranged between the frame 4 and the second retaining element 30 so that this second retaining element 30 is urged by means of the latch bolt spring 15 against the first retaining element 29. Although the second retaining element 30 doesn't follow the rotational movements of the latch bolt 10, as it is irrotatably guided by the frame 4, it follows the reciprocating sliding movements of the latch bolt 10. In the lock illustrated in the drawings, the second retaining element 30 is formed by a plate 31 having an opening 32 for receiving the latch bolt 10. One edge 33 of the plate 31 extends in a slot 34 in the frame 4 so that the plate 31 cannot rotate with respect to the frame 4 but can follow the sliding movements of the latch bolt 10. The plate 31, or in other words the second retaining element 30, can also slide on the latch bolt 10 itself, according to the longitudinal axis 12 of this latch bolt 10.

[0024] In the lock of the present invention, the first retaining element 29 forms a cam whilst the second retaining element 30 forms a cam follower which co-operates with the cam formed by the first retaining element 29. In order to enable the retaining mechanism to keep the latch bolt in either one of its first and second rotational positions, the cam and the cam follower penetrate into one another in these first and second rotational positions of the latch bolt 10. The cam and cam follower are shaped so that, when the latch bolt 10 is rotated from its first rotational position to its second rotational position or vice versa, the cam formed by the first retaining element 29 urges the second retaining element 30 away from the first retaining element 29 so that the cam and cam follower move out of penetration with one another and the latch bolt 10 can easily be rotated towards the other one of its first and second positions.

[0025] In the lock illustrated in the drawings, the cam is formed by the two projecting extremities 35 and 36 of the pin 29. The cam follower or second retaining element 30 has a surface which engages these projections 35 and 36. This surface has at least two notches 37 which are arranged to receive the projections 35 and 36 in the first and respectively in the second rotational position of the latch bolt 10. The notches 37 are situated opposite one another so that the latch bolt has to be rotated over about 180° to move each of the projections 35 and 36 out of one of the notches 37 into the other notch 37. The notches 37 have bevelled sides so that the projections 35 and 36 may penetrate relatively deeply into the notches 37 whilst still enabling them to move out of these notches by simply rotating the latch bolt 10. Instead of two projections 35 and 36, the first retaining element 29 may also comprise only one projection. Two projections are however preferred so that the second retaining element 30 is maintained substantially at right angles to the latch bolt 10.

[0026] Figures 4 to 7 illustrate the rotational movement of the latch bolt, and the sliding movement of the second retainer element 30 along this latch bolt 10, when adapting the lock to a right-hinged closure member. In a first phase, illustrated in Figure 4, the latch bolt 10 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, according to arrow 39, so that the projections 35 and 36 forming the cam move out of penetration with the notches 37 in the cam follower. This is achieved by urging the cam follower formed by the second retaining element 30 away from the first retaining element 29, according to arrow 40, against the force of the latch bolt spring 15. In this first phase, a relatively large moment of force has to be applied to the latch bolt as the cam and cam follower need to be moved out of penetration with one another. In second phase, illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the latch bolt 10 can more easily be rotated further over about 180°. In a last phase, the projections 35 and 36 of the cam reach again the notches 37 of the cam follower and snap into these notches 37 so that the cam and cam follower penetrate again into one another to keep the latch bolt in this rotational position.

[0027] The latch bolt 10 has preferably a cylindrical outer surface. The distal extremity 16 of the latch bolt is preferably provided with a non-circular notch 38 extending in the longitudinal direction of the latch bolt 10. This notch 38 may extend entirely through the latch bolt, along its longitudinal axis 12, so that the latch bolt 10 is tubular and so that the notch 38 can be achieved for example by extruding the latch bolt. The presence of the non-circular notch 38 enables the use of a screw tool, in particular an Allen wrench, to rotate the latch bolt 10 in the open position of the closure member.

[0028] Alternative embodiments of the lock illustrated in the drawings and described hereabove are possible. In Figure 8 an alternative embodiment of the first and second retaining elements is for example illustrated (in a lock which is slightly different from the lock illustrated in the previous figures). The notches 37 in the second retaining element 29 are replaced by bulges 41 whilst the first retaining element 30 is formed by a fixed collar 42 on the latch bolt 10. This collar 42 has a surface engaging the bulges 41 on the first retaining element 29 and showing notches 43 for receiving these bulges 41 in the first and second rotational positions of the latch bolt. When rotating the latch bolt 10, the collar 42 also rotates and forms a cam which causes a displacement of the second retaining element 29 due to the interaction of the notches 43 and bulges 41.

Claims

1. A lock (1) suited for left- and right-hinged closure members (2) having an upright member (3), said lock comprising:

- a frame (4) arranged to be mounted against a first side (5) of said upright member (3);

- a latch bolt (10) which has a longitudinal axis (12) and which is mounted on said frame (4) so as to be slidable according to a reciprocating sliding movement along said longitudinal axis (12) between an extended and a retracted position and so as to be rotatable according to a rotational movement around said longitudinal axis (12) between a first rotational position, wherein the lock (1) is adapted for left-hinged closure members (2), and a second rotational position wherein the lock (1) is adapted for right-hinged closure members (2), said latch bolt (10) being further arranged to extend through said upright member (3) and to protrude out of this upright member (3) on a second side (11) thereof, opposite the first side (5), when the lock (1) is mounted with its frame (4) onto the first side (5) of said upright member (3);

- a retaining mechanism (29, 30) provided on said latch bolt (10), which retaining mechanism comprises a first (29) and a second retaining element (30), the second retaining element (30) being arranged to cooperate with said first retaining element (29) for retaining the latch bolt (10) in either one of said first and second rotational positions;

- at least one latch bolt spring (15) arranged between said frame (4) and said retaining mechanism (29, 30) to exert a force on the latch bolt (10) to urge the latch bolt (10) towards its extended position; and

- an actuation mechanism (17) arranged to move said latch bolt (10) from said extended to said retracted position against the force of the latch bolt spring (15),

characterised in that
said first retaining element (29) is provided on the latch bolt (10) to follow said reciprocating sliding movement and said rotational movement of the latch bolt (10); and
said second retaining element (30) is guided by said frame (4) so as to be irrotatable but slidable along said longitudinal axis (12) with respect to said frame (4) and is urged by means of said latch bolt spring (15) against the first retaining element (29) to follow said reciprocating sliding movement of the latch bolt (10);
the first retaining element (29) forms a cam whilst the second retaining element (30) forms a cam follower which co-operates with said cam, said cam and said cam follower being arranged to penetrate into one another in said first and said second rotational positions of the latch bolt (10) to retain the latch bolt (10) in these rotational positions and to urge the second retaining element (30) against the force of the latch bolt spring (15) away from the first retaining element (29) thereby forcing said cam and said cam follower to move out of penetration with one another when rotating the latch bolt (10) from its first rotational position to its second rotational position and vice versa.

2. A lock according to claim 1, characterised in that said latch bolt (10) has a distal extremity (16) provided with a non-circular notch (38).

3. A lock according to claim 2, characterised in that said latch bolt (10) is tubular, said non-circular notch (38) extending entirely through the latch bolt (10).

4. A lock according to any one of the claims 1 to 3, characterised in that said first retaining element (29) comprises at least one projection (35, 36) projecting laterally from the latch bolt (10) and engaging the second retaining element (30).

5. A lock according to claim 4, characterised in that said first retaining element (29) comprises at least two projections (35, 36) projecting laterally from the latch bolt (10) and engaging the second retaining element (30).

6. A lock according to claim 5, characterised in that said two projections (35, 36) are formed by a pin (29) which extends radially through a hole (41) in the latch bolt (10).

7. A lock according to any one of the claims 4 to 6, characterised in that said second retaining element (30) has a surface which engages said at least one projection (35, 36) of the first retaining element (29) and which has at least two notches (37) arranged to receive said at least one projection (35, 36) in the first and respectively the second rotational position of the latch bolt (10).

8. A lock according to claim 8, characterised in that said notches (37) have bevelled sides.

9. A lock according to any one of the claims 1 to 5, characterised in that said latch bolt (10) has a cylindrical outer surface.

10. A lock according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, characterised in that, in its extended position, said latch bolt (10) projects over a distance of at least 40 mm out of said frame (4).

Drawing