Patent ID: 6406072
Filing Date: 2002-06-18
Classification: E05B,Y10T

Abstract:
An electrically operated drive device adapted for driving a latch-actuating spindle of an electrically operable lock that includesa deadbolt adapted to be mounted in a door and movable between a retracted position and an extended position, a coupling member including a connecting end connected the deadbolt, and an actuated end disposed distal to the deadbolt, a mounting frame with a rear wall and adapted to be mounted on an interior of the door, and a spindle defining an axis and including proximate and distal portions opposite to each other in an axial direction parallel to the axis, and an intermediate portion interposed between the proximate and distal portions, the intermediate portion being disposed such that the proximate portion is rotatably mounted in and extends outwardly and rearwardly of the rear wall to form a manually operated grip end, and such that the distal portion is turnable about the axis from a first position to a second position which is angularly spaced apart from the first position, thereby imparting a force to the actuated end of the coupling member to place the deadbolt in one of the retracted and extended positions, said electrically operated drive device comprising: a motor with an output shaft and adapted to be activated by an electric signal; a wheel gear which has an inner annular surface defining a central hole, a toothed rim portion perimetrically opposite to said inner annular surface, and an annular major wall interposed between said inner annular surface and said toothed rim portion, said inner annular surface being adapted to be rotatably mounted on the intermediate portion and adjacent to the proximate portion; a drive transmitting member disposed to transmit drive of said output shaft to said toothed rim portion so as to rotate said wheel gear; a linearly shifting member which includes first front and rear major walls opposite to each other, and adapted to be loosely mounted on the intermediate portion so as to have said first rear major wall spaced apart from said annular major wall in the axial direction, said first front major wall defining a sliding slot which extends to be communicated with said first rear major wall, said sliding slot being elongated in a first direction transverse to the axial direction so as to define a transverse centerline that divides each of said first front and rear major walls into upper and lower halves, and a longitudinal centerline transverse to said transverse centerline so as to divide said sliding slot into right and left halves; a crank member including a crankshaft adapted to be mounted coaxially on and to rotate with the intermediate portion, a crank web radially extending from said crankshaft and terminating at an anchoring end, and a crank pin extending from said anchoring end in the axial direction; a first cam mechanism including a first cam member disposed on said annular major wall, and first upper and lower followers disposed respectively on said upper and lower halves of said first rear major wall of said shifting member such that when said first cam member rotates with said annular major wall to turn 180 degree, said shifting member will move from one of rightmost and leftmost positions to the other one of the rightmost and leftmost positions in said first transverse direction; and a second cam mechanism including right and left translating cam surfaces disposed on at least one of said upper and lower halves of said first front major wall of said shifting member, with a dead end juncture formed between said right and left translating cam surfaces, said dead end juncture cooperating with said right and left translating cam surfaces to establish a continuous sliding path such that said dead end juncture is moved from one of right and left positions to the other one of the right and left positions when said shifting member moves from a respective one of the rightmost and leftmost positions to the other one of the rightmost and leftmost positions, said second cam mechanism further including, a second follower disposed coaxially with said crank pin and retainingly slidable on said continuous sliding path such that when said second follower is brought to one of said right and left positions of said dead end juncture, said crankshaft will be turned to rotate with the intermediate portion of the spindle to a respective one of first and second positions.