Abstract:
A control assembly configured for a narrow stile door and for interaction with an exit device. The control assembly provides a means to translate user input, such as rotating a lever to operate a centercase. The control includes a slider for sliding movement within a housing between a first position extending a latchbolt of the exit device and a second position withdrawing the latchbolt. The control assembly configuration incorporates a swivel locking latch rotatable into the path of the slider to prevent the slider from moving out of the first position.

Description:
The present application claims priority to provisional application No. 60/588,498 entitled “Control for Exit Device” filed on Jul. 16, 2004. 

   BACKGROUND 
   This invention relates generally to a control, such as a door latch assembly, for activation of centercase assemblies for exit devices and more particularly to a control assembly to activate narrow stile panic-type exit devices. 
   Narrow stile doors present difficulties in the installation and design of controls for exit devices. Stile is a term commonly used to refer to a vertical member of a door frame. Due to the thin width of a narrow stile door (1¾″), many of the commonly available controls to operate exit devices cannot be installed without the control overlapping the glass portion of the door. This overlap is found to be aesthetically undesirable. To avoid overlap, many exit device controls are known which are specifically designed narrow enough to fit upon a narrow stile. However, in order to activate the many diverse functions available in exit devices (rim, surface vertical, concealed vertical) unique controls are often required for each of the different functions. 
   Many exit device controls also only allow uni-directional input by the user to activate the control. One solution is to centrally locate a uni-directional output of the control such that it matches a centrally located uni-directional input for unlatching of a universal centercase assembly. Bi-directional mechanical activation of the control by the user is desirable over uni-directional activation. This allows the control to be activated in both down and upstroke of its activating lever, knob, etc. Thus the control must convert bi-directional activation input to uni-directional output to match the device. 
   When unlocked, a control is used to unlatch the exit device latching mechanism. Two types of locking and unlocking controls are what are commonly known as ANSI function 08 and ANSI function 09. ANSI function 09 allows the user to enter a key into the controls key cylinder (often what is commonly known as a mortise type) and turn the key not more than approximately 359 degrees to unlock the control. The key is not removable unless the control is locked. ANSI function 08 allows the user to enter the key into the controls key cylinder and turn the key 360 degrees to unlock the cylinder. If the key is then removed without further rotation of the key, the control remains unlocked. Relocking is the reverse of unlocking. Further, a means of electrically unlocking and locking the control is often desirable when the application is used in an electrically controlled security system. Accordingly, the manufacturer, distributors, and end user must often deal with a large number of parts, assemblies, and stocking units to provide a control to match for each unique device function, handing, and desired unlocking application. 
   It is apparent then that a control that is narrow enough to fit on a narrow stile, has a universal output location to match a corresponding universal input location on an exit device, provides bi-directional input, is reconfigurable to both left hand and right hand doors, provides for both ANSI 08 and ANSI 09 function in the same assembly, and is configurable for electrical unlocking, is desirable. It is the object of this invention to address the matter and set forth a narrow stile control that accomplishes these functions. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is a mechanism to convert bi-directional input from a door operator, such as a lever, knob, thumb turn, slider, etc. to a uni-directional output for input to a centercase assembly for a narrow stile door exit device. This mechanism is easily configurable to use on left hand or right hand doors. 
   This invention incorporates a swivel locking latch and associated mechanism that allows easy configuration from ANSI 08 function to ANSI 09 function. The invention also easily incorporates either electrical fail safe or electrical fail secure locking functions where the locking latch itself does not need to be changed. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a control and an exit device installed on a narrow stile door. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the control and exit device installed on the narrow stile door. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the control, which shows a key cylinder and a locking actuator within a housing. 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the control with key cylinder locking. The key cylinder is not shown for clarity. 
       FIG. 5  is a front view of an input cam used in the control. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the input cam. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a slider used in the control. 
       FIG. 8  is a side view of the slider. 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an output cam used in the control. 
       FIG. 10  is a front view of the output cam. 
       FIG. 11  is front view of a swivel locking latch used in the control. 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the swivel locking latch. 
       FIG. 13  is an alternate perspective view of the swivel locking latch. 
       FIG. 14  is a side view of the swivel locking latch. 
       FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a torsion spring used in the control. 
       FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the control in an unlocked and inactivated state. 
       FIG. 17  is a perspective view of the control in the unlocked state, being activated with a downward motion of the lever. 
       FIG. 18  is an alternate perspective view of the control in the unlocked state, being activated with a downward motion of the lever. 
       FIG. 19  is a back view of the control in the unlocked state, being activated with an upward motion of the lever. 
       FIG. 20  is a perspective view of the control in the unlocked state, being activated with an upward motion of the lever. 
       FIG. 21  is a perspective view of the control in a locked state with the key cylinder actuator lever in the locked position. 
       FIG. 22  is a perspective view of the control in a locked state with the key cylinder actuator lever in the mid-turn. 
       FIG. 23  is an exploded assembly view of the control with an electric solenoid in place of the key cylinder. 
       FIG. 24  is a perspective view of the control, with the electric solenoid, in an unlocked state. 
       FIG. 25  is a perspective view of the control, with the electric solenoid, in a locked state. 
   

   Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   It is well known in the art to install a control on a narrow stile door with a user controlled lever to command an inward movement of a biased latchbolt to allow opening of the door. The latchbolt is part of a standard centercase assembly and is not the novel subject of the present invention. Centercase assemblies have been well documented in the art, including improvements set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,563 issued to Von Duprin, Inc. of Indianapolis, Ind. Mortise type key cylinders with locking actuator levers are also well known in the art and are typically used with a key to rotate part of the cylinder to lock or unlock the door. The novelty of the present invention exists within the structure and operation of the locking mechanism within a control, more specifically, the structure and operation of the parts in functional relationship between the output of a key cylinder and the input of a standard centercase. The present invention offers preferred operational characteristics in a compact package for use on a narrow stile door, but is not limited in its application to such a door. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , a control  20  is installed on a narrow stile door  24  and has a lever  28  for accepting user input, which enables a latchbolt  32  to be selectively withdrawn from a centercase located within an exit device  36 . The control  20  also contains a mortise type key cylinder  40 , which manipulates an actuator lever  44 , to allow the control  20  to be locked or unlocked with a key. The exit device  36  also includes an emergency pushpad (not shown) mounted on an interior side  52  of the door  24 . Exit devices are well documented in the art and are available for purchase from various manufacturers. The present invention is a control  20  to operate in conjunction with exit devices of various operation including: rim, surface vertical, and concealed vertical mountings. It should be understood that the control  20  is mounted on an exterior side  56  of the door  24 , which opens away from the interior side  52  for emergency exit safety. A housing  60  shields internal components of the control  20 ; only the key cylinder  40  and lever  28  penetrate a front face  61  of the housing  60 . A back plate  62  covers the open portion of the control, faces and lies adjacent the exterior side  56  of the door  24  upon installation. 
   The lever  28  is connected to an input cam  64  inside the housing  60 . The input cam  64  is illustrated in detail in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . In the preferred embodiment, a shear pin  68 , securely connected to the lever  28 , engages a keyway  72  in the input cam  64 . The shear pin  68  fits snugly into the keyway  72 . The input cam  64  is substantially disk shaped with the above mentioned keyway  72  being contained on its inner portion, adjacent to a bore  76  through the disk. The periphery of the disk comprises two arcuate portions  80  and  84  of different diameter. This provides two cam lobes  88  and  92 , one at each location where the different arcuate portions  80  and  84  meet. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a slider  96  is contained within the control  20 . Detailed drawings of the slider  96  are provided in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The slider  96  is basically shaped as a reverse “J” as looked upon in the front view. The slider  96  has a first upright portion  100  which is longer than a second upright portion  104 . At the top of the first upright portion is a locking portion  108 . The locking portion provides a locking face  112 . The locking portion of the slider  96  has a thickness greater than a primary thickness  114  found at other locations on the slider  96 . A second area  116  of the slider  96  has similar thickness, greater than the primary thickness  114 . Where the second area of increased thickness  116  meets the primary thickness  114  are provided two cam follower faces  120  and  124  that face upward for contacting the lobes  88  and  92  of the input cam  64 . On the bottom face  128  of the slider  96  are two spring locator pins  132 . The locator pins  132  hold a pair of bias springs  134  in place. A protruding stop  136  is located on the bottom face  128  of the slider  96  between the spring locator pins  132 . A slider output pin  140  extends from the back face  144  of the slider  96 . 
     FIGS. 9 and 10  show an output cam  148  in detail. The output cam body  152  is cylindrical with a protruding cam lobe  156  at its base. The lobe  156  consists of a cylindrical portion  160  with an outer diameter greater than that of the body  152  and two extensions  164 . The extensions  164  each have outer faces  168  tangential to the cylindrical portion  160 , and have inner faces  172  that are parallel to each other, forming an open slot  176 . The slot  176  is sized to fit closely around the slider output pin  140 . The output cam  148  is mounted to the housing  60 , allowing for rotation relative to the housing  60  about the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical body  152 . In the cylindrical cam body  152  is an opening  180  to accept a common tailpiece  182 . The tailpiece  182  is considered the output of the control  20  and interacts directly with the centercase of the exit device  36  to retract the latchbolt  32 . In the preferred embodiment, the output cam  148  is centrally located within the control  20  to match a centrally located centercase input located in the exit device  36 . 
     FIGS. 11-14  show details of a swivel locking latch  184 . The latch  184  consists of a main body  188  and a pin  192 . The main body  188  has a head  196  with a first actuation surface  200 , a second actuation surface  202 , and an arcuate bottom  204 . The arcuate bottom  204  has a blocking surface portion  212 . When the control  20  is assembled, the pin  192  carries a torsion spring  216  (seen in  FIGS. 4 and 15 ) with a first extending prong  220  and a second extending prong  224 . The first prong  220 , abuts a recessed spring face  226  of the swivel locking latch  184 . When the control  20  is assembled with the back plate  62 , the second prong  224  abuts the back plate  62 . The pin  192  is held by the housing  60  such that the latch  184  is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the key cylinder actuator lever  44 . 
   In a preferred embodiment, the swivel locking latch body  188  is formed without the pin  192 . A hole is drilled in the body  188  and the pin  192  is pressed into the hole for a tight fit. Further, in this embodiment, the body  188  is formed by compacting powdered metal and baking it at a temperature below the melting temperature to form strengthening bonds within the material. This method represents the preferred embodiment of the invention, but it is readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the latch  184  and latch body  188  may be formed in other manners. Various materials may be used, metallic and non-metallic, and the pin  192  may be formed integrally with the body  188  rather than pressed in, affording that the end result is a latch  184  with adequate strength. 
     FIG. 16  illustrates the control  20  in an unlocked, inactivated state. The unlocked state of the control  20  is defined as the condition in which the swivel locking latch  184  is in an unlocked position, with the blocking surface portion  212  (as shown in  FIG. 12 ) free of the path of the slider  96 . The actuator lever  44  of the key cylinder  40  is in an unlocked position, contacting the first actuation surface  200  (as shown in  FIG. 13 ) and holding the swivel locking latch  184  in the unlocked position. The prongs  220  and  224  of the torsion spring  216  (as shown in  FIG. 15 ) are forced toward each other while the latch  184  is in the unlocked state, causing the spring  216  to provide a slight resistive force to the recessed spring face  226  (as shown in  FIGS. 11 ,  12  and  13 ) of the latch  184 . In the inactivated state, the lever  28  is not receiving a user input and thus, the input cam  64  is in a neutral position, allowing the slider  96  to maintain an upward position, supported by the uncompressed bias springs  134 . In this state, the latchbolt  32  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) is in an extended position. 
   In the unlocked state, the control  20  must be capable of providing a torque and transmitting a corresponding rotational motion to the centercase upon receiving an input motion (e.g. rotation of the lever  28 ).  FIGS. 17-20  illustrate the control  20  in an unlocked and activated state. In the activated state, the lever  28  is receiving a user input, being rotated in either of two allowable directions. The input cam  64  rotates with the lever  28  into an activated position, contacting one of the cam follower faces  120  (as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 ) of the slider  96  and eventually forcing the slider  96  into a downward position against the resilient force of the bias springs  134  until the protruding stop  136  contacts the housing. The slider output pin  140  (as shown in  FIG. 8 ) imposes a uni-directional rotation on the output cam  148  by applying a downward force to the inner face  172  (as shown in  FIG. 10 ). The output cam  148  carries, within the tailpiece opening  180  (as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 ), the tailpiece  182 , which directly engages the input to the centercase to withdraw the latchbolt  32  (as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). With the latchbolt  32  withdrawn, the door  24  may be opened. 
     FIG. 21  illustrates the control  20  in a locked state. To put the control  20  into the locked state from the unlocked state, the key cylinder actuator lever  44  is rotated about the axis of the key cylinder  40  (counter-clockwise as viewed from  FIG. 19 ). Rotation of the actuator lever  44  takes place by insertion and twisting of a key. As the actuator lever  44  rotates counter-clockwise, the force applied to the recessed spring face  226  (as shown in  FIGS. 11 ,  12  and  13 ) by the torsion spring  216  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ) becomes enabled to rotate the swivel locking latch  184  out of the unlocked position, causing the latch  184  to rotate immediately into the locked position as soon as the actuator lever  44  rotates out of contact with actuation surface  200 . The actuator lever  44  continues to rotate and eventually contacts the second actuation surface  202  of the swivel locking latch  184  for positive locking. In this state, the control  20  is fully locked, preventing the door  24  from being opened with the lever  28 .  FIG. 22  shows the actuator lever  44  in mid-turn. The swivel locking latch  184  is in the locked position due to the force of torsion spring  216  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). The invention should not be considered to require both the torsion spring  216  and the positive locking of actuator lever  44  as one or the other is sufficient to provide a locked state for the control  20 . A preferred embodiment includes both, as it is the preference of the inventors to provide a control  20  with enhanced locking predictability. 
   The control  20  of the present invention allows two separate locking functions known in the art as ANSI function 08 and ANSI function 09. ANSI function 08 allows the key cylinder actuator lever  44  to rotate a full 360 degrees between locked and unlocked positions. When the actuator lever  44  is in the unlocked position, the key may be removed from the key cylinder  40 , leaving the control  20  in the unlocked state. ANSI function 09 allows the actuator lever  44  to be rotated from the locked position, no more than approximately 359 degrees to unlock the control  20 . The key may not be withdrawn from the key cylinder  40  until the actuator lever  44  returns to the locked position, returning the control  20  to the locked state. Both functions operate with the same swivel locking latch  184 , slider  96 , input cam  64 , and output cam  148 , the modification required to switch between the two functions being inclusive to the key cylinder  40 . 
   In the locked state, the control  20  opposes rotation of the lever  28 . In the event that a force is imparted upon the lever  28 , one of the input cam lobes  88  or  92  (as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) applies a force to a cam follower face  120  (as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 ) of the slider  96  (while remaining in the neutral position). Recalling that, in the locked state, the swivel locking latch  184  is rotated into the locked position, the locking face  112  of the slider  96  applies the force to the blocking surface portion  212  (as shown in  FIG. 12 ). Therefore, the swivel locking latch  184  provides the requisite reactant force, preventing the slider  96  from leaving the upward position. Consequently, the slider  96  cannot attain the downward position and the output cam  148  remains in the neutral position. This leaves the latchbolt  32  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) in the extended position, and the door  24  cannot be opened. 
     FIGS. 23-25  illustrate an alternate embodiment, in which the control  20  is electrically locked or unlocked with a solenoid  228  and corresponding solenoid actuator lever  232 . The solenoid  228  replaces the standard key cylinder  40  and allows the control  20  to be linked to an electronic security system. The torsion spring  216  is removed, but the rest of the control  20 , as described above, remains the same except for minor machining of the housing  60  and back plate  62  to accommodate the solenoid  228 . When used with a solenoid  228 , the control  20  can be configured in a fail secure or a fail safe mode of operation, depending on the solenoid  228  installed. Two types of solenoids are distinguished by the direction in which they rotate when electrically powered. A first type rotates counter-clockwise (as viewed from  FIGS. 24 and 25 ) under electric power to lock the control  20 . If power is lost, a spring within the solenoid  228  returns the control  20  to the unlocked state. This configuration is known in the art as fail safe—the door may be opened with the lever  28  if power to the solenoid is lost. A second type of solenoid rotates clockwise (as viewed from  FIGS. 24 and 25 ) when electrically powered to unlock the control  20 . If power to the second type of solenoid is lost, the internal spring of the solenoid  228  returns the control  20  to the locked state. This configuration is known in the art as fail secure—the door cannot be opened with the lever  28  if power to the solenoid is lost. The novelty of the present invention includes, among other things, that the control  20  may be configured to either operate in electric fail secure or fail safe modes by only changing the solenoid  228 , and further, that the control  20  may be enabled to lock or unlock electronically by only replacing the key cylinder  40  and actuator lever  44  with a solenoid  228 , solenoid actuator lever  232 , and associated mounting hardware along with the minor machining of the housing  60  and back plate  62 . 
   Thus, the invention provides, among other things, a narrow stile control  20  with a construction including a novel swivel locking latch  184 , the control  20  accepting bi-directional input, being easily converted between ANSI 08 and ANSI 09 locking functions, and being easily adaptable to two modes of electric locking control with the addition of a solenoid  228 . Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.