Patent Publication Number: US-7584634-B2

Title: Pivotable-lever lock

Description:
The instant application should be granted the priority date of 13 Sep. 2006 the filing date of the corresponding German patent application DE 20 2006 014 041.7. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a collapsible or retractable lock for doors of in particular thin-walled cabinets, and includes a cradle that can be inserted into a cutout portion of the door, and that is configured on its front side for accommodating a lever handle in a retractable manner, whereby in the pivoted-in position in the cradle, the lever handle can be secured in place via a locking mechanism, and in the plane perpendicular to the door panel, the lever handle can be pivoted out of the cradle via a pivot bearing over an operating stroke or displacement, whereby the operating displacement of the lever handle is converted into a longitudinal displacement of at least one latching bar that is longitudinally displaceably guided on the other side of the cabinet between a locking position and an opening position. 
   A lock of the aforementioned type is described in DE 297 05 508 U1. With the known lock, the pivoting out of the lever handle out of the cradle is converted directly into a longitudinal displacement of a latching bar in that the lever handle, during its pivoting movement, drives a pinion disposed parallel to its plane of movement, wherein at a front side the teeth of the pinion engage the recesses of the displaceable latching bar. The known lock has the drawback that after passing through the operating stroke, for the opening of the lock the lever handle must remain in the pivoted-out open position with the lock open, which can have a disruptive effect during operation. To this extent there is the further drawback that with the lever handle pivoted in, a subsequent closing of the door is not possible due to the direct coupling of the latching bar, pinion, and lever handle. Finally, the lock is also not suitable for the provision of a second latching bar for a two-point locking, and also not for the provision of an additional tongue, which extends behind a part of the cabinet for a three-point locking, with such two- or three-point locks being know, for example, from EP 0 261 267 B1. 
   It is therefore an object of the present invention to variably configure a retractable lock of the aforementioned general type in such a way that a one-point, two-point, or three-point lock is selectively possible, with the operating displacement of the lever handle remaining the same. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     This object, and other objects and advantages of the present invention, will appear more clearly from the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective, exploded view of the individual components of a collapsible or retractable lock, 
       FIG. 1   a  is a detailed illustration of the latching hook of the lock of  FIG. 1 , and 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of the lock of  FIG. 1  in the assembled state. 
   

   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Pursuant to the retractable lock of the present application, the lever handle, in the pivoted-in position, by means of an extension that projects from the lever handle in the direction toward the latching bar, rests upon that side of an arm that is fixedly connected to, and extends from, the latching bar that faces the direction of movement of the latching bar into its locking position, wherein a spring is disposed between the arm of the latching bar and an abutment formed on the inner side of the cradle, with the spring biasing the latching bar into its extended locking position. The present invention thus rests upon the principle that a connection between the lever handle and the latching bar, which in the state of the art is still made as a positive, interlocking connection, is released, so that although a pivoting-out of the lever handle displaces the latching bar directly from the locking position into its release position, none the less even when the lever handle is pivoted in, a relative movement of the latching bar from its locking position into the open position is possible. Consequently, in an advantageous manner on the one hand after the opening of the lock the lever handle can again return to its pivoted-in position without obstructing the locking movement of the latching bar, and on the other hand a door equipped with the inventive lock can be slammed into its closed position even if the lever handle is pivoted in and is locked by the locking mechanism. Since pursuant to the present application the latching bar is spring-biased in its extended locking position, and hence rests against the extension of the lever handle via its arm, every pivoting movement of the lever handle out of the cradle leads directly to the displacement of the latching bar from the locking position into the opening or release position. 
   To the extent that with the arrangement of a single latching bar as with the aforementioned general type of lock in principle a cabinet door can already be closed, pursuant to a specific embodiment of the present application a latching hook is mounted on the inside of the cradle so as to be pivotable in a plane perpendicular to the plane of movement of the latching bar between a locking position, formed by extending behind a part of the cabinet, and a release position, wherein on its side facing the latching bar, the latching hook is provided with a cam having inclined surfaces, and wherein a projection, which is disposed on the latching bar and is provided with corresponding inclined surfaces, is associated with the cam in such a way that a displacement of the latching bar from the locking position into the opening or release position brings about a pivoting of the latching hook into its release position. To the extent that the appropriately provided latching hook is relied upon in the sense of a one-point locking for the exclusive locking of the door upon closing of the cabinet, the latching bar merely fulfills an actuating function with the latching hook. However, together with the latching hook it also enables a multiple locking of the door. 
   In this connection, pursuant to one embodiment of the invention, the latching hook can be spring biased in its latching position. 
   Pursuant to a further embodiment of the invention, in a parallel arrangement to the latching bar that is acted upon by the lever handle, a second locking bar is displaceably mounted, whereby each of the bars has a series of holes and are coupled to one another by means of a pinion that is rotatably mounted on the cradle and engages into the holes. Accordingly, via the driving of the latching bar, at the same time a further locking bar can also be driven in the opposite direction of movement, thus realizing a two-point locking with two bars as described in EP 0 261 267 B1. In this connection, the additional latching hook can be eliminated, or it can also be associated with both bars in the sense of a three-point locking. Thus, the present invention provides a large variety of selections for designing the locking system for the door. 
   Pursuant to one embodiment of the invention, the bars are respectively guided in a U-shaped bar guide that spans the bars and that can be positively secured to the inner side of the cradle. 
   If the lever handle is biased into its pivoted-in position by means of a spring, the spring that biases the latching rod, and hence also the lever handle that rests thereon, into their locking positions, is relieved of tension, since this spring no longer has to take care of the pivoting-in movement of the lever handle. 
   Further specific features of the present invention will be described in detail subsequently. 
   DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring now to the drawings in detail, the illustrated retractable lock is comprised of a cradle  10 , which is to be inserted in a cutout portion of a non-illustrated door of a non-illustrated cabinet, and which is to be secured to the door panel. That side of the cradle  10  that is disposed on the outside of the door panel is provided with an indentation  11  for accommodating a lever handle  12  that can be folded or pivoted into the indentation  11 . By means of a pivot bearing  13 , the lever handle  12  is mounted on the cradle  10  so that it can be folded or pivoted out, whereby a spring  14  is integrated into the pivot bearing  13  that biases the lever handle  12  into its position pivoted into the indentation  11  of the cradle  10 . 
   At its free end, the lower end in  FIG. 1 , the lever handle  12  is provided with a locking mechanism  15  for securing the lever handle  12  in the indentation  11  in a locking manner. For this purpose, the lever handle  12  is provided at one end with a housing  17  in which is disposed a cylinder  18  that can be actuated by a key  19  and that controls the rotational movement of a tongue  20 . The lever handle  12 , together with its housing  17  and the tongue  20 , can be pivoted into a housing  16  that projects from the rear side of the cradle  10  and can be secured or locked in position therein by rotating the tongue  20 . 
   Displaceably disposed of the inner side of the non-illustrated door panel, which carries the cradle  10 , is an arresting or latching bar  22  that is guided in a U-shaped bar guide  26  that, by means of a retaining strip  27 , can be positively secured in place on that inner or rear surface of the cradle  10  that faces away from the indentation  11 . The latching bar  22  has an arm  23  that projects from it, and is further provided at its upper end with a connecting or mounting structure  24  for the attachment of a separate rod for the locking of the cabinet; such a locking system is know in principle from EP 0 261 267 B1. By means of a spring  25  that is supported against an abutment formed on the inner side of the cradle  10 , the latching bar  22  is biased into its locking position, which is indicated by the arrow  40 . 
   The latching bar  22  is furthermore provided with a series of holes  28  into which engage the teeth of an externally toothed pinion  29  that is rotatably mounted on the inner side of the cradle  10 . Disposed across from the latching bar  22  relative to the arrangement of the pinion  29  is a second locking bar  30 , which is displaceably mounted in an associated bar guide  26 , whereby the external toothing of the pinion  29  engages in a correspondingly configured series of holes of the locking bar  30  in such a way that a displacement of the latching bar  22  can be converted into a displacement of the locking bar  30  in a respectively opposite direction of movement. The locking bar  30  is also provided at its free end with a connecting or mounting structure  24 , whereby the locking bar  30  is laterally bent or offset so that its mounting structure  24  is disposed in the same plane as is the mounting structure of the latching bar  22 . 
   The locking system is completed by an arresting or latching hook  33  that is disposed between the latching bar  22  and the locking bar  30 , and that is rotatable or pivotable in a direction of movement transverse to the direction of displacement of the bars  22 ,  30 ; by means of a pivot bearing  34 , the latching hook  33  is rotatably mounted on the cradle  10 . A fastening or U-spring  35  is provided that biases the latching hook  33  into its locking position in which the latching hook, in a manner known per se, extends behind a part of the cabinet, preferably a frame part of the cabinet that carries the door, in a locking manner. 
   As can be seen in  FIG. 1   a , the latching hook  33  is provided on its inner side, which faces the latching bar  22 , with a cam  36  having inclined run-up or approach surfaces  37 . A projection  31  having a bevel or inclined surface  32  formed thereon is provided on the latching bar  22  and is associated with the cam  36  of the latching hook  33  in such a way that in the locking position of the latching bar  22 , the bevel  32  of the projection  31 , and the inclined surface  37  of the cam  36 , rest against one another, so that a displacement of the latching bar  22  in its release position (arrow  41 ) brings about a pivoting of the latching hook  33  against the effect of the U-spring  35  in the release position thereof. 
   For the actuation of the locking system, that end of the lever handle  12  that is mounted in the pivot bearing  13  is provided with an extension  21  that extends through the cradle  10  and that, in the pivoted-in position of the lever handle  12  in the indentation  11  of the cradle  10 , rests upon the arm  23  of the latching bar  22 , and in particular on that side that faces the direction of movement of the latching bar  22  into the locking position (arrow  40 ). The extension  21  is disposed in such a way that in the pivoted-in position of the lever handle  12 , the spring  25  that biases the latching bar  22  holds the arm  23  of the latching bar  22  respectively in abutment against the extension  21 . 
   To open the lock after actuation of the locking mechanism  15  the lever handle  12  is pivoted out of the indentation  11  of the cradle  10 . In this connection, the extension  21  of the lever handle  12  presses against the arm  23  of the latching bar  22  and displaces the latter in its release position in the direction of the arrow  41 . This movement of the latching bar  22  is simultaneously converted via the pinion  29  into a corresponding displacement of the locking bar  30 , so that the locking bar  30  is also moved into its release position (arrow  41 ). The bevel  32  of the projection  31  provided on the latching bar  22  also simultaneously presses against the inclined surface  37  of the cam  36  of the latching hook  33 , so that by means of the linear displacement of the latching bar  22 , the latching hook  33  is pivoted into its release position. After the open position is achieved, the lever handle  12  can be released, whereby the lever handle  12  is pivoted back, in particular by the action of the spring  14 , into its pivoted-in position in the indentation  11  of the cradle  10 . This movement is supported by the effect of the spring  25 , which acts upon the arm  23  of the latching bar  22  and guides the two bars  22  and  30  back into their locking position (arrow  40 ). The U-spring  35  also simultaneously presses the latching hook  33  back into its locking position. Also in this position the door, which is equipped with the pivotable lock, can now be locked or shut, since the bars can move into their release position independently of the position of the lever handle, and the latching hook  33  is also uncoupled from the bar movement and can thus be moved back and forth independently during the closing of the door. 
   The features of the subject matter of these documents disclosed in the specification, the claims and the drawings can be important individually as well as in any desired combination with one another for realizing the various embodiments of the invention. 
   The specification incorporates by reference the disclosure of German priority document DE 20 2006 014 041.7 filed 13 Sep. 2006. 
   The present invention is, of course, in no way restricted to the specific disclosure of the specification and drawings, but also encompasses any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.