Patent Publication Number: US-2006006666-A1

Title: Inside latch structure

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an inside latch structure, particularly an inside latch having a nose. The inside latch is normally installed on one side of a outswing screen and storm door; by means of the nose of the inside latch against a strike that is installed on a surface of a doorframe to provide restricting purpose. To open the door, the user has to turn the lever or press the lever of the inside latch to remove the restriction provided by the nose unit; or, another inside latch is used to remove restriction of the nose.  
      2. Prior Art  
      A inside latch is assembled on a doorplate to provide latching purposes, so when the doorplate is in a closed status, the user has to turn the inside latch to remove the latching mechanism and open the door.  
      Conventionally, a doorplate has two inside latches, one installed on the outside of a doorplate, the other installed on the inside of the doorplate. An example is given in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,354, disclosing a first inside latch consisting of a main unit and an lever, and a second inside latch consisting of a main unit and an lever, but provided on the lever are a nose unit and a matching strike to provide engagement function. By turning the lever of either one inside latch, the nose unit is disengaged from the strike, so the door can be opened.  
      Another pending patent in U.S. PTO No. 2004/0070216 A1 discloses another type of inside latch structure, wherein in addition to the feature that the nose unit and the strike can be disengaged by turning the lever, which is a same feature shared by the foregoing patent, the nose unit and the strike can also be disengaged by pressing on the lever.  
      The levers of the inside latches in the above American patents are capable of automatically reset to their original positions after being turned, because there is a resilient resetting device installed in the inside latch. Since the lever, the resilient resetting device and the main unit are assembled in the inside latch, the lever could not rotate at 360 degrees in relation to the main unit, therefore the length of the main unit is vertical to the length of the lever, resulting in larger packing box measurements to accommodate the inside latch product.  
      Besides, with the inside latch equipped with a nose unit as described above, the nose unit will not retract unless the lever is turned or the lever is pressed from inside the door. With the trend of variability in use, however, it has become necessary to design a new mechanism wherein the nose unit is capable of retracting by operating the door latch from outside the door.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is a first objective of the present invention to provide an inside latch structure, which is capable of reducing its packaging measurements.  
      It is a second objective of the present invention to provide an inside latch structure, which is capable of disengaging the nose unit from the strike by turning or pressing the lever.  
      It is a third objective of the present invention to provide an inside latch structure, which is capable of retracting the nose unit inside the inside latch by pressing on a push knob on the outside of the inside latch.  
      To achieve the purpose of reducing the packaging measurements, a base unit and a holder unit are hinged in the inside latch. Installed inside the base unit is a resilient resetting device. The resilient resetting device and the holder unit are not joined together. By hinging the lever on the holder unit, the lever and the holder unit are capable of rotating at 360 degrees in relation to the base unit, therefore the lever installed on the holder unit can be positioned parallel to the base unit, to achieve the purpose of reducing its packaging measurements.  
      To enable the nose unit to retract when the lever is turned, a spindle is inserted through the base unit and the holder unit. The spindle penetrates through the resilient resetting device, restricting the rotating angles of the lever and the holder unit in relation to the base unit. Meanwhile, turning of the lever will disengage the nose unit on the holder unit and the strike on the doorframe.  
      Besides, to disengage the nose unit from the strike on the doorframe by pressing on the lever, there is a protrusion unit on the lever. The protrusion unit and the nose unit are joined as one unit. When the lever is pressed, the protrusion unit drives the nose unit to disengage from the strike.  
      Optionally, to enable control from the outside of the door to drive the nose unit to retract, there is a lever unit formed on the lever. When an outside force pushes the lever unit, it drives the protrusion unit to retract the nose unit. The source of the aforesaid outside force applied on the lever unit can be produced by a spindle installed in the door handle outside the door, moving and pushing the lever unit.  
      For better understanding of the objectives, functions and structural configurations of the present invention, please refer to the preferred embodiment and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The other objects and features of the present invention can be more fully understood by referring to the following description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings, in which  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is an exterior view of the present invention when assembled.  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic view of the present invention when assembled.  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic view of the lever and holder unit in operation.  
       FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the present invention when assembled in use.  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic view of the present invention when assembled in use.  
       FIG. 7  is a schematic view of the present invention when the lever is turned.  
       FIG. 8  is a schematic view of the present invention when the lever is pressed.  
       FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the present invention when pushed by a spindle. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Please refer to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The present invention of inside latch  1  is comprised of a base unit  10 , an holder unit  20 , an lever  30  and a nose  40 .  
      As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the base unit  10  has a through assembling space  11 . Provided at an end face  21  of the holder unit  20  is a shaft unit  22 . The shaft unit  22  is inserted through the base unit  10  into the assembling space  11 . A pad  23  is riveted to the shaft unit  22 , thereby fixing the holder unit  20  onto the base unit  10 , but enabling 360-degree rotation.  
      A resilient resetting device  12  includes a rotor  13  and a torsion spring  14 . The rotor  13  and the torsion spring  14  are assembled together inside the assembling space  11 . Since one end of the torsion spring  14  is in contact with the rotor  13 , while another end of the torsion spring  14  is in contact with the wall of the assembling space  11 , when the torsion spring  14  rotates with the rotor  13 , the torsion spring  14  provides resiliency to the rotor  13 , thereby resetting the rotor  13  to its original position.  
      Provided at the axis of the rotor  13  is a through hole  15 ; provided at the axis of the shaft unit  22  is another through hole  24 . The holder unit  20  is assembled on the base unit  10 , and the resilient resetting device  12  is assembled in the assembling space  11 , so the holes  15 ,  24  form a communicating through channel  50 . Another sealing cap  16  is used to seal the opening of the assembling space  11 . On the surface of the sealing cap  16  is provided a through hole  17  to allow penetration of one end of the rotor  13 .  
      On the bottom at one end of the lever  30  is a hinge unit  31 . One end of the hinge unit  31  is the formation of a protrusion unit  32  and a lever unit  33 . The protrusion unit  32  and the lever unit  33  are opposite and matching each other. Using the hinge unit  31 , the lever  30  is attached to the holder unit  20  and hinged on a hinge shaft  34 , so the lever  30  could rotate.  
      A nose  40  has one side open to form a hollow chamber  41 . On one end of the hollow chamber  41  is a formation of a stopper unit  42 . The nose  40  is assembled onto the holder unit  20  and hinged on a hinge shaft  43 , so the nose  40  could rotate.  
      Importantly, in the assembly of the lever  30 , the nose  40  and the holder unit  20 , the protrusion unit  32  is engaged to the stopper unit  42 . The lever unit  33  is aligned with an end of the through channel  50  formed by the through holes  15 ,  24 . The protrusion unit  32  and the stopper unit  42  are engaged to a position between the hinged nose  40  and the hinged lever  30 . Installed between the hinge unit  31  and the nose  40  is a resetting spring  44  to enable extension of one end of the nose  40  out of the holder unit  20  without the influence of a foreign force.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 2  that illustrates an exterior view of the inside latch consisting of the base unit  10 , the holder unit  20 , the lever  30  and the nose  40 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , it is known from the foregoing description that the holder unit  20  and the base unit  10  are capable of rotating at any angle. So the lever  30  can be adjusted to a position parallel to the base unit  10 , thereby reducing the length and width of the packing box for the inside latch, and minimizing its packaging measurements.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 5 . A latch is used as a unit to include an outside lever handle  90  installed on the outside of the door and an inside latch  1  installed on the inside of the door. The inside latch installed on the inside of the door is the subject of invention disclosed herein. A spindle  92  is installed between the two inside latches  1 ,  90 . A strike  91  is formed in the shape of a recess on the doorframe.  
      As shown in  FIG. 6 , one end of the spindle  92  is inserted inside the through channel  50 , thereby the holder unit  20  is restricted by the spindle  92  and could not rotate. Meanwhile, in the configuration disclosed in  FIG. 3 , the holder unit  20  and the lever  30  are not restricted by the spindle  92 , therefore they are capable of rotating freely.  
      As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the user turns the lever  30 , an lever  94  on the other outside lever handle  90  is also turned. Likewise, the user is capable of turning the other lever  30  by controlling the lever  94 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , when the user turns the lever  30 , the nose  40  is separated from the strike  91 , so the door can be opened.  
      As shown in  FIG. 8 , when the user press the lever  30 , the protrusion unit  32  pushes against the stopper unit  42 , so the nose  40  retracts into the holder unit  20 , thereby removing the restriction when the nose  40  is in an extended status.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 9  that illustrates a varied application of the present invention when the door is opened by pressing on the handle. Installed between the outside push handle  96  and the inside latch  1  is a spindle  98 . One end of the spindle  98  is connected with a push button  99  of the outside push handle  96 . Another end of the spindle  98  is in contact against the lever unit  33 . Thereby, when the user press the push button  99 , the spindle  98  in turn pushes the lever unit  33 ; then, the protrusion unit  32  drives the nose  40  to retract into the holder unit  20 , removing the restriction when the nose  40  is in an extended status.  
      As disclosed above in the foregoing embodiments, the present invention is capable of reducing its packaging measurements. In actual operation, the invention has provided functions including: the user is capable of rotating the lever, press the lever, and pressing the push knob on another inside latch to activate a spindle pushing the lever to retract the nose unit. Therefore, the present invention has a conspicuous inventive step in its packaging and application.  
      It is to be understood that the above preferred embodiments and design drawings are for the purpose of explanation; they should not be based to restrict or limit the claim of the present invention, and that all equivalent skills and approaches adopted without departing from the spirit and intent of the present invention shall be included in the following claim.