Patent Publication Number: US-6698260-B2

Title: Interiorly reinforced door lock set

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A conventional door lock set includes: an outer lock held on an outer trim plate retained on an outside surface of a door, a locking bolt slidably held in a central portion of the lock set for locking a door on a door frame upon locking of the outer lock, an inner knob or handle rotatably or pivotally formed on an inner trim plate retained on an inside surface of the door, having a spindle axially linked between the outer lock and the inner knob. 
     However, the conventional door lock set can be easily damaged or destroyed intentionally by an intruder. Meanwhile, when assembling the three major parts of the conventional door lock set, namely (a) the outer trim plate having outer lock held thereon, (b) the inner trim plate having inner knob formed thereon, and (c) the locking bolt perpendicularly connected to the spindle, as directed from three directions including an outside surface of the door (first direction), an inside surface of the door (second direction) and the end surface facing the door frame (third direction), it may cause difficulty for assembling these parts from three directions and also requiring skill for stably positioning or supporting the parts whenever assembling the lock set. 
     The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional door lock set and invented the present door lock set as interiorly reinforced. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a door lock set including: an outer lock held in an outer trim plate positioned on an outside surface of a door, a latch device retained in the door for protruding a latch for locking the door on a door frame, an inner reinforced retaining member fastened with the outer lock and retained on an inside surface of the door, an outer reinforced retaining member fastened with the inner reinforced retaining member across the thickness of the door, an inner trim plate having an inner knob or handle rotatably or pivotally held on the inner trim plate fastened to the inner reinforced retaining member and retained on an inside surface of the door; with the inner knob coaxially linked with the outer lock by a spindle connected with the latch device for operatively protruding the latch for locking the door; and the outer lock fastened to the inner reinforced retaining member for retaining the outer trim plate on the outside surface of the door, thereby providing a door lock set easily assembled but difficultly damaged. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing the elements of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top-view (partial sectional) illustration of the present invention when assembled. 
     FIG. 3 is a front-view illustration of the present invention when assembled. 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the door lock set of the present invention comprises: an outer lock  1  formed on an outside (O) of a door D and protruding inwardly through a lock hole H formed through a thickness of the door, an outer trim plate  2  having the outer lock  1  held therein and retained on an outside surface D 1  of the door D, a latch device  3  formed in the door D adjacent to a locking end wall D 3  of the door D and driven by the outer lock  1  for protruding a latch  31  for locking the door on a door frame (not shown), an inner reinforced retaining member  4  fastened with the outer lock  1  for retaining the outer trim plate  2  on the outside surface D 1  of the door D and the inner reinforced retaining member  4  retained on an inside surface D 2  of the door D, an outer reinforced retaining member  5  fastened with the inner reinforced retaining member  4  across a thickness of the door D, an inner trim plate  6  fastened to the inner reinforced retaining member  4  and retained on the inside surface D 2  of the door D, and an inner knob (or handle)  7  rotatably (or pivotally) held on the inner trim plate  6  inside (I) the door and coaxially linked with the outer lock  1  by a spindle  12  about a longitudinal axis X defined at a longitudinal center of the outer lock  1  and the inner knob  7 ; with the latch device  3  defining a latitudinal axis Y at a center thereof to be projectively perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X between the outer lock  1  and the inner knob  7 . 
     The outer lock  1  includes: a locking core  11  rotatably held in the outer lock  1 , a spindle  12  connected to the locking core  11  and linked to a sleeve  71  of the inner knob  7 , a flange  13  circumferentially formed on an outer periphery of the outer lock and disposed about a circular edge portion of a central lock hole  21  formed in the outer trim plate  2 , for retaining the outer trim plate  2  on the outside surface D 1  of the door D, and two (or a plurality of) screw holes  14  formed in an inner portion of the outer lock  1  for engaging two (or plural) fastening screws  42  rotatably held in the inner reinforced retaining member  4 . 
     The latch device  3  includes: a latch  31  slidably held in an end plate  32  fixed on a locking end wall D 3  of the door D adjacent to a door frame by fixing screws through the screw holes  321  formed in the end plate  32 , a casing  33  connected with the end plate  32  also for slidably holding the latch  31  therein about the latitudinal axis Y, two (or a plurality of) sleeve holes  34  formed in the casing  33  for passing two (or plural) sleeves  41  integrally formed on the inner reinforced retaining member  4  through the sleeve holes  34  to thereby stably position the latch device  3  in between an outside O and an inside I of the door D, and a driving mechanism  35  (of which the details are not shown) formed in the casing  33  and connected with the spindle  12  as linked between the outer lock  1  and the inner knob  7  for operatively protruding the latch  31  outwardly from the casing  33  and the end plate  32  for locking the door on the door frame, with the spindle  12  passing through a spindle hole  30  formed through the casing  33 . 
     The inner reinforced retaining member  4  includes: a central hole  40  for passing the sleeve  71  of the inner knob  7 , two (or a plurality of) outer sleeves  41  protruding towards the outside surface D 1  of the door from the inner reinforced retaining member  4 , two (or a plurality of) fastening screws  42  each passing through each outer sleeve  41  and engaging with each screw hole  14  formed in the outer lock  1  for fastening the outer lock  1  and the outer trim plate  2  with the inner reinforced retaining member  4  to be respectively retained on the outside surface D 1  and the inside surface D 2  of the door D, two (or a plurality of) screw holes  43  formed in the inner reinforced retaining member  4  for engaging two (or plural) fastening screws  52  of the outer reinforced retaining member  5  contiguous to the outer trim plate  2 , and two (or plural) female-threaded sockets  44  formed on the inner reinforced retaining member  4  for engaging two (or plural) inner fastening screws  45  passing through the inner trim plate  6  for fastening the inner trim plate  6  with the inner reinforced retaining member  4  for retaining the inner trim plate  6  on the inside surface D 2  of the door D. 
     The outer trim plate  2  includes a lock hole  21  formed in a central portion of the outer trim plate  2  for protruding the outer lock  1  inwardly through the lock hole  21 , a skirt portion  22  circumferentially formed on a periphery of the outer trim plate  2  to be retained on the outside surface D 1  of the door D defining an interior  23  within the skirt portion  22  and the outer trim plate  2  for receiving the outer reinforced retaining member  5  in the interior  23  of the outer trim plate  2 . 
     The inner trim plate  6  includes a central hole  61  for passing a central sleeve  71  of the inner knob  7  for connecting the spindle  12  with the central sleeve  71 , a skirt portion  62  circumferentially formed on a periphery of the inner trim plate  6  to be retained on the inside surface D 2  of the door D, two (or a plurality of) screw holes ( 64 ) formed in the inner trim plate  6  for engaging two (or plural) fastening screws  45  through the screw holes  64  for fastening the inner trim plate  6  with the inner reinforced retaining member  4  and for retaining the inner trim plate  6  on the inside surface D 2  of the door D; with the skirt portion  62  defining an interior  63  for receiving the inner reinforced retaining member  4  in the interior of the inner trim plate  6 . 
     The outer reinforced retaining member  5  includes: a central lock hole  50  for engaging the outer lock  1 , two (or a plurality of) female-threaded sleeves  51  protruding from the outer reinforced retaining member  5  towards the inside I of the door D for engaging two (or plural) fastening screws  52  in the two female-threaded sleeves  51  for coupling the inner reinforced retaining member  4  to thereby firmly fasten the outer and inner reinforced retaining members  5 ,  4  in between the outside and inside surfaces D 1 , D 2  of the door D (across the thickness of door). 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a safe and strong locking device for a door lock set with the following advantages superior to the conventional door lock set: 
     1. The outer lock  1  and outer trim plate  2  are further reinforced by an outer reinforced retaining member  5  to prevent from an easy intrusion by an intruder by breaking the outer trim plate. 
     2. Both the outer and inner reinforced retaining members  5 ,  4  are firmly coupled and fastened on opposite side surfaces D 1 , D 2  of the door D for stably, strongly and reliably securing the door lock set on a door. 
     3. The latch device  3  has been “carried” on the two sleeves  41  of the inner reinforced retaining member  4  during the installation of the lock set of the present invention, not freely pendulously held on the spindle  12 , so that the latch device  3  can be conveniently secured on the end wall D 3  of the door D. Similarly, the elements of the present invention seem to be “mounted” on a frame (like a building frame for an architecture building) during the installation or assembly of the lock set, thereby enhancing or facilitating the installation of the door lock set. 
     Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 4, in which either inner or outer trim plate has been modified to be longer; the reinforced retaining members simplified to be a unique one and an additional (lower) latch device provided. The upper latch  3  of FIG. 4 can be referred to a dead bolt, while the lower latch  3   a  can be referred to a latch bolt, but not limited in the present invention. 
     The door lock set as shown in FIG. 4 comprises: an outer lock  1 , an outer trim plate  2  formed as rectangular or elliptic shape as retained on an outside surface of a door and having the outer lock  1  secured in an upper portion of the outer trim plate  2 , an upper latch device  3  linked with the outer lock  1  for protruding an upper latch (or dead bolt)  31  for locking the door on a door frame, an interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  provided in the door and fastened to the outer trim plate  2  to dispose (“sandwich”) the upper latch device  3  in between the outer trim plate  2  and the interior reinforced retaining member  4   a , an inner trim plate  6  fastened to the interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  and retained on an inside surface of the door, an inner upper knob  7  rotatably mounted in an upper portion of the inner trim plate  6  and linked with the outer lock  1 , an outer handle  8  pivotally mounted on a lower portion of the outer trim plate  2 , a lower latch device  3   a  resiliently extending a lower latch (or latch bolt)  31   a  for closing the door and connected with the outer handle  8  for operatively retracting the lower latch  31   a  when opening the door and sandwiched between the interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  and the outer trim plate  2 , and an inner lower handle (or knob)  9  rotatably mounted in a lower portion of the inner trim plate  6  and linked with the lower latch device  3   a  for operatively retracting the lower latch  31   a  when opening the door. 
     The upper latch device  3  has the same mechanism and numerals of the elements as shown in FIGS. 1-3; while the lower latch device  3   a  has the elements corresponding to that of the upper latch device  3  but with numerals each added with a letter “a”, for instance, “ 31   a ” indicating the lower latch. 
     The outer trim plate  2  has a fixed handle  8   a  formed on a lower portion of the plate  2  for user&#39;s grip use. 
     The inner upper knob  7  is coupled to the inner lower handle  9  by a link  72 , whereby upon rotation of either upper knob  7  or lower handle  9 , each latch  31  or  31   a  can be operated for locking or unlocking the door. However, they are conventional art, not described in detail in this invention. 
     The interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  includes: two (or plural) screw holes  41   a  for engaging two (or plural) fastening screws  42   a , which are engageable with two screw holes  14  formed in the outer lock  1  by passing through two holes  34  formed through the upper latch device  3 , for fastening the interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  with the outer lock  1 ; with the outer lock  1  having a flange  13  circumferentially formed on an outer periphery of the outer lock  1  for retaining the outer trim plate  2  on an outside surface of the door; an upper spindle hole  40   a  formed in an upper portion of the retaining member  4   a  for passing an upper spindle  12  linked between the outer lock  1  and the inner knob  7 , a plurality of screw holes  44   a  formed through the retaining member  4   a  for engaging a plurality of fastening screws  45   a , passing through plural holes  64  formed through the inner trim plate  6 , for fastening the inner trim plate  6  with the interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  for retaining the inner trim plate  6  on an inside surface of the door; a plurality of screw holes  43   a  formed through the retaining member  4   a  for passing a plurality of fastening screws  52   a ,  52   b  which are engaged with a plurality of screw sleeves  51   a ,  51   b  formed on an inside surface of the outer trim plate  2  for firmly fastening the interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  with the outer trim plate  2 ; with an additional fastening screw  52   c  secured in the door (not shown) and fastened to the lower sleeve  51   c  formed on a lower portion of the outer trim plate  2  for firmly securing the lower portion of the outer trim plate  2  to the door in cooperation with the other two screws  52   a ,  52   b  as above-mentioned; two (or plural) screw holes  41   b  formed in the lower portion of the retaining member  4   a  for engaging two (or plural) fastening screws  42   b , which are engaged with sleeves  84   a  formed on an inside surface of the outer trim plate  2  adjacent to the outer handle  8  when passing through holes  34   a  formed in the lower latch device  3   a  for fastening the retaining member  4   a  (especially the lower portion of the member  4   a ) with the outer trim plate  2  (especially the middle portion of the plate  2 ); and a lower spindle hole  40   b  formed through the lower portion of the member  4   a  for passing the lower spindle  82  linked between the inner lower handle  9  and a driving arm  81  of the outer handle  8  (the lower spindle hole  40   b  may be formed in a hub rotatably mounted in the lower portion of the member  4   a ). 
     If the lower elements such as the lower latch device  3   a , the outer handle  8 , the inner lower handle (or knob)  9  as shown in FIG. 4 are eliminated, the interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  may then be shortened, and both the trim plates  2 ,  6  may also be shortened. 
     Similarly, if the interior reinforced retaining member  4   a  as shown in FIG. 4 is eliminated and substituted with the inner and outer reinforced retaining members  4 ,  5  as shown in FIGS. 1-3, with the inner and outer retaining members  4 ,  5  being modified to be rectangular in shape to be corresponding to the rectangular inner and outer plates  6 ,  2  as shown in FIG. 4, the upper and lower latch devices  3 ,  3   a  as sandwiched between the inner and outer plates  6 ,  2  will be strongly reinforced and safely protected by the inner and outer reinforced retaining members. 
     So, the present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.