Patent Publication Number: US-2011047756-A1

Title: Reversing Handle Structure

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a handle structure of the lock, and in particular to a reversing handle structure. 
     2. The Prior Arts 
     In order to open the door toward different directions, the lock which is widely used recently is equipped with different handles. That is, the indoor and the outdoor handles are for the left-handed open door and the right-handed open door respectively, which resulted in many types of the handles. 
     The reversing for some handles can be achieved by exchanging the indoor handles with the outdoor handles, however, the indoor and the outdoor handles with different structure can not be easily exchanged. Therefore, there are significant limitations to the handle structure of the conventional locks. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the present invention is to provide a reversing handle structure, which can be assembled in the lock adaptable to the left-handed open door or the right-handed open door. 
     The reversing handle structure according to the present invention includes: a handle and a handle seat. A mounting hole is formed at the end of the handle and the mounting pivot is assembled with the handle seat. The mounting hole can be set into the mounting pivot so as to assemble the handle with the handle seat. Herein, the mounting pivot has a symmetrical shape along its vertical axis. The size of the mounting hole is corresponding to that of the mounting pivot. The mounting hole of the handle is set into the mounting pivot of the handle seat, or is set into the mounting pivot of the handle seat after the handle is reversed horizontally. 
     In the reversing handle structure according to the present invention, a hole is formed at the end of the handle and through the wall of the mounting hole. 
     A hole is formed on the side wall of the mounting pivot. 
     And, when the mounting hole of the handle is set into the mounting pivot of the handle seat, a fixed member is passed through the hole of the handle and the hole of the mounting pivot. 
     In the reversing handle structure according to the present invention, the end of the mounting pivot has a hollow section corresponding to a boss of the lock group. There is a positioning groove formed on the side wall of the lock group which is inserted into the hollow section of the mounting pivot. 
     A hole formed on the side wall of the mounting pivot is a through hole. 
     The inner wall of the hole formed at the end of the handle has the female thread. 
     The back-end of the fixed member has the male thread matched with the female thread. Thus, after the fixed member is screwed into the hole formed at the end of the handle, the front-end of the fixed member is passed through the hole of the mounting pivot so as to resist the positioning groove formed on the side wall of the lock group. 
     In the reversing handle structure according to the present invention, a ring-type gasket is disposed on the hole formed at the end of the handle and has a hollow section of which diameter is smaller than that of the fixed member. The front-end of the fixed member is in the hole formed on the side wall of the mounting pivot, while the back-end is above the top surface of the ring-type gasket. 
     In the reversing handle structure according to the present invention, two embosses are formed on the side wall of the lock group and corresponding to two grooves formed inside the hollow section of the mounting pivot. Two positioning platforms are formed at the ends of two grooves. When the lock group is inserted into the hollow section, two embosses are slide to the positioning platforms along two grooves. 
     In the reversing handle structure according to the present invention, there is a positioning slit formed on the side wall of the lock group between the embosses and the boss and be in line with the emboss. When the lock group is inserted into the hollow section, the positioning slit is matched with the positioning grooves of the hollow section. 
     In the reversing handle structure according to the present invention, the cross-section of the mounting pivot is a hexagon shape, and the upper and lower opposed sides are longer than the remaining four sides. 
     The reversing handle structure according to the present invention is adapted to various door structures which have different open directions, which can greatly facilitates the user. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded diagram showing a bathroom lock equipped with the reversing handle in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view showing the bathroom lock of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded diagram showing a passage lock equipped with the reversing handle in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view showing the passage lock of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram showing the reversing handle in accordance with the present invention mounted to the handle seat; 
         FIGS. 6 through 8  are schematic diagrams showing a process of the reversing handle being mounting to the handle seat. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in greater detail to preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded diagram showing a bathroom lock equipped with the reversing handle in accordance with the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view showing the bathroom lock of  FIG. 1 . With reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the reversing handle structure according to the present invention includes a handle  12  and a handle seat  13 . Herein, the handle  12  can be arranged in a right-handed position or in left-handed position which are mirror symmetry to each other. That is, the present surface shape of the handle  12  is the same as the surface shape of the handle  12  which has been horizontally reversed. The handle  12  can be formed into any shapes adaptable for being held by users, and there is a mounting hole  123  formed at an end of the handle  12 . 
     A mounting pivot  136  is inserted into a casing spider  137  so as to assemble with other members. The mounting pivot  136  has a symmetrical shape along its long axis, e.g. a cylindrical shape, a diamond shape or a regular hexagon shape. Since the size of the mounting hole  123  is corresponding to that of the mounting pivot  136 , the mounting hole  123  can be set into the mounting pivot  136  so as to assemble the handle  12  with the handle seat  13 . Therefore, the mounting hole  123  of the handle  12  either is set into the mounting pivot  136  directly, or is set into the mounting pivot  136  after the handle  12  has been reversed horizontally. The reversing handle structure of the present invention is adapted to various doors which have different open directions, such that manufacturers can meet variety of demands only by producing a lock which is assembled with the reversing handle structure of the present invention, and the production cost is reduced. In the case of the uses, they can adjust the direction of the handle according to the actual need and no longer need to worry about the open direction of the door. 
     After the handle  12  has been mounted to the mounting pivot  136 , the holding part of the handle  12  should be arranged at the horizontal level, such that the users can feel comfortable when holding the handle  12 , thereby, it is necessary to further determine the shape of the mounting pivot  136 . In case the cross-section of the said mounting pivot  136  has a hexagon shape, two opposite sides are longer than the remaining four sides. When the handle  12  is arranged at the horizontal level, the two opposite sides of the mounting hole  123  corresponding to the mounting pivot  136  are still longer than the remaining four sides. That is to say, whenever the handle  12  is mounted to the mounting pivot  136  before or after reversing, the holding part of the handle  12  is maintained at the horizontal level. 
     Furthermore, to make the handle  12  mounted to the handle seat  13  firmly, a hole  122  can be formed at the end of the handle  12  and through the wall of the mounting hole  123 , while a hole  133  can be formed on the side wall of the mounting pivot  136  and corresponding to the hole  122 . When the mounting hole  123  is set into the mounting pivot  136 , the holes  122  and  133  are in alignment. At this time, a fixed member  11  is passed through the holes  122  and  133 , such that the handle  12  can be assembled with the mounting pivot  136 . That is, the handle  12  is mounted to the handle seat  13 . There can be one hole  133  formed on the long axis of the mounting pivot  136 . Selectively, there can be two holes  133  (as shown in  FIG. 6 ) formed on the mounting pivot  136  in a mirror symmetry, and thus the hole  122  of the handle  12  is still in the alignment with one of two holes  133  whether the handle  12  is reversed horizontally or not. 
     The said locks have various functions by assembling with various lock groups. For example, when the urgent lock group  16  is disposed on the mounting pivot  136 , the lock thus constitutes the outside lock of the bathroom lock; or when the switch button group  10 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , is disposed on the mounting pivot  136 , the lock thus constitutes the inside lock; or when the urgent lock group  16  and the switch button group  10  are respectively replaced with the design lock group  15 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , the design lock group  15  with the positioning slit  153  disposed on the side wall thereof is inserted into the hollow section of the mounting pivot  136 , the positioning slit  153  can match with the groove  132  inside the hollow section, such that the design lock group  15  is positioned and the lock can maintain the unlock state perpetually, i.e. a passage lock. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , in the case that the lock group is the urgent lock group  16 , the end of the mounting pivot  136  has a hollow section corresponding to a boss of the urgent lock group  16 . There is a ring-type positioning groove  162  formed on the side wall of the urgent lock group  16 . The hole  133  formed on the side wall of the mounting pivot  136  is a through hole across the hollow section. And, the inner wall of the hole  122  formed at the end of the handle  12  has the female thread, while the back-end of the fixed member  11  has the male thread matched with the female thread of the hole  122 . Thus, after the urgent lock group  16  is inserted into the hollow section, the fixed member  11  is screwed into the hole  122  by matching the female thread with the male thread. In details, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the fixed member  11  is firstly passed through the hole  122  and the hole  133 , then against the positioning groove  162 . Therefore, the urgent lock group  16  can not be fallen off from the mounting pivot  136 , but also is reversible in the hollow section of the mounting pivot  136 , which can meet the function requirements of the bathroom lock. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded diagram showing a passage lock equipped with the reversing handle according to the present invention.  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view showing the passage lock of  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram showing the reversing handle in accordance with the present invention mounted to the handle seat. With reference to  FIG. 3 , when the lock group is the reversible design lock group  15 , there is the positioning slit  153  formed on the side wall of the design lock group  15  between the emboss  151  and the boss and in line with the emboss  151 . In details, as shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , when the design lock group  15  is inserted into the hollow section of the mounting pivot  136 , the positioning slit  153  is matched with the grooves  132  so as to be positioned, which make the lock in the unlock state perpetually, so as to constitute the passage lock. 
       FIGS. 6 through 8  are schematic diagrams showing a process of the reversing handle being mounting to the handle seat. With reference to  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 , the fixed member  11  can be taken off from the hole  122  by a hexagon wrench  14 . Since the fixed member  11  is so small, the ring-type gasket  17  should be disposed on the hole  122  to prevent the fixed member  11  from being lost, as shown in  FIG. 7 . The ring-type gasket  17  has a hollow section  171  with a smaller diameter than that of the fixed member  11 , which prevent the fixed member  11  from falling off from the hollow section, and can be screwed up or down by using the hexagon wrench  14 . After the fixed member  11  is disassembled, the urgent lock group  16  can be taken off from the mounting pivot  136 . At this time, the front-end of the fixed member  11  is taken off from the positioning groove  162  into the through hole  133 , while the back-end is above the top surface of the ring-type gasket  17 , which form a space in the hole  122  and the hole  133  for the fixed member  11  moving up and down. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , to make the urgent group lock  16  insert into the hollow section of the mounting pivot  136  and reach the effective position, two embosses  161  can be formed on the side wall of the urgent lock group  16  and corresponding to two grooves  132  formed inside the hollow section of the mounting pivot  136 , such that the urgent group lock  16  can be inserted into the hollow section of the mounting pivot  136 . In addition, two positioning platforms  135  are formed at the ends of two grooves  132 . When the urgent lock group  16  is inserted into the hollow section of the mounting pivot  136 , two embosses  161  are slide along two grooves  132  and reach the position platforms  135 , so as to position the urgent lock group  16  effectively. 
     Hereinafter, the mounting process of the reversing handle according to the present invention should be simply described with reference to the case of the urgent lock group  16 . 
     Back to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the mounting hole  123  which is formed at the end of the handle  12  is firstly set into the mounting pivot  136  of the handle seat  13 . In case the mounting pivot  136  is a hexagon shape, since two opposite sides are longer than the remaining four sides, the handle  12  is only set into the mounting pivot  136  horizontally, or is set into the mounting pivot  136  after the handle  12  has been reversed horizontally, which make the mounting direction of the handle  12  accurate, as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     When the urgent lock group  16  is mounted to the hollow section of the mounting pivot  136 , two embosses  161  and two grooves  132  are matched with each other, the urgent lock group  16  thus can be mounted by being pushed to the effective position. At this time, two positioning platforms  135  can be resisted by two embosses  161 . 
     Meanwhile, the positioning grooves  162  of the urgent lock group  16  is aligned with the hole  133  and the hole  122 , and thus the fixed member  11  can be screwed up by the hexagon wrench  14 . After that, the fixed member  11  is passed through the hole  122  and then the hole  133  so as to resist the positioning grooves  162 . 
     So far, the process of the reversing handle being mounting to the handle seat is accomplished. If the handle should be reversed, the fixed member  11  can be screwed down by the hexagon wrench  14 . At this time, the handle  12  and the urgent lock group  16  can be taken off by using the external force along the central axis of the mounting pivot  136 . Thereby, the handle  12  can be mounted to the handle seat again after the handle  12  is reversed as required. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.