Patent Publication Number: US-9422755-B2

Title: Built-in lock with handle for a window

Description:
This application claims priority from on Belgian Patent Application No. 2014/0019 filed Jan. 10, 2014, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a built-in lock for locking a window consisting of a leaf that is turnably affixed in a fixed frame. 
     2. Background 
     It is known that to lock the leaf in the frame of a window, the leaf is provided with a fitting groove along its outer periphery in which at least one locking slat is movably affixed, whereby this locking slat is provided with one or more studs and which can move with the locking slat between a locked position in which the studs on the locking slat are held in corresponding lock holes of the fixed frame, and an unlocked position in which the studs are withdrawn from these lock holes. 
     The built-in lock comprises a handle in a known way with a lever and a spindle that fits in an operating mechanism that is fastened at the location of the aforementioned fitting groove and which is intended for converting the rotation of the handle into a translation for moving the at least one locking slat between the aforementioned locked and unlocked positions. 
     Conventionally the handle is fastened turnably in a ‘base’ with which the handle can be fastened on the leaf by means of screws or similar that insert through screw holes that are provided in the base to this end. 
     Such a base must protrude outside the base of the handle to provide access to the aforementioned screw holes of the base. 
     Such a base is then also relatively large and interferes with the aesthetic appearance of the window, also due to the fact that the screws are prominently visible in the screw holes. 
     Moreover, with such a built-in lock the handle must always remain mounted on the window, which means that such windows take up extra space and consequently fewer windows can be transported per load. 
     In addition, such a mounted handle forms a potential risk of damage to itself and to other windows during transport or handling of the windows. 
     ‘Baseless’ handles are now also known, whereby the base can be mounted on the window separate from the handle by means of screws or similar. 
     After mounting the operating mechanism in the fitting groove and the base on the front of the leaf, the handle is mounted, whereby the spindle of the handle is pushed through a passage in the base into the operating mechanism until the base of the lever of the handle comes up against the base. 
     Because the base can be mounted on the leaf as a separate component, the screw holes in the base do not necessarily have to be accessible when the handle is mounted, such that the base does not necessarily have to protrude outside the handle and thus can be made less conspicuous and can be somewhat concealed under the base of the handle. 
     Such built-in locks with a baseless handle are already known whereby the spindle of the handle can be snapped into the operating mechanism by means of a spring-loaded pin that is mounted in the spindle of the handle and which snaps into the operating mechanism when the base of the lever comes up against the base. An example of this is described in DE 195.27.450. 
     As a result of the spring-loaded pin the handle cannot be removed unintentionally. If necessary the lever can be removed by pushing the pin back in a cutaway in the operating mechanism with a tool. 
     This provides the advantage that the handle does not necessarily have to be mounted during transport and as a result can prevent the disadvantages attached thereto. 
     The place where the spring-loaded pin must be provided on the spindle of the handle depends on the distance at which the operating mechanism is mounted from the front of the leaf, or thus from the place where the fitting groove is located with respect to the front of the leaf, as the operating mechanism is mounted on the leaf at the location of such a fitting groove. 
     As there are many types of profiles from which a leaf of a window can be built, each with a different position of the fitting groove, a different handle must be used for each type of profile with a suitable location of the spring-loaded pin on the spindle. 
     Another known solution consists of providing the same handle for a number of types of profiles with a fixed position of the spring-loaded pin, but by providing a base with an upright high collar in order to conceal the clearance between the base of the lever and the front of the leaf. In this case, use is made of different clamping plates to fill up the space between the built-in lock and the front wall of the leaf against which the base is affixed. 
     A disadvantage of the known built-in locks with a baseless handle is that a number of types of handles have to be used for a number of types of window profiles. 
     A disadvantage attached to this is that mistakes are not ruled out with an incorrect size of handle or base belonging to a certain type of window. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The purpose of the present invention is to provide a solution to one or more of the aforementioned and/or other disadvantages. 
     To this end the invention concerns a built-in lock that comprises a handle with a lever and spindle; an operating mechanism for converting the rotation of the handle into a translation for moving the at least one locking slat; and a base that is separate from the lever and which is provided with a passage for the spindle of the handle, with the characteristic that the operating mechanism comprises a clamping plate for holding the operating mechanism on the window, whereby this clamping plate is movable in the axial direction of the spindle, and there are means to draw the clamping plate in the axial direction towards the base to fasten the clamping plate on the window, whereby the clamping plate is provided with a bearing for the rotation of the handle, whereby this bearing is held fast in the clamping plate in the axial direction and whereby this bearing is provided with a clip mechanism to lock the spindle in the axial direction with respect to the bearing in the mounted situation. 
     When fitting the built-in lock the operating mechanism is affixed on the leaf and is held by drawing the clamping plate against an upright front wall of the leaf profile, which forms the front of the leaf, and fastening the clamping plate by means of the base that is mounted against the front by means of screws that are screwed tight through the upright lip in the clamping plate. 
     Then the handle is mounted by inserting the spindle through the base into the bearing in the clamping plate, such that the spindle snaps into the bearing and consequently cannot be removed unintentionally. 
     Because the bearing is immobilised axially in the clamping plate and the clamping plate is drawn against the upright front wall, the clip mechanism of the bearing is always at a fixed distance from the base on the front of the upright front wall concerned, irrespective of the type of window profile on which the operating mechanism is affixed, albeit save for the possible thickness differences of the upright front wall. 
     This provides the advantage that the spindle of the handle is always snapped into the bearing at the same place, such that the same handle can be used for a number of types of window profiles, and this irrespective of the location of the operating mechanism and thus the fitting groove with respect to the front wall. 
     Furthermore, the built-in lock according to the invention provides all the aforementioned advantages of a built-in lock with baseless handle. 
     According to a particular characteristic of the invention the ring is composed of a dish and slider with a passage for the spindle of the handle, whereby this slider is affixed movably in a direction transverse to the axial direction of the spindle and can engage with a notch in the spindle of the handle to lock the handle in the axial direction. 
     In order to be able to accommodate the different thickness of the front wall, a chamber can be provided in the base of the lever of the handle in which a pressure piece is movably affixed in the axial direction between a withdrawn position, in which the pressure piece is entirely withdrawn from the chamber, and a pushed-out position in which the pressure piece protrudes partly out of the chamber, and whereby a spring is provided in the chamber that pushes the pressure piece towards the aforementioned pushed-out position. 
     In this way all possible play is accommodated between the lever and the base on the front of the leaf. 
     The invention also relates to a window with a built-in lock according to the invention as described above. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of a built-in lock according to the invention and a window equipped therewith is described hereinafter by way of an example, without any limiting nature, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  schematically shows a perspective view of a part of a profile of a leaf of a window that is equipped with a built-in lock according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a side view in the direction of the arrow F 2  in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of the section of the built-in lock indicated by F 3  in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  shows a cross-section according to line IV-IV of  FIG. 2  with the addition of a profile of the fixed frame of the window; 
         FIG. 5  shows a cross-section according to line V-V of  FIG. 1 , but in an exploded view; 
         FIG. 6  shows a perspective view of the section indicated by F 6  in  FIG. 5  on a larger scale; 
         FIG. 7  shows the section indicated by F 7  in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  shows a rear view of the section shown in  FIG. 7  according to arrow F 8 ; 
         FIG. 9  shows a view such as that of  FIG. 2  but for a different leaf profile; 
         FIG. 10  shows the section indicated by the box F 10  in  FIG. 9  on a larger scale and with partial removal. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The section of a leaf  1  of a window shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  comprises a section of a leaf profile  2  from which the leaf  1  is composed. 
     As is known, on an outer wall  3  along the outer periphery of the leaf  2  this leaf profile is provided with a ‘fitting groove’  4  in which a locking slat  5  with a stud  6  thereon is affixed movably in the longitudinal direction X-X′ of the leaf profile  2 . 
     The leaf profile  2  is provided with a front wall  7  in the form of an upright lip that is perpendicular to the aforementioned outer wall  3  with fitting groove  4 . 
     A handle  8  is mounted on this front wall  7 , which, as can be seen in  FIG. 5 , consists of a lever  9  with a base  10  in which a spindle  11  with a square cross-section is fastened. 
     The spindle  11  is provided at its free end with a bevel  12  and a notch  13  at a distance from this free end. 
     An open chamber  14  is provided in the base  10  of the lever  9  in which a pressure piece  15  is movably affixed around the spindle  11  in the axial direction Y-Y′ of the spindle  11  between a withdrawn position in which the pressure piece is entirely withdrawn from the chamber  14  and a pushed-out position as shown in  FIG. 5 , in which the pressure piece  15  protrudes partly out of the chamber  14 . 
     A spring  16  is affixed in the chamber  14  that pushes the pressure piece  15  to the aforementioned pushed-out position of  FIG. 5 . 
     At the location of the fitting groove  4  an operating mechanism  17  is affixed for converting the rotation of the handle  8  into a translation of the locking slat  5  in the fitting groove  4 , to which the handle  8  is affixed with the spindle  11  through a passage  18  in the front wall  7  and is coupled to the operating mechanism  7  by the free end of the spindle  11 . 
     The operating mechanism  17  is held at the location of the fitting groove  4  by means of a clamping plate  19  that is movable sideways with respect to the fitting groove  4  and which is provided with two arms  20  to this end that are movably guided in holes of the operating mechanism  17 . 
     The clamping plate  19  is fastened against the front wall  7  by means of a base  21  that is mounted on the other side of the front wall  7 , more specifically on the front of the leaf  1  on which the handle  8  is fastened, and which, as shown in more detail in  FIG. 6 , is provided with passages  22  for bolts or screws  23  that are screwed tight through holes  24  in the front wall  7  in threaded screw holes  25  in the clamping plate  19 . 
     The base  21  is provided with a passage  27  through which the spindle  11  can be mounted in the operating mechanism  17 . 
     A slot-shaped seat  27  is provided in the clamping plate in which a bearing  28  is affixed for the rotation of the handle  8 , whereby this bearing  28  is shown as a separate component in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
     This bearing  28  is held in the axial direction Y-Y′ in the clamping plate  19 , whereby this bearing  28  is provided with clip mechanism that can engage with the notch  13  in the spindle  11  to lock the handle  8  in the axial direction Y-Y′ in the mounted situation. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the bearing  28  is constructed as a ring with a square passage for the spindle  11 , whereby this ring is affixed freely turnably in the seat  27  of the clamping plate  19 . 
     The bearing  28  is composed of a dish  31  of low-friction plastic and a slider  32  of metal or similar with a passage  30  for the spindle  11  of the handle  8 . 
     The dish  31  is constructed as a disk  33  with an essentially ring-shaped upright edge  34  that is broken locally and which is folded inwards at the location of the break to form elastic lips  35 . 
     The slider  32  is movably affixed in the dish  31 , by the profiling of the edge  34 , in a direction Z-Z′ transverse to the axial direction Y-Y′ of the spindle  11  to be able to engage with the notch  13  of the spindle  11 . 
     The lips  35  elastically push the slider  32  away from the broken section of the edge  34  in the direction of a cutaway  36  in the edge  34  on the opposite side of the edge  34 , with the intention that the slider can be pushed away, in a radial direction according to arrow A against the action of the lips  35 , from the outside by means of a screwdriver or similar via this cutaway  36  as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     The slider  32  is provided with a radially oriented protrusion  37  which, when moving the slider  32  in the direction of arrow A, comes against the edge of the seat  27  which thereby forms an end stop for the movement of the slider  32 . 
     The operating mechanism  17  is mounted in the space between the leaf  1  and the fixed frame  38  of the window as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The fitting of the built-in lock according to the invention is simple and as follows. 
     After placing the locking slat  5  in the fitting groove  4 , the operating mechanism  17  is fitted at the location of the fitting groove and is held in place by the clamping plate  19  that protrudes into the operating mechanism  17  with its arms  20 , and which together with the base  21  is fastened against the front wall  7  by means of the screws  23 . 
     The window can thus be transported without a handle  8  necessarily having to be mounted. 
     It is clear that in the mounted situation of the clamping plate  19  and of the base  21  the distance B between the front of the base  21 , that the base  10  of the lever  9  comes against, and the front of the slider  32  in the clamping plate  19  is a fixed distance that only depends on the thickness of the front wall  7 . 
     When the free end of the spindle  11  is pushed in the passage  30  of the bearing  28 , the slider  32  is pushed by the bevel  12  of the spindle  11  in the direction of the lips  35  that have the tendency to push the slider  32  back by the spring force of the lips  35 . 
     When the notch  13  in the spindle  11  comes to the level of the slider  32 , the slider is pushed and held in the notch due to the elasticity of the lips  35 , such that the spindle  11  is locked in the axial direction Y-Y′ against removal. 
     The distance C of the notch  13  in the spindle  11  to the base  10  of the lever  9  is such that, when mounting the handle  8 , the slider  32  clicks in the notch  13  when the base  10  of the lever  9  almost comes up against the base  21  with a small clearance, as in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . 
       FIG. 9  shows a situation whereby the same built-in lock is mounted on a leaf profile  2  whose distance D from the fitting groove  4  to the front wall  7  is smaller than in the case of the leaf profile  2  of  FIG. 2 . 
     This difference in distance D is accommodated by the arms  20  of the clamping plate  19  being pushed more deeply into the operating mechanism. 
     Insofar the thickness E of the front wall  7  is the same in both cases, the distance between the clip mechanism  29  of the bearing  28  and the handle  8  remains unchanged such that the same handle and the same base can be used in both cases. 
     If the thickness E of the front wall  7  is thinner then there will be a larger clearance between the front  39  of the base  21  and the base  10  of the lever  9 . This clearance, if not too large, will be able to be accommodated by the pressure piece  15  that is then pushed further out of the chamber  14  by the compression spring  15  up to against the base  21 . 
     The small clearance that can occur due to be thickness difference E of the front wall  7  between the front  39  of the base  21  and the base  10  of the lever  9  can also be concealed by providing the base  21  with a small upright edge  40 , as illustrated in  FIG. 10 . 
     It is clear that the same built-in lock with baseless handle according to the invention can be used for a number of sizes of leaf profiles  2  that can differ from one another in the distance D between the fitting groove  4  and the front wall  7 , and to a certain extent in the thickness E of the front wall. 
     It is also clear that the spindle  11  of the handle only has to have one notch  13  at a fixed distance from the lever  9 , although a number of notches  13  at different distances from the lever  9  are not excluded. 
     In order to dismantle the handle  8  it is sufficient to push the slider  32  out of the notch  13  via the cutaway  36  in the direction of arrow A by means of a screwdriver or similar. The protrusion  37  prevents the slider  32  from being able to be pushed out too far to prevent the accidental breaking off of the lips  35 . 
     The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described as an example and shown in the drawings, but a built-in lock according to the invention can be realised in all kinds of forms and dimensions without departing from the scope of the invention.