Patent Publication Number: US-6334636-B1

Title: Remotely controllable lock

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a remotely controllable lock that may be operated by either a manual mode or a remote-control mode for controlling extension/retraction of the latch bolt to thereby close/open the door. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,047 to Lin issued on Sep. 5, 1995 discloses a dead bolt including an outer lever and an inner lever, a coil disposed in the outer sleeve, a rod slidably engaged in the coil and having two extensions, a shaft coupled between the two levers, and a disc engaged on the shaft and having two grooves for engaging with the extensions of the rod. The extensions of the rod are biased away from the grooves of the disc such that the shaft cannot be rotated by the outer lever, and the rod is caused to move toward the disc when the coil is energized such that the extensions of the rod are caused to engage with the grooves of the disc and such that the shaft can be rotated by the outer lever. Such a structure is complicated. In addition, unlocking from outside is troublesome as the extensions of the rod must be pushed to engage with the grooves of the disc within the energizing time that awaits input of signal. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,612 to Lin issued on May 16, 2000 discloses a remotely controllable lock including a housing, a motor mounted in the housing, and a control device mounted in the housing for activating the motor. A gear train is mounted in the housing and driven by an output shaft of the motor and has a drive gear. A turn knob has an axle rod extended through an axle tube mounted to the housing. The axle rod is engaged with a driving member for driving a dead bolt of the door lock. When the turn knob is manually turned through a pre-determined angle, the movable plate is moved from a first position representing one of a locked status and an unlocked status of the dead bolt to a second position representing the other one of the locked status and the unlocked status without actuating the drive gear. When the control means receives a signal from remote control that requests a change in the status of the dead bolt, the movable plate is moved by the drive gear from one of the first position and the second position to the other of the first position and the second position, and the turn knob is turned through the pre-determined angle. 
     The present invention is intended to provide a remotely controllable lock that may be operated by either a manual mode or a remote-control mode. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a remotely controllable lock that may be operated by either a manual mode or a remote-control mode for controlling extension/retraction of the latch bolt to thereby close/open the door. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a remotely controllable lock that includes a protective mechanism for immediately stopping motions when under an external or abnormal resistance, thereby preventing damage to the lock. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a remotely controllable lock that can be easily converted for use with either a right-handed door or a left-handed door. 
     A remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention comprises: 
     a main housing comprising a power element mounted therein, the power element being operably controlled via a wire control unit, the power element including a transmission element for outputting power, the main housing further including a turn knob rotatably mounted thereto, the turn knob comprising an axle rod with a non-circular hole through which a spindle of the remotely controllable lock extends, the main housing including a first receiving hole, the axle rod further including a non-circular portion on an outer periphery thereof; 
     a power device comprising two slide block, a shaft including two ends pivotally connected to the slide blocks, respectively, the shaft further including a relatively larger gear and a relatively smaller gear mounted thereon, the relatively larger gear meshing with the transmission element; 
     a control device comprising a control gear that is rotatably mounted to the axle rod of the turnknob, the control gear meshing with the relatively smaller gear of the power device, the control gear comprising a positioning block and an eccentric actuating block, the control device further including a movable plate that has a vertical slot for receiving the axle rod, thereby allowing the movable plate to be movable along a vertical axis of the axle rod, the movable plate including a rack, a sector-toothed gear being mounted around the non-circular portion of the axle rod to rotate therewith, the sector-toothed gear meshing with the rack, the movable plate further including a pressing rod that is capable of coming in contact with a switch; and 
     a fixing plate secured to the main housing and comprising a second receiving hole, one of the slide blocks being received in the first receiving hole of the main housing and the other of the slide blocks being received in the second receiving hole of the fixing plate, each said slide block being biased by an elastic element, one of the slide blocks including a stub extended beyond an associated one of the first receiving hole and the second receiving hole, the stub being capable of coming in contact with a first sensor to send out a signal for stopping the power element, the fixing plate further including an axle hole for rotatably supporting the axle rod and through which the spindle extends for driving a dead bolt of the remotely controllable lock; 
     whereby when the control gear rotates, the actuating block comes in contact with one of the upper pressing block and the lower pressing block of the movable plate so as to make the positioning block come in contact with a second sensor to send out a signal for stopping the power element. 
     Other objects, specific advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferable embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating operation of the remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a s view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating operation of the remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line  6 — 6  in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, illustrating operation of the remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating a different assembly of the remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention generally includes a main housing  1 , a power device  2 , a control device  3 , and a fixing device  4 . The main housing  1  is mounted to an inner side of a doorplate (not shown) and receives a power element  11  (such as a motor) that can be driven by either alternating or direct current. The power element  11  is controlled via a wire control unit comprising circuits and elements that are directly mounted on an upper fixing plate  41  of the fixing device  4 . The wire control unit includes conventional signal receivers, signal transmitters, etc. The wire control unit activates the power element  11  upon reception of a control signal from a remote control to thereby actuate the power device  2  and the control device  3  for extending or retracting the dead bolt (not shown) for latching/unlatching purpose, which is conventional and therefore not described in detail. A turn knob  14  is mounted to the main housing  1  and located at the inner side of the door for manual operation. The turn knob  14  includes an axle rod  15  that may directly drives a spindle (not shown) of the lock to thereby extend/retract the dead bolt. In addition, the axle rod  15  includes a non-circular portion on an outer periphery thereof that is clamped by an elastic element  16  for retaining the turn knob  14  in predetermined positions after the turn knob  14  has been rotated. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  5 , and  6 , the power device  2  includes two slide blocks  20  that are respectively mounted in a receiving hole  17  in the housing  1  and a receiving hole  43  in a lower fixing plate  42  of the fixing device  4 . The power device  2  includes a relatively larger gear  21  and a relatively smaller gear  22  that are integral with each other. The relatively larger gear  21  meshes with a transmission element  13  of the power device  11  and the relatively smaller gear  22  meshes with a control gear  31  of the control device  3 . The relatively larger gear  21  and the relatively smaller gear  22  are extended through by a common shaft  23  that has two ends pivotally connected to the slide blocks  20 , respectively. Each slide block  20  is biased by an elastic element  24  to urge the relatively smaller gear  22  to engage with the control gear  31  of the control device  3  (see FIGS.  2  and  6 ). When the control gear  31  is restrained and thus cannot be rotated, rotational force from the transmission element  13  moves the shaft  23  rightward (as viewed from FIG.  2 ), which, in turn, moves the two slide blocks  20  to compress the elastic elements  24 . As a result, the relatively smaller gear  22  is moved outward and thus disengages from the control gear  31 . In addition, a stub  25  of one of the slide blocks  20  extends beyond the receiving hole  43  (FIG. 7) to press against a sensor  44  fixed on the upper fixing plate  41 . The sensor  44  sends out a signal to stop the power element  11 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the control gear  31  of the control device  3  is rotatably mounted to the axle rod  15  which, in turn, is mounted to the main housing  1 . The control gear  31  and the axle rod  15  are not connected directly. The control gear  31  meshes with the relatively smaller gear  22  so as to be driven by the power element  11 . The control gear  31  includes a positioning block  32  for contacting with a sensor  45  mounted on the upper fixing plate  41  such that a signal is sent out by the sensor  45  to stop the power element  11 . The control gear  31  further includes an actuating block  33  on a side thereof. When the control gear  31  rotates, the actuating block  33  presses against an upper pressing block  341  or a lower pressing block  342  of a movable plate  34  to thereby move the movable plate  34  upward or downward. 
     The movable plate  34  includes a vertical slot  343  so as to move vertically along the axle rod  15 . Each of two sides defining the vertical slot  343  includes a rack  344  for selectively engaging with a sector-toothed gear  35  in response to a right-handed door or a left-handed door (cf. FIGS.  2  and  8 ). The movable plate  34  includes a press rod  345  having an inclined slot (not labeled). When the movable plate  34  is moved upward or downward, a wall defining the inclined slot of the press rod  345  comes in contact with or disengages from a switch  48  mounted on the upper fixing plate  41 . Thus, the switch  48  sends out a signal to ignore an control signal for locking (unlocking) from a remote control in a case that the movable plate  34  has been moved downward (upward) to bring the lock to a locked (unlocked) position via transmission by the sector-toothed gear  35 . The sector-toothed gear  35  is mounted around the axle rod  15  in a non-circular engaging relationship. Thus, when the turn knob  14  is turned, in addition to movement of the dead bolt of the lock, the sector-toothed gear  35  moves the movable plate  34  upward or downward. Furthermore, vertical movement of the movable plate  34  causes rotational movement of the turn knob  14  via transmission by the sector-toothed gear  35  as well as retraction/extension of the dead bolt. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2 , and  5 , the upper fixing plate  41  and the lower fixing plate  42  of the fixing device  4  are mounted to the main housing  1  by fasteners (such as screws). The sensors  44  and  45  and the switch  48  are mounted on the upper fixing plate  41 . The receiving hole  43  of the lower fixing plate  42  receives one of the slide blocks  20  located on one side of power device  2 . In response to the need of a right-handed door or a left-handed door, the sector-toothed gear  35  is selectively engaged with one of the racks  344 . The lower fixing plate  42  includes an opening  46  that is greater than the sector-toothed gear  35  to allow easy access to the sector-toothed gear  35 . The opening  46  may be covered by a lid  47  that includes an engaging piece  471  on an end thereof for engaging with an engaging hole  461  formed on a side of the opening  46 . The lid  47  further includes an elastic hook  472  for engaging with a catch  462  on the other side of the through-hole  46 . Thus, the lid  47  can be opened easily to expose the opening  46  for easy replacement of the sector-toothed gear  35  and for easy engagement of the sector-toothed gear  35  with either the left rack  344  (FIG. 2) or the right rack  344  (FIG. 8) in response to the need of a right-handed door or a left-handed door. The lid  47  further includes an axle hole  473  for rotatably supporting the axle rod  15 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in assembly, the transmission element  13  of the power element  11  meshes with the relatively larger gear  21  of the power device  2 . The relatively smaller gear  22  of the power device  2  meshes with the control gear  31  of the control device  3 . The sector-toothed gear  35  meshes with one of the racks  344  located on a side (the left side in FIG. 2) of the movable plate  34 . The spindle of the lock extends through the non-circular hole of the axle rod  15 . Assume the lock is in an unlocked status, operation description of the lock follows. 
     Manual Locking/Unlocking 
     Referring to FIGS. 2,  3 , and  5 , when the turn knob  14  is turned, the axle rod  15  of the turn knob  14  turns the sector-toothed gear  35  directly. The control gear  31  does not turn since there is no connection between the control gear  31  and the axle rod  15 . The spindle extended through the non-circular hole of the axle rod  15  make the dead bolt extend for locking (or retract for unlocking). At this time, the sector-toothed gear  35  moves the movable plate  34  downward. The press rod  345  of the movable plate  34  comes in contact with the switch  48 . Thus, only an opposite signal for unlocking (or locking) from the remote control can be executed when the lock is in the locked status (or unlocked status). In addition, when the lock is in the locked status (or unlocked status), turning the turn knob  14  in the reverse direction may directly drive the spindle to retract (or extend) the dead bolt for unlocking (or locking). 
     Locking/Unlocking by Remote Control 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, when the remote control sends out a locking signal (or unlocking signal), the power element  11  drives the control gear  31  via transmission of the transmission element  13  and the gears  21  and  22 . The control gear  31  rotates in a certain direction, e.g., counterclockwise as viewed from FIG.  2 . The eccentric actuating block  33  presses against the lower pressing block  342  (or the upper pressing blocking  341 ) of the movable plate  34  to thereby move the movable plate  34  downward (or upward). The movable plate  34  turns the sector-toothed gear  35  which is in non-circular engaging relationship with the axle rod  15 . As a result, the spindle extended through the non-circular hole of the axle rod  15  extends (or retracts) the dead bolt. At this time, the press rod  345  of the movable plate  34  comes in contact with (or not comes in contact with) the switch  48  such that the repeated locking signal (or unlocking signal) from the remote control will be ignored. In addition, as the axle rod  15  is turned, the turn knob  14  is turned to the locking position (or unlocking position). Thus, in addition to an unlocking signal (or locking signal) from the remote control, the lock can be directly unlocked (or locked) by means of directly turning the turn knob  14 . Further, as the movable plate  34  has been lifted such that the press rod  345  no longer presses against the switch  48 , only a locking signal from the remote control can be executed, as the unlocking signal from the remote control is invalid when the lock is in the unlocked status. 
     Effect 
     The remotely controllable lock in accordance with the present invention allows dual mode operations. In use, when the control gear  31  is restrained by an external force or fails to rotate normally, the relatively gear  22  can be disengaged from the control gear  31 . In addition, one of the slide blocks  20  of the power device  2  may come in contact with the sensor  44  to send out a signal for stopping the power element  11 . Thus, damage to the lock resulting from continuous rotation of the power element  11  is avoided. Further, in response to the need of a right-handed door or a left-handed door, the lid  47  can be opened easily to allow the sector-toothed gear  35  to be selectively engaged with the required racks  344  on the movable plate  34 . 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.