Patent Publication Number: US-2023151641-A1

Title: Electronic cylindrical lock

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a cylindrical lock, and more particularly to an electronic cylindrical lock. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A cylindrical lock is often installed on a door body to control the opening and closing of the door. The cylindrical lock generally has a main body. The main body is provided with a slide member. The slide member is connected to a lock tongue. Either side of the main body is provided with a handle for driving the slide member to move, so as to move the lock tongue to open the door. 
     With the advent of the electronic generation, it is necessary to improve the conventional cylindrical lock to be an electronic cylindrical lock. Because the internal space of the main body is used as the slide space of the slide member, there is no extra space in the main body for accommodating the control elements required for the electronic cylindrical lock, such as a motor or solenoid valve. Besides, most of the conventional cylindrical locks can only lock the handle outside the door, and cannot lock the handle inside the door. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary object of the present invention is to provide an electronic cylindrical lock, which can be electronically controlled to lock and unlock a door. When in a locked state, it can prevent the handle inside and the handle outside the door from driving the lock tongue at the same time; when in an unlocked state, the handle inside and the handle outside the door can drive the lock tongue at the same time, so as to achieve the effect of two-way control. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the electronic cylindrical lock provided by the present invention comprises a main body. The main body has a slide space therein for accommodating a slide member. The slide member is connected with a lock tongue. One side of the main body has a first through hole communicating with the slide space for installing a first clutch unit. The first clutch unit is connected with a first handle. The other side of the main body has a second through hole communicating with the slide space for installing a second clutch unit. The second clutch unit is connected with a second handle. The main body is provided with a control unit in the slide space. The control unit is configured to control the first clutch unit and the second clutch unit. 
     In the electronic cylindrical lock provided by the present invention, when the electronic cylindrical lock is in the unlocked state, the control unit is engaged with the first clutch unit and the second clutch unit. At this time, the user can turn the first handle, so that the first handle drives the slide member to slide through the first clutch unit and the slide member drives the lock tongue to move; and the user can turn the second handle, so that the second handle drives the slide member to slide through the second clutch unit and the slide member drives the lock tongue to move. When the electronic cylindrical lock is in the locked state, the control unit is disengaged from the first clutch unit and the second clutch unit. At this time, the first handle and the second handle are unable to drive the slide member to move the lock tongue. In this way, the purpose of electronic control and two-way access control can be achieved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is an exploded view according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded view of the main body according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional view of the main body according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  4    is an exploded view of the first clutch unit according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  5    is an exploded view of the second clutch unit according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in the locked state; 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in the locked state, illustrating the operation of the first clutch unit; 
         FIG.  8    is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in the unlocked state; 
         FIG.  9    is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in the unlocked state, illustrating the operation of the first clutch unit; 
         FIG.  10    is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in the locked state, illustrating the operation of the second clutch unit; 
         FIG.  11    is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in the unlocked state, illustrating the operation of the second clutch unit; and 
         FIG.  12    is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention when the first clutch unit is locked. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   , the present invention discloses an electronic cylindrical lock  100 . The electronic cylindrical lock  100  is installed to a door body  200 . The door body  200  has a mounting hole  201 . The mounting hole  201  is connected with a lateral lock tongue hole  202 . The electronic cylindrical lock  100  includes a main body  10 . The main body  10  is disposed in the mounting hole  201 . The main body  10  has a first side wall  11 . One side of the first side wall  11  is connected with two connecting walls  12  extending laterally. A second side wall  13  is connected between the connecting walls  12 . A slide space  14  is enclosed by the first side wall  11 , the connecting walls  12  and the second side wall  13 . The peripheral side of the main body  10  is formed with a first end opening  141  and a second end opening  142  that communicate with the slide space  14  for accommodating a slide member  20 . The first side wall  11  has a first through hole  15  communicating with the slide space  14 . The inner edge of the first through hole  15  is provided with at least one first positioning block  151  for positioning a first clutch unit  30 . The second side wall  13  has a second through hole  16  communicating with the slide space  14 . The inner edge of the second through hole  16  is provided with at least one second positioning block  161  for positioning a second clutch unit  40 . The electronic cylindrical lock  100  further comprises a control unit  50 . The control unit  50  is disposed in the slide space  14  and is located close to the second end opening  142  for controlling the first clutch unit  30  and the second clutch unit  40 . The main body  10  further has a housing  17 . The housing  17  covers the first side wall  11 , the connecting walls  12  and the second side wall  13 . The housing  17  has a first opening  171  corresponding to the slide member  20 , a second opening  172  corresponding to the control unit  50 , a third opening  173  corresponding to the first clutch unit  30 , and a fourth opening  174  corresponding to the second clutch unit  40 . The electronic cylindrical lock  100  further comprises a lock tongue  60 . The lock tongue  60  is installed in the lock tongue hole  202  and located outside the first end opening  141  of the main body  10  for connecting the slide member  20 . The electronic cylindrical lock  100  further comprises a first handle  70 . The first handle  70  is disposed outside the first through hole  15  of the main body  10  and connected to the first clutch unit  30 . The electronic cylindrical lock  100  further comprises a second handle  80 . The second handle  80  is disposed outside the second through hole  16  of the main body  10  and connected to the second clutch unit  40 . 
     Please refer to  FIG.  2    and  FIG.  3   . Each of the connecting walls  12  of the main body  10  has a blocking portion  121  close to the second end opening  142 . The slide member  20  is slidable relative to the main body  10  along a slide axis X. One side of the slide member  20 , facing the first end opening  141 , has a connecting portion  21  for connecting the lock tongue  60  shown in  FIG.  1   . One side of the slide member  20 , facing the second end opening  142 , has a holding groove  22  corresponding to the blocking portion  121 . An elastic member  23  is provided in the holding groove  22 . The other end of the elastic member  23  is against the blocking portion  121 , so that the slide member  20  has a tendency to slide toward the first end opening  141 . One side of the slide member  20 , facing the first through hole  15 , has a first actuated portion  24 . One side of the slide member  20 , facing the second through hole  16 , has a second actuated portion  25 . In this embodiment, the first actuated portion  24  and the second actuated portion  25  are guide slopes. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  4   , in cooperation with  FIG.  2   . The first clutch unit  30  has a first fixing ring  31  fixed in the first through hole  15 . The first fixing ring  31  defines a first perforation  311  along the axial direction of the first through hole  15 . In this embodiment, the peripheral side of the first fixing ring  31  has a first annular groove  312  corresponding to the first through hole  15  and a first positioning groove  313  corresponding to the first positioning block  151 . The first positioning block  151  is positioned in the first positioning groove  313  so that the first fixing ring  31  is fixed in the first through hole  15 . A first accommodating groove  314  is formed on the inner side of the first fixing ring  31  corresponding to the first perforation  311 . The first clutch unit  30  further has a first rotating ring  32  that is rotatable relative to the main body  10 . The center of the first rotating ring  32  has a first coupling portion  321 , such as a polygonal hole shown in  FIG.  1   , for connecting the first handle  70  shown in  FIG.  1   . In this embodiment, the first rotating ring  32  is rotatably disposed in the first perforation  311 . The peripheral side of the first rotating ring  32  has a first annular flange  322  corresponding to the first accommodating groove  314 . The first annular flange  322  is accommodated in the first accommodating groove  314 . The peripheral side of the first rotating ring  32  has a first clutch groove  323 . The first clutch unit  30  further has a first actuating ring  33 . The center of the first actuating ring  33  has a first center hole  331 , so that the first actuating ring  33  is rotatably sleeved on the peripheral side of the first rotating ring  32 . The peripheral side of the first actuating ring  33  has a first actuating portion  332  corresponding to the first actuated portion  24  of the slide member  20  and a first slide groove  333  corresponding to the first clutch groove  323 . In this embodiment, the first actuating portion  332  is an arc-shaped protrusion to be pressed against the first actuated portion  24 . The first clutch unit  30  further has a first engaging pin  34 . The first engaging pin  34  is slidably disposed in the first slide groove  332 . One end of the first engaging pin  34  has a first engaging portion  341  corresponding to the first clutch groove  323 . The other end of the first engaging pin  34  extends out of the first slide groove  332  and has a first head portion  342 . A first spring  35  is provided between the first head portion  342  and the first actuating ring  33 . 
     Please refer to  FIG.  5   , in cooperation with  FIG.  2   . The second clutch unit  40  has a second fixing ring  41  fixed in the second through hole  16 . The second fixing ring  41  defines a second perforation  411  along the axial direction of the second through hole  16 . In this embodiment, the peripheral side of the second fixing ring  41  has a second annular groove  412  corresponding to the second through hole  16  and a second positioning groove  413  corresponding to the second positioning block  161 . The second positioning block  161  is positioned in the second positioning groove  413  so that the second fixing ring  41  is fixed in the second through hole  16 . A second accommodating groove  414  is formed on the inner side of the second fixing ring  41  corresponding to the second perforation  411 . The second clutch unit  40  further has a second rotating ring  42  that is rotatable relative to the main body  10 . The center of the second rotating ring  42  has a second coupling portion  421 , such as a polygonal hole shown in  FIG.  1   , for connecting the second handle  80  shown in  FIG.  1   . In this embodiment, the second rotating ring  42  is rotatably disposed in the second perforation  411 . The peripheral side of the second rotating ring  42  has a second annular flange  422  corresponding to the second accommodating groove  414 . The second annular flange  422  is accommodated in the second accommodating groove  414 . The peripheral side of the second rotating ring  42  has a second clutch groove  423 . The second clutch unit  40  further has a second actuating ring  43 . The center of the second actuating ring  43  has a second center hole  431 , so that the second actuating ring  43  is rotatably sleeved on the peripheral side of the second rotating ring  42 . The peripheral side of the second actuating ring  43  has a second actuating portion  432  corresponding to the second actuated portion  25  of the slide member  20  and a second slide groove  433  corresponding to the second clutch groove  423 . In this embodiment, the second actuating portion  432  is an arc-shaped protrusion to be pressed against the second actuated portion  25 . The second clutch unit  40  further has a second engaging pin  44 . The second engaging pin  44  is slidably disposed in the second slide groove  432 . One end of the second engaging pin  44  has a second engaging portion  441  corresponding to the second clutch groove  423 . The other end of the second engaging pin  44  extends out of the second slide groove  433  and has a second head portion  442 . A second spring  45  is provided between the second head portion  442  and the second actuating ring  43 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  2    and  FIG.  3   , the slide member  20  has a receiving space  26  extending along the slide axis X. The control unit  50  is disposed in the slide space  14  of the main body  10  and is located corresponding in position to the receiving space  26  of the slide member  20 . Thus, when the slide member  20  slides along the slide axis X, the control unit  50  will not interfere with the slide of the slide member  20 . The control unit  50  includes a fixing seat  51  connected to the main body  10 . In this embodiment, the housing  17  has two first fixing holes  175 . The fixing seat  51  has two second fixing holes  511  corresponding to the first fixing holes  175 , and includes two fixing members  512 . The fixing members  512  are respectively inserted through and fixed to the first fixing holes  175  and the second fixing holes  511 , thereby fixing the fixing seat  51  to the inner wall of the housing  17  adjacent to the second opening  172 . The fixing seat  51  is provided with a electric driving member  52 . The electric driving member  52  has a driving shaft  53 . The driving shaft  53  is connected to a pressing member  54 . The pressing member  54  has a first pressing portion  541  corresponding to the first head portion  342  and a second pressing portion  542  corresponding to the second head portion  442 . In this embodiment, the electric driving member  52  is a solenoid valve. The driving shaft  53  is connected to the pressing member  54  in a locking manner, so that the electric driving member  52  can drive the pressing member  54  to move, but not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art should understand that there are other implementations that can achieve the same effect. For example, the electric driving member  52  may be a motor, and the driving shaft  53  may be a screw rod. The pressing member  54  has a corresponding screw hole, so that the motor can screw the pressing member  54  to move. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  6    and  FIG.  7   . When the electronic cylindrical lock  100  is in an unlocked state, the electric driving member  52  drives the pressing member  54  to move towards the first clutch unit  30 , and the first pressing portion  541  presses against the first engaging pin  34  so that the first engaging portion  341  of the first engaging pin  34  is engaged in the first clutch groove  323 . Thus, when the user rotates the first handle  70 , the first handle  70  drives the first rotating ring  32  to rotate, so that the first rotating ring  32  drives the first actuating ring  33  to rotate through the first engaging pin  34 , and the first actuating portion  332  of the first actuating ring  33  pushes the first actuated portion  24  to pull the slide member  20  to move towards the control unit  50 , thereby driving the lock tongue  60  to move, so as to open the door body  200 . 
     Please refer to  FIG.  8    and  FIG.  9   . When the electronic cylindrical lock  100  is in a locked state, the electric driving member  52  drives the pressing member  54  to move away from the first clutch unit  30 , and the first pressing portion  541  is away from the first engaging pin  34  so that the first engaging portion  341  of the first engaging pin  34  is pushed by the first spring  35  to disengage from the first clutch groove  323 . Thus, when the user rotates the first handle  70 , only the first rotating ring  32  is driven to rotate relative to the main body  10 . The first actuating ring  33  cannot be driven to move the lock tongue  60 . 
     In the same principle, referring to  FIG.  10    and  FIG.  11   , when the electronic cylindrical lock  100  is in the unlocked state, as shown in  FIG.  10   , the second engaging portion  441  of the second engaging pin  44  is engaged in the second clutch groove  323 , so that the second handle  80  can pull the slide member  20  to drive the lock tongue  60  to move. When the electronic cylindrical lock  100  is in the locked state, as shown in  FIG.  11   , the second engaging portion  441  of the second engaging pin  44  is disengaged from the second clutch groove  323 , so that the second handle  80  cannot pull the slide member  20  to drive the lock tongue  60  to move. Thereby, the user can control the door body  200  to be locked or unlocked in an electronic control manner. When in the locked state, the first handle  70  and the second handle  80  cannot drive the lock tongue  60  at the same time; when in the unlocked state, the first handle  70  and the second handle  80  can drive the lock tongue  60  at the same time, so as to achieve the purpose of two-way access control. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  4    again. The first rotating ring  32  has a first locking hole  324  in the first clutch groove  323 . The first engaging pin  34  has a first aperture  343  corresponding to the first locking hole  423 , and is provided with a first locking member  36 . The first locking member  36  passes through the first aperture  343  and is detachably locked to the first locking hole  324  for securing the first engaging pin  34  to the first rotating ring  32 . Please refer to  FIG.  5   . The second rotating ring  42  has a second locking hole  424  in the second clutch groove  423 . The second engaging pin  44  has a second aperture  443  corresponding to the second locking hole  424 , and is provided with a second locking member  46 . The second locking member  46  passes through the second aperture  443  and is detachably locked to the second locking hole  424  for securing the second engaging pin  44  to the second rotating ring  42 . As shown in  FIG.  12   , when the user wants the first handle  70  to pull the lock tongue  60  regardless of whether the electronic cylindrical lock is in the locked state or the unlocked state, the first locking member  36  passes through the first aperture  343  and is locked to the first locking hole  324 , so that the first engaging portion  341  of the first engaging pin  34  is engaged in the first clutch groove  323 , and is not controlled by the control unit  50 . In the same principle, the operation of the second clutch unit  40  is the same as that of the first clutch unit  30 , so it is not repeated hereinafter. In this way, the user can further adjust the one-way control or two-way control according to the access control requirements.