Door lock assembly

• US 20060071484A1
• Filed: 12/17/2004
• Published: 04/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Waterson Corp.
• Original Assignee: Waterson Corp.
• Inventors: Chen, Waterson
• Application Number:
  US11/016,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20060071484A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 292/336.300
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 47/0002 with electromagnets
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 47/068 axially, i.e. with an axially disengaging coupling element
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 47/0692 with a rectilinearly moveable coupling element
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 63/121 using balls or the like cooperating with notches
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/57 Operators with knobs or handles

Abstract

A door lock assembly includes: a first engaging member secured in a socket in the door frame; and a latch mechanism including a hollow mounting body mounted on the door panel, and a latch unit including a latch bolt that is retractable into the hollow mounting body, and that is operable to move relative to the hollow mounting body from a first retracted position to an extended position, in which the latch bolt extends into the socket. The latch unit further includes a second engaging member that is mounted movably on the latch bolt and that is actuated to move relative to the latch bolt from a disengaging position to an engaging position, in which the second engaging member engages releasably the first engaging member.

Claims

1. A door lock assembly for locking a door panel to a door frame, said door lock assembly comprising:

a first engaging member adapted to be secured in a socket in the door frame; and

a latch mechanism including

a hollow mounting body adapted to be mounted on the door panel, and

a latch unit including a latch bolt that is retractable telescopically into said hollow mounting body, and that is operable to move relative to said hollow mounting body in a longitudinal direction from a first retracted position to an extended position, in which said latch bolt is capable of extending into the socket, said latch unit further including a second engaging member that is mounted movably on said latch bolt and that is actuated to move relative to said latch bolt from a disengaging position to an engaging position, in which said second engaging member engages releasably said first engaging member, during movement of said latch bolt from said first retracted position to said extended position.

2. The door lock assembly of claim 1, wherein said latch bolt is hollow, defines an inner space, and has a shank portion and a tapered end portion tapered from said shank portion in a direction toward the socket, said shank portion being received in said hollow mounting body and to be disposed outwardly of the socket and said tapered end portion being capable of extending into the socket when said latch bolt is disposed at said first retracted position, said shank portion and said tapered end portion being capable of extending into the socket when said latch bolt is disposed at said extended position, said shank portion having two flat side walls that are parallel to each other, said tapered end portion having two side walls that are curvedly tapered from said side walls of said shank portion, each of said side walls of said shank portion being formed with a ball-mounting hole, said first engaging member having a pair of opposing engaging grooves that are adapted to be formed in the socket, said second engaging member including a pair of engaging balls that are disposed in said inner space in said latch bolt, that are respectively retained in said ball-mounting holes in said side walls of said shank portion, that protrude outwardly of and respectively through said ball-mounting holes, and that are operable to move relative to said latch bolt respectively toward and away from said engaging grooves in the socket such that said engaging balls engage respectively said engaging grooves in the socket when said second engaging member is disposed at said engaging position and that said engaging balls disengage respectively said engaging grooves in the socket when said second engaging member is disposed at said disengaging position.

3. The door lock assembly of claim 2, wherein said latch mechanism further includes a key-operated driving unit mounted in said hollow mounting body and operable to rotate about an axis transverse to said longitudinal direction, and a linking unit mounted movably in said hollow mounting body and disposed between and connected to said key-operated driving unit and said latch bolt so as to permit movement of said latch bolt between said first retracted position and said extended position upon actuation of said key-operated driving unit, said latch bolt being further operable so as to move from said first retracted position to a second retracted position, in which said tapered end portion is to be disposed outwardly of the socket and is received in said hollow mounting body when an external force is applied in said longitudinal direction to said tapered end portion of said latch bolt.

4. The door lock assembly of claim 3, wherein said hollow mounting body has two opposing first walls, each of which is formed with a pair of parallel guiding grooves extending in said longitudinal direction, and a flat surface between said guiding grooves, each of said side walls of said shank portion of said latch bolt being formed with a pair of guiding studs that extend respectively into said guiding grooves in a respective one of said first walls of said hollow mounting body, each of said balls being in sliding contact with said flat surface of a respective one of said first walls of said hollow mounting body when said shank portion of said latch bolt is retracted into said hollow mounting body.

5. The door lock assembly of claim 3, wherein said hollow mounting body defines a first space that receives said latch bolt therein when said latch bolt is disposed at said second retracted position, and a second space that accommodates said driving unit and said linking unit, said hollow mounting body being formed with a stopper protruding into said second space, a pair of opposing first retaining recesses that are opposite to each other in a transverse direction relative to said longitudinal direction, and a pair of opposing second retaining recesses, said first and second retaining recesses being disposed outwardly of and adjacent to said second space, said driving unit including a positioning pin that has two opposite ends extending respectively into said first retaining recesses when said latch bolt is disposed at said extended position, and respectively into said second retaining recesses when said latch bolt is disposed at one of said first and second retracted positions, said linking unit including a pushing lever, a stopping linkage, a middle linkage disposed between and pivoted to said pushing lever and said stopping linkage, and a pair of cranks having first ends that are pivoted to said stopping linkage, and second ends that are pivoted to said positioning pin, said pushing lever and being operable to move relative to said latch bolt in said longitudinal direction so as to push said engaging balls to move in said transverse direction to engage respectively said engaging grooves in the socket upon movement of said latch bolt to said extended position, said stopping linkage being stopped by said stopper when pushed to move in said longitudinal direction toward said hollow mounting body by an external force applied to said side walls of said tapered end portion of said latch bolt, thereby preventing movement of said latch bolt from said extended position to said first retracted position, said cranks being driven by said key-operated driving unit through said positioning pin to move along a circumferential path about said axis and to drive said stopping linkage to move along a curved path, in which said stopping linkage passes over said stopper when said driving unit is rotated about said axis in a first rotation direction, thereby permitting movement of said latch bolt from said extended position to said first retracted position.

6. The door lock assembly of claim 5, wherein said hollow mounting body has two opposing second walls confining said second space, each of said second walls being formed with a retaining bore that is in spatial communication with said second space, and a sector-shaped recess that is in spatial communication with said retaining bore, said key-operated driving unit including a pair of mated swingable members that are rotatable between locking and unlocking positions, and an urging member disposed between and sleeved on said swingable members for restoring said swingable members to said locking position, said latch bolt being disposed at said extended position when said swingable members are disposed at said locking position, said latch bolt being disposed at said first retracted position when said swingable members are disposed at said unlocking position, each of said swingable members including a ring-shaped body that is retained in said retaining bore in a respective one of said second walls, a pin-supporting arm that extends from said ring-shaped body and that is formed with an elongated slot for extension of said positioning pin therethrough, and a stopping protrusion that protrudes from said pin-supporting arm into said sector-shaped recess in the respective one of said second walls so as to limit the rotational range of said swingable members to be within said first and unlocking positions, said elongated slot permitting movement of said positioning pin along the length thereof and to disengage from said first retaining recesses upon rotation of said swingable members from said locking position toward said unlocking position.

7. The door lock assembly of claim 1, further comprising a mounting mechanism that includes opposite front and rear mounting seats which are adapted to be installed in a lock-mounting hole in the door panel and which sandwich said latch mechanism therebetween.

8. The door lock assembly of claim 7, wherein said mounting mechanism further includes front and rear pads that are respectively attached to said front and rear mounting seats, each of said front and rear pads having an outer surface that is adapted to be substantially flush with a respective one of front and rear sides of the door panel.

9. The door lock assembly of claim 6, wherein said ring-shaped body of each of said swingable members defines a non-circular engaging hole, said door lock assembly further comprising a front actuating mechanism that includes a front rose adapted to be attached to a front side of the door panel, a tubular lock-mounting seat extending coaxially into said front rose and rotatable relative to said front rose, a key-operated lock mounted in said lock-mounting seat, a front latch-driving member with a front driving rod extending into said engaging hole in said ring-shaped body of a respective one of said swingable members for driving rotation of said swingable members, a cam coupled to said key-operated lock so as to rotate upon actuation of said key-operated lock, and a cam follower coupled slidably to said lock-mounting seat and coupled to said cam so as to be driven by said cam to slide relative to said lock-mounting seat in said transverse direction from a first axial position to a second axial position, in which said cam follower is coupled to said front latch-driving member, which results in coupling of said front latch-driving member to said lock-mounting seat so as to permit co-rotation of said lock-mounting seat and said front latch-driving member.

10. The door lock assembly of claim 9, wherein said cam follower defines a non-circular engaging hole, said front driving rod of said front latch-driving member having a circular rod portion that extends into said engaging hole in said cam follower, and a non-circular rod portion that extends from said circular rod portion in a direction away from said cam follower, said non-circular rod portion being disposed outwardly of said non-circular engaging hole when said cam follower is disposed at said first axial position, said non-circular rod portion extending into and engaging releasably said non-circular engaging hole when said cam follower is disposed at said second axial position.

11. The door lock assembly of claim 10, wherein said lock-mounting seat includes an inner sleeve that surrounds said cam follower and that is formed with an elongated opening, and an outer sleeve that surrounds said inner sleeve and said key-operated lock and that is formed with a first opening, said cam having a hollow cam body with an outer surface, and an engaging stud that is mounted movably in said cam body and that protrudes outwardly from said outer surface into said elongated opening to abut slidingly against said outer sleeve so as to be retained together with said key-operated lock in said lock-mounting seat, said engaging stud being operable to move away from said elongated opening, said front rose being formed with a second opening that is registered with said first opening, said engaging stud being offset from said first and second openings when said cam is disposed at a locking position, said engaging stud being registered with said first and second openings when said cam is disposed at a predetermined angular position relative to said locking position, thereby permitting access to and operation of said engaging stud to move away from said elongated opening in said inner sleeve and thus permitting removal of said key-operated lock from said lock-mounting seat.

12. The door lock assembly of claim 11, wherein said engaging stud is spring-biased.

13. The door lock assembly of claim 11, wherein said engaging stud engages threadedly said cam body so as to be adjustable to move toward and away from said elongated opening in said inner sleeve.

14. The door lock assembly of claim 11, wherein said cam body defines an axial hole and a radial hole that is in spatial communication with said axial hole, said engaging stud extending into said radial hole and being formed with an engaging recess that is registered with said axial hole, said cam follower having an engaging rod that extends into said axial hole to engage releasably said engaging recess in said engaging stud.

15. The door lock assembly of claim 11, wherein said inner sleeve has an inserting end and an inner wall that is formed with an L-shaped recess which has an axial section extending axially from said inserting end, and a circumferential section extending circumferentially from said axial section, said inner wall being formed with an inner rib that defines said L-shaped recess, said key-operated lock being formed with two axially aligned outer ribs that cooperatively define a gap therebetween, said axial section of said L-shaped recess permitting extension of said outer ribs therethrough so as to permit extension of said key-operated lock into said inner sleeve and so as to permit said inner rib to extend through said gap between said outer ribs when said inner sleeve is rotated to a predetermined angle, thereby preventing axial movement of said key-operated lock relative to said inner sleeve.

16. The door lock assembly of claim 11, further comprising amounting mechanism that includes opposite front and rear mounting seats which are adapted to be installed in a lock-mounting hole in the door panel and which sandwich said latch mechanism therebetween, said front mounting seat being formed with a central hole, said swingable members being driven by said front latch-driving member to rotate from said locking position to said unlocking position when said front driving rod is rotated from a first angular position to a second angular position, said front driving rod extending through said central hole in said front mounting seat, said front latch-driving member further including an urging element that is sleeved on said non-circular rod portion of said front driving rod for restoring said front driving rod to said first angular position.

17. The door lock assembly of claim 16, wherein said front rose includes a ring-shaped base that is adapted to be attached to the front side of the door panel and that is secured to said front mounting seat, said lock-mounting seat being formed with a front handle, said front driving rod being driven by said lock-mounting seat to rotate from said first angular position to said second angular position when said front handle of said lock-mounting seat is rotated from a horizontal position to a vertical position, said lock-mounting seat further including an urging component that is sleeved on said outer sleeve for restoring said front handle of said lock-mounting seat to said horizontal position.

18. The door lock assembly of claim 17, wherein said front actuating mechanism further includes a plurality of screws that extend through said front mounting seat to engage threadedly said ring-shaped base of said front rose.

19. The door lock assembly of claim 9, wherein said cam follower is formed with an engaging hole, said front actuating mechanism further including a coupler that is sleeved on said front latch-driving member so as to be co-rotatable therewith and that is formed with a slide hole registered with said engaging hole in said cam follower, and a driving rod that is movably received in said slide hole, said door lock assembly further comprising a control unit that includes a control panel, and an electromagnetic valve with a pushing member which is controlled by said control panel to move toward and away from said driving rod, said driving rod being driven by said pushing member to move from a first radial position, in which said driving rod is disposed outwardly of said engaging hole in said cam follower, to a second radial position, in which said driving rod extends into said engaging hole in said cam follower so as to couple said cam follower to said front latch-driving member.

20. The door lock assembly of claim 19, wherein said front actuating mechanism further includes a retaining member that has a curved wall surrounding said coupler in such a manner so as to permit sliding abutment of said driving rod against said curved wall when said driving rod is rotated together with said coupler.

21. The door lock assembly of claim 1, further comprising a mounting mechanism that includes a front mounting seat which is adapted to be installed in a lock-mounting hole in the door panel, and a front actuating mechanism that includes a front rose adapted to be attached to a front side of the door panel and having a ring-shaped base which defines a central opening, and a tubular lock-mounting seat extending into said front rose, said ring-shaped base being disposed between said front mounting seat and said lock-mounting seat and being formed with a pair of diametrically positioning studs, each of which projects into said central opening and each of which is formed with a through-hole, said lock-mounting seat being formed with a pair of diametrically disposed screw holes, a pair of diametrically disposed axial slots, and a pair of circumferential slots that extend respectively and circumferentially from said axial slots and that are axially and respectively aligned with said screw holes, said axial slots permitting extension of said positioning studs therethrough and respectively into said circumferential slots upon rotation of said lock-mounting seat to a predetermined angle so as to permit coupling of said ring-shaped base to said lock-mounting seat and so as to permit alignment of said screw holes in said lock-mounting seat with said through-holes in said positioning studs, respectively, said front actuating mechanism further including a pair of screws that extend through said front mounting seat and said through-holes in said positioning studs to engage threadedly said screw holes in said lock-mounting seat.

22. The door lock assembly of claim 9, wherein said ring-shaped body of each of said swingable members defines a non-circular engaging hole, said door lock assembly further comprising a rear actuating mechanism that includes a rear rose adapted to be attached to a rear side of the door panel, a tubular handle seat extending into said rear rose, a pushing rod extending through and coupled releasably to said handle seat, and movable axially relative to said handle seat between a holding position and a releasing position, a positioning member mounted in said rear rose for positioning said pushing rod at a selected one of said holding and releasing positions, and a rear latch-driving member coupled to said pushing rod and extending into said engaging hole in said ring-shaped body of a respective one of said swingable members.

23. The door lock assembly of claim 22, wherein said rear actuating mechanism further includes a rear handle that is connected detachably to said handle seat.

24. The door lock assembly of claim 22, wherein said pushing rod is formed with a plurality of retaining grooves, said positioning member including a spring-biased positioning block that extends movably into a selected one of said retaining grooves.

25. The door lock assembly of claim 22, wherein said pushing rod has an engaging end that is disposed adjacent to a respective one of said swingable members, and that is formed with a plurality of engaging notches, said stopping protrusion of one of said swingable members, which is disposed adjacent to said engaging end of said pushing rod, extending into one of said engaging notches in said engaging end of said pushing rod when said pushing rod is disposed at said holding position.

26. The door lock assembly of claim 25, wherein one of said second walls of said hollow mounting body, which is disposed adjacent to said engaging end of said pushing rod, is formed with a non-circular recess that surrounds said retaining bore, said engaging end of said pushing rod being non-circular and being received in said non-circular recess in the respective one of said second walls when said pushing rod is disposed at said holding position.

27. The door lock assembly of claim 26, further comprising a mounting mechanism that includes a rear mounting seat which is adapted to be installed in a lock-mounting hole in the door panel, which is disposed between said rear rose and said hollow mounting body, and which is formed with a rod-engaging groove, said pushing rod being formed with an engaging protrusion that protrudes outwardly therefrom, that is disposed outwardly of said rod-engaging groove when said pushing rod is disposed at said releasing position, and that extends into said rod-engaging groove when said pushing rod is disposed at said holding position.

28. The door lock assembly of claim 22, wherein said rear actuating mechanism further includes a locking button mounted coaxially and rotatably on said handle seat, said pushing rod extending coaxially through said locking button and being formed with an axially extending groove that extends along the length of said pushing rod and that is defined by a groove-defining wall which is formed with at least a retaining indentation, said locking button defining a central hole, and having at least a locking protrusion that protrudes into said central hole and said axially extending groove in said pushing rod, said locking protrusion being axially offset from said retaining indentation when said pushing rod is disposed at said releasing position, and being radially aligned with said retaining indentation when said pushing rod is disposed at said holding position, said locking button being rotatable relative to said pushing rod from a non-retaining position to a retaining position, in which said locking protrusion is received in said retaining indentation, when said pushing rod is disposed at said holding position, thereby preventing axial movement of said pushing rod from said holding position to said releasing position.

29. The door lock assembly of claim 22, wherein said front rose is formed with a pair of threaded posts extending into the door panel, said rear actuating mechanism further including a pair of screw rods that extend through said handle seat and said latch mechanism and that engage threadedly and respectively said threaded posts of said front rose.

30. The door lock assembly of claim 29, wherein said rear actuating mechanism further includes a biasing member that is sleeved on said handle seat for urging said rear rose to abut against the rear side of the door panel.

31. The door lock assembly of claim 22, further comprising a mounting mechanism that includes front and rear mounting seats sandwiching said latch mechanism there between and disposed between said front and rear actuating mechanisms, said rear rose having at least a radially extending rear leg that is disposed adjacent to said rear mounting seat, and at least a rear threaded element that is secured to said radially extending rear leg, said rear actuating mechanism further including at least a rear adjusting screw that extends through and that abuts against said rear mounting seat and that engages threadedly said rear threaded element so as to permit adjustment of a distance between said rear mounting seat and said rear rose.

32. The door lock assembly of claim 31, wherein said front rose has at least a radially extending front leg that is disposed adjacent to said front mounting seat, and at least a front threaded element that is secured to said radially extending front leg, said front actuating mechanism further including at least a front adjusting screw that extends through and that abuts against said front mounting seat and that engages threadedly said front threaded element so as to permit adjustment of a distance between said front mounting seat and said front rose.