Door knob lock monitoring alarm mechanism
First Claim
1. In a lockable door latch having turnable exterior and interior knobs for mechanically rotating a spindle for moving a door bolt in and out of engagement with a strike plate mounted in a door jamb, and having a manually operated interior mechanism for locking and releasing a locking mechanism, an interior knob incorporating a lock monitoring alarm comprising in combination,a knob housing having a cylindrical receptacle and an integral cylindrical neck coaxially extending therefrom, the cylindrical neck including means for engaging and mechanically rotating the spindle when the knob housing is turned,an actuator member extending from within the knob housing, through the cylindrical neck of the knob housing for mechanically engaging the locking mechanism, the actuator member being mechanically moved between a lock position and an unlock position as the locking mechanism engages and disengages respectively,a source of electrical energy located within the knob housing having at least a pair of terminals, each electrically insulated from the other,a normally-open electrical switching means located within the knob housing and mechanically coupled to the actuator member for opening and closing responsive to the lock and unlock positions of the actuator member, respectively,an electrically energized indicator means located within the knob housing for generating a signal perceptible to a human being upon being energized with electrical energy,electrical current conductor means for electrically connecting the switching means and the indicator means in series between the terminals of the electrical energy source, whereby the indicator means is energized when the switching means is closed.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An interior door knob for conventional lockable door latches includes a hollow knob with a cylindrical neck having conventional means for engaging and rotating the latch spindle to mechanically move the door bolt and an actuator mechanically engaging the locking mechanism of the door latch and extending through the cylindrical neck into the housing and being movable between a first and a second position. A battery, an acoustic/visual indicating means and a normally-open microswitch electrically connected in series are mounted in a component module received within the knob housing. The microswitch switches responsive to the position of the actuator for indicating when the locking mechanism of the door latch is not locked.
59 Citations
9 Claims
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1. In a lockable door latch having turnable exterior and interior knobs for mechanically rotating a spindle for moving a door bolt in and out of engagement with a strike plate mounted in a door jamb, and having a manually operated interior mechanism for locking and releasing a locking mechanism, an interior knob incorporating a lock monitoring alarm comprising in combination,
a knob housing having a cylindrical receptacle and an integral cylindrical neck coaxially extending therefrom, the cylindrical neck including means for engaging and mechanically rotating the spindle when the knob housing is turned, an actuator member extending from within the knob housing, through the cylindrical neck of the knob housing for mechanically engaging the locking mechanism, the actuator member being mechanically moved between a lock position and an unlock position as the locking mechanism engages and disengages respectively, a source of electrical energy located within the knob housing having at least a pair of terminals, each electrically insulated from the other, a normally-open electrical switching means located within the knob housing and mechanically coupled to the actuator member for opening and closing responsive to the lock and unlock positions of the actuator member, respectively, an electrically energized indicator means located within the knob housing for generating a signal perceptible to a human being upon being energized with electrical energy, electrical current conductor means for electrically connecting the switching means and the indicator means in series between the terminals of the electrical energy source, whereby the indicator means is energized when the switching means is closed.
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8. An interior door knob incorporating a lock monitoring alarm comprising in combination,
an interior knob housing having a cylindrical receptacle and an integral cylindrical neck coaxially extending therefrom, the cylindrical neck including means for engaging and mechanically rotating a spindle opening a lockable door latch when the knob housing is turned, an actuator member extending from within the knob housing, through the cylindrical neck of the knob housing and mechanically coupled to a locking mechanism within the lockable door latch for preventing rotation of the spindle by an interior knob, the actuator member being mechanically moved between a lock position and an unlock position as the locking mechanism engages and disengages respectively, a source of electrical energy located within the interior knob housing having at least a pair of terminals, each electrically insulated from the other, a normally-open electrical switching means located within the interior knob housing and mechanically coupled to the actuator member for opening and closing said switching means responsive to the lock and unlock positions of the actuator member, respectively, electrically energized indicator means located within the interior knob housing for generating an audio output of at least 70 db at a frequency perceptible by human beings and for generating a light emission perceptible by human beings upon being energized with electrical energy, electrical current conducting means for electrically connecting the switching means and the indicator means in series between the terminals of the electrical energy source, whereby the indicator means is energized when the switching means is closed, a removable circular cap member closing the cylindrical receptacle of the knob housing and having an audio grill port and an optical port communicating through its closure surface.
Specification