Fire door lock mechanism

• US 6,854,773 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2003
• Issued: 02/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ching-Tien Lin
• Original Assignee: Ching-Tien Lin
• Inventors: Lin, Ching-Tien
• Primary Examiner(s): ESTREMSKY, GARY WAYNE
• Application Number:
  US10/441,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20040124640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 292/336.3, 292/92, 292/93, 292/DIG.65
• US Class Current: 292/92
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 65/104 actuated in response to heat, e.g. with fusible element, bimetal, memory shape or swelling material
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 65/1053 sliding towards and away form the door
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 292/65 Emergency or safety
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/0908 Emergency operating means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/0909 Panel

Abstract

A fire door lock mechanism is provided. A handlebar is coupled to one end of an actuator whose the other end is connected with a push rod. A lock bolt is rotatably mounted in a lock cover mount which accommodates a glide mount used to drive the push rod to move horizontally. When the actuator receives a depression force from the handlebar, the actuator is driven to rotate and induces the push rod to move horizontally. By the movement from the push rod, the lock bolt is driven to rotate to engage or disengage the lock mechanism. A partition and a fire piece are coupled to the glide mount. The fire piece melts at a high temperature during a fire, making the partition moved by a force from an elastic member connected thereto and cause the lock bolt to be engaged with the partition and maintained in a locked state.

Claims

1. A fire door lock mechanism, comprising:

a body mounted on a fire door and formed with a handlebar and a drive mechanism operationally associated with the handlebar, for allowing a user to depress the handlebar to disengage the fire door lock mechanism, wherein the body comprises

a lock shell for accommodating components of the drive mechanism, a bottom of the lock shell being coupled to a mount plate and a base plate having two ends;

a handlebar mount having a recess for receiving the base plate;

a pair of first horseshoe elements, connected to opposite ends of the base plate;

a pair of second horseshoe elements, connected to opposite ends of a bottom of the handlebar;

a pair of actuators, each bent to form a central portion and two end portions, wherein one of the end portions of each actuator is connected to a respective one of the second horseshoe elements, and the central portion of each actuator is connected to a respective first horseshoe element, such that the actuators receive a force from the handlebar via the second horseshoe elements to rotate the actuators;

a push rod coupled to the other end portion of the actuators;

a glide mount coupled to one end of the push rod to receive motion from the push rod; and

a lock bolt coupled to the glide mount to receive motion from the glide mount.

2. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein each of the actuators is bent by a right angle to form the central portion and two end portions, one of the end portions of each actuator being coupled to a bottom hole of a respective second horseshoe element, and the central portion of each actuator being coupled to a top hole of a respective first horseshoe element.

3. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the push rod is in an elongated shape, with a shim being disposed at one end of the push rod for coupling the push rod to one of the end portions of the actuator, and one end of the push rod is connected with a link arm which receives motion from the push rod to generate a horizontal force.

4. The mechanism of claim 3, wherein the glide mount is coupled to one end of the link arm by a shim to receive the horizontal force from the link arm and generate a horizontal movement thereof.

5. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein a lock cover mount is coupled to the glide mount to receive the horizontal movement of the glide mount which horizontally moves back and forth inside the lock cover mount in accordance with the motion of the push rod.

6. The mechanism of claim 5, wherein an elliptic slot is formed at a side of the glide mount, allowing a pin to be inserted into the slot to couple the glide mount to the lock cover mount, and making the glide mount directed by the slot to move back and forth horizontally.

7. The mechanism of claim 5, wherein the lock bolt is coupled to the glide mount and the lock cover mount by a pin and is driven by the glide mount to move.

8. The mechanism of claim 5, wherein the glide mount is coupled to a partition which has an outwardly protruding arm and whose central portion is coupled to one end of an elastic member, the other end of the elastic member being secured to a pin disposed at a top of an inside of the lock cover mount, and the partition is coupled to the glide mount and the lock cover mount by a pin, making the partition move up and down along the pin.

9. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein each of the actuators has a recess portion bridged over the push rod;

the central portion of each actuator is connected to a respective first horseshoe element by a shim inserted into a hole of the central portion and a hole at a top of the first horseshoe element; and

one of the end portions of each actuator has a hole inserted with a shim which is further inserted into a hole of the push rod to couple the actuator to the push rod.

10. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein a protruding wing is formed at a central portion of the push rod for securing one end of an anti-push elastic member whose compression is released to generate a force on the push rod and move the push rod horizontally to an original starting position, and the other end of the anti-push elastic member is coupled to a stopper plate of one of the first horseshoe elements.

11. The mechanism of claim 8, wherein when the partition moves upwards, a front end of the partition is in contact with a recess portion of the lock bolt, making the lock bolt not able to retract into the lock shell.

12. The mechanism of claim 8, wherein the arm of the partition abuts against one end of a pillar of a safety plate, the pillar being coupled to one end of an elastic member whose other end is coupled to a pin which couples the safety plate and the glide mount to the lock cover mount and which protrudes from an arc-shaped opening of the safety plate, allowing the elastic member to generate a force to move the safety plate.

13. The mechanism of claim 12, wherein the safety plate is in a substantially triangular shape, and a pin is used to couple the safety plate and the lock bolt to the lock cover mount and connected with a coiled elastic member whose one end is coupled to a top of the lock cover mount and whose other end generates a force on the lock bolt.

14. The mechanism of claim 8, wherein the glide mount is formed with a fire piece made of a heat-melting material.

15. The mechanism of claim 14, wherein a bottom of the fire piece is formed with a protrusion having a slanted surface in contact with the arm of the partition to move the partition downwards and disengage the lock bolt.

16. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the push rod has an end thereof, relatively far away from the glide mount, being connected to a door bolt assembly used to engage and disengage a door bolt of the fire door.

17. The mechanism of claim 16, wherein the door bolt assembly comprises a pivot member, an operation member penetrating through the pivot member, a holding member disposed between the pivot member and the operation member, and a rotation member coupled to the pivot member and having a spring thereon.

18. The mechanism of claim 17, wherein the pivot member comprises a first portion and a second portion that is rotatably coupled to the rotation member;

the operation member is coaxial with the pivot member and coupled to a position between the first and second portions; and

the holding member is used to maintain axial extension of the operation member and the first portion.

19. The mechanism of claim 18, wherein with the push rod acting as an axis, the first portion moves between a first position where the operation member is capable of being engaged with the push rod, and a second position where the operation member is not capable of being engaged with the push rod;

and the second portion biases the first portion at the first or second position by means of the spring on the rotation member.