Locks – Special application – For control and machine elements
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-25
2001-10-09
Barrett, Suzanne Dino (Department: 3627)
Locks
Special application
For control and machine elements
C070S215000, C292S202000, C292S336300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298697
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a swivel lever closure for the door, side wall, or the like, of a switch cabinet, machine enclosure or the like, with an actuating shaft which extends through the door leaf, with locking devices, such as a sash lock and/or bar lock, which are drivable by the actuating shaft, with a dish or cavity that can be placed on the door leaf or the like, with an actuating lever which is articulated at the actuating shaft so as to be swivelable about an axis extending vertical to the axis of the actuating shaft and which can be secured in a swiveled in position in the cavity by means of a locking device and can be swiveled out of the cavity, wherein the actuating shaft can be rotated by means of the actuating lever into the position which is swiveled out from the cavity.
b) Description of the Related Art
A swivel lever closure of the type mentioned above is known, for example, from page 2-105 of a catalog from DIRAK GmbH und Co. KG, Kaiserstr. 55-59, 58332 Schwelm. Further, reference is had to EP 0 054 225 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,735.
All of the cited references show swivel lever shapes which extend in a straight line parallel to the surface of the door or the like when swiveled in. Therefore, when the lever is swiveled out, it extends at a sharply acute angle to this surface of the door leaf or the like, which is inconvenient on the one hand and, on the other hand, reduces the effective lever arm length by which the lever projects in the swiveled out state on the door leaf surface and accordingly increases the forces required for rotation. In this respect, a swivel lever closure described in DE 297 05 778 U1 has a slight inclination, but its cavity has a very long constructional length in comparison to the length of the fastening lever.
Further, with the exception of the first swivel lever from the catalog cited above, none of the swivel lever closures provides the possibility of locking with a padlock.
In contrast to the prior art, it is the object of the invention to shape the swivel lever closure in such a way that the cavity has only a slightly larger constructional length than the actuating lever and such that the swivel lever closure can be conveniently handled in the swung out state and nevertheless offers the possibility of locking with a padlock, wherein provisional locking should also be possible without a padlock.
This object is met first in that the actuating lever has a first shorter portion which proceeds from the axis of articulation at the actuating shaft and which is directed at an inclination away from the plane of the door leaf or the like when the lever is swiveled into the cavity, and a second, longer portion following the first portion which is directed at an inclination toward the plane of the door leaf when the swivel lever is positioned so as to be swiveled into the cavity.
As a result of these features, it is possible for the user when swiveling out the handle to move this handle into a position such that a substantial portion of the swivel lever extends either parallel to or at a smaller angle to the door leaf plane, which facilitates handling.
This lever shape is also advantageous in that particularly favorable relationships result when, according to another feature, the cavity has, in its area receiving the free end of the lever, a shoulder such as an eyelet which projects through a notch or slit of the lever end when the lever is in its swiveled in position. That is, in a surprisingly advantageous manner, the inclined shape creates space for this eyelet without increasing the constructional height.
In this connection, it is noted that the swivel lever actuation according to page 2-105 of the catalog from DIRAK GmbH & Co. KG also has an eyelet whose purpose, according to this reference, is to secure the swivel lever by means of a padlock. A disadvantage in this known arrangement is that the shoulder projects far over the surface of the swiveled in swivel lever and accordingly not only increases the constructional height, but also presents an obstacle to persons passing by it. Due to the fact that the shoulder in the center of the cavity projects out very far, this shoulder also impedes the user's hand when the lever is swiveled out. In contrast to this known arrangement, the shoulder or eyelet according to the invention through which the padlock can be inserted presents less of an obstacle. This is achieved primarily in that the cavity carries the shoulder, such as an eyelet, in its area receiving the free end of the lever rather than in the center, wherein the shoulder projects through the notch or slot of the lever end when the lever is in the swiveled in position. Due to the special shape of the lever, in which the area of the junction between the two inclined areas is the area located farthest away from the door leaf surface, the eyelet does not project out as far as the farthest projecting area of the swivel lever and therefore no longer presents an obstacle. In addition to this, the eyelet is located below the projecting area of the lever when the latter is arranged vertically, as is usually the case, and also presents less of an obstacle.
As a result of the arrangement of the eyelet, it is possible for the shoulder or the eyelet to be mounted so as to be swivelable against spring force and to form a protuberance or offset which secures the swivel lever in the swiveled in state. A disadvantage of the known arrangement, wherein the swivel lever is prevented from swiveling out only when a padlock is actually inserted, is avoided by means of this feature. However, there are also cases in which a padlock of this type will not be provided at least at certain times, in which case the known arrangement is not protected against an unintentional swiveling out of the swivel lever. This swiveling out can occur when, as a result of shaking movement such as can occur during earthquakes or during operation of a vibrating machine, the swivel lever exits from its cavity, in which case there is a risk that it will rotate with the driving shaft to the extent that the locking device opens and, e.g., the door leaf of the switching cabinet secured by the closure will stand open. Switching cabinets which are located, e.g., on crane installations where there are often a plurality of, e.g., as many as 30, switching installations which are enclosed by a switch room are subject to especially strong shaking movements. It is unacceptable for switch cabinet doors of this type to be able to open unintentionally due to shaking movements, even if they do not all have padlocks.
EP 0 054 225 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,735, and DE 297 05 778 U1, but also the arrangement known from the catalog (see the note on the possibility of combination with a profile cylinder), offer the possibility of providing a profile cylinder which can likewise secure the actuating lever irrespective of a padlock. However, combining a swivel lever closure with a padlock as well as a profile cylinder complicates the arrangement because two keys are then necessary, a first key for the padlock and a second key for the profile cylinder.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Obviously, it is not possible in the known arrangements according to the above-cited references to simply press in and lock the actuating lever. When a key-actuated arrangement is provided, it must—at least in the European and U.S. patents—first be locked by means of a key, e.g., as in the case of a cylinder lock, or a padlock must be inserted in order to lock as in the catalog reference.
Therefore, the invention also has the primary object of further developing the known arrangement in such a way that the actuating lever can be pressed into its locked position and securely held in this position also without the use of a padlock and without using a cylinder which is actuated by key.
Further, it should be possible to move the actuating lever out of this pressed in secured position without special tools.
These additional objectives are met in that the above-mentione
Barrett Suzanne Dino
Reed Smith LLP
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