Locks – Special application – For control and machine elements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-16
2002-12-10
Knight, Anthony (Department: 3676)
Locks
Special application
For control and machine elements
C292SDIG003, C292S035000, C292S166000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06490895
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in paddle handle operating mechanisms for latches and locks of the general type that form the subject matter of the following patents (referred to hereinafter as the Paddle Handle Operating Mechanism Patents) , the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, namely: U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,260 issued Aug. 8, 1995 to Lee S. Weinerman et al, entitled HANDLE OPERABLE ROTARY LATCH AND LOCK; U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,076 issued Jan. 21, 1997 to Lee S. Weinerman et al, entitled HANDLE OPERABLE TWO-POINT LATCH AND LOCK; U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,224 issued Mar. 18, 1997 to Lee S. Weinerman et al, entitled HANDLE OPERABLE ROTARY LATCH AND LOCK; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,948 issued Mar. 23, 1999 to Lee S. Weinerman et al, entitled ROTARY LATCH AND LOCK. More particularly, the present invention relates to a more versatile form of paddle handle operating mechanism to which linkage may be connected for operating one or a plurality of remotely located latch assemblies, with the operating mechanism including, if desired, a lock that also may be accompanied by a handle disconnect mechanism.
2. Prior Art
Flush mountable, paddle-handle operated latches and locks are known that employ rotary latch bolts, also referred to as “rotary jaws,” wherein the jaws are provided with U-shaped strike-receiving notches for latchingly receiving and releasably retaining suitably configured strike formations. Disclosures of latch and/or lock units of this type are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,642 issued Mar. 23, 1982 to John V. Pastva, Jr., entitled PADDLE LOCKS WITH HANDLE DISCONNECT FEATURES; U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,412 issued Apr. 17, 1990 to Jye P. Swan et al, entitled VEHICLE DOOR LOCK SYSTEM PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF SPACED ROTARY LATCHES; U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,906 issued Jan. 30, 1990 to Lee S. Weinerman et al entitled VEHICLE DOOR LOCK SYSTEM; and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,491 issued Dec. 3, 1991 to Lee S. Weinerman et al entitled VEHICLE DOOR LOCK SYSTEM (referred to hereinafter as the Heavy Duty Rotary Latch and Lock Patents), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The rotary latch and/or lock units that are disclosed in the Heavy Duty Rotary Latch and Lock Patents are of a relatively heavy duty type that often are employed in “personnel restraint applications,” typically on doors of passenger compartments of vehicles. These heavy duty units employ pairs of lousing-mounted rotary jaws, with the jaws being sandwiched between pairs of housing side plates, and with notches that are formed in each pair of rotary jaws being configured to receive and engage opposite sides of a suitably configured strike formation, typically a cylindrical stem of a striker pin. While both of the housing side plates are provided with U-shaped notches, neither of these notches defines a strike engagement surface that cooperates with a notched rotary jaw to latchingly receive and releasably retain a strike formation. The notches that are formed in the jaws, not the notches that are formed in the housing side plates, receive, engage and latchingly retain suitably configured strike formations.
Lighter duty rotary latch and lock units that employ single rotary jaws also are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,203 issued Jan. 26, 1982 to Edwin W. Davis entitled FLUSH-MOUNTABLE LOCK WITH ACTUATOR DISCONNECT FEATURE (referred to hereinafter as the Lighter Duty Rotary Latch and Lock Patent) discloses 1) the use of a single rotary latch jaw that is nested within and supported by portions of the housing of a flush mountable paddle-handle assembly, and 2) the use of a single U-shaped housing-carried notch that cooperates with the U-shaped notch formed in a rotary jaw to receive and latchingly retain a generally cylindrical strike formation. The disclosure of the Lighter Duty Rotary Latch and Lock Patent also is incorporated herein by reference.
So-called “paddle handle operating mechanisms” having flush-mountable, recess-defining, pan-shaped housings often are designed to accommodate a particular type of latch or a particular arrangement of remotely located latches. The limited amount of space that tends to be available for mounting these operating mechanisms within the confines of thin cabinet doors and the like has stood as an obstacle to the design of a versatile paddle handle operating mechanism that can be used with a wide variety of link-connected remotely located latches.
While manufacturers of paddle handle operating mechanisms have recognized the desirability of offering full-featured units (incorporating such options as “disconnects” for preventing handle movement from causing other operating components to move when the unit is locked) with a plurality of linkage connection points that will accommodate links coupled to a variety of arrays of remotely located latches, the constraints of available space have obstructed efforts to accommodate this objective. The need to minimize the thickness of the operating mechanisms (so they will fit within the confines of thin closures) is one such constraint. Others include a need to confine the operating components within the “footprint” of the generally rectangular pan-shaped housings on which the operating components are mounted so that the operating components can be inserted through rectangular door panel openings at the locations where the paddle handle operating mechanisms are to be mounted on closures.
If a paddle handle operating mechanism is to operate a pair of latches located on opposite sides of the mechanism (i.e., spaced from opposite sides or from opposite ends of the generally rectangular housing of the mechanism), connection points need to be provided near opposite sides of a centrally pivoted connection member so that the oppositely extending links (which extend in opposite directions from the connection member to operate the latches) will move substantially equidistantly in opposite directions when the latches are to be concurrently unlatched. The space that is needed to accommodate link-to-connection-member couplings is the same space that is competed for by other operating components that must be kept thin and held substantially within the footprint of the housing.
Attempting to use an existing paddle handle operating mechanism (that has been designed to accommodate one arrangement of remotely located latches) with a new arrangement of remotely located latches may result in non-concurrent latch operation and/or nonequidistant movement of the links that connect latches to the mechanism. This may cause one or both of the remotely located latches to fail to operate, to operate improperly or to be unduly stressed, with resulting damage and/or reduction in service life. A paddle handle operating mechanism that is provided with connections for links that operate a pair of remote latches located above and below the handle mechanism (i.e., spaced from opposite ends of the generally rectangular housing of the mechanism) may not be suited for operating a pair of remote latches located to the left and right of the handle mechanism (i.e., spaced from opposite sides of the generally rectangular housing of the mechanism), and seldom will be well suited for operating a pair of remote latches in a right-angle array wherein one of the latches is located above or below the handle mechanism, and another is located to the left or right of the handle mechanism.
Thus size constraints and other applicable design considerations have significantly obstructed efforts to provide a full-featured paddle handle operating mechanism with a pivoted connection member that defines a generous array of link connection points that are well suited for use with a good variety of link-operated latch arrays, including latch arrays having at least a pair of latches that are located on opposite sides of the paddle handle operating mechanism that are operated by links that move in opposite directions when the connection member pivots.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides improvement
Arthurs Scott A.
Weinerman Lee S.
Burge David A.
Knight Anthony
The Eastern Company
Walsh John B.
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