ANTIPANIC LOCK Technical field

The present invention relates to an antipanic lock. Background art Traditional locks normally actuate the latch by means of a handle

(which in some cases is provided only on the inner side of the door and in other cases is provided on both sides) and bolts (generally in combination with the latch) by turning the key within, the cylinder.

For some kinds of installation it is not possible to adopt this kind of lock, since specific legal provisions require escape routes to have panic bars installed (the pressure/rotation of the bar must ensure the opening of the door in whatever configuration it assumes, therefore even when the bolts are completely extracted).

Known types of embodiment of locks which do not have the possibility to retract the bolts by actuating the handle (or the panic bar) make it necessary to lock the bolts in the retracted configuration for all the time for which the antipanic function is required (as long as the enclosed space is occupied by people).

However, the adoption of this solution is not allowed by many statutory provisions, since the safety condition for the user is required to be permanent.

There are embodiments (of a known type) which provide for the possibility to retract the bolts following the rotation of the handle: however, these embodiments, by comprising a plurality of mutually associated components, entail the adoption of a box-like containment body which is large (much larger than a standard lock). For this reason, these locks, which are suitable for use with an antipanic function, are adapted to be fitted only on doors which are specifically manufactured to contain them.

At the same time, it must be noted that giving the antipanic function to the door handle allows anyone to enter from outside (by acting on the

external handle) even when the door is closed with the bolts: this type of embodiment is therefore scarcely adopted due to this severe drawback. Disclosure of the invention

The aim of the present invention is to provide an antipanic lock in which the antipanic function is active only on the interior side.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide an antipanic lock in which it is possible to activate the antipanic function even on only one of the handles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an antipanic lock in which it is possible to manage and reconfigure the operations performed by the external handle, enabling it or not for opening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an antipanic lock which has a low cost, is relatively simple to provide in practice and is safe in application. This aim and these objects are achieved by the present antipanic lock, of the type which comprises a box-like containment body provided with lateral openings, for the passage of at least one latch and at least one bolt, a plurality of substantially laminar elements which are functionally associated with a cylinder actuated by a respective key, and a rotating element for the engagement of a handle which is associated with said at least one latch by means of lever mechanisms and is designed to move it, characterized in that said lever mechanisms interposed between the rotating element and the latch comprise a rod, which has an end which can be associated with said latch in order to move said latch, said rod being provided with at least one lower portion for mating with at least one respective abutment which is rigidly coupled to said rotating element, said rod being able to tilt, by way of the action of a mechanism which can be actuated by a user, with respect to its end from a first configuration, in which at least one portion thereof is substantially aligned with said at least one abutment, to a second raised configuration, in which said at least one portion is separate and spaced from

said at least one abutment, not interfering with it in any point of its stroke during the rotation of said rotating element. Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of an antipanic lock, illustrated by way of non- limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a cutout perspective view of an antipanic lock according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cutout front view of an antipanic lock according to the invention;

Figure 3 is a cutout perspective view of an antipanic lock according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a cutout perspective view of an antipanic lock according to the invention.

Ways of carrying out the invention

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates an antipanic lock.

The lock 1 for reinforced doors comprises a box-like containment body 2: the body 2 is shaped substantially like a parallelepiped and has two mutually opposite faces 3, which have a large surface, and four lateral edges, an upper one 4, a lower one 5, a front one 6, and a rear one (not shown in the figure). The box-like body 2 can be provided by adopting the standard size specifications for this type of lock, with the advantage that it can be installed in any reinforced door without requiring any modification thereof.

The box-like body 2 is provided with suitable lateral openings 7 for the passage of at least one latch 8 and of at least one bolt 9: according to the embodiment shown in the figure, the at least one bolt 9 is constituted by four cylindrical elements, which are arranged in a parallel configuration and

can slide transversely with respect to the lock 1. There are embodiments which use additional bolts which protrude from the upper edge 4 and from the lower edge 5 for association with transmission rods which are adapted to actuate bars which perform a translational motion with respect to the door and are arranged at any distance from the lock 1; it is also possible to provide a lock 1 which has a single bolt 9 of optionally larger size (or constituted by any number of elements of any shape and/or size) in order to allow a sufficient level of safety against break-in attempts.

The box-like body 2 accommodates a plurality of substantially laminar elements which are functionally associated with a cylinder 10 actuated by a respective key.

A rotary element 11 for the engagement of a handle is provided also inside the body 2: the element 11 is associated with the at least one latch 8 by means of suitable lever systems of a known type and is designed to move said latch.

The lever systems interposed between the rotary element 11 and the latch 8 comprise a rod 12, which has an end 13 which can be associated with the latch 8 for its movement.

The rod 12 is provided with at least one lower portion 14 for mating with at least one respective abutment 15 which is rigidly coupled to the rotating element 11.

The rod 12 can tilt and its movement is achieved by way of the action of a mechanism which can be actuated by a user with respect to its end 13 from a first configuration of substantial alignment of the portion 14 with the abutment 15 to a second raised configuration, in which the portion 14 is separate and spaced from the abutment 15 and does not interfere with it in any point of its stroke during the rotation of the rotating element 11.

The actuation mechanism for moving the rod 12 comprises a rotating lever 16, which is pivoted on a supporting plate 17 for the bolts 9 which has a protruding tooth 18 which, when the bolts 9 are retracted, is aligned,

proximate to, and interferes with a bit 19 of the cylinder 10 with respect to its stroke.

A rocker 20 is pivoted to the box-like body 2 and has a protrusion 21 which rests substantially against the lever 16 and an upper end 22 which is substantially aligned with the lower edge 23 of the rod 12 in order to keep the rod 12 in the second raised configuration when the lower edge 23 rests, optionally with the interposition of other components, against the upper end 22.

The rotating lever 16 comprises a substantially elongated body 24 which is provided with a through hole 26 for accommodating a pivot which is associated with the supporting plate 17. The tooth 18 is substantially curved toward the cylinder 10 and in the assembled configuration is in the lower part of the lever 16. To the side of the tooth 18 there is a lateral supporting wing 27 for the protrusion 21 of the rocker 20. The rocker 20 comprises, if viewed from the bottom upward when arranged in the assembled configuration, a terminal band 28, whose end is pivoted to the box-like body 2, and a central contoured plate 29. The central plate 29, from one side of which the protrusion 21 protrudes transversely, is provided with a transverse slot 30, which is aligned with a pin 31 which is rigidly coupled to the supporting plate 17 of the bolts 9, and with a slot 32, which accommodates a fixed stem 33, and with the upper end 22 (described previously) suitable for mating with the lower edge 23 of the rod 12.

The rod 12 comprises a through opening 34, on the end 13, for accommodating a guiding shaft 35 which is rigidly coupled to the body 2, a central portion 36 from which there protrudes the lower portion 14 for mating with the respective abutment 15 rigidly coupled to the rotating element 11, and a terminal pin 25 for supporting the upper end 22 of the rocker 20.

The latch 8 is normally kept in the extracted configuration by means of suitable elastic means 8a and is associated with an actuation element 37.

The end 13 of the rod 12 mates stably with the actuation element 37 when the rod 12 is arranged according to the first configuration and therefore is substantially lowered.

It is convenient to note that in the embodiment shown in the figure, between the terminal pin 25 and the tip 22 there is an interposed spacer 38, which is rigidly coupled to one of the substantially laminar elements which are functionally associated with the cylinder 10.

The operation of the lock 1 according to the invention is as follows.

First of all, it is necessary to note that in the lock 1 there is no retraction of the latch 8 by turning the key in the cylinder 10 in the direction for retracting the bolts 9 when said bolts are already completely retracted.

This is therefore a particular type of lock in which the latch 8 can be moved only by means of the handle engaged in the element 11 and the bolts can be retracted and/or extracted only following rotations of the bit 19 of the cylinder 10.

Usually, a rotation of the handle is matched by a rotation of the element 11, the abutment 15 of which acts on the portion 14, causing the retraction of the lever 12 with consequent retraction of the latch 8.

In this case, the lever 12 slides by resting against the spacer 38, which in turn is arranged on the upper end of the tip 22.

Since the element 11 can be provided in two mutually facing and aligned portions, even though the internal handle accommodated in the internal portion of the element 11 is active, the external handle, accommodated in the external portion of the element 11, is free: any movement of the handle will cause no movement of the latch 8.

If it is necessary to associate (activate) the external handle (and therefore the external portion of the element 11) with the latch 8, it is necessary to move the bit 19, while the bolts 9 are retracted, so as to rotate further so as to retract, so that it forces the tooth 18 upward in order to also lift the wing 27, which in turn lifts the protrusion 21 of the rocker 20.

The lifting of the protrusion 21 entails the rotation of the rocker 20 about the terminal band 28: this rotation moves the tip 22 away from the spacer 38 and from the lower edge 23 of the terminal pin 25, which are in the lowered configuration: in this configuration, the end 13 of the rod 12 is coupled by the actuation element 37 and can move only by causing the retraction of the latch 8.

The disengagement of the external handle with respect to the latch 8 can be restored by turning the key within the cylinder 10.

This rotation can be such as to cause an extraction of the bolts 9 or ensure a movement of the supporting plate 17 with consequent lifting of the rod 12 from the element 11 and therefore its arrangement in a configuration for not interfering with respect to the abutment 15: said noninterference configuration ensures that any movement of the external handle in the respective external portion of the element 11 is not transferred in any way to the latch 8.

It has thus been shown that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent ones.

In the exemplary embodiments shown, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.

Moreover, it is noted that anything found to be already known during the patenting process is understood not to be claimed and to be the subject of a disclaimer.