Cable restrictor with a lockable body for a door or a window

DESCRIPTION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to restrictors adapted to be secured to a window or door, and more particularly to cable restrictors having an improved lockable body.

Background Art

Restrictors are used to limit how far a window or door can be opened.

A known cable restrictor 101 is shown in Figures 6 and 7 and includes a swivel plate 106 and a lockable body 102. One end of a cable 104 is permanently fixed to the swivel plate 106, optionally by means of a crimp 108 that prevents the end of the cable from being removed through an opening in the swivel plate 106. Mounting openings 112, 114 are provided in the swivel plate 106 to enable it to be secured to part of a window or door using suitable mechanical fixings such as screws. The unsecured end of the cable 104 is permanently fixed to one end of a locking pin 116 or bullet. The locking pin 116 is shaped and sized to be inserted into a first opening 134 in the lockable body 102 and includes an annular channel 118 or recess at its distal end. When assembled for use, the swivel plate 106, cable 104 and locking pin 116 together form an integral part of the cable restrictor 101.

The lockable body 102 includes an outer housing 124 and a rear plate 125. Mounting openings 126,128 are provided in the lockable body 102 to enable it to be secured to part of a window or door using suitable mechanical fixing such as screws. Once the lockable body 102 has been secured to the window or door, caps 130, 132 can be inserted into the mounting openings 126,128 to hide the mechanical fixings.

A locking cylinder 136 is permanently located within a second opening 138 of the lockable body 102 and includes a shaped opening (keyhole) for receiving a key 139. Rotation of the locking cylinder 136 relative to the outer housing 124 causes a locking plate 142 (or latch) to move laterally between first and second positions. When the locking plate 142 is in the first position, it extends into the first opening 134 and if the locking pin 116 is located in the first opening then the locking plate 142 also extends into the annular channel 118 of the locking pin 116 to prevent removal of the pin. In other words, when the locking pin 116 is properly inserted into the first opening 134 of the lockable body 102 then the annular channel 118 is aligned with the locking plate 142. The locking cylinder 136 can be locked to maintain the locking plate 142 in the first position by turning the key 139, which can then be removed for safety. The locking cylinder 136 can only be turned relative to the outer housing 124 if the key 139 is inserted into the shaped opening in the locking cylinder 136.

The swivel plate 106 and the lockable body 102 can be secured to any suitable part of the window or door, or in some cases to the surrounding wall. Typically, the swivel plate 106 will be secured to the movable part of the window or door and the lockable body 102 will be secured to the fixed frame or window cill.

In use, the locking pin 116 is inserted into the first opening 134 and the key 139 is used to turn the locking cylinder 136 until the locking plate 142 extends into the annular channel 118 in the distal end of the locking pin 116, i.e., the locking plate 142 moves laterally to the first position. The key 139 can then be removed from the locking cylinder 136 so that the locking cylinder cannot be turned relative to the outer housing 124. The locking pin 116 cannot be removed from the first opening 134 because the locking plate 142 is received in the annular channel 118. With the locking pin 116 temporarily secured to the lockable body 102, the window or door can only be opened through a distance that is determined by the length of the cable 104. To release the locking pin 116 the key 139 must be inserted into the locking cylinder 136 and the locking cylinder must be turned until the locking plate 142 does not extend into the annular channel 118, i.e., the locking plate 142 moves laterally towards the second position. The locking pin 116 can then be removed from the lockable body 102 so that the window or door can be opened freely. Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a lockable body for a cable restrictor, the lockable body comprising:

an opening shaped and sized to receive a locking pin of the cable restrictor in use;

a locking plate;

a locking cylinder that when rotated in a first (or unlocking) sense moves the locking plate in a first lateral direction away from the opening; and

a push button located within the lockable body;

wherein the push button is movable axially between a first (or non-engaging) position where it does not engage with the locking cylinder and a second (or engaging) position where it engages with the locking cylinder such that rotation of the push button by a user causes the locking cylinder to rotate.

The lockable body does not require a separate key.

Before the locking cylinder can be turned by the push button, the push button must be moved in the axial direction to the engaging position. In other words, to turn the locking cylinder the user must carry out two distinct movements: first push the push button towards the locking cylinder so that it is engaged with the locking cylinder before turning the push button to turn the locking cylinder and move the locking plate in a lateral direction. This ensures that the locking cylinder is not turned accidentally and makes the lockable body child-resistant. When the push button is in the non-engaging position it is preferably free to rotate relative to both the locking cylinder and an outer housing of the lockable member and does not engage at all with the locking cylinder.

Rotation of the locking cylinder in a second, opposite (or locking), sense moves the locking plate in a second lateral direction towards the opening. The locking plate can be biased towards a locking position, e.g., by a spring or other suitable biasing member. In use, a locking pin is inserted into the opening of the lockable body. When the locking plate is in the locking position, an end of the locking plate will be received in an annular channel or recess provided in a distal end of the locking pin so that the locking pin is temporarily secured to the lockable body. The locking pin can be released by moving the locking plate in the first lateral direction against the bias so that the end of the locking plate is no longer received in the annular channel. Such lateral movement of the locking plate is achieved by using the push button to turn the locking cylinder. The locking cylinder can include an eccentrically-located drive pin that is received in an opening provided in the locking plate and which converts the turning movement of the locking cylinder into lateral movement of the locking plate.

The push button can be biased towards the first position, e.g., by a spring or other suitable biasing member. To move the push button towards the second position and into engagement with the locking cylinder the user must move the push button in an axial direction against the bias.

The push button and the locking cylinder preferably include cooperating engagement means that are engaged only when the push button is in the second position. In one arrangement, one of the push button and the locking cylinder includes a recess and the other one of the push button and the locking cylinder includes an engagement pin that is received in the recess only when the actuating means is in the second position. Only when the engagement pin is received in the recess can the locking cylinder be rotated by the push button. Said one of the actuating means and the locking cylinder can include a plurality of recesses.

When the push button is in the first position, where it does not engage with the locking cylinder, it may be freely rotatable relative to the locking cylinder.

The locking cylinder and push button can be provided in an opening in the lockable body.

The lockable body can include a rear plate and an outer housing.

Mounting openings can be provided in the lockable body to enable it to be secured to part of a window or door using suitable mechanical fixing such as screws.

The present invention can further provide a cable restrictor comprising:

a swivel plate; a cable having a first end secured to the swivel plate and a second end secured to a locking pin; and

a lockable body as described above.

The locking pin can include an annular channel in its distal end.

The distal end of the locking pin can include a chamfered surface. Contact between the chamfered surface and the end of the locking plate can move the locking plate laterally against the bias when the locking pin is inserted into the opening in the lockable body. In other words, in one arrangement, the push button does not have to be rotated to move the locking plate away from the locking position before the locking pin can be inserted into the opening. As soon as the annular channel of the locking pin is axially aligned with the locking plate, the locking plate will be biased back to the locking position. The opening in the locking plate that receives the drive pin of the locking cylinder can be sized and shaped to accommodate any lateral movement of the locking plate while the locking cylinder remains stationary. In this arrangement, the locking pin can be inserted into the lockable body while the restrictor is locked but it cannot be removed again without operating the push button.

The various components of the cable restrictor can be made of any suitable material such as stainless steel (e.g., the rear plate, locking plate, locking pin), zinc alloy (e.g., the outer housing, locking cylinder, swivel plate), coated galvanised steel (e.g., the cable) etc.

Drawings

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a cable restrictor according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the cable restrictor of Figure 1 with the rear plate of the lockable body omitted; Figure 3 is a cross-section view of the lockable body of Figure 1 with the push button in a non-engaging position and the locking plate in a locking position;

Figure 4 is a cross-section view of the lockable body of Figure 1 with the push button in an engagement position and the locking plate in a locking position;

Figure 5 is a cross-section view of the lockable body of Figure 1 with the push button in an engagement position and the locking plate in a non-locking position;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a key-operated cable restrictor according to the prior art.

Figure 7 is an exploded view of the prior art cable restrictor of Figure 6.

A lockable body 2 according to the present invention is shown in Figures 1 to 5. Other parts of the cable restrictor 1 (e.g., the cable 4 and the swivel plate 6) are identical to the known cable restrictor described above with reference to Figures 6 and 7 and like parts have been given the same reference numbers.

One end of the cable 4 is permanently fixed to the swivel plate 6 by means of a crimp 8 that prevents the end of the cable from being removed through an opening 10 in the swivel plate. Mounting openings 12, 14 are provided in the swivel plate to enable it to be secured to part of a window or door using suitable mechanical fixings such as screws. The unsecured end of the cable 4 is permanently fixed to one end of a locking pin 16 (or bullet). The locking pin 16 is shaped and sized to be inserted into a first opening 34 in the lockable body 2 and includes an annular channel 18 at its distal end 20. The distal end 20 of the locking pin 16 is provided with a chamfered surface 22. When assembled for use, the cable 4, swivel plate 6 and locking pin 16 together form an integral part of the cable restrictor 1.

The lockable body 2 includes an outer housing 24. A rear plate is attached to the outer housing but is not shown in the Figures. Mounting openings 26, 28 are provided in the lockable body 2 to enable it to be secured to part of a window or door using suitable mechanical fixing such as screws. Caps 30, 32 can be inserted into the mounting openings 26, 28 to hide the mechanical fixings once the lockable body has been secured to the window or door. The lockable body 2 includes a first opening 34 into which the locking pin 16 is inserted in use.

A locking cylinder 36 is permanently located within a second opening 38 of the lockable body 2. The locking cylinder 36 includes an eccentrically-mounted drive pin 40 at one end. A locking plate (or latch) 42 is located within the lockable body 2 and includes an opening 44 in which the drive pin 40 is received. The locking plate 42 is biased by a spring 46 towards a locking position that is shown in Figures 3 and 4. Rotation of the locking cylinder 36 in an unlocking sense (e.g., anti-clockwise) moves the locking plate 42 against the bias of the spring 46 in a first lateral direction away from the first opening 34.

The other end of the locking cylinder 36 includes an eccentrically-mounted engagement pin 48.

A push button 50 represents an actuating member and is located within the second opening 38 of the lockable body 2. The push button 50 is fitted over the end of the locking cylinder 36 and includes a pair of recesses 52, 54 that are shaped and sized to receive the engagement pin 48. The push button 50 is biased by a spring 56 towards a non-engaging position shown in Figure 3 where the engagement pin 48 is not received in one of the recesses 52, 54. In the non-engaging position the push button 50 does not engage with the locking cylinder 36 in a way that can transfer torque between them and is freely rotatable relative to both the outer housing 24 and the locking cylinder.

The push button 50 can be moved axially against the bias of the spring 56 to an engaging position shown in Figures 4 and 5 where the engagement pin 48 is received in one of the recesses 54. In the engaging position, rotation of the push button 50 by the user causes corresponding rotation of the locking cylinder 36.

In use, the locking pin 16 is inserted into the first opening 34. As the locking pin 16 is inserted into the first opening 34, the chamfered surface 22 comes into contact with the end of the locking plate 42 that extends into the first opening 34. The chamfered surface 22 applies a force to the locking plate 42 to move the locking plate laterally against the bias provided by the spring 46. The opening 44 in the locking plate 42 that receives the drive pin 40 is shaped and sized to allow the locking plate 42 to be moved by the locking pin 16 without causing the locking cylinder 36 to rotate. Once the locking pin 16 is properly located in the first opening 34, the annular channel is axially aligned with the locking plate 42 and the locking plate moves back to the locking position under the bias of the spring 46. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, when the locking plate 42 is in the locking position, the end of the locking plate is received in the annular channel 18 in the distal end 20 of the locking pin 16 so that the locking pin cannot be removed from the first opening 34 and is temporarily secured to the lockable body 2. With the locking pin 16 temporarily secured to the lockable body 2, the window or door to which the cable restrictor 1 is secured can only be opened by an amount that is determined by the length of the cable 4. In one arrangement the cable 4 is about 200 mm long.

To release the locking pin 16 from the lockable body 2, the push button 50 must first be moved axially against the bias provided by the spring 56 to the engaging position shown in Figure 4 where the engagement pin 48 is received in one of the recesses 54. The push button 50 can then be turned in a first sense (e.g., anti-clockwise). The engagement between the engagement pin 48 and the recess 54 causes the locking cylinder 36 to turn in the same sense and the locking plate 42 is moved laterally against the bias provided by the spring 46 until the end of the locking plate is no longer received in the annular channel 18 in the distal end 20 of the locking pin 16. The locking pin 16 can then be withdrawn from the lockable body 2.