LOCK FOR REINFORCED DOORS AND THE LIKE Technical field ^%

The present invention relates to a lock for reinforced doors and the like. Background art

A reinforced door, typically used as an entrance door for apartments and offices, has suitable laminar reinforcement elements which are designed to provide overall stiffening and make it difficult to damage for break-in purposes. For a door of this type, it is necessary to provide components which have the same degree of security against break-ins as the door itself: the hinges will be oversized (in order to bear the great weight of the door and withstand any break-in impacts), and the lock will have bolts which protrude appropriately and are adapted to engage within respective selvages of the jamb which are particularly deep and rigidly coupled to the wall.

Locks of this type usually provide for the actuation of the latch by means of a handle (in some cases provided only on the inner side of the door and in other cases on both sides) and of the bolts 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 requirements prescribe that the exit routes must have antipanic handles and/or panic bars and/or equivalent devices installed.

Known types of embodiment of locks for reinforced doors do not provide for the possibility to retract the bolts by operating the handle (or the panic bar): it must therefore be possible to lock the bolts in a retracted configuration for all the time during which the antipanic function is required (for as long as said enclosed space is occupied by people).

However, the adoption of this solution is not allowed by many standards, since the safety condition for the user is required to persist constantly.

There are embodiments (of a known type) which allow to retract the bolts as a consequence of the rotation of the handle: however, these embodiments, by comprising a plurality of mutually associated components, entail the use of a box-like containment body which is very large (much larger than a standard lock for reinforced doors). For this reason, such locks for reinforced doors, suitable for use with an antipanic function, are adapted to be fitted only on doors which are provided specifically in order to contain them. Disclosure of the invention The aim of the present invention is to provide a lock for reinforced doors and the like which is adapted to retract the bolts by simply turning the handle, with an antipanic function, while maintaining the same dimensions as a lock for reinforced doors of the standard type.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a lock for reinforced doors and the like which has a low c.ost, is relatively simple to provide in practice, and safe in application.

This aim and this object, as well as others which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by the present lock for reinforced doors and the like, of the type that comprises a box-like containment body which has suitable lateral openings for the passage of at least one latch and at least one bolt, said box-like body accommodating a plurality of substantially laminar elements which are functionally associated with a cylinder, which is 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 systems and is designed to move the latch, characterized in that it comprises a plate which performs a translational motion substantially parallel to a face of said bόx-like body, having an upper end which faces and lies proximate to a protrusion of said rotating element and a lower seat for the engagement of a stem which is rigidly coupled to a carousel which is pivoted, in another point, to said box-like body, said carousel accommodating a second stem the

free end of which is engaged within a slot of the laminar element which is rigidly coupled to the at least one bolt which is functionally associated with said cylinder, the rotation of the handle and therefore of the respective rotating element producing a translational motion of said plate, a rotation of said carousel and a translational motion of said laminar element, with consequent retraction of the at least one bolt. 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 a lock for reinforced doors and the like, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a partially sectional perspective view of a lock for reinforced doors and the like according to the invention, with the bolts extracted; Figure 2 is a partially sectional perspective view of a lock for reinforced doors and the like according to the invention, with the bolts extracted;

Figure 3 is a partially sectional perspective view of a lock for reinforced doors and the like according to the invention, with the bolts extracted;

Figure 4 is a partially sectional perspective view of a lock for reinforced doors and the like according to the invention, with the bolts extracted;

Figure 5 is a partially sectional perspective view, with some components removed, of a lock for reinforced doors and the like according to the invention, with the bolts extracted;

Figure 6 is a partially sectional perspective view, with some components removed, of a lock for reinforced doors and the like according to the invention, with the bolts extracted; Figure 7 is a partially sectional perspective view, with some

components removed, of a lock for reinforced doors and the like according to the invention, with the bolts extracted;

Figure 8 is a partially sectional perspective view, with some components removed, of a lock for reinforced doors and the like according to the invention, with the bolts extracted. Ways of carrying out the invention

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a lock for reinforced doors and the like.

The lock 1 for reinforced doors comprises a box-like containment body 2: the body 2 is substantially shaped like a parallelepiped, with 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 (not shown in the ₄ figure) and of at least one bolt 8: according to the embodiment shown in the figure, the at least one bolt 8 is constituted by four cylindrical elements, which are arranged parallel to each other and can slide transversely with respect to the lock 1. There are embodiments which adopt additional bolts which protrude from the upper edge 4 and from the lower edge 5 for association with link rods which are adapted to actuate pins which perform a translational- motion with respect to the door and are arranged at any distance from the lock 1. A plurality of substantially laminar elements are accommodated within the box-like body 2 and are functionally associated with a cylinder (only a seat 9 of which is visible in the figure), which is actuated by a respective key.

A rotating element 10 is also present within the body 2 for engaging a handle: the element 10 is associated with the at least one latch by means of

suitable lever systems of a known type designed to move said latch.

The lock 1 comprises a plate 11 which performs a translational motion substantially parallel to the rear face 3 of the box-like body 2 and has an upper end 11a which faces and lies proximate to a protrusion l ib which protrudes (along a substantially radial direction) from the rotating element 10.

Moreover, the plate 11 is provided with a lower seat (not shown in the figure) for the engagement of a stem which is rigidly coupled to a carousel 12 which is pivoted by means of one of its portions to the box-like body 2. The carousel 12 accommodates, in an additional portion thereof which lies substantially opposite the one in which it is engaged in the plate with respect to the area for pivoting to the box-like body 2, a second stem, the free end of which is engaged within a slot of the laminar element 13 which is rigidly coupled to the at least one bolt 8. The rotation of the handle and therefore of the respective rotating element 10 therefore causes a translational motion of the plate 11, a rotation of the carousel 12 and a translational motion of the laminar element 13, with consequent retraction of the bolt 8.

According to an embodiment of particular interest in practice and in application, the rotating element 10 is constituted by two mirror- symmetrical jaws 10a and 10b, which are provided with a respective recess 14 to accommodate the stem of the handle. The recesses 14 can be accessed from the outside through openings provided on the mutually opposite faces (the face 3 and the face that is parallel thereto) of the box-like body 2. In this case, the protrusion 12a of the rotating element 10 is rigidly coupled to only one of the jaws (either 10a or 10b). Therefore, the condition occurs in which the rotation of the jaw 10a (or 10b), by means of the respective handle inserted in the corresponding recess 14, ensures the retraction of the bolt 8. The other jaw 10b (or 10a), i.e., the one without the protrusion 12a, is completely disengaged from the laminar element 13.

Each of the jaws 10a and 10b comprises a protrusion 12a which faces and lies proximate to a flat member 12b which is articulated for the rotation thereof synchronously with rotations of one of the jaws 10a and 10b, the one moved by the handle inserted within the respective recess 14. In turn, each articulated flat member 12b comprises a lug 12c, which is adapted to engage on a grip portion 12d of a one-way plate 100.

The ^' plate 100 is designed to prevent the retraction into the retracted configuration of the bolts 8, since it is provided with- a set of teeth to lock its translational motions and therefore also the translational motions of the element 13 that is rigidly coupled thereto.

The rotation of one of the jaws 10a and 10b entails a corresponding rotation of the flat member 12b and a rise, and therefore release, of the plate 100: when the jaws 10a and/or 10b are rotated and therefore the plate 100 is raised, the bolts 8 can be retracted, because the set of teeth of the plate 100 is spaced from the fixed reference on the body 2 which constitutes its locking constraint.

It is important to note that each jaw 10a and 10b can be coupled or not to the plate 11 as a consequence of a particular configuration chosen by the installation technician (to force one of the two handles to be free while the other one is intended for the complete operation of the lock 1 and therefore also of its antipanic function): it is possible to insert in the hole 1Oe a suitable grub screw which is designed to provide stable connection between the jaw (10a or 10b) and the plate 11, thus selecting the type of operation of the lock 1. The translating plate 11 comprises at least one slot 15 for accommodating a protrusion 16 which is rigidly coupled to the face 3 of the box-like body 2: the protrusion 16 constitutes a guiding reference for the slot 15 and therefore for the plate 11, in order to ensure a correct translational motion along a vertical direction. The carousel 12 is substantially triangular, being pivoted at a vertex

17 to the translating plate 11, at a second vertex 18 to the laminar element 13 associated with the bolt 8, and at a third vertex 19 to the box-like body 2. The operation of the lock 1 according to the invention is as follows. By using the key (engaged in the respective cylinder accommodated within the seat 9), it is possible to actuate the extraction and retraction of the bolts 8 to ensure the secure closure of the reinforced door in which the lock 1 is fitted.

Likewise, it is possible to retract the latch (which is normally in the extracted configuration by way of the action of an elastic element) by means of a rotation of the handle, the stem of which is engaged in the respective recess 14 of the element 10.

Advantageously, differentiating itself therefore from all known types of lock which have a single element 10 and standard dimensions, the lock 1 also allows retraction of the bolts 8 as a consequence of a rotation of the handle (and therefore a rotation of the element 10).

This rotation entails the application of a force on the part of the element l ib to the upper end 11a of the plate 11, with consequent downward translational motion of the plate 11.

This translational motion entails a rotation of the carousel 12, since its vertex 17 is moved downward because it is rigidly coupled to the plate

11, while its vertex 19 is fixed with respect to the face 3. Therefore, the vertex 18 follows a substantially linear path (for small movements, the circular path can be approximated by means of a segment of a straight line) whose direction is perpendicular to the direction traced by the vertex 17. The consequence is a retraction of the element 13 (and of the bolts 8 with it), which is rigidly coupled to the vertex 19.

In practice it is possible to produce the retraction of the bolts 8 even without the aid of the key: the great advantage of this embodiment is that it is possible to use the lock 1 to convert any reinforced door of the standard type into a door which has an antipanic function. This function is required

for a very large number of applications in public spaces and up until now required onerous modifications to the reinforced doors with respect to standards.

The possibility to provide the element 10 with two jaws 10a and 10b further allows to provide the antipanic function only as a consequence of the actuation of the handle on one side of the door (usually the inner side) because the jaw 10a (or 10b) that is present in the outer part does not have the protrusion l ib and therefore is in no way coupled to the plate 11.

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.