SUBJECT

The invention relates to a self-locking rim lock and to a method for unlocking of a self-locking rim lock.

BACKGROUND

Self-locking rim locks are known, in particular for outside doors. When an auxihary bolt of a known self-locking rim lock is pressed in, for instance as a result of closure of a door on which the rim lock is mounted, a bolt of the rim lock automatically moves from a release position to a lock position, so that the door upon closure thereof can be automatically locked.

A known self-locking rim lock is provided with a turning knob for unlocking of the lock from an inside space. Upon unlocking, the mentioned bolt of the lock is moved from the lock position to the release position by turning the turning knob manually.

Such a known rim lock enables the lock to be simply and quickly unlocked from an inside space, which promotes ease of use. Moreover, the door concerned can thus offer a safe escape route.

A disadvantage of this known rim lock is that a malicious person can unlock the lock relatively easily from outside, for instance by operating the turning knob with a hook or the hke, for instance via a letterbox opening in the door.

For this reason, in a known alternative rim lock, the turning knob can be blocked or uncoupled by means of a key. While this can counteract the just-described abuse from outside, such a design leads to disadvantages at the same time. For instance, with such a self-locking rim lock someone may easily get accidentally locked in if no fitting key is available in the inside space concerned. Even if the key is available, such a lock may make a quick escape, for instance in case of fire, more difficult: finding and manipulating the key takes time and may in case of panic be an irresponsibly complex procedure.

SUMMARY

An object of the current invention is to provide a self-locking rim lock with which a better burglary protection and/or a safer escape route can be realized, whereby, in particular, at the same time a proper burglary protection and a safe escape route are enabled. An object is to solve at least partly at least one of the above-described disadvantages of known self locking rim locks. An object is to provide a self-locking rim lock that meets one or more relevant official standards or norms. An object is to provide a user-friendlier self-locking rim lock.

To this end, in an aspect of the invention, a self-locking rim lock is provided which comprises a lock housing, a bolt and a first operating element outside the lock housing. The bolt has a lock position and a release position. In the lock position a door on which the rim lock is generally mounted is locked, and in the release position the door is not locked anymore.

The first operating element is operatively connected with the bolt for manual unlocking of the lock by a rotation of the first operating element with respect to the lock housing.

The rim lock is provided with a bolt blocking provision which is configured to keep the bolt in the release position. For self-locking, the rim lock is provided with an auxiliary bolt which is configured for, upon pressing-in thereof, operating the bolt blocking provision to remove a blockade of a locking movement of the bolt from the release position to the lock position. The first operating element comprises at least one second operating element which is manually movable from a blocking position to a release position.

In the blocking position, the rotation of the first operating element with respect to the lock housing is blocked, such that operating the bolt via the first operating element and thereby unlocking the lock is hindered.

In the release position, the rotation of the first operating element is released, such that operating the bolt via the first operating element and thereby unlocking the lock is enabled.

Thus, an improved burglary protection can be reahzed, whereby in the blocking position the first operating element is more difficult to operate from outside by a mahcious person. At the same time, the lock can thus be unlocked from the inside relatively simply, safely and quickly, in particular without use of a key, for instance with a single continuous movement of the hand. Thus, a safe escape route is provided at the same time.

Preferably, the rim lock, in particular a bolt operating mechanism thereof, is configured to be self-locking in a mechanical way, such that self-locking is substantially driven by spring tension stored in the rim lock, which spring tension, prior to self-locking, has been obtained from a manual operation of the rim lock. Such mechanical self-locking is known per se for rim locks, and can be used with advantage in a rim lock according to the invention.

To the same end as mentioned earlier, in a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for unlocking of a herein described self-locking rim lock. The method comprises manually moving the at least one second operating element from the blocking position to the release position and then rotating the first operating element with respect to the lock housing. Such a method offers a user-friendly, simple, safe and quick method for unlocking a rim lock that, at least after locking, provides a proper protection against burglary.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following, the invention is further explained on the basis of exemplary embodiments and drawings. The drawings are schematic and show examples of embodiments. In the drawings:

Fig. la shows an isometric view of an example of a self-locking rim lock with a second operating element in a release position;

Fig. lb shows a partly cutaway front view of the rim lock in the position of Fig. la;

Fig. 2a shows a cross-sectional view along the line II -II in Fig. lb of the rim lock in the position of Figs la and lb;

Fig. 2b shows a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 2a of the rim lock with the second operating element in a blocking position;

Fig. 3a shows a partly cutaway isometric view of the rim lock in the position of Fig. 2b;

Fig. 3b shows an isometric view of a first operating element of the rim lock in the position of Fig. 2b;

Fig. 4a shows a rear view of the rim lock;

Figs. 4b, 4c and 4d are respective partly cutaway rear views of the rim lock.

In the figures, a self-locking rim lock 2 is shown which comprises a lock housing 4, a bolt 6 and a first operating element 10, for example a turning knob 10, outside the lock housing 4. The first operating element 10 is operatively connected with the bolt 6 for manual unlocking of the lock 2 by a rotation of the first operating element 10 with respect to the lock housing 4. The bolt 6 is thereby brought from a lock position to a release position. In the lock position, a door on which the rim lock 2 is mounted cannot be opened. In the release position, the door can be opened, though it is not precluded that for this still an additional operation is necessary, such as bringing a second bolt or catch bolt in a release position. The bolt of the rim lock can then be regarded as the dead bolt. In a variant, of which an example is shown in the figures, it is also possible that the bolt 6 has the function of both catch bolt and dead bolt.

The rim lock 2 comprises a bolt blocking provision, not shown in detail here, which is configured to keep the bolt 6 in the release position. For self-locking, the rim lock 2 comprises an auxiliary bolt 18 (see Figs la, lb, 3a) which is configured for, upon being pressed in, operating the bolt blocking provision to remove a blockade of a locking movement of the bolt 6 from the release position to the lock position. The rim lock 2 shown may thus be provided with an auxiliary bolt 18 which ensures that the bolt 6, upon closing of the door, locks automatically and so, from the release position, automatically moves to the lock position. The movement of the bolt 6 from the lock position to the release position is hereinafter denoted by the term unlocking and the movement of the bolt 6 from the release position to the lock position is hereinafter denoted with the term locking. The rim lock 2, in particular a bolt operating mechanism thereof, may for instance be configured to be self-locking in a mechanical way, such that the self-locking is substantially driven by spring tension stored in the rim lock 2, which spring tension, prior to the self-locking, has been obtained from a manual operation of the rim lock 2, for instance during a manually driven unlocking via the first operating element or via a lock cylinder connection.

Such a bolt operating mechanism for a rim lock is generally known per se in diverse variants and is therefore not shown in detail in the drawings.

In the example shown, the above-mentioned rotation of the first operating element 10 with respect to the lock housing 4 is a rotation about an operating rotation axis A, for example a rotation to the left or to the right.

In the ri lock according to the invention, the first operating element 10 is provided with at least one second operating element 12, 12', for example at least one push button 12, 12', which is manually movable from a blocking position to a release position.

Figs la, lb and 2a show the at least one second operating element 12, 12 in the release position. Figs. 2b and 3b show the at least one second operating element 12, 12’ in the blocking position.

In the blocking position (see, for example, Fig. 2b) the rotation of the first operating element 10 with respect to the lock housing 4 is blocked, such that operating the bolt 6 via the first operating element 10 and thereby unlocking the lock 2, is hindered.

In the release position (see, for example, Fig. 2a) the rotation of the first operating element 10 is released, such that operating the bolt 6 via the first operating element 10 and thereby unlocking the lock 2, is enabled.

In Fig. lb a front plate lOf (see Fig. la) of the first operating element 10 is not shown, so that an inner space of the first operating element 10 is visible in Fig. lb. Fig. 3a shows the rim lock 2 with the first operating element 10 not shown. The first operating element 10 is shown by itself in Fig. 3b. In both Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b, the blocking position is shown, where coupling elements 16, 16' are coupled with the first operating element 10 via respective openings 28, 28' of the first operating element 10, as will be further explained elsewhere in this description.

In an embodiment, the at least one second operating element 12,

12' comprises at least two second operating elements 12, 12’.

In this way, a particularly sound rotation blocking can be provided, for example when, as shown, the at least two second operating elements 12, 12' are substantially uniformly distributed along a circumference around the operating rotation axis A. It will be clear that the invention is not limited to a plurality of second operating elements, nor to any maximum number of second operating elements.

As appears from the figures and the further description, optionally, also other elements of the rim lock 2 may analogously be implemented as a plurality, in particular elements that are configured to cooperate with the second operating elements 12, 12’. Such elements implemented as a plurality are indicated in the drawings with a reference numeral that is provided with an accent or prime, in accordance with the denotation of the plurality of second operating elements 12, 12’.

In the drawings, two second operating elements 12, 12' are shown. Such a specific embodiment may provide as an advantage that the second operating elements 12, 12’ are easy to operate simultaneously, for example with one hand. For instance, one of the two second operating elements 12 may be operated with a thumb while the other one of the two second operating elements 12’ is operated simultaneously with one or more (other) fingers of the same hand. In Figs. 2a and 2b it can be seen that the two second operating elements 12, 12’ and any associated further elements may be mirrored with respect to each other, with the operating rotation axis A as line of symmetry.

In an embodiment, a distance between the at least two second operating elements 12, 12’ in their release positions is less than in their blocking positions, the advantage being that the at least two second operating elements 12, 12’ can be operated simultaneously, for example with a single manual gripping or squeezing movement.

In an embodiment, an operating direction B, B’ of the at least one second operating element 12, 12’ from the blocking position to the release position is at an angle a, a’ (see Fig. 2a) to an operating rotation axis A of the first operating element 10. With this, in the example shown, a simultaneous operation of the at least one second operating element 12, 12’ and the first operating element 10 is facilitated. The angle a, a’ is preferably an angle in the range of 45 to 135 degrees, for example an angle of about 90 degrees.

In an embodiment, at least one of the lock housing 4 and the first operating element 10 is provided with at least one coupling element 16, 16' which is movable between a coupling position (see Figs. 2b and 3a) and a decoupling position (see Fig. 2a) by moving the at least one second operating element 12, 12' from the blocking position to the release position.

Preferably, the at least one couphng element 16, 16’ in the coupling position couples the lock housing 4 and the first operating element 10 substantially nonrotatably with each other, whereas the coupling element 16, 16' in the decoupling position releases the lock housing 4 and the first operating element 10 with respect to each other.

With such a coupling element 16, 16’, the rotation of the first operating element 10 with respect to the lock housing 4 can be blocked or released depending on the position of the at least one second operating element 12.

In the example shown, two coupling elements 16, 16' are provided, in particular one for each of the two second operating elements 12, 12'. To provide the rotation-restraining coupling, the coupling elements 16, 16' can, from the lock housing 4, engage the first operating element 10, in particular through engagement of respective openings 28, 28' (see Fig. 3b) in a housing 26 of the first operating element 10.

In the example shown, the at least one coupling element 16, 16’ is provided with a rounded, in particular convex and/or spherical, end face on the side of the first operating element 10 to ease mechanical cooperation of the at least one coupling element 16, 16' with the first operating element 10.

In an embodiment, a coupling direction K, K' of the at least one coupling element 16, 16' is at an angle 6, 6’ (see Fig. 2a) to an operating direction B of the at least one second operating element 12, 12'. In this manner, the coupling direction K, K may, for instance, run substantially parallel to the operating rotation axis A of the first operating element 10, while the operating direction B, B' of the at least one second operating element 12 is at an angle a, a’ to that axis A. Such a coupling direction K, K’ parallel to the rotation axis A can provide a robust blocking of the rotation about that axis A, in particular when the at least one coupling element 16, 16’ is placed at a distance from that axis A.

The angle 6, 6’ is preferred to substantially correspond to the angle a, a' and is preferably an angle in the range of 45 to 135 degrees, for example an angle of about 90 degrees.

To realize the angle 6, 6’, there may be provided, for instance between the at least one second operating element 12, 12’ and the respective coupling element 16, 16', a respective intermediate element 24, 24’ (see Figs. 2a and 2b), for instance, as shown, with a beveled end face.

In an embodiment, at least one of the at least one second operating element 12, 12' and the at least one coupling element 16, 16’ is provided with a respective spring element 14, 14’ to move the at least one second operating element 12, 12’ back from the release position to the blocking position by spring tension, with a spring tension of the spring element 14,

14’ in the release position being greater than in the blocking position.

Fig. 2a shows spring elements 14, 14’ in the lock housing 4 with a greater spring tension than in Fig. 2b. Alternatively or additionally, for example the at least one second operating element 12, 12' may be provided with such a spring element (not shown).

Due to its herein described self-locking design with bolt blocking provision and auxiliary bolt 18, the rim lock 2 can offer a proper protection against burglary and at the same time great ease of use, allowing the lock 2 to be locked easily and without key by simply closing the door concerned. After opening of the lock 2, the bolt 6 can, in a manner known per se, remain in the release position due to the bolt blocking provision, so that the door, without the bolt 6 running against a frame, can move into its closed position. As soon as the auxiliary bolt 18 is pressed in by the frame or the lock plate mounted thereon, the bolt blocking provision is uncoupled and the bolt 6 will be forced into the lock position by a spring present in the rim lock 2, which spring has for instance been tensioned by a manual unlocking operation of the lock 2.

In an embodiment, the rim lock 2 is further provided with a lock cylinder connection 20 (see for example Fig. 4a) for unlocking of the lock 2, in particular unlocking from a side of the rim lock 2 opposite with respect to the first operating element 10. Thus, the lock 2 may for instance be unlocked from the outside of a door concerned, using a fitting key that cooperates with a lock cylinder connected to the lock cylinder connection 20.

A centerline H of the lock cylinder connection 20 in this embodiment is adjustable, in particular slidable, with respect to the lock housing 4, so that the lock cylinder connection 20 is placeable in at least two different cylinder positions with respect to the lock housing 4. Thus, after fabrication, the rim lock 2 can be easily made suitable for different doors.

In an embodiment, the at least two cylinder positions are at least horizontally displaced with respect to each other. Thus, for example, a distance between the lock cylinder and an end face of an associated door may be adapted depending on a pertinent requirement or wish.

Fig. 4a shows by way of example that the lock cylinder connection 20 is included in an opening of an associated mounting plate 30 which is horizontally slidable by means of two slots. Fig. 4b shows a partly cutaway view where that mounting plate 30 is not shown, so that a transmission mechanism 32, 34 located behind that plate 30 can be seen, which comprises a first transmission unit 32 having behind it a second transmission unit 34 arranged at right angles. The first transmission unit 32 comprises in this example the lock cylinder connection 20 while the second transmission unit 34 is coupled with the bolt 6, for instance (but not necessarily) in line with the operating rotation axis A. Both transmission units 32 and 34 comprise a linear sliding mechanism. The right-angled coupling is for instance provided by a multiple pin-hole connection. Of this, one pin 34p and one hole 34g are shown in Fig. 4c as part of the second transmission unit 34, while the corresponding other pin and the corresponding other hole are situated on an either side thereof as part of the first transmission unit 32. It will be clear that what is shown here is only one example of many possible transmission mechanisms. The transmission shown is based on the principle of the known Oldham's coupling which is intended for the transmission of a rotation from an input shaft to an output shaft not lying in line with each other; see e.g. h tps://en. wikipedia.org/wild/Couplin g#01dham. Any other transmission mechanism by which a rotation from an input shaft can be transmitted to a rotation of an output shaft, with the two shafts not being in line with each other, is eligible for application in the present embodiment of the rim lock 2.

In a further elaboration, the rim lock 2 may be further provided with a third operating element 22 which is configured to put the action of the auxiliary bolt 18 out of action, so that upon the auxiliary bolt 18 being pressed in, the bolt 6 remains in the release position. With such an embodiment, a user may, if so desired, prevent a door with the rim lock 2 being automatically locked by an automatic bolt movement upon the door being closed. The user may have the thus temporarily interrupted self-locking operation thereupon, if desired, resumed by a further, for example repeated or reversed, operation of the third operating element 22.

It will be clear, for that matter, that such an option of having the self-locking interrupted by a user as desired, does not as such prejudice the self-locking character of the rim lock 2.

A method for unlocking an above-described self-locking rim lock 2 comprises manually moving the at least one second operating element 12,

12’ from the blocking position to the release position and thereupon rotating the first operating element 10 with respect to the lock housing 4. In an embodiment, manually moving the at least one second operating element 12, 12’ comprises manually engaging the first operating element 10. Thus, a particularly user-friendly, safe and quick method for unlocking a burglarproof rim lock 2 is provided. While the invention has been explained on the basis of exemplary embodiments and drawings, these do not in any way constitute a limitation of the invention, which invention is defined by the claims. Many variations, combinations and elaborations are possible, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the drawings.