The present invention relates to a lock for double-leaf doors, which is also adapted to function on double-leaf doors provided with emergency opening devices (handles or emergency door bars).

Leaf doors are usually provided with locks in which a spring latch and at least one sliding latch protrude from the door edge, and are designed to engage in respective recesses of the jamb in order to ensure the closure. The spring latch can usually be retracted with the movement of the handle or with a turn of the key in the actuation cylinder. The spring latch is actuated by the movement of the cylinder which is functionally associated with the key.

In double-leaf doors, the secondary door leaf can be locked manually (with adapted locking plugs which are generally floor- and ceiling-mounted) or it can also be opened by way of a respective handle (in such case the handle will be adapted to retract any locking plugs). Naturally the handle of the secondary leaf will not be operational when the main leaf is closed (in particular if it is locked) in order to prevent forced entry.

For emergency doors, however, the spring latch and the sliding latch (even when the latter is completely extracted for secure closure) must be completely retracted with a single movement of the handle (or of the panic bar): a person fleeing (from a fire or other risk situations) must be able to exit from the spaces delimited by the door simply by pushing the handle (or the panic bar).

In double-leaf doors, the counterlock is provided with a pusher that acts on a protruding pin of the lock, releasing the retraction of the sliding latch and of the spring latch: at this point the action of a pusher (in general the same one) on the sliding latch causes its retraction and, by virtue of adapted internal lever mechanisms, the consequent retraction also of the spring latch, and therefore the opening of the principal door leaf as well.

This pin, according to a particularly efficient embodiment developed by the same applicant and protected with patent no. EP2318627, is installed at the end front wall of the sliding latch: this implementation solution ensures that it is not accessible (for the purposes of breaking and entering) and it therefore makes it possible to maintain a high level of security for the lock that comprises it.

The conventional implementation solutions have a great many mechanical linkages, which are interposed between the protruding pin and the closing elements (i.e. the sliding latch and the spring latch), and which can excessively increase the force to be applied on the pin in order to allow the opening (making its correct and secure actuation difficult), and which are subject to the behavior of delicate mechanical components (such as springs and elastic means in general).

The aim of the present invention is to solve the above mentioned drawbacks, by providing a lock for leaf doors which is mechanically simple and easy to actuate.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a lock for leaf doors which does not necessarily require the presence of delicate components, such as springs and elastic means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock for leaf doors that comprises a reduced number of mutually-controlled components.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lock for leaf doors which is low cost, easily and practically implemented and safely applied.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a lock for universal leaf doors which comprises a box-like body for containing a movement cylinder which is associated with a respective actuation key, a rotating bushing which is associated with a handle, adapted lever mechanisms for the translation of at least one spring latch and of at least one sliding latch, which are functionally associated with said handle and with said cylinder, said sliding ;>

latch comprising a pin which can move between a protruding configuration and a retracted configuration, said at least one sliding latch being locked in the extracted configuration when said pin is protruding, and being free, for a forced retraction by an external force, when said pin is pressed in retraction by an external force, characterized in that:

- said sliding latch comprises a guide for the head of a lever which is integral with a pinion which is pivoted to a wall of said box-like body, said pinion meshing with a rack of an actuation rod which is coupled to said movement cylinder and to said rotating bushing which is associated with the handle, in the closed configuration of the lock said head of said lever being accommodated in a limit area of said guide with consequent locking of the retraction of said sliding latch;

- said pin abutting, directly or indirectly, on said head of said lever, in the event of said pin being forced toward the retracted configuration thereof said pin entraining said head beyond said limit area of said guide with consequent release of said sliding latch for a retraction thereof as a consequence of applications of force from outside.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the lock for leaf doors according to the invention, which is illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of a lock according to the invention in a first configuration;

Figure 2 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the lock in Figure 1 in a second configuration;

Figure 3 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the lock in Figure 1 in a third configuration;

Figure 4 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the lock in Figure 1 in a fourth configuration; Figure 5 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the lock in Figure 1 in a fifth configuration;

Figure 6 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of an additional version of a lock according to the invention in a first configuration;

Figure 7 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the lock in Figure 6 in a second configuration;

Figure 8 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the lock in Figure 6 in a third configuration;

Figure 9 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the lock in Figure 6 in a fourth configuration;

Figure 10 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the lock in Figure 6 in a fifth configuration;

Figure 11 is a schematic partially cross-sectional side view of the sliding latch of the lock in Figure 1.

With particular reference to the figures, a lock for leaf doors according to the invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 1.

The lock 1 comprises a box-like body 2 for containing a movement cylinder 3 which is associated with a respective actuation key, a rotating bushing 4 which is associated with a handle, adapted lever mechanisms (in particular an actuation rod 5) for the translation of at least one spring latch 6 and of at least one sliding latch 7, which are functionally associated with the handle and with the cylinder 3.

The sliding latch 7 comprises a pin 8 which can move between a protruding configuration and a retracted configuration.

The at least one sliding latch 7 is locked in the extracted configuration when the pin 8 is protruding and on the contrary it is free, for a forced retraction by an external force, when the pin 8 is pressed in retraction by an external force. The sliding latch 7 comprises a guide 9 for the head 10 of a lever 11 which is integral with a pinion 12 which is pivoted to a wall of the box-like body 2.

The pinion 12 meshes with a rack 13 of the actuation rod 5 which is coupled to the movement cylinder 3 and to the rotating bushing 4 which is associated with the handle.

In the closed configuration of the lock 1, the head 10 of the lever 11 is advantageously accommodated in a limit area of the guide 9 with consequent locking of the retraction of the sliding latch 7.

In essence, the head 10 is accommodated (in the case described in the previous paragraph) in an end region of the guide 9: such arrangement of the head 10 implies an arrangement of the lever 11 below the dead point of the rotation (i.e. when the lever is aligned with the direction of sliding of the sliding latch 7 in the box-like body 2); the fact that the arrangement of the lever 11 is below the dead point implies that an additional thrust applied to the sliding latch 7 for its retraction will produce an additional rotation of the lever 11 proper, forcing its head toward the end of the guide 9 (locked configuration).

The pin 8 abuts, directly or indirectly, on the head 10 of the lever 11.

In the event of the pin 8 being forced toward the retracted configuration, then the pin 8, in reentering, will entrain the head 10 beyond the limit area of the guide (passing the dead point of rotation of the lever 11) with consequent release of the sliding latch 7. This will therefore enable a subsequent retraction of the sliding latch 7 as a consequence of applications of further forces from outside (or of the same force that was previously applied to the pin 8, protracted further over time).

The guide 9, which is designed to slideably accommodate the head 10 of the lever 11 which is integral with the pinion 10 which is pivoted to a wall of the box-like body 2, is a slot, provided on the sliding latch 7, for the slideable accommodation of a projection of the head 10. The particular progression of such slot will enable a retraction of the sliding latch 7 upon a rotation of the lever 11, by dint of the fact that the projection of the head 10, during such rotation, will entrain the sliding latch 7 (because it is forced to stay inside that slot).

According to a particular embodiment of undoubted practical and applicative interest, the pin 8 can conveniently be constituted by a sliding cursor 14 which abuts on a portion of a tilting band 15 which has an arm faced toward and proximate to the head 10 of the lever 11.

In the event of the pin 8 being forced toward its retracted configuration, the cursor 14, during the translation, will abut on the tilting band 15 with consequent rotation thereof and entrainment of the head 10, by the arm of the band 15, beyond the limit area of the guide 9 to release the sliding latch 7.

The lever 11 is integral with the pinion 12: the rotation of the lever 11, imposed by the pin 8 during its retraction, corresponds to a similar rotation of the pinion 12, with consequent translation of the rack 13 (meshing with the pinion 12), and therefore of the actuation rod 5, which is integral with it.

The actuation rod 5 comprises means 16 and 17 of mating, respectively, with the movement cylinder 3 and with the rotating bushing 4.

The translations of the actuation rod 5 cause corresponding translations of either or both of the spring latch 6 and the sliding latch 7 between their extracted configuration and their retracted configuration.

The sliding latch 7 comprises a grooved seat 18 for the moveable accommodation of the pin 8 within a travel delimited by the breadth of such grooved seat 18.

Keeping the pin 8 inside the seat 18 is ensured by the presence of a closing slat 19 which makes it possible to close the sliding latch 7 completely.

The pin 8, in a particular embodiment thereof in which it is constituted by a single component (as can be seen in Figures 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10), can positively comprise an appendage 20 which is pivoted to the sliding latch 7 at a predefined region of the grooved seat 18.

With reference on the other hand to the embodiment shown by way of example in the accompanying Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the tilting band 15 comprises a branch 21 which is pivoted to the sliding latch 7 at a predefined region of the grooved seat 18.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the pinion 12 can rotate with respect to a rotation axis that is perpendicular to a wall of the box-like body 2. Such rotation axis is arranged, in the assembled configuration, at a height higher than that of the end of the slotted guide 9 of the sliding latch 7, with consequent forcing of the head 10 of the lever 11 against the end of the guide 9 upon the application of a force applied to the sliding latch 7 for its retraction. In practice what is described above has been illustrated in more detail regarding the arrangement of the lever 11 beyond its dead point of rotation (with respect to a thrust exerted by the sliding latch 7 in order to impose/force a retraction thereof).

The actuation rod 5 can positively comprise assemblies 22 for connecting ends to transmission rods 23 for connection to other security units installed on the same door.

Advantageously the present invention solves the above mentioned problems, by providing a lock 1 for leaf doors which is mechanically simple and easy to actuate.

Conveniently the lock 1 according to the invention does not necessarily require the presence of delicate components, such as springs and elastic means.

Positively the lock 1 according to the invention comprises a reduced number of mutually-controlled components.

Positively the present invention makes it possible to provide a lock 1 for leaf doors that is easily and practically implemented and which is low cost: such characteristics make the lock 1 according to the invention an innovation that is certain to be safe in use.

The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

In the embodiments illustrated, individual characteristics shown in relation to specific examples may in reality be interchanged with other, different characteristics, existing in other embodiments.

In practice, the materials employed, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

Where the technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference numerals and/or signs, those reference numerals and/or signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference numerals and/or signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference numerals and/or signs.