AU2021204207B2

AU2021204207B2 - Multifunctional Mortice Lock

Info

Publication number: AU2021204207B2
Application number: AU2021204207A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Daniel Smolarski
Original assignee: Ripponlea Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Ripponlea Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-29
Filing date: 2021-06-22
Publication date: 2023-05-18
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-22
Also published as: AU2021204207A1

Abstract

MULTIFUNCTIONAL MORTISE LOCK The present invention relates to a mortice lock comprising a deadbolt locking function, a privacy bolt, and a latching function. A keyed access is provided to operate the deadbolt which is operable from the outside even when the privacy bolt is engaged on the inside. In an emergency situation the operation of a lever handle of the latching function overrides the privacy bolt engagement. A single key disengages the deadlock function, privacy bolt function, and the latch simultaneously providing easy operation. Moreover, the dimension of the mortice ensures that it can be used in doors with restricted space to install a standard mortise lock. << to be published with Fig. 1 >> 11 110 112 108 112 ~106 104 102 Figure 1 illustrates a profile view of the mortice lock fixed on a door as viewed from an internal area as an embodiment of the present invention. 110 108 204 104 202 Figure 2 illustrates a profile view of the mortice lock fixed on a door as viewed from the outside as an embodiment of the present invention.

Description

108 112 112 ~106 104 102

Figure 1 illustrates a profile view of the mortice lock fixed on a door as viewed from an internal area as an embodiment of the present invention.

110

108 204

104 202

Figure 2 illustrates a profile view of the mortice lock fixed on a door as viewed from the outside as an embodiment of the present invention.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL MORTICE LOCK

FIELD OF THE INVENTION: The present invention relates to a locking device. In particular, the present invention relates to a locking device fitted to doors.

BACKGROUND: Locking mechanism has evolved over time in terms of better protection, utility, and type of door locked. Mortice locks are commonly used to lock doors. The mortice lock is a lock that requires a pocket to be cut into the edge of the door into which the lock is to be fitted providing a compact locking system.

Typically, the primary function of a lock is to restrict access to a few people which is usually achieved by providing a key operated system, so that only the people with the correct key can open a door to access the space within. Securing a door from the inside can be achieved by many options. Usually, a latch is provided with a lever handle which can be turned to move die latch from engagement to disengagement to open the door. The latch enables to keep a door closed even when it is unlocked. The lever handle is provided both on the outside and inside of the door so that the unlocked door can be closed and opened both from the inside and outside. This is used when there is no restriction on entry or exit.

Further, when the door needs to be secured from the inside to prevent entry of unauthorized persons, many options are available. Typically an additional latch can be provided which can be latched only from the inside space. But the disadvantage in this setup would be that even those with the key cannot enter from outside.

For instance, the Indian Application 391/MUM/2004 relates to a door lock with a combination of a dead bolt, latch bolt, privacy bolt enabling locking and unlocking from outside as well as inside. The Application AU2017100924 relates to a complete and functional pull handle incorporated with a roller-bolt entrance mortise lock which includes a key operable lock having at least one deadlock member, and a rotatable spindle to operate the privacy bolt; wherein the complete and functional pull handle includes; legs mounting the handle to a door; a lock cylinder; and a turn snib for operating the privacy bolt mechanism.

Apart from this, there are regulations to include an emergency escape option to enable the quick exit of people in the event of an emergency situation.

Moreover, the different functionalities built into a single mortice lock operate relatively independently. Hence to ensure more streamlined security and accessibility requirements covering a broad range of possibilities, a better improved design is required. For instance, providing access key entry while the door is internally secured and enabling emergency opening options overriding other functionalities.

Hence there is scope for improved designs of a mortice lock for improving security and accessibility functions.

In this specification where reference has been made to patent specifications, other external documents, or other sources of information, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless specifically stated otherwise, reference to such external documents or such sources of information is not to be construed as an admission that such documents or such sources of information, in any jurisdiction, are prior art or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION: The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional mortice lock to secure a door from outside and inside.

Another objective is to provide integrated functionality of the multiple locking options for streamlined operations without compromising on security objectives. Another objective is to provide the user with the simplicity of a keyless locking option. Another objective is to enable the user to install the lock on doors that are hinges on either the left or right side of a door jamb.

Another objective is to provide the user with ease of exit during emergency situation. Yet another objective of the present invention is to design a mortice lock which can be fitted to Aluminium and glass doors.

Additionally or alternatively, another objective is to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

SUMMARY: The present invention relates to a lock assembly for locking doors, the door having an inside surface defining an inside and an outside surface defining an outside, the lock comprising: a double cylinder to enable locking of the lock assembly using a key both from the inside and outside of the door, a deadbolt function that is engageable from both the inside and the outside of the door by the key operating the double cylinder, a privacy snib on the inside surface, and a privacy bolt function that is engageable only from the inside using the privacy snib, an inside lever handle, an outside lever handle, and a latch, wherein the deadbolt function, the privacy bolt function, and the latch are disengageable by the key operating the double cylinder from either the inside or the outside of the door; the inside lever handle is operable to disengage the privacy bolt function for emergency exit; and the latch is operable by the inside lever handle and operable by the outside lever handle when the privacy bolt function and dead bolt function are disengaged.

The term 'comprising' as used in this specification and claims means 'consisting at least in part of. When interpreting statements in this specification and claims which include the term 'comprising', other features besides the features prefaced by this term in each statement can also be present. Related terms such as 'comprise' and 'comprised' are to be interpreted in a similar manner.

There is provided a mortice lock comprising a deadbolt locking function, a privacy bolt, and a latching function. A keyed access is provided to operate the deadbolt which is operable from the inside or outside even when the privacy bolt is engaged on the inside. In an emergency situation the operation of a lever handle of the latching function overrides the privacy bolt engagement. Further, the lock can be installed on doors that are hinges on either the left or right side of any door jamb. Moreover, the dimension of the mortice lock ensures that it can be used in doors with restricted space to install a standard mortice lock.

These objectives and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS: The objective of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 3 illustrates a front view and side view drawing of the mortice lock as an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: The mortice locking assembly comprises of a deadbolt, a privacy bolt, and a latch. Figure 1 illustrates a profile view of the mortice lock fixed on a door as viewed from an internal area as an embodiment of the present invention. A keyhole (102) is provided for the deadbolt lock function (104), whereby a person can lock the door from the inside using a key. The deadbolt lock comprises a cylinder is located within a casing and has a keyhole (102) connected to a series of internal pins. The deadbolt function comprises a keyed euro cylinder barrel in an embodiment. When the correct key is inserted, the pins will align and allow the lock to open. The interior side of the cylinder is operated by a key, which locks or unlocks the door.

The cylinder can control the related bolt (104), which passes through the door into a strike on the frame to secure the opening. In the present invention a double cylinder is used whereby a key hole is provided on both ends. Hence key based locking and unlocking can be performed both from the inside and outside of the room. Further a privacy snib (106) is provided which in turn activates a privacy bolt (108) to pass through the door to the frame to perform the locking. This function helps a person inside to lock the door by turning the snib (106) instead using a key. The advantage is that anyone who is inside the room can turn the snib and open the door to exit, since key is not required. However, since the snib (106) which controls the privacy bolt (108) is only provided at the interior side of the door, access is restricted/locked from the outside and a person will not be able to enter when the privacy bolt function is engaged. Hence in the present invention, the privacy bolt function is also accessible to be opened from the outside by a person with the key to disengage the privacy bolt function. This unique feature enables a person with the key to open the door from outside irrespective of whether the door is locked from the inside using the deadbolt (104) or by the privacy bolt (108). Although the privacy function operates independently of the other locking functions, the mechanical architecture of the dead bolt functionality was re-engineered to enable the turning of the key to disengage the independent privacy bolt function and dead bolt function simultaneously. That is, an override mechanism was developed to enable unlocking of the independent privacy function by using the key (because the privacy snib (106) is not installed on the outside of the door).

Further, a latch (110) operated by a lever is provided whereby the door can be maintained in the closed position without locking. The lever latching function is an independent mechanism within the lock assembly with its own functional attribute of maintaining the door in the closed position without locking, In addition, when the privacy bolt (108) function is engaged, the lever has a functionality by which operating the lever on the inside disengages the privacy bolt function. To this end, the lever latching function needs to be interconnected to the privacy bolt mechanism in order to override the privacy bolt mechanism and enable an emergency release functionality. This interconnection was achieved by reengineering the internal mechanism to include an escape function handing screw

(308). The escape function handing screw (308) was engineered to allow the lever handle (112) to engage an emergency release function of the privacy bolt mechanism. When the escape function handing screw is set-up and engaged correctly on installation, it engages the emergency release function. Further, having the lever handle (112) on the inside side of the door enables an emergency exit by directly disengaging the privacy bolt function through the emergency release function. This feature helps in an emergency situation where a person on the inside need not use the snib (106) to disengage the privacy bolt (108) and then use the lever handle (112) to disengage the latch (110) to finally open the door. The person can use the lever through the emergency release function, directly to disengage the privacy bolt (108) and exit. Furthermore, when the privacy bolt function is active, the person can use the lever directly to disengage the privacy bolt (108) and exit without the need for using keys (where the cylinder dead bolt is not engaged).

Figure 2 illustrates a profile view of the mortice lock fixed on a door as viewed from the outside as an embodiment of the present invention. A keyhole (202) enables the person on the outside to use a key to engage or disengage the deadbolt function. Further using the key, the privacy function is also unlocked thereby disengaging the privacy bolt (108) as explained above. A lever handle (204) is then operated to disengage the latch (110) to open the door.

In another embodiment of the present invention, using the key from the outside automatically disengages the deadlock function, privacy bolt function and the latch (110) to directly open the door without the need to operate the lever handle (204). By way of an extra half rotation of the key during the unlocking of the door to disengage the privacy bolt function and dead bolt function, the latch (110) of the lever handle mechanism will also retract back into the case. That extra half rotation by the key will cause the latch (110) to be retracted completely into the lock case rendering the door completely unlocked. All the locking functionalities will thus be disengaged.

Although the lock has three independant locking mechanisms within the internal mechanical architecture, in order to enable external access by the use of a high security cylinder and key, all three independant functions had to be interconnected to and dependant on an overriding additional release mechanism. An internal overriding release mechanism was developed and engineered in order to have the ability to release and disengage all (independent) locking functions by the use of a key.

Figure 3 illustrates a front view and side view drawing of the mortice lock as an embodiment of the present invention. The internal feature of the motice lock which is fixed inside the door can be seen. At the base of the lock body is an first opening (302) provision to house and fix the cylinder of the deadbolt function into its correct position. A second opening, by way of a spindle follower hub (304) is provided for the fixing of the lever handle (112) on the top. Another opening by way of a privacy follower hub (304) serves to house the privacy snib (106).

An important feature to be observed is the dimension of the lock. While the standard dimensions are adopted when fixing in the wooden door. In an embodiment of the present invention, a narrow back set is provided. By this way, the lock can be installed in Aluminium doors where the depth within aluminium frame is limited. Typically, the available space to install a mortice lock within narrow aluminium styles (or sections of materials) used in manufacturing aluminium door frames that have glass with their frames is restricted because of the glass that is embedded within the door frame. In such cases, the mortice lock of the present invention with a narrow backset is appropriate to be used. In an embodiment of die present invention a 30 mm backset is provided. The mechanical architecture and technical engineering to redesign all the functionalities within the permitted area required a novel designing approach.

Within a limited internal space, the privacy bolt mechanism had to be incorporated internally that could be activated from both sides of the lock mechanism for release by using die key. Further complicating the design, the privacy function mechanism must operate whether the door is a left hand or right handed opening door, (ie: hinged on cither the left side or right side of the doorjamb). Furthermore, the privacy mechanism has to have its functionality restricted at discretion, at the point of installation, so that only one side of the lever handle operation would engage the emergency release mechanism to disengage the privacy bolt function. That is, the emergency escape function by using die lever handle, has to retract the privacy bolt function only from the internal side of the door after installation.

However, the internal lever handle emergency release mechanism has to be designed to be mechanically operable from either side of the door because the door can be hinged on cither the left or right side of the doorjamb.

The set-up and innovation of the escape functionality of the privacy mechanism by using the lever handle is achieved by the escape function handling screw (308) that activates the emergency release mechanism. The escape function handing screw (308) disengages the privacy bolt mechanism during operation. The escape function handling screw (308) is installed through the lock case into the internal working mechanics of the lock at the time of installation. The escape function handing screw is installed at a position on the correct side of the lock case in order to engage the escape function on the same side of the side of the door on which the privacy snib is installed (being on the internal side of the door). Therefore, when the escape function handing screw is installed correctly, it allows the lever handle to engage the emergency release function of the privacy bolt mechanism.

With regard to enabling the latch set up application to be installed for cither of a left hand and right handed opening doors, the following steps are followed: The correct position of the latch (110) in the lock case to operate for cither left hand or right hand opening doors is determined. Depending on the direction on which the door opens at installation, the latch (110) can be reversed by undoing the latch reversing screws (310) and reversing the latch radius direction and then refixing the latch reversing screws (310) to latch mechanism in the case. This enables the latch (110) to be used on either left hand or right hand opening doors. Hence the latch reversing screws (310) enable the latch to be adaptable for installation on either left handed or right handed opening doors. The escape function handing screw (308) allows the emergence release function of the lever handle mechanism to operate from the internal side of the door.

Hence a mortise lock with multiple locking functions and multiple set-up installation features which arc operably interconnected is disclosed in the present invention. The objectives of offering maximum security and easy access to authorised persons are enabled. The regulatory requirements to enable emergency exit is also enabled. The emergency release function enables the compliance to a building code for quick exit in emergency and the deadbolt function enables the compliance to insurance requirements for high security locking. The present invention offers a compact solution with a wide range of choices to secure the door as per requirement. The interconnected functioning access enables the use of a single key to disengage die different locking mechanisms.

While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.

Claims

We Claim: 1. A lock assembly for locking doors, the door having an inside surface defining an inside and an outside surface defining an outside, the lock comprising: a double cylinder to enable locking of the lock assembly using a key both from the inside and outside of the door, a deadbolt function that is engageable from both the inside and the outside of the door by the key operating the double cylinder, a privacy snib on the inside surface, and a privacy bolt function that is engageable only from the inside using the privacy snib, an inside lever handle, an outside lever handle, and a latch, wherein the deadbolt function, the privacy bolt function, and the latch are disengageable by the key operating the double cylinder from either the inside or the outside of the door; the inside lever handle is operable to disengage the privacy bolt function for emergency exit; and the latch is operable by the inside lever handle and operable by the outside lever handle when the privacy bolt function and dead bolt function are disengaged.
2. The lock assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lock assembly is a mortise type lock.
3. The lock assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mortise lock has a narrow back set to enable mounting on doors with restricted space.
4. The lock assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the back set has a dimension of 30 mm to enable mounting on doors with restricted space.
5. The lock assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inside lever handle is operable to directly disengage the privacy bolt function and retracting the latch function through an emergency release function.
6. The lock assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the double cylinder comprises a keyed euro cylinder barrel.
7. The lock assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lock assembly can be set up for installation for either of a left hand or a right hand opening door by using a set of latch reversing screws; and depending on the direction on which the door opens, the latch can be reversed by undoing the latch reversing screws; reversing a latch radius direction; and refixing the latch reversing screws to fix the latch in the lock assembly.