Locks with flip-type latch assembly and their latch assembly

Abstract

A lock with a flip-type latch assembly and the latch assembly includes a horizontally extending transverse rod and a latch body pivotally mounted vertically at the end of the transverse rod. The latch body can be driven to horizontally pivot back and forth relative to the transverse rod between a straightened state and a swaying state. Through the structural design of the latch body being driven by the door frame to the swaying state during the door opening process and gradually retracting into the lock housing, it is not only unnecessary to provide a separate transmission mechanism for the latch assembly in the lock, but also unnecessary to provide unlocking components such as a lock handle or push rod on the door to unlock the latch assembly, allowing the door with this novel lock to be smoothly and directly pushed open.

Description

Locks with flip-type latch assembly and their latch assembly Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a lock, and more particularly to a door lock. Prior Technology

[0002] When using push-type doors such as safety doors (escape doors), they are usually equipped with a horizontal push rod linked to the lock. Pushing this horizontal push rod causes the latch assembly in the lock to retract inward and disengage from the door frame, allowing the door to be pushed open. However, if the user pushes the door forcefully before the push rod has fully retracted the latch assembly, the protruding latch surface of the latch assembly will press against the inner edge of the latch hole in the door frame. This results in excessive frictional resistance between the latch assembly and the inner edge of the latch hole, preventing the latch assembly from retracting smoothly and causing the user to bump into the door. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Therefore, the object of this invention is to provide a lock with a flip-type latch assembly that can improve upon at least one disadvantage of the prior art.

[0004] Therefore, the new type of lock with a flip-type latch assembly includes a lock housing, and a latch assembly and an elastic element installed in the lock housing.

[0005] The lock case has one upright sidewall facing left and right. A keyhole is provided through this sidewall.

[0006] The latch assembly includes a horizontal sliding rod disposed within the lock housing that can be driven to move left and right, and a latch body pivotally mounted vertically on the horizontal sliding rod. The latch assembly can be driven to move left and right relative to the lock housing between an unlocked position and a locked position. When the latch assembly is in the unlocked position, the latch body retracts within the lock housing. When the latch assembly is in the locked position, the latch body protrudes from the keyhole, and the latch body can be driven to horizontally deflect relative to the horizontal sliding rod from a straight position towards either forward or backward, changing to a deflected position. An elastic element is connected to the horizontal sliding rod and constantly possesses a spring force that drives the latch assembly to the locked position.

[0007] Therefore, another object of this invention is to provide a latch assembly for locks that can improve upon at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0008] Therefore, the novel latch assembly for locks includes a horizontally extending transverse rod and a latch body pivotally mounted vertically at one end of the transverse rod. The latch body can be driven to horizontally pivot back and forth relative to the transverse rod between a straightened state and a skewed state.

[0009] The advantage of this new design is that, through the structural design of the latch assembly, the latch is driven by the door frame to change to the swaying state during the door opening process and gradually retracts into the lock housing. In addition to eliminating the need to set up a transmission mechanism in the lock to drive the latch assembly, it is also unnecessary to set up a lock handle or push rod or other unlocking components on the door to drive the lock to unlock the latch assembly. This allows the door with the lock of this new design to be smoothly and directly pushed open. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0010] Other features and effects of this invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of one embodiment of the lock with a flip-type latch assembly of the present invention; Figure 2 is an incomplete perspective view illustrating the structure of this embodiment; a portion of the wall surface of a lock case is omitted from the figure. Figure 3 is an incomplete exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of this embodiment; part of the wall surface of the lock case is omitted in the figure. Figure 4 is an incomplete top sectional view illustrating the situation where a latch assembly is installed on a door and in a locked position, inserted into a door frame, and also showing the situation where the latch is in a straightened position. Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, illustrating the situation where the latch assembly of this embodiment is in an unlocked position and the latch body is in a tilting state; Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4, illustrating the initial change of the oblique tongue body to the swaying state in this embodiment; and Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 4, illustrating the situation when the oblique tongue of this embodiment is driven to deflect more. Implementation

[0011] Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, one embodiment of the lock 200 with a flip-type latch assembly is suitable for installation on a door 800 and for detachably snapping into a latch hole 901 in a door frame 900, thereby positioning the door 800 in a closed position that closes the entrance / exit of the door frame 900. The door 800 is pivotally mounted on the door frame 900 and can be operated to pivot relative to the door frame 900. The door 800 can be, for example, but not limited to, a security door.

[0012] The lock 200 includes a lock housing 3, a latch assembly 4 installed in the lock housing 3, and an elastic member 5 installed in the lock housing 3 and connected between the lock housing 3 and the latch assembly 4.

[0013] In this embodiment, the lock 200 further includes, for example but not limited to, a latch assembly 701 and a transmission mechanism 702 for locking and unlocking the latch assembly 701. However, since the lock body components are all prior art and not improvements of this invention, they will not be described in detail. In practice, the lock 200 may also omit the latch assembly 701 and the transmission mechanism 702.

[0014] Referring to Figures 2, 3, and 4, the lock housing 3 internally defines an installation space 30 for the latch assembly 4 and the elastic member 5, and has an upright sidewall 31 defining the left and right sides of the installation space 30. The sidewall 31 has an outward-facing outer surface 311 facing away from the left and right sides, and an inward-facing inner surface 312 facing the installation space 30. The sidewall 31 also has a lock hole 310 extending through the outer surface 311 and the inner surface 312. Since the lock housing 3 has many shapes, its implementation is not limited to the illustrated style.

[0015] The latch assembly 4 includes a horizontally movable rod 41 that can be horizontally displaced in the mounting space 30, and a latch body 42 and an auxiliary latch 43 that are pivotally mounted on the left end of the horizontally movable rod 41 via a vertically axial pivot 44 and extend to the left out of the lock hole 310.

[0016] The transverse lever 41 has two pivot portions 411 spaced vertically apart, and a crossbar portion 412 that extends horizontally to the right from the pivot portions 411 and is movable left and right and mounted on the lock housing 3.

[0017] In this embodiment, the elastic element 5 is a compression spring, which is sleeved outside the crossbar portion 412, and the left and right elastic supports are between the crossbar portion 412 and the lock housing 3, and always have the elastic force to drive the latch assembly 4 to protrude to the left outside the lock housing 3. However, in other embodiments of this invention, the elastic element 5 can also be replaced with a torsion spring.

[0018] The oblique tongue body 42 has an oblique tongue portion 420 pivotally mounted on the pivot ear portion 411, and a first limiting portion 426 and a second limiting portion 428 protruding outward from the oblique tongue portion 420 in opposite directions.

[0019] The oblique tongue 420 has a left-right extending, forward-facing, upright planar abutment surface 421, an upright, curved abutment surface 422 extending rearward and to the right from the left side of the abutment surface 421, and a right side surface 423 extending front-back and connecting the right side of the abutment surface 421 and the right side of the curved abutment surface 422. The oblique tongue 420 also has a pivot groove 424 recessed in the right side surface 423 and the rear half of the curved abutment surface 422, and an insert groove 425 recessed in the left half of the curved abutment surface 422 and extending left-right to communicate with the pivot groove 424.

[0020] The pivot lugs 411 are inserted to the left into the pivot groove 424. The auxiliary tongue 43 is fitted to the right into the fitting groove 425 and inserted between the pivot lugs 411. The pivot 44 passes vertically through the pivot groove 424, pivotally connecting the tongue 42, the pivot lugs 411, and the auxiliary tongue 43 together. In other embodiments of this invention, there may be only one pivot lug 411.

[0021] The first limiting part 426 protrudes from the abutment surface 421 and is located at a distance from the right side of the inner side surface 312 of the side wall 31, and is located opposite to the right side of the pivot axis of the oblique tongue part 420. The second limiting part 428 protrudes from the abutment arc surface 422, and the left edge of the second limiting part 428 is aligned front and back with the pivot axis of the oblique tongue part 420, and abuts against the inner side surface 312 to the left.

[0022] The auxiliary tongue 43 protrudes to the left from the mounting groove 425 of the tongue portion 420 and protrudes from the opposing arc surface 422, and has a rearward abutting arc surface 431 facing away from the abutting surface 421. Since the installation of the auxiliary tongue 43 on the tongue body 42 is prior art and not the focus of this improvement, it will not be described in detail.

[0023] Referring to Figures 2, 4, and 5, the latch assembly 4 can be driven to move left and right relative to the lock housing 3 between an unlocked position (as shown in Figure 5) and a locked position (as shown in Figure 4). When the latch assembly 4 is in the unlocked position, the latch body 42 is retracted into the lock housing 3. When the latch assembly 4 is in the locked position, the latch body 42 protrudes out of the lock hole 310.

[0024] Referring to Figures 4-7, when the latch assembly 4 is in the locked position, the latch body 42 can be driven to pivot horizontally back and forth relative to the transverse rod 41 between a straightened state (as shown in Figure 4) and a swaying state (as shown in Figure 5). When the latch body 42 is in the straightened state, it will be limited by the second limiting part 428 abutting against the inner side surface 312 of the side wall 31 to the left. The first limiting part 426 will be spaced apart from the inner side surface 312, and the abutment surface 421 will be facing forward. When the oblique tongue 42 is driven to pivot relative to the horizontal sliding rod 41 in a rearward closing direction, and changes to be limited by the first limiting part 426 abutting against the inner side surface 312 to the left, as shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7, the oblique tongue 42 is already in the swing state, the second limiting part 428 will deviate from the inner side surface 312 to the right, and the stop surface 421 will be tilted to the left rear and right front.

[0025] In other words, when the oblique tongue 42 is in the aligned state, the distance between the first limiting part 426 and the pivot axis of the oblique tongue 420 is greater than the distance between the second limiting part 428 and the pivot axis of the oblique tongue 420.

[0026] When the new type of lock 200 is installed on the door 800, when the door 800 is in the closed position, which closes the entrance and exit of the door frame 900, the latch assembly 4 will be in the locked position, protruding to the left from the side of the door 800. At this time, the latch 42 is inserted into the latch hole 901 of the door frame 900, and the latch 42 will be in the aligned state, thus positioning the door 800 in the closed position. As shown in Figure 4.

[0027] When the door body 800 is pushed forward and pivots relative to the door frame 900 in an opening direction, the latch assembly 4 will be synchronously driven by the door body 800 and swing forward relative to the door frame 900. The latch body 42 will first move to abut against the inner edge of the latch hole 901 with the stop surface 421, and then begin to be pushed backward by the inner edge of the latch hole 901, changing to the deflected state. At this time, the latch body 42 will deflect to be limited by the first limiting part 426 swinging to the left against the inner side surface 312 of the side wall 31, and the stop surface 421 will abut against the opening edge of the latch hole 901 at an angle. As shown in Figure 6.

[0028] As the door body 800 is continuously pushed forward and swayed relative to the door frame 900, the latch 42, driven by the continuous backward pushing and rightward movement of the stop surface 421 by the opening edge of the latch hole 901, gradually moves to the right out of the latch hole 901. Simultaneously, the transverse rod 41 moves to the right relative to the lock housing 3, elastically compressing the elastic element 5 and causing it to accumulate restoring elastic force. As shown in Figure 7. In other words, the latch assembly 4 is driven to gradually retract into the lock housing 3, moving towards the unlocked position.

[0029] When the latch body 42 of the latch assembly 4 is driven to completely disengage from the latch hole 901, the latch assembly 4 has changed to the unlocked position, as shown in Figure 5. At this time, the door 800 can be quickly pushed forward to open.

[0030] When the latch assembly 4 is moved forward by the door body 800 until it is completely separated from the door frame 900, the reset force of the elastic member 5 will elastically push the horizontal sliding rod 41 to the left relative to the lock housing 3, causing the horizontal sliding rod 41 to drive the latch body 42 and the auxiliary latch 43 to move to the left and reset. At this time, the latch body 42 will first abut against the inner side surface 312 of the side wall 31 with the first limiting part 426 to the left, and begin to pivot relative to the horizontal sliding rod 41 towards the straightened state, until the latch body 42 is stopped by the second limiting part 428 abutting against the inner side surface 312 to the left, and then it has returned to the straightened state.

[0031] When the door 800 is driven to pivot backward relative to the door frame 900 towards the closed position, the auxiliary latch 43 of the latch assembly 4 is pushed forward by the edge of the door frame 900 and pivots into the mounting groove 425 of the latch body 42. Then, the latch assembly 4 abuts against the edge of the door frame 900 with the pushing arc surface 422 of the latch body 42. During the pivoting process of the door 800 towards the closed position, the latch assembly 4 is driven by the door frame 900 to gradually retract into the lock housing 3, and elastically compresses the elastic member 5.

[0032] When the latch assembly 4 is driven to align with the latch hole 901 of the door frame 900, the elastic member 5 will cause the latch assembly 4 to protrude out of the lock housing 3 and return to the locked position. The latch body 42 and the auxiliary latch 43 will be inserted into the latch hole 901.

[0033] In summary, through the design of the latch body 42 of the latch assembly 4 being pivotally mounted on the transverse rod 41, and the latch body 42 being driven by the door frame 900 to change towards the open position, and being driven by the door frame 900 to change towards the yaw state relative to the transverse rod 41, and gradually retracting into the lock housing 3, it is not necessary to set up a transmission mechanism in the lock 200 for unlocking the latch assembly 4, nor is it necessary to set up a lock handle or push rod or other unlocking components on the door 800 for unlocking the latch assembly 4. The door 800 with the new lock 200 installed can be directly pushed open. Furthermore, when the door 800 changes to the closed position again, the latch assembly 4 will actively insert into the latch hole 901 of the door frame 900 under the drive of the elastic element 5, thereby positioning the door 800 in the closed position.

[0034] Therefore, when this new type of lock 200 is installed on the door 800, it can indeed improve the problem that existing locks require an additional unlocking component installed on the door to drive the latch completely away from the door frame before the door can be pushed open smoothly.

[0035] Therefore, the lock 200 with the flip-type tongue assembly is indeed a very convenient and innovative creation, and can indeed achieve the purpose of this invention.

[0036] However, the above description is merely an embodiment of this invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application and the contents of the patent specification shall still fall within the scope of this invention.

[0037] 200: Locks 3: Lock case 30: Installation space 31: Sidewall 310: Keyhole 311: Outer side 312: Inner side 4: Slanted tongue assembly 41: Lateral movement bar 411: Pivot Ear 412: Crossbar section 42: oblique tongue 420: Oblique tongue part 421: Backrest 422: Pushing the curved surface 423: Right side 424: Pivot slot 425: Mounting slot 426: First limiting part 428: Second limiting part 43: Auxiliary oblique tongue 431: Abutting against the curved surface 44: Pivot 5: Elastic components 800: Door 900: Door frame 901: Buckle Hole

Claims

1. A lock with a flip-type latch assembly, comprising: a lock housing having an upright sidewall facing left and right, the sidewall having a keyhole; a latch assembly including a lateral sliding rod disposed in the lock housing that can be driven to move left and right, and a latch body pivotally mounted vertically on the lateral sliding rod, the latch assembly being driven to move left and right relative to the lock housing between an unlocked position and a locked position, wherein when the latch assembly is in the unlocked position, the latch body is retracted in the lock housing, and when the latch assembly is in the locked position, the latch body protrudes out of the keyhole, and the latch body being driven to swing horizontally relative to the lateral sliding rod from a straightened state to a closed state facing forward or backward, and changing to a swinging state; and an elastic member installed in the lock housing and connected to the lateral sliding rod, and constantly having an elastic force that drives the latch assembly to change to the locked position.

2. The lock with a flip-type latch assembly as described in claim 1, wherein, The sidewall has an outer side and an inner side facing away from each other. The lock hole passes through the outer side and the inner side. The latch has a latch portion pivotally mounted on the horizontal moving rod and extending to the left out of the lock hole, and a first limiting portion and a second limiting portion protruding outward from the latch portion facing away from each other. The first limiting portion and the second limiting portion are located in the lock housing. When the latch is in the upright state, it will be limited by the second limiting portion against the inner side, and the first limiting portion will be spaced apart from the inner side. When the latch changes from the upright state to the tilted state, it will be limited by the first limiting portion against the inner side, and the second limiting portion will be spaced apart from the inner side.

3. A lock with a flip-type latch assembly as described in claim 2, wherein, The oblique tongue has a vertical planar abutment surface that extends to the left and right and faces forward, and a vertical pushing arc surface that extends backward and to the right from the left side of the abutment surface. The first limiting part protrudes from the abutment surface, and the second limiting part protrudes from the pushing arc surface.

4. A lock with a flip-type latch assembly as described in claim 3, wherein, The tongue also has an upright right side surface connected between the right side of the stop surface and the right side of the push arc surface. The tongue has a pivot groove recessed between the right side surface and the push arc surface. The transverse rod has a pivot lug inserted in the pivot groove and pivotally connected to the tongue via a pivot that passes through the pivot groove vertically. It also has a crossbar extending to the right from the pivot lug and movable left and right on the lock housing. The elastic element is sleeved on the crossbar.

5. A lock with a flip-type latch assembly as described in claim 4, wherein, The tongue body also has an insert groove recessed in the push arc surface and connected to the pivot groove. The tongue assembly also includes an auxiliary tongue fitted in the insert groove and pivotally mounted on the pivot. When the tongue body is in the alignment state, the auxiliary tongue protrudes obliquely to the left and backward relative to the tongue body from the push arc surface.

6. A latch assembly for a lock, comprising: a horizontally extending transverse rod; and a latch body pivotally mounted vertically at one of the left and right ends of the transverse rod, the latch body being drivable to pivot horizontally back and forth relative to the transverse rod between a straightened state and a skewed state.

7. The latch assembly for a lock as described in claim 6, wherein, The oblique tongue has an oblique tongue portion pivotally mounted on the left end of the transverse rod, and a first limiting portion and a second limiting portion protruding outward from the oblique tongue portion in opposite directions. The first limiting portion and the second limiting portion are located to the right of the pivot axis of the oblique tongue portion. When the oblique tongue is in the aligned state, the distance between the first limiting portion and the pivot axis of the oblique tongue portion is greater than the distance between the second limiting portion and the pivot axis of the oblique tongue portion.

8. The latch assembly for a lock as described in claim 7, wherein, The oblique tongue has a vertical planar abutment surface that extends to the left and right and faces forward, and a vertical pushing arc surface that extends backward and to the right from the left side of the abutment surface. The first limiting part protrudes from the abutment surface, and the second limiting part protrudes from the pushing arc surface.

9. The latch assembly for a lock as described in claim 8, wherein, The tongue also has an upright right side surface connected between the right side of the stop surface and the right side of the push arc surface. The tongue has a pivot groove recessed in the right side surface and the push arc surface. The transverse rod has a pivot lug inserted in the pivot groove and pivotally connected to the tongue via a pivot that passes through the pivot groove vertically, and a crossbar extending to the right from the pivot lug.

10. The latch assembly for a lock as described in claim 9, wherein, The tongue portion also has an insert groove recessed in the push arc surface and connected to the pivot groove. The tongue assembly also includes an auxiliary tongue that is inserted in the insert groove and pivotally mounted on the pivot. When the tongue body is in the alignment state, the auxiliary tongue protrudes obliquely to the left and backward relative to the tongue portion from the push arc surface.

Images