Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to an exit device and
more specifically to an exit device of the rim type
having a pivoted latch bolt which projects from the
side of the active case.
Locks of the above type are commonly used on
outwardly opening exit doors of public buildings
such as schools, hospitals, theaters and the like
where large numbers of people can be expected to
gather. These devices permit quick and easy access
from the building at all times and particularly in
cases of emergency such as fire or accident.
The latch bolt retracting mechanism of such
locks is, for reasons of safety, operable at all
times by means of a cross bar which extends horizon-
tally across the inner side of the door. The cross
bar is pivotab]y mounted at one end -to the "active"
lock case, that is, the lock case which carries the
latch bolt and the retracting mechanism therefor, and
at its opposite end to an "inactive" or supporting
case which is secured to the inner side of the door
opposite the active case. Generally, the latch bolt
is retracted by the depression of the cross bar
which is particularly important since this will assure
automatic retraction of the latch bolt if people
should crowd against the inside of the door.
In addition to the basic function which merely
provides for cross bar retraction of the latch bolt
Erom the inside of the door, in some instances such
devices have been furnished with manually operated
means for controlling the operation of the latch
bolt from outside the door. Such manually operated
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devicies may be in ~he form of a thumb plece or lever
located on the outer siide of the door and whlch are
:- operable upon depreiisiion to retract the latch bolt.
In tho~ie ini3tanceiYi where a devlce for operating the ~.
5 latch bolt i~ provided on the out~ide of the door, ~.
key operated meanisi are uiually provided for
rendering i~iuch devices inoperable.
According to one type of device in common use
prior to thisi inventionS a lever me~ber was
pivotably mounted in the active ca~e. An external
- manually operated member in the form of a thumb
piece or the like wa3 used to pivot the lever which
in turn engaged an exteni~iion portion on the latch
bolt cauisiing it to retract. A key operated lock
cylinder waisi alsio provided which was connected to a
locking hub mounted in the case which in turn cau~ed
a locking member to be moved into and out of locking
engagement with the lever. With the locking member
in locking engagement with the lever, the lever was
prevented from moving and thus, would not be able to
cause retraction of the latch bolt. However, in
i3uch case9 the external operating member waiYi also
rendered immovable. Thus, in the event the external :~
locking member was forcedj7 damage could resiult to
the operating member and/or the mechanism within the
case.
i
_MMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above, it ii9i an object of the
pre~ent invention to provide an improved exit device~
More i3peci~ically, it i~ an object of the
prei~ent invention to provide an exit devicie which
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will permit an operating member on the outer side of
the door to move without causing retraction of the
latch bolt when the device is locked~
These and other objects of the invention may be
achieved by an exit device having a latch bolt which
is supported by and movable relative to the active
case between projected and retracted positions. An
action lever is pivotably mounted in the active case
and is adapted to be pivoted by a manual operator
between an open and closed position. A locking
member is mounted in the case for movement between
a locked position and an unlocked position. A cam
lever is pivotably connected to the action lever
adjacent one end thereof and has a first portion for
engaging the locking member and a second portion for
engaging and causing the retraction of the latch bolt
as the action lever is pivoted into its open position
when the locking member is in the unlocked position.
When the locking member is in the locked position
the first portion of the cam lever is free of engage-
ment of the locking member and the second portion is
free to cam about the latch bolt upon pivoting of the
action lever into its open position whereby the
latch bolt remains projected.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF T~ DRAWINGS
The present inven-tion will be more readily
understood by reference to the following detai]ed
description and to -the accompanying drawings in
which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an
exit device mounted on a door shown in phantom.
Figure 2 is a side elevational view partially
in section of the active case shown in Figure 1.
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Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the
active case of Figure 1 with the cover removed and
the components shown in the unlocked position.
Figure 4 is a partial elevational view of the
active case of Figure 1 with the cover removed and
components shown in an arc position.
Figure 5 is a partial sectional view taken
along the lines 5-5 of Figure 3.
Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but
showing the components positioned when the manual
operator is moved to its open position.
Figure 7 is a partial sectional view taken
along the lines 7-7 of Figure 4.
Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but
showing the components positioned when the manual
operator is moved to its open position.
Figure 9 is a partial sectional view taken
along the line 9-9 of Figure 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to the drawings, and in particular
Figure 1, an exit device 2 is shown attached to a
door 4 shown in phantom. The exit device comprises
generally an active case 6 and an inactive case 8.
A cross bar 10 is mounted between an active lever 12
25 and an inactive lever 14. The levers 12 and 14 are
pivotably mounted within cases 6 and 8 respectively.
The latching mechanism housed within the active case
6 is operable upon depression of the cross bar 10
to cause retraction of a latch bolt 16.
The active case 6 includes a cover la and a
backplate 20 attached to the door 4 and which is
shown in Figure 3. The latch bolt 16 is pivotably
mounted to a wall 22 which extends outwardly from
the backplate 20 by means of pivot pin 24. When the
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door 4 is closed~ the latch bolt 16 is adapted to
mate with a strike 26 shown in phantom in Figures 3
and 4 to prevent opening of the door unless the
latch bolt 16 is retracted.
The active lever 12 is pivotably mounted within
the case 6 by means of a pivot pin 28 extending
between the wall 22 and a wall 30 which projects out-
wardly from the backplate 20. The lever 12 includes
an upwardly extending projection 32 at its inner end.
The latch bolt 16 includes a transversely extending
projection 34 positioned outside of the projection 32
on the lever 12 and which has a tail portion 36 which
extends transversely beyond the projection 32. The
latch bolt 16 is biased into its projected position
by means of a coil spring 38. The lever 12 has an
extension tab 40 mounted on the rear surface of the
projection 32 and extending upwardly therefrom as
shown in Figure 9. Lever 12 is biased into its
closed position, wherein the extension ta~ 40 abuts
the base plate 20 by means of springs 42.
A dead locking mechanism 43 is provided in the
interior of the active case 6 and includes a locking
pin 44 extending downwardly from a boss 46 on a
retractor member 48. The retractor member 48 in-
cludes three vertically extending slots 50 in whichpin members 52, 54 an 56, which extend outwardly
from the backplate 20, are received to gui.de the
retractor in its vertical movement. A plunger 58
is mounted in a boss 61 extending outwardly from the
backplate 20 and extends transversely in front of the
retractor 48 through an opening 60 in the side wall
22. A spring member 62 biases the plunger 58 in a
transverse direction toward its extended position out
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of the case 6. The bottom portion of the plunger 58,
adjacent the end opposite the opening 60, is pro-
vided with a cut-out 64 forming a stop 66 which, when
the dooris in an open position and the plunger 58 is
extended, abuts against a rollpin 68 extending
through the boss 61.
The top side of the plunger 58 is also provided
with a cut-out 70 intermediate its ends. The cut-
out 70 includes a vertical end face 72, a horizontal
transversely elongated dwell portion 74 and a
sloping cam portion 76. A pin member 78 extends out-
wardly from the retractor through the cut-out portion
70 of the plunger 58~ A spring member 80 is attached
to the pin member 78 and extends downwardly forward
of the plunger 58 to an extension of the pin member
54 which is mounted on the backplate 20. The spring
member 80 serves to urge the retractor member 48
and its associated pin member 44 downwardly so that
the pin 78 rest~ on the dwell portion of the cut-out
when the plunger 58 is retracted by the strike 26 as
shown in Figure 3 when the door is closed. With the
retrator member 48 in this position, the locking pin
44 extends downwardly past the top portion of the
latch bolt 16 along its inside surface whereby the
latch bolt 16 is prevented from being retracted.
The bottom portion of the retractor member 48
includes an outwardly extending cam arm 82 extending
over the extension tab 40 on the lever 12. The cam
arm 82 on its bottom surface includes a first down-
wardly sloping cam surface 84 and a second upwardlysloping surface 86.
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With the door in the closed position, the latch
bolt 16 is in its projected position and the plunger
58 is held in its retracted position by the strike
26. The retractor 48 is in its lower position with
the pin member 44 preventing retraction of the latch
bolt 16. When the cross-bar 10 is depressed, lever
12 pivots about pivo-t pin 28 and, as shown in Figure
9, the extension tab 40 engages the cam surface 84
and then 86 of the cam arm 82 and raises the retractor
member 48, thus raising the locking pin 44 out of the
path of the latch bolt 16. At the same time, the
projection 32 of lever 12 engages the rearward portion
of the projection 34 of the latch bolt 16 causing the
latch bolt to be pivoted into the case 6 into its
retracted position.
As the door is opened and the plunger 58 moves
from the strike 26, it moves into its extended posi-
tion whereupon the stop 66 abuts against the roll-
pin 68. In so doing, the pin 78 attached to the
retractor member 48 is cammed upwardly by the cam
portion 76 of the cut-out 70 and rests on the top
surface of the plunger 58. The locking pin 44 on
the retractor member 48 is then held in its upper in-
operative position until the door 4 is closed.
The exit device 2 of the present invention
includes an external manual operator 90 on the out-
side of the door 4 which may be in the form of a
thumb piece, lever or other suitable well-known type
operator. As shown in Figure 2, in the example
given, the manual operator 90 includes a thumb piece
92 pivotably mounted in the door 4 above a pull
handle 94 which is positioned on the outside of the
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door. The thumb piece 92 includes a tail portion 96
extending through the door into the active case 6.
An action lever 98 is pivotably mounted on the pivot
pin 28 and includes a downwardly extending portion
5 100 having a bottom cam surface 102 positioned imme-
diately above the tail portion 96 of the manual
operator 90.
The action lever 98 also includes an upwardly
extending portion 104 which has a cam lever 106
pivotably attached thereto by pivot pin 107. The
cam lever 106 includes a first downwardly extending
portion 108 having an outer cam surface 110 which is
positioned inwardly of and in alignment with the
tail portion 36 of the latch bolt 16. The downwardly
extending portion 108 extends downwardly along the
latch bolt side of the upwardly extending portion 104
of the action lever 98. The cam lever 106 also in-
cludes a second downwardly extending portion 112
which extends along the other side of the upwardly
20 extending portion 104 of the action lever 98. The
portion 112 is provided with an outwardly extending
boss 114 in which is mounted a pin 116 which extends
horizontally in front of the upwardly extending
portion 104 o~ the action lever 98~ Extending up-
wardly from a crossbar portion 118 of the cam lever
which connects portions 108 and 112 is an upwardly
extending portion 120 having an outer cam face 122.
As shown in Figures 2 and 9, the inner portion of the
active lever 12 may be provided with a stop plate 123
which may be either a separate member or formed in-
tegral therewith, which forms a stop for the action
lever 98.
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To provide a means for locking and unlocking
the door 4 from the outside, a conventional lock
cylinder 124 is mounted i,n the door for access from
the exterior thereof as shown in Figure 2. This
lock cylinder may ~e any conventional key operated
cylinder and includes an operatng spindle or tail
126 which extends into the active case 6 and is con-
nected to a locking hub 128 which is pivotably
mounted in a boss 129 extending outwardly frorn the
10 backplate 20. The locking hub 128 includes two cir-
cumferentially spaced camming arms 130 and 132.
A locking member 134 is pivotably attached to
the backplate 20 and includes one outwardly extending
post 136 which extends between the cam arms 130 and
15 132 as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The locking member
134 is movable by the locking hub 128 from its
unlocked position shown in Figure 3, wherein a lock-
ing arm 138 on the locking member 134 is positioned
immediately in front of the cam face 122 of the cam
lever 106, and a locked position shown in Figure 4,
wherein the locking arm 138 is moved to the side of
the cam face 122 of the cam lever 106. A suitable
detent mechanism (not shown) may be provided between
the inner surface of the locking member 134 and the
backplate 20 to releasably hold the locking member
in its unlocked and locked positions.
In operation, when the lock cylinder 124 is
used to rotate the locking hub 128 into its unlocked
position shown in Figures 3, 5 and 6, the locking
30 member 134 is rotated so that the locking arm 138 is
positioned immediately in front of the cam face 122
of the cam lever 106. When the manual operator 90
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is actuated, the action lever 98 is rota-ted about
pivot pin 28, with the upper portion 104 thereof
moving outwardly in a clockwise direction as viewed
in Figures 5 and 6. As the locking member 134
prevents outward movement of the upwardly extending
portion 120 of the cam lever 106, the lower portion
108 moves outwardly and the cam face 110 thereof
engages the tail portion 36 of the latch bolt 16
causing the retraction thereof and permitting the
door to be opened. At the same time, when the
manual operator 90 is actuated and the action lever
98 rotated, the upper surface of the crossbar
portion 118 of the cam lever 106 engages a generally
horizontal cam surface on the bottom of a cam arm 82
of the retractor member 48, causing the retractor
member 48 to move upwardly thereby raising the
locking pin 44 to permit free retraction of the
latch bolt 16.
When the keyed locking cylinder 124 is moved to
its locked position, the locking hub 128 is rotated
counterclockwise with arm 132 engaging the post 136
on the locking member 134 to move the locking arm
138 to the side of the cam face 122 of the cam lever
106 as shown in Figure 4. Thus, when the action
25 lever 98 is rotated, the forward face 110 of a
downwardly extending portion 108 of the cam lever
106 cams itself up and over the tail portion 34 oE
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the latch bolt 16 and exerts no retracting force
thereon. The action lever 98 pivots under the
action of the manual operator 90 until the bottom
portion thereof engages the stop plate 123 on the
active lever 12. When the action lever 98 is
rotated when the exit device is locked, the pin 116
in the downwardly extending portion 112 abuts the
upper portion of the action lever 98 and prevents
the cam lever 106 from rotating too far in a
clockwise direction as shown in Figure 8 so as to
render it out of positionwhen it is returned to its
normal position shown in Figure 7.
Thus, by virtue of the present invention, an
exit device is provided in which, when the exit
device is locked, the manual operator is permitted
to move in its normal manner without causing the
retraction of the latch bolt 16. It will be noted
no matter whether the exit device is locked or
unlocked, depression of the crossbar 10 will result
in the latch bolt 16 being retracted and the door
capable of being opened from the inside.
While reference has been made above to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, it
wlll be apparent to those skilled in the art that
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~tarious modificatlons and altera~ions may be mad~
!- thereto wi~hout departing from the ~pirit of the
- ~ present invention. There~ore lt is intended tha'c
the ~cope o~ thi~s inven~lon be a~certained by .
5 reference to 'che ~ollo~ing claim~:
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