Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ELECTRIC DOOR LOCK
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric door
lock, more particularly to an electric door lock that
can be operated either manually or electrically.
2. Description of the Related Art
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No.
2007/0169525, there is disclosed a conventional
electric door lock operable either manually or
electrically. The conventional electric door lock
includes a latching unit, a manual operating member,
first and second rotatable members, and an electric
driving unit. The latching unit is movable between
latching and unlatching positions. The manual
operating member is rotatable between a first angular
position so as to dispose the latching unit at the
latching position, and a second angular position so as
to dispose the latching unit at the unlatching position.
The first rotatable member is provided with a first
protrusion, and is sleeved securely on the manual
operating member so as to be co-rotatable therewith.
The second rotatable member is provided with a second
protrusion, and is rotatable in a first rotational
direction such that the second protrusion pushes the
first protrusion so as to move the first rotatable member
from the first angular position to the second angular
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position, and a second rotational direction such that
the second protrusion pushes the first protrusion so
as to move the first rotatable member from the second
angular position back to the first angular position.
The electric driving unit is operable so as to drive
rotation of the second rotatable member.
However, since the conventional electric door lock
requires different configurations for application to
different doors operable to open from different lateral
sides, the conventional electric door lock is lacking
inflexibility. Additionally, in electrical operation,
the second protrusion is configured to slide over the
first protrusion so as to prevent the second protrusion
from obstructing path of the first protrusion during
operation. Since both of the first and second
protrusions lack resiliency, service life thereof is
relatively short. Moreover, the conventional electric
door lock uses a micro-switch as a sensing element for
deactivating the electric driving unit, but the
micro-switch is relatively unstable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to
provide an electric door lock that is adapted to be
mounted on a door operable to open from either lateral
side, and that has a relatively longer service life.
Accordingly, an electric door lock of the present
invention comprises a door latch mechanism, a manual
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operation mechanism, an electric operation mechanism,
first and second rotatable members, and an electric
control mechanism.
The door latch mechanism is operable for movement
between latching and unlatching positions. The manual
operation mechanism includes a spindle coupled
operatively to the door latch mechanism, and is manually
operable to drive movement of the door latch mechanism
between the latching and unlatching positions. The
electric operation mechanism includes an electric
driving unit. The first rotatable member is driven by
the electric driving unit to rotate about an axis, and
includes a rotary body and a clutch mechanism. The
clutch mechanism is disposed resiliently on the rotary
body and is movable parallel to the axis toward and away
from the rotary body. The second rotatable member is
coupled to the manual operation mechanism for
co-rotation with the spindle, and has one side that
confronts the first rotatable member and that is provided
with a pushed unit. The electric control mechanism is
operable so as to deactivate the electric driving unit
after the door latch mechanism has been moved from one
of the latching and unlatching positions to the other
one of the latching and unlatching positions.
When the first rotatable member is driven by the
electric driving unit to rotate, the clutch mechanism
pushes the pushed unit to drive rotation of the second
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rotatable member and co-rotation of the spindle for moving the
door latch mechanism from one of the latching and unlatching
positions to the other one of the latching and unlatching
positions.
When the first rotatable member is driven by the
electric driving unit to rotate further after the door latch
mechanism has been moved from the one of the latching and
unlatching positions to the other one of the latching and
unlatching positions, the pushed unit causes the clutch
mechanism to move parallel to the axis toward the rotary body
such that the clutch mechanism slides over the pushed unit and
is moved from one side of the pushed unit to a
circumferentially opposite side of the pushed unit.
According to one aspect of the present invention,
there is provided an electric door lock comprising: a door
latch mechanism operable for movement between latching and
unlatching positions; a manual operation mechanism including a
spindle coupled operatively to said door latch mechanism, said
manual operation mechanism being manually operable to drive
movement of said door latch mechanism between the latching and
unlatching positions; an electric operation mechanism including
an electric driving unit; a first rotatable member driven by
said electric driving unit to rotate about an axis, said first
rotatable member including a rotary body formed with a groove,
and a clutch mechanism; a second rotatable member coupled to
said manual operation mechanism for co-rotation with said
spindle, said second rotatable member having one side that
confronts said first rotatable member and that is provided with
a pushed unit; wherein said clutch mechanism includes a
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resilient plate disposed in said groove in said rotary body,
and a pushing block biased by said resilient plate away from
said rotary body and disposed to act upon said pushed unit to
move parallel to the axis; wherein, when said first rotatable
member is driven by said electric driving unit to rotate, said
pushing block of said clutch mechanism pushes said pushed unit
to drive rotation of said second rotatable member and co-
rotation of said spindle for moving said door latch mechanism
from one of the latching and unlatching positions to the other
one of the latching and unlatching positions; wherein, when
said first rotatable member is driven by said electric driving
unit to rotate further after said door latch mechanism has been
moved from said one of the latching and unlatching positions to
the other one of the latching and unlatching positions, said
pushed unit causes said pushing block of said clutch mechanism
to move parallel to the axis toward said rotary body such that
said pushing block slides over said pushed unit and is moved
from one side of said pushed unit to a circumferentially
opposite side of said pushed unit; and an electric control
mechanism for deactivating said electric driving unit after
said door latch mechanism has been moved from said one of the
latching and unlatching positions to the other one of the
latching and unlatching positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent in the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the
accompanying drawings, of which:
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Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first
preferred embodiment of an electric door lock of the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a front view of the electric door lock of
the first preferred embodiment for illustrating an electric
operation mechanism;
Figure 3 is a partly exploded perspective view of the
electric door lock of the first preferred embodiment
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,
for illustrating first and second rotatable members;
Figure 4 illustrates schematic views for depicting
electrical operation of the electric door lock mounted
on a door operable to open from the right side;
5 Figure 5
is a partly cross-sectional view of the
electric door lock of the first preferred embodiment
for illustrating a clutch mechanism during operation;
Figure 6 illustrates schematic views for depicting
electrical operation of the electric door lock mounted
on a door operable to open from the left side;
Figure 7 is a partly exploded perspective view of
a second preferred embodiment of an electric door lock
of the present invention for illustrating first and
second rotatable members;
Figure 8 is a partly exploded perspective view of
a third preferred embodiment of an electric door lock
of the present invention for illustrating first and
second rotatable members;
Figure 9 is a partly exploded perspective view of
a fourth preferred embodiment of an electric door lock
of the present invention for illustrating first and
second rotatable members and an electric control
mechanism; and
Figure 10 is a partly exploded perspective view of
a fifth preferred embodiment of an electric door lock
of the present invention for illustrating first and
second rotatable members and an electric control
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mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Before the present invention is described in greater
detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted
by the same reference numerals throughout the
disclosure.
Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a first preferred
embodiment of an electric door lock according to the
present invention is adapted to be mounted on a door
(not shown) operable to open from either one of right
and left lateral sides. It should be noted that the
right and left lateral sides are with reference to a
user who stands at an outer side of the door and faces
the door. The electric door lock includes a housing
unit 2, a door latch mechanism 34, a manual operation
mechanism. 3, an electric operation mechanism 4, a first
rotatable member 50, a second rotatable member 52, and
an electric control mechanism 6.
In this embodiment, the housing unit 2 includes an
internal housing 21 and an external housing 22 that are
adapted to be mounted on inner and outer sides of the
door, respectively. The internal housing 21 defines
an accommodating space 211.
The manual operation mechanism 3 includes amounting
seat 36 mounted on the internal housing 21 in the
accommodating space 211, a co-rotating sleeve 37
inserted rotatably in the mounting seat 36, a rotary
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knob 31 mounted rotatably on the internal housing 21
via the mounting seat 36 and the co-rotating sleeve 37,
a key-operated plug 32 mounted rotatably on the external
housing 22, and a spindle 35 disposed along an axis (A)
and coupled operatively to the rotary knob 31, the
key-operated plug 32 and the door latch mechanism 34.
The rotary knob 31 includes an extending rod 312
extending into the accommodating space 211 through the
co-rotating sleeve 37 and formed with a socket 311 for
insertion of the spindle 35 such that the spindle 35
is co-rotatable with the rotary knob 31. By rotating
the rotary knob 31 or by rotating the key-operated plug
32 with a key (not shown), the door latch mechanism 34
is operable for movement between a latching position
and an unlatching position. Since cooperation between
the door latch mechanism 34 and the rotary knob 31 or
the key-operated plug 32 is well known to those skilled
in the art, further details thereof will be omitted
herein for the sake of brevity.
The electric operation mechanism 4 includes an
electric driving unit 41 (a motor for example), a worm
gear 42 driven by the electric driving unit 41, a
reduction gear 43 driven by the worm gear 42, and a keypad
44 operable so as to activate the electric driving unit
41. In practice, remote control techniques may be
employed for controlling activation of the electric
driving unit 41.
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The first rotatable member 50 is disposed rotatably
around the co-rotating sleeve 37, and is driven by the
electric driving unit 41 through the worm gear 42 and
the reduction gear 43 to rotate about the axis (A). The
first rotatable member 50 includes a rotary body 54,
a cover 55 fixedly attached to the rotary body 54, and
an oppositely disposed pair of clutch mechanisms 51
between the rotary body 54 and the cover 55.
The rotary body 54 includes a circular wall 541
corresponding to the cover 55, a plurality of teeth 542
disposed on a periphery of the circular wall 541 and
engaging the reduction gear 43, and a plurality of
projecting rods 543 projecting from the circular wall
541 toward the cover 55. The circular wall 541 is formed
with a first circular through hole 545 at a center thereof,
and a pair of grooves 546 respectively at a pair of
radially opposite sides of the first circular through
hole 545. For each of the grooves 546, the circular
wall 541 is provided with a pair of mounting components
547 respectively projecting from opposite longitudinal
sides of the groove 546 toward the cover 55, and a pair
of stops 548 disposed in the groove 546 and adjacent
to left and right lateral sides of the groove 546.
The cover 55 is formed with a second circular through
hole 553 at a center thereof, a pair of apertures 554
registered respectively with the grooves 546, and a
plurality of rod holes 555 for insertion of the
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projecting rods 543 of the rotary body 54 so as to join
the cover 55 to the rotary body 54. The second circular
through hole 553 is registered with the first circular
through hole 545 in the rotary body 54, and one end of
the co-rotating sleeve 37 extends into the first and
second circular through holes 545, 553 such that the
first rotatable member 50 is rotatable relative to the
co-rotating sleeve 37.
The clutch mechanisms 51 are disposed resiliently
on the rotary body 54 and are movable parallel to the
axis (A) toward and away from the rotary body 54. In
this embodiment, each of the clutch mechanisms 51
includes a resilient plate 511 disposed in a
corresponding one of the grooves 546 and positioned by
the stops 548, and a pushing block 512 mounted on the
mounting components 547, extending through a
corresponding one of the apertures 554 in the cover 55,
and biased by the resilient plate 511 away from the rotary
body 54.
The second rotatable member 52 is coupled to the
manual operation mechanism 3 for co-rotation with the
spindle 35, and has one side confronting the first
rotatable member 50 and provided with a pushed unit.
The second rotatable member 52 includes a ring body 521,
and the pushed unit includes a pair of protrusions 522
disposed at angularly spaced apart positions on the ring
body 521 . The ring body 521 is formed with a non-circular
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through hole 523 engaging the extending rod 312 of the
rotary knob 31 such that the second rotatable member
52 is co-rotatable with the rotary knob 31, and an
assembling hole 524 angularly spaced apart from each
5 of the protrusions 522 by 90 degrees.
The electric control mechanism 6 includes a circuit
board 61 formed with a third circular through hole 611,
a magnetic unit 60 disposed on the second rotatable
member 52, a sensing unit 62 disposed on the circuit
10 board 61 and operably associated with the magnetic unit
60, and a deactivating unit 63 for deactivating the
electric driving unit 41.
In this embodiment, the magnetic unit 60 includes
a magnetic component 601 that is disposed in the
assembling hole 524 in the ring body 521 of the second
rotatable member 52 and that is a magnet. The sensing
unit 62 includes a first sensor 621 aligned with and
configured to sense the magnetic component 601 when the
door latch mechanism 34 is at the unlatching position,
and second and third sensors 622, 623, one of which is
aligned with and is configured to sense the magnetic
component 601 when the door latch mechanism 34 is at
the latching pos ition . In particular , the second sensor
622 is aligned with the magnetic component 601 when the
electric door lock is mounted on a door that is operable
to open from the right lateral side and the door latch
mechanism 34 is at the latching position, and the third
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sensor 623 is aligned with the magnetic component 601
when the electric door lock is mounted on a door that
is operable to open from the left lateral side and the
door latch mechanism 34 is at the latching position.
In practice, the first, second and third sensors 621-623
are Hall sensors that are relatively sensitive and
durable.
The deactivating unit 63 of the electric control
mechanism 6 is operable to deactivate the electric
driving unit 41 after the door latch mechanism 34 has
been moved from one of the latching and unlatching
positions to the other one of the latching and unlatching
positions. In this embodiment, the deactivating unit
63 includes a pair of magnets 631, 632 disposed at the
first rotary member 50, and a pair of sensors 633, 634
disposed on the circuit board 61. The sensors 633, 634
are Hall sensors, and the magnets 631, 632 are angularly
spaced apart from each other by 180 degrees and from
the pushing blocks 512 of the clutch mechanisms 51 by
90 degrees. Each of the sensors 633, 634 is configured
to sense a corresponding one of the magnets 631, 632
to thereby enable the electric control mechanism 6 to
deactivate the electric driving unit 41.
When the door latch mechanism 34 is at the unlatching
position as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the pushing blocks
512 of the clutch mechanisms 51 are angularly spaced
apart from the protrusions 522 by 90 degrees, and the
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magnetic component 601 disposed on the second rotatable
member 52 is aligned with the first sensor 621 disposed
on the circuit board 61.
When a user wants to lock the electric door lock by
manual operation, the user can rotate the rotary knob
31 or the key-operated plug 32 via a key (not shown)
to rotate the spindle 35. As shown in Figure 4, when
the spindle 35 is driven to rotate in a first rotational
direction 71, the spindle 35 will move the door latch
mechani sm 3 4 from the unlatching pos ition to the latching
position, and the second rotatable member 52 also
co-rotates 90 degrees in the first rotational direction
71. Thus, the magnetic component 601 on the second
rotatable member 52 rotates 90 degrees and is aligned
with and sensed by the second sensor 622 on the circuit
board 61. At this time, the electric control mechanism
6 is operable to determine that the electric door lock
is mounted on a door operable to open from the right
lateral side and that the door latch mechanism 34 is
at the latching position. Similarly, when the user
wants to unlock the electric door lock by manual
operation, the user can just rotate the rotary knob 31
or the key-operated plug 32 in a second rotational
direction 72 that is opposite to the first rotational
direction 71, and the second rotatable member 52 and
the magnetic component 601 will be restored to the
positions as shown in Figure 1.
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Referring to Figures 1, 4 and 5, when the user wants
to lock the electric door lock by electrical operation,
the user can use the keypad 44 of the electric operation
mechanism 4 or a remote controller (not shown) to
activate the electric driving unit 41. When the
electric driving unit 41 drives the first rotatable
member 50 to rotate in the first rotational direction
71 through the worm gear 42 and the reduction gear 43,
each of the pushing components 512 of the clutch
mechanisms 51 disposed at the first rotatable member
50 will abut against and push a corresponding one of
the protrusions 522 so as to drive rotation of the second
rotatable member 52 and co-rotation of the spindle 35
for moving the door latch mechanism 34 from the
unlatching position to the latching position. At the
latching position, the magnetic component 601 on the
second rotatable member 52 is aligned with and sensed
by the second sensor 622 on the circuit board 61 such
that the electric control mechanism 6 is operable to
determine that the door latch mechanism 34 is at the
latching position.
It should be noted that, in order to prevent
interference with the manual operation and shorten
movement during the electrical operation, the
deactivating unit 63 is operable to deactivate the
electric driving unit 41 during the electrical operation.
In particular, after the spindle 35 has rotated 90
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degrees in the first rotational direction 71 and has
moved the door latch mechanism 34 from the unlatching
position to the latching position, the spindle 35 and
the second rotatable member 52 are held in place and
the electric driving unit 41 still drives the first
rotatable member 50 to rotate in the first rotational
direction 71. Therefore, each of the protrusions 522
will cause a corresponding one of the pushing blocks
512 to move parallel to the axis (A) against biasing
action of the corresponding one of the resilient plates
511 so as to deform the corresponding one of the resilient
plates 511 such that the corresponding one of the pushing
blocks 512 slides over the protrusion 522 and is moved
from one side of the protrusion 522 to a
circumferentially opposite side of the protrusion 522.
When the magnet 631 disposed on the first rotatable
member 50 is aligned with and sensed by the sensor 633
disposed on the circuit board 61, the electric control
mechanism 6 is operable to deactivate the electric
driving unit 41.
Subsequently, when the user manually operates the
electric door lock, the clutch mechanisms 51 will not
interfere with the rotation of the rotary knob 31 and
co-rotation of the second rotatable member 52 in the
second rotational direction 72 during the manual
operation. Alternatively, when the user electrically
operates the electric door lock, the pushing blocks 512
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will immediately abut against and push the protrusions
522 while the first rotatable member 50 rotates in the
second rotational direction 72.
The foregoing description illustrates the operation
5 of the electric door lock of the present invention that
is mounted on the door operable to open from the right
lateral side. When the electric door lock is mounted
on a door that is operable to open from the left lateral
side, operation thereof is similar to the
10 above-mentioned operation but the rotational
directions are reversed. Referring to Figures 1 and
6, rotation of the first rotatable member 50 in the second
rotational direction 72 will result in movement of the
door latch mechanism 34 from the unlatching position
15 to the latching position during the electric operation.
At this time, the magnetic component 601 is aligned with
and sensed by the third sensor 623 on the circuit board
61 such that the electric control mechanism 6 is operable
to determine that the door latch mechanism 34 is at the
latching position. Each of the pushing blocks 512
similarly slides over a corresponding one of the
protrusions 522, and is moved from one side of the
corresponding one of the protrusions 522 to a
circumferentially opposite side of the corresponding
one of the protrusions 522. In this case, the magnet
632 will be aligned with and sensed by the sensor 634
so as to enable the electric control mechanism 6 to
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deactivate the electric driving unit 41. In other
embodiments, the electric control mechanism 6 may be
configured to deactivate the electric driving unit 41
according to time.
Referring to Figures 7 and 8, second and third
preferred embodiments of an electric door lock of the
present invention are shown to be similar to the electric
door lock of the first preferred embodiment. In the
second preferred embodiment shown in Figure 7, each of
the clutch mechanisms 51 is formed integrally as a
resilient plate that has a pair of securing parts 511
received in a corresponding one of the grooves 546 in
the rotary body 54, and a pushing part 512 connected
to and projecting from the securing parts 511. The
pushing part 512 extends through a corresponding one
of the apertures 554 in the cover 55 so as to act upon
a corresponding one of the protrusions 522 (see Figure
3). In the third preferred embodiment shown in Figure
8, each of the clutch mechanisms 51 is also formed
integrally as a resilient plate that has a securing part
511 received in a corresponding one of the grooves 546
in the rotary body 54, and a pushing part 512 projecting
perpendicularly from the securing part 511 toward the
cover 55. The pushing part 512 extends through a
corresponding one of the apertures 554 in the cover 55
so as to act upon a corresponding one of the protrusions
522 (see Figure 3). In other embodiments, the clutch
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mechanisms 51 may be modified further as long as the
function described in the disclosed embodiments is
maintained.
Referring to Figures 9 and 10, fourth and fifth
preferred embodiments of an electric door lock of the
present invention are shown to be similar to the electric
door lock of the first preferred embodiment. In the
fourth preferred embodiment shown in Figure 9, the
magnetic unit 60 of the electric control mechanism 6
includes a pai r of magnetic components 602, 603 angularly
spaced apart from each other by 90 degrees, and the
sensing unit 62 of the electric control mechanism 6
includes a pair of sensors 624, 625 spaced apart from
each other by 90 degrees. The sensors 624, 625 are
configured to sense the magnetic components 602, 603
so as to determine whether the door latch mechanism 34
is at one of the latching and unlatching positions. In
the fifth preferred embodiment shown in Figure 10, the
magnetic unit 60 of the electric control mechanism 6
includes three magnetic components 602-604 angularly
spaced apart from each other by 90 degrees, and the
sensing unit 62 of the electric control mechanism 6
includes a pair of sensors 624, 625 angularly spaced
apart from each other by 180 degrees.
In other embodiments, number and arrangement of
components of the magnetic unit 60 and the sensing unit
62 may vary. Arrangement of the sensors surrounding
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the third circular through hole 611 in the circuit board 61 is
not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The sensors can be
arranged at other predetermined angular positions to surround
the third circular through hole 611, and the electric control
mechanism 6 can still control operation of the electric driving
unit 41 precisely. Figures for illustrating other arrangements
of the sensors are omitted herein for the sake of brevity.
The scope of the claims should not be limited by the
preferred embodiments set forth above, but should be given the
broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a
whole.
