CN103850523A - Handle assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A handle assembly fitted to a door leaf of a leaf such as a bi-fold door is provided, comprising: a back plate secured to a door frame; a rotatable handle spindle operable on the handle to move the handle according to the direction of rotation to an engaged position or a disengaged position; and a handle having a grip portion adjacent to the stem portion. The stem is slidably mounted on the spindle for movement between a first position and a second position in which the grip is proximate to the backplate and held in place. the backplate to prevent rotation of the handle, in the second position the grip is spaced from the bottom of the handle to provide knuckle clearance between the grip and the backplate And release the handle to turn it. Preferably, the handle grip returns automatically to said first position by means of one or more magnets.

Description

handle assembly

technical field

The present invention relates to handle assemblies for door, window or other similar closures, more particularly pull handles for use with bi-fold doors, and to locking systems and bi-fold doors incorporating said handle assemblies.

Background technique

When designing pull handles for doors, windows or similar closures, consideration must be given to the clearance between the underside of the handle grip and the surface of the door or sash to which the handle is mounted. Insufficient clearance can make the handle difficult to operate and could result in personal injury.

Special considerations apply to so-called bi-fold doors, sometimes called bi-fold doors, which generally consist of two or more leaves or panels joined together by hinges etc. Partially open or fully closed. Such bi-fold doors operate with a simple track mechanism which runs along the upper and lower side edges of the door and adjacent leaves can be fastened to each other by means of one, usually two or more hinges. Such bi-fold doors have grown in popularity in recent years, especially in domestic homes where the door can be opened to provide uninterrupted access from the interior of the home to a garden space.

As known in the art, the term "bifold door" or "bifold door" covers doors, windows, etc. that include more than two connected leaves or panels (including odd and even numbers of panels), and herein References should be interpreted accordingly. Such closures are also sometimes referred to as multi-fold doors.

Due to the mechanical function of bi-fold doors, the gap between adjacent leaves needs to be kept to an absolute minimum when the door is fully open, in order to maximize the door opening aperture and ensure that the leaves stack in close alignment when the door is fully open, preferably parallel to each other. For this reason, it is desirable for any handle on the door to have a low profile. Likewise, where the handle remains out of the folded panel, it is similarly desirable to have a low profile for both aesthetic and safety reasons. However, as noted above, handles with a low profile are often difficult to manipulate, and the lack of clearance between the handle grip and the panel or frame can cause the user to scrape his or her joints when the handle is turned.

Summary of the invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a handle assembly for a door or the like, especially for a bi-folding door, which handle is easy to operate without substantially hindering the stacking or folding of the door or when the door is in the open configuration. Will protrude visibly from the exposed face of the end fan.

According to a first aspect, the present invention therefore relates to a handle assembly for fitting onto a leaf of a leaf such as a bi-fold door, said assembly comprising: a back plate fixed to the door frame; a handle that operates on the handle to move the handle to an engaged position or a disengaged position depending on the direction of rotation; and a handle having a grip portion adjacent to a stem portion slidably mounted on the spindle for moves between a first position in which the grip proximates the back plate and remains on the back plate to prevent rotation of the handle, and a second position in which Positionally, the grip is spaced from the bottom of the handle to provide knuckle clearance between the grip and the back plate and to release the handle for rotation.

With the present invention, the user can pull the handle grip away from the door leaf before turning the handle to operate the pull, and thus avoid scraping his/her knuckles against the leaf when the handle is turned. After the operation of the handle, the handle can be returned to the original first position. It will be appreciated that when the handle is returned to the first position, if the spindle is not first counter-rotated by turning the handle back to its original starting position, the pull handle will remain in the disengaged position, normally retracted to the side of the sash edge or its framing members. Alternatively, the handle may be swiveled back to its original starting position before the handle is returned to the first position, so that the pull handle protrudes from the frame again.

In a typical bi-fold door arrangement, each sash includes an aluminum, uPVC-coated aluminum or wooden frame surrounding a glass panel (such as single, double or triple glass panels) so that Panel segments are slimmer than the surrounding frame. In order that adjacent leaves are positioned parallel to each other when the door is in the open configuration, the handle grip is preferably generally planar. This allows the handle grip to lie generally flat against the underlying back plate in the first position, effectively minimizing the profile of the handle assembly. It will be appreciated that in the first position the stem of the handle is substantially fully retracted within the back panel and door frame.

The handle assembly of the present invention is mounted to the fan frame along its left and right sides, and the back plate and handle grip are preferably elongated, eg, diamond-shaped, with the longer sides aligned with the side edges of the frame. Ideally, rotating the handle grip portion of the handle approximately 180° moves the pull handle between the engaged and disengaged states. Thus, in the engaged and disengaged positions, the handle grip is aligned with and overlies the back panel.

To provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance, the handle grip preferably substantially covers the back panel, or more preferably extends beyond the perimeter of the back panel, so that at least when viewed from the front, the back panel is completely shaded. The handle grip may have substantially straight sides or may be shaped to provide a more comfortable gripping shape for the user.

In the first position, the handle grip is positioned on or overlies the back plate (also sometimes referred to as the handle bottom) and is held on the back plate to prevent the handle grip from rotating. Preferably, this is accomplished by complementary features on the handle grip and base. Complementary features may, for example, include one or more keyways on the bottom or back plate that engage one or more undercuts on the handle grip. Alternatively, the keyway may be provided on the handle and the complementary recess on the bottom.

To release the handle grip and allow operation of the pull handle, the handle grip is pulled away from eg the bottom of the handle such that the keyway is separated from the complementary undercut. The handle grip is pulled a distance sufficient to provide a comfortable direct gap between the handle grip and the bottom of the handle; the so-called comfortable distance varies from user to user, so the handle is not always pulled out before the handle grip is turned to its maximum extent.

Although the user may be responsible for pushing the handle grip back towards the sash after handle manipulation, the handle grip may automatically return to the first position or at least be assisted in returning to the first position. For example, the pull handle may be provided with one or more magnets for pulling the handle grip back towards the bottom or back plate of the handle. Preferably, the bottom or back plate of the handle is provided with one or more permanent magnets for attracting the grip of the handle. The handle grip itself may include one or more magnets, but may alternatively include magnetic material, for example, the handle may include powder coated aluminum alloy. Also, the backplate and contain magnetic material, such as a magnetic alloy, for attracting one or more magnets on the grip of the handle.

The use of magnets ensures that the pull handle always returns to the first position whenever the handle grip is released. As described above, in the case where the handle is in the state of being engaged with or disengaged from the main shaft according to the rotation of the handle grip, the handle grip can return to the first position. In some cases, such as when the door is in the closed position, it cannot be seen whether the pull handle is operable when the side edges of adjacent sash abut. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a visual indicator to allow the user to determine whether the handle is engaged or disengaged.

The handle grip may, for example, include an aperture or window that aligns with an indicator on the back panel, depending on rotation of the handle grip. In a preferred arrangement, the handle bottom is provided at the opposite end with the contrasting markings so that the "tightening" marking is visible through the aperture when the handle grip is returned against the bottom with the pull in the engaged position ( such as red panels, cushions, etc.) and "unfastened" markers visible through apertures when the handle grip is returned against the bottom with the pull in the disengaged position (such as green panels, cushions, etc.). Upon seeing the "unfastened" marker, the user will know that the door can be opened. The aperture surround may be contoured so that a visually impaired person can easily identify by touch the orientation of the aperture on the handle grip and thus determine the location of the pull.

The stem adjacent the grip is preferably hollow to accommodate the length of the main shaft and to allow the stem to slide along the main shaft when the handle is moved between the first and second positions. The inner surface of the stem may be contoured, such as polygonal in cross-section. Such that rotation of the stem about its longitudinal axis drives rotation of the spindle when the handle is turned. Of course, other alternative arrangements are possible, such as providing opposing internal protrusions on the inner surface of the stem for engaging in grooves along the length of the main shaft, or vice versa.

According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a bi-fold door system comprising more than two adjoining leaves mounted to rails fitted to an opening in a building, and fitted to the frame members of the end leaves as described above to At least one handle assembly for securing the end sash to a non-adjacent sash or frame surrounding the opening.

Description of drawings

The invention will now be illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a handle assembly according to the present invention mounted to a door frame in a first position;

Figure 2 is a side view of the handle assembly of Figure 1 in a second position;

Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of the handle assembly of Figures 1 and 2, respectively; and

FIG. 5 is a front view of the handle assembly of FIG. 1 .

Detailed description of the invention

Referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown a handle assembly 1 comprising a back plate 5 mounted to a vertical frame section 12 of a fan 10 . A handle 20 with a planar handle grip 22 rests against and is fastened on the back plate 5 and extends beyond the upper and lower edges of the back plate 5 . The handle grip 22 is flush with the back plate 5 in this first position where the handle has its lowest profile.

Figure 2 shows the handle 20 in a second position with the handle grip 22 pulled away from the back plate 5 to expose the portion of the stem 24 surrounding the main shaft (not shown). In this second position, the handle grip 22 is released from the back plate 5, allowing the handle 20 to be turned to operate the pull. Furthermore, there is space between the handle grip 22 and the frame segment 10 to allow a user to comfortably grip and turn the handle grip 22 .

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the handle 20 in the first position as shown in FIG. 1 . The handle grip 22 includes an aperture 26 extending through the grip to expose an underlying portion of the back plate 5 . The aperture 26 is located above or below the stem 24, depending on whether the handle pull is in the secured or unsecured position, which is achieved by rotating the handle grip 22 through 180°. As can be seen in Figure 4, which shows the handle 20 being pulled out to the second position, the lower back plate 5 carries markers 51, 52 which, when the pull handle (not shown) is in its fastened or unfastened position, respectively Objects 51, 52 are aligned with aperture 26. Thus, anyone looking at the door 10 can tell whether the handle 20 is in the secured or unsecured position depending on which of the indicia 51 , 51 is visible through the aperture 26 . The back plate 5 is also provided with a pair of magnets 61a, 61b for attracting the handle grip 22, the magnets comprising a magnetic material so that when the user releases the handle grip 22, the grip is drawn back into contact with the back plate 5. Engage again.

The keyed member 30 surrounds the aperture through the back plate 5 and is fixed to the aperture. The stem portion 24 reciprocates through the aperture according to the position of the handle grip portion 22 . The rear face 28 of the handle grip 22 includes a complementary profile to the keyed member in the form of a recess or undercut (not shown) around the stem 24 to accommodate the keyed member 30 and prevent the handle grip 22 from being bent. Rotates while in the first position against the back plate 5 .

Various changes and modifications are possible, and it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise forms described herein, the scope of the invention being determined by the claims.

Claims (14)

1. A handle assembly for a door leaf fitted to a leaf such as a bi-fold door, comprising: a back plate, fixed to the door frame; a rotatable handle spindle operable on the handle to move said handle according to the direction of rotation to an engaged position or a disengaged position; and a handle having a grip portion adjacent to a stem portion, wherein the stem portion is slidably mounted on the spindle for movement between a first position and a second position, in In the first position, the grip is close to the back plate and held on the back plate to prevent the handle from turning, and in the second position, the grip is in contact with the handle The bottom is spaced to provide knuckle clearance between the grip and the back plate and to release the handle for rotation. 2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the handle includes an auxiliary return mechanism for automatically returning the handle grip to the first position. 3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the auxiliary return mechanism comprises a magnetic return mechanism. 4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the back plate carries one or a pair of magnets, and the handle grip is constructed of magnetic material, or vice versa. 5. The assembly of any one of the preceding claims 1, wherein in the first position, the handle grip overlies the back plate and is retained thereon to prevent the handle grip from rotation. 6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the back plate is keyed for engagement with one or more undercuts on the handle grip. 7. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle grip is substantially planar for substantially flat abutment against an underlying backing plate in the first position. 8. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein in use in the first position the stem of the handle is substantially fully retracted within the back panel and door frame. 9. The assembly of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a visual indicator that when the handle grip remains on the back plate in the first position, the visual indication The indicator enables the user to determine whether the handle is extended or retracted. 10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein the handle grip includes a window and the back panel includes markers, the handle grip remains in the position when the handle is in the extended position. The marker is aligned with the window when the handle is on the back plate, or the marker is aligned with the window when the handle grip remains on the back plate with the pull handle in the retracted state. align. 11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the back plate includes contrasting upper and lower markers on opposite sides of the stem aperture, whereby when the pull handle is in the extended One of the markers is visible through the window when the handle grip is held in the state, and one of the markers is visible through the window when the handle grip is held in the retracted state. The other of the markers can be seen in the window. 12. An assembly as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the window of the handle grip has a shaped surround for providing a tactile indicator so that when in the first position the handle grip The user can determine whether the handle is in an extended state or a retracted state when the handle is held on the backboard. 13. A bi-folding door system comprising: two or more adjacent leaves for mounting on tracks which fit into openings in buildings; and as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 At least one handle assembly for fitting to a frame member of an end leaf for securing said end leaf to a non-adjacent leaf or to a frame surrounding said opening when said leaf is closed. 14. A handle assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

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