EP0130101B1 - Remotely controlled electric lock - Google Patents

Abstract

Electro-mechanical locking device enabling the remote-controlled closing even if the bolt is not exactly facing the striker, i.e. when the door is incompletely brought back to its closure position. It is comprised of an electro-magnet (20) attracting a movable plate (4) which, by a double obliquity slot (17), mobilizes a ball-bearing (6) which projects a bolt (2) into a striker with two ball-bearings to facilitate the relative bolt-striker positioning. A stud (27) driven by an electro-magnet may block the mechanism of the lock. The invention is particularly intended to the remote-controlled electro-mechanical locking of locks of buildings, of lock-chambers in banks, of emergency exits in public places and of all kinds of doors in general.

Description

The invention relates to an electro-magnetic safety lock for emergency exits according to the preamble of claim 1.

A lock of this type is known from document FRA-A-2 166 533 lock in which the transmission of the movement of the electromagnet to the bolt is done by metal parts rubbing directly on each other. During a high operating frequency, wear of the parts can occur followed by seizure.

These emergency exit locks must however be opened by a simple push, in order to comply with safety regulations, so the door locked with this type of lock must be pushable. But the pushing force is likely to be too weak and we are then in the situation of door without lock and no operator of establishment receiving the public will be motivated to install such a lock which will then be commercially invalid, justifying make a lock with possible adjustment of the driving force.

A lock as described in document FR-A-2 166 533 cannot therefore have dual use: lock for remote control of door opening-closing at a very high rate of use on the one hand due to its friction; and on the other hand, lock for use on emergency exits, for the drawbacks it presents. Admittedly, it can be pushed in, opened by a simple push, but after a certain period of operation, the wear and seizure caused by the mechanical friction of the parts means that the force necessary for driving in has varied in the direction of increase. up to blocking. This situation is therefore dangerous for a security lock.

On the other hand, during non-public operation of the establishment, these doors must be normally locked. According to document FR-A-2 166 533, this locking can only be done by an employee going successively to each emergency exit, which has multiple drawbacks including among others the complicity of theft by the employee himself .

The object of the present invention is an electromagnetic lock with multiple functions grouped into a single lock: electromagnetic lock known as positive which prevents friction and mechanical seizure, lock for emergency exits with adjustable driving force and which allows a second locking , not pushable, lockable remotely, by electric remote control, when the establishment ceases to be public, lock manually unlockable by key in the event of a breakdown. This object is achieved by providing a lock according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized by the characteristics mentioned in its characterizing part, which in particular relate to a main maneuvering electromagnet, an angle transmission system by bearings with balls with variation of the angular force at the end of the stroke, a double bevel bolt cooperating with a keeper with two ball bearings, a second electromagnet making it possible to block the end of the first.

Such a lock can be used for remote controls for locking access doors with a high rate of use, avoiding both the risk of seizure and the risk of self-locking if the door is pressed before the opening remote control. It can also be used for emergency exits from establishments open to the public, making it possible in particular to remote control the blocked locking and unlocking of all emergency exits by electric remote control, when the establishment is temporarily in a non-public situation such as large shops and museums for example.

Other advantageous developments of the lock according to the invention relate to the saving of force of the electromagnet at the end of its travel by a variation in obliquity of a transmission slot allowing the resistance of the door to being pushed in. for lower consumption of the electromagnet; a set of ball bearings at all the friction points of the movements, ensuring an invariable driving force, once the adjustments have been made; a bolt-and-strike cooperation, with variable plan, making it possible to meet all the requirements of the security commissions with a view to approval at the time of the opening of the public establishment in which such a lock has been installed; electronic control elements avoiding a risk of mechanical blockage of the emergency exit while the public is present; finally, a system enabling the door to be unlocked in the event of a power failure in the locked position, allowing the door to be left unlocked, therefore in a public safety situation, pending repair of the fault. These advantageous developments of the lock according to the invention are the subject of dependent claims 2 to 7.

The invention is set out below in more detail with the aid of drawings.

Figure 1 shows an exploded view of the main parts comprising the frame (1) of the lock, a bolt (2) held between spacers (10, 11, and 12) on which is fixed a fixed plate (3). On a face of the bolt are fixed by a screw (7), two ball bearings (5 and 6) with interposed washers allowing the locking of the two bearings by their internal wheel, the external wheel remaining free to rotate. These two bearings will be the articulation around which, thanks to the fixed plate (3) and a movable plate (4), an electromagnet (20) will transmit its movement in a movement perpendicular to its axis. The ball bearing (5) will guide the bolt rolling in the oblong slot (13) whose length determines the stroke of the bolt and whose width is 0.2 to 0.3mm greater than the outer diameter of the bearing so that the latter can roll on either of the edges of the slot, without friction of metal parts. The ball bearing (6) goes roll in an oblique slot (17) of the movable plate (4). This moves, guided by the two ball bearings (10 a and 11 a) fixedly attached to the fixed plate by the screws of the spacers (10 and 11), the bearings being locked by their internal wheel, the remaining external wheel free to rotate. The movable plate (4) has two oblong slots (14 and 15) whose length determines the stroke of this movable plate and whose width exceeds by 0.2mm the outside diameter of the bearings, so that according to the movements and mechanical stresses printed during the raising and lowering of the bolt, the bearings (10 a and 11 a) will roll on one or the other of the edges of the slots (14 and 15) avoiding any friction with the movable plate.

The oblique slot (17) of the movable plate has a width of 0.2 to 0.3mm greater than the outside diameter of the bearing (6). The obliquity of this slot is such that during the movement of the movable plate in one direction or the other, it causes the ascent and descent or rather the re-entry and exit of the bolt (2) out of the lock. The bearing (6) rolling on one or other of the edges of the slot.

The oblique slot (17) has two slopes. One long (17 a), at about 45 degrees angle with the edge (18), the second slope (17 b), short, end of race, made with the same edge an angle of 10 to 15 degrees , angle of the same sign, that is to say that during the movement of the bearing in the slot (17) with double slope, crossing from one slope to another does not change the direction of movement of the bolt which differentiates the present invention from the prior art, in US Patent No. 1,946,384 in which not only is there no use of ball bearings, but also a similar oblique slot presents a change of angle at the end of the stroke but this change of angle causes the direction of travel of the bolt to change and makes this lock completely unbreakable, unlike the lock of the present invention.

According to the same embodiment of this device, the spacers (10, 11 and 12) each comprise one or two ball bearings (10 b, 10 c, 11 b, 11 c, 12 b, 12 c,) facilitating the movements of the bolt (2), rolling on the outer wheels of these bearings.

According to figure (2), the movable plate (4) is attached to the plunger core (21) of the electromagnet (20). In this figure, the lock is in the locked position. The core (21) came to bonding. The spring (22) is compressed and the movable plate has been drawn towards the electromagnet, the bearing (6) rolling in the slot (17) has caused the bolt (2) to protrude out of the lock.

Figure (3) shows the unlocked lock, electromagnet (20) not powered, the spring (22) has pushed back the movable plate assembly (4) - core (21). The ball bearing (6) rolled on the corresponding side of the slot (17) and caused the retraction of the bolt (2) (dotted in the figure).

During all these movements of the bolt, all the ball bearings are in action, eliminating any friction generating seizure. According to an embodiment of the lock according to the invention, Figure 4 shows a mode of cooperation of the bolt in the keeper. The bolt (2) has its tapered end like a double bevel chisel (8 and 9). It will be introduced into a keeper (24) at the orifice of which there are two small ball bearings (25 and 26) sufficiently spaced so that the bolt does not lock between the two bearings at the end of its stroke. . By this fact, the bolt which begins its projecting movement does not need to be rigorously in front of the keeper. Indeed, one of the bevels comes to roll on one of the corresponding bearings and corrects the position of the door, obviating a possible insufficiency of the door reminder device called "groom".

According to another embodiment of the lock according to the invention, Figure 5 shows another mode of latch-strike cooperation. The bolt is bevelled and indented and has a ball bearing 31 at its end, blocked by its internal wheel on the bolt, the external wheel free to rotate, cooperating with a keeper made of a set of metal parts fixed by a bracket to the door. This mechanical assembly consists of a kind of double-sloping groove that flares at the inlet orifice and tightens in depth. Each wall of the groove is a folded or arched plate (24) with a surface slope (24 a) and a deep slope (24 b) longer. Each arched or folded part (24), at the end of (24 b), is linked to a rectangular part (34) by a hinge pin (33), the two parts (34) joined by a screw (36) with double reverse thread, allowing the parts (34), and therefore the lower ends of the slopes (24 b) to be moved away and closer. The two parts (34) once adjusted to their correct spacing are locked on the bracket (37). The two arched parts (24) can deviate from one another rotating around the two axes (33). This spacing can be adjusted by another screw (35) with double reverse thread, allowing the distance and the approximation of the arched parts (24). By acting on the screws (35 and 36), it is possible to bring the two planes (24 b) parallel to the axis of the bolt and separated from the value of the diameter of the ball bearing. At this time, the planes (24 a) make a small flare, facilitating the introduction of the bolt into the keeper; the planes (24 b), parallel to each other, provide a strike plate, the walls of which are perpendicular to any driving force. In this condition, the electromagnet (20) being energized, the bolt is out, the lock is unbreakable, and can then be used as a lock for airlocks of banks or entry of buildings.

Changing this setting, the screw (36) bringing the two parts (34) together, the screw (35) tilting the two planes (24 b), these move apart and from the parallel position, take an oblique position which can go up to a value such that pressing on the door transmits a force on the ball bearing (31) whose vertical component can be large, proportional to the obliquity of (24 b), and thus making the door very easy to push in. There is thus a depressible lock, adjustable driving strength _r among others by the adjustable strike plate, used for emergency exits in public places.

According to a further embodiment of the lock according to the invention, in FIGS. 2 and 3, a proximity detector (23) is fixed on the fixed plate (3) opposite the end of travel of the movable plate. Coupled with a relay, it has multiple uses: end-of-travel indicator, bringing into play an economy resistor in series with the electromagnet.

According to a variant of use, the bolt can remain protruding out of the lock after the electromagnet (20) has been de-energized, thanks to a kind of key or stud (27) (FIG. 1 and 2) which can block the moving plate near the end of its stroke. This stud is activated by a second electromagnet (29) of the pushing type, causing it to protrude through a hole in the fixed plate. Figure 6 shows a longitudinal section through the stud (27), non-magnetic metal, brass or dural. This stud is sheathed in its lower half by a magnetic metal tube (28), realizing with the coil (29) electro-magnet of the pushing type which, supplied, attracts the metal tube (28) therefore makes the stud (27) protrude. , compressing the spring (30). The coil (29) is fixed on the fixed plate. The pin or stud (27), when it projects, moved by the electromagnet (29), is one to two mm away from the edge of the movable plate when the electromagnet (20―21 ) is at collage. In this way, when the electromagnet (20) is de-energized while the stud (27) is projecting, the spring (22) pushes back the movable plate (4) by one to two mm and this hangs on the stud (27) which itself is blocked by the movable plate. The bolt is then blocked projecting from the lock and the lock is closed in the absence of current. To open the lock, just a short pulse in the coil (20), the movable plate (4) moves 1 or 2 mm towards the electromagnet, the pin (27) released is erased brought back by the spring (30), and the movable plate is pushed back by the spring (22). The bolt enters the lock. The lock is open.

Instead of an electrical impulse, while the lock is blocked by the pin (27), we feed the coil (20) while maintaining the current permanently: the movable plate moves from 1 to 2 mm. The stud (27) disappears. The bolt (2) has hardly moved. We have just made the transition from the lock, from the night locking situation to the push-in anti-panic locking situation.

There is interest and sometimes obligation to be able to control the position of the stud (27). For this, the proximity detector (23) or a second proximity detector is placed opposite the end of the stud (27) and detects it in the extended position. This signal is brought back to a control panel. For the night locking mentioned above, a timed power supply can be used: first switching on the electromagnets (20 and 29), then switching off the electromagnet (20) two or three seconds before switching off of the electromagnet (29).

In a lock previously described (Australian patent No 501.920), lock which is totally different in its principle of application, not having the particularity of being inserted, and in which an ordinary bolt is mobilized directly by two, electro -magnets, one acting for the exit, the other for the retraction of the bolt, we describe a stud blocking the bolt. The protrusion of a nipple by an electromagnet is commonplace. In the cited reference, the electromagnet must remain permanently energized to maintain the nipple against a shoulder of the bolt. In the present invention, the pin does not catch a shoulder of the bolt, but a complex mechanical transmission and it is the return spring of the bolt which contributes by means of the movable plate to block the pin. In the cited reference, to retract the nipple, the electromagnet that held it must be de-energized. On the contrary, to unlock the nipple in the present invention, it is necessary to feed a coil, that of the bolt, to advance the mechanics of the bolt, before allowing it to reverse. Finally, in the invention described here, the stud has its free end, without vis-à-vis, which makes it possible to place a proximity detector opposite its end to control it.

According to an additional embodiment, provision must be made for the possibility of a power failure and the possibility of mechanically actuating the lock.

For this, FIG. 1 shows a key cylinder (39) (40) with a cam cam (38), quarter turn. The cam is located in the same plane as the movable plate (4). The barrel is fixed on the stationary body of the lock. Performing its quarter turn, the threshing cam pushes the movable plate to its complete end of travel. The lock is mechanically locked in this way by a key. Carrying out the reverse quarter turn, the cam disappears and leaves the movable plate (4) pushed back - by the spring (22), the bolt enters, the lock is open. If the lock was blocked by the stud (27), the cam can unlock it, because it can push the moving plate until the complete end of its stroke. For safety reasons, it is advantageous to control the position of the cam, by a micro-contact which sends the information to the control panel.

The device according to the invention is particularly intended for the electro-mechanical remote-controlled locking of building doors, bank airlock doors, emergency exits from places open to the public and from all doors, in all cases where there must be access control or restriction.

Claims (7)

1. Electromagnetic safety lock for emergency exits, comprising a bolt (2) cooperating with a striking plate, two actuating electromagnets, one operating the bolt and the other adapted to lock the bolt after it has been shot home by the first, and means of mechanical transmission between the electromagnet and the bolt, said lock being characterised by comprising an electromagnet (20) and a solenoid plunger (21) which draws a sliding plate (4) in the axis of the solenoid, the longitudinal axis of which is taken as a reference direction, the solenoid (21), as it travels across, compressing a spring (22) used to return the sliding assembly to its starting position upon disconnection of the electromagnet, the sliding plate (4) comprising, on the one hand, two oblong slots (14 and 15), both of them parallel to the reference direction, which cooperate with two ball-bearings (10a and 11a) acting as a guide for said sliding plate when it is displaced parallel to the solenoid of the electromagnet under the action of the latter or of the return spring (22), and said ball-bearings being fixed on the body (1) of the lock and, on the other hand, a third slot (17), oblique with respect to the reference direction and having double, unidirectional obliquity, so as to cooperate with a ball-bearing (6) carried by the same axis of a further, subjacent ball-bearing (5) against the bolt, the two ball-bearings (5 and 6) disposed one above the other in interlocking fashion on the surface of the bolt adjoining a fixed plate (3) disposed between the bolt (2) and the sliding plate, the bolt being adapted to move whenever the sliding plate (4) moves, the bearing (6) remote from the bolt rolling in the oblique slot (17) at the same time as the bearing (5) near the bolt rolls in a slot (13) perpendicular to the reference direction in the fixed plate (3) fixed to the body (1) of the lock by three braces (10, 11 and 12) carrying ball-bearings (10a, b, c; 11 a, b, c; 12a, b, c) coaxial with the braces, the latter framing the bolt, one brace (10) being positioned on one side, the other two braces (11, 12) on the other side of the bolt, and guiding the bolt during its transverse displacement, the bolt exhibiting at its projecting end two bevels (8 and 9) which cooperate with a striking plate (24) by the agency of ball-bearings (25, 26, 31 said lock further comprising a second, push-type electromagnet (29) whose sliding elongated solenoid forms a stud (27) which passes through the fixed plate (3) and extends beyond it to project across the return path of the sliding plate (4), said lock further comprising a key plug with swinging cam, which cooperates with the sliding plate, the swing of the cam mobilising the sliding plate/solenoid plunger assembly until the solenoid is brought into contact with the base of the drawing electromagnet.

2. Lock as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the oblique slot (17) with double obliquity comprises a first, longer part (17a), inclined at an angle of about 45 degrees to the longitudinal edge (18) of the sliding plate, and a further, shorter part (17b), provided at the limit of travel of the bolt, at an angle of 10 or 15 degrees, said slot cooperating with a ball-bearing (6) integral with the bolt and said slot having a width more than 0.1 to 0.2 mm greater than the outer diameter of the ball-bearing (6) so as to allow it to roll along an edge of the slot (17) without rubbing on the opposing edge.

3. Lock as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the fixed part guiding the bolt comprises, inter alia, a fixed plate (3) with a slot (13) extending in the direction of movement of the bolt and cooperating with the ball-bearing (5) nearest the bolt, and having an outer diameter 0.1 to 0.2 mm less than the width of the slot (13) so as to be able to roll along one edge of the slot without rubbing on the other edge, the fixed plate (3) being fixed to the body by a brace (10) on one side of the bolt and two braces (11 and 12) on the other side of the bolt.

4. Lock as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the bolt is introduced into the striking plate by a tapered end with double bevels (8 and 9), the striking plate having an aperture whose entrance exhibit two small opposed ball-bearings, each bearing cooperating with a bevel of the bolt, which is introduced between the two bearings.

5. Lock as claimed in Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the bolt is introduced into the striking plate with the help of a small ball-bearing (31) disposed at the projecting end of the bolt (2) cooperating with the striking plate (24), said lock exhibiting an angle bracket (37) for fixing said striking plate to the door, two rectangular parts (34) adjustably fixed to the bracket (37) and interconnected by a double inverted thread screw (36) which enables the distance between said parts to be varied, each part (34) supporting a plate articulated on it, the two plates interconnected by a double inverted thread screw (35) which enables the angle between them to be varied, the two plates exhibiting at their ends a camber accentuating the distance between them so as to form an entry aperture in the flared striking plate, said two cambered plates together forming a striker cavity, the angle of whose walls is adjustable.

6. Lock as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that facing the limit of travel of the stud (27) there is placed an electronic proximity detector which enables the position of the projecting or retracted stud to be monitored, said detector sending a signal to a control panel.

7. Lock as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a key plug with swinging cam is fastened to the fixed lock assembly, such that in its one direction of travel the swinging cam (38) shoots the sliding plate and brings it to the extreme position of its travel, the solenoid plunger at the base of the electromagnet drawing and, in its other direction of travel, actuates a switch that enables a signal to be sent to the control panel to monitor the position of the swinging cam.

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