EP1162334B1 - Anti-slip fire-proof lock - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an anti-panic bolt lock tilting device designed to withstand fire, for example to equip fire doors, especially double doors, see for example US 5,890,752.

For reasons of manufacturing costs, it is very advantageous to make lock bolts, including anti-panic locks of the tilting bolt type, of a low-melting metal alloy, for example Zamak®, whose melting point is in the order of 410 ° C, by an injection molding process. Such a bolt is ten to fifteen times cheaper than a steel bolt. Moreover, to fill a firewall function in case of fire in a building, the door on which is mounted the anti-panic lock must be able to hold in closed position under the extreme physical conditions of a fire, French standards requiring a fire resistance of the door greater than one hour, while a Zamak® bolt has fire resistance of the order of 4 minutes. Indeed, the temperature in the building can exceed 950 ° C, resulting in melting of low melting point bolts above. The plaintiff company has proposed in the application No. 9915043 filed on November 30, 1999 to mitigate this problem by providing the lock of a second bolt in material high melting point, for example steel whose melting point is at 1200 ° C or brass with a melting point of 1100 ° C. This second bolt is secured to the bolt low melting point and intended to provide him when it goes into fusion but does not cooperate with the waste during the normal use of the lock.

In addition, a door closing for example a corridor to a end of which declared a fire is under pressure very important differential, resulting from the fact that one side of the door is at ambient temperature and the other side is subjected to fire, differential pressure that can be exerted in the direction of its opening, even before the temperature rises sufficiently for cause melting of the low melting point bolt. So, it has been found that this differential pressure, and / or the expansion of the leaf on which is mounted a lock, induces very large constraints on the bolt, in particular at the midpoint of the leaf, which may, when the pressure exceeds a value of approximately 200 kg, slide the bolt to low melting point on the strike causing a partial opening or a curve of the leaf on which is mounted the lock. It was found a metal door tends to curve towards the fire while a wooden door curves in the other direction. In all cases, when the low melting point bolt melts, the bolt high melting point is offset from the strike and can no longer engage in it to hold the door in a closed position. In addition, the curve or the partial opening of the door under the effect of the pressure and dilation can cause a shift of 20 cm to the point median of the door between the door leaf carrying the lock and the support of the waste, which renders the intumescent gasket ineffective hermetic door in case of fire. However, it is desirable that a door can remain closed tight enough to avoid drafts likely to stoke the fire.

The present invention therefore aims to provide a lock of the type defined above, provided with a bolt material low melting point and a bolt made of a material with a high melting point, a formed assembly a lock and a strike, and a system of a mounted lock on a mobile leaf of a door and a strike mounted on a second leaf in the case of a double door or on an amount in the case of a single door, which are able to maintain the door in substantially closed position despite the possible sliding bolt material low melting point on the striker.

For this purpose, the invention has as its first object a lock comprising a housing made of a material with a high melting temperature intended to be fixed to a door, a bolt made of a material melting temperature is lower, said bolt being mounted on said housing to be movable between a closed position in which it protrudes outside the housing through an opening of this and is suitable, at room temperature of use of the lock, to cooperate with a strike to block the door in the closed position and an open position in which said bolt is returned to said housing to allow the opening of the door, an actuator coupled to said bolt and operable from outside said housing for passing said bolt from its closed position to its position opening, characterized by the fact that said lock also includes an auxiliary bolt made of a material with a high melting temperature, which is mounted on the housing so as to be movable between a position of closure in which a portion of said auxiliary bolt projects the outside of said housing through said opening thereof, and a opening position in which said auxiliary bolt is returned to said housing to allow the opening of the door, said lock also comprising elastic return means capable of cooperating with said auxiliary bolt to urge it towards its position of closing ; said auxiliary bolt being coupled to said bolt by connecting means, so that the movement of said bolt to its opening position by means of said operating member is adapted to driving said auxiliary bolt also to its open position; said connecting means comprising at least one fuse element in one low melting point material, said low temperature of melting being between the ambient temperature of use of the lock and melting temperature of the bolt, so-called melting temperature intermediate; each fuse element being arranged so that its melt inlet is capable of decoupling the connection between said bolt and said auxiliary bolt, so that after the fusion of said fuse element, said auxiliary bolt is capable, in its decoupled position, of cooperating with a part in high temperature melting material of the striker for block the door in a substantially closed position, said position of fire closing.

Preferably, said auxiliary bolt is able, in its position decoupled, to be moved relative to said bolt under the solicitation said elastic return means to a so-called closing position fire in which it protrudes outside said housing beyond its closing position.

Advantageously, the lock is of the type with a rocking bolt, the bolt and the auxiliary bolt being able to pivot on the same axis integral with the housing, said axis of rotation being substantially parallel to the wall of the housing in which is pierced said opening.

In this case, said bolt preferably comprises a body having at its free end a blocking surface capable of cooperating with the keeper in the closed position of said bolt; said auxiliary bolt having two flat flanges in the general shape of disk sectors substantially perpendicular to said axis of rotation, and located on the other of said bolt body; said connecting means comprising at minus a coupling member with a high melting temperature extending substantially parallel to said axis of rotation, in at least one hole of one of said bolt and said auxiliary bolt and through less a slot substantially in an arc centered on said axis of rotation pierced in the other of said bolt and said auxiliary bolt; said fuse element being arranged in said at least one slot for binding in rotate the two bolts at room temperature, and to uncouple said bolts with a limited freedom of angular displacement corresponding to the arc of said at least one slot, beyond said low melting temperature, so that in the position of lock closing of the lock, said auxiliary bolt being rejected under the action of said elastic return means to the outside of said housing, has rotated a limited phase angle relative to said bolt beyond its closed position, said at least one slot having slid freely on said coupling member.

In this case, a surface of said bolt turned towards the inside of the housing advantageously comprises a recess arranged so that part of said elastic return means resting on an edge said flanges do not come into contact with the bolt during the rotation of said auxiliary bolt of said limited phase angle to its fire closure position, said part of said return means elastic being able to engage freely in said recess.

Advantageously, said connecting means comprise a tube spacer extending substantially parallel to said axis of rotation and connecting the two flanges of the auxiliary bolt, the ends of said tube spacer being integral with said flanges.

Preferably in this case, said at least one organ coupling means comprises said spacer tube, said at least one slit through said bolt, said hole being drilled in each of the two flanges, said fuse element being suitable at ambient temperature of use of the lock, to occupy part of said oblong hole, in order to prevent the displacement of said spacer tube in said hole oblong.

Advantageously, said connecting means comprise a coupling pin extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and linked with said latch in circular translation about the axis of rotation, one end of said coupling pin being adapted to come into abutment against the housing to define the rotation limit switch said bolt in its closed position of the lock.

Preferably, said coupling pin passes through at least a light pierced in each of said flanges and a hole pierced at through the bolt.

In this case, provision can be made for a fuse element to be suitable for room temperature of use of the lock, to occupy a part of said light so as to prohibit the movement of said pin coupling in said light.

Preferably, the high melting temperature is greater than 950 ° C, said high temperature melting material being for example of steel, that the intermediate melting temperature is included between 200 ° C and 500 ° C, said melting temperature material intermediate being for example Zamak®, and that the temperature of low melting is below 200 ° C, said low temperature material melting being for example a plastic.

For the same purpose, the second object of the invention is a set formed of a lock according to the first subject of the invention, and of a strike associated with said lock, characterized in that the radial extension of said flanges of the auxiliary bolt relative to said axis of rotation is substantially greater than the radial extension of the blocking surface of the bolt; said keeper having two grooves substantially perpendicular to said axis of rotation, and located opposite free end edges of said flanges of the auxiliary bolt; said grooves being arranged so that, on the one hand, at a temperature ambient use of said lock, said flanges are engaged in said grooves without cooperating with said striker, and secondly, in the position of fire-closure of the auxiliary bolt, said flanges are able to come into contact with said striker.

Advantageously, at least one of said bolt flanges auxiliary has a notch in its free end edge; said notch being fit, in the lock closing position of the lock, to cling to the groove of the strike facing him.

In a particular embodiment, the lock is mounted on a mobile leaf and the strike is mounted on a second leaf in the case of a double door or door jamb in the case of a simple door, an intumescent joint able to pass under the action of the heat from a contracted state to a dilated state, being fixed on the singing said mobile leaf all around; said assembly being arranged so that, on the one hand, in the door position closed at temperature ambient use of said lock, said intumescent gasket faces at the edge of said second leaf or said door frame amount of the door, said intumescent gasket being contracted; on the other hand, in the fire position of the auxiliary bolt, said mobile leaf having not moved with respect to its closed position, the notch and the groove facing it are separated by an offset distance, the offset distance being substantially less than half of the thickness of said leaf or of the amount of frame bearing the strike, of so that when said mobile leaf moves under the effect of the differential pressure exerted by the fire, said intumescent gasket is, in its expanded state, able to keep in touch with the leaf sash or said amount of door frame facing it on substantially the entire height of said song or said amount.

To better understand the different objects of the invention, we will now describe, as a purely illustrative example and non-limiting, an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing.

• la figure 1 est une vue en coupe de la serrure de l'invention suivant la ligne I de la figure 5 et de la gâche suivant la ligne I de la figure 6, la serrure étant montée sur un premier vantail d'une porte double et la gâche étant montée sur le deuxième vantail, la serrure étant en position fermée ;
• la figure 2 est une vue analogue à la figure 1, où l'élément fusible a été omis, le pêne auxiliaire étant en position découplée ;
• la figure 3 est une vue analogue à la figure 2, où le pêne a été omis, la serrure étant en position de fermeture incendie ;
• la figure 4 est une vue latérale des deux pênes assemblés, en position accouplée du pêne auxiliaire ;
• la figure 5 est une vue en coupe suivant la ligne V de la figure 4 des deux pênes assemblés, en position accouplée du pêne auxiliaire ;
• la figure 6 est une vue de face de la gâche associée à la serrure de l'invention ;
• la figure 7 est une vue en coupe de la gâche associée à la serrure de l'invention suivant la ligne VII de la figure 6 ;
• la figure 8 est une vue en perspective éclatée des deux pênes de la serrure de l'invention.

On this drawing :

• Figure 1 is a sectional view of the lock of the invention along the line I of Figure 5 and the keeper along the line I of Figure 6, the lock being mounted on a first leaf of a double door and the strike being mounted on the second leaf, the lock being in the closed position;
• Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, wherein the fuse element has been omitted, the auxiliary bolt being in the decoupled position;
• Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, where the bolt has been omitted, the lock being in the fire closed position;
• Figure 4 is a side view of the two bolts assembled in the coupled position of the auxiliary bolt;
• Figure 5 is a sectional view along line V of Figure 4 of the two bolts assembled in the coupled position of the auxiliary bolt;
• Figure 6 is a front view of the striker associated with the lock of the invention;
• Figure 7 is a sectional view of the striker associated with the lock of the invention along the line VII of Figure 6;
• Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of the two bolts of the lock of the invention.

The invention consists of an anti-panic lock, of the bolt type tilting, comprising, a housing 1 intended to be fixed on one of faces of a door leaf 2, a bolt 3 of the lock mounted in rotation in the housing 1 so as to be able to move between a position of the closure shown in FIG. 1, in which the bolt 3 protrudes from the outside of the housing 1 through an opening 4 thereof and can cooperate with a striker 5, in order to maintain said door in position closed, and an open position (not shown) in which the bolt 3 is returned inside the housing 1. The striker 5 is fixed, either to the door frame in the case of a single door (not shown), either on the second leaf 6 of a double door, as shown on the Figure 1. Leaf 2 has a protruding plate 31 on its face opposite to that carrying the housing 1 to allow the opening of the door only in one direction.

As shown in Figure 1, the housing 1 comprises a metal sheet, for example steel, which is folded into a U so as to exhibit two flanges 1a and 1b and a base portion 1 c. This base portion 1c is intended to be applied and fixed, for example by means of screws not shown, on one of the two faces of the leaf 2 of the door on which the panic lock is intended to be mounted. The housing 1 may be supplemented by a cover (not shown) covering the space between the two flanges 1a and 1b.

The aforementioned opening 4 is cut into the wing of the housing 1 substantially at mid-length of said flange 1a, and has an approximately rectangular shape. The wings 1a and 1b include holes 7, visible in Figure 1, for receiving the ends of the axis of rotation of an operating lever (not shown) for actuating the bolt 3.

The bolt 3 will now be described with reference to FIG. 8. The bolt 3 is in fact constituted by a main bolt 8 and an auxiliary bolt 9, which are pivotally mounted on a common axis of rotation 10 and which are releasably coupled to one another by connecting means, so as to be connected in rotation about the axis 10 in the coupled position (Figure 1), and so as to be pivotable relative to each other d an angle α of limited phase shift around the axis 10 in the decoupled position (Figure 2). The axis 10 is supported at its ends by support lugs (not shown) which are rigidly fixed to the inner face of the flange 1a of the housing 1.

The bolt 8 is manufactured for example by injection molding, in a lower melting point material, for example Zamak®. As best seen in Figure 8, the bolt 8 includes a body 30 shaped substantially full right cylindrical sector having two lateral faces 8a and 8b which are flat and perpendicular to the axis of rotation 10 and which have a substantially in a disc sector centered on the axis of rotation 10. The body 30 of the bolt 8 further comprises a rear surface 8c (see Figure 1), which is permanently inside the housing 1 and in which is formed a recess 8 f whose function will be explained below, a front surface 8 d which extends for the most part out of the housing 1, obliquely through the opening 4 thereof, when the bolt 8 is in its closing position (FIG. 1), as well as a locking surface 8 e in the form of a cylindrical sheet whose geometric axis coincides with that of the axis of rotation 10. In the closed position of the bolt, this surface blocking 8th bears on a surface portion 5a of the a keeper 5 to maintain in the closed position the door on which is fixed the lock.

The bolt 8 is, moreover, extended on the other side of its axis of rotation 10 relative to the body 30 by a bearing surface 12 having two branches 12 a and 12 b extending substantially parallel to the axis 10 on respective rotation and the other of the lateral faces 8a and 8b of the latch 8, intended to cooperate with an operating lever (not shown). This actuating lever may act on one or the other of the two branches 12 a, 12 b of the bearing surface 12 to rotate the bolt 8, and also the auxiliary bolt 9 coupled thereto, around the axis 10 to move the two bolts from their closed position shown in Figure 1 to their open position (not shown) in which the two bolts are returned to the housing 1. In the latter position, the face front 8 d of the bolt 8 is substantially in the plane of the opening 4 of the housing 1.

The auxiliary bolt 9 is made, in accordance with the present invention, a high-melting material so as to withstand fire, for example steel or a cuprous alloy. As shown in Figure 8, the auxiliary bolt 9 may be constituted by two flat plates 9 and 9b, substantially disc-shaped area centered on the axis of rotation 10, which are perpendicular to the axis of rotation 10 and spaced apart from each other. The two flanges 9 a and 9 b are intended to be placed on respective sides of the lateral faces 8a and 8b of the latch 8, as shown in Figure 8. Each of the two flanges 9 a and 9 b comprises a circular hole 13 intended to be aligned with holes 14 of the bolt 8 to receive the axis of rotation 10.

Each of the two flanges 9 a and 9 b has an edge 17 which extends along a circular arc centered on the axis of rotation 10, each edge 17 is preferably located slightly forward with respect to the cylindrical locking surface of 8 e of the bolt 8, as can be seen in figures 1 and 2. Each of the two flanges 9 a and 9 b also comprises two edges extending substantially radially relative to the axis of rotation 10, namely a rear radial edge, which is aligned with the rear surface 8c of the bolt 8, and a front radial edge which is aligned with the front surface 8d of the bolt 8.

Preferably, the auxiliary latch 9 further comprises a spacer plate 9 c which is connected to a Seui holding the radial edge of each of the two flanges 9 a and 9 b. As shown in Figure 8, this spacer plate 9 c largely covers the end face 8 of the bolt 8. Preferably, this front surface 8d has a recess 18 width and depth corresponding to the thickness of the spacer plate 9 c which extends from a side face 8a to the other side face 8 b of the bolt 8 and which, in the assembled state of the two bolts 8 and 9, the strut-receiving plate 9 c auxiliary bolt 9, so that this spacer plate is substantially flush with the front surface 8 d of the bolt 8. Thus, when the leaf 2 on which is mounted the lock closes, the edge 6 has the other leaf 6 comes into sliding contact on the spacer plate 9c of the auxiliary bolt 9 which is more resistant to wear than the bolt 8 of low melting point material.

As can be seen in Figure 8, the axis of rotation 10 has ends which clearly projects beyond the two flanges 9 a and 9 b of the auxiliary latch 9 in order to permit mounting of said axis in the support legs mentioned above. In addition, the projecting ends of the axis of rotation 10 carry a spring 19, visible in Figures 1, 2 and 3, for biasing the auxiliary bolt 9 to its closed position. More specifically, the spring may for example be constituted by a steel wire spring which is bent in a U shape, the base portion 19 a abuts against the rear edge of the two flanges 9 a and 9 b the auxiliary bolt 9, while each of the two legs 19 b of the spring 19 extends substantially at right angle from the base portion 19a, and is wound several turns around a respective end of the axis of rotation 10, and then extends again substantially perpendicular to the base portion 19 is leaning against the inner face of the flange 1a of the casing 1. in addition, the base portion 19 a is located in front the recess 8 f of the rear surface 8c of the bolt 8, so that it is not in contact with the bolt 8.

The connecting means between the bolt 8 and the auxiliary bolt 9 will now be described. Each of the two flanges 9 a and 9 b includes a slot 15 substantially in an arc of circle centered on the rotation axis 10 for alignment with holes 16 of the bolt opening 8 for receiving a coupling pin 11. The pin coupling 11, although shorter than the axis of rotation 10, has ends 11a and 11b which protrude beyond the flanges 9a and 9b of the auxiliary latch 9, as shown in Figure 5 so as to abut against the inner surface of the wing 1 has, on both sides of the opening 4, when the bolt 8 is in its closed position. The through holes 16 are fitted to the section of the coupling pin 11 so that it is connected to the bolt 8 in circular translation about the axis 10. The slots 15 of the auxiliary bolt 9 comprise two angularly spaced ends, the end 15a being located inwardly of the housing 1 and the end 15 b being located outwardly of the housing 1. in the coupled state of the auxiliary bolt 9, as visible in Figure 4, the spindle of coupling 11 is located opposite to the end 15 has slots 15.

The auxiliary latch further comprises a spacer tube 21 extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation 10 and connecting the two flanges 9 a and 9 b through an oblong hole 22 of the bolt 8, the ends of a spindle 21c, contained in the spacer tube 21, being fitted by punching in frustoconical holes 21a and 21b of the flanges 9 and 9b, respectively, in the vicinity of their central portion. The spacer tube 21 has the function of stiffening the auxiliary bolt 9 and to maintain the flanges 9 a and 9 b parallel to each other and to the lateral faces 8a and 8b of the bolt 8 at a distance of said side faces 8a and 8b, especially when the lock is subjected to high temperatures, for example during a fire. The elongated hole 22 comprises two angularly spaced ends, the end 22 a is located inwardly of the housing 1 and the end 22 b being located outwardly of the housing 1. In the coupled state of the auxiliary bolt 9, as seen in Figure 1, the spacer tube 21 is located in the vicinity of the end 22a of the elongate hole 22.

The releasable coupling of the bolt 8 and the auxiliary bolt 9 is achieved by means of a fuse element 20 at low temperature of melting, rigid at the room temperature of use of the lock (see figure 1). The fuse element 20 may for example consist of a plastic material, said low melting temperature being for example of the order of 180 ° C.

In a first variant of the invention, the fuse element 20 comprises a plastic rod, visible in FIG. 1, housed in the vicinity of the end 22b of the oblong hole 22 and occupying a substantial part of the space complementary to the spacer tube 21 in the oblong hole 22, so as to prevent the angular displacement of the spacer tube 21 relative to the bolt 8.

In a second variant of the invention (not shown), the fuse element comprises two pieces of plastic in the form of washer housed near the ends 15a of the two lights 15, visible in Figure 4, occupying a substantial part of the space complementary to the coupling pin 11 in the lights 15 of to prohibit the angular displacement of the spindle coupling 11 with respect to the auxiliary bolt 9.

In the presence of the fuse element 20, the bolt 8 and the bolt auxiliary 9 are thus connected in rotation about the axis of rotation 10. When the bolt 8 is actuated towards its open position by means of of the actuator, the torque is transmitted to the bolt auxiliary 9 through the fuse element 20 which comes into stop on the spacer tube 21 in the first variant of the invention, or the coupling pin 11 which abuts on said element fuse in the second variant of the invention, so that the auxiliary bolt is also driven in the open position of the lock. Reciprocally, the elastic return torque of the spring 19 exerting on the auxiliary bolt 9 in the direction of closing the lock is transmitted to the bolt 8 via the spacer tube 21 which comes in abutment on the fuse element 20 housed in the oblong hole 22 in the first variant of the invention, or the fuse element housed in the lights 15 which abuts on the coupling pin 11 in the second variant of the invention, so that the bolt 8 is also driven in the closed position of the lock.

During a fire, the fuse element 20 loses its rigidity as a result of raising the ambient temperature to near its melting temperature. This loss of rigidity occurs before the melting of said bolt 8, before or at the latest at the beginning of the sliding stroke of the bolt 8 on the striker 5 under the effect of the differential pressure exerted on the leaf 2 and / or the expansion of said leaf 2. The fuse element 20 is then no longer able to withstand the force exerted by the spring 19 on the auxiliary bolt 9 in the opening direction thereof. The rotational connection of the auxiliary bolt 9 with the bolt 8 is then removed, the spacer tube being freely angularly displaceable toward the end 22 b of the oblong hole 22 and the coupling pin 11 can slide freely angularly towards the end 15 has 15. The auxiliary bolt 9 then rotates under the effect of the force of the spring 19 of an angle α beyond its closed position towards its uncoupled position, visible in FIG. 2, the base portion 19 a spring 19 freely engage in the recess 8 f without cooperating with the bolt 8. After melting of the main bolt 8, the ends of the coupling pin 11 remain in abutment against the inner surface of the wing 1 a , on both sides of the opening 4, so that the auxiliary bolt 9 is locked in rotation about the axis 10 in its closing direction, the edges of the end 15 has lights 15 abutting against the spindle mating 11, as visible in Figure 3.

The operation of the anti-slip mechanism of the lock will now be explained. The striker 5 is resistant to fire, for example steel or cast iron, and has a hollow boss 23 of substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with edges rounded for ergonomics, which can be obtained for example by stamping a sheet metal steel, and the base 23a is extended along the short sides by two fastening flanges 24 to be applied on a striker carrier 25 so that the long side of the base 23a parallel to the axis of rotation 10; the support 25 being fixed either to the frame of a single door or to the second leaf 6 of a double door. The anchoring legs 24 have holes 24a for receiving mounting bolts (not shown) for securing the striker 5 to the support 25.

5 surface portion a of the keeper 5 faces the bolt 3 in closed position of the door and is rounded with a larger radius of curvature than the other edges of the striker 5 to ensure sufficient contact surface with the bolt 8 in the closed position of the lock. Moreover, 5 the surface of a portion comprises two grooves 26 extending perpendicularly to the axis 10 and situated respectively opposite the edges 17 of the flanges 9 and 9b of the auxiliary latch 9, so that the edges 17 do not fit not in contact with the keeper 5 when the lock operates with the two bolts 8 and 9 coupled (see Figure 1).

When, when the door is initially closed, the auxiliary bolt 9 is brought into its decoupled position (see FIG. 2) following the melting of the fuse element 20, for example due to a fire, if the leaf 2 of the door is pushed in the direction of its opening under the effect of the pressure differential which is exerted on its faces and / or its expansion, the bolt 8 can slide on the striker 5, for example because of the low coefficient of friction Zamak® on the steel, without causing the bolt 9. This sliding of the bolt 8 is due to the fact that the force exerted by the striker 5 on the bolt 8 in response to the pressure force exerted perpendicularly on the leaf 2 and transmitted to the bolt 8 via the axis 10, may comprise a component whose moment relative to the axis of rotation 10 tends to bring the bolt 8 into the housing 1. Thus, the leaf 2 is curved or turns a small angle on the axis of its hinges (not shown) in its opening irection, so that the center point of the leaf 2 which carries the housing 1 has a shift d in the opening direction of the door relative to the leaf 6 carrying the striker 5. During the movement of the housing 1 in the opening direction of the door, the edges 17 of the flanges 9 and 9b of the auxiliary latch 9 come into contact with the bottom of the grooves 26 of the striker 5. the auxiliary 9 and the bolt keeper 5 being resistant material fire, for example steel, and the coefficient of friction of the steel on itself is higher, the blocking of the door in substantially closed position, called fire closing position, is then ensured, even after complete melting of the bolt 8 , as can be seen in FIG. 3. Since the ambient temperature has greatly exceeded 200 ° C. when this occurs, the lock is no longer intended to be opened using the actuator at this stage.

During the transitional step separating the start of sliding of the bolt 8 on the striker 5 from the contacting edge 17 with the striker 5, the coupling pin 11 can be driven by the bolt 8 and lose contact with the casing 1; but is subsequently pushed into abutment against the flange 1a by the auxiliary bolt 9.

In another variant of the invention, the edges 17 of the flanges 9 and 9b have notches 27 designed to be hooked on the front flange 26 has grooves 26 during the movement of the case 1 in the opening direction the door, said notches 27 facing said front flange 26 has grooves 26 when the auxiliary bolt is in the uncoupled position, as shown in Figure 2. in the closed position of the fire lock, the flanges 9 a and 9 b are hooked on the end flanges 26 has grooves 26 of the striker 5, so as to prevent slippage of the auxiliary bolt 9 on the latch 5. the maximum shift of that can have the midpoint of the leaf 2 which is mounted on the housing 1 the lock is then determined by the position of the notches 27 and the phase angle α which turned the auxiliary bolt 9 in its decoupled position. This offset d is indeed substantially equal to the distance between the bottom of the notch 27 and the flange 26 has the groove 26 facing it when the fuse element 20 has melted and the bolt 8 has remained in the closed position lock without slipping on the keeper 5 (see Figure 2).

Conventionally, the leaf 2 of the door on which is mounted the lock comprises an intumescent gasket 28 inserted into a housing dug all the height of said leaf 2 substantially in the middle of its edge 2a. When raising the ambient temperature, for example following a fire, this intumescent gasket expands so as to obstruct the day 29 which exists between the two leaves 2 and 6 of a double door or between a door and the frame, in order to make the door more hermetic, as shown in Figure 2. In the fire lock position of the lock, the phase shift of the auxiliary bolt 9 is such that the offset d presented by the leaf midpoint 2 on which is mounted the housing 1 of the lock is substantially less than half the thickness, the second leaf 6 in the case of a double door, or the door frame in the case of a single door (not shown), so that the intumescent seal 28 inflated comes into contact with the edge 6a of the second leaf 6 in the case of a double door or the door frame in the case of a single door, so as to maintain the function of fireproof of the door.

Although the invention has been described above in connection with several particular embodiments, it is obvious that is by no means limited and includes all equivalents techniques of the means described and their combinations, if these are within the scope of the invention.

Claims (14)

1. Lock comprising a case (1) made of a material having a high melting point and intended to be fixed to a door (2), a latch (8) made of a material with a lower melting point, the said latch (8) being mounted on the said case (1) so that it can move between a closing position, in which it projects outside the case (1) through an opening (4) in the latter and is able, when the lock is at the ambient use temperature, to engage with a strike (5) in order to lock the door in the closed position, and an opening position, in which the said latch (8) is retracted into the said case (1) in order to allow opening of the door, and an operating member which is coupled to the said latch (8) and can be actuated from outside the said case (1) in order to move the said latch (8) from its closing position to its opening position, characterized in that the said lock also comprises an auxiliary latch (9) made of a material having a high melting point, which is mounted on the case (1) so that it can move between a closing position, in which part of the said auxiliary latch (9) projects outside the said casing (1) through the said opening (4) in the latter, and an opening position, in which the said auxiliary latch (9) is retracted into the said case (1) in order to allow opening of the door, the said lock also comprising elastic return means (19) capable of engaging with the said auxiliary latch (9) in order to urge it towards its closing position; the said auxiliary latch (9) being coupled to the said latch (8) by connection means (11, 21) in such a way that the movement of the said latch (8) towards its opening position by means of the said operating member is able to take along the said auxiliary latch (9) towards its opening position as well; the said connection means (11, 21) comprising at least one fusible element (20) made of a material having a low melting point, the said low melting point being between the ambient use temperature of the lock and the melting point of the latch (8), termed intermediate melting point; each fusible element (20) being arranged so that as it starts to melt it is capable of uncoupling the connection between the said latch (8) and the said auxiliary latch (9), with the result that, after the said fusible element (20) has melted, the said auxiliary latch (9) is capable, in its uncoupled position, of engaging with part of the strike (5) that is made of material having a high boiling point in order to lock the door in a substantially closed position, termed fire closure position.
2. Lock according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said auxiliary latch (9) is capable, in its uncoupled position, of being moved with respect to the said latch (8) under the urging action of the said elastic return means (19) towards a position, termed fire closure position, in which it projects outside the said case (1) beyond its closing position.
3. Lock according to Claim 2, characterized in that it is of the tilting latch type, the latch (8) and the auxiliary latch (9) being able to pivot about a common spindle (10) secured to the case (1), the said rotation spindle (10) being substantially parallel to the wall (1a) of the case (1) in which the said opening (4) is pierced.
4. Lock according to Claim 3, characterized in that the said latch (8) includes a body (30) having at its free end a locking surface (8e) capable of engaging with the strike (5) when the said latch (8) is in the closing position; the said auxiliary latch (9) including two flat cheeks (9a, 9b) having the general shape of disc sectors which are substantially perpendicular to the said rotation spindle (10) and which are situated on either side of the said body (30) of the latch (8); the said connection means (11, 21) including at least one coupling member (11, 21) having a high melting point and extending substantially parallel to the said rotation spindle (10) in at least one hole (16, 21a) in one of the said latch (8) and the said auxiliary latch (9) and through at least one slot (15, 22), substantially in the form of a circular arc centred on the said rotation spindle (10), pierced in the other of the said latch (8) and the said auxiliary latch (9); the said fusible element (20) being arranged in the said at least one slot (15, 22) in order to rotationally link the two latches (8, 9) at ambient temperature and in order to uncouple the said latches (8, 9) with a limited freedom of angular movement corresponding to the circular arc of the said at least one slot (15, 22), beyond the said low melting point, in such a way that, when the lock is in the fire closure position, the said auxiliary latch (9), being repelled under the action of the said elastic return means (19) towards the outside of the said case (1), has rotated through a limited phase angle (α) with respect to the said latch (8) beyond its closing position, the said at least one slot (15, 22) having slid freely on the said coupling member (11, 21).
5. Lock according to Claim 4, characterized in that a surface (8c) of the said latch facing the inside of the case (1) includes a recess (8f) arranged so that a part (19a) of the said elastic return means (19) bearing on an edge of the said cheeks (9a, 9b) is not in contact with the latch (8) during rotation of the said auxiliary latch (9) through the said limited phase angle (α) towards its fire closure position, the said part (19a) of the said elastic return means (19) being capable of engaging freely in the said recess (8f).
6. Lock according to either of Claims 4 and 5, characterized in that the said connection means (11, 21) include a spacer tube (21) extending substantially parallel to the said rotation spindle (10) and connecting the two cheeks (9a, 9b) of the auxiliary latch (9), the ends of the said spacer tube (21) being secured to the said cheeks (9a, 9b).
7. Lock according to Claim 6, characterized in that the said at least one coupling member comprises the said spacer tube (21), the said at least one slot (22) passing through the said latch (8), the said hole (21a) being pierced in each of the two cheeks (9a, 9b), the said fusible element (20) being capable, when the lock is at the ambient use temperature, of occupying a part (22b) of the said oblong hole (22) so as to prevent the said spacer tube (21) from moving in the said oblong hole (22).
8. Lock according to one of Claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the said connection means include a coupling pin (11) extending substantially parallel to the rotation spindle (10) and linked in circular translation with the said latch (8) about the rotation spindle (10), one end of the said coupling pin being able to butt against the case (1) so as to define the end of rotational travel of the said latch (8) in its lock-closing position.
9. Lock according to Claim 8, characterized in that the said coupling pin (11) passes through at least one aperture (15) pierced in each of the said cheeks (9a, 9b) and through a hole (16) pierced through the latch (8).
10. Lock according to Claim 9, characterized in that a fusible element is capable, when the lock is at the ambient use temperature, of occupying part of the said aperture (15) so as to prevent the said coupling pin (11) from moving in the said aperture (15).
11. Lock according to one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the high melting point is above 950°C, the said material having a high melting point being, for example, steel, in that the intermediate melting point is between 200°C and 500°C, the said material having an intermediate melting point being, for example, Zamak®, and in that the low melting point is below 200°C, the said material having a low melting point being, for example, a plastic.
12. Unit formed by a lock according to one of Claims 4 to 10 and by a strike associated with the said lock, characterized in that the radial extent of the said cheeks (9a, 9b) of the auxiliary latch (9) with respect to the said rotation spindle (10) is substantially greater than the radial extent of the locking surface (8e) of the latch (8); the said strike (5) including two grooves (26) which are substantially perpendicular to the said rotation spindle (10) and are situated facing the free-end edges (17) of the said cheeks (9a, 9b) of the auxiliary latch (9); the said grooves (26) being arranged so that, on the one hand, when the said lock is at the ambient use temperature, the said cheeks (9a, 9b) are inserted in the said grooves (26) without engaging with the said strike (5), and, on the other hand, when the auxiliary latch (9) is in the fire closure position, the said cheeks (9a, 9b) are capable of coming into contact with the said strike (5).
13. Unit formed by a lock and by a strike according to Claim 12, characterized in that at least one of the said cheeks (9a, 9b) of the auxiliary latch (9) includes a notch (27) in its free-end edge (17); the said notch (27) being capable, when the lock is in the fire closure position, of hooking into the groove (26) of the strike (5) facing it.
14. Unit according to Claim 13 in which the lock is mounted on a movable leaf (2) and the strike is mounted on a second leaf (6) in the case of a double door or on a vertical frame member in the case of a single door, characterized in that an intumescent seal (28), capable of changing from a contracted state to an expanded state under the action of heat, is fixed to the edge (2a) of the said movable leaf (2) over its whole periphery; the said unit being arranged so that, on the one hand, when the door is in the closed position at the ambient use temperature of the said lock, the said intumescent seal (28) faces the edge (6a) of the said second leaf (6) or of the said vertical doorframe member, the said intumescent seal (28) being contracted; on the other hand, when the auxiliary latch (9) is in the fire closure position, the said movable leaf (2) not being moved with respect to its closed position, the notch (27) and the groove (26) facing it are separated by an offset distance (d), the offset distance (d) being substantially less than half the thickness of the said leaf (6) or of the vertical frame member bearing the strike (5), with the result that, when the said movable leaf (2) is moved under the effect of the differential pressure exerted by the fire, the said intumescent seal (28) is, in its expanded state, capable of remaining in contact with the edge (6a) of the leaf (6) or of the said vertical doorframe member facing it over substantially the whole height of the said edge (6a) or of the said vertical member.

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