NZ562469A - Door handle assembly that adjusts for the width of the door - Google Patents

Abstract

A door handle assembly that adjusts for the width of the door is disclosed. A first handle (13) is attached to a spindle (17) so the spindle (17) may be rotated by the movement of the first handle (13). When fitted to a door an adjusting member (22) is screwed in or out to account for the door thickness (x). The end of the adjusting member (24) stops a second handle (15) at the best distance for operation of the door handle assembly and is held in position by a fixing means (32) that engages the adjusting member end (26) from below.

Description

10054763413* ;PATENTS FORM NO. 5 s ;Patents Act 1953 ;Priority Details: ;No. 2006905800 Date: 18 October 2006 ;intellectual property office of N.Z. ;1 5 OCT 2007 RECEIVED ;COMPLETE SPECIFICATION ;DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLY ;WE, AAP Pty Ltd, an Australian company of 20A Thornton Crescent, Mitcham, Victoria 3132, Australia hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: ;1 ;DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLY ;The present invention relates to improved means of installing door handle operating assemblies operationally to a door and in particular enabling the handles of such assemblies to be securely connected to the assembly in an at 5 least semi concealed manner. ;Door handle operating assemblies typically comprise an inside door handle, an inside mounting plate and an inside fascia plate secured to an inside of the door, an outside door handle, an outside mounting plate and an outside fascia plate, and an operating spindle connecting the inside handle to the outside 10 handle. Such assemblies may also include other features such as an operating and return mechanism, a latch mechanism, privacy snib functions, lock functions and similar. Quite commonly the operating handles are connected axially at least with the fascia plate which will add to the complexity of the assembly. The present invention applies to all such door handle assembly arrangements. One 15 practical difficulty with such door handle assemblies is that they must be capable of being fitted to a variety of door thicknesses and it is not therefore possible to factory fit the door handles to an operating spindle with appropriate connection means preformed. ;The objective of the present invention is to provide an arrangement in a 20 door handle assembly that will enable adjustment of the fixing location of at least one handle to the operating spindle to enable adjustment for doors of differing thickness and/or mounting plate / fascia plate assemblies of differing thickness. A preferred objective is to provide a door handle assembly where the handles are fixable to the operating spindle but not necessarily the assembly fascia plates. 25 Preferably the fixing arrangements will remain in an at least semi concealed position. ;According to a first aspect, the present invention provides a fixing arrangement for use in an assembly including a pair of door handles and a one piece operating spindle extending between and operably engaging said door 30 handles, said fixing arrangement being operable between a first one of said door handles and said operating spindle, said first door handle and said operating spindle being configured whereby rotation of said first door handle causes rotation of said door handle operating spindle with said first door handle being ;^ - I DEC 2008 | ;2 ;10 ;15 ;20 ;25 ;capable of moving axially relative to said operating spindle, said operating spindle having at least a first end region with an axially extending recessed or slotted zone and an adjusting member selectably positionable along said axially extending recessed or slotted zone, said first door handle having means for receiving and holding a fixing member whereby when the first door handle is correctly positioned on said first end region of the operating spindle, said fixing member is engageable with said adjusting member whereby the first door handle is prevented from axial disengagement from the operating spindle. ;Preferably the spindle has a non-circular cross-section (conveniently a square cross-section) that is operably receivable in a complementary shaped spindle receiving recess or bore in the door handle, the spindle cross-section shape and the spindle receiving bore or recess forming the cooperable drive means. In one preferred embodiment, the fixing member may engage with an engagement surface zone of the adjusting member facing towards the door. Conveniently the fixing member engages an end surface of the adjusting member closest to said door. The means in said first door handle for receiving and holding a fixing member may be, in use, accessible through a downwardly facing surface of the first door handle. The fixing member may be a threaded member such as a screw element or the like receivable in a threaded bore in said first door handle. The axially extending zone may be a slot passing through the operating spindle. Preferably, the adjusting member is a threaded member engaged in a threaded axial bore in an end face of the first end region of the operating spindle, the adjusting member having an external head portion having a perimeter complementary in cross-sectional shape to the spindle receiving bore in the first door handle whereby once inserted in said spindle receiving bore, the head is restrained from rotation relative to the operating spindle. Of course the present invention anticipates providing a door handle assembly including a fixing arrangement as aforesaid. The door handle assembly may include an inside door handle, an inside door mounting plate structure, an operating spindle, an outside door handle and an outside door mounting structure, and of course any other conventionally available features or aspects. Each door mounting structure might commonly include a mounting plate for fixing to the door and a fascia plate connectable to the mounting plate or possibly to the door handle. More ;2a particularly, the door handle assembly may include a depth gauge device for selecting a predetermined distance between an engagement location of said adjusting member and a predetermined region of the intellectual property office of n.2. ;-1 DEC 2008 ;mounting structure. Typically the predetermined region might be an outer surface of an adjacent said inner or outer fascia member. ;In accordance with a further aspect of this invention, there is provided a door handle assembly mountable in use to a door, said assembly including a door 5 handle, a door handle operating spindle, said door handle and said door handle spindle being configured whereby rotation of said door handle causes rotation of said door handle spindle, a fascia plate member fixable to said door whereby said door handle is freely rotatable and movable in an axial direction relative to said fascia plate member, and axially adjustable mounting means on said door handle ;10 spindle to axially fix, in use, said door handle to said door handle spindle. ;The present invention also provides a method of installing a door assembly to a door, the door handle assembly including an inside door handle, an inside door mounting structure including or consisting of a mounting plate, an operating spindle, an outside door handle and an outside door mounting structure including ;15 or consisting of a mounting plate, said method including: ;• installing one of said inside or said outside mounting plates to the door; ;• operationally connecting the associated door handle to the operating spindle and positioning the operating spindle through the door connected mounting plate, and through the door to project from the other side; ;20 • positioning the other of said mounting plates over the projecting spindle, fixing the other of said mounting plates to the door with the projecting spindle extending therethrough, said projecting spindle having an axially extending recessed or slotted zone and an adjusting member selectably positionable along said zone; ;25 • positioning said adjustment member such that a predetermined dimension is provided between said adjusting member in said zone and a datum region of said mounting structure; and ;• placing the other said handle onto the projecting spindle and locating a fixing member connected to said handle to engage with the adjusting member. ;30 Preferably the outside mounting plate and if required, the associated fascia member are fixed to the door first. Conveniently the outside handle is secured to the spindle in a fully hidden manner. The fixing member associated with the intellectual property office of n.z- ;-e APR 2008 RECEIVED ;4 ;inside handle may be positioned through an underneath surface zone of the handle fitted to the projecting spindle and is therefore normally hidden from view. ;The present invention will now be described with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the annexed drawings, in which: ;mounted to a door; ;Fig 2 is a perspective view of the outside door handle shown in Fig 1; Fig 3 is a perspective view of the operating spindle and part of the adjusting mechanism associated with the operating spindle; and spindle shown in Fig 3. ;In the drawing, the door is shown schematically with thickness X that might vary from door to door. The outside mounting structure, which in this case includes a mounting plate / fascia member 11 is shown secured to the door by 15 screws 12 passing through the mounting plate, and the outside door handle 13 is illustrated in a connected position to the operating spindle 14. Any other known arrangement for connecting the fascia member 11 to the door 10 could also be used. The connection of the handle 13 to the spindle 14 might be by a mechanism described hereafter relative to the inside door handle 15 but this does 20 not necessarily need to be the case and any suitable connection system for the handle 13 can be used. One possible method is shown in Figs 2 and 3 where an annular spigot 41 extends from the end face 39 of the handle stub shaft portion 38 of the handle 13. A pin 42 is provided and positioned through the bores 43 in the spigot 41 and through a bore 44 extending through the adjacent end of the 25 spindle 14. The pin 42 is retained in position by providing an annular seal / bearing member 40 surrounding the spigot 41, the seal ! bearing member 40 being configured similar to member 29 described hereafter in relation to the inner handle 15. As a result of this structure, no fixing means for the handle to the spindle 14 can be seen at all. In a possible modification shown in Fig 4, instead 30 of the pin receiving bore 44 in the spindle 14, a series of grooves 45 at axially spaced locations along the spindle 14 are provided. A selected groove 45 is engaged by a threaded pin member 46 passing threadingly through a threaded bore (such as 43) in the spigot 41. While this is not quite as secure as the ;5 ;Fig 1 is an underneath plan view of a door handle assembly partly ;10 ;Fig 4 shows in perspective view a possible modification of the operating ;arrangement shown in Figs 21 3, it is easier to fit and provides some axial adjustability. In the drawing square handles 13, 15 and square mounting plates / fascia members 11, 16 are illustrated but the shape and configuration of the handles and the mounting plates / fascia members and the manner of connection 5 of the mounting plates to the door or the fascia members to the mounting plates does not have any bearing on the invention and will not be described further. In one possible alternative arrangement, a fascia plate member might be mounted to the handle 13, 15 to be cooperable with a mounting plate but not necessarily connected thereto. Circular, oval rectangular and other shaped mounting plates 10 and fascia member, if required can all be employed. ;The projecting part 17 of the spindle 14 projects through the door 10 and the mounting plate 18 is positioned there over and secured by screws 19 to the door with the projecting part 17 of the spindle projecting therethrough. In the illustrated embodiment, the fascia member 20 is then also positioned over and 15 connected to the mounting plate 18. The plate 18 and fascia member 20 together form the inner mounting structure comprised of a mounting plate / fascia member assembly 16. The projecting part 17 of the spindle 14 has an axial slot 21 formed in it and a threaded adjusting member 22 is threaded into a threaded bore 47 in the end 23 of the spindle 14 and has a head portion 24 having a perimeter shape 20 similar to that of spindle 14. Normally the spindle 14 is square in cross-sectional shape to be received in a complementary shaped bore 25 in the handle stub shaft portion 36. The intention is that the non-circular shape of the spindle 14 and the bore 25 provides a rotational drive connection between the handle and the spindle 14. While square shaped spindles 14 are commonly used, other non-25 circular shapes could equally be employed. However the head portion 24 will have a perimeter shape generally similar or at least complementary to that of the bore 25 such that once it is adjusted in position and then inserted into the bore 25, it preferably should not thereafter rotate to alter the position of the end 26 of the threaded shaft 27 of the adjusting member 22 in the slot 21. The position of 30 the end 26 of the adjusting member 22 relative to the outer surface 27 of the adjusting plate / fascia member 16 can be gauged by a depth gauge member 28 provided for the purpose. ;Thus when the handle 15 is fitted over the head portion 24 and projecting part 17 of the spindle 14, with the seal and bearing member 29 correctly engaged against the surface 27, a threaded bore 30 in the underside surface 31 of the handle 15 is positioned adjacent the end 26 of the adjusting member 22 such that 5 a threaded shaft or similar 32 engaged through the threaded bore 30 will engage the end 26 between same and the surface 27 of the adjusting plate / fascia member 16. It will of course be appreciated that while it is preferred the threaded bore 30 be located through the underside surface 31 of the handle 15, it may also be positioned elsewhere, for example through a side face of the handle 15. Once 10 the threaded shaft 32 is correctly positioned, the handle 15 (and of course the handle 13) cannot be pulled off the spindle 14 in an axial direction but the handles can be rotated for normal operation. If desired, further grub screws could be provided through the handles 13,15 engageable with the spindle 14 but these are not essential. It will of course also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a 15 conventional latch or similar mechanism (shown schematically at 37) will also be provided through which the spindle 14 is passed, the rotation of the spindle 14 with the latch mechanism causing the latch tongue to be moved as desired. ;Many variations within the scope of the annexed claims might be employed including, for example replacing the slot 21 with a similarly proportioned groove or 20 channel. Whilst the drawings illustrate particular shaped handles and fascia plates, any shaped handle or fascia plate might be used. * 7

Claims (15)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A fixing arrangement for use in an assembly including a pair of door handles and a one piece operating spindle extending between and operably engaging said door handles, said fixing arrangement being operable between a 5 first one of said door handles and said operating spindle, said first door handle and said operating spindle being configured whereby rotation of said first door handle causes rotation of said door handle operating spindle with said first door handle being capable of moving axially relative to said operating spindle, said operating spindle having at least a first end region with an axially extending 10 recessed or slotted zone and an adjusting member selectably positionable along said axially extending recessed or slotted zone, said first door handle having means for receiving and holding a fixing member whereby when the first door handle is correctly positioned on said first end region of the operating spindle, said fixing member is engageable with said adjusting member whereby the first 15 door handle is prevented from axial disengagement from the operating spindle.

2. A fixing arrangement according to claim 1 whereby the fixing member engages with an engagement surface zone of said adjusting member facing towards said door.

3. A fixing arrangement according to claim 1 whereby the fixing member 20 engages an end surface of said adjusting member closest to said door.

4. A fixing arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the means in said first door handle for receiving and holding a fixing member is in use accessible through a downwardly facing surface of the first door handle.

5. A fixing arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the 25 fixing member is a threaded member receivable in a threaded bore in said first door handle. 8

6. A fixing arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said axially extending zone is an axially extending slot passing through said operating spindle.

7. A fixing arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said 5 adjusting member is a threaded member engaged in a threaded axial bore in an end face of said first end region of the operating spindle, said adjusting member having an external head portion having a perimeter complementary in cross-sectional shape to a spindle receiving bore in the first door handle whereby once inserted in said spindle receiving bore, the head is restrained from rotation 10 relative to the operating spindle.

8. A door handle assembly including a fixing arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A door handle assembly including an inside door handle, an inside mounting structure including a door handle mounting plate, a one piece operating 15 spindle, an outside door handle, and an outside mounting structure including a door handle mounting plate, at least one of said inside or said outside door handles being fixable to the operating spindle by a fixing arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A door handle assembly according to claim 9 further including a depth 20 gauge device for selecting a predetermined distance between an engagement location of said adjusting member and a datum zone on an adjacent said inner or said outer mounting structure.

11. A door handle assembly according to claim 9 wherein the door handles are not restrained axially or rotationally by said door handle mounting plates. 25 12. A method of installing a door handle assembly to a door, the door handle assembly including an inside door handle, an inside door mounting structure, an operating spindle, an outside door handle, and an outside door mounting structure, said method including: i—-

I "" I DEC 2008 I [gjCEl VFnl 9 • installing one of said inside or said outside mounting plates to the door; • operationally connecting the associated door handle to the operating spindle and positioning the operating spindle through the door connected mounting plate, and through the door to project from the other side; 5 • positioning the other of said mounting plates over the projecting spindle, fixing the other of said mounting plates to the door with the projecting spindle extending therethrough, said projecting spindle having an axially extending recessed or slotted zone and an adjusting member selectably positionable along said zone; 10 • positioning said adjusting member such that a predetermined dimension is provided between said adjusting member in said zone and a datum region of said mounting structure; and • placing the other said handle onto the projecting spindle and locating a fixing member connected to said handle to engage with the adjusting member. 15

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein the fixing member engages with the adjusting member in said zone.

14. A method according to claim 12 or claim 13 wherein the outside mounting plate and associated fascia member are fixed to the door first.

15. A method according to any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein the fixing 20 member is positioned through a downwardly facing surface of said handle fitted to the projecting spindle. AAP Pty Ltd By their Patent Attorneys 25 WATERMARK PATENT & TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS P28757NZAU