Status-indicating cylindrical lock assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9879445-B2
Application number	US-201514702962-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 4, 2015
Priority date	May 2, 2014
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

An exemplary status-indicating locking assembly includes a cylindrical lock assembly and a status-indicating assembly. The status-indicating assembly includes a sensor configured to sense the status of the cylindrical lock assembly, a transmission configured to communicate the lock status to at least one side of a door, and an indicator configured to display indicia relating to the lock status on the at least one side of the door. In certain forms, the sensor, transmission, and indicator may be electronic, mechanical, hydraulic, magnetic, or combinations thereof.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A status-indicating locking assembly, comprising:
a cylindrical lock assembly having a locked state and an unlocked state, the cylindrical lock assembly including:
a latch having an extended latching position and a retracted unlatching position;
a chassis operably connected to the latch, the chassis including a lock control assembly operable to transition the cylindrical lock assembly between the locked state and the unlocked state, the lock control assembly including a movable element having a first position in the locked state and a second position in the unlocked state, wherein the chassis is mountable in a circular cross-bore in a door;
an outer assembly mountable on an outer side of the door, the outer assembly including an outer lock cylinder operably connected to the lock control assembly, and an outer actuator selectively coupled to the chassis, wherein the outer actuator is operable to retract the latch in the unlocked state, and is not operable to retract the latch in the locked state; and
an inner assembly mountable on an inner side of the door, the inner assembly including an inner actuator operably connected to the chassis, wherein the inner actuator is operable to retract the latch in both the unlocked state and the locked state; and

a passive status-indicating assembly configured to visually indicate a status of the cylindrical lock assembly without being acted upon by a user, the passive status-indicating assembly including:
a sensor associated with the movable element, the sensor having a lock-indicating state when the movable element is in the first position and an unlock-indicating state when the movable element is in the second position;
a transmission operably connected to the sensor; and
an indicator operably connected to the transmission;
wherein the transmission is configured to communicate the state of the sensor to the indicator; and
wherein the indicator is configured to display a first indicia when the sensor is in the lock-indicating state and to display a second indicia when the sensor is in the unlock-indicating state.

2. The status-indicating locking assembly of claim 1 , wherein the inner assembly further includes a substantially circular spring cage urging the inner actuator toward a home position, and a mounting plate including a channel;
wherein, when the inner assembly is mounted on the door, the mounting plate is sandwiched between the spring cage and the door, and a portion of channel is positioned between the spring cage and the door; and
wherein the transmission extends through the channel between the spring cage and the door.

3. The status-indicating locking assembly of claim 1 , the inner assembly further including a substantially circular spring cage configured to bias the inner actuator to a home position, and a mounting plate including a plurality of channels;
wherein, when the inner assembly is mounted on the door, the mounting plate is sandwiched between the spring cage and the door, and a portion of each channel is positioned between the spring cage and the door;
wherein the status-indicating locking assembly is selectably mountable to the door in a first handing configuration and a second handing configuration;
wherein, when the status-indicating locking assembly is mounted to the door in the first handing configuration, the transmission is partially positioned in a first of the channels between the spring cage and the door; and
wherein, when the status-indicating locking assembly is mounted to the door in the second handing configuration, the transmission is partially positioned in a second of the channels between the spring cage and the door.

4. The status-indicating locking assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises a mechanical sensor, and the lock-indicating state and unlock-indicating state comprise rotational and/or linear positions of the mechanical sensor.

5. The status-indicating locking assembly of claim 4 , wherein the indicator comprises an indicator plate including the first and second indicia, the indicator having a first indicator position in which the first indicia is visible and a second indicator position in which the second indicia is visible, and wherein the transmission comprises a mechanical linkage operably coupling the mechanical sensor and the indicator plate such that movement of the mechanical sensor between the lock-indicating state and the unlock-indicating state causes the indicator to move between the first indicator position and the second indicator position.

6. The status-indicating locking assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes a hydraulic chamber having a reciprocating member driven by the movable element, wherein the transmission includes a hydraulic line in fluid communication with the hydraulic chamber, and wherein the hydraulic chamber and hydraulic line contain a hydraulic fluid.

7. The status-indicating locking assembly of claim 1 , wherein the indicator comprises an electronic paper display (EPD), wherein the transmission comprises a controller operably connected to the EPD, the controller configured to issue a first command in response to the sensor transitioning from the unlock-indicating state to the lock-indicating state, and to issue a second command in response to the sensor transitioning from the lock-indicating state to the unlock-indicating state, and wherein the EPD is configured to display the first indicia in response to the first command, and to display the second indicia in response to the second command.

8. The status-indicating locking assembly of claim 7 , further comprising an energy storage device providing electrical power to the controller, wherein the status-indicating assembly is not connected to a power grid.

9. The status-indicating locking assembly of claim 1 , wherein the movable element is positioned in the chassis such that when the chassis is mounted in the cross-bore, the movable element is positioned within the cross-bore.

10. A status-indicating cylindrical lockset, comprising:
a chassis configured to be mounted in a standard circular cross-bore of a door;
a first drive tube and a second drive tube, wherein each of the first and second drive tubes extends along a longitudinal axis and is rotatably mounted to the chassis;
a slide assembly slidably mounted in the chassis between the first drive tube and the second drive tube, wherein the slide assembly is configured to move transversely in response to each of rotation of the first drive tube and rotation of the second drive tube;
a first actuator connected with the first drive tube;
a second actuator;
a lock control assembly connecting the second actuator and the second drive tube, wherein the lock control assembly has a first control state and a second control state, wherein one of the first and second control states is an unlocked state in which the second actuator is operable to rotate the second drive tube, and the other of the first and second control states is a locked state in which the second actuator is not operable to rotate the second drive tube;
a lock operator operable to transition the lock control assembly between the first control state and the second control state;
a status-indicating assembly comprising:
a sensor having a first sensor state and a second sensor state;
an indicator operable to selectively display a first indicia and a second indicia; and
a transmission operably coupling the sensor and the indicator;

wherein the sensor is associated with the lock control assembly such that the sensor has the first sensor state in response to the first control state, and has the second sensor state in response to the second control state; and
wherein the trans

Assignees

• Schlage Lock Co Llc

Inventors

• Gopalakrishnan Subbiah
• David Kevin Earl
• Barker Kenton Hayes
• Bieker Shell
• Compton Daniel J
• Robinson Brandon
• Solanki Snehil
• Hebner Greg
• Massey Bill
• Tamer Samir M

Classifications

• E05B27/0003

  Details · CPC title

• E05B63/06

  with lengthwise-adjustable bolts {; with adjustable backset, i.e. distance from door edge} · CPC title

• Y10T70/7486

  Single key · CPC title

• E05B55/005 Primary

  Cylindrical or tubular locks · CPC title

• E05B41/00

  Locks with visible indication as to whether the lock is locked or unlocked {(indicator lights E05B17/10)} · CPC title