Door lock mechanism
AssigneeSnap-on Incorporated
InventorWilliam T. Sharp
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A door lock mechanism that rotates a cam mechanism to lock or unlock an enclosure. The mechanism includes a bias member that is coupled to the cam mechanism with a cam pin, where the cam pin is located on one side of the centerline of the lock in the locked state, and on the other side of the centerline of the lock in the unlocked state, to bias the cam mechanism into either the locked or unlocked state. Further disclosed are one or more stop mechanisms that prevent the cam mechanism from over-rotating past the locked or unlocked position. The bias member can further absorb impact from the lock rods of the door lock mechanism contacting the stop mechanisms.
Claims20
A lock mechanism adapted to be selectively disposed in either of locked and unlocked states, the lock mechanism comprising:
- a housing;
- a cam mechanism rotatably disposed within the housing;
- a first lock rod coupled to the cam mechanism;
- a first stop disposed on the housing and in a path of the first lock rod, the first stop abutting the first lock rod when the lock mechanism is disposed in the locked state to substantially prevent over-rotation of the cam mechanism;
- a bias member having first and second bias member ends, the first bias member end is coupled to the housing at a housing pin and the second bias member end is coupled to the cam mechanism at a cam pin;
- and
- a lock coupled to the housing and the cam mechanism and having a centerline extending substantially perpendicular to the first lock rod,
- wherein the housing pin is disposed substantially axially aligned with the centerline such that, when the lock mechanism is disposed in the locked state, the cam pin is disposed on a first side of the centerline, and when the lock mechanism is disposed in the unlocked state, the cam pin is disposed on a second side of the centerline opposite the first side.
A lock apparatus adapted to be selectively disposed in either of locked and an unlocked states, the lock apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a cam mechanism rotatably disposed within the housing;
- a first lock rod coupled to the cam mechanism;
- a bias member having first and second bias member ends, wherein the first bias member end is coupled to the housing at a housing pin and the second bias member end is coupled to the cam mechanism at a cam pin;
- a first stop disposed on the housing and in a path of the first lock rod, the first stop abutting the first lock rod when the lock apparatus is disposed in the locked state to substantially prevent over-rotation of the cam mechanism;
- and
- a second stop disposed on the housing and abutting the cam mechanism when the lock apparatus is disposed in the unlocked state to substantially prevent over-rotation of the cam mechanism.
A lock mechanism adapted to be selectively disposed in either of locked and unlocked states, the lock mechanism comprising:
- a housing;
- a cam mechanism rotatably disposed within the housing;
- a first lock rod coupled to the cam mechanism and movable to place the lock mechanism in either of the locked and unlocked states based on rotation of the cam mechanism;
- an actuator adapted to receive a command and cause rotation of the cam mechanism in response to the command;
- a first stop disposed on the housing and adapted to substantially prevent over-rotation of the cam mechanism when the lock mechanism is disposed in the locked state;
- and
- a bias member having first and second bias member ends, the first bias member end is coupled to the housing and the second bias member end is coupled to the cam mechanism, and when the lock mechanism is disposed in the locked state, the bias member biases the lock mechanism towards the locked state, and when the lock mechanism is disposed in the unlocked state, the bias member biases the lock mechanism towards the unlocked state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.