Indicator lever
AssigneeSchlage Lock Company LLC
InventorDrake Lunday
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lock apparatus according to certain embodiments has a first state and a second state, and generally includes a handle and a status indicator. The handle includes a display area formed in a front face of the handle, and the display area comprises at least a majority of the front face. The status indicator is configured to display each of a plurality of indicia in the display area. The status indicator is configured to display a first indicium in the display area when the lock apparatus is in the first state, and is configured to display a second indicium in the display area when the lock apparatus is in the second state.
Claims17
A lock apparatus including a lock assembly having a locked/unlocked state, the lock apparatus comprising:
- a handle comprising a shank and a grip portion, wherein the grip portion extends from the shank in a first direction, and wherein the grip portion comprises a display area extending at least primarily in the first direction;
- a latch bolt, wherein the handle is operable to retract the latch bolt when the locked/unlocked state is an unlocked state, and wherein the handle is inoperable to retract the latch bolt when the locked/unlocked state is a locked state;
- and
- a status indicator movably mounted in the grip portion of the handle and configured to selectively display one or more indicia within the display area to thereby indicate the locked/unlocked state of the lock assembly;
- and
- wherein the grip portion of the handle has a length in the first direction, and wherein the status indicator extends in the first direction over at least a majority of the length of the grip portion.
A lock apparatus including a lock assembly having a locked/unlocked state, the lock apparatus comprising:
- a handle comprising a shank and a grip portion, wherein the grip portion extends from the shank in a first direction, and wherein the grip portion comprises a display area extending at least primarily in the first direction;
- a latch bolt, wherein the handle is operable to retract the latch bolt when the locked/unlocked state is an unlocked state, and wherein the handle is inoperable to retract the latch bolt when the locked/unlocked state is a locked state;
- and
- a status indicator mounted in the grip portion, the status indicator comprising a rotatable barrel configured to selectively display one or more indicia within the display area to thereby indicate the locked/unlocked state of the lock assembly.
A method of operating a lock apparatus comprising a lock assembly, a handle including a shank and a grip portion extending from the shank in a lateral direction, the handle operable to retract a latch bolt when the lock assembly is in an unlocked state and inoperable to retract the latch bolt when the lock assembly is in a locked state, the method comprising:
- selectively displaying one or more indicia of a status indicator by moving the status indicator in the grip portion of the handle to selectively indicate the locked and unlocked states of the lock assembly in a display area of the grip portion;
- and
- wherein the display area is located on a front face of the grip portion, wherein the grip portion of the handle has a length in the lateral direction, and wherein the status indicator extends in the lateral direction at least a majority of the length of the grip portion.
A method of operating a lock apparatus comprising a lock assembly, a handle including a shank and a grip portion extending from the shank in a lateral direction, the handle operable to retract a latch bolt when the lock assembly is in an unlocked state and inoperable to retract the latch bolt when the lock assembly is in a locked state, the method comprising:
- selectively displaying one or more indicia of a status indicator by rotating a barrel mounted in the grip portion of the handle to indicate the locked and unlocked states of the lock assembly in a display area of the grip portion, the barrel comprising the one or more indicia;
- and
- wherein the display area is located on a front face of the grip portion, wherein the grip portion of the handle has a length in the lateral direction, and wherein the status indicator extends in the lateral direction at least a majority of the length of the grip portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.