Door handle assembly
AssigneeHOPPE North America, Inc.
InventorGary L. Humes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A door handle assembly includes a bias mechanism that maintains inside and outer handles in a generally horizontal position in which a latching bolt of a latching bolt mechanism is fully extended, the latching bolt being retracted upon rotating either handle only about 28° from the horizontal retracting the latching bolt to allow opening of a door on which the door handle assembly is installed.
Claims20
A door handle assembly comprising:
- at least one door handle;
- and
- a chassis assembly including
- a body;
- a spindle mounted on the body for rotational movement relative to said body, said door handle mounted on said spindle and indexed to said spindle handle to prevent relative rotation between said door handle and said spindle, said spindle rotatable by said door handle between latching and unlatching positions;
- and
- a bias mechanism coupled to said spindle for producing a return bias force in response to rotation of said spindle as said door handle is rotated away from the latching position toward the unlatching position, for returning said door handle to the latching position upon release of said door handle;
- wherein the angle of rotation of said door handle between the latching position and the unlatching position is less than 45°.
5 The door handle assembly according to claim 3, and including a second door handle indexed to said spindle, said bias mechanism including a second bias structure, said second bias structure including a second bias element and a second actuating member for causing said second bias element to produce said return bias force in response to rotation of said second door handle away from the latching position toward the unlatching position, said second actuating member operated in response to rotation of said second door handle and independently of the operation of said first actuating member.
The door handle assembly according to claim 5, wherein first and second bias elements comprise first and second compression springs, respectively, and wherein said first and second actuating members are operated independently of one another for compressing said first and second compression springs, allowing said first and second compression springs to be compressed independently of one another.
The door handle assembly according to claim 5, wherein said second actuating member is coupled to said spindle, and wherein said spindle is a split member, allowing said first and second actuating members to be operated independently of one another.
A door handle assembly comprising:
- first and second door handles;
- a chassis assembly including a spindle mounted on the body for rotational movement relative to said body, said first and second door handles mounted on said spindle and indexed to said spindle to prevent relative rotation between said first and second door handles and said spindle, said spindle rotatable by either one of said door handles between latching and unlatching positions;
- and
- a bias mechanism including at least one bias structure, said bias structure including at least one bias element and an actuating member indexed to said spindle to prevent relative rotation between said actuating member and said spindle, said actuating member causing said bias element to produce said return bias force in response to rotation of one of said door handles from the latching position toward the unlatching position;
- wherein the angle of rotation of either one of said door handles between a generally horizontal latching position and an unlatching position is less than 45°.
The door handle assembly according to claim 14, wherein said first and second bias elements comprise first and second compression springs, respectively, and wherein said first and second actuating members are operated independently of one another, allowing said first and second compression springs to be compressed independently of one another.
A door handle chassis assembly comprising:
- a body;
- a spindle mounted in said body for rotation relative to said body;
- at least one bias structure including a bias element and an actuating member indexed to said spindle to prevent relative rotation between said actuating member and said spindle;
- wherein the angle of rotation or the actuating member between a first position and a second position is less than 45°.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.