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US 4,065,164 AGranted
Fire-safe lever handle
AssigneeSchlage Lock Company LLC
InventorVernon A. Bartels
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSchlage Lock Company LLC
InventorVernon A. Bartels
Estimating the term…
A fire-safe lever handle is for use with a lock having a bolt retractable by rotation of a spindle about an axis. The lever handle has a center of gravity off of said axis and has a hub surrounding the spindle. Disposed between the hub and the spindle is a body of meltable or fusible material, such as lead. Under ordinary temperatures the fusible material is solid and connects the spindle and hub for rotation together about the axis. Under fire conditions, the fusible or meltable material melts and disconnects the hub from the spindle so that a fire fighting water jet impinging against the lever handle cannot rotate the spindle and retract the bolt. A drain in the hub releases the melted material from the interior of the hub and permits the hub freely to rest on the spindle at a downwardly inclined angle. This assures that the melted material does not resolidify and reconnect the hub and spindle.
A fire-safe lever handle comprising a lock spindle, means for supporting said spindle for rotation about a horizontal axis, a lever handle having a center of gravity off of said axis, a hub on said lever handle, a meltable material when solid interposed between and engaging said hub and said spindle against relative rotation, and means on said lever handle forming a drain for said material when melted.
A fire-safe lever handle comprising a hub symmetrical about an axis, a lever handle extending eccentrically from said axis, and a meltable material lining said hub.
In a lock set having a bolt retractable by rotation of a lock spindle about an axis and having a handle rotatable around said spindle and about said axis by an impinging jet of water, a meltable interconnection between said spindle and said handle effective to couple said spindle and said handle for rotation together at normal temperatures and effective to uncouple said spindle and said handle at fire temperatures.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.