GB2090908A - Door handle assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

In a handle assembly having a handle 1 mounted on a backplate 2 adapted to be secured to a door or the like by screws 6, a cover plate 3 mounted on the backplate is rotatable between a released position in which parts of the backplate to which the screws are applied are exposed and a position of use in which it covers the backplate and conceals the screws. A locking ring 4 connected through the cover plate to the backplate releasably secures the cover plate in the position of use. The backplate has an externally screw-threaded spigot portion 7 for engagement by the locking ring which projects from the cover plate at a cylindrical boss portion 14 thereof which fits rotatably over a complementary basal portion of the spigot portion. A spring urging the handle to an initial angular position is accommodated in the spigot portion. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Handle assemblies The invention relates to handle assemblies for doors or the like of the kind in which a handle is mounted on a backplate.

The backplate of such assemblies is normally secured to the door or the like by screws the heads of which are visible at the front of the backplate. The presence of the screw heads can in some instances be unsightly and detract from the appearance of the handle assembly when it is in position for use.

It is known to fix handles to cupboard doors and drawers, for example, by screws applied from the back of the cupboard door or of the drawer front, but it is not always possible or convenient to fix handles to doors or the like in that manner to hide the screws. Plastics backplates have also been proposed on to which pressed metal covers have been clipped to mask the plastics and which hide fixing screws applied to the backplates. The metal covers tend to be flimsy and such assemblies have not been entirely satisfactory.

The present invention consists in a handle assembly comprising a handle mounted on and retained to a backplate which is adapted to be secured to a door or the like by fixing screws, a cover plate mounted on the backplate and rotatable relative thereto between a released position in which it leaves exposed those parts of the backplate to which the fixing screws have to be applied to secure the backplate to a door or the like and a position of use in which it covers the backplate, and when the handle assembly is in use conceals the fixing screws, and a locking ring which co-operates with the cover plate, is connected through the cover plate with the backplate and is rotatable relative to the backplate between a slackened position in which it allows the cover plate to be moved to and from the released position and a secured position in which it retains the cover plate in the position of use.

The cover plate is readily secured in its position of use and it effectively conceals the backplate and the fixing screws which secure the backplate to the door or the like in use. The cover plate may be made from metal, for example as a stamping though it may be formed in other ways as well, or from plastics or other suitable materials. As there is little risk of its being damaged during fitting of the handle assembly to a door or the like, and there are no unsightly fixings to be seen when the cover plate is in its position use, the cover plate lends itself readily to being made in a wide range of materials and designs. Decorative finishes may be applied by enamelling, for example enamelling on copper by the known Bilston enamelling technique.

The locking ring may be externally shaped to blend in with or complement the shape of the handle, or of the cover plate.

Preferably the backplate has a spigot or like projection which protrudes through an aperture in the cover plate to receive the locking ring.

Conveniently the projection is externally screwthreaded and engaged by a complementary female screw thread in the locking ring. The spigot or other projection is preferably hollow and receives a stem portion of the handle. Where the handle is spring-loaded towards an initial angular position which it occupies when it is not being operated, the hollow spigot or other projection conveniently accommodates the spring by which the handle is spring-loaded. In an alternative arrangement the locking ring may have a portion which extends through the cover plate to engage with the backplate inside the cover plate by means of complementary screw threads. Again the backplate may have a spigot or like projection with which the locking ring engages but which does not protrude out of the cover plate.

The handle may be a lever handle or a knob.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a handle assembly in accordance with the present invention, and Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the centre of the assembly.

In this embodiment the invention is applied to a handle assembly for a door which is adapted to operate a latch mechanism. The handle assembly comprises a lever handle 1 rotatably mounted on a backplate 2, a cover plate 3 adapted to conceal the backplate when the handle assembly is mounted on a door for use, and a locking ring 4 which releasably retains the cover plate in its position of use.

The backplate 2 is generally rectangular and has a pair of countersunk screw holes 5 near each end for fixing screws 6 for securing it on a door.

Extending centrally from the front of the backplate is a hollow spigot 7 of generall top-hat shape comprising, as best seen in Figure 2, a relatively shallow cylindrical basal portion 8, a deeper, coaxial, cylindrical body portion 9 of smaller diameter projecting from a radial wall 8' of the basal portion, and a crown portion 10 in which there is a co-axial plain aperture 11. The body portion 9 has an external screw-thread 1 2.

Typically the backplate is made as a pressing in steel and given suitable protection against corrosion, for example by the process known as "sherablacking".

The cover plate 3 is also generally oblong rectangular, being longer and wider than the backplate. It has a peripheral rim 1 3 projecting from its rear by a distance greater than the thickness of the backplate, and a central cylindrical boss portion 1 4 which projects from the front of the plate and is complementary to the basal portion 8 of the hollow spigot 7 of the backplate. The boss 14 has a plain central opening 1 5 of complementary diameter to the external diameter of the body 9 of the spigot. Beyond the boss 14 the cover plate is externally shaped and may be provided with surface ornamentation, as indicated for example at 16, to give it an attractive appearance. In one form the cover plate is made as a hot stamping in brass and is externally decoratively enamelled.It may be made in other metals and be provided with any other suitable finish, as desired.

The locking ring 4 is of flattened dome shape of corresponding external diameter to the external diameter of the boss 14 of the cover plate. It has a central tubular portion 17 contained within the dome shape and which has an internal screwthread 1 8 complementary to the external screwthread 12 of the body portion 9 of the spigot 7 of the backplate. The depth of the locking ring corresponds to the length of the spigot from the basal portion 8 to the crown 10 minus the thickness of the radial wall 8' of the boss 14 of the cover plate.

The lever handle 1, which may be of any desired shape, has a hollow shank 1 9 projecting rearwardly co-axially from a stem part 20 of the handle. The shank is of complementary diameter to the plain opening 15 in the boss 14 and smaller in diameter than the rear face of the stem part which is of a diameter only slightiy smaller than the root diameter of the external screw thread of the body portion 9 of the spigot 7 of the backplate.

The shank operatively engages in known manner with a square section spindle 21 of a latch mechanism when the handle assembly is fitted for use.

In the handle asembly the cover plate is mounted on the backplate with its boss 14 fitting over the basal portion 8 of the spigot 7 and the body portion 9 of the latter projecting through the plain opening 15. The locking ring 4 is screwed onto the body portion beyond the boss and retains the cover plate on the backplate. The shank 19 of the handle extends rotatably through the aperture 11 in the crown 10 of the spigot and the rear face of the stem 20 lies close to the front face of the crown. Inside the spigot the shank is fitted with a helical spring 22 one end of which is anchored to the shank and the other end is anchored to the crown, such that the spring urges the shank, and thus the handle, to rotate in one angular direction.

Beyond the spring 22 the end portion of the shank, which is formed with opposed flats 23, has keyed to it, for rotation with the handle, a drive plate 24 which partially overlaps the rear face of the radial wall 8' of the basal portion 8 of the spigot and is secured to the shank by a circlip 25, which also serves to retain the handle to the backplate. Ears, not shown, at the periphery of the drive plate 24 co-operate in known manner, with angularly spaced iugs 26 which are pierced out of the radial wall 8' and act as stops to limit the extent of the turning movement of the handle under and against the action of the spring.

In order to mount the handle assembly on a door for use, the locking ring is first slackened off on the screw thread of the spigot, the ring being able to run over the stem part 20 of the handle as it is slackened on the spigot, to allow the cover plate to be drawn forwards away from the backplate sufficiently for its rim 13 to clear the edges of the backplate. Next the cover plate is turned on the spigot, its boss 14 rotating on the basal portion 8 of the spigot, until it is extending transversely of the backplate, as shown in full lines in Figure 1, and the ends of the backplate containing the screw holes 5 are exposed. The handle assembly is then offered to the door, the shank of the handle being engaged with the spindle 21 of the latch mechanism of the door, and is secured in position by fixing the backplate to the door by means of the fixing screws 6 engaged in the screw holes.Having fixed the backplate, the cover plate is turned back to its position of use, as shown in broken lines in Figure 1, in which it completely overlies and is coextensive with the backplate, and the locking ring is tightened on the spigot again to urge the cover plate to close over the backplate and its rim 1 3 to lie close against, or abut against, the surface of the door. The backplate is then completely concealed from view and there are no visible signs of the means by which the handle assembly is fixed to the door. The completed assembly is secure and firm.

The locking ring can be turned by hand on the spigot to slacken it off and to tighten it onto the cover plate.

Where the handle assembly is to be used in conjunction with a locking mechanism on a door, the cover plate will be provided with a key hole.

It is possible for the cover plate to be extended, if desired, for some applications of use so as to serve also as a finger plate.

An additional advantage of the handle assembly now provided is that when the door to which the assembly is fitted for use is to be painted or varnished, for example, the assembly does not necessarily have to be removed from the on The cover plate may simply be drawn away from the backplate by releasing the locking ring whilst the surface of the door round the assembly is painted or varnished.

Claims (10)

1. A handle assembly comprising a handle mounted on and retained to a backplate which is adapted to be secured to a door or the like by fixing screws, a cover plate mounted on the backplate and rotatable relative thereto between a released position in which it leaves exposed those parts of the backplate to which the fixing screws have to be applied to secure the backplate to a door or the like and in a position of use in which it covers the backplate, and when the handle assembly is in use conceals the fixing screws, and a locking ring which co-operates with the cover plate, is connected through the cover plate with the backplate and is rotatable relative to the backplate between a slackened position in which it allows the cover plate to be moved to and from the released position and a secured position in which it retains the cover plate in the position of use.

2. A handle assembly according to Claim 1 wherein the backplate and cover plate are generally oblong rectangular, the cover plate being longer and wider than the backplate and being arranged to be co-extensive with the cover plate in the position of use.

3. A handle assembly according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the backplate has a spigot or like projection with which the locking ring cooperates.

4. A handle assembly according to Claim 3 wherein the spigot or like projection and the locking ring have interengaging screw threads whereby the locking ring is rotatable relative to the backplate between the slackened and secured positions.

5. A handle assembly according to Claim 3 or Claim 4 wherein the spigot or like projection protrudes through the cover plate and the locking ring co-operates with the spigot or like projection externally of the cover plate.

6. A handle assembly according to any of Claims 3 to 5 wherein the handle is rotatable relative to the backplate, the spigot or like projection is hollow, the handle has a shank part adapted to be keyed to a spindle of a latch mechanism and which extends rotatably into the spigot or like projection, and a spring is accommodated in the spigot or like projection which acts between the cover plate and the shank to spring-load the handle to an initial angular position which it occupies when it is not being operated.

7. A handle assembly according to Claim 6 wherein a drive plate is keyed to the shank part of the handle and has portions which co-operate with stops provided on the cover plate to limit the extent of the rotary movement of the handle.

8. A handle assembly according to Claim 7 wherein the spigot or like projection has a cylindrical basal portion in which the drive plate is accommodated, a cylindrical body portion extending outwardly from the basal portion and being of smaller diameter than the basal portion, in which body portion the spring is accommodated, and a crown portion at the end of the body portion remote from the basal portion having an aperture through which the shank of the handle extends into the spigot or like projection.

9. A handle assembly according to Claim 8 wherein the cover plate has a boss portion which is complementary to and rotatably fits over the basal portion of the spigot or like projection, and has an opening 15 through which the body portion of the spigot or like projection extends.

10. A handle assembly substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.