ACTUATING DEVICE FOR LOCK DEVICE, AND LOCK DEVICE

Abstract

An actuating device (12) comprising a stationary structure (20); an actuating element (22) rotatable relative to the stationary structure (20); an electric power source (24, 82); a spindle (26) arranged to be rotated by rotation of the actuating element (22); a locking member (28) movable between a locked position (66) and an unlocked position (86); an electromechanical transfer device (30, 84) arranged in the spindle (26), the transfer device (30, 84) being configured to adopt a locked state (68) and an unlocked state (78); a receiver device (34) fixed with respect to the spindle (26), the receiver device (34) being electrically connected 62 to the transfer device (30, 84); and a transmitter device (32) fixed with respect to the stationary structure (20) and arranged to be electrically powered by the power source (24, 82), the transmitter device (32) being configured to wirelessly transmit power to the receiver device (34).

Claims

1. An actuating device for a lock device, the actuating device comprising: a stationary structure; an actuating element rotatable relative to the stationary structure; an electric power source; a spindle arranged to be rotated by rotation of the actuating element; a locking member movable between a locked position and an unlocked position; an electromechanical transfer device arranged in the spindle, the transfer device being configured to adopt a locked state, in which the locking member cannot be moved from the locked position to the unlocked position by rotation of the actuating element, and an unlocked state in which the locking member can be moved from the locked position to the unlocked position by rotation of the actuating element; a receiver device fixed with respect to the spindle, the receiver device being electrically connected to the transfer device; and a transmitter device fixed with respect to the stationary structure and arranged to be electrically powered by the power source, the transmitter device being configured to wirelessly transmit power to the receiver device.

2. The actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer device comprises a coupling device configured to couple the spindle to the locking member when adopting the locked state, and configured to decouple the spindle from the locking member when adopting the unlocked state.

3. The actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the power source comprises an electromagnetic generator arranged to be driven by rotation of the actuating element to thereby generate electric energy.

4. The actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter device is configured to inductively transmit power to the receiver device.

5. The actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter device comprises an electromagnetic wave transmission coil and the receiver device comprises an electromagnetic wave receiving coil.

6. The actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the spindle is rotatable about a rotation axis, and wherein each of the transmitter device and the receiver device is substantially centered with respect to the rotation axis.

7. The actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the spindle is arranged inside the stationary structure.

8. The actuating device according to claim 1, further comprising a connection member functionally connected between the actuating element and the spindle, wherein the connection member is arranged to release upon removal of the actuating element.

9. The actuating device according to claim 8, wherein the connection member is connected to the spindle by means of a shape lock.

10. The actuating device according to claim 8, wherein the connection member is a bar.

11. The actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter device is configured to wirelessly transmit a signal to the receiver device.

12. The actuating device according to claim 1, further comprising credential evaluation electronics provided in the spindle and credential reading electronics, the credential evaluation electronics being configured to evaluate an access signal from the credential reading electronics and to issue an authorization signal to the transfer device to adopt the unlocked state upon a granted evaluation of the access signal.

13. The actuating device according to claim 11, wherein the credential reading electronics is fixed with respect to the stationary structure, and wherein the transmitter device is configured to wirelessly transmit the access signal to the receiver device.

14. The actuating device according to claim 1, wherein the power source is fixed with respect to the stationary structure.

15. A lock device comprising an actuating device according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] Further details, advantages and aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

[0045] FIG. 1: schematically represents a side view of a lock device comprising an actuating device;

[0046] FIG. 2: schematically represents an exploded perspective view of the actuating device;

[0047] FIG. 3: schematically represents a perspective cross-sectional view of the actuating device;

[0048] FIG. 4: schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of the actuating device;

[0049] FIG. 5: schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of the actuating device when a transfer device adopts an unlocked state;

[0050] FIG. 6: schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of a further example of an actuating device;

[0051] FIG. 7: schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of the actuating device in FIG. 6 when a transfer device adopts an unlocked state; and

[0052] FIG. 8: schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of the actuating device in FIGS. 6 and 7 when a locking member is in an unlocked position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] In the following, an actuating device for a lock device, and a lock device comprising an actuating device, will be described. The same or similar reference numerals will be used to denote the same or similar structural features.

[0054] FIG. 1 schematically represents a side view of a lock device 10. The lock device 10 comprises an actuating device 12. The lock device 10 of this specific example further comprises a first cylinder half 14, a second cylinder half 16 and a driver 18. The first cylinder half 14 and the second cylinder half 16 form one example of a cylinder housing. The driver 18 can actuate a bolt (not shown) of the lock device 10.

[0055] FIG. 2 schematically represents an exploded perspective view of the actuating device 12. The actuating device 12 comprises a stationary structure 20, an actuating element 22, an electromagnetic generator 24, a spindle 26, a locking member 28 and an electromechanical coupling device 30. The actuating element 22 of this example is a knob.

[0056] The generator 24 is one example of an electric power source according to the present disclosure. The coupling device 3o is one example of an electromechanical transfer device according to the present disclosure. The coupling device 30 of this example comprises an actuator having an actuator pin (not shown).

[0057] The actuating device 12 further comprises a transmitter device 32 and a receiver device 34. The transmitter device 32 comprises a transmitter device opening 36. The receiver device 34 comprises a receiver device opening 38.

[0058] The stationary structure 20 of this specific example comprises a body 40 and a through hole 42. The through hole 42 extends through the body 40.

[0059] The actuating device 12 of this specific example further comprises a first gear wheel 44 and a second gear wheel 46. The first gear wheel 44 meshes with the second gear wheel 46. The first gear wheel 44 comprises a square through hole 48.

[0060] The actuating device 12 of this specific example further comprises credential reading electronics 50 and power management electronics 52. The credential reading electronics 50 comprises a receiving unit (not shown), such as an antenna, for receiving an input signal, and a reading unit (not shown). The credential reading electronics 50 is arranged to communicate wirelessly with an external device, such as a mobile phone, for example by means of BLE.

[0061] The actuating device 12 further comprises a feedback indicator 54. The feedback indicator 54 is configured to issue a feedback indication to a user. The feedback indicator 54 may for example be a loud speaker, a light source or a vibration device.

[0062] The actuating device 12 of this specific example further comprises a connection member 56. The connection member 56 of this example is a bar integrally formed with the actuating element 22. The connection member 56 protrudes distally from an end 58 of the actuating element 22 into the interior of the actuating element 22. As used herein, a distal direction is a direction away from the user (e.g. towards the locking member 28) and a proximal direction is a direction towards the user.

[0063] FIG. 3 schematically represents a perspective cross-sectional view of the actuating device 12, and FIG. 4 schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of the actuating device 12. With collective reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the spindle 26 is arranged inside the body 40 of the stationary structure 20. The stationary structure 20 may be bolted to a lock case (not shown) of the lock device 10. The generator 24 is fixed to the stationary structure 20.

[0064] The connection member 56 engages the first gear wheel 44 and the spindle 26. Moreover, the connection member 56 passes through the transmitter device opening 36 and the receiver device opening 38. The connection member 56 of this example comprises a square cross-sectional profile. The square cross-sectional profile of the connection member 56 engages the square through hole 48 of the first gear wheel 44. The square cross-sectional profile of the connection member 56 further engages the spindle 26. To this end, the spindle 26 comprises a proximal opening in which an end of the connection member 56 is received. The connection member 56 engages the spindle 26 by means of a shape lock 60. Due to the shape lock 60, rotation of the connection member 56 is transferred to a rotation of the spindle 26. However, the connection member 56 can be retracted proximally away from the spindle 26. One or more bearings (not shown) are provided between the stationary structure 20 and the actuating element 22.

[0065] The coupling device 30 is arranged in and fixed to the spindle 26. The stationary structure 20 thereby protects the coupling device 30 from unauthorized tampering. The spindle 26 is arranged to be rotated by manual rotation of the actuating element 22 about an actuation axis 62.

[0066] The locking member 28 comprises a recess 64 for receiving the actuator pin of the coupling device 30. The recess 64 faces in the proximal direction.

[0067] The locking member 28 is rotatable between a locked position 66 and an unlocked position. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the locking member 28 is in the locked position 66. The locking member 28 is rotatably arranged within the cylinder housing (see FIG. 1).

[0068] The coupling device 30 is configured to adopt a locked state 68 and an unlocked state. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the coupling device 30 is in the locked state 68. In the locked state 68 of the coupling device 30, the spindle 26 can be rotated by means of manual rotation of the actuating element 22, but the rotation of the spindle 26 is not transmitted to a rotation of the locking member 28 by means of the coupling device 30. In the unlocked state of the coupling device 30, the spindle 26 is coupled to the locking member 28 by means of the coupling device 30. The spindle 26 and the locking member 28 thereby rotate in common and the locking member 28 can be rotated from the locked position 66 to the unlocked position by manual rotation of the actuating element 22. When the transfer device is constituted by the coupling device 30, the locked state 68 and the unlocked state are thus constituted by an uncoupled state and a coupled state, respectively.

[0069] The receiver device 34 is fixed to the spindle 26. The receiver device 34 and the spindle 26 thereby rotate in common. The receiver device 34 is electrically connected to the coupling device 30. The transmitter device 32 is fixed to the stationary structure 20. The transmitter device 32 is electrically powered by the generator 24.

[0070] In this specific example, rotation of the actuating element 22 about the actuation axis 62 causes the first gear wheel 44 to rotate by means of the engagement between the connection member 56 and the first gear wheel 44. The rotation of the first gear wheel 44 is transmitted to a rotation of the second gear wheel 46 by means of the meshing engagement therebetween. Rotation of the second gear wheel 46 drives a rotor (not shown) relative to a stator (not shown) of the generator 24 to thereby generate electric energy. The generator 24 is thus arranged to be driven by manual rotation of the actuating element 22 to harvest electric energy.

[0071] Moreover, in this specific example, rotation of the actuating element 22 about the actuation axis 62 causes the spindle 26 to rotate due to the engagement between the connection member 56 and the spindle 26 by means of the shape lock 60. This is one of many realizations of arranging the spindle 26 to rotate by means of rotation of the actuating element 22. The connection member 56 is thus functionally connected between the actuating element 22 and the spindle 26.

[0072] The power management electronics 52 is configured to manage the energy harvesting and to control the supply of power to the coupling device 30. To this end, the power management electronics 52 comprises energy harvesting electronics (not shown), such as diodes for rectifying the voltage from the generator 24 and a passive non-chemical electric energy storage device (not shown), such as a capacitor. Thereby, electric energy can be harvested from rotation of the actuating element 22 in either direction about the actuation axis 62. In this example, the power management electronics 52 is fixed with respect to the stationary structure 20.

[0073] When the actuating element 22 is manually rotated relative to the stationary structure 20 about the actuation axis 62, the receiver device 34 rotates but the transmitter device 32 is stationary. The transmitter device 32 and the receiver device 34 are arranged at a fixed distance. The transmitter device 32 and the receiver device 34 are separated by an air gap 70.

[0074] The transmitter device 32 is configured to wirelessly and inductively transmit power and signals to the receiver device 34. To this end, the transmitter device 32 comprises an electromagnetic wave transmission coil and the receiver device 34 comprises an electromagnetic wave receiving coil. The receiver device 34 is also configured to wirelessly and inductively transmit signals to the transmitter device 32. The transmission coil and the receiving coil are concentric with respect to a rotation axis of the spindle 26. In this non-limiting example, the rotation axis of the spindle 26 is concentric with the actuation axis 62.

[0075] The actuating device 12 further comprises credential evaluation electronics 72. The credential evaluation electronics 72 is arranged in the spindle 26. Unauthorized access to the credential evaluation electronics 72 is thereby made more difficult. The credential reading electronics 50 is arranged on the “outside”, i.e. fixed with respect to the stationary structure 20. In this example, the power management electronics 52 and the credential reading electronics 50 are arranged inside the actuating element 22, but outside the spindle 26, while the credential evaluation electronics 72 is arranged inside the spindle 26.

[0076] The credential reading electronics 50 is configured to send an access signal 74 to the credential evaluation electronics 72. The access signal 74 contains credential data associated with a user. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the access signal 74 is transmitted wirelessly from the transmitter device 32 to the receiver device 34. The credential evaluation electronics 72 is configured to evaluate the access signal 74. In addition to authorization, the credential evaluation electronics 72 may be configured to authenticate the access signal 74, i.e. to determine an authenticity of the user based on the access signal 74.

[0077] If access is denied, i.e. if the access signal 74 contains an invalid credential or no credential, the credential evaluation electronics 72 sends a denied feedback signal to the feedback indicator 54. In response to the denied feedback signal, the feedback indicator 54 issues a denied feedback indication, e.g. a sound of a first type. The denied feedback signal is wirelessly transmitted from the receiver device 34 to the transmitter device 32.

[0078] If access is granted, i.e. if the access signal 74 contains a valid credential, the credential evaluation electronics 72 sends an authorization signal 76 to the coupling device 30. In response to the authorization signal 76, the coupling device 30 moves from the locked state 68 to the unlocked state. Moreover, the credential evaluation electronics 72 sends a granted feedback signal to the feedback indicator 54. In response to the granted feedback signal, the feedback indicator 54 issues a granted feedback indication, e.g. a sound of a second type, different from the first type. The granted feedback signal is wirelessly transmitted from the receiver device 34 to the transmitter device 32.

[0079] FIG. 5 schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of the actuating device 12 when the coupling device 30 has adopted the unlocked state 78. In FIG. 5, the actuator pin 80 of the coupling device 30 can be seen. In the unlocked state 78, the actuator pin 80 is driven to protrude to engage the recess 64 of the locking member 28. When the coupling device 30 has adopted the unlocked state 78, manual rotation of the actuating element 22 is transmitted to a rotation of the locking member 28 from the locked position 66 to the unlocked position. Rotation of the locking member 28 from the locked position 66 to the unlocked position causes the driver 18 to move from a driver locked position to a driver unlocked position to open the lock device 10.

[0080] In case the actuating device 12 is subjected to a brute force attack, for example if the actuating element 22 is smashed by a hammer, removal of the actuating element 22 will cause the connection member 56 to fall out from the shape lock 60. In this way, generation of electric energy and rotation of the spindle 26 is made difficult. Moreover, the credential evaluation electronics 72 is not exposed even if the actuating element 22 is removed.

[0081] FIG. 6 schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of a further example of an actuating device 12. Mainly differences with respect to FIGS. 2-5 will be described. Instead of the generator 24, the actuating device 12 in FIG. 6 comprises a battery 82. Moreover, instead of the coupling device 30, the actuating device 12 comprises a blocking device 84. The battery 82 and the blocking device 84 are further examples of a power source and a transfer device, respectively, according to the present disclosure.

[0082] In FIG. 6, the locking member 28 is fixed to the spindle 26. The actuator pin 80 is arranged to selectively engage a recess 64 in the stationary structure 20. In FIG. 6, the actuator pin 80 engages the recess 64 and the blocking device 84 thereby adopts the locked state 68. When the blocking device 84 adopts the locked state 68, the spindle 26 cannot be rotated. Consequently, also the actuating element 22 cannot be rotated.

[0083] If access is granted, i.e. if the access signal 74 contains a valid credential, the credential evaluation electronics 72 sends an authorization signal 76 to the blocking device 84. In response to the authorization signal 76, the blocking device 84 moves from the locked state 68 to the unlocked state 78. Moreover, the credential evaluation electronics 72 sends a granted feedback signal to the feedback indicator 54. In response to the granted feedback signal, the feedback indicator 54 issues a granted feedback indication, e.g. a sound. The granted feedback signal is wirelessly transmitted from the receiver device 34 to the transmitter device 32.

[0084] FIG. 7 schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of the actuating device 12 in FIG. 6 when the blocking device 84 adopts the unlocked state 78. In the unlocked state 78, the actuator pin 80 is retracted out from the recess 64 and rotation of the spindle 26 is consequently unblocked. The spindle 26 and the locking member 28 can thereby be rotated in common by manual rotation of the actuating element 22. When the transfer device is constituted by the blocking device 84, the locked state 68 and the unlocked state 78 are thus constituted by a blocked state and an unblocked state, respectively.

[0085] FIG. 8 schematically represents a cross-sectional side view of the actuating device 12 in FIGS. 6 and 7 when the locking member 28 is in the unlocked position 86.

[0086] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to what has been described above. For example, it will be appreciated that the dimensions of the parts may be varied as needed. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention may be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.