SELF-ADJUSTING LOCKING PIECE FOR A LOCKING UNIT

Abstract

A locking piece includes a housing which has a, in particular, rectangular housing opening and a slide which is arranged in the housing. At the housing side, the slide is guided so as to be able to be linearly displaced between two end positions and which has a locking arm which extends at right-angles with respect to the displacement direction of the slide and protrudes forward through the housing opening. A spring clip is arranged behind the slide, which spring clip extends in the displacement direction and which is anchored at the two clip ends thereof in the housing. The slide is arranged between the housing and the spring clip and is retained in abutment with the housing by the spring clip.

Claims

1. A locking piece for a locking unit, comprising: a housing which has a housing opening; a slide which is arranged in the housing and which, at a housing side, is guided to be linearly displaced between two end positions; wherein the slide has a locking arm which extends at right-angles with respect to a displacement direction of the slide and protrudes forward through the housing opening; and a spring clip arranged behind the slide, which spring clip extends along the displacement direction and which is anchored at the two clip ends thereof in the housing; wherein the slide is arranged between the housing and the spring clip and is retained in abutment with the housing by the spring clip.

2. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide is pressed by the spring clip into abutment against the housing wherein the slide is fixed in position in each of the displacement positions thereof which are possible in the displacement direction.

3. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide has a recess which is open at the rear side and in which a permanent magnet is received behind which the spring clip engages and which is retained by the spring clip in the recess.

4. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spring clip engages in a rear longitudinal groove, which extends in the displacement direction, of the slide.

5. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two spring clips are each angled in a hook-like manner, and the spring clip, when viewed in the direction toward the rear, engages behind the housing with the two forward-facing, hook-like clip ends.

6. The locking piece as claimed in claim 5, wherein the housing, when viewed in the displacement direction, has a securing hole at both sides of the housing opening and the two hook-like clip ends engage through the securing holes and engage around the housing wall of the securing holes.

7. The locking piece as claimed in claim 6, wherein the housing wall of the securing holes have each a groove in which the hook-like clip ends engage.

8. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spring clip is constructed in a C-shaped manner.

9. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spring clip is a wire bracket or a metal strip bracket.

10. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide is displaceably guided internally on the housing and/or in the housing opening.

11. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide has a base portion, which is wider than the housing opening, and an intermediate portion which is arranged between the base portion and the locking arm and which carries the locking arm and is at a maximum as wide as the housing opening.

12. The locking piece as claimed in claim 11, wherein the locking arm is wider than the housing opening and in that, at the height of a displacement position of the slide, the housing opening, when viewed in the direction at right-angles with respect to the displacement direction, has at one or both sides a keyhole recess through which the locking arm is inserted as far as the outwardly protruding position thereof.

13. The locking piece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking arm is in the form of a locking bracket or locking eyelet.

14. A locking unit comprising a lock which has a lock mouth, and the locking piece as claimed in claim 1, the locking arm of which engages in a locking position of the lock in the lock mouth and is locked therein.

15. The locking unit as claimed in claim 14, wherein the lock has a reed contact which cooperates with the permanent magnet of the locking piece.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In the drawings:

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an exploded illustration of the locking piece according to the invention comprising a height-displaceable locking arm which is supported in a floating manner;

[0022] FIGS. 2a-2e show the locking piece according to the invention in a front view (FIG. 2a), in a side view (FIG. 2b), in a rear view (FIG. 2c), in a view from the top or bottom (FIG. 2d) and in a perspective view (FIG. 2e);

[0023] FIGS. 3a-3c show the locking piece according to the invention with the locking arm in a central position (FIG. 3a), in an upper end position (FIG. 3b) and in a lower end position (FIG. 3c), in each case in a longitudinal section; and

[0024] FIG. 4 shows a locking unit comprising a furniture lock and the locking piece according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The locking piece 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for a locking unit 20 (FIG. 4) has a housing 2 having a, for example, rectangular housing opening 3 and a slide 4 which is arranged in the housing 2 and which is guided so as to be able to be displaced at the housing side between two end positions in a linear manner in the displacement direction (double-headed arrow) 5 which is vertical here. The slide 4 has a locking arm (for example, locking bracket or locking eyelet) 6 which extends at right-angles to the displacement direction 5 and which protrudes forward through the housing opening 3. The slide 4 may be displaceably guided internally on the housing 2 and/or in the housing opening 3.

[0026] A spring clip 7 (for example, wire bracket or metal strip bracket) is arranged behind the slide 4 and extends along the displacement direction 5 and is anchored at the two clip ends 8 in the housing 2. The slide 4 is arranged between the housing 2 and spring clip 7 and retained in abutment with the housing 2 by the spring clip 7. Preferably, the slide 4 which is supported in a floating manner is pressed by the spring clip 7 into abutment against the housing 2 in such a powerful manner that the slide 4 is fixed in position by the active friction force in each of the displacement positions thereof possible in the displacement direction 5.

[0027] The slide 4 has a recess 9 which is open at the rear side and in which a permanent magnet 10 is received. The spring clip 7 engages behind the permanent magnet 10 and thereby retains it in the recess 9. The slide 4 may at the rear side have a longitudinal groove 11 which extends in the displacement direction 5 and in which the spring clip 7 is placed. The locking arm 6 is held in position by the frictional engagement between the spring clip 7 and permanent magnet 10 and between the locking arm 6 and housing 2. In embodiments without a permanent magnet, the locking arm 6 is held in position by the frictional engagement between the spring clip 7 and locking arm 6 and between the locking arm 6 and housing 2.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the spring clip 7 is preferably constructed in a C-shaped manner with two clip ends 8 which are angled in a hook-like manner. The two hook-like clip ends 8 are directed forward and engage through securing holes 12 of the housing 2, which, when viewed in the displacement direction 5, are arranged at both sides of the housing opening 3. The two hook-like clip ends 8 engage around the wall of the securing holes 12 and, when viewed in the direction toward the rear, engage behind the housing 2. The walls of the securing holes 12 may in each case have a groove 13, in which the hook-like clip ends 8 engage. Via the securing holes 12, the locking piece 1 is, for example, screwed to a door. Alternatively, however, the locking piece 1 may be adhesively bonded to the door so that in this instance the housing does not need to have any screw holes.

[0029] As further shown in FIG. 1, the slide 4 may have a base portion 4a and an intermediate portion 4b which is arranged between the base portion 4a and the locking arm 6 and which carries the locking arm 6. The base portion 4a and the locking arm 6 have, when viewed at right-angles to the displacement direction 5, a width B1, B2 in each case which is greater than the width B of the housing opening 3 (B1, B2>B). The width B3 of the intermediate portion 4b is at a maximum as wide as the width B of the rectangular housing opening 3 (B3B). At the height of ain this instance, the central displacement position of the slide 4, the housing opening 3 has, when viewed in the direction at right-angles with respect to the displacement direction 5, at both sides a keyhole recess 14 through which the locking arm 6 is inserted into the outwardly protruding position thereof, and can then be displaced on the housing 2 in the displacement direction 5.

[0030] The locking arm 6 is located in FIG. 3a in the central displacement position thereof in the housing opening 3 which is denoted by a dot-dash line, in FIG. 3b in the upper end position thereof which has been pushed upward out of the central displacement position by +Z (for example, 2.5 mm), and in FIG. 3c in the lower end position thereof pushed downward out of the central displacement position by Z (for example, 2.5 mm). In each of the displacement positions thereof possible along the displacement direction 5, the locking arm 6 is held so as to be fixed in position by the spring clip 7.

[0031] The locking unit 20 shown in FIG. 4 comprises a furniture lock 21 which can be mechanically or electronically activated and which has a lock mouth 22 and the locking piece 1 according to the invention, the locking arm 6 of which engages in the locking position of the furniture lock 21 in the lock mouth 22 and is locked therein. The height-displaceable locking arm 6 is adjusted itself when moving into the lock mouth 22 with respect to the vertical position thereof and remains held in the adjusted position by the spring clip 7 after moving out of the lock mouth 22. When the locking arm 6 is moved into the lock mouth 22, a reed contact (monitoring contact) 23 which is arranged on the lock mouth 22 is activated by the permanent magnet 10 of the locking piece 1 in order to thus detect the locking arm 6 which is located in the lock mouth 22. It can thus be determined whether the door/drawer/flap, etcetera, on which the furniture lock 21 or the locking piece 1 is mounted is open or closed.

[0032] In FIG. 4, the locking arm 6 is moved from the end face into the lock mouth 22 of the furniture lock 21, that is to say, in the longitudinal direction of the furniture lock 21, for example, in a sliding door. However, it is also possible for the locking piece 1 to be arranged at the side of the furniture lock 21 so that the locking arm 6 is retracted from the side into the lock mouth 22, that is to say, in the transverse direction of the furniture lock 21, for example, with a swing door.