The present invention relates to a modular cylinder for locks and the like.

As is known, every lock is designed to be installed on a door or on a door leaf that has a specific thickness.

The need therefore arises of having dedicated locks for the particular thickness of the door of installation.

In order to overcome the drawback, and avoid a situation of creating specific locks as a function of the infinite thicknesses that a door could have, some specific thicknesses have been standardized which the makers of doors and door leaves must adopt in order to be able to mount locks that conform to them.

In this manner each maker of locks will need to produce only products that conform to the standards specified in the target markets.

The essential component of every lock is the cylinder, i.e. the component that enables the opening or closing of a door or door leaf and which is actuated, generally, by way of a key.

Obviously every cylinder will be designed for a specific thickness of door or door leaf, as a function of its dimensions and of any transmission and coupling elements interposed between the cylinder itself and the lock overall when they are installed on such door or on such door leaf.

The use is known, by some makers, of locks and/or cylinders that comprise removable extension assemblies, which are interposed between the active portions of the mechanisms and are adapted to deviate mechanical movements.

By adopting these extension assemblies (which have a variable thickness) it is possible to adapt locks and cylinders to various different thicknesses, generally chosen from the standardized thicknesses.

The extension assemblies are in turn constituted by a plurality of components (of which some are adapted to be coupled to the fixed portions of the cylinder/lock and others are adapted to be coupled to the moving parts).

The locksmith installing the lock (and the corresponding cylinder) on the door or on the door leaf will therefore need to verify the thickness of the door leaf/door and assemble the most suitable extension assembly. At this point the extension assembly can be interposed between contiguous portions of the cylinder in order to adapt their length to the installation requirements.

Putting the assembly together can be a complex matter for the locksmith, in particular when it needs to be carried out directly at the installation location.

The components of the assembly are small and numerous, and their assembly is simplified by adopting special tools and working on a dedicated worktop.

This condition is difficult to meet at the installation location and therefore the assembly operations, in reality, are generally rather long and complex.

It must further be noted that, increasingly often, doors are made to measure (directly commissioned by the customer) which involve a thickness that differ from the standardized thicknesses and in which the position envisaged for the bit of the cylinder is not central with respect to the thickness of the door itself.

Such conditions render cylinders of the conventional type unsuitable, including cylinders coupled to respective extension assemblies, in that they do not make it possible to effectively cover the full range of sizes.

In any case it should be noted that those cylinders that are the simplest to reconfigure can be prone to tampering from outside, at the front of the stator of the cylinder from where it is possible to locate an indication of the front of the element used to couple the various components. By contrast, the most secure solutions (which are tamper-proof from outside when the cylinder is mounted in a respective door leaf) require complex operations to assemble and disassemble the components, by using special tools.

The aim of the present invention is to solve the above mentioned drawbacks, by providing a modular cylinder that can be easily reconfigured into a plurality of different versions of different length and shape.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a modular cylinder that can be adapted for installation in any type of door leaf, even if the door leaf has non-standard dimensions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a modular cylinder that can be mounted/dismounted in order to define a specific configuration thereof in a simple manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a modular cylinder that can be mounted/dismounted in order to define a specific configuration thereof without needing to use dedicated tools.

Another object of the invention is to provide a modular cylinder that, once installed in a door leaf, is not vulnerable to tampering from outside.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a modular cylinder that is of low cost, easily and practically implemented, and safe in use.

This aim and these objects are achieved by a modular cylinder for locks and the like, of the type comprising at least one main unit provided with a stator, which is designed to be rigidly coupled to an accommodation of a door leaf, and a rotor, which can rotate within said stator by the action of a respective key that is designed to align respective encoding pins when it is accommodated in a seat of said rotor, and at least one actuation device, which is provided with a bit which is functionally associated, when the cylinder is installed in the respective door leaf, with at least one component chosen between a spring latch and a sliding latch and is coupled to at least one rotor of a corresponding main unit, characterized in that said main unit comprises a seat, with shape and dimensions complementary to those of at least one threaded element and with a through end opening for allowing the coming out of an end portion of the threaded shank of said element, said seat being defined in the part of the stator that does not accommodate said rotor, and in that said actuation device comprises a threaded hole, complementary to said threaded shank of said threaded element, the screwing of said threaded element in said hole while said element is accommodated within said seat determining the mutual locking together of said main unit and said actuation device.

Such aim and such objects are also achieved by a kit for providing a reconfigurable modular cylinder, for locks and the like, characterized in that it comprises:

- at least one main unit provided with a stator, which is designed to be rigidly coupled to an accommodation of a door leaf, and a rotor, which can rotate within said stator by the action of a respective key that is designed to align respective encoding pins when it is accommodated in a seat of said rotor, said stator comprising a seat with a longitudinal extension that is open outward;

- at least one actuation device, provided with a bit which is functionally associated, when the cylinder is installed in the respective door leaf, with at least one component chosen between a spring latch and a sliding latch and is coupled to at least one rotor of a corresponding main unit;

- at least one threaded element which comprises a threaded shank and a contoured head which is configured to be moved from outside, when said threaded element is arranged within said seat, by using a tool;

- at least one modular transmission element which has a fixed outer body and a carousel that can rotate on said body, said element can be coupled in series with said main unit with or without the interposition of other transmission elements, said threaded shank of said threaded element passing through said opening and a through channel of the body of at least one transmission element and engaging, by screwing, in said threaded hole of said actuation device.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the modular cylinder, which is illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a possible embodiment of a modular cylinder according to the invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded schematic side view of the modular cylinder of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic side view taken along a sagittal plane of the modular cylinder of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a schematic side view of an additional embodiment of a modular cylinder according to the invention.

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a modular cylinder according to the invention.

The cylinder 1 according to the invention comprises at least one main unit 2 which is provided with a stator 3 which is designed to be rigidly coupled to a predefined accommodation provided in a door leaf of a door or window frame.

The main unit 2 further comprises a rotor 4, which can rotate within the stator 3 by the action of a key 5, which is designed to align respective encoding pins when it is accommodated in a seat 6 of the rotor 4.

The cylinder 1 according to the invention further comprises at least one actuation device 7, provided with a bit 8 which is functionally associated, when the cylinder 1 is installed in the respective door leaf, with at least one component chosen between a spring latch and a sliding latch.

The device 7 constitutes in practice a central connection that makes it possible to couple two units 2 (optionally with the interposition of further components which will be identified below): the device 7 comprises a fixed part, which constitutes an enclosure that will be integral with the stator 3 of each unit 2 (optionally with the interposition of further components which will be identified below), through means explained below, which comprise the most innovative characteristics of the present invention. Inside the fixed part of the device 7, the bit 8 is accommodated so that it can rotate: in the installation configuration the bit 8 will be coupled mechanically to the rotor 4 of at least one respective unit 2, so that a rotation of the key 5 (when inserted in the seat 6 of the rotor 4) also determines a rotation of the rotor 4 which will entrain the bit 8 in rotation (by virtue of the fact that it is rigidly coupled to the fixed part of the device 7, but having a degree of freedom of rotation with respect to the rotation axis of the rotor 3 of the unit 2).

The device 7, in the assembled configuration, is coupled to at least one rotor 4 of a corresponding main unit 2.

According to the invention, the main unit 2 can advantageously comprise a seat 9, with a shape and dimensions complementary to those of at least one threaded element 10 and with a through end opening 11 for allowing the coming out of an end portion 12 of the threaded shank 13 of the element 10. The seat 9 is defined in the part of the stator 3 that does not accommodate the rotor 4, and which normally, in the assembled configuration, is at a lower level than it.

Furthermore, in the cylinder 1 according to the invention, conveniently the actuation device 7 is provided with a threaded hole 7a (at a part thereof that, in the assembled configuration, will be aligned with the seat 9 of a respective unit 2): the threading of the hole 7a will positively be complementary to that of the shank 13 of the threaded element 10. The screwing of the threaded element 10 in the hole 7a, while the element 10 is accommodated in the seat 9, determines the mutual locking together of the main unit 2 and of the actuation device 7 (which will be clamped together by way of the threaded element 10).

It should be highlighted that the seat 9 has a shape and dimensions complementary to those of the threaded element 10 and is longitudinally open outward. With particular reference to the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, the seat 9 will be open at the lower end (with reference to the arrangement that the cylinder 1 generally assumes in the configuration of installation in a door leaf) of the stator 3 and such opening will in fact be directed downward.

The seat 9 will profitably be configured for the slideable accommodation of the threaded element 10 so that the end portion 12 of the threaded shank 13 is inserted in the end opening 11, protruding from it (this protrusion is necessary in order to allow this portion to engage the threading present in the hole 7a of the device 7).

The cylinder 1 according to the invention can furthermore profitably comprise at least one modular transmission element 14 provided with a fixed outer body and with a carousel that can rotate within such body.

The element 14 can conveniently be connected in series to the main unit 2 with or without the interposition of further transmission elements 14.

In such case the threaded shank 13 of the threaded element 10 will usefully pass through the opening 11 and a through channel of the body of at least one transmission element 14, until it engages, by screwing, the threaded hole 7 a of the actuation device 7.

Obviously the interposition of one or more transmission elements 14 between a unit 2 and a device 7 implies the adoption of threaded elements 10 of specific length, so that the corresponding end portion 12 can correctly engage (be screwed) the threaded hole 7a of the device 7. Purely for the purposes of non-limiting example, it is evident from the accompanying figures that the threaded element 10 adopted in the cylinder 1 in Figures 1, 2 and 3 will certainly have a shorter length than the suitable threaded element 10 adopted in the cylinder 1 of Figure 4.

It should be noted that the carousel that can rotate within the corresponding body of each transmission element 14, in the assembled configuration, abuts with a first head thereof against the end face 15 of the rotor 4 of the corresponding main unit 2 and with a second head thereof against a component comprised between the front of a rotatable shaft 16 that is integral with the bit 8 of the actuation device 7 and a head of a carousel of an additional transmission element 14.

It should be noted that if no transmission elements 14 are present in the cylinder 1 (as shown by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying Figures 1, 2 and 3), the end face 15 of the rotor 3 will engage directly the front of the rotatable shaft 16 that is integral with the bit 8 of the corresponding actuation device 7, so as to transfer the rotations of the rotor 4 imposed by using the key 5 also to the shaft 16 and therefore to the bit 8 (which can thus actuate the spring latch and/or the sliding latch present in the door leaf of installation).

It should be noted that the transmission elements 14 can positively be a plurality and each one of them will have a different axial space occupation. By virtue of such set of transmission elements 14 with different axial space occupations it will be possible to provide, in the assembled configuration, cylinders 1 of different lengths and different relative positions of the respective actuation device 7 (centered symmetrically or moved further toward one front end or the other of the respective cylinder 1) which will comprise various different transmission elements 14, which may or may not be mutually contiguous (the possibility exists of arranging two or more transmission elements 14 side by side, until the desired overall length is reached).

With particular reference to an embodiment of undoubted practical and applicative interest, it should be noted that the at least one threaded element 10 can advantageously comprise a contoured head 17 for enabling the movement thereof, even when such threaded element 10 is arranged within the seat 9, by using a tool. Through the outward-facing opening of the seat 9, in fact it is possible to access, by using a tool, the head 17 and rotate it by screwing (or unscrewing) the threaded shank 13 of the element 10 in the threaded hole 7a of the device 7.

In particular, the head 17 can advantageously comprise respective recesses 18 distributed along all its lateral surface.

Such recesses 18 will be designed for the temporary accommodation of an end portion of a tool of type chosen from a screwdriver, a rod, a bar, an awl and the like. In the assembled configuration of the cylinder 1 according to the invention, the tool will conveniently be actuatable from outside the seat 9 (through the respective opening), by engaging the end portion thereof in one recess 18 of the head 17 at a time and rotating the element 10. As already mentioned previously, the rotation of the threaded element 10 will determine the screwing/unscrewing of its threaded shank 13 in the threaded hole 7a of the actuation device 7.

The possibility is not ruled out of making the threaded element 10 with a contoured head 17 (for example with a hexagonal or, generically, polygonal profile) so as to alternatively be able to use a complementarily- shaped key to rotate the head 17.

It is evident that the cylinder 1 according to the invention can be easily reconfigured, even by the installation technician at the time of its assembly (after verifying the dimensions of the door leaf and of the corresponding accommodation intended for the cylinder 1). This characteristic is extremely advantageous because the installation technician does not have to first acquire a cylinder of dimensions complementary to those of the accommodation, but instead can assemble the cylinder 1 directly at the installation location, with only the few necessary components to hand (two units 2, an actuation device 7 and some transmission elements 14) and simple tools (such as a screwdriver, an awl, a rigid rod or a contoured key).

The protection offered by the present invention also extends to a kit for providing a reconfigurable modular cylinder 1. Such kit comprises at least one main unit 2 provided with a stator 3, which is designed to be rigidly coupled to an accommodation of a door leaf, and a rotor 4, which can rotate within the stator 3 by the action of a respective key 5 that is designed to align respective encoding pins when it is accommodated in a seat 6 of the rotor 4 which has a longitudinal extension and is open outward. The unit 2 is provided with a seat 9, which is open outward and has a through end opening 11 (in full conformance with what is illustrated above).

The kit according to the invention further comprises at least one actuation device 7, provided with a bit 8 (which is adapted, in the installation configuration, to move the spring latch and/or the sliding latch of the door leaf).

The kit also comprises at least one threaded element 10 provided with a threaded shank 13 and a contoured head 17 which is configured to be moved from outside, when the threaded element 10 is arranged within the seat 9, by using a tool.

Finally, the kit according to the invention comprises at least one modular transmission element 14 provided with a fixed outer body and with a carousel that can rotate within such external body. The element 14 can be coupled in series to the main unit 2 with or without the interposition of other transmission elements 14. The threaded shank 13 of the threaded element 10 will conveniently pass through the opening 11 and a through channel of the body of at least one transmission element 14, until it engages, by screwing, the threaded hole 7a of the actuation device 7.

The operator, by having the components of the illustrated kit to hand, will be able to assemble a cylinder 1 of the desired dimension by modifying the number of transmission elements 14 present and, from these, choosing the ones that have the most appropriate axial space occupation. It should be noted that the threaded elements 10 will need to be a plurality and be of different lengths in order to ensure that, independently of the number of transmission elements 14 used, the portion 12 of the threaded shank 13 can still be screwed in the threaded hole 7a of the device 7 (thus ensuring the stability of the cylinder 1 thus produced in the specific configuration chosen).

It should be noted that in the unit 2 of the kit according to the invention the seat 9 will advantageously need to have a shape and dimensions complementary to those of the threaded element 10, thus being configured for the slideable accommodation thereof, so that the end portion 12 of the respective threaded shank 13 is inserted in the end opening 11, passing through it and protruding with respect to it.

It should be noted that, in embodiments that entail the production of a cylinder 1 with high longitudinal bulk, the transmission elements 14 can profitably be at least two in number, which have different axial space occupations, for providing a series of cylinders 1 which have a plurality of different lengths.

Advantageously the present invention solves the above mentioned problems, by providing a modular cylinder 1 that can be easily reconfigured into a plurality of different versions of different length and shape.

Conveniently the modular cylinder 1 according to the invention can be adapted for installation in any type of door leaf, even if the door leaf has non-standard dimensions.

The modular cylinder 1 according to the invention can be advantageously mounted/dismounted in order to define a specific configuration thereof in a simple manner.

Advantageously the modular cylinder 1 according to the invention can be mounted/dismounted in order to define a specific configuration thereof without needing to use dedicated tools.

The modular cylinder 1 according to the invention, once installed in a door leaf, is not advantageously vulnerable to tampering from outside.

Positively the modular cylinder 1 according to the invention is easily and practically implemented and is of low cost: such characteristics make the cylinder 1 according to the invention an innovation that is safe in use.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

In the embodiments illustrated, individual characteristics shown in relation to specific examples may in reality be interchanged with other, different characteristics, existing in other embodiments. In practice, the materials employed, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

Where the technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference numerals and/or signs, those reference numerals and/or signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference numerals and/or signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference numerals and/or signs.