초록 ▼

A handle and housing assembly includes a housing having front and rear sides. A handle is connected on the front side of the housing to a shaft that extends through the housing along a forwardly-rearwardly extending axis. The handle may turn the shaft about the axis to turn components connected to a

A handle and housing assembly includes a housing having front and rear sides. A handle is connected on the front side of the housing to a shaft that extends through the housing along a forwardly-rearwardly extending axis. The handle may turn the shaft about the axis to turn components connected to a rear portion of the shaft, and/or the handle may move shaft-connected components forwardly and rearwardly along the axis of the shaft. In some embodiments, the housing defines a forwardly facing recess, and the handle is nestable within and extendable from the recess. In some embodiments, the handle and housing are provided with padlockable formations that extend side by side when the handle is in its nested or retracted position. In some embodiments, rearwardly extending housing-carried formations cooperate with a shaft-connected component to limit the permitted range of turning movement of the shaft about the principal axis, and/or the formations extend along opposite sides of a path of travel followed by a lock bolt to guide the lock bolt as it moves between locked and unlocked positions to selectively prevent and permit turning of the shaft about the principal axis.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a) a housing having a front side and a rear side, and a mounting flange that surrounds a border of a forwardly facing recess defined by the housing wherein the recess has a relatively shallow portion in an end region of the recess re

What is claimed is: 1. A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a) a housing having a front side and a rear side, and a mounting flange that surrounds a border of a forwardly facing recess defined by the housing wherein the recess has a relatively shallow portion in an end region of the recess removed from where a forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis extends through a relatively deep portion of the recess; b) a shaft extending along the principal axis through the housing and into the relatively deep portion of the recess and being turnable relative to the housing about the forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis; c) a handle having a relatively wide graspable portion joined to a relatively narrow stem portion that is connected on the front side of the housing to the shaft to permit movement of the handle relative to the shaft between a retracted position nesting in the recess near the housing with the relatively wide graspable portion overlying the relatively shallow portion of the recess, and an extended position projecting forwardly from the housing with the graspable portion extending forwardly from the recess to facilitate grasping and turning of the handle to turn the shaft about the principal axis between first and second orientations, and wherein the stem portion of the handle has spaced portions between which is defined a passage configured to open rearwardly into the forwardly facing recess when the handle is in the retracted position; d) a forwardly extending projection on the front side of the housing configured to extend into the passage between spaced parts of the stem portion of the handle and to thereby be shielded from view when the handle is in the retracted position; e) openings formed through the spaced parts of the stem portion that are configured to align with an opening formed through the forwardly extending projection when the handle is in the retracted position to permit a component of a padlock to be inserted through the openings formed through the spaced parts and the forwardly extending projection to retain the handle in the retracted position; f) a lock bolt on the rear side of the housing and movable relative to the housing along a path of travel between an operated position and a non-operated position; g) first and second housing-carried formations carried on the rear side of the housing and configured to extend rearwardly along opposite sides of the path of travel of the lock bolt to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel; and, h) a first elongate bridging element extending transversely between the first and second housing-carried formations, with opposed end regions of the first bridging element extending into aligned openings defined by the first and second housing-carried formations, and with a central region of the first bridging element overlying a portion of the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 2. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising a key-operated lock connected to and extending through the housing into the shallow portion of the recess and lockable to inhibit turning of the shaft about the principal axis. 3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein the key-operated lock has a front portion on the front side of the housing that defines a forwardly opening keyway, and the graspable portion of the handle provides a handle defined recess configured to open into the shallow portion of the forwardly facing recess to overlie, cover and conceal from view the front portion of the key-operated lock when the handle is in the retracted position. 4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the graspable portion of the handle defines a recess that opens rearwardly to protectively receive therein at least a part of the front portion of the lock therein when the handle is in the retracted position. 5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the handle is pivotally connected to the shaft by a handle-to-shaft connection that causes the handle to pivot relative to the shaft as the handle moves between the extended and retracted positions. 6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the handle-to-shaft connection includes a cam formation configured to cause movement of the shaft along the principal axis in response to pivotal movement of the handle between the extended and retracted positions. 7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein a latch element is connected to the shaft to be moved forwardly and rearwardly along the principal axis with the shaft in response to pivotal movement of the handle between the extended position and the retracted position. 8. The assembly of claim 6 additionally including a housing-carried engagement surface located adjacent the handle-to-shaft connection, a cam formation defined by the handle-to-shaft connection, and a biasing element that biases the handle and shaft rearwardly along the principal axis, and that biases the cam formation into engagement with the housing-carried engagement surface. 9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the cam formation is configured to permit rearward movement of the handle and the shaft in response to the biasing action of the biasing element when the handle is moved away from the retracted position toward the extended position. 10. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the cam formation is configured to cause forward movement of the handle and the shaft when the handle is moved away from the extended position toward the retracted position. 11. The assembly of claim 1 additionally including a latch operating element connected to the shaft to be turned with the shaft about the principal axis, wherein the latch operating element defines at least one formation to which an elongate latch-operating link may be connected in a manner that causes translation of the link in response to turning of the latch operating element about the principal axis. 12. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the housing defines a rear wall at the rear of the relatively deep portion of the forwardly facing recess, and wherein a locking element formed separately from the housing extends through a slot-like opening formed through the rear wall to define the forwardly extending projection on the front side of the housing. 13. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the forwardly facing recess of the housing is configured to permit movement of the handle between the extended and retracted positions only when the handle and the shaft are turned about the principal axis to a particular orientation. 14. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the graspable portion of the handle defines a relatively long convexly curved surface, and wherein a portion of the housing bordering the relatively shallow portion of the forwardly facing recess has a relatively long concavely curved surface configured to extend closely alongside the convexly curved surface of the graspable portion of the handle when the handle is in the retracted position. 15. A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a) a housing having a front side and a rear side, and having a mounting flange extending about a forwardly facing recess that has a perimeter along which extends a side wall that connects the mounting flange to a back wall of the housing that extends behind a relatively deep portion and a relatively shallow portion of the forwardly facing recess removed from where a forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis extends through the back wall into the relatively deep portion of the forwardly facing recess; b) a shaft extending through the housing and turntable relative to the housing about the forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis; c) a handle having a relatively wide graspable portion joined to a relatively narrow stem portion that is pivotally connected on the front side of the housing to the shaft to permit movement of the handle between a retracted position nesting in the forwardly facing recess wherein the graspable portion of the handle overlies the relatively shallow portion of the forwardly facing recess, and an extended position wherein the graspable portion of the handle extends forwardly from the housing to facilitate grasping and turning the handle to turn the shaft about the principal axis between first and second orientations; d) a key-operated lock connected to the housing and having a front part i) extending through the back wall into the shallow portion of the recess, ii) defining a keyway into which a key can be inserted and turned when the handle is in the extended position to selectively permit and prevent turning of the shaft about the principal axis, and arranged to be protectively covered by and shielded from view by the graspable portion of the handle when the handle is in the retracted position; and, e) a handle-connected formation defined by the stem portion of the handle and defining a passage configured to open rearwardly into the relatively deep portion of the forwardly facing recess when the handle is in the retracted position to receive therein a housing-connected formation on the front side of the housing when the handle is in the retracted position, with the handle-connected formation and the housing-connected formation having holes formed therethrough that align when the handle is in the retracted position and that are configured receive a component of a padlock therein when the handle is in the retracted position to retain the handle in the retracted position; f) a lock bolt on the rear side of the housing and movable relative to the housing along a path of travel between an operated position and a non-operated position; g) first and second housing-carried formations carried on the rear side of the housing and configured to extend rearwardly along opposite sides of the path of travel of the lock bolt to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel; and, h) a first elongate bridging element extending transversely between the first and second housing-carried formations, with opposed end regions of the first bridging element extending into aligned openings defined by the first and second housing-carried formations, and with a central region of the first bridging element overlying a portion of the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 16. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the stem portion of the handle is configured to overlie and shield from view at least a portion of the housing-connected formation when the handle is in the retracted position. 17. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the forwardly-facing recess is configured to permit the handle to move to and from the retracted position only when the handle and the shaft are turned about the principal axis to a predetermined orientation. 18. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the handle is pivotally connected to the shaft by a handle-to-shaft connection that causes the handle to pivot relative to the shaft as the handle moves between the extended and retracted positions. 19. The assembly of claim 18 additionally including a biasing element on the rear side of the housing that biases the shaft and the handle rearwardly along the principal axis, and wherein the handle-to-shaft connection includes a cam formation configured to cause movement of the shaft along the principal axis in response to pivotal movement of the handle between the extended and retracted positions. 20. The assembly of claim 15 further comprising a control member connected to the shaft on the rear side of the housing for being turned about the principal axis together with the handle and the shaft between a first orientation and a second orientation, and being engageable with a first housing carried formation when in the first orientation. 21. The assembly of claim 20 wherein the control member is engageable with a second housing carried formation when in the second orientation, and wherein the engagement of the control member with the first and second housing carried formations defines a range of motion through which the handle, the shaft and the control member are permitted to turn when moving between the first and second orientations. 22. The assembly of claim 21 further comprising a lock bolt on the rear side of housing movable along a path of travel between a non-operated position disengaging the control member and an operated position engaging the control member to retain the control member, the shaft and the handle in a selected one of the first and second orientations, with movement of the lock bolt along the path of travel occurring in response to said key inserted and turned in the keyway of the key-operated lock. 23. A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a) a housing having a front side and a rear side, and having a mounting flange that surrounds a border of a forwardly facing recess of the housing; b) a shaft extending through the housing into the forwardly facing recess and turntable relative to the housing about a forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis between first and second orientations; c) a T-shaped handle on the front side of the housing having a relatively narrow, elongate stem that extends from a relatively large graspable portion of the handle to a location where a handle-to-shaft connection pivotally couples the elongate stem to the shaft for movement of the handle between a retracted position nesting in the forwardly facing recess near the housing, and an extended position projecting forwardly from the forwardly facing recess; d) a handle-defined recess defined by the graspable portion of the handle and configured to open rearwardly into the forwardly facing recess when the handle is in the retracted position; e) a key-operated lock cylinder extending through the housing at a location interior to the border of the forwardly facing recess and having a keyway-defining front portion on the front side of the housing that is configured to extend into and to be received within the handle-defined recess when the handle is in the retracted position, whereby the graspable portion of the handle overlies and conceals from view the front portion of the lock cylinder, and the handle-defined recess protectively overlies and covers a keyway defined by the front portion of the lock cylinder when the handle is in the retracted position; f) a lock bolt on the rear side of the housing and movable relative to the housing along a path of travel between an operated position and a non-operated position; g) first and second housing-carried formations carried on the rear side of the housing and configured to extend rearwardly along opposite sides of the path of travel of the lock bolt to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel; and, h) a first elongate bridging element extending transversely between the first and second housing-carried formations, with opposed end regions of the first bridging element extending into aligned openings defined by the first and second housing-carried formations, and with a central region of the first bridging element overlying a portion of the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 24. A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a housing having a front side and a rear side and defining a forwardly facing recess with a relatively shallow portion and a relatively deep portion surrounded by a mounting flange, and having a forwardly extending projection on the front side that extends into the relatively deep portion of the recess; a shaft extending through the housing into the relatively deep portion of the recess and turnable about a forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis of the housing between first and second orientations; a handle having a relatively wide graspable portion joined to a relatively narrow stem portion that is connected to the shaft on the front side of the housing for turning the shaft about the principal axis, with the handle being pivotal relative to the shaft between a retracted position wherein the relatively wide graspable portion of the handle overlies and nests within the relatively shallow portion of the recess, and an extended position wherein the relatively wide graspable portion of the handle extends forwardly from the housing; with a passage defined between spaced elements of the handle and configured to open only rearwardly when the handle is in the retracted position to receive the forwardly extending projection therein; and, with holes extending through the spaced elements and through the formation that are configured to align when the projection is received between the spaced elements to enable a component of a padlock to be received in the holes to lock the handle in the retracted position, wherein the handle is configured to overlie and shield from view the forwardly extending projection when the handle is in the retracted position; a lock bolt on the rear side of the housing and movable relative to the housing along a path of travel between an operated position and a non-operated position; first and second housing-carried formations carried on the rear side of the housing and configured to extend rearwardly along opposite sides of the path of travel of the lock bolt to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel; and, a first elongate bridging element extending transversely between the first and second housing-carried formations, with opposed end regions of the first bridging element extending into aligned openings defined by the first and second housing-carried formations, and with a central region of the first bridging element overlying a portion of the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 25. The assembly of claim 24 further comprising a key-operated lock connected to the housing and lockable to inhibit turning of the shaft about the principal axis. 26. The assembly of claim 25 wherein the key-operated lock has a front portion on the front side of the housing that extends into the relatively shallow portion of the forwardly facing recess, and the handle has a handle-defined recess configured to open into the shallow portion of the forwardly facing recess to receive therein and conceal from view the front portion of the key-operated lock when the handle is in the retracted position. 27. The assembly of claim 24 further comprising a control member connected to the shaft on the rear side of the housing for being turned about the principal axis together with the handle and the shaft between a first orientation and a second orientation. 28. The assembly of claim 27 wherein the control member is engageable, when in the first orientation, with a first formation carried on the rear side of the housing, and wherein the control member is engageable, when in the second orientation, with a second formation carried on the rear side of the housing, and wherein the engagement of the control member with the first and second formations defines a range of motion through which the handle, the shaft and the control member are permitted to turn when moving between the first and second orientations. 29. A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a housing having a front side and a rear side, and defining a forwardly facing recess surrounded by a mounting flange, wherein the recess has a relatively shallow portion and a relatively deep portion; a shaft extending through the housing into the relatively deep portion of the forwardly facing recess and turnable about a forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis of the housing; a handle connected to the shaft on the front side of the housing for turning the shaft about the principal axis between first and second orientations, with the handle being movable relative to the shaft to and from a retracted position near the housing, with the handle having a relatively wide graspable portion and a relatively narrow stem portion; a handle-carried recess defined by the relatively wide graspable portion of the handle and configured to open rearwardly into the forwardly facing recess when the handle is in the retracted position; a key-operated lock cylinder extending through the housing into the relative shallow portion of the recess and having a keyway-defining front portion on the front side of the housing configured to extend into the handle-carried recess and to be concealed from view by the relatively wide graspable portion of the handle when the handle is in the retracted position; and, formations carried by the housing and by the relatively narrow stem portion of the handle that are configured to extend side by side within the relatively deep portion of the recess and are configured to be padlockable together when the handle is in the retracted position to retain the handle in the retracted position; a lock bolt on the rear side of the housing and movable relative to the housing along a path of travel between an operated position and a non-operated position; first and second housing-carried formations carried on the rear side of the housing and configured to extend rearwardly along opposite sides of the path of travel of the lock bolt to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel; and, a first elongate bridging element extending transversely between the first and second housing-carried formations, with opposed end regions of the first bridging element extending into aligned openings defined by the first and second housing-carried formations, and with a central region of the first bridging element overlying a portion of the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 30. The assembly of claim 29 further comprising holes formed through the formations carried by the housing and by the handle that align when the handle is in the retracted position to enable a padlock component to be received therein to retain the handle in the retracted position. 31. The assembly of claim 29 further comprising a control member connected to the shaft on the rear side of the housing for being turned about the principal axis together with the handle and the shaft between a first orientation and a second orientation. 32. The assembly of claim 31 wherein the control member is configured to engage a first formation carried on the rear side of the housing when in the first orientation, and to engage a second formation carried on the rear side of the housing when in the second orientation, and wherein the engagement of the control member with the first and second formations defines a range of motion through which the handle, the shaft and the control member are permitted to turn when moving between the first and second orientations. 33. The assembly of claim 29 further comprising a lock bolt on the rear side of the housing movable along a path of travel between a non-operated position disengaging the control member and an operated position engaging the control member to retain the control member, the shaft and the handle in a selected one of the first and second orientations. 34. The assembly of claim 29 wherein the handle is pivotally connected to the shaft by a handle-to-shaft connection that causes the handle to pivot relative to the shaft as the handle moves between the extended and retracted positions. 35. The assembly of claim 34 wherein the handle-to-shaft connection includes a cam formation configured to cause movement of the shaft along the principal axis in response to pivotal movement of the handle between the extended and retracted positions. 36. The assembly of claim 35 additionally including a biasing element configured to bias the shaft and the handle rearwardly along the principal axis. 37. The assembly of claim 33 wherein the housing defines a rearwardly facing recess within which an element formed separately from the housing is inserted, wherein the element has a rearwardly extending projection configured to engage the lock bolt to assist in guiding movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 38. The assembly of claim 37 wherein the element is retained in the rearwardly facing recess by a portion of the housing located adjacent the recess that is crimped to overlie a rear portion of the element at a time after the element has been inserted into the rearwardly facing recess. 39. The assembly of claim 37 wherein the element has a forwardly projecting part that extends through a rear wall opening of the housing to define one of said formations carried by the housing and by the handle. 40. A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a) a housing having a front side and a rear side; b) a shaft extending through the housing and turnable about a forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis of the housing between a first orientation and a second orientation; c) a handle coupled on the front side of the housing to the shaft by a handle-to-shaft connection that enables the handle to be grasped and turned together with the shaft about the principal axis between the first and second orientations, wherein the handle-to-shaft connection also enables the handle, when in the first orientation, to pivot relative to the shaft about a pivot axis between an extended position projecting forwardly away from the housing and a retracted position situated nearer to the housing, wherein the pivot axis is defined by the handle-to-shaft connection to extend transversely with respect to the principal axis, and wherein the handle has a stem portion that extends away from the pivot axis to support an enlarged graspable portion of the handle at a location spaced from the pivot axis; d) a lock bolt on the rear side of the housing and movable relative to the housing along a path of travel between an operated position and a non-operated position; e) first and second housing-carried formations carried on the rear side of the housing and configured to extend rearwardly along opposite sides of the path of travel of the lock bolt to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel; and, f) a first elongate bridging element extending transversely between the first and second housing-carried formations, with opposed end regions of the first bridging element extending into aligned openings defined by the first and second housing-carried formations, and with a central region of the first bridging element overlying a portion of the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 41. The assembly of claim 40 wherein the first bridging element extends through a slot formed through the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 42. The assembly of claim 41 further comprising a second elongate bridging element that extends transversely between the first and second housing-carried formations to further assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 43. The assembly of claim 40 further including a rearwardly extending tab-like projection carried on the rear side of the housing that engages the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel. 44. The assembly of claim 40 further comprising a control member connected to the shaft on the rear side of the housing for being turned about the principal axis with the handle and the shaft, wherein the control member is configured to engage the first housing-carried formation when in the first orientation, and to engage the second housing-carried formation when in the second orientation, whereby the first and second housing-carried formations confine the turning of the handle, the shaft and the control member to a range of movement bounded at opposite ends by the first and second orientations. 45. A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a) a housing having a front side and a rear side, and defining a forwardly opening recess having a border surrounded by a mounting flange, with the recess having a relatively deep portion located just inside the mounting flange and extending along a majority of the length of said border, and a relatively shallow portion located just inside the mounting flange and extending along at least about one-fourth of the length of the border to define a concave surface facing toward the relatively deep portion of the recess; b) a shaft extending through the housing into the relatively deep portion of the recess and turnable about a forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis of the housing between a first orientation and a second orientation; c) a handle coupled on the front side of the housing to the shaft by a handle-to-shaft connection that enables the handle to be grasped and turned together with the shaft about the principal axis between the first and second orientations, wherein the handle-to-shaft connection also enables the handle, when in the first orientation, to pivot relative to the shaft about a pivot axis between an extended position projecting forwardly away from the housing and a retracted position nesting in the recess, wherein the pivot axis is defined by the handle-to-shaft connection to extend transversely with respect to the principal axis, and wherein the handle has a stem portion that extends away from the pivot axis to support an enlarged graspable portion of the handle at a location spaced from the pivot axis, with the graspable portion configured to overlie the shallow portion of the recess when the handle is in the retracted position, and defining a curved end surface of the handle configured to extend closely along the concavely curved surface when the handle is in the retracted position; d) a lock bolt on the rear side of the housing and movable relative to the housing along a path of travel between an operated position and a non-operated position; e) first and second housing-carried formations carried on the rear side of the housing and configured to extend rearwardly along opposite sides of the path of travel of the lock bolt to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel; and, f) a first elongate bridging element extending transversely between the first and second housing-carried formations, with opposed end regions of the first bridging element extending into aligned openings defined by the first and second housing-carried formations, and with a central region of the first bridging element overlying a portion of the lock bolt to assist the first and second housing-carried formations to guide movements of the lock bolt along the path of travel.