Abstract:
A storage cabinet having doors including latching mechanisms for securing the doors in a locked position for the safe storage of weapons and related equipment and accessories. A lock plate assembly is used for added security thereof and includes a plate for receiving the latches before the latches are locked together through the shackle of a padlock.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    None. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    I. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present disclosure relates generally to storage cabinets, and more particularly to the storage of weapons such as rifles, pistols and other firearms, as well as related equipment and accessories, and more specifically to a lock plate assembly used for added security thereof. 
         [0004]    II. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    In certain military, police and other environments, there is a need to safely and securely store firearms and related equipment in a manner such that the firearms and related equipment are quickly and easily accessible when necessary. There is a further need to ensure that firearm storage occupies a minimal amount of space, especially when open, since it is frequently the case that personnel must quickly gain access to the firearms and related equipment. 
         [0006]    Local, state and federal agencies typically purchase, utilize and maintain supplies, equipment, furniture and other staples in great numbers. This provides consistency between agencies, allows the agencies to negotiate better purchase prices and further provides ease in maintenance thereof. Accordingly, and in regard to weapon storage cabinets, many agencies use a cabinet with mesh bi-fold doors such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,524,002, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Various latching mechanism may be employed within such cabinets, but most incorporate latches that are secured with a padlock and the like. 
         [0007]    It is well known that these current weapon storage cabinets, with their latch and padlock combination, provide good security for the items stored therein. However, there still exists a need to provide added security to such designs. 
         [0008]    Accordingly, it is a general object of this disclosure to provide a cost effective and easy to use additional security measure to existing weapons storage cabinets. 
         [0009]    It is a more specific object of the present disclosure to provide a lock plate assembly for existing weapons storage cabinets. 
         [0010]    These and other objects, features and advantages of this disclosure will be clearly understood through a consideration of the following detailed description. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a lock plate assembly for use with a storage cabinet having doors with free ends that close adjacent one another, each door having a latch slidable in a horizontal linear direction between a latched position towards a midline and an unlatched position away from the midline, the lock plate having an aperture for receiving the latches. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The present disclosure will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the views and in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  a frontal perspective view of one example of a cabinet capable of using the lock plate assembly according to the principles of an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the cabinet of  FIG. 1  with the attached lock plate assembly according to the principles of an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is an inside perspective of the door and latch mechanism of  FIG. 1  with the latch in the latched position. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of the latch mechanism of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is an inside perspective of the door and latch mechanism of  FIG. 1  with the latch in the unlatched position. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of the latch mechanism of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view of the latch of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged frontal view of the lock plate assembly according to the principles of an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged perspective view of  FIG. 7  with the lock plate subassembly of  FIG. 8  secured to the cabinet. 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged perspective view of  FIG. 7  with the lock plate subassembly secured to the cabinet and the plate over the latch before padlock locking. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0023]    One or more embodiments of the subject disclosure will now be described with the aid of numerous drawings. Turning first to  FIG. 1 , the cabinet  10  includes a top  12 , bottom  14 , left side  16 , right side  18 , back  20  and front  22 . The front includes a pair of bi-fold doors ( 24 ,  26 ) and their respective latch handles ( 28 ,  30 ) and latches ( 32 ,  34 ).  FIG. 2  illustrates the cabinet  10  with the subject lock plate assembly  36  of the present disclosure and a padlock  38 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 3  is an inside perspective view of the right side bi-fold door  26  of  FIG. 1  shown in an open position away from the cabinet doorframe  40 . Although away from the doorframe  40 , the latch assembly guide  42  is shown in the locked position whereby upper rod tip  44  and lower rod tip  46  are extended past the top  48  and the bottom  50  of the door  26 , respectively. As such and when closed against the doorframe  40 , the rods engage the doorframe  40  and lock the doors closed.  FIG. 4  illustrates an enlarged view of the latch assembly guide  42  of  FIG. 3 . In particular, the assembly guide  42  includes a housing  52  and slide  54 . When the latch  34  is in the shown closed position, the guide holds the upper and lower linkages ( 56 ,  58 ) in an upright position, which in turn keeps the upper and lower rods ( 60 ,  62 ) in an extended and locked position. A padlock  38  through the hole  64  in the latch  34  (and latch  32 ) keeps the doors in this locked position, as will be described. 
         [0025]      FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate the same elements as described in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , but are in the open position rather than the closed position. Specifically, when the latch is in the open position, the guide  42  holds the upper and lower linkages ( 56 ,  58 ) in an angled position, which in turn moves the upper and lower rods ( 60 ,  62 ) into the door and their respective tips do not protrude the top  48  or bottom  50  thereof. 
         [0026]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view of the front latches of the double bi-fold doors ( 24 ,  26 ) in a closed and locked position. The doors comprise of a mesh structure, such as with opening  66 , allowing substantial ventilation and visibility of an inside of the cabinet. While the latches themselves ( 32 ,  34 ) provide a means to linearly  68  slide away from the midline  70  of the cabinet in a horizontal direction, and thereby unlock and open the doors, additional protrusions in the form of handles ( 28 ,  30 ) are part of their respective slides ( 72 ,  74 ) and allow additional means to linearly  68  slide open the doors. Latches ( 32 ,  34 ) each have a hole,  76  and  64  respectively, to receive the shackle of a padlock  38  (as shown on  FIG. 2 ) when the left latch  32  and the right latch  34  are slid in the latched position toward the midline  70 . 
         [0027]    The lock plate assembly  36  according to the principles of an embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 8 . The assembly  36  includes a plate  78  with a latch aperture  80 . The assembly also optionally includes a means to couple the plate to the cabinet door. In particular, the present embodiment includes a double loop chain  82  with each end thereof having spring snaps  84 . One spring snap secures the plate  78  via a hole  86  therein, while the other spring snap is secured to the cabinet door  24  via openings  66 , see  FIG. 9 . It will be appreciated that the plate can be coupled to the cabinet by any appropriate lanyard and associated connectors. 
         [0028]    In use, and referring to  FIG. 10 , when the latches are slid towards the midline  70  and the doors are accordingly in the locked position, the aperture  80  of the plate  78  slides over both the left latch  32  and the right latch  34 . The shackle  88  of the padlock  38  is received by the latch holes and secures the latches, and accordingly the doors, in the locked position. The plate  78  provides added security by both aiding in securing the latches toward the midline as well as any potential manipulation of the door while the padlock is engaged and locked. 
         [0029]    The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom. Accordingly, while one or more particular embodiments of the disclosure have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention if its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure.