Strike for walk-in cold rooms

A lockable strike (10) is disclosed which includes an exterior strike assembly (16) and an interior release assembly (17). The exterior strike assembly has a housing (25) and a rod receiver (30) with a slotted rod holder (32). The interior release assembly includes a pinned coupling rod (35), a lever (46), and a space adjuster (47). The pinned coupling rod is received within rod holder. The space adjuster includes an adjustment base (56) and a hub body (57). The adjustment base has a floor (63) with three stepped camming surfaces (65). The nub body also a floor (75) with three stepped camming surfaces (77) which are configured to ride upon the adjustment base camming surfaces. To adjust for varying thicknesses of a wall, the space adjuster is expanded in size by rotating the nub body relative to the adjustment base so that the camming surfaces more these components apart.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to lock strikes, and specifically to a lock strike for walk-in cold rooms.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Walk-in cold rooms, such as walk-in coolers, freezers, or other refrigerated environments, are common in various industries, including supermarkets and grocery stores, commercial kitchens, and other food service facilities. They typically nave one or more access doors for entry and exit from the environment. Since these environments are often used to store valuable contents, such as expensive products and/or large quantities of products, it is typically desirable that the access door(s) can be locked to control and/or restrict access to such contents. For example, to control access, the availability of a keyed locking option may be desirable so that keys can be provided to personnel who are authorized to access the cold-room environment. As another example, to restrict access during certain times, the availability of an alternate or additional locking option may be desirable so that even authorized personnel cannot access the cold-room environment. There may also be other reasons to control and/or restrict access to walk-in cold rooms such as safety or maintenance.

A problem associated with the locking of a cold-room door is the possibility that a person may become locked within the cold-room. To resolve this potential problem lock strikes have been designed to be mounted to the wall by a fastener extending through the cold-room wall having a threaded rod threaded into the strike and a knob accessible to one on the inside of the cold-room. The unthreading of the fastener from the strike causes the strike to fall off the wall and be disengaged from the locking mechanism. A problem with this type of device is that if one overly tightens the fastener it may become difficult for the person trapped within the cold-room to turn and release it from the strike. Also, a person unfamiliar with the product may not realize that turning the internal knob releases the strike and allows egress from the cold-room. Lastly, this type of fastener does not allow for variations in the thickness of the cold-room wall.

Accordingly, it is seen that a need exists for a lockable strike for walk-in cold rooms that is strong yet allows easy release from the wall and adjustability for varying wall thicknesses. It is to the provision of such therefore that exemplary embodiments of the present invention are primarily directed.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A lockable strike for walk-in cola rooms having a locking handle with a moveable bolt comprises an exterior strike assembly having a housing configured to receive the bolt of a locking handle, and a rod receiver coupled to the housing. The lockable strike also has an interior strike assembly having a rod having a first end configured to rotatably mate with the rod receiver, a handle coupled to a second end of the rod, and a space adjuster coupled to the rod between the first and second ends. The space adjuster includes an adjustment base with at least one camming surface inclining in a rotary direction about an adjustment base central rod passageway. The space adjuster also includes a hub body with at least one camming surface inclining in a rotary direction about a hub body central rod passageway. The adjustment base camming surface and the hub body camming surface are configured to mate so as to expand and contract the size of the space adjuster in a longitudinal direction along the rod through rotary movement of the hub body relative to the adjustment base.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to the drawings, there is shown a lockable strike10for walk-in cold rooms according to the present invention. The lockable strike10is used in conjunction with a locking handle11attached to a door12of a walk-in cold room within a surrounding wall13to control and/or restrict opening of the door12and access the walk-in cold room. The lockable strike10includes an exterior strike assembly16and an interior release assembly17. The exterior strike assembly16is configured to be mounted to the exterior surface18of the cold room wall13adjacent the door. The interior release assembly17is designed to be mounted to the interior surface19of the cold room wall13adjacent the door. The cold room wall13has a strike rod through hole or passageway20therethrough. The exterior surface18of the wall has a detent hole21therein which extends approximately ½ inch into the wall. Similarly, the interior surface19of the wall has a detent hole22therein which extends approximately ½ inch into the wall.

The exterior strike assembly16includes a metal cover or housing25having a bolt opening26therein partially defined by a bolt opening top edge27. The housing25also has an interior mounting wall28with two screw mounting holes29therein. The exterior strike assembly16also includes a rod receiver30comprised of a plug31and a slotted rod holder32coupled to the interior mounting wall23through two mounting screws33extending through the rod holder32and into mounting screw holes29. The plug31exterior shape is configured to be keyed into slotted rod holder32to prevent rotational movement from occurring. The rod holder32has a central passage34configured to receive and releaseably hold a pinned coupling rod35, described in more detail hereinafter, therein while the plug31has a central recess or hole39therein coaxially aligned with the central passage34and configured to receive the end of a coupling rod35. The rod holder central passage34has a generally circular central portion41and two oppositely disposed pin portion42extending outwardly from the central portion41. The pin portions42extend to two laterally and rotationally offset pin seating slots44. Lastly, the rod receiver30includes a projection or detent43which is configured to be received within exterior wall detent hole21to prevent rotation or movement of the strike assembly16relative to the wall13. The rod receiver30may be made of a metal material.

The interior release assembly17includes the previously identified pinned coupling rod35, a handle or lever46coupled to the end of the pinned coupling rod35opposite from the strike assembly16, and a space adjuster47couple to the pinned coupling rod adjacent to and abutting the level46. The pinned coupling rod35is cylindrical with a through hole48having a metal guide pin49therein adjacent the rod end which is received within the strike assembly and extending outwardly from opposite sides of the rod. The coupling rod35may be made of a metal material such as brass, while the space adjuster47may be made of a plastic material such as polypropylene.

The lever46has a hub51and hand grip52extending from the hub51. The lever52is mounted to the end of the pinned coupling rod35and may be secured thereto to prevent relative rotation therebetween with a set screw or a pin53extending through the hub51and pinned coupling rod35.

The space adjuster47includes an adjustment base56which is positioned against the interior surface19of the wall13and a hub body57which is configured to receive the adjustment base56, i.e., the adjustment base is nested within the hub body. The adjustment base56has a cylindrical outer sidewall59, a concentrically positioned cylindrical inner sidewall60having an exterior boss61and an interior boss62, and a floor63extending between the outer sidewall59and the inner sidewall60. The inner sidewall60and bosses61and62defines a rod passageway64therethrough in which the pinned coupling rod35is moveably positioned for rotational and longitudinal movement. The floor63has three radially spaced, arcuate, internal, stepped camming ramps or surfaces65. The camming surfaces65incline in the counter-clockwise direction when viewed from a position facing the camming surfaces65. The camming surfaces65have a series of steps66, each step having a ledge67and a step top surface68. The exterior facing surface69of the adjustment base floor63includes a detent, projection or bump70which is configured to fit within the cold room wall interior surface detent hole21to prevent relative rotation therebetween.

The hub body57also has a cylindrical outer sidewall73, a concentrically positioned cylindrical inner sidewall74, and a floor75extending between the outer sidewall73and the inner sidewall75. The inner sidewall75defines a rod passageway76therethrough in which the pinned coupling rod35is moveably positioned for rotational and longitudinal movement. The floor75has three radially spaced, arcuate, internal, stepped camming ramps or surfaces77which are configured to ride upon and mesh with the adjustment base camming surfaces65. The camming surfaces77incline in the counter-clockwise direction when viewed from a position facing the camming surfaces77. The camming surfaces77have a series of steps78, each step having a ledge79and a step top surface80. An annular recess81is formed between the camming surfaces77and the outer sidewall73which is configured to receive am edge portion of the outer sidewall59of the adjustment base47nested within the hub body57. The exterior facing surface82of the hub body floor75has three depressions or drill points in the thickest portions of the floor. The hub body57may be fixedly coupled to the adjustment base through a mounting screw84once its final position is determined.

In use, exterior strike assembly16is positioned against the exterior surface18of the cold-room wall13with the rod holder32passing into the wall strike rod through hole20and the detent43extending into the exterior surface detent hole21. With the exterior strike assembly16held in place against the wall the interior strike assembly17is positioned against the wall interior surface19with the pinned coupling rod35extending through the strike rod through hole20and into the rod holder central passageway34and the adjustment base detent70extending into the wall interior surface dent hole22. The pinned coupling rod35is passed into the rod holder with guide pin43passing through the pin portions42of the central passageway34, which also is the “release” position of the handle in case of emergency. The lever is then rotated clockwise 90 degrees to a “locked” position wherein the guide pin49are no longer aligned with the central passageway pin portions42, but instead are now residing within the pin seating slots44. The seating of the pins within the slots44releaseably retains the rod35within the rod holder32through pressure therebetween.

To adjust for varying thicknesses of the wall13the space adjuster47is expanded in size to provide a tight fit against the wall interior surface19and the lever hub51for a solid mounting of the lockable strike10against the wall13. This task is accomplished by first rotating the lever back approximately 45 degrees (counter-clockwise) and then rotating the hub body57counter-clockwise with respect to the underlying adjustment base56. This movement of the hub body57causes the hub body camming surfaces77to ride and rise upon the underlying adjustment base camming surfaces65, thereby expanding the width or thickness of the space adjuster47as the adjustment base and hub body move apart or away from each other. The expansion of the space adjuster causes it to abut and be forced upon the wall interior surface19and lever hub51. This action also causes the rod to be forced toward the interior of the cold-room, thereby forcing the rod guide pins49against the rod holder and into a locked position. The steps78of the hub body camming surfaces77lock against the steps66of the adjustment base camming surfaces65to prevent the backing off or backwards rotation of the hub body57relative to the underlying adjustment base56. The lever is then rotated back (clockwise) to its “locked” position and a drill is utilized to form a complete screw mounting hole in one of the three pre-formed drill points and through the underlying adjustment base56. The mounting screw84is then threaded into the newly formed mounting holes of the hub body and adjustment base to prevent rotational movement therebetween.

Now, if a person is accidentally locked within the cold room that person may easily open the door by rotating the lever 90 degrees counter-clockwise, thereby returning the pinned coupling rod35to its “unlocked” position with the guide pin49positioned in alignment with the pin portions42of the central passageway34. The pinned coupling rod35may then be extracted completely from the exterior strike assembly16, thereby causing the exterior strike assembly to drop off the wall through little, if any, outward force upon the door even with the handle11in its locked position, i.e., with the handle locking bolt residing within the lockable strike bolt opening26and contacting the housing top edge27of the bolt opening. With the lockable strike10unmounted from the wall, the locking handle11can not prevent the door from opening and the person may exit the cold-room through the open door.

It should be understood that the camming surfaces65and77may also be designated a cam follower as one surface rides upon the camming surface. It is not material which camming surface is designed or designated to be the cam or cam follower, as the relative positions of the adjustment base and hub body may easily be switched with some modifications thereto, such as the position of the adjustment base detent70. Also, it should be understood that one of the camming surfaces65or77need not be a complete ramp or extended surface, as such would also work if one of the camming surfaces were simply a protrusion configured to ride upon and engage the step of an opposing camming surface.

It should be understood that other types of devices may be utilized to lock the relative position of the hub body to the adjustment base, such as detents, pawls, adhesives, set pins, or the like.

It should be understood that the space adjuster allows for a tighter fit of the lockable strike when mounted to the wall. Also, a person may release the lock strike with only a quarter turn of the lever, i.e., a 90 degree turn releases the lockable strike, rather than having to manually unscrew the handle through multiple rotations as described in the prior art. Lastly, the elongated handle enables one to leverage the rotation of the interior release assembly so that a weaker person may still release the lockage strike after it has been tightened by a stronger person.

It should be understood that the foregoing descriptions merely relate to exemplary, illustrative embodiments of the invention. Therefore, it should also be understood that various modifications may be made to exemplary embodiments described herein that are within the scope of the invention, which will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the disclosure herein. Furthermore, various elements of the described exemplary embodiments of the invention may be known in the art or recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art based on the disclosure herein.