Abstract:
A lock set installation apparatus has a pair of hole saw guides which locate a hole to receive door operating members of a lock set. Each hole saw guide has at least one rail member which oppose one another. A lock bolt hole mechanism is movable and coupled with the rails. The lock bolt hole mechanism centers the lock bolt hole onto the door. A locking mechanism locks the hole saw guides with respect to one another to enable cutting of the door.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to lock set installation and, more particularly, to an apparatus or jig to provide proper alignment to bore holes in a door to install a lock set assembly. 
   Installation jigs to install lock sets are known in the art. Examples of such jigs are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,465 to Monge and U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,299 to Cerf. The Monge patent illustrates an installation jig which includes a pair of jaws and a latch guide coupled together by an adjusting mechanism. The latch guide is somewhat complicated, however, it appears to work satisfactory for its intended purpose. The patent to Cerf illustrates a lock installation tool which only provides for a single back set. While these patents provide satisfactory apparatus, designers are always striving to improve the art. 
   The present invention provides the art with a simple lock set installation jig which is easily adjustable to fit onto a door. The jig enables receipt of both standard types of lock sets. The invention has a drive mechanism to tighten the apparatus onto a door. Also, the apparatus includes a lock mechanism to lock the apparatus in position on the door after it has been tightened onto the door. 
   According to a first aspect of the invention, a lock set installation apparatus comprises a pair of hole saw receiving members to locate door operating members of a lock set on a door. At least one of the pair of hole saw receiving members includes a hole saw receiving aperture and each includes at least one rail member. The rail members of the pair of hole saw receiving members oppose one another. A bolt lock hole mechanism is coupled with the opposing rail members. The opposing rail member enables the pair of hole saw members to move towards and away from one another. The bolt lock hole mechanism includes an aperture to position a drill to form a hole for a lock bolt assembly. A locking mechanism locks the pair of members in position with respect to one another to enable boring of a door. The locking mechanism is coupled with at least one of the rail members. Each of the rail members includes a plurality of gear teeth. The bolt lock mechanism has a ring gear with a plurality of gear teeth which mesh with the gear teeth of the rails. The locking mechanism includes a ring gear with a plurality of ratchet teeth on one of the rails. A ratchet arm, having ratchet teeth, is coupled with the rail ratchet teeth to lock the members with respect to one another. Also, a slide latch secures the ratchet arm in position on the rail to enhance the lock. Ordinarily, the members include a pair of rails. 
   In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, a door lock set installation kit comprises a hole saw, a drill bit and a jig. The jig is comprised of a pair of hole saw receiving members to locate the door operating members of a lock set on a door. At least one of the pair of hole saw receiving members includes a hole saw receiving aperture and each includes at least one rail member. The rail members of the pair of hole saw receiving members oppose one another. A bolt lock hole mechanism is coupled with the opposing rail members. The opposing rail members enable the pair of hole saw receiving members to move towards and away from one another. The bolt lock hole mechanism includes an aperture to position a drill to form a hole for a lock bolt assembly. A locking mechanism locks the pair of hole saw receiving members in position with respect to one another to enable boring of a door. The locking mechanism is coupled with at least one of the rail members. Each of the rail members includes a plurality of gear teeth. The bolt lock hole mechanism has a ring gear with a plurality of gear teeth which mesh with the gear teeth of the rails. The locking mechanism has a plurality of ratchet teeth on one of the rails. A ratchet arm, with ratchet teeth, is coupled with the rail ratchet teeth to lock the members with respect to one another. Also, a slide latch member secures the ratchet arm in position on the rail to enhance the lock. Ordinarily, the hole saw receiving members include a pair of rails. 
   According to a third aspect Of the invention, a method for installing a lock set comprises positioning the jig on the door. The jig is tightened onto the door. A hole saw is positioned in the hole saw receiving member aperture. The door is cut by the hole saw. A drill bit is positioned into the lock bolt hole mechanism. A hole is bored into the door by the drill bit. A lock set is assembled onto the door utilizing the drilled holes. Further, the lock bolt hole mechanism is adjusted to clamp the members onto the doors. Once the adjustment is proper, the rails and, in turn, the hole saw receiving members are locked with respect to one another. 
   From the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings and subjoined claims, other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a lock set installation apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a cross section view of  FIG. 1  along line  2 — 2  thereof. 
       FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the installation apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a rear perspective view of the installation device of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a cross section view of  FIG. 3  along line  5 — 5  thereof with the lock bolt hole mechanism in phantom. 
       FIG. 6  is a cross section view of  FIG. 3  along line  6 — 6  thereof. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the installation apparatus on a door ready for use. 
       FIG. 8  is a front perspective view of the apparatus on the door. 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the door with its holes with a lock set in phantom. 
       FIG. 10  is a second embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Turning to the Figures, particularly  FIG. 1 , a lock set installation apparatus is illustrated and designated with the reference numeral  20 . The installation apparatus  20  includes a pair of hole saw guides  22  and  24 . The pair of hole saw guides  22  and  24  are coupled with one another. A lock bolt hole mechanism  26  is coupled with the hole saw guides to enhance movement of the hole saw guide members  22  and  24  towards and away from one another. Also, a locking mechanism  28  is coupled with the hole saw guides  22  and  24  to lock the guides in position on a door. 
   The hole saw guide members  22  and  24  are similar to one another being mirror images of each other. Both include an annulus  32  and  34  to receive a hole saw. However, only one annulus is needed and the other could be a blank. The annulus  32  and  34  has an overall oblong elliptical design providing guide surfaces  33 ,  35  for both of the standard lock back sets. Also, a guide ring  36  can be positioned into the annulus to provide a small guide hole for the hole saw. The guide rings  36  include projections  38  which fit into recesses  40  on the annulus  32  and  34 . Beams  42  and  44  project from annuli  32  and  34 , respectively. The beams  42  and  44  include pressure pads  43 ,  45 . The pressure pads  43 ,  45  include an elastomeric tab  47  which enhances retention of the apparatus  20  on a door. The annuli  32  and  34  also include elastomeric tabs  47  to enhance retention. The beams include rails  46  and  48  and  50  and  52 . 
   The rails  46  through  52  have an overall U-shape in cross-section with rails  46  and  52  having a smaller web to fit into the U of rails  48  and  50 , respectively, as seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . This enables the hole saw guides  22 ,  24  to move with respect to one another. The rails  46  and  52  are substantially identical. The rails  46  and  52  include an outer surface having a plurality of unidirectional ratchet teeth  54 . The inner surface of the rails  46  and  52  include teeth  56  which act as a rack as will be described herein. Also, the rails  46  and  52  include a stop  58  which is positioned inside of the rails  48  and  50 . The stops  58  prohibit further extension of the hole saw guide members  22  and  24  with respect to one another. The stops  58  also prohibit the hole saw guides  24  from coming apart from one another. 
   Rail  48  has a recess  49  with a flange  51  to receive the stop  58  on rail  52 . The stop  58  slides on the flange until it contacts the end  53  of the recess  49  where movement is stopped. This happens on both sides of the flange  51  to prohibit further movement in both directions. Also, the rails  48  and  50  contact the frame  42  and  44  to prohibit further movement of the hole saw guides  22  and  24  toward one another as seen in  FIG. 3 . 
   The rail  50  includes a recess  49  and flange  51  like that previously described. Also, the rail  50  includes a ratchet arm  60  which includes ratchet teeth  62 . Ratchet teeth  62  contact ratchet teeth  54  to lock the hole saw guides  22  and  24  in position with respect to one another, see  FIG. 6 . A sliding latch  64  is positioned on rails  66  and  68  on rail  50 . The sliding latch  64  forces the ratchet arm  60  downward, which, in turn, meshes teeth  54  and  62  together. The sliding latch  64  includes a flange  66  to seat in the ratchet arm recess  70  to secure and lock the rails together. 
   The rails  46 ,  48 ,  50  and  52  include tooth cut outs  80 ,  82 ,  84  and  86  on a leg of the U. This is best illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The cutouts  80  through  86  are positioned with respect to one another to receive the lock bolt hole mechanism  26 . The lock bolt hole mechanism  26  is centered with respect to the hole saw guides  22  and  24 , when the lock bolt hole mechanism  26  is positioned onto the rails  46  through  52 . The lock bolt mechanism  26  has a cylindrical annulus  88  with gear teeth  90  positioned on its outer surface forming a gear ring  92 . The gear ring  92  fits into the gear teeth  56  so that as the rails  46 – 56  are moved with respect to one another, the bolt hole member  26  free floatingly rotates in the rails  46 – 52  acting as a pinion. There is a bore  94  in the cylindrical annulus  88  to enable a drill bit to pass through the bolt lock hole mechanism  26  to drill the door for a lock bolt. 
   Turning to  FIGS. 7 through 9 , the apparatus is illustrated on a door  110 . First, the apparatus  20  is opened so that the gap between the hole saw guide members  22  and  24  is large enough to receive the door  110 . Once the door  110  is positioned between the gap, the hole saw guide members  22  and  24  are squeezed to move towards one another. As the hole saw guides  22  and  24  are squeezed together, the tabs  47  contact the door  110 . The tabs  47  temporarily secure the hole saw guides  22 ,  24  on the door  110 . The latch  64  is slid on top of the ratchet arm  60  to lock the hole saw guides  22 ,  24  with respect to one another. As the latch  64  is slid, its flange  68  comes in contact with the ratchet arm recess  70  which, in turn, forces the ratchet arm  60  downward which engages the ratchet arm teeth  66  with the teeth  54  of the rail  46 . 
   After the apparatus  20  is secured on the door, the hole saw  120  is inserted into an aperture in either of the annulus  32 ,  34  and a hole  122  is drilled into the door  110 . The hole can be drilled from one side or both sides depending on the workman&#39;s desires or product configuration. After the hole  122 , via the hole saw, is drilled into the door  110 , a drill bit  130  is positioned into the bore  94  in the bolt lock hole mechanism  26 . Since the bolt lock hole mechanism  26  is already centered on the door  110 , no adjustment is necessary. The drill bit  130  bores into the door  110  forming a bore  132  in the door which intersects the hole  122  which was made by the hole saw. Once these holes  122 ,  132  are completed, the bolt mechanism  134 , as well as the operator mechanisms  136 , are inserted through the holes  122 ,  132  to complete the assembly of the lock set  140  onto the door. 
   Turning to  FIG. 10 , an additional embodiment is illustrated. In  FIG. 10 , the design is substantially the same as that previously disclosed. However, rails  48 ′ and  50 ′ may both include a ratchet arm  60  as described above. The ratchet arms  60  may include latch members (not shown) to secure them in place. 
   Also, the bolt lock hole mechanism  26 ′ or pinion may be modified to include a longer annulus  88 ′ which acts as a knob which can be rotated to move the hole saw guides  22 ,  24  towards and way from one another. 
   The remainder of the apparatus is the same as that previously discussed. 
   In light of the above detailed description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations, modifications or alteration may occur without deviating from the scope and spirit of the present invention.