Patent Publication Number: US-6905152-B1

Title: Slide bolt locking systems

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to locks, and more particularly to the type of lock including one part mounted on a door or a window and another part mounted in a member in the frame of a door or window opening, with a bolt in one member slidable into the other member to lock the door or window closed. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     Typical installations of French doors in a building include two swinging doors hinged at the door jambs to swing inwardly toward the interior of the building. Usually one door is kept closed and may be referred to as a “passive” door, while the other door is used most frequently and can be referred to as the “active” door. To keep the passive door closed, sliding bolt locks are used at the top and bottom of the swinging edge of the door. The bolt in the lock at the bottom of the door is receivable in a socket in the threshold of the doorway, and the bolt of the lock at the upper edge of the door is received in a socket in the header of the doorway. Several problems are often associated with such lock assemblies. Examples are difficulty in installation in a door, limited adaptability to different types of doors and door installations, applicability to only certain types of door and door installation, difficulty in operation, susceptibility to dirt, and susceptibility to tampering. The present invention is directed to addressing these and other lock characteristics. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of a doorway with double swinging doors and a door-mounted astragal in the center and incorporating slide bolt lock assemblies according to one embodiment of my invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a fragmentary sectional view taken at line  2 — 2  in  FIG. 1  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken at line  3 — 3  in  FIG. 1  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken at line  4 — 4  in  FIG. 3 , further enlarged and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 5  is an elevational view of the slide bolt lock assembly as in  FIG. 3  but larger than in  FIG. 3  and omitting the astragal. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view through the assembly taken at line  6 — 6  in  FIG. 5  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 7  is a view of the back of the lock assembly taken at line  7 — 7  in  FIG. 6  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 8  is a bottom end view of the lock assembly taken at line  8 — 8  in  FIG. 5  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the lock assembly taken at line  9 — 9  in  FIG. 7  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 10  is a view of a portion of  FIG. 6  but enlarged and showing the bolt slide operating lever (not sectioned) in the open position for sliding the slide up or down in the case. 
         FIG. 11  is a sectional view through the assembly taken at line  11 — 11  in  FIG. 10  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 12  is a sectional view through the assembly taken at line  12 — 12  in  FIG. 10  and viewed in the direction of the arrows and showing a sectional view of the lever lock slide retainer detent arrangement. 
         FIG. 13  is a sectional view through the assembly taken at line  13 — 13  in  FIG. 10  and viewed in the direction of the arrows and showing the lever post receiver boss in the lever lock slide. 
         FIG. 14  is an elevational view similar to  FIG. 3  but showing an embodiment of the invention including a round ended case in a milled slot in a wood astragal at the edge of a door (shown fragmentarily). 
         FIG. 15  is a schematic view of the lock assembly in the slot at the astragal section line  15 — 15  in  FIG. 14  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 16  is a view like  FIG. 1  but showing a surface mounting embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a section taken at line  17 — 17  in  FIG. 16  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 18  is a fragmentary view taken at line  18 — 18  in  FIG. 17  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 19  is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the lock assembly at line  17 — 17  in  FIG. 16 . 
         FIG. 20  is an enlarged front view similar to  FIG. 5  but showing the surface mounting embodiment. 
         FIG. 21  is an enlarged cross section taken at line  21 — 21  in  FIG. 20 . 
         FIG. 22  is a longitudinal section taken at line  22 — 22  in  FIG. 20  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 23  is a back view of the  FIG. 20  embodiment. 
         FIG. 24  is an elevational view of a doorway with a single swinging door and a surface-mounted slide bolt locking system according to a further embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 25  is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of  FIG. 24 . 
         FIG. 26  is an enlarged view showing a surface-mounted slide bolt with vertical axis. 
         FIG. 27  is a view of the edge of the door at line  27 — 27  in  FIG. 25  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
         FIG. 28  is a section at line  28 — 28  in  FIG. 25  and viewed in the direction of the arrows. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
     For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. 
     Referring now to the drawings in detail, a doorway  11  having header  12 , sill  13  and jambs  14  receives two doors  16  and  17  hinged at the jambs with hinges  18  such that they swing inward in the direction of arrows  19 . As will be seen, the invention is applicable to out-swinging doors as well as in-swinging doors. In the present example, with the in-swinging doors, the active door is  16  having the usual bottom seal strip  16 A and the passive door is  17  with a bottom seal strip  17 A and an astragal  21  fixed to the edge of the passive door. Slide bolts  22  and  23  are slidably mounted in cases near the bottom and top, respectively, of the astragal  21 . They are received in sockets  24  and  26  in the threshold  13  and header  12 , respectively. These bolts are slidable out of the receiver sockets to enable opening the passive door  17 . 
     In the  FIG. 1-13  embodiment of this invention, bolt  22  and bolt  23  are parts of two identical lock assemblies, one of them mounted at the bottom of the door  17  and the other at the top. Since they are identical, a description of one will suffice for both, and particular reference will be made to the lower lock assembly  27 . It includes a generally rectangular elongate case  31  which is received in a groove  32  in the astragal  21 . While astragals can be made of various materials and mounted in a variety of ways, in the illustrated example of  FIGS. 1–4 , it is an aluminum extrusion providing the swinging edge of a metal faced door. The case in which the bolt slides is made of two shells of engineering grade, injection molded plastic. A face or front shell  33  and back shell  34  are ultrasonically welded at plane  37  after the internal components have been assembled inside. Each shell of the case has integral pads on its sides which serve alignment functions during assembly and welding, and alignment and fitting functions when the assembly is driven in the direction of the arrow  41  ( FIGS. 3 and 9 ) into the groove  32  in the astragal  21 . 
     Referring in particular to  FIG. 9 , pads  42 ,  43  and  44  on both sides of the back shell  34  are integral with shell  34 . Pads  46  and  47  on both sides of shell  33  are integral with shell  33 . As best shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , these pads are sized and shaped to perfectly interfit upon assembly. Also, the ends of the edges which approach each other during assembly are curved. For example, the ends  46 A and  46 B of pad  46  are curved. Similarly, the ends  43 A and  43 B of the pads  43  on the back shell  34  are curved. Therefore, as these pads approach each other during assembly of the two shells, they line-up so that the two shells with their internal components are properly aligned when the shells are ultrasonically welded at line  37 . 
     As mentioned above, the pads provide not only alignment of the two shells during the welding of the assembly, but they also provide guiding surfaces for the lock assembly into channel  32  as the lock assembly is driven into the astragal. The backward facing edges such as  48 B of pad  42 ,  53  of pad  43 , and  51  of pad  44 , are aligned. While the assembly is driven into the channel  32  of the astragal, these edges can pilot on the edges  49  of the pad receiving grooves  50  ( FIG. 4 ) in the sides of cavity  32  in the astragal. The distance between edges  51  and  52  of pad  44 , and between edges  53  and  54  of pad  43  are the same, and are just slightly less than the distance between edges  49  and  56  of the grooves  50  in the sides of the astragal channel  32 . So they provide a slip fit in the channel. Therefore, the lock case can be driven with a sliding fit into the groove  32  until the slightly inclined leading edge  42 L of the pads  42  enter the groove  50 . The distance between edge  48 B and edge  48 A of the pads  42  is slightly greater than that between edges  51  and  52  of pad  44  and greater than the distance between edges  49  and  56  of the side grooves  50  in the astragal. This creates a light press fit and requires the driving of the case the rest of the way into the astragal if the lower end  33 L of the case is to be aligned with the lower end  21 L of the astragal to assure clearance of the assembly with the threshold when the door  17  is to be opened. The slide lock assembly in the top of the astragal and containing bolt  23 , is mounted in the upper end of the astragal in the same way except, of course, it is driven down into the channel  32  of the astragal. For convenience, the lock bolt assemblies may be installed in the astragal before or after mounting the astragal to the door, and usually before mounting the door into the door opening. 
     Now, referring to the various internal features of the lock assembly according to the illustrated embodiments of the present invention, and which make it particularly useful not only in the site of an astragal in a door assembly, but also in other sites, will be described.  FIG. 3  shows the bolt  22  mounted to a slide  61  which is slidably received in the case  31  and operable between an extended position shown in the solid lines in  FIGS. 3 ,  5 ,  6  and  10 , and a retracted position shown by the dashed lines  61 A in  FIGS. 3 and 5 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , when the portions  33  and  34  of the case are assembled together, they provide a slideway  62  receiving slide  61  and in which the slide is guided as it carries the bolt  22  between the retracted position shown by the dashed line  22 A in  FIG. 3  and the extended position shown by solid lines in  FIGS. 1 ,  3 ,  5  and  6 . 
     To operate the slide between the closed stop position and the extension limit position, there is a lever  66 . As is true of all of the parts of the lock assembly, except for the steel bolt  22 , the lever is made of injection molded engineering grade plastic. The lever has an arm  66 A and base  66 B molded in one piece. In  FIG. 10  the lever itself is shown in a full side view and has a groove  66 G in each side and which opens at the top  66 T of the lever. Each groove extends down from the top to the semi-circular end portion  66 E which is received on a post  61 P projecting inward from wall  61 W of the slide ( FIG. 11 ). The width of the groove is slightly larger than the diameter of the posts. This enables sliding the lever into place during assembly of the lock. But the transition from the groove to the circular end of the groove is constricted as at  66 J to a width less than the diameter of the posts. Therefore, during assembly of the lever to the slide (which is done from the back of the slide before the slide is installed in the case), as the lever is inserted into the slide and pushed into correct position with the groove ends  66 E receiving the posts, it will snap into place properly with an audible report and remain there with the lever captured on the posts. The base of the lever is also captured between the inside faces of wall  61 W of the slide and lower face of transverse wall  61 T of the slide and the upper edge  61 E of a transverse partition  61 N of the slide. As so confined, the lever is pivotable about an axis  67  which is the axis of the posts  61 P in the opposite sidewalls  61 W of the slide. The lever is pivotable between the closed position or condition shown in  FIGS. 3–9 , to the open position shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . 
     To prevent the bolt from sliding in or out except when desired, the lever and case portion have a slide locking feature. As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the back half  34  of the case has two slots, upper slot  71  and lower slot  72 . As best shown in  FIG. 6 , each of these slots has a cam ramp such as  71 R for slot  71  and  72 R for slot  72 . As best shown in  FIG. 6 , cam portion  66 C of lever base  66  projects into the lower slot  72 . When in this position, a slide lock abutment  66 L on the lever base abuttingly engages the upper edge  72 U of slot  72  and prevents movement of the slide in the upward direction. Therefore, it will keep the bolt  22  in the socket  24  in the threshold of door  17 . 
     When it is desired to pull the bolt upward and out of the socket  24  in the threshold, the distal end  66 D of the lever arm  66 A is pulled outward in the direction of the arrow  73  ( FIG. 6 ) whereupon it pivots about axis  67  relative to the slide to an open position such as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . In that position, an arm stop  61 S ( FIGS. 6 and 10 ) on the slide is abutted by a lever stop wall  66 S on the lever. As the lever arm is pivoted outward, the cam portion  66 C and the stop ledge  66 L on it, are pivoted out of the detent slot  72  of the case. Then the lever can be used to pull the slide  61  upward and the bolt  22  therewith, removing it from the socket  24  in the threshold. 
     As might be expected, the bolt may be made of metal or plastic or any other sufficiently strong material and secured to the slide in various ways. In the form disclosed herein, the lower end portion of the bolt is received in and guided by the hole  76  in the lower end of the case. The back wall  34 B ( FIG. 6 ) of the case shell  34  has a forwardly projecting rib extending from the hole  76  upward to an upper end  34 E. This rib provides support and guidance for that portion of the bolt behind the center line  60 . The portion of the bolt in front of the center line is confined by ribs  61 U and  61 L projecting inwardly from the sidewalls and top wall of the slide into the circumferential grooves  22 U and  22 L of the bolt. The upper end of the bolt engages an abutment  61 B of the slide. 
     It was mentioned above that, when the bolt is extended, retraction of it is prevented by the cam portion  66 C of the lever base being received in the slot  72  of the case. Opening of the lever to lift the slide makes retraction of the bolt possible. But prevention of inadvertent extension of the bolt while a door is open, is important. For that purpose, the lever is folded back down to the closed position whereupon cam portion  66 C of the lever base is received in slot  71  of the case back and prevents the slide from moving downward. 
     When it is time to close and lock the door, the distal end  66 D of the lever arm is pulled outward in the direction of arrow  73 . When the lever arm is out as shown in  FIG. 10 , it unlocks the slide. But sometimes the slide might not just slide downward by gravity force, particularly if the user has not fully closed the door and the bolt is not correctly aligned with the socket, or if there is some slight amount of dirt or contamination in the socket, making it difficult for the bolt to slide downward. So pushing downward on the lever arm might only just close it again without pushing the slide downward. 
     To enable use of the lever to push the slide down, another feature is incorporated according to my invention. This is a lever lock feature. It includes a lever lock slide  81  ( FIGS. 6 ,  10 ) received in the case and having a base formed in a downwardly-opening box frame form, the top and bottom transverse walls of the frame being shown at  81 U and  81 L, respectively. This rectangular base in the form of a frame slides on the inside surface of the back  34  of the case. It has a generally elliptical boss projecting forward, the boss being shown at  81 B ( FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  10  and  13 ). It projects through a slot  61 H in the slide  61 . At the lower end of the lever lock, there is a detent lug  81 P which is normally received in a detent socket  61 K of the slide. Therefore, this detent normally keeps the boss  81 B near the lower end of the slot  61  in the slide. But when the lever is open as shown in  FIG. 10 , the lever lock slide  81  can be moved upward as the cam portion  66 C of the lever base has been moved up to the point where the ledge  66 L is out of the way of the upper end  81 E of the lever lock slide. When this lever lock slide is up in the position shown in  FIG. 10 , the detent lug  81 P has moved into the upper detent socket  61 R to retain the slide  81  in position where the upper end  81 E is engaged with the cylindrical portion of the lever and the front face of the slide at that location is abuttingly engaged by the ledge  66 L of the cam portion of the lever base. In this condition, the lever cannot now be rotated around the axis  67 . Therefore, pushing arm  66 A downward, will push the slide downward. Then, to release the lever for closure after the bolt is in the socket  24  of the threshold, it is only necessary to then push the lever lock  81  downward, returning the detent lug  81 P into the detent socket  61 K. This moves the upper end  81 E of the lever lock slide out of the way of the ledge  66 L of the lever base, whereupon the lever can be returned downward to the closed condition. 
     To secure the lever in closed position, a detent post  66 P is provided on the back side of the lever near the distal end and projects into a detent receiver hole  81 H in the boss  81 B of the lever lock slide. The lever lock slide has a cylindrical rib in hole  81 H receiving the head  66 H of the post  66 P whereby the lever can be snapped closed. This detent arrangement also enables pulling the lever open in the direction of the arrow  73  without undue effort, as the resiliency of the plastic head on the post and the wall of the receiver hole  81 H enables this to happen. At the same time, however, upon closure of the lever, it will snap closed. Similarly, because the portion  81 S of the lever lock slide  81  is an arm  81 A cantilever mounted to slide  81  and with a lug  81 P at the distal end, there is a spring action with an audible snap sound as the lever lock is moved up or down into one or the other of the two detent sockets  61 K and  61 R in the slide  61 . Similarly, when the lever is closed from the position shown in  FIG. 10  to that in  FIG. 5 , as the head  66 H of post  66 P of the lever arm  66 A enters the detent rib  81 G of the receiver hole  81 H, there is an audible snap, providing not only the tactile response, but also an audible click response to closure and secure closure of the lever with the lever lock  81 . 
     It can be recognized from the foregoing, that in order to close the active door  16  with the passive door  17 , the lever must be closed. While it may be noted from the above description that the lever  66  can be closed in either the unlocked or locked position of the slide, a significant advantage is derived from this arrangement in the bolt locked position. This is due to the fact that, when the active door is closed, the gap between the facing edges of the active door and the passive door is so small as to prevent opening of the lever. In this condition, the projection of the lever base ledge  66 L into the slot  72  prevents movement of the slide, and thereby the bolt, upward at all. While it is possible for a burglar of some skill, to compromise the conventional slide bolt of typical prior art construction found in such doors, it is not possible for that to be done with the slide bolt installation according to this embodiment of the present invention whenever the active door is closed, blocking the opening of the lever arm  66 . 
     Having described the lock assembly installation according to one embodiment of the present invention and the feature of the invention incorporating it into an astragal, further inventive adaptation of the lock assembly to other sites will be described now. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 14 and 15 , a lock assembly incorporating features described above is shown.  FIG. 14  is a view looking at a wood astragal  91  affixed on the edge of a passive door  92  made of wood. A cavity has been milled in the astragal and receives the lock assembly  93 . The case  94  is similar to case  31  of the previously described embodiment, except for some external features, most notably the rounded upper and lower ends and the fact that holes are provided in the bottom and top for screws or nails at  95  to secure the case in the astragal. In this instance, the bolt  22  is shown in the extended position. Internal operating components are the same as in the previously described embodiment. The front of the case is flush with the face of the astragal. Of course, the embodiment of  FIGS. 14 and 15  can be used directly in the edge of a door without an astragal. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 16–28 , a surface mounted embodiment of the invention is disclosed and which enables a variety of applications.  FIGS. 16 and 17  are similar to  FIGS. 1 and 2  but show a lock assembly mounting to the face of a passive door without an astragal, although of course it can be used with doors having an astragal. In this surface mounted lock assembly, the internal components of the lock assembly are essentially the same as for the previously described embodiments. But the exterior of the case is somewhat different, comprising a main body  33 A and bottom cover plate  34 A. More specifically, case  101  has mounting flanges  102  on both sides of the main body  33 A, each flange having two holes  103  receiving screws  104  screwed into the door  100 . Bracing ribs  106  are provided at each of the screw holes. This case can be mounted on the face of a door, typically at the top and bottom as shown in  FIG. 16 . The bolt receiver sockets may be in the header and threshold, although, as shown in  FIG. 18 , not directly under the door, in contrast to the previously described embodiments. Alternatively, bolt receiver brackets such as  109  in  FIG. 24  can be surface mounted to the face of a sill plate, foot plate, door frame or header as in  FIGS. 24–28 , if more convenient for the particular installation site. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 24 and 25 , a door  111  is received in an opening in a wall  113 . It is mounted to the door frame  112  by hinges  114 . Two surface-mounted lock assemblies are provided adjacent the swinging edge of the door at  101 . Alternately or additionally, a surface mounted lock assembly can be mounted near the top of the door as shown in  FIG. 26 . In any event, the bolts are mounted for cooperation with a bolt receiver bracket  109  mounted to a surface on the door frame  112  which is co-planar with the surface of the door  111 . In some instances, the surface of the door and the basic wall at the door frame and header might not be co-planar. In those instances, shims may be provided under the bolt assembly case or under the bracket, as the situation may require, for proper alignment of the bolt axis with the receiver axis  109 A. 
     All of the embodiments of the invention can be used with windows as well as doors. Use with hinged or sliding windows and with sliding doors can be accomplished too. Where the bolt assembly is mounted with the bolt axis horizontal, as in the example of  FIGS. 24 and 25 , particularly if smaller doors such as Dutch door, or pantry doors, or cabinet doors are used, it might not be necessary to provide the lever lock feature to force the lever to stay open for sliding the bolt into locking position, so the lever lock slide may be omitted, if desired. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected by the following claims. In such claims, the term “partition” should be understood to include and not is not limited to a door or window or gate, and capable of partially or fully closing an opening, and the lock case could be on a movable or stationary component at a site.