Patent Publication Number: US-8978303-B1

Title: Window sash tilt latch and method

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention herein pertains to window latches and particularly pertains to an easy to assemble tilt latch as used with double hung or other conventional windows. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION 
     In recent years double hung windows/sashes with tilting lower sashes have become increasingly used due to consumer demands. Such windows are generally formed from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) due to their lightweight, low cost and ease in use and assembly. Various types of tilt latches have become available over the years and manufacturers provide tilt latches which can be assembled and pre-installed in window sashes. Many standard tilt latches require careful machining and routing of the sashes before installation can be completed. Other conventional tilt latches are complex in structure and are difficult to assemble, install and replace. 
     Thus, in view of the problems and disadvantages associated with conventional tilt latches, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a tilt latch which can be easily installed or replaced as needed. 
     It is another objective of the present invention to provide a tilt latch which can be used by a consumer without difficulty. 
     It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a tilt latch which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and sell, yet is durable in use. 
     It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a tilt latch having only a small number of parts for ease in assembly and installation. 
     It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a tilt latch having a resilient member for biasing the bolt. 
     It is still a further objective of the present invention to provide a tilt latch having a U-shape housing. 
     Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by providing a window sash tilt latch having a slide, housing and bolt which are assembled and installed within a precut opening of a window sash rail. The bolt includes a cradle for containing a resilient member such as a coil spring which is urged against the inside rear of the U-shaped wall of the housing. The slide includes a depending driver which passes through an opening in the housing and tightly engages an aperture in a bolt therebelow. Once installed in the sash the user, by moving the finger tab rearwardly from the edge of the sash will cause the slide and bolt to retract allowing the window to be opened or disengaged from the window frame for tilting purposes. Clips along the housing engage the sash to hold the assembled tilt latch in place. A coil spring is utilized to provide and urge the bolt in a normal extended posture. 
     In the method of operation, the tilt latch is assembled and positioned in a precut opening along the top of a conventional bottom window sash. Thereafter, in use a finger tab on the slide drives the slide and driver rearwardly or away from the window frame causing the bolt to retract and allow the window sash to then tilt or rotate from the window frame. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a fragmented partial view of a precut window sash having an opening for the bolt along the side edge thereof and an opening in the top of the sash rail to allow the latch housing to pass through; 
         FIG. 2  demonstrates an exploded view of the tilt latch of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  pictures a top plan view of the tilt latch removed from the window sash rail with the bolt extended; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a side elevational view of the fragmented sash with the tilt latch installed in the sash rail and the bolt in an extended position; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a side elevational view of the installed tilt latch as in  FIG. 4  but with the bolt retracted; 
         FIG. 6  features a front elevational view of the edge of the window sash in cut-away fashion with the tilt latch installed; and 
         FIG. 7  pictures a side elevational view of the latch housing as cut along lines  7 - 7  as seen in  FIG. 3  with the slide and bolt removed for clarity. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND OPERATION OF THE INVENTION 
     For a better understanding of the invention and its operation, turning now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates a fragmented perspective view of a corner of typical bottom window sash  40  as used in a double hung window with preferred tilt latch  10  inserted therein. Prior to assembly, window sash  40  has been cut or grooved to including opening  41  to allow installation of tilt latch  10  as also illustrated in  FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6 . Opening  41  as shown in dotted line fashion in  FIG. 1  includes end edge  44  as also seen in  FIG. 4  proximate front member  43  of sash  40 . In  FIG. 2  tilt latch  10  is shown in exploded fashion demonstrating slide  11 , housing  12  and bolt  13 . Resilient member  16  of bolt  13  fits within cradle  21  and is urged against the inside of rear  28  of U-shaped wall  27  of housing  12 . Preferably resilient member  16  comprises a coil spring. 
     Slide  11  as seen in  FIG. 2  includes finger tab  15  on top thereof and driver  14  opposingly positioned on the bottom and integrally formed therewith. Slide  11  is U-shaped and also includes inset  36  ( FIG. 3 ) and opposing vertical edges  26 ,  26 ′ ( FIG. 6 ). Inset  36  is formed therein to receive top  29  of housing  12  as described in more detail below. 
     Housing  12  includes planar top  29  having intermittent side edges  30 ,  30 ′ that each define notches  34 ,  34 ′ ( FIG. 2 ) and includes top opening  18  and rectangular aperture  25  formed therein. Top  29  is integrally formed with U-shaped wall  27  therebelow which is sized to receive and slideably contain bolt  13  therein. Top  29  extends beyond U-shaped wall  27  forming ledge  33  and further includes mounting tab  24  on the bottom of ledge  33  to assist in positioning and maintaining housing  12  within window sash  40  ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ). U-shaped wall  27  includes front opening  31  in opposing position to arcuate shaped rear  28  and further includes respectively opposingly positioned front and rear clips  22 ,  22 ′,  23 ,  23 ′ ( 22 ′,  23 ′ see  FIG. 7 ) along the sides thereof for snap fitting within window sash opening  41  ( FIGS. 1 and 6 ). Housing top opening  18  includes a larger, major portion  19  and a smaller, minor portion  19 ′ for slideably receiving driver  14  therein. As shown in  FIG. 6  clips  22 ,  22 ′,  23 ,  23 ′ have an arcuate shape extending outwardly from housing  12  for engaging the edges of sash opening  41  ( FIG. 1 ) to prevent removal. Clips  22 ,  22 ′,  23 ,  23 ′ are positioned on U-shaped wall  27  proximate the discontinuous portions of edges  30 ,  30 ′ as seen in  FIG. 2 . As seen in  FIGS. 2 and 7  one side of U-shaped wall  27  extends outwardly proximate the end of housing  12  and includes gap  35  formed therein below top  29  which engages end edge  44  of sash top opening  41  ( FIG. 1 ) to stabilize housing  12  in place. Shelves  37 ,  37 ′ ( FIG. 7 ) are formed along each side of U-shaped wall  27  between respectively clips  22 ,  23  and clips  22 ′,  23 ′ for maintaining and guiding bolt  13  in a horizontal posture within housing  12  during assembly and operation. Spring ledge  32  is formed along the inside of rear  28  of U-shaped wall  27  to support resilient member  16 . 
     Bolt  13  includes nose  17 , bolt aperture  20  and cradle  21 . Nose  17  has a triangular shape as seen in  FIG. 3  and is taller in height than the opposing end of bolt  12  as seen in  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  5  which is narrower and rides along shelves  37 ,  37 ′ ( 37 ′ shown in  FIG. 7 ). Bolt aperture  20  is sized to receive driver  14  of slide and cradle  21  maintains resilient member  16 . Bolt  13  is slideably received through front opening  31  generally seen in FIG.  6  of housing  12  whereby resilient member  16  is held in place within cradle  21  and abuts the inside of rear  28  of wall  27  where it rests on spring ledge  32  which assists in maintaining alignment of resilient member  16 . Housing  12  is then slideably received within slide  11  as edges  30 ,  30 ′ of housing  12  slide within inset  36 . Driver  14  is received within bolt aperture  20  during assembly. 
     When assembled, driver  14  of slide  11  fits within housing top opening  18  and is slideably movable between major portion  19  and minor portion  19 ′ of opening  18  during use. Driver  14  further fits within bolt aperture  20  such that when finger pressure is applied to finger tab  15  of slide  11 , bolt  13  and slide  11  move in unison for slideably retracting nose  17 . Front clips  22 ,  22 ′ ( FIG. 6 ) and rear clips  23 ,  23 ′ engage window sash  40  as seen in  FIGS. 4 and 6 . During use, nose  17  of bolt  13  engages a stile opening (not shown) in the window frame (not shown). In order to allow sash  40  to tilt, finger tab  15  is urged in a right to left direction as seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  4  and  5  thereby retracting nose  17  from the stile opening (not shown) to allow sash  40  to rotate or tilt outwardly from the window frame (not shown). Finger tab  15  causes driver  14  engaged within bolt aperture  20  to move from minor opening  19 ′ to major opening  19  in housing top opening  18  while simultaneously moving bolt  13  rearwardly to compress resilient member  16  within cradle  21  thus retracting nose  17  as seen in  FIG. 5  from the window frame (not shown). A portion of bolt  13  is shown in dashed line format in  FIGS. 4 and 5  to show the retraction and movement of bolt  13  from a fully extended posture ( FIG. 4 ) to a retracted posture ( FIG. 5 ). 
     In addition to driver  14  engaging bolt  13 , vertical edges  26 ,  26 ′ of slide  11  engage and move along side edges  30 ,  30 ′ of top  29  of housing  12 . Mounting tab  24  acts as a stop to prevent housing  12  from moving within window sash  40  while slide  11  and bolt  13  move as seen in  FIG. 5 . Tilt latch  10  is formed from a conventional durable polymeric material although other materials such as metal may be used but are not preferred. 
     In the preferred method of use, tilt latch  10  is assembled as described above. After assembly, tilt latch  10  is then urged through the precut top opening  41  (seen in dashed lines in  FIG. 1 ) in sash  40  which may be for example a conventional vinyl window sash. Nose  17  of bolt  13  is received within opening  42  and tilt latch  10  is snapped into engagement with sash  40  whereby clips  22 ,  22 ′,  23 ,  23 ′ engage the side edges thereof as seen in  FIG. 6  and gap  35  engages end edge  44  of front member  43  as seen in  FIG. 4  of sash rail opening  41 . Upon closing sash  40  from a tilted posture, nose  17  of bolt  13  contacts the window frame (not shown) and is urged into housing  12  while compressing resilient member  16 . Once sash  40  is fully closed, nose  17  extends within the opening (not shown) of the window frame (not shown) as resilient member  16  decompresses and fully extends nose  17  outwardly to maintain sash  40  in a closed vertical or non-tilted position. If it is later desirable to tilt sash  40  outwardly, finger tab  15  is directed from the window frame (not shown) by manual finger pressure to retract bolt  13  and nose  17  and allow sash  40  to then be tilted outwardly away from the window frame. While only one side of sash  40  is described herein for simplicity, as would be understood, most sashes include tilt latches on each side on the window sash. 
     The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.