Patent ID: 8007017

Claim:
A striker plate comprising: a. a body including an insert with one or more openings, each of the one or more openings adapted to receive a respective lock bolt from a lock having one or more lock bolts; b. the body includes at least two vertically oriented elongate mounting slot apertures facilitating mounting of the striker plate to a door surround structure, the at least two vertically oriented elongate mounting slot apertures receiving corresponding mounting screws for final fixing of the body in a desired vertical position relative to the door surround structure to vertically position the one or more openings of the insert relative to the lock bolt; and c. the body further includes at least first and second oppositely disposed projections projecting outward substantially in a plane parallel to a plane defined by the insert, each of the oppositely disposed projections projecting outward a corresponding lateral projection distance and the projections being configured to be engageable with corresponding oppositely positioned grooves in the door surround structure for holding the body in the door surround structure, the lateral projection distances of the projections acting to laterally position the body to a desired lateral position and prevent further lateral motion relative to the door surround structure, wherein at least one of the projections is resiliently movable relative to its corresponding groove and is engaged with said corresponding groove, which enables the body to be temporarily engaged and moved to the desired vertical position relative to the door surround structure and temporarily retained in the desired vertical position prior to final fixing of the striker plate to the door surround structure, the engagement between the first and second oppositely disposed projections and the corresponding of oppositely positioned grooves avoiding any requirement of an installer holding the striker plate in position as the striker plate is finally fixed in the desired vertical position.