Patent ID: 7131673

Claim:
An electromechanical keeper comprising: a base plate adapted for being mounted to an underlying surface; a catch member pivotally supported by said base plate, said catch member being movable between open and closed positions, said catch member being adapted to engage a latch pawl of a latch when said catch member is in said closed position and said catch member not being engageable by the latch pawl when said catch member is in said open position, said catch member having a cavity, said cavity in said catch member having an opening, said catch member having an extension that has a surface that is flush with said opening of said cavity in said catch member; and a solenoid supported by said base plate, said solenoid having a solenoid shaft that is movable from an extended position to a retracted position responsive to said solenoid being energized, said solenoid shaft engaging said cavity in said catch member to thereby retain said catch member in said closed position when said solenoid shaft is in said extended position, said solenoid shaft being disengaged from said cavity in said catch member such that said catch member is free to move from said closed position to said open position when said solenoid shaft is in said retracted position, wherein said extension functions to prevent said solenoid shaft from interfering with pivotal movement of said catch member toward said closed position, wherein said catch member moves pivotally about an axis of rotation, said solenoid shaft has a longitudinal axis, and said axis of rotation of said catch member is parallel to said longitudinal axis of said solenoid shaft, wherein the electromechanical keeper further comprises a receptacle adapted to matingly receive a matching jack for the connection of control signal lines using the matching jack to thereby provide control signals to said solenoid, and wherein said catch member is in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped having an elongated cylinder joined to it, said elongated cylinder and said rectangular parallelepiped each having a longitudinal axis, said elongated cylinder being joined to said rectangular parallelepiped with said longitudinal axis of said rectangular parallelepiped being parallel to said longitudinal axis of said elongated cylinder.