US3870353A - Latches - Google Patents

References Cited UNITED STATES

PATENTS

4/1942 Sega] 292/152 Attorney, Agent, or Firm Grover A. Frater 57 ABSTRACT 6 Claims, 21 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 1 595 3,870,353

,

SHEET

3 OF 1v IQNVENTOR WESLEY E. MILLER BY M ATTOR NEYS W- wllllnlllllllllql 7 PATENTED MARI H975 SHEET

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4 LATCI-IES This is a continuation in-part of application Ser. No. 193,725 filed Oct. 29, 1971 and now abandoned.

In FIG. 1, the building includes a sliding door set generally designated 1 1 and a sliding window set generally designated 12. The door set 11 includes a

sliding glass door

13 and a

panel

14 which, in this case, is transparent.

Panel

14 is stationary. Its right edge 15 forms what is here termed the forward edge of the

panel

14 and the rear frame member of the door opening. The forward frame member of the door opening is designated 16. The door is slidable in the

lower track

17 and

upper track

18 from a position in which its

forward edge

19 abuts against the

forward frame member

16, and in which the

rear edge

20 of the door is even with the rear frame member 15 of the door opening, to a position in which the door is retracted to a position overlying the

panel

14. When the door is fully retracted it lies parallel to the stationary panel. While it is not essential, it is almost the universal practice to make the door and panel areas substantially equal so the forward edge of the

door

19 stands next to the forward edge of 15 of the

panel

14 when the door is fully opened. In FIG. 1 the upper and

lower tracks

17 and 18 are at the interior of the building 10 so that the

door

13 is on the inside adjacent to the inside wall of

panel

14 when the door is open. The

window

12 is similarly arranged. The

stationary panel

21 is at the outside and the sliding

window pane

22 is at the inside of the building. This arrangement is sometimes reversed. The window set in FIG. 2 is shown as it appears from the inside of the building on which it is mounted.

Panel

24 is stationary and the

window

26 is movable. It moves in a pair of tracks, the upper one of which is numbered 28 and the lower of which is numbered 30. The

forward edge

32 of the movable window panel is fitted with a

handle

34 by which it is conveniently toward and away from the forward

window frame member

36.

The construction in FIG. 3 is similar. Here the movable pane is on the outside. It moves back and forth in an

upper track

37 and a

lower track

38 toward and away from a forward

window frame edge

39.

Tracks

37 and 38 differ from

tracks

28 and of FIG. 2 in that they are drilled at spaced points along their length to form keepers for bolts which are incorporated in latch structures carried by the

forward edge

40 of the

movable window panel

41. Several keeper holes are visible. The two closest to the forward

window frame edge

39 are designated 42 at the bottom and 43 at the top. In this case, no part of the latching structure is mounted on the fixed

panel

44. Instead, the latch structure, except the keeper, is mounted at the

forward frame member

40 of the

movable window

41. Most of its parts are hidden from view.

Two separate structures are employed. The upper structure has a cover plate designated 46 whereas the lower blocking structure has a

cover plate

48. Both latching structures include a main bolt which is not shown. The bolt is actuated by mechanism, a part of which is shown. The

handle

50 operates the upper latching structure; it is formed integrally with a second bolt which cooperates with a second keeper, part of which is visible at 52. The

handle

54 and

keeper slot

56 are the corresponding parts of the lower latching structure. Operation of those handles latches and unlatches the main latching mechanism and they serve also to actuate that mechanism in a manner to be described below.

Returning to FIG. 2, in this case the latching structure is mounted on the

forward frame member

60 of the

stationary panel

24. Bolts incorporated in that latching structure cooperate with keepers (in this case small sleeves that are mounted in the upper and lower frame members of the movable window). Two of the keepers are visible in FIG. 2. They are numbered 61 and are employed when it is desired to latch the movable pane partly open. Other keepers, not visible in FIG. 2 because they are hidden behind the

stationary panel

24, are engaged by the primary bolt when the window is latched completely shut. As in FIG. 3, the latching arrangement in FIG. 2 includes two separate latch structures. The

handle

62 forms part of one of those structures and the

handle

64 forms part of the other structure.

Sliding door and window sets often include screens. The screen is generally fixed in a window set but it is movable in a door set. Three door arrangements are shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. In each case, there is a threshold, a portion of which extends outside of the structure in which the door set is mounted. These diagrams are shown from the top looking down. In FIG. 4 the

stationary panel

71 is at the inside. The region to the right of the panel is the door opening. The

screen

72 is mounted at the outside and moves in

track

73. The

door

74 is movable between them on a

track

75. In this arrangement it is preferred that the latching structure, including the bolt and the mechanism for actuating the bolt, be mounted on the

wall panel

71 and that the keeper for the bolt be mounted on or formed in the

door

74. The structure is so arranged although only the operating

handle

76 is visible in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 5 the

screen

76 is at the outside and reciprocates in a

track

77. The

door

78 is at the inside. It moves in a

track

79. The fixed

panel

80 lies between the door and the screen. In this case, the latching structure is mounted on the door. It can be mounted on the rear edge or the forward edge (or any other place for that matter) of the door when the bolt cooperates with the keepers in the track. When the keepers are carried by or mounted in the

stationary panel

80, then the latching structure should be mounted as shown at the rearward edge of the door. The latter arrangement is employed in FIG. 5. The operating handle is visible and is designated 81.

The arrangement of FIG. 6 is less common. It has the sliding

screen

82 at the inside and the

movable door

84 at the outside where it moves in a

track

86. In tis case, the latching structure is mounted on the

stationary structure

88 which lies between the screen and the door. In this case, the operating

handle

89 is mounted so that it is accessible at the forward edge of the stationary panel.

It is customary to incorporate a latch in the handle of sliding windows and doors. In FIG. 1 the

door handle

90 will ordinarily include some kind of latch that fastens the

forward edge

19 of the door to the

forward frame member

16 of the door opening. This is not true in the invention. Of the several arrangements illustrated, only that shown in FIG. 3 envisions the use of a latching structure that is mounted on the forward edge of the door or window. However, the bolts that are incorporated in that latching structure do not cooperate with the

forward edge

39 of the opening. Instead,

The frame in which the latching structure is housed can have a variety of forms. It is entirely possible within the invention to employ only one latching structure but the use of two is preferred. Accordingly, the several embodiments illustrated in the drawings are arranged so that two locking structures can be employed. It is preferred that the frame extend substantially over the full height of the door or window that is to be latched. That frame can be built into the edge of a door or window or fixed panel. Alternatively, it can be a separate member. usually channel-shaped, which is attached to the edge of the door or window or fixed panel ,or is inserted in a recess formed in an edge of those members. In FIG. 3 the cover is divided into upper and

lower sections

46 and 48 both to facilitate assembly and to accommodate variations in door .and window height. In FIG. 3 the

small plate

92 between the upper and lower section is a spacer. That spacer is one that is easily cut to shorter length or, alternatively, is one of several available lengths which make it possible to employ a

standard part

46 and 48 for use with any of the heights in which doors are customarily manufactured.

A

similar plate

94 is incorporated in the middle of the unit shown in FIG. 10. This unit also includes separate upper and lower latching mechanisms. In FIG. the upper mechanism is shown to be latched whereas the lower mechanism is shown to be unlatched. The unit of FIG. 10 is like the latching structure that is incorporated in the fixed

panel

24 in FIG. 2. While not visible in FIG. 2, the left edge of the

forward frame member

16 is channel-shaped and a unit like that shown in FIG. 10 is installed in that channel so that the bolts of its upper and lower latching structures move laterally from the retracted position which the

lower bolt

100 is shown to occupy to an extended position that the

upper bolt

102 is shown to occupy. FIGS. 11, I2 and 13 illustrate the construction of the lower latch structure. The upper one is the mirror image of the lower unit.

The latching structures employed in the apparatus of FIG. 3 includes a bolt that moves vertically up and down. The structure is relatively simple as illustrated in FIG. 7. The upper track is at the right in that Figure and it is assumed that the

window

41 has been moved to a position so that the

bolt

104 is opposite the

keeper hole

43. The

cover plate

46 is fixed to the window frame by any convenient means, not shown. The cover plate is itself a channel. The channel recess defines a part of a circle in cross-section so that the

cylindrical bolt

104 is confined to movement in the direction of its axis. The bolt is cast over the end of a wire 108 which extends from the rear of the bolt along its axis through the recess of the cover to the region of the operating handle 50 where it is twisted around the wire stern 110 to which the

handle

50 is attached.

Stern

110 extends from the handle through

elongate slot

52 into the recess of the

cover

46 and rearwardly to a down-turned

end

114. The

end

114 serves as a second bolt which cooperates with a second keeper in the form of an

opening

116 formed in the frame of the

window

41. The

stem

110 is bent at a

point

118 along its length to form a fulcrum. If the

handle

50 is pushed down in FIG. 7, the

wire stem

110 will pivot on the

bend

118 to lift the

bolt

114 out of the

keeper

116 whereupon the

handle

50 and its

stem

110 will be urged upwardly in FIG. 3, and to the right in FIG. 7, by the bias spring 130. That spring bears against the rearward or lower end of the latching. bolt 104 and against a removable set screw that is threaded into an opening in the

cover

46 and extends into the recess of the cover member. The bias spring is trapped between the latching

bolt

104 and the

set screw

106. That spring drives the latching

bolt

104 into

keeper

43 when the wire 108 is permitted to move by unlatching of the secondary latch comprising the

second bolt

114 and the

second keeper

116.

An alternative version is shown in FIG. 8 where the latching bolt and the

bias spring

142 are housed in a

tubular insert

144 which is staked at 146 to a

door frame

148 so that the bolt can reciprocate laterally. It moves from the door into a

keeper

150 formed in a panel structure,

part

152 of which is shown in the drawing. In this case, a

cover member

154 is fixed to the side of the

frame

148. A

wire

156 is imbedded in the

bolt

140 and extends through the

bias spring

142 and over the staked

region

146 to a connection with a second latch. The second latch incorporates a

handle

160 and a

stem

161 which has a size small enough so that it will fit within the elongated slot 162. The

stem

161 is connected to a

ball

163 which is large enough to fit within an

enlarged point

164 of the recess but which is too large to fit in slot 162. If the handle is pushed inwardly so that the

ball

163 is pushed clear of the

cover

154, then the

stem

161 will be aligned with the slot and the assembly will be pulled to the right in FIG. 8 as the wire or

cable

156 is pulled to the right as an incident to the

bolt

140 being urged to extended position by

spring

142. A

spring clip

166 fixed to the

ball

163 serves to bias the

ball

163 into the

enlarged part

164 of the slot when the handle has been retracted sufficiently to align the ball with that enlarged part. Thus, like the unit in FIG. 7, this latching structure incorporates a

main latching bolt

144 which cooperates with the

keeper

150 on another member. It incorporates a second latch comprising a second bolt and second keeper. The first bolt is held retracted against its bias by the second latch which is held in latched position by its own bias spring. To release the main latching bolt to accomplish its latching function by engagement with the primary keeper, the second latch is unlatched against the bias of its bias spring.

The unit in FIG. 9 is similar to that shown in FIG. 8 with the exception that the frame structure is slightly different. Here a bolt and spring assembly which includes a

small housing

180 is mounted within a

cover member

182 and the latter is inserted in a

channelshaped frame

184. The

bolt

186 must be retracted to permit assembly of the cover with the U-shaped frame. That is accomplished by pulling on the

flexible wire

188. the wire is secured at one end to the bolt. It extends through the

bias spring

190 and over a

pin

192 down to a handle and second latch structure which is not shown but could be similar to that illustrated in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8, or to the handle structure illustrated in FIG. 13.

In FIG. 13 the

element

200 is called the upper cover plate. It is notched along its length at 202 and 204 so that it can be inserted into the

frame channel

206 in back of a pair of lips formed at the front of the channel. One of those lips is visible in FIG. 11 where it is designated 210. As best shown in FIG. and FIG. 13, the cover is slotted near one end. That slot includes a circu-

Iar portion

220 and an elongate portion of lesser width at 222. The

handle

62 is mounted on a stem 224 which is imbedded in a

ball

226. The ball serves as the second bolt. The ball has diameter to fit within the

slot opening

220 but its width is greater than the width of the

elongated portion

222 of the slot. Extending from the lower end of the ball is a

hairpin spring

228. The spring is zigzagged so that it is prevented from twisting and maintains proper orientation when assembled. That orientation is one in which the

handle

62 and the

bolt

226 are forced upwardly so that the

bolt

226 will move into the

opening

220 when it is aligned with it. The hairpin spring is connected to a

flexible wire

230 which extends away from the second latch assembly in the same direction as the elongated

narrow portion

222 of the slot extends away from the

circular portion

220. A bias spring will pull that

flexible wire

230 to the right in FIG. 13 if the

handle

62 is depressed so that the

bolt

226 is freed from its

keeper

220 and the assembly is permitted to move forward as the stem 224 moves through the

slot

222. To relatch this secondary latch, the handle is retracted to the left until the

bolt

226 is opposite the

keeper opening

220 and at that time the

spring

228 will urge the bolt into the keeper.

Referring to FIG. 12, the

primary latching bolt

100 is associated with a means by which it is retracted when the

handle

62 is retracted and so that it is permitted to extend when the

handle

62 is depressed and the second latching mechanism moves to the right. The preferred means for accomplishing that is shown in FIG. 12. A

pin

300 extends laterally from the

bolt

100. That pin acts as a cam follower in cooperation with a cam that is formed as a

slot

302 in a

plate

304. The plate slides over the

face

306 of a

frame base

308 which, in this case, is a die-cast member that includes a

lateral bore

310 in which the

bolt

100 is reciprocally movable. That bore 310 is centered so that its wall intersects the

surface

306 to form a

channel

312 through which the

cam follower pin

300 extends. When the

plate

304 is placed against the

surface

306 that

pin

300 extends through the

cam slot

302. It will be apparent that as the

plat

304 is moved back and forth longitudinally of

surface

306, the

bolt

100 will be extended and retracted.

The

larger opening

314 of the plate has any convenient shape. It serves two purposes. Most importantly it permits the

flexible wire

230 to be hooked over and connected to the plate at its

end hood

231 after having been threaded through the coiled

compression spring

316. The

opening

314 also accommodates a

set screw

320 which is threaded into the

opening

322, extends through

opening

314 and seats against the

channel

206 when the unit is fully assembled. Conformations or slots in the die-

cast part

308, at the point marked 326 in the drawings, accommodate the lips, including

lip

210, of the frame channel.

When the unit is assembled, the flexible wire is inserted through the center opening of the

compression spring

316. The

hook

231 is then hooked ove the end of the

plate

304. The plate is assembled flat against the

surface

306 and the compression spring is lodged in the

semi-cylindrical recess

328 of the die-cast member. Except that the set screw has not been inserted, this subassembly is shown complete in FIG. 11. Assembly is completed by completing insertion of the

cover plate

200 into the

Ushaped frame

206 and then by fitting the die-cast base member on the end of the channel frame. The second latch and handle assembly is mounted on the

cover plate

200 as illustrated in FIG. 13 so assembly is simply a matter of slipping the

elements

200 and 308 into the

frame channel

206.

The

base member

308 has preferred form in the drawings. It includes the transverse slot in which the bolt slides, a longitudinal slot in which the camming member can move in response to handle movement to retract it, a slot or cutout to hold the bias spring for the main bolt, conformations which permit it to be assembled on the main frame, and it even includes a

forward section

330 which serves as a trim piece.

Like the others, the embodiment of FIGS. 15 through 21 includes a

bolt

400 which can be extended into a keeper hole or retracted from the hole. A means is provided by which that bolt may be confined to such movement and by which it may be secured to one of the panels of a door or window set. In this case that means comprises the

body

402 of the unit. It will be understood, of course, that the body may form a part of the door or window frame itself.

Like the other embodiments, the embodiment of FIG. 15 through 21 includes a bolt actuating means for moving the bolt into and out of the keeper hole. It includes a movable, manual operator and it includes a latching means for moving the bolt in response to movement of the manual oprator. As before, that movement is in a direction other than the direction in which the bolt moves. In this embodiment the bolt actuating means includes the

manual operator

404 and a latching means in the form of a

cam member

406 which is urged to action by a

bias spring

408. The cam surface of

cam member

406 is formed by the

diagonal slot

410. The cam follower is the

pin

412 which is fixed to and extends sidewardly from

bolt

400.

To assemble the unit, the

bolt

400 is inserted into the

bore

414 of

body

402 so that the

cam follower pin

412 extends through the

slot

416. The

bottom face

418 of the body is recessed to form a slot in which the

cam member

406 is slidable. That member is made of sheet material and is flat except that it has two ears extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet. One of those ears is designated 420 and its function is to bear against one end, the left end in FIG. 19, of the

bias spring

408. The

other ear

422 hooks behind the crossbar 424 of the

manual operator

404. The cam member or

plate

406 is placed in the slot against

surface

418 of the body so that

pin

412 extends through the

slot

410. Before placing the cam plate in place the

spring

408 is inserted in the

recess

430 of the body so that its right end bears against the end wall 423 of that recess or cavity. Thereafter, the cam plate is placed against the lower surface of the body with the left end of

spring

408 trapped behind the

ear

420.

Wall

432 comprises one wall of a divider that separates

slot

430 from a

similar slot

434. However, whereas

slot

430 is a recess in that it does not extend entirely through the body, the

recess

434 is indeed a slot because the body is cut away or notched at 436 to accommodate the

manual operator

404. The

ear

422 extends entirely through the

slot

434 and hooks behind the crossbar or separator 424 at the lower side of the

manual operator

404.

That portion of the

body

402 which lies between its left and right end has narrower width where width is defined as the direction parallel to the axis of movement of the

bolt

400. The

manual operator

402 is formed with a pair of forwardly and upwardly extending

legs

440 and 442. These two legs are separated sufficiently so that they can straddle the walls of that part of the body that has been described as having narrower width. Thus, when the

manual operator

404 is inserted into the cutout whose walls are numbered 436, the manual operator may be moved to the left in the drawing so that the

leg

440 overlies the

surface

450 in FIG. 17 and the

leg

442 underlies the

opposite side wall

452.

The

spring

408 is sufficiently long so that when it is trapped between the

ear

420 and

wall

432 it urges the

cam plate

406 in a leftward direction, in the drawings. Because the

ear

422 rests behind or on the right side of the cross wall 424 of the manual operator in FIG. 20, the effect of

spring

408 is to urge the

manual operator

404 to the left. The size of the parts and their dimensions are such that the

bolt

400 is retracted by the

cam plate

406 when

ear

422 is pulled to the right by retraction of the

manual operator

404 until its right end engages the

face

500 of the body. To move the

manual operator

404 to the right, pressure is applied to it at its upper surface which is provided with conformations for that purpose. The

ear

402 does not extend much above the lower or inner surface of the

manual operator

404.

Thus, the force by which the manual member is moved back is applied at a plane above the plane at which the

ear

422 engages the manual operator and a force couple is developed which tends to rotate the

manual operator

404 in a direction to raise the

ears

440 and 442 so that they engage the rear surface of the upper wall 502 of the body. The perspective in the drawings is such that the rear surface of that upper face is not visible, although the edge on one side is visible and it will be apparent that when the

legs

440 and 442 engage the rear surface of that face that the manual operator is prevented from leftwardmovement. The

manual operator

404 is held in place by the covering shown in FIG. 21. That covering is a channel-shaped

member

506 whose side walls are provided with inwardly extending

flanges

508. Those flanges engage two grooves that are formed in the

body

402. There are two of those grooves, one on each side. One of them,

groove

510, is visible in FIG. 17 where it is divided into two sections by the cutout that forms

walls

436 and 500. The upper face of the

manual operator

404 is notched at its opposite sides to receive the

flange

508. One of those notches, numbered 520, is visible in FIG. 20. v

If it is assumed that the assembly is complete and that the

manual operator

404 has been retracted to the left whereby its

legs

440 and 442 are held behind the rear wall of face 502 acting as a stop, then the latch structure will be cocked and ready for release of the energy stored in the spring 208 to cause the bolts to move sidewardly from the body. It is necessary only to press down on the

manual operator

404. Doing that will force the ends of

legs

440 and 442 from engagement with the stop. When they are lowered to clear the stop the manual operator is free to slide forward with its legs straddling the

walls

450 and 452. The

spring

408 pushing against the

ear

420 pushes the

cam plate

406 to the left in the drawing.

Ear

422 pulls the manual operator to the left and the

cam slot

410 acting on the

cam follower pin

412, to force the

bolt

400 to extended position.

said movable panel being formed with a recess extending along its rear edge, the cam and follower of one of said latching structures being mounted at the upper end of said recess and the cam and follower of the other of said latching structures being mounted at the lower end of said recess, a pair of plates arranged to cover an uppr length and a lower length ofsaid slot, respectively, said cover sections having openings formed therethrough at their adjacent ends, and means disposed in each of said openings for retracting said cams against the

bias

12 of their respectively associated springs and for releasing said cams to the biasing action of their respectively associated springs.

4. The invention defined in

claim

3 in which said latching structure further comprises a body on which said bolt and retraction means are carried and a latching means for latching the bolt in retracted position;

5. The invention defined in

claim

4 in which said element is movable with said retraction means in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said bolt and against the bias of said means for biasing said bolt.