AU2009200771A1 - Lock structure for moving panel members - Google Patents

Description

Pool Section 29 Regulation 3.2(2)) AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Lock structure for moving panel members The following statement Is a full description of this Invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: P111AAAU/1107 1 LOCK STRUCTURE FOR MOVING PANEL MEMBERS The present invention relates to a lock structure for moving panel members, particularly but not necessarily exclusively, door panels. The invention relates to locking structures housed within a hollow structural 5 member forming part of the movable panel member where an elongate latching member, or members, extend internally along the hollow extrusion member from a lockable mechanism adapted to actuate the locking structure, the latching member or members extending therefrom in a latching motion or be withdrawn in a de-latching motion. In a known locking structure of the aforementioned kind, 10 the locking structure includes an internal support structure positionable within the hollow extrusion member for mounting a key operated lock cylinder adapted to actuate the locking structure, the internal support structure is first positioned in the hollow extrusion with the lock cylinder then being passed through apertures in the hollow extrusion and the internal support structure to be fixed in this position. 15 The arrangement further includes separate movable parts that in use are actuated manually and by the lock cylinder and move within the hollow extrusion, the movable parts having extension bars secured thereto and extending internally along the hollow extrusion member to provide remote ends capable of latching externally thereof with either another panel member or a stationary surround 20 member. The separate movable parts have externally gripable members secured thereto which respectively pass through a slot in the hollow extrusion member to be gripped by a user to enable the user to move the movable parts in the longitudinal direction of the hollow extrusion. This locking structure is configured to allow the movable parts to be manually moved by a user to move the extension 25 bars towards a latching position and once in this position to be retained thereby against a spring loaded urging force seeking to move the extension bars towards a delatched position. Conveniently, in one particular application, it may be desirable to move a first one of the extension bars to the aforesaid latching position prior to being able to latch the second extension bar in its latching 30 position to guarantee the first extension bar is latched. This may be the case where the first extension bar provides a greater level of security when the locking structure is in the locked position. Thus, in the known arrangement, the first downward extending extension bar is required to be latched into a secure floor 2 latching location before the second upwardly extending latching bar can be moved to its upper latching position. To unlock this latching structure, the key operated lock cylinder is turned by key action to move the movable parts and thereby the extension latching bars to the delatching position under action of a 5 spring loaded force. The operation of the key operated lock cylinder, depending on the particular application may be from an inner side of the panel member, an outer side of the panel member, or from either inner or outer sides of the panel member. The panel member may be either a sliding member or a swingable member and may be door members, window members or other members 10 requiring some security when latched. While the above discussed known arrangement is typically mounted in an upright extrusion member of a sliding or bi-fold door panel member and will in this application typically include both an upwardly and a downwardly extending latching bar member, it is possible in some applications for the structure to be 15 mounted in a horizontal extrusion member, and further in some applications to have only one latching bar member. While locking structures of the aforementioned kind function reasonably satisfactorily, because they are made up of multiple parts that must be assembled generally centrally within a relatively long hollow extrusion member, they are 20 difficult, time consuming and costly to manufacture. They are also difficult to adjust and are also difficult to repair or service once installed. The objective of the present invention is to provide a locking structure of the aforementioned kind that will overcome some or all of the difficulties associated with the known arrangement and in particular provide a less expensive locking structure of this 25 type that is easier to assemble, adjust and service. A further preferred objective is to provide a locking structure of this type that may be readily changed in performance characteristics without increasing the costs of the locking structure. According to a first aspect of this invention, a locking structure is provided adapted, in use, to lock or free a movable panel member, said locking structure 30 including an elongate housing structure having a longitudinal direction and an outer configuration of a size and shape to be slidably received within an interior space of a hollow elongate structural member of the movable panel member, said housing structure defining a housing internal space surrounded by housing wall 3 means, said housing wall means including at least one aperture permitting a key operated lock cylinder to be at least partially mounted within the housing internal space having a key accessible face, in use, accessible via an opening in a wall of the hollow elongate structural member, said internal space of the housing 5 structure further accommodating at least one latching member slidably movable in said longitudinal direction within said housing internal space, the or each said latching member including latching bar attachment means enabling a latching bar to be attached to said latching member after said elongate housing structure is mounted in said hollow interior space of the elongate structural member of the 10 movable panel member whereby, in use, said latching bar extends longitudinally along the hollow interior space of the elongate structural member, the or each said latching member being urged to move towards a delatching position by urging means, the or each said latching member, in use, being accessible externally of said elongate structural member of the panel member to enable said 15 latching member to be moved to a latching position against said urging means, blocking means arranged to hold the or each said latching member in said latching position, said blocking means being releasable to release the or each said latching member to move to a delatching position by actuation from said key operated lock cylinder. The locking structure thus defined provides a complete 20 assembly that can be readily slipped into the interior space of the hollow elongate structural member with the lock cylinder being fitted externally from the outside of the structural member of the panel member (door) and easily fixed thereto by a screw or the like passing through a face of the hollow elongate structural member hidden in its latched and locked position. The latching bar member or members 25 can easily be secured to the latching members located within the housing structure and can be readily adjusted and fixed in this position. Preferably the housing wall means may include a pair of opposed said apertures whereby the key operated lock cylinder may pass through both said apertures to have a said key accessible face, in use, accessible via opposed said 30 openings in a respective said wall of the hollow elongate structural member. Conveniently, the lock cylinder has a movable actuation member positioned within said internal space of the housing structure and engageable with said blocking means. Preferably the blocking means is urged to move in a direction 4 transverse to said longitudinal direction by spring means, said movable actuation member enabling said blocking means to be moved against forces applied by said spring means. In a preferred arrangement, the structure includes a first said latching 5 member and a second said latching member, said first and said second latching members being mounted within said internal space of said housing structure for sliding movement in opposite directions. Conveniently, the or each said latching member includes a body part and an elongate member part, the elongate member part being securable to said body part whereby the body part is distant 10 from said blocking means and said elongate member part extends toward said blocking means. The elongate member part may be securable to the body part in a plurality of different positions to selectably vary the position of a distal end of the elongate member part relative to the blocking means. Preferably, the urging means may include a spring element engaging 15 between said elongate housing structure and a said body part of the or each said latching member. The latching bar attachment means may include a threaded bore on a said body part of a said latching member to receive a threaded end of a said latching bar, said body part further including fixing means for securing the latching bar against rotation once its longitudinal position is adjusted. 20 Conveniently, the body part includes a threaded nut, said fixing means including means to move said nut laterally once the longitudinal position of said latching bar is adjusted. In a further preferred arrangement, the blocking means may be a blocking member constructed with a pair of blocking legs extending from a central portion, 25 each said blocking leg having a distal end adapted, in use, to engage with a respective said elongate member part of a different said latching member, the lock cylinder being engageable with said central portion. Conveniently, the elongate member parts, in use, are arranged to operate in the same plane, that is, they are equidistant from the blocking member. The blocking legs of said 30 blocking member may have unequal lengths whereby one of the latch bars will need to be latched before the other can be latched. In an alternative arrangement, the blocking legs may be provided having equal lengths.

5 Potentially, similar effects may be achieved by relatively locating the elongate parts in differing planes with appropriately formed blocking legs. Further preferred features and aspects will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment given in relation to the accompanying 5 drawings, in which: Fig 1 a is a perspective view of a lock structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for fitting in a hollow structural member of a door panel member or similar member; Fig 1b is a perspective view of the lock structure of Fig 1a fitted into the 10 hollow structural member; Fig 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lock structure shown in Fig 1 a; Fig 3 is a detailed exploded perspective view of a latching member utilized in the assembly shown in Fig 2; Fig 4 is a detailed exploded perspective view similar to Fig 3 but further 15 including a latching bar to be connected thereto; Fig 5 is a longitudinal section view through the body part of the latching member with a latching bar mounted thereto, further illustrating the fixing arrangement for preventing rotation of the latching bar; Fig 6 is an end view of the body part of the latching member further 20 illustrating operation of the fixing arrangement; Fig 7 is a transverse section view through the fixing arrangement region of the latching member body part; and Figs 8a and 8b, 9a and 9b, and 10a and 10b are respectively differing perspective views of the elongate member parts of the pair of latching members 25 shown in Fig 2 together with a blocking member in differing relative positions. Referring to Figs 1a and lb of the drawings, a lock structure 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown, the lock structure 10 having an outer surface configuration enabling it to slidingly fit within an interior space 74 of a hollow elongate structural member 11 of a movable panel member 30 (not shown). The movable panel member may be a door, a window or any other equivalent member capable of pivoting, tilting or sliding movement between closed and open positions. Specifically the lock structure has been developed for latching and locking sliding doors and bi-fold doors, but it will be apparent that 6 many other applications are also possible. While Figs la and lb show the structural member 11 in a vertical orientation, it will be apparent that other orientations are possible including horizontal. The invention will be described hereafter with reference to a preferred embodiment where the elongate structural 5 member is vertical or upright, but it should be recognized that this is not a limiting feature of the invention. With further reference to Fig 1b, latching bar members 12 and 13 are provided, each with a screw threaded end 14 (Figs 4, 5) which are adapted, when the lock structure 10 is fitted within the elongate structural member 11, to be 10 screwed into a movable latching member retained within the lock structure 10 and described in greater detail hereafter with reference to other drawing figures. The lock structure 10 includes an outer housing shell 15 made up of two housing half shells 16, 17, each of which has a central opening 18 shaped to receive a lock cylinder 19 therethrough. The lock cylinder 19 has opposed key accessible faces 15 70, 71 and a movable actuator tab 72 moved in response to key operation. Each housing half shell 16, 17 further includes opposed slot pairs 20, 21 on either side of the central opening 18 and extending generally in a longitudinal direction of the lock structure 10, the slot pairs 20, 21 permit access to the latching members slidably mounted within the housing shell 15. The elongate structural member 11 20 may be formed by metal extrusion or by sheet metal fabrication and may have a pair of central openings 22, aligning in use to the lock cylinder openings 18 in the lock structure housing shell 15, and two pairs of slots 23, 24, corresponding in use to the slot pairs 20, 21 in the housing shell 15. The lock cylinder 19 may include fascia mounting plate 25 cooperable with the openings 22 in the elongate 25 structural member 11. Once the lock structure 10 is positioned within the elongate structural member 11 with the lock cylinder 19 positioned in the openings 18, 22, the assembly can be fixed in this position by a screw element 33 passing through an opening 26 in a hidden surface 27 of the structural member 11 when the door panel member is in a closed position. Finally pairs of slide 30 knobs 28, 29 and 30, 31 can be secured by fixing members 32 to the slidable latching members mounted within the lock structure 10 and described in greater detail hereafter, the fixing members 32 passing through the slots 20, 21, 23 and 24.

7 The lock structure 10 is shown in greater detail in the exploded perspective view of Fig 2. The housing 15 is made up of two identically shaped housing shell parts 16, 17. Each housing shell part 16, 17 are held together in the assembled structure by a plurality of screw elements 33. The lock structure 10 further 5 includes a pair of latching members 34, 35, each including a moulded plastic body part 36 and an elongate metal plate part 37. The moulded plastic body parts 36 are conveniently made up of identical half parts 28 held together by screw members or similar and which hold the elongate metal plate parts 37 in a desired position as described hereafter. The identical half parts 38 and the 10 identical housing shell parts 16, 17 limit the moulds required and thereby reduces costs. Similarly, the metal plate parts can be identically shaped which again limits costs of the assembly. Compression springs 39 and 40 are provided which, in use, act between a mounting region 41 on the inner end of the housing shell 15 and a mounting region 42 on the end of the adjacent latching member body part 15 36 to provide an urging force seeking to move the latching members 34, 35 away from the inner ends of the housing shell 15. The elongate metal plate parts 37 are each restrained to move in a defined track 43 in the housing shell parts 16 or 17 so that the metal plate parts 37 of each of the latching members 34, 35 are retained, in use, generally in the same plane. 20 Further to the above, a blocking plate member 44 is provided having a central portion 45 and a pair of legs 46, 47 arranged such that each leg 46, 47 cooperates with a respective one of the elongate metal plate parts 37. Each of the legs 46, 47 of the blocking plate member 44 also slides within a transverse defined guide track 48 in each of the housing half shell parts 16, 17. Finally a 25 compression spring 49, co-operable with a tab 50 extending from the central portion 45, in use urges the blocking plate member to move in the guide track 48 towards the elongate metal plate parts 37. Referring now to Figs 3 to 7, one latching member 36 is shown with the elongate metal plate part 37 sandwiched between the identical moulded plastic 30 parts 38 with the parts 38 being held together by screws 51. The elongate metal plate part 37 is retained within a groove 52 in each part 38 with the tabs 53 engaging in location openings or recesses (not shown) in the groove 52. Multiple such recesses are desirably provided whereby the relative position of the distal 8 end region 54 of the metal plate part 37 can be selectably varied. Housed within a recess 64 in each of the moulded plastic parts 38 are a pair of metal nuts 55, 56 and a spacer ring 57. The nuts 55, 56 allow the fixing means 32 for the manual positioning slider knobs 28, 29, 30 and 31 to be secured to the latching members 5 35, 36. Furthermore a second recess 58 is provided inwardly of an access opening 59 that enables the threaded end 14 of a latching bar member 12, 13 to enter the second recess 58. A nut 60 is held within the recess 58, the nut 60 having a periphery slightly smaller than the recess 58 whereby the nut 60 is capable of slight movement in a lateral direction but is restrained from rotary 10 motion by the walls of the recess 58. A second metal nut 61 is restrained in a recess 62 opening onto the recess 58 whereby a grub screw 63, accessible from the outside of the body parts 35, 36, passes through the second nut 61 and engages with an outer surface of the first nut 60. With this arrangement it is possible to pass the threaded end 14 of a latching bar 12, 13 through a spring 39 15 to be screwed into the first nut 60 and when the distal end of the latching bar is correctly positioned, the latching bar 12, 13 can be fixed in position by rotation of the grub screw 63 to press the first nut 60 to move slightly relative to the latching bar thread. This then prevents the latching bar 12, 13 from further rotation and prevents the distal end of the bar 12, 13 from moving from its correctly adjusted 20 position. Referring now to Figs 8a to 10b, various positions of the blocking plate member 44 relative to the elongate plate parts 37 of the latching members 35, 36 are illustrated. In the preferred embodiment illustrated the blocking member legs 46, 47 are of unequal length with the leg 46 being longer than the leg 47. When 25 the blocking plate member 44 is fully extended (Figs 10a, 10b) the ends 54 of both elongate plate parts 37 are engaged against the legs 46, 47 and in this configuration the connected distal ends of the latch bars 12, 13 are intended to be positioned in a latching position. With the lock cylinder 19 in a locked condition, the blocking plate member 44 cannot be moved from this position and the door or 30 similar panel member is maintained in a secured locked condition. Key operation of the lock cylinder 19 to unlock same will enable the actuator tab 72 of the lock cylinder 19 to engage the central portion 45 of the blocking plate member 44 to bodily move the member 44 against the spring 49 to a position shown in Figs 8a, 9 8b. In this position the lock structure 10 is unlocked and the springs 39, 40 force the latching members 34, 35 towards one another to delatch the distal ends of the latching bars 12, 13. With the blocking plate member 44 having unequal legs 46, 47, to move 5 the lock structure 10 to a locked / latched condition from the unlocked condition (Figs 8a, 8b), it is necessary to first move the latching member 34 or 35 with the elongate plate part 37 engaging the longer leg 46 to the latched position (Figs 9a, 9b) before it is possible to latch the second latching member. This arrangement is preferred when one latching bar 12 or 13 is adapted to engage in a more 10 secure latching position. If it is desired to reverse this effect, then the orientation of the blocking plate member 44 can simply be positioned upside down such that the longer leg 46 engages the other latching member. Another possible arrangement is to have the blocking member legs 46, 47 with the same length and in this case, either latching member 34 or 35 could be latched first or 15 simultaneously with the other latching member. It will of course be recognized that many other variations or modifications of the above described preferred embodiment can be made. For example, in some applications a single point latching arrangement might be provided and in this case a single latching member 34 or 35 might be provided with an associated 20 latching bar 12 or 13. In another possible arrangement the lock cylinder may not be accessible from both sides of the hollow structural member and might be accessed from only one side of same.

Claims (14)

1. A locking* structure adapted, in use, to lock or free a movable panel member, said locking structure including an elongate housing structure having a longitudinal direction and an outer configuration of a size and shape to be slidably 5 received within an interior space of a hollow elongate structural member of the movable panel member, said housing structure defining a housing internal space surrounded by housing wall means, said housing wall means including at least one aperture permitting a key operated lock cylinder to be at least partially mounted within the housing internal space having a key accessible face, in use, 10 accessible via an opening in a wall of the hollow elongate structural member, said internal space of the housing structure further accommodating at least one latching member slidably movable in said longitudinal direction within said housing internal space, the or each said latching member including latching bar attachment means enabling a latching bar to be attached to said latching member 15 after said elongate housing structure is mounted in said hollow interior space of the elongate structural member of the movable panel member whereby, in use, said latching bar extends longitudinally along the hollow interior space of the elongate structural member, the or each said latching member being urged to move towards a delatching position by urging means, the or each said latching 20 member, in use, being accessible externally of said elongate structural member of the panel member to enable said latching member to be moved to a latching position against said urging means, blocking means arranged to hold the or each said latching member in said latching position, said blocking means being releasable to release the or each said latching member to move to a delatching 25 position by actuation from said key operated lock cylinder.

2. A locking structure according to claim 1 wherein the housing wall means includes a pair of opposed said apertures whereby the key operated lock cylinder may pass through both said apertures to have a said key accessible face, in use, accessible via opposed said openings in a respective said wall of the hollow 30 elongate structural member. 11

3. A locking structure according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein, in use, the lock cylinder has a movable actuation member positioned within said internal space of the housing structure and engageable with said blocking means.

4. A locking structure according to claim 3 wherein said blocking means is 5 urged to move in a direction transverse to said longitudinal direction by spring means, said movable actuation member enabling said blocking means to be moved against forces applied by said spring means.

5. A locking structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said structure includes a first said latching member and a second said latching 10 member, said first and said second latching members being mounted within said internal space of said housing structure for sliding movement in opposite directions.

6. A locking structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the or each said latching member includes a body part and an elongate member part, 15 the elongate member part being securable to said body part whereby the body part is distant from said blocking member and said elongate member part extends toward said blocking means.

7. A locking structure according to claim 6 wherein said elongate member part is securable to said body part in a plurality of differing positions to selectably 20 vary the position of a distal end of said elongate member part relative to said blocking means.

8. A locking structure according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein said urging means includes a spring element engaging between said elongate housing structure and a said body part of a said latching member. 12

9. A locking structure according to any one of claims 6, 7 or 8 wherein the latching bar attachment means includes a threaded bore on a said body part of a said latching member to receive a threaded end of a said latching bar, said body part further including fixing means for securing the latching bar against rotation 5 once its longitudinal position is adjusted.

10. A locking structure according to claim 9 wherein the body part includes a threaded nut, said fixing means including means to move said nut laterally once the longitudinal position of said latching bar is adjusted.

11. A locking structure according to any one of claims 6 to 10 when appended 10 through claims 5 and 6 wherein said blocking means is constructed as a member having a pair of blocking legs extending from a central portion, each said blocking leg having a distal end adapted, in use, to engage with a respective said elongate member part of a said latching member, the lock cylinder being engageable with said central portion. 15

12. A locking structure according to claim 11 wherein the elongate member parts, in use, operate in the same plane and are equi-distant from said blocking member, the pair of blocking legs of said blocking member having equal lengths.

13. A locking structure according to claim 11 wherein the elongate member parts, in use, operate in the same plane and are equi-distant from said blocking 20 member, the pair of blocking legs of said blocking member having unequal lengths.

14. A locking structure substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. LOCK FOCUS PTY LTD WATERMARK PATENT & TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS P31597AU0