AU702496B2 - Releasable locking assembly - Google Patents

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a mechanism for releasably locking security screens and grilles so as to facilitate opening of the screens and grilles in emergency situations without otherwise compromising the security function.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION The need for security grilles on homes and other buildings is an unfortunate reality. Escalating incidence of crimes, such as burglary and break and enter, means that the likelihood of the security of a building °.:.being compromised is unacceptably high. The psychological impact of the family home being invaded is almost as distressing as the physical **damage that can be caused.

The solution to this problem that is chosen by a great number of people is to fit or have fitted security measures. A common security measure is screens or grilles. Known security screens and grilles take a wide variety of forms including steel bars and steel mesh.

oo.* One common screen is formed from fine woven wire mesh that is fixed into an extruded aluminium frame. Another common screen is formed from a wide grate mesh that is also fixed into a similar extruded S. aluminium frame. In each case the aluminium frame is fixed over openings to a building. The majority of the openings that are so protected are windows although security grilles for doors are also known.

Typically, the security grille is fixed to the frame of the windows of the building. The fixing may be by bolting through the extruded aluminium frame of the security grille into the timber window frame. For aluminium window frames the security grilles may be welded, rivetted or bolted in place. In older arrangements, the fixing is external through the frame and accessible to burglars. More recent extrusions have been designed which allow hidden fixing.

Although the known security grilles have proven effective in deterring burglars it has been at a cost to the safety of persons within the building so secured. In the case of an emergency the occupants are unable to egress a building through the windows. This represents a serious threat to the safety of young children, the disabled and the elderly who may experience difficulty in making their way to an exit in an emergency situation.

Hinged security grilles incorporating security locks have been developed for door openings but no suitable mechanism exists for window openings. Examples of hinged security grilles for door openings can be found in Australian Petty Patent number 663845 in the name of Vickery.

One attempted solution to the above problem may be found in Australian Patent number 656040 in the name of Harris. Harris describes a security panel release mechanism which is applicable to sliding doors and windows. The operation of the security panel release mechanism is integrated with the operation of the sliding window or door. Thus, the security panel is released when the sliding window or door is slid to a fully open position. This arrangement suffers from the draw back of only being applicable to sliding windows. Furthermore, the security panel can be inadvertently released by fully opening the window or door.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a releasable locking mechanism for security grilles that substantially overcomes one or more of the identified problems in the prior art.

Further objects will be evident from the following description.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In one form, although it need not be the only or indeed the broadest form, the invention resides in a releasable locking assembly for a security grille covering an opening comprising a frame member including a terminal portion and a grille retaining portion for securely holding the security grille; a latch assembly attachable to the frame member, said latch assembly including a catch; and a base catch member including a base member attachable to a perimeter of the opening by attachment means and a strike engageable with the catch of the latch assembly so as to retain the security grille in a closed position over the opening; wherein the latch assembly is operable to disengage the catch from the strike thereby allowing movement of the security grille to an open position allowing egress through the opening.

The latch assembly is preferably biased to a position wherein the catch and strike are engaged.

The latch assembly suitably comprises a latch handle incorporating the catch, a guard and a pivotal attachment between the latch handle and the guard.

The latch member preferably further includes a guard preventing access to the latch handle through the security grille.

In preference the assembly further comprises a lid in hinged 20 engagement with the guard, said lid covering the latch handle for additional security against unauthorised access to the latch handle. The lid is preferably biased to a closed position by a spring.

The assembly may suitably include a slider catch member S* -attachable to the base catch member, said slider catch member incorporating a slider strike for engagement with a slider catch of the latch handle.

The assembly may further comprise a cover member fixable to the base catch member to cover the attachment means.

In a further form, the invention resides in a releasably lockable 30 security grille covering an opening comprising: a frame formed from a plurality of frame members, said frame members including a terminal portion and a grille retaining portion for securely holding the security grill; a latch assembly attachable to one of said frame members, said latch assembly including a catch; and a plurality of base catch members attached to a perimeter of the opening, said base catch members including a base member attachable to the perimeter of the opening by attachment means and at least one of said base catch members including a strike engageable with the catch of the latch assembly so as to retain the security grille in a closed position over the opening; wherein the latch assembly is operable to disengage the catch from the strike thereby allowing movement of the security grille to an open position allowing egress through the opening.

In one form the releasably lockable security grille further comprises a hinge member fixed to one side of the perimeter of the opening and providing hinging engagement with the terminal portion of the corresponding extruded frame member so that the security grille is mounted for hinged movement between the closed and open positions.

In preference the hinge member is fixable to the corresponding 20 base catch member which is fixable to one side of the opening surround.

S" In another form the releasably lockable security grille further .comprises a sliding member fixable to opposing sides of the perimeter of the opening and providing sliding engagement with the terminal portion of the corresponding extruded frame member so that the security grille is mounted for sliding movement between the closed and open positions.

In preference the sliding member is fixable to the corresponding base catch member which is fixable to opposing sides of the perimeter of the opening.

30 BRIEF DETAILS OF THE DRAWINGS To assist in understanding the invention preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the following figures in which FIG 1 is a sketch of a hinged security grille fitted to a window; FIG 2 is an end view of a base catch member extrusion; FIG 3 is an end view of a slider catch member extrusion; FIG 4 is an end view of an extruded frame member; FIG 5 is an end view of a latch handle extrusion; FIG 6 is an end view of a guard extrusion; FIG 7 is an end view of a cover member extrusion; FIG 8 is an end view of a hinging member extrusion; FIG 9 is an end view of a lid extrusion; FIG 10 is an end view of a modified guard extrusion; FIG 11 is an end view of a further embodiment of a extruded frame member; **FIG 12 is a sketch of a releasable locking mechanism applicable to hinged security grille; FIG 13 shows the security grille of FIG 12 in an open position; FIG 14 is a sketch of a hinge for a hinged security grille in a closed position; FIG 15 is a sketch of a hinge for a hinged security grille in an open **.position; FIG 16 is a sketch of a releasable locking mechanism applicable to a sliding security grille; FIG 17 shows the security grille of FIG 16 in an open position; FIG 18 shows a slider for a sliding security grille; FIG 19 is a sketch of a releasable locking mechanism applicable to a sliding security grille and incorporating a lid; FIG 20 shows the releasable locking mechanism of FIG 19 with the lid open; FIG 21 is a sketch of a releasable locking member applicable to a hinged security grille and incorporating a lid; FIG 22 shows the releasable locking mechanism of FIG 21 with the lid open; FIG 23 is a sketch of an alternate embodiment of a latch handle extrusion; FIG 24 is a sketch of an alternate embodiment of a guard extrusion; and FIG 25 is a sketch of an alternate embodiment of a modified guard extrusion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts.

Referring to FIG 1, there is shown a security grille 1 fitted to an S. aluminium frame sliding window 2. The security grille 1 is held within a o:i. frame that is hinged at one side 3 and latched at the opposite side 4.

A base catch member 5 is attached to the perimeter of the window frame 6 in conventional manner, such as by screws through base member 7. The base catch member is an extruded component which is cut to length as required. The structure of a preferred embodiment of the base catch member 5 is shown in FIG 2 and includes a hinge strike 8. A locating stop 9 is used in hinge applications but detached at 10 to adapt t cbso the base catch member 5 for slider applications.

The base catch member 5 may be adapted for slider applications by attachment of slider catch member 11. One embodiment of a slider i catch member 11 is shown in FIG 3. The slider catch member 11 includes a slider strike 12 and a receiving flange 13. The slider catch member 11 is fitted to the base catch member 5 as shown in FIG's 16 and 19 to form a modified base catch member.

The security grille 1 comprises an extruded frame member 14 and grille 15. The extruded frame member 14 is mitre cut and assembled in conventional member, such as by using corner spikes. The structure of the extruded frame member 14 is shown in detail in FIG 4. It comprises a grille retaining portion 16 having an appropriate structure for the design of the grille. FIG 4 shows a frame member suitable for a fine mesh such as 8 that known as Crimsafe SupermeshTM Other grille designs can be incorporated by modification of the grille retaining portion 16. An embodiment of the frame member 14 suitable for use with AmplimeshTM is shown in FIG 11.

At an opposite end of the extruded frame member 14 from the grille retaining portion 16 is a terminal portion 17 that serves as a hinge portion in one application and as a slider portion in another application and a stop portion in yet another application, as described further below. A flange 18 Is provided on the frame member 14 for engagement with a latch assembly.

The latch assembly comprises a latch handle 19 (one embodiment of which is shown in FIG 5) and guard 20 (one embodiment of which is shown in FIG The latch handle 19 and guard 20 are extruded members that extend to nearly the full length of the security grille. The latch handle 19 includes a hinge catch 21 which engages the hinge strike 8 In the hinged application and a slider catch 22 which engages the slider strike 12 in the slider application.

The latch handle 19 is pivotally assembled to the guard 20 as shown in FIG 12. There is a ball 23 on the latch handle 19 that locates in corresponding cup 24 in the guard 20. A spring 25 is positioned between 20 flange 26 on the guard 20 and beam 27 on the latch handle 19 to bias the °,°latch handle 19 to a latched position, as shown most clearly in FIG 12.

o FIG 12 shows the above described components assembled in one application as a hinged security grille. The base catch member 5 is S° screwed to a window frame 40 with screws 41. A cover member 37 (shown in FIG 7) is positioned as shown to maintain aesthetic appearance. The latch handle and guard are assembled as described Sabove and fixed to the extruded frame member 14 by locating stub 18A on guard 20 seating under flange 18 of extruded base member 14.

The security grille is shown in the closed and locked position in FIG 30 12. Terminal portion 17 (acting as a stop portion) abuts locating stop 9 and o° o °catch 21 locks against hinge strike 8. To open the security grille the handle portion 29 of latch handle 19 is depressed thereby disengaging catch 21 from strike 8. Pressure is applied to the assembly and the grille swings open as depicted in FIG 13. The guard 20 prevents access to the latch handle 1 9 through the grille thereby ensuring security is not compromised.

It will be noted that the slider catch 22 is detached from the latch handle 19 for the hinged application. To facilitate detachment of the slider catch 22 a detent 31 may be formed, as shown in FIG The hinge assembly for hinging of the security grille is shown in FIG 14. A hinging member 30 is fixed to a base catch member 5 by screw 43 and, in tumrn, is attached to window frame 40 with screws 41. The terminal portion 17 of the extruded frame member 14 engages with the hinging member 30 to allow hinged movement between a closed position (FIG 14) and an open position (FIG 15). The base catch member 5 is modified in this application by removal of locating stop 9.

Turning now to FIG 16, there is shown an alternate application of the releasable locking assembly, being a slider application. In this application the base catch -member 5 is again attached to a window frame 40 by screws 41, as in the hinged application. Slider catch member 11 is 20 attached to the base catch member 5 using screws or rivets, as shown in .o FIG 16. Locating stop 9 is detached from the base catch member 5 to permit attachment of the slider catch member 11. The latch handle 19, guard 20 and extruded frame member 14 are assembled as above.

In the closed position, the terminal portion 17 of the extruded frame member 14 acts as a stop portion and abuts the receiving flange 13 of the Sslider catch member 11. Slider catch 22 engages slider strike 12 to lock the security grille in the closed position. To open the security grille the handle portion 29 of the latch handle 1 9 is depressed, thereby disengaging the slider catch 22 from the slider strike 12 and allowing the security grille to be slid into the open position as shown in FIG 17. The guard prevents access to the latch handle 19 through the grille thereby ensuring security is not compromised.

The hinge member 30 acts as a slider member in this application as depicted in FIG 18. It will be appreciated that the terminal portion 17 of the extruded frame member 14 can slide in the corresponding portion of the hinge member 30. The hinge member 30 is fixed to base catch member 5 by screw 43 which is in turn fixed to the top and bottom of the window surround 44 by screws As discussed earlier, the grille engagement portion 16 of the extruded frame member 14 may be modified to suit different grille designs. FIG 11 shows an extruded frame member 14 having an identical structure to that of FIG 4 except that the grille engagement portion 16A is designed to fit AmplimeshTM open weave grilles. Because the AmplimeshTM grille has an open weave it is desirable to provide additional security to prevent access to the handle portion 29 of the latch handle 19. This is achieved with a lid 32 (shown in FIG 9) and a modified guard 33 (shown in FIG The modified assembly is. shown applied to a slider application in FIG 19. The base catch member 5 is fixed to the window frame (not The slider catch member 11 is fixed to the base catch member o9 20 after the locating stop 9 is detached at 10. The latch handle 19 is pivotally i: assembled to the guard 33 which is fixed to the extruded frame member S:9: :9 14. In the closed position (shown in FIG 19) the terminal portion 17 acts as stop portion and abuts the receiving flange 13. Slider catch 22 engages slider strike 12.

25 Lid 32 pivotally engages guard 33 by interlocking of complimentary 9 ;°hinge portions 34A and 34B. A spring 35 biases the lid 32 to a closed position so that the lid 32 prevents access to the latch handle 19. A lid *pso extension 36 covers a gap between the base catch member 5 and the '000%latch handle 19.

To open the security grille the lid 32 is lifted (as shown in FIG and the latch handle 19 is depressed thereby disengaging slider catch 22 11 from slider strike 12. The security grille is then slid to the open position as previously described and shown in FIG 17. To facilitate lifting of the lid a finger aperture may be provided.

FIG 21 shows the modified assembly applied to a hinged application. The base catch member 5 is fixed to a window frame (not shown) through base 7. Cover member 37 is fixed in place. Latch handle 19 is pivotally assembled to modified guard 33 which is fixed to extruded frame member 14. The security grille is shown in the closed position in FIG 21 with terminal portion 17 acting as a stop portion and abutting locating stop 9. Hinge catch 21 engages hinge strike 8 to releasable lock the security grille. Lid 32 is pivotal engaged with guard 33 by hinge portions 34A and 34B. Spring 35 biases the lid 32 to the closed position. Lid extension 36 is snapped off in this application to avoid interference with the window frame.

FIG 22 shows the lid raised to allow access to the latch handle 19.

The latch handle 19 may be depressed to disengage the hinge catch 21 from the hinge strike 8 thereby allowing the security grille to be opened as shown in FIG 13.

It will be appreciated that the embodiments described above are 20 only indicative of the specific structures of the components and other ~modifications will fall within the scope of the invention. For example, other :ol grille engagement portions will be necessary for different designs of S: security grille. Other cover members may be desirable for aesthetic reasons in certain circumstances. Nonetheless, the releasable lock mechanism is applicable to hinged and sliding situations to allow S:emergency egress from within a building yet preventing entrance from without a building.

S"By way of example, alternate embodiments of the latch handle, guard and modified guard are shown in FIG's 23-25. The latch handle 38 30 of FIG 23 and the guard 39 of FIG 24 serve the same function as the latch 4 L handle 19 and guard 20 in the hinge application depicted in FIG 12. The ball 40 locates in the corresponding cup 43 for pivotal movement of the latch handle 38. The hinge catch 41 engages the hinge strike 8 of the base catch member 5 as previously described. The guard 39 is fixed to extruded frame member 14 by locating stub 18A seating under flange 18 in the manner described with reference to FIG 12. The advantage of the alternate embodiment shown in FIG's 23 and 24 is that the hinge formed by ball 40 and cup 43 is more difficult to disengage that the embodiment shown in FIG 12.

An alternate embodiment 44 of the modified guard 33 of FIG 10 is shown in FIG 25. The alternate embodiment of the modified guard 44 has the same advantage as the alternate embodiment of the guard 39 and also allows provision of a lid 32 in the manner shown in FIG 19.

The use of a small set of standard extruded components makes the invention economic and easy to install. Furthermore, it is simple to operate and able to be used by small children and the elderly. Although described in terms of its application to windows it is clear that the discussion is equally applicable to security grilles fitted to doors.

Throughout the specification the aim has been to describe the preferred embodiments of the invention without limiting the invention to ~any one embodiment or specific collection of features.

13 THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:- 1. A releasable locking assembly for a security grille which covers an opening comprising: a frame member including a hinge portion and a grille retaining portion for securely holding the security grille; a latch assembly attached to the frame member, said latch assembly including a catch; a base catch member including a base member attached to a perimeter of the opening by attachment means and a strike engageable with the catch of the latch assembly so as to retain the security grille in a closed position over the opening; the latch assembly being operable to disengage the catch from the strike thereby allowing movement of the security grille to an open position allowing egress through the opening; wherein at least the latch assembly or base catch member have at least one detachable member that can be detached to allow the releasable locking assembly to be used on either a hinged security grille or a sliding •*security grille.

2. The releasable locking assembly of claim 1 wherein the latch 20 assembly and the base catch member each have one detachable member.

3. The releasable locking assembly of claim 1 or 2 wherein the latch o assembly includes biasing means to bias the catch to a position wherein the catch and strike are engaged.

4. The releasable locking assembly of claim 1 or 2 wherein the latch assembly comprises a latch handle incorporating the catch, a guard and a °:•,!pivotal attachment between the latch handle and guard.

The releasable locking assembly of claim 4 wherein the guard prevents access through the security grille to the latch handle.

6. The releasable locking assembly of claim 4 wherein said pivotal attachment comprises a cup and ball.

7. The releasable locking assembly of claim 4 further comprising

Claims (5)

1. 8. The releasable locking assembly of claim 3 or 7 wherein the biasing means is a spring.
2. 9. The releasable locking assembly of claim 4 further comprising a lid in hinged engagement with the guard, said lid covering the latch handle for additional security against unauthorised access to the latch handle. The releasable locking assembly of claim 9 wherein the lid is biased to a closed position by a spring.
3. 11. The releasable locking assembly of any one of the preceding claims wherein the frame member includes a flange adapted to engage a locating stub on the latch assembly to facilitate attachment of the latch assembly to the frame member.
4. 12. The releasable locking assembly of any one of the preceding claims wherein the base catch member further comprises a slider catch member incorporating a slider strike for engagement with the catch.
5. 13. The releasable locking assembly of any one of the preceding claims :further comprising a cover member fixable to the base catch member to cover the attachment means. 20 14. The releasable locking assembly of claim of any one of the preceding Oi claims wherein the one or more of the frame member, latch assembly and base catch member are extruded. Dated this Sixth day of January 1999 IDEAS MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys FISHER ADAMS KELLY FISHER ADAMS KELLY r EDITORIAL NOTE- NUMBER 28542/97 THIS SPECIFICATION DOES NOT CONTAIN A PAGE ABSTRACT A releasable locking assembly for security grilles formed from a small range of versatile components adaptable for hinged and sliding applications. The assembly comprises a universal frame member having a terminal portion engageable with a corresponding part of a base catch member for sliding or hinging applications. A latch assembly is attached to the frame member and includes a catch which engages a strike on the base catch member. The latch assembly is operable to disengage the catch from the strike. e* a