CA2084210A1 - Bi-fold door locking device - Google Patents

Bi-fold door locking device

Info

Publication number
CA2084210A1
CA2084210A1 CA 2084210 CA2084210A CA2084210A1 CA 2084210 A1 CA2084210 A1 CA 2084210A1 CA 2084210 CA2084210 CA 2084210 CA 2084210 A CA2084210 A CA 2084210A CA 2084210 A1 CA2084210 A1 CA 2084210A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
doors
portions
fold
pair
door
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA 2084210
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Eric Hasenhuendl
Katherine Ann Hasenhuendl
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
HASENHUENDL KATHERINE ANN
Original Assignee
Eric Hasenhuendl
Katherine Ann Hasenhuendl
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Eric Hasenhuendl, Katherine Ann Hasenhuendl filed Critical Eric Hasenhuendl
Priority to CA 2084210 priority Critical patent/CA2084210A1/en
Publication of CA2084210A1 publication Critical patent/CA2084210A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05CBOLTS OR FASTENING DEVICES FOR WINGS, SPECIALLY FOR DOORS OR WINDOWS
    • E05C19/00Other devices specially designed for securing wings, e.g. with suction cups
    • E05C19/18Portable devices specially adapted for securing wings
    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05BLOCKS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; HANDCUFFS
    • E05B65/00Locks or fastenings for special use
    • E05B65/0085Locks or fastenings for special use for folding wings, e.g. bi-fold wings

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Extensible Doors And Revolving Doors (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A unique three-sided channel for use for locking a pair of bi-fold doors is the subject matter of the present invention.
The three-sided channel can be of most any configuration as long as the top portion is slightly larger than the thickness of the bi-fold doors. The channel is installed when the bi-fold doors are in the open position. The channel is then slidably moved along the top edge such that it rests adjacent the front, back and top of one of the doors. Once the doors are placed in the closed position, the channel is moved across the top edge of the other door so that the front, rear and top portions of the channel are adjacent to the front, rear and top edge, respectively, of both of the doors. To move the doors from the locked to the unlocked position, the channel is slidably moved onto one or other of the doors so that they are free to open.

Description

` 2084210 ;

DISCLOSURE
This invention is directed towards door locks and particularly, locking devices for bi-fold doors.
In recent times bi-fold doors for cupboards or closing off entrance ways from living rooms to dining rooms, and the like, have become quite common. There is, however, no satisfactory device for the locking of bi-fold doors in order to exclude children, pets and the like. Hooks and deadbolts have been used, ~ -,. , ~
but these, sooner or later, tend to break free of the doors due to jarring movements or play by children or others.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a substantially universal type of simple door locking mechanism for use with bi-fold doors of all types.

:
It is another object of the invention to provide a locking mechanism device of simple configuration which can be ~;
removed from the door when not in use and which has no moving parts, and is of simple configuration.
Therefore, this invention seeks to provide a locking device for a bi-fold door comprising: at least one rigid planar top portion having a width slightly greater than the thickness of a bi-fold door, and a thickness less than the distance between the top edge of said door and a door frame; at least one planar rigid front portion being integral with said top portion and at a substantially right angle thereto; and at least one rigid planar rear portion being integral with said top portion and at a substantially right angles thereto; said front and rear portions being substantially parallel to one another in spaced apart `- 208421~
.~. . .

relationship; whereby in operation, said device is slidably mounted upon a top edge of one of a pair of bi-fold doors when said doors are in an open unlocked position; and when said pair of doors are in a closed position, said device is slidably moved along the top edges of said bi-fold doors to a second position where at least part of each of said top, front and rear portions of said device lie adjacent at least part of the top edge, front and rear faces, respectively, of both of said pair of bi-fold doors, thereby preventing said doors from being opened.
The device of the present invention can come in many configurations and variations, as long it maintains the three basic parts, that is to say, three sides, each side being at right angles to adjacent sides. The top side is generally of a width which is slightly larger than the thickness of a bi-fold door.
This allows the locking device to slide along the top edge of the door while being narrow enough that the doors, in the locked position, cannot be jarred back and forth, thereby creating damage.
The device must be rigid and can be made from a suitable material such as hardened thermoplastics. From an aesthetic point of view, the front planar portion can be of lesser width than the rear portion. The thickness of the device must be such that the top side will fit between the top edge of a mounted bi-fold door and a door frame. In one alternative the rear portion can be a continuous piece and the top and front sides can be shorter as long as they are long enough to overlap each of the pair of bi-fold doors on either side of the hinged space between the two.

` ``` 20~4210 In operation, when the bi-fold door is in the open position, the device can be mounted onto the top edge commencing ;~
at the middle hinged end of one of the doors and then slidably moved along the top edge of the door until the device does not extend beyond the edge of the door. Thereafter, when the doors - -are closed, i.e, in a position substantially 180 from one another, the device of the present invention is slidably moved along the top edge of both doors such that it straddles the hinged space between the doors.
As long as at least part of the front portion lies adjacent both the front sides of the pair of bi-fold doors, and a part of the top portion, and rear portions of the device lie adjacent a part of the top edges and rear sides, respectively, of : ~
both doors, the invention will maintain the doors in a locked position.
When it is desirable to unlock the doors, the device is moved to rest solely on the top edge of one or other of the doors -and the bi-fold doors can be opened. When not in use the device can simply be removed from the top edge of one of the doors and stored in a convenient place.
The invention, although simple in its configuration and concept, presents a very effective locking measure, particularly when it is desirable to keep pets or children out of a particular area.
The invention will be described in further detail in connection with the following drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a basic embodiment of . !

'.``4`` 20~210 the present invention;
Figure 2 is a top perspective view of the same embodiment;
Figure 3 is an end view of the same embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention; :
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second alternative ~ :
embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a third alternative ~ ;
embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of a variation of the present invention in telescopic form;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the present invention mounted on one of a pair of bi-fold doors in the open position;
Figure 9 is a front view of the present invention with a ~
pair of bi-fold doors in the closed but unlocked position; ~ :
Figure 10 is a front view of the present invention, on a pair of bi-fold doors which are in the locked closed position; ~ :
Figure 11 is a front view of two pairs of bi-fold doors in the locked closed position; and Figure 12 is a view of the present invention on a pair of bi-fold doors which are in an unlocked, half-open position.
Figures 1 and 2 show a simple embodiment of the present invention. The device consists of a channel-like member having a top side 2, a front side 3 and a rear side 4. The front and rear .
sides, 3 and 4, respectively, are parallel to one another, and 208421~

descend downwardly at right angles from, and are integral with the top side 2. The top side 2 has a thickness 5 which is dictated by the distance in operation between the top of the bi-fold door and :~ :: ::
the door-frame. The top side 2 has a width which is slightly greater than the thickness of a bi-fold door, thus allowing the channel-like member 1 to slide along the top edge of the pair of ~;
doors.
Figure 3 is an end view of a typical embodiment of the invention 1 wherein the width of top side 2, between front and :;,:
rear sides, 3 and 4, is approximately 1 1/4" to 2". The front side portion 3, for the sake of ornamentation, is generally of less width than the rear portion 4. One notes that the front and rear sides, 3 and 4, are substantially at right angles to the top side 2.
In Figure 4, the top side of the device is composed of two portions, 2a and 2b. Similarly, the front side is comprised ~; `
of two portions 3a and 3b. In operation, when the device of the present invention l is placed on top of a pair of bi-fold doors in the locked position, the hinged space which separates each one of the pair of doors should lie approximately near the mid-line 8.
Similarly, in Figure 5, the device is adapted, in the locked position, to rest such that the mid-line 8 is near the hinged space 8a, between the pair of bi-fold doors.
In Figure 6, the top portion 2 of the device is asymmetric in formation. The front edge of the top 2 is substantially the same length as the top edge of the front portion 3, and the rear edge of the top portion 2 is substantially the ': ~.:
~' .,~. ~, ,- "

`
2Q~ ~21 ~ 74391-2 ~ ~

same length as the rear portion 4. ~ ~
Figure 7, shows a perspective view of an alternative - ~-design which is telescopic in nature. There is one device shown with the typical front, top and rear portions, 3, 2 and 4. A
second device is shown with front, top and rear sides marked as 3', 2' and 4', respectively, mounted on top of the first device.
Thus the width of a top side 2' is slightly wider than that of the width of top side 2. When the pair of bi-fold doors are in the unlocked position the two devices 1 and 1' slide together and are mounted on the top edge of one of the pair of bi-fold doors. It is imperative that the sum of the thicknesses 5 and 5' of the top edges 2 and 2', respectively, do not exceed the distance, in operation, between the top edge of the mounted bi-fold door and the top of the door frame.
The operation of the device of the present invention will now be shown in conjunction with Figures 8 through 12.
In Figure 8 the bi-fold door is open and the device 1 is mounted upon the top edge 9 of one of the doors 7. The rear portion 4 moves between the two doors through the hinged space 8a while the front face 3 lies adjacent the front of the door. In order to close the door, the device 1 must be pushed fully along the top edge 9 of the door 7 such that it does not extend beyond the end of the top edge of the door 7.
In Figure 9 the device 1 has been moved along the top edge of door 7 such that it does not extend beyond the end of top edge 9 of the door. The device has a thickness small enough such that the top side 2 does not rub upon the lower surface 10 of the ~`
20~421~

top of the door frame.
In Figure 10 the device 1 has been moved to the left along the top edges 9 of the doors 6 and 7 such that the mid~ ;~
portion 8, shown in dotted lines, is substantially straddling the hinged space between the doors 6 and 7, shown as 8a. Thus, in Figure 10, the two doors 6 and 7, which make up the bi-fold door, are in a locked position. If one attempts to pull the doors outwardly, the device 1 will prevent opening.
In Figure 11, two pairs of bi-fold doors are shown from a front view, in the locked positior., with the front portion 3 of the device 1 straddling the hinged space 8a between the two doors 6 and 7. In this position neither of the pairs of bi-fold doors can be opened.
Finally, in Figure 12, the left-hand pair of doors 6 and 7, are shown in a partially open position, with the front portion 3 of the device 1 lying adjacent the front side of only one door 6.
Although a number of alternative embodiments of the particular invention have been described in detail, it is understood that the device of the present invention comprises any embodiment which consists of a substantially channel-like member which is adapted to fit over the top edge of a pair of bi-fold doors and slidably move from a locked to an unlocked position.

Claims (7)

1. A locking device for a bi-fold door comprising:
at least one rigid planar top portion having a width slightly greater than the thickness of a bi-fold door, and a thickness less than the distance between the top edge of said door and a door frame;
at least one planar rigid front portion being integral with said top portion and at a substantially right angle thereto;
and at least one rigid planar rear portion being integral with said top portion and at a substantially right angles thereto;
said front and rear portions being substantially parallel to one another in spaced apart relationship;
whereby in operation, said device is slidably mounted upon a top edge of one of a pair of bi-fold doors when said doors are in an open unlocked position;
and when said pair of doors are in a closed position, said device is slidably moved along the top edges of said bi-fold doors to a second position where at least part of each of said top, front and rear portions of said device lie adjacent at least part of the top edge, front and rear faces, respectively, of both of said pair of bi-fold doors, thereby preventing said doors from being opened.
2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said top, rear and front portions are of equal length.
3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rear portion is wider than said front portion.
4. A device as claimed in claim 1 including two front and top portions of a combined length of less than said rear portion, said front and top portions being integrally connected with said rear portion.
5. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said top and front portions are shorter in length than said rear portion and said top and front portions are integrally connected to said rear portion near the middle of said rear portion.
6. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said front portion is shorter than said rear portion and said top portion is asymmetrically integrally attached to the top edges of both said rear and front portions throughout their respective lengths.
7. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein a pair of said devices are employed to lock a bi-fold door;
one of said pair having a top portion slightly wider than the top portion of the other of said pair, whereby, in operation, said pair of devices matingly engage each other in telescoping relationship such that in the locked position, part of the top, front and rear portions of one of said devices lies adjacent the top edge, front face and rear face, respectively, of a first of said doors, and part of the top, front and rear portions of the other of said devices, lie adjacent the top edge, front face and rear face, respectively, of a second of said doors;
and at least a portion of the top, rear and front portions of each device overlaps the other in the locked position.
CA 2084210 1992-12-01 1992-12-01 Bi-fold door locking device Abandoned CA2084210A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2084210 CA2084210A1 (en) 1992-12-01 1992-12-01 Bi-fold door locking device

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA 2084210 CA2084210A1 (en) 1992-12-01 1992-12-01 Bi-fold door locking device

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2084210A1 true CA2084210A1 (en) 1994-06-02

Family

ID=4150771

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 2084210 Abandoned CA2084210A1 (en) 1992-12-01 1992-12-01 Bi-fold door locking device

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA2084210A1 (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2574695A (en) * 2018-03-29 2019-12-18 Era Home Security Ltd Security device
US10876332B2 (en) 2018-03-23 2020-12-29 Era Home Security Limited Security device
US11828094B1 (en) * 2020-08-21 2023-11-28 David Kistner Security system for doors

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10876332B2 (en) 2018-03-23 2020-12-29 Era Home Security Limited Security device
GB2574695A (en) * 2018-03-29 2019-12-18 Era Home Security Ltd Security device
GB2574695B (en) * 2018-03-29 2023-03-15 Era Home Security Ltd Security device
US11828094B1 (en) * 2020-08-21 2023-11-28 David Kistner Security system for doors

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
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