GB2152573A - Catch for securing a slidable member in a closed or partly-closed position - Google Patents

Abstract

The catch comprises a pivoted catch member 6 mounted on a slidable part of a window and a block 10 mounted on an adjacent fixed frame member along which the window part is slidable and defining a notch 9 into which a pin on the catch member 6 will automatically enter when the window has been fully closed and which will prevent the opening of the window or its opening beyond a permitted limited distance, while the pin is located in the notch 9, and means for moving the catch member 6 to remove the pin from the notch 9 to permit unrestricted opening of the window, the means for moving the catch member 6 being accessible only from the side of the window from which opening is to be permitted. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Catch means for securing a slidable closure member in a closed or partly-closed position.

The invention relates to a catch means for securing a slidable closure member in a closed or partly-closed position. The slidable member is conveniently a window or a door but may be any other slidable member similar to a slidable window or door. The window or door is conveniently a window or door, such as a patio door, in an outside wall of a building; but may be any other slidable window or door, for example, in a vehicle.

Slidable windows or doors in an outside wall of a building often have locks which are accessible from the inside of the building, whereby the window or door can be secured against unauthorised entry from the outside.

Known locks require a key. The use of a key has the following main disadvantages: 1) a key can be mislaid or lost; 2) the user may forget the need to lock the window or door; 3) unless the lock is very elaborate and therefore expensive, the same key can be used to lock and unlock a large number of different locks and thus an intruder would need only one or a small number of different keys to be sure of being able to effect entry by unlocking the lock; 4) the window or door can usually only be safely locked in a fully-closed position, thereby not permitting a locked window or door to be secured by the lock in a partlyopen position when ventilation is required.

An object of the invention is to provide catch means to enable a slidable closure member such as a window or door to be secured automatically when it is moved to the closed position without the need for a key and a further object is to permit limited opening of the closure member from its fully-closed position while still remaining secure against opening from the outside.

According to the invention, catch means for securing a slidable closure member, such as a door or window, in a closed or partly-open position comprises a catch member to be mounted either on the closure member or on a fixed frame member along which the closure member is slidable, means to be mounted on the other of the closure member and said fixed frame member and defining a notch into which the catch member will automatically enter when the closure member has been moved fully into its closed position and which will prevent the opening of the closure member, or the opening of the closure member beyond a permitted limited distance, while the catch member is located in the notch and means for removing the catch member from the notch to permit unrestricted opening of the closure member, the means for removing the catch member being accessible only from the side of the closure member from which opening of the closure member is to be permitted.

The catch means may comprise a pivotallymounted plate to be fixed to the closure member adjacent an edge thereof extending in the direction of sliding, said catch member extending therefrom and spaced from the pivot of the plate, and a block to be mounted on an adjacent fixed frame member along which the closure member is slidable, the block having a notch therein positioned to receive the catch member when the closure member has been moved into its fully-closed poSition, the plate having thereon the means by which the plate can be pivoted to remove the catch member from the notch, thereby to permit the closure member to be opened.

The block may have a slot therein extending from the notch in the direction of sliding of the closure member in the opening direction thereof to receive the catch member when the latter has entered the notch, the length of the slot being such as to permit movement of the closure member in the opening direction through only a limited distance from the fullyclosed position while the catch member is located in the slot.

Conveniently, the pivotally-mounted plate is intended to be positioned adjacent the lower edge of the closure member and the block is intended to be mounted on a lower fixed frame member along which the lower edge of the closure member is slidable, the block being positioned with the notch facing upward so that, when the closure member is in its fully-closed position, the catch member will fall into and be located in the notch, the means for removing the catch member from the notch being positioned on the plate on the side of the closure member from which opening thereof is permissible and being such as to enable the plate to be pivoted to lift the catch member from the notch when the closure member is in its fully-closed position.

The block may have a ramp thereon operable to lift the catch member as the closure member is slid from an open position towards its fully-closed position, thereby to enable the catch member to slide along the upper edge of the block as the closure member is moved to its fully-closed position, when the catch member will fall into the notch.

The invention also includes a slidable closure member, such as a window or door, having catch means comprising a catch member mounted either on the closure member or on a fixed frame member along which the closure member is slidable and means defining a notch mounted on the other of the closure member and said fixed frame member, as set out in any of the immediately preceding five paragraphs.

By way of example, an embodiment of catch means in accordance with the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of part of a slidable member in its fully-closed position and showing the catch means; Figure 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 showing the slidable member in a partly-open secure position; Figure 3 is a section on the line Ill-Ill in Fig. 1; Figure 4 is an elevation of the block viewed from the opposite side thereof to that shown in Fig. 1, and Figure 5 is an elevation of a pivotallymounted plate which appears in Figs. 1-3.

Referring to Figs. 1-3, the slidable member is a window of which the slidable part comprises a lower horizontal and a vertical frame member 1, 2 and a glass sheet 3. The lower horizontal frame member 1 slides in a fixed horizontal frame member 4. There are also cooperating upper sliding and fixed frame members, not shown. In the closed position of the window, the vertical frame member 2 fits within a fixed vertical frame member 5.

The slidable window may have a conventional catch and lock or a lockable catch (not shown) to enable the slidable part of the window to be secured in its fully-closed position. Both the catch and the lock have to be manually disengaged and engaged from the inside of the window and the lock would require a removable key. In accordance with the invention an automatic catch means is provided additionally to or instead of the conventional catch and lock or lockable catch.

The catch means provided by this invention comprises a pivotally mounted plate 6, or equivalent member, which is pivotally secured to the vertical frame member 2 of the slidable part of the window by a horizontal pivot 7 at the inside of the window. In the example illustrated the pivot 7 extends through the frame member 2. Alternatively it may be mounted on a bracket secured to or extending from the frame member 2. The plate 6 has a pin 8 (see Fig. 5) extending therefrom inwardly of the window and spaced from and parallel with the pivot 7. The pin 8, when the window is fully-closed, drops into and is located in an upwardly-facing open notch 9 in a block 10 which is secured to the fixed horizontal frame member 4 at the inside of the window and immediately adjacent the vertical fixed frame member 5.The block 10 is fixed to the frame member 4 by screws, studs, rivets or the like, indicated at 11 in Fig. 1.

The block 10 has a ramp-like end face 1 2 at the end remote from the fixed frame member 5 up which a downward protrustion 1 3 on the plate 6 travels as the slidable part of the window is moved from an open position toward its closed position. As the slidable part of the window reaches the end of its closing movement, the protrusion 1 3 will travel along the upper face 1 4 of the block 10 until, just as the window becomes fully closed, the pin 8 will be positioned above the notch 9 and will fall into the notch. When this occurs, the window cannot be re-opened, except through a limited distance as hereinafter explained, until the plate 6 has been pivoted upwardly about its pivot 7.To enable this to be done, the plate 6 is provided with an apertured or gripping portion 1 5. Thus except for a permitted limited movement in the opening direction, the window cannot be re-opened except by lifting the plate 6 by means of the portion 1 5 and this is only accessible from the inside with respect to the window, unless the glass is broken. Furthermore, the pin 8 will automatically drop into the notch 9 on the closing of the window and so no locking operation or key is required.

An optional feature is to extend the bottom of the notch 9 in the opening direction with a communicating slot 1 6, shown in Fig. 4, closed at the end remote from the notch and along which the pin 8 is slidable, as the slidable part of the window is re-opened from the fully-closed position. The pin 8 is trapped within the slot 1 6 and so the window can only be re-opened by a distance equal to the length of the slot 1 6. By making the length of the slot 1 6 sufficiently small, the window can be opened, as shown in Fig. 2, through a distance which will provide ventilation but is not sufficiently wide to enable an intruder to reach through the gap from the outside of the window.The window cannot be opened further unless the window is again fully closed to return the pin 8 to the notch 9 and thereby enable the plate 6 to be pivoted upwardly to lift the pin 8 from the notch 9.

The block 10 is so positioned that the notch 9 and the slot 16, where provided, are not visible either from the inside or the outside of the window.

The catch means illustrated may be applied to a slidable door, such as a patio door, and in that case, there may be a similar block 10 and plate 6 fitted at the top of the door. The upper and lower plate 6 may be interconnected by a rigid linkage, whereby the lower plate 6 and the corresponding upper plate pivot in opposed directions when the door reaches its fully-closed position and are manually pivoted simultaneously in opposed directions when the door is to be moved to an open position, beyond the limited open position permitted by slots 16, where these are provided.

Although the plate 6 is mounted on the slidable part of the window and the block 10 is mounted on a fixed frame member 4, the two parts could be reversed and in that case the plate 6 would need to be urged by spring means into its locking position and to hold the pin 8 in the notch 9. Similarly by providing spring means to act on the plate 6, the plate 6 and the block 10 could be mounted on respective vertical frame members in the case of an upwardly and downwardly slidable closure member. A pair of oppositely pivotable plates positioned one at each side edge of the closure member may be interconnected by a linkage to effect said opposite pivotal movement.

Claims (11)

1. Catch means for securing a slidable closure member in a closed or partly-open position, the catch means comprising a catch member to be mounted either on the closure member or on a fixed frame member along which the closure member is slidable, means to be mounted on the other of the closure member and said fixed frame member and defining a notch into which the catch member will automatically enter when the closure member has been moved fully into its closed position and which will prevent the opening of the closure member, or the opening of the closure member beyond a permitted limited distance, while the catch member is located in the notch and means for removing the catch member from the notch to permit unrestricted opening of the closure member, the means for removing the catch member being accessible only from the side of the closure member from which opening of the closure member is to be permitted.

2. Catch means as claimed in Claim 1 comprising a pivotally-mounted plate to be fixed to the closure member adjacent an edge thereof extending in the direction of sliding, said catch member extending therefrom and spaced from the pivot of the plate, and a block to be mounted on an adjacent fixed frame member along which the closure member is slidable, the block having a notch therein positioned to receive the catch member when the closure member has been moved into its fully-closed position, the plate having thereon the means by which the plate can be pivoted to remove the catch member from the notch, thereby to permit the closure member to be opened.

3. Catch means as claimed in Claim 2 in which the block has a slot therein extending from the notch in the direction of sliding of the closure member in the opening direction thereof to receive the catch member when the latter has entered the notch, the length of the slot being such as to permit movement of the closure member in the opening direction through only a limited distance from the fullyclosed position while the catch member is located in the slot.

4. Catch means as claimed in Claim 2 or 3 in which the pivotally-mounted plate is intended to be positioned adjacent the lower edge of the closure member and the block is intended to be mounted on a lower fixed frame member along which the lower edge of the closure member is slidable, the block being positioned with the notch facing upward so that, when the closure member is in its fully-closed position, the catch member will fall into and be located in the notch, the means for removing the catch member from the notch being positioned on the plate on the side of the closure member from which opening thereof is permissible and being such as to enable the plate to be pivoted to lift the catch member from the notch when the closure member is in its fully-closed position.

5. Catch means as claimed in Claim 4 in which the block has a ramp thereon operable to lift the catch member as the closure member is slid from an open position towards its fully-closed position, thereby to enable the catch member to slide along the upper edge of the block as the closure member is moved to its fully-closed position, when the catch member will fall into the notch.

6. The combination of a slidable closure member and a fixed frame member along which the closure member is slidable, with catch means comprising a catch member mounted on either the closure member or the fixed frame member, means mounted on the other of the closure member and said fixed frame member and defining a notch into which the catch member will automatically enter when the closure member has been moved fully into its closed position and which will prevent the opening of the closure member, or the opening of the closure member beyond a permitted limited distance, while the catch member is located in the notch and means for removing the catch member from the notch to permit unrestricted opening of the closure member, the means for removing the catch member being accessible only from the side of the closure member from which opening of the closure member is to be per mitten.

7. The combination as claimed in Claim 6 in which the catch means comprises a pivotally-mounted plate fixed to the closure member adjacent an edge thereof extending in the direction of sliding, said catch member extending therefrom and spaced from the pivot of the plate, and a block mounted on the fixed frame member, the block having a notch therein positioned to receive the catch member when the closure member has been moved into its fully-closed position, the plate having thereon the means by which the plate can be pivoted to remove the catch member from the notch, thereby to permit the closure member to be opened.

8. The combination as claimed in Claim 7 in which the block has a slot therein extending from the notch in the direction of sliding of the closurernember in the opening direction thereof to receive the catch member when the latter has entered the notch, the length of the slot being such as to permit movement of the closure member in the opening direction through only a limited distance from the fully-closed position while the catch member is located in the slot.

9. The combination as claimed in Claim 8 in which the pivotally-mounted plate is positioned adjacent the lower edge of the closure member and the block is mounted on the frame member adjacent the lower edge of the closure member, the block being positioned with the notch facing upward so that, when the closure member is in its fully-closed position, the catch member will fall into and be located in the notch, the means for removing the catch member from the notch being positioned on the plate on the side of the closure member from which opening thereof is permissible and being such as to enable the plate tobe pivoted to lift the catch member from the notch when the closure member is in its fullyclosed position.

1 0. The combination as claimed in Claim 9 in which the block has a ramp thereon operable to lift the catch member as the closure member is slid from an open position towards its fully-closed position, thereby to enable the catch member to slide along the upper edge of the block as the closure member is moved to its fully-closed position, when the catch member will fall into the notch.

11. Catch means constructed and arranged substantially as described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings.