GB2212849A

GB2212849A - Locking assembly hookbolts

Info

Publication number: GB2212849A
Application number: GB8825598A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael George Mander
Original assignee: WJ Goodwin and Son Ltd
Current assignee: WJ Goodwin and Son Ltd
Priority date: 1987-11-25
Filing date: 1988-11-02
Publication date: 1989-08-02
Also published as: GB8825598D0; GB8727627D0

Abstract

The assembly has a body with a front plate 12 for fitting in one end of a sliding door, the body pivotally carrying two hookbolts 15, 16 which are extendable from or retractable into the body by operation of a cylinder lock (14, Figure 1) which has a lobe 41 for producing sliding of an actuator 25 in the body, the actuator 25 and a further actuator 51, linked thereto and also slidable in the body, being arranged to cause pivotal movement of the hookbolts 15, 16. Each hookbolt has a bifurcated end, forming a pair of spaced arms 71, 72, between which is pivotally mounted an adjuster hook 80 which is biased by a spring 78 to lie exactly between the arms, but which can be moved to project beyond the arms and towards the front plate 12 by operation of an adjusting screw 76. By adjusting the spacing of the hook 80 from the front plate 12, it can be ensured that when the extended hookbolts engage behind a locking plate (17, Figure 2) in frame of the door, they draw the door tightly to the frame. An anti-slam plunger 55 prevents extension of the hookbolts 15, 16 when the door is not closed. The actuators may have rods connected thereto extending to respective user and lower secondary hookbolt unit. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO LOCKS This invention relates to a hookbolt lock for a movable wing, particularly, though not exclusively, for a sliding door, such as a patio door.

It is known with a sliding door to provide a locking assembly at one end of the door and a corresponding locking plate at the frame to which said end of the door is adjacent when the door is closed. The locking assembly includes a key operable lock, actuation of which causes retraction or extension of upper and lower hookbolts of the assembly. In the closed position of the door, extension of the hookbolts causes them to pass through respective apertures in the locking plate and to be retained behind said plate, thereby retaining the door closed.

However it is found that in some instances the engagement of the hookbolts with the locking plate does not draw the door to the frame as tight as possible, with the result that there is some play between the door and its adjacent frame, when the door is closed and locked to the frame by the hookbolts. The closed door is thus not a tight fit to its frame when closed.

Another problem with this type of locking assembly is that the hook of each hookbolt extends downwardly when extended. Accordingly with some doors having this locking assembly a potential intruder may be able to release the locked door by lifting it so that the hooks are lifted out of their respective apertures in the locking plate.

An object of the invention is to provide a locking assembly in a convenient and efficient form.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a locking assembly comprises a body having a front face, and a hookbolt extendable from and retractable into the body through said front face, the hookbolt having adjustment means for altering the spacing existing in its extended position between said front face and a hook part of the hookbolt.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a locking assembly of the invention, Figure 2 is an end view of a locking plate for use with the locking assembly of Figure 1, Figure 3 is an end view of the locking assembly of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 to an enlarged scale, with a side of the assembly removed to reveal operating components thereof, Figure 5 is a plan view of a top actuator of the locking assembly, Figure 6 is a side view of the top actuator, Figure 7 is an end view of a bottom actuator of the locking assembly, Figure 8 is a plan view of the bottom actuator, Figure 9 is a side view of the bottom actuator, Figure 10 is a side view of a tumbler of the locking assembly, Figure 11 is a top view of the tumbler, Figure 12 is an underneath view of the tumbler, Figure 13 is a front view of a hookbolt of the locking assembly, Figure 14 is a side view of the hookbolt, Figure 15 is a plan view of the hookbolt, Figure 16 is a front view of part of the hookbolt, Figure 17 is a front view of another part of the hookbolt, and Figure 18 is a side view of said another part of the hookbolt.

The locking assembly shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4 has a generally conventional body formed by a pair of interconnected, parallel, rectangular side plates 10, 11, to which is secured a front plate 12 which closes the front of the body. The rear of the body is open, whilst the upper and lower ends of the body are also closed. In this embodiment of the invention, it is intended that the locking assembly is fitted in one end of a sliding door, such as a patio door, with the front plate 12 being flush with the end surface of the door in which the locking assembly is fitted. A key-hole shaped aperture 13 is provided in the side plate i0, and this aperture is aligned with a matching aperture in the interior side of the patio door, so tnat a cylinder lock 14 received in the body of the locking assembly can be key-operated in the normal manner at the interior side of the door.As will be described, operation of the cylinder lock 14 causes the extension or retraction of a pair of hookbolts carried in the body of the locking assembly. In the figures the upper hookbolt is denoted by the numeral 15, whilst the lower hookbolt is denoted by the numeral 16.

In use, it is intended that a locking plate 17, shown in Figure 2, is a flush fit in the surface of the frame to which the plate 12 is adjacent when the door is closed. The locking plate 17 has a pair of rectangular holes 18, 19 therethrough, and when fitted to the frame, longitudinally enlarged cavities are arranged behind said holes, so that, in use, when the door is closed, the hookbolts can be extended from the locking assembly to pass through the holes 18, 19 respectively and -engage behind the locking plate 17 in the above mentioned cavities respectively, thereby locking the door to the frame.

As will be described, the present invention relates to the provision of adjustment means for the hookbolts to ensure that when they are operated, the hookbolts serve to draw the door into tight engagement with the frame.

As can be seen from Figures 4 and 14, each hookbolt has a foot portion 20 in which are two circular section holes 21, 22. A rivet 23 extends from the side plate 10 to the side plate 11 and passes through the hole 21 so as pivotally to mount the hookbolt in the body.

Retained in the hole 22 is a thrust pin 24, shown best in Figure 15, for a purpose to be described. This arrangement of holes, rivet and thrust pin is the same for both the upper and the lower hookbolt.

Slidably received in the body is a top actuator 25, shown in detail in Figures 5 and 6. The top actuator 25 comprises a flat elongated plate 26 and a flat, shorter plate 27 which is parallel to, but spaced from the plate 26 by connecting pieces 28 normal thereto.

At its upper end, the plate 26 has an elongated slot 29 in which is received a cylindrical stop pin 30 which is fixed relative to the body so as to limit sliding movement of the top actuator 25. Just below this slot 29, and extending from one edge of the plate 26 is a further elongated slot 31 into which is received one end of the thrust pin 24. Thus upward or downward sliding movement of the top actuator 25 in a manner to be described, causes sliding movement of the pin 24 in the slot 31 as well as movement of the pin 24 about the pivotal axis of the hookbolt 15, with the consequence that the sliding movement of the top actuator 25 causes the extension or retraction of the bolt 15 into or out of the body of the locking assembly.

Towards the bottom of the top actuator 25, the plates 26 and 27 have respective aligned elongated slots 32, 33 therein, and extending from the side plate 10 to the side plate 11 and passing through said aligned slots is a pin 34. This pin passes through a circular section hole 35 at the bottom of a tumbler 36, shown in Figures 10-12. This tumbler lies between the plates 26 and 27 of the top actuator 25 and is freely rotatable on the pin 34. At its upper end the tumbler has a forwardly extending nose 37 which is adapted to engage over the uppermost connecting piece 28 or between the two uppermost connecting pieces 28, depending upon the position of the top actuator 25, which, as mentioned, is slidable in the body.As shown in Figure 4, the nose 37 engages between the two uppermost pieces 28 in the extended position of the hookbolt 15, and, although not shown, engages with the upper surface of the uppermost connecting piece 28 in the retracted position of the hookbolt 15. As will therefore be explained, the tumbler acts as a 'deadbolt' to prevent operation of the locking assembly other than by way of the key in the lock 14. The pin 34 also carries thereon a coiled torsion spring 38, one end of which bears against a sloping surface 39 of the tumbler to bias it into engagement with the connecting pieces 28.

Between the two lowermost connecting pieces 28, both plates 26 and 27 are cut away to provide an aligned slot 40 at the side of the top actuator 25 adjacent the cylinder lock. This slot 40 is arranged for receiving a lobe 41 of the lock 14, so that operation of the lock causes the lobe 41 to engage in the slot to move the top actuator 25 up or down in the body or the locking assembly depending upon the direction of rotation of the key. To assist movement of the lobe into and out of the slot 40, angled lead-in surfaces are provided.

Additionally, movement of the lobe 41 into the slot 40 pushes the tumbler rearwardly against its spring bias so as to release its nose 37 from engagement with the top actuator 25, so that the actuator can slide.

At its extreme end, the plate 26 is cranked to provide a foot portion 42 which extends vertically downwardly along the inside of the front plate 12. This foot portion has a circular opening 43 therein, and fixed in this opening is a thrust pin 44 which extends towards the side plate 10.

Adjacent the foot portion 42, is a pivot pin 45 secured relative to the body. Pivotally carried on this pin 45 is a metal plate which acts as an actuator cam 46. The actuator cam 46 is substantially centrally pivoted on the pin 45 and has a generally rounded end. In its end surface facing the front plate 12, is an elongated slot 47, into which extends the thrust pin 44. Towards its other end, the actuator cam 46 is provided with a circular hole 48, the centres of the pin 45, slot 47 and hole 48 lying on a common line. A second end of the torsion spring 38 engages against the pivot pin 45 so that, as described, the tumbler 36 is biased into engagement with the top actuator 25.

Tightly fitted in the hole 48 is a thrust pin 49 which extends into an elongated slot 50 in the upper end of a bottom actuator 51. This is of similar form to the top actuator in that it is linked to the lower hookbolt 16 to retract it or extend it from the body as the bottom actuator slides in said body. Accordingly this bottom actuator has, at its lower end, an elongated slot 52 into which extends a stop pin 53, with an elongated slot 54 containing a thrust pin 24 of the lower hookbolt, thereby giving the same arrangement as with the upper hookbolt and the top actuator.

An anti-slam plunger 55 is biased out of the front plate 12 by a compression spring (not shown) in a hole extending inwards from a bifurcated inner end of the plunger, and acting between the plunger and a pin 56 rivetted between the body side plates 10, 11. Aligned elongated slots 57, 58 are provided in spaced, parallel, interconnected plates 59, 60, forming the bottom actuator 51, and the pin extends into both slots to act as a guide when the actuator 51 slides, in use.

The plunger 55 has a cylindrical peg 61 which, when the plunger is retracted into the body, by reason of the door being closed and the plunger being engaged by the frame, can lie in an elongated slot 62 of plate 59 when the bolt 16 is extended. Any attempt to extend the hookbolts with the door not closed, and the plunger 55 thus extended, will fail as the bottom actuator is prevented from moving down by the peg 61 in its path.

A leaf spring 70 is disposed between the foot portion of each hookbolt and the interior surface of the front plate 12, so that each hookbolt is effectively biased to its extended position.

Before describing the hook ends of the hookbolts in detail, the general operation of the locking assembly will firstly be described.

As will be clear from the above description, movement of the hookbolts about their pivots 23 takes place as a result of sliding movement of the top and bottom actuators, the movement of which, in turn, is caused by actuation of the cylinder lock 14. Accordingly it can be seen from Figure 4 that the position shown is that where a key has actuated the lock 14 to move the lobe 41 in an anti-clockwise direction. This has caused the top actuator 25 to slide vertically upwards until the bottom of its slot 29 is engaged by the stop pin 30.

Similarly by way of the interconnection of the top and bottom actuators via the actuator cam 46, the upward movement of the top actuator results in downward vertical movement of the bottom actuator, again until the top of its slot 51 is engaged by the stop pin 53.

Initial rotation of the lobe forces the tumbler out of engagement with the top actuator, but once the maximum sliding movement has taken place, and the lobe has disengaged from the slot 40, the tumbler is biased back to engage with the top actuator 25, as shown in Figure 4. The sliding movement of the top and bottom actuators causes the thrust pins 24 to slide in the slots 31 and 54 respectively, at the same time pivoting each hookbolt to its extended position, as shown. With the front plate 12 up against the front of the locking plate 17, the hookbolts extend through the holes 18 and 19 to engage tightly therebehind.

If the anti-slam plunger 55 extends out of the front plate 12, the peg 61 obstructs downward movement of the facing part of the bottom actuator 51 so that it is not possible to extend the hookbolts. This ensures that the door is not moved to its closed position with the bolts extended, which could damage the hookbolts, and/or the locking plate. Depression of the plunger inwardly moves the peg 61 to a position where it is received in the slot 69 when the bottom actuator 51 slides vertically downwards.

If the key is now turned clockwise, the lobe 41 moves into the slot 40, this engaging the tumbler from its illustrated position and forcing the top actuator downwardly. This results in the bottom actuator moving upwardly, with the overall effect being to pivot the hookbolts into the body, the movement being limited by the stop pins 30 and 53 respectively engaging the upper and lower parts of the slots 29 and 52 respectively.

This pivoting of the hookbolts is against the force of the leaf springs 70. When the movement is complete, the plunger nose 37 engages the upper surface of the uppermost connecting piece 28, the lobe 41 then having once more moved out of the slot 40. The door can then be opened.

It will be appreciated that with this locking assembly, the upper hookbolt is directed downwardly and the lower hookbolt is directed upwardly when the hookbolts are in their extended position. Accordingly if a potential intruder were to try to lift the door in its closed and locked state, there is no danger of the door being lifted out of engagement with its frame, since a lifting of the door to release the upper hookbolt would result in the lower hookbolt engaging more positively with the locking plate 17 and associated frame. The hookbolts could alternatively face away from each other to provide the same effect or could both face in the same direction if the security aspect mentioned is not required.

Turning now to Figures 13 to 18, the hook ends of the hookbolts will now be explained in detail.

At the end of the foot portion remote from the holes 21, 22, the hookbolt increases in thickness and becomes bifurcated, forming a pair of spaced arms 71, 72. Each arm terminates at a relatively sharp point at the end of a flat surface 73 which is arranged to lie generally vertical in use, so as to engage the rear surface of the locking plate 17. Between the pair of arms 71, 72, is an outwardly facing flat surface 74 lying in a plane parallel to a plane containing the surfaces 73.

Towards the top of this surface 74 is a normally disposed, internally threaded bore 75, which extends rearwardly to an outer surface of the foot portion 20.

A hexagon socket adjusting screw 76 is threadedly engaged in the bore. At the bottom of the surface 74 is a normally disposed blind cylindrical bore 77 containing a coiled compression spring 78.

Extending through both of the arms 71, 72 is a pivot pin 79, on which is pivotally mounted an adjuster hook 80. The hook 80 is a sandwich construction of four thin flat, nickel plates, secured together by a fixing pin 81. Apart from the end adjacent which it is pivoted on the pin 79, each plate has a shape substantially corresponding to that of the two arms 71, 72. However at the rear of the pivot 79, the outer two plates have flat surfaces 82, 83 meeting at a point, whilst the inner two plates have this pointed end cut away to provide a flat surface 84 for each. All four plates have a flat surface 85 adjoining the surface 83, the surface 85 being angled inwardly thereof.

As a result of this construction, it will be appreciated from Figure 14 that the adjuster hook 80 is adjustable between two extreme positions. One of these positions is when the surfaces 83 abut the surface 74 and the adjuster hook is exactly contained between the arms 71, 72. The hook is held in this position by the force of the spring 78 acting on surfaces 85, with the screw 76 being withdrawn behind the face 74. The other extreme position is when the screw 76 is extended beyond the face 74 and bears against the surfaces 83 of the two outermost plates of the hook 80. This forces the hook 80 to pivot about its pivot pin 79 to the position shown in Figure 14 where the spring is compressed, the pointed hook-part of the hook itself projects beyond the surfaces 73 of the arms 71 and 72, and the surfaces 85 abut the surface 74.Because the inner two plates of the hook 80 are cut away, as shown in Figure 17, it is possible to insert an appropriate tool between the two outermost plates at the top of these two innermost plates, so as to adjust the screw 76 further into or further out of its bore 75, thereby setting the extent of projection of the hook 80 beyond the surfaces 73.

Accordingly in this way it is possible to provide a fine adjustment of each of the hooks 15 and 16 so that when the door is fully closed it can be ensured that there is no play between the door and the frame. If play is found, the door is opened and the screw 76 adjusted so that the hook 80 projects further beyond the surfaces 73, i.e. so that the gap between the pointed hook-part of the hook 80 and the outermost surface of the plate 12 is reduced. In this way when the door is once more closed, this hook-part of the hook 80 will tightly engage the rear of the locking plate 17 so that the door is pulled tightly closed to its frame. Of course the locking unit could be arranged with only a single main hookbolt if required.

In a development of the locking assembly, the top and bottom actuators have respective upper and lower rods or the like connected thereto and extending to respective upper and lower secondary hookbolt units intended to be received in the door at its top and bottom. In the same manner as for the top and bottom actuators, the rods are arranged, when sliding, to cause the pivoting of respective upper and lower hookbolts of the secondary hookbolt units. Thus when the top and bottom actuators slide to extend or retract the hookbolts 15, 16, the rods also slide to extend or retract hookbolts at the top and bottom of the door into or out of engagement with respective locking plates or with an extended plate 17. The secondary hookbolts can be of the same construction as the hookbolts 15, 16 or can be without the adjustment facility. The additional locking points provided by the secondary hookbolts improves security. However if necessary only one of the hookbolts 15, 16 and no secondary hookbolts could be provided.

Claims

1. A locking assembly comprising a body having a front face, and a hookbolt extendable from and retractable into the body through said front face, the hookbolt having adjustment means for altering the spacing existing in its extended position between said front face and a hook part of the hookbolt.

2. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hook part is pivotable relative to the remainder of the hookbolt by operation of the adjustment means.

3. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hook part is biased towards one extreme position and the adjustment means is operable against said bias to move it towards another extreme position, said extreme positions defining maximum and minimum values of said spacing.

4. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the hook part is pivotally mounted between the arms of a bifurcated part of the hookbolt, the arms having respective aligned engagement surfaces facing said front face of the body, the hook part also having an engagement surface facing said body front face, said hook part surface being positioned flush with said aligned arm surfaces in said extreme position corresponding to said maximum spacing, and being positioned beyond said arm surfaces towards the body part front face upon operation of the adjustment means, to reduce said spacing.

5. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 4, whrein said hook part is biased towards said extreme position corresponding to said maximum spacing by a compression spring at least partly received in a bore in said remainder of the hookbolt and acting at one side of the hook part pivot, the adjustment means being a screw at least partly received in a threaded bore in said remainder of the hookbolt and movable to act on said hook part at the other side of its pivot to move the hook part pivotally towards said minimum spacing position against the spring which is thereby compressed.

6. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the hook part is a sandwich construction made up of a plurality of flat plates.

7. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the hook part is made up of two outer plates and at least one inner plate, the or each inner plate being cut away at said other side of the hook part pivot to allow access to said screw for adjustment of the position of the hook part.

8. A locking assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hookbolt is pivotally mounted to said body, and is extendable from and retractable into the body, in use, by means of a key operable member engaging an actuator arranged for sliding movement in the body.

9. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the hookbolt has a thrust pin at a position spaced from its pivot, the thrust pin engaging in a slot in said actuator so that sliding movement of the actuator is converted into pivotal movement of the hookbolt, in use, the actuator having means associated therewith for retaining it in its sliding positions corresponding to the extended and retracted positions of the hookbolt, when the actuator is out of engagement with the key operable member.

10. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein the means associated with the actuator is an element biased into engagement with the actuator in its respective positions corresponding to the extended and retracted positions of the hookbolt, to prevent sliding of the actuator, said key operable member having a part which, on rotation of the key, moves said element out of engagement with the actuator and slides the actuator from one of its said respective positions to the other.

11. A locking assembly as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein a second hookbolt, of the same form as said one hookbolt, is pivotally mounted to said body at a position spaced from said one hookbolt, so as to be extended or retracted simultaneously with said one hookbolt.

12. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein said second hookbolt is extendable and retractable by means of a second actuator slidable in the body and linked to said one actuator by an actuator cam pivotally mounted in the body and engaged by respective thrust pins of the two actuators.

13. A locking assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein sliding movement of the two actuators to produce extension of the hookDolts is prevented by means normally biased out of said front face of the body, said means automatically being moved into the body and allowing such sliding movement and thus extension of the hookbolts when a movable wing to which the locking assembly is fitted, in use, is in its closed position relative to an associated frame.

14. A locking assembly as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the respective hook parts of the two hookbolts which are outside of the body when the hookbolts are extended, are oppositely directed.

15. A movable wing having fitted thereto a locking assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

16. A locking assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.