GB2243400A

GB2243400A - Striking plate assembly for a door or window

Info

Publication number: GB2243400A
Application number: GB9009330A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Glenn Christopher Harland; Mark Adrian Harland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-04-26
Filing date: 1990-04-26
Publication date: 1991-10-30
Also published as: GB9009330D0

Abstract

The assembly comprises a mounting plate 10 which is secured to a jamb 12 or the like and a striking plate 16 which is adapted to be mounted on the mounting plate in any one of a series of angularly adjustable locations. As shown, there are top and bottom (screw) connectors passing through clearance holes 32, 34 in the striking plate 16 and engaging in the jamb. However, each set of holes in the striking plate 16 is angularly disposed with respect to slot 24, 26 in the mounting plate 10, so that a series of locations are provided at which the striking plate brings one of its clearance holes into alignment with the corresponding slot. In the preferred construction there are three clearance holes above a mortice 22 and three clearance holes below the mortice with corresponding elongate slots above and below the mortice in the mounting plate. Other arrangements of slots and holes are disclosed e.g. slots may be curved or have jagged edges or be of narrowing width. Slots may be in striking plate. A bolt 60 may be arranged as shown. <IMAGE>

Description

wAn improved striking plate for a door or window lock or catch" When a door is fitted with a spring-loaded catch; a spring-loaded lock, or a lock with a deadbolt, it is necessary to provide a striking plate which is secured to the jamb of the door frame, there being a hole or socket in the striking plate to receive the tongue of the catch or lock. Modern high security locks sometimes employ striking plates with metal mortices, which are recessed into the jamb to provide a secure housing for the tongue, and the present invention has been adapted for use with a metal mortice, though it is to be understood that it could be employed with the conventional hole or socket, which receives the tongue in a mortice formed in the jamb itself.

Reference has been made above to a striking plate being used with a door. It is to be understood that a striking plate in accordance with the invention could equally be used with a window, but for convenience, the invention will be described hereinafter in relation to a door frame.

The alignment of a striking plate hole or mortice with the tongue of a catch or lock is often difficult and it is extremely difficult to adjust the position of the striking plate after the fixing screws have been driven into the timber jamb. This problem is of special importance where the striking plate has a recessed metal mortice. It is one object of the invention to provide a striking plate which has an adjustment feature, enabling it to be adjusted relatively to the jamb to which it is secured, but which at the same time is adapted to be held very securely in a selected location.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a striking plate assembly for a door or window comprising:- a mounting plate which is adapted to be secured relative to a jamb or the like and a striking plate which is adapted to be secured to the mounting plate in any one of a series of locations (to provide a required adjustability feature) by a top connector and a bottom connector, each arranged to pass through a first clearance aperture in the striking plate and a second aperture in the mounting plate, and to engage in the jamb, the first and second apertures being so arranged as to provide a set of angularly displaced locations of the striking plate relatively to the mounting plate.

Preferably, one of said first or second clearance apertures is one of a set of clearance holes and the other one of said first or second clearance apertures is an elongate slot. The clearance holes of said set may be arranged substantially in a iine. Said elongate slot and/or set of clearance holes may be substantially arranged in a curved line.

Preferably, the general direction of said elongate slot is arranged to be inclined with respect to the general direction of said line of clearance holes.

Preferably, said top and/or bottom connectors is or are screws. There may be upper and lower elongate slots respectively above and below a hole for a catch or lock, and said upper elongate slot may be inclined to the vertical in one direction, and said lower elongate slot may be inclined to the vertical in an opposite direction.

There may be upper and lower sets of clearance holes respectively above and below a hole for a catch or lock, and said upper set may be inclined to the vertical in one direction, and said lower set may be inclined to the vertical in an opposite direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a striking plate assembly for a door or window comprising:- a mounting plate which is adapted to be secured to a jamb or the like and having a front face arranged to be mounted on a first side of the jamb, for engagement of a catch and/or lock, and a side flange arranged to be mounted on a second side of the jamb, said side flange having an aperture for the passage of a single fixing device therethrough, such that said fixing device will lie substantially perpendicularly to the direction of action of said catch and/or lock, and said fixing device is arranged to secure said striking plate assembly to said jamb.

Said catch and/or lock may be arranged to engage with a substantially encased mortice, said mortice may be arranged such that engagement of said fixing device with said flange and mortice secures said mounting plate assembly to said jamb.

Preferably said fixing device comprises a bolt. Said fixing device is preferably arranged to locate in a space between a catch and a lock.

One construction of a striking plate assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the above invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting plate arranged to be secured to the jamb of a door frame, and Figure 2 is an end view of the assembly looking from the inside of the door frame, with the striking plate in an angularly adjusted position.

The striking plate assembly in this particular example comprises a mounting plate 10, which is adapted to be secured to the jamb 12 of a door frame by four fixing screws 14, and a separate striking plate 16 which is adapted to be secured relative to the mounting plate 10 by means of screws 18 (see Figure 2). Both the mounting plate 10 and the striking plate 16 are made in sheet steel and if the striking plate is for use with a security type lock, the steel will be of high quality and a relatively thick gauge. The mounting plate 10 in this particular example generally comprises a plate and a metal mortice 22 which is formed integrally with the plate. The plate has a front face which is recessed into a reveal face 20 of the jamb 12, and a folded over flange 15, which may either be recessed into or abut the outer side 12 of the jamb.

In this preferred embodiment, the flange 15 is the full length of the plate 10, but it should be understood that the invention also includes a flange which is shorter or longer than the front face of the plate.

Four clearance holes are formed through the plate to receive the fixing screws 14. In addition, there are top and bottom slot apertures 24 and 26 formed in the mounting plate above and below the mortice 22. These slot apertures are arranged such that the top slot is inclined to the vertical in one direction, and the bottom slot is inclined to the vertical in the opposite direction-. This is apparent from the dotted locations of the slots 24 and 26 as seen in Figure 2. It should also be mentioned that the mortice 22 is somewhat larger in its internal dimen sions than is required for the tongue of the catch or lock with which the striking plate assembly is adapted to operate.

In this preferred embodiment, the mounting plate 10 is also provided with two clearance holes 40, 41 in the metal mortice. These clearance holes may be used for further securing of the mounting plate to the jamb at the mortice 22. Alternatively, where the jamb is mounted in brickwork or other walling, such that the brickwork abuts surface 50 (not visible in Figure 1), masonry bolts or other screws may be passed through these clearance holes and secure the mounting plate through the jamb, directly into the brickwork.

Where the jamb is fitted to brickwork which abuts the other face 51 of the jamb, a bolt 60 may be passed through clearance holes 61, 62 and 63 in the flange 15 and metal mortice 22 and through a drilled passage in the jamb, such that the bolt may protrude through the jamb surface 51 and into the brickwork. Alternatively, such a bolt may be used as shown in Figure 2, inserted in this passage, to strengthen the fixation of the mounting plate 10 to the jamb.

Where the preferred embodiment is used with a lock having a tongue catch and a bolt, which operate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the face of the striking plate and which are spaced apart vertically with a space therebetween, the bolt 60 may locate in the space between the tongue catch and the bolt, and perpendicularly to their direction of operation.

The striking plate 16 generally comprises a substantially rectangular plate, although it is also formed with a con ventional lip 28 having a curved extremity, for engagement with the curved side of the tongue of a door catch.

A generally rectangular hole 30 is formed through the striking plate and this hole is intended to be aligned with the mortice 22 to provide the mouth of the mortice, but the hole 30 is of rather smaller dimensions than the mortice hole 22 (see Figure 2) because the mouth of the effective hole provided in the striking plate is intended to be only a clearance hole for the thickness of the tongue of the catch or lock. It is an important feature of this preferred embodiment of.the present invention that it is possible to adjust the location of the striking plate 16 relatively to the mounting plate 10, but in any of the adjusted positions, the hole 30 in the striking plate must remain aligned with the mortice 22 in the mounting plate to allow the tongue to enter the mortice.

The striking plate 16 is also formed with top and bottom sets of clearance holes 32 and 34, which are preferably countersunk holes to receive the heads of countersunk headed wood screws engageable in the jamb 12. There are three holes 32 and 34 in each of the top and bottom sets of holes. The two rows of holes in the striking plate are each vertical rows, and preferably the two rows are in longitudinal alignment with each other.

When the striking plate assembly is being fitted to the jamb 12, the mounting plate 10 is first located as accurately as possible, and then secured in position by the fixing screws 14. The striking plate 16 is then brought into face-to-face contact with the mounting plate, but its angular location is adjusted until (i) it is in the best possible position relatively to the tongue of the catch or lock, and (ii) one clearance hole of each of the two sets 32 and 34 is in alignment with one of the slots 24 and 26.

The two wood screws 18 are then passed through the clearance holes of the aligned holes, through the aligned slots of the mounting plate and screwed into the jamb, in order to fasten the striking plate 16 to the mounting plate 10.

Referring to Figure 2, it will then be seen that the top screw 18 is passed through the bottom one of the three clearance holes 32 and through the top slot 24 into the jamb, and the bottom screw 18 is passed through the bottom hole of the set of clearance holes 34, through the aligned bottom slot and into the wood jamb. Now, because the slots in the mounting plate are inclined with respect to the vertical rows of holes in the striking plate, this provides a tilted position for the striking plate which is clearly shown in Figure 2. In fact, this represents the maximum tilt of the striking plate in one direction.

If the bottom screw 18 were removed from the lower hole of the bottom holes 34, and the inclination of the striking plate to the vertical decreased slightly, then the middle hole of the bottom holes 34 would come into alignment with the bottom slot 26, and if the screw 18 were then fitted at this middle position, the striking plate would again be securely fixed to the mounting plate, but at a slightly different position to that illustrated in Figure 2. It will be appreciated that if the bottom connecting screw 18 were removed and the top hole 34 of the bottom set brought into alignment with the bottom slot 26, so that the wood screw could be used at that position, the angle of inclination of the striking plate to the vertical would be further reduced.Hence, with the top wood screw 18 in one position, it is possible to obtain three slightly different angular locations of the striking plate.

If now the position of the top connecting screw 18 is adjusted by bringing either the middle hole of the top set of holes 32 into alignment with the top slot 24, or the upper hole of the top set of holes 32 into alignment with the top slot 24, still further angular locations of the striking plate can be selected. Since there are three possible locations for the top wood screw and three possible locations for the bottom wood screw, it is possible to select any of nine locations for the striking plate. Hence, one can obtain a wide range of adjustment of the angular location of the striking plate within the range provided by the two sets of co-operating holes and slots.This should enable the striking plate to be located in an optimum position, but it is an important feature of the preferred embodiment of the invention, that once the striking plate has been attached to the mounting plate by means of the pair of wood screws 18, it is firmly held in that location and cannot be dislodged by the tongue of a catch or lock repeatedly striking the lip 28 of the striking plate. This happens because the wood screws 18 are firmly secured against movement in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the length of the screws by the edges of the slots 24 and 26.

In an alternative arrangement which is not illustrated, the only difference from the arrangement described above is that vertical slots are provided in the mounting plate 10 and inclined rows of holes are provided in the striking plate. However, this still gives the same facility for adjusting the angular location of the striking plate on the mounting plate.

In other preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood of course that there may be only two holes in each set, and indeed there may be only one set of holes either above or below the mortice 22, utilising a single pair of co-operating slot and hole set below or above the mortice. It will also be appreciated that there may be more than three holes in each set, although it has been found that by having three holes in each of the two sets as illustrated, an adequate range of adjustment locations can be obtained.

In still more embodiments of the present invention, the slots may be provided in the striking plate, as well as in the mounting plate. Furthermore, the slots are not necessarily restricted to straight slots, but may be curved or have jagged edges or be of narrowing width. Likewise, the alignment of holes is not necessarily in a straight line, but may also be in a curve or other pattern.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

1. A striking plate assembly for a door or window comprising:- a mounting plate which is adapted to be secured to a jamb or the like and a striking plate which is adapted to be secured relative to the mounting plate in any one of a series of locations (to provide a required adjustability feature) by a top connector and a bottom connector, said top connector and/or said bottom connector arranged to pass through a first clearance aperture in the striking plate and a second clearance aperture in the mounting plate, and to engage in the jamb, the first and second apertures being so arranged as to provide a set of angularly displaced locations of the striking plate relatively to the mounting plate.

2. A striking plate assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which one of said first or second clearance apertures is one of a set of clearance holes and the other one of said first or second clearance apertures is an elongate slot.

3. A striking plate assembly according to claim 2, in which the clearance holes of said set are arranged substantially in a straight line.

4. A striking plate assembly according to claim 2, in which said elongate slot and/or set of clearance holes is or are substantially arranged in a curved line.

5. A striking plate assembly according to claim 3 or 4, in which the general direction of said elongate slot is arranged to be inclined with respect to the general direction of a line of said clearance holes.

6. A striking plate assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in which said top and/or bottom connector(s) is or are a screw or screws.

7. A striking plate assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, in which there are upper and lower elongate slots respectively above and below a hole for a catch or lock, and said upper elongate slot is inclined to the vertical in one direction, and said lower elongate slot is inclined to the vertical in a substantially opposite direction.

8. A striking plate assembly as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 6, in which there are upper and lower sets of clearance holes respectively above and below a hole for a catch or lock, and said upper set is inclined to the vertical in one direction, and said lower set is inclined to the vertical in a substantially opposite direction.

9. A striking plate assembly for a door or window, comprising:- a mounting plate which is adapted to be secured to a jamb or the like and having a front face arranged to be mounted on a first side of the jamb, for engagement of a catch and/or lock, and a flange arranged to be mounted on a second side of the jamb, said flange having an aperture for the passage of a single fixing device therethrough, such that said fixing device will lie substantially perpendicularly to a direction of action of said catch and/or lock, and said fixing device is arranged to secure said striking plate assembly to said lamb.

10. A striking plate assembly according to claim 9, wherein said catch and/or lock is or are arranged to engage with a substantially encased mortice, said mortice being arranged such that engagement of said fixing device with said flange and mortice secures said mounting plate assembly to said jamb.

11. A striking plate assembly according to claim 9 or 10, wherein said fixing device comprises a bolt.

12. A striking plate assembly according to any one of claims 9 to 11, in which said fixing device is arranged to locate in a space between a catch and a lock.

13. A striking plate assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.