GB2277954A

GB2277954A - Adjustable shoot bolt assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2277954A
Application number: GB9309976A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Frederick Coe; Richard Charles Alistair Smith; Andrew Macdonald Fowles
Original assignee: Cego Ltd
Current assignee: Cego Ltd
Priority date: 1993-05-14
Filing date: 1993-05-14
Publication date: 1994-11-16
Anticipated expiration: 2013-05-14
Also published as: GB9309976D0; GB2277954B

Abstract

In an adjustable shoot bolt assembly for a door or window comprising a bolt formed by a bolt end member 7 which is screwed to a bolt rod 6 so that the overall length of the bolt can be adjusted, a throwing mechanism 3 to which the bolt rod 6 is attached and which is operable to advance and retract the bolt, and a guide member 8 which is intended to be fixed to the door or window and through which the bolt end member 7 is designed to slide as the bolt is advanced and retracted, the bolt end member 7 is maintained in its adjusted position on the bolt rod 6 by providing the end member 7 with a non-circular cross-section 13 over at least a portion of its length and providing the guide member 8 with a corresponding non-circular hole 2 which cooperates with the non-circular cross-section 13 of the end member to prevent rotation of the member 7. <IMAGE>

Description

ADJUSTABLE SHOOT BOLT ASSEMBLY The invention relates to an adjustable shoot bolt assembly for a door or window comprising a bolt formed by a bolt end member which is screwed to a bolt rod so that the overall length of the bolt can be adjusted, a throwing mechanism to which the bolt rod is attached and which is operable to advance and retract the bolt, and a guide member which is intended to be fixed to the door or window and through which the bolt end member is designed to slide as the bolt is advanced and retracted.

In use, the assembly is fitted to a door or an openable window such that operation of the throwing mechanism to advance the bolt when the door or window is in the closed position will cause the end member of the bolt to project beyond an edge (usually the upper or lower edge) of the door or window and into a recess provided in the surrounding fixed frame of the door or window, thereby preventing the door or window from being opened until the bolt has been retracted. The throwing mechanism may take any suitable form, but generally it comprises either a flip-over lever mechanism or a key or handle operated mechanism which may form part of a conventional lock assembly.

When fitting the shoot bolt assembly to a door or window it is necessary to adjust the length of the bolt so that the end member will be properly received in the corresponding frame recess when the bolt is advanced by the throwing mechanism. This is usually done by screwing the bolt end member further onto or off the bolt rod once the throwing mechanism has been securely fixed in position on the door or window. When the desired position of the bolt end member on the bolt rod has been reached, the two are secured together against relative rotation in a suitable manner, usually by drilling transversely into the bolt end member- and bolt rod and inserting a locking pin or screw. The guide member is then located over the bolt end member and suitably fixed to the door or window.

It is a disadvantage of such assemblies that the way in which the bolt end member is secured on the bolt rod after its position has been adjusted constitutes an additional, and sometimes awkward, step in the fitting of the assembly. Also, it does not facilitate re-adjustment of the position of the bolt end member on the bolt rod should this subsequently become necessary.

With the aim of improving this situation, according to the invention the bolt end member is provided with a non-circular external cross-section over at least a portion of its length, and the guide member is arranged to co-operate with the non-circular cross-section of the bolt end member to prevent rotation of the bolt end member when the assembly has been fitted to the door or window.

With this arrangement, after the bolt end member has been adjusted to the desired position on the bolt rod and the guide member has been placed over the bolt end member and fixed to the door or window, the position of the bolt end member on the bolt rod (and hence the length of the bolt) cannot change since the bolt rod is prevented from rotating about its axis by its connection to the throwing mechanism (which is fixed to the door or window), and the bolt end member is prevented from rotating about its axis by the co-operation of its non-circular cross-section with the guide member. There is therefore no need to carry out any additional step to lock the bolt end member positively to the bolt rod.Furthermore, if it subsequently becomes necessary to re-adjust the overall length of the bolt, all that is necessary is to remove the guide member, rotate the bolt end member on the bolt rod until the desired new position is reached, and to replace the guide member over the bolt end member and re-fix it to the door or window.

Preferably the non-circular external cross-section of the bolt end member is rectangular or hexagonal in shape.

Preferably the guide member has a hole which corresponds in shape and size to the non-circular external cross-section of the bolt end member, and in which the portion of the bolt end member having the non-circular cross-section is a close sliding fit.

One example of an adjustable shoot bolt assembly in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of illustration, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the sole Figure shows an exploded perspective view of the assembly in relation to a portion of a door or window to which the assembly is to be fitted.

In the drawing a portion of a frame member forming part of a door or openable window at one edge thereof is shown at (1), the frame member comprising a hollow UPVC extrusion fitted internally with a steel reinforcement member (2) which, in this example, is of hollow rectangular section.

The shoot bolt assembly of this example comprises a conventional lock mechanism (3) which is designed to be fixed in a recess cut in the edge (4) of the frame member (1) of the door or window, and which incorporates a throwing mechanism arranged to reciprocate a yoke (5) positioned at one end of the mechanism (3) in response to the turning of a handle (not shown) engaging with the mechanism (3), the yoke (5) being moved away from the mechanism (3) in a direction parallel to the edge (4) of the frame member (1) when the handle is turned in one direction and being moved back towards the mechanism (3) when the handle is turned in the opposite direction. A lock mechanism (3) combined with a throwing mechanism operating in this way is known and need not be described in any further detail for the purposes of the present invention.

The shoot bolt assembly further comprises a bolt rod (6), a bolt end member (7) and a guide member (8). One end (9) of the bolt rod (6) is received between the arms of the yoke (5) and is secured to the yoke by means of a retaining pin (10) which passes through aligned holes in the yoke and the end (9) of the rod (6). The rod (6) extends parallel to the edge (4) of the frame member (1) substantially to the end of the member (1), and is externally screw threaded along at least a portion of its length from its end (11) remote from the end (9) connected to the yoke (5).

The bolt end member (7) has an internally threaded bore extending along at least part of its length from its end (12) facing towards the bolt rod (6), the internal thread matching the external thread of the rod (6) so that the end member (7) can be screwed onto the rod (6) to connect the two together to form a bolt in a manner which allows the overall length of the bolt to be adjusted as desired.

Externally the bolt end member (7) has a substantially square cross-section (13) extending from its end (12) to a position which, in this example, is approximately half way along the length of the member (7). For the remainder of its length to its free end (14) the member (7) has a circular external cross- section (15) having a diameter equal to the distance between opposite faces of the square sectioned portion (13).

The guide member (8) comprises a hollow, cuboid block which is open at the bottom and has opposite end walls (16, 17), opposite side walls (18, 19), and a top wall (20). A square aperture (21) sized to just receive the square sectioned portion (13) of the bolt end member (7) is provided in the end wall (16) of the guide member (8), and a circular aperture (22) sized to just receive the circular sectioned portion (15) of the member (7) is provided in the end wall (17) of the guide member with its centre aligned with the centre of the square aperture (21).

When the bolt end member (7) has been adjusted to the desired position (to the nearest quarter turn) on the bolt rod (6), the guide member (8) is inserted over the bolt end member (7) and into the end of the frame member (1) where it is secured in place by means of a locating plug (23) and screw (24) inserted through holes provided in the edge (4) of the frame member (1) into corresponding holes provided in the top wall (20) of the member (8). The guide member (8) is thus prevented from rotating about the axis of the bolt formed by the rod (6) and end member (7), and since the end member (7) extends through the guide member (8) with its square sectioned portion (13) received in the square aperture (21) of the guide member, the end member (7) is also prevented from rotating about the axis of the bolt. Thus, since the bolt rod (6) is also prevented from rotating about this axis by its connection to the yoke (5) and the fixing of the mechanism (3) to the frame member (1), the length of the bolt (6, 7) is maintained as set and the position of the end member (7) on the rod (6) cannot be changed without disconnecting the guide member (8) from the frame member (1) and sliding it off the end member (7).

Claims

1. An adjustable shoot bolt assembly for a door or window comprising a bolt formed by a bolt end member which is screwed to a bolt rod so that the overall length of the bolt can be adjusted, a throwing mechanism to which the bolt rod is attached and which is operable to advance and retract the bolt, and a guide member which is intended to be fixed to the door or window and through which the bolt end member is designed to slide as the bolt is advanced and retracted, the bolt end member having a non-circular external cross-section over at least a portion of its length, and the guide member being arranged to co-operate with the non-circular cross-section of the bolt end member to prevent rotation of the bolt end member when the assembly has been fitted to the door or window.

2. A shoot bolt assembly according to claim 1, in which the non-circular external cross-section of the bolt end member is of rectangular or hexagonal shape.

3. A shoot bolt assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the guide member has a hole corresponding in shape and size to the non-circular external cross-section of the bolt end member so that the portion of the bolt end member having the non-circular cross-section is a close sliding fit in the hole.

4. A shoot bolt assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the non-circular external cross-section of the bolt end member extends over a portion of its length, and the bolt end member has a circular external cross-section over the remainder of its length.

5. A shoot bolt assembly according to claim 4 when dependent on claim 3, in which the hole-corresponding in shape and size to the non-circular external cross-section of the bolt end member is at one end of the guide member, and at its other end the guide member has a hole corresponding in shape and size to the circular external cross-section of the bolt end member.

6. A shoot bolt assembly according to claim 5, in which the guide member comprises a hollow block, and the holes are provided in opposite end walls of the block.

7. A shoot bolt assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the bolt end member is internally screw threaded over at least a portion of its length and screws onto a correspondingly externally screw threaded portion of the bolt rod.

8. A shoot bolt assembly according to claim 1, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.