GB2385093A

GB2385093A - Door locking apparatus with shrouded mounting

Info

Publication number: GB2385093A
Application number: GB0302557A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Geoffrey Burchell
Original assignee: STOCKTON ENGINEERING Ltd
Current assignee: STOCKTON ENGINEERING Ltd
Priority date: 2002-02-06
Filing date: 2003-02-05
Publication date: 2003-08-13
Also published as: GB0302557D0; GB0202686D0

Abstract

A door locking apparatus includes a first portion 1 adapted for mounting to a door frame 19 or the like, a second portion 8 adapted for engagement with the first portion and arranged to be mountable to the door 20 associated with the frame to operationally engage with the first portion, a cover member 22 adapted to shroud, any regions 21 of said portions by which the first and second portions are respectively secured to the frame and door, and means eg. apertured post 12 to be engaged by a locking device eg a padlock to secure the portions and the cover member together.

Description

DOOR SECURITY SYSTEMS AND APPARATUS This invention to apparatus for enhancing the security of closure members such as provided in connection with storage facilities, commercial and residential premises, cupboard doors, doors, as may be provided in relation motor vehicle garages, doors associated with so-called external building such as sheds, lockups and the like.

Historically, the doors of buildings particularly those for garages have either been hung for opening and closing rotation about a vertical axis located to one side of the door body or for opening or closing rotation about a horizontal axis in the vicinity of the upper horizontal edge of the door, or by means of a travelling axis in which the upper part of the door is carried by rolls or the like running n rearwardly directed guides.

In the case of some buildings, such as garages, these can be of single width where the associated garage is intended to accommodate width wise a single vehicle width or of a double width when associated with a garage for accommodating at least two vehicles side by side In either case the doors involved are of considerable width and in consequence, particularly in the case of metal and/or glass fibre doors, it is possible easily to flex/distort the doors and gain entry into the associated building.

Historically in the case of such relatively wide doors it has been a conventional practice to retain such doors in their closed positions by means of a centrally located rotatable pivot unit. to which the inner ends of each of two oppositely directed bars or rods are pivotally connected, the outer ends regions of these rods or bars being engaged with guides located at the sides of the door in such manner that the outer ends of the two rods or bars are able easily to slide therein to project outwardly when in their locked positions to locate and latch behind the

appropriate brackets or the like provided upon the frames associated with the doors. With such arrangements the resistance of the rods or bars to distortion and/or bending provides the sole door holding locking resistance.

The arrangement as so far discussed is such that on rotating the pivot unit m one sense, i. e. , clockwise, the rotation of the pivot unit simultaneously moves the rods or bars outwardly to their projecting locking positions Whilst on rotating the pivot unit in the opposite sense, e. g. , anticlockwise the rods or bars are so displaced as to draw the outer ends inwardly so that these outer ends no longer project outwardly of the door sides thereby to unlock the door.

It will be understood from the above that when the doors are closed and an associated key is used to lock the locking mechanism against rotation of the pivot unit the door is held in its locked position by the engagement of the outer ends of the rods or bars in the engagement with the door frame. It will be appreciated that it is known additionally to provide electrically controlled remotely operable arrangements for opening and closing the door locking system from a remote position as an alternative to key controlled manual operation or as a combination of both enabling selective manual or remote control.

It has been found that total reliance on this mode of retammg large area doors in their locked positions fails to provide adequate security in endeavouring to prevent unauthorised opening of the doors. In practice, total reliance on this mode of retaining large area doors in their locked positions fails to provide adequate security in endeavouring to prevent unauthorised opening of the doors.

It is known to incorporate into such a central door locking system means for locking comer regions of a door that is vertically hung for opening and closing displacement about a horizontal pivot axis adjacent the upper part of the door.

Preferably, the movable locking member is mounted in a bracket assembly

adapted for connection to the door, the bracket member including a back plate and upper and lower outwardly projecting parts serving as guides for the bolt member, and wherein the resilient loading of the bolt member comprises spring means provided on that part of the bolt member located between the projecting parts.

Conveniently each movable locking member is operationally coupled by its associated linkage to a linkage connection element associated with the main locking system pivot means. The arrangement is such that in order to unlock the door following release of the locking mechanism the pivot is turned in the appropriate sense to cause each linkage to withdraw, against the resilient loading thereof, its associated locking member from its associated fixed locking member, thereby to free the door for opening.

Conveniently, the upper and lower locking members are operationally coupled by way of oppositely directed bars, rods, cables or the like, to pivot means incorporating a lock mechanism, the arrangement being such that in order to unlock the door following release of the locking mechanism the pivot is turned in the appropriate sense to cause the rods, bars, cables or the like to withdraw the locking members, against the resilient loading thereof, from their locking engagement with the associated locating and locking points thereby to free the door for opening provided adjacent to one vertical side of a door.

In spite of the provision of such multi-operational locking means controllable from the centre operating position it has been found that the associated doors can with relative ease be opened by use of rods, bars or the like that are able sufficiently to distort the doors to'spring'one or more of the retaining locks to enable entrance of an intruder.

A further problem arises in that if an intruder enters a building such as a lockup shed or garage by way of a window such intruder can invariably release any

locking effected by the central locking system thereby enabling easy opening of the door in such manner as not to attract attention.

It is an object of the present invention to provide door locking apparatus that may be readily operationally fitted to a door and door frame assembly either during the actual fitting of the door to the associated framing or at any time thereafter.

Broadly according to the invention there is provided a door locking apparatus including a first portion adapted for mounting to a door or associated door frame, a second portion adapted for engagement with the first portion and adapted to be mountable to the door frame or the door associated with the frame In such position as to be able operationally to engage with the first portion, a cover member adapted to shroud, any regions of said portions by which the first and second portions are respectively secured to the frame and door, and means for enabling a lock to be so fitted to the apparatus as to prevent when fitted separation of the portions.

Preferably, the first portion includes a plate like element mountable to the door and having an outwardly directed peg or the like mounted thereto, the peg or the like being adapted for receiving a key operable lock, and in which the second portion comprises an element mountable to the frame and having an aperture engageable by the peg or the like when the door is closed In a preferred construction cover arrangements are provided for shrouding the exposed regions of the portions in such manner as to resist attempts to remove the portions respectively from the frame and door.

Preferably the first portion includes a plate like element mountable to the door or frame and having an outwardly directed peg or the like mounted thereto, the peg or the like being adapted for receiving the hapse of a key operable lock, and in

which the second portion comprises an element mountable to the frame or door and having an aperture engageable by the peg or the like when the door is closed, Preferably, the cover arrangements are shaped to shroud the exposed regions of the portions in such manner as to resist attempts to remove the portions respectively from the frame and door.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how to cany the same into effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which :- Figure IA is an elevation of of an embodiment of a first element/portion of a locking apparatus incorporating the concepts of the invention, Figure IA is a section on the line A-A of Figure 1 ; Figure 2 is an elevation of an embodiment of a second element/portion of a locking apparatus incorporating the concepts of the invention; Figure 2A is a section on the line B-B of Figure 2; Figure 3 is a part sectional view of the apparatus of Figure 1, and Figure 2 when respectively mounted to a closure member and associated closure frame, or vice versa, the portions of the apparatus being in an in-line orientation; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a enclosing or cover means for the apparatus portions shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 3 illustrating the use of the enclosing or cover means of Figure 4;

Figure 6 schematically illustrates the apparatus of Figure 1, and Figure 2 when mounted to a closure member and associated closure frame, the portions of the apparatus being in an relatively perpendicular orientation to each other, Figure 7 is a perspective view of a enclosing means for the apparatus portions shown in Figures 1 and 2 when in the orientation shown in Figure 6; and Figure 8 is a perspective exploded view of the apparatus of Figures 6 and 7 in the process of mounting to a door and associated door frame; Referring now to Figures I and 1 A these Figures illustrates a first portion of the apparatus as comprising an elongate metal plate/strip 1, including a small step 2 intermediate the ends thereof Two holes 3 are provided to one side 4 of the step 2 for receiving screws or the like (neither shown in the Figures) for mounting the plate 1 to a closure member frame or closure member or door (neither shown in Figures 1 and 1 A). The free end 5 of the side 4 is set at right angles to the remainder of the side 4. A larger hole 6 is provided in the plate/strip to the other side 7 of the plate 1.

Figures 2 and 2A illustrate a second portion of the apparatus as comprising an elongate metal plate/strip 8 including a small step as at 9. Two holes 10 are provided to one side 11 of the step 9 for receiving screws or the like (not shown in Figures 2 and 2A) for the mounting of the plate 8 to the closure member or closure member frame (neither shown in Figures 2 and 2A). An upstanding peg 12 with a smoothly rounded free end is provided on the other side 13 of the step 6 the peg 12 being firmly secured to the plate 8 by a schematically illustrated mounting arrangement 14. It will be appreciated that the step 9 enables mounting of the peg 12 without its mounting arrangement 14 projecting beyond the plane of the surface 15 of the plate side 13.

The free end 16 of the plate side 13 is set at right angles to the remainder of the side.

The peg 12 is intended to be engaged in the hole 6 of the plate 1. The peg 12 is, adjacent to the outer/free end thereof, provided with a through bore 17 which is intended to be engaged by the locking ring/hasp of a key operable lock (not shown in Figures 2 and 2A).

It will be apparent that with the provision of the steps in the plates intermediate the ends thereof has the result that the plane of the each plate to one side of the step therein is raised above the plane of the plate to the other side of the step.

The apparatus as so far described can be used in a variety of modes. A first such mode is when the two plates I and 8 when mounted to a door and door frame assembly are arranged in an in line configuration. A second such mode is where the plates when mounted to a door frame are at an angle to each other i. e, perpendicular to each other.

Referring now to Figure 3 which illustrates application of the apparatus shown in Figures z lA, 2 and 2A in the first mode of usage As will be seen two strips/plates 1 and 8 are respectively mounted to a door or frame 19 and to the frame or door 20 of the door as to be in line when the door is closed position as is shown in the Figure 3 and is required by said first mode. In Figure 3 only a fragmentary portions of the frame and door are shown. As will be seen the strip/plate 1 is secured to the door frame 19 by retaining means 21 such as screws/bolts and that the strip/plate 8 is secured to the door frame by retaining means such as screw/bolts 21.

It should be noted that if the door opens inwardly the plate 8 will be fitted to the door so that the peg 12 on closing the door moves towards the plate fixed to the

frame, and that if the door opens outwardly the plate 1 will be mounted to the door since on closing the door the plate will move towards the peg projecting from the door frame.

As will be noted in the position shown in Figure 3 the peg 12 projects outwardly of the strip/plate 1 sufficiently for the hasp part of a key operable ! rock (not shown) to be engaged therewith thereby preventing subsequent separation of the strip/plate away from the strip/plate 8 on the door.

As so far discussed it will noted that the heads of the various screws 21 are exposed so that as depicted in Figure 3 the plates could be removed by removing the screws 21. To prevent this the plates 1 and 8 on both the door and frame are shrouded by a cover 22 shown in Figure 4, from which it will be seen that the cover 22 includes a main plate 23 having a hole 24 of such diameter that It is an easy fit over the peg 12. The cover has side walls 25, and if considered convenient/necessary end walls (not shown) of such height that the cover 22 can engage over the two plates/strips 1 and 8 whilst still enabling the peg 12 to project sufficiently through the hole 24 in the main plate 23 for the lock hasp to be engaged in its locking position.

In practice, the cover 22 can be resiliently loaded so that when the ! ock hasp is fitted the cover is pressed firmly towards the door and frame plates I and 8. This arrangement can serve the additional purpose of pulling the door and frame into closer in association with the tumed-up parts 5, 16 of the plates I and 8 a deterrent to the insertion of levers or the like between the plates I and 8 for the purposes of their forcible removal.

As above mentioned the apparatus as so far described has involved the mounting of the strips/plates in an in-line arrangement. In practice, the strips/plates can be arranged at an angle to each other as indicated as the second usage mode, the

choice of angle being related to the particular relationship between a closure member and a frame associated therewith and the particular formation of the frame and closure member, for example, in relation to non-rectangular closures.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates an arrangement of the strips/plates l, 8 when arranged perpendicular to each other. For this arrangement the actual construction of the strips/plates is as previously discussed in relation to an in-line orientation.

To accommodate the perpendicular arrangement the associated cover 26 is of a different shape as is shown in Figure 7. As will be noted the cover 26 includes a generally right angled triangular main plate 27 from which the hypotenuse including comer regions have been removed to leave a shortened hypotenuse 28 and to form two further edges 29 respectively perpendicular to the remaining edges 30 of the plate 27. A side wall 31 depends from the hypotenuse 28 and an end wall 32 depends from each the two edges 29 and the edge 28. A hole 33 is provided in the main plate adjacent to the right angled corner of the main plate 27, this hole 33 being an easy fit of the peg 12.

As in the case of the in-line arrangement the dimensions of the various walls 30, 31 and 32 are such that the cover 26 can engage over the two plates/strips I and 8 whilst still enabling the peg 8 to project sufficiently through the hole 32 in the main plate 27 for the lock hasp to be engaged in its locking position.

Since it is in many combinations of associated closure members and frames the surfaces thereof to which the strips/plates are mounted are flush one with the other when in their closed positions, this being particularly the case when the apparatus of the present invention is mounted to the such inner faces the dimensions of the step in the strips/plate mounted to the frame is such as to be

able to provide clearance to accept corner. plates sometimes provided upon the lower comers doors commonly for the purpose of stiffening the structure thereof.

Figure 8 is an exploded view of the arrangement of the plates 1 and 8 when m their perpendicular orientation. In the Figure a lock 34 is shown.

Whilst the forgoing description has specification referred to doors and associated door frames it will be appreciated that the apparatus of the inventicn would be used in conjunction with hinged windows and their associated frames. Hence the term door and door frames should be regarded as embracing hinged windows, shutters and like articles that are required to be securely maintained in a closed and locked condition.

In practice, it has been found that the apparatus of the invention assists in the prevention of a person from laterally displacing a door such as a garage type door relative to the associated frame in such manner as to spring or otherwise cause locking bars etc. , commonly used with garage type doors, sufficiently to cause the locking bars to disengage from their locking positions. In other words the engagement of the pegs 12 in the associated hole 6 on the engaging plate serves additionally positionally to locate the door.

Claims

CLAIMS ]. A door locking apparatus including a first portion adapted for mounting to a door or associated door frame, a second portion adapted for engagement with the first portion and adapted to be m (unstable to the door frame or the door associated with the frame in such position as to be able operationally to engage with the first portion, a cover member adapted to shroud, any regions of said portions by which the first and second portions are respectively secured to the frame and door, and means for enabling a lock to be so fitted to the apparatus as to prevent when fitted separation of the portions.
2. A door locking apparatus as claimed in claim I and wherein the first portion includes a plate like element mountable to the door and having ar outwardly directed peg or the like mounted thereto, the peg or the like being adapted for receiving a key operable lock, and in which the second portion comprises an element mountable to the frame and having an aperture engageable by the peg or the like when the door is closed.
3. A door locking apparatus as claimed in claim I or 2, and wherein, cover arrangements are provided for shrouding the exposed regions of the portions in such manner as to resist attempts to remove the portions respectively from the frame and door.
4. A door locking apparatus as claimed in claim I 2 or 3, wherein each of the first and second portions includes an elongate plate including a step intermediate the ends thereof whereby the plane of the each plate to one side of the step therein is raised above the plane of the plate to the other side of the step.

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5. A door locking apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the other side of each said plate is apertured to receive means for mounting the associated plate in its operational position, and wherein one of said other plate sides is provided with an element projecting outwardly therefrom and the other one of said other plate sides is adapted for engagement by the element when said other sides are arranged one adjacent the other.
6. A door locking apparatus as claimed in claim 5, and wherein th element is adapted to receive the hasp of a lock in such manner as to prevent the two portions being separated one from the other when the hasp is engage ! with the element.
7. A door locking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2,3, 4,5 or 6, wherein the first and second portions are adapted for operational mounting ir an in-line configuration.
8. A door locking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2,3, 4,5 or 6, wherein the first and second portions are adapted for operational mounting transverse to each other.
9. A door locking apparatus constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.