GB2441176A

GB2441176A - Door Restrictor

Info

Publication number: GB2441176A
Application number: GB0616891A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew John Wilkes
Original assignee: Assa Abloy Ltd
Current assignee: Assa Abloy Ltd
Priority date: 2006-08-25
Filing date: 2006-08-25
Publication date: 2008-02-27
Also published as: GB0616891D0; IE20070594A1

Abstract

A cable restrictor arrangement for a door mounted in a door frame comprises: a cable anchor (1) for fitting to the door frame (3); a latch assembly (4) for fitting to the door (6); and a cable (7) attached to the cable anchor (1) at one end and fitted with a latching member (11) at the other end, the latching member (11) being detachably engageable in the latch assembly (4) from a first side of the door. The latch assembly (4) includes first compression spring for biasing the latching member (11) away from an engaged position and towards a detached position, latching element (12) movable between a first latched condition for engaging the latching member (11) and retaining it engaged in the latch assembly and a second released condition for allowing the first compression spring to move the latching member to the detached position, second compression spring (15) for biasing the latching element (12) into the first latched condition, and a manually operable actuator (16) on the first side of the door (6) for moving the latching means (12) against the bias of the second compression spring (15) into the second released condition.

Description

Door Restrictor This invention relates to a restrictor arrangement for

a door.

It is well known to provide a chain on a door in order to allow the door to be opened a small distance while keepiiig the door secured against further opening. Such door chains can damage the edge of a door when they are used if an attempt is made either on purpose or by mistake to open the door beyond the distance allowed by the chain.

They can also be awkward for a user to operate. Also, it is sometimes desirable to open a door from the opposite side to that on which the chain is mounted. With an ordinary door chain that is not possible because, for security reasons, the chain is fitted such that the door is not able to be opened far enough for a person on the outer side of the door to reach around the edge of the door to detach the chain.

It is an object of the invention to overcome or mitigate one or more of the disadvantages referred to above.

According to the invention there is provided a cable restrictor arrangement for a door mounted in a door frame, the assembly comprising: a cable anchor for fitting to the door frame; a latch assembly for fitting to the door; a cable attached to the cable anchor at one end and fitted with a latching member at the other end, the

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latching member being detachably engageable in the latch assembly from a first side of the door, the latch assembly including first resilient means for biasing the latching member away from an engaged position and towards a detached position, latching means movable between a first latched condition for engaging the latching member and retaining it engaged in the latch assembly and a second released condition for allowing the first resilient means to move the latching member to the detached position, second resilient means for biasing the latching means into the first latched condition, and a manually operable actuator on the first side of the door for moving the latching means against the bias of the second resilient means into the second released condition.

By using a cable instead of a chain, the risk of damage to the door edge is much reduced and a more attractive arrangement for restricting the opening of the door can be provided.

The cable restrictor arrangement preferably includes a lock mechanism operable from the second, opposite, side of the door for moving the latching means against the bias of the second resilient means into the second released condition. By providing both a manually operable actuator on one side of the door and a lock mechanism openable from the other side of the door, both for releasing the latching means, it becomes possible to release the cable from the opposite side (usually the outside) of the door to that on which the cable is fitted.

Preferably the first and second resilient biasing means comprises a compression spring.

Preferably the latching member comprises an elongate member including one or more outwardly projecting portions which abut against the latching means in the latched condition of the latching means. The latching member is preferably inserted into the casing and into the latched position by a linear movement of the latching member. That makes the operation of latching the cable especially simple for a user.

The latching means preferably comprises a slidably mounted member including an opening through which the latching member can be inserted when the latching means is in its second released condition but through which the latching member cannot pass when the latching means is in its first latched condition.

Preferably the latching member and the latching means are arranged in the latch assembly such that insertion of the latching member into the latch assembly is effective to move the latching means into its second released condition, the latching means being biased back into its first latched condition upon further insertion of the latching member into the latch assembly. In that case, a user can effect the operation of the cable latch simply by inserting the latching member into the latch assembly. It is not necessary for the user to move the latching means in any further operation. )

The cable may be pivotably connected to the cable anchor. When the cable anchor is fitted to the door, the axis of pivoting may be a horizontal axis. The cable may hang down vertically from the cable anchor when the latching member is not inserted into the latch assembly.

If desired, one or more brackets may be provided to keep the cable in place when it is not inserted into the latch assembly and/or the cable may adopt the desired position by virtue of a memory effect in the cable.

The manually operable actuator is preferably a slidable member projecting outwardly from a casing of the latch assembly, preferably from an opening in the top of the casing, and is preferably movable into the casing to move the latching means against the bias of the second resilient means into the second released condition. The actuator may be integral with the latching member but in an embodiment described below is a separate member.

In the case where the lock mechanism is provided, it is preferably a manually operated lock and more particularly a cylinder lock which may be operated by a key.

The present invention further provides a door assembly including a door mounted in a door frame and a cable restrictor arrangement as defined above, the cable anchor being fitted to the door frame and the latch assembly being fitted to the door. )

By way of example, an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Fig. 1 is a front view of a cable restrictor arrangement mounted on a door and a door frame; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cable restrictor arrangement of Fig. 1, viewed from the rear, shown in the locked condition and with parts of the arrangement omitted to reveal other parts; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cable restrictor arrangement of Fig. 1, viewed from the rear, shown in the released condition and with parts of the arrangement omitted to reveal other parts.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a cable restrictor arrangement comprising a cable anchor 1 fixed by screws 2 to a door frame 3, a latch assembly 4 fixed by screws 5 to a door 6, a cable 7 pivotably connected at one end on a rod, 8 extending across a recess 9 in the anchor 1, and connected at the other end to the head 10 of a latch member 11, inserted into an opening 18 (Fig. 4) in the assembly 4.

The interior of the assembly 4 can be seen in Figs. 3 and 4. Latching means is provided in the form of a latching element 12 mounted for vertical sliding movement ) in a housing 13 of the assembly 4. Compression springs 15 on either side of the latching element 12 bias the element upwardly into contact with a manually operable actuator member 16 mounted for vertical sliding movement above the latching element 12 and projecting out of the casing.

The latching element 12 has an upper, latching, position shown in Fig. 3 but can be lowered against the bias of the springs 15 into a lower, released, position shown in Fig. 4.

As can be seen in Fig. 4, the opening 18 in the assembly 4 for receiving the end of the latch member 11 is of circular cross-section and the latching element 12 has an opening 19, all but a bottom portion of which is of the same circular cross-section as the opening 18; however, the opening 19 has an extended lower portion referenced 20 in Fig. 4.

As shown in Fig. 4, in the released position of the latching element 12, the openings 18 and 19 are aligned.

Referring to Fig. 3, the leading portion of the latch member 11 is shown (it is not shown in Fig. 4) and it can be seen that the leading portion comprises a central stem 21 around which is provided a collar 22 which projects radially outwardly from a circular part 23 behind the collar 22. The diameter of the collar 22 is such that it can be passed readily through the openings 18 and 19 when they are aligned, but the collar 22 cannot pass back through the opening 19 when the latching element 12 is in its upper position shown in Fig. 3 because the bottom of ) the circular part 23 of the latch member 11 is received in the extended lower portion 20 of the opening 19 and withdrawal of the collar is prevented by the abutment of lower portions of the collar 22 against the latching element 12.

The collar 22 is rounded on the leading side that is inserted first into the housing 13 of the assembly 4, but has a flat vertical face on its other side. Accordingly if the collar is inserted into the housing 13, when the latching element 12 is in the position shown in Fig. 3 (as will normally be the case), it cammingly engages the latching element 12 and moves it downward into the position shown in Fig. 4, allowing the collar 22 to pass the latching element 12. Once the collar 22 is past the latching element 12, the element 12 moves back into the position shown in Fig. 3, due to the bias of the springs 15.

The latching element 12 can also be moved from its upper, latching position to its lower, released position, by a key operating a cylinder lock assembly 24 on the other side (the outside) of the door. The cylinder lock assembly 24 is of conventiona.l construction and has a tailpiece comprising a bar 25, the projecting end of which is received in an opening 26 in the latching element 12, the opening 26 being below the opening 19. In the position shown in Fig. 3 the bar 25 rests on the bottom face of the opening 26 and the latching element 12 is in the upper, latching position. When the lock is operated, the bar 25 1) is rotated through 900 and the latching element 12 is pulled down against the bias of the springs 15 into the lower, released, position shown in Fig. 4 (in which the bar 25 is shown but not the cylinder lock assembly 24).

A compression spring, not shown in the drawings, is provided in the housing positioned such that it receives the stem 21 of the latch member 11 when the latch member is inserted into the housing 13 and thus both opposes insertion of the latch member and causes the latch member 11 to be pushed out of the housing when the latching element 12 is in the lower, released, position (unless of course a user is inserting the latch member into the housing with sufficient forced to overcome the spring bias).

The operation of the cable restrictor arrangement will now be described. If a user on the inside of the door wishes to secure the restrictor for extra security then it is simply necessary to insert the latch member 11 into the opening 18 against the resilient bias of the compression spring (not shown) that receives the stem 21. Prior to insertion, the latching element 12 is in the upper, latching, position shown in Eig. 3. During insertion, as the collar 22 passes through the opening 19 in the latching element 12 it moves the latching element 12 downwardly against the bias of the springs 15 into the position shown in Fig. 4. When fully inserted, the collar 22 is clear of the opening 19 and the latching element 12 moves back to the position shown in Fig. 3. In this state, the latch ) member 11 is securely held in the housing 13 of the latch assembly 4 and the cable 7 therefore restricts opening of the door 6 to a very limited amount.

If a user on the inside of the door wishes to release the cable restrictor, it is simply necessary to depress the actuator member 16 projecting from the top of the housing 13 of the latch assembly 4. That moves the latching element 12 down into its lower, released, position shown in Fig. 4 and the bias of the compression spring around the stem 21 then pushes the latch member 11 out of the housing 13, releasing the restrictor.

It is also po5Sible for a key holder to release the restrictor from outside the door. The key holder operates the cylinder lock assembly 24 as described above, moving the latching element 12 down into its lower, released, position shown in Fig. 4 whereupon the bias of the compression spring around the stem 21 then pushes the latch member 11 out of the housing 13, releasing the restrictor.

Claims

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-10 -Claims: 1. A cable restrictor arrangement for a door mounted in a door frame, the assembly comprising: a cable anchor for fitting to the door frame; a latch assembly for fitting to the door; a cable attached to the cable anchor at one end and fitted with a latching member at the other end, the latching member being detachably engageable in the latch assembly from a first side of the door, the latch assembly including first resilient means for biasing the latching member away from an engaged position and towards a detached position, latching means movable between a first latched condition for engaging the latching member and retaining it engaged in the latch assembly and a second released condition for allowing the first resilient means to move the latching member to the detached position, second resilient means for biasing the latching means into the first latched condition, and a manually operable actuator on the first side of the door for moving the latching means against the bias of the second resilient means into the second released condition.

2. An arrangement accordingto claim 1, in which the arrangement includes a lock mechanism operable from the second, opposite, side of the door for moving the latching means against the bias of the second resilient means into the second released condition -11 - 3. An arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, in which the first resilient biasing means comprises a compression spring.

4. An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 3, in which the second resilient biasing means comprises a compression spring.

5. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the latching member comprises an elongate member including one or more outwardly projecting portions which abut against the latching means in the latched condition of the latching means.

6. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the latching means comprises a slidably mounted member including an opening through which the latching member can be inserted when the latching means is in its second released condition but through which the latching member cannot pass when the latching means is in its first latched condition.

7. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the latching member and the latching means are arranged in the latch assembly such that insertion of the latching member into the latch assembly is effective to move the latching means into its second released condition, the latching means being biased back into its first latched condition upon further insertion of the latching member into the latch assembly.

8. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the cable is pivotally connected to the cable anchor.

-12 - 9. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the manually operable actuator is a slidable member projecting outwardly from a casing of the latch assembly and movable into the casing to move the latching means against the bias of the second resilient means into the second released condition.

10. An arrangement according to. claim 2 or any of claims 3 to 9 when dependent upon claim 2, in which the lock mechanism comprises a cylinder lock.

11. A cable restrictor arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A door assembly including a door mounted in a door frame and a cable restrictor arrangement according to any preceding claim, the cable anchor being fitted to the door frame and the latch assembly being fitted to the door.