GB2480615A

GB2480615A - A fitting with a reinforcing protrusion for a door or window

Info

Publication number: GB2480615A
Application number: GB201008654A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lawrence Ashley Morgan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-05-25
Filing date: 2010-05-25
Publication date: 2011-11-30
Also published as: GB201008654D0

Abstract

A fitting 1, 15, for a door or window frame comprises a plate 2, 16, to be fitted to a door or window frame, the plate having a rear face arranged to abut against the frame and a front face. The fitting further comprises a strengthening protruding cylindrical member 6, 20, fixed to the plate with a distal end of the cylindrical member protruding from a rear face of the fitting in a direction of substantially perpendicular to the plane of the plate. This permits the projecting cylindrical member 20 to be recessed in a hole in the frame, or possibly through the frame into masonry, to secure the fitting against lateral movement. The fitting may be a keep plate 1 or a hinge 15. In the case of a hinge, the cylindrical member 20 may be fixed to and extend through a first leaf 16 of the hinge with a second leaf 17 of the hinge having an aperture 23, through which the cylindrical member 20 may pass as the hinge is closed such that, when the hinge is secured to both a door and a frame in the closed position, the cylindrical member 20 extends through both the frame and a portion of the door preventing relative lateral movement of the two, even if a hinge pin is removed. The reinforcing cylinder may be hollow and have a shoulder 32 for a screw to secure the plate in position. The cylinder may be threaded for accepting a threaded stud, e.g. grub screw, to achieve the strength of a solid cylinder and offer greater resistance to a force applied during an attempted break in; the stud may project beyond the surface of the doorframe.

Description

Fitting for a Door or Window The present invention relates to a fitting for a door or window frame and particularly, but not exclusively, to a keep or hinge to be fitted to a door jam or window frame.

Doors and opening windows are commonly employed to prevent unauthorised access to a building. These are often secured in a frame which is fixed to the building by two or more hinges mounted on one side of the frame and a locking device on the opposite side of the frame, (or door jam). In the case of the door, the locking device is commonly a bolt of a mortise lock engaging with a keep plate mounted on the door jam.

The security provided by a door or window in the frame is dependent on how securely the fittings, for example hinges and keep plates are secured to the frame, and in the case of a hinge, how securely the two leaves of the hinge are attached to each other.

Keep plates are commonly secured to door frame by two screws mounted above and below an aperture in the keep plate into which aperture a bolt, is received. Forces applied to the door by an attempted entry, with the bolt in place in the keep, are applied in a direction transverse to the keep plate. Although the keep plate may be slightly recessed into the frame, the force will often be transferred to the two screws which are normally secured in the wood of the frame very close to the edges of an aperture cut into the frame, to allow the bolt to protrude through the keep plate. This is a potential weakness, as excessive force applied to the door may cause the screws to be wrenched from the frame, often splitting the frame weakened by the aperture.

Longer screws may be employed for securing the keep plate. However, this has the drawback that the screws have to be excessively long relative to their diameter if they are to be accommodated in the apertures in the normal keep plate and the screws will thus often bend on the application of excessive force permitting the keep plate to be sufficiently dislodged for the bolt to disengage from the keep plate. Thicker screws could be used but this is not desirable because this would require the keep plate to be significantly wider to accommodate the heads of such screws and have a significantly increased thickness in order to permit the screws to be counter sunk flush with the face of the keep plate.

The problems discussed above apply equally to a hinge, which again relies on screws to secure the hinge both to the frame and to the door or window. In addition, in the case of an outwardly opening exterior door, the hinge pin, joining the first and second leaves of the hinge together, is exposed and can be driven out to separate the two leaves of the spring or in the case of a security hinge, where the pin is welded at either end to respective leaves of the hinge, the hinge pin can be cut from the hinge.

Security hinge bolts are known, the primary purpose of which is to avoid a door or window being opened simply by removal of the hinge pins. These comprise a stud extending from the door or window which is received in a keep recessed in the frame, such that when the door is closed the stud effectively acts as a bolt extending from the door or window into the keep in the frame. Thus, if the hinge pins are removed from the hinges that retain a door or window in place, the door or window will still be retained in place by the security hinge bolts.

An alternative way of preventing authorised access by removal of the hinge pin, is to employ security bolt hinges, where one leaf of the security bolt hinge has a fixed protrusion which, when the hinge is in a closed position, extends into a recess in the other leaf of the hinge. Thus when the hinge is closed and the hinge pin is subsequently removed, the protrusion on the one leaf engaging with the recess in the other leaf prevents opening of the door or window from the hinge side.

Security bolt hinges have to be fitted in parallel to the standard hinges requiring a significant amount of additional work cutting the recess for the keep plate and ensuring the keep plate and bolt are correctly aligned. This is avoided with security bolt hinges for a security bolt hinge is fitted in exactly the same way as a standard hinge and can be substituted for a standard hinge. However, a problem with the security bolt hinge is that if the pin is removed and there is sufficiently clearance for the door or window to be laterally displaced away from the hinge, once the hinge pins have been removed, then the protrusion on one leaf may clear the recess on the other leaf permitting a door or window to be opened from the hinge side. Furthermore, screws securing the hinge to the window and frame are the only means of fixing and excessive force may cause the screws to be drawn from the frame.

According to the present invention there is provided a fitting for a door or window comprising a plate to be fitted to a frame, the plate having a rear face to abut against the frame and a front face, the fitting further comprising a cylindrical member fixed to the fitting with a distal end of the cylindrical member protruding from the rear face of the fitting, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the plate.

Employing a fitting in accordance with the present invention enables the cylindrical member to be recesses into the frame, typically by the cylindrical member being accommodated in a drilled hole in the frame. The hole may be of substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of the cylindrical member. The cylindrical member may thus provide a secure anchoring in the frame preventing sideways displacement relative to the frame as may occur during a forced entry. Additionally and the cylindrical member may be dimensioned such that it extends through the frame into any masonry which may surround the frame and may thus provide a direct anchoring point to the masonry.

Preferably, the wall of the cylindrical member defines a shoulder towards the distal end, permitting a screw to be inserted in the cylindrical member to protrude from the distal end of the cylindrical member, the screw being retained by the head of the screw engaging with the shoulder. This may enable the base of the cylindrical member to be anchored by a screw either deep within the frame or to permit the base of the cylindrical member to be directly anchored and masonry surrounding the frame.

Preferably the fitting further comprises a stud to be inserted in the proximal end of the cylindrical member, wherein the stud and cylindrical member are ananged such that the stud is retained in the cylindrical member at the proximal end of the cylindrical member.

When a screw has been inserted and secured, the stud can then be inserted in the cylindrical member to reinforce the wall of the cylindrical member. Thus the cylindrical member can have relatively thin walls enabling a relatively large screw to be inserted through it, but while avoiding the need to drill excessively large holes in the frame to accommodate the cylindrical member.

Preferably the stud is solid and threaded and engages with a threaded portion of the cylindrical member.

Preferably the stud extends beyond the front face. In this manner, it is possible to provide a fitting, wherein the cylindrical member extends into the door or window and the stud extends into the associated frame, or vice versa, preventing lateral displacement of the two by direct engagement with both the door or window and the frame.

Preferably, the fitting is made of metal, enabling significant strength to be achieved with relatively thin materials.

The fitting may comprise a keep in the plate for receiving the bolt, which bolt would typically extend from a door or window into the keep, when the door or window is in the closed position.

Alternatively, the fitting may comprise a second plate pivotally connected to the first plate such that the first and second plates respectively form the first and second leaves of a hinge, each leaf having a respective facing and rear face and wherein the cylindrical member is fixed to and protrudes from the rear face of a first leaf of the hinge. The cylindrical member may be accommodated in a hole drilled in the frame and will thus prevent lateral movement of the hinge.

Preferably, the cylindrical member passes through the first leaf of the hinge and protrudes from the facing and rear faces of the first leaf, wherein the second leaf has an aperture positioned and dimensioned such that when the hinge is closed the aperture passes over the cylindrical member and the cylindrical member protrudes from the aperture in the rear face of the second leaf of the hinge. In this manner, the cylindrical member itself extends both into the door or window and the associated frame, preventing lateral displacement of the two by its physical direct engagement with both the door or window and the frame.

Additionally, because the cylindrical member is fixed to a first plate of the hinge and passes through the aperture in the second leaf of the hinge, relative lateral movement between the two leaves of the hinge is also prevented. Therefore the leaves of the hinge, secured in the normal manner by screws, also act to retain both the door or window and the frame in place even if a hinge pin of the hinge is removed. This is particularly advantageously in a butt hinge, where the screw fixings are inaccessible when the door or window is closed.

The stud may extend through the second leaf.

In a possible arrangement, only the stud extends though the second leaf. In such an anangement, the cylindrical member does not protrude from the facing face of the first leaf but rather the stud, which is provided in the cylindrical member, protrudes from the facing face of the first leaf and protrudes from the aperture in the rear face of the second leaf of the hinge.

A fitting in the form of a hinge as described above may provide a far greater level of security over that provided by a normal butt hinge, particularly if the cylindrical member extends through the frame into any masonry sunounding the frame and is secured by a screw directly to that masonry. This provides a fixed relatively rigid cylindrical member, preferably made of metal, extending directly from the masonry into the door or window.

Furthermore, if a solid metal stud is inserted into the cylindrical member and extends to or slightly above the screw head, then the cylindrical member effectively becomes a metal bar which may extend from the masonry into the door or window.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a fitting in accordance with the present invention in the form of a keep plate; Figure 2 is a perspective view of an alternative arrangement of keep plate; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a fitting in accordance with the present invention in the form of a hinge; and Figure 4 is a sectional view through the hinge of Figure 3 in a closed position, showing the hinge mounted between a door or window and associated frame.

Referring to Figure 1, a keep plate, indicated generally as 1, comprises a face plate 2 with an aperture 3 therein. Behind the aperture 3 is a closed keep 4, however depending on the application this may be omitted, with the aperture 3 in the plate 2 itself then forming the keep.

Towards to the top and bottom of the plate 2 there are two countersunk apertures 4 and 5 through which screws can be inserted in the normal manner to secure the plate to a door or window frame. The fitting of Figure 1 additionally comprises two cylindrical members 6 and 7 extending from further apertures 8 and 9 in the plate 2. Each cylindrical member 6 and 7 is welded to the plate 2 around the respective aperture 8 and 9. Each cylindrical member 6 and 7 has at its distal end a respective shoulder, 10 and 11 which, as shown with respect to the cylindrical member 7 only, may retain a head of a screw in place.

The fitting illustrated in Figure 1 may be secured in a door or window frame by drilling holes in the frame of a sufficient depth, diameter and spacing to accommodate the cylindrical members 6 and 7. The holes may be substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of the cylindrical members such that there is very limited lateral movement of the cylindrical members within the holes. Depending on the depth of the frame, the holes may extend through the frame and into the masonry so that the lower distal portion of the cylindrical members extends into the masonry, with the masonry being drilled sufficiently that an appropriate fixing can be inserted for the screw 12 to engage with. The frame is provided with a further aperture to accommodate the keep 4 in the normal manner.

With the fitting 1 is installed in a door frame and secured by screws 12 engaging the distal portions of cylindrical members 6 and 7, solid metal grub screws 13 and 14 may be screwed into the internally threaded cylindrical members 8 and 9. The grub screws 13 and 14 are slightly shorter than the internal depth of the cylindrical members so that they may be fully inserted without engaging with the head of a screws 12. In this manner, the grub screws 13 and 14 effectively convert the cylindrical member into a solid metal bar, providing significant resistance to any excessive lateral force applied to the fitting, as may be experienced during any attempted forced entry.

Figure 2, in which like numerals are used to those of Figure 1 to indicate like parts, shows an alternative arrangement to that illustrated in figure 1, where a cylindrical member 6 is secured to the face plate 2 in a position aligned with the aperture 3 in the face plate 2 that receives the bolt and forms the keep.

Refening now to Figure 3, a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated, where fitting 15 is in the form of a hinge. The hinge comprises a first leaf 16 and a second leaf 17 connected by hinge pin 18. Each leaf has a number of countersunk holes 19 by which the hinge can be screwed to a door or window and an associated frame, in a conventional manner.

Welded to the first leaf 16 of the hinge is a cylindrical member 20, similar to the cylindrical member described above with reference to Figure 1. One noticeable difference is that cylindrical member of Figure 3 is welded to the first leaf 16 partway along its length such that the proximal end 21 of the cylindrical member 20 extends forwards from a facing face 22 of the hinge 16. In the second leaf 17 of the hinge, an aperture 23 is provided, dimensioned and positioned such that as the hinge is closed the proximal end 22 of the cylindrical member 20 passes through the aperture 23 and protrudes from the rear face of the second leaf.

Refening now to the sectional view of the hinge shown in Figure 4, the leaves 16 and 17 are shown in the closed position with the first leaf 16 screwed by screws (not shown) through holes 19 to a wooden door frame 24, which frame 24 is attached in a conventional manner to masonry wall 25. The second leaf 17 of the hinge is secured by screws (again not shown) through holes 19 to a door or window 26. The masonry wall 25, frame 24 and door 26 have respective apertures 27 and 28 drilled therein, which are of substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of the cylindrical member. However, the aperture 28 in the door or window 26 may have to be of a slightly larger diameter to accommodate the slightly arcing movement of the cylindrical member as it rotates about the axis of the hinge pin 18.

When the hinge is installed, the cylindrical member 20 may extend into the masonry wall 25 and be retained in place by a screw 29, engaging with fixing 30, such that a head of the screw 31 engages with a shoulder 32 at the distal end of the cylindrical member, to retain a cylindrical member in the masonry wall 25. A grub screw 33 is then inserted within the threaded cylindrical member such that the portion of cylindrical 20 extending through the plates 16 and 17 and into both the frame and the door is effectively a solid metal bar. This arrangement enables the hinge to retain the two plates of the hinge 16 and 17, thus the frame 24 and door or window 26, in a substantially fixed lateral position relative to each even if the pin 18 is removed from the hinge. Furthermore, the extension of the cylindrical member through the second leaf 17 of the hinge requires that the door or window 26 be displaced a significant distance to the right, as shown in Figure 4, before it will disengage from the leaf 17.

In any of the aforementioned embodiments, the grub screw/stud may extend beyond the proximal end of the cylindrical member. The protruding end of any such stud may be rounded.

In a possible arrangement (not shown), there may be provided a hinge having one or more cylindrical members of the type shown in Figure 1. In contrast to the cylindrical members of the hinge of Figures 3 and 4, these cylindrical members have proximal ends that do not extend forwards from a facing face of the first leaf of the hinge. Within any of these cylindrical members may be provided a stud that, in contrast to the grub screws of Figures 1 and 2, extends forwards from the facing face of the first leaf of the hinge when received by the cylindrical member. In this manner, in place of the cylindrical member extending through the second leaf of the hinge (as in the arrangement of Figures 3 and 4), the portion of the stud extending beyond the cylindrical member extends through the second leaf of the hinge.

In any hinge provided with one or more of the cylindrical members of the type shown in Figure 1 or of the type shown in Figures 3 and 4, the stud may be arranged to extend beyond the proximal end of the cylindrical member. Such studs may be provided with rounded tips. The studs may be ananged to extend to the distal ends of the cylindrical members or may stop short of the distal ends, i.e. the studs may extend to, or to above, the screw heads.

Several embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to a keep and a butt hinge. However the invention, as defined by the appended claims, may be applicable to other types of door or window fittings.

There may, for example, be provided a fitting comprising a plate having one or more of the cylindrical members of the type shown in Figure 1 or of the type shown in Figures 3 and 4, which cylindrical member(s) may be provided with a stud of any form previously described, including, for example, a stud having a threaded portion, which is received by the cylindrical member, and a portion, which extends beyond the proximal end of the cylindrical member so as to protrude from a front face of the fitting. Such a plate may, for example, be used in addition to any of the hinges described herein or in combination with standard hinges, wherein the plate may be fixed to a door frame (or similar) in the same manner as the first leaf of the foregoing hinge examples and wherein the cylinder and/or stud which protrudes from the facing face of the plate is received by a conesponding opening provided in the door (or similar) or any suitable corresponding bracket provided thereon. -10-

Claims

Claims 1. A fitting for a door or window comprising a plate to be fitted to a frame, the plate having a rear face to abut against the frame and a front face, the fitting further comprising a cylindrical member fixed relative to the plate with a distal end of the cylindrical member protruding from the rear face of the fitting, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the plate.
2. A fitting as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein an inner wall of the cylindrical member defines a shoulder that restricts the diameter of a passage through the cylindrical member towards a distal end of the cylindrical member, permitting a screw to be inserted in the cylindrical member to protrude from the distal end of the cylindrical member, but to be retained in the cylindrical member by a head of the screw engaging with the shoulder.
3. A fitting as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a stud to be inserted in a proximal end of the cylindrical member.
4. A fitting as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the stud and cylindrical member are arranged such that the stud is retained in the cylindrical member at a proximal end.
5. A fitting as claimed in Claim 3 or 4, wherein the stud is solid.
6. A fitting as claimed in Claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the stud is threaded and engages with a threaded portion of the cylindrical member.
7. A fitting as claimed in any of Claims 3 to 6, wherein the stud extends beyond the front face.
8. A fitting as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the fitting is metal.
9. A fitting as claimed in Claim 1, comprising a keep in the plate for receiving a bolt. -11-
10. A fitting as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, comprising a second plate pivotafly connected to the first plate such that the first and second plates respectively form the first and second leaves of a hinge, each leaf having a respective facing and rear face, and wherein the cylindrical member is fixed to and protrudes from the rear face of a first leaf.
11. A fitting as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the cylindrical member passes through the first leaf and protrudes from the facing side of the first leaf and wherein the second leaf has an aperture positioned and dimensioned such that, when the hinge is closed, the aperture passes over the cylindrical member and the cylindrical member protrudes from the aperture in the rear face of the second leaf.
12. A fitting as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, wherein the stud extends through the second leaf.
13. A fitting as claimed in Claim 10, 11 or 12, wherein the two leaves form a butt hinge.
14. A keep plate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or illustrated in Figure 1.
15. A hinge substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.