GB2486421A

GB2486421A - Shutter and latch assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2486421A
Application number: GB201021089A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Timothy Michael Strawson; Paul William Sweeting
Original assignee: Bradbury Security Grilles Ltd
Current assignee: Bradbury Security Grilles Ltd
Priority date: 2010-12-13
Filing date: 2010-12-13
Publication date: 2012-06-20
Anticipated expiration: 2030-12-13
Also published as: GB2486421B; GB201021089D0

Abstract

A window shutter 4 hinged at a first edge for pivotal movement between a closed position and an open position in which the shutter 4 lies adjacent a wall; a spring biased latch bolt 10 projecting from a second edge of the shutter opposite to the first edge and engaging with a keeper mounted on the wall to retain the shutter in the open position; the latch retractable by remote release handle 21 mounted on the first edge of the shutter to disengage the latch from the keeper. Preferably the remote handle is a button 21; pressing of the button is translated to retracting the latch via pivotal linkage 14 connecting push rod 20 to latch 10.

Description

EXTERNAL SHUTTER FOR BUILDING

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a building having an opening protected by a shutter assemby, for example a portable cabin or the like.

Background to the Invention

Portable cabins are extensively used as temporary accommodation on building sites or industrial sites, where they are often vulnerable to attack, whether through vandalism or breaking-in for the purposes of theft of the con-tents, when the site is not active, for example at night. Typically, the windows of a portable cabin will be provided with external shutters to protect them when the cabin is not occupied, and these shutters need to be resistant to attack, while being convenient to use. In particular, when the user arrives in the morning, he or she will wish to open the shutters from the inside, rather than having to walk around the exterior of the cabin (which will not always be accessible if the cabin is elevated), and will need to secure the open shutters against the side of the cabin so that, for example, they do not close again under the influence of wind.

A typical conventional arrangement for holding the shutters open in- volves a shaped peg projecting from the cabin and being received in a spring- loaded or resilient receiver on the shutter, which holds the shutter until a pre-determined outward force is applied to free the peg from the receiver. While it may be possible to open the shutters from within the cabin with sufficient force to swing the peg into engagement with the receiver, it is very difficult to release the peg to close the shutter from within the cabin. This can be due to the user not possessing the required strength to disengage the mechanism, particularly since the direction the force needs to be applied is unnatural for someone within the cabin, or it could be due to the layout of the cabin, with something being lo-cated in front of the window, for example a sink unit, preventing the user from leaning out of the window to close the shutter. On the other hand, if the holding force is insufficient, the shutter could be freed by a gust of wind. A further dis- advantage of this type of arrangement is that the peg is mounted on the exter-nal skin of the cabin, so once the shutter is closed the peg can look unsightly, while also serving as a target for vandalism.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, the invention provides a building having an opening protect- ed by a shutter assembly comprising a rectangular frame mounted on the build-ing within or around said opening and a rectangular shutter hinged to said frame to be pivotable between a closed position, wherein the shutter lies within the frame, and an open position, wherein the shutter lies against the building to the side of the opening, the shutter having at least first and second vertical side members with a protective sheet extending from one to the other to form the ex-ternal face of the shutter when in the closed position, the shutter being mounted within the frame by hinges on the first side member, and having mounted there-in a spring-biased latch bolt projecting from the second side member outwardly of the shutter in or parallel to the plane thereof, remote release means mounted on said first side member operable to withdraw the latch bolt into the second side member against the spring, and a latch plate mounted on the building so as to engage the latch bolt when the shutter is in the open position thereof, thereby holding the shutter open.

Typically, the shutter assembly will have a pair of shutters mounted with-in the frame and hinged to respective sides thereof.

Preferably, the remote release means comprises a button projecting from said first side member outwardly of the shutter in or parallel to the frame there- of, the button being linked to the latch bolt in such a manner that, when the but-ton is pushed into the first side member the latch bolt withdraws into the second side member. This may be effected by a linking cable or rod, connected to a lever in turn connected to the latch bolt to reverse the motion of the button. In this way, the latch bolt is automatically withdrawn when the shutter is moved to the closed position thereof, and so does not interfere with the closing. When the shutter is in the open position, the user has access to the button to release the shutter at the nearest part of the shutter, and so can effect the release with the minimum effort. A handle can be provided on the shutter to enable the user to pull it to the closed position when it has been released, without having to lean out of the window (or other opening).

An advantage of this arrangement is that the only component visible out-side the building when the shutter is closed is the latch plate, which can be of simple and robust construction to resist any attack, and is in any event relatively unobtrusive.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the inven-tion: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a window in a portable building, with a shutter held in the open position; Figure 2 is a partial view of a shutter with the inner skin revealed to show the latch mechanism; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of the opposite side of the shutter from that shown in Figure 1, showing the engagement of the latch bolt with the latch plate.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment

The portable building, for example a portable cabin of the type used on construction sites as temporary site offices, has a window opening into which the window frame 1 is mounted. The frame mounts the window pane 2 and in-cludes a rebate 3 into which a sheet steel shutter 4 is mounted by means of hinges 5, in conventional manner. The shutter 4 consists of a steel frame to which are attached inner and outer steel sheet skins (it will be appreciated that other attack-resistant materials may be used instead of steel). Security bolts 6 engage in apertures 7 in the frame side when the shutter is closed. A handle 8 is mounted on the inner face of the shutter adjacent to the lower hinge 5 to ena-ble a person within the building to pull the shutter closed, and a locking control 9 is provided towards the opposite edge of the shutter to enable the shutter to be secured when closed.

In order to hold the open shutter against the side of the building, so pre-venting it from swinging in the wind, for example, a spring-loaded latch bolt 10 (Figures 2 and 3) extends from the outer edge of the shutter, to engage in a latch plate 11 mounted on the face of the building. As may be seen in Figure 2, the latch bolt 10 is mounted so as to extend through the side 12 of the steel frame of the shutter 4, and can be retracted into the shutter against the force of a helical compression spring 13. A lever 14 pivots around a pin 15 fixed in the shutter and has a slot 16 and 17 on each side of the pin, one slot 16 receiving therein a pin 18 extending from the side of the latch bolt 10 and the other slot 17 receiving a pin 19 extending from the side of a push rod 20 connected to a but-ton 21 extending from the opposite side 22 of the frame (i.e. the hinge side).

Thus, pushing the button 21 causes retraction of the latch bolt 10, releasing it from the latch plate 11. As may be seen from Figure 3, the latch plate 10 is a simple L-shaped metal plate with a slot 23 in the upstanding limb of the L- shape, through which the latch bolt 10 can extend. The other limb of the L-shape is used to secure the latch plate to the building, for example by screws passing therethrough, and carries a layer 24 of a resiliently-compressible mate-rial which is compressed when the shutter is opened against it, and which tends to push the shutter outwardly when the latch bolt is retracted, thereby assisting its release from the latch plate. The positioning of the button 21 on the inner edge of the frame also means that, when the shutter is closed, the button comes into engagement with the rebated part 3 of the window frame 1, causing the button to be pushed into the side member of the shutter, in turn retracting the latch bolt 10 so that it does not interfere with the closure of the shutter.

While reference is made herein to portable cabins, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to such buildings, and is readily applicable to any building requiring an external shutter over a window or other opening.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A building having an opening protected by a shutter assembly comprising a rectangular frame mounted on the building within or around said opening and a rectangular shutter hinged to said frame to be pivotable between a closed position, wherein the shutter lies within the frame, and an open posi-tion, wherein the shutter lies against the building to the side of the opening, the shutter having at least first and second vertical side members with a protective sheet extending from one to the other to form the external face of the shutter when in the closed position, the shutter being mounted within the frame by hinges on the first side member, and having mounted therein a spring-biased latch bolt projecting from the second side member outwardly of the shutter in or parallel to the plane thereof, remote release means mounted on said first side member operable to withdraw the latch bolt into the second side member against the spring, and a latch plate mounted on the building so as to engage the latch bolt when the shutter is in the open position thereof, thereby holding the shutter open.
2. A building according to Claim 1, wherein shutter assembly has a pair of shutters mounted within the frame and hinged to respective sides there-of.
3. A building according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the remote release means comprises a button projecting from said first side member outwardly of the shutter in or parallel to the frame thereof, the button being linked to the latch bolt in such a manner that, when the button is pushed into the first side member the latch bolt withdraws into the second side member.
4. A building according to Claim 3, comprising a linking cable or rod, connected to a lever in turn connected to the latch bolt to reverse the motion of the button.
5. A building according to any preceding claim, which is a portable building.
6. A building, substantially as described with reference to, and/or as shown in, the drawings.