JPH048584B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Claim 1: A lock set for a door capable of assuming unlocked and locked states for a door movable between open and closed positions, comprising: a partially extended latching position, a fully extended fully locking position; a latch bolt assembly including a bolt 12 movable between a closed position and a retracted position; spring means 191 for biasing said bolt toward its fully locked position; and movement of said bolt through said latch bolt assembly. and means 168, 170, 174 for connecting the spindle to the bolt between the three positions during rotation of the spindle. means 176, 188 for biasing the latch bolt, normally in the latching position, for retaining the latch bolt in the latching position when the door is opened; and means 192, 202 responsive to movement of the door from the open position to the closing direction when the latch bolt is in the latching position, the means 192, 202 for automatically moving the latch bolt to the fully locked position when the door moves to the closed position. 1. A lockset for a door comprising: said latch bolt biasing means including said response means for causing said latch bolt to move.

2 said latch bolt assembly having a casing having spaced apart side plates extending therefrom and an opening mounted for rotation within said side plate and through which said spindle extends; a hub including a hub; lever means extending from the hub; and an arm pivotally connected to the bolt at one end and to the lever means at the other end, the latch bolt being in a latching position. 2. A lockset according to claim 1, wherein the retaining means includes means for preventing rotation of the hub to the fully locked position of the bolt when the door is opened.

3. A lockset according to claim 2, further comprising unlocking means movable to an unlocking position to prevent said bolt from moving to said fully tightened position when said door is closed.

4. The latch bolt assembly includes a pivot pin connecting the arm and the lever means, and the side plate has a shoulder for engagement by the pivot pin to retain the bolt in the latching position. A lock set according to claim 2.

5. The lock set of claim 4 wherein said latch bolt assembly includes means for releasing said pivot pin from said shoulder upon closing of said door.

6. An unlocking means movable to an unlocking position, said unlocking means for preventing said bolt from moving to its fully tightened position when said door is closed. The lock set described in Section 4.

7. A lockset according to claim 6, characterized in that said unlocking means includes a rotary button.

8 including inner and outer levers, the outer lever being operably connected to the spindle for moving the bolt from its latching position to its open position, and the inner lever moving the bolt from its fully latched position to its open position; 5. A lock set as claimed in claim 4, wherein the lock set is operably connected to said spindle for movement from said lock set to said open position.

9 said outer lever has a key actuated cylinder therein and means for interconnecting said cylinder and said spindle such that upon actuation of said cylinder said bolt moves from its fully locked position to its open position; 9. A lockset according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises:

10 A latch bolt assembly for use in a lock set, comprising: a casing having spaced apart side plates extending rearwardly from the casing; a hub having an extending lever means; an arm pivotally connected at one end to the bolt and at the other end to the lever means; a spring means engaged to the tailpiece; When the piece is in the first position, the latch bolt is biased forward into the fully locked position, and when the tail piece is in the second position, the forward movement of the latch bolt forces the latch bolt into the partially extended latching position. Encourage it to be limited to
2. A lockset according to claim 1, wherein said latching bolt is movable between a fully retracted position and a partially extended latching position.

11 A latch assembly for use in a lockset comprising: a casing having spaced apart side plates extending rearwardly from the casing; a tailpiece having a tail piece rotatably mounted within and extending from the side plate; a hub having lever means provided therein; an arm pivotally connected at one end to the bolt and at the other end to the lever means; and spring means attached to the side plate, wherein the latch bolt When the latch bolt is in the final locking position, the latch bolt is biased forward, and when the latch bolt is in the latching position, the latch bolt is biased against movement to the open position, and the latch bolt is in the final lock position. and spring means for engaging the tailpiece when in the latching position and the latching position.
The lock set described in .

12 Means for releasing the pivot pin from the shoulder includes a plunger 192 having a forward portion extending forwardly from the case, a rearward portion extending along the side plate, and a cam surface 202 that engages the pivot pin. the cam surface 202, which engages the pivot pin with the shoulder when the plunger moves rearward and is lifted above the shoulder by the cam surface, allowing the latch bolt to move to the fully tightened position; Claim 5, wherein the release means further includes means for urging the plunger forward.
The lock set described in .

[Reference to related applications]

This application is a continuation of the applicant's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 537,896, filed September 30, 1983, and entitled Lockset Assembly.

[Background of the invention]

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates generally to locksets, and more particularly to lockset assemblies in which a latch bolt is expandable to a permanent locking function.

No. 537,896, filed September 30, 1983, entitled Lockset Assembly, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety. A lockset is disclosed that is extendable from the locking position to the fully extended locking position. According to the features shown in this application, the latch bolt can be extended into its fully locked position by either a key-actuated cylinder of the outer actuating member or a rotary button of the inner actuating member. The inner actuating member is always capable of retracting the latch bolt, whether in the latching position or the final locking position. However, it is possible to adopt the basic mechanism shown in this application for other functions.

[Summary of the invention]

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved lockset assembly that functions as both a latchbolt and a locking lock.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lockset assembly that automatically extends the latch bolt to a fully locked position when the door is closed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lockset assembly in which the latch bolt can automatically extend to the fully locked position when the door is closed, and the latch bolt remains in the latched position when the door is opened. be.

Another object of the invention is that when the actuating member is in its "lock" position, the latch bolt automatically moves to its fully locked position when the door is closed.
And when the actuating member is in its unlocked position, the latch bolt remains in its latched position after the door is closed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lockset that utilizes a latch assembly having a latch bolt that is movable to an extended, fully locked position, the lockset including means for maintaining the latch bolt in its intermediate latching position. It is in.

The above and other objects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a lockset as described below.

[Description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the horizontal axis of the lockset, showing the lockset mounted in a metal door frame and the latch bolt in its locked or fully extended position.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the latchbolt assembly with the latchbolt in its locked or fully extended position.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the latch bolt in its latching position.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the latch bolt in its open or fully retracted position.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the bolt moving forward toward its extended position after the door has been closed.

6 is an end view of the latch assembly taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a finger press assembly for use in conjunction with the inner actuating member of the lock set.

FIG. 8 is a view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 1 showing the relationship of the rotary button actuator to the pinion extension when the rotary button is in the locked position.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the relative position of the turn button actuator to the pinion extension when the turn button is in its released position;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the latch assembly taken along line 10--10 of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a partially sectional elevational view of a modified form of the latch assembly for different functions showing the latch bolt in its extended, fully locked position;

and FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 showing the latch bolt in its intermediate latching position.

[Detailed explanation]

The basic structure of the lockset of the present invention is explained in detail in the above-mentioned pending application No. 537,896, and this application should be referred to for further explanation. In general, according to the drawings of the present application, and in particular to FIG. 1, the lockset mechanism 1 of the present invention is shown mounted within a metal door 2;
The lockset mechanism 1 includes an outer hand actuated member 4 and an inner hand actuated member 6, which in the preferred embodiment are an outer lever 8 and an inner lever 10. These outer levers 8 and inner levers 10 connect the latch bolts 12 of the latch bolt assembly 14 of the lock set mechanism to the door opening 20.
It is used to remove the catch box 16 and the catch plate 18 which have been attached in a conventional manner.
The lockset outer actuation assembly 27 includes a key actuated lock cylinder 22 mounted within the outer lever 8, and the lockset inner actuation assembly 38 includes a rotary button 26 mounted within the inner lever 10. can be done.

The outer actuation assembly 27 includes an outer lever 8 rotatably mounted within and extending within the outer rose 28 and adapted for rotational movement relative to the outer rose 28 by a retaining ring 31 . It includes a generally rectangular protrusion 30 which is held in place. outer rose 2
Disposed within the door 8 is an outer actuating cassette 32 having an upper ear-shaped projection and a lower ear-shaped projection (not shown) extending therefrom and extending into the door 2. The latch bolt assembly holder 34 is disposed in a suitable groove (not shown) disposed on the outer surface of the latch bolt assembly holder 34. Latchbolt assembly holder 34 provides a mechanism for attaching latchbolt assembly 14 that includes latchbolt 12 and includes a suitable slot 36 into which latchbolt assembly 14 may be inserted.

Similarly, the inner actuation assembly 38 includes an inner lever 10 having a generally square projection pivotally mounted within and extending within the inner rose 40. 42
and has a retaining ring 44 secured thereto such that the inner lever 10 is mounted for relative rotation with respect to the inner rose 40 in the same manner as the outer actuation assembly 27. Mounted within the inner rose 40 is an inner actuating cassette 46 that includes an upper protrusion and a lower ear extending into a groove (not shown) disposed in the latch bolt assembly holder 34. It includes a shaped protrusion (not shown). A spindle 48 extends through the latch bolt assembly 14 and between the inner working cassette 27 and the outer working cassette 38 in a direction perpendicular to the axis of movement of the latch bolt 12. This lockset can be assembled into the door as described in patent application no. 537,896, cited above.

The outer actuation cassette 32 has a central opening 52 into which the projection 30 of the outer lever 8 extends.
It includes a housing 50 having a. An actuating member 54 is mounted within the outer actuating cassette 32 and has a boss 56 mounted within the opening 52 in the housing 50.
includes a generally square opening 58 into which the generally square projection 30 of the outer lever 8 extends. The actuating member 54 includes a base portion 60 and a thin elongated tail portion 62.
2 extends from the base portion 60. The forward end of the tail portion 62 includes a thick V-shaped cam surface 64 extending inwardly through the inner plane of the tail portion 62.
is installed.

A spring plate 66 is disposed within the housing 50 of the outer actuating cassette 32 in overlapping relationship with the actuating member 54. At its forward end,
The spring plate 66 includes two spaced apart fingers 68 (only one of which is shown) that are engaged by a V-shaped cam surface 64 disposed on the actuating member 54. and a cam follower surface configured to mate with the cam follower surface. Spring plate 66 is biased forwardly in the direction of extension of latch bolt 14 into engagement with cam surface 64 of actuating member 54 by two lever springs (not shown).

A generally flat rack plate 70 is disposed within housing 84 in overlapping relationship with spring plate 66. Rack plate 70 is provided with teeth 72 to form a rack extending parallel to the axis of latch bolt assembly 14. The front end of rack plate 70 has a lug portion 74 that extends inwardly from the front end of actuating member 54 when rack plate 70 is in its forward position and prevents rotation of actuating member 54. A notch 72 is disposed extending therein. Rack plate 70 is biased to its forward position by spring member 76. Rack plate 70 and spring plate 66 are mounted within housing 50 for linear movement in the direction of movement of latch bolt 12, and rearward movement of spring plate 66 causes rack plate 70 to Configured to move backwards as fully described.

Extending perpendicularly to the axis of the latch bolt assembly 14 is a pinion member 78 mounted within the outer actuating cassette 32 and including a set of gear teeth 80. The teeth 80 are in meshing engagement with the gear teeth 72 of the rack plate 70. This pinion member 78 also includes the spring plate 66, the actuating member 5
4 and a cylindrical extension 82 extending through the housing 50 and into an opening 84 in the outer lever 8.

Head portion 86 of pinion member 78 has a generally rectangular slot 88 therein having a cross-section mating with that of spindle 48 extending therein. The cylindrical extension 82 is a drive connected to the lock cylinder 22 in the outer lever 8 for rotating the pinion member 78 from its extended fully locked position to its retracted or latch bolt position in response to the degree of rotation of the key. It includes internally opposed ribs 90 (only one of which is shown) engageable by members 92.

According to the arrangement described above, and also as described in the above-mentioned patent application, the actuating member 54 pivots about the axis of the spindle 48 and is operatively attached to the outer lever 8. Spring plate 66 and rack plate 70 are coupled to housing 5 for linear movement in a direction parallel to movement of latch bolt 12 of latch bolt assembly 14.
Installed within 0.

A cover member 94 is disposed on the outer working cassette 32 to contain the working components as a unit within the outer working cassette 32.

The inner actuation assembly 38 includes an inner rose 40,
and an inner lever 10 connected to the inner rose 40 in a manner similar to the outer actuation assembly 27 by a retaining ring 96. Inner working cassette 46 contains essentially the same elements and is constructed similarly to outer working cassette 32 described above.

Generally, the inner working cassette 46 includes an inner housing 98 within which the inner working member 100 is pivotally mounted. Inner actuation member 100 includes a central, generally square opening 102 into which square projection 42 of inner lever 10 projects along with a thickened V-shaped cam portion 104 . Within the inner housing 98 is an actuating member 100.
a cam surface 108 for engaging the cam portion 104 of the
(only one of which is shown) is attached to the spring plate 106. As with the outer actuation mechanism, this spring plate 106 is spring biased forwardly by a suitable spring member (not shown).

Within the inner housing 98 is a rack plate 110 having gear teeth 112 that connects the spring plate 10.
It is also attached in an overlapping relationship with 6. The rack plate 110 can be spring biased forward by a spring member 114, but the spring can also be omitted. However, in contrast to the rack plate 70 of the outer actuating assembly 27, the forward end of the rack plate 110 of the inner actuating assembly 38 is shortened so that when it is in its forward locking position as shown in FIG. A notch is not included so that the forward end does not engage the lug 116 of the actuating member 100. As a result, the actuating member 1
00 is free to pivot when the rack plate 110 is in its forward locking position.

The inner pinion member 118 is connected to the rack plate 1.
Gear teeth 120 meshingly engage with the teeth 112 of No. 10.
contains on it. The pinion member 118 is
Opposed ribs 124,1 extending through the inner actuating cassette 46 and into the opening 128 in the inner lever 10.
It includes a cylindrical extension 122 having a diameter of 26. Head portion 130 of pinion member 118 also includes a slot 132 through which one end of spindle 48 extends. A cover 133 is attached to the housing 98, thereby containing the actuation mechanism.

1 and 7 will be explained. The rotation button 26 has a rod 1 extending inwardly from the rotation button 26.
It includes a knob 134 having 36. Rod 1
The end of 36 includes two mutually opposed radially extending ears 138 and 140 for engaging opposing ribs 124 and 126 in cylindrical extension 122 of inner pinion member 118 . The rod 136 extends through and rotates relative to a cam member 142 having a cam slot 144 therein. A cam follower 146 in the form of a roll pin extends radially outwardly from the rod 136 and into the cam slot 144. Cam member 142 and knob 14
A spring 148 is disposed between the knobs 14 and 4 to bias the knobs 144 outwardly.

The cam member 142 is mounted on the inner lever 1 to prevent rotation of the cam member 142 relative to the lever 10.
It includes a bump 150 on its circumference that engages a recess (not shown) in the opening 128 of the 0. The cam member 142 also includes an inwardly projecting tongue 152 having a shoulder 154 for retaining the cam member 142 within the inner lever 10. When installed within lever 10, rod 136 extends within pinion member 118 of the inner actuation assembly.

The cam slot 144 extends partially around the circumference of the body of the cam member 142 and includes a generally straight section 156 and extends from the cam follower 1
46 includes an axially extending locking groove 158 forming a stop shoulder for 46. knob 144
However, when the cam follower 146 rotates from its locked position in the straight section 156 of the cam slot 144 to its unlocked position, the cam follower 146
reaches a tightening groove 158 extending in the axial direction. At this point, the knob 144 and rod 1
36 moves outwardly under the force of spring 148, thereby preventing relative rotation of rod 136 and cam member 142, thereby causing knob 144 to rotate until knob 144 is manually pushed inwardly and rotated. 134 in an unreleased position.

Referring to FIGS. 2-5 and 10, the latch bolt 12 of the latch bolt assembly 14 is in its extended, fully locked position as shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is shown movable between its intermediate latching position and its fully retracted open position in FIG. This latch bolt assembly 14
includes a latch case 160 having two spaced apart latch plates 162 and 164 (FIG. 1) extending rearwardly therefrom. The latch plates 162 and 164 are attached to the bush 16.
are held attached to each other by 6. The latch bolt assembly 14 is inserted into the slot 36 in the latch bolt assembly holder 34 with the screw 167 that attaches the latch bolt assembly 14 to the latch bolt holder 38 extending through the rear one of these bushes 166. is attached to.

A hub member 168, with which the two lever plates 170 are mounted for rotation, is mounted between and within suitable openings in the two latch plates 162 and 164. The hub member 168 has a generally rectangular lumen 172 configured to receive the spindle 48 . A bolt 12 is mounted within the latch case 160 and has an arm 174 (FIG. 10) extending outwardly therefrom and toward the lever plate 170. Arm 174 is pivoted to bolt 12 at its forward end and has a pivot pin 176 at its rear end extending through an extension slot 178 in each lever plate 170. Also pivoted to the rear end of bolt 12 is a guide 180 having opposing side walls into which arms 174 extend.

As described in the above-mentioned U.S. patent application,
A spring-biased dowel pin 182 is mounted within the bolt 12, and the end face of the dowel pin 182 engages one corner of the front portion of the arm 174. This operation ensures that the pivot pin 176 is attached to the upper edge 18 of the latch plates 162 and 164.
The arm 174 has the function of urging the arm 174 in a direction such that it engages with the arm 174.

Upper edges 184 of latch plates 162 and 164 include a rear notch 186 forming a rear facing stop shoulder 188 that is engageable by pin 176 to stop latch bolt 12 in its latching position. Forward of the notch 186, the upper edge slopes downwardly toward another notch forming a notch 190 for releasably retaining the bolt 12 in the extended lock position. A spring 191 extends between the side plates 162 and 164 and the latch bolt 12 to bias the bolt 12 to its forward, fully locked position.

A slot 194 in the bolt is fitted with a latch release plunger 192 which is connected to a forward extending seat abutment 196 which extends forwardly out of the latch case 160 and which extends rearwardly from the case 160. It has a cam portion 198 that has a shape. This unlatching plunger 192 is
It is arranged on the side of the bolt 12 so as to face the bevel 200. This cam portion 198 is bifurcated, with upper and lower rear facing cam surfaces 20
Contains 2. The intermediate portion 204 of the unlatching plunger 192 is channel-shaped, and a spring 206 is mounted within the intermediate portion 204 between the shoulder 208 and the folded projection 210 of the latch case 160, thereby causing the unlatching. The plunger 192 is urged to its forward position. When the unlatching plunger 192 is biased to its forward position, the unlatching plunger 192 engages the forward surface 212 of the cam portion 198.
is the rear wall 214 of the latch case 160 (the 10th
(Fig.). In this position, the seat abutment 196 extends outwardly adjacent the end of the bolt 122.

A pair of rear facing shoulders 216 of the bolt 12 cause the bolt 12 to engage the unlatching plunger 19 during inward movement of the bolt 12, i.e., when the bolt 12 is being retracted from its latching position to its open position.
2 is configured to engage a pair of forward facing shoulders 218 on the unlatching plunger to move the latch 2 inwardly into its open position as shown in FIG. When the unlatching plunger 192 is in its open position, the rear facing cam surface 202
Behind the stop shoulder 108 of the latch plate 162.

The operation of the actuating elements of the inner and outer cassettes is substantially the same as that described in the above-mentioned patent application Ser. No. 537,896. Accordingly, the operation of such elements will not be described in detail except as necessary for and for understanding the invention. When the door is closed and the rotation button 26
is in its locking position, i.e., the cam follower 146
is in the straight section 156 of the cam slot 144,
Latch bolt 12 is in its extended, fully locked position as shown in FIG. 2, and unlatching plunger 192 is held in its rearward open position by seat 18. In this position, the outer lever 10
cannot rotate because the rack plate 70 is in its forward position and the lug 74 of the actuating member 54 is placed in its notch 72. With this arrangement, the outer lever 8 cannot be rotated, since the actuating member 54 attached thereto cannot be rotated. There are no notches in the rack plate 110 of the inner actuation assembly 38;
The inner lever 10 can rotate freely. Upon rotation of the inner lever 10, the actuating member 100 pivots about the axis of the spindle 48 and rotates its cam portion 104.
engages a cam surface 108 on the end of spring plate 106, which causes spring plate 108 to move rearwardly and in a linear direction. The engagement of spring plate 108 with rack plate 110 also causes rack plate 110 to move rearwardly and linearly, thereby causing pinion member 11
8 rotates, thus causing spindle 48 and hub member 168 of latch bolt assembly 14 to rotate, thereby causing latch bolt 12 to be substantially fully retracted to the position shown in FIG. When the door opens and the operator releases the inner lever 10,
Latch bolt 14 and latch release plunger 19
2 move forward under the force of their respective springs. The latch bolt 14 is moved forward until the pivot pin 176 engages a stop shoulder 188 on the upper edge of the latch plates 162 and 164, thereby holding the latch bolt 14 in its latching position. When the door closes and passes through the strike plate 18, the latch bolt 14 and latch release plunger 192
They are moved into their open position by the seats 18 as shown in FIG. In this position, the pivot pin 176 is behind the cam surface 202 of the unlatching plunger 192. When the door is fully closed, the latch bolt 14 moves forward into the strike box 16 under the force of the latch spring 191, while the unlatching plunger 192 moves forward into the strike box 18 as shown in FIG. is held in its rearward open position by. As bolt 12 moves forward into its fully locked position, camming surface 202 of unlatching plunger 192 forces pivot pin 176 against upper edge 184 of latch plates 162 and 164.
The pivot pin 176 is moved upwardly by applying the stop shoulder 188 of the pivot pin 176 so that it
2 engages the forward pin receiving notch 190 in its fully extended lock position. Ear 138 of rod 136 of rotation button 26
and 140 with the ribs 124 and 126 of the extension of the pinion member 118, so that when the rotary button 26 is moved to its locked position, the cam follower 146 is connected to the cam slot 14.
4, the inner pinion member 118 rotates, which causes the spindle 148 to rotate, thereby rotating the hub 168 of the latch assembly 14 to its latched position, thereby causing the latch bolt 12 to rotate. to its latching position. In this position, the pinion member 118 and ears 138 and 140 of the rod 136 of the rotary button 26 ensure that counterclockwise rotation of the pinion member 118
rib 124 engaging ears 138 and 140 of
and 126 as shown in FIG. The cam follower 146 is the knob 1
cam slot 1 by pressing and rotating 34.
44, the latch bolt 12 is retained in its intermediate position even if the latch release plunger 192 is moved rearward, for example by closing the door. Thus, the latch bolt 12
will only move forward from its open position to its latching position when the rotary button 26 is in its unreleased position.

When the latch bolt 12 is in its intermediate or latching position, the outer latch plate 70 is held in its intermediate position where the notch 72 is disengaged from the lug 74 of the actuating member 54. This actuating member 54 is therefore free to rotate so that the outer lever 10 can be rotated to rotate the latch bolt 12 from its latching position to its open position and open the door.

The lock cylinder 22 has an outer pinion member 92
when the door is locked with the latch bolt 12 in its fully extended locking position by its drive member 92 engaging the rib 90 of the door;
Can be used to open doors. However, the cylinder 22 and key cannot be used to change this function from lock to unlock or from unlock to lock.

Figures 11 and 12 show that both the outer actuating member 4 and the inner actuating member 6 have key actuating cylinder members from which the drive members extend to the respective inner and outer pinions to engage the ribs. 22 shows a modified form of latch bolt assembly 220 that may be used in some applications. This latch bolt assembly is shown in FIGS. 2-5 and 1.
The latchbolt assembly is generally similar to the latchbolt assembly described in connection with FIG. includes a latch case 160 having a The latch plates 162 are held attached to each other by bushes 166. two lever plates 170
A hub member 168 (of which only one is shown) is mounted for rotation thereon and is mounted between and within a suitable opening therein. The hub member 168 has a generally rectangular lumen 172 configured to receive the spindle 48 . A bolt 12 is installed with a latch case 160 from which a lever plate 17 is attached.
It has an arm 174 extending rearward toward zero. An arm 174 is pivotally mounted at its forward end, and the bolt 12 as its rear end extends through an extension slot 178 in each of the lever plates 170.
It has a pivot pin 176 extending through it. A spring-loaded dowel pin, as shown in the previous embodiment, may be mounted within the bolt 12, with a bolt spring 191 between the side plate and the latch bolt 12 to bias the bolt 12 to its forward lock position. It is being extended. In this case, hub 168
includes a tab portion 222 that is generally V-shaped. Spring member 224 has one end partially wrapped around rear bushing 166 and a middle portion wrapped around screw 167 attaching latch bolt assembly 14 to latch bolt assembly holder 38. The spring also includes a forward and downwardly extending intermediate portion 226 and a generally vertically extending forward end portion 228 as shown in FIG.

When the latch bolt is in its fully extended locking position, the tail of the hub engages the intermediate portion 226 of the spring 224, causing the pivot pin to engage the notch 232 in the upper edge of the latch plate 162. It is biased into its forward position located within the notch 230 at the forward end. Latch bolt 1
2 is moved to its intermediate latching position, the tailpiece engages a generally vertical portion 226 of the spring, which biases the hub 222 from clockwise rotation to the open position, which holds the latch bolt in its intermediate latching position. In this embodiment, a key-actuated cylinder on the inner or outer member can be used to retract the main lock from its extended position to an intermediate position, and also allows the hub member to resist the biasing force of the spring. movement, which can be used to move the main lock from its intermediate position to its locked position.

Although specific embodiments have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be determined by reference to the following claims. Therefore, the present invention has the following advantages. When the door is in use,
While the latch bolt is in the partially extended latching position (see Figure 3), when the door is closed from the open position to the closed position, the response means (plunger 192 and cam surface 202) respond to movement of the door. This has the advantage that the latch bolt can be automatically moved to the fully tightened position, and there is no need to manually move the latch bolt to the fully tightened position.