US2840406A

US2840406A - Window latching device

Info

Publication number: US2840406A
Authority: US
Inventors: Rifkin Michael
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-12-13
Filing date: 1956-12-13
Publication date: 1958-06-24
Anticipated expiration: 1975-06-24

Description

June 24, 1958 M. RIFKIN 2,840,406

WINDOW LATCHING DEVICE Filed Dec. 13, 1956 45 M QWZ 78 g wwww Z0 4 I 58 I v ww 55 Q4 5g r 5 INVENTOR "a V 'r 1 MA ATTO RNEY United States PatentfiO i 2,840,406 WlNDOW LATCH-{LNG DEVICE Michael Rifkin, Lyndhurst, N. J. Application December 13, 1956, Serial No. 628,073

11 Claims. c1. 292 149 This invention relates generally to improvements in window construction, and, more particularly, to improvements in a latching device therefor.

In my application Serial No. 602,031, filed on August 3, 1956, for Window Construction, there is disclosed a latch arrangement having novel means for locking sashes in a closed, or near closed, condition in a burglarproof manner and the primary aim and object'of the present invention is the provision of a latch arrangement of a generally similar character having improved means for locking sashes in a burglarproof manner. 7

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of an improved latch device of the afore-'. noted character which is of simple design and construc tion, easy to install and service, and which is eminently suitable in the accomplishment of its intended purposes.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawing in which: I

Fig. l is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view showing a sash stile and associated latch device of the present invention with the latch device in an unlocked condition; Fig. 2 is a view similar'to Fig. 1 with the latch device shown in a locked condition;

i Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the latching in ember of thelatch device with the lock 'screw installed;

Fig. 4 is a top view thereof shownpartially in section; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified form of latching member and lock screw;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 correspondingto the latching member of Fig. 5; l

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing another :forrn of latching member and lock screw; and H Fig.8 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing another form of latch device.

6 Referring to the drawing in detail, there is shown spring means disposed between said jamb'member and the movable runner.

The latch device 14 of the present invention shown in Figs. 1-4 is generally similar to the latch device shown in Figs. 16-20a of my aforereferred to copending application and said latch device is secured in the recess or mortise 16 of a companion sash stile 18. The latch device 14 incorporates an improved anti-burglary feature so that the sashes may be locked in a closed, or near closed, position in a burglarproof manner as will be described in detail below. The latch device 14 comprises a U-shaped bracket 20 having laterally spaced walls 22 and 24 interconnected Patented June '24, 1958 V 2 by a transverse wall 26, said wall 24 defining a face plate which is fiush, with the surface of the outer side 28 of thestile. The walls 22 and 24 have aligned apertures 30 and 32', respectively, extending therethrough, the latter aperture being elongated in a substantially horizontal plane. The latching member 34 is mounted to the bracket 20 for pivotal bodily movement and for axial reciprocation, said latching member having a central part 36 of quadrilateral cross section and end parts 38 and- 4 0 iof circular cross section. The end part 38 extends loosely through the aperture 30 and is adapted to project into the closed bottom aperture 42 of the stile. The end part 40 extends through the elongated aperture 32 and normally projects beyond the surface of the side 28 of the stile. v

Secured to the wall 26 of the bracket 20 by a rivet 44 is aleaf spring 46 which biases the latching member 34 in a horizontal plane, said spring having an arcuate end portion 48 which interengages inthe V-groove 50 in the normal projected position of said latching member as shown in Fig. 1. The latching member is axiallyretractible for sash removal from the window frame and is axially projectible to a sash locked position as shown in Fig. 2 in which the spring end portion 48 is partially dis: engaged from its companion groove. The jamb52, companion .to thelatch device 14, corresponds in all respects to the jamb 300 of my above referred to copending application and is routed to define the longitudinal groove 54, the latter having a'sash track member 56 suitablysecured therein. The track member 56 has a series of vertically spaced'should'e'r portions 58 adapted for releasable interengagement with end part 40 for releasably positively} latching its companion sash at corresponding levels.

Sound absorbing pads 60 are suitably secured adjacent to the shoulder portions 58 for deadening the sound of the latching member engaging said shoulder portions. The track members are provided with .end, portion locking recesses 'with registering recess portions being jprovided in the jamb. for the reception of a. companion latching member 34 for lockingfthe sashes in a cl os dror slightly opened position as" described in detail in my copending ppli i r in which end part 40is disposed in "a track member lock-i ing recess and registered jamb recess portion. as-shown in 64 is threaded through the tapped aperture 66- and extends,

through a registering aperture .68 in thespringj46 into abuttingrelation with the wall 26 of the bracket. The;

' edge 79 of the' sp ringf46, which defines the apert ure 6 8,

suitable design or configuration such 'asconical configura forms a lock screw stop which preventsthe, axial retrac-. tion of the'latching member and vertical sash movement;

As showniin Fig. 2, the latching m'emberis preferably disposed at an angle to the face of thesash stileand the" wall 26 of the 'bracket'so that the lock screw will wedge against saidwall if axial retraction of the latching member is attempted. 'The. lock s'crew,'in its locking position,

abuts the wall 26 and prevents the pivotal bodily move-Q ment of 'thelatching member and sash" release. i i

3 Pursuant to the present invention, 'fthef'front' exposed surface 72 of the part 36 of the latching member is knurled or serrated with a multiplicity of uniformly spaced projecting portions 74, the latter" being of any tion with a pointed apex as shown in the illustrated em bodiment of Figs. l-4.' The lock screw head 76 is slottedn as indicated at 78 and is disposed in flush relation with" the surface, 7;2.,of the latching member. in the locking position' of; the lock screw. The head-76 corresponds to 6 near impossible without. frontal visualjaccess.

the" projecting 'portions74 and is of conical configuration With n pointedapex so as to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto. Thus in the locked. condition of the lock screw accurate registration ofa screwdriver withJslot. 78 isrequired toremove the lock screw and this may be easily effected by one from an inside positionfor from inside thebuilding structure but becomes a difficult or near impossible task for a burglar who must gain access to the lock screw froman outside position, as by breaking a-windowpane. Even if the burglar is sufiiciently accomplished to know that lock screw removal is required foru'nlocking a sash, he will be frustratedin his attempt touremove "the lock screw without frontal visual access thereto,eand thus the latching device provides a burglarproof sash lock. With thelock screw in the locked condition; the front surface:72 presents a uniform feel to the touch or to a screwdriver throughout the area thereof tojtherefore render the locating of the lock screw head The lock screw may be disposed at any position relative to the part '36 of the latching member.

Secured in the elongated opening 80 of the sash stile is a trim plate 82 which comprises an outer plate 84 and a recessed part 86, the latter i'nterfittingin said opening. Theou'ter plate 84 is secured to the sash stile in flush' relation therewith and the rear wall-88 of the recessed part provided with anelongated opening90'for the extension'therethrough of the finger piece 62, and the lock screw replacement therefor, said rear. wall having a pe-. ripher'al'g asket 92 secured thereto and in adjacent relation with the latching member for deadening the sound between said rear wall and the latching member. The part 36 of the latching member isjaccessible through the trim plate and the finger piece 62 is normally secured to said part for actuating the latter, said finger piece being removed anda lock screw substituted by the householder whenit is desired to lock the sashes in a burglarproof manner. H

The latching memberis preferably disposed at an angle to the faced the sash stile and the plate 84 to render it more difficult to engage the lock screw headwith a screwdriver from a blind position and thus to further frustrate a would-be burglar With referenceto Figs. 5 and 6,,there is shown a slight- 1y modified form of latching member 34 which differs from the latching member 34 'in the provision of a lock screw 64' having a flat ltype head'76 which is knurled or serrated corresponding tothe knurling or serrations of the frontsurface 72'. Thus the lock screw head 76 and the front "surface 72' are knurled in a corresponding manner torender lock screw removal burglarproof from ablind position. V

' With reference to Fig. 7, there is shown another modifie'd form of latching member 34" which differs from the of the known types of removable sash windows having laterally movable runners and if desired, such latch device may even be used with non-removable sash windows. With reference to Fig. 8, there is shown a modified form of latch device 14 which differs from latch device 14 in the respects now to be described. Latch device 14' comprises a U-shaped bracket 20 having aligned circular apertures 30' and 32' which mount the latching member 34 for axial movement. The latching member 34" has a central part 36 which corresponds to the part 36 previouslydescribed and incorporates a similar anti-burglary feature utilizing a similar lock screw 64. The stop'member 94 for the lockscrew is suitably secured to the bracket 20' and is constituted by an angle part which prevents the axial retraction of the latching member. The latching member includes end parts 38" and 40" of circular cross section, said part 38" being surrounded by a coiled compression spring 96 which extends between the wall 22 and the peripheral shoulder 98 of the part 36, said spring being effective to bias the latching member to the right viewing Fig. 8 and in a latching direction. The jamb 100 is provided with a series of vertically spaced apertures 102 defined by the sound absorbent sleeves 104, said apertures being adapted for the reception of the part 40" for releasably latching the sash at selected levels. In order to lock the sash in a sash locked position and in a burglarproof manner,

. the part 40" is engaged in an aperture 102 at a level in which the sash is closed or near closed and the lock screw 64 is substituted for the normally used finger piece in the aforedescribed manner. The apertures 102 may be disposed in a jamb or fixed or movable runner and the latching membcr'may be provided with any of the types of anti-burglary constructions described above. It will be understood that with the lock screw removed, the sash may be vertically adjusted by manipulating the latching member in the direction of the arrow against the action of the spring 96 to disengage the part 40" from an associated aperture 102. As in the case of the latch device.14, a trim plate 82' is secured to the sash stile to expose the part 36' of the latching member in the manner described above in detail.

If desired, the latch device 14 may have a suitable part or device, such as a plastic block, secured to the inside surface of the wall 26 in alignment with the lock screw 64 so as to insure the tightness of the lock screw when the head thereof is in flush relation with the surface 72 of the latching member. Such plastic block may be apertured for the reception of the end of the lock screw 64, the latter forming its own threads in the block and being received tightly therein for the aforenoted purpose.

-While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention it will be mani- 72" is provided with a series: of randomly arranged V dummy slots 79 which dimensionally correspond to the slot ,78" of the lock screw head and it will; beappreciated that the would-be burglar is faced with a nearimpossible taskto locate slot 78'? from a blind position. It

will be understood that any standard lock screw head,

such. as ,an Allen head, may be utilized, pursuant to the present invention in which case the dummy screw heads randomly arranged-along the surface 72" will'corfest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular form herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: a 1. A latching device, comprising a bracket mounting a latching member for'axial movement between first and second positions, and means for locking said latching member in one of said positions thereof comprising abutment means disposed in fixed relation with said bracket and a lock screw'carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the lockingposition of said lock screw, saidlatching member surface portions having surface interruptions corresponding to said lock screw head in the region of the latter whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto.

2. A latching device, comprising a bracket mounting a latching member for axial movement between first and second positions, and means for locking said latching member in one of said positions thereof comprising abutment means carried by said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portions being serrated corresponding to said lock screw head in the region of the latter whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto.

3. A latching device, comprising a bracket mounting a latching member for axial movement between first and second positions, and means for locking said latching member in one of said positions thereof comprising abutment means disposed in fixed relation with said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portions being serrated with a multiplicity of spaced projecting portions, and said lock screw head having a terminal end part corresponding to said projecting portions whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access there- 4. A latching device, comprising a bracket mounting a latching member for axial movement between first and second positions, and mean for locking said latching member in one of said positions thereof comprising abutment means carried by said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portionsbeing serrated with a multiplicity of spaced projecting portions, and said lock screw head having a terminal end part corresponding to said projecting portions whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto, said end part and projecting portions being of generally conical configuration with a substantially pointed apex.

5. A latching device, comprising a bracket mounting a latching member for axial movement between first and second positions, and means for locking said latching member in one of said positions thereof comprising abutment means carried by said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portions and said lock screw head being serrated with a multiplicity of spaced projecting portions whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto.

6. A latching device, comprising a bracket mounting a latching member for axial movement between first and second positions, and means for locking said latching member in one of said positions thereof comprising abutment means carried by said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof,

said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking positionof said lock screw, said latching member surface portions having a plurality of randomly arranged slots corresponding to said lock screw head slot whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto.

7. A latching device, comprising a bracket mounting a latching member for axial movement between first and second positions, and means for locking said latching member in one of said positions thereof comprising abutment means disposed in fixed relation with said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a head of predetermined configuration which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portions having surface interruptions corresponding to said lock screw head in'the region of the latter whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto.

8. A latching device for a window construction of the character described, comprising a bracket having aligned apertures, alatching member mounted for axial movement in said aligned apertures, said latching member having an end portion thereof extending through one of said apertures and laterally beyond the surface of a companion wall of said bracket in a projected position, said latching member being axially movable from said projected position to a retracted position in which said projecting portion is retracted inwardly of said bracket, and means for locking said latching member in said projected position com rising abutment means carried by said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portions having surface interruptions corresponding to said lock screw head whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto.

9. A latching device for a window construction of the character described, comprising a bracket having aligned apertures, a latching'member mounted for axial movement in said aligned apertures, said latching member having an end portion thereof extending through one of said apertures and laterally beyond the surface of a companion wall of said bracket in a projected position, said latching member being axially movable from said projected position to a retracted position in which said projecting portion is retracted inwardly of said bracket, and

means for locking said latching member in said projected position comprising abutment means carried by said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in substantially flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portions having surface interruptions corresponding to said lock screw head whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto, said latching member surface portions being serrated with a multiplicity of spaced projecting portions, and said lock screw head having a terminal end part corresponding to said projecting portions.

10. A latching device for a window construction of the character described, comprising a bracket having aligned apertures one of which is elongated in one plane,

7 a latchingzmember mounted for: pivotal bodily movement in said plane in saidaligned apertures, said, latching member 'havingan end portion thereof extendingpthrough said elongated aperture anduextending laterally beyond the surface. of a companion wall of said bracket, means carried by said bracket for, resiliently biasing said latching member in said plane towards one end of said elongated aperture, said latching membenbeing axially movable from said position in which said projecting portion extends laterally beyond ,saidt wall surface to a retracted position in which said projecting portion is retracted inwardly of said bracket from said first mentioned position, and means for locking said latching member in said first mentioned axial positionanddisposed at said one end of said elongated aperture, said means comprising abutment means carried by said bracketand a lock screw carried by 7 said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means in the" locking position thereof, said lock screwhaving a slotted head which is disposed in flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member, in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portions having surface interruptions corresponding to said lock screw head whereby to render lock screw removal burglarprooffrom a position without frontal visual access thereto.

11. A latching device for a window construction of the character described, comprising a U-shaped bracket having laterally spaced walls and a connecting transverse wall, said laterally spaced walls having aligned apertures one of which is elongated in a direction towards said transverse wall, a latching member mounted for pivotal bodily movement in said direction in said aligned apertures, said latching member having an end portion thereof extending through said elongated aperture and extending laterally beyond the surface of a companion lateral wall of said bracket, said latching member being axially movable from said position in which said projecting portion extends laterally beyondsaid Wall surface to a retracted position in which said projecting portion is retracted inwardly of said bracket from said first mentioned position, means carried by said bracket for resiliently biasing said latching member in said direction, and means for locking said latching member in said first mentioned axial position with said latching member disposed at the end of said elongated aperture remote from said transversewall, said means comprising abutment means carried by saidbracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed for engagement with said abutment means carried by said bracket and a lock screw carried by said latching member disposed forengagement with said abutment means in the locking position thereof, said lock screw having a slotted head which is disposed in flush relation with adjacent surface portions of said latching member in the locking position of said lock screw, said latching member surface portions having surface interruptions corresponding to said lock screw head whereby to render lock screw removal burglarproof from a position without frontal visual access thereto, said lock screw engaging said transverse Wall to prevent pivotal bodily movement of said latching member towards said transverse wall.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Grossman Feb. 8, 1955