US3241873A

US3241873A - Snap-on strike box

Info

Publication number: US3241873A
Application number: US331322A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred J Russell; Roger J Nolin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-12-17
Filing date: 1963-12-17
Publication date: 1966-03-22
Anticipated expiration: 1983-03-22

Description

March 1965 F. J. RUSSELL ETAL 3,241,873

SNAP-ON STRIKE BOX Filed Dec. 1'7, 1963 INVENTORS F1250 J1, USSELL 0&5/2 J; NOL/H AT'TO Q NEAIS United States Patent 3,241,873 SNAP-0N STRIKE BOX Fred J. Russell, 8635 Otis St, South Gate, Calif., and

Roger J. Nolin, Monterey Park, Calif.; said Nolin assignor to said Russell Filed Dec. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 331,322 3 Claims. (U. 293-340) The invention has to do with door lock accessories and in particular a special type of strike box which is installed in the frame of the door for engagement with a latch bolt in order to engage the latch bolt and hold the door in closed position.

- One of the most common means of holding a latch bolt in position to keep a door closed is a strike plate with a hole in it, with a curved lip on one side. This expedient has been employed for a countless number of years and is widely used. When it is used, a hole is chiseled in the frame deep enough to receive the latch bolt, but the strike plate is the element with which the latch both actually engages.

In those instances where a somewhat more substantial installation is desired, the strike plate is provided with a strike box which fits into the chiseled-out hole in the frame, and the strike box by its size and depth fixes the size and depth of the hole into which the latch bolt extends. An accepted structure for a strike box of this kind in the past has been one wherein the strike box is constructed in the first instance of a single piece of material. In some instances, the structure may be a casting. In other instances, it may be a stamping. Limitations are inherent in a single piece strike box, whether it consists of 'a casting or a stamping as made reference to, or where it may be of some other conventional type of construction. Some are too expensive for widespread use. Others are such as will not permit the device to be adapted to a variety of different conditions with an equal degree of effectiveness.

It is therefore one of the objects of the invention to provide a new and improved strike box of such character 'that it can be snapped into place upon a strike plate so that the two parts when assembled have the same convenience as a single piece.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved strike box which has a snap action connection between itself and a strike plate so that, even though the parts are separately constructed and differ from each other in character, they act as a single unit when assembled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved snap-on strike box combination wherein a resilient snap-on attachment is provided between the strike box and a strike plate which is releasable if desired by the use of simple conventional tools, the attachment consisting of especially forming the walls of the strike box so as to cooperate with complementary portions on the strike plate.

Also included among the objects of the invention is to provide a snap-on strike box combination wherein the box-like portion which is normally concealed when mounted can be made of relatively unfinished material, but nevertheless, one which has a firm and secure connection to the strike plate which in turn may be made of attractive polished material, the box and plate combination being one which makes use of an effective snap-on connection.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

ice

FIGURE 1 is a side perspective view of the snap-on strike box combination in the position it would have when attached upon a door frame.

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of the snap-on strike box combination.

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the snapon strike box combination in the position it would have in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the snap-on strike box combination partially broken away to show the snap acting means.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of the snap-on strike box combination taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

In an embodiment of the invention which is described in detail to illustrate the principle upon which the invention is constructed, there is shown what will be made reference to in general as a strike device 10 shown in assembled condition in perspective and attached to a door frame indicated generally by the reference character 11. For purposes of disclosure, the strike device 10 may be considered as constituting -two members, namely a box member indicated generally by the reference character 12 and a strike member indicated generally by the reference character 13, the latter being, in the present instance, a composite member.

In the present embodiment, the box member 12 is constructed of a bottom 14,

end walls

15 and 16, rear side wall 17 and a front side wall 18. Good practice suggests that the box member 12 be constructed of sheet material having a degree of resilience and stamped or cut so that the

end walls

15 and 16 and the rear and

front side walls

17 and 18 be made from a single sheet of material and bent into the form shown in FIGURE 2, without express need for soldering the corners or otherwise fastening the side and end walls together in assembled position as shown in FIGURE 2. It will be noted further that, from an examination of FIGURES 4 and 5, the front side wall 18 has a somewhat oblique angle outwardly, and that the rear side wall 17 is substantially perpendicular to the bottom 14. The

end walls

15 and 16, the rear and

front side walls

17 and 18 together with the bottom 14 form a chamber 19 open at one side.

The box member 12, as already suggested, is a composite member consisting of a fastening plate portion 21 and a latch bolt retaining portion 22. These last identified portions are shown separately in FIGURE 2. The fastening plate portion 21 consists primarily of a plate 23 having a polished or plated outside surface, and within which is an opening 24. In the plate 23 are

screw holes

25 and 26 at respectively opposite ends through which ordinary wood screws (not shown) may be inserted in order to attach the strike device 10 to the door frame 11. In addition, the fastening plate portion 21 may be provided with an inwardly turned edge 27 which extends part way only into the chamber 19, forming one side of the opening 24.

The latch bolt retaining portion 22 is a somewhat composite stamped section consisting of

plate elements

30 and 31 from which depend, respectively,

flanges

32 and 33. These flanges are in right angular relationship and are adapted to extend into the box member 12. A third flange 34 extends somewhat obliquely into the box member 12 at a location intermediate the

flanges

32 and 33. Extending outwardly from the flange 34 and from the

plate elements

30 and 31 is a strike lip 35 of sub stantially conventional form and configuration. There is a slight offset bend at

locations

36 and 37 to permit the fastening plate portion 21 to set down upon the

plate elements

30 and 31 in a position so that the outermost face of the fastening plate portion 21 will be substantially flush with an adjacent face of the strike lip 35.

The plate elements and 31 are provided respectively with

elongated screw holes

38 and 39 to fasten the latch bolt retaining portion 22 to the fastening plate portion 21.

Machine screws

40 and 41 extend through appropriate holes, not specifically labeled, in the plate 23 and thence respectively through the

screw holes

38 and 39 of the

plate elements

30 and 31 beneath which nuts 42 and 43 attach to the

machine screws

40 and 41 to hold the fastening plate portion 21 in fixed relationship with the latch bolt retaining portion 22 so that they, to all intents and purposes, act as a single member, namely, the strike member 13.

On the

flanges

32 and 33 respectively are

projections

44 and 45. A similar projection 46 is formed on the flange 34. These can be bent-out portions of the respective flanges.

Opposite the projection 44 is an opening 47 in the end wall 15 complementary with respect to the projection 44 and which provides a shoulder 48 against which the projection 44 is adapted to engage in assembled position. Similarly, an opening 49 is provided in the end wall 16 opposite the projection and which provides a shoulder 50 against which the projection 45 is adapted to engage. In the same manner there is provided an opening 51 on the front side wall 18 which provides a shoulder 52 against which the projection 46 is adapted to engage when the projection 46 extends into the opening 51.

In assembling the device, namely, in fastening the box member 12 to the strike member 13, it is necessary only to insert the

flanges

32, 33, and 34 into the open end of the box member 12 and press the members together until the

projections

44, 45, and 46 snap into the

respective openings

47, 49, and 51. This is possible because of the somewhat resilient nature of the

end walls

15 and 16 and front side wall 18, since they will flex slightly as they extend over the projections, and then snap back when the projections coincide with the openings, thereby to secure the members together. It will, of course, by understood that, even though the openings are described as being located in the box member 12 and the projections upon the strike member 13, a reverse disposition would also be possible, namely providing the box member with projections and the strike member with appropriate matching openings.

To disassemble the members one from another when occasion may require, it is necessary only to pry the

end walls

15 and 16 and front side wall 18 slightly with an appropriate tool, as suggested in FIGURE 5, until the openings are free of the projection and whereupon the box member 12 will fall free of the strike member 13, and the walls of the former will flex back into initial position.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is:

1. A strike device for a latch bolt of the type adapted to be mounted on a door frame in a hole of selected size, said device comprising a box member adapted to be set into the hole and a strike member adapted to be attached to the frame in overlying relationship, said strike member comprising a fastening plate portion adapted to attach to the frame, a latch bolt retaining portion and inwardly extending flanges having widths less than the depth of said hole, said strike member having an opening for receiving a latch bolt and a strike lip adjacent one side of the opening, said box member having walls and an open top, said walls having attachment means and said flanges having attachment means, one of said attachment means being in the form of shoulders and the other of said attachment means being in the form of snap projections respectively complementary with said shoulders and in engagement with the shoulders, whereby said box member is moved over the flanges and automatically attached to said strike member.

2. .A strike device for a latch bolt of the type adapted to be mounted on a door frame in a hole of selected length and breadth, said device having a length and breadth less than the length and breadth of said hole and comprising a box member adapted to be set into the hole and a strike member adapted to be attached to the frame in overlying relationship, said strike member comprising a fastening plate portion adapted to attach to the frame, a latch bolt retaining portion and inwardly extending flanges, said strike member having an opening for receiving a latch bolt and a strike lip adjacent one side of the opening, said box member having side and end walls and an open top, said side and end walls having attachment means and said flanges having attachment means, one of said attachment means being in the form of shoulders and the other of said attachment means being in the form of projections respectively complementary with said shoulders and in engagement with the shoulders, whereby said box member is attached to said strike member, one of said attachment means having a resilient bias toward the other of said attachment means whereby to automatically engage one of said attachment means with the other when said attachment means are brought into engagement with one another.

3. A strike device for a latch bolt of the type adapted to be mounted on a door frame in a hole of selected length and breadth, said device comprising a box member adapted to be set into the frame and a strike member adapted to be attached to the frame in overlying relationship, said strike member comprising a fastening plate portion adapted to attach to the frame, a latch bolt retaining portion and inwardly extending flanges, said strike member having an opening for receiving a latch bolt and a strike lip adjacent one side of the opening, said box member having end walls, side walls, a bottom and an open top and having a length and breadth less than the length and breadth of said hole, at least three of said walls having openings therein forming attachment means in the form of shoulders, said flanges having attachment means in the form of projections respectively complementary with said openings and receivable therein in engagement with the shoulders, whereby said box member is attached to said strike member, one of said attachment means having a resilient bias toward the other of said attachment means whereby to automatically engage one of said attachment means with the other when said attachment means are brought into engagement with one another.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,042,024 5/1936 Schlage 292-341.18 2,568,983 9/1951 Best 292-340 JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Examiner.

S. LEITNER, R. E. MOORE, Assistant Examiners.