Patent Application
20240141689
The present invention relates to a door jamb strike plate, in particular, an apparatus for receiving an angled bolt of a door spring-loaded latch bolt mechanism.
In prior art strike plates, the open end of the lip portion of the strike plate as well as the body of the lip portion of the strike plate pose a physical hazard. Both the open end of the lip portion and the body of the lip portion project beyond the front edge of the door jamb and further project beyond the front edge of the architrave surrounding the door jamb. Typically, both the open end of the lip portion and the body of the lip portion protrude one-half of an inch beyond the front edge of the door jamb and one-quarter of an inch beyond the front edge of the architrave surrounding the door jamb. Both the protrusion of the open end of the lip portion and the protrusion of the body of the lip portion can cause accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
Komatsu, JPH08296353A, Nov. 12, 1996, herein after referred to as Komatsu, shows in Komatsu, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a single member flat strike plate 2 having a plurality of grooves 7 on the back surface of the flat portion of the strike plate 2. Komatsu, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the plurality of grooves 7 is located on the back surface of the flat portion of the strike plate 2 between (a) the front edge of the collar plate 10 of the dust box 9 and (b) the intersection of the flat portion of the strike plate 2 and the lip portion 6 of the strike plate 2. Komatsu makes a claim the plurality of concave grooves is located on the lip portion side of the strike plate.
Komatsu, FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B show Komatsu working with thick architrave and working with thin architrave. Komatsu, FIG. 4A shows the strike plate working with thick architrave such that an individual installs the strike plate 2 without the need to bend the flat portion of the strike plate 2 because the open end of the lip portion 6 ends at the front edge of the thick architrave. In a different scenario, Komatsu, FIG. 4B shows the strike plate 2 working with thin architrave such that an individual installs the strike plate 2 with the need to bend the flat portion of the strike plate 2, using a hammer; the result is the open end of the lip portion 6 overlaps the front edge of the thin architrave surrounding the door jamb.
The object of the novel plurality of grooves 7 is to allow an individual to easily, cleanly and straightly bend the flat portion of the strike plate 2, using a hammer, such that the open end of the lip portion 2 overlaps the front edge of the thin architrave surrounding the door jamb; thereby, prevent accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
The present invention is a single member flat strike plate having a flat portion, a retraction portion, a flange portion, and a bendable means on the back surface of the retraction portion. The flat portion of the strike plate ends at the front edge of the door jamb. The retraction portion, located at the meeting of the flat portion and the flange portion, is parallel to the front edge of the door jamb. The flange portion extends from the retraction portion to the meeting of the front surface of the door jamb and the inside edge of the front surface of the architrave surrounding the door jamb. The bendable means extending in the vertical direction, located on the back surface of the retraction portion, is parallel to the retraction portion, and is parallel to and outside of the front edge of the door jamb.
The bendable means, located on the back surface of the retraction portion, allows an individual, with a household pair of pliers, to easily, cleanly and straightly adjust the angle of the flange portion to properly install the strike plate on the door jamb. An individual can adjust, if necessary, the angle of the flange portion such that both the open end of the flange portion and the body of the flange portion are near the meeting of the front surface of the door jamb and the inside edge of the front surface of the architrave surrounding the door jamb. In other words, neither the open end of the flange portion nor the body of the flange portion protrudes the front edge of the architrave surrounding the door jamb. The object of the present invention is to prevent accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
The bendable means for easily, cleanly and straightly adjusting the angle of the flange portion is a canal, cavity, concavity, crater, crenel, corrugation, crease, crimp, cut, cutting, dent, depression, dimple, dint, dip, ditch, embrasure, flute, fluting, furrow, gouge, groove, gutter, hollow, impression, incision, indentation, nick, notch, pit, pucker, rabbet, rut, scallop, score, scratch, sink, slit, trench, trough, or valley.
Further, the bendable means includes strike plate metal material typically used by the door hardware industry to construct interior door hardware and interior door strike plates installed, for example, on bedroom doors and door jambs, bathroom doors and door jambs, and closet doors and door jambs. Exterior door hardware and exterior door strike plates have a rigid property that is important to minimize the occurrence of unwanted entry, break-ins, and theft. Interior door hardware strike plates have a bendable property, for example, an individual can adjust the angle of the door hardware industry standard adjustable tab of the strike plate, if needed, in a range from eighty degrees to one hundred degrees with a household pair of pliers to eliminate door rattle. Likewise, with the bendable means of the above paragraph, an individual can easily, cleanly, and straightly adjust the angle of the present invention flange, if needed, in a range from eighty degrees to one hundred degrees with a household pair of pliers to fit a door jamb, properly receive the angled bolt of a door spring-loaded latch bolt mechanism, and, at the same time, prevent accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
One embodiment of the present invention is a single member flat strike plate constructed of metal or other suitable strike plate material and the strike plate having a flat portion, a retraction portion, a flange portion, and a bendable means. The flat portion ends at the front edge of the door jamb. The retraction portion is parallel the front edge of the door jamb. The flange portion extends from the retraction portion to the meeting of the front surface of the door jamb and the inside edge of the front surface of the thin architrave surrounding the door jamb. The bendable means, for example, an indentation, located on the back surface of the retraction portion, extending in the vertical direction, and is parallel to the front surface of the retraction portion. Further, the bendable means is parallel to and outside of the front edge of the door jamb. And, the body of the flange portion has a flat profile.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a single member flat strike plate constructed of metal or other suitable strike plate material and the strike plate having a flat portion, a retraction portion, a flange portion, and a bendable means. The flat portion ends at the front edge of the door jamb. The retraction portion is parallel to the front edge of the door jamb. The flange portion extends from the retraction portion to the meeting of the front surface of the door jamb and the inside edge of the front surface of the thin architrave surrounding the door jamb. The bendable means, for example, an indentation, located on the back surface of the retraction portion, extending in the vertical direction, and is parallel to the front surface of the retraction portion. Further, the bendable means is parallel to and outside of the front edge of the door jamb. And, the body of the flange portion has a curvature profile.
A further embodiment of the present invention is a single member flat strike plate constructed of metal or other suitable strike plate material and the strike plate having a flat portion, a retraction portion, a flange portion, and a bendable means. The flat portion ends at the front edge of the door jamb. The retraction portion is parallel to the front edge of the door jamb. The flange portion extends from the retraction portion to the meeting of the front surface of the door jamb and the inside edge of the front surface of the thin architrave surrounding the door jamb. The bendable means consisting of a plurality of bendable means, for example, a plurality of indentations, located on the back surface of the retraction portion, extending in the vertical direction, and is parallel to the front surface of the retraction portion. Further, the plurality of bendable means is parallel to and outside of the front edge of the door jamb.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.
The present invention single member flat strike plate having a flat portion, a retraction portion, a flange portion, and a bendable means on the back surface of the retraction portion allows an individual to easily, cleanly and straightly adjust the angle of the flange portion of the strike plate such that both the open end of the flange portion and the body of the flange portion are near the meeting of the front surface of the door jamb and the inside edge of the front surface of the thin architrave surrounding the door jamb. Thereby, the present invention prevents accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
The present invention strike plate has a flat portion ending at the front edge of the door jamb to protect the door jamb from the angled bolt of the door spring-loaded latch bolt mechanism; thereby, prevents accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
The present invention strike plate has a retraction portion that is parallel to the front edge of the door jamb; thereby, prevents accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
The present invention strike plate has a body of the flange portion extending from the retraction portion of the strike plate to the meeting of the front surface of the door jamb and the inside edge of the front surface of the thin architrave surrounding the door jamb; thereby, prevents accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
The present invention has a bendable means on the back surface of the retraction portion extending in the vertical direction to allow an individual, with a household pair of pliers, to easily, cleanly and straightly adjust the angle of the flange portion, if necessary, such that both the open end of the flange portion and the body of the flange portion are near the meeting of the front surface of the door jamb and the inside edge of the front surface of the thin architrave surrounding the door jamb. Thereby, the present invention prevents accidents in which an individual's body or clothing gets caught.
The present invention accommodates building industry standard thin architrave available at lumber yards and home improvement retail outlets that is prominently installed in houses and other buildings constructed from 1960 to the present and the foreseeable future. The thin architrave is available in the following popular sizes, for example, one-eighth of an inch thick front surface, five-thirty-seconds of an inch thick front surface, and three-sixteenths of an inch thick front surface.
In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:
For purposes of describing the preferred embodiments, the terminology used in reference to the numbered accessories in the drawings is as follows:
The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments, and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments described above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations of those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
