Patent Application
20110095548
Latch protectors are in use which protects the latches of doors from tampering. For some door installations, there can be a disparity between the plane of the door and the plane of the adjacent door frame. This can lead to problems in installation of the latch protector.
Features and advantages of the disclosure will readily be appreciated by persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the drawing wherein:
In the following detailed description and in the several figures of the drawing, like elements are identified with like reference numerals. The figures may not be to scale, and relative feature sizes may be exaggerated for illustrative purposes.
An exemplary embodiment of a door latch protector system allows for adjustment of a latch protector plate in a direction transverse to the plane of the door. This is very important in some applications. There is commonly an offset of approximately ¼″ between the first plane of the latch protector that screws flat against the door and the second plane that overlaps the frame. There are occasions in which, depending on the distance relationship between the door and the frame, a ¼″ offset is not enough and the latch protector will act as a stop not allowing the door to close fully.
It may not be desirable to increase the offset more than ¼″ between the first plane and the second plane of the protector plate, because there will be too large of a gap between the latch protector and the frame when the extra clearance is not needed. Too large a gap may allow easier introduction to prying devices such as screwdrivers, hammer claws, or similar devices.
If faced with a door that the latch protector hits or rubs on the frame, there are few options:
01) Do not install a latch protector leaving the door vulnerable.
02) Attempt to bend or file the latch protector enough to clear the frame which is difficult at best.
In an exemplary embodiment, a spacer or shim is provided in combination with a latch protector plate, in which the spacer or shim has substantially the same size and/or shape as the latch protector plate portion associated with the first plane. The spacer or shim allows the latch protector plate and spacer to lay flat and secure with no gaps to allow the introduction of burglary tools. In an exemplary embodiment, the spacer does not extend beyond the edge of the door to cause interference with the strike and/or latch plates of the locks or the frame.
The thickness of the spacers may be varied but will typically be approximately ⅛″. Multiple spacers with the same or various thicknesses can be used depending on the application.
An exemplary embodiment of a door latch protector system 50 is illustrated in
The plate 60 includes openings 64A and 64B to accept mounting hardware such as bolts which pass into the door to securely mount the plate to the door. The plate 60 may have an inward edge 66 defining an inner relieved area 66A, which allows positioning of the plate near, and prevents interference with, locksets such as locksets 30, 32 installed in the door.
The door overlapping portion 62 of the plate 60 has a first planar surface 62A configured to contact the exterior door surface when installed on the door. The frame overlapping portion 70 of the plate 60 has a second planar surface 70A. The first and second planar surfaces are generally parallel, but offset by a distance “D” which, as noted above, is typically on the order of ¼ inch. The frame overlapping portion 70 in this exemplary embodiment defines a V-shaped recess 74 which provides clearance for strike plates which may protrude above the plane of the door while still covering the strike plate and the lock hardware under the plate to resist use of burglary tools.
As noted, the offset distance D between the first and second planar surfaces may in some door installation cases not be sufficient, and the second surface may come into contact with the door jamb to prevent closure of the door. A spacer 80 is provided to address this problem. An exemplary embodiment of the spacer 80 has substantially the same size and/or shape and/or edge profile as the first planar surface 62A associated with latch protector plate portion 62 of the latch protector plate 60. Thus, for the exemplary plate 60, the spacer 80 is a plate having a peripheral shape or configuration which matches that of the plate 60, including an inward surface edge 86 which generally matches the inward surface 66, as well as an outward surface 82 which matches the edge profile 74A of the inward side of the V-shaped region 74. The end profiles of the spacer ends 90, 92 also match the end profiles of the ends of the latch protector plate 60. Thus, the edge profile of the spacer plate 80 at least in the inward region between points 94A and 94B (indicated by the arrows in
In an exemplary embodiment, the spacer plate 80 has fastener openings 94A, 94B which are positioned to match the openings 64A, 64B of the latch protector plate 60, to allow the fasteners used to secure the plate 60 to the door to pass through the spacer plate and sandwich the spacer plate between the door surface and the latch protector plate.
The spacer may have a thickness in one embodiment of ⅛ inch, although spacers of other thicknesses may be used as well. The spacers are typically fabricated of metal such as steel, and may be fabricated of the same material as the latch protector plate.
With the spacer 80 installed between the latch protector plate 60 and the door surface, the frame overlapping portion 70 of the plate will have an additional clearance, defined by the thickness of the spacer, to accommodate a door jamb which is offset from the plane of the door by a distance which is greater than that which can be accommodated by the plate 60 and its offset distance D.
Other embodiments of the latch protector plate and the spacer plate may be employed.
Other embodiments of the latch protector plate and the spacer plate may have utility for situations in which the protector plate has no offset between the two planes, i.e. in the case in which the dimension D is zero or near zero.
Although the foregoing has been a description and illustration of specific embodiments of the invention, various modifications and changes thereto can be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the subject matter.
