This disclosure relates generally to door latch security devices configured to engage with door latches to maintain a door closed. More specifically, disclosed embodiments relate to door latch security devices that may be portable, may not require any movable parts, and may easily engage with a door latch to maintain the door closed and be removed to enable the door to be opened.
Many doors include a door latch on one side of the door. These door latches may serve as protection against intruders, particularly on doors lacking locks or whose locks are accessible on both sides of the door. A conventional door latch may include a fixed, cantilevered bar having a knob on an end of the bar, which is secured to one of the door and the jamb. The conventional door latch may also include a swinging, cantilevered arm, which may be hingedly secured to the other of the door and the jamb. At the end of the swinging arm nearest its hinged attachment, the swinging arm may include a slot sized to permit the knob to pass through the slot. Along a remainder of the length of the swinging arm, the slot may be sized to permit the fixed bar to pass through the slot and to prevent the knob from passing through the slot. As the fixed bar and swinging arm engage with one another, and particularly as the fixed bar extends through the slot such that the knob engages with the swinging arm, the fixed bar and swinging arm may enable an occupant of the room to open the door part of the way but prevent the door from opening the rest of the way.
Some devices have been made to circumvent swinging arm door latches. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,415, issued May 28, 1991, for “DOOR SECURITY LATCH OPENER AND METHOD OF USING SAME;” U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,713, issued Aug. 17, 1999, for “TOOL FOR OPENING A DOOR WITH ENGAGED SWING BAR GUARD;” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,542, issued Oct. 12, 2004, for “UNLOCKING DEVICE FOR SUPPLEMENTAL DOOR LOCK,” the disclosure of each of which is incorporated in this disclosure in its entirety by these references, each disclose an unlatching device for disengaging the swinging arm from the fixed bar of the door latch.
Some locks that are intended to be portable and to maintain a door shut from one side have also been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,394, issued Apr. 27, 1982, for “PORTABLE DOOR LOCK” and U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,902, issued May 15, 2007, for “PORTABLE DOOR LOCK,” the disclosure of each of which is incorporated in this disclosure in its entirety by these references, each disclose a lock that is intended to keep a door shut and to be portable.
In some embodiments, door latch security devices for maintaining doors closed comprise latch engagement arms configured to obstruct a swinging arm of a door latch from disengaging from a fixed bar of the door latch. A support member may be connected to the latch engagement arms. The support member may be configured to contact the swinging arm of a door latch to support the door latch security device on the door latch. A channel may be defined between the latch engagement arms. The channel may be sized to at least partially receive a swinging arm and a fixed bar of a door latch within the channel.
In other embodiments, methods of making door latch security devices for maintaining doors closed comprise forming a channel between latch engagement arms. The channel may be sized to at least partially insert a swinging arm and a fixed bar of a door latch within the channel. The latch engagement arms may be configured to obstruct a swinging arm of a door latch from disengaging from a fixed bar of the door latch. A support member connected to the latch engagement arms may be configured to contact the swinging arm of a door latch to support the door latch security device on the door latch.
In still other embodiments, methods of using door latch security devices to maintain doors closed comprise at least partially inserting a swinging arm and a fixed bar of a door latch into a channel defined between latch engagement arms to obstruct the swinging arm from disengaging from the fixed bar. A support member connected to the engagement arms may be supported on the door latch to support the door latch security device on the door latch.
While this disclosure concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming specific embodiments, various features and advantages of embodiments within the scope of this disclosure may be more readily ascertained from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The illustrations presented in this disclosure are not meant to be actual views of any particular door latch security device, door latch, or component thereof, but are merely idealized representations employed to describe illustrative embodiments. Thus, the drawings are not necessarily to scale.
Disclosed embodiments relate generally to door latch security devices that may be portable, may not require any moving parts, and may easily engage with a door latch to maintain the door closed and be removed to enable the door to be opened. More specifically, disclosed are embodiments of door latch security devices including latch engagement arms and a channel defined between the latch engagement arms, wherein a swinging arm and a fixed arm of a door latch may be at least partially received within the channel, which may enable the latch engagement arms to obstruct the swinging arm from disengaging from the fixed arm.
Referring to
The support member 14 may comprise, for example, a generally horizontally extending span extending between the latch engagement arms 12. The latch engagement arms 12 may comprise, for example, generally vertically extending stanchions extending downward from the support member 14. In some embodiments, the latch engagement arms 12 may extend in a direction perpendicular to the support member 14 and parallel to one another. In other embodiments, one of both of the latch engagement arms 12 may extend at an oblique angle with respect to the support member 14.
A channel 16 may be defined between the latch engagement arms 12 under the support member 14. The channel 16 may be sized to at least partially receive a swinging arm 24 (see
The door latch security device 10 may exhibit sufficient structural strength to resist attempts to open a door 26 (see
A length L of each latch engagement arm 12 as measured in a direction at least substantially parallel to a direction in which a door latch 22 (see
Referring to
A depth d of the channel 16 as measured from an end of a latch engagement arm 12 to the support member 14 may be sufficiently great to at least partially receive a swinging arm 24 (see
A thickness T of each latch engagement arm 12 as measured from a surface of each latch engagement arm 12 facing the channel 16 to a surface of each latch engagement arm 12 opposing the channel 16 may be sufficiently great that each latch engagement arm 12 obstructs a swinging arm 24 (see
The small size of the door latch security device 10 may enable the door latch security device 10 to be more portable than conventional portable lock devices. In some embodiments, the door latch security device 10 may include an attachment feature 18 configured to enable the door latch security device 10 to connect to another structure for convenience in transporting the door latch security device 10. The attachment feature 18 may comprise, for example, a hole extending through the door latch security device 10, which may enable the door latch security device 10 to be attached to a keychain, a backpack, luggage, or other structure frequently carried by travelers for convenience in transporting the door latch security device 10.
In some embodiments, the door latch security device 10 may include features that render it useful in situations other than securing a door shut. For example, the door latch security device 10 may include a bottle opener 20. The bottle opener 20 may comprise, for example, a groove extending along the length L (see
The door latch security device 10 may be formed using conventional manufacturing processes and techniques. For example, the door latch security device may be formed by machining, injection molding, die forming, drilling, cold forming, grinding, polishing, and other manufacturing processes and techniques known in the art. As a specific, nonlimiting process for forming the door latch security device 10, material may be removed from a central portion of a block of the material (e.g., by machining) to a depth d, which may simultaneously form the channel 16, the latch engagement arms 12, and the support member 14. As another specific, nonlimiting process for forming the door latch security device 10, the latch engagement arms 12 may be moved proximate to one another to form the channel 16 and fixed in place, such as, for example, by bending a bar to bring the latch engagement arms 12 toward one another or by contacting the latch engagement arms 12 to the support member 14 and affixing them in place.
Referring to
The swinging arm 24 may define a slot 38 sized to permit the fixed bar 34 to pass through the slot 38. The fixed bar 34 may include a knob 40 at an end of the fixed bar 34 opposing the base plate 36. The slot 38 may be sized to permit the knob 40 to pass through the slot 38 at an end proximate the hinge 32 and to obstruct (e.g., prevent) the knob 40 from passing through the slot 38 along a remainder of the slot 38. When the swinging arm 24 is rotated toward the fixed bar 34 in such a way that the knob 40 is at least partially inserted through the slot 38, opening the door 26 may cause the knob 40 to travel the rest of the way through the slot 38 and engage with the swinging arm 24. Mechanical interference between the swinging arm 24 and the knob 40 may prevent the door 26 from opening beyond an extent at which the fixed bar 34 contacts the swinging arm 24 at the end of the slot 38.
Referring to
While certain illustrative embodiments have been described in connection with the figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize and appreciate that the scope of this disclosure is not limited to those embodiments explicitly shown and described in this disclosure. Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure may be made to produce embodiments within the scope of this disclosure, such as those specifically claimed, including legal equivalents. In addition, features from one disclosed embodiment may be combined with features of another disclosed embodiment while still being within the scope of this disclosure, as contemplated by the inventor.
This disclosure claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/818,639, filed May 2, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated in this disclosure in its entirety by this reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61818639 | May 2013 | US |