Patent Application
20050034494
The present invention relates in general to the field of lock assemblies and locking systems and, in particular, to lock assemblies and locking systems adapted for use with hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors.
Hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors serve as a popular threshold for areas that receive heavy impact bearing traffic. These doors are commonly found in retail stores at the interface between the public sales area and the restricted stockroom area, and accommodate traffic such as forklifts, dollies and carts. These doors are also commonly found at the threshold of mailrooms and further accommodate bidirectional mail cart traffic, as well as in and around shipping, loading and receiving areas and warehouses. One reason for the popularity of these doors is that they can withstand forces imparted by impact bearing traffic much better than wood or metal doors. Impact-traffic doors distort and absorb the impact of the momentum force, whereas wood and metal doors crack and break. These doors may also include detachable plastic bumpers to further protect the doors from impact, may be arranged as double doors to provide a wider threshold, and may include windows.
A problem exists, however, in suitably securing this type of door. Since the flexible impact-traffic door distorts easily over time due to continual impact, it rarely aligns in the exact same position when closed. For example, it may close on one side of the doorframe one time and then close one the other side of the doorframe the next time. For another example, the bottom of the door may become bent or warped by continued full-mail cart impact such that the bottom of the door usually closes on one side of the doorframe while the top of the door usually closes on the other side of the doorframe. This alignment problem is exasperated by the double-acting nature of the door. Since there is no doorstop on the doorframe, there is no structure for the door to lay up against. Additional detractors such as insulation strips placed along the door or doorframe periphery, further contribute to this alignment problem.
Thus, to secure these hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors, a person must manually and painstakingly align the lock bolt with the strikeplate hole so that they can mate prior to locking the door. This requisite time and patience, is particularly problematic within the fast-paced environment in which the doors function. Moreover, even when locked, portions of the flexible door can be bent twelve inches or more, thereby allowing ingress or egress to unintended materials or persons notwithstanding the locked door.
There is thus a need for an improved lock assembly and locking system for hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors.
The present invention provides an improved lock assembly and locking system for hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors. The present invention also provides for automated secured ingress and egress system through hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors.
One aspect of the invention provides a lock assembly adapted for use with a hinged double-acting impact-traffic door comprising a moveable bolt arranged within a housing and a having a first perimeter; a strikeplate spaced apart from the housing and having a hole with a second perimeter; and an actuator adapted to move the bolt from an unlocked position where the bolt is within the housing to a locked position where a portion of the bolt extends into the hole, wherein the second perimeter is 2-10 times greater than the first perimeter such that the hinged double-acting impact-traffic door has an amount of play when the bolt is in the locked position.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a lock assembly adapted for use with a hinged double-acting impact-traffic door comprising a moveable bolt arranged within a housing and a having a first radial length and a second radial length; a strikeplate spaced apart from the housing and having a hole with a first radial length and a second radial length, the first or second radial length of the hole being 2-10 times greater than the first or second radial length of the bolt; and an actuator adapted to move the bolt from an unlocked position where the bolt is within the housing to a locked position where a portion of the bolt extends into the hole, wherein when the bolt is in the locked position the hinged double-acting impact-traffic door can be pushed or pulled at least 0.5 inch without the bolt exterior contacting the hole interior.
Another aspect of the invention provides a locking system adapted to lock and unlock a hinged double-acting impact-traffic door comprising a lock assembly comprising a lock portion with a moveable bolt having a first perimeter and a strikeplate portion with a hole having a second perimeter; a controller adapted to direct the locking and unlocking of the hinged double-acting impact-traffic door; a bolt position sensor adapted to provide an electronic signal to the controller indicative of the position of the bolt; and an actuator electronically interconnected to the controller adapted to move the bolt as directed by the controller, wherein when the door is locked, the door can be moved at least 1 inch without being bent.
The above-mentioned and other concepts of the present invention will now be addressed with reference to the drawings of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The illustrated embodiments are intended to illustrate, but not to limit the invention. The drawings contain the following figures, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout the description and drawings and wherein:
The invention described herein employs several basic individual or collective concepts. For example, one concept relates to a lock assembly comprising a lock bolt cooperatively sized and configured to fit within a strikeplate recess while affording an appreciable amount of play or tolerance. Another concept relates to automated secured ingress and egress for hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors.
The present invention is disclosed in context of use with a hinged double-acting impact-traffic door. The principles of the present invention, however, are not limited to hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors, and those skilled in the art may find additional applications for the apparatus, processes, systems, components, configurations, methods and applications disclosed herein. For example, the lock assembly and locking system can be used with other types of flexible doors. For another example, the lock assembly and locking system can be used with doors that tend not to align in the exact same position when in the closed position, such as old or warped doors, doors with sagging hinges, doors with frame damage, unframed or partially framed doors. Thus, the illustration and description of the present invention in context of a lock apparatus and locking system for hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors is merely one possible application of the present invention. However, the present invention has been found particularly suitable in connection with hinged double-acting impact-traffic doors.
With reference to
The locking system 30 is particularly adapted to lock a double-acting impact-traffic door 2 attached to a doorframe 4 by at least one hinge 6, where the lock housing 16 of the lock assembly 10 is attached to the door 2, and the strikeplate 22 of the lock assembly 10 is attached to the doorframe 4 (or vice-versa). The locking system 30 advantageously comprises a plurality of electronically interconnected components arranged on the interior side of the door 2, such as an exit button 32, motion detector 34, power supply 36, controller 38, bolt position sensor 39 and the like. Similarly, at least one electronically interconnected component is advantageously arranged on the exterior side of the door 2, such as an ID card reader 40, motion detector, timer, and the like.
Referring now to
The lock assembly 10 may be directly or indirectly attached to any portion(s) or area(s) of the door 2. Thus, although the illustrated embodiment shows a first lock portion 12a arranged toward the upper unhinged side 48, 52 of the door 2 to cooperate with a first strikeplate portion 14a arranged on a top portion 54 of the doorframe 6, and a second lock portion 12b arranged toward the lower unhinged side 46, 52 of the door 2 to cooperate with a second strikeplate portion 14b arranged on the floor, other configurations could be used such as along one or more portions of the unhinged side 52 of the door 2, along one or more sections of the top portion 54 of the doorframe 6 between the hinged and unhinged sides 50, 52 of the door 2, along one or more sections of the bottom portion 56 of the doorframe 6 between the hinged and unhinged sides 50, 52 of the door 2. However, it has been found advantageous to arrange at least two lock assemblies 10 as illustrated to provide a door 2 secured near the four comers i.e. by hinges 6 arranged toward the upper and lower 46, 48 hinged sides 50 of the door 2, and by the lock assemblies 10 arranged toward the upper and lower 46, 48 unhinged sides 52 of the door 2, thereby reducing the distance between secured locations and thus reducing the ability of an intruder to forcibly bend the door 2 a significant amount and thereby gain unauthorized entry or access.
Referring now to
The lock portion 12 provides mating interaction with the strikeplate portion 14. The housing 16 houses at least a portion of the bolt 18 and actuator 20. A passageway 19 is formed within the housing and sized and configured to allow bolt 18 movement between the actuator 20 and hole 24. The illustrated bolt 18 has a generally cylindrical configuration with a length suitable to mate with the hole 24 and a diameter of about 0.5 inch, although many other sizes and geometries could be used as explained in more detail below, and may be made of any suitably strong material such as metal, plastic, resin, wood, composites, combinations thereof and the like, for example, ferromagnetic metal, stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium alloys, brass, ABS plastic and the like. The bolt 18 advantageously has a rest or home position adjacent or near the actuator 20. The bolt 18 can reside in this home position by any of a variety of configurations as will be understood by those skilled in the art, such as spring loading, gravity, inertia, magnetic force, pneumatics, friction, proximity switches and the like. The actuator 20 provides a biasing force capable of urging the bolt 18 from the home position, along the passageway 19, and toward the hole 24 in the strikeplate 22. The actuator 20 may be embodied in any of a variety of configurations as will be understood by those skilled in the art, such as a solenoid, piston, spring, pneumatic, hydraulic, worm gear, gear driven motor, manually and the like. The actuator 20 may provide a one-way biasing force (i.e. capable of urging the bolt 18 only from the home position toward the strikeplate 19) or may provide a two-way biasing force (i.e. capable of urging the bolt 18 from the home position toward the strikeplate 22 and also from strikeplate 22 back to the home position). The bolt 18 is operatively connected to the actuator 20 such that the actuator 20 can urge or impart movement to the bolt 18. For example, if the actuator 20 is configured as a solenoid and the bolt 18 is made of a ferrous metal, when an electric current is passed through the solenoid, the magnetically active solenoid urges the metallic bolt 18 away from its home position near the solenoid 20 and toward the strikeplate 22. Conversely, when the electric current is not passed through the solenoid and thus the solenoid is magnetically inactive, the bolt 18 is not urged toward the strikeplate 22 and remains in the home position near the solenoid. Suitable lock portions 12 are commercially available, such as those manufactured-by the Security Door Controls company as model number 180 and those manufactured by the Dyna Lock, Locknetics, Rofu, Precision Hardware, Rutherford Controls companies and the like.
The strikeplate portion 14 has a thickness, length and width suitable to perform its security and attachment function, depending on the desired strength of the lock assembly 10 and materials from which it 14 is made. The strikeplate 22 may be made of any suitably strong material such as metal, plastic, resin, wood, composites, combinations thereof and the like, for example, aluminum or hardened steel. As illustrated, the recess 24 formed in the strikeplate 22 extends entirely through the strikeplate 22 to form a hole having a cylindrical configuration with a diameter of about 2 inches adapted to cooperate with and accept the bolt 18, although many other sizes and geometries could be used as explained in more detail below. However, the recess 24 need not extend entirely through the strikeplate 22 to form a hole. One or more apertures 26 are formed through the strikeplate 22 to accept one or more screws or bolts and secure the strikeplate 22 to the doorframe 4 or other suitable securing structure, although other means or mechanisms could be used to secure the strikeplate 22 to the doorframe 4 such as adhesives and the like.
Still referring to
Referring now to
The particular cooperating dimensions of the bolt 18 and hole 24 can vary greatly depending on the context of use, location along the door, and the amount of desired security. For example, if used to secure an oversized door the tolerance could be larger, and if used to secure an undersized door or window the tolerance could be smaller. Similarly, for example, if the bolt 18 and strikeplate 22 are arranged such that they mate near the unhinged side 52 of the door 2 as illustrated, the tolerance could be larger to accommodate increased location uncertainty due to the increased hinge-to-bolt distance, and if arranged such that they mate near the hinged side 50 of the door 2, the tolerance could be smaller since the smaller hinge-to-bolt distance affords greater likelihood of successful bolt 18 and hole 24 mating. Further, if a higher amount of security is desired such that minimal door 2 movement is required when the door is in the locked position, a smaller tolerance could be used. Also, more than one tolerance could be used with more than one lock assembly 10 on a single door 2.
Thus, in the exemplary illustrated context of use where two lock assemblies 10 are arranged toward the unhinged side 52 of a conventional sized double-acting impact-traffic door 2, the diameter of each bolt 18 is preferably about 0.1-2 inches and more preferably about 0.5-1 inch, and the diameter of each hole 24 is preferably about 0.5-5 inches, more preferably about 1-3 inches. By this configuration, when the door 2 is in the locked position, the door 2 can still be moved about 0.2-3 inches in either direction, preferably about 0.5-2 inches in either direction, before contact is made between the exterior of the bolt 18 and the interior of the hole 24 and thereby requiring the door 2 to be forcibly bent in order to be further opened. Alternatively stated, in the exemplary illustrated context of use, the diameter of each hole 24 is preferably about 2-10 times greater than the diameter of each cooperating bolt 18, more preferably about 3-5 times greater.
Referring to
A liner may be arranged along the interior perimeter of the hole 24 to impart additional strength or wear resistance to the strikeplate 22. Also, the hole 24, bolt 18 or both may have a chamfer or beveled edge to help guide the bolt 18 into the hole 22.
A plurality of strikeplates 22 may be stacked together to vary the total thickness of the layered strikeplates 22 and enable it 22 to more easily adjust and fit into the spatial surroundings of the door 2 and doorframe 4. By this modular strikeplate 22 design, the space between the lock portion 12 and the strikeplate portion 14 need not present a significant obstacle during installation of the lock assembly 10. If stacked strikeplates 22 are used, the modular strikeplate 22 should include a hole instead of a recess 24 so that the bolt 18 can extend through the stacked strikeplates 22, although the strikeplate 22 adjacent the doorframe 4 may still have a recess 24 rather than a hole.
Referring back to
By this configuration and with these exemplary components, one or more motion detectors 34 or timers could be used to allow the door 2 to remain in a default locked position, but automatically unlock based on certain approach motion or time amount. For example, if a mail cart or other impact bearing traffic is pushed or otherwise moving toward the door 2, a motion detector 34 can detect this approach and inform the controller 38 within a control console which can then send an electronic signal via armored cable 58 to the bolt position sensor 39 to verify that the bolt 18 is not within the hole 24 and thus that the door 2 is in the unlocked position. If the bolt position sensor 39 indicates that the door 2 is in the locked position, an electronic signal is sent from the controller 38 directing that the solenoid 20 be magnetically deactivated, thereby allowing the bolt 18 to return to the home position and the door 2 to become unlocked. Alternatively, the controller 38 may automatically direct the solenoid 20 to be uncharged upon indication from the motion detector 34 of incoming traffic. After the mail cart proceeds through the door 2, another motion detector or a timer can trigger the controller 38 to send an electronic signal that causes the door 2 to become locked. Conversely, one or more motion detectors or timers could be used in a similar manner to allow the door to remain in a default unlocked position, but automatically lock based on certain motion or during certain times.
Many other automated ingress and egress configurations are possible. For example, instead of or in additional to motion detectors, remote control receivers and transponders could be used such that a person need only activate the remote control to unlock or lock the door 2. For another example, a keypad, exit button, or ID card reader 40 could be used to provide selective ingress or egress, instead of or in addition to the motion detectors or remote controls.
Although this invention has been described in terms of certain exemplary uses, preferred embodiments and possible modifications thereto, other uses, embodiments, and possible modifications apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art are also within the spirit and scope of this invention. It is also understood that various aspects of one or more features of this invention can be used or interchanged with various aspects of one or more other features on this invention. Accordingly, the scope of this invention is intended to be defined only by the claims that follow.
