Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6581333
-
Patent Number
6,581,333
-
Date Filed
Thursday, March 8, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, June 24, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 049 105
- 049 15
- 049 16
- 049 18
- 292 144
- 292 34116
- 292 DIG 53
- 070 466
- 070 416
- 070 448
- 070 451
- 070 417
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A frame for an electromechanical prison door lock. The frame includes multiple arrays of indicia that indicate which apertures match the locations of mounting holes in at least two locks each having a different mounting configuration. A cutout formed in a face and side member of the frame form a pocket in which one of the locks is mounted. A lock cover plate is removably mounted to the frame to cover the cutout in the face and includes an opening for a lock cylinder. A latch cover plate is carried by the lock cover plate and is positioned to cover the cutout in the side member. Cutouts are provided in the latch cover plate for a lock latch bolt and a latching roller. The frame may be installed in an opening in a cell or passage wall prior to selection of the lock type.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to door frames containing locks of the type commonly used in prisons and, more particularly, to mechanisms and methods for mounting such locks in the door frames.
In prisons and other detention facilities, high security doors are commonly used to lock prisoners in their cells and to secure passageways through which the prisoners may be transported. These doors typically utilize an electromechanical lock of the type which can be remotely locked and unlocked, such as by a guard positioned in a control room sending an electronic signal to the lock to cause extension or retraction of a latch bolt. The locks also contain a keyed cylinder which allows the latch bolt to be manually extended or retracted by a guard with a key, such as in the event of a power outage which prevents the locks from being controlled by the electronic signal.
In many installations, the electromechanical locks of the type described above are mounted in the door frame, rather than the door itself, to simplify routing of the electrical cable to the lock. These door frames are typically fabricated from heavy gauge metal and contain a hollow core which is filled with concrete during installation of the frame in the concrete or block wall. The frame also contains a lock pocket in which the lock is removably mounted. A cover plate is then secured over the lock using special security screws to block access to the lock pocket and installed lock.
In order to permit proper installation and operation of the locks described above, the mounting studs and the cutouts for the latch bolt, a latching roller and the cylinder must be precisely located in the lock pocket and cover plate. Because the location of the mounting studs, latches and cylinders may vary from one lock to another, particularly when the locks are made by different manufacturers, conventional lock pockets and cover plates are specially made for the particular type of lock which is to be installed in the lock pocket. Moreover, once a conventional lock pocket has been fabricated for a specific type of lock, it may be problematic to reconfigure the lock pocket to accept another type of lock, particularly if the mounting studs and latch cutouts must be repositioned. As a result, a need exists for a door frame which can be readily modified to accept different lock configurations so that the installed lock can be easily replaced with a different brand of lock, such as if a problem develops with the installed lock.
The inability of conventional door frames to readily adapt to different lock configurations generally means that the door frames are not fabricated during the construction of new prisons or detention facilities until the specific brand of lock has been specified. If the lock specification is not established early enough in the design process, the time required to fabricate, deliver and install the door frames can cause significant and costly construction delays. As a result, a need has developed for a door frame which can be readily adapted to accept different brands of locks so that the door frames can be fabricated even though the lock specifications have not been established.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a door and frame assembly comprising a hinge jamb and a latch jamb extending in spaced apart and generally parallel relationship, a head jamb extending between the hinge and latch jambs at an upper end thereof. The hinge, latch and head jambs define an opening in which a door is positioned. The door is mounted by hinges to the hinge jamb and is moveable between a closed position within the opening and an open position swung away from the opening. The latch jamb comprises spaced apart first and second faces and a side member extending between the faces at said opening. A cutout in the first face and the side member of the latch jamb forms a pocket in which a lock having a cylinder and latch bolt is mounted. A lock cover plate removably covers the cutout in the first face and a latch cover plate carried by and extending from said lock cover plate removably covers the cutout in the side member of the latch jamb. A latch cutout is positioned in the latch cover plate to permit the latch bolt to be extended through the latch cover plate and a cylinder cutout is positioned in the lock cover plate to permit access to the cylinder. An array of mounting apertures are formed in the second face of the latch jamb and fasteners extend through mounting holes and removably mounting said lock within said pocket. An array of indicia are formed in the second face of the latch jamb and are positioned to designate the locations of mounting apertures for a replacement lock positioned within the pocket and having a different mounting configuration.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method of assembling and installing the door and frame assembly within an opening in a wall. The method comprises the steps of: (a) providing the door and frame assembly, (b) securing the door and frame assembly to the wall at said wall opening, (c) removably mounting, within the pocket, a lock having either a first or second mounting configuration by extending fasteners through the mounting apertures corresponding to the mounting configuration, and (d) removably securing, to the latch jamb, a lock cover plate sized for covering the cutout in the first face and a latch cover plate carried by the lock cover plate and sized to cover the cutout in the side member, the lock cover plate having a cylinder cutout to permit access to the lock cylinder and the latch cover plate having a latch cutout positioned to permit the latch bolt to extend through the latch cover plate.
One advantage of the door frame of the present invention is the lock mount can be readily modified to accept different lock configurations so that the door frame can be fabricated for use in prison construction even though the lock specifications have yet to be established.
Another advantage of the door frame is the lock mount can be readily modified to accept different lock configurations so that the installed lock can be replaced with a lock having a different configuration, such as if problems should develop with the lock initially installed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the into various views:
FIG. 1
is a front elevation view of a door and frame assembly of the present invention shown mounted within a wall opening;
FIG. 2
is an exploded view of a fragmental portion of the door frame;
FIG. 3
is a top plan view of the door frame taken in horizontal section along line
3
—
3
of
FIG. 1
in the direction of the arrows;
FIG. 4
is a fragmentary, rear elevation view of the door frame;
FIG. 5
is a fragmental perspective view of the door frame; and
FIG. 6
is a perspective view of an adapter plate used in an alternate embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings in greater detail and initially to
FIG. 1
, a door and frame assembly of the present invention is designated generally by the numeral
10
and is shown installed within an opening in a wall
12
. Assembly
10
includes a door
14
and a frame
16
which are constructed from a heavy gauge metal. The door
14
is mounted to the frame
16
by hinges
18
to permit swinging movement of the door from a closed, locked position and an open position permitting passage through the opening or doorway defined by the frame
16
.
The door
14
is intended for use in a prison or other detention facility and may include an optional lite
20
and a slot and hatch
22
for passing a food tray or other items through the door
14
. Other features customarily found in doors of this type may be included if desired. A pull-type handle
24
is provided on the face of the door
14
opposite the prison cell or other secured area to facilitate opening and closing of the door. A recessed handle (not shown) is typically provided on the opposite face of the door.
The frame
16
includes a hinge jamb
26
and a latch jamb
28
which are spaced apart and extend vertically in parallel relationship. A head jamb
30
is secured to and extends transversely between the upper ends of the hinge and latch jambs
26
and
28
. The hinge jamb
26
carries the hinges
18
that mount the door
14
and permit its swinging movement. As will be described in greater detail below, the latch jamb
28
carries a lock
32
(
FIG. 2
) which is operable to secure the door
14
in the closed, locked position.
As can best be seen in
FIG. 3
, the latch jamb
28
is formed by spaced apart faces
34
and
36
and a side member
38
which extends between the edges of faces
34
and
36
adjacent the door opening. The side member
38
includes a two ninety degree bends which form a door stop
39
that runs the length of the latch jamb
28
. The opposite edges of the jamb faces
34
and
36
are turned inwardly for imbedding in the concrete or block wall
12
. The spacing between the jamb faces forms a void which can be filled with concrete to more securely anchor the frame
16
. The foregoing description is also applicable to the hinge jamb
26
and head jamb
30
.
Turning additionally to
FIG. 2
, in accordance with the present invention, a cutout
40
is provided in the outer face
34
and side member
38
of the latch jamb
28
to form a pocket
42
in which the lock
32
is mounted. Upper and lower plates
44
and a side plate
46
extend between the spaced apart faces
34
and
36
of the latch jamb
28
to seal the pocket
42
against entry of concrete which is poured into the surrounding volume within the latch jamb
28
. To prevent access to the lock pocket from the cell side of the latch jamb
28
, the cutout
40
preferably does not extend into door stop
39
. Knockouts
48
are provided in the plates
44
and
46
to permit electrical wires
50
or other controls to be routed to the lock
32
to permit remote operational control of the lock
32
.
The lock
32
is preferably a conventional, high security, jail lock available from various manufacturers. The lock
32
will typically be operated electromechanically, but can be of other types such as pneumomechanical, electrical or mechanical. The lock
32
includes a casing
51
in which the internal workings of the lock are mounted. An extendable and retractable latch bolt
52
and a roller latch
54
extend from the side of the lock casing
51
in the direction of the facing edge of the door
14
. The latch bolt
52
is extendable into a strike plate
56
carried in the edge of the door
14
to cause the door to be locked in a closed position preventing passage through the doorway. The roller latch
54
is operably coupled with the latch bolt
52
to cause the latch bolt
52
to function as a dead bolt when the roller latch
54
is depressed against the facing edge of the door. The latch bolt
52
may be retracted from the strike plate
56
to permit opening of the door by the sending of a control signal to the lock, such as by a guard in a control room, or by the turning of a key in a cylinder
58
which is accessible from a front face of the lock
32
. Operation of the lock
32
in this manner is conventional in nature.
The lock
32
is mounted to the latch jamb
28
by special security bolts
60
which extend through mounting apertures
62
a
in the face
36
of the latch jamb
28
that is exposed to the prison cell or other secured area. The security bolts
60
also extend through slightly elongated holes
64
carried by flanges
66
extending from the top and bottom of the back side of the lock casing
51
. Nuts
68
are then threaded onto the bolts
60
and are turned against the flanges
66
to secure the lock
32
in place.
In conventional latch jambs, the mounting apertures
62
a
are normally drilled only after the specific lock type has been established and the particular location of the lock holes
64
becomes known. In the present invention, as can best be seen in
FIGS. 2 and 4
, the face
36
of the latch jamb
28
carries a first array of mounting apertures
62
a
which are positioned to align with the lock holes
64
in a lock having a first array of such holes
64
. The face
36
also carries a second array of mounting apertures
62
b
which are positioned to align with lock holes in a lock having a different array of such lock holes. In the same manner, additional arrays of mounting apertures can be provided in the face
36
of the latch jamb
28
to align with differing arrays of lock holes carried by locks of different types or manufacturers. While predrilled mounting apertures
62
a
and
62
b
are generally preferred because they allow the lock
32
to be quickly mounted at the job site, it will be appreciated other indicia can be used to designate the location of the different arrays of mounting apertures and then, once the lock has been selected, only those mounting apertures matching the lock holes for the selected lock are drilled or otherwise formed in jamb face
36
. Examples of these other types of indica can include but are not limited to markings, depressions, and areas having a perimeter defined by a line of weakness so that the areas can be punched out at the job site during installation of the lock.
Although rear-mounted locks
32
are described above and illustrated in the drawings, other locks are available which are designed for side mounting within the latch jamb
28
. These side-mounted locks (not shown) can be mounted to the rear face
34
of latch jamb
28
using an adapter plate
70
illustrated in FIG.
6
. The adapter plate
70
comprises a mounting plate
72
and a latch plate
74
which is formed by a ninety degree bend at one edge of the mounting plate
72
. The mounting plate
72
carries one or more arrays of mounting holes
75
which can be aligned with mounting apertures
62
in the jamb face
34
. The security bolts
60
are then extended through the apertures
62
and holes
75
and nuts
68
are turned against the inside face of the mounting plate
72
to secure the adapter plate
70
to the latch jamb
28
. The latch plate
74
carries cutouts
76
and
78
for the latch bolt
52
and latch roller
54
, respectively, as well as mounting apertures
80
positioned to align with the side mounting holes (not shown) in the lock. Bolts or screws can be inserted through the mounting apertures
80
and into the side mounting holes to mount the lock to the adapter plate
70
.
In conventional latch jambs, the cutout which permits installation of the lock
32
within the latch jamb would be positioned solely in the face of the latch jamb. Turning to
FIGS. 2
,
3
and
5
, in the present invention, the cutout
40
extends beyond the face
36
of the latch jamb
28
and incorporates a portion of the side member
38
. A lock cover plate
82
formed from heavy gauge metal is provided and is sized for covering the cutout
40
in the jamb face
36
. Screw holes
84
are positioned around the perimeter of the lock cover plate
82
and screws can be used to removably secure the lock cover plate to screw holes provided in the jamb face
36
. A circular cutout or opening
86
is formed in the lock cover plate
82
and is positioned for alignment with the cylinder
58
of the lock
32
. The opening
86
may have an inner diameter sized slightly greater than the outer diameter of lock cylinder
58
or, alternatively, the opening
86
may be formed large enough to accommodate variously positioned lock cylinders
58
.
A latch cover plate
88
is preferably fixed to or otherwise carried by the lock cover plate
82
at one edge thereof and extends at a ninety degree angle thereto. Alternatively, but less preferably, the latch cover plate
88
and lock cover plate
82
may be separate pieces. The latch cover plate
88
is formed from heavy gauge metal and is sized and positioned to cover that portion of the cutout
40
which is formed in the side member
38
. A latch cutout
90
and a latch roller cutout
92
are formed in the latch cover plate
88
and are positioned to align with the latch bolt
52
and latch
54
in the particular lock
32
selected.
Because the latch cover plate
88
and lock cover plate
82
are readily attached to and removed from the latch jamb
28
, they can be fashioned in different configurations for use with specific lock
32
configurations. Once the lock
32
has been selected and installed in the pocket
42
in the latch jamb
28
, the latch cover plate
88
and lock cover plate
82
having the matching configuration can be selected and attached to the jamb face
36
to finish the lock installation.
It can be seen that the multiple arrays of mounting apertures
62
a
and
62
b
allow locks having different arrays of lock holes to be quickly mounted within the lock pocket
42
even after the frame
16
has been installed in the opening in wall
12
. The combination of features of the present invention allows the door frame
16
to be fabricated for a particular installation even though the lock type has not yet been specified, thereby reducing the opportunity for costly construction delays. In addition, the present invention allows an installed lock to be readily removed and replaced with a lock having a different configuration of mounting holes and positioning of the lock cylinder, latch bolt and latch roller.
From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with the other advantages which are inherent to the structure.
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.
Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.
Claims
- 1. A frame for mounting a door and permitting the door to swing between a closed, locked position and an open position, said frame comprising:a hinge jamb and a latch jamb extending in spaced apart and generally parallel relationship; a head jamb extending between the hinge and latch jambs at an upper end of said hinge and latch jambs, said hinge, latch and head jambs defining an opening for receiving said door when the door is in the closed position; said latch jamb comprising spaced apart, generally parallel first and second faces and a side member extending between said faces at said opening; a cutout in said first face and said side member of the latch jamb, said cutout forming a pocket in which a lock may be inserted and mounted; a lock cover plate sized for covering the cutout in said first face; a latch cover plate carried by and extending from said lock cover plate and sized to cover the cutout in the side member of the latch jamb, said lock and latch cover plates being removably mounted to the first face of the latch jamb; a latch cutout positioned in said latch cover plate to permit a latch bolt to be extended through the latch cutout when the lock is positioned within the pocket; a cylinder cutout positioned in said lock cover plate to permit access to a lock cylinder when the lock is positioned within the pocket; a first array of indicia in said second face of the latch jamb designating locations of mounting apertures for the lock when the lock is positioned within said pocket and has a first mounting configuration; and at least a second array of indicia in said second face designating locations of mounting apertures for the lock when the lock is positioned within said pocket and has a second mounting configuration.
- 2. The frame of claim 1, wherein said indicia comprises said mounting apertures.
- 3. The frame of claim 1, wherein said indicia are depressions.
- 4. The frame of claim 1, wherein said indicia are areas each having a perimeter defined by a line of weakness which allows the area to be punched out for removal.
- 5. The frame of claim 1, wherein said spaced apart first and second faces define an interior void.
- 6. The frame of claim 1, wherein said latch cover plate extends at approximately a right angle from said lock cover plate.
- 7. The frame of claim 6, wherein said latch cover plate includes a second cutout spaced from the latch cutout for receiving a latching roller when the lock is positioned within the pocket.
- 8. The frame of claim 1, including a stop formed in said side member of the latch jamb.
- 9. An assembly comprising:a hinge jamb and a latch jamb extending in spaced apart and generally parallel relationship; a head jamb extending between the hinge and latch jambs at an upper end of said hinge and latch jambs, said hinge, latch and head jambs defining an opening; a door mounted by hinges to said hinge jamb and moveable between a closed position within said opening and an open position swung away from the opening; said latch jamb comprising spaced apart, generally parallel first and second faces and a side member extending between said faces at said opening; a cutout in said first face and said side member of the latch jamb, said cutout forming a pocket; a lock mounted within said pocket and comprising a cylinder and a latch bolt extendable into a latch carried by said door and retractable therefrom; a lock cover plate sized for covering the cutout in said first face; a latch cover plate sized to cover the cutout in the side member of the latch jamb, said lock and latch cover plates being removably mounted to the first face of the latch jamb; a latch cutout positioned in said latch cover plate to permit the latch bolt to be extended through the latch cover plate; a cylinder cutout positioned in said lock cover plate to permit access to the cylinder; a first array of mounting apertures in said second face of the latch jamb; fasteners extending through said mounting apertures and removably mounting said lock within said pocket; and an array of indicia in said second face designating locations of a second array of mounting apertures for a replacement lock having a different mounting configuration from said lock when the replacement lock is positioned within said pocket.
- 10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein said lock is selected from the group consisting of electromechanical and pneumomechanical locks.
- 11. The assembly of claim 9, wherein said indicia comprises said second array of mounting apertures.
- 12. The assembly of claim 9, wherein said indicia are depressions.
- 13. The assembly of claim 9, wherein said indicia are areas each having a perimeter defined by a line of weakness which allows the area to be punched out for removal.
- 14. The assembly of claim 9, wherein said spaced apart first and second faces define an interior void which is filled with concrete.
- 15. The assembly of claim 9, wherein said latch cover plate is carried by and extends at approximately a right angle from said lock cover plate.
- 16. The assembly of claim 15, wherein said lock includes a latching roller and said latch cover plate includes a second cutout spaced from the latch cutout for allowing said latching roller to extend through said latch cover plate.
- 17. The assembly of claim 9, including a stop formed in said side member of the latch jamb.
US Referenced Citations (38)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2 168 747 |
Jun 1986 |
GB |