Claims
- 1. A flush-mountable latch, comprising:
- (a) housing means including a pan-shaped housing having a front wall, and having recess-defining wall formations that define a forwardly facing recess, with portions of the front wall forming a mounting flange that surrounds the recess;
- (b) the housing being formed as a rigid, one-piece molded structure, with the recess-defining wall formations including a back wall at the rear of the recess, and with the back wall defining a rearwardly facing mounting surface;
- (c) fastener means rigidly connected to the back wall, including first and second fastener members that are rigidly connected to the back wall at first and second spaced locations near opposite sides of the mounting surface;
- (d) handle means including a handle that resides in the recess, that is connected to the housing, and that is movable relative to the housing between a non-operated position and an operated position;
- (e) opening means formed through the recess-defining wall formations of the housing to establish a path of communication between the forwardly facing recess and a region that is located behind the back wall;
- (f) handle-connected means extending through the opening means for connection to the handle and having a portion that extends into said region located behind the back wall for being moved within said region in response to movement of the handle between its non-operated and operated positions;
- (g) latch bolt means including an elongate latch bolt that engages and extends across the mounting surface along a path of travel that extends between the first and second locations where the first and second fastener members are rigidly connected to the back wall, with the length of the elongate latch bolt paralleling said path of travel, and with the latch bolt being slidably movable along said path of travel between latched and unlatched positions;
- (h) latch bolt mounting plate means for extending along said path of travel and being configured to retain the latch bolt in engagement with the mounting surface during sliding movement of the latch bolt along said path of travel, including a mounting plate formed as a metal stamping that has first and second mounting flange portions that extend along opposite sides of said path of travel and are configured so as to engage the mounting surface on opposite sides of said path of travel, with the mounting plate also having guide formation means connected to the mounting flange portions and being configured to overlie said path of travel at locations behind the mounting surface so as to cooperate with the mounting surface of the back wall to define a slide channel that extends along said path of travel in surrounding relationship with portions of the elongate latch bolt for restricting movement of the latch bolt to a sliding type of movement within the slide channel along said path of travel;
- (i) first and second openings formed through the first and second mounting flange portions, respectively, with the first opening being aligned with said first fastener member, and with the second opening being aligned with said second fastener member;
- (j) first and second mounting means for rigidly connecting rigidly with the first and second fastener members, respectively, and for cooperating with the first and second fastener members to provide first and second retaining means for extending through the first and second openings and for engaging the first and second mounting flange portions to clamp the first and second mounting flange portions into engagement with the mounting surface, and to thereby rigidly mount the latch bolt mounting plate means on the back wall of the housing;
- (k) operating means including an L-shaped operating arm that has a central portion and a pair of leg portions that extend in different directions from the central portion so as to give the operating arm a generally "L-shaped" configuration, with the central portion being pivotally connected to a selected one of the first and second retaining means for pivotal movement relative to the housing, with one of the leg portions interconnecting with the handle-connected means at a location within said region, and with the other of the leg portions interconnecting with the latch bolt means for effecting movement of the latch bolt means from its latched position to its unlatched position in response to movement of the handle from its non-operated position to its operated position, with the central portion and the leg portions of the L-shaped operating arm overlying portions of the back wall, and with said other of the leg portions extending transversely across said path of travel of the latch bolt.
- 2. The latch of claim 1 wherein the front wall has a front surface that extends in a smooth convex curve, with the thickness of the front wall portions that define the mounting flange differing across the front wall, with maximum thickness being provided where the front wall portions join with the recess-defining wall formations so as to form strong junctures between the front wall and the recess-defining wall formations all along the juncture of the recess-defining wall formation with the front wall.
- 3. The latch of claim 2 wherein the handle is formed as a rigid, one piece molded structure, the handle has a front wall that has a front surface, and the front surface of the handle is configured to extend contiguously with front surface portions of the housing when the handle is in its non-operated position.
- 4. The latch of claim 3 wherein the housing and the handle are formed from an injection molded, glass reinforced, polycarbonate based polymer blend thermoplastics material.
- 5. The latch of claim 1 wherein the latch bolt slide channel is open at both ends thereof, and the latch bolt is of sufficient length to provide first and second opposed end regions thereof that are capable of simultaneously extending beyond the length of the slide channel.
- 6. The latch of claim 5 wherein the latch bolt housing has an integrally formed tab portion that projects into the slide channel, and the latch bolt has an elongate slot formed therein that receives the tab of the latch bolt housing.
- 7. The latch of claim 6 additionally including a compression coil spring positioned in the elongate slot of the slide bolt with one end region of the coil spring engaging one end region of the elongate slot, and with the other end region of the compression coil spring engaging the tab of the latch bolt housing, whereby the compression coil spring operates to bias the latch bolt toward an extended, "latched" position with respect to the housing.
- 8. The latch of claim 1, wherein:
- (a) the opening means includes at least one hole formed through recess-defining wall formations extend between the front and back walls; and,
- (b) the handle-connected means includes an elongate element that extends through the at least one hole, is journaled by the housing for pivotal movement relative thereto, and is rigidly connected to the handle for pivotally connecting the handle to the housing for movement between its non-operated and operated positions.
- 9. The latch of claim 8 wherein the handle has stop formation means thereon for defining the non-operated position of the handle as by engaging the back wall of the housing.
- 10. The latch of claim 1, wherein:
- (a) the opening means includes an elongate slot that is formed in the back wall; and,
- (b) the handle-connected means includes a projection that extends rearwardly from the handle and through the elongate slot for engaging said one leg of the L-shaped operating arm to establish a driving connection between the handle and the operating arm.
- 11. The latch of claim 10 wherein the handle is slidably mounted on the housing, and retaining means is provided for connection with the rearwardly extending projection at a location behind the back wall to retain the handle nested within the recess.
- 12. The latch of claim 1 wherein the first and second mounting means, and the first and second fastener members are provided with thread formations for threadedly interconnecting the first and second mounting means with the first and second fastener members, respectively.
- 13. A flush mountable latch comprising:
- (a) a pan-shaped housing having a front wall;
- (b) the housing further including wall means connected to the front wall and defining a rearwardly extending recess that opens forwardly through the front wall, with portions of the front wall extending perimetrically about the recess for defining a mounting flange, and with portions of the wall means defining a back wall having a rearwardly facing mounting surface;
- (c) handle means including a handle that is connected to the housing for movement relative thereto between non-operating and operating positions, with the handle being nested within the forwardly facing recess when the handle is in its non-operating position;
- (d) hole means including at least one hole formed through the wall means that define the forwardly-facing recess;
- (e) handle-connected means extending through said hole means for connection to the handle means and being responsive to movements of the handle means between its non-operating and operating positions to effect movement of a portion of the handle connection means at a location behind the back wall of the housing;
- (f) latch bolt mounting bracket means engaging the back wall of the housing and cooperating therewith to define a slide channel that extends across the mounting surface along a path of travel;
- (g) latch bolt means positioned in the slide channel and being movable along said path of travel between latched and unlatched positions;
- (h) first and second mounting post means connected to the housing at first and second locations near opposite sides of the mounting surface and on opposed sides of said path of travel for clamping the latch bolt mounting bracket means into rigid engagement with the back wall; and,
- (i) operating means including an L-shaped operating arm that has a central portion and a pair of leg portions that extend in different directions from the central portion so as to give the operating arm a generally "L-shaped" configuration, with the central portion being pivotally connected to a selected one of the first and second mounting post means for pivotal movement relative to the housing, with one of the leg portions interconnecting with the handle-connected means at a location within said region, and with the other of the leg portions interconnecting with the latch bolt means for effecting movement of the latch bolt means from its latched position to its unlatched position in response to movement of the handle from its non-operating position to its operating position, with the central portion and the leg portions of the L-shaped operating arm overlying portions of the back wall, and with said other of the leg portions extending transversely across said path of travel of the latch bolt.
- 14. The latch of claim 13 wherein the latch bolt mounting bracket and the back wall cooperate to define said slide channel as being of generally rectangular cross section, and the latch bolt has a generally rectangular cross section that is received in a slip fit within the slide channel, with the latch bolt being of elongate character and having at least one end region that projects beyond an end of the slide channel for engagement with a suitably configured striker or other latch retaining formation.
- 15. The latch of claim 14 wherein:
- (a) a notch is formed in the latch bolt mounting bracket near one end region of the slide channel; and,
- (b) the other end of the latch bolt has a rearwardly extending projection that is engageable with the notch and projects rearwardly beyond the latch bolt mounting bracket to a position of engagement with said one leg of the L-shaped operating arm.
- 16. The latch of claim 15 wherein:
- (a) the notch that is formed in the latch bolt mounting bracket is formed by bending a tab-like piece of material of the bracket so that the tab-like portion extends into the slide channel;
- (b) an elongate slot is formed in the body of the latch bolt;
- (c) the tab portion extends into the elongate slot; and,
- (d) a compression coil spring is installed in the latch bolt slot at a location between the tab portion and one end region of the slot to bias the latch bolt toward its latched position.
- 17. The latch of claim 13 wherein the handle-connected means includes an elongate element that extends through the at least one hole that is formed through wall portions of the housing, is journaled by the housing for pivotal movement relative thereto, and is rigidly connected to the handle for pivotally connecting the handle to the housing for movement between its non-operating and operating positions.
- 18. The latch of claim 17 wherein a stop formation is provided on the pivotally mounted handle for engaging the recess defining wall means when the handle is in its operating position.
- 19. The latch of claim 18 wherein the L-shaped operating arm has a stop formation thereon that is configured to engage the latch bolt mounting bracket when the L-shaped operating arm is positioned by the elongate element due to the handle being positioned in its operating position, whereby the dual engagement of the handle-carried stop formation with the recess defining wall means, and the stop projection of the L-shaped operating arm with the latch bolt mounting bracket prevent unwanted movement of the handle.
- 20. The latch of claim 13 wherein the handle is slidably mounted on the housing, the hole means includes an elongate slot through which a projection that is formed on the handle means extends to define the handle-connected means, and the L-shaped operating arm engages the projection to effect movement of the latch bolt in response to movement of the handle.
- 21. The latch of claim 13 wherein the L-shaped operating arm has a hook-shaped end region that overlies a cylindrical sleeve formation carried by the housing, and a plug is rotatably mounted in the sleeve has a rearwardly-extending, curved projection that is configured to engage and to be received within the hook-shaped end region of the L-shaped operating arm to lock the L-shaped operating arm against pivotal movement relative to the housing.
- 22. The latch of claim 21 wherein the curved projection that extends rearwardly from the plug and the hook-shaped end region of the operating arm are configured such that attempted operation of the handle will apply torque to the operating arm in a direction that tends to cause the operating arm to hook more firmly into the curved projection so as to maintain locked interengagement of the projection with the hook-shaped end region.
- 23. The latch of claim 17 wherein the at least one hole includes a pair of aligned holes formed through wall means that define opposed sides of the recess, the elongate element includes a mounting shaft of substantially square section that extends through the bushings and through a square hole formed through the handle to mount the handle and the bushings for concurrent rotation about the axis of the shaft relative to the housing.
- 24. The latch of claim 23 wherein one of the bushings has a cut out side portion that communicates with the square hole formed through the bushing, and the mounting shaft has a right angle bend formed therein that extends into the bushing cut out so that the handle mounting member can extend closely along a side wall of the housing in substantially the same plane as the is occupied by a large diameter end region of the bushing.
- 25. The latch of claim 13 wherein the handle is slidably mounted on the housing, the handle has a projection that extends through a slot formed in the housing back wall, and a retaining member is mounted on the rearwardly extending projection at a location behind the back wall to retain the handle in sliding engagement with the back wall.
- 26. The latch of claim 25 wherein the rearwardly extending projection has a shoulder formed thereon to join a relatively larger cross sectional portion of the projection that extends through the slot formed in the back wall with a relatively smaller cross sectional portion of the projection that extends rearwardly from the shoulder, whereby, the shoulder serves as a stop to position the retaining member when the retaining member is installed on the projection.
- 27. The latch of claim 13 wherein the compression coil spring is adequately strong in the force that it exerts in biasing the latch bolt toward its latched position that, the action of the spring is transmitted through the L-shaped operating arm and through the handle-connected means to the handle so that the handle is biased toward its non-operating position.
- 28. The latch of claim 27 wherein the handle has stop formation means thereon for defining the non-operating position of the handle as a position wherein the stop formation means engage the back wall of the housing.
- 29. A flush-mountable lock, comprising:
- (a) a pan-shaped housing having walls that define a forwardly facing recess surrounded by a front wall that defines a mounting flange that has a front face and a rear face, with the housing also having a locking plug mounting location defined adjacent the recess by means of a generally sleeve-like structure which has a through passage that opens through the front face of the mounting flange;
- (b) the housing being formed as a one-piece structure from injection molded plastics material, with the walls including a back wall at the rear of the forwardly facing recess, with the back wall closing the rear of the recess, and with the back wall defining a flat mounting surface on the back of the housing, with the housing additionally including first and second mounting studs each having an end portion embedded in the material of the back wall, with each of the mounting studs having a threaded portion that projects rearwardly from the back wall;
- (c) handle means including a handle that resides in the recess, that is connected to the housing, and that is movable relative to the housing between a non-operated position and an operated position;
- (d) an opening formed through a selected portion of the walls that define the forwardly facing recess;
- (e) handle-connected means extending through the opening for connection to the handle and for being moved in response to movement of the handle between its non-operated and operated positions;
- (f) latch bolt mounting bracket means engaging the back wall of the housing and cooperating therewith to define a slide channel that extends across the mounting surface along a path of travel;
- (g) latch bolt means along a path of travel relative to the housing between latched and unlatched positions;
- (h) first and second mounting post means connected to the housing at first and second locations near opposite sides of the mounting surface and on opposed sides of said path of travel for clamping the latch bolt mounting bracket means into rigid engagement with the back wall; and,
- (i) operating means including an L-shaped operating arm that has a central portion and a pair of leg portions that extend in different directions from the central portion so as to give the operating arm a generally "L-shaped" configuration, with the central portion being pivotally connected to a selected one of the first and second mounting post means for pivotal movement relative to the housing, with one of the leg portions interconnecting with the handle-connected means at a location within said region, and with the other of the leg portions interconnecting the latch bolt means for effecting movement of the latch bolt means for effecting movement of the latch bolt from its latched to its unlatched positions in response to movement of the handle from its non-operated position to its operated position, with the central portion and the leg portions of the L-shaped operating arm overlying portions of the back wall, and with said other of the leg portions extending transversely across the path of travel of the latch bolt.
- 30. The latch of claim 29 wherein the front wall has a front surface that extends in a smooth convex curve, with the thickness of the front wall portions that define the mounting flange differing across the front wall, with maximum thickness being provided where the front wall portions join with the recess-defining wall formations, so as to form strong junctures between the front wall and the recess-defining wall formations all along the juncture of the recess-defining wall formation with the front wall.
- 31. The latch of claim 30 wherein the handle is formed as a rigid, one piece molded structure, the handle has a front wall that has a front surface, and the front surface of the handle is configured to extend contiguously with front surface portions of the housing when the handle is in its non-operated position.
- 32. The latch of claim 31 wherein the housing and the handle are formed from an injection molded, glass reinforced, polycarbonate based polymer blend thermoplastics material.
- 33. The latch of claim 29 wherein the slide channel is open at both ends thereof, and the latch bolt is of sufficient length to provide first and second opposed end regions thereof that are capable of simultaneously extending beyond the length of the slide channel.
- 34. The latch of claim 33 wherein the latch bolt mounting bracket means has an integrally formed tab portion that projects into the slide channel, and the latch bolt has an elongate slot formed therein that receives the tab of the latch bolt mounting bracket means.
- 35. The latch of claim 34 additionally including a compression coil spring positioned in the elongate slot of the latch bolt with one end region of the coil spring engaging one end region of the elongate slot, and with the other end region of the compression coil spring engaging the tab of the latch bolt mounting bracket means, whereby the compression coil spring operates to bias the latch bolt toward an extended, "latched" position with respect to the housing.
- 36. A flush-mount lock for a closure, comprising:
- (a) a one-piece housing having a front wall and having integrally-formed wall portions that join with the front wall to define a forwardly-facing recess that opens through the front wall, and with the front wall defining a mounting flange that extends perimetrically about the recess;
- (b) the housing having a back wall with a front face that defines the rear of the recess, having a rear face that defines a substantially planar mounting surface, and having first and second mounting studs projecting rearwardly from the mounting surface;
- (c) the housing being formed from injection-molded plastics material to provide a rigid structure, with the mounting studs being formed from metal and having enlarged head regions that embedded in the plastics material of the back wall;
- (d) a latch bolt mounting plate having first and second spaced mounting portions engaging the rear surface of the back wall with first and second holes formed, respectively, through the first and second mounting portions, and with the first and second mounting studs extending through the first and second holes, respectively;
- (e) the latch bolt mounting plate having wall portions that cooperate with the rear surface of the back wall to define a latch bolt slide channel that extends across the mounting surface along a path of travel that extends between the first and second mounting studs;
- (f) an elongate latch bolt slidably carried in the latch bolt slide channel, the latch bolt slide channel being open at both ends thereof, and the latch bolt being of sufficient length to provide first and second opposed end regions thereof that are extensible simultaneously beyond both ends of the slide channel;
- (g) the first end region of the latch bolt having a rearwardly extending engagement tab, and the second end region defining an enlarged end formation of such size as will prevent its entry into the slide bolt channel;
- (h) the latch bolt mounting plate having an integrally formed tab portion that projects into the slide channel;
- (i) the latch bolt having an elongate slot formed therein that receives the tab of the latch bolt mounting plate;
- (j) a compression coil spring positioned in the elongate slot of the slide bolt with one end region of the coil spring engaging one end region of the elongate slot, and with the other end region of the compression coil spring engaging the tab of the latch bolt mounting plate, whereby the compression coil spring is operated to bias the latch bolt toward an extended, "latched" position with respect to the housing;
- (k) first and second threaded mounting posts threaded onto the first and second studs for clamping the latch bolt mounting surface into firm engagement with the housing, and for defining a pair of spaced mounting formations for connection to a mounting bracket;
- (l) a U-shaped mounting bracket having base wall means for overlying the rear surface of the back wall at a distance spaced rearwardly therefrom and having holes formed therein in alignment with the mounting posts for receiving threaded fasteners that connect the U-shaped mounting bracket to the mounting posts;
- (m) an L-shaped operating arm pivotally connected to one of the mounting posts and having first and second leg portions that extend away from the location of the mounting post that pivotally mounts the operating arm, with the first and second leg portions overlying the back wall of the housing, with one of the leg portions extending substantially laterally across the mounting surface, and with the other of the leg portions extending transversely into engagement with the rearwardly projecting tab of the latch bolt;
- (n) a handle positioned in the forwardly-facing recess;
- (o) opening means formed in the pan-shaped wall structure that defines the recess; and,
- (p) mounting means movably mounting the handle on the housing and extending through the opening for engaging the one leg portions of the operating arm to drivingly connect the handle through the operating arm to the latch bolt for enabling the handle to pivot the operating arm about its mounting post to retract the latch bolt.
- 37. The lock of claim 36 wherein the other leg portion of the operating arm has a hooked-shaped formation, and a locking mechanism is provided having a curved formation that is movable into and out of engagement with the hook-shaped formation for selectively permitting and preventing movement of the operating arm to effect retraction of the latch bolt.
- 38. The lock of claim 36 wherein the handle is movable between a nested position and an operating position, and the handle has front face portions that extend substantially contiguously with the front face of the housing when the handle is in its nested position.
- 39. The lock of claim 38 wherein the handle has first and second stop formation means defined thereon for engaging wall portions that define the recess, with one of the stop formations effecting such engagement when the handle is in its nested position, and with the other of the stop formations effecting such engagement when its handle is in its operating position.
- 40. The lock of claim 39 wherein the handle has a square hole formation extending through portions of the handle that underlie the front face portions, and the mounting means includes a shaft of square cross section that is snugly fitted into the square hole of the handle for establishing a driving connection between the handle and the shaft, and wherein the shaft is pivotally connected to the housing to pivotally mount the handle on the housing for movement between its nested and operating positions.
- 41. The lock of claim 40 wherein a pair of aligned holes are formed through opposite side walls of the pan-shaped housing portion defines the recess wherein a pair of plastic bushing members having square holes bored therethrough are carried on the shaft and drivingly connected to the shaft for rotation therewith, with each bushing means being journaled in a separate one of the aligned holes for rotatably mounting the shaft on the housing.
- 42. The lock of claim 41 wherein a selected one of the bushing means and the shaft has recess means formed therein, and the other of the selected bushing means and the shaft has a projection formation thereon, and the projection formation extends into the recess formation for retaining the selected bushing means in position on the square shaft.
- 43. The lock of claim 41 wherein the square shaft is of L-shaped configuration having a first leg portion that extends through the bushings and through the aligned holes of the bushings, the handle and the housing, and the second leg portion extends alongside one of the side walls of the pan-shaped housing portion that defines the recess for engaging the one leg of the operating arm to drivingly interconnect the handle and the operating arm, and one of the bushings which is located in closest proximity to the junction of the first and second legs of the square shaft has an opening formed therethrough that is configured to receive the right angle juncture of the shaft that joins the first and second leg portions thereof.
- 44. The lock of claim 43 wherein the handle has an operator engagement formation located behind the front wall at a position that is within the recess when the handle is nested or being engaged by the hand of an operator to effect pivoting of the handle from its nested to its operating position as by moving the engagement formation of the handle forwardly to an extended position outside the confines of the recess.
- 45. The lock of claim 44 wherein the handle is configured such that its front wall extends from an end region of recess to a position substantially midway along the recess to thereby occupy at least about half of the recess where the recess opens through the front wall, with the handle being pivotally connected to the housing for movement relatively to the housing about an axis that is located in relatively close proximity to the one end region of the recess, and with the operator engagement formation being located on a back face of the handle at a location near the middle of the recess.
- 46. The lock of claim 43 wherein the handle has an operator engagement formation in the form of a hole in its front face, and the operator engagement formation is adjacent to the hole at a location near the middle of the recess when the handle is nested or being engaged by the hand of an operator to effect pivoting of the handle from its nested to its operating position as by moving the engagement formation of the handle forwardly to an extended position outside the confines of the recess.
- 47. The lock of claim 36 wherein the handle is pivotally mounted on the housing at a location about midway along the length of the elongate recess, the front face of the handle substantially fills the recess, and the handle is operated by pressing on one end region of the handle to pivot the handle one end region of the handle into the recess, with the opposite end region of the handle pivoted out of the recess.
- 48. The lock of claim 36 wherein the handle comprising a finger receiving compartment that is slidably carried within the recess for moving along the length of the recess between normal and operating positions.
- 49. The lock of claim 48 wherein an elongate slot is formed through the back wall of the housing at a location behind the slidably mounted handle, the slidably mounted handle has a rearwardly extending projection that extends through the opening for engagement with the one leg of the operating arm to effect pivoting of the operating arm to effect retraction of the latch bolt in response to movement of the handle between its normal and operating positions.
- 50. The lock of claim 49 wherein the rearwardly extending projection of the handle has a shoulder formation thereon at a location behind the rear surface of the back wall of the housing, with the shoulder formation providing a juncture between a relatively large cross-sectional portion of the projection that extends through the slot but is formed in the back wall, and a relatively smaller cross-sectional portion that projects rearwardly from the shoulder for engaging the one leg of the operating arm, and a retaining member is installed on the rearwardly extending projection and is positioned in engagement with the shoulder for retaining the handle in position on the housing by preventing retraction of the rearwardly extending projection of the handle through the slot that is formed in the back wall of the housing.
- 51. The lock of claim 50 wherein the retaining member has a hole formed therethrough, with the hole being sized to provide a press fit when the retaining member is installed on the rearwardly extending projection as by inserting the projection into the hole, and an adhesive is used to bond the retaining member to the rearwardly extending projection after the retaining member has been installed on the rearwardly extending projection in a position wherein the retaining member is in engagement with the shoulder.
- 52. The lock of claim 51 wherein the finger receiving formation defined by the handle is matched in configuration by another finger receiving formation that is formed on an axillary handle formation which is installed in the recess so as to be rigidly secured to the housing.
- 53. The lock of claim 36 wherein the other leg of the L-shaped operating arm has a hook-shaped formation that opens in a direction facing toward the path of movement that is followed by the hook-shaped formation in moving from a normal position to an operating position.
- 54. A flush-mount lock for a closure, comprising:
- (a) a one-piece housing having a front wall and having integrally-formed wall portions that join with the front wall to define a forwardly-facing recess that opens through the front wall, and with the front wall defining a mounting flange that extends perimetrically about the recess;
- (b) the housing having a back wall with a front face that defines the rear of the recess, and having a rear surface that is substantially planar and has a plurality of mounting studs projecting rearwardly from the rear surface;
- (c) the housing being formed from injection-molded plastics material to provide a rigid structure, with the mounting studs being formed from metal and having enlarged head regions that embedded in the plastics material of the back wall;
- (d) a latch bolt mounting plate having a plurality of spaced mounting portions engaging the rear surface of the back wall with holes formed through the mounting portions, and with the mounting portions arranged such that the mounting studs extend through the holes;
- (e) the latch bolt mounting plate having wall portions that cooperate with the rear surface of the back wall to define a latch bolt slide channel that extends across the rear face of the back wall at locations between the mounting studs;
- (f) an elongate latch bolt slidably carried in the latch bolt slide channel, the latch bolt slide channel being open at both ends thereof, and the latch bolt being of sufficient length to provide first and second opposed end regions thereof that are extensible simultaneously beyond both ends of the slide channel;
- (g) the first end region of the latch bolt having a rearwardly extending engagement tab, and the second end region defining an enlarged end formation of such size as will prevent its entry into the slide bolt channel;
- (h) the latch bolt housing having an integrally formed tab portion that projects into the slide channel;
- (i) the latch bolt having an elongate slot formed therein that receives the tab of the latch bolt housing;
- (j) a compression coil spring positioned in the elongate slot of the slide bolt with one end region of the coil spring engaging one end region of the elongate slot, and with the other end region of the compression coil spring engaging the tab of the latch bolt housing, whereby the compression coil spring is operated to bias the latch bolt toward an extended, "latched" position with respect to the housing;
- (k) a pair of threaded mounting posts threaded onto the studs for clamping the latch bolt housing into firm engagement with the housing, and for defining a pair of spaced mounting formations for connection to a mounting bracket;
- (l) a U-shaped mounting bracket having base wall means for overlying the rear surface of the back wall at a distance spaced rearwardly therefrom and having holes formed therein in alignment with the mounting posts receiving threaded fasteners that connect the mounting bracket to the mounting posts;
- (m) an L-shaped operating arm pivotally connected to one of the mounting posts and having first and second leg portions that extend away from the location of the mounting post that pivotally mounts the operating arm and that overlie portions of the housing, with one of the legs extending substantially laterally across the rear surface of the back wall, and with the other of the legs extending into engagement with the rearwardly projecting tab of the latch bolt;
- (n) a handle positioned in the forwardly-facing recess;
- (o) opening means formed in the pan-shaped wall structure that defines the recess;
- (p) mounting means movably mounting the handle on the housing and extending through the opening for engaging the one leg of the operating arm to drivingly connect the handle through the operating arm to the latch bolt for enabling the handle to pivot the operating arm about its mounting post to retract the latch bolt;
- (q) the handle comprises a finger receiving compartment that is slidably carried with the recess for moving along the length of the recess between normal and operating positions;
- (r) the elongate slot is formed through the back wall of the housing at a location behind the slidably mounted handle, the slidably mounted handle has a rearwardly extending projection that extends through the opening for engagement with the one leg of the operating arm to effect pivoting of the operating arm to effect retraction of the latch bolt in response to movement of the handle between its normal and operating positions;
- (s) the rearwardly extending projection of the handle has a shoulder formation thereon at a location behind the rear surface of the back wall of the housing, with the shoulder formation providing a juncture between a relatively large cross-sectional portion of the projection that extends through the slot but is formed in the back wall, and a relatively smaller cross-sectional portion that projects rearwardly from the shoulder for engaging the one leg of the operating arm, and a retaining member is installed on the rearwardly extending projection and is positioned in engagement with the shoulder for retaining the handle in position on the housing by preventing retraction of the rearwardly extending projection of the handle through the slot that is formed in the back wall of the housing;
- (t) the retaining member has a hole formed therethrough, with the hole being sized to provide a press fit when the retaining member is installed on the rearwardly extending projection as by inserting the projection into the hole, and an adhesive is used to bond the retaining member to the rearwardly extending projection after the retaining member has been installed on the rearwardly extending projection in a position wherein the retaining member is in engagement with the shoulder;
- (u) the finger receiving formation defined by the handle is matched in configuration by another finger receiving formation that is formed on an auxiliary handle formation which is installed in the recess so as to be rigidly secured to the housing; and,
- (v) the auxiliary handle formation is rigidly connected to the housing by means of adhesive bonding.
Parent Case Info
The present application is a continuation-in-part of a co-pending application entitled CABINET LOCK WITH RECESSED HANDLE, Ser. No. 859,194 filed Apr. 28, 1986 by Lee S. Weinerman et al as a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 601,648 filed Apr. 18, 1984 (now abandoned), which applications are referred to hereinafter as the "Parent Cases," the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference Application Ser. No. 859,194 issued Aug. 4, 1987 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,736.
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Entry |
Southco Inc., Southco Fasteners Handbook 37, Concordville, PA 19331, date unknown. |
Eberhard Manufacturing Co., Handbook of Latches, Locks, Hinges, Handles, and Related Hardware. No. 103, Cleveland, OH 44136, 1985. |
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Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
859194 |
Apr 1986 |
|
Parent |
601648 |
Apr 1984 |
|