Disclosed embodiments are related to cabinet locks and related methods of use.
Cabinet locks are commonly employed on cabinets that may be easily reachable by small children. Such cabinet locks typically employ a key or some other type of dual-action motion to inhibit a child from accessing the cabinet. Cabinet locks are typically installed inside of a cabinet door, and engage a corresponding catch on a stationary cabinet wall.
In some embodiments, a cabinet lock includes a housing, a latch disposed at least partially in the housing and configured to translate between an extended position and a retracted position, and a lever disposed in the housing. The lever includes a first pivot fixed to the housing and configured to allow the lever to rotate relative to the housing between an engaged position and a disengaged position, a second pivot coupling the lever to the latch, where when the lever moves toward the engaged position the latch is translated toward the retracted position, and where when the lever moves toward the disengaged position, the latch is translated toward the extended position, and a ferromagnetic portion configured to move the lever from the disengaged position toward the engaged position when a magnet is within a threshold distance of the lever.
In some embodiments, a cabinet lock includes a housing, a latch disposed at least partially in the housing and configured to translate between an extended position and a retracted position, where the latch includes a latch engagement face inclined at an acute angle relative to a direction in which the latch translates, and a lever. The lever includes a first pivot fixed to the housing and configured to allow the lever to rotate relative to the housing between an engaged position and a disengaged position, a second pivot coupling the lever to the latch, where when the lever moves toward the engaged position the latch is translated toward the retracted position, and where when the lever moves toward the disengaged position, the latch is translated toward the extended position, and a ferromagnetic portion configured to move the lever from the disengaged position toward the engaged position when a magnet is within a threshold distance of the lever. The cabinet lock also includes a catch including a catch engagement face, where the catch engagement face is configured to engage the latch engagement face, and where the catch engagement face is parallel to the latch engagement face.
In some embodiments, a method of operating a cabinet lock includes installing a cabinet lock housing on a first portion of a cabinet, installing a catch on a second portion of the cabinet, moving a latch of the cabinet lock into an extended position where the latch extends from the housing and where the latch is configured to engage the catch when the first portion and second portion of the cabinet are moved relative to one another, moving a magnet within a threshold distance of a lever disposed in the housing, thereby rotating the lever about a first pivot, and translating the latch from the extended position to a retracted position via a second pivot which rotatably couples the lever to the latch. When the latch is in the retracted position the latch clears the catch when the first portion and second portion of the cabinet are moved relative to one another.
It should be appreciated that the foregoing concepts, and additional concepts discussed below, may be arranged in any suitable combination, as the present disclosure is not limited in this respect. Further, other advantages and novel features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of various non-limiting embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:
Child cabinet locks are typically employed on cabinets within reach of small children to prevent children from gaining access to the contents of the cabinet. Typically, such cabinet locks employ a dual-action mechanism or keyed arrangement which allows an adult to operate the cabinet lock while inhibiting a child from doing the same. Conventionally, magnetic cabinet locks have been employed where a magnetic key permits a cabinet lock to be easily opened by the key holder, while preventing access to the cabinet by a child who does not have the key. In the operation of such cabinet locks, a magnet (e.g., a key magnet) is placed within a threshold distance of the cabinet lock, and the key magnet applies a magnetic force to a corresponding magnet or ferromagnetic portion of the cabinet lock. The force application in turn operates a mechanism that moves a latch to a retracted position, thereby unlocking the cabinet.
The mechanisms employed in some cabinet locks are complex multi-bar linkages which may be susceptible to high frictional loads or jamming when moving to a retracted position. Additionally, conventional latches employed in cabinet locks rotate between positions (e.g., an extended position and retracted position.) Further, many conventional latches have a curved engagement face. Such latches may be susceptible to being bypassed when excessive force applied to a cabinet door.
In view of the above, the inventor has recognized the benefits of a cabinet lock with two moving components that yield reduced frictional loads on the cabinet lock: a rotating lever and a translating catch. Because the latch translates between extended and retracted positions, the cabinet lock is better able to resist large forces. Additionally, the inventor has recognized the benefits of a latch engagement face that is flat and angled at an acute angle relative to a direction of translation of the latch. Such an arrangement may cause force applied to a cabinet door to move the latch further into the extended position, thereby resisting opening from large forces.
In some embodiments, a cabinet lock includes a cabinet lock housing in which a latch and a lever are at least partially disposed in the housing. The latch is constrained by the housing to translate between an extended position and a retracted position, where the latch projects further from the housing when the latch is in the extended position as compared to the retracted position.
Arranging the latch to translate instead of purely rotating may permit the latch engagement face to maintain its same orientation regardless of the extent of the extension/retraction of the latch. In this manner, the latch engagement face may maintain full surface contact with abutting portions of the catch engagement face. A latch which purely rotates will change its engagement face angle orientation relative to a corresponding catch face, and could reduce contact surface area, or require curved surfaces to maintain contact surface area. According to some embodiments disclosed herein, a partially retracted latch may still be able to prevent opening of the cabinet door because the latch face and catch face have the same relative orientation as when the latch is fully extended. In combination with an angled latch engagement face and an angled catch engagement face, the translational movement of the latch may permit consistent contact surface area without using curved surfaces. And the angled engagement faces may pull the latch outwardly toward a more fully extended position when the cabinet door is pulled in an opening direction and the partially extended latch contacts the catch.
The lever is coupled to the housing via a first pivot which allows the lever to rotate between an engaged position and a disengaged position. On a first end of the lever is disposed a ferromagnetic portion which is responsive to a magnet placed in proximity of the cabinet lock. On an opposite second end of the lever is a second pivot rotatably coupling the latch to the lever such that rotation of the lever between the engaged and disengaged positions moves the latch between the retracted and extended positions, respectively.
In some embodiments, the second pivot may be formed by a pin attached to, or integrally formed with, the latch disposed within a slot in the lever. When a magnet is placed within a threshold distance from the ferromagnetic portion, the lever may rotate from the disengaged position toward the engaged position, thereby moving the latch from the extended position toward the retracted position via the second pivot. Such an arrangement may provide a simple, reliable motion of the latch between the extended and retracted positions in response to a magnetic key.
In some embodiments, a cabinet lock latch includes a latch engagement face that corresponds to a catch engagement face. That is, the latch engagement face and catch engagement face may be correspondingly shaped such that engagement between the latch engagement face and the catch engagement face does not urge the latch from an extended position to a retracted position. In some embodiments, the latch engagement face is a continuous (e.g., flat) face that is inclined at an acute angled relative to a direction of translation (i.e., a direction of extension) of the latch. The catch engagement face may be correspondingly angled, such that the catch engagement face is parallel with the latch engagement face. In such an arrangement, when the latch engagement face engages the catch engagement face, the latch may be urged toward the extended position via the normal forces associated with the latch engagement face. As a result, the latch may be resistant to large forces, as the force applied to the latch may never urge the latch toward a retracted position.
In some embodiments, the latch and catch engagement faces may also be free from projections, shelves, or hooks that would otherwise interfere with the movement of the latch between the extended position and retracted position. That is, according to exemplary embodiments described herein, a latch with an acutely angled engagement face may still be able to move toward the retracted position when an opening force is applied via a magnetic key even when some amount of force is being applied to the latch and/or catch.
Turning to the figures, specific non-limiting embodiments are described in further detail. It should be understood that the various systems, components, features, and methods described relative to these embodiments may be used either individually and/or in any desired combination as the disclosure is not limited to only the specific embodiments described herein.
As will be described further below, the latch 110 is configured to translate between an extended position as shown in
As noted above, the angles of the latch engagement face 112 and catch engagement face 152 are configured such that when they are engaged, the normal forces between the faces urge the latch toward the extended position. That is, when the latch contacts the catch, the angle of the engagement faces yields a normal force component in the direction of extension of the latch 110, thereby urging the latch 110 toward the extended position and avoiding disengagement of the latch from the catch when force is applied to the cabinet lock 100.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
According to the embodiment of
Of course, in other embodiments the latch 112 may not be constrained to move only linearly in and out of the housing, and may additionally shift in a latch slot 116 sized and shaped to accommodate the lateral movement of the latch 112 and lever 120 link. In such embodiments, the latch may translate in two directions: extension or retraction relative to the housing 102, and a lateral direction toward or away from the first pivot 126. In some cases, such a two part motion may be desirable, as the latch may move away from the catch 152 (e.g., toward the right in
In some embodiments, the cabinet lock 100 includes a biasing member (e.g., a compression spring, torsion spring, etc.) configured to urge the cabinet lock to the configuration show in
From the configuration shown in
According to the embodiment shown in
According to the embodiment of
While the present teachings have been described in conjunction with various embodiments and examples, it is not intended that the present teachings be limited to such embodiments or examples. On the contrary, the present teachings encompass various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20210079689 A1 | Mar 2021 | US |