Patent Application
20190112848
The present invention relates to fencing and gate hardware, and more specifically to hardware used for latching and unlatching a gate latch.
In the field of fencing and gate hardware, many gates are affixed with a horizontally protruding bar which serves to strike the adjacent gatepost as the gate swings closed, limiting range of motion such that the gate can only open in one direction. Many gateposts are affixed with a latch which serves to lock the bar protruding from the gate in place against the gatepost. Many gate latches are comprised of a vertical lever with a pawl. When the lever of such a gate latch is pressed upward, the bar attached to the gate is released from the pawl portion of the gate latch lever, allowing the gate to swing open while the gate latch lever drops back into its closed position. Likewise, when the gate closes, the pawl of the gate latch lever locks the gate bar against the gatepost once the gate latch lever is dropped down into its closed position.
Although commonly used in the industry, this type of gate latch comes with two inherent limitations, the first of which is that to open this type of gate latch, one typically has to reach over the gate and manually pull the gate latch lever upward in order to release the gate bar from the pawl so that the gate can swing open. The second limitation is that the gate latch lever, which is attached to the gatepost, will drop into its closed position too slowly and fail to catch the gate bar when the gate is closed quickly. As a result, one has no choice but to manipulate the gate latch lever manually to successfully operate it.
A mechanism which solves these limitations would need to be comprised of some combination of one or more mechanical components such as springs, flexible lines, tubes, chains, rods and/or levers in order to augment the function and operation of the gate latch lever. However, a difficulty inherent in providing such a mechanism for outdoor use is that over time the component materials will degrade and mechanically fail, increasing the risk of physical harm or material damage to a person attempting to use the mechanism.
For example, some components such as a flexible line made from plastic or organic material will eventually fail when exposed to ultraviolet light, moisture, freezing and/or organic growth such as mildew or moss. Other mechanical components, such as springs or levers, when exposed to outside elements, will fail to operate correctly when debris falls into or onto them, as they will become blocked, bent or broken. As these exposed components degrade, the hazard risk inherent in their continued use increases, such as the increased likelihood of pinching a finger between exposed spring coils, or scratching or poking one's hand or arm or damaging one's clothing on a bent or broken metal part.
A mechanism that attempts solve the above limitations by providing an enclosure for its mechanical components will be bulky by nature and will have multiple points of failure where the components interact with their enclosure. In addition, if the mechanism is designed such that the enclosure surrounding the mechanical components must be hidden within the gatepost, the enclosure will require a hole in the gatepost large enough to accommodate it, therefore requiring a professional with appropriate tools to properly assemble the components and install the mechanism.
The challenge, and area of innovation, is to provide a mechanism that solves these limitations, enabling one to reliably open the gate from either side without reaching over it, and automatically return the gate latch to its closed position reliably, even when the gate is closed quickly. In addition, the mechanism provided must be of simple, durable and compact design, such that the number of components exposed, the effort required for assembly and installation, the size of the footprint required for installation, and the number of points of failure are all minimized.
The present invention is a mechanism which, when attached an existing gate latch's lever, provides a reliable method of opening the gate latch lever and automatically returning the gate latch lever to its original position with the use of one hand by either pulling a handle from outside the gate or pushing a handle from inside the gate.
The invention provides a durable, compact design with minimal points of failure or exposed components and as such can be packaged in a fully-assembled form which requires no specialized tools for installation.
The invention is described in detail through examples, which describe more than one embodiment included in the scope of the invention.
Figures include items which are not claimed as part of the invention but are contextually helpful in understanding the nature of the invention, specifically the gatepost (118), hole bored horizontally through the gatepost (112), gate latch lever (115), gate bar (114), gate (117), and hardware for affixing the gate bar to the gate (116).
One embodiment of the mechanism for operating a gate latch lever is illustrated in
The mechanism for operating a gate latch lever has a first handle (100) which has a stem (101) whose central core is threaded to match a threaded stud (102). The threaded stud's stem portion (103) is attached to one end of a flexible line (107). In one embodiment, all components are made from stainless steel and the first handle is made from stainless steel or wood with a stainless steel threaded female insert, and as such the flexible line can be attached to the threaded stud by industry standard means for connecting stainless steel components such as welding and crimping. The flexible line (107) extends through the hole bored through the gatepost (112) and then its length (107) spans the distance between the gatepost (118) and the gate latch lever (115), and then extends through the hollow core of a first clamp (209), which has a cylindrical shape. The first clamp has a hole through its body at a perpendicular angle which is threaded to match a screw (210). The screw (210) is tightened so that it extends perpendicularly through the core of the first clamp and clamps the flexible line.
The first clamp (209) is embedded into the center of a second handle, which has a flat surface area (211) in the form of an elongated plate which runs the length of the second handle and is wide enough to be suitable for pushing with one's thumb. The surface area portion (211) of the second handle has two holes through its face that are the same diameter as the hollow core of the first clamp (209). The first hole is positioned at one end of the surface area (211) plate and is aligned with and connected at a perpendicular angle to the cylindrical rim of the first clamp (209), and the second hole (217) is positioned at the other end of the surface area (211) plate. The second handle also has an underside surface (212) in the form of an elongated plate with a single hole through its face that is the same diameter as the cylindrical rim of the hollow inner core of the first clamp (209), to which it is aligned with and connected to at a perpendicular angle. A trapezoidal body portion (213) of the second handle has a first edge of which is attached to the length of the outer cylindrical wall of the first clamp (209), and a second and third edges which are attached at a perpendicular angle along the median of the interior-facing walls of the surface area (211) and underside (212) portions of the second handle. The trapezoidal body portion (213) has an elongated hole (218) along its fourth edge, which is fastened to the gate latch lever (115) with a screw (215) and bolt (216). The second handle also has a triangular body portion (214), the first edge of which is attached to the length of the first clamp (209), and another edge which is attached at a perpendicular angle along the median of the underside of the surface (211) of the second handle.
The flexible line (107) extends from where it passes through the hollow core of the first clamp (209) back through the second hole (217) in the surface of the second handle and terminates with an end cap (111).
At the end of the stem of the threaded stud furthest from the first handle, the second clamp (109) is attached to the flexible line (107) by virtue of crimping or welding. The second clamp (109) has a cylindrical shape and a hollow core whose inner wall is attached to the outer surface of one end of a coil spring (108). The surface area of the other end of the coil spring (108) is attached to the inner wall of a hollow cylindrical stem portion (104) of an anchor. The anchor has a flange portion (105) which is circular in shape and extends outward at a perpendicular angle from the end of the stem portion (104) furthest from the coil spring (108). The flange portion (105) of the anchor has a diameter greater than the diameter of the hole bored through the gatepost (112). The portion of flexible line (107) that extends through the hole (112) in the gatepost extends from the threaded stud (102), through the hollow core of the second clamp (109), through the center of the coil spring (108), through the core of the stem (104) of the anchor, and out through the hollow center of the flange portion (105) of the anchor, where it continues (107) to the second handle.
When the first handle (100) is released, the tension of the coil spring (108) pulls the coil spring back to its retracted state. As the coil spring returns to its compressed, resting state, it pulls the flexible line (107) back into its original position, which causes the gate latch lever (115) to push back into its closed position.
When the surface area of the second handle (211) is pushed (122) forward toward the flange portion of the anchor (105), the gate latch lever (115) to which it is attached is pushed into its open, upright position. In addition, the set of motions described in
When the second handle is released, the coil spring (108) retracts, pulling the flexible line (107) back to its original position, and pushing on the portion of flexible line (107) between the flange portion (105) of the anchor and the second handle back to its original position. The gate latch lever (115) is pushed back into a closed position because the screw (215) and bolt (216) bind the trapezoidal body portion of the second handle to the gate latch lever (115).
Evident from the description herein, there are several advantages to these embodiments of my mechanism for operating a gate latch lever:
Accordingly, the reader will see that the mechanism for operating a gate latch lever:
Although the description herein contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments. For example, some components of the mechanism for operating a gate latch can be made from other sustainable materials, such as bamboo fiber, and the handles can have other shapes. For example, the first handle could be made from cut glass, porcelain, aluminum, bamboo fiber, wood or any other material that can be used to make a knob and can be in any shape suitable for use as a knob. The second handle can also be made from other materials such as bamboo fiber and can have other shapes which provide the same core function of attaching the flexible line to the gate latch lever and providing a second handle that one can push to move the gate latch lever into its open position.
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/573,650, filed 2017 Oct. 17 by the present inventor, which is incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62573650 | Oct 2017 | US |
