Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6375244
-
Patent Number
6,375,244
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Date Filed
Wednesday, June 14, 200024 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, April 23, 200222 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 292 32
- 292 33
- 292 35
- 292 36
- 292 39
- 292 41
- 292 3363
- 292 DIG 54
- 070 107
- 070 108
- 070 118
- 070 120
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A security lock is provided for a door having a top, a bottom, a frame and a deadbolt lock. The security lock includes a first bolt which is mountable on the door so as to extend to the top thereof to selectively engage the frame near the top of the door. There is a second bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to the bottom thereof to selectively engage the frame near the bottom of the door. There is also a mechanism which operatively connects the first bolt and the second bolt to the deadbolt lock. When the deadbolt lock is engaged, the first bolt and the second bolt engage the frame. When the deadbolt lock is disengaged, the first bolt and the second bolt are disengaged from the frame.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to security locks for doors and, in particular, security locks capable of engaging the door with a door frame on opposite sides of the frame.
Security at homes and at businesses has become an increasing concern due to high levels of break-ins and home invasions. One of the most common security measures is a deadbolt lock for exterior doors. These locks are mounted in apertures bored in the door adjacent the frame on the side opposite the hinges. The deadbolt lock includes a bolt which slidably extends from the door and engages a bore in the frame of the door, typically surrounded by a plate. While these locks do provide significantly improved security compared with knob-mounted locks, they do not provide an adequate degree of security for many doors, particularly wooden doors or steel doors with wood frames, if an intruder attempts to kick in the door. Either the door itself or the frame may fail if subjected to a hard blow from an intruder's foot.
It has been known to provide a bolt and lock for doors which includes upper and lower bolts engaging a frame or the like above and below the door. For example, a device of this nature is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,154. The device in this patent is activated by a rack mechanism in conjunction with knobs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,944 shows a mechanism generally similar to the patent above except that the bolts move horizontally into the frame. A similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,353.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,941 shows a multipoint door lock assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,595 shows a locking arrangement for doors employing sliding bolts, but it is not well adapted for retrofitting existing doors.
Bolts engageable with the top and bottom of the door, however, have not been commonly used on residential or business doors. One reason for this is that prior art devices of the general type have not been convenient to lock and unlock. They may involve the use of separate cranks or levers which may not even be accessible from the outside of the door. In addition, earlier devices are often not convenient to retrofit onto an existing standard door and deadbolt lock.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved security lock for a door which substantially increases the level of security compared with a standard deadbolt lock.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved security lock for a door which engages the frame of the door adjacent opposite edges of the door and which is convenient to use.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved security lock for doors which engages the door to the frame adjacent the top and bottom thereof, which can be easily engaged or disengaged from both sides of the door and which is easy to install.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improved security lock for doors which can engage the door with the top and bottom of the frame and which does not require additional large apertures to be bored through the door apart from standard apertures for a knob and a deadbolt lock.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improved security lock which can be readily installed onto an existing standard door equipped with a standard deadbolt lock.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There is provided, according to one aspect of the invention, a security lock for a door having a top, a bottom, a frame and a deadbolt lock. The security lock includes a first bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to a first edge thereof to selectively engage the frame near the first edge of the door. There is a second bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to a second edge thereof and selectively engage the frame near the second edge of the door. A mechanism operatively connects the first bolt and the second bolt to the deadbolt lock. When the deadbolt lock is engaged, the first bolt and the second bolt engage the frame. When the deadbolt lock is disengaged, the first bolt and the second bolt are disengaged from the frame.
There is provided, according to another aspect of the invention, a security apparatus including a door having a top, bottom, a frame and a deadbolt lock. There is a security lock which includes a first bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to the top thereof to selectively engage the frame near the top of the door. A second bolt is mountable on the door so as to extend to the bottom thereof to selectively engage the frame near the bottom of the door. A mechanism operatively connects the first bolt and the second bolt to the deadbolt lock. When the deadbolt lock is engaged, the first bolt and the second bolt engage the frame. When the deadbolt is disengaged, the first bolt and the second bolt are disengaged from the frame.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1
is an interior, elevational view of an exterior door and frame, showing a security lock according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2
is an enlarged, fragmentary view showing the top of the door, adjacent frame and a fragment of a bolt which extends to the top of the door;
FIG. 2
a
is a sectional view taken along line
2
a
—
2
a
of FIG.
2
.
FIG. 3
is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the edge of the door opposite the hinges, a portion of the security lock and deadbolt lock and the knob for the door with associated latch;
FIG. 4
is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly broken away, of the security lock and associated deadbolt lock;
FIG. 5
is a top plan view, partly in section, of the deadbolt lock and the crank member and lever of the security lock;
FIG. 6
is a view similar to
FIG. 5
of an alternative embodiment;
FIG. 7
is a view similar to
FIG. 4
of the embodiment of
FIG. 6
; and
FIG. 8
is a sectional view if the embodiment of FIG.
6
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings and first to
FIG. 1
, this shows a door
10
of the type commonly used as an exterior door for residences. The door is fitted to a frame
12
, and has a top
14
, a bottom
16
, an edge
18
connected to the frame with hinges
20
and
22
and an edge
24
opposite the hinges. The door is provided with a conventional knob
30
having a conventional latch
32
shown in FIG.
3
. The door also is provided with a deadbolt lock
34
including a plate
35
, connected to a keyed portion of the deadbolt lock (not shown) on the exterior side of the door, by screws
36
and
38
. The deadbolt lock has a bolt
40
which is engaged with the frame or disengaged from the frame by rotating knob
44
. The knob is connected to a keyed cylinder (not shown) on the opposite side of the door, by a rotatable bar
48
in the conventional manner. As described thus far, the door and deadbolt lock are conventional, except for plate
35
which replaces the usual circular plate.
Door
10
however is unconventional in that it includes a security lock shown generally at
50
. The lock includes a first bolt
54
, shown best in
FIGS. 1
,
2
, and
2
a
, which extends to the top of the door so as to selectively engage the frame near the top of the door. Door
10
in this example is an in-swinging door, for which the invention is primarily designed. However it may be adapted for out-swinging doors as well. When engaged, bolt
54
extends through aperture
58
and a plate
60
. The plate is connected to frame
12
in this example by screws
62
and
64
as shown best in
FIG. 2
a
. The bolt
54
is slidably mounted on the door for vertical movement within a tube
70
which extends from the top of the door to the bottom thereof as shown in FIG.
1
. The tube is connected to the door by a plurality of straps
72
, each of which as connected to the door by screws
74
and
76
. One of the straps is shown in FIG.
2
.
A second bolt
80
is also mounted on the door within the tube
70
and extends to the bottom of the door as shown in FIG.
1
. Bolt
80
selectively engages the frame near the bottom of the door by means of a plate similar to plate
60
shown in
FIG. 2
a.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, bolt
80
is connected to threaded rod
81
. Rod
81
is connected to a gear rack
90
within tube
70
by a strap-like member
92
. Similarly, bolt
54
is connected to gear rack
94
by a strap-like member
96
. The threaded rods engage female threaded fittings
83
and
57
. Rotation of the rods allows outward or inward adjustment of the bolts. Both gear racks engage a pinion
98
which is rotatably mounted within the tube
70
by means of a shaft
100
. Thus both racks are operatively coupled to the pinion and are slidably mounted within the tube on the door such that both racks and both bolts simultaneously move towards the frame to engage the security lock and simultaneously move away from the frame to disengage the security lock. For example, when pinion
98
is rotated clockwise, from the point of view of
FIG. 4
, rack
90
and bolt
80
move downwardly so the bolt
80
engages the frame adjacent a first edge of the door, in this case the bottom of the door and, at the same time, rack
94
and bolt
54
moves upwardly such that bolt
54
engages the frame adjacent a second edge of the door, in this case the top of the door. When the pinion is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction, the bolts and racks move in the opposite direction away from the frame to disengage from the frame so that the door can open or close. In an alternative embodiment the security lock could operate on the sides of the door or on only one edge thereof. In the latter case there is only one rack and one bolt.
There is a mechanism
110
, shown best in
FIGS. 4 and 5
, which operatively connects the first bolt
54
and the second bolt
80
to deadbolt lock
34
whereby, when the deadbolt lock is engaged, the first bolt and the second bolt engage the frame. When the deadbolt lock is disengaged, the first bolt and the second bolt are disengaged from the frame. The mechanism includes a crank member or crank plate
120
having a slot
122
. Bar
48
of the deadbolt lock is fitted through the slot
122
such that, when the knob
44
, or the keyed cylinder on the opposite side of the door, is rotated, the crank member is rotated. For example, with reference to
FIGS. 1
,
3
and
4
, knob
44
is rotated clockwise to engage deadbolt
40
with the frame. This rotates crank member
120
clockwise as indicated by arrow
130
. The knob
44
is rotated counter-clockwise to disengage deadbolt
40
from the frame. This rotates crank plate
120
counter-clockwise from the point of view of FIG.
4
.
There is a lever
136
pivotally connected to crank member
120
by a pin
138
. The end of lever
136
opposite pin
138
extends through an aperture
160
in member
92
connected to bolt
80
and rack
90
. There is a slot
166
in the lever located between its opposite ends. A pin
170
is fixedly secured to a member
174
extending between the deadbolt lock and the tube
70
. The pin extends slidably and rotatably through the slot
166
. Thus it may be seen, when the end of lever
136
adjacent pin
138
is moved upwardly as the crank member
120
is rotated clockwise from the point of view of
FIG. 4
, the end of the lever extending through aperture
160
is moved downwardly. This moves bolt
80
downwardly and bolt
154
upwardly due to the action of pinion
98
which is rotated clockwise. This causes the bolts
54
and
80
to engage the frame when the deadbolt lock is engaged.
Likewise, when the deadbolt lock is disengaged by rotating knob
44
counter-clockwise, this causes pin
138
to be pivoted downwardly, causing the end of lever
136
extending through aperture
160
to move upwardly. This causes bolt
80
to disengage from the door frame. Pinion
98
is rotated counter-clockwise and simultaneously moves rack
94
and bolt
54
downwardly to disengage bolt
54
from the frame.
FIGS. 6 through 8
show a variation of the invention where like parts lave like numbers as in the previous example with the addition of “.
1
”. In this example the mechanism
110
.
1
is modified to avoid fastening bolt
201
. Lever
136
.
1
mounts directly on bar
48
.
1
by means of slot
122
.
1
. It has a hook-like portion
137
to circumvent mounting bolt
201
of deadbolt lock
34
.
1
. In this example aperture
160
.
1
is adjacent to rack
90
.
1
in strap
92
.
1
as shown in FIG.
8
. This version is installed by drilling a vertical bore
200
from the top to the bottom of the door. The housing
148
, held together by rivets
150
, Sits through the standard hole for a deadbolt lock. The mechanism, including the rack and pinion, is then connected via the vertical bore.
It will be understood by someone skilled in the art that many of the details provided above are by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is to be interpreted with reference to the following claims.
Claims
- 1. A security apparatus comprising:a door having a first edge, a second edge, a frame and a dead bolt lock; and a security lock including a first bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to the first edge thereof to selectively engage the frame near the first edge of the door, a second bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to the second edge thereof to selectively engage the frame near the second edge, and a mechanism which operatively connects the first bolt to the dead bolt lock whereby, when the dead bolt lock is engaded, the first bolt engages the frame and, when the dead bolt lock is disengaged, the first bolt is disengaged from the frame, the mechanism operatively connecting the second bolt to the dead bolt lock, whereby, when the deadbolt is engaged, the second bolt engages the frame and, when the dead bolt lock is disengaged, the second bolt is disengaged from the frame, the mechanism including a lever and each of the bolts behind connected to a separate rack, both racks being operatively coupled to a pinion and being slidably mounted on the door such that both racks and both bolts simultaneously move towards the frame to engage the security lock and simultaneously move away from the frame to disengage the security lock, the lever operatively connecting the dead bolt lock to one of the racks, a cranked member being engageable with the dead bolt lock and being rotatable therewith, the lever being pivotally connected to said crank member, the lever having a first end adjacent the crank member, a second end adjacent said one rack and a slot between said one rack and the crank member, the security lock including a pin extending through the slot, whereby, when the crank member moves the first end of the lever in one direction, the second end of the lever moves the rack in a direction opposite said one direction.
- 2. A security apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a tube mounted vertically on the door, the racks and the bolts being slidably mounted within the tube.
- 3. A security lock for a door having first and second edges, a frame and a dead bolt lock, the security lock comprising:a first bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to the first edge thereof to selectively engage the frame near the first edge of the door; a second bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to the second edge thereof to selectively engage the frame near the second edge, and a mechanism which operatively connects the first bolt to the dead bolt lock whereby, when the dead bolt lock is engaded, the first bolt engages the frame and, when the dead bolt lock is disengaged the first bolt is disengaged from the frame, the mechanism operatively connecting the second bolt to the dead bolt lock, whereby, when the dead bolt lock is engaged, the second bolt engages the frame and when the dead bolt lock is disengaged, the second bolt is disengaged from the flame, the mechanism including a lever, each of the bolts being connected to a separate rack, both racks being operatively coupled to a pinion and being slidably mounted on the door such that both racks and both bolts simultaneously move towards the frame to engage the security lock and simultaneously move away from the frame to disengage the security lock, the lever operatively connecting the dead bolt lock to one of the racks, a crank member engageable with the dead bolt lock and rotatable therewith, the lever being pivotally connected to said crank member, the lever having a first end adjacent the crank member, a second end adjacent said one rack and a slot between said one rack and the crank member, the security lock including a pin extending through the slot, whereby, when the crank member moves the first end of the lever in one direction, the second end of the lever moves the one rack in a direction opposite said one direction.
- 4. A security lock as claimed in claim 3, including a tube mountable vertically on the door, the racks and the bolts being slidably mounted within the tube.
- 5. A security lock for a door having first and second edges, a frame and a dead bolt lock, the security lock comprising:a first bolt mountable on the door so as to extend to the first edge thereof to selectively engage the frame near the first edge of the door; and a mechanism which operatively connects the first bolt to the dead bolt lock whereby, when the dead bolt lock is engaged, the first bolt engages the frame and, when the dead bolt lock is disengaged, the first bolt is disengaged from the frame, the first bolt being connected to a rack, the rack being operatively coupled to a pinion and being slidably mounted on the door such that the rack and the first bolt move towards the frame to engage the security lock and move away from the frame to disengage the security lock, the lever operatively connecting the dead bolt lock to the rack, a crank member engageable with the dead bolt lock and rotatable therewith, the lever being pivotally connected to said crank member, the lever having a first end adjacent the crank member, a second end adjacent said rack and a slot between said rack and the crank member, the security lock including a pin extending through the slot, whereby, when the crank member moves the first end of the lever in one direction, the second end of the lever moves the rack in a direction opposite said one direction.
US Referenced Citations (14)