CA1264786A

CA1264786A - Striker plate

Info

Publication number: CA1264786A
Application number: CA000499225A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Edward Erdell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-01-08
Filing date: 1986-01-08
Publication date: 1990-01-23

Abstract

IMPROVED STRIKER PLATE

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

An improved striker plate for use in a bolt activated lock assembly. The striker plate comprises a housing securable to a frame of an opening having a closure member displaceable therein. The housing has a bolt receiving cavity larger in cross-section than a cross-sectional area of the bolt end to be received therein.
Theimprovement comprises an adjustable member secured to the striker plate housing and having a bolt contact face adjustably movable from an inside wall of the bolt receiving cavity whereby the associated bolt end is closely fitted between the contact face and the opposed wall region of the cavity. The adjustable member has a tool engaging end accessible from an exterior face of the housing to effect adjustment of the position of the contact face within the cavity.

Description

7~36 BACKG~OUND OF INVENTION:
.
Field of Invention The present invention relates to an improved striker plate for use in a bolt activated lock assembly wherein the bolt is moved in and out of the striker plate cavity by the use oE a key, from the exterior side of a door closure, and by the use of a finger-engaging knob from the interior side of the door closure.
Description of Prior Art In order to provide added security to prevent entry through a door closure~ there is cOmmonly provided a bolt activated lock assembly wherein the bolt meChanism is secured to a door and a striker plate secured to the frame of the door whereby a large bolt may be moved in and out of the striker plate to provide a rigid attachment of the door to the frame. Such locks are commonly referred to as "dead bolt" locks. A disadvantage of such locks is that it is often difficult to properly fit the striker plate in alignment with the lock bolt activating housing for the reason that it is necessary to chisel out a portion of the door frame to install the striker plate. Conse-quently, if the striker plate is not properly aligned with the bolt activating housing, it is necessary to either readjust the position of the bolt activating housing or the striker plate housing. Seeing such adjustment is often only a minor displacement, then when new holes are bored into the frame or door to readjust the position of the housing, such new holes are often bored in contact with the previous holes made. Accordingly, it is not then possible to obtain a solid securement of the fastener ~264'7~i within the holes. In order to do so, the previously bored hole must be filled with a compound, and this compound usually does not provide as much adherence as the original wood. Thus, the installation of such locks is often time consuming and an improper installation is made.
A further disadvantage of these types of dead bolt locks is that, because the bolt receiving cavity in the striker plate is made larger than the cross-section of the bolt, to compensate for slight improper alignment which may result from improper installation or warping of the door frame, the bolt is not located in tight fit within the bolt cavity. The result is that the door has a small amount of "play" within the frame. This small "play" causes rattle when the door is subjected to air pressure caused by opening other doors in an enclosure.
This rattling noise is also undesirable. Furthermore, if an intended burglar verifies the securement of the door from the outside thereof, he will have a sensation that the door is not well secured inside because of the play in the door and he will attempt to force the door open thinking it is not fully secured and often succeed in entry to cause a theft.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION:
It is a feature of the present invention to provide an improved striker plate for use with a bolt activated lock assembly and which substantially overcomes all of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the existing locks of the above-mentioned type.
According to a further feature of the present invention there is provided an improved striker plate i2~7~6 for use with a bolt activated lock assembly and wherein the striker plate housing is provided with an adjustable element which is positionable in contact with a bolt located within the bolt cavity of the striker plate to eliminate the play or movement of the bolt within the cavity so that there is provided a rigid connection of the bolt activating assembly with the striker plate.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an improved striker plate for use with a bolt activated lock assembly and having an adjustable element provided in the housing of the striker plate to provide a secure connection of the bolt within the bolt receiving cavity of the striker plate and wherein the adjustable element is easy to adjust.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an improved striker plate for use in a bolt activated lock assembly and which striker plate is easy to install and further provides for later adjustment if a misadjustment occurs during or after installation.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a striker plate for use in a bolt activated lock assembly. The striker plate comprises a housing having means to secure the housing to a frame of an opening having a closure member.
The housing has a bolt receiving cavity larger in cross-section than the cross-sectional area of a bolt end to be received therein. The improvement comprises adjustable means secured to the housing of the striker plate and having a bolt contact face adjustably movable from an inside wall of the bolt receiving cavity whereby the ~ZS~786 associated bolt end is closely fitted between the contact face and an opposed wall region of the cavity. The adjustable means has a tool engaging end accessible from an exterior face of the housing to effect adjustment of the position of the contact face within the cavity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS-_ _ A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the example thereof as illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGURE 1 is a front elevation showing the improved construction of the striker plate of the present invention as used in a bolt activated lock assembly;
FIGURE 2 is a fragmented side view, partly exploded, showing the construction of the adjustable element associated with the striker plate;
FIG~RE 3 is an enlarged view, partly exploded, of the striker plate as seen from the front face thereof, and showing the disposition of the adjustable element in relation to the bolt receiving cavity;
FIGURE 4 is a front view of the striker plate anchor wall; and FIGURE 5 is a front view showing the lock assembly secured to a door closure and door frame.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown generally at 10 the improved striker plate of the present invention as used in a bolt activated lock assembly which comprises a bolt activated housing 11 and the striker plate 10, and wherein a bolt 12 associated with the i264`78~;

housing ll has a locking end movable in and out of the housing 11 for location into a bolt receiving cavity 14 provided in the striker plate housing 15.
As more clearly shown in Figure 4, the bolt receiving cavity 14 is of rectangular cross-section and defines a top and bottom wall, 16 and 17, and opposed end walls 18. As shown in Figure 3, the end of the bolt 12 is also of rectangular cross-section and of smaller cross-sectional area than the cross-section of the cavity 14 whereby to facilitate alignment and installation of the striker plate on a door frame 19, such as shown in Figure 5. The free end of the bolt 12 is also usually wedge shape to facilitate entry into the cavity 14.
The improvement in the striker plate 10 of the present invention is the provision of an adjustment means, herein in the form of an adjustable threaded screw member 20, which is engaged in a threaded bore 21 disposed through the top wall 22 of the striker plate housing 15 and termi-nating in the top wall 16 of the cavity 14.
The threaded member 20 has a bolt contact end face 23 which is preferably flat, and a tool engaging opposed outer end 24 having a recess 25 therein configured for engagement by a tool, such as a screwdriver or Allen key (not shown), whereby to impart axial rotation to the threaded member 20 to thread same within the threaded bore 21 whereby to locate the bolt contact face 23 in close frictional contact with the adjacent face 26 of the bolt 12 positionable thereagainst in the cavity 14. Accordingly, the bolt 12 can no longer be displaced within the space "X" which existed before between the top wall 16 of the ~;~6~786 cavity 14 and the adjacent face 26 of the bolt 12. Thus, the bolt 12 is securely held within the cavity 14 and the loose retention or "play" is eliminated.
As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the threaded bore 21 is located substantially mid-width of the cavity 14 to provide for good engagement with the surface of the bolt 12. Also, as can be seen, the threaded bore has an enlarged shallow cavity 27 defined in an outer end portion thereof. This enlarged cavity 27 is for receiving a cap or closure member 28 which is in the form of a flat plastic disc whereby to conceal the tool engaging end 24 of the threaded member. The outer edge of the shallow cavity 27 may have a slight chamfer 29 to facilitate the insertion of a tool, such as a screwdriver, to remove the plastic disc 28 which is in friction fit within the cavity 27 to permit access to the threaded shaft to axially rotate same for adjustment of the position of the contact face with the surface of the bolt.
The striker plate 10 is provided with an anchor wall 30 in a front face thereof for securement in a locating cavity which is usually chiselled out of the door edge Erame to place the striker cavity 14 flush with the inside surface 31 of the frame 19, as shown in Figure 5. Holes 32 are provided in this anchor wall to receive fasteners therein to secure the striker plate to the frame. At least one additional securement hole 33 may be provided in the housing 15 and extending transverse to the axis of the hole 32 to receive a further fastener to provide rigid securement of the striker plate to the door frame 19. After the striker plate is installed on the door frame 19, the bolt activated ~2~86 housing 11 is usually installed in alignment with the striker plate with the bolt positioned within the bolt receiving cavity 14. At this point, the threaded element 20 has its contact face 23 retracted from the cavity.
After the installation is completed, the threaded element 20 is then threaded into the threaded bore 21 until the contact face 23 thereof abuts the outer face 26 of the bolt 12. Thus, there is provided a secure interconnection of the bolt within the cavity and the "play" has been el minated.
It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the examp~e thereof as illustrated in the accompaying drawings, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A striker plate for use in a bolt activated lock assembly, said striker plate comprising a housing having means to secure said housing to a frame of an opening having a closure member, said housing having a bolt receiving cavity larger in cross-section than the cross-sectional area of a bolt end to be received therein, the improvement comprising adjustable means secured to said housing and having a bolt contact face adjustably movable from an inside wall of said bolt receiving cavity whereby said associated bolt end is closely fitted between said contact face and an opposed wall region of said cavity, said adjustable means having a tool engaging end accessible from an exterior face of said housing to effect adjustment of the position of said contact face within said cavity.

2. A striker plate as claimed in claim 1 wherein said adjustable means is an adjustable threaded member engaged in a threaded bore disposed through a wall portion of said housing in communication with said cavity.

3. A striker plate as claimed in claim 2 wherein said tool engaging end is a recess formed in a top end of said threaded member, said recess being configured for engagement by a tool capable of imparting axial rotation to said threaded member.

4. A striker plate as claimed in claim 3 wherein said top end of said threaded member is countersunk in said threaded bore, and a closure engageable in said threaded bore above said top end of said threaded member to conceal said tool engaging end of said threaded member.

5. A striker plate as claimed in claim 4 wherein said threaded member is a threaded screw and wherein said threaded bore is disposed in a top outer surface of said housing and extends transversely into said cavity, said threaded shaft having a flat bolt contact face at its inner end.

6. A striker plate as claimed in claim 5 wherein said cavity is of rectangular cross-section, said threaded bore extending through a top wall of said cavity and disposed substantially mid-width thereof.

7. A striker plate as claimed in claim 5 wherein said threaded bore has an enlarged shallow cavity defined in an outer end portion thereof, said closure being a flat disc of plastics material held in friction fit in said shallow cavity to conceal said tool engaging end of said threaded shaft.

8. A striker plate as claimed in claim 1 wherein said striker plate housing is provided with an anchor wall formed integral with said housing and depending from a flat front wall of said housing, said bolt receiving cavity having an open end disposed in said front wall above said anchor wall.

9. A striker plate as claimed in claim 8 wherein said means to secure said housing comprises one or more through bores formed in said anchor wall for receiving a fastener element therethrough, and a further through bore in said housing disposed offset from said bolt receiving cavity for receiving another fastener element and disposed transverse to said one or more through bores.

10. A striker plate as claimed in claim 3 wherein said bolt receiving cavity is of rectangular cross-section which defines a top and bottom wall and opposed end walls, said bolt end also being of rectangular cross-section but of smaller dimension whereby an adjustment space is formed between at least one of said top and bottom walls and also between one of said opposed end walls of said cavity when said bolt end is positioned therein so as to facilitate installation of said striker plate to a frame of an opening adjacent a bolt activated mechanism secured adjacent an edge of a closure element.

11. A striker plate as claimed in claim 10 wherein said threaded bore is disposed substantially mid-width of said top wall of said cavity whereby to adjust the effective bolt passage between said bottom wall of said cavity and the contact face of said threaded member extending out of said top wall of said cavity.