GB2171751A - Door locking arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

A locking arrangement for a door (1) hingedly mounted in a frame (2,3) includes a telescopic tubular bar (14,15) mounted by a pivotal link (10,11) to a bracket (4) on the hinge side and secured to a lock housing (20) on the other side of the door. A slidable bolt (27) extends into the end of the bar (15) and is extendable from the housing by means of a knob (35). The bolt (27) is also operable by means of an external key which operates a two part linkage to retract the bolt (27). A lost motion connection permits manual opening using the knobs (35). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Door locking arrangements This specification relates to door locking arrangements.

Conventionally a door is provided with a lock on the side remote from the hinges. Typically there will be a lock body mounted on the inside of the door, having a locking member which extends into a recess provided in the door frame. The locking member is retractable, against the action of a spring, by means of a key from the outside of the door or an operating knob on the inside of the door.

Many such locks are known and they may be provided with a deadlock system operable either by the key or from the inside of the door. The effect of a deadlock is to prevent retraction of the locking member. This can assist in preventing forced entry and can also prevent operation of the normal means for opening the door. Thus, an inside deadlock can prevent the lock being opened from the outside by the key, and an outside deadlock can prevent an intruder effecting an escape through the door.

A weakness with many arrangements is that it is possible to force the door on the hinge side remote from the lock. It has been proposed to improve the security of a door by having suplementary locks on the hinge side but this is inconvenient to use. It has also been proposed to use a security bar which locates in brackets on the door and frame on both sides of the door and this extends from one side of the frame, across the door, to the other side of the frame. This is again somewhat inconvenient as the bar has to be removed when opening the door, and cannot of course be repositioned from the outside. Nevertheless the provision of such a bar does result in good security.

With the aim of improving on known arrangements, from one aspect there is disclosed herein a door locking arrangement for a door hingedly mounted in a frame, comprising a first support to be mounted on the frame on the hinge side of the door; a bar pivotally connected to the first support to extend across the door; a lock mounting for attachment to the door adjacent the frame on the side remote from the hinge side, the lock mounting being connected to the bar; a locking mechanism provided on the mounting and including a locking member arranged for retraction and extension; and a second support to be mounted on the frame and arranged to receive the locking member when extended so as to lock the door.

When such an arrangement is positioned on a door, in the locked condition there will be a continuous security member across the door from the first support to the second support, provided by the bar and the locking member.

This provides security on the hinge and lock sides and across the door. On the other hand, when the locking member is retracted, the door can be opened on its hinges since the bar will pivot relative to the first support.

Thus, it is not necessary to remove the bar.

For extra security, preferably a third support is provided for the bar, to be mounted on the door adjacent the hinge side.

To facilitate opening of the door, the bar is preferably connected to the first support by a link pivotally connected at one end to the bar and at the other to the support. In its simplest form this will permit inwards opening of a door, but modifications can accommodate outwardly opening doors.

So that the arrangement can be used with doors of varying sizes the bar may be telescopic or otherwise variable in length. Conveniently, the bar may comprise a tubular portion which is connected to the lock mounting and to the third support, and a section which is slidable with the tubular portion and pivotally connected to the first support. This section may be in the form of a solid rod. Similarly, the locking member may be a solid rod and in any event it is preferably axially slidable within the tubular portion. Thus, there is a continuous member when the door is locked, consisting of the two rods and the tubular portion.

However, part of the lock mounting could be relied upon to constitute the continuous member.

The locking member should be spring biassed towards its extended condition and this can be achieved by a spring positioned at least partly within the tubular portion and acting between the locking member and a stop.

Other resilient means could be used.

In its simplest form, retraction of the locking member can be effected by sliding in the manner of a bolt, for example by means of a knob or other operating member connected by a pin or the like to the member, and it is envisaged that this system should peferably be used for opening the door from the inside.

Preferably, however, opening the door from the outside will be by means of a key, combination dial, electronic system or the like which will permit access only by desired persons.

Typically a lock barrel for receiving a key has a rotatable actuating member such as a projecting bar, strip or the like, and thus the locking mechanism preferably has means for receiving such a member and for converting rotation thereof into linear movement of the locking member.

In a preferred arrangment the mechanism includes a first link arranged for rotation with the actuating member and a second link pivotally connected to the locking member and to the first link, one of the connections including a lost motion arrangement. The lost motion may be provided by a slot in the second link receiving a pin on the first link.

With such an arrangement, when the actuating member is turned under the action of a key, the first link will turn and will act on the second link to slide the locking member in the direction of retraction to open the door. However, by virtue of the lost motion connection the locking member can also be freely slid back from the inside of the door even though the first link connected to e.g. the lock barrel does not rotate.

Preferably an externally operable deadlock is provided and this is advantageously effected by means of the same actuating member being rotated in the opposite direction. Thus, the first and second links may be arranged such that they can move into a position in which a portion of the first link obstructs the movement of the locking member and the arrangement is such that force exerted on the locking member does not produce an unlocking couple on the first link. Thus, the locking member cannot be retracted and this will be the case until the links are urged back to the free position by rotation of the actuating member in the unlocking direction. To provide additional security of the links in the deadlocked position, a spring biassed catch may be provided.

The first link may be in the form of a plate, preferably a double layer plate for additional strength, and may have a cut away portion to receive e.g. a ball of a spring biassed catch when rotated to the deadlock position. A further cut-away portion may be arranged to receive a pivot pin connecting the second link to the locking member, when the links are in the deadlocked position, this being the part which prevents retraction of the locking member.

The second link is preferably formed of a plurality of layers and may be connected to the locking member by the pin to which the operating knob is attached.

The connection between the first link and the actuating member of e.g. the lock barrel should preferably provide a degree of rotary lost motion so that after the links have been put in the deadlock position, the actuating member can be freely returned to its original position. This is necessary to permit removal of the key from the lock barrel. Thus, where the actuating member is in the common form of a strip with a rectangular cross section it may be received in a bush having flats provided at e.g. 45" to each other to permit the required degree of movement before the faces of the strip engage the flats to turn the bush.

An internally operable deadlock may be provided either in addition or as an alternative to an external deadlock. The internal deadlock may serve to hold the locking member in the extended condition in the manner of a true deadlock or also to hold it in the retracted condition. The internal deadlock could comprise e.g. a pin which can be extended into an aperture in the locking member, and for use where the member is to be held either when retracted or when extended, two possible apertures will be provided. The pin could be actuated by means of a key or by means of a simpler manual control such as a knob.

It will be appreciated that the locking and deadlocking mechanism itself will be of use other than in conjunction with the security bar system described above. Indeed it is contemplated that the particular arrangement discussed above could be modified by the omission of the bar and first and second supports.

The lock would be provided with a blanking portion where the bar would normally be. In the particularly preferred arrangement described above, the blanking member could include a tubular portion which receives the spring biassing the locking member as well as part of the locking member itself, to replace the corresponding tubular part of the bar.

Bearing in mind the generai applicability of the mechanism, viewed from another aspect there is disclosed herein a lock mechanism comprising a first link mounted for rotation between first and second positions in response to rotation of an actuating member and a second link pivotally connected to a member arranged for longitudinal movement between locked and unlocked positions, and to the first link, one of the connections inlcuding a lost motion arrangement such that in the first position of the first link the member may be moved between the locked and unlocked positions, and upon rotation of the first link to the second position the member is moved to the unlocked position.

With the provision of a deadlocking facility, viewed broadly the first link is rotatable to a third position at which the member is in the locked position and a portion of the first link blocks movement of the member to the unlocked position.

The deadlocked condition is stable, so that e.g. a key can be removed from a barrel which has the actuating member, whilst the links remain in the deadlocked condition. The links will only be movable from this condition upon rotation of the actuating member, by action of the key, in the reverse direction.

It will be appreciated that many variations will be possible whilst retaining the advantages of the arrangements discussed above, both as regards specific structural arrange ments and as regards broad concepts which have been highlighted. Furthermore, components such as the links can be of any suitable constuction and can comprise more than one part.

An embodiment of a door locking arrangement incorporating some of the features discussed above will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accom panying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a door locking arrangement attached to a door; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of part of the arrangment; Fig. 3 is a partial section on the lines Ill-Ill of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a view on the lines IV-IV on Fig. 3 showing details of the lock mechanism in a first condition; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the mechanism in a second condition; Fig. 6 is a detailed section showing part of the mechanism; Fig. 7 is a partial view in the reverse direction to Figs. 4 and 5 showing details of the lock mechanism housing but with some parts removed for clarity; and Fig. 8 is a view of a blanking member used in a modification of the arrangement.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in Fig. 1 there is shown a locking arrangement attached to a door 1 hingedly mounted in a frame with a part 2 on the hinge side and a part 3 on the other side. The door is viewed from the inside.

A first bracket 4 is securely mounted on frame part 2 by screws 5 and 6. For additional security, other screws (not shown) extend into the side of the frame part 2. The bracket 4 has a central boss 7 between two other bosses 8 and 9. There are thus defined two recesses which receive links 10 and 11 which are held in place pivotably by a locating pin 12. At their other ends the links are pivotally mounted by means of a pin 13 to a reduced and flattened portion of a solid cylindrical rod 14. Rod 14 is telescopically received within a tubular bar 15 which is supported on the side of the door adjacent frame part 2 by means of a bracket 16. The bracket 16 is securely mounted on the door by means of screws 17 and 18 and has a central boss 19 which receives the end of bar 15. The telescopic engagement means that the system can be adjusted in accordance with the width of the door/frame.

On the other side of the door, i.e. adjacent frame part 3, the bar 15 is received in a lock housing 20 which is securely mounted on the door by means of four screws 21, 22, 23 and 24 passing through flanges 25 and 26 at the top and bottom of the housing 20.

Within the housing is slidably mounted a locking bolt 27 in the form of a solid cylindrical rod. This rod is received partly in the end of bar 15 and is biased axially outwardly by means of a coil spring 28 which is also received in bar 15 and acts against a stop 29, in the form of a pin extending across the bar.

On the frame part 3 is provided a bracket 30 securely mounted by means of screws 31 and 32 and having a central boss 33 which has an aperture 34 adapted to receive the end of bolt 27.

With the door in the closed condition as shown in Fig. 1, the bolt 27 is urged into aperture 34 under the action of spring 28 so as to lock the door.

From the outside, the door can be opened by means of a key as will be described below. From the inside the door can be opened by sliding a knob 35 connected to bolt 27 by a rod 36 which slides in a slot 37 formed in the housing 20. An internally operable deadlock actuating knob 38 is also provided as will be described in more detail below.

With reference to Fig. 3, it can be seen that for extra security bracket 30 is attached to frame part 3 by additional screws outlined at 39. Also outlined at 40 is a conventional lock barrel which will receive a key from the outside of a door and which has a rotable actuating member 41 in the form of a flat strip of rectangular cross-section.

The bar 15 is secured in the housing by means of a grub screw 42 and is apertured at 43 to receive a deadlocking pin 44. This pin can extend into one of two bores 45 and 45' formed in bolt 27. When in bore 45 as shown in Fig. 3, the bolt 27 is deadlocked in the locked condition. However, if pin 44 is extended into bore 45' after retraction of bolt 27 by sliding knob 35, the bolt will be held in the unlocked condition. If pin 44 is kept retracted then the bolt 27 will be free to move.

pin 44 is part of a rod 44' which extends through a bush 46 mounted in a cylindrical boss 47 formed on housing 20. Bush 46 has a cavity 48 which contains a coil spring 40 acting between the pin 44 and the end of the cavity.

The actuating knob 38 is rotatably mounted on the boss 47 and secured to the end of rod 44 by means of a grub screw 50. The knob 38 is provided with a relatively deep bore 51 adapted to receive a locating pin 52 extending from bush 46 as shown in Fig. 3. The knob 38 is also provided with a relatively shallow depression 53. Thus, to retract the deadlocking pin 44, knob 38 is pulled outwardly against the action of spring 49. If the knob is then rotated-locating pin 52 being clear of bore 51 the depression 53 can be brought into alignment with the pin 52. If the knob 38 is then released the pin 52 will engage in the depression 53 and the deadlocking pin 44 will remain retracted.To extend the pin 44 again, knob 38 is pulled slihgly to disengage the pin 52 and the depression 53, rotated until pin 52 is aligned with bore 51, and then released.

Spring 49 then urges the pin 44 into the extended condition.

It would be possible to replace this mechanism by a key operated deadlocking mechanism of a conventional type.

With reference now to the main locking mechanism, shown in Figures 3 to 6, it will be seen that knob 35 is secured to rod 36 by a grub screw 54. Rod 36 extends through the rectangular slot 37 in housing 20 and then through a bore 55 in bolt 27. The rod 36 then extends into a cavity 56 in housing 20 which contains the main locking mechanism which is mounted on a plate 57.

The end of rod 36 passes through a link 58 which can pivot relative to rod 36, a circlip 59 being provided. Link 58 is constituted by three separate, stamped out, identical portions, for ease of manufacture whilst providing sufficient strength.

A slot 60 is provided extending along link 58 and this receives a pin 61. Pin 61 can slide along slot 60, so as to provide a lost motion connection, and link 58 can pivot relative to pin 61.

The pin 61 extends and is secured between two arms 62 and 63 of an actuating link 64, the arms also receiving the end of link 58 whilst permitting pivotal movement of the link.

Actuating link 64 has been constructed from a suitably shaped plate which has been bent at 65 to provide the arms 62 and 63, which results in a rigid and strong arrangement.

The arms 62 and 63 are provided with axially aligned apertures as indicated generally at 66 which receive an actuating bush 67. This bush and the apertures are so shaped as to prevent relative rotation between bush 67 and the actuating link 64. The bush and the link are held together by means of a circlip 68.

The bush 67 is rotatably mounted in an aperture in plate 57, and is provided with a fiange 69. A spacer 70 is provided on the lock mechanism side of plate 57, the spacer extending into the aperture in plate 57.

The bush is provided with a shaped aperture 71 which is defined in part by segments 72 and 73 which provide four flats arranged in pairs at aobut 45" to each other. The aperture 71 receives the end of the actuating member 41 and it will be appreciated that because of the shape of aperture 71 there can be rotary free play of about 45" between member 41 and bush 67. As mentioned earlier, member 41 extends from a conventional barrel 40 and this will be secured to plate 57 by means of bolts whose heads wil be countersunk in recesses 74 in the plate, positoned around bush 67.

The arm 62 of actuating link 64 is provided with a shaped cut-out portion 75, of roughly arcuate or "v" or "u" form to receive the rod 36. Arm 62 is also provided with a small cutout 76 which is adapted to cooperate with a spring loaded ball mounted in a boss 77 formed in housing 20. The boss 77 is shown in outline in Figs. 4 and 5 for explanatory purposes. Similarly, the position of slot 37 is shown in outline for the purposes of explanation.

Referring now to operation of the main locking mechanism, in the positon as shown in Fig. 4, with rod 36 at the left hand end of slot 37, the bolt 27 will be in the extended, locked condition. If the bolt 27 is retracted manually by sliding knob 35, the rod 36 will slide along slot 37 and at the same time link 58 will move relative to actuating link 64. The pin 61 and slot 60 arrangement permits this movement and the link 64 is also suitably recessed to receive rod 36, so that manual opening from the inside is not impeded.

To open the door from the outside, a key is turned so as to turn actuating member 41 clockwise as viewed on Fig. 4. This turns bush 67 and actuating link 64. In turn, by the action of pin 61 against the end of slot 60, this pulls on link 58 and causes rod 36 to slide along slot 37 thus retracting the bolt 27.

The positions of rod 36, link 58 and actuating link 64, when using the key to unlock the door, are shown in outline on Fig. 4.

To deadlock the mechanism, the key is turned so that the actuating member 61 turns anti-clockwise as viewed on Figs. 4 and 5.

This brings the links 58 and 64 into the position shown in Fig. 5. The rod 36 is blocked against movement along slot 37 by the arcuate portion 75 on actuating link 64, and the link itself will not turn if rod 36 is urged manually in the unlocking direction along slot 37.

Thus, after moving a fraction along the slot 37, rod 36 will engage cut-out 75. In this position the rod 36 blocks rotation of the link 64 since the wall of cut-out will engage it.

Thus, no matter what force is applied to rod 36 along slot 37, the deadlock position will be retained.

When no external force is applied to rod 36 along the slot, it remains at the end of the slot under the action of spring 28. In this position the link 64 can just clear rod 36 so that the link could rotate. However, the engagement of cut-out 76 with the spring loaded ball in boss 77, to form a latch, will ensure that this cannot happen. In fact, the arrangement is such that even without this engagement it is unlikely that the link 64 will rotate unintentionally from the deadlock position. The engagement of the ball and cut-out also serves as an indication to a user that deadlocking has been achieved.

After the deadlock position has been achieved, the member 41 can be rotated to the position shown in Fig. 5, by virtue of the angle between the flats, at which point the key can be removed from the barrel. In most conventional systems the key can only be removed when the barrel is in a certain position.

Only if member 41 is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed, will link 64 rotate so as to restore the mechanism to the condition of Fig. 4.

There is thus provided a simple yet reliable and effective deadlocking mechanism. Furthermore, the possibility of key unlocking, key deadlocking, and manual sliding unlocking, renders the mechanism particularly versatile.

As mentioned earlier the lock mechanism can be used in a lock without the bar across the door. In this case, brackets 4 and 16 and the bar 15 are omitted. Instead, a blanking piece 78 as shown in Fig. 8 will be used.

This includes a tubular portion 79 which fits into housing 20 in place of tubular bar 15.

This portion 79 has an aperture 80 for receivng deadlocking pin 4 and a recess 81 for receiving grub screw 42. The tubular portion will retain the spring 28 and contain part of bolt 27, the spring bearing against the base 82 of the blanking piece. The position of the blanking piece, when installed, is shown in outline on Fig. 1.

The various components can be made of any suitable material such as steel, brass etc., and can be finished in enamel or any other suitable way.

By using two extra brackets 4 and two extra brackets 16, and by modifying the swivel link arrangement the system can be adapted to outward opening double doors. By modifying bracket 4, the system can be adapted to outward opening single doors, and in general adaptions can be made as necessary.

As mentioned earlier, many modifications are possible, and it is envisaged that there may be changes to the components which provide:- adjustment of length; swivel action for door opening; locking mechanism; manual opening mechanism; deadlocking arrangements; construction of the har, which could be any suitable member providing adequate security means for converting key rotation into linear movement of the bolt, and so forth.

Furthermore, protection may be sought in broad terms for many features and combinations disclosed herein and the claims appended hereto are not to be taken as limiting in this regard.

Claims (23)

1. A door locking arrangement for a door hingedly mounted in a frame, comprising a first support to be mounted on the frame on the hinge side of the door; a bar pivotally connected to the first support to extend across the door; a lock mounting for attachment to the door adjacent the frame on the side remote from the hinge side, the lock mounting being connected to the bar; a locking mechanism on the mounting and including a locking member arranged for retraction and extension; and a second support to be mounted on the frame and arranged to receive the locking member when extended so as to lock the door.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein a third support is provided for the bar, to be mounted on the door adjacent the hinge side.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the bar is connected to the first support by means of a pivotal link.

4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the bar is of variable length.

5. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the locking member is movable axially of the bar.

6. An arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein the locking member is contained partly within the bar.

7. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the locking member is biased into its extended position.

8. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the locking member can be moved to its retracted position by means of a slidable operating member on the side of the door on which the bar and lock mounting are provided.

9. An arrangement as claimed in claim 8 including a deadlock system operable from the same side of the door as the slidable operating member.

10. An arrangement as claimed in claim 8 or 9 including means for receiving a rotatable actuating member from the side of the door remote from the slidable operating member, so that rotation of the actuating member in a particular direction causes retraction of the locking member.

11. An arrangement as claimed in claim 10 including a deadlock system operable by rotation of the actuating member in the reverse direction.

12. An arrangement as claimed in claim 10 or 11 including a first link arranged for rotation with the actuating member and a second link pivotally connected to the locking member and to the first link, one of the connections including a lost motion arrangement, and wherein the locking member is constrained for linear movement.

13. An arrangement as claimed in claim 12 when dependent on claim 11, wherein the first and second links are arranged such that upon rotation of the actuating member in said reverse direction they can move into a deadlocked position in which a portion of the first link obstructs movement of the locking member.

14. A lock mechanism comprising a first link mounted for rotation between first and second positions in response to rotation of an actuating member and a second link pivotally connected to a locking member arranged for longitudinal movement between locked and unlocked positions, the second link being further pivotally connected to the first link, one of the connections including a lost motion arrangement, whereby in the first position of the first link the locking member may be moved between the locked and unlocked positions, and upon rotation of the first link to the second position the locking member is moved to the unlocked position.

15. A mechanism as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first link is rotatable to a third, deadlocked, position at which the locking member is in the locked position and a portion of the first link obstructs movement of the locking member to the unlocked position.

16. An arrangement as claimed in claim 13 or a mechanism as claimed in claim 15 including latching means for holding the first link in the deadlocked position.

17. An arrangment or a mechanism as claimed in any of claims 13, 15 or 16, wherein the pivotal connection of the second link to the locking member is by means of a rod and the first link has a portion shaped to receive the rod when in the deadlocked position so as to the prevent movement thereof and of the locking member to the unlocked position.

18. An arrangement or a mechanism as claimed in any of claims 12 to 17 wherein the lost motion arrangement is provided by a slot in the second link and a pin on the first link.

19. A door locking arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

20. A lock mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

21. A lock incorporating a lock mechanism as claimed in claim 20, substantially as hereinbefore decribed with reference to Figs. 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings or as modified with reference to Fig. 8.

CLAIMS Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: New or textually amended claims have been filed as follows:

22. A door locking arrangement for a door hingedly mounted in a frame, comprising a first support to be mounted on the frame on the hinge side of the door, a second support to be mounted on the frame on the other side of the door, opposite the first support, and a security member to be mounted on the door, extending across the door between the sup ports, the security member being connected to the first support by a pivotal connection and having secured thereto a lock mechanism including a locking member arranged for retraction and extension on said other side of the door, the second support being arranged to receive the locking member when extended so as to lock the door.

23. An arrangement as claimed in claim 22, wherein the connection between the security member and the first support includes a teles conically mounted element and a pair of pi vots spaced longitudinally with respect to the security member.