A safety lock and access key for doors that otherwise need to remain locked comprising a lock body containing a spring biased catch extending from one end of the body to engage in a keep of the door frame, a lever for moving the catch into the body to unlock the door, and a tool for unlocking locked doors.

A privacy lock assembly and method of operation are provided. The lock assembly has a push button offset from the central axis of the lock assembly for locking and unlocking the assembly. The lock assembly includes compression springs to maintain integrated handles in predetermined orientations when the handles are not subject to a load.

A helical gear actuator for use with a passage set or deadbolt set is provided. The helical gear actuator comprises a shaft including an at least one helical groove, a plunger and a receiver including two tracks, the receiver shaped to rotatably accept the shaft, the groove shaped to slidably accept the two tracks, such that in use, urging the shaft into the receiver effects rotation of the receiver relative to the shaft. Also provided are the passage set and the deadbolt.

The present disclosure is directed to a lock assembly that can be converted between a clutching and non-clutching orientation by rotating an outer housing 180 degrees relative to an outside drive assembly. The outer housing includes a notch and an elongate arcuate slot formed in the inner surface of the outer housing adjacent a through aperture and across from one another. A lock control lug is moveably coupled with the outside drive assembly and is selectively engageable with the notch or the arcuate slot of the outer housing. An outer lever is placed in a non-clutching configuration when the lock control lug is engaged with the notch and in a clutching configuration when the lock control lug is engaged with the arcuate slot.

A latch assembly comprises a latch bolt and a tailpiece including a first tailpiece member mounted to the latch bolt and a second tailpiece member. The second tailpiece member is movably received in a bore of the first tailpiece member and operably connected to a latch operator. The second tailpiece member is received in one of two axially spaced recesses in the bore in a first backset position and a second backset position. Relative axial movement between the first tailpiece member and the second tailpiece member is prevented in a first relative rotational position in the first backset position and in a second relative rotational position in the second backset position, and relative axial movement is allowed in a third relative rotational position to allow the second tailpiece member to be moved between the first backset position and the second backset position. A housing slidably receives the latch bolt therein and a casing defining a peripheral slot having two axially spaced circumferential portions interconnected by a longitudinal portion receives the housing such that a protrusion on the housing is slidably received in the slot. Relative axial movement between the casing and the housing is prevented when the protrusion is in either one of the two circumferential portions of the slot in a first rotational position in the first backset position and in a second rotational position in the second backset position, and relative axial movement is allowed in a third rotational position to allow the protrusion on the housing to be movable along the longitudinal passage between the circumferential portions of the slot when transitioning between the first backset position and the second backset position.

The standard spring retainer for a retract slide is upgraded in three embodiments. In the first embodiment, a first switch mounted on the upgraded spring holder is activated when the latch is retracted (from either side of the lock). In the second embodiment, the first switch is activated when either the latch is retracted or the latch bolt is pushed in by the latch hitting the strikeplate as the door is closing. A spring carrier/switch activator is added to the retract slide that is pushed back by the latch tailpiece. In the third embodiment, two switches monitor up to four conditionswhen the door is open, closing, and closed and when the latch is being retracted by the inner or outer handle.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a latch mechanism, including a housing assembly, a bolt bar, a bolt, and a multiplier. The bolt bar is slidably mounted in the housing assembly, the bolt is slidably mounted in the housing assembly, and the multiplier is pivotably mounted to the bolt bar. The multiplier is configured to move the bolt by a first displacement distance in response to movement of the bolt bar by a second displacement distance, and the first displacement distance is greater than the second displacement distance.