Throw lock assembly and bolt keeper assembly

Abstract

A lock assembly comprising a throw bolt, a bolt holder and a bolt keeper. The bolt keeper comprises a buffer and a biasing mechanism, configured such that when the lock assembly is arranged as in use, and the throw bolt is in the locking position, the buffer will space the throw bolt apart from a surface to which the bolt keeper is attached; and the biasing mechanism will bear on the bolt and bias it against the buffer.

Claims

1. A throw lock assembly to lock a gateway, the throw lock assembly comprising: a throw bolt; a bolt holder; and a bolt keeper, the throw lock assembly configured such that: the throw bolt is moveably coupled to the bolt holder; and the bolt keeper receives the throw bolt when the throw bolt is moved into a locking position; the bolt keeper comprising a buffer and a deflectable tongue, configured such that when the throw bolt is in the locking position: the buffer spaces the throw bolt apart from a surface to which the bolt keeper is attached; and the deflectable tongue bears on the throw bolt and biases it against the buffer; wherein the bolt keeper is an assembly of a bracket and a sheath, the sheath comprising a tubular body having a plurality of side walls surrounding a cavity, configured to receive the throw bolt through an open end of the cavity and enclose a received portion of the throw bolt, the bracket and the sheath configured such that the bracket holds the sheath disposed to receive the throw bolt; and the buffer comprising a first side wall of the sheath, wherein the deflectable tongue depends from a second side wall of the sheath, the second side wall opposing the first side wall, the deflectable tongue extending into the cavity at an angle so that a free end of the deflectable tongue faces away from the open end of the cavity.

2. The throw lock assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the deflectable tongue comprises a deflector member or boss.

3. The throw lock assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the buffer comprises resilient polymer material.

4. The throw lock assembly as claimed in claim 1, the sheath comprising resilient polymer material.

5. A bolt keeper assembly of a throw lock assembly comprising a throw bolt, the bolt keeper assembly comprising: a bracket; and a sheath, the sheath configured to receive an end portion of the throw bolt, and the bracket and the sheath configured such that the sheath is mounted within the bracket, the sheath disposed to receive the end portion of the throw bolt; the sheath comprising a buffer and a deflectable tongue, configured such that, when the throw bolt is received in the sheath: the buffer spaces the throw bolt apart from a surface to which the bolt keeper assembly is attached; and the deflectable tongue bears on the throw bolt and biases it against the buffer; the sheath comprising a tubular body having a plurality of side walls surrounding a cavity, configured to receive the throw bolt through an open end of the cavity and enclose a received portion of the throw bolt, the bracket and the sheath configured such that the bracket holds the sheath disposed to receive the throw bolt; and the buffer compises comprising a first side wall of the sheath, wherein the deflectable tongue depends from a second side wall of the sheath, the second side wall opposing the first side wall, the deflectable tongue extending into the cavity at an angle so that a free end of the deflectable tongue faces away from the open end of the cavity.

6. The bolt keeper assembly as claimed in claim 5, in which the sheath comprises resilient polymer material.

7. The bolt keeper assembly as claimed in claim 5, in which the tubular body of the sheath has a pair of opposite open ends and a corresponding pair of flanges, each flange provided proximate a respective open end, configured to accommodate part of the bracket between the flanges.

8. A sheath of a bolt keeper assembly as claimed in claim 5, the sheath comprising: a plurality of side walls surrounding a cavity, configured to receive a throw bolt through an open end of the cavity; a buffer comprising a first side wall of the sheath; and a deflectable tongue depending from a second side wall of the sheath, the second side wall opposing the first side wall, the deflectable tongue extending into the cavity at an angle of 5 to 45 degrees from the second side wall of the sheath and so that a free end of the deflectable tongue faces away from the open end of the cavity.

9. The sheath as claimed in claim 8, in which the deflectable tongue comprises a deflector member or boss.

10. The sheath as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a tubular body having a pair of opposite open ends, and a corresponding pair of flanges, each flange provided proximate a respective open end, configured to accommodate part of a bracket between the flanges.

11. The sheath as claimed in claim 8, in which the sheath comprises resilient polymer material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Example arrangements of lock assemblies will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

(2) FIG. 1A shows a schematic perspective view of an example lock assembly, and FIG. 1B shows a partially exploded perspective view of the example lock assembly;

(3) FIG. 2A shows a schematic front view of an example lock assembly attached to a schematic gateway, and FIG. 2B shows a partially a transverse cross-section through a part of the example lock assembly and a part of the gateway;

(4) FIG. 3A shows an exploded view of an example lock assembly; FIG. 3B shows an exploded schematic view of a bracket and an example sheath of an example bolt keeper; and FIG. 3C shows a top view of the example heath, as well as cross-section views of the sheath on the planes A-A and B-B; and

(5) FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B shows views of certain parts of an example throw lock assembly, including dimensions in units of millimetres and degrees; in particular, FIG. 4A shows a front view of the locking assembly, arranged as installed on a gateway and in the locking position; and FIG. 4B shows a longitudinal (upper) and top view (lower) of an example sheath for a bolt keeper.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) With reference to FIG. 1A to FIG. 4B, example throw lock assemblies 100 for locking a gateway 200, 200A, 200B comprise a throw bolt 110, a bolt holder 130 and a bolt keeper 120. The bolt keeper 120 may comprise a metal bracket 122 for receiving an end portion of the throw bolt 110. The bolt holder 130 houses the throw bolt 110, such that the throw bolt 110 can slide within the bolt holder 130 between non-locking and locking positions. The bolt housing 130 and bracket 120, 122 may comprise plates provided with screw-holes 152 (FIG. 2A), through which screws 150 (FIG. 3A) can be driven to attach the bolt housing 130 and bracket 120, 122 to respective gateway members 200A, 200B (shown in FIG. 2A). For example, the bolt holder 130 may be attached to a door panel or a gate, and the bolt keeper 120 may be attached to a corresponding door frame, gate post or wall; or the bolt keeper 120 may be attached to a door panel or a gate, and the bolt holder 130 may be attached to a corresponding door frame, gate post or wall. FIG. 2B shows a transverse cross-section view of the example throw lock assembly 100 mounted onto the gateway member 200A, the view being from the proximal end 111. The throw lock assembly may have a long throw, in which the throw bolt will travel a throw distance of about 75 mm between the non-locking position and locking positions.

(7) The throw bolt 110 may have the external form of an elongate square rectangular bar having proximal and distal ends 110A, 110B, the end portion of the throw bolt 110 being adjacent the distal end 119. Substantially the whole (external) surface of the throw bolt 110 may comprise stainless steel for good corrosion resistance, which may be particularly—but not exclusively—relevant where a throw lock assembly 100 is used on an outdoor gateway. The throw lock assembly 100 may also comprise a single or double locking cylinder 140 and cylinder cover 142 for a key mechanism to move the throw bolt 110 in use, between the non-locking and locking positions. The throw lock assembly may comprise other components, such as an escutcheon and lock base.

(8) When the throw bolt assembly 100 is installed on a gateway 200A, 200B, the throw bolt 110 can slide within the bolt holder 130, in response to rotation of a gear wheel mounted in the locking cylinder 140 and driven by the action a key mechanism. The gear wheel may have a plurality of teeth arranged radially around its circumference, and the throw bolt 110 may have corresponding recesses provided in an under-side of the throw bolt 110, arranged in a row and shaped to receive the teeth with sufficient purchase for the teeth to engage and drive the throw bolt 110 between the non-locking and locking positions in use. When the throw bolt 110 is in the non-locking position, it will be maximally retracted from the bolt keeper 120 to allow the gateway to open, and when it is in the locking position (as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2A), the throw bolt 110 will maximally project from the bolt holder 130, its end portion being inserted into the bolt keeper 120.

(9) When the throw lock assembly 100 is installed on a gateway for use, and throw bolt 110 is in the locking position, an intermediate length 109 of the throw bolt 110 will extend over a gap length G from an end (fore-end) of the bolt holder 130 to the nearest end of bolt keeper 120, across a spacing between the respective gateway members 200A, 200B. In this position, the throw bolt 110 will interlock the bolt holder 130 and the bolt keeper 120, thus locking the gateway. The intermediate length 109 will be a portion of the throw bolt 110 that may be accessible to an intruder attempting to break in through the gateway, and may be a target for a break in attack. For example, an intruder may attempt to break in by sawing (or cutting or boring) through the intermediate portion 109 of the throw bolt 110, by means of a tool having a steel blade, tip or bit, which may operate by causing abrasive wear of the throw bolt 110.

(10) The bolt keeper 120 may comprise a metal bracket 122 and a plastic sheath 124, in which the sheath 124 is fitted within the bracket 122 and is configured for receiving the end portion of the throw bolt 110. With reference to FIG. 3B, an example sheath 124 may be provided as a separate member, which can be inserted into the bracket 122 and mounted against a gateway member by means of the bracket 122. In the example shown, the sheath 124 may comprise a tubular body 123 having a cavity extending between proximal and distal ends, the proximal end 121 being configured for receiving the end portion of the throw bolt 110 in use. The example sheath may comprise respective flanges 125 provided at each open end, configured such that the bracket 122 will fit between the flanges 125 and the flanges will resist or prevent the sheath 124 from being extracted from the bracket 122.

(11) In the particular example shown, the tubular body 123 of the sheath 124 comprises four side walls, arranged to define a substantially square rectangular cavity 127 corresponding to the shape and dimensions of the throw bolt 110. In some examples, the sheath 124 may be formed by a method including extrusion and/or moulding of plastic material. One of the side walls 126 will be positioned against the gateway member 200B (or 200A) when installed for use, and provide a buffer that will space the end portion of the throw bolt 110 apart from the gateway member 200B when the throw bolt is in the locking position. The tubular member 123 may comprise a tongue 128 depending from an opposite side wall at an angle of about 10 to 15 degrees. The tongue 128 extends away from the proximal end 121, such that when the throw bolt 110 is inserted into the sheath 124, it will urge the tongue 128 to deflect towards the side wall from which it depends, the tongue 128 providing some resistance to the insertion of the throw bolt 110. In this example, the tongue is formed as an integral part of the tubular member 123 and consists of the same resilient plastic material, and is disposed so that it will allow the throw bolt 110 to be inserted into the cavity, and once the throw bolt 110 has been fully inserted (in the locking position) the tongue 128 will bear on the throw bolt 110 and urge it against the buffer side wall 126. The clamping force applied to the throw bolt 110 by the tongue 128 may be sufficient to resist movement of the throw bolt 110 within the bolt keeper 120, which might tend to arise from wind or other incidental forces acting on the gateway members 200A, 200B. Consequently, the bolt keeper 120 may have the aspect of reducing or substantially preventing the throw bolt 110 from rattling within it. In this example, the buffer side wall 126 of the sheath 120 is also formed as an integral part of the tubular body 123, and also consists of the same resilient plastic material as the rest of the sheath 120. It may provide the additional aspect of preventing, or at least reducing the risk of the throw bolt 110 from scratching the surface of the gateway member 200B (200A) as it is moved between the non-locking and locking positions in use. This may be especially relevant when the gateway member 200B (200A) comprises high quality, relatively costly wood or other material that is softer that stainless steel.

(12) As used herein, ‘gateway’ and ‘doorway’ may be used interchangeably, and may refer to indoor or outdoor access systems for buildings, gardens, driveways or real estate generally. A gateway may comprise a moveable barrier that can be arranged to prevent or enable access through a fixed barrier, such as a wall, fence, or hedge. The moveable barrier may comprise or consist of door, gate, panel, leaf, stile or rail, for example, an edge of which may be attached to the fixed barrier, a frame, door casing, or gate post, for example, by means of a sliding or hinge mechanism. A lock assembly may be installed on the gateway to prevent or resist the moveable barrier from being moved relative to the fixed barrier, thus locking the door or gate.