MORTICED BOLT KEEP AND A CLOSURE SYSTEM COMPRISING THE SAME

Abstract

A morticed bolt keep to cooperate with a lock having a latch bolt which is slidable between a retracted position and an extended position is disclosed. The morticed bolt keep comprises: an elongated body to be positioned inside a hollow tubular member; a cavity to receive the latch bolt in its extended position; a latch bolt engager which is displaceable between a rest state and an actuated state; and a magnetic actuator to displace the latch bolt engager from its rest state to its actuated state upon activation. The magnetic actuator comprises: a core which extends in a longitudinal direction and comprises at least one permanent magnet; and a coil assembly which extends in the longitudinal direction and comprises at least one coil, wherein one of the core and the coil assembly is slidable in the longitudinal direction and is operatively connected to the latch bolt engager.

Claims

1. A morticed bolt keep configured to cooperate with a lock having a latch bolt which is slidable between a retracted position and an extended position, the morticed bolt keep comprising: an elongated body extending in a longitudinal direction and configured to be positioned inside a hollow tubular member which extends in the longitudinal direction; and a cavity inside the elongated body and configured to receive the latch bolt in its extended position, wherein the morticed bolt keep further comprises: a latch bolt engager mounted in the elongated body which is displaceable between a rest state and an actuated state; and a magnetic actuator mounted inside the elongated body and configured to displace the latch bolt engager from its rest state to its actuated state upon activation, the magnetic actuator comprising: a core which extends in the longitudinal direction and comprises: a frame comprising a first mounting space and a second mounting space separated by a frame part, wherein the first mounting space and the second mounting space are spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction by the frame part; a first permanent magnet mounted in the first mounting space; and a second permanent magnet mounted in the second mounting space, the permanent magnets being oriented such that they repel one another in the longitudinal direction; and a coil assembly which extends in the longitudinal direction and comprises at least one coil which is disposed at least around the frame part, wherein one of the core and the coil assembly is slidable in the longitudinal direction and is operatively connected to the latch bolt engager.

2. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 1, wherein each permanent magnet has a north pole and a south pole with a magnetic axis parallel to the longitudinal direction, wherein the first and second permanent magnets are oriented such that either their north poles or their south poles are facing one another in the longitudinal direction.

3. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a third mounting space spaced apart from the second mounting space in the longitudinal direction by a further frame part, wherein the first mounting space and the third mounting space are on opposite sides of the second mounting space in the longitudinal direction, wherein the core comprises a third permanent magnet mounted in the third mounting space, the second and third permanent magnets being oriented such that they repel one another in the longitudinal direction, wherein said at least one coil comprises a first coil and a second coil, the first coil being disposed at least around the frame part and the second coil being disposed at least around the further frame part.

4. A morticed bolt keep configured to cooperate with a lock having a latch bolt which is slidable between a retracted position and an extended position, the morticed bolt keep comprising: an elongated body extending in a longitudinal direction and configured to be positioned inside a hollow tubular member which extends in the longitudinal direction; and a cavity inside the elongated body and configured to receive the latch bolt in its extended position, wherein the morticed bolt keep further comprises: a latch bolt engager mounted in the elongated body which is displaceable between a rest state and an actuated state; and a magnetic actuator mounted inside the elongated body and configured to displace the latch bolt engager from its rest state to its actuated state upon activation, the magnetic actuator comprising: a core which extends in the longitudinal direction and comprises: a frame comprising a first mounting space and a second mounting space separated by a frame part, wherein the first mounting space and the second mounting space are spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction by the frame part; a first permanent magnet mounted in the first mounting space; and a second permanent magnet mounted in the second mounting space, the permanent magnets being oriented such that their magnetic axis are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and such that they attract one another in the longitudinal direction; and a coil assembly which extends in the longitudinal direction and comprises a first coil and a second coil, wherein one of the core and the coil assembly is slidable in the longitudinal direction and is operatively connected to the latch bolt engager.

5. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 4, wherein the first and second coils are disposed adjacent the frame on opposite sides thereof and have a same magnetic polarity.

6. A morticed bolt keep configured to cooperate with a lock having a latch bolt which is slidable between a retracted position and an extended position, the morticed bolt keep comprising: an elongated body extending in a longitudinal direction and configured to be positioned inside a hollow tubular member which extends in the longitudinal direction; and a cavity inside the elongated body and configured to receive the latch bolt in its extended position, wherein the morticed bolt keep further comprises: a latch bolt engager mounted in the elongated body which is displaceable between a rest state and an actuated state; and a magnetic actuator mounted inside the elongated body and configured to displace the latch bolt engager from its rest state to its actuated state upon activation, the magnetic actuator comprising: a core which extends in the longitudinal direction and comprises a permanent magnet which has a north pole and a south pole with a magnetic axis parallel to the longitudinal direction; and a coil assembly which extends in the longitudinal direction and comprises a first coil and a second coil separated from one another in the longitudinal direction, the first coil being disposed at least around the north pole and the second coil being disposed at least around the south pole, the coils having an opposite magnetic polarity, wherein one of the core and the coil assembly is slidable in the longitudinal direction and is operatively connected to the latch bolt engager.

7. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 1, wherein each permanent magnet has a substantially constant cross sectional area viewed perpendicular to its magnetic axis.

8. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 7, wherein each permanent magnet is a bar magnet.

9. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic actuator further comprises a magnetic shielding extending in the longitudinal direction and radially enclosing the coil assembly, the magnetic shielding preferably comprising a metal cylinder.

10. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 1, wherein the core is slidable in the longitudinal direction and is operatively connected to the latch bolt engager.

11. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 10, wherein the core is operatively connected to the latch bolt engager by means of a rigid rod extending between a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is pivotable with respect to the core and the second end is pivotable with respect to the latch bolt engager, and wherein the rigid rod has a first smallest angle with respect to the longitudinal direction when the latch bolt engager is in its rest state and a second smallest angle with respect to the longitudinal direction when the latch bolt engager is in its actuated state, the second smallest angle being larger than the first smallest angle.

12. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 11, wherein the rigid rod is connected to the elongated body by means of two guiding levers.

13. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 1, wherein in its rest state, the latch bolt engager is in a depressed position within the cavity and, in its actuated state, the latch bolt engager is in an extended position within the cavity, wherein the latch bolt engager is configured to push the latch bolt towards its retracted position when being displaced from its rest state to its actuated state.

14. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 1, wherein in its rest state, the latch bolt engager is in an extended position within the cavity and, in its actuated state, the latch bolt engager is in a depressed position within the cavity, wherein the latch bolt engager is configured to allow the latch bolt to slide to its extended position into the cavity when being displaced from its rest state to its actuated state, wherein the morticed bolt keep preferably comprises a biasing member inside the elongated body which exerts a biasing force urging the latch bolt engager to its rest position, the magnetic actuator being configured to, upon activation, slide said one of the core and the coil in the longitudinal direction against said biasing force.

15. A morticed bolt keep configured to cooperate with a lock having a latch bolt which is slidable between a retracted position and an extended position, the morticed bolt keep comprising: an elongated body extending in a longitudinal direction and configured to be positioned inside a hollow tubular member which extends in the longitudinal direction; and a cavity inside the elongated body and configured to receive the latch bolt in its extended position, wherein the morticed bolt keep further comprises: a latch bolt engager mounted inside the elongated body which is displaceable between a rest state and an actuated state; a magnetic actuator mounted inside the elongated body and configured to displace the latch bolt engager from its rest state to its actuated state upon activation; and an electromagnet mounted inside the elongated body and a magnetic catch fixed to the magnetic actuator, the electromagnet being configured to temporarily attract the magnetic catch to maintain the latch bolt engager in its actuated state.

16. The morticed bolt keep according to claim 15, wherein the electromagnet is configured to temporarily attract the magnetic catch to maintain the latch bolt engager in its actuated state after it has been displaced by the magnetic actuator, the magnetic actuator being further configured to be turned off once the electromagnet has been activated.

17. A closure system comprising a closure wing and a support, the closure wing being provided with a lock having a latch bolt which is slidable between a retracted position and an extended position, the support extending in a longitudinal direction and comprising a hollow tubular member, wherein the closure system further comprises a morticed bolt keep according to claim 1 mounted in the hollow tubular member.

18. A closure system comprising a closure wing and a support, the closure wing being provided with a lock having a latch bolt which is slidable between a retracted position and an extended position, the support extending in a longitudinal direction and comprising a hollow tubular member, wherein the closure system further comprises a morticed bolt keep according to claim 15 mounted in the hollow tubular member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] Other particularities and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from the following description of some particular embodiments of a mortice lock and of a keep according to the present disclosure. The reference numerals used in this description relate to the annexed drawing.

[0065] FIGS. 1A and 1B show perspective views of a fail-safe morticed bolt keep according to the present disclosure mounted on a hollow tubular member with the latch bolt engager in its rest position.

[0066] FIGS. 2A and 2B show similar perspective views as FIGS. 1A and 1B with the latch bolt engager in its actuated position.

[0067] FIGS. 3A and 3B show perspective views of a closure system comprising a morticed bolt keep according to the present disclosure.

[0068] FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal cross-section through the morticed bolt keep of FIGS. 1A to 2B with the latch bolt engager in its rest position.

[0069] FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal cross-section through the morticed bolt keep of FIGS. 1A to 2B with the latch bolt engager in its actuated position.

[0070] FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal cross-section through a fail-open morticed bolt keep according to the present disclosure with the latch bolt engager in its rest position.

[0071] FIG. 7 shows a longitudinal cross-section through the fail-open morticed bolt keep according to the present disclosure with the latch bolt engager in its actuated position.

[0072] FIG. 8 shows details of an alternative magnet actuator for a morticed bolt keep according to the present disclosure.

[0073] FIGS. 9A and 9B show magnetic field configurations of different magnet actuators for a morticed bolt keep according to the present disclosure.

[0074] FIGS. 10A and 10B show a longitudinal cross-section through another embodiment of a morticed bolt keep with the latch bolt engager in its rest position and its actuated position respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0075] The present disclosure will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the disclosure is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond to actual reductions to practice of the disclosure.

[0076] Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the disclosure can operate in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

[0077] Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes. The terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the disclosure described herein can operate in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

[0078] Furthermore, the various embodiments, although referred to as preferred are to be construed as exemplary manners in which the disclosure may be implemented rather than as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

[0079] The present disclosure generally relates to a morticed bolt keep 1 which comprises a faceplate 3 and an elongated body 5. The elongated body 5 is designed to be inserted into a hollow tubular member 7 which can be either be a fixed support or a leaf (also termed closure wing) of a double winged closure system. The tubular member 7 extends in a longitudinal direction 10. Other relevant directions are the depth direction 9 and the width direction 8 which together determine a horizontal plane. The depth direction 9 is the direction in which the closure wing pivotally opens/closes with respect to the hollow tubular member 7. The directions 8, 9, 10 are mutually orthogonal.

[0080] The hollow tubular member 7 is common in outdoor applications (e.g. as part of a fence) and usually has square or rectangular cross-sections with external dimensions of 4 cm, 5 cm or 6 cm (e.g. a rectangular cross-section of 36 cm or 46 cm). In the illustrated embodiment, the tubular member 7 has a rectangular cross-section with outer dimensions of 46 cm. In the context of the present disclosure, mainly the depth of the hollow tubular member 7 is important and is preferably at least 5 cm so that the outer depth dimension of the hollow tubular member 7 is usually about 6 cm. Deeper hollow tubular members are also uncommon in normal outdoor applications.

[0081] The morticed bolt keep 1 is designed for cooperation with a lock 11 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The illustrated lock 11 is morticed into a hollow tubular member 13 of a closure wing. Examples of such locks are disclosed in EP 2 186 974, EP 3 153 645, and EP 4 159 962 A1 and further details can be found therein. The disclosure is however not limited to a morticed lock and surface-mounted locks, for example as disclosed in EP 1 118 739 A1, EP 2 915 939 A1, and EP 4 191 007 A1, may also be used.

[0082] The morticed bolt keep 1 is designed for cooperation with a lock 11 comprising a latch bolt (not shown) which is slidably (in the width direction 8) mounted in the lock 11 to slide between a retracted and an extended position. The latch bolt is, in the illustrated embodiment, operated by means of handles 6. However, other operation mechanisms are known. The illustrated lock further comprises a deadbolt (not shown) which is operated by means of a lock cylinder 12, for example a single-barrel euro-profile cylinder.

[0083] The morticed bolt keep 1 comprises a faceplate 3 and a partially hollow body 5. The faceplate 3 comprises a latch bolt receiving opening 14 in which the latch bolt is received when extended. The faceplate 3 also comprises a deadbolt receiving opening 15 in which the deadbolt is received when extended.

[0084] In the illustrated embodiments, the morticed bolt keep 1 further comprises a stop 17 which acts to stop a movement of the closure wing 13. The stop 17 is provided with bumpers 19 reducing noise and/or preventing damage to the closure wing. The stop 17 is generally part of an L-shaped member having a first leg forming the stop and a second leg 18 positioned between the faceplate 3 and the support 7 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. A shortest distance between the stop 17 and the latch bolt receiving opening 14 (which is measured in the depth direction 9) may be adjustable to account for different closure wings 13. Such adjustment means are disclosed in EP 1 600 584 A1 and EP 3 239 440 A1 and will not be described further.

[0085] The faceplate 1 comprises two openings (not shown), i.e. one on either side of the bolt receiving openings 14, 15, which are used to mount the morticed bolt keep 1 to the hollow tubular member 7. In the illustrated embodiment, the morticed bolt keep 1 is mounted inside a hollow tubular member as disclosed in EP 4 159 962 A1, EP 4 245 950 A1, and EP 4 245 951 A1. The various mounting means disclosed in EP 4 159 962 A1 and in EP 4 245 951 A1 may thus be used in the context of the present disclosure as well.

[0086] Details regarding how the morticed bolt keep 1 is mounted inside the hollow tubular member 7 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. To this end, the hollow tubular member 7 comprises an elongated slot (not shown) with semi-circular notches at the top/bottom end of this elongated slot. The elongated body 5 of the bolt keep 1 is provided with a slidable fixation member 20 on the upper end of the body 5. The slidable fixation member 20 is slidable in the width direction 8 with respect to the body 5. The fixation member 20 has a bolt receiving opening for receiving a bolt 22 (or other generic fixation means). When tightening the bolt 22, the slidable fixation member 20 is slid until it engages the inner wall of the hollow tubular member 7. The lower end of the body 5 is not fixed to the hollow tubular member 7 but is nonetheless correctly positioned by means of bolt 24 (or other generic fixation means) that is positioned through the faceplate 3 and the semi-circular notch (not shown) provided in the hollow support member 7. This specific mounting mechanism allows inserting the body 5 into the hollow member 7 by tilting the body 5 so that the slidable fixation member 20 is inside the hollow member 7 and afterwards aligning the body 5 with the elongated slot in the hollow member 7 so as to slide the entire body 5 deeper into the hollow member 7 so that the faceplate 3 abuts the outer wall of the hollow member 7. The bolts 22, 24 are finally inserted and the slidable fixation member 20 is tightened against the inner wall of the hollow tubular member 7.

[0087] As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the morticed bolt keep 1 is provided with a latch bolt engager 25 positioned inside the latch bolt receiving opening 14. The latch bolt engager 25 is designed to, upon activation of the magnetic actuator inside the morticed bolt keep 1, push the latch bolt out of the latch bolt receiving opening 14 without requiring a user to actuate the latch bolt using the handles 6. Details of the internal construction of the morticed bolt keep 1 is described below with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0088] The morticed bolt keep 1 according to the present disclosure comprises a magnetic actuator 30 which generally comprises a coil assembly 31 and a core assembly 32 which both extend in the longitudinal direction 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the magnetic actuator 30 is based on the principle of Moving Magnet Actuators (MMA) meaning that the coil assembly 31 is stationary within the elongated body 5 whereas the core assembly 32 is slidable in the longitudinal direction 10. The core assembly 32 is connected by a lever 35 to the latch bolt engager 25, which lever 35 thus transfers a sliding motion of the core 32 in the longitudinal direction 10 to a sliding motion of the latch bolt engage 25 in the width direction 8.

[0089] In an alternative embodiment, the magnetic actuator is based on the principle of Moving Coil Actuators (MCA) meaning that the core assembly is stationary within the elongated body whereas the coil assembly is slidable in the longitudinal direction 10. Both principles may be used in the context of the present disclosure. However, the MMA principle is preferred as the core assembly is a standalone component whereas the coil assembly must by physically connected to a power source so that moving the coil assembly as required in the MCA principle is complex.

[0090] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the core assembly 32 comprises three permanent magnets separated by core elements. More specifically, when viewed in the longitudinal direction 10, there is an upper magnet 36, an upper core element 37, a middle magnet 38, a lower core element 39, and a lower magnet 40. Each magnet 36, 38, 40 is oriented with its magnetic axis parallel to the longitudinal direction 10. In the illustrated embodiment, each magnetic axis is actually coinciding. The magnets 36, 38, 40 are oriented such that the middle magnet 38 repels the upper and lower magnets 36, 40. The core assembly 32 naturally comprises a frame holding these magnets 36, 38, 40 in a static position with respect to one another. The magnetic field created by the core assembly 32 is visualized in FIG. 9A and confirms, as described above, that the repelling magnets create a magnetic flux concentration around the core elements 37, 39. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the coil assembly 31 comprises two coils, namely an upper coil 41 surrounding the upper core element 37 and a lower coil 42 surrounding the lower core element 39. Each coil 41, 42 is coiled around the longitudinal direction 10 and has a same magnetic polarity. It will be readily appreciated that the same principle may be used in a two-magnet setup with a single coil.

[0091] In general, the force generated by a magnet actuator is the Lorentz force F, which is theoretically given by F=nIBl, where n is the number of revolutions (or windings) by the current carrying conductor subjected to the magnetic field, I is the current in the conductor, B is the flux density of the magnetic field (note that only perpendicular part of the magnetic field perpendicular to the coil is relevant), and l is the length of the current carrying conductor subjected to the magnetic field. The direction of the Lorentz force depends on the magnetic field orientation (dependent on the core assembly 32) and the magnetic polarity (dependent on the coil assembly 31) which is influenced by the coil handedness and the current direction.

[0092] In the illustrated embodiment, the generated Lorentz force F has a magnitude of about 20 N. This ensures that the morticed bolt keep 1 is suitable to be used with the locks commercially available by the present Applicant which may have a latch bolt biased towards its extended position by a biasing force of up to 15 N.

[0093] A further detail of the morticed bolt keep 1 is the height extension of the magnets 36, 38, 40 and the coils 41, 42 viewed in the longitudinal direction 10. More specifically, the middle magnet 38 is purposefully higher than the outer magnets 36, 40. Firstly, this is done in order to maximize the total coil height in the longitudinal direction in view of the total height available which is limited by the elongated slot provided in the hollow tubular member 7. Secondly, due to the moving core, once a permanent magnet moves too much with respect to a static coil its opposite magnetic pole enters the coil area thus decreasing the generated Lorentz force. This may illustrated by comparing the position of the middle magnet 38 and the upper coil 41 in FIGS. 4 and 5. In FIG. 4, the middle magnet 38 is nearly wholly beneath the upper coil 41. When moving upwards, only the upper half (i.e. the north pole) of the middle magnet 38 enters the upper coil 41 thus maximizing the generated Lorentz force. If the middle magnet 38 moves up higher, then the lower half (i.e. the south pole) would also enter the upper coil 41 thereby creating a counteracting Lorentz force. As such, if a shorter middle magnet would be used, a counteracting Lorentz force would be created. Ideally, the lower magnet 40 would also be longer to avoid the north pole of entering the lower coil 42. However, there was not sufficient space to allow this.

[0094] FIGS. 4 and 5 further illustrate that the morticed bolt keep 1 comprises an electromagnet 50 to attract a magnetic catch 55. The electromagnet 50 has a fixed core 52 surrounded by a coil 51. The magnetic catch 55 is fixed to and thus slidable with the core assembly 32 when activating the magnetic actuator 30. In the actuated state of the magnetic actuator 30 (i.e. when the latch bolt engager 25 is extended in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5), the magnetic catch 55 is directly contacting the fixed core 52.

[0095] The electromagnet 50 is designed to take over the role of the magnetic actuator 30 once the core assembly 32 has reached its actuated state (i.e. the upwards position shown in FIG. 5). More specifically, the electromagnet 50, once activated, causes the magnetic catch 55 to be stuck to the fixed core 52 thereby maintaining the core assembly 32 (and the latch bolt engager 25) in its actuated state. This allows the magnetic actuator 30 to be turned off. This is advantageous to avoid overheating the magnetic actuator 30. Furthermore, due to the direct contact between the fixed core 52 and the magnetic catch 55, the electromagnet 50 requires less power to maintaining the core assembly 32 (and the latch bolt engager 25) in its actuated state when compared to the power requirements of the magnetic actuator 30.

[0096] In the illustrated embodiment, a magnetic shielding 53 is also provided between the electromagnet 50 and the magnetic actuator 30. This shielding 53 prevents that the fixed core 52 would be magnetized due to the permanent magnets 36, 38, 40 thus causing the magnetic catch 55 to remain stuck to the fixed core 52 even after deactivating the electromagnet 50. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the magnetic shielding 53 is jointly made with the magnetic catch 55 as part of an L-shaped member. This is feasible since the shielding 53 is only needed when the core assembly 32 has reached its actuated state. The magnetic shielding 53 is typically made of a ferromagnetic material (e.g. iron) with a high magnetic susceptibility to attract magnetic field lines from the lower magnet 40 thereby shielding the electromagnet 50.

[0097] A further measure to avoid (or reduce) interference of the permanent magnets in the magnetic actuator 30 on the electromagnet 50 is to position the electromagnet 50 to the side of the magnetic actuator 30 as in the illustrated embodiments. If, on the other hand, the electromagnet 50 would be positioned directly above or below the magnetic actuator 30, this tends to magnetize the fixed core 52 thus causing the magnetic catch 55 to remain stuck to the fixed core 52 even after deactivating the electromagnet 50. The sidewards placement is further useful to limit the height required.

[0098] A suitable controller (not shown) is provided in the morticed bolt keep 1 to control the operation thereof. The controller is generally a computer system comprising a bus, a processor, a local memory, one or more input/output (I/O) interfaces, and/or a communications interface. The bus comprises one or more multiple conductors and allows communication between the different components of the computer system. Processor comprises any type of conventional processor or microprocessor that reads and executes computer program instructions. Local memory is intended to comprise any form of computer-readable information storage medium, such as a working memory (e.g., Random Access MemoryRAM), a static memory (e.g., a Read-Only MemoryROM), a hard drive, or removable storage media (e.g. a DVD, CD, USB storage, SSD, etc.), etc. The local memory typically serves to store information and instructions to be processed by the processor. The I/O interface may comprise one or more conventional systems that enable communication between the controller and a user. Examples comprise a keyboard, a mouse, speech recognition, biometrics, a (touch) screen, a printer, a speaker, etc. The communication interface is typically a transceiver system that allows communication with external systems. Examples are a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Internet, a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) such as Sigfox, LoRa, NarrowBand IoT, etc., a Personal Area Network (PAN) such as Bluetooth, or a Local Area Network (LAN). The controller controls the operation (e.g. active duration, time of activation, etc.) of the magnetic actuator 30 and the electromagnet 50.

[0099] The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 is a fail close morticed bolt keep 1. More specifically, when no power is supplied to the coil assembly 31, the core assembly 32 is in its downwards position and the latch bolt engager 25 is withdrawn into the latch bolt receiving opening 14 (as shown in FIG. 4). This position may be achieved, for example, due to gravity, due to a latch bolt pushing on the latch bolt engager 25, etc. If power is supplied to the coil assembly 31 (i.e. when a current is circulated in the coils 41, 42), an upwards Lorentz force is generated and exerted on the core assembly 32 thereby sliding the core assembly 32 upwards and moving the latch bolt engager 25 towards its extended position (shown in FIG. 5) thereby pushing the latch bolt from the latch bolt receiving opening 14.

[0100] The morticed bolt keep 1 illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 is similar to the morticed bolt keep 1 described above. The main difference is that the morticed bolt keep 1 illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 is a fail-open morticed bolt keep 1. To achieve this, two compression springs 49 (or other generic biasing means) are provided. These springs 49 bias the core 32 upwards and maintain the latch bolt engager 25 in its extended position (shown in FIG. 6). The springs 49 are sufficiently strong so as to keep the latch bolt engager 25 towards its extended position even when a latch bolt is pushing thereon. The other revision in the fail-open morticed bolt keep 1 is that the generated Lorentz force has an opposite direction. This may be achieved in various ways, e.g. reversing the orientation of the permanent magnets 36, 38, 40, shifting the coils 41, 42 with respect to core parts 37, 39, etc. If power is supplied to the coil assembly 31 (i.e. when a current is circulated in the coils 41, 42), a downwards Lorentz force is generated and exerted on the core assembly 32 thereby sliding the core assembly 32 downwards and moving the latch bolt engager 25 towards its withdrawn position (shown in FIG. 7) thereby allowing the latch bolt to enter the latch bolt receiving opening 14.

[0101] The lever 35 interposed between the core assembly 32 and the latch bolt engager 25 is, in the illustrated embodiment, a first order lever with substantially equal arms. As such, there is no force reduction or amplification between the core assembly 32 and the latch bolt engager 25.

[0102] An alternative coupling between the core assembly 32 and the latch bolt engager 25 is shown in FIG. 10A and 10B. This coupling comprises a rigid rod 80 extending between a first end and a second end. The first end is pivotably fixed to the core assembly 32 by means of a first axle 81. This axle 81 is guided in an elongated slot 82 which extends in the vertical direction 10. The core assembly frame has a protruding part 83 in which the axle 81 partially extends. In this manner, the first end of the rigid rod 80 is vertically displaceable jointly with the core assembly 32.

[0103] The second end of the rigid rod 80 engages the latch bolt engager 25. This second end is connected to a pivotable lever 84 by means of a second axle 85. The pivotable lever 84 is connected to the elongated body 5 by a third axle 86. In an embodiment, the axle 85 could be fixed to the latch bolt engager 25 as well. A further guiding lever 87 is provided which interconnects the body 5 to the rigid rod 80 by means of two axles 88, 89. Due to the presence of the two levers 84, 87, a sliding motion of the core assembly 32 causes a pivoting motion of the rigid rod 80 so that its second end slides in the width direction 8 thereby pushing the latch bolt engager 25 outwards.

[0104] As indicated in FIGS. 10A and 10B. When the latch bolt engager 25 is in its rest position, the rigid rod 80 has a smallest angle .sub.1 with respect to the elongated direction 10 and when the latch bolt engager 25 is in its actuated position, the rigid rod 80 has a smallest angle .sub.2 with respect to the elongated direction 10. The angle .sub.2 is larger than the angle .sub.1 which causes an increased efficiency of the coupling the nearer the latch bolt engager 25 is to its actuated position.

[0105] The use of the two guiding levers 84, 87 allow to guide the rigid rod 80 displacement in a near frictionless manner.

[0106] Various alternatives are possible for the magnetic actuator 30. An alternative is described in relation to FIG. 8. In this set-up, the core assembly 32 is provided with four permanent magnets 65, 66, 67, 68. Each magnet is oriented with its magnetic axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 10 and each two adjacent magnets have an opposite orientation of their poles. In this way, the magnets are attracting one another in the longitudinal direction 10. The coil assembly 31 comprises four coils 70, 71, 72, 73 grouped in pairs. Each pair of coils (i.e. 70, 71 and 72, 73) are located on opposite sides of the core assembly 32 and each coil of a pair has a same magnetic polarity. In another embodiment, the four coils in the coil assembly could also be replaced with inclined coils surrounding the core assembly. FIG. 8 illustrates the actuated state of the magnetic actuator 30 with the core assembly 32 slip upwards with respect to the stationary coil assembly 31. In the rest state, the core assembly 32 is located more downwards with respect to the stationary coil assembly 31 with the (centre of the) upper magnet 65 substantially aligned with the upper parts of coils 70, 71.

[0107] Another alternative magnetic actuator is schematically illustrated in FIG. 9B. The magnetic actuator relies on four permanent magnets 62 which repel one another in the longitudinal direction (similar to the setup used in the morticed bolt keep of FIGS. 4 to 7). The main difference is the presence of a magnetic shielding 60 surrounding the magnetic actuator. More specifically, the shielding 60 is positioned outside and around the coil assembly. The magnetic shielding 60 is typically made of a ferromagnetic material (e.g. iron) with a high magnetic susceptibility to attract magnetic field lines. The shielding 60 reduces the reluctance of the magnetic field, increases the magnetic flux into a smaller volume, and better orients the magnetic field lines to be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

[0108] Various other magnetic actuator configurations are possible with more or less coils, more or less permanent magnets, different orientations and/or relative placements of the magnets and coils, etc.

[0109] Although aspects of the present disclosure have been described with respect to specific embodiments, it will be readily appreciated that these aspects may be implemented in other forms within the scope of the disclosure as defined by the claims.