LATCH

VERROU

English Abstract

A latch for securing adjacent structures, for example, doors or gates,
includes a bolt assembly to be secured to one of the structures and a keeper
to be
secured to the other adjacent structure. The bolt assembly includes a bolt
having a
keeper engaging end, a handle, and a support which allows attachment of the
bolt
assembly to the one structure. The support contains a retaining bracket to
allow sliding
of the bolt between latched and unlatched positions. The keeper has an
abutment
surface to receive the keeper engaging end of the bolt in the latched position
and a stop
which engages the keeper engaging end of the bolt to prevent the bolt from
sliding to
the unlatched position. Either of the bolt assembly or the keeper may be
installed on
either of the adjacent structures.

Claims

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I claim:
1. A latch to inhibit relative movement between adjacent structures, said
latch comprising:
a bolt assembly to be secured to one of said structures; and
a keeper to be secured to the other of said structures;
said bolt assembly including a bolt having a body with at least one
keeper engaging end, and a handle secured to the body to facilitate movement
of the
bolt between latched and unlatched positions, said bolt assembly further
including a
support for said bolt to permit attachment of the bolt assembly to a generally
planar
surface of said one structure, said support including a retaining bracket
configured to
support said bolt for longitudinal sliding movement between said latched and
unlatched positions within the plane of said one structure, while preventing
movement
of said bolt normal to said one structure;
said keeper having an abutment surface spaced from said other
structure to receive said keeper engaging end in said latched position and a
stop
selectively engageable with said keeper engaging end of said bolt in said
latched
position to inhibit sliding movement of said bolt toward said unlatched
position;
said bracket for said bolt permitting limited latitudinal movement of
said bolt to disengage said keeper engaging end from said stop and to permit
sliding
movement of said bolt to said unlatched position.
2. The latch claimed in claim 1 wherein said handle and said body are
integrally formed and said handle is spaced from said support.
3. The latch claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein both ends of the body
of the bolt are formed as keeper engaging ends.
4. The latch claimed in claim 1 wherein the keeper engaging end of the
body of the bolt includes a notch on the lower edge of the bolt, positioned to
receive
the stop of the keeper.

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5. The latch claimed in claim 4 wherein the stop of the keeper comprises
a boss sized to fit within the notch on the keeper engaging end of the body of
the bolt,
said boss being positioned on the keeper so as to securely engage the notch
when the
bolt is in the latched position.
6. The latch claimed in claim 1 wherein the support comprises a pair of
longitudinally spaced brackets, and the handle is located between the
brackets.
7. The latch claimed in claim 6 wherein said brackets are loops
longitudinally spaced from the support to hold the body of the bolt for
sliding
movement.
8. The latch claimed in claim 7 wherein the brackets are configured to
limit the lateral movement of the body of the bolt relative to said one
structure.
9. The latch claimed in claim 1 wherein the latitudinal movement of the
body of the bolt is further restricted by a locking member pivotally mounted
on the
planar surface of the said other structure above the keeper.
10. The latch claimed in claim 9 wherein said locking member includes a
first limb secured to said other structure by a fastener and a second limb
configured to
fit within the keeper, said fastener fixing the said locking member so that
said second
limb can be received by the keeper to inhibit latitudinal movement of the bolt
in the
keeper.

Description

CA 02083926 1999-09-16
LATCH
This invention relates to a latch for securing adjacent relatively
movable structures, such as doors, gates or the like.
In paddock or barn door latching systems, it is desirable to have an
easily opened and closed mechanism which cannot be readily unlatched by
animals or
children. Conventionally thumb latches have been used in which a latch bar is
pivoted to a support plate and is moved about the pivot to release it from a
notched
keeper. Another commonly used sliding bolt device requires the sliding portion
of the
lock to be rotated in order to disengage it from the keeper or catch. It has
been found,
however, that these latches are readily opened by animals leading to their
release from
an enclosure.
According to the present invention there is provided a latch to inhibit
relative movement between adjacent structures, said latch comprising
a bolt assembly to be secured to one of said structures; and
a keeper to be secured to the other of said structures;
said bolt assembly including a bolt having a body with at least one
keeper engaging end, and a handle secured to the body to facilitate movement
of the
bolt between latched and unlatched positions, said bolt assembly further
including a
support for said bolt: to permit attachment of the bolt assembly to a
generally planar
surface of said one structure, said support including a retaining bracket
configured to
support said bolt for longitudinal sliding movement between said latched and
unlatched positions within the plane of said one structure, whilst preventing
movement of said bolt normal to said one structure;
said :keeper having an abutment surface spaced from said other
structure to receive said keeper engaging end in said latched position and a
stop
selectively engageable with said keeper engaging end of said bolt in said
latched
position to inhibit sliding movement of said bolt toward said unlatched
position;
said bracket for said bolt permitting limited latitudinal movement of
said bolt to disengage said keeper engaging end from said stop and to permit
sliding
movement of said bolt to said unlatched position.

CA 02083926 1999-09-16
-2-
The latch of the present invention requires a compound movement in
order to disengage t:he latch, namely, lifting and sliding. The bolt is
capable of both
longitudinal and latitudinal movement in the plane of the door or gate
surface,
allowing an operator to lift the bolt, disengaging the latching mechanism, and
then to
slide the bolt out of the keeper so that the door can be opened. However, when
the
bolt is engaged in the latched position, pushing movements on the door or on
the bolt
will not cause the bolt to disengage, thus providing greater security against
accidental
opening.
The preferred embodiment provides a latch of few parts which is
readily installed on gate or door structures and which can be economically
manufactured.
An embodiment of the present invention is described in greater detail
with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the latch showing alternative
positions of the relative parts, broken lines showing the latched position.
Referring to the drawing, a latch 10 is installed on a pair of relatively
moveable structures A, B, in this case a door A pivoted within a frame B. The
latch
10 includes a bolt assembly 12 which is mounted on the door A and a keeper 14
which is mounted on the frame B.
It will be appreciated that the bolt assembly 12 could be installed on
the frame B with the keeper 14 on the door A if preferred.
The bolt assembly 12 also includes a support plate 24 for attaching the
assembly 12 to the planar surface of either the door A or frame B. The support
plate
24 includes a pair of retaining brackets 26 located at opposite ends of the
support
plate 24. Each bracket 26 includes a strap 27 with a central portion 29
overlying the
end of the plate 24 and being spaced from it to define a pair of aligned
slots.
A bolt 16 is slidably received in the brackets 26 and consists of a body
18 having a keeper engaging end 20 at one or both ends. The body 18 is
narrower
than the slots formed by brackets 26 and so is supported for both longitudinal
and
limited lateral movement relative to the support plate 24.
In the embodiment of Figure 1, a keeper engaging end 20 is provided
at both ends of the body 18 to allow the latch 10 to be used at either edge of
the door

CA 02083926 1999-09-16
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A. The keeper engaging end 20 includes a notch 32 on the lower edge 33 of the
body
18.
The central portion of the body 18 is formed as a handle 22 that is
spaced from the support plate 24 to allow the user to move the bolt 16 between
latched and unlatched positions, shown in Figure 1 by solid and broken lines,
respectively.
The keeper 14 is formed from a strap and has a pair of flanges 35 on
either side of a raised central portion 37 spaced away from the frame B to
receive the
keeper engaging end 20 of the body 18 of the bolt 16 in the latched position.
The
inwardly-directed surface 28 of the central portion 37 defines an abutment
surface
against which the keeper engaging end 20 bears to inhibit relative movement
between
the door A and frame B. A boss 30 is provided at the lower edge of the central
portion 37 and is configured to fit into the notch 32 on the body 18 in the
latched
position.
In operation, in the latched position, the bolt 16 is received within the
keeper 14 and the boss 30 engages the notch 32 to prevent the sliding movement
of
the bolt 16 to disengage the keeper 14. Relative movement between the door A
and
frame B is prevented. by the keeper engaging end 20 engaging the abutment
surface 28
of the keeper 14.
To prevent accidental disengagement of the notch 32 from the boss 30,
a locking member 34 is pivotally mounted on the frame B above the keeper 14.
The
longer limb 36 of locking member 34 is secured to the frame B by a screw 38
which
locates the member :34 so that the shorter limb 40 is received in the keeper
14 above
the bolt 16. When engaged, the lock member 34 inhibits latitudinal movement of
the
bolt 16 in the keeper,.
To move the bolt to the unlatched position, the locking member 34 is
pivoted away from the keeper 14 and the user lifts the bolt 16 within the
keeper 14 to
disengage the notch 32 from the boss 30.
The bolt 16 may then be slid to the unlatched position. As noted
above, the brackets 26 allow the necessary latitudinal movement to disengage
the boss
and notch.

CA 02083926 1999-09-16
-4-
In a preferred embodiment of the latch 10, the handle 22 is integrally
formed with the body 18 and is positioned in a spaced relationship from the
support
plate 24. The flanks of the handle thus co-operate with the brackets 26 to
limit
longitudinal movement of the bolt 16.
S Any combination of adjacent structures may be latched together by
alternative installations of the bolt assembly 12 and keeper 14 relative to
one another.
The body 18 of the .bolt may have a keeper engaging end 20 at either or both
ends of
the body 18 for the desired installation.
It can be seen that changes to the described construction are available,
comprising different embodiments within the scope of the claims. It is
intended that
all matter contained in the accompanying specifications and drawings be
interpreted
as illustrative of the invention and not as limitations thereof.

Representative Drawing