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US 11,598,131 B2Granted
Latch assembly
AssigneeSpectrum Brands, Inc.
InventorOscar Romero
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A latch assembly is provided where a latch bolt is moveable to open and close a door by unblocking pivotal movement of the latch bolt. Turning a door knob or door handle does not directly result in a corresponding retraction of the latch within a sleeve, but rather unblocks the bolt to freely pivot away from a latched position. In some embodiments, the latch assembly may include a sleeve that allows for a backset to be infinitely adjusted relative to an aperture of the sleeve. In some embodiments, the latch assembly may further include a dead latch to provide additional security against forced entry.
Claims18
A latch assembly comprising:
- a sleeve;
- a bolt movable between a latched position in which the bolt extends out of the sleeve and an unlatched position in which the bolt is substantially inside the sleeve;
- a latch arm positioned within the sleeve, the latch arm including a blocking surface movable between a blocking position that blocks the bolt from moving from the latched position to the unlatched position and an unblocked position that allows the bolt to move between the latched position and the unlatched position;
- an inner sleeve coupled to the latch arm and configured to slide longitudinally within the sleeve, the inner sleeve urging the bolt toward the latched position;
- and
- a dead latch assembly for preventing unlatching of the bolt by blocking sliding movement of the inner sleeve in the sleeve, wherein the dead latch assembly comprises a dead latch, a lock lever, and a blocker coupled to the latch arm and the lock lever, and wherein a force exerted on the dead latch results in rotation of the lock lever and further results in translation of a portion of the blocker into one or more openings in the inner sleeve to prevent sliding movement of the inner sleeve.
3 more elements
A latch assembly comprising:
- a housing;
- a bolt movable between a latched position extending out of the housing and an unlatched position in which the bolt is substantially inside the housing;
- a latch arm configured to move with the bolt when the bolt moves between the latched and unlatched positions;
- means for infinitely adjusting a backset of the latch assembly relative to an elongated slide opening of the housing so that the latch assembly may be installed in a door without a predetermined backset measurement position;
- an inner sleeve coupled to the latch arm and configured to slide longitudinally within the housing, the inner sleeve urging the bolt toward the latched position;
- and
- a dead latch assembly for preventing unlatching of the bolt by blocking sliding movement of the inner sleeve in the housing, wherein the dead latch assembly comprises a dead latch, a lock lever, and a blocker coupled to the latch arm and the lock lever, and wherein a force exerted on the dead latch results in rotation of the lock lever and further results in translation of a portion of the blocker into one or more openings in the inner sleeve to prevent sliding movement of the inner sleeve.
4 more elements
A method of operating a latch assembly, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a latch assembly installed on a door, the latch assembly including a sleeve and a bolt movable between a latched position and an unlatched position, the latch assembly further including a latch arm movable between a first position that blocks pivoting of the bolt and a second position that does not block pivoting of the bolt, the latch assembly also including an inner sleeve coupled to the latch arm and configured to slide longitudinally within the sleeve, the inner sleeve urging the bolt toward the latched position, and a dead latch assembly for preventing unlatching of the bolt by blocking sliding movement of the inner sleeve in the sleeve, wherein the dead latch assembly comprises a dead latch, a lock lever, and a blocker coupled to the latch arm and the lock lever, wherein a force exerted on the dead latch results in rotation of the lock lever and further results in translation of a portion of the blocker into one or more openings in the inner sleeve to prevent sliding movement of the inner sleeve;
- moving the latch arm from the first position to the second position by rotating a door handle, wherein when the latch arm is in the second position, the blocker is lowered out of the one or more openings to pivot the lock lever and allow the dead latch to move with the bolt;
- and
- pivoting the bolt away from the latched position and moving the bolt to the unlatched position by opening the door.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.