US 12,180,759 B2Granted

Child proof latch and method of fitting

OwnerJesper Birk Anderseninventor

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A child safety locking mechanism has first and second movable doors, a fixed frame, first and second latching means and a catching means, the first and second latching means each comprising a retractable rod retractable by unlocking means having secondary locking means which must be unlocked before the unlocking means operates and is unlocked by a rotating, sliding or pressing-in action, the unlocking means may be released by a rotating, sliding or pressing in action, and movement direction to unlock the secondary locking means is different to the movement direction to release the unlocking means. The retractable rod includes a gear rack, and the unlocking means includes a user engaging surface and is connected by a shaft to a gear wheel engaging the gear rack to slidably move the retracting rod when the engaging surface is rotated by an adult.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A child safety locking mechanism for a cupboard comprising first and second movable doors and a fixed frame, the child safety locking mechanism comprising first and second latching means and a catching means, the first and second latching means adapted to be secured on the outside of each of the cupboard doors and the catching means adapted to be secured to a part of the frame, the first and second latching means each comprising a retractable rod removably engageable in a corresponding recess in the catch means and retractable by a user operable unlocking means against the action of a spring which spring restores the retractable rod to the catch engaged position when the user releases the user operable unlocking means;

and wherein the user operable unlocking means includes secondary locking means which normally prevents the operation of the user operable unlocking means and which must be unlocked before the user operable unlocking means can be operated, wherein the retractable rod includes a first catch engaging end and a second opposite operating end which includes a gear rack, the user operable unlocking means includes a user engaging surface and is connected by a shaft to a gear wheel which engages the gear rack to slidably move the retracting rod when the engaging surface of the user operable unlocking means is actuated by an adult user, and the secondary locking means includes a locking peg which is urged by a spring to engage in a recess in the user operable unlocking means, wherein the first and second latching means each comprise a receiving hole to receive the retractable rod of the corresponding second and first latching means and wherein the secondary lock means is operable adjacent to unlocking means of each corresponding first and second locking means so that the adult user may operate the locking mechanism with each hand operating simultaneously by releasing the secondary lock means with at least one digit and the unlocking means with at least one other digit of each hand.

A self-contained retrofittable lock, comprising:

a housing attachable to one of first and second movable doors of a cupboard;
first and second latching means adapted to be secured to a part of a frame of the cupboard;
a catching means contained in the housing and adapted to be secured on the outside of each of the first and second movable doors of the cupboard;
and
unlocking means including secondary locking means which normally prevents the operation of the unlocking means and which must be unlocked before the unlocking means can be operated, the secondary locking means including a locking peg which is urged by a spring to engage in a recess in the unlocking means;
wherein the first and second latching means each comprise a retractable rod removably engageable in a corresponding recess in the catch means and retractable by the unlocking means against the action of a spring which spring restores the retractable rod to the catch engaged position when an adult user releases the unlocking means, the retractable rod including a first catch engaging end and second opposite operating end which includes a gear rack;
and
wherein the unlocking means including a user engaging surface and is connected by a shaft to a gear wheel which engages the gear rack to slidably move the retracting rod when the engaging surface of the unlocking means is actuated by the adult user,
the first and second latching means each comprising a receiving hole to receive the retractable rod of the corresponding second and first latching means and wherein the secondary lock means is operable adjacent to unlocking means of each corresponding first and second locking means so that the adult user may operate the locking mechanism with each hand operating simultaneously by releasing the secondary lock means with at least one digit and the unlocking means with at least one other digit of each hand.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/520,932Filed 8 Nov 2021
Priority: GB 20176399 Nov 2020
Published: US 2022/0170299 A12 Jun 2022
Granted: 31 Dec 2024
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

E05B 65/0014
Locks or fastenings for special use: to prevent opening by children
E05C 1/12
With latching action: with operating handle or equivalent member moving otherwise than rigidly with the latch
E05B 13/002
Devices preventing the key or the handle or both from being used: locking the handle
E05B 65/44
Locks or fastenings for special use: for furniture

Family

US 2022/0170299 A1Pre-grant publication · published 2 Jun 2022
US 12,180,759 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

Citations

Open elsewhere

Building an agent or pulling many patents? Use the API or MCP server instead of scraping pages. Get an API key