US 4,368,905 AGranted

Exit door locking mechanism having multiple bolts

AssigneeAdams Rite Manufacturing Co.

InventorAaron M. Hirschbein

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Abstract

A panic exit door locking mechanism in which a manually operable panic exit actuator device is mountable on the inside face of a hinged door having a tubular narrow stile frame along its swinging edge; top and bottom adjustable bolt mechanisms at the upper and lower ends of the frame are connected by length-adjustable rod structures, concealed in the narrow stile frame, with a pair of gear connected actuating levers that are operable by means of a drive shaft having a slip-joint connection with an actuating shaft of the panic exit device. The top bolt mechanism includes a keeper secured to an exposed wall of a door frame header by screw actuated inner and outer clamping members. A latching member carried by the door is movable into a keeper latching position when the door is closed, and to a keeper non-latching position when the door is opened. The top bolt is utilized to dog the latch in its keeper latching position.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A lock mechanism for an exit door having a tubular stile frame member extending along its swinging edge, and with top and bottom bolt mechanism, comprising:

(a) lever means positioned in the tubular stile, including a pair of separate rotatably mounted levers;
(b) rod structures in the stile respectively connecting said levers with the top and bottom bolt mechanisms, the top bolt mechanism including a fixed keeper member on a top header frame and a horizontally swingable latch member mounted on the door to be engaged with said keeper member when the door is in a closed position, said latch member being swingable into a released position with respect to said keeper member to permit the door to be opened;
(c) a driving connection between said levers;
(d) a rotatable driver shaft mounting one of said levers;
(e) said lever means being normally operative by said driver shaft in one direction to axially move said rod structures away from each other to effect one operating condition of the bolt mechanisms;
and
(f) manually operable means accessible from the inner side of the door for rotating said levers by said drive shaft in an opposite direction to axially move said rod structures towards each other to effect another operating condition of the bolt mechanisms, including a rotatably mounted actuating shaft releasably connectable in axial alignment with said driver shaft.

4 more elements

A lock mechanism for an exit door having a tubular stile frame member extending along its swinging edge, and with top and bottom bolt mechanisms, comprising:

(a) lever means positioned in the tubular stile, including a pair of separate rotatably mounted levers;
(b) rod structures in the stile respectively connecting said levers with the top and bottom bolt mechanisms, each of which includes a bolt mounted for reciprocable endwise adjusting movement, and each rod structure comprises:
an elongate rod member and an elongate longitudinally split tubular member having adjacent ends in axially adjustable telescoping relation to form a slip joint;
means for releasably retaining said ends in the adjusted telescoping relation for unitary movements including an elongate spring having one end fixedly secured to the adjacent end of the tubular member, and a projecting flat portion having an angularly deflected outer end portion formed with an opening for receiving the associated rod member endwise therethrough, said deflected end portion being normally resiliently urged into gripped relation with the rod member but being manually deflectable into released relationship to enable adjusting movements between the rod member and tubular member;
(c) a driving connection between said levers;
(d) said lever means being normally operative in one direction to axially move said rod structures away from each other to effect one operating condition of the bolt mechanisms, and
(e) manually operable means accessible from one side of the door for rotating one of said levers and the connected other lever of the levers as a unit in an opposite direction to axially move said rod structures towards each other to effect another operating condition of the bolt mechanisms.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.