Lock assembly for sliding doors

A lock assembly for use in locking a sliding door or the like having a stile movable with the door between open and closed positions relative to an adjacent door jamb, said lock assembly comprising:

• a lock mechanism for mounting on the door stile, said lock mechanism including at least two latch members and means for selectively displacing said at least two latch members generally toward and away from each other between locked and unlocked positions, said lock mechanism including a tumbler gear, means supporting said tumbler gear for rotation, said means for selectively displacing said latch members comprising means for rotating said tumbler gear, said lock mechanism further including first and second racks meshed with said tumbler gear respectively on opposite sides thereof and respectively coupled to a pair of said latch members for displacing said latch members in opposite directions upon rotation of said tumbler gear;
• and
• a latch keeper for mounting on the door jamb, said latch keeper including means for locking engagement by said latch members when said latch members are in the locked position and the door is closed;
• said lock mechanism further including a control gear, means for rotatably supporting said control gear generally coaxially with said tumbler gear, means for restricting rotation of said control gear to back and forth rotation within a predetermined rotational increment, and actuator means coupled between said tumbler gear and said control gear and coupled further to said latch member displacing means for rotating said tumbler and control gears back and forth through said rotational increment to displace said latch members between said locked and unlocked positions.

A lock assembly for use in locking a sliding door or the like having a stile movable with the door between open and closed positions relative to an adjacent door jamb, said lock assembly comprising:

• a lock mechanism for mounting on the door stile, said lock mechanism including at least two latch members and means for selectively displacing said at least two latch members generally toward and away from each other between locked and unlocked positions;
• and
• a latch keeper for mounting on the door jamb, said latch keeper including means for locking engagement by said latch members when said latch members are in the locked position and the door is closed;
• said door stile comprising a hollow extrusion, said lock mechanism being mounted within a cartridge housing for reception into the hollow extrusion, said hollow extrusion having openings therein for normal outward projection of said latch members during movement of said latch members between said locked and unlocked positions, and further including means for releasably securing said latch members in positions recessed into said cartridge housing to permit installation of said cartridge housing into said extrusion.

A lock assembly for use in locking a sliding door or the like having a stile movable with the door between open and closed positions relative to an adjacent door jamb, said lock assembly comprising:

• a lock mechanism for mounting on the door stile, said lock mechanism including at least two latch members and means for selectively displacing said at least two latch members generally toward and away from each other between locked and unlocked positions;
• and
• a latch keeper for mounting on the door jamb, said latch keeper including means for locking engagement by said latch members when said latch members are in the locked position and the door is closed;
• said lock mechanism including spring means for urging said latch members toward a normal position projecting outwardly from the door stile.

A lock assembly for use in locking a sliding door or the like having a stile member movable with the door between open and closed positions relative to an adjacent door jamb, said lock assembly comprising:

• a pair of latch pins for mounting on the stile to project outwardly therefrom in a direction toward the jamb, each of said pins having an enlarged head at the distal end thereof;
• a latch keeper mounted on the door jamb and having a pair of generally keyhole shaped ports in respective general alignment with said latch pins, each of said ports having a wider region for receiving the head of the pin aligned therewith and a narrower region to receive the pin aligned therewith without permitting passage of the head of said pin;
• and
• a lock mechanism including means for displacing said latch pins in unison toward and away from each other between locked and unlocked positions, said latch pins being aligned in the unlocked position with the wider regions of said ports and being aligned in the locked position with the narrower regions of said ports.

A lock assembly for use in locking a sliding door or the like having a hollow stile member movable with the door between open and closed positions relative to an adjacent door jamb, said lock assembly comprising:

• a relatively compact cartridge housing having a size and shape for reception into the hollow stile member;
• a lock mechanism mounted within said cartridge housing, said lock mechanism including a pair of latch pins normally projecting outwardly from said cartridge housing and further through openings in the stile member in a direction toward the jamb, means for displacing said latch pins in unison generally toward and away from each other between locked and unlocked positions, and releasable means for temporarily retaining said latch pins recessed within said cartridge housing to permit installation of said lock mechanism into the stile member;
• and
• a latch keeper on the door jamb including means for releasable locked engagement with said latch pins when the door is closed and said latch pins are moved to the locked position.

A lock assembly for use in locking a sliding door or the like having a hollow stile member movable with the door between open and closed positions relative to an adjacent door jamb, said lock assembly comprising:

• a relatively compact cartridge housing having a size and shape for reception into the hollow stile member;
• a lock mechanism mounted within said cartridge housing and including a pair of latch pins normally projecting outwardly from said cartridge housing and further through openings in the stile member in a direction toward the jamb, means for displacing said latch pins in unison generally toward and away from each other between locked and unlocked positions, and releasable means for temporarily retaining said latch pins recessed within said cartridge housing to permit installation of said lock mechanism into the stile member;
• said displacing means comprising a tumbler gear rotatably supported within said housing, first and second racks supported in meshed relation with said tumbler gear on opposite sides thereof, track means slidably supporting said racks for movement in opposite directions upon rotation of said tumbler gear, and means coupled respectively between said racks and said latch pins for displacing said latch pins in opposite directions upon rotation of said tumbler gear;
• lock operator means accessible from indoor and outdoor sides of the door for rotating said tumbler gear;
• and
• a latch keeper on the door jamb including means for releasable locked engagement with said latch pins when the door is closed and said latch pins are moved to the locked position.