Plural point door lock and flush-mountable operating mechanism with detent

A plural-point latch for mounting on a closure for releasably retaining the closure in a closed position, comprising:

• (a) a plurality of latch bolt means for attachment to a closure at spaced locations about the periphery of the closure for engaging suitably configured strike formation to releasably retain the closure in a closed position;
• (b) flush-mountable operating means for flush mounting on the closure at a location remote from the latch bolt means;
• (c) elongate linkage means for connecting the operating means with the latch bolt means for operating the latch bolt means to release their associated strike formations in response to operation of the operating means;
• (d) wherein the operating means includes:
• (i) housing means having side and back walls that cooperate to define a forwardly facing recess, and having an opening formed through the back wall;
• (ii) mounting plate means for being positioned to overlie at least a portion of the back wall including such parts of the back wall as extend about the opening that is formed through the back wall;
• (iii) track formation means defined by the mounting plate means including a pair of rail formations that extending along opposite sides of the opening that is formed through the back wall to define to form a pair of guide structures that extend along the back wall portion in spaced relationship thereto;
• (iv) elongate slide means having groove means formed in opposed, longitudinally-extending side portions thereof for receiving the rail formations to establish a sliding connection between the mounting plate means and the slide means, with the side means defining a receiving formation that is located in alignment with the opening that is formed through the back wall during movement of the slide means along the rail formations between first and second positions relative to the housing means;
• (v) handle means pivotally mounted on the housing means and being movable with respect to the housing means between a nested position wherein the handle means is nested within the recess, and an extended position wherein at least a portion of the handle means projects forwardly from the recess, with the handle means having a rearwardly extending projection that extends through the opening that is formed in the back wall of the housing, and that extends into the receiving formation to define an essentially play-free driving connection between the handle means and the slide means, whereby the handle means is operable during movement between its nested and extended positions to move the slide means between its first and extended positions, respectively;
• (vi) operating arm means including a pair of L-shaped arms that each are pivotally connected to the housing means and to the slide means for concurrent counter-rotation with respect to the housing means in response to movement of the slide means between its first and second positions, with the operating arm means also being connected to the elongate linkage means for effecting operation of the latch bolt means in response to movement of the handle means from its nested position to its extended position, with each of the L-shaped arms having a leg portion thereof that extends into overlapping relationship with a leg portion of the other of the L-shaped arms, and with aligned opening means being formed through the overlapping leg portions of the L-shaped arms;
• (vii) the slide means having a rearwardly extending projection means thereon that extends through the aligned opening means to establish a driving connection between the slide means and the L-shaped arms that is operative to pivot the L-shaped arms relative to the housing means in a counter-rotation manner in response to movement of the slide means along the rail formations as the handle means is pivoted between its nested and extended positions;
• and,
• (viii) detent means interposed between the slide means and the housing means, for releasably retaining the slide means in its first and second positions with respect to the housing means, with the detent means including a closed-ended hole formed in the slide means and facing forwardly toward the back wall of the housing means, a detent element positioned in the hole, biasing means positioned in the hole for biasing the detent element forwardly with respect to the hole so as to project outwardly from the hole and into engagement with the back wall portion of the housing means, and with first and second dimple-like depression means being provided in the back wall portion of the housing means for receiving the detent element when the slide means is in its first and second positions, respectively, relative to the housing means.

An operating mechanism for a plural-point latch of the type that includes a plurality of latch bolt assemblies that are attachable to a closure at a plurality of spaced locations about the periphery of the closure for releasably engaging suitably configured strike formations that are provided adjacent the spaced locations, and that includes a plurality of elongate links for connecting the operating mechanism with the latch bolt assemblies for operating the latch bolt assemblies to release their associated strike formations in response to operation of the operating mechanism, wherein the operating mechanism comprises:

• (a) flush-mountable housing means for mounting on the closure, including a pan-shaped housing that is formed as metal stamping and having side and back walls that define a forwardly-facing recess that is surrounded by a perimetrically extending mounting flange, with the back wall having a front surface that faces forwardly into the recess, and having a back surface on the opposite side thereof, and with the back wall having an opening that is formed through the back wall;
• (b) mounting plate means formed as a metal stamping for attachment to the back surface of the back wall in the vicinity of the opening that is formed through the back wall, with the mounting plate means having opposed side formation means and opposed end formation means that form a continuous band of material that extends about a central opening that is formed through the mounting plate means, with the opposed side formation means having at least portions thereof that are configured to extend along portions of the back wall that are located on opposite sides of the opening that is formed through the back wall, and with the mounting plate means having track formation means that extend from the opposed side formation means toward the central opening to define a pair of opposed rail means that face toward each other and extend along opposite sides of the central opening, with the opposed rail means extending substantially parallel to each other and being spaced apart by a first distance for defining a slide track that extends along the back wall in the vicinity of the opening that is formed through the back wall, and with the track intersecting with the opening that is formed through the back wall;
• (c) elongate slide means having a pair of opposed, longitudinally extending side portions that face away from each other and are spaced apart by a second distance that is greater than the first distance, with groove means being provided to extend longitudinally along the side portions to define a pair of grooves that are configured to receive the opposed rail means to mount the slide means for movement along the track;
• (d) handle means pivotally mounted on the housing means and being movable with respect to the housing means between a nested position wherein the handle means is nested within the recess, and an extended position wherein at least a portion of the handle means projects forwardly from the recess, with the handle means having a rearwardly extending projection that extends through the opening that is formed through the back wall and that extends into the path of movement of the slide means when the slide means moves along the track;
• (e) receiving formation means provided on the slide means for closely receiving the rearwardly extending projection of the handle means to provide an essentially play-free driving connection between the handle means and the slide means that is operable to cause the handle means and the slide means to move in unison, with the slide means being movable along the track between a first position that is assumed by the slide means when the handle means is in its nested position, and a second position that is assumed by the slide means when the handle means is in its extended position;
• (f) operating arm means for connecting the elongate links to the slide means to effect movement of the elongate links in response to movement of the slide means such that, when the slide means is in its first position, the elongate links permit the latch bolt assemblies to extend into engagement with the strike formations, and when the slide means is in its second position, the elongate links retract the latch bolt assemblies from engagement with the strike formations, with the operating means including a pair of operating arms each of which is connected to the housing means for pivotal movement relative to the housing means about a separate axis of rotation, and each of which is connected to the slide means so as to be rotated about its associated axis of rotation in response to movement of the slide means between its first and second positions;
• and,
• (g) detent means interposed between the slide means and the housing means, for releasably retaining the slide means in its first and second positions with respect to the housing means, with the detent means including a hole formed in the slide means and opening forwardly toward the back wall of the housing means, a detent element positioned in the hole, biasing means positioned in the hole for biasing the detent element forwardly with respect to the hole so as to project outwardly from the hole and into engagement with the back wall portion of the housing means, and with first and second dimple-like depression means being provided in the back wall portion of the housing means for receiving the detent element when the slide means is in its first and second positions.

An operating mechanism for mounting on a closure for connection through a plurality of elongate links with a plurality of latch bolts that are movably mounted on the closure at locations spaced about the periphery of the closure for engaging suitably configured strike formations, and for operating the latch bolts to release their engagement with the strike formations in response to operation of the operating mechanism, wherein the operating mechanism includes:

• (a) housing means having side and back walls that cooperate to define a forwardly-facing recess, and having an opening formed through the back wall;
• (b) mounting plate means for being positioned to overlie at least a portion of the back wall including such parts of the back wall as extend about the opening that is formed through the back wall;
• (c) track formation means defined by the mounting plate means including a pair of rail formations that extending along opposite sides of the opening that is formed through the back wall to define to form a pair of guide structures that extend along the back wall portion in spaced relationship thereto;
• (d) elongate slide means having groove means formed in opposed, longitudinally-extending side portions thereof for receiving the rail formations to establish a sliding connection between the mounting plate means and the slide means, with the side means defining a receiving formation that is located in alignment with the opening that is formed through the back wall during movement of the slide means along the rail formations between first and second positions relative to the housing means;
• (e) handle means pivotally mounted on the housing means and being movable with respect to the housing means between a nested position wherein the handle means is nested within the recess, and an extended position wherein at least a portion of the handle means projects forwardly from the recess, with the handle means having a rearwardly extending projection that extends through the opening that is formed in the back wall of the housing, and that extends into the receiving formation to define an essentially play-free driving connection between the handle means and the slide means, whereby the handle means is operable during movement between its nested and extended positions to move the slide means between its first and extended positions, respectively;
• (f) operating arm means including a pair of L-shaped arms that each are pivotally connected to the housing means and to the slide means for concurrent counter-rotation with respect to the housing means in response to movement of the slide means between its first and second positions, with the operating arm means also being connectable to the elongate links for effecting operation of the latch bolts in response to movement of the handle means from its nested position to its extended position, with each of the L-shaped arms having a leg portion thereof that extends into overlapping relationship with a leg portion of the other of the L-shaped arms, and with aligned opening means being formed through the overlapping leg portions of the L-shaped arms;
• (g) the slide means having a rearwardly extending projection means thereon that extends through the aligned opening means to establish a driving connection between the slide means and the L-shaped arms that is operative to pivot the L-shaped arms relative to the housing means in a counter-rotation manner in response to movement of the slide means along the rail formations as the handle means is pivoted between its nested and extended positions;
• and,
• (h) detent means interposed between the slide means and the housing means, for releasably retaining the slide means in its first and second positions with respect to the housing means, with the detent means including a closed-ended hole formed in the slide means and facing forwardly toward the back wall of the housing means, a detent element positioned in the hole, biasing means positioned in the hole for biasing the detent element forwardly with respect to the hole so as to project outwardly from the hole and into engagement with the back wall portion of the housing means, and with first and second dimple-like depression means being provided in the back wall portion of the housing means for receiving the detent element when the slide means is in its first and second positions, respectively, relative to the housing means.