Automated door latch actuator especially adapted for mortise locks and method corresponding thereto

A door latch actuator adapted to mount in a frame portion of a door and engage a mortise-type dead latch disposed on and edge portion of the door, said dead latch including a spring latch and a dead latch bolt pin that is linearly spaced-apart from the spring latch along the edge portion of the door, said spring latch being reciprocally movable between an engage position such that it can engage the door latch actuator thereby to retain the door in a fastened state and a release position wherein the door is released from the fastened state, said dead latch pin being reciprocally movable between an enable position that permits movement of the spring latch from the engage position to the release position and a disable position that prohibits movement of the spring latch from the engage position to the release position, said spring latch and said dead latch pin resiliently biased into the engage position and the enable position, respectively, said door latch actuator comprising:

• (a) a housing adapted to be mounted in a frame portion of a door and having a cavity with a forwardly disposed opening that is sized and adapted to receive said spring latch and said dead latch pin when the door is in the fastened state;
• (b) a spring latch plunger mounted for linear reciprocal movement in a longitudinal throw direction in said housing between an extended position and a retracted position, said spring latch plunger being configured as a flat first plate oriented in a first plane that extends longitudinally relative to the longitudinal throw direction so as to have a leading edge;
• (c) a dead latch plunger mounted for linear reciprocal movement in the longitudinal throw direction in said housing between an advanced position and a withdrawn position, said dead latch plunger being configured as a second flat plate oriented in a plane that extends longitudinally relative to the longitudinal throw direction so as to have a leading edge;
• (d) an attack head disposed on said first plate and being selectively positionable at a selected head location in the opening of said cavity, said attack head operative to engage said spring latch bolt when the door is in the fastened state thereby to accommodate different locations of said spring latch on the edge portion of the door;
• (e) a striker assembly supported on said dead latch plunger and including an ensemble of strike elements operative to define a strike surface for said dead latch pin and providing a portal for said spring latch at a selected portal location, said strike elements supported on said second flat plate and extending laterally thereof and being selectively arrangeable into different configurations thereby to vary the selected portal location to accommodate different spring latch and dead latch bolt pin arrangements;
• and
• (f) a drive operative to reciprocally drive said dead latch plunger from the advanced position to the withdrawn position and to advance said spring latch plunger from the retracted position to the extended position.

A method of actuating a mortise-type latch bolt assembly disposed on an edge portion of the door by a mechanism mounted within a jam supporting said door wherein said dead latch includes a spring latch and a dead latch bolt pin that is linearly spaced apart from the spring latch along the edge portion of the door, said spring latch being reciprocally movable between an engage position such that it can engage the door latch actuator thereby to retain the door in a fastened state and a release position wherein the door is released from the fastened state, said dead latch bolt pin being reciprocally movable between an enable position that permits movement of the spring latch from the engage position to the release position, said spring latch and said dead latch bolt pin resiliently biased into the engage position and the enable position, respectively, and wherein the jam has a cavity having an opening that is larger in dimension than said spring latch and said dead latch bolt pin, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) placing an attack head within the jam of the door at a position to engage the spring latch, said attack head having a retracted position wherein the spring latch is in the engage position when the door is in the fastened state;
• (b) configuring a plurality of independent strike elements that are selectively configured within the jam of the door so as to form a strike surface that may be varied to accommodate different spring latch and dead latch pin arrangements and is of a selected configuration adapted to engage the dead latch bolt pin when the door is in the fastened state wherein the strike surface has an advanced position wherein the dead latch bolt pin is in the disable position;
• (c) withdrawing the strike surface to a withdrawn position so as to allow the dead latch bolt pin to move into the enable position;
• (d) moving the attack head from the retracted position to an extended position thereby to move the spring latch to the release position to disengage the spring latch from the cavity;
• and
• (e) thereafter retracting the attack head to the retracted position.