GB2457994A

GB2457994A - Security device for sliding door

Info

Publication number: GB2457994A
Application number: GB0804347A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graham Wilfred Pearce; Stephen John Weaver
Original assignee: WINLOCK SECURITY Ltd
Current assignee: WINLOCK SECURITY Ltd
Priority date: 2008-03-08
Filing date: 2008-03-08
Publication date: 2009-09-09
Anticipated expiration: 2028-03-08
Also published as: GB0804347D0; GB2457994B

Abstract

A security device for a sliding door, e.g. a patio door, having at least two panels received in a frame, at least one of the panels being slidable between open and closed positions, the security device comprising a first engagement element 46 for mounting to a stile member 30 of one of the panels, and a second engagement element 48 for mounting to a stile member 36 of a further panel, the stile members lying adjacent to each other door is closed, the two engagement elements 46 48 having engagement formations 60 which co-operate with one another to resist movement of the engagement elements 46 48 away from one another in the direction transverse to the plane of the door. A lock may also be provided to secure the panels together. Each engagement element 46 48 may have an aperture (66 Fig. 4) which are aligned when the door is shut allowing the passage of a bolt 72 to engage with both stiles. The engaging elements 46 48 prevent access to the bolt 72. There may be an operating element in the form of a turnable knob 74 for locking the bolt in place.

Description

I 24579 Title: Security of Patio Doors

Description of Invention

This invention relates to the security of patio doors.

Patio doors are well known features of buildings, to be found in many dwellings and other premises. A patio door typically comprises two or more glazed panels supported in a frame carried by the structure of the building, at least one of the panels being slidable lengthwise of the frame to afford, when in an open position, an opening for persons to pass between the interior of the building and, typically, a patio or garden area outside the building (or possibly, in the case of an upper storey of the building, a balcony or the like).

Security of all doors and windows of a building is important, and hitherto, in general, locking of patio doors has generally been provided by locking mechanisms which provide for locking of one of the stiles of the or each slidable panel to the upright member of the door frame adjacent which the stile of the panel lies when it is in its closed position, at a position in the region of half way up the door. Alternatively, or in addition, locking of a top and/or bottom part of the or each slidable panel to a top and/or bottom frame member, respectively, has been provided for.

Such locking arrangements present certain problems, arising principally from the fact that the stiles of the door panels are some 2 metres in height, and inherently, therefore, somewhat flexible. Typically, the frame members which form the stiles are of timber, or are extrusions of an aluminium alloy, or of a plastics material such as PVCU which can be more flexible than the former materials despite the presence of a metal reinforcing element or elements in one or more hollow sections of the frame member. This means that it is possible to force the stiles of the door panels which lie adjacent one another, remote from the ends of the frame, away from one another in a direction transverse to the length of the door. This compromises the security of the door.

It is broadly the objection of the present invention to address the above-described problem of known patio doors.

According to one aspect of the present invention, we provide a security device for a patio door having at least two panels received in a frame, at least one of the panels being slidable lengthwise of the frame between open and closed positions, the security device comprising a first engagement element for mounting to a stile member of one of the panels, and a second engagement element for mounting to a stile member of a further panel, which stile members lie adjacent one another when the panels are in a door-closed position relative to one another, the two engagement elements having respective engagement formations which co-operate with one another to resist movement of the engagement elements away from one another in a direction transverse to the general plane of the door. Preferably the engagement elements are capable of co-operating with locking means for holding them to one another against movement lengthwise of the door.

When a security device in accordance with the invention is installed in a patio door, with the respective engagement elements at positions somewhere generally in the mid region of the respective stiles of the panels, the co-operation of the engagement formations with one another when the panels are in the door-closed position means that the stiles cannot in normal circumstances be displaced to any significant extent away from one another transversely of the general plane of the door. As long as the locking means co-operates with the engagement elements to hold them to one another against movement lengthwise of the door, the stiles are held together against the transverse movement and the result is a high degree of security.

By the general plane of the door, we mean a plane which extends parallel to the surfaces of its panels facing inwardly and outwardly of the structure in which the door is, or is to be, installed, and which lies generally in the mid-region of the thickness of the door.

The engagement formations may have respective apertures which align with one another when the panels are in the closed position, with which apertures the locking means is engageable.

The locking means may comprise a bolt element associated with one of the engagement elements and moveable to engage the other engagement element to hold them to one another against movement lengthwise of the door.

The bolt element may be moveable linearly in a direction transversely to the general plane of the door, to extend through the apertures in the respective engagement formations.

The engagement formations may comprise respective wall portions which are arranged to be spaced from surfaces of the respective stile members, which surfaces face one another when the panels are in the door-closed position, the arrangement being such that each engagement formation lies between the other engagement formation and the other stile surface.

The engagement formations may be arranged to be inclined to the respective stile surfaces from which they are spaced, so that they are readily able to interfit with one another in the aforesaid manner as the panels approach the door-closed position.

Preferably the engagement formations substantially prevent access to the bolt element through any space which may exist between the adjacent stiles of the panels when they are in the door-closed position.

The engagement formations preferably are of a tough and wear resistant material, such as stainless steel.

The locking means may comprise a housing for the bolt element, which housing is adapted to be mounted generaDy within the appropriate one of the stile members. An operating element for effecting movement of the bolt element may be operable from the interior of the building in which the door is to be installed. Such an operating element may comprise a turnable knob which causes the bolt element to extend and retract, as required, in the direction transversely of the length of window.

According to another aspect of the invention, we provide a patio door provided with a security device according to the first aspect of the invention.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is an elevation of a patio door provided with a security device in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the region of the patio door wherein the section 2-2 is taken, with part of the door removed.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a component of the security device.

Referring firstly to figure 1 of the drawings, a patio door assembly comprises a peripheral frame indicated generally at 10 which, in use, is installed an opening in the wall of building for example a dwelling. The frame 10 comprises horizontally-extending top and bottom frame members 12, 14 and upright frame members 16, 18 at the ends of the members 12, 14. The frame carries two glazed panels indicated generally at 20, 22.

The panel 20 comprises upper and lower horizontally-extending frame members 24, 26 and upright stiles 28, 30 at the ends of the frame members 24, 26. Similarly, the panel 22 has upper and lower frame members 32, 34 and stiles 36, 38. The panels 20, 22 are supported in known manner in the frame 10 such that one or both of the panels is able to be moved lengthwise of the frame between a ciosed position in which, as illustrated, the stiles 30, 36 lie closely adjacent one another while the stiles 28, 38 are adjacent the respective upright members at the ends of the door frame, and an open position in which the or each moveable panel is displaced from the respective end of the door frame. The panels are, of course, offset from one another in the frame in the direction of the thickness of the door, transverse to the general plane of the door (which is parallel to the plane of the drawing).

For locking the patio door with its panels 20, 22 in the closed position, a security device is provided which fastens the adjacent stiles 30, 36 of the panels to one another at a position about half way up the stiles. Such a security device is indicated at 40 in figure 1, and will now be described in greater detail with reference to figures 2 to 4 of the drawings. Figure 2 shows, in cross-section, the stiles 30, 36 of the panels 20, 22 respectively, these stiles being extrusions of a suitable material such as an aluminium alloy or a plastics material such as PVCU, the latter in the present example. The cross-sectional shape of the stiles will not be described in detail since its features are generally known and there are many frame member sections, all differing in detail from one another, available from different manufacturers. The cross-sectional shapes of the stiles 30, 36 are the same as one another but oriented differently from one another. They provide for the fitment and retention of sealed double glazing units. When the patio door is in the fully-closed position as shown in the drawings, a surface 42 of a wall portion of the stile 30 lies substantially parallel to and spaced from a facing surface 44 of a wall portion of the stile 36.

The security device comprises two engagement elements which are secured to the stile members 30, 36 respectively. One of the engagement elements is indicated at 46, secured to the stile member 30 on the surface 42 thereof, and the other engagement element is indicated at 48, secured to the surface 44 of the stile member 36. The engagement elements are the same as one another, the engagement element 46 being shown in isolation in figure 4, and both engagement elements being shown, co-operating with one another, in figure 3 from which the stile member 36 has been removed to enable the co-operation between the two engagement elements to be seen.

Each of the engagement elements 46, 48, as seen in figure 4, is a stamped component of sheet metal preferably a suitable grade of stainless steel so that it is tough and corrosion resistant. It comprises spaced parallel mounting portions 50, 52 each provided with two countersunk holes as indicated at 54, for receiving fixing screws which, as seen in figure 2 at 56, extend through the holes 54 and engage the material of the stile members. Between the mounting portions 50, 52 there is a wall portion 58 which is co-planar with the mounting portion and from this portion 58 there extends an engagement formation 60. This engagement formation is inclined to and spaced from the general plane of the mounting portions 50, 52 and wall portion 58, as most clearly seen in figures 2 and 3. Hence the engagement formation 60 is spaced from the surface 42 of the stile member to which the engagement element 46 is attached, sufficiently to allow the corresponding engagement formation of the other engagement element 48 to pass between it and the surface 42 as the stile members 30, 36 approach the fully-closed position, moving relative to one another in the direction indicated by arrows 64 in figure 2. The engagement formation 60 of each of the engagement elements 46, 48 is provided with an aperture 66 which is elongated in the direction of the length of the stile members.

The security device further comprises a locking means which comprises a housing 70 installed in the stile member 36 and from which a bolt element 72 is able to be extended to pass through the aperture 66 of the engagement element secured to the stile 36 and through the aperture 66 of the engagement element 46 secured to the stile 30, entering the interior of the stile member 30 through an aperture provided therein behind the aperture 66 of the engagement element 46. Such operation of the bolt element 72 to cause it to engage the stile member 30, and to retract it to the stile member 36 when required, may be effected by an operating element in the form of a turnable knob 74 which is accessible on the face of the stile member 36 which lies inside the building in which the door is or is to be installed. The mechanism associated with the housing 70, bolt element 72 and operating knob 74 which causes extension and retraction of the bolt element 72 when required will not be described herein in detail: such mechanisms are well known.

From the above description it will be appreciated that when the panels of the door are in the fully-closed position as shown in figure 2, such that the engagement elements 40, 46 co-operate as above described, the disposition of the engagement formations 60 of the engagement elements is such that the stile members are closely constrained against movement away from one another in the direction transverse to the general plane of the door. When the bolt 72 is extended to reach through the apertures 66 of the engagement formations and to enter the interior of the stile member 30, the panels are also closely constrained against relative opening movement lengthwise of the door and against relative movement vertically; hence a high degree of security of the patio door is achieved. The engagement formations 60 of the engagement elements severely restrict, indeed virtually prevent, access to the bolt element 72 which if it were allowed might enable the bolt element to be cut or damaged.

It would be possible for more than one secunty device as above described to be installed on the stile members of the door. For example, three such devices could be provided with one near the top of the stile members, one near the bottom and one about midway between. Locking bolts need not be provided for all such devices; one or more thereof, for example the one between the top and bottom of the stile members, Could comprise just the engagement elements and hence provide resistance against movement of the stile members away from one another transversely of the general plane of the door, while resistance against relative movement in other directions is given by the locking bolts of the top and bottom devices.

When used in this specification and claims, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

Claims 1. A security device for a patio door having at least two panels received in a frame, at least one of the panels being slidable lengthwise of the frame between open and closed positions, the security device comprising a first engagement element for mounting to a stile member of one of the panels, and a second engagement element for mounting to a stile member of a further panel, which stile members lie adjacent one another when the panels are in a door-closed position relative to one another, the two engagement elements having respective engagement formations which co-operate with one another to resist movement of the engagement elements away from one another in the direction transverse to the general plane of the door.
2. A security device according to claim I wherein the engagement elements are capable of co-operating with locking means for holding them to one another against movement lengthwise of the door.
3. A security device according to claim 2 wherein the engagement formations have respective apertures which align with one another when the panels are in the closed position, for engagement by the locking means.
4. A security device according to claim 3, further comprising a said locking means.
5. A security device according to claim 4 wherein the locking means comprises a bolt element associated with one of the engagement elements and moveable to engage the other engagement element.
6. A security device according to claim 5 wherein the bolt element is moveable linearly in a direction transversely to the length of the door, to extend through the apertures in the respective engagement formations.
7. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the engagement formations comprise respective wall portions adapted to be spaced from surfaces of the respective stile members, which surfaces face one another when the panels are in the door-closed position, each engagement formation being arranged to lie between the other engagement formation and the other stile surface.
8. A security device according to claim 7 wherein the engagement formations are arranged to be inclined to the respective stile surfaces from which they are spaced.
9. A security device according to claim 5 or any claim appendent thereto wherein the engagement formations substantially prevent access to the bolt element when the bolt element extends through the engagement formations.
10. A security device according to claim 5 or any claim appendent thereto wherein a housing is provided for the bolt element, which housing is adapted to be mounted generally within a stile member.
11. A security device according to claim 10 comprising an operating element for effecting movement of the bolt element, operable from the interior of a building in which the door and security device is to be installed.
12. A security device according to claim 11 wherein the operating element comprises a turnable knob.
13. A security device for a patio door substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
14. A patio door having at least one security device according to any one of the preceding claims.
15. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.