IP Library › Granted Patent US 10,557,532
Granted Patent B2
US 10,557,532 · App. 15/161,214 · Granted Feb 11, 2020

Movable latch housing apparatus

Inventor: Hubert Junior Hill (Golden, CO)
F16H21/44E05F15/668E05Y2900/106
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,557,532
App. No.
15/161,214
Granted
Feb 11, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

A movable latch housing apparatus and method of installation for enhancing security of a latch mechanism that has a channel with a linear drive that is removably engagable to a slidable engagement structure with a shoulder that is pivotally attached through an arm to a door for automated opening and closing, with a lever that can selectably disengage the slidable engagement structure from the linear drive to allow the door to open freely. The apparatus includes a base and a pair of opposing sidewalls each extending in a same direction perpendicular to and straddling the base and attach to the shoulder, the sidewalls extend beyond the base forming an open ended slot for arm movement. Wherein operationally, the base and the sidewalls shield the lever from unauthorized access to help prevent disengagement of the lever from the linear drive which would allow the door to be freely opened.

Claims (31)

1. A movable latch housing apparatus for enhancing security of an existing latch mechanism, wherein said movable latch housing apparatus is adapted to attach to said latch mechanism, said latch mechanism having a slidable channel engagement structure, a channel guide, a pivotal attachment shoulder, an extension arm having a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the extension arm oppositely pivotally attached to a door, a disengagement lever having a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the lever removably engaged to a linear drive in the channel guide with the lever having an engaged state wherein the linear drive opens and closes the door and the lever having a disengaged state allowing the door to be manually opened and closed freely without the linear drive, said movable latch housing apparatus comprising:

(a) a base having a longitudinal axis with a first margin and an opposing second margin with said longitudinal axis spanning therebetween, said base also having a first border and an opposing second border that are positioned about said longitudinal axis in a straddle manner and juxtapose to said longitudinal axis;

(b) a pair of opposing sidewalls each extending in a same direction from said first border and said second border respectively forming a base section of said sidewalls, said sidewalls extending parallel to a longwise axis that is oriented in a perpendicular manner to said longitudinal axis, said sidewalls each have an elongation section beyond said first margin forming an open ended slot as defined by said first margin and said sidewalls elongation sections that the extension arm has pivotal movement within, said pair of sidewalls and said base defining a housing interior, said sidewall elongation sections each have a means for affixment to the pivotal attachment of the shoulder, wherein operationally a combination of said base and said pair of sidewalls substantially enclose the disengagement lever through its pivotal movement from the engaged state to the disengaged state to help prevent a device external to said housing from placing the lever from the engaged state to the disengaged state, which would undesirably enable the device to allow the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the door via the device only, thereby bypassing the security of the latch mechanism, wherein said opposing sidewalls each have a sidewall first end and an opposing sidewall second end along said longitudinal axis such that said pair of sidewall second ends and said base second margin define an open passageway that is operational to accommodate the disengagement lever that has a pull cord attached that has bi-directional extensions for access to the pull cord from both said open ended slot and said open passageway external to said movable latch housing apparatus; and

(c) an arm affixed therebetween said opposing sidewalls, wherein said arm is positioned in said base sections of said opposing sidewalls to be adjacent to said open passageway, wherein operationally said arm provides a sheave for the bi-directional pull cord extensions.

2. The movable latch housing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for said sidewall elongation sections affixment to the pivotal attachment of the shoulder is constructed of an aperture disposed in each of said sidewall elongation sections, wherein the pivotal attachment is secured therethrough each said aperture to affix each said sidewall to opposite sides of the latch mechanism.

3. The movable latch housing apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each said aperture is round in shape to be sized and configured to tightly fit about the pivotal attachment.

4. A movable latch housing apparatus for enhancing security of an existing latch mechanism, wherein said movable latch housing apparatus is adapted to attach to said latch mechanism, said latch mechanism is in the form of a garage door opener with the latch mechanism having a slidable channel engagement structure, a channel guide, a pivotal attachment shoulder, an extension arm having a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the extension arm oppositely pivotally attached to a garage door, a disengagement lever that has a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the lever is removably engaged to a linear drive in the channel guide with the lever having an engaged state wherein the linear drive opens and closes the garage door and the lever having a disengaged state allowing the garage door to be manually opened and closed freely without the linear drive, said movable latch housing apparatus comprising:

(a) a base having a longitudinal axis with a first margin and an opposing second margin with said longitudinal axis spanning therebetween, said base also having a first border and an opposing second border that are positioned about said longitudinal axis in a straddle manner and juxtapose to said longitudinal axis;

(b) a pair of opposing sidewalls each defined by a first end and an opposing second end and in a perpendicular manner defined by a first boundary and an opposing second boundary, said sidewalls extending from an affixed junction of said first boundary from said first border and said second border respectively in a same direction forming a base section of said sidewalls, said sidewalls extending parallel to a longwise axis that is oriented in a perpendicular manner to said longitudinal axis, said sidewalls each have an elongation section beyond said first margin forming an open ended slot that is defined by said first margin and said first boundaries that the extension arm has pivotal movement within, said pair of sidewalls and said base defining a housing interior, said sidewall elongation sections each have an aperture disposed therethrough, wherein the pivotal attachment is secured therethrough each said aperture to affix each said sidewall to opposite sides of the latch mechanism, wherein operationally a combination of said base and said pair of sidewalls substantially enclose the disengagement lever through its pivotal movement from the engaged state to the disengaged state to help prevent a device in the form of a hooked rod that is external to said housing from placing the lever from the engaged state to the disengaged state, which would undesirably enable the hooked rod device to allow the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the garage door via the hooked rod device only, thereby bypassing the security of the latch mechanism, wherein said opposing sidewalls each have said sidewall first end and said opposing sidewall second end that are along said longitudinal axis are configured such that said pair of sidewall second ends and said base second margin define an open passageway that is operational to accommodate the disengagement lever that has a pull cord attached that has bi-directional extensions for access to the pull cord from both said open ended slot and said open passageway external to said movable latch housing apparatus; and

(c) an arm affixed therebetween said opposing sidewalls, wherein said arm is positioned in said base sections of said opposing sidewalls to be adjacent to said open passageway, wherein operationally said arm provides a sheave for the bi-directional pull cord extensions.

5. The movable latch housing apparatus according to claim 4 wherein each said aperture is round in shape to be sized and configured to tightly fit about the pivotal attachment in the form of a pivot beam.

6. A method of installing a movable latch housing apparatus onto a latch mechanism that is in the form of a garage door opener with the latch mechanism having a slidable channel engagement structure, a channel guide, a pivotal attachment shoulder, an extension arm having a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the extension arm oppositely pivotally attached to a garage door, a disengagement lever that has a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the lever is removably engaged to a linear drive in the channel with the lever having an engaged state wherein the linear drive opens and closes the garage door and the lever having a disengaged state allowing the garage door to be manually opened and closed freely without the linear drive, said method of installing said movable latch housing apparatus comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a movable latch housing apparatus that includes a base having a longitudinal axis with a first margin and an opposing second margin with said longitudinal axis spanning therebetween, said base also having a first border and an opposing second border that are positioned about said longitudinal axis in a straddle manner and juxtapose to said longitudinal axis, also included in the movable latch housing apparatus is a pair of opposing sidewalls each defined by a first end and an opposing second end and in a perpendicular manner defined by a first boundary and an opposing second boundary, said sidewalls extending from an affixed junction of said first boundary from said first border and said second border respectively in a same direction forming a base section of said sidewalls, said sidewalls extending parallel to a longwise axis that is oriented in a perpendicular manner to said longitudinal axis, said sidewalls each have an elongation section beyond said first margin forming an open ended slot that is defined by said first margin and said first boundaries that the extension arm has pivotal movement within, said pair of sidewalls and said base defining a housing interior, said sidewall elongation sections each have an aperture disposed therethrough, wherein the pivotal attachment is secured therethrough each said aperture to affix each said sidewall to opposite sides of the latch mechanism, wherein said movable latch housing apparatus further includes a flexible sleeve that is sized and configured to have a slidable engagement to a pull cord that is attached to the disengagement lever, wherein structurally said sleeve fully circumferentially encloses the pull cord, said sleeve having a primary end portion and an opposing secondary end portion;

(b) providing a latch mechanism that is in the form of a garage door opener with the latch mechanism having a slidable channel engagement structure, a channel guide, a pivotal attachment shoulder, an extension arm having a pivotal attachment on a pivot beam to the shoulder and the extension arm oppositely pivotally attached to a garage door, a disengagement lever that has a pivotal attachment on a pivot beam to the shoulder and the lever is removably engaged to a linear drive in the channel with the lever having an engaged state wherein the linear drive opens and closes the garage door and the lever having a disengaged state allowing the garage door to be manually opened and closed freely without the linear drive;

(c) attaching each said sidewall to the pivotal attachment utilizing each said aperture on opposing sides of the pivotal attachment such that the pivot beam extends therethrough each said aperture, ensuring that the extension arm and the disengagement lever both have free pivotal movement with each said sidewall attached to the pivotal attachment;

(d) moving the disengagement lever to be in the engaged state, wherein operationally a combination of said base and said pair of sidewalls substantially enclose the disengagement lever through its pivotal movement from the engaged state to the disengaged state to help prevent a device in the form of a hooked rod that is external to said housing from placing the lever from the engaged state to the disengaged state, which would undesirably enable the hooked rod device to allow the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the garage door via the hooked rod device only thereby bypassing the security of the latch mechanism; and

(e) feeding the pull cord therethrough said sleeve such that the pull cord emerges from each of said primary and secondary ends, further to the added step is affixing said sleeve primary end portion to said base such that said sleeve primary end portion is disposed within said housing interior, further affixing said sleeve to the extension arm, wherein operationally said sleeve protects the pull cord from the hooked rod device thus helping to shield the disengagement lever from being manually moved from the engaged state to the disengaged state, thus preventing the device from allowing the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the garage door via the device only.

7. A movable latch housing apparatus for enhancing security of an existing latch mechanism, wherein said movable latch housing apparatus is adapted to attach to said latch mechanism, said latch mechanism having a slidable channel engagement structure, a channel guide, a pivotal attachment shoulder, an extension arm having a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the extension arm oppositely pivotally attached to a door, a disengagement lever having a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the lever removably engaged to a linear drive in the channel guide with the lever having an engaged state wherein the linear drive opens and closes the door and the lever having a disengaged state allowing the door to be manually opened and closed freely without the linear drive, said movable latch housing apparatus comprising:

(a) a base having a longitudinal axis with a first margin and an opposing second margin with said longitudinal axis spanning therebetween, said base also having a first border and an opposing second border that are positioned about said longitudinal axis in a straddle manner and juxtapose to said longitudinal axis;

(b) a pair of opposing sidewalls each extending in a same direction from said first border and said second border respectively forming a base section of said sidewalls, said sidewalls extending parallel to a longwise axis that is oriented in a perpendicular manner to said longitudinal axis, said sidewalls each have an elongation section beyond said first margin forming an open ended slot as defined by said first margin and said sidewalls elongation sections that the extension arm has pivotal movement within, said pair of sidewalls and said base defining a housing interior, said sidewall elongation sections each have a means for affixment to the pivotal attachment of the shoulder, wherein operationally a combination of said base and said pair of sidewalls substantially enclose the disengagement lever through its pivotal movement from the engaged state to the disengaged state to help prevent a device external to said housing from placing the lever from the engaged state to the disengaged state, which would undesirably enable the device to allow the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the door via the device only, thereby bypassing the security of the latch mechanism; and

(c) a flexible sleeve that is sized and configured to have a slidable engagement to a pull cord that is attached to the disengagement lever, wherein structurally said sleeve fully circumferentially encloses the pull cord, said sleeve having a primary end portion and an opposing secondary end portion wherein the pull cord emerges from each of said primary and secondary ends, said sleeve primary end portion is affixed to said base such that said sleeve primary end portion is disposed within said housing interior, further said sleeve is also affixed to the extension arm, wherein operationally said sleeve protects the pull cord from the device thus helping to shield the lever from being manually moved from the engaged state to the disengaged state, thus preventing the device from allowing the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the door via the device only.

8. A movable latch housing apparatus for enhancing security of an existing latch mechanism, wherein said movable latch housing apparatus is adapted to attach to said latch mechanism, said latch mechanism is in the form of a garage door opener with the latch mechanism having a slidable channel engagement structure, a channel guide, a pivotal attachment shoulder, an extension arm having a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the extension arm oppositely pivotally attached to a garage door, a disengagement lever that has a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the lever is removably engaged to a linear drive in the channel guide with the lever having an engaged state wherein the linear drive opens and closes the garage door and the lever having a disengaged state allowing the garage door to be manually opened and closed freely without the linear drive, said movable latch housing apparatus comprising:

(a) a base having a longitudinal axis with a first margin and an opposing second margin with said longitudinal axis spanning therebetween, said base also having a first border and an opposing second border that are positioned about said longitudinal axis in a straddle manner and juxtapose to said longitudinal axis;

(b) a pair of opposing sidewalls each defined by a first end and an opposing second end and in a perpendicular manner defined by a first boundary and an opposing second boundary, said sidewalls extending from an affixed junction of said first boundary from said first border and said second border respectively in a same direction forming a base section of said sidewalls, said sidewalls extending parallel to a longwise axis that is oriented in a perpendicular manner to said longitudinal axis, said sidewalls each have an elongation section beyond said first margin forming an open ended slot that is defined by said first margin and said first boundaries that the extension arm has pivotal movement within, said pair of sidewalls and said base defining a housing interior, said sidewall elongation sections each have an aperture disposed therethrough, wherein the pivotal attachment is secured therethrough each said aperture to affix each said sidewall to opposite sides of the latch mechanism, wherein operationally a combination of said base and said pair of sidewalls substantially enclose the disengagement lever through its pivotal movement from the engaged state to the disengaged state to help prevent a device in the form of a hooked rod that is external to said housing from placing the lever from the engaged state to the disengaged state, which would undesirably enable the hooked rod device to allow the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the garage door via the hooked rod device only, thereby bypassing the security of the latch mechanism; and

(c) a flexible sleeve that is sized and configured to have a slidable engagement to a pull cord that is attached to the disengagement lever, wherein structurally said sleeve fully circumferentially encloses the pull cord, said sleeve having a primary end portion and an opposing secondary end portion wherein the pull cord emerges from each of said primary and secondary ends, said sleeve primary end portion is affixed to said base such that said sleeve primary end portion is disposed within said housing interior, further said sleeve is also affixed to the extension arm, wherein operationally said sleeve protects the pull cord from the hooked rod device thus helping to shield the lever from being manually moved from the engaged state to the disengaged state, thus preventing the device from allowing the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the garage door via the device only.

9. A method of installing a movable latch housing apparatus onto a latch mechanism that is in the form of a garage door opener with the latch mechanism having a slidable channel engagement structure, a channel guide, a pivotal attachment shoulder, an extension arm having a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the extension arm oppositely pivotally attached to a garage door, a disengagement lever that has a pivotal attachment to the shoulder and the lever is removably engaged to a linear drive in the channel with the lever having an engaged state wherein the linear drive opens and closes the garage door and the lever having a disengaged state allowing the garage door to be manually opened and closed freely without the linear drive, said method of installing said movable latch housing apparatus comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a movable latch housing apparatus that includes a base having a longitudinal axis with a first margin and an opposing second margin with said longitudinal axis spanning therebetween, said base also having a first border and an opposing second border that are positioned about said longitudinal axis in a straddle manner and juxtapose to said longitudinal axis, also included in the movable latch housing apparatus is a pair of opposing sidewalls each defined by a first end and an opposing second end and in a perpendicular manner defined by a first boundary and an opposing second boundary, said sidewalls extending from an affixed junction of said first boundary from said first border and said second border respectively in a same direction forming a base section of said sidewalls, said sidewalls extending parallel to a longwise axis that is oriented in a perpendicular manner to said longitudinal axis, said sidewalls each have an elongation section beyond said first margin forming an open ended slot that is defined by said first margin and said first boundaries that the extension arm has pivotal movement within, said pair of sidewalls and said base defining a housing interior, said sidewall elongation sections each have an aperture disposed therethrough, wherein the pivotal attachment is secured therethrough each said aperture to affix each said sidewall to opposite sides of the latch mechanism, further included is an open passageway that is defined by said opposing sidewalls that each have said sidewall first end and said opposing sidewall second end along said longitudinal axis such that said pair of sidewall second ends and said base second margin define said open passageway, said movable latch housing apparatus also further including an arm affixed therebetween said opposing sidewalls, wherein said arm is positioned in said base sections of said opposing sidewalls to be adjacent to said open passageway;

(b) providing a latch mechanism that is in the form of a garage door opener with the latch mechanism having a slidable channel engagement structure, a channel guide, a pivotal attachment shoulder, an extension arm having a pivotal attachment on a pivot beam to the shoulder and the extension arm oppositely pivotally attached to a garage door, a disengagement lever that has a pivotal attachment on a pivot beam to the shoulder and the lever is removably engaged to a linear drive in the channel with the lever having an engaged state wherein the linear drive opens and closes the garage door and the lever having a disengaged state allowing the garage door to be manually opened and closed freely without the linear drive;

(c) attaching each said sidewall to the pivotal attachment utilizing each said aperture on opposing sides of the pivotal attachment such that the pivot beam extends therethrough each said aperture, ensuring that the extension arm and the disengagement lever both have free pivotal movement with each said sidewall attached to the pivotal attachment;

(d) moving the disengagement lever to be in the engaged state, wherein operationally a combination of said base and said pair of sidewalls substantially enclose the disengagement lever through its pivotal movement from the engaged state to the disengaged state to help prevent a device in the form of a hooked rod that is external to said housing from placing the lever from the engaged state to the disengaged state, which would undesirably enable the hooked rod device to allow the latch mechanism to be manually moved to open the garage door via the hooked rod device only thereby bypassing the security of the latch mechanism; and

(e) threading a pull cord that is attached to the disengagement lever over said arm and routing the pull cord to exit therethrough said open passageway into an external environment, wherein operationally said arm provides a sheave for a bi-directional pull cord extension that is operational to accommodate the disengagement lever that has a pull cord attached that has the bi-directional extensions for access to the pull cord from both said open ended slot and said open passageway external to said movable latch housing apparatus.

Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62165686 · May 22, 2015
Related Publication 20160340946A1 · Nov 24, 2016
Cited By (1)
US 12,385,320