Adjustable Backset Latch Mechanism for Door Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cylindrical locksets face installation challenges due to varying door backsets, as traditional latch assemblies require specific configurations to function properly, leading to potential failure if not correctly matched.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable latch mechanism featuring an inner and outer housing with an engagement projection and adjustment slot, allowing axial and rotational displacement, and a bolt assembly with retention projections to accommodate different backset settings, enabling secure engagement with the lock chassis regardless of door configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional latch assembly is used with fixed configuration, then the latch can engage properly with the lock chassis for a specific backset, but the latch cannot accommodate varying door backsets leading to installation failure
Solution Approach 1:
The latch assembly incorporates adjustable components including an adjustable latch bar and repositionable retention projections that can be moved along the bolt rod to different axial positions. This dynamic adjustability allows the latch to adapt to multiple backset distances (e.g., 2-3/8 inches and 2-7/8 inches) while maintaining proper engagement with the lock chassis, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the axial position parameter of the retention projections and latch bar relative to the bolt rod. By repositioning these components along the bolt rod's axial direction, the latch assembly can accommodate different backset measurements. This parameter adjustment enables a single latch design to work with varying door configurations without requiring multiple specialized latch assemblies.
2Ease of operation
If the latch assembly is made adjustable to accommodate different backsets, then installation flexibility is improved, but the structural complexity of the latch increases
Solution Approach 1:
The latch assembly is divided into separable functional components: the bolt rod with retention projections, the adjustable latch bar, and the housing assembly. This segmentation allows each component to be independently positioned and adjusted during installation. The retention projections can be repositioned along the bolt rod, and the latch bar can be adjusted relative to the housing, providing installation flexibility while keeping the overall structure manageable through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable retention projections and latch bar mechanism serves multiple functions: it accommodates different backset distances, maintains secure engagement with the lock chassis, and provides reliable latching action. This multi-functionality is achieved through a unified adjustable mechanism rather than requiring separate specialized components for each backset size, thereby improving installation flexibility without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable latch configured to accommodate different backset lengths. The adjustable latch includes inner and outer housings, at least a portion of the inner housing being structured for axial and rotational displacement within the outer housing as an engagement projection of the inner housing is displaced about an adjustment slot of the outer housing. The apparatus may include a bolt assembly having a bolt rod and a latch bar, the bolt rod having projections that are structured to be adjacent to the latch bar when the bolt rod is at a first rotational position and at first or second axial positions. When the bolt rod is at a second rotational position, the axial positions of the bolt rod and the inner housing relative to at least the latch bar and outer housing, respectively, may be adjusted to adjust the backset setting of the latch.