Handle-latch

Abstract

A latch-handle for securing a hinged gate in a gateway. The latch handle has a through opening for mounting the latch handle so that it may rotate about and slide vertically on a gatepost, a handle portion, a depending bolt member, and an edge with a recess formed to fit the edge of the gate. The bottom of the recess and the through opening are close to one another so that when the gate is in a closed position the edge of the gate extends closely alongside the gatepost. A bolt receiving member is mounted on the gatepost directly below the bolt member for receiving the bolt member to secure the gate in a closed position. A horizontal plane of symmetry extends through the handle latch so that it may be inverted to present the handle to an arbitrarily selected preferred access side for the gate.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a latch and handle for mounting on a preferred access side of a gate, and more particularly to such a latch and handle which allows the edge of the gate to assume a position close to the gatepost to minimize the opening therebetween.

In the past latches for hinged gates in chain link fences have been of the type which required a considerable gap between the gatepost and the gate for the mechanism forming the latch. Moreover, the latch handle projected toward the side of the gatepost as determined by the side of the gateway on which the gate was hinged. This was not always the preferred access side for the gate. This could amount to some inconvenience when it was necessary to lock the gate as a combination or key operated locking device might be on the side of the gate opposite that from which the gate was most often approached. The wide space between the gatepost and the edge of the gate was often so large that small pets and children might find their way through even when the gate was in the secured position. There is, therefore, a need for a latch with a handle for use with gates in chain link fences which may be installed with the handle and locking side on an arbitrarily selected preferred access side of the gate, and which allows the edge of the gate to run closely alongside the gatepost for adequately confining small pets and children.

SUMMARY AND OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The latch-handle disclosed herein is for mounting on a gatepost which rises on one side of a gateway having a hinged gate disposed therein which swings between an open and a closed position. The latch includes means for engaging an outermost swinging edge of the gate as it approaches the closed position. The engaging means has a portion extending into the gateway containing a recess having a bottom surface for contacting the edge of the gate. The bottom of the recess is formed close to the gatepost and the gate edge rotates the engaging means on the gatepost to a secured position when the gate is closed assuming a position closely alongside the gatepost. The engaging means has a handle and a depending bolt member on a preferred access side. A bolt receiving member is mounted on the gatepost on the preferred access side. The engaging means has a plane of symmetry passing horizontally through the handle so that the engaging means may be inverted to present the handle and depending bolt member to either side of the gatepost thereby allowing arbitrary selection of the preferred access side for the gate.

In general it is an object of the present invention to provide a latch-handle for a gate in a chain link fence which will hold the gate in a secured position with the edge of the gate running closely alongside the gatepost.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a latch-handle for a gate in a chain link fence which may be mounted with the handle portion extending on either side of a gatepost for arbitrary selection of a preferred access side for the gate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a latch-handle for a gate in a chain link fence which accepts the edge of the gate as it swings from the open to the closed position and provides a bolt which drops through a bolt receiver for securing the gate as it reaches the closed position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a latch-handle for a gate in a chain link fence which may be locked in the secured position on an arbitrarily chosen preferred access side of the gate.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the handle-latch locked in the closed position.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the handle-latch in the unlocked closed position.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the handle-latch in the unlocked open position.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the handle-latch locked in the closed position.

FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view of the handle-latch in the closed position.

FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view of the handle-latch in the open position.

FIG. 7A is a top view of the bolt receiver for the handle-latch.

FIG. 7B is a side elevational view of the bolt receiver for the handle-latch.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The embodiment disclosed here is described in terms of a handle-latch for a gate in a chain link fence for convenience, but there is no intent to limit the utility of the handle-latch solely to use with gates in chain link fences. The application to uses with gates and fences of other types will be obvious to those skilled in the art in light of the following disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1 a gatepost 11 is shown disposed in a generally vertical position defining the edge of a gateway 12 containing a hinged gate 13 having an outermost swinging edge 14. The gatepost 11 has means 16 mounted thereon for engaging the gate 13 at the outermost swinging edge 14. Means 16 has a portion 17 extending into the gateway 12. Means 16 is formed with an opening 18 extending therethrough formed to accept the gatepost 11 for mounting thereon and for sliding and rotating motion thereon. A bolt member 19 depends from engaging means 16 and is adapted to pass through a bolt receiving member 21. Bolt member 19 includes a hole 22 located near the end thereof through which a locking device such as lock 23 may be inserted for preventing vertical motion of means 16 on gatepost 11.

Turning to FIG. 2 the engaging means 16 is shown moved vertically upward on the gatepost 11. Engaging means 16 is moved to a position where the bolt member 19 has its lower edge at the same level as a horizontal edge 24 of bolt receiving member 21. Turning to FIG. 3 it may now be seen that engaging means 16 may be rotated on the gatepost 11 when in the position shown in FIG. 2. The angle of rotation of engaging means 16 is limited by stops 26 projecting from the horizontal edge 24 of bolt receiving member 21.

FIG. 4 shows engaging means 16 mounted on gatepost 11 having the bolt member 19 extending through the bolt receiving member 21 with a locking means 23 extending through the hole 19. The locking means 23 is on a preferred access side 11A of gatepost 11.

FIG. 5 shows engaging means 16 formed of two parts 16A and 16B. When the two parts 16A and 16B are placed together as shown, the opening 18 is formed through the means for engaging 16. Part 16B has an L-shaped section 27 extending from the opening 18 having holes 28 extending therethrough. Part 16A also has an extension 29 from opening 18 having holes 31 extending therethrough in a position matching the holes 28. Extensions 27 and 29 form a space 32 therebetween for receiving bolt member 19. Bolt member 19 has holes 33 therethrough in a pattern matching the pattern of holes 31 and 28. Bolts 34 extend through holes 28, 31 and 33 to secure parts 16A and 16B together surrounding gatepost 11 and to secure bolt member 19 depending from engaging means 16. A handle portion 36 is formed on part 16B on the preferred access side 11A of gatepost 11.

As seen in FIG. 6 engaging means 16 is capable of rotation about gatepost 11 as the outermost swinging edge 14 of gate 13 is moved to the open position. Engaging means 16 has a recess 37 formed in the portion 17 extending into the gateway 12. A bottom surface 38 is located in recess 37. There is a web 39 extending across the recess 37 at the bottom surface 38.

FIG. 7A shows the bolt receiving member 21 which has a channel 41 passing therethrough. Bolt receiving member 21 is also mounted on the preferred access side 11A of gatepost 11. Horizontal edge 24 supports engaging means 16 above the bolt receiving member 21 when in an unsecured position by contacting the bottom surface of bolt member 19. Horizontal edge 42 contacts the engaging means 16 for supporting the same on gatepost 11 when the bolt member 19 extends through channel 41 defining a secured position. In this fashion engaging means 16 is prevented from sliding down gatepost 11 in both the secured position as shown in FIG. 5 and the unsecured position as shown in FIG. 6.

Turning now to the operation of the latch handle device disclosed herein reference is made to FIG. 1 to define a horizontal plane of symmetry 43 through the engaging means 16. The symmetry in the engaging means 16 about plane 43 allows the engaging means 16 to be installed on gatepost 11 so that the handle member 36 and bolt member 19 may be placed either on the preferred access side 11A of gatepost 11 as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, or on the opposite side therefrom should the preferred access side 11A be arbitrarily selected to be on the opposite side. Upon selection of the preferred access side 11A parts 16A and 16B of engaging means 16 are assembled to surround gate-post 11 and bolt member 19 is attached by means of bolts 34. Opening 18 is sufficiently oversized compared with the outside dimensions of gatepost 11 to allow engaging means 16 to move rotationally and vertically with respect to gatepost 11. Bolt receiving member 21 is attached by means of a fastener such as pin 44 to gatepost 11 on preferred access side 11A directly below the position of bolt member 19 when engaging means 16 is in the closed position.

When gate 13 is in the closed position as in FIG. 5, bolt member 19 passes through channel 41 securing engaging means 16 and gate 13 in the closed position. Engaging means 16 may be lifted vertically by handle 36 so that bolt member 19 clears channel 41, and may then be rotated away from or toward handle 36 to open gate 13 in an outwardly or an inwardly direction as desired. Engaging means 16 is supported on the end of bolt member 19 in the open position as it contacts horizontal surface 24. To close gate 13 the gate is rotated toward the closed position where it contacts recess 37 rotating engaging means 16 until bolt member 19 overlies channel 41 and drops through, securing the gate 13 in the closed position.

Outermost swinging edge 14 of gate 13 is brought as close as possible to gatepost 11 to diminish the space therebetween by removing all or a portion of web 39 in the bottom of recess 37 so that the outermost edge 14 just contacts the bottom 38 of recess 37 when in the closed position. In this fashion the opening and the closing of gate 13 is effected, latching in the closed position is performed, and the edge 14 of gate 13 is positioned as closely as possible to gatepost 11 when in a closed position .

Claims

I claim:

1. A gate handle latch for mounting on a gatepost which defines one edge of a gateway having a hinged gate disposed therein which is adapted to swing between an open and closed position relative to the gateway wherein the gate has one edge disposed in juxtaposition with the gatepost when in the closed position comprising

means for engaging the one edge of the gate, said means having an opening adapted to surround the gatepost, so that said means for engaging may slide vertically therealong and rotate thereon,

a bolt member attached to one side of said means for engaging,

a bolt receiver adapted for fixed mounting on the gatepost below said means for engaging and having a channel therethrough for receiving said bolt member,

said means for engaging having a recess therein spaced from where said bolt member is attached for accepting the one edge of the gate as it approaches the closed position,

said means for engaging also having a horizontal plane of symmetry passing therethrough, whereby said one side thereof may by positioned on a preferred access side of the gatepost, and said bolt member is adapted to be positioned in a downwardly extending direction to engage said bolt receiver on said preferred access side of the gatepost

said recess having a bottom surface proximate to said opening, said bottom surface including a web extending from side to side in said recess, whereby when said gate is erected and said web is removed to just clear the one edge of the gate when the gate is closed, and said engaging means is lowered, said bolt member passes through said channel fixing the gate in the closed position, and the one edge of the gate is proximate to the gatepost providing a minimal opening therebetween.

2. A gate handle latch as in claim 1 wherein said engaging means has a broad surfaced portion on said one side providing a handle for imparting said vertical and rotational motion.

3. A gate handle latch as in claim 2 wherein said bolt member depends from said one side, and said bolt receiver is in a position below said handle for receiving said bolt member, whereby said engaging means is stopped from rotating when said bolt member enters said bolt receiver, and is prevented from sliding down the gatepost.

4. A gate handle latch as in claim 3 wherein said bolt receiver has a stop spaced from each side of said channel for contacting said bolt member and limiting rotation of said engagine means, whereby when the gate is returned from the open to the closed position said recess is in position so that the edge of the gate enters said recess.

5. A gate handle latch as in claim 1 wherein said bolt member extends below said bolt receiver after passing through said channel and has a hole through the lower end thereof, together with means for locking formed to pass through said hole to prevent withdrawal of said bolt member.

6. A gate handle latch as in claim 1 wherein the gate may swing open inwardly or outwardly and wherein said engaging means has a broad surfaced portion on said one side providing a handle for moving said engaging means,

whereby said handle is also on said preferred access side of the gatepost when said bolt member is so positioned,

said bolt member depending from said one side and said bolt receiver being positioned below said handle for receiving said bolt member whereby when said bolt member is received by said bolt receiver said means for engaging is stopped from rotating and from sliding down the gatepost,

a stop on each side of said channel through said bolt receiver for limiting rotation of said engaging means, whereby when the gate is returned from the inwardly or outwardly open to the closed position the edge of the gate contacts the side of said recess, thereby rotating said engaging means until said bolt overlies said channel and falls therethrough.

7. A gate handle latch for mounting on a gatepost which defines one edge of a gateway containing a gate for swinging between an open and closed position, the gate having a preferred access side and an outermost swinging edge in juxtaposition with the gatepost when in the closed position, comprising

means mounted for rotation on the gatepost for engaging the outermost swinging edge of the gate and having a secured and an unsecured position

said engaging means having a side disposed in the gateway and an opening formed therein to encompass the gatepost for sliding movement vertically thereon between said secured and unsecured positions,

a handle formed on one side of said engaging means for moving said engaging means between said secured and unsecured positions,

a bolt member attached to said one side of said engaging means,

a bolt receiver adapted for fixed mounting on the preferred access side of the gatepost and having a channel for receiving said bolt member to hold said engaging means in said secured position,

said engaging means having a U-shaped recess therein on the side disposed in the gateway forming a guide for accepting the outermost swinging edge as the gate approaches the closed position,

a horizontal plane of symmetry passing through said engaging means at said handle whereby said engaging means may be mounted in either of two positions so that said handle always is on the preferred access side and said bolt member is adapted to be positioned in a downwardly extending direction to engage said bolt receiver on said preferred access side,

whereby when the gate is installed and the gate approaches the closed position the outermost swinging edge contacts one side and the closed end of said recess thereby rotating said engaging means until said bolt member is aligned overlying said bolt receiver channel for insertion therein to assume said secured position.