[0001] The present invention relates to face plate assemblies for use with latch and/or lock mechanisms fitted to doors, windows and other closure members

(referred to generically in the following description and claims as doors) . The face plates of such an assembly are disposed on opposite sides of a door, adjacent an edge of the door in which is mounted the latch and/or the lock mechanism, and mounts handles for actuating the mechanism. Additionally, they conceal components of the mechanism and the fixings and are designed to provide an attractive finish for the handle mountings and the mechanism. More particularly, although not exclusively, the present invention relates to a face plate assembly which is intended as a replacement product for fitting to a door in place of an original or existing face plate assembly and which is designed readily to enable replacement handles to be fitted to an existing latch or lock mechanism.

[0002] In a typical face plate assembly, for example, as used with lockable espangnolette type latches of UPVC and some aluminium doors, the face plates mount lever handles of the lockable latch mechanism. With this type of mechanism, when the door is closed, either handle can be lifted though 45° from a horizontal position to cause a series of bolts and latches to project from the door frame and engage the door jam. The handle is then returned to the horizontal position. To retract the bolts and latches either handle is pulled downwardly in the normal manner to open the door. The door only becomes locked when, after the bolts and latches have been actuated or thrown, a key is turned to operate a cylinder lock or other dead lock mechanism which prevents either handle from being moved downwardly. On the outside of the door, which is accessible to unauthorised persons, the face plate conceals the outside fixings of the latch and shields the deadlock mechanism which is used to lock the latch mechanism.

[0003] Face plate assemblies are typically fastened in position by two screws extending through holes drilled through the door. The screws extend through the face plate on the inside of the door and engage in internally threaded bosses cast into the inside of the outside face plate and concealed behind the latter. There is no recognised standard for the spacing of these fastenings and the centres of the fixing holes drilled through a door to accept the fastenings so that, hitherto, for replacement purposes, a manufacturer or supplier has to produce or stock replacement face plate assemblies having fastenings with different spacings, or fresh holes may have to be drilled through a door to accept a replacement face plate assembly.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a door latch face plate assembly which is constructed to accommodate a large range of different fixing hole centres and facilitates fitting of the assembly to a door latch mechanism using existing fixing holes formed through the door.

[0005] The invention consists in a face plate assembly comprising two face plates for positioning on opposite sides of a door and mounting handles for coupling to a latch and/or lock mechanism mounted within an edge of the door, one or more screw threaded fasteners slidably mounted on a first one of the face plates, on the inside thereof, so as to be adjacent the door when the first face plate is positioned thereagainst, the or each screw threaded fastener being slidably adjustable along the first face plate for aligning with a fixing hole through the door, and a fixing plate for positioning on the opposite side of the door to the first face plate, said fixing plate having one or more slots therethrough corresponding to the path of adjustment of the screw threaded fasteners along the first face plate, whereby the first face plate and the fixing plate can be clamped to opposite sides of the door by one or more screw fastening members extending through the slot(s) in the fixing plate and the fixing hole(s) in the door and engaging with the screw threaded fastener (s) of the first face plate, the second one of the face plates being fastenable to the fixing plate.

[0006] The invention is more particularly designed as a replacement product and can be structured as a replacement for the face plate assemblies of most, if not all-existing doors having, for example, espangnolette type latches. As a replacement product, it may be produced as a kit of parts comprising the first and second face plates for positioning on opposite sides of a door in place of existing face plates and mounting handles for coupling to the existing latch and/or lock mechanism of the door, the fixing plate, one or more screw fastening members for disposing through preformed holes in the door and engageable with the screw threaded fasteners of the first face plate for clamping the latter and the fixing plate to opposite sides of the door, and one or more fastening members for attaching the second face plate to the fixing plate.

[0007] To install the invention as a replacement, the existing face plate assembly of a door is removed to reveal the one or more fixing holes formed through the door for the existing assembly and the opposite ends of a latch spindle to which the handles are to be coupled. Typically, the handles are coupled to the latch spindle via holes of a predetermined cross section formed in the inner ends of stub shafts journaling the handles in the face plates. The first face plate is offered to the outside of the door so that its handle can be coupled to the adjacent end of the latch spindle, and the or each slidable screw threaded fastener is adjusted to align with a fixing hole through the door. The fixing plate is then offered to the opposite, inside of the door with a hole for the latch spindle disposed about its inside projecting end. The slot or slots in the fixing plate should correspond with the fixing hole(s), and the screw fastening member (s) can then be inserted through the fixing plate and through the fixing hole(s) to screw into engagement with a cooperating threaded fastener of the outside face plate in order to clamp the latter and the fixing plate to the door. Thereafter, the second face plate is fastened to the fixing plate on the inside of the door with its handle coupled to the adjacent end of the latch spindle in order to complete the assembly. It will be apparent that the invention enables the face plate assembly to be easily replaced without the necessity of drilling any additional fixing holes though the door.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the face plates are cast or otherwise formed as hollow plates having cavities on their insides which face the door and the fixing plate is of complementary shape in plan to the second or inner face plate so that it is enclosed by the cavity of the inner face plate when the latter is fastened to the fixing plate. The face plates may, for example, be of an elongated shape with the slidable screw threaded fasteners of the first or outer face plate and the slots of the fixing plate being disposed substantially centrally along these members.

[0009] Conventionally, two fixing holes though a door are formed for securing a face plate assembly to opposite sides of a door. Accordingly, as a replacement product, the face plate assembly of the invention is constructed so that two slidable screw threaded fasteners on the outer face plate can be adjusted to align with two preformed fixing holes for an existing face plate assembly of the door, and the slots of the fixing plate on the inside of the door match those fixing holes. Two screw fastening members can then be used through the existing fixing holes for clamping the outer face plate and the fixing plate to opposite sides of the door. At least two fastenings may be provided for securing the inner face plate to the fixing plate.

[0010] Preferably, the slidable screw threaded fasteners are mounted to the first face plate by an associated fixing plate attached to the inside of the first or outer face plate and formed therethrough with one or more slots defining the path(s) of adjustment of the slidable fastener (s). The or each of these slidable fasteners may include a bolt having a head engaging the backside of the slot and a nut for screwing onto the bolt and clamping the fastener in an adjusted position along its slot. The nut may be elongated so as to provide a projecting distal end with sufficient female thread for engaging with a screw fastening member used to clamp the fixing plate of the second face plate to the first face plate. The slots in the fixing plate for the inner face plate may be sized so as to receive a guide bush through which the fastening members extend and which are also configured so as to engage in the adjacent end of a fixing hole drilled through the door. The fixing plate for the inner face plate may have one or more internally threaded bosses projecting from its outside face, that is, its face opposite to that clamped against the door, each of which is engageable with a screw extending through the inner face plate for fastening the latter to the fixing plate.

[0011] Conveniently, the outer face plate is supplied with its associated fixing plate prefastened to the outer face plate, in which event, the or each slot in the outer fixing plate may include a suitable opening through which the head of the screw threaded fasteners can be engaged with the backside of the slot.

[0012] Conveniently, each face plate has an opening therethrough in a position to provide access to a cylinder or other dead lock of the latch or lock mechanism, and the opening is covered by a sliding escutcheon plate having an opening therein so that, when the face plate assembly is fitted to a door, the slideable escutcheon plate can be adjusted to position the opening in matching relation with the keyhole of the deadlock, thereby enabling access to the latter.

[0013] The face plates of the assembly may house conventional spring return mechanisms on their insides adjacent the stub shafts journaling the handles in the face plates so as to bias the handles into rest positions which, in the case of a lever handle, may be in a position in which the lever is generally horizontal.

[0014] In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is an exploded side elevational view of a face plate assembly embodying the invention and shown in a position for fitting to a door,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the assembled face plates.

Figures 3 and 4 are respectively rear elevational views of the inner and outer face plates.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are respectively front, side and end elevational views of the inner fixing plate and

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are respectively front, side and end elevational views of the outer fixing plate. Referring to the accompanying drawings, the face plate assembly comprises an inner face plate 1 which is intended to be located on the inside of a door D and an outer face plate 2 for location on the outside of the door. Both face plates are hollow metal castings each of which comprises a generally oblong facia wall 3, 4 having an inwardly projecting peripheral flange 5, 6 which, together with the facia wall, defines a cavity 7, 8 on the inside of the face plate adjacent the door.

[0015] Each face plate has a lever handle 9, 10 journaled in its facia wall 3, 4 by means of stub shafts 11, 12 projecting into the cavities 7, 8 of the associated face plates. These stub shafts also serve to couple the lever handles to a latch mechanism (not shown) embedded in the edge of the door D and arranged to be actuated via the lever handles. The lever handles 9, 10 may, for example, comprise the handles of a latch mechanism of the type described in WO-A-2004/007877. In this regard, the inside handle 9 of the face plate assembly is fitted with a trigger actuated lock 13, as described in the aforementioned International publication. In Figures 1 and 2, the lever handles 9, 10 are generally shown projecting downwardly for convenience of illustration. However, it will be appreciated that, in normal use, the lever handles will be generally horizontal, in their normal rest positions (see Figures 3 and 4) and that they may be resiliently urged into the rest positions by conventional spring return units 13 bearing on horizontal flats at diametrically opposite positions on the stub shafts 11, 12. The spring units may be secured within the cavities 7, 8 of the face plates in any convenient manner.

[0016] Cooperating with the inner face plate 1, on the inside of the latter facing the door, is a fixing plate 14 which is of complementary shape to the cavity 7 of the inner face plate so that, when the assembly is installed, the fixing plate is concealed by the flange 5 of the inner face plate. The fixing plate is a simple, flat plate having internally threaded collars 15 projecting from its inside into the cavity 7 of the inner face plate. The latter is secured to the fixing plate by means of fastening screws 16 which pass through counter sunk holes 17 in the facia wall 3 of the inner face plate. The fixing plate is additionally formed, generally centrally along the longitudinal axis of the plate, with a hole 18 for accommodating the latch spindle 19 for the latch mechanism installed in the adjacent edge of the door D, and slots 20,21 for cooperating with the slidable screw threaded fasteners of the outer face plate, as more fully described below. It is also formed with an elongated opening 22 for enabling access to a cylinder lock of the latch mechanism.

[0017] To accommodate the cylinder lock of a latch mechanism, the facia walls 3,4 of each of the face plates is formed below its handle journal with a rectangular opening 26, extending over an area where it is anticipated that the cylinder lock of the latch mechanism will be positioned, and this opening is covered on the outside of the facia wall by a sliding escutcheon plate 28,29 having a keyhole opening 30,31 for matching to the adjacent end of the cylinder lock. Each escutcheon plate is slidably mounted in a suitable manner and plastic pads 36, which are secured in cooperating openings on the inside of each escutcheon plate, are engagable with the outside of the facia wall, as the escutcheon plate slides over its range of movement, so as frictionally to engage the escutcheon plate with the outside of the facia wall and retain it in an adjusted position and avoid looseness .

[0018] Attached to the outer face plate 2, on its inside facing the door, is an outer fixing plate 38, similar to the inner fixing plate 14. The outer fixing plate is of complementary shape to the cavity 8 of the outer face plate so that, when installed, it is concealed by the flange 6 of the outer face plate. The outer fixing plate is a simple, planar plate having a plurality of holes 39 disposed at spaced positions about its periphery and via which the plate is fixed to the inside of the outer face plate by screws 40 engaged with internally threaded bosses 41 cast into the inside of the outer face plate adjacent the flange 6. The outer fixing plate is formed centrally along its longitudinal axis with slots 42,43 corresponding to the slots 20,21 of the inner fixing plate and with an elongated opening 44, for enabling access to the cylindrical lock of the latch mechanism via the keyhole opening 31. The outer face plate is intended to be supplied with the outer fixing plate installed on its inside. Hence, to enable the heads of screw threaded fasteners to be engaged with the backsides of the slots, each slot is formed with a circular opening 45, 46 of greater diameter than the widths of the slots for accommodating the heads of the screw fasteners. A hole 47 accommodates the adjacent end of the latch spindle.

To enable the face plate assembly to be installed on a door, the outer face plate is provided with two screw threaded fasteners 50 slidably mounted in the slots 42,43. These fasteners each comprises a headed bolt 51, the head of which is insertable through the openings 45,46 in the slots 42,43 so as to engage the backsides of the slots, and elongated nuts 52 which are engaged with the shanks of the bolts projecting through the slots in order to retain the bolts 51 and nuts in adjusted positions along their slots. The nuts are of such a length as to provide free female thread at their distal ends when tightened. The assembly additionally includes two main fixing screws 53 for screwing into the distal ends of the nuts 52, and two headed guide bushes 54 for guiding the fixing screws 53 through the slots 20, 21 of the inner fixing plate.

When supplied in kit form, as a replacement product, the face plate assembly will comprise two face plates 1,2, the outer face plate 2 having its fixing plate 38 installed, an inner fixing plate 14, at least two fastening screws 16, at least two slidable screw threaded fasteners 50, screws 53 and headed bushes 54. As a kit, it may also comprise additional inner and outer fixing plates 14,38 for enhancing its replacement ability and a selection of latch spindles for use with the latch mechanism of the type described in WO-A-2004/007877.

[0019] As discussed above, the face plate assembly of the invention is especially designed as a replacement product for existing handles and face plate assemblies of doors having lockable latch assemblies embedded in the edges of the doors. It can use the existing fixing holes drilled through a door for an existing face plate assembly and avoid the necessity of drilling fresh holes for the replacement.

[0020] Hence, having removed the existing face plate assembly and latch spindle from the door D, the length of the existing spindle is compared with a selected spindle supplied with the replacement assembly to determine whether a long or short spindle 19 needs to be used. The position of the keyhole on the old face plate assembly is noted and, if the sliding escutcheons 28,29 do not match, the fixing plates 14,28 may need to be changed. Depending on which way the door is handed (right or left hand opening/locking) the handles 9, 10 are rotated into the left hand or right hand horizontal position and the appropriate spindle 19, is selected and inserted through the latch mechanism.

After the above preliminaries, the outer face plate 2 is offered up to the door and spindle and the sliding fasteners 50 which have been preassembled to the outer fixing plate 38 are slid into position so as to align with the existing fixing holes in the door, and are lightly tightened to retain the fasteners in the selected positions. If a top fixing position is below the handle, a grub screw can be screwed into the threaded hole 56 and a elongated nut 52 can be screwed onto the grub screw to accommodate such a fixing position. Having made these adjustments, the outer face plate 2 is removed and the sliding screw threaded fasteners 50 are clamped in position by tightening the elongated nuts 52. The inner fixing plate 14 can then be offered up to the door whilst the spindle is still in place and the position of the holes in the door can be noted against the slots 20,21 in the fixing plate. Thereafter, the outer face plate is fitted back onto the spindle and cylinder lock profile so that it is parallel with the door edge and the fasteners 50 are positioned in the fixing holes in the door. The inner fixing plate 14 is repositioned on the opposite side of the door with the bushes 54 and fixing screws 53 in place so that the fixing screws pass through the fixing holes in the door and engage with the distal ends of the nuts 52 of the slidable fasteners. The screws 53 are then tightened to clamp the outer face plate and the fixing plate to opposite sides of the door.

[0021] Finally, the inner face plate 1 is positioned over the fixing plate 14 with its handle stub shaft 11 fitted to the adjacent end of the latch spindle 19, the sliding escutcheon plate 28 is adjusted so as to match its keyhole opening 30 with the adjacent end of the cylinder lock, and the inner face plate is fastened to the fixing plate with the screws 16 which extend through the facia wall 3 and are screwed into tight engagement with the internally threaded collars 15.

[0022] It will be appreciated that this replacement face plate assembly is extremely easy to install without the requirement for any tools except a screw driver and, possibly, a spanner to permit tightening of the nuts 52 to retain the fasteners 50 in their selected positions along the slots 42,43.

[0023] Whilst a particular embodiment has been described, it will be understood that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention .