US-12624576-B2 - Door and window securing apparatus and method

US12624576B2US 12624576 B2US12624576 B2US 12624576B2US-12624576-B2

Abstract

A locking apparatus and method for securing a door or window comprising a substantial controllable mechanical locking mechanism that secures the sliding door or window into the receiving channel such that the locking mechanism cannot be disengaged from the receiving structure by a manual force; prevents the door or window from being lifted out of a bottom track by mere manual force; is able to report the door or window status as closed or open and as locked or unlocked to a remote user; is able to be remotely locked and unlocked using an application running on a mobile device or computer, or, alternatively by accessing a web accessible portal from a mobile device, electronic device or computer; and is manually operable by a user in the event of a power outage. A manually operated embodiment is useful for use cases in which no electric power is available.

Inventors

George Condorodis

Assignees

George Condorodis

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240212

Claims (17)

1 . A locking apparatus for securing a door or window to a receiving structure, comprising: said locking apparatus attachable to a door or window, and said locking apparatus comprising: a locking pin having a distal end, said locking pin attached to a slide car via a locking pin attachment, and wherein said slide car is slidably engaged with a base plate, said base plate for attaching said locking apparatus to said door or window, wherein said slidable car is translatable along said sliding engagement; wherein, when said locking apparatus is attached to a door or window, said base plate is held in a fixed position relative to said door or window; and wherein, when said door or window is a closed state, said locking apparatus is able to receive a pin locking tab; and wherein said locking pin is able to be motivated towards said pin locking tab such that said locking pin is received by a pin receiving opening, resulting in a locked state; and wherein said locking pin is able to be motivated away from said pin locking tab such that no portion of said locking pin is received by said pin receiving opening, resulting in an unlocked state; wherein said sliding car and said base plate are subject to an expanding force between them tending to motivate said sliding car along said slidable engagement, said expanding force tending to translate said locking pin distal end towards said pin receiving opening; wherein said locking pin attachment to said slide car is via a controllable actuator, and wherein said locking pin is attached to an extendable portion of said controllable actuator that is able to be extended or retracted upon command, such that said controllable actuator is operable to motivate said locking pin into said pin receiving opening upon command by extending said extendable portion, placing said locking apparatus into said locked state; and wherein said controllable actuator is operable to motivate said locking pin out of said pin receiving opening upon command by retracting said extendable portion, placing said locking apparatus into said unlocked state; further comprising a rotatable knob attached to a rotatable shaft, and wherein said rotatable shaft is attached to an override mechanism such that, when said locking apparatus is in said locked state, a rotation of said rotatable knob in a first direction of rotation is operable to motivate said slide car along its slidable engagement with said base plate against said expanding force such that said locking pin is motivated out of said pin receiving opening, placing said locking apparatus in an override state; and wherein when said locking apparatus is in an override state, rotation of said rotatable knob in a second direction of rotation that is opposite said first direction of rotation allows said expanding force to motivate said locking pin into said pin receiving opening, placing said locking apparatus in said locked state.
2 . The locking apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a key lock attached to said rotatable shaft, such that, when said locking apparatus is in said locked state, a rotation of a mating key in said key lock in a first direction of rotation is operable to motivate said slide car along its slidable engagement with said base plate against said expanding force such that said locking pin is motivated out of said pin receiving opening, placing said locking apparatus in an override state; and wherein, when said locking apparatus is in an override state, rotation of said mating key in said key lock in a second direction of rotation that is opposite said first direction of rotation allows said expanding force to motivate said locking pin into said pin receiving opening, placing said locking apparatus in said locked state.
3 . The locking apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said locking apparatus is further defined as having an indoor portion and an outdoor portion, wherein said key lock is accessible on said outdoor portion.
4 . The locking apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said locking pin comprises a shoulder surface facing an opposing surface of said locking tab when said door is in said closed state, and wherein a gap between said shoulder surface and said opposing surface of said pin locking tab is small enough to prevent the lifting of said door or window out of a bottom track receiving structure, due to interference between said shoulder surface and said opposing surface of said pin locking tab.
5 . The locking apparatus of claim 4 , wherein said gap is in a range of 0.060-0.125 inches.
6 . The locking apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said controllable actuator is in communication with a controller, and wherein said controller is adapted to command said locking apparatus into a locked state or an unlocked state by commanding controllable actuator extendable portion to extend or retract.
7 . The locking apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said controller is in communication with at least one mobile device or computer, wherein said at least one mobile device or computer is adapted to receive user input commands for commanding said locking apparatus into said locked state, and wherein said at least one mobile device or computer is adapted to communicate said user input commands to said controller, and, wherein said controller is adapted to command said locking apparatus into said locked state upon receipt of said user commands from said at least one mobile device or computer.
8 . The locking apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said controller is in communication with at least one mobile device or computer, wherein said at least one mobile device or computer is adapted to receive user input commands for commanding said locking apparatus into said unlocked state, and wherein said at least one mobile device or computer is adapted to communicate said user input commands to said controller, and, wherein said controller is adapted to command said locking apparatus into said unlocked state upon receipt of said user commands from said at least one mobile device or computer.
9 . The locking apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said controller is in communication with at least one mobile device or computer, wherein said at least one mobile device or computer is adapted to receive user input commands for commanding said locking apparatus into said locked state at a predetermined time, and wherein said at least one mobile device or computer is adapted to communicate said user input commands to said controller, and, wherein said controller is adapted to command said locking apparatus into said locked state at said predetermined time.
10 . The locking apparatus of claim 9 , wherein said controller is in communication with at least one mobile device or computer, and wherein said controller is adapted to communicate the state of said locking apparatus to said mobile device and said mobile device is adapted to display the state of said locking apparatus on a visual display of said mobile device or computer.
11 . The locking apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising a user input device in communication with said controller, said user input device operable to receive a user input code from a user for commanding said controller to command the locking apparatus in said locked or said unlocked state.
12 . The locking apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said controller is in communication with at least one mobile device or computer, wherein said at least one mobile device or computer is adapted to receive user input commands for commanding said locking apparatus into said unlocked state at a predetermined time, and wherein said at least one mobile device or computer is adapted to communicate said user input commands to said controller, and, wherein said controller is adapted to command said locking apparatus into said unlocked state at said predetermined time.
13 . The locking apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising at least one server in communication with said controller, wherein said at least one server comprises instructions for presenting a web-accessible portal to a browser application, and wherein said web-accessible portal is in communication with at least one user mobile device or computer via a browser application operating on said at least one user mobile device or computer, and wherein said web portal is adapted to receive user input commands from said at least one user mobile device or computer for commanding said controller to command said locking apparatus into said locked state or said unlocked state, and to transmit such user input commands to said controller, such that said controller commands said locking apparatus into said locked state or said unlocked state.
14 . The locking apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising at least one server in communication with said controller, wherein said server comprises instructions for presenting a web-accessible portal to a browser application, and wherein said web-accessible portal may be in communication with at least one user mobile device or computer via a browser application operating on said at least one user mobile device or computer, and wherein said web portal is adapted to receive status information of said locking apparatus as being either in a locked state, an unlocked state or an override state from said controller, and to display said status information of said locking apparatus on a display of said at least one user mobile device or computer.
15 . The locking apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising at least one server in communication with said controller, wherein said server comprises instructions for presenting a web-accessible portal to a browser, and wherein said web-accessible portal may be in communication with at least one, or a plurality of, user mobile devices or computers via a browser application operating on said at least one user mobile device or computer, and wherein said web portal is adapted to receive status information of said door or window as being either in an open state or a closed state from said controller, and to display said status information of said door or window on a display of said at least one user mobile device or computer.
16 . The locking apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said locking apparatus is further defined as having an indoor portion and an outdoor portion, wherein said rotatable knob is accessible on said indoor portion.
17 . The locking apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said base plate, said sliding car, and said locking pin comprise an assembly that is disposed within a void located in a window or door frame.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE This non-provisional patent application is a continuation of, and claims benefit of priority to, U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/947,597 entitled DOOR AND WINDOW SECURING APPARATUS AND METHOD, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Sep. 19, 2022, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety; Ser. No. 17/947,597 is a continuation of, and claims benefit of priority to, U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/517,098 entitled DOOR AND WINDOW SECURING APPARATUS AND METHOD, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Nov. 2, 2021, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety; Ser. No. 17/517,098 is a non-provisional of, and claims benefit of priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/247,352 entitled DOOR AND WINDOW SECURING APPARATUS AND METHOD, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Sep. 23, 2021, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT Not applicable. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for securing doors or windows in structures, such as buildings which may include, for example, commercial structures, residential structures or any other type structure having a door, window or other opening having a closable structure. More specifically, the field of the invention relates generally to a locking apparatus and method for securing sliding glass doors in commercial or residential building structures. Still further, the field of the invention relates generally to locking systems, apparatuses, and methods for doors and windows that are remotely controllable to lock or unlock a door or window, and to report the open or closed status of the door or window; and, if the door or window is closed, to report the locked or unlocked state of the door or window. BACKGROUND Historically, doors and windows have represented a weak point for building structures security, as representing opportunities for unauthorized access to the interior of a structure such as a home or other building. More specifically, sliding glass doors and windows that operate on a sliding track have represented significant security risks. As used herein, “security risk”, includes within its meaning the risk that an opening in a structure such as a home or other building may be traversed by an unauthorized person even though the structure opening is secured by a door or window that is supposedly closed and locked, such that the unwanted person is able to gain unauthorized access to the interior of a building structure through a door ow window despite the door or window being closed and locked, or at least thought to be closed and locked. One such exemplary case of a historically insecure closure is the typical sliding glass door closures of the prior art. Such sliding glass doors typically slide along a U-shaped track, the door window being held in a bottom U-shaped (or other shaped) track by gravity, and secured against a receiving channel, or structure, by a simple sheet-metal tang or hook that engages a hole or other opening in, or attached to, the receiving channel when the door is in a closed position. The sheet-metal tang or hook of the prior art is typically fabricated from thin sheet metal material which, in exemplary cases, may only be 0.060-0.090 inches in thickness. Such thin sheet metal tangs are easily bent by application of force such that the doors they secure may be forcibly removed from the opening in the receiving frame by simply applying manual force to the door, pulling the door backward and away from the receiving frame. Thus, all a would-be unauthorized intruder has to do in order to open a locked sliding glass door of the prior art is to simply grasp the door handle and manually pull, or yank, the door away from the receiving door frame. This ability to forcibly open a locked door, often without the need for any tools whatsoever, renders the sliding glass doors of the prior art a security risk, and renders the door and window locking apparatuses of the prior art unsuitable for their intended use. A still further aspect of traditional sliding glass door and window design leading to a security weak point is the fact that most sliding glass doors or windows are able to be lifted against the force of gravity such they may be lifted up and removed from the bottom sliding door track in which the door is slidably engaged. In an exemplary case, an application of upward manual force may be enough to simply lift the sliding glass door up and out of the bottom track in which it resides and is slidably engaged, allowing the door or window to be removed entirely. Again, if such a door or window is locked (or secured) using the above