Night latch

A night latch (or night-latch or nightlatch) is a lock that is fitted on the surface of a door; it is operated from the exterior side of the door by a key and from the interior (i.e. "secure") side of the door by a knob.[1][2][3]

Night latches are usually rim locks[4] and are available as deadlocking (automatically locks once shut) and non-deadlocking versions.

Historically, such locks were intended for use at night-time, hence the name.[5] The keyless egress that they offer is a valuable fire safety measure, but may be a security risk if breaking a glass panel (usually in the door) or a nearby small window allows an intruder to reach the knob inside and open the door from the outside.

References

  1. "Definition of NIGHT LATCH". www.merriam-webster.com.
  2. Hasluck, Paul N. (8 February 2011). The Handyman's Guide: Essential Woodworking Tools and Techniques. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781626366589 via Google Books.
  3. Mitchell, John Ames (26 September 2018). "Life". Life via Google Books.
  4. Jones, Tony L. (1 January 2003). COURT SECURITY: A Guide for Post 9-11 Environments. Charles C Thomas Publisher. ISBN 9780398084356 via Google Books.
  5. Sturgis, Russell; Davis, Francis A. (23 April 2013). Sturgis' Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture and Building: An Unabridged Reprint of the 1901-2 Edition. Courier Corporation. ISBN 9780486145921 via Google Books.

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.