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]}

Overview

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. (2011). The Handyman's Guide: Essential Woodworking Tools and Techniques. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN   9781626366589 – via Google Books.
3. Mitchell, John Ames (2018). "Life". Life – via Google Books.
4. Jones, Tony L. (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. (2013). Sturgis' Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture and Building: An Unabridged Reprint of the 1901–2 Edition. Courier Corporation. ISBN   9780486145921 – via Google Books.

Sources

• Streeter, Donald (26 September 1973). "Some Signed American Iron Rim Locks". Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology. 5 (2): 9–37. doi:10.2307/1493393. JSTOR   1493393.
• "How much security is enough?" . Retrieved 2018-09-26– via ProQuest.
• Harrington-Lynn, J.; Pascoe, T. (1995). "A strategy for security of buildings". Proceedings the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 29th Annual 1995 International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology. IEEE. pp. 189–196. doi:10.1109/CCST.1995.524911. ISBN   978-0-7803-2627-9. S2CID   62740777.
• "NCJRS Abstract – National Criminal Justice Reference Service". www.ncjrs.gov.
• Anonymous (26 September 1961), Code of Practice for means of escape in the case of fire at houses in multiple occupation, hdl:1842/4859
• "Simple security measures: how to safeguard your practice" . Retrieved 2018-09-26– via ProQuest.