24
Jul
2015
By Calvin at 09:20 GMT, 8 years ago
It’s not that often that a brand new security product comes to market and so I’m really pleased to see that Patlock, a security device for French Doors, has successfully achieved police recognition through the police Secured by Design project.
Patlock is a clever piece of kit, which will greatly improve the security of the majority of double doors, such as French and Conservatory Doors and because it’s a retro-fit device that sits around the internal handles of the door it will be a great visual deterrent too!
The inventor of the product, Craig Knott, came up with the idea of an additional lock for French Doors five years ago when he was going on a family holiday and was concerned about how easily the doors fitted to his own house could be breached.
He’d been made aware of the issue of lock-snapping by a police officer after an attempted break-in earlier the same year and couldn’t find a product on the market to secure the doors.
So, after much thought and invention he got together with a product development company to develop his ideas and produce initial drawings allowing him to submit a Patent application and then create a product that would be safe and secure for the purpose required, but also keeping a clean design to look good inside the home.
The financial outlay for patent costs, design, development and manufacturing meant that it took over four years to produce their first batch of Patlocks for sale.
The Patent was eventually granted in April 2015.
The Patlock works by removing the risk of lock-snapping by securing all shoot bolts and levers, ensuring that the doors remain in the locked position. This stops the exterior handles from being operated and removes the option to open the doors from the outside.
To enhance the security that Patlock provides a pair of tamper resistant replacement spindles are supplied with each unit. Once fitted, they hold the internal handles secure in the event of the exterior handles being removed.
Patlock appeared on BBC1’s “Break in Britain” programme in the autumn of 2014 and will hopefully be in the second series later this year.
Craig recommends that you use the services of a Master Locksmith for the initial fit of the Patlock unless, of course, you are confident that the instructions provided can be followed successfully. He also points out that the Patlock is intended as an additional security device for French Doors and not as a replacement for the existing locks.
The Crime Prevention Website’s Home Security Survey has discovered that only 5.8% of the 4,300 respondents have an enhanced secure front door to PAS 24 and of these only a very small number will have the latest version (2012), which includes protection for the handles and a Kitemarked cylinder. We suspect then that the numbers of double doors to this standard will be even fewer and so it follows that nearly everyone who has a pair of French or Conservatory Doors will benefit from this innovative security product. You can literally double the security of your double doors!
I think we’ll be seeing a great deal of Patlock!
Patlock’s website: http://www.patlock.co.uk/
