GB2050490A

GB2050490A - Door Closure for a Rectangular Container, More Particularly for use in Aircraft Construction

Info

Publication number: GB2050490A
Application number: GB7938823A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: LERMER APP GmbH
Current assignee: LERMER APP GmbH
Priority date: 1979-05-30
Filing date: 1979-11-09
Publication date: 1981-01-07
Also published as: GB2050490B; NL7904962A

Abstract

A container door 1 has a hollow edge section 2 forming a door rebate, inside which are vertical upper and lower first toggle levers 6 acting as bolts operated through second toggle levers 7 by a horizontal push rod 9 whose tip is or carries a horizontal third bolt 14. The door is thereby bolted to the top, bottom, and one side of the container. The push rod 9 is operated by a rotatable handle 18 set into a recess in the door and coupled to a rotatable cam disc or eccentric, inside the door, which is coupled to the push rod. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Door Closure for a IRectangular Container, More Particularly for use in Aircraft Construction The invention relates to a closure for a container, more particularly a rectangular container, defined by two ends, -iwo horizontal surfaces, and two lateral surfaces, in which one end is constructed as a laterally opening door that is pivoted by means of hinges and is bounded on the free or closing side by a hollow section which em bodies a chamber and extends into a door rebate and the components of the door locking mechanism are disposed within the said section.

The invention is applicable particularly to containers for use in aircraft. In general the horizontal surfaces are narrow and the lateral surfaces are higher.

German Gebrauchsmuster 74 42 210 discloses a door closure which locks to the edge region or a container side part and in which a locking slide is disposed in a hollow chamber, parallel with the door rebate, and by virtue of the rising construction of the ends or said locking slide it drives locking bars in a direction at 900 to the orientation of the locking slide. This closure has been found substantially reliable for the containers, usually referred to as trolleys, used in aircraft technology, since the provision of the locking mechanism within sections with hollow chambers permits the construction of intrinsically torsion-free and stable doors to close the two ends of such containers.

The doors and the systems which lock said doors, must withstand very severe stresses in air travel, i.e. they must be capable ai reliably withstanding the effects or accelerations a up to 12 g. Forcible breaking out or the contents ,rom a container o, this kind in an aircraft could result in effects which are like those of a projectile and constitute a serious danger, at least to the crew and passengers.

In practice it has been found that the known system which closes to one side-apart from the heavy action resulting from the 900 deflection of the slide motion into locking bar motion inherent in the system-is not sufficiently proorr against breaking out or breaking in.

The relatively tall side walls or these containers can relatively easily be bent open by means applied between their edge and the door rebate so that the closing mechanism, usually additionally secured in the closed position by means Or a padlock or cylinder lock, usually permits simple opening and reclosing, in most cases even without damaging the customs seals which are frequently provided. It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a closure which is proof against brealdng out and breaking in while providing easy movability.

According to the invention there is provided a closure for a container, defined by two ends, two horizontal surfaces and two lateral surfaces, in which one end is a laterally opening door pivoted by means of hinges and bounded on the closure side by a hollow edge section member which embodies a door rebate, and components of a door locking mechanism are disposed in the said member, characterised in that the door locking mechanism includes two pairs of toggle levers each of which has one of its toggle levers guided in the longitudinal direction of the door rebate and the pivotably movable ends of the other toggle levers adjacent to each other are connected at a pivot to a push rod by means of which they can be advanced or retraced whereby the guided toggle levers can be locked to and unlocked from horizontally e;;asnding bounding surfaces of the container. The end of the push rod may extend beyond the pivot and can be an engagement means or a support for an additional engagement component for locking to one side surface of the container.

The facility for opening and closing by bending the container parts through the amount of closing travel is practically eliminated by virtue of the engagement of the closing members with the narrow sides of the container, i.e. with the top and bottom horizontal surfaces in the directly adjacent corner regions. Furthermore, the door is locked not just to one side surface but to two horizontal surfaces and even if further engagement via the push rod is provided, to three surfaces.

Avoiding a direct 900 deflection of force for the operation of locking bars reduces the effort required for closing and opening.

Rapid closing af the door when the door locking mechanism is in the closed position is made possible if the connection between the individual toggle levers of each toggle lever pair is by means of a slot and the position of the connecting joint pin in the slot is defined by a spring or other resilient element acting in the "locking" direction.

This snap latching closure can be of special interns. in certain cases.

In this case, if the push rod also forms or carries locking engagement means, the locking engagement means should be resilient or resiliently mounted.

To actuate the toggle levers, the push rod may be slidably ariangsd in bearings, perpendicularly to the a:is of the two guided toggle levers on the connecting joint of the other toggle levers and the push rod end region is provided with a cam follower, more particularly cylindrical, which engages in a recess of an annular cam track which terminates on the axis of the push rod, in the closed position, and whose centre, in the said position, is also disposed on the said axis but offset to the rear from the cam follower, appro"imately by the amount of the lift travel, towards the centre of a rotatable disc on which the cam track is provided.

Alternatively, using the same arrangement of the push rod, it is possible for the cam follower to engage in a radially oriented slot-like recess which is provided in the peripheral region of a rotatable disc, the latter being offset from the axis of the push rod.

Another possible option for driving the push rod provided that the push rod is pivotably coupled to the periphery of the rotatable disc and the joint of the said other toggle levers is supported in the door so as to be slidable rectilinearly and perpendicularly with respect to the axis of the two guided toggle levers.

To secure the closure in the closed position the disc may have a stop abutment which, in the closed position, bears on a second stop abutment associated with the door and in this position both stop abutments can be locked to each other by means of a padlock.

Another security facility provides that the disc can be locked in the closed position by a cylinder lock.

To prevent engagement between the disc and the usually recessed handle dish, the disc and the stop abutment associated therewith as well as the stop abutment disposed on the door are arranged behind a recessed dish handle.

To summarize, mention should be made of the smooth surfaced embodiment made possible due to the fact that the closing mechanism which closes the container is disposed within the door and that the rotary handle provided on the door can be pivoted into a handle dish without projecting above the surface.

Exemplifying embodiments of the closure according to the invention are explained hereinbelow by reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an elevation of part of a container door, partly cut away to show the door locking mechanism; Figure 2 is a section on the line A-B of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a second locking mechanism; and Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a third locking mechanism.

In each of the three illustrated embodiments the door 1 of the container is bounded on its free edge by a multichamber hollow section 2 incorporating a longitudinal chamber 4 and forming a door rebate 3. Top and bottom bolts 6, each forming one lever of a toggle lever pair, are guided parallel with the door rebate 3 in bearings 5, and are housed in the chamber 4 which has an opening 11 for the second toggle levers 7 of the said pairs which are coupled to the respective toggle levers 6 by pivotable lost-motion joints.

The toggle levers 7 in turn are connected to a horiztonal push rod 9 via a pivot joint 10. On each bolt lever 6 at a distance beyond the bearing 5 there is disposed an abutment 12 against which acts a compression spring 13 seated on the bearing 5, urging the bolt to its "locked" position.

The lost-motion joint consists of a pin 25 on the bolt lever 6 engaging a slot 8 in the toggle lever 7.

The springs take up the lost motion. In the closed position of the closure, this embodiment permits the door to be closed without actuation of the closure, i.e. a nap latch closure is provided.

The bolt levers 6 extend through the horizontally bounding sections of the door, not shown, and in the closed position engage with the corresponding boundaries of the top and bottom horizontal surfaces of the container. Also, the push rod 9 is provided with an engagement part 14 forming a third bolt for engagement in the edge region of one lateral surface of the container so that in the closed position the door is locked to two horizontal surfaces and one lateral surface of the container. To provide a snap latch action like that of the top and bottom bolts, the bolt 14 is spring-loaded.

A rotatable disc 1 5 is rotatably supported behind an indentation which is provided in the door 1 and forms a handle dish 16. The disc 1 5 can be locked, for example by means of a cylinder lock 1 7 or by means of a padlock (not shown) via respective stop abutments connected to the door and to the disc. A handle 1 8 attached to the disc 1 5 extends via a cylindrical intermediate member into the dish 1 6 and can be pivoted out therefrom as shown in broken lines in Figure 2.

In Figure 1 the connection between the joint 10 and the disc 1 5 is via the push rod 9, guided in a bearing 19, and a cam follower 20 which engages with a cam track 21 and is disposed on the push rod 9. The cam track 21 is a circular arc and, in the closed position, its centre is on the common axis of the disc 1 5 and the push rod 9 and the centre of the cam track is disposed upon the above-mentioned line in this position of the cam follower 20, offset approximately by the amount of lift travel. Complete opening of the bolts in this example is obtained by rotation of the handle 18 through approximately 1050 of arc.

In Figure 3 the joint 1 0 and the disc 1 5 are connected via the push rod 9 which is guided in a bearing 19, and the cam follower 20 of said push rod 9 engages with a radially oriented slot-like recess 22 in the disc 15, which is vertically offset from the axis of the push rod.

In Figure 4 the joint 10 and the disc 15 are connected by a pivot joint 23 at the periphery of the said disc and the joint 10 is constrained to move rectilinearly and perpendicularly with respect to the axis of the two guided toggle levers 6, by a guide 24 in the door 1.

Claims

1. A closure for a container defined by two ends, two horizontal surfaces and two lateral surfaces, in which one end is a laterally opening door pivoted by means of hinges and bounded on the closure side by a hollow edge section member which embodies a door rebate, and components of a door locking mechanism are disposed in the said member, characterized in that the door locking mechanism includes two pairs of toggle levers each of which has one of its toggle levers guided in the longitudinal direction of the door rebate and the pivotably movable ends of the other toggle levers adjacent to each other are connected at a pivot to a push rod by means of which hey can be advanced or retracted whereby the guided toggle levers can be locked to and unlocked from the horizontally extending bounding surfaces of the container.

2. A closure according to claim 1, characterised in that the connection between the individual toggle levers of each toggle lever pair is provided via a slot, and the position of a connecting member in the slot of each toggle lever pair s defined by a respective spring or other resilient element which acts in the locking direction.

3. A closure as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the end of the push rod extends beyon the pivot and forms an engagement means or a support for an additionai engagement component for locking to one side surface of the container.

4. A closure as claimed in claim 3 when dependent on claim 2 in which the said engagement means or engagement component is resilient or resiliently mounted.

5. A closure according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the push rod is slidable in bearings perpendicularly to the axis of the two guided toggle levers parts on the connecting joint of the said other toggle levers, the end region of said push rod is provided with a cam follower which engages with a recess of an annular cam track of a rotatable disc which track, in the closure position, terminates on the axis of the push rod, and in this position the centre of the said cam track is also disposed on the axis of the push rod but is offset to the rear by the approximate amount of travel of the cam follower with respect to the centre of rotation of the disc.

6. A closure according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the push rod is slidably disposed in bearings, perpendicularly to the axis of the two guided toggle levers on the interconnecting pivot of the said other toggle levers and is provided in its end region with a cam foilower, and the said cam follower engages with a radially oriented slot-like recess is provided in the peripheral region of a rotatable disc that is disposed offset with respect to the axis of the thrust rod.

7. A closure according to any of claims 1 to 4 characterised in that the push rod is pivotably coupled to the periphery of a rotatable disc and the joint between the said other toggle levers is supported in the door so as to be slidable rectilinearly and perpendicularly with respect to the axis of the two guided toggle levers.

8. A closure according to claim 5, 6 or 7 characterised in that the disc is associated with a stop abutment which, in the closed position, bears on a second stop abutment associated with the door, and in this position the two stop abutments can be locked to each other by means of a padlock.

9. A closure according to claim 5, 6 or 7 characterised in that the disc can be locked in the closed position by means of a cylinder lock.

1 0. A closure according to claim 8, characterised in that the disc and the stop abutment associated therewith as well as the abutment on the door are disposed behind a recessed handle dish.

1 A closure according to claim 10, characterised in that the closure mechanism which closes the container is disposed within the door and a handle disposed on the door can be pivoted into the handle dish without projecting above the surface.

1 2. A closure for a container substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, Figure 3, or Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.