US2080218A - Latch - Google Patents

Description

May 11, 1937. E. c. WILSON ,0

' LATCH Filed April 21, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 1 l'izveizfor.

2' (Ma. (21017502), /2 V661 M f1 H, 1937. E.- c. WILSON 2,080,218

. LATCH Filed April 21. 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y 1937.- E. c. WILSON 2,080,218

' LATCH Filed April 21, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 3' Patented May 11, 1937 a L UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,080,218

I LATCH Elihu C. WilsonjLos Angele s. Calif., assignor of twenty-five per cent to Eva Pearl Wilson, twenty-five per cent to Elizabeth J. Farrar, both of Los Angeles, Calif., and twenty-five per cent to Adelaide B. Booth, Culver City, Calif.

- Application April 21, 1936, Serial No. 75,578

19 Claims. (01. aim-#336) This invention has to do generally with latch Fig. 4 is a view lookinginto the bottom of the mechanisms, and particularly of the type mounted latch in the aspectof Fig. 3;

on the outside of cabinets and the like. By rea- Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figs. 3 and 4. son of certain features and characteristics later showing the latch parts in their normal closed 5 described, the present latch is especially suitable positions; 5 for use on refrigerator cabinets wherein an air Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the tight seal isprovided around the door by keeping positions of the parts with the handle in full the latter pressed tightly against a resilient and open position; V i a, compressible gasket or door frame lining. Figs. '7 and 8 are views showing the relative One of my principal objects is to provide a positionsof the crank arm andkeeper corre- 10 spring latch having self closing characteristics sponding to Figs. 5 and 6, respectively; enabling the latch not only to hold the door Fig. 9 shows the position of the locking element closed, but to apply and constantly maintain on with the crank being held partially open; the door, sufiicient pressure or power to tightly Fig. 10 illustrates the position of the locking compress a gasket against which the door may element at the point of crank release; 16

close, thereby assuring an'air tight seal. 'In this Fig. 10a is a fragmentary section on line respect, the presentlatch is particularly advan- Illa-Illa of Fig. 10; tageous and effective in that it is not dependent Fig. 11 is a section on line llll of Fig. 5; in its closing action upon the 'door first being Fig. 12 is a plan view, partly in section, as

manually swung to fully closed position, that is indicated by line l2--l2 of Fig. 13, showing a vari- 20 to a final position in which the gasket is fully ational' form of the invention; compressed. Instead, the latch itself acts to Fig. 13 is a longitudinal section on line I3l3 crowd the door against and to fully compress of Fig. 12, the cap portion of the body being the gasket, without pressure having to be applied removed in this view; and

g5 manually. Another feature of the invention is Figs. 14 and 15 are fragmentary views illustrat- 25,

the elimination of any possibility of the parts ing different positions of the latch mechanism.

of the latch becoming broken or damaged as a In Fig. 1, I have shown the latch mechanism, 7 result of the latching member being slammed or generally indicated at H], applied to the cabinet otherwise forciblyclosed against the keeper. As C of a refrigerator or the like, the keeper ll is commonly known, this is a fault inherent in being attached to the cabinet frame [2 by screws 0' many spring latches of this general type. The ini3, and the crank operating part l4 of the latch vention overcomes any such difliculties by probeing secured to the door l6 by screws 15. 'As viding a latch mechanism which acts autopreviously mentioned, the presentlatch is par-- matically upon opening movement and subseticularly suitable for cabinets in which the door quent release of the handle as the door is opened, closes against a gasket or other sealing means 5 to retain the latching member in partially open that is compressed as the door is brought to or retracted position, instead of in closed or profully closed position. According to the customary jected position, so that the resistance which it practice of using agasket to provide an air-tight encounters upon engagement with the keeper as seal around a refrigerator cabinet door, as illus- 40 thedoor is swung shut, will be insufficient to cause tratedtin Fig. 2, the door. frame I2 is lined with 40 any injury to the latch. a tubular rubber gasket l'l against which the The invention serves various additional objects, outer shoulder 16a of the door closes. It will and embodies numerous other features contribut-' be understood that by reason of the compressibiling to the provision of a highly satisfactory and ity of the gasket, the latter offers a yielding reefficient latch. All. these however will be most sistance to closing of the doonand that the 5 readily understood and explained to best adtighter the door is pressedagainst the gasket vantage in the following detailed description of the more effectively will the gasket seal around theinvention in one of its typical and preferred the door.

forms. Reference is had throughout the descrip- As best illustrated in Figs. 7 to 9, the keeper tion to the accompanying drawings, in which: I I comprises a base If! fastened to the door frame, 50

' Fig. 1is an elevation showing the latch applied and a hook-shaped portion l9 having a crank to a refrigerator cabinet; arm receiving opening 20 at one side. of the web- Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; 2i. [Portion I9 is shaped to provide a beveled Fig. 3- is a plan view of the latch mechanism surface 22 and an interior beveled orangular .55 placed horizontally;: shoulder 23, the outer portion 23a of which slopes with relatively great angularity or curvature to- Ward the base l8, and the inner portion 231) having a slope in that direction of somewhat less angularity. The crank engages and moves along 5 the angular keeper shoulder 23, and is influenced by the particular shape of the shoulder to accomplish a progressive tightening of the door closure against the gasket ll, all in the manner hereinafter described.

The crank arm operating mechanism is contained within a hollow body 25 having flanged ends 250. and a cover piece 26 secured to the other portion 25 of the body by screws 2?, as best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The body contains an oscillatory part 28, which I term generally the latching member, comprising a shaft 29 journaled in bearings 36 formed in the body between portions 25 and 26, and an integral crank-shaped arm 3| having at its outer end a wrist pin 32 carrying a roller 33 which is received within the keeper In certain of its broad aspects, the invention is not necessarily limited to the use of a latching member of any particular shape, although I prefer, for various reasons that will be apparent from the following description, to make it in the form of an oscillatory crank. Normally the crank arm is yieldably pressed in a direction tending to move the roller 33 into the keeper, see

Figs. 5 and 7, by a pair of strong coil springs 34 attached at 35 to the body and at 36 to the hookedextremities 37, see Fig. 11, of a bifurcated projection 38 on the shaft 29. It may be mentioned at this point that springs 36 not only act to swing the crank arm into the keeper, but, by virtue of their strength, also to exert through the crank a strong closing force on the door acting to press it tightly against the gasket H.

The crank arm is rotated to withdraw it from the keeper by means of a handle 5 extending through a slot 4| in the cover portion 26 of the body. The shaft 29 extends through an opening in the inner end 45a of the handle, see Fig. 11, so that the handle is pivotally mounted on the shaft and capable of rotation relative thereto. Swinging the handle from the position of Fig. 5 'to that of Fig. 6, causes the crank arm 3| to be swung sufficiently to bring roller 33 clear of the keeper, by the engagement of shoulder 62 on the handle with an angular shoulder 43 on lug 44 projecting from the shaft 29. A force is constantly applied to the handle 40, tending to return it to what may be termed the closed position of Figs. 5 and 9, by a coil spring 45 fastened at 46 to the handle, and at ll, see Fig. 4, to a tongue-shaped portion 48 of the body which, as will presently appear, serves as a stop for the looking element.

For the purpose of holding the crank arm in partially open position I provide a locking device, indicated at 49, which may be generally described as serving to lock the latching member 28 against closing movement under the influence of springs 34, once the crank has been swung to at least partially open position, and which op- 65 erates to release the crank into the keeper, as a result of the crank being brought into engagement with the keeper as the door is closed. In its preferred form, the locking device comprises a detent bar 49a pivotally supported at one end 70 on pin 58, and having near its opposite end an opening 5| which receives a lug 52 projecting from shaft 29 at a point between the spring attachment arms 37, see Fig. 11. When the latch is closed, with the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 5, locking bar 59a is held out of engagement As the handle 46 is swung toward open position, however, locking bar 49a is brought into engagement with lug 52 by means of a yielding connection between the bar and handle which becomes efiective to swing the bar against the resistance of spring 53 only after the handle has been swung some distance in an opening direction. This yielding connection between the handle and lock bar consists of coil spring 55 fastened at 56 to the handle and having an opposite looped end 56a passing through the bar 49a. The looped end 56a of the spring provides, in effect, a lost motion connection with the lock bar, the loop being sufficiently long that not until handle 40 has been swung say 5 or 10 from the closed position of Fig. 5, will the end of the loop 56a engage bar 49a to pull it down against lug 52. Thus, such lost motion connection between spring 55 and the locking bar enables spring 53 to keep the latter disengaged from lug 52 when the handle is closed, without having to maintain a nicety of balance between the forces exerted by springs 55 and 53, that would be required in the absence of some such allowance for lost motion in the connection of spring 55.

The operation of the latch may best be explained by first starting with the parts in the closed position of Fig. 5 in which, as seen by reference to Fig. '7, the crank roller 33 is thrust into the keeper to hold the door l6 pressed against gasket II. The latch is opened and the crank arm 3| swung to the position of Fig. 8 in which roller 33 clears the rounded nose |9a of the keeper, by swinging handle 40 to the position of Fig. 6, the crank being rotated as a result of the engagement of the handle shoulder 42 with shaft lug 44, as previously explained. While the handle is being swung open, latch bar 49a is pulled into engagement with shaft lug 52 by spring 55 being brought into action to overcome the thrust of spring 53. When the face S of lug 52, swinging in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 6, reaches the end of slot 5| in the locking bar, the latter snaps down to the position of Fig. 6, locking lug 52 within opening 5|. In order to bring roller 33 clear of the keeper, it is necessary to swing the handle 40 to such an extent as to rotate lug 52 somewhat beyond the point at which surface S just clears the end of the lock bar opening 5|, as will be seen from Fig. 6.

It will be understood that the crank is swung open by handle 46 against the resistance of springs 34, which tend to swing the crank in a closing direction. Upon releasing the handle in the position of Fig. 6, the crank is swung in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 9 to bring lug 52 into engagement with the end of opening 5|, and is locked against further closing movement until the lock bar is released. The handle, however, is returned to fully closed position by the pull exerted by spring 45. Fig. 9 shows the relative positions of the roller 33 and keeper when the door is being swung closed with the crank held by the locking bar. As the door is swung closed, roller 33 is brought into engagement with the beveled keeper surface 22 near the rounded nose |9a, thus requiring the exertion of some force, though relatively small, on the door to cause the crank arm to be cammed outwardly to the position of Fig. 10, and roller 33 to ride over the nose of the keeper. During this movement,

thecrank-is swung in the direction of the arrow inFig." to back lug 52 out of the latch bar opening 5|, whereupon spring 53 presses the lock bar up againststop to free it from the shaft 53 lug=.' Springs 34 thereupon exert astrong closing force on the crank, tending to swing it towardthe position of Fig. 7 with roller 33 riding along surfaces 23a and 23b. These are two cooperating factors each servlng as a take-up means for crowding the door toward a completely closed position and compressing the-resilient rubber gasket I! against which the-door is closed. In the first place, when roller 23 contactsthebeveled or curved face 23a of the keeper, and as the roller is pulled into the keeper by springs 34, the surface 23 acts as a camwhich quickly crowds the door against the resilient rubber gasket I1. Since initial compression of the gasket requires less force than mm compression, the initial power can be applied more suddenly and to a greater degree than is necessary to finally complete the compression of'the gasket. Thus the keeper surface 23a. is given somewhat greater angularity to cause the crank to quickly compress the gasket during the first interval of its travel into the keeper. Then, by reason of the lesser angularity of surface 23b and its correspondingly greater wedging action, thepower of springs 34 is applied with greater advantage during the last portion of the crank travel into the keeper, to obtain the greatest.

pressure against the gasket and thus complete its final compression. The second "take-up eifect results from the swing of the crank arm from one side to the other of the extreme outer point of contact between the roller and the keeper. Thus in Fig. 8, wherein the'center of the shaft/29 is shown to be positioned substantially in line with the outer surfaoe ofthe keeper nose I9a, arm 3i will be seen to. have swung to the right of the center line L-L when in full open position. In closing to the position of Fig. 7, however, the crank swings to the opposite side of the center line, and in so doing, crowds roller 33 against surface 23 to pull the door more tightly against the gasket.

As mentioned, relatively little closing force applied to the door is necessary to cam roller 33 outwardly from the position of Fig. 9 to that of Fig. 10, due to the amount of initial offset of roller 33 relative to the nose of the keeper, and

the'angularity of beveled surface 22. However,

regardless of the closing force applied to the door, and regardless of how hard it may be slammed shut, by no possibility can the crank or other parts of the latch be damaged because, in closing, the crank always will readily be deflected outward to pass the extremity of the keeper.

In Figs. 12 to 15 I show a variational embodiment of the invention that is generally similar to the previously described form, but improved in certain respects, particularly as it is somewhat more compact, certain castings are more easily *manufacturedand the working parts are placed in such position that the latch is more readily assembled. The general shape and construction of the body 60, cover piece 6|, keeper 62, as well as the latch operating handle 63, the crank arm latching member 64, and its mountingwithin the body, all are similar, to the corresponding parts in the first described formof the invention. Aside ,from other relatively minor differences,

with the locking member lug 66.

Coil springs 61 connected at 68 to the latching member and acting to thrust the crank arm roller 69 into the keeper, are attached to pin 19 extending through body lugs "H. On this pin, between the lugs, is pivotally mounted the lock bar 12 extending longitudinally within the body, the bar being notched at '13, see Fig. 12, to provide a shoulder 14 adapted to engage lug 66. When the parts are in the position of Figs. 12

and 13, bar 12 is swung out of locking engage-- ment with the latching member lug 66, by the action of spring 15 attached to lug l6 and to a post or lug TI integral with the cover piece 6L The opposite end of bar 12 is yieldably connected with the handle 63 by way of coil spring 18, the looped end 18a of the spring extending around the end portion 12a of the lock bar. As illustrated in Fig. 13, when the handle 63 is in closed position, bar 12 is held clear of lug 66 by spring.

15, in which position the bar engages the end of the looped portion 16a of spring 18. Spring 19, connecting handle 63 with the body at 80, serves to return the handle to normal position after the latch is operated.

To release the latching member from the keeper, assuming the parts to be in the closed position of Figs. 12 and 13, handle 63 is swung to withdraw the crank arm roller 69 from the keeper and to clear lug 66 of engagement with shoulder 14 of the lock bar, as illustrated in Fig. 14. As the handle is swung, spring 18 overcomes the resistance of spring 15, swinging the lock bar toward lug 66 so as to position shoulder 14 for engagement by the lug after the handle is released, and to lock the crank arm in the partially open position of Fig. 15. From the previously given explanation of the operation of the first described form of the invention, it will be clear how closing movement of the door causes the crank arm and roller 69 to be cammed outwardly from the position of Fig. 15 by engagement with the keeper 62, and lug 66 disengaged from the lock bar and the latter swung by spring to the position of Fig. 13, permitting the latching member to be thrust into the keeper by the action of coil springs 61.

I claim:

1. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a latching member rotatable about an axis and held against substantial movement longitudinally thereof, said member being adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle for moving said member to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, means independent of said handle for holding said member in partially open position, and means for releasing said holding means by the engagement of said member with the keeper to permit the member to close into the keeper.

2. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, an oscillatory crank-shaped arm rotatable about an axis and held against substantial movement longitudinally thereof, said arm being adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle for swinging said arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, means independent of said handle for holding said arm in partially open position, and means for releasing said holdinglmeans by the engagement of said mounting of the lock bar 12 which cooperates Ell arm with thekeeper to permit the arm to close into the keeper.

3. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a latching member rotatable about an axis and held against substantial movement longitudinal- 1y thereof, said member being adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle for moving said member to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, means independent of said handle for holding said member in partially open position, means for releasing said holding means by the engagement of said member with the keeper to permit the member to close into the keeper, and yielding means thrusting said member into said keeper.

4. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a latching member rotatable about an axis and 20 held against substantial movement longitudinal- "tially open position, yielding means for pressing 1y thereof, said member being adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, said keeper hav ing a base and a surface extending angularly toward said base and along which said member moves in closing, a handle for moving said member to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, means independent of said handle for holding said member in partially open position, means for releasing said holding means by the engagement of said member with the keeper to permit the member to close into the keeper, and yielding means thrusting said member into said keeper.

5. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a latching member adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a, handle for moving said member to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, a locking element operating independently of said handle to hold said member in partially open position, yielding means for pressing said element into locking engagement with the member when said handle is moved toward open position, and means for releasing said holding means by the engagement of said member with the keeper to permit the member to close into the keeper.

6. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a member adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle for moving said member to open position of disengagement from said keeper, a locking element operating independently of said handle to hold said member in parsaid element into locking engagement with the member when said handle is moved toward open position, means holding said element out of looking engagement with the member when the handle is in closed position, and means for releasing said holding means by the engagement of said member with the keeper to permit the member to close into the keeper.

'7. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a latching member including an oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle for swinging said arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, means independent of said handle for holding said arm in partially open position, a pair of bearings journaling said member and within which said member is confined against substantial movement axially of the bearings, yielding means acting to thrust said arm into the keeper, and means for releasing said holding means by the engagement of said arm with the keeper to permit the arm to close into the keeper.

8. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled in said body and an oscillatory crank from said keeper, and a projection on said shaft engageable by the handle to swing said arm to open position.

with a keeper, the combination comprising, a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled in said body and an oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to be releasably retained said arm into the keeper, and yielding means, independent of the last mentioned means, re-

sisting movement of said handle to crank arm opening position.

10. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled in said body and an oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle pivotally mounted on said shaft and operable to rotate the shaft to move said arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, and. yielding means acting to rotate said shaft and thrust said arm into the keeper.

11. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising,

a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled and held against substantial axial movement in said body and an oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle for moving said arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, yielding means acting to thrust said arm into the keeper, and locking means for holding said arm in partially open position, said lock-,

ing means comprising a locking element pivotally mounted within the body and releasably engaging said projection on said shaft.

13. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising,'

a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled in said body and an oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle for moving said arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, yielding means acting to thrust said arm j into the keeper, locking means for holding said' 9. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperatev arm in partially open position, said locking means comprising a locking element pivotally mounted within the body and releasably engaging a projection on said shaft, and yielding means urging the locking element into engagement with said projection when said handle is moved to swing the arm to open position.

14. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, the combination comprising, a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled in said body and an oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, said shaft being rotatable by engagement of said arm with the keeper, a handle for moving said arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, yielding means acting to thrust said arm into the keeper, a locking element adapted to releasably engage a projection on said shaft to hold the arm in partially open position, said element being releasable by engagement of said arm with the keeper to permit the arm to close into the keeper, yielding means urging the locking element into engagement with said projection when said handle is moved to swing the arm to open position, and yielding means acting to move said element out of locking engagement with said projection when said shaft is turned by the engagement of said arm with the keeper.

15. In a latch adapted to cooperate with a keeper having a hook-shaped part, the combination comprising a housing, an oscillatory latching member including a shaft journaled in bearings within said housing, a crank arm mounted on one end of said shaft and having a wrist pin carrying a roller adapted to be received within the hook-shaped part of the keeper, a handle mounted on said shaft and operable to swing the crank arm to disengage said roller from the keeper, yielding means connected to said shaft within the housing and urging said arm in a closing direction, a locking element operating to hold said crank arm in partially open position, and yielding means for actuating said locking element.

16. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a hook-shaped keeper, the combination comprising a housing, an oscillatory latching member adapted to close into said keeper and including a shaft journaled within said housing, and a crank arm mounted on one end of the shaft and having a wrist pin carrying a roller; a projection on said shaft, a crank arm actuating spring attached to said projection, and

means for holding said crank arm in partially open position, said means comprising a pivotally mounted bar, means on said shaft engageable with said bar, and yielding means for actuating the bar.

17. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a hook-shaped keeper having an outer beveled face, the combination comprising a housing, an oscillatory latching member including a shaft journaled in bearings within said housing, a crank arm mounted on one end of said shaft and having a wrist pin carrying a roller, a projection on said shaft, a spring con nected to said projection and urging said crank arm toward closed position, means for holding said arm in partially open position, said means comprising a pivotally mounted bar and a member carried on said shaft engageable with said bar, yielding means for actuating said bar, said roller being adapted to engage the beveled face of the keeper and acting to swing said crank arm to open position andthereby release said bar from holding engagement with said second mentioned member.

18. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper having a base and a surface extending angularly toward said base, the combination comprising, a latching member including an oscillatory crank-shaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper and to move along said surface in closing into the keeper, a handle for swinging said arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, means independent of said handle for holding said arm in partially open position, a pair of bearings journaling said member and within which said member is confined against substantial movement axially of the bearings, yielding means acting to thrust said arm into the keeper along said keeper surface, means for releasing said holding means by the engagement of said arm with the keeper to permit the arm to close into the keeper.

19. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper having a base and a crank arm engaging surface extending inwardly from the mouth of the keeper opening toward said base at a relatively great angle and then at a lesser angle, the combination comprising, a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled in said body and an oscillatory crank-shaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handlev pivotally mounted on said shaft and extending through an opening in the body and cooperating with said shaft to rotate the shaft and swing the crank arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, and yielding means acting to thrust said arm into the keeper.

ELIHU C. WILSON.

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