US2106926A - Door closer - Google Patents

Description

1, 1938. c E: M 7 2,106,926

' DO R CLOSER Original Filed July 30, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l m/"Zea Hammad Feb, 1, 1938. C HAMMELL I 2,306,926

DOOR CLOSER Original Filed July 50, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 v I amen tor fM/Zes E. flmmezi Patented Feb. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT FFEQE Original application July 30, 1931, Serial No. 554,064. Divided and this application April 21, 1934, Serial No. 721,750

6 Claims.

My invention relates to door closers and particularly to closers such as are used in the elevator art for hoistway doors and car doors or gates.

This application constitutes a division of my copending application Serial Number 554,064, filed July 30, 1931, (now Patent No. 1,966,445) and relates more particularly to a door operating means including a door check and closer.

Closers of the above noted character are provided with fluid cushioning or checking means to cause the rapidly closing door or gate to be stopped without impact or slamming and the cushioning means is arranged to be regulated by va device such as for example a needle valve.

It is now common practice to construct and arrange such regulating device for adjustment from outside the cushioning unit but such arrangement, as found from experience, is objectionable because it-invites tampering.

Hence one of the features of the present invention is to provide a closer constructed and arranged with the regulating means for the cushioning means concealed wholly within the closer casing so as to be inaccessible by any means whatsoever from without, which arrangement, in order to effect regulation, necessitates partial 'disassemblement of the closer and tampering is thus greatly minimized.

Another feature of the invention is to provide a regulating means of novel construction and arrangement which assures permanency of adjustment.

An added feature of the invention is to pro- 'vide an electric switch with an interlocking function in combination with a system of interconnected toggle levers for operating a hoistway sliding door and with a cushioning means serving to support said system of toggle levers upon closure of said door in such manner that the system is broken beyond its dead center position, thereby effecting an increased operating stroke of said electric switch.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combined closer and cushioning mechanism of novel construction and arrangement to cause a relatively quick start of the door from full open position followed by rapid acceleration to about three-quarter closed position, the arrangement being such that for such relatively long door movement there is a relatively short and consequent slow movement of the piston in the fluid with consequent slight cushioning effect resulting therefrom, and during the remainder or relatively short door movement to fully closed position there is a relatively long and consequent fast piston movement with consequent increased cushioning effect which effectually prevents impact and slamming.

Other features will be obvious from the following description and appended claims. Referring now to the drawings, Figure l is a general elevation illustrating the closer as applied to a two speed sliding hoistway door, together with a switch having an interlocking function, operatively associated therewith; Figure 2 illustrates the position of parts with the door in open position; Figure 3 illustrates a sectional elevation of the closer; Figure 4 illustrates va somewhat enlarged view of the regulating valve; Figure 5 illustrates an instrumentality used to adjust said valve; Figure 6 illustrates the relative position of certain parts due to adjustment. The present door closer is applicable for use with either a single speed or two speed hoistgo way door. The two speed door mechanism illustrated herein comprises the two door sections i and 2, supported in a well known manner for sliding movement, by suitable hangers 3 mounted upon suitable tracks i.

Any of the well known arrangements of levers may be used as the actuating mechanism for the doors, provided they are capable of being connected in accordance with the present invention and the present type is shown merely as 0 an example. The actuating mechanism herein illustrated consists of levers, 6, l, and 8, the lever 6 being pivotally connected at 5 to the door section I, the intermediate lever i being pivotally supported at H by the door section 2, 35 and the lever 8 being pivotally supported at l2 by a bracket secured to a fixed supporting member 13 which in turn is secured to the door frame by a studding or wall of the elevator hoistway. 40

In accordance with now common practice a switch mechanism 16 is operatively connected to the lever B so that actuation thereof to open and close an electrical interlock car control circuit (not shown) is dependent on movement of .l the hoistway door. As a novel feature of the present invention a rod i5 permits adjustment til to cause the switch to be open-circuited before the lever system is actuated sufficiently to unlock the door-sections and to be close-circuited 1;? only after the lever system assumes position to lock the door-sections in closed position.

The switch mechanism per se forms the subject matter of another patent by applicant Num- -ber 1,866,563, dated July 12, 1932.

A depending lever l6 attached to the lever l and having a suitable hand grip I! permits manual operation of the door to open position against the action of the spring actuated closer mechanism designated l 8 as a whole.

The closer, cushioning mechanism and regulating mechanism comprise a piston l9 disposed within a cylinder 42, and having a cylindrical shank 20 with interior screw threads 2| engaged by screw threads 22 at the lower end of a rod 23. Oppositely disposed pins 24 engage the shank and the piston rod to prevent their rotation relatively to each other.

The rod 23 is adjustably connected by a socket 40 threaded to the upper end of the rod directly to the actuating lever 8 by a pivotal connection 4|. It will be particularly noted that the axis of the pivotal connection between the rod and lever is in line with the axes of pivotal connections I0 and I2 of lever B, and is not above or below such line as in common practice and that furthermore this difference coupled with that of providing a relatively long range piston movement as by locating said pivotal connection 4| a suitable distance from the pivotal point l2 for the lever 8, results when the doors are moving to closed position, in a piston movement which produces a very desirable and novel cushioning action which will be referred to more specifically hereinafter, and which is not obtainable in similar devices now commonly used wherein the point of pivotal connection between the lever and the rod is not in line with the pivotal connections 10 and I2 of the lever, and wherein there is only a relatively short range piston movement.

A slot and pin connection 66 with the slot through the top of the rod 23 for engagement by the pin, prevents unintended rotation of the piston rod 23.

The cylinder 42 is sealed at the bottom by a plug 25 having a counter-sunk space 26 and a lug 21 at which point the cylinder is pivotally supported by a bracket 28 secured to the supporting plate I3. 7

A hollow cylindrical cap 29 has at its lower end a screw threaded portion 30 to engage an interior screw threaded portion 3| at the top of the cylinder. The rod 23 is guided by the cap at the upper end H. A vent 32 in the cap covered by a felt gasket 33 held in place by a metallic ring 34 seated in the annular face of the cap, permits the escape of air from within the cylinder and the felt gasket prevents possible loss of liquid from within the cylinder.

According to the present invention I propose to employ as a means to close the door or doors, through the intermediary of the actuating mechanism heretofore described, two helical compression springs designated 35 and 36. The spring 35 is a relatively long spring of larger diameter but of a smaller gauge than the shorter spring 36 and the latter is of the larger gauge and smaller diameter than the spring 35. The longer spring 35 is interposed between the top ledge I36 on the piston and the bottom face 31 of the cap 29, it being normally under compression with the piston seated against the plug 25. The shorter spring is normally inert as when the piston is seated against the plug and is seated on the top face 38 of the shank 20. Both springs embrace the piston rod with the smaller gauge spring telescoping the large gauge spring. The pressure of the spring 35 may be adjusted by rotation of the cap 29 and to facilitate this operation the cap at its upper end may have a serrated surface 39.

The cylinder 42 is adapted to be approximately half filled with liquid such as oil, to a level which is indicated by a dot and dash line 44.

The lower end of the rod 23 is provided with a fluid chamber 45, the Wall of which is provided with a series of ports such as 46. The chamber 45 communicates with a fluid chamber 41 in the shank portion, by way of a ball check valve 48 which opens downwardly and closes upwardly and a pin 49 is provided for supporting the ball when the piston is traveling upwardly. However, when the piston moves downwardly the check valve will close so that the fluid cannot pass through the chamber 45 and ports 46 but it can, however, pass through by-pass ports 50 in the shank portion of the piston l9. The circulation of fluid through the ports 5|] is restricted by an adjustable valve designated as a whole 5| which regulates the size of the openings and in this way the cushioning action is regulated. The valve together with a necessary tool to adjust same are shown in perspective and somewhat enlarged in Figures 4 and 5 respectively. The adjustable valve is in the form of a hollow cylindrical member having threads to engage with the interior threads 2| of the piston. The body of the valve member may be cut away as indicated at 52, 52', thus forming upper and lower portions connected by the webs 53. This construction permits the two lower sections to be formed with a slight outward flare which by its spring action maintains the valve as a whole in adjusted position.

A specially constructed hand tool, designated 54, see Figure 5, is provided to properly adjust the valve 51, within the piston to regulate the size of the port openings 50. This tool consists of a cylindrical member 55 carrying at one end thereof a cross-bar 56. The other end of the member 55 is provided with a finger bar 51.

To make the adjustment, the cylindrical portion 55 is inserted through the bottom of the piston and into the interior of the valve with the over-hanging portions 58 of the cross-bar engaging oppositely disposed slots 59 in the wall of the valve and with the tool fully inserted the top ledge of the cross-bar 56 is seated against the ledge 60 of the valve. The valve having threaded engagement with the piston will, by rotation of the tool, be raised or lowered with respect to the ports 50 thus giving any desired degree of opening for the passage of oil from beneath the piston to the cylinder chamber above the piston.

The doors are opened in the usual manner through the intermediary of the actuating mechanism by manual operation of the lever l6. With the doors in full open position the parts assume a position as indicated in Figure 2.

The initial opening movement of the door compresses the longer spring 35 and subsequent movement thereof compresses the shorter spring 36 because of it being seated against the face 60 of the cap 29. With the doors in full open position there is then available the combined storedup energy of the two springs to give the doors a quick start to closedposition when the handle is released. For this opening movement of the doors, upward movement of the piston is unimpeded since the oil above same has free circulation from the cylinder chamber above the piston, through ports 46 in the rod to the interior chamber 45 in the rod, to the chamber 41 by way of the ball-valve 48, then through the hollow valve to the space in the cylinder below the piston.

At this point it will be particularly noted, that since the pivotal connection 4| between the lever B and the rod 23 is in line with the pivotal connections l0 and I2 of said lever, said pivotal point will be carried to substantially the highest point of the are followed by connection with the lever and with the doors fully open the point 4| does not quite reach what may be .termed a dead center or looking position but is approximately and not more than degrees ofi the vertical centerline of the pivotal support l2 for the lever 8 and this is an important feature. When the lever I6 is released, both springs 35 and 36 act together to give the door a relatively quick start or kick-off ment and subsequently, that is when the door is about three-quarters closed, the spring 35 becomes inert and the spring 35 acts by itself to complete the closure of the door.

The piston throughout the entire door opening movement does not have a range of movement which carries it above the oil level.

It will be noted here that, for movement of the doors from full open position, the pivotal point 4| of the rod starts its cycle of movement from approximately the highest point of an imaginary arc so that even though movement of the doors from full open position to approximately threequarters closed position, is relatively long and rapid, the piston movement at the same time is short and consequently at a slow rate so that there is practically no impedance to the door movement at this time. However during the remaining and relatively short range movement of the doors to fully closed position the piston has at the same time a relatively longer range and faster rate of movement than at first and this results in a substantially increased cushioning action which effectually prevents impact and slamming.

During this closing movement of the door in which case the piston is moved downwardly in the cylinder, the oil passes from the cylinder chamber below the piston, through the hollow valve to chamber 41, thence through the restricted ports 50 to the cylinder chamber above the piston. The oil at this time cannot pass from below the piston to the cylinder chamber above the piston by way of the chambers 41 and 45 and ports 46 because the ball valve 48 becomes seated thereby to out 01f communication between the chambers 41 and 45 and in which case the only path for the circulation of oil is by way of the restricted ports 50.

From the description already given it will be seen that I have provided a regulating means for the cushioning means which is concealed wholly within the cylinder casing so as to be inaccessible by any tool or other instrumentality whatsoever from without and in order to regulate the valve the parts must be disassembled and the piston, together with the rod 23 and springs, withdrawn from the cylinder and in such way the valve is made accessible for adjustment by the specially made hand tool. Such construction and arrangement minimizes very greatly the possibility of tampering.

It will be observed in connection with the construction of the cushioning or checking means, that the passages for the oil when flowing in both checking and non-checking directions are formed wholly by the reciprocating elements consisting of the piston and rod 23 connecting with the door actuating mechanism and this construction permits the use of the plain shell-like cylinder instead of those now commonly used which are provided with complicated and costly constructions to provide a throttled by-pass for the passage of fluid around the piston.

The door actuating mechanism of the type herein shown and commonly used for two speed doors as well as the type used for single speed doors is provided with what is called a rule-joint to prevent sagging of the toggle-levers.

According to the present invention the use of the rule-joint is eliminated due to the fact that adjustment is made by the socket 40 so that with the doors in closed position in which case the levers 6, 'l and B are in alignment, the piston I9 is bottomed against the plug 25 and in this manner sagging is effectually prevented.

By adjustment of the socket 49, the lever system with the doors closed may be broken or out of parallelism in a reverse direction to that in which they are normally actuated to open the doors (see Figure 6) for which position thereof the piston is bottomed against the plug 25 so that in efiect a locked condition exists so that the doors cannot be opened from the landing side. This arrangement is advantageous since it permits a movement of the levers from the hoistway side, from the broken position as shown to a position which brings them in alignment as in Figure 1 and for which position thereof they still hold the doors looked. Hence by such movement of the levers and without unlocking the doors, the interlock switch mechanism is open-cirouited before the doors are unlocked.

Conversely as the doors are closed, the lever mechanism assumes a position to lock the doors and a further movement thereof to looking position closes the inter-lock switch mechanism. This arrangement allows a relatively wide range of movement to actuate the inter-lock switch before the levers assume an unlocking position and which is not obtainable in similar devices wherein the levers remain in alignment with the door closed and the initial movement thereof to opencircuit the inter-lock switch throws them slightly out of alignment.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a door, actuating levers therefor, plural power devices of different effective length to move said door, a cylinder, a piston within said cylinder, said power devices contained within said cylinder, and means operable from without said cylinder to adjust one of said power devices.

2. In combination, a door, actuating levers therefor, a cylinder, a piston within said cylinder operatively connected to said levers, plural telescoped springs within said cylinder tending to maintain said piston at the end of said cylinder, one normally under compression and one normally inert with said door in closed position, and means to adjust said spring which is normally under compression.

3. In combination, a hoistway sliding door, a system of interconnected toggle levers for actuating said door, one end of said system being attached to the door and the other end being fixedly pivoted and attached to thedoor frame, an electric switch having an interlocking function operatively attached to the said system of toggle levers at a point close to the said fixed pivot and means for cushioning said door attached to said system of toggle levers, the said cushioning means serving to support said system of toggle levers upon closure of said door in such manner that the system is broken beyond its dead center position, thereby effecting an increased operative stroke of said electric switch.

4. In combination, a horizontally sliding door, a system of interconnected toggle levers for actuating said door, each of said levers being pivotally'attaohed at their ends, the lever at one end of said system being attached to the door and the lever at the opposite end of said system being fixedly pivoted and attached at one end to the door frame, a piston and cylinder cushioning device also pivoted to said door frame below said fixed pivot, a piston rod attached to said piston and pivoted to said fixedly pivoted lever at a point intermediate and substantially in line with its two end pivots whereby said point passes through said door approaches its closed with solid walls, a piston operating in said cylinder provided with at least one adjustable passage for fluids, a. spring within said cylinder tending to hold said piston at onevend of the cylinder and a second spring coaxial with said first spring becoming operative only duringv the stroke of said piston and .then tending to return said piston to the same end ofisaid cylinder.

6. In combination, a sliding door, a system of interconnected toggle levers for actuating said door, a piston and cylinder device operatively attached to said system of toggle levers for cushioning the operation of said door, and two coaxial springs of' difierent length within said cylinder tending to close said door, the longer spring being effective throughout the length of the piston stroke, the shorter spring being of such length as to become effective only during the time said door is between its three quarter and open positions.

CHARLES E. HAMIMELL.

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