US2176043A - Latch - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 17, 1939.

L. ANDERSON LATCH Original Filed April 2'7, 1937 I [Zayd Anderson/ INVENTOR.

E5 ATITOIRNEY Patented Oct. 17, 1939 LATCH Lloyd Anderson, Grand Rapids, Mich assignor to National Lock a., Rockiord, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Original application April at, 1931, Serial No. 139,131. Divided and this application January 26, 1938, Serial No. 187,053

Claims.

This invention pertains to latches and operating mechanism therefor and is a division of my copending United States application, Serial No. 139,131, filed April 27, 1937 for Latch mechanism.

Among its important objects the invention includes the provision of a latch of general application and especially suited for use with utility closures and cabinets, such, for example, as rem frigerators and like devices having automatically opening doors.

Another object is the'provision of a latch having a bolt mounted for both pivotal and linear movement on a carriage slidably disposed in a 115 housing for attachment to a door, the bolt having trip mechanism normally locking the same against pivotal movement and tripping means in the form of a rod seated at one end on the housing and having connection at its other end with a handle, therod having a sleeve which is adt0 justable pivotally of the axis of the rod, the sleeve having a lateral arm engageable withthe trip mechanism of the latch and spring means embracing the sleeve and anchored on the housing for disposing the lateral arm in a normal tit position.

A further object of the invention is the pro vision of a latch having a bolt normally locked in efiective position and having mechanism operable to free the bolt for movement .into inefiective position, the bolt being moved into such position by the opening of the door or closure with which it is associated.

Still another object is the provision of a latch of the character described and having a bolt ar- 35 ranged for sliding as well as pivotal movement into and out ofeffectiveposition, the latch bolt, when released, being pivoted momentarily out oi effective position by opening the closure with which it is associated, and the latch bolt also being momentarily slid or cammed into ineifiective position by engagement with a strike plate when the door is closed.

Yet another object is the provision of a trip operating means for a latch and including a rod M having pivotal mounting at one of its ends on the latch, the opposite end being connected with some form of handle, and there being a sleeve rotatable on the rod near the latch and having a novel screw means for adjusting the sleeve pivdd otally, the sleeve having a coil spring thereon anchored at one end on the latch and at another end to trip means on the sleeve engageable with the latch, the spring normally disposing the trip means in inoperative position.

" II Other novel aspects and objects of the invention. will appear as the tollowingdescription develops in view of the annexed drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which: i

Fig. l is a rear vertical elevation of the latch and. lower portion 01' the operating rod structure;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the latch, and is taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1; w

, Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the'latch viewed in the direction of lines 8-! of Fig. 1;

Fig. i is a horizontal section through the latch just above the bolt, and is taken along lines M of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal median section through the latch along lines 5-5 of Fig. 1; while Fig. 6 is a horizontal section similar to Fig. 5, and shows the bolt and spring recededby camming action of the keeper.

Describing first the novel latch with particular reference to Fig. 1, the same includes a housing or Jacket 21! substantially U-shaped cross section and provided with oppositely extending mounting flanges 26 through which are extended screws attaching the latch over a base-plate to the inside of the door ill, the latch housing being open at its ends, and having at one (right-hand) of these ends a pair oi diverging wings or tabs 24 and 24' struck out from the opposite side walls of the housing. The upper one of these latter side walls has an open-ended slot or cut-away portion 25 (Fig. 3) adjacent its rear edge and the ear 22. A base plate 226 is positioned between the back of the housing and the door it (Figs. 2 and 3), and has an upturned ear 2% having an inwardly directed spring-engaging boss 23.

The iatch bolt structure includes a sliding bolt carriage .i'l of substantially U-shaped or channelshaped section (Figs. 2 and i) and fitted within the channel part oi the housing with its open ends facing the open ends of the housing, and its open side or top facing the bottom or outer part it of the same. "Iihis bolt carriage 2? also has an open-ended slot '28 communicating with its rearward upper edge and normally underlying and aligned with the slot in the housing (Fig. 3), while the top free edge portions of the I carriage opposite its bottom are bent in to provide gliding flanges 2t (Fig. 2).

From the bottom of the bolt carriage is struck inwardly a spring-retaining ear (Figs. 2 and 4) having a boss like the boss 23 on the base plate car 22, and in the assembly shown in Fig. 6, for example, a moderately strong compression spring ti is expanded between the car 22 on the II base plate and the ear 3!! on the bolt carriage, urging the latter to the right and into the position seen in Fig. 3, this outward movement being limited by an inwardly extending stopping boss 32 struck up from the base plate 26 (Fig. at a point spaced inwardly from its right-hand edge.

The right-hand edge of the bottom of the bolt carriage is inset or cut away, as at 33, to a depth just beyond the stopping boss 32 when the right end of the carriage 21 is flush or even with the right edge of the housing 20, the stopping boss being raised sufficiently to confront this edge and limit movement of the carriage toward the right.

A latch bolt 34 (Figs. 1 and 4) having a cam surface 35 has a pair of spaced arms 36 which extend laterally away from the side of the bolt, and these arms 36 have registered openings through which is extended a pivot pin 31 disposed between the sides of the carriage 21. A latchreturn spring 38 embraces the pin 31 between the yoke-like arms 36 of the bolt, and one end of this spring bears against an inner end of the bolt, while the opposite end bears against the carriage 21 so as to pivot the bolt into effective position, that is to say, into a position protruding from, and substantially co-extensive with, the carriage. Thus, it will be evident in Fig. 6 that the bolt is urged in an anti-clockwise direction by the spring 38 and may be pivoted in a clockwise direction out of the way of the keeper and back into the carriage.

Pivotally mounted on a pin 40 within the carriage and at an end opposite the bolt, is a U- shaped latch member 4| having a pair of yoke arms 42 (see particularly Figs. 1 and 4) disposed on its inner side nearest the bolt, and mounted between these arms 42 is a roller 43. A coil spring 44 around the pin 46 normally urges the latch member and roller in an anti-clockwise direction with the roller bearing against an inner latching part or surface 45 on the bolt 34-.

It will be observed that the pins 31 and 40 about which the bolt and latch, respectively, pivot, are not in alignment, and that in its normal position, as seen for example in Figs. 2 and 5, the vertical body or bight part of thelatch bears against the riding flanges 29 as at 39, thus rendering it impossible to pivot the latch member 4| in an anti-clockwise direction, which in turn renders it impossible to pivot the bolt 34 in a clockwise direction, since any attempted pivoting of the bolt in this latter direction tends to pivot the roller and latch in the opposite direction against the flanges 29.

However, by pivoting the latch in a clockwise sense, the roller 43 will be moved out of the path of the end part 45 of the bolt, which thereupon may be pivoted back into the carriage within the housing, it being recalled also that the carriage 21 may itself be pushed back into the housing against the spring 3| with the same result.

Extended upwardly through the cut-away parts or slots 25 and 28 from the latch member is an operating finger or pin 46 (Figs. 1, 3, 4)

which is engageable by a laterally extending arm or finger 41 on a sleeve 48 adjustably attached to the lower end of a vertical operating rod 60. At its lower axial end, the sleeve 48 is fitted upon a stud 6| secured to the top of the housing near the wing 24.

An adjustable connection between the sleeve and rod is effected in a simple manner by means of a pair of screws 62 and 63, each having tapered or conical head portions 64, and each threaded radially into the rod 60 through over-sized holes 65 (Figs. 1 and 3) circumferentially displaced from each other in a direction around the sleeve.

Serving to rotate the rod 60 in an anti-clockwise direction into a normal position, and also serving as part of the above-mentioned novel adjustment feature, is a coil spring 66 embracing sleeve 48 at its lower end and having one extremity 61 bent around the arm 41, while its opposite end 68 is bent around a twisted ear portion 69 of the upper integral wing 24 on housing 21. Thus a constant torsional effort is exerted on the sleeve 48 tending to turn it in an anti-clockwise sense relative to rod 60, and when the adjusting screws 62 and 63 are loosened, the sleeve will turn in this sense on the rod 60 until the shank of the screw 63 bears against the side of its corresponding hole 65 in the sleeve. Adjustment is effected by tightening the screw 63 until the tapered shoulder part thereof cams against the side of its corresponding sleeve-hole and rotates the sleeve (clockwise) against the tension of the coil spring 66. This rotation will cause the arm 41 to approach the operating pin 46, and when the desired spacing. is achieved, the remaining set screw 62 may be tightened to hold the sleeve 48 rigidly in place on rod 60.

At its upper end the rod 60 is engaged either in some form of a bracket completing the pivotal mounting therefor, or with a handle or pivoting mechanism such as disclosed in the aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 139,131. Obviously any means may be utilized for pivoting the rod 66, and the latch structure shown in Fig. 1 may therefore be used with any handle or operating mechanism which may be connected to the rod 60 so as to effect pivotal movement of the same about its long axis.

Thus, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be apparent that if the rod 60 is-pivoted from left to right or clockwise, the offset finger 41 will bear against the pin 46 and the latch bolt will be freed for subsequent pivotal movement by some other agency.

In Figs. 1 and 3, the latch and bolt are in normal locking position, while in Fig. 4 the rod 60 has been turned to free the bolt and the latter has been pivoted back into its housing by the keeper 15 and particularly by the nose portion 16 thereof, the door l1 being automatically swung out in the direction of the arrow by the spring hinge.

It will be observed that the keeper has a sloped strike plate 11, and when the rod has been freed for return to normal by its spring 66 so as to reposition the roller 43 and latch the bolt, the bolt 34 can no longer be pivoted. If now the door l1 be swung closedin the direction of the tracer arrow in Fig. 6, the cam surface of the bolt 34 will bear against the cam face 11 of the strike plate and the entire bolt carriage 21 and bolt 34 will recede into the housing 20 against the compression spring 3| until the bolt can pass the nose 16 of the keeper, whereupon the bolt will quickly slide back into the keeper 15 behind the keeper nose 16.

It will thus appear that I have pro'vided a latch and operating mechanism therefor in accordance with the several objects hereinabove set forth, and particularly a latch comprising a housing having a bolt pivoted in a sliding carriage against the tension of a positioning spring, the carriage being positioned also by a spring, so that the bolt tends at all times to be in effective position. 7!

and normally spring-urged into a position to block pivotal movement of the bolt, together with a handle having several degrees of freedom for releasing movement and operable to move the lock memberinto ineffective position which ever way the handle is moved.

The foregoing particularly described device sets forth only one embodiment of the invention, and it is expressly provided that the appended claims are intended to embrace any and all modifications, rearrangements, and variations or combinations of the invention defined by the annexed claims, and coming within the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letterstioned means including a screw with a sloped shank portion threaded into said rod through an opening in said sleeve and or larger diameter than the shank. of said screw, said screw being threadable into said rod to turn said sleeve in a direction opposite to the aforesaid particular direction.

2. In combination with a latch, a latch-operating device including a rod having a radial tap, a sleeve fitted on said rod and adapted to turn on the same, said sleeve having an opening for registering with said tap, spring means turning said sleeve to position the opening therein out of registration with said tap, a laterally extending latch-operating arm on' said sleeve, and a screw having a shank of smaller diameter than said sleeve opening and extended through the latter into said tap and further having a tapered shoulder part .movable into said opening to bear against a sideoi' the same and turn said sleeve on said rod oppositely to the direction of turning eilfort of said spring means, and means for turning said rod.-

3. Latch operating means including a rod having a sleeve portion atone end arranged for turning movement coaxiaily oi the rod, means on said sleeve portion for operative engagement with a latch, and means for rotatively adjusting said sleeve relative'to said rod to adjust said latch operating means relative to a latch, saidadjusting means'including the provision of oflfset radial bores through said sleeve' into said rod, said bores being offset in a circumferential sense and spaced apart in an axial sense relative to the rod and sleeve, and means adjustably movable severally into and out of said bores for bearing engagement against circumferentially opposite marginal portions of the respective bores through said sleeve to shift the latter opposite directions about said rod.

4. Latch operating means including a rod having a sleeve portion at one and arranged for turning movement coaxially of the rod, means on said sleeve portion for operative engagement with alatch, and means for rotatively adjusting said sleeve relative to said rod to adjust saidlatch operating, means relative to a latch, said adjusting means including the provision oi oi!- set radial bores through said sleeve into said rod, said bores being oiiset. in a circumferential sense and spaced apart in an axial sense relative to'the rod and sleeve, and means adjustably movable severally into and out of said bores for bearing. engagement against circumierentialiy opposite marginal portions of the respective bores through said sleeve to shiit the latter opposite directions about said rod, said sleeve having means at its extremity remote from said rod for engagement with a mounting member, said rod having means at its end opposite said sleeve for engagement with an operatingmember. I

5. An adjustableoperating device including a rod having 'a sleeve portion arranged thereon for rotative movement coaxially oi the rod, means for shifting said sleeve opposite directions about the rod, said means including the provision of tapped radial bores in the rod spaced apart in an axial direction and offset relative to each other in a circumferential direction, said sleeve having openings for registration withsaid bores, and adjusting members each threaded intoone of said bores through one of said sleeve openings and having camming portions respectiveiy emgageable with marginal parts of the corresponding openings through said sleeve for camming the latter opposite directions by movement of the threaded members into their respective bores,

and means on said sleeve for operative engagementwith a controlled instrumentality.

6. An adjustable operating device including a rod having a sleeve portion arranged thereon for rotative movement coaxially of the rod, means for shifting said sleeve opposite directions about the rod, said means including the provision or tapped radial bores in the rod spaced apart in an axial direction and offset relative to each other in a circumferential direction, said sleeve having openings for registration with said bores, and adjusting members each threaded into one of said bores through one of said sleeve openings and having camming portions respectively engageable with marginal parts of the corresponding openings through said sleeve iorcamming the latter opposite directions by movement of the threaded members into their respective bores,

and means on said sleeve for operative engagement with a controlled lnstrumentality, said sleeve having means at its outermost end for supporting engagement with a mounting member openings for registration with said bores, and

adjusting members each threadedinto one of said bores through one of said sleeve openings and having camming portions respectively engageable with marginal parts of the corresponding openings through said sleeve for camming the latter opposite directions by movement oi the threaded members into their respective bores,

and means on said sleeve for operative engagement with a controlled instrumentality, said tion whereby said sleeve will automatically beturned in a particular direction by threading said threaded members out of their respective bores. 8. A control device including a first member and a second member mounted on said first member for turning movement coaxially of the latter, said first member having transverse bores which are spaced apart in an axial direction and offset in a direction transverse to said axial direction, said second member having openings similarly oflset, adjusting members each severally movable into and out of one of said bores through said openings in the second member and having cam parts respectively engageable with opposite sides of their respective openings in said transverse direction for bearing engagement therewith to cam said second member in opposite directions in a direction about said first member, means on said second member for operative engagement with a controlled device, said first-named member being adapted for mounting to be turned about the axis of the same and said secondnamed member for effecting operation of said controlled device.

9. The combination, with a latch including a reciprocable actuating element, of adjustable operating means including an operating rod and means mounting the same to turn about its own axis, an adjustable member mounted on said rod for shifting motion in a direction about said rod, said member having a laterally extending arm arranged for cooperation with said reciprocable element of the latch to actuate the latter when said rod is turned, and means operable to efl'ect shift ing movement of said adjustable member and including members threadable through said adjustable member into said rod and each spaced from the other in a direction about the rod, said adjustable member being provided with camming, formations engaged by each of said threadable members for coaction with the same to shift said adjustable member selectively in opposite directions responsive to the threaded adjustment of the threadable members.

10. In a latch, adjustable operating means comprising an operating rod and means mounting the same for turning motion about its own axis, a latch actuating element arranged for cooperation with said latch and adjustable means attaching said actuating element to said rod for turning movement therewith and adjustable to shift said element in directions oppositely about said axis of the rod, whereby the turning motion of the operating rod may be adjusted to actuate the latch in a predetermined manner.

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