US2195542A - Latch mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Patented Apr. 2, 1940 LATCH MECHANISM Allyn Moore Shaffer and John Burton Hatchet, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application September 4, 1935, Serial No. 39,109

6 Claims.

Our invention relates to an improved latch mechanism by means of which a door, window, or hatch, etc., can be closed noiselessly in place of slamming it shut.

A further object of our invention is to provide a latch mechanism by means of which a door, window or hatch, etc.. may be tightly and securely closed, against either rattling or leakage, by the operation of the latch mechanism itself without the necessity of slamming or otherwise forcing it shut.

Another object of our invention is to provide a latch mechanism by means of which a door may be closed and the latch member engage the latch socket even though the operating means of the latch mechanism is in the position it normally occupies when the latch member is in the extended or closed position.

A further object of our invention is to provide a latch mechanism in which the latch member is slidably and swingably moveable, and is slidably moveable independent of the operating means of the latch mechanism.

Another object of our invention is to provide a latch mechanism, the latch member of which in closing is moved sidewardly and outwardly and upon engagement with the latch socket exerts a force thereagainst tending to close said door.

Still other objects and advantages of our inventlon will be made evident hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this application, we have illustrated one preferred form of embodiment of our invention. in which drawing similar reference characters designate corresponding parts and in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of the latch mechanism with the door closed.

Figure 2 is a perspective view illustrating one way of connecting the latch member, links and operating arm together.

Figure 3 is a sectional view showing the latch member in a withdrawn position.

Figure 4 is a sectional view showing the position of the latch mechanism as the door is about to be closed by manual operationof the operating means.

Figure 5 is a sectional view showing the position of the latch mechanism when the door is being closed with the operating means of the latch mechanism in the closed position.

Referring to the drawing, a latch member I, a latch link 2, and operating link 3, a stub arm 4, and an operating arm 5 are located in a horizontal plane between the bearing surfaces 6 and 1 of a door 8. A part of the edge 9 of the door 8 is cut out to allow for the movement of the latch member I, and part of the edge 8 is bent at right angles and curved as shown in the drawing to provide a guide means Ill.

The wall II is provided with a wear plate l2 and part of the wall II and the wear plate l2 are cut out to provide a latch socket II, which is adapted to be engaged by the latch member I.

The outer end of the latch member I is curved as shown in the drawing in order to facilitate its movement in and out of the latch socket l3 and for other reasons which will be made evident hereinafter.

Connected to the inner end of the latch member l are the outer end of latch link 2 and the upper end of operating link 3. The inner end of latch link 2 is connected to the outer end of stub arm 4. The stub arm 4 is adapted to slide in and out between the flat bearing surfaces 6 and I4, and is held in the outward or normal position by means of a spring or similar mechanism IS, the outward movement of which is limited by means of stops l6.

The lower end of the operating link 3 is connected to the outer end-- of the operating arm 5 which slides in and out between the bearing surfaces 1 and H. The connection between the latch member I. the latch link 2, and the operating link 3, the connection between the latch link 2 and the stub arm 4 and the connection between the operating link 3 and the operating arm 5 may be of any convenient type which in each case allows the free rotation of the connected parts around a common axis perpendicular to the plane of their movement.

The operating arm 5 is held in its outward or normalposition as shown in Figure 1 by means of a spring la, the other end of which is connected to the side 9 of the door 8. The other end of the operating arm 5 is connected to the door levers l9 by means of link 20, bell crank 21 and cross shaft 22.

The latch member I, the latch link 2. the operating link 3, the stub arm 4, the springs l5 and i8, and the operating arm 5 move in a plane parallel to that of the drawing and are so constrained in any convenient manner. as. for example, the flat surface 23 and another flat surface below the plane of the drawing not shown).

When the door is closed, the latch member I. latch link 2 and the stub arm 4 are aligned as shown in Figure 1.

In opening the door 8 one of the door levers I I is depressed which moves the operating arm I in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 3. The operating arm 8 draws the operating link 3 sideward and causes the latch member I to be withdrawn sideward and inward at an angle essentially as shown, pivoting around the guide means It and disaligning the latch memher I and the latch link 2. The connection between the latch means I and 2 and the operating link 3 moves inward and sideward because of the rotation of the latch link 2 about the outer end of the stub arm 4 (which remains stationary) and the movement of the operating arm 5.

In closing the door one of the door levers I9 is depressed so that the end of the latch member I will not engage the wear plate I2. A moderate force is applied to the door in order to partially close it, and when the door is brought into the position shown in Figure 4, the operating lever I9 is released. The operating arm 5 is then moved in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 4 because of the action of the spring I8 which reverses the previously described motion in opening the door. The outward movement of the operating arm 5 is transmitted through the operating link 3 to the latch member I, forcing the latch member I into the latch socket I3 with a slidably swinging motion, levering against the edge 24 of the latch socket I3. Thus the latch member I acts as a lever to exert a considerable force between the edge 24 of the latch socket I3 and the bearing surface 6, thereby levering the door tightly shut against the buiTer 25.

As shown in Figure 5, when the door is slammed or pushed shut without depressing one of the door levers I9, the outer end of the latch member I engages the wear plate l2, which forces the latch member I, the latch link 2, and the stub arm 4 substantially as a unit in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 5, compressing the spring I5. When the door reaches a position in which the latch member I can enter the latch socket I3, the spring I5 forces the stub arm I, the latch'link 2 and the latch member I outward, substantially as a unit, forcing the latch member I into the latch socket I3, and the entire latch mechanism into the position shown in Figure 1. In the inward motion above described the operating link 3 pivots about the outer end of the operating arm 5 (which remains stationary) thus causing the connection of the latch memberl and the latch link 2 to be drawn slightly away from the surface 6. but in the subsequent outward motion the connection returns to its previous position. The latch member I in returning to its normal position exerts a slight leveraction somewhat similar to the lever action exerted in closing the door by the operation of one of the door levers I9. but of course not to the same degree.

In the claims we have used the term latch bolt means to include the latch member I and the latch link 2, and the term door to include a door, window, hatch, or similar article.

Although we have described our invention with respect to certain particular embodiments thereof, nevertheless we do not desire to be limted to the particular details shown and described except as clearly specified in the appended claims, since many changes, modifications and substitutions may be made without departing from our invention in its broader aspects, which may be found useful in many other applications thereof.

We claim:

1. In a latching device of the class described the combination of a latch bolt means including a pair of toggle members, said latch bolt means being movable into a retracted position by disaligning said toggle members; operating means positively connected to said latch bolt means for moving said toggle members between aligned and disaligned positions, and resilient means yieldingly supporting said latch bolt means and permitting said latch bolt means to be moved into a retracted position by force applied tgthe end of the bolt means, said operating means causing; the toggle members to be slightly disaligned when the latch bolt means is forced into retracted position by the aforesaid application of force and causing the toggle members to be realigned when the latch bolt means is returned to its normal position by said resilient means.

2. In a latching device of the class described the combination of: a latch member in a door, said latch member being one arm of a toggle and simultaneously slidably and swingably movable in a plane to which the lamb edge of said door is substantially normal; and operating means for slidably and swingably moving said latch member in a curved path into a retracted position, said operating means comprising a slidable operating member and a link connecting the operating member to the latch member, said latch member being resiliently supported to permit the retraction of said latch member independently of the retraction of said latch member by said operating means and without moving the slidable operating member.

3. In a latching device of the class described the combination of: a latch member in a door, said latch member being one arm of a toggle and simultaneously slidably and swingably movable in a plane perpendicular to that of the door upon breaking of the toggle; operating means for breaking the toggle for slidably and swingably moving said latch member in a curved path into a retracted position; said latch member being also slidably movable into a retracted position along with the second arm of the toggle independently of the operation of said operating means.

4. In a latching device of the class described the combination of a latch member simultaneously slidably and swingably movable; operating means for simultaneously slidably and swingably moving said latch member in a curved path into one fully retracted position and. in which the major portion of the movement is swinging; said latch member being also slidably and swingably movable into a second fully retracted position and in which the major portion of the movement is sliding.

5. In a latching device of the class described the combination of: a latch member in a door, said latch member being one arm of a toggle, the said toggle being substantially in a straight line when the latch member is in extended position, the other arm of said toggle being yieldingly supported to permit said latch member to be re tracted without substantially disaligning said toggle; and means connected to the joint of said toggle for operating said toggle in a plane to which the jamb edge of said door is substantially normal.

6. In a latching device of the class described the combination of: a latch member in a door which is one arm of a toggle and which is movable into a latch socket of the door jamb; a guide means, and operating means for moving said latch member outwardly and pivotably around said guide means, so that the outer part of said latch member is moved outwardly and sidewardly and upon engagement with the wall of said latch socket exerts a force thereasainst forcing the door shut, said latch member being resiliently supported to permit the retraction of said latch member independently at the retraction of said latch member by said operating means upon

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