US2267939A - Lock, latch, and the like - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 30, 1941. s. B. McKENZIE 2,267,939

LOCK, LATCH, AND Tim LIKE Filed June 27, 1940 3 Shaw-Sheet 1 Y INVENTOR L 5 5a ue| B.MKenzie TO RNEY LOCK, LATCH, AND THE LIKE Filed June 2'7, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ue B McKenpe' gm ATTORNEY 30, 1941- s. B; MCKENZIE LOCK, LATCH, AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 V Filed June 27, 1940 INVENTOR z n R e o, Kf i memes Dec. 30, 1,941

, Application rune 21, .1940, Serial No. 842,699 I at Great Britain June 27, 19:9

a "4 Claims. This invention concerns improvements in locks,

latches or the like (hereinafter all referredto as and included 'in the term latches) and has especial reference to A general object of the lnvention is to provide an improved latch operating mechanism while a further and more particular object of the invention is to provide a self-restoring latch operating mechanism in which, after operation, the parts will return to their original positions. This is a very material point in the case of latch operating mechanism employing operating members or handles of lever form for these look very unsightly if they do not come back to their-original,

usually horizontal, positiona.

A further object ofthe invention is to provide in a lock operating mechanism in combination with the self-restoring feature, means for retaining the roses or escutcheon plates (hereinafter.

referred to as roses), in their operative positions members, thereby avoiding liability of the hands or clothing of a user being scratched or torn by the usual fastening means and avoiding the latch 25 operating mechanism becoming unsightly and rattling. According to one aspect of this invention there is provided an operating mechanism for a door i latch including a rotatable operating spindle and a non-rotatable reaction member, interengaging restoring portions provided respectively on the spindle or a part carried thereby and on,'or in, the reaction member and adapted on partial rotation of the spindle to stress a spring, whereby on the spindle being released it is automatically crass-s57) v a I 5 causes the said restoring portions or-the said cam and follower to'be pressed continually into con "tact with one another and preferably acts in the operating mechanism for latches. J

a without the use of screws or equivalent fastening direction ofthe axis of the operating spindle,

such spring being stressed when the oo-operating I restoring portions or the cam and follower separate.v

One of the restoring portions or the said cam is preferably formed in or carried by a rose action thereon through the. medium of the operating' spindle. Thesaid spring also serves to press the rose or roses of the operating mechanism into contact with the door upon which this mechanism is mounted, so retaining the rose or roses in position without the use of auxiliary screws or equivalent additional fastening means.

The latch operating mechanism may be ar 80- ranged either to operate the latch solely by partial rotation of the'operating spindle or by endwise movement of the operating spindle, or if desired bya combined rotary and endwise action of the spindle.

as One of the co-operating restoring members at restored to its initial position relative to the reaction member.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an operating mechanism for a door latch including arotatableoperating spindle, a non-rotatable reaction member, and means for restoring the spindle to its original position after partial rotation, such means comprising cam and follower members urged together by a spring, and one of such members being, on the partial rotation of the spindle, displaced against Y the action of the said spring.

'The spring referred to above will usually be a,

metal wire spring-of helical form but a rubber element or evenblade'springs may be used in some cases and it should be unde ood that'the expression spring" is intended to include these and like alternatives.

least is preferably-in theform of a cam having one or more V-like cam'surfaces, each V-like cam surface having two opposed helical surfaces while the other co-operating restoring portion is so preferably of a very similar character but it a mechanism constructed in accordance with this could be in the form'of a roller-or pin or other suitable follower member.

. Further features of the invention will become apparent from the subsequent illustrative de- 65 scription of certain embodiments of the invention given by way of example.

In the drawings: a Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a latch operating 60 invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 11-11 of I Fig; 1.

The arrangement is such that the said spring 68 Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the lever handle shown uppermost in Fig. 2.

Fig.4 is a part sectional perspective view of the v for use where the mechanism is operable from one end of the operating spindle only, and

Fig; '7 is a further horizontal sectional plan view showing a further modified construction of latchoperating mechanism in accordance with this invention, and in which the operating spindle does not necessarily move endwise when the. .spindle is rotated.

Although in Figs. 1 to 6 the latch mechanism illustrated employs an operating member in the form of a lever it should be understood that it is not essential that the operating member shouldbe a lever. It could for example be a knob as is shown in Fig. 7, but the self-aligning or selfrestoring character of the latch operating mechanism is especially suitable for use with lever handles and therefore that form of operating member has been illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 of the drawings.

Referring to Figs.'1 to 4 of the drawings it will be seen that the latch operating mechanism illustrated there comprises an operating spindle I of square cross-sectional form. This spindle is adapted to pass through a hole 2 perpendicular to the face of the door 3, and the spindle has fixed upon one end an operating member 4 having a lever 5 projecting laterally from the outer end of a long, more or less cylindrical or slightly conical boss 9.

At the other end of the spindle I is provided with an operating member I which has a lever 9 projecting radially from the outer end of a long boss,9, and this operating member is, in outward appearance, substantially identical with the operating member 4. r

However, the operating member 'I is not permanently flxed upon the spindle I ut is adjustable thereon, having a square axial r ess I9 provided in its boss 9 into which the spindle I'flts,

the operating member 'I and the spindle being secured in adjusted interfitting relation by means of a cross pin II passing through any gin thereof, and at the back the face plate I9 is provided with one or more, in the example shown with three, spikes 2I adapted to engage in the adjacent surface of the door 3 when the rose is in use so as to prevent the rose rotating about its axis.

The inner diameter of the tubular body I6 of the rose I4 is enlarged slightly in diameter at 22 as clearly shown in Pig. 2 so as to avoid the boss 6 of the operating member 4 becoming scratched by the rose due the reciprocation of the boss relative to the rose as will subsequently be described.

On the inner side of the annular flange VII of the body I6 of the rose I4 is mounted a hard metal washer 23 against which abuts one end of a helical compression spring 24 abutting at its other end against a similar hard metal washer 25 mounted in the wb'ottom of a cylindrical recess 26 formed in the inner end of the boss 6 of the operating member 4 and which recess 26 is coaxial with' the spindle I. As will be seen the spring 24 is also coaxial with the spindle I and surroundsthe latter and the natural tendency of the spring, which is inserted under load, is to tend to draw the spindle I out of the rose I4 and subsequently to pull the operating member 1 towards the door. At the same time the spring 24 presses the rose I4 towards the adjacent surface of the door.

The rose Iiis very similar in outward appearance and general construction to the rose I4, being provided with a plate I9, a tubular body 18', an enlarged bore 22, spikes 2| and a slightly conical rear surface 20'. a

In this case, however, no compression spr is disposed within the rose and the construction of the inner end of the boss 9 of the operating member I is different to that of the boss 9 of the The inwardly directed flange II of the body II of the rose I5 carries on the surface nearest-the operating member I ,a pair of diametrically opposed v-shaped cam pieces 21 (see Fig. 4) each having helical surfaces 29 meeting at one end at the apex 29 and terminating at the other end atdiametrically opposed radial gaps 39 provided in the flange I1.

selected one of a, series of spacedtransverse holes of diametrically opposite bores I3 provided in the boss 9 of the operating member I. The pin II is very slightly less in length than the diameter of the boss 9 at the position at which the pin II passes therethrough and the ends of the pin II are rounded off. The pin II, having once been inserted in the boss 9- and spindle I is retained in this position by the surrounding rose to be frequently described.

A- pair of roses are provided one for each side of the door 9. These roses are marked in the drawings respectively by general-references I4 and IS. The rose I4 has a central cylindrical tubular body I9 provided at its inner end with an inwardly directed transverse flange I'I provided with a central hole I9 through which the spindle I freely and rotatably passes.'and at the outer end the body IQ of the rose is provided with an annular face plate l9 of any convenient and suitable'design which is free of screw holes.

. The rear surface 29 of the face plate I9 is preferably of'slightly conical form'so that the face plate bears-upon the door only atthe outer mar- It will be seen that each of the surfaces 28 is virtually a portion of an internal screw thread arranged within the body I! of the rose and that these cam surfaces are arranged around the central axis of the operating spindle I and each surface 29 is oblique with respect to the axis of the spindle I. 4

Instead of the cam pieces 21 being formed integrally'with the body I9 and flange II of the rose II they can be formed-on a separate member mounted upon the said flange I'I' if desired.

The end of the boss 9 of the operating member I adjacent the cam pieces '21 of the rose II is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed V-shaped recesses generally indicated by the references ll and 92. the recess if being formed of a pair of similar helical surfaces 93 meeting at a radial recess 34 in the operating member boss 9. and the other recess 22 being formed 'of a pair c'esses SI and 92 of the boss I of the op rating member I that when the operating levers and I are in their normal horizontal (or other ally and either the rotation or. the axial movepredetermined position) the peaks 99 and 91 of rose I4 engaged with the door, the rose i9 is then threaded upon the spindle at the opposite side of the door to the rose it and endwise pressure towards the rose I9 is exerted on the operating member a and spindle I so compressing the spring 24. Then the operating member I is mounted upon the spindle l and set .thereon in the appropriate position after which the pin II is threaded through the bores I9 in the boss 9 of the'operating member I and through theselected cross bore I2 of the spindle I so looking the spindle I and the operating member I together. It should be understood, of course, that the pin I1 is inserted into the boresl3 of theboss 9 I and into the appropriate cross bore H of the spindle I while these bores are disposed outside the tubular body l9 of the rose I and while the spring 24 is still compressed, and it is not until the pin ll is fully home that the axial pressure on the operating member 4 and spindle I is released, so permitting the spindle l to move axially under the action of the spring 24 in the direction of the arrow A (Fig. 2), so pulling the cam surface bearing end of the boss 9 of the operating member I into engagement with the cam pieces 21 of the rose I5 and the pin II within the rose into a position as shown in Fig. 2 where it cannot accidently fall out.

It will be seen that not only does the spring 24 press the rose I4 on to the surface 01' the door but it also, through the action of the spindle I and the connection of the latter with the boss 9 of the operating member I, pulls the rose IE on to the opposite face ofthe door. and so both roses are urged into and held in contact with the opposite faces of the door automatically without the $8 of any securing screws.

The helic'a cam faces 29 and the co-operating faces 99 and 35 of the cam recesses 3| and 92 in the boss of the operating member I are or rather large pitch and it will be clearly understood that, assuming the parts are initially in theposition shown in Figs. land 2, on partially rotating the spindle l by means of either of the operating members 4 or I the peaks 99 and 91 of the boss 9 of the operating member I will leave the radial gaps of the rose' I5 and ride up the cam sur-,

faces 28 of the cam pieces 21 irrespective of whether the operating member is turned in clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, and thus the spindle I will be caused to move axially in thedirection of the arrow B (Fig. 2) so compressing the spring 24 which will. as soon as the operating member by which the spindle has been turnedds released, cause. through the medium of the interengaging cam surfaces of the boss 9 and 10 rose IS, the operating members to return to their initial positions and become temporarily locked in these positions through the interengagement of the peaks 39 in the radial gaps 99.

Thus in this construction the spindle i not.

3 only makes a partial rotation but it moves aximent of the spindle, or the combination of both "movements, may be used to operate the latch mechanism whichever appears to be more appropriate for the particular latch mechanism.

It will be understood that the bosses 9 and 9 of the operating members 6 and I slide axially In the modified construction or latch operating mechanism shown in Fig. 5 all the parts with the exception of the roses are the same as those described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 and the only way in which this construction differs from that previously described lies in the fact that the tubular bodies It and I8" of the" roses extend outwardly from the face plates I9 and I9 oi. the roses instead of inwardly, this arrangement being employed so as to avoid the necessity for drilling such a large hole as the hole 2 shown in Fig. 2 in the door, this hole in the construction shownin Fig. 5 being replaced by one of much smaller diameter and marked 2'. f v

In Fig. 8 a modified arrangement is described which is in all respects the same as that described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 with one exception, namely, that the construction shown in Fig. 6 is intended for use on a cupboard door where a handle is not necessary on the inside of the door and therefore the operating member I of the arrangement described. in Figs. 1 to 4 is replaced by a boss 38 constructed at its inner end. precisely like-the inner end of the boss 9 of the operating member I and co-operating with the rose Ili exactly in the same way as the operating member 1. In some cases it may be undesirable for the spindle I to have an axial sliding movement and in the modified arrangement shown in Fig. 7 means are provided to produce the same results as those obtained with the constructions described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6 but with out the necessity of the axial movement of the operating spindle taking Place. a

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 7 the operating spindle 39 (corresponding to the previously described spindle I) carries an operating knob 40 at oneend and a similar operating knob 4| at the opposite end, the knob 49 being fixed to the spindle 99 and the operating knob 4! being adJustably mounted on the spindle by means of a pin 42 passing diametrically through-a cylindrical boss 49 provided on thekn'ob and through any selected one of a plurality of spaced transverse bores 44 provided in the operating spindle 99. The knob 40 has a central long cylindrical tubular boss 49. coaxial with the spindle 39 and rotatably mounted in the tubular body 46 of a rose. 41,

while the central boss 43 of the knob 4| rotatably fits into the tubular body 99 of the rose 49. The tubular body 49 of the rose 48 has at its inner end an inwardly directed annular flange 59 against which the inner end of the boss 43 and a plurality of spikes 59 and these roses func-' I tion and are retained in position on the door in substantially the 'same manner as that described with reference to the other constructions of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6.

The tubular body 45 of the rose 41. isalso prothe square spindle 39 passes freely, the arrangement being that the sleeve rotates with but is axially slidable upon the spindle 39. A helical compression spring 58 housed within the tubular boss 45 of the knob 48 and surrounding the spindle 39 engages at oneend against the outer end of the slidable cam sleeve 51 and at the opposite and against the inner surface of the knob 48 and this spring is under compression so that it always urges the cam sleeve 51 in a direction along the spindle 39 towards the knob 4 I.

The cam sleeve 51 is, at the end remote from the knob 40, provided with a pair of diametrically opposite V-s'haped recesses 59 in which respectively engage the V-shaped cam pieces 55 and 56 of the rose 41. The cam surfaces of the cam pieces 55 and 58 and the cam surfaces 39 of the cam sleeve 51 are preferably each formed by a part of a helix of large pitch and corresurfaces of the cam pieces 55 and 56 of the stationary reaction member or rose 41 and the cam' sleeve will therefore be caused to slide along vided at its inner end with an inwardly directed all and in that case the method of attaching the knob 4| would have to be by means of a grub screworby some other means other than that shown. However, the strength of. the spring 58 may, if desired, be such that even with the clearance shown-in Fig. '7 between the tubular boss 45.'and the rose flange 54, the spindle cannot be moved endwise without exerting considerably more force than would usually be exerted upon the spindle 39 and the knob 48.-

It will clearly be seen that in each embodiment I of the invention described the cam surfaces and the spring cooperating therewith are completely housed within the roses and operating members and the complete door furniture is of a neat external appearance.

Whereas I have described my invention by reference to specific forms thereof, it will be underother boss, a cooperating cam surface formed -bosses in their respective roses takes place, and

when rotative movement has ceased, the bosses are returned to their original initial position.

2. An operating mechanism for a door latch comprising, two roses spaced apart and'arranged.

hollow boss rotatably and slidably mounted in one of the roses, a second hollow boss provided with an operating handle mounted on the other end of the non-cylindrical member and and yieldthe spindle 39 towards the knob 48 and will so compress the spring 58 whereby, on the knob which has been held to turn the spindle being released, the spring 58 will tend to expand and through the co-operation of the cam surfaces referred to cause the spindle 39 to return to its original position in which it will be generally held in the same way as the spindle I is positioned in its original position and as previously described.

It will be understood that in the arrangement shown in Fig. 7 the roses 41 and 48 are retained against the surfaces of the door by the action of the spring 58 just as the roses l4 and I5 are retained against the doorby the spring 24 previously described.

In Fig. 7 the inner end of the tubular boss 45 of the knob 41 is shown to be spaced somewhat ably and slidably mounted in the other said rose, 1 cooperating cam surfaces mounted on the last.

said boss and on the rosein which it is rotatably and slidably mounted, a spring member houseddrical shaft, a hollow boss provided with an op.-

from'the inwardly directed annular flange 54 of the body 46 of the rose. This clearance is left so that the spindle can be moved axially by pushing on the knob 48 or by pulling on the knob M if desired for the purpose of operating alatch, but if only the rotation of the spindle 59 is to be used for operating the latch then the tubular boss 45 may beat upon the flange 54 so as to prevent any axial movement of the spindle at boss, said spring member yieldingly holding the cooperating members in engagement with each other, and whereby upon the rotation of either of the bosses there is imparted a simultaneous axial movement of the bosses and tensioning of said spring member, and upon release of the ro- .tating effect the tension of the spring returns the bosses to their initial position.

4. An operating mechanism for a door latch comprising, a rose secured to one side of a door and having a central hollow portion extending through the hole in the door and outward beyond the limits of the other face of the door, a second rose secured to the opposite face of the door in axial alignment with the first said rose and having a central portion extending into the hole in the door, a, second bosshaving one end housed in said second rose and capable of axial and rotary movement with respect thereto, a cam surface formed on the inner end of said last named rose, said second boss secured to the other end of the non-cylindrical member, said second boss being provided with cam members which cooperate with the cam surfaces on the said last named rose and operate only on one of said bosses whereby the bosses may be rotated and have imparted thereto a longitudinal movement whichtensions the said spring and upon release of the pressure on the operating mechanism the bosses are returned to their initial position by said spring.

SAMUEL BARTLETT MCKENZIE;

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