US1796050A - Door-coordinating device - Google Patents

Description

March 10, 1931. w, ROSENBERG DOOR COORDINATING DEVICE Filed Aug. 8, 1930 Patented Mar. 10, 1931 warren stares PATENT 0FFIE MYER W. ROSENBERG, 0F MINNEAZPOLIS, MINNESOTA noon-ooonnnmrine nnvron Application filed. August 8, 1930. Serial No. 473,892.

This invention relates to a door co-ordinating or controlling device for use on pairs of swinging doors which have over-lapping edges, astragals or rahbeted faces.

Such devices are designed to insure the clos ing of the inactive or lapped door before the closing of the active or over-lapping door thereby preventing jamming of the opposing edges of said doors. A fe v mechanisms have been developed for performing this function, mostly consisting of a pair of movable members projecting from the top of the doorway and each adapted to engage one of the swinging doors adjacent its free vertical edge.

One of said members usually projects a greater distance than the other member to hold the active or over-lapping door partially open until the inactive or lapped door swings past the edge of the active door, striking the second member and thereby releasing the active door. 7

Up to this time door co-ordinating devices have been unsatisfactory for several reasons. In the first place, the door engaging members had to be perfectly adjusted or the inactive door would not clear the free edge of the active door in closing. In the second place, if the two doors were slowly opened in unison by swinging the inactive door, the active door usuallywould not swing open to a sufficient degree to permit the said movable door-engaging members to be extended to operative position for holding the active door open. Consequently, the device would fail to work and the inactive door would close first or the edges of the two doors would jam, exerting lateral pressure in the direction of the door hinges. This pressure soon loosened the hinges causing the doors to sag and become displaced.

It is an object of my invention to provide a simple and efficient door co-ordinating mechanism for astragal, overlapping or rabbeted doors which will overcome the objectionable features of co-ordinating mechanisms now in use, which will not require elaborate adjustment and which will positivelv insure successful operation in closing the two doors regardless of which of the doors is swung or whether the doors are opened slowly or with violence.

It is a further object to provide a compact and efficient door co-ordinating mechanism of the class described which may be conveniently mounted below the top of the doorway, which will present an ornate appearance and which is adapted for use in door construction where ei her the right or left do rs of the pair are equipped with the astragal or over-lapping edge.

More specifically it is an object to provide in door co-ordinating mechanism of the class described, means associated with and closely cooperating with a pair of swingable doorengaging arms for positively causing the active or over-lapping door to be swung out sufficiently when either of said doors is swung to provide the necessary clearance for the inactive door and to insure engagement of said active door with its door-engaging member or arm under all conditions. v

Another object is to provide a mechanism of the class described wherein it will be impossible for the opposing edges of the swinging doors to jam thereby obviating the lateral pressure against the hinges of the door. wherein the device may be applied to swing ing doors regardless of which door the astragal or over-lapping edge is mounted on and wherein the device is applicable to doors which vary widely in width without requiring shortening or reducing of the projecting arms.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which Fig. 1 a cross section taken through the top of the doorway wherein a pair of swingable astragal doors are mounted equipped with the usual door checks and having associated therewith my improved door co-ordinating mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a section looking down upon the door engaging arms in plan, fragments of the doors being shown in cross section at the point in the operation of the device where the inactive door has just engaged its respective arm to release'engagement of the second arm which holds theactive door, the dotted lines in saidfigure indicating the two doors in their closed position; 7

Figzlf is a fragmentary elevation showing the outer portions of the two doors in the position illustrated'in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the bracket and mounting for tional door check X to effect automatic clos ing of the same.

Mounted below the top of doorway D is a suitable bracket 8 having spaced depending of the doorway and has an at cars So in which a horizontal shaft 9 extendmg parallel with the door stop 1s ournaled.

. Bracket 8 asclearly shown in Fig. 2 is disposed inwardly of the door-receiving portion tachmen-t flange provided with a pair of transverse slots 8?) and. a pair ofattachment holes through which screws or other securing means may extend for fastening the bracket to the doorway. i V

A pair of door-engaging arms 10 and 11 respectively are fixed at their inner ends to shaft 9, as shown. set screws 12 being provided which threadedly engage sleeve por tions provided in said arms. Said arms are disposed angularly as shown. at an angle of substantially 15 degrees, although it will, of course, be understood that this angle may be considerably varied if desired. Arms 10 and 11 at their outer ends carrv door-engaging rollers 10b and 117) respectively. The arms 10 and 11 fixed toshaft 9 are urged to out- 'wardly projecting posit-ion by suitable means, such as a coiled spring 13. one end of which is secured to bracket 8 andthe other end of which is secured to one of the arms. Arms 10 and 11 may each be provided with laterally and upwardly extending adjustable stops 10a and 11a respectively. one of said stops being adapted to engage the attachment flange of bracket 8 to limit the outward and upward swinging of said arms when the doors are opened. Arms 10 and 11 are substantially similar in structure and lengt but due to their angulation, it will of course be obvious that when the arms are in fully extended posi tion the outer end of arm 10 hereinafter desig nated as the active door-engaging arm will be positioned beyond the end of the inactive door engaging arm 11.

Closely associated with the operation of said doors and arms and mounted on the astragal-equipped or active door is a horizontal yieldable striker member designated as an entirety by the letter S. Striker member S may comprise a tubular housing 14: which is mounted horizontally over astragal 7 terminating at its outer end in registration w *ith the edge of the astragal. 'Within tubular housing 14 is a yieldable bolt 15 spring pressed outwardly by meansof a coiled compression spring. 16 and as shown, carrying at its outer or projecting end a roller 17. It will, of course, be apparent that the roller may be omitted if desired and merely the usual type of beveled bolt utilized, although the roller is preferred. As shown in the dotted lines in Fi 3, the center of roller 1? or the extremity of the bolt if a beveled bolt is used, overlaps to a considerable extent the edge at the outer surface of the inactive door B. The edge of door B is preferably provided with a rounded CllVGlglllg bolt-strike 18 in substantially horizontal alignment with the bolt 15 which acts as a camming surface for said bolt when the inactive door passes by the'active door as will later appear. Each of the doors A and B may be provided with metal strike plates 19 extending vertically at their upper ends adjacent the free edges of the roller, said'strike plates being adapted to vengage the rollers 10]) and 11?) of. the door engaging arms.

I r Operatiow v The door engaging-arms and bracket 8 are mounted on the doorway as indicated in the drawings, the bracket being adjusted conveniently by first securing the slotted portions to the doorway, moving the bracket to position the ends of arms. 10 and 11 in proper operative position when extended or swung to project'- ed position. The bracket may then be made fast by attaching screws or other fastening means through the apertures 80. The tension of the arm-operating coiled spring 13 should be sufficient to swing the. arms to operative position with arm 10 disposed substantially horizontally. The pressure exerted on said arms must be considerably less than the force of the door checks X for pulling the doors to closed position. r

Assuming that the doors are both opened simultaneously, the free edge of the inactive door B will abut striker member S forcing the active door outwardly and because of the projection of the yieldable bolt 15, which as shown, carries roller 17 both doors will be swung outwardly when; the inactive door is moved, until there is su-fiicient clearance between the'opposing edges. of the doors to permit the edge of door B to swing past the roller 17. Before this will occur, doors A and B Will have swung outwardly from the door frame a distance more than sufficient to permit arms 10 and 11 to be swung to full outward or operative position. If it were not for the projecting bolt 15, in many cases when he doors are simultaneously opened by pushing against the inactive door, there would not be sufiicient clearance between the inner surfaces of the door and the doorway to enable the arm 10 to be swung to full horizontal position. In such instances, assuming the inactive door to be swung past door A, the active door urged toward the doorway by its door check X would be thrust against arm 10 before arm 10 had reached the horizontal or dead center position and would therefore swing both arms downwardly against the tension of coiled spring 13 permitting the active or astragal door to close ahead of the inactive door B. This often happens with most door co-ordinating devices extensively used at this time and in many instances the edges of the two doors, that is, the astragal and the opposing edge of the opposite door, abut, producing a lateral pressure on the door against the hinges and thereby quickly loosening the hinges and causing the door to sag, become displaced and be objectionable.

lVith my device it will be seen that the inactive door, urged to closed position by its door check X must always pass the active door A and'be closed in advance thereof. Door A will be held by the arm 10 disposed in horizontal or dead center position and assuming the inactive door B has been swung to full open position it will cam against the roller 17 or bolt and due to the inclined surfaces on bolt 15 and yielding action of the same, will push bolt 15 inwardly by the camming action of bolt strike 18, permitting the inactive door to pass until it engages the roller 11?) of arm 11. Arm 11 disposed in the inclined position will be swung downwardly and with it arm 10 by the power from the door check and the doors will then be closed in proper position with the astragal 7 overlapping the adjacent edge of the door 13.

In Fig. 6 a modified construction for the door-engaging arms is shown comprising an integral casting or forging wherein the arms designated as 20 and 21 respectively are angularly positioned at the proper angleand are provided with reversely arranged door stops 22 and 23 respectively. The casting or unit has a horizontal bore 2a through which a pivot bolt is adapted to extend, pivotally securing the member to a suitable mounting or bracket.

If it is desired in said modified structure to employ the co-ordinating device on doors where the right hand rather than the left hand door is equipped with the astragal or overlapping edge, the casting is simply removed from the mounting, turned up-side-down or reversed thereby causing arm 21 to be dis posed at an angle above arm 20 for engaging the right-hand or active door.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have invented a simple and highly eilicient door co-ordinating mechanism applicable to astragal or lapping doors varying considerably in width and dimensions and operative to insure, under all conditions, the closing of the inactive or underlapped door prior to the closing of the astragalcarrying or lapping door.

it will be seen that the success of my device under all conditions and circumstances is dependent upon the close cooperation of the yieldable striker member S with the door engaging arms 10 and ll and the lapped edges of the doors. As has been explained, unless means are provided, such as striker member S for causing the active door to be opener. to a predetermined position by the swinging move rent of the inactive door, arms 10 and 11 would not perform their functions and the active door would be closed prior to the closing of the inactive door. It will further be seen that such a striker member having a y lding and camming action to permit the inactive door to pass the same on its return toward closed position is necessary.

It will, of course, be understood, that various changes may be made in the form, details, proportions and arrangement of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention,which, generaliystatcd, consists in a device capable of carrying out the'objects above set forth, and in the novel parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is:-

1. The combination with a doorway and a pair of sv-ringing doors having over-lapping portions at their free vertical edges and means for urging said doors to closed position, of door co-ordinating mechanism comprising a pair of door-engaging elements in operation projected laterally from one of the horizontal edges of said (l()()l"\ ay, one of said elements being projected a greater distance than the other element and being adapted to engage and temporarily hold the over-lapping or active door, the other element being adapted to be engaged by the lapped or inactive door in the closing movement thereof and movable with said inactive door to release said first n'ientioned element and a striker member projecting from the extreme, free, vertical edge of said active door adapted to be struck by said inactive door when said doors are opened in unison to insure the swinging of said active door to a point removed from said doorway a distance greater than the projection of said first mentioned door-engaging element.

2. The combination with a doorway and a pair of swinging doors having over-lapping portions at their free vertical edges and means for urging said doors to closed position, oi door co-ordinating mechanism comprising a pair of door-engaging elements in operation projected laterally from one of the horizontal edges of said doorway, one of said elements being projected a greater distance than the other element and being adapted to enga e and temporarily hold the overlapping or active door, the other element being adapted to beengaged by the lapped or inactive door in the closing movement thereof and movable with said inactive door to release said first mentioned element, and a striker member projecting from the extreme, free, vertical edge of said active door and yieldable inwardly in the direction of said edge when lateral pressure is placed against its outer longitudinal surface, said striker member being adapted to be struck by said inactivedoor when said doors are opened in unison to insure the swinging of said active door to apoint removed from said doorway a distance greater than the projection of the said first mentioned door-engaging element.

8. The structure set forth in claim 2, wherein said striker member comprises a slidable bolt, spring-pressed outwardly and having a beveled camming surface on its outer and projecting longitudinal surface.

l. The combination, with a doorway and a pair of swinging doors having over-lapping portions at their free vertical edges and means torurging said doors to closed position, of door co-ordinating mechanism, comprising, a pair of swingable door-engaging arms pivoted beneath the upper edge of the doorway and inwardly of the door stop for swinging on a horizontal axis, said arms being arranged at an angle, and means for urging said arms outwardly to positions where one thereof will be horizontal for engaging and temporarily holding the over-lapping or active door, said arms being disposed in de pending position when said doors are closed.

The combination with a doorway and a pair of swinging doors having over-lapping portions at their free vertical edges. and means "for urging sald doors to closed position, of door co-ordinating mechanism, comprising, a mounting secured beneath the top of said doorway inwardly of the door stop, a pair of door-engaging arms pivoted to said mounting on an axis extending substantially parallel with said door stop, said arms being a mounted in a fixed angular relation and being'held in depending position by said doors when said doors are closed, means forswinging said arms outwardly and upwardly when said doors are opened and means torlimiting the swinging movement of said arms to cause one thereof tobe operatively disposed in horizontal position for engaging and temporarily holding the over-lapping or active door and with the other arm declined with respect to saidfirst mentioned arm. I

6; The structure set forth in claim 5, wherein said arms are adjustabl y fixedto a common pivot memberin said mounting.

7. The combination with a doorway and a pair of; swinging doors having over-lapping portions, at their free vertical edges and means for urging said doors to closed position, of door co-ordinating mechanism comprising a pair of door-engaging elements in operation projected laterally from one ot the horizontal edges of said doorway, one of said elements being projected a greater distance than the other element and being adapted to engage and temporarily hold the overlapping or active door, the other element being adapted to be engaged by the lappedor inactive door in the closing movement thereof and movablewith said inactive door to release said first mentioned element, and a yieldable striker member projecting from the extremeiree, vertical edge of said active door compr sing a plunger, sprin -pressed outwardlv laterally of said edge, said plunger having a beveled outer longitudinal surface andcari'ymg atits outer extremity a roller, the center of which is disposed inwardly, of the free edge of the inactivedoor when said doors are closed. i a

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

MYER w. nosnunnns.

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