US1882248A - Door latch - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 11, 1932.

s. MADSEN DOOR LATCH Filed Juhe 10, 1931 y W Z 0mg Patented ocafu, 1932 UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE SEEN MADSEN, OF CLINTON, IOWAQASSIGNOR TO CURTIS COMPANIES, INCORIOBATED,

OF CLINTON, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA variety of conditions. 'For example,

noon m'rcn My invention relates to a latch intended,

primarily foruse with cupboards, cabinets, refrigerators and the like, where a rigid tight lock is desired, and where there are varied and numerous conditions of installation.

There are so many kinds of doors and different types of installation that diiferent kinds of latches are required for the differenttypes of doors and installations.

t is my purpose to provide a latch of very simple and inexpensive and at effective construction, which can be insta led on numerous difi'erent kinds of doors and under a cat can install my latch on both flush an lip-type doors. It may be installedon the right or left-hand door at the top, bottom or side edge with equal convenience, ease and eifectiveness.

Another purpose'is to provide such a latch which will operate very easil and under all conditions. A pull on the andle first releases the latch and thenserves to open the taken on the line 2-.--2 of Figure 1.

door. The latch automatically engages when the door is closed. With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my door latch, whereby the objects contemplated are attained; as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawin in which:

igure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a cabinet door equipped with a latch embodying my invention. Figure 2 is a vertical, detail, sectional view Figure 3 is a horizontal, detail, sectiona view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a face view of a strike plate.

In the accompanying drawin I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate the door and the numeral 11 to indicate the jamb. The door is of the lip type having the lip 10a, bland the jamb has the rabbet 12 to receive the y improved latch consists generally of the following parts-an outer housing and han-' dle, an inner housing and swinging bolt, a plunger pin, and a strike plate.

A handle 17 has the spaced side walls 18 V pivoted on the intle lfi. The swinging movement of the andle 17 is limited in one direction by the down-turned portion 15.

. In installing the latch on a door, a hole 19' is made through the door for the plan er pin 20. 'The' base the plunger pin.

A spring 22 is mally holding the andle 17 in its straight down-hanging position. The spring .is

ear-

plate 13 has a hole 21 or wound on the pintle 16 and has one end ing against the plate 13 and the other end bearing against the handle 17 between the pintle 16 and the stop 15. d

The inner housing and latch plate will now be referred to.

referably used for nor- The housings are described in their positions as shown in the drawing, but it is obvlous that they can be rotated to diflerent positions where that seems desirable.

The inner housing indicated at 24 has the topa-nd bottom members 24a and 246, the

end wall 240 farthest from the door, and the A side wall 24d at one side, the other side being open as shown.

The/end opposite the end 240 has aportion inturned between-the walls 24a and 24b to form a base plate 240,- and has theup-turned and down-turned enga ing flanges 24] for fastening to the inside 0 the door by screws 7 25 or the like.

The base plate portion 24:; has a hole 26 for the plunger pm 20. The pintle pin 27 is mounted in the walls 24a and 246 at the corner of the inner or,

latch housing 2d near the end 240 and the open side of the housing.

The swinging bolt 28 is substantially V- shaped or angular in outline and has upper and lower walls 28a and 28b and a connecting wall 280 extending from its apex, as shown for instance in Figures 1 and 3, and a shorter connecting wall 28d connecting its walls 28a and 28b and terminating short of the apex.

The parts are installed so that the plunger pin 20 bears against the wall 28d.

A spring 30 has a short coil wound on the pintle 27 and has one end in engagement with the wall 280 and the other end connected with the wall 246, for instance as illustrated in Figure 3. This spring thus serves to hold the swinging bolt 28 in what might be called its open position.

The engaging edge of the swinging bolt is curved nearly on the arcing of a circle with its center at the center of the pintle 27. There is a slight flattening of this curve about where the bolt ordinarily engages the strike plate when the door is closed.

The strike plate is indicated at 31 and is polygonal in outline and has a hole 32 (Figure 3) arranged at different distances from its edges to receive the screw 33, which arrangement will be hereafter referred to.

In installation, the hole 19 is preferably first drilled or bored in the door 10. Then the outer housing is installed in proper position. Then the inner housing is properly installed and fastened in place by means of screws 25 similar to those already referred to. Finally the strike plate is installed in place. 0

If there is a need for varying the pos tion of the striking edge of the strike plate, e 1ther at the time of original installation or later as the parts may possibly shrink or expand a little, the strike plate can be readily adjusted by loosening the screw and turning the strike plate for presenting another edge to the latch bolt.

It will be seen that a latch of this kind meets the problems mentioned in my statement of my objects and has a number of 1mportant advantages.

The plunger pin 20 may be made of maximum length and may then be cut to proper length for thinner doors so that the same latch part may be used for doors of various thicknesses.

The inner housing 24 may be placed as shown in Figure 1 in what might be called a horizontal position or if the latch is installed at the top or bottom of a door may be given a quarter turn and-on account of the arrangement of the plunger pin 20, this can be readily done without interfering with' operating portion engaging the inner end of the operation or efiiciency of the latch.

The operation of the latch is very 'slmple. Assuming that the door is open, it may be pushed toward closed position, whereupon the swinging bolt 28 will engage the strike plate and be pressed into the casing 24 against the tension of the spring 30 until the edge of the bolt clears the edge of. the

strike plate, whereupon the bolt will swing v to the position shown in Figure 3. After that any force directed outwardly on the door will only tend to lock the latch more securely. When, however, it is desired to open the door, all that is necessary is to grasp the handle," swing it on its pivot until the locking bolt is released, and then continue the pull for opening the door.

It will be seen that a latch made as herein described can be used on many difierent door structures and in various types of installations and that only a simple adjustment is necessary to adapt the latch for the various conditions under which it is to be used.

It is contemplated that the latch may be made of various materials and that some changes might readily be adopted in its construction and arrangement of parts, and it is, of course, my purpose to cover by the claims of the patent 'to be issued upon this application any variations in structure or arrangement or employment of mechanical equivalents which may be within their scope and within, the scope of the advance in the art made by my invention.

1 claim as my invention:

l. The combination of a door and a jamb with inside and outside members, and a connecting operating pin, the inside member having a swinging retractable bolt for engaging a strike plate on the door jamb, and said bolt hinged inwardly from the inside face of the door, having a portion which engages the strike plate substantially in the plane of the inside face of the door and. an operating portion extending normally parallel to the plane of the door and engaging the inner end of the operating pin, a spring arranged to normally extend the bolt to locking position with relation to the strike plate, the outside member having a spring, a stop and a fulcrumed handle spaced outwardly from the face of the door and normallyheld in a plane parallel to the door b the spring the operating pin, a spring arranged to nor.- mally extend the bolt to locking position with relation to the jamb, the outside member having a stop and a fulcrumed handle spaced out ward'ly from the face of the door and norraeaaee I t Iii mally held in a plane parallel to the door by the spring and stop, and provided with a finger which moves toward the door when the handle is pulled away from the door, whereby inward motion is transmitted through the operating pin to the swinging bolt in the inside member.

3. In a latch structure for a door, an outer 'member, a handle pivoted thereto, an inner member, a bolt pivoted thereto and spring urged toward latched position, said members being mounted on opposite faces of said door and a thrust pin interposed between said handle and said bolt and serving as an operative connection between them, said thrust pin extending at substantially right angles to the faces of said door whereby to operate regardless of the radial direction of extension of the bolt from said thrust pin.

I 4. In a door latch construction, a plunger pin adapted to extend through a door at right angles to the faces thereof, inner and outer members adapted to be applied to said faces, a handle fulcrumed on the outer member, one end of which engages the pin member passing through the door to impart endwise motion thereto, a swinging latch bolt pivoted on the inner member having a door jamb' edge engaging portion and an operating extension arranged to be in contact with thepin through the door, portions of both the inner and outer members serving as supports and guides for sliding of the pin relative to the members and for rotation of the members relative to the-pin when installing the door latch construction on the door.

5. In a latch structure, an outer member, a handle fulcrumed thereto, an inner member, a bolt pivoted thereto, said outer and inner members being mounted on a door or the like and a member interposed between the handle and the bolt and extending at substantially right angles relative to the faces of the door, said handle and bolt being rotatable relative to said last mentioned member whereby the handle may beused to actuate the bolt when the inner member is mounted to project its bolt in' any one of a variety of directions and the outer member is mounted to project its handle in anyone of a variety of directions.

6. The combination of a door, a jamb, inside and outside members and a connecting operating pin, the inside member havin a swinging retractible bolt which has a portion which engages said-jamb and an operating portion engaging the inner end-of said operating pin, a spring arranged to normally extend said bolt to locking. position with relation to said jamb, said outside member having a stop and a fulcrumed handle normally held against said stop by said spring and provided with a finger which moves toward the door when the handle is pulled away from the door, whereby inward motion is transmitted through the operating pin to the swinging bolt of the inside member. I

7. The combination of a jamb anda door with inside and outside members and a connecting operating pin, said inside member having a swinging retractible bolt which has ing bolt is retracted. I

.- SEEN MADSEN.

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