US2104403A - Door handle assembly - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 4, 1938. J ROETHEL 2,104,403

DOOR HANDLE} ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 3, 1954 I NV EN TOR.

70/122 RoeiheZ M w U &

- ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 4, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8' Claims.

This invention relates to door handle assemblies, particularly, although not exclusively, adapted for use on metal doors of automobile bodies, an object. of the invention being to provide improved means for supporting the door handle shank, said means presenting an ornamental appearance whereby the attaching devices for the handle are concealed from the outside of the door.

A furtherobject is to: provide a door handle assembly adapted to be mounted on a metal door panel in which the rotatable handle shaft is, journalled in a mounting plate secured by screws or other attaching devices to the outside of the panel, and wherein a snap-on escutcheon is provided for enclosing the mounting plate and concealing the attaching screws or other devices, the opposed edge portions of the escutcheon and mounting plate having opposed interlocking portions effective to permit the escutcheon to be snapped over the mounting plate and releasably locked thereon, the escutcheon being free from connection with the mounting plate on its diameter at right angles to the locking means and being contractible in the locality of said disconnected portions to permit expansion on its opposite diameter through said locking means thereby facilitating the disconnection thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In said drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of adoor handle assembly embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View, partly in elevation, taken substantially through lines 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, taken substantially through lines 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view showing the attaching plate with the concealing cap or escutcheon removed.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herein beyond the requirements of the prior art.

Referring now to the drawing, the door handle assembly of the present invention is applied or attached to the outer face of a metal door panel Ill, having an aperture Illa formed therein. Secured to the panel and surrounding the aperture lea is a metal attaching plate or bearing block H, having an aperture Ila. therein which is aligned with the panel aperture Illa. The attaching plate is attached to the face of the panel in any suitable manner, as by means of screw devices I2. A door handle, shown as a whole at E3, has a shank I mounted in the plate II, the shank being journalled in the aperture Ma and rotatable o-r oscillatable therein. The shank is connected with the latch operating mechanism of the door (not shown) by means of a square shaft 2| which projects inwardly through the apertures Ha and "la and through a washer 20. The door handle is held yieldably in position by means of a coil spring surrounding the shaft 2| and'having its opposite ends engaging bearing cups or members 23, the whole being held in the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3 by a pin 24 passing through an aperture or slot in the shaft.

As shown, the attaching plate or bearing block I I is of 1 oval shape, although it will be understood that this member may be of any other desired shape.

The metal concealing cap or escutcheon for the door handle assembly is shown as a whole at [5 and is provided with an aperture ltd through which the shank l4 passes. Ehe escutcheon is shaped to conform generally to the shape or outline of the attaching plate II and its diameter in one direction is slightly larger than the length or lengthwise dimension of the plate, as shown at l5b in Fig. 2, this is for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The escutcheon is chambered to fit over the plate or block H and has a surrounding flange which covers the side edges or walls of the plate. The flange on opposite sides is provided with inwardly projecting ribs or projections 16 which may be formed therein during the die casting or stamping operation. The ribs on opposite sides terminate short of the ends of the cap l5 and are adapted to cooperate with grooves ll formed, in any suitable manner, in the longitudinal side walls or edges of the plate. When the cap I5 is slipped over the plate, the ribs l6 snap into place in the grooves 11 and releasably lock the parts together to completely conceal the plate and its attaching screws I 2, see particularly Fig. 1. As shown, the cooperating ribs and grooves are arcuate. Referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the flange portions in which the ribs I6 are formed, fit the plate and grooves I'l snugly, whereas, by reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that there is a slight clearance at I5b between the flange and the end. walls of the plate ll. That is to say, there is a clearance between portions of the cooperating cap and plate which are located at right angles to the cooperating locking ribs 56 and grooves H. Thus, by applying a tool to the ends of the capto contract or compress the flange at the points ifib, the right angularly disposed portions of the flange will be sprung outwardly to release the ribs from the grooves to permit the escutcheon to. be released from the plate and moved forwardly over the handle shank to uncover the plate and give access to the attaching screws I2.

It will be understood that the cap or escutcheon is made of relatively stiff metal having only sufiicient flexibility or springiness to permit it to be sprung to bring the locking members It and I! into cooperating relation to effect a snap-on fit against unauthorized release or removal and to permit the escutcheon to be contracted or sprung to permit release when and if it is necessary to gain access to the attaching screws. Once the escutcheon is snapped into locking relation with the plate ll by the application of a slight pressure to its top face, it cannot be removed without the use of a special tool for the purpose. When in place, the escutcheon or plate has the appearance of a fixed or integral part of the door handle assembly, and by completely concealing the heads of the screws or other plate attaching devices, it provides an attractive and tamper-proof construction.

I claim:

1. In a door handle assembly for a vehicle door having a metal panel provided with an aperture, a metal mounting plate located on the outer face of the door and having an aperture adapted to receive a door handle shank mounted to rotate within said apertures, and a chambered metal escutcheon slidably mounted on said shank toentirely enclose said mounting plate and having its marginal edges fitting over the edges thereof, adjacent edges of the mounting plate and escutcheon having means for releasably locking the escutcheon to the mounting plate, said means comprising cooperating projections and recesses at opposite sides thereof, the escutcheon having a greater diameter than the mounting plate at right angles to said locking means to permit contraction on said diameter to facilitate the release of the parts.

2. In a door handle assembly for a door having a metal panel provided with an aperture, a metal mounting plate having an aperture adapted to receive a door handle shank mounted to rotate within said apertures, and a chambered metal escutcheon slidably mounted on said shank to entirely enclose said mounting plate and having its marginal edges fitting over the edges thereof, adjacent edges of the mounting plate and escutcheon having means for releasably locking the escutcheon to the mounting plate, said means comprising two arcuate ribs and grooves at opposite sides thereof, the escutcheon having a greater diameter than the mounting plate at right angles to said arcuate ribs and grooves to permit contraction on said diameter to facilitate the release of the parts.

3. A door handle escutcheon plate assembly for a metal door panel provided with an aperture, comprising a metal mounting plate having an aperture aligned with the aperture in the panel, attaching means for securing the plate to the panel and removable from the exterior thereof, and a metal escutcheon adapted to entirely enclose the mounting plate and shaped to fit over the same, the opposite edge portions of the escutcheon and mounting plate having cooperating arcuate ribs and grooves for spring connecting them together, the escutcheon being greater in diameter than the mounting plate in a direction at right angles to said ribs and grooves and being contractible on said diameter to facilitate disconnection of the ribs and grooves and the withdrawal of the escutcheon from the mounting plate.

4. An escutcheon assembly for application to a surface having an opening therein, comprising a block having an aperture and shaped so that the distance from one point on one edge of the block to a second point on the opposite edge of the block is less than the overall diameter of the block further out from said surface than said points, means for securing the block to the surface, and a cover for said block having a resilient skirt extending around the sides of the block, touching said points and spaced from the block at other points.

5. A device for surrounding the place Where a movable member projects out through an opening in a surface comprising a block, means to secure the block to the surface, the block having an aperture through which the movable member projects and having a shoulder on one side facing the surface, a cover for said block having a resilient skirt extending around the sides of the block, the skirt of the cover having a shoulder at one place on the inside facing away from the surface on which the block is mounted and engaging the shoulder on the side of the block and being spaced from the side of the block at a place one quarter of the way around the block from the center of the engaging shoulders.

6. An escutcheon plate assembly for a rotatable door handle comprising an oval block secured to the door and having an aperturethrcugh which the shank of the handle projects, the block having shoulders on its edges at the ends of its short diameter, said shoulders facing the surface of the door, an escutcheon plate covering the block and having an aperture through which the shank of the handle projects, said escutcheon plate having a resilient oval skirt projecting down around the oval block to the surface of the door and having shoulders facing out from said surface and engaging the shoulders on the block, at least one end of the skirt being spaced from the edge of the block.

7. An escutcheon assembly for application to a surface comprising a block fastened fiat on the surface, the block having shoulders facing the surface of the door and extending along two portions of the edge of the block on opposite sides, and an oval cover for the block, non-rotatable on the block, having a resilient oval skirt extending to the surface of the door, said skirt having interior shoulders on its less curved portions, said interior shoulders facing away from the surface of the door and engaging the shoulders 0n the block, the more sharply curved portions of said skirt being spaced from said block.

8. In a door handle, an escutcheon comprising an elliptical escutcheon support adapted to be secured to a door by screws, and an elliptical escutcheon cap covering said inner escutcheon member and concealing the heads of the securing screws and resiliently engaging said support to hold the parts in assembled relation, the cap being adapted to be deformed out of engagement with said support by pressing on opposite points of the periphery thereof.

JOHN H. ROETHEL.

Images