US2287446A - Refrigerator latch mechanism - Google Patents

Description

June 23,1942. s. w. PARSONS REFRIGERATOR LATCH MECHANISM Filed July 50, 1940 v 3 1 vow/WW STUART WPAHSONS Patented June 23, 1942 EtEFREGERATOR LATCH MECI'llANlSM Stuart W. Parsons, New Britain, Conn, assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 30, 1940, Serial No. 348,462

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to refrigerator latches and more particularly to arefrigerator latchhaving an improved mechanism connecting the latch and the handle for manually retract- 7 ing the latch bolt to unlatched position.

In refrigerator latches it is customary to mount the latch in the door and to mount the manually operable handle for retracting the latch bolt on the outer wall or panel of the door. Inasmuch as the door panel separates the latch and handle an opening must be provided therein through which a suitable mechanism or linkage must extend to operably connect the latch mechanism to the bolt retracting handle.

Hereto fore, it has been difficult to seal the opening the panel against air flow and the consequent loss of refrigerator economy resulting therefrom.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improved latch assembly wherein the mechanism connecting the latch and the handle effectively seals the opening through which it extends.

A iurther object is to provide a mechanism of this type which is smooth in its action, operates with a minimum of effort, and is simple and cheap to manufacture and install.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 illustrates a plan View of a latch assembly made in accordance with the present invention mounted on a door panel;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the mechanism shown in Figure l which extends through the door panel and connects the latch and handle;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through line 33 of Fig. 2 and shows the handle and retracting mechanism in latched position; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken through line l--4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing there is illustrated generally a refrigerator latch assembly mounted on a door panel D and including a frame F supported inwardly on the door panel; a latch bolt B reciprocably mounted in the frame; a toggle T for retractably holding the bolt in latching position; a manually operable handle I-I mounted outwardly on the door panel; and a retractin outer ends a mounting flange M.

in the side walls of the bolt support.

mechanism which extends through .an opening or aperture A in the panel and operably connects the handle and the toggle.

Referring to Figure 1, the frame F comprises a bolt :guideway lb of rectangular cross section having reciprocably supported in -its upper end a latch bolt B. A pair of spaced supporting arms i2 extend outwardly from the center and lower end of the guideway and carry between their The frame is fixedly secured in the door D by fastening the flange Hi to the door panel D with a headed bolt 16 and cooperating nut l8. Tightening of the nut l8 draws the head '26 of the bolt 15 against the flange M with sufiicient pressure to seal the opening 22 in the panel through which the bolt extends, thus preventing any undesirable air flow therethrough.

The toggle T for securing the latch bolt in latching position comprises an upper toggle link 24 pivotally connected at its upper end by a pin 26 to the bolt 23 and provided at its lower end with an elongated slot 3i! pivotally supported on a center pin 32 carried by the upper end of a lower toggle link 34. The low end of the link 34 is 'pivotally supported on a stud 36 secured A light spring 38 is located centrally on the stud 36 and is compressed between the link 34 and the frame F whereby the former is normally urged in a clockwise direction to the position illustrated in Fig. 1. To normally urge the bolt to latching position there is provided on the upper toggle link 24 a heavy spring 40 compressed between the center pin 32 and the link shoulder 35 whereby the bolt is forced to the uppermost position permitted by the elongated slot 30.

In order to operably journal the handle H, there is provided a mounting plate 42 having a pair of outwardly extending spaced cars 44 in which there is secured a pin 46 for pivotally supporting the handle. As indicated in the drawing, the mounting plate is secured to the door panel D by the bolt I6 and nut I8. A light spring 48 is located on the pin 46 and is compressed between the handle and the mounting plate, whereby the handle is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction to latched position, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Handle H includes the usual hand grip 50 and is provided with a short inwardly extending lever offset 52 operably engageable with a radially extending shoulder 54 provided on a rocking shaft 56.

The rocking shaft 56 extends through the aperture A in the door panel D, and to prevent air flow therethrough a bushing 60 is press-fitted into the aperture and is provided with a bearing opening 62 just sufficiently large to rotatably support the rocking shaft. To prevent axial movement of the shaft in the bushing and to more effectively seal the bushing opening against air flow, a snap Washer 64 is secured in a circumferential groove in the shaft. A tongue or key 66 formed on the inner end of the shaft 56 is located in a mating groove or keyway B8 in a retracting lever 10. The retracting lever is pivotally supported in axial alignment with the rocking shaft on a support 12 secured to the frame. To connect the retracting lever to the latch for retraction of the latch bolt, a rod 14 connects toggle link 34 and retracting lever by hook and eye connections 16 provided at both ends of the rod.

As heretofore indicated the bolt is normally urged to latching position by the heavy spring 40 and the light toggle spring 38. To retract the bolt the handle grip 50 is pulled outwardly and the offset lever 52 engages the rocking shaft radially extending lever 54 and rotates the shaft in a counter-clockwise direction (see Fig. 2). The rocking shaft key 66 thereupon rotates the retracting lever 10 in the same direction and the rod 14 draws the toggle link 34 outwardly to break the toggle and retract the latch bolt.

A latch of the construction and operation indicated prevents air flow through the aperture A through which the retracting mechanism extends and in addition, provides a smooth acting and easily operated retracting mechanism which eliminates any tendencies of the latch to jam or stick.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A refrigerator latch including a latch bolt operably mounted in the interior of a refrigerator door, an operating handle mounted on the exterior of a door for pivotal movement in a plane at right angles to said door, and means operably connecting the handle and the latch bolt and including a bushing ress-fitted into an aperture in the door to prevent air fiow between the door and the fitting, a rock shaft rotatably journalled in the bushing and having a close fit therein to reduce air flow therethrough to a minimum, a snap washer on said shaft and located'on the shaft in a position to abut against the inner face of the bushing to thereby further reduce the air flow to a minimum, an operable connection between the handle and the rock shaft exterior of the door and comprising an offset on the handle engageable with a shoulder extending laterally from the rock shaft and parallel to the face of the door, and an operable connection between the rock shaft and the bolt on the interior of the door.

2. A refrigerator latch including a bolt supported on the interior of a door, a handle operably mounted on the exterior of the door for pivotal movement in a plane at right angles to said door, means for operatively connecting the handle to the bolt and including a bushing having an airtight fitting in an aperture in the door, a shaft extending through said bushing and rotatably journalled therein, the tolerance between said bushing and shaft being such as to permit rotation of the shaft while reducing air flow therethrough to a minimum, an operable connection between the handle and the rock shaft exterior of the door and comprising an offset on the handle engageable with a shoulder extending laterally from the rock shaft and parallel to the face of the door, and an operable connection between the rock shaft and the bolt on the interior of the door.

STUART W. PARSONS.

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