US3583740A - Exit device vertical rod collapsible latch bolt - Google Patents

Abstract

An exit device consisting of a crossbar adapted to be pushed to raise upper and lower vertical actuating rods which in turn release respective upper and lower latch bolts so that the door can be opened. The upper latch bolt is pivoted near its outside end so that, when released, it will fall into a withdrawn position by gravity, assisted by a wiping of a front face of the latch bolt by a retaining plate on the door frame. A blocker, pivoted on the inner side of the housing, holds the latch bolt in extended locked position by engagement with a downwardly facing shoulder on the inner side of the latch bolt. The upper actuating rod is linked to the blocker in such fashion that the blocker is swung out of blocking position when the actuating rod is lifted. When the actuating rod is released, the weight of the rod serves to urge the blocker toward blocking position. The upper latch bolts is returned from retracted position to extended position by a slide which is shifted transversely toward the latch bolt when the slide strikes a strike face, the slide then serving to push upon a projection on the upper latch bolt which tilts the latch bolt into the extended position, where it is blocked by the blocker until released. A lower latch bolt is also pulled to released position by upward movement of the lower actuating rod and held in released position as long as the upper latch bolt is held in released position. Also, the lower latch bolt is held in latched position as long as the upper latch bolt is held in latched position by the blocker.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard L. Armstrong Santa Fe Springs, Calif.

[21] Appl. No. 754,661

[22] Filed Aug. 22, I968 [45] Patented June 8, 1971 [73] Assignee Norrls Industries Inc.

Los Angeles, Calif.

[54] EXIT DEVICE VERTICAL ROD COLLAPSIBLE LATCH BOLT 4 Claims, 13 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 292/198, 292/21, 292/210 [51] Int. Cl E05: 3/02 [50] Field of Search 292/21, 92, 198, 216, 237, 332, 336, 210, 233; 70/92 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,585,167 5/1926 Palmer 292/21 2,887,336 5/1959 Meyer 292/21 2,911,249 11/1959 Jewett et al... 292/336 3,083,560 4/1963 Scott 70/92 3,124,378 3/1964 Jackson 292/5 3,214,947 ll/l965 Wikkerink. 70/92 3,319,986 5/1967 Balducci Primary Examiner-Stephen .l. Novosad Assistant ExaminerRobert L. Wolfe Attorney-Beehler & Arant ABSTRACT: An exit device consisting of a crossbar adapted to be pushed to raise upper and lower vertical actuating rods which in turn release respective upper and lower latch bolts so that the door can be opened. The upper latch bolt is pivoted near its outside end so that, when released, it will fall into a withdrawn position by gravity, assisted by a wiping of a front face of the latch bolt by a retaining plate on the door frame. A blocker, pivoted on the inner side of the housing, holds the latch bolt in extended locked position by engagement with a downwardly facing shoulder on the inner side of the latch bolt. The upper actuating rod is linked to the blocker in such fashion that the blocker is swung out of blocking position when the actuating rod is lifted. When the actuating rod is released, the weight of the rod serves to urge the blocker toward blocking position. The upper latch bolts is returned from retracted position to extended position by a slide which is shifted transversely toward the latch bolt when the slide strikes a strike face, the slide then serving to push upon a projection on the upper latch bolt which tilts the latch bolt into the extended position, where it is blocked by the blocker until released. A lower latch bolt is also pulled to released position by upward movement of the lower actuating rod and held in released position as long as the upper latch bolt is held in released position. Also, the lower latch bolt is held in latched position as long as the upper latch bolt is held in latched position by the blocker.

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EXIT DEVICE VERTICAL ROD COLLAISIBLE LA'ICII BOLT Exit devices of the type herein disclosed are those used often on public buildings where there may be need for a relatively large number of people to quickly leave such a building. Exit devices have often been termed "panic devices." Such devices customarily employ a relatively long crossbar on the inside of the door which serves to unlatch or retract upper and lower latch bolts when the crossbar is either pushed, or even leaned against, so that the door will immediately swing to wide open position. Since such exit devices or panic devices are intended to be kept capable of being released quickly and with a minimum of manipulation on the part of persons desiring to open the door, they should be made rugged enough to withstand a sudden, heavy, rapid opening operation and should also be such that the mechanism will not hang up or get stuck when the need for release is greatest.

Although devices of this general type have been in use for several decades, they have had various and sundry objectionable features, including difficulty of installation, looseness of engagement of latching devices with retaining means, and, on some occasions, have been such that they could not always be depended upon to release the latch under all emergency conditions. Some structures, moreover, have been objectionable because of there being no convenient means of holding the latch bolts in withdrawn position when the door is swung to and fro, causing a condition such that the lower latch bolt is prone to drag over the floor surface, and the upper latch bolt needing some special construction to cam it to extended position when the door is closed.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a new and improved exit device, wherein both upper and lower latch bolts are swung to retracted position by upward movement of an actuating rod when subjected to release pressure by a crossbar.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved exit device, wherein the upper and lower latch bolts are deadlocked in latched position by a simple, positive acting, deadlocking mechanism which is easily released when the door has to be opened.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved exit device, wherein the upper latch bolt is so designed and mounted as to fall into release position by gravity, thereby to eliminate the need for some auxiliary means such as a spring, the construction further being such that the swing of the door will assist in shifting the upper latch bolt to its release position as the door is being swung to open position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved exit device of such design and construction that the greater the crowd weight which may be applied to a crossbar and even against the door for quickly opening the door in an emergency situation, the more effective will be the unlatching of the latch bolts.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the exit device shown installed on the inside face of a door.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the upper latch bolt housing with the exterior cover shown in section.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a slide used with the upper latch bolt housing.

FIG. 9 is a vertical perspective view emphasizing operating parts of the upper latch bolt mechanism and showing the upper latch bolt blocked in extended position.

FIG. I0 is a view similar to FIG. 9, but showing the upper latch bolt in retracted position.

FIG. I1 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 3, bu showing the upper latch bolt in retracted position. I

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view of the lower latch bolt housing.

FIG. 13 is a view taken on the line 13-13 of FIG. 11.

In an embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration, the exit device is shown attached to the inside face 10 ofa door 11. A mounting arrangement on the exterior of the inside face 10 has been chosen for the purpose of illustration, but it should be understood that the device is of such design and construction that it could be mounted within the door II itself intermediate the inside face 10 and an outside face 12. In the chosen embodiment, the door 11 is shown mounted in a frame 13, an upper portion of which is provided with a retainer plate 14 extending over an opening 15, and a strike plate 16. At the bottom is a threshold I7 provided with a transversely extending retainer flange 18, the threshold 17 being secured in customary conventional fashion to a supporting surface 19.

An upper latch device, indicated generally by the reference character 20, is shown located near the top edge 21 of the door II and adjacent a free swinging side edge 22. A lower latch device, indicated generally by the reference character 24, is shown located adjacent the bottom edge 25 and also adjacent the free swinging side edge 22.

Intermediate the upper and lower latch devices 20, 24 is located what is commonly designated as an active case 26 in which is pivotally mounted a hinge arm 27 which supports a crossbar or push bar 28, one end only of which is shown in FIG. I. The hinge arm 27 is so pivoted by conventional means that, when pushed against, it will lift a plate 29 and thereby also lift an upper actuating rod 30 and a lower actuating rod 31, both of which are attached to the plate 29. Lifting the upper actuating rod 30 serves to withdraw an upper latch bolt 32, while lifting the lower actuating rod 31 serves to withdraw a lower latch bolt 33.

Having reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, it will be noted that an upper latch housing 35 is attached to the door 11 by means of bolts 36 and sleeves 37 at the location shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, which is slightly below an outwardly facing recess 38 of the frame 13 and below the opening 15. The upper latch bolt 32 is attached to the upper latch housing 35 by means of a pin 39 which is located on one side of the upper latch bolt 32 and which, in the association of parts comprising the structure disclosed, is on the side of the upper latch housing 35 facing outwardly relative to the swing of the door II. The pin 39 is appreciably off center with respect to the upper latch bolt 32, so that the weight of a latching projection 40 acts to rotate the upper latch bolt 32 downwardly or clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 3, without the assistance of any resilient means such as a spring.

On the upper latch bolt 32 is an outwardly directed face 41 which is adapted to engage an edge 42 of the retaining plate 14, when the upper latch bolt 32 is extended into latched or locked position, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the upper latch bolt 32 extending through a hole 43, which forms the edge 42. The hole 43 is made large enough so that the latching projection 40 can extend easily into and out of it during operation.

A blocker 45 is attached by means of a pivot pin 46 to the housing 35 on the side opposite from the pin 39. The blocker 45 has the shape generally of a bell crank, a lower arm 47 of which is attached to a link 48 by means of a pin 49. The link 48 is attached to a connector 50 by means of another pin 51. In the embodiment shown, the upper actuating rod 30 is in the form of a channel and is attached to the connector 50 by means of screws 52.

An upper arm 53 of the blocker 45 terminates in a blocking element 54 which is adapted to engage beneath a downwardly facing shoulder 55 on the upper latch bolt 32. In the embodiment shown, the weight of the upper actuating rod 30 and members attached to it serve to rotate the blocker in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 3, thereby always to urge the blocking element 54 into its blocking position by means of gravity action.

It will be clear from the foregoing description that when the upper actuating rod 30 is lifted, as it will be when the hinge arm 27 is depressed by pressure upon the crossbar 28, the blocker 45 will be rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3, thereby to disengage the blocking element 54 from its blocking position beneath the shoulder 55. When this occurs, the upper latch bolt 32 will rotate, due to its own eccentric mounting, out of the projected position of FIG. 3 and into the retracted position of FIG. llll.

A chamber 56 of ample proportions is provided in the upper latch housing 35 so that the blocker 45, the upper latch bolt 32, the link 43, and connector 50 can all move freely and without interference.

Located below a pivot plate 60 at the upper end of the upper latch housing 35 is a slide 61 which is adapted to move in a direction from right to left and left to right, as viewed in FIG. 3. A hole 62 in the slide 61 freely accommodates the latching projection 49 of the upper latch bolt 32. On the upper latch bolt 32 and outwardly relative to the pin 39 is a generally upwardly extending projection 63 which is adapted to engage an outwardly facing edge 6 of the slide 61. As the upper latch bolt 32 rotates, the projection 63 moves against the edge 64 and shifts the slide 6]! in a direction from left to right, as viewed in FIG. 11. This results in projecting the inside end of the slide till laterally so that an appreciable portion of it is exposed exteriorly relative to the upper latch bolt housing 35. In the retracted position of FIG. 11, a comer of the upper latch bolt 32 rests in a recess 65 of the blocker 45, and this assists in limiting rotative motion of the upper latch bolt 32 at the extreme of its retracted position. In this last mentioned position, the upper arm 53 of the blocker 45 is drawn into engagement with the adjacent curved surface of the latching projection 40 by action of gravity on the upper actuating rod 30 and parts attached to it.

In operation of the device described up to this point, when the door 11 is to be opened, as previously noted, pressure upon the crossbar 23 and hinge arm 27 acting against a bracket 39 on the plate 29 serves to unlatch the upper latch bolt 32, moving it from the position of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. III. This is accomplished by dislodging the blocking element 5 1 from the shoulder 53. The upper latch bolt 32 then proceeds to fall by gravity, but as pressure is exerted continually against the crossbar 23, and perhaps against the door llll itself, urging the door ll outwardly as the latching projection as and its outwardly directed face 41 is pushed against the edge 42 of the retaining plate 14, the action described tends to sweep the upper latch bolt 32 out of projected position, pushing it downwardly to the position shown in FIG. Ill, thereby assisting gravity and making certain that even if gravity action should be insufficient, the upper latch bolt 32 will be pushed to the retracted position of FIG. Ill. The upper latch bolt 32 will remain in the retracted position described as long as the door 11 remains open.

When the door 11 is swung to closed position, the upper latch bolt 32 will remain retracted until the slide 61 strikes against the strike plate 16. This, of course, will not happen until the door 11 is almost in full closed position. As the door It continues to swing to a final full closed position, the slide 61 is shifted in a direction from right to left, as viewed in FIG. llll, so that the outwardly facing edge 64 pushes against the projection 63 of the upper latch bolt 32, causing it to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. ll, until the latching projection 46) is pushed upwardly through the hole 62, through a complementary hole 66 in the pivot plate 60, and upwardly through the hole 43 in the retainer plate M until it reaches the projected or locking position shown in FIG. 3. When the upper latch bolt 32 finally reaches locking position, weight of the upper actuating rod 30 will rotate the blocker 45 in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIGS. ll and 3, thereby pulling the blocking element 5 3 to its position underneath the shoulder 55 and deadlocking the upper latch bolt 32.

The lower latch bolt 33 is designed and assembled for contemporaneous action with the upper latch bolt 32. To accomplish this, the lower latch bolt 33, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, is tiltably mounted by means of a pin 67 to a lower latch housing 68 at the lowermost portion of the lower latch housing 63 and on the inward side. A chamber 69 is provided in the lower latch housing 68 so that there is ample room for the lower latch bolt 33 to swing, together with other parts attached to it.

The lower actuating rod 31 is attached to a connector 70 by means of screws 71, and a link 72 is pivotally secured to the connector 70 by means of a pin 73. A pin 74 pivotally secures the link 72 to the lower latch bolt 33 within a recess 75. To ease operation of the lower latch bolt 33, the pin 73 is adapted to ride in a vertical slot 76 against action of a compression spring 77 held within a spring bore 78. When the lower latch bolt 33 is extended, as shown by the broken lines in FIG. 12, it will fall behind the retainer flange 18 when the door ll is in full closed position, thereby to latch the lower edge of the door Ill closed. When the lower actuating rod 31 is lifted, simultaneously with lifting the upper actuating rod 30, the lower actuating rod 31 will pull upon the link 72 which, in turn, will rotate the lower latch bolt 33 clockwise, as shown in FIG. 12, to retracted position and will hold it there as long as the upper latch bolt 32 is held in retracted position in the manner heretofore described.

To dress up the assembly described, there is provided a cover extending around the upper latch housing 35 and secured thereto by means of a screw 86. Similarly, a cover 87 extends around and is secured to the lower latch housing 68 by means of a screw 83.

For adjustment purposes, there is provided an adjusting screw 30 which frts in a threaded bore 81 in a block 82 attached to the lower end of the upper actuating rod 30. A clevis 33 is pinned to the plate 29 by means of a pin 84. A similar adjustment, not shown, may be provided for adjusting the lower actuating rod 3!.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what is conceived to be a practical and effective embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is intended to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

lclaim:

ll. An exit lock device for a door which is vertically hinged in an outwardly swinging direction on a frame having an upper retaining means adjacent the top end of the door, said device comprising an upper latch housing on the door adjacent the top thereof, an upper latch bolt having a body with outward and inward sides and a mounting on a portion of the body thereof adjacent the outward side comprising a movable attachment between said upper latch bolt and the housing, a latching projection on the body located eccentric and inwardly with respect to said mounting, said latching projection being adapted to project above the upper end of the housing and having an outwardly facing section adapted to engage said upper retaining means whereby to hold the door in closed position, a downwardly facing shoulder on the inward side of said latch bolt, and a blocker having a mounting comprising a movable attachment between said blocker and said housing and having a blocking element thereon movable to a location in blocking engagement with said shoulder, and actuating rod means having a vertically reciprocable mounting relative to said housing, and a slide having a horizontally reciprocating mounting adjacent the top of the housing, said slide having a positive continuous engagement with said latch bolt in all positions of said latch bolt said slide in closed position of the door having a retracted position in engagement with a portion of said retaining means and with said latch bolt in a direction productive of retention of said latch bolt in upwardly projected position, said rod means being attached to said blocker at a location eccentric with respect to said attachment of the blocker on the housing and at a location adapted to move said blocker inwardly out of said blocking engagement upon movement upwardly of said rod means and movement outwardly of said door whereby to release said latch bolt for movement in response to pressure against said upper retaining means out of engagement with said upper retaining means and for movement of said slide to projecting position.

2. An exit device as in claim 1 wherein engagement of the outwardly facing section of the upper latch bolt with the upper retaining means is at a location rearwardly and upwardly of said movable mounting whereby pressure applied to said door in an outward direction assists in urging said latch bolt to unlatched position.

3. An exit lock device as in claim 1 wherein said attachments comprise spaced parallel pivotal mountings respectively for said latch bolt and said blocker, the pivotal mounting of the blocker being inward relative to the mounting of said latch bolt.

4. An exit lock device as in claim 1 wherein there is a horizontally extending crossbar assembly, means mounting said crossbar assembly on the inward side of the door, an operating connection between said crossbar assembly and said actuating rod means acting in a direction such that crowd pressure against said crossbar assembly effects upward movement of said actuating rod means and a shifting of said blocker out of blocking engagement with said shoulder whereby when crowd pressure increases said pressure is translated to the outward side of the latch bolt, the actuating rod means and said blocker in a direction increasing the force applicable to move said blocker to unblocking position.

Claims (4)

1. An exit lock device for a door which is vertically hinged in an outwardly swinging direction on a frame having an upper retaining means adjacent the top end of the door, said device comprising an upper latch housing on the door adjacent the top thereof, an upper latch bolt having a body with outward and inward sides and a mounting on a portion of the body thereof adjacent the outward side comprising a movable attachment between said upper latch bolt and the housing, a latching projection on the body located eccentric and inwardly with respect to said mounting, said latching projection being adapted to project above the upper end of the housing and having an outwardly facing section adapted to engage said upper retaining means whereby to hold the door in closed position, a downwardly facing shoulder on the inward side of said latch bolt, and a blocker having a mounting comprising a movable attachment between said blocker and said housing and having a blocking element thereon movable to a location in blocking engagement with said shoulder, and actuating rod means having a vertically reciprocable mounting relative to said housing, and a slide having a horizontally reciprocating mounting adjacent the top of the housing, said slide having a positive continuous engagement with said latch bolt in all positions of said latch bolt said slide in closed position of the door having a retracted position in engagement with a portion of said retaining means and with said latch bolt in a direction productive of retention of said latch bolt in upwardly projected position, said rod means being attached to said blocker at a location eccentric with respect to said attachment of the blocker on the housing and at a location adapted to move said blocker inwardly out of said blocking engagement upon movement upwardly of said rod means and movement outwardly of said door whereby to release said latch bolt for movement in response to pressure against said upper retaining means out of engagement with said upper retaining means and for movement of said slide to projecting position.

2. An exit device as in claim 1 wherein engagement of the outwardly facing section of the upper latch bolt with the upper retaining means is at a location rearwardly and upwardly of said movable mounting whereby pressure applied to said door in an outward direction assists in urging said latch bolt to unlatched position.

3. An exit lock device as in claim 1 wherein said attachments comprise spaced parallel pivotal mountings respectively for said latch bolt and said blocker, the pivotal mounting of the blockEr being inward relative to the mounting of said latch bolt.

4. An exit lock device as in claim 1 wherein there is a horizontally extending crossbar assembly, means mounting said crossbar assembly on the inward side of the door, an operating connection between said crossbar assembly and said actuating rod means acting in a direction such that crowd pressure against said crossbar assembly effects upward movement of said actuating rod means and a shifting of said blocker out of blocking engagement with said shoulder whereby when crowd pressure increases said pressure is translated to the outward side of the latch bolt, the actuating rod means and said blocker in a direction increasing the force applicable to move said blocker to unblocking position.

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