US3059268A - Door closer - Google Patents

Description

F. V. MCHALE Oct. 23, 1962 DOOR CLOSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG 2 Filed July 2. 1959 24 FIG.:v

INVENTOR FRANCIS V.McHALE A4 ATTORNEY Oct. 23, 1962 F. V. McHALE 3,059,268

DOOR CLOSER Filed July 2, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "08 e6 5o 67 e 6o 6a u y 77 n lo 4 /l 4 c y 78v a2 ao l 7a l' l 95 4s 4 43 f g 4 6 '0 5' '0' '02536152 :o3 5o 585 ,.-l NICNERMLE BY Za/WMM ,Q4 A'rroRNEY e Stats This invention relates to a door closer mechanism and more particularly to a door check and closer of the hydraulic type wherein a piston traveling in a cylinder bore biases a closer spring contained in the device upon opening of the door and dampens the closing action of the spring when the open door is released by hydraulic dampener means.

This invention still more particularly relates to a door closer device of the type described having a novel construction whereby use of relatively soft, poor bearing materials may be employed for the body or casing of the device, without sacrifice of the wearing properties or smooth operation required of such devices.

In hydraulic door closer devices of the type heretofore described, the use of aluminum or like relatively poor bearing metals has been avoided by reason of the excessive wear and other undesirable factors encountered when such metals are attempted to be used for door closers. Similarly, the cost of hydraulic door closers has, in the past, been relativelyhigh, due in part to the extreme accuracy with which hydraulic by-pass and control ports must be located with respect to the internal bore of the hydraulic cylinder and to the difficulty of forming such precisely located ports internally of the said cylinder where accurate machining, such as drilling, is obviously diicult.

An understanding of the general operation of door closer and dampener devices will readily illustrate the difficulty of internal drilling operations so as to be able to use an extrusion, and the importance of providing such drilling with a degree of accuracy generally consistent with economical production` The dampener assembly comprises generally a body portion having a cylindrical bore, an opening cut transversely of said bore to support a pinion shaft and bearing therefor and a secondary by-pass passage generally paralleling the cylindricalbore longitudinally displaced from and diametrically opposed to the pinion and bearing orifice. The diametric opposition of such passage to the orifice is dictated by the necessity for forming drill holes in the interior of the bore, joining the secondary passage by introducing drilling apparatus through the limited access provided by the orifice. It will be readily understood, accordingly, that the use of linearly acting drilling means through the oriiice to form the side passages between the bore and the secondary passage will result in a restriction of the spacing of the orifices formed between the boring and the side passage by reason of the limited access of space through the pinion orifice.

Such side passages and particularly the precise point of junction of such side passages with the interior boring are critical factors in determining the operation of the closer mechanism.

As more fully set forth hereinafter, the criticality of such locations is engendered by the fact that the releasing speeds and linal latching surge of the closing door are desirably effected at certain given points in the closing cycle of the door, and, as will be readily understood, variation in placement of the discharge points of the side passages in the magnitude of a sixteenth of an inch can result "in variation in the release position of the door in the magnitude of several inches.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a door closer and dampener assembly whereby the by-pass Patented Get. 23, 1962 discharge ports are located with great precision within the bore of the assembly.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dampener assembly as heretofore described which may be made of aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or like poor bearing but attractive appearing metals which may be made of extruded stock and effect economies in machine operations without loss of eiiciency.

It is. a further object of this invention to provide a dampener assembly wherein the discharge ports within the bore may be located with great precision, without necessitating the use of expensive drilling jigs or the like.

till a further object of this invention is to provide a dampener assembly of the type described having internal discharge points effectively located at positions beyond those which may be reached by normal drilling operations conducted through the pinion orifice.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a dampener assembly in a door closer of the type described wherein the side passages joining the boring to the secondary or by-pass passage may be provided with discharge ports which eXit into the internal boring at points heretofore considered to be inaccessible to normal drilling operations.

To attain these objects and such further objects as may appear herein or be hereinafter pointed out, I make reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which:

FIGURES l and 2 are diagrammatic plan views of the general assembly of my invention applied, respectively, to the left hand opening and right hand opening doors;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view taken in the direction of the arrows 3 3 of FIGURE l, in magnified condition and with a sealing cap of the body member omitted;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken on the lines 4 4 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 5 is a magnified section taken on the lines 5 5 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 6 is a section taken on the lines 6 6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a section taken on the lines 7 7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a greatly magnified section taken on the lines 8 8 of FIGURE 3.

Referring now to the drawings, in the diagrammatic FIGURES l and 2 the device is illustrated as applied to a door and door frame, the door, FIGURE l, being a left hand swinging door and that of FIGURE 2 a right hand swinging door. The device comprises a body member 10 which may, in accordance with my invention, be made of aluminum or the like. The body is provided with longitudinally extending flanges 11 and 12, which are slidable within the bracket 13. The bracket is aihxed to the door member D as by screws and is provided, in addition, with a pair of bolt members 14, extending through the bracket 13 and tapped into the upper flange 11, to prevent relative longitudinal movement of the body portion 10 and the bracket 13.

Relative movement of the door to the door frame is imparted to the door closer mechanism by a linkage 15 which comprises a pair of link members 16, 17, pivotally joined at one end by a trunnion piece 18 which passes through apertures 19 and 2.0 of the arms 17 and 16, respectively, and is retained thereon by a spring washer 21 which is engaged under the headed part 22 of the trunnion piece 18. The end 23 of the link 17 is secured to the door jamb or frame 24 'by a bracket 25, screwed to the said frame, which bracket in turn is provided with legs 26, 27, within which the link end 23 is positioned and held by trunnion pin 28, which pivotally secures the link 17 between the legs 26, 27. I

The end 30 of the link 16 is provided with a gener-ally squared aperture 31, which is positioned over the squared end 32 of trunnion or pinion shaft 33 and maintained in such seated relationship by the headed bolt 34, which is threaded into the end of the pinion shaft 33.

The body 10, which may comprise a casting or a section of an extrusion, is provided with a longitudinally extending bore 4t). The ends 41, 42 of the body 1t! are formed with enlarged annular shoulder portions 43, 44, respectively, and threaded portions 45, 46 adjacent such annular shoulders.

As best seen in FIGURE 8, a secondary or lay-pass bore 50, generally parallel to the longitudinal bore 4i), is formed in the end 41 of the body 10. Such by-pass bore or passage 50 comprises borings of three graduated diameters, to wit, narrow inner boring 51 separated from the wider'boring 52 by a shoulder 53 and end boring 54, internally threaded at 55 adjacent its outermost portion. A threaded plug 56 is engaged with threads 55 of the boring 54 and is tightened within said threaded portion 55 to compress a gland packing 57 against shoulder part 58 which divides the boring 54- from the smaller diametered boring 52.

A threaded metering pin 60 is adjustably secured within the cap plug 56 and is provided with an extended stern portion 61 which may be moved axially of the boring 5t) by rotation of the said pin 60.

The by-pass passage 5t) is joined by a plurality of side passages 65, 66, 67, for purposes which will appear hereinafter. The passages 65, 66 are formed or drilled in the body 10 by means of a drill or like tool extended through the aperture 63, which aperture subsequently forms the bearing support for the pinion shaft 33. The side passage 67 is similarly formed by drilling through the open end 41 of the body portion.

It will be readily recognized that the spacing of the ports 65, 66 as well as the location along the boring of such ports is dictated of necessity by the size of the aperture 68, an understanding of the positional limitations of such passages being necessary to a full understanding of applicants contribution.

As best seen in FIGURE 8, the passage 65 joins the secondary or by-pass passage 50 at the narrowest boring part 51. The side passage 66 joins the wider boring part 52, preferably adjacent the annular shoulder part 53.

A liner member 70, of steel or some other Wearl.

resistant metal or anti-frictional material, of tubular configuration, is snugly positioned within the boring 40, the outer diameter of the liner 76 being substantially identical to the dimensions of the boring, enabling the liner to be shrink-tit or otherwise positively frictionally secured in predetermined position within the boring. The liner 7G is provided with apertures 71, 72, 73, cut from the walls of the said liner and adapted in the tit position within the boring, to overlie the openings onto said boring of the passages 65, 66, 67, respectively. The openings 71, 72, 73, are, as indicated, of a size in excess of the size of the port openings 65, 66, 67 and are precisely positioned with respect to the liner 70 so that when the liner 70 is inserted into the boring in the desired position in said boring, the positions of the openings 71, 72, 73 will have supplanted entrance of the passages 65, 66,V 67 as the effective position of the ports in the interior boring of the closer.

A piston 75, having a head 76 slidable in intimate contact within the liner 70, is provided with side pieces 77, 78, having inwardly directed rack faces 79, S0, respectively. A rear saddle part 81 spans the side pieces 77, 78 and is provided with a rearwardly extending boss 82 (see FIGURE 4). The end 42 is provided with a capping member 83 which may be threaded within the portion 46, sandwiching a gasket 84 against the shoulder 44 of the body 10, thus providing a sealing t at the end 42. A coil spring 85 is biased between the end or saddle part 81, surrounding the boss 82 and seated in the cap 83, thereby normally forcing the piston 75 toward the right 4 handsend of the body portion as viewed in FIGURES 4 and Into the orice 68 there is threaded a packing gland S6 carrying, in an annular recess 87, a packing ring 88. Pinion shaft 33 is supported in the gland S6, a bearing cup S9 being formed in the body 10 diametrically opposed t0 the gland part 86, to form a lower support for the pinion shaft 33. A truncated pinion gear is keyed to or integral with the shaft 33 to engage one or the other of the rack faces 79, 80, depending upon the direction of rotation of the link 16, the initial tooth of the racks 79, 80 being beveled or cut away, as shown at 79a or 80a, to permit such alternate rotation.

The end 41 of the body 1t) is similarly provided with a sealing cap 95, threaded to mate with the portion 45 and to force the gasket member 96 against the shoulder 43 to provide a seal at the end 41.

Control of the closing speed of the door and a final latching impetus is provided by adjustment of the stem 60. This stem, which may be adjusted forwardly or rearwardly within the by-pass passage 50, is provided at its forwardmost end 100 with a small, V-shaped cutout part 161, which part coacts with the annular shoulder 53 to limit ow through the narrowest portion 51 of the by-pass passage 56, it being readily understood that advancing the stern 66 into closer proximity with the shoulder 53 will tend to limit the ilow, and retracting the part 166 away from the shoulder 53 will augment the ow through the passage.

The stem member 6? is provided, in addition, with an opposed pair of linearly extending grooves 102, 103. When the stem 6i) is turned so that the groove 102 or 163 is aligned with the passage 67, maximum iiow through the bore part 52 is permitted, it being understood that when the part 60 is rotated so that the groove 162 or 163 is only partially in registry, flow is decreased through the said bore part.

The bore portion, prior to operation, is lled with oil or like hydraulic uid through a plug member threaded into the body portion 1@ and aperture 106 formed in the liner 76 to lie in registry with the said plug.

With the assembly mounted on a door, as shown in FIGURES l and 2, opening of the door will cause the piston member 75 to be moved rearwardly or to the left, as seen in FIGURES 5 and 8, such movement of the piston being effected irrespective of the direction of rotation of the pinion shaft 33 by reason of the truncated gear and beveled toothed rack mechanism previously described. A ball check valve 107 formed in the piston head 76 permits withdrawal of the piston 75 and biasing of the spring 85 without appreciable resistance from the ow of hydraulic uid through the piston head. The rearward and forward portions 168, 109, respectively, of the piston head 76 are beveled or chamfered, as seen in FIGURE 5, so that blockage of the passage 65 in the rearward position and of the passage 67 in the forward position of the piston will not occur.

The rearmost position of the piston head 75 in the bore is shown in dot and dash lines, FIGURE 8, it being apparent from inspection of such gure that a smooth, free ow clearance between the bevel 108 and the passage 65 through the aperture 71 is provided so that there will be no tendency of the piston member 75 to stick or remain in such rearward position, as would be the case if the passage 65 were blocked by the piston head at such position.

When the door is released, the spring 85 urges the rearwardly positioned piston 75 toward the closed or right hand position in the bore 4t). The initial forward move- Vment of the piston 75 causes the ball check valve 107' to close, effectively dividing the bore into two chambers, one to each side of the piston head 76. Further movement of the head 76 toward the end 41 may be accomplished only by forcing uid trapped between the head and such end through the restricted passages 66, l67 and past the limiting flow point defined by the shoulder 53` and the groove 101 in the end 100 of the stem 60. Such forward movement is normally quite slow and prevents sudden slamming or return of the door under the influence of the spring 85, the speed of closing being controlled, as previously indicated, by rotation of the stem 60.

AS it is desirable to increase the Speed of door closing as the door comes close to latched position, the passage 66 is provided. When the cutout or bevel 108 is in registry with, or forward of, the aperture 72 in the liner, fluid trapped between the piston head 76 and the end 41 is permitted, in addition to the prior mentioned route, to pass through the passage 67, through the limiting grooves 102 or 103, and rearwardly to the chamber behind the piston 76, through the passage =66. As the access provided by groove 102 or 103 is considerably greater than the access provided to the passage port 5-1 between the shoulder 53 and the bevel 101, considerable acceleration of the door is encountered at such point. It will be readily recognized that the point during the closing cycle of the door at which latching acceleration is permitted is extremely critica'l since early release would result in premature and dangerous slamming of the door and release too late during the closing cycle would not permit sulficient speed for latching.

Due to the criticality in positioning of the effective point of discharge 0f the passage 66 to the interior of the liner 70 and to the diiculty of forming the passage 66 with the requisite accuracy by reason of the limiting access provided through the aperture 68, the applicant has discovered the desirability of forming such passage 66 roughly positioned in the body and accurately locating the effective port or point of discharge of such passage by means of sleeving the liner 70 into the interior of the bore. Since the aperture 72 in the liner 70 is formed prior to insertion of such liner in the bore and since accurate alignment of the liner 70 with respect to the bore is relatively easily accomplished, the necessity for accurate drilling of passage 66 is obviated, without compromising the quality of the door closer assembly.

While the instant application has illustrated the novel port extending and locating effect of providing a liner having a substantial thickness, with an extended aperture adapted to register with an end thrust or latching side passage in a door closer, it should be understood that the spirit of my invention encompasses the use of such duct extending aperture in connection with other discharge ports in door closers, regardless of the function of such discharge ports.

It will be readily recognized from the foregoing description that great economies in manufacture -may be effected by dispensing with precision machining and drilling where such drilling is difficult to effect, and sub- Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new yand desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A dampener assembly comprising a body portion adapted to be mounted to a door and having a longitudinal boring, a by-pass, secondary passage of restricted diameter paralleling said boring and a plurality of side passages communicating with said secondary passage and opening at spaced points into said boring, a tubular liner member slidable endwise into intimately fitted position within said boring having walls defining a plurality of apertures, each adapted to register with one of said spaced points and to extend longitudinally beyond said points a predetermined distance from the end of said body portion, a spring biased piston member reciprocable in and intimately engaging the inner periphery of said. liner, and connector means linking said piston to the frame of said door for relatively moving said piston and body portion in accordance with the relative m-ovement of said door and said frame.

Z. A door closer device comprising a casing member adapted to be secured to a door, said casing member including walls defining a cylindrical bore, a secondary passage by-passing portions of said bore and a plurality of side passages communicating said secondary passage with said bore and opening into said bore at discharge points longitudinally spaced along said bore, a tubular liner member adapted to be intimately received in said bore, said liner member including spaced cutout portions, each adapted to register with one of said discharge points and to extend Ifor an area around said points effectively to communicate said points with said bore, a piston member having a head portion intimately fitting and slidable within said liner member to divide the latter into forward and rearward chambers and having rear and forward cutoff bevel means, connector means for moving said piston head to forward and rearward limiting positions of the stroke 'of the piston head in said liner in accordance with the relative movement of a door and door frame, one of said cutout portions being positioned in the liner to communicate with and extend rearwardly of said rear cutoff bevel means at the forward and rearward limiting positions of said piston head and another of said cutout portions being positioned in the liner to communicate with and extend forwardly of said forward cutoff bevel means at the forward and rearward limiting positions of said piston head whereby a side passage is communicated with said bore, both forwardly and rearwardly of said piston head at all positions of the piston, adjustabfle ilow Ilimit means interposed in said secondary passage, and spring means interposed between said piston and said casing adapted to bias said piston toward said forward limiting position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 810,411 Henry I an. 23, 1906 1,152,339 Norton Aug. 31, 1915 2,291,436 Anderson July 28, 1942 2,779,094 Christoffel Jan. 29, 1957 2,790,991 Schlage May 7, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 826,849 Germany Ian. 7, 1952

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