GB1159243A - Latch Mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

1,159,243. Dishwashing machines. HOBART MFG. CO. 25 July, 1966 [26 July, 1965], No. 33403/66. Heading A4F. [Also in Division E2] A latch mechanism for mounting on the door 14 of a front-opening washing machine (e.g. a dish washing machine), comprises support bracket means 30, a handle member 20, pivotally mounted on said support bracket means, a rocker member 38 supported by said support bracket means for pivotal movement on an axis extending generally parallel to the pivot axis of said handle member, a catch member 58 mounted on said rocker member for pivotal movement and including a portion 80 adapted to project from an opening 82 within the door in a neutral position of the handle member, a link member 108, means 113 for connecting said link member to said catch member in spaced relation to the pivotal axis of said catch member, means 48 associated with said handle member for engaging said link member in response to movement of said handle member in one direction from the neutral position for retracting said catch member into the opening within the door, and means 46 associated with said handle member for pivoting said rocker member with an increasing torque in response to a substantially constant torque applied to said handle member in the opposite direction from the neutral position for drawing the door tightly against a resilient seal 93 adjacent the door. In the construction shown the handle member can take up three positions; in the releasing position in which it is raised to its maximum extent, the catch member is withdrawn from an opening 90 in a tank 89 of the machine so that the door can be opened; in the neutral position in which a portion 22 of the handle member is substantially horizontal, the catch member, which is biased by a spring 77 so that it is urged to extend through the opening 82 in the top edge of the door, is in a position in which when the door is closed it engages in the opening 90 in the tank to latch the door; in the third position in which the handle member has been rotated to its lowest position the door seal is compressed. The rocker member is also biased by a spring 66, the spring urging the rocker member in the clockwise direction, movement being limited by tabs 69 extending from the rocker member which engage the edges 71 of the support means 30, means 46 associated with the handle member are two rollers which engage a pair of curved surfaces 52 formed along the underside of the rocker member 38 and movement of the handle member from the second to the third position pivots the rocker member counterclockwise against the bias of the spring 66 and the resilience of the door seal; when in the third position the handle member has reached an over centre position so that it has no tendency to move clockwise. Moving the handle member clockwise engages the means 48 which is a first pin on which the rollers are mounted with a finger 106 of the link member 108 which has a pin- and slot connection with the catch member 58, the pin 48 engaging the finger when the handle member has reached the second position and the subsequent movement to the first position withdrawing the catch member from the opening 90. To provide an interlock for the electrical system of the dish washing machine, a lever 120 is rigidly mounted on the end of the pivot pin 32 by which the handle member is secured to the support arm the lever 120 is connected by means of suitable linkage including a tension spring 124 to a bar 122 of a push button control switch 123 which is also mounted within the door 14 and has an exposed push button; movement of the handle member from the third position to the second position moves the lever 120 and opens the switch so that the circuits for the motors for the timer and wash system are opened.