GB2084643A

GB2084643A - Emergency door release

Info

Publication number: GB2084643A
Application number: GB8129740A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Intertecnica SpA
Current assignee: Intertecnica SpA
Priority date: 1980-10-03
Filing date: 1981-10-02
Publication date: 1982-04-15
Also published as: ES269130Y; IT1133148B; ES269130U; FR2491602B3; FR2491602A1; DE3139164A1; IT8025102A0

Abstract

The door A of an industrial refrigerator, cold rooms or the like, may be opened from the inside even if the door is locked. The fastening control lever (9) may be rotated either by the outside handle (11) fixed to it, or by a sliding push-rod (40) projecting into the inside of the refrigerator. The lever (9) is arranged to rotate (against the biassing of a spring (19,20,21)) a hook member (16) which disengages a detent pin (22) thereby allowing the door to be opened. The pusher (40) operates the control lever (9) through a latch lever (34) hinged thereto which normally locks it and which is movable to displace the latch lever from locking engagement at 37,38, a function normally performed by a cam (29) on a cylinder lock (28) mounted in the control lever (9). Further movement of rod 40 then displaces the control lever (9) to the door-releasing position. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A closure device for industrial refrigerator, cold room and the like enclosure doors The present invention relates to a closure device for industrial refrigerator, cold room and the like enclosure doors of the type of which there is a possibility of an operator being accidentally entrapped in the refrigerator or cold room.

It is already known to provide closure devices having safety release or opening features, however these devices are comparatively complicated or they can not be mounted or used in different attitudes, such as horizontally or vertically.

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a closure device comprising a lever which can be operated from the door inside, in such a way as to open the door, the device being simple, reliable and effective and to be mounted either horizontally or vertically.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a closure device which is arranged to reduce the effort for opening the door.

According to the broadest aspect of this invention, there is provided a closure device for doors of industrial refrigerators, cold rooms and the like enclosing doors, the device comprising a control lever for opening a door and a pusher arranged to operate said control lever from the enclosure side of the door, characterised in that said control lever is movable against spring means, and for opening said door operates a hook member also movable against said spring means, said hook member being arranged to co-operate with a detent rigid on a door post so as to hold said door closed, said pusher operating said control lever through a latch lever being movable against further spring means supported by said control lever, and the latch lever being arranged to be displaced from a latching position engaging a stop member fixed to said door to a release position and vice versa also by a lock mounted on said control lever.

In order to prevent access byunauthorised persons, the closure device is provided with a lock mounted on the control lever and arranged to act on the latch lever in such a way as to control the displacement thereof, whereby the door can be locked or not for opening from the outside, depending on the needs, whilst allowing for the door to be opened under all conditions from the inside.

According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, in order to facilitate the opening of the door, often of great weight, it is provided that, afterthe hook member is rotated by the lever, said hook member engages a fixed abutment, about which said control lever is then pivoted.

The invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, given by way of an indicative and not limitative example, of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- FIGURE lisa front view of the closure device according to the invention, as horizontally mounted on a door and door post; FIGURE 2 is a cross-section view, as taken along the line ii-ii of Figure 1; and FIGURE 3 is a horizontal cross-section view illustrating the same device, but vertically mounted along a vertical side of a door and a door post.

With reference to the drawings, there is a metal body or block 1 which, on three sides thereof, has substantially flat mounting surfaces 2, 3 and 4 provided with holes 5. By means of screws threaded in the holes 5, the block 1 may be mounted and fixed both to rightwardly and leftwardly openable doors, either horizontally or vertically. As it is fixed horizontally, said block 1 will be mounted as it is shown in Figures 1 and 2, whereas, in the case of a vertical arrangement, it will be mounted as shown in Figure 3. in the horizontal arrangement of Figures 1 and 2, a face 4 of the block 1 is applied against the outside surface of a door A, whereas, in the vertical arrangement of Figures 3, a face 2 of the block 1 is applied against the vertical edge of the door A. The door A encloses a refrigerator or cold room H.

The block 1 comprises a longitudinally extending slot 6 which, for a length, opens to the outside whereas, for the remaining portion thereof, starting from an edge 7 of a wall 8, it opens toward the opposite side, that is towards a door post B.

In the longitudinally extending slot 6, a control lever 9 is mounted and guided which, at one end thereof, is provided with a tailpiece 10 to which a handle 11 is fixed, of any suitable known type. The control lever 9 has a substantially C-shaped crosssection having parallel extending sides 12 and a cross wall 13. The lever 9 is pivoted to said block 1 by means of a pivot pin 14 and is provided, at the end thereof opposite to the tailpiece 10, with a flat face C.

An idle roller 15 is mounted between the legs of a fork member pertaining to a hook member 16 which is rotatable about a pin 17 supported between two sides 18 of the block 1. The idle roller 15 abuts against the flat face C. The hook member 16, as well as control lever 9, are biassed by the end legs 19,20 of a torsion spring 21 mounted on the pin 17.

In order to hold the door A in its closure position, the hook member 16 engages with an abutment or pin 22, mounted between the legs of a fork 23. The fork 23 is fixed by screws 24 to a casing 25 which is fixed to the door post B. The position of the fork 23 can be adjusted in the direction of the arrows D as shown in Figure 2, by slots 125 in the casing forthe screws 24. It should be noted that the fork 23 is provided, at one end thereof, with a lug 26 acting as an abutment against which the roller 15 abuts during door opening operation when the control lever 9 is rotated in the direction of the arrow F. As the roller 15 engages with the abutment 26, said roller acts as a pivot pin for a portion of the stroke of the control lever 9, thereby facilitating the commencement of door opening operation.

In a seat 27 formed in the lever 9 there is mounted a conventional cylinder type of lock 28 of which the key, as shown, causes a front cam 29 to rotate between two positions spaced apart by 1809 said cam comprising an axially long zone 30 and an axially short zone 31. A pressure spring 32 is located between the cross wall 13 of the control lever 9 and an arm 33 of a latch lever 34. The spring 32 tends to urge the latch lever 34 counter-clockwise about a pin 35 supporting the lever 34 between the sides 12 of the control lever 9.A nose member 36 is interposed in the path of the front cam 29, whereby under the bias of the spring 32 and depending on the position of the cam 29, the latch lever 34 will assume either one or the other of two extreme positions.The fi rst position of the latch lever 34 is shown in Figure 1, in which a detent tooth 37 engages a stop member 38 on the block 1, and the other position is in which the detent 37 is disengaged from the stop member 38.

As will be evident, in the first position it is not possible to rotate the control lever 9 in the direction of the arrow F by the handle 11. However, as will now be described, whilst the latch lever is in this position, it is possible to rotate the control lever 9 from the inside of the refrigerator door, i.e. by the person as accidentally entrapped in the refrigerator or cold room H.

The latch lever 34 is provided with an eccentric lug 39 interposed in the longitudinal path of a movable stem or pusher 40. In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2, the pusher 40 is slidably mounted in the door A whereas, in the arrangement of Figure 3, it is mounted on the door post B. The pusher 40 projects, in both arrangements, into the inside of the cold room H and it ends with a head portion 41 against which a return spring 42 abuts, said return spring resting on a guide flange 43 as respectively fixed either to the refrigerator door A or to the door post B.

A resilient bellows cover member 44 is threaded over the head portion 41 and located by an end rib 42A seated in a annular groove formed on said guide flange 43.

By applying an axial pushing force to the pusher 40, the latch lever 34 is rotated clockwise, thereby disengaging from the stop 38 until lug 39 abuts against a cross abutment 45 formed on the lever 9.

The pushing force is then transferred from the pusher 40 through the lug 39 to the abutment 45 of the control lever 9 which, in turn is caused to rotate about the pivot pin 14. Due to this rotation, the hook member 16 is turned in the same direction so as to thereby disengage from the abutment pin 22 and the idle roller 15 abuts against the lug 26. The control lever 9 is now rotated with the roller 15 as a fulcrum in such a way as to facilitate, owing to the lever effect, the commencement of opening movement of the refrigerator door A. Then, as the pushing continues, the refrigerator door A, on rotating about its hinges or pintles, disengages from the door post B and the roller 15 moves from the lug 26.

It should be noted that it is possible to open the door A from the inside independently of the position of the lock 28, since the pusher 40 is always effective to cause rotation of the latch lever 34 and the disengagement of the detent tooth 37 thereof from the stop 38. On the other hand, to pen the door from outside, by operating the handle 11, it is necessary initially to rotate the latch lever 34 by means of the front cam 29 of the lock 28.

In this preferred exemplary embodiment, the pusher 40 is in the form of a rod which is displaced axially by manual effort against the bias of the return spring 42. However, it is considered that the axial displacement could be obtained by means of a cam lever, or by means of a screw drive acting on the rod.

Such modification is within the scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A closure device for doors of industrial refrigerators, cold rooms and the like enclosing doors, the device comprising a control leverfor opening a door and a pusher arranged to operate said control lever from the enclosure side of the door, characterised in that said control lever is movable against spring means, and for opening said door operates a hook member also movable against said spring means, said hook member being arranged to co-operate with a detent rigid on a door post so as to hold said door closed, said pusher operating said control lever th rough a latch lever being movable against further spring means supported by said control lever, and the latch being arranged to be displaced from a latching position engaging a stop member fixed to said door to a release position and vice versa also by a lock mounted on said control lever.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterised in that said control lever is associated with a handle.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that the movement transmitted by said control lever two said hook member is restrained by an abutment engageable by the hook member and about which said control lever then pivots to facilitate the opening of said door.

4. A device according to claim 3, characterised in that said control lever abuts on said abutment through said hook member.

5. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said control lever is mounted on a block member provided with three mounting surfaces extending mutually perpendicularly.

6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said lock is provided with a cam member arranged to define the displacement of said latch lever against said further spring means.

7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said pusher acts on an eccentric lug of said latch lever, and said lug is arranged on displacement by said pusher to engage an abutment of said control lever and to transmit movement of the pusher thereto.

8. A device according to any one of claims 5,6 or a 7, characterised in that said latch lever is provided with a detent tooth arranged to engage a stop member of said block member when the lock is in its locking position.

9. A device for doors of industrial refrigerators, cold rooms or the like enclosure doors substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.