GB2265934A

GB2265934A - Door holder

Info

Publication number: GB2265934A
Application number: GB9206973A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Brian Todd
Original assignee: ALBERT JAGGER Ltd
Current assignee: ALBERT JAGGER Ltd
Priority date: 1992-03-31
Filing date: 1992-03-31
Publication date: 1993-10-13
Anticipated expiration: 2012-03-31
Also published as: GB9206973D0; GB2265934B

Abstract

A door holder includes a main body (10, 11) and a latch element (12) slidably mounted on the main body and spring- loaded to an active position. A keeper assembly includes a keeper element (15) with a mushroom-shaped head for engaging in an opening in the latch element. Mounted on the keeper assembly is a stop/ejector means (17) which is resiliently deformed when the keeper element is engaged with the latch element, so that, on release of the latch element, the keeper element is automatically ejected from the latch body. <IMAGE>

Description

DOOR HOLDER This invention relates to a door holder which is particularly useful on a vehicle having a hinged door to hold such door in an open position when required.

A door holder in accordance with the invention comprises a latch body, a latching element movably mounted on said latch body and having a retaining portion, resilient means urging said latching element to a position in which said retaining portion occupies a latching position, and means for moving said latching element against the bias applied thereto by said first resilient means; and a keeper assembly including a keeper element shaped to displace the latching element to provide an automatic latching action as the keeper element approaches the latch body and resilient stop/ejector means on the keeper assembly arranged to eject the keeper element from the latch body when said latching element is moved out of its latching position.

Examples of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cross-section of the vehicle door holder; Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a sectional view of a keeper assembly forming part of the door holder, and Figure 4 is a sectional view, corresponding to Figure 3, of an alternative embodiment.

As shown in Figure 1 the door holder includes a latch body 10 in the form of a metal disc with a rim 10a on one side, inside which rim a cover disc 11 is fitted.

A latching element 12 in the form of a flat plate having an aperture 12a therein is slidably mounted in a recession the body 10 and is held captive by the plate 11. One end 10b of the latching element projects radially from the body 10 and forms one means for displacing the latching element 12 relative to the body 10. A second means for causing such displacement is provided by a knob or handle piece 13 attached to the latching plate and projecting through a slot 10C in the body 10. Resilient means in the form of a coiled compression spring 14 located in this slot 10a urges the latching element to the latching position shown in Figure 1.

The door holder also includes a keeper assembly which includes a keeper element 15 which has a waisted portion 15a adjacent a substantially conical (or alternatively bullet-shaped) end portion 15b, such that inserting the end portion 15 into a central opening in the cover plate 11 will cause the latching element to be displaced against its compression spring until the end portion is fully inserted when the latching element will b drop behind the end portion 15 under the influence of the spring loading and thereby prevent withdrawal of the keeper element 15.

The keeper element 15 is associated with an (optional) cupped mounting plate 16 and a rubber (or other resilient) stop/ejector member 17. This is arranged to contact the cover plate 11 and to be compressed as the keeper element is inserted into the latch body.

The effect of this compression of the stop/ejector member 17 is that, when the door holder latching element is moved by the user to free the latching action, expansion of the stop/ejector member causes the keeper element to be ejected from the latch body. Where the latch body and the keeper element are mounted respectively on a truck side panel and a door panel of the release of the latching element, thus results in the door panel being moved away from the side panel sufficiently for closing of the door by the user to be facilitated.

Where the door holder is used in this manner, the knob 13 will project into the interior of the vehicle, enabling the driver to release the door holder from inside the vehicle, for example by means of a cord or linkage extending into the vehicle cab.

In an alternative form of keeper assembly shown in Figure 4 the keeper element 20 has a part-spherical end portion 21 and a threaded portion 22 secured to a door part 23. A resilient elastomeric sleeve 24 has an inwardly directed lip 25 which engages a recess in an end cure 26. The sleeve 24 and cap 26 are together located between the door part 23 and the end portion 21. A compression spring 27 is engaged between the cap 26 and an opposed end face of the sleeve 24. The sleeve 24, cap 26 and spring 27 comprise a resilient stop/ejector arrangement whose cushioning effect and ejection force may be selected by selection of the spring 27 and its precompression.

When the door shuts the cap 26 engages the disc 11 (Fig. 1), compressing the sleeve 24 against the spring 27, allowing the end 21 of the element 20 to pass through the disc 11 and displace the latching element 12, as previously described.

In either of the embodiments of Figures 1 - 3 or Figure 4 the knob 13 may be omitted, in which case the latching element 12 is movable only by means of its end 10b to release the keeper element 20.

Claims

1. A door holder comprising a latch body, a latching element movably mounted on said latch body and having a retaining portion, resilient means urging said latching element to a position in which said retaining portion occupies a latching position, and means for moving said latching element against the bias applied thereto by said first resilient means; and a keeper assembly including a keeper element shaped to displace the latching element to provide an automatic latching action as the keeper element approaches the latch body and resilient stop/ejector means on the keeper assembly arranged to eject the keeper element from the latch body when said latching element is moved out of its latching position.

2. A door holder as claimed in Claim 1, in which said latching element is in the form of a plate slidably mounted on the latch body.

3. A door holder as claimed in Claim 2, in which said latching element is formed with a hole into which said keeper element is inserted in use.

4. A door holder as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which a portion of said plate projects from the latch body to form said means for moving the latching element.

5. A door holder as claimed in any preceding claim in which there is a knob or handle on said latching element projecting through a slot in the latch body.

6. A door holder as claimed in any preceding claim in which said keeper element has an end portion which is shaped as aforesaid to displace the latching element and a waisted portion adjacent said end portion.

7. A door holder as claimed in Claim 6 in which said end portion is of conical configuration.

8. A door holder as claimed in Claim 6 in which said end portion is of bullet-shaped configuration.

9. A door holder as claimed in Claim 6 in which said end portion is of part-spherical configuration.

10. A door holder as claimed in any preceding claim in which said stop/ejector means comprises a rubber (or other resilient) sleeve surrounding the keeper element 15. A door holder as claimed in Claim 10 in which said stop/ejector means also includes a compression spring contained within said sleeve 12. A door holder as claimed in Claim 11, in which said keeper assembly comprises an end cap which is spring-loaded by said spring, said sleeve being engaged with the end cap.

13. A door stop substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings 14. A door stop substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 as modified by Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.