GB2304378A

GB2304378A - Door closer

Info

Publication number: GB2304378A
Application number: GB9516918A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ying-An Chang
Original assignee: CHANG YING AN
Current assignee: CHANG YING AN
Priority date: 1995-08-18
Filing date: 1995-08-18
Publication date: 1997-03-19
Also published as: FR2738865A3; GB9516918D0

Abstract

A door closer includes a cylindrical member 30, a torsional spring 70, a lid 60, a link rod 80, and a pivot shaft 50 which extends through member 30 and lid 60. The cylindrical member 30 has an upper section 31 which includes notches 313, and a lower section 32 comprising a central through hole 321 in communication with a radial bore 322. The torsional spring 70 is received in the upper section 31 and has an upper end 72 connected to the lid 60 and a lower end 71 connected to the pivot shaft 50. The lid 60 is provided with key members 621 which engage the notches 313 to prevent relative rotation. A positioning unit includes a spring-biased ball 41 retained in the bore 322 and protruding partially into the central through hole 321 to engage one of a plurality of cavities 52 in the shaft 50. The link rod 80 has a first end 81, and a second end 82 connected pivotally to a door connecting member 55. The upper and lower ends 511, 512 of the shaft 50 are connected respectively to a nut 56 and the first end 81 of the rod 80.

Description

DOOR CLOVER This invention relates to a door closer, more particularly to a spring-type door closer.

To facilitate the automatic closing of a door, door closers have been provided which are adapted to be affixed to the door and the corresponding door frame.

At present, the most commonly used door closers are the piston-type door closers which are operable by means of pneumatic or hydraulic forces. However, such pistontype door closers are complicated in structure and must be assembled by a skilled person.

It is therefore a main object of this invention to provide a door closer which is simple in structure and which can be assembled by a person of ordinary skill.

Accordingly, the door closer of the present invention comprises a cylindrical member, a torsional spring, a lid, a positioning unit, a link rod, and a pivot shaft.

The cylindrical member has a hollow upper section and a solid lower section. The upper section has a receiving space formed therein and an internal wall face which confines the receiving space. The internal wall face has a plurality of notches which are spaced equally from one another and which open to the upper end of the upper section. The lower section has a central through hole and a radial bore which is communicated with the central through hole. The cylindrical member further has a door-frame connecting member for affixing the cylindrical member to a door frame.

The torsional spring is received coaxially in the upper section of the cylindrical member and has upper and lower ends.

The lid is disposed on the upper end of the upper section of the cylindrical member. The lid has a peripheral portion which is provided with a plurality of key members that engage correspondingly the notches to prevent relative rotation of the lid and the cylindrical member. The lid further has a central through bore and a lower face which has a hook member that engages the upper end of the torsional spring.

The positioning unit includes a ball member which is retained in the radial bore and a spring member which is received in the radial bore in order to bias the ball member to protrude partially into the central through hole.

The link rod has a first end, and a second end which has a door connecting member connected pivotally thereto.

The pivot shaft extends through the central through hole of the cylindrical member, the torsional spring, and the central through bore of the lid. The pivot shaft has a threaded upper end which extends beyond the central through bore of the lid and which engages a nut member1 and a lower end which extends beyond the central through hole of the lower section of the cylindrical member and which is fixed to the first end of the link rod. The pivot shaft further has a plurality of cavities that are spaced equally and circumferentially adjacent to the lower end of the pivot shaft. The ball member engages one of the cavities.The pivot shaft has a positioning slot into which the lower end of the torsional spring is inserted so that the lower end of the torsional spring can be rotated with the pivot shaft while the upper end of the torsional spring engages the hook member of the lid such that the upper end of the torsional spring is stationary when the link rod is rotated about the first end thereof.

Other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of this invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective exploded view of a preferred embodiment of a door closer according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the door closer of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a schematic view illustrating how the door closer of the present invention is mounted between a door frame and a door.

Referring to Figure 1, a preferred embodiment of a door closer of the present invention is shown to comprise a cylindrical member 30, a torsional spring 70, a lid 60, a positioning unit 40, a link rod 80, and a pivot shaft 50.

The cylindrical member 30 has a hollow upper section 31 and a solid lower section 32. The upper section 31 has a receiving space 311 formed therein and an internal wall face 312 which confines the receiving space 311. The internal wall face 312 has a first shoulder portion 3121 which has a plurality of notches 313 that are spaced equally from one another and that open toward the upper end 314 of the upper section 31.

The lower section 32 has a central through hole 321 and a radial bore 322 which is communicated with the central through hole 321. The radial bore 322 extends through the lower section 32 and has threaded section 323 adjacent to the external face of the lower section 32. The cylindrical member 30 further has a rectangular door-frame connecting member 33 with fixing holes 331 for affixing the cylindrical member 30 to a door frame 80, as best illustrated in Figure 3.

The torsional spring 70 is received coaxially in the upper section 31 of the cylindrical member 30 and has upper and lower ends, 72 and 71. The upper and lower ends, 72 and 71, of the torsional spring 70 extend toward the center of the torsional spring 70.

The upper end 72 is terminated at a hook portion 721.

The lid 60 is disposed on the upper end 314 of the upper section 31 of the cylindrical member 30. The lid 60 has a peripheral portion 61 which has a second shoulder portion 62 formed thereon. The second shoulder portion 62 is provided with a plurality of key members 621 that engage correspondingly the notches 313 to prevent relative rotation of the lid 60 and the cylindrical member 30. The first and second shoulder portions, 313 and 62, engage matingly with one another when the key members 621 engage the notches 313, as best illustrated in Figure 2. The lid 60 further has a central through bore 63 and a lower face 601 which has a hook member 64 that engages the hook portion 721 of the upper end 72 of the torsional spring 70.A plurality of pull hooks 65 are connected to the upper face of the lid 60 and can be grasped by the user in order to disengage the lid 60 from the cylindrical member 30.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the positioning unit 40 includes a threaded rod 43 which engages the threaded section 323 of the radial bore 322, and a ball member 41 which is retained in the radial bore 322. A spring member 42 is received in the radial bore 322 and is disposed between the ball member 41 and the threaded rod 43 in order to bias the ball member 41 to protrude partially into the central through hole 321.

The link rod 80 has a first end 81 which has an oval hole 811, and a second end 82 which has an elongated slot 821. A door connecting member 55 has a pin 551 which extends through the elongated slot 821 of the link rod 80 and which is connected to a fixing cap 553 so that the second end 82 of the link rod 80 can be connected pivotally to the door connecting member 55.

The door connecting member 55 is provided with two fixing holes 552 (only one is shown in Figure 1) for affixing to the door 81, as best illustrated in Figure 3.

The pivot shaft 50 extends through the central through hole 321 of the cylindrical member 30, the torsional spring 70 and the central through bore 63 of the lid 60. The pivot shaft 50 has a threaded upper end 511 which extends beyond the central through bore 63 of the lid 60 and which engages a nut member 56.

The lower end 512 of the pivot shaft 50 extends beyond the central through hole 321 of the lower section 32 of the cylindrical member 30. The lower end 512 of the pivot shaft 50 has a circular base 513 with an oval projection 5131 which is connected integrally to the lower end 512 of the pivot shaft 50. The oval projection 5131 engage firmly the oval hole 811 of the link rod 80 so that the link rod 80 can be secured to the pivot shaft 50. The pivot shaft 50 further has a plurality of cavities 52 that are spaced equally and circumferentially adjacent to the lower end 512 of the pivot shaft 50. The ball member 41 engages one of the cavities 52. The pivot shaft 50 has a positioning slot 53 into which the lower end 71 of the torsional spring 70 is inserted.Therefore, the lower end 71 of the torsional spring 70 can be rotated with the pivot shaft 50 while the hook portion 721 of the upper end 72 of the torsional spring 70 engages the hook member 64 of the lid 60 such that the upper end 72 of the torsional spring 70 is stationary when the link rod 80 is rotated about its first end 81.

When assembling the preferred embodiment, with reference to Figure 2, the oval hole 811 of the link rod 80 is allowed to engage firmly the oval projection 5131 of the pivot shaft 50. The pivot shaft 50 extends upward through the cylindrical member 30 via the central through hole 321 of same. The hook portion 721 of the upper end 72 of the torsional spring 70 then engage the hook member 64 of the lid 60. The torsional spring 70 is placed into the receiving space 311 of the cylindrical member 30 and is sleeved around the pivot shaft 50 to permit insertion of the lower end 71 of the torsional spring 70 into the positioning slot 53 of the pivot shaft 50. The lid 60 is then disposed on the upper end 314 of the cylindrical member 30 to permit the key members 621 of the lid 60 to engage the notches 313 of the cylindrical member 30.At the same time, the threaded upper end 511 of the pivot shaft 50 extends through the central through bore 63 of the lid 60 to engage the nut member 56. Finally, the ball member 41 and the spring member 42 are placed into the radial bore 322 of the cylindrical member 30. The threaded rod 43 is threaded into the threaded section 323 of the radial bore 322 in order to retain the spring member 42 and the ball member 41 within the same and allow the ball member 41 to engage one of the cavities 52. The door-frame connecting member 33 may be fixed to the door frame 80 by screws or nails and the door connecting member 55 may be fixed to the door 81 by screws or nails, as best illustrated in Figure 3.

When the door 81 is opened by a force which is exerted on the door, the link rod 80 is rotated about its first end 81 to rotate correspondingly the pivot shaft 50. The lower end 71 of the torsional spring 70 is thus rotated to produce a restoration force.

Therefore, the door 81 can be closed automatically by the restoration force when the force exerted on the door 81 is released.

It is noted that the door 81 can be positioned at an angle relative to the door frame 80 when the ball member 41 engages one of the cavities 52. The ball member 41 may be disengaged from one of the cavities 52 by exerting an excess force on the door 81.

The restoration force of the torsional spring 70 can be adjusted by means of disengaging the nut member 56 from the pivot shaft 50, detaching the lid 60 from the cylindrical member 30, and rotating the torsional spring 70 clockwise or counterclockwise when the upper and lower ends, 72 and 71, are connected to the hook member 64 and the pivot shaft 50. The torsional spring 70 and the lid 60 can be mounted on the cylindrical member 30 in the above-mentioned manner after the lid 60 has been rotated by an angle with respect to the cylindrical member 30.

The door closer of the present invention is advantageous over the conventional piston-type door closer in view of the simple structure of the door closer of the present invention. In addition, the door closer of the present invention can be assembled and adjusted easily by a person of ordinary skill.

With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIM8:

1. A door closer comprising: a cylindrical member having a hollow upper section and a solid lower section, said upper section having a receiving space formed therein and an internal wall face which confines said receiving space, said internal wall face having a plurality of notches which are spaced equally from one another and which open to an upper end of said upper section, said lower section having a central through hole and a radial bore which is communicated with said central through hole, said cylindrical member further having a door-frame connecting member fixed thereto; a torsional spring received coaxially in said upper section of said cylindrical member and having upper and lower ends;; a lid disposed on said upper end of said upper section of said cylindrical member, said lid having a peripheral portion which is provided with a plurality of key members that engage correspondingly said notches to prevent relative rotation of said lid and said cylindrical member, said lid further having a central through bore and a lower face which has a hook member that engages said upper end of said torsional spring; a positioning unit including a ball member which is retained in said radial bore and a spring member which is received in said radial bore to bias said ball member to protrude partially into said central through hole; a link rod having a first end, and a second end which has a door connecting member connected pivotally thereto; and a pivot shaft extending through said central through hole of said cylindrical member, said torsional spring and said central through bore of said lid, said pivot shaft having a threaded upper end which extends beyond said central through bore of said lid and which engages a nut member, and a lower end which extends beyond said central through hole of said lower section of said cylindrical member and which is fixed to said first end of said link rod, said pivot shaft further having a plurality of cavities that are spaced equally and circumferentially adjacent to said lower end of said pivot shaft, said ball member engaging one of said cavities, said pivot shaft having a positioning slot into which said lower end of said torsional spring is inserted so that said lower end of said torsional spring can be rotated with said pivot shaft while said upper end of said torsional spring engages said hook member of said lid such that said upper end of said torsional spring is stationary when said link rod is rotated about said first end thereof.

2. A door closer as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said lower end of said pivot shaft has a circular base and an oval projection formed on said circular base, said first end of said link rod having an oval hole which engages fixedly said oval projection of said pivot shaft.

3. A door closer as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said internal wall face of said upper section of said cylindrical member has a first shoulder portion in which said notches are formed, and wherein said peripheral portion of said lid has a second shoulder portion from which said key members extend downward, said first and second shoulder portions engaging matingly with one another when said key members engage said notches.

4. A door closer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.