US1180696A - Closet. - Google Patents

Description

IVI. & J. CARLUCCI.

CLOSET.

APPucATIoN FILED APR.24. 1915.

Patented Apr. 25,1916.

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Z g IBIIVENTOR MICHAEL CARLUCCI .AND JOSEPH CARDUCCI, 0F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

CLOSET.

Application filed April 24, 1915.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, MICHAEL GARLUCGI and JOSEPH CARLUcci, citizens of the United States, and residents of Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Closets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved closet that is adapted for many purposes, but is particularly useful for securely holding and protecting goods deposited by tradesmen in apartments, flats, houses, and the like, being freely accessible to the tradesmen before the goods are deposited in the closet, but being inaccessible by reason of the door of the closet used by the tradesmen being locked by the weight of the goods. The invention provides a closet of this kind that can be used for depositing bottles of milk or other merchandise, the goods being safe against theft after they are deposited and the'dooris shut. The

Vmerchandise is removed when desired by either a key-operated means or by a door other than the door through which the merchandise was delivered to the closet. The closet is also adapted for installation in a partition or wall and in this case the door through which the goods are delivered is preferably on one side of the closet, say, in a hall or vestibule, and the door through which the goods are removed is in the kitchen or other room so that it will not be ecessary to go outside to get the merchanise.

The closet can be made of any size desired and to hold more than one article of merchandise, but it is particularly adapted for holding bottled material, the bottle or other goods resting on a platform and by its weight moving a latch to its operative position so that when the door through which the goods was introduced is moved to its closed position it is held by the latch and cannot be opened from the outside. The goods is thus held against removal unless the latch is operated by either a suitable releasing mechanism or by the removal of the goods from the platform, the latter being possible by means of a door other than the door through which the goods was introduced, and when so removed a yielding means, such as a spring or weight operates toinove the latch to its inoperative position,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 19116.

Serial No. 23,645.

and the door through which the goods was introduced is again ready to be opened.

The invention is illustrated. in the accompanying drawing which embodies one form of our invention, but it will be evident that changes can be made in the arrangements ofthe parts and also in their proportion and operation without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a face view of the invention with the door on the side toward the observer being swung open so that .it is viewed from its edge. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 in Fig. l, andFig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 in Fig. 1.

In the form of invention illustrated in the drawing, which, however, as statedbefore, can be changed to meet different con ditions for different purposes, we have made the closet of a casing that is adapted for installation in a wall or partition so that it can be placed between two compartments or rooms or between a hall and a room so that it is accessible from two different sides, although it will be understood that if desired the case can be made so that it is opened only from the side on which the d oor for introducing the merchandise is situated. The form of case shown comprises frames 10 which form` the frame of the casing vand also provide frames on which the doors are mounted, the frames 10 being` connected and serving to support the shell 11 which can be made of sheet metal'and fastened bysuit able fastening means, such as screws or rivets 1:2, to the frame 10. The frames as illustrated project beyond the shell 11 `and thus act to hold the closet in place in a wall, as will be readily understood. The frames are preferably cutaway as at 13 and l/lto provide openings for doors, one of said doors 15 being, for the purpose of identification, called the first door. This door is the one through which merchandise is .introduced into the closet and is adapted to be normally swung open without hindrance when merchandise or goods is not in place, and to prevent the door from being opened by accident or drafts it is provided with a spring 16, this spring having a tendency to swing the door shut. rlhe door is hinged as at 17 and can be provided with any suitable form of handle 18. To lock the door in its closed position we employ a latch, and

the latch shown in the type of closet illustrated in the drawing comprises a pivoted arm 19 which is weighted at one end as at 20 so as to lower that end and to raise the hooked end 21, since the arm is pivoted at 22 to the side of the easing. The hooked end 21, when swung downward, is adapted to engage an engaging means 23, in the type shown this being in the form of a hook fastened to the inside of the door 15.

We place a partition 24 in the casing to form two different compartments, and while this partition 24 is not essential, it is preferable, since it prevents any tampering with the latch mechanism, as it incloses such latch mechanism which is in the compartment 25, the partition 24 having a front wall 26 bent around at the front and provided with an opening` 27 through which the hook end 21 of the latch and the engaging means 23 of the door can operate. The lower part of the casing is also inclosed by means of a sheet forming a floor 28 and the side walls 29, this floor extending underneath the compartment 25 in which the latch mechanisml is placed, and also beneath the compartment 30 in which the merchandise is deposited. The merchandise is placed on a suitable platform, in the form shown the goods-receiving platform 31 being placed near the bottom of the compartment 30 and being mounted on a lever 32 which is pivoted aspat 33 in the bearings 34 and extends beyond said pivot, being pivoted as at 35 to the lower end of the bar 36, the bar V36 eX- tending up through an opening 37 in the floor 28, the bar having its upper end mounted in a suitable bearing 38 so that it can slide. The bar has an extension 39 on the side thereof, which extension is slotted as at 40. The arm 19 is placed in the slot 40 and is thus moved up or down with the bar 36,' as will be evident.

A suitable yielding means is provided for normally moving the latch to its inoperative position, which yielding means also overcomes the weight of the goods-receiving platform 31, such yielding or spring means being suitably disposed, the yielding means that is shown consisting of a weight 41 mounted on a spindle 42 projecting from the bar 36, the weight, if desired, having any suitable form of transfer slot so that it can be removed and interchanged with one of a diferent weight.

It will thus be evident that with the parts in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the door 15 can be opened by a tradesman, since the hooked end 21 of the latch is swung up out of .its operative position by reason of the weighted end 20 descending, this being permitted by the weight 41 pressing the bar 36 downward so as to lower the slot 40 and allow the arm 19 to thus have its weighted end descend. If, however, merchandise is placed on the goods-receiving platform 31, the weight of the merchandise pushes down on the platform and thus pushes up on the other end of the lever 32, the bar 36 is raised and the latch is then in the position shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2, the arm 19 having its weighted end pushed upward and its hooked end 21 forced down so that it is in the path of the engaging means 23 when the door 15 is moved to its closed position either by the spring 16 or by the tradesman. When the door is moved shut. the curved front 43 of the engaging means 23 engages a similarly curved or tapered front on the hooked end 21 and the hooked end is swung up far enough to allow it to pass over the top edge of the hook or engaging means 23, and the hooked end 21 and the engaging means 23 being in hooked or grasping position, the door 15 is thus held so that it cannot be opened.

To provide for the removal of the merchandise from the closet we may provide either a key-operated unlocking means for the latch or a second door to give access to the compartmentin which the merchandise has been deposited. In the form shown the second door 44 is hinged as at 45 to the casing and is provided with any suitable form of latch 46 having a handle 47 thereon, the latch having a tongue 48 to engage an opening in a lock plate 49. This second door is shown in the drawing as being on the side opposite the door 15, but it will be readily understood that this door can be placed on a side at right angles to the door 15 or it can be a door that is large enough to only uncover the compartment 30 and not eX- tend across the compartment 25, these matters being of minor importance and being adapted to be changed to suit different circumstances and requirements.

It will be obvious that the type of closet shown, when placed into a partition, for instance between a hall and a kitchen, will have the door 15 in the hall and the door 44 in the kitchen. When the door 15 is opened from the hallway the tradesman can place merchandise, such as a bottle of milk, on the platform 31 and then close the door 15 and the door is then locked in its closed position. When the door 44 in the kitchen is opened the goods can be removed from the closet and it is not necessary to go outside in order to get the merchandise. When the door 44 is in closed position and the door 15 is opened, the door 44 cannot be opened from the inside of the casing and there is no possibility of entrance being gained to an apartment through the closet, even if the closet is large and is adapted to hold large articles of merchandise.

The closet is not expensive to make, is positive in its operation and provides a means for guarding against the theft of goods between the time of their delivery and the time when they come into the hands of the party for whom they are intended, and also enables goods to be left at the homes of people who are temporarily absent, being, if desired, made large enough to receive groceries or other forms of merchandise of a weight sufficient to force the latch to its closed or operative position.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

l. A closet, a false ioor above its bottom, an upright partition dividing the space above said false floor into a latch compartment and a goods receiving compartment, a door for the closet giving access to said goods compartment and having a latch memll" ber thereon, a depressible platform in the bottom of the goods compartment, a lever pivoted beneath said false floor and on which said platform is supported, a latch in said latch compartment, means of connection between said lever and latch whereby the latch is brought into coperation with the latch member on the door on depression of the platform, and a weight in said latch compartment and serving normally to keep the platform and latch out of operative position.

2. A closet, a door therefor having a latch member thereon, a pivoted latch, a vertically arranged slide bar having means for engaging and turning said latch on its pivot, a weight removably mounted on said slide bar, a platform pivoted at the lower part of the closet, and means of connection between said bar and platform and whereby the weight serves to hold said platform up and the latch out of operative position with respect to the latch member on the door, the latch being moved to operative position when the platform is depressed by an object placed thereon.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing, We have hereunto set our hands, this 22nd day of April, 1915.

MICHAEL CARLUCCI. JOSEPH CARLUCCI.

@oplet of thlla patent may he obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner or lt'atents, Waahington, U."

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