US1477737A - Locking mechanism for elevator doors - Google Patents

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De@ 18 1923. B. WEXLER LOCKING MEcHAmsM Fon ELEvAToR noons Filed oct.; -31 i918 Patented Dec. i3, i923.

BENJAMN WEXLR, BROOKLYN, NEWT YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE PEELLE COI??- ?ANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEYIV YORK, A. CORPGRATION 0F NEW YORK.

LOCKING VMECtillll'lvlr FOR ELEVATOR DOORS.

Application lea Gctober 31, '1918.

alf tir/om i may concern:

Ee it known that l, BENJAMIN Nanni-nn, a n of tie United States, residing at the ,i of Brooklyn, in the'city of New l crit.. county of Kings, and State of New orl, have "nvented' certain new and useful 's Loc-hing Mechanisms for aror Boers, of which "the following is a iicatioin reference being 'had therein to tno accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

rEhe invention relates yto locking` mechanisms for elevator doors, and more particularly to such mechanism adapted for use in ronnertion with oppositely sliding doors l` vi movement in the same vertical plane,

t the counterbalanced, full automatic, Vsemi-automatic type.

floors of the above character, it has heietoffrlre been the practice to lock each door by means of an elongated latch lever.

n ountr'l upon the structure supporting the n 'ipe-ii which the lower door section has aoveinerit, said lever being adapted. when le door is closed, to pass under the hanger ear of this door section and thus by preventing the descent thereof, locking both door secti ns in the closed position. rihis lever is ordinarily brought to the inopera- 'tive position by a mechanism actuated by the engagement therewith of a shoe carried the car, so as to prevent the opening of the door except when a car is at the opening closed by that door Hence, before the lever can become operative to. lock the door, it essential that the car must leave the floor, or said shoe must be actuated so that, while the door is ordinarily closed before power is applied to the car,the latch mechanism does not become operative to lock the doors as a result of the closing movement of the door sections. y

Elevator doors of this character possess considerable weight and with doors of the counterbalanced, or semi-automatic type, there is a likelihood of the connecting chains or cables to stretch slightly after a continued use of the door, thus creating a condition where the 1e is a tendency of the doors to separate slightly, or of the lower door section, when the door is closed, not to come to the proper level, or meeting point of the sections, and thus cause the hanger bar hefcof to be interposed inthe path of movement of said lever in a manner to prevent- Scrial No. 260,484.

the lever passing beneath the bar and properly locking the door.

With full automatic doors there is a lilielihood of the actuating cable to stretch slightly, with the same effect.

a door is closed and not properly locked, the factor of safety afforded by the locking mechanism, which, as heretofore stated, is designed to preventthe opening' of the door, except when a car is at the door opening closed thereby, is absent, since the door may be opened from the ioor side of the opening.

To avoid this condition, I provide a lool;- ing mechanism so constructed that it will be automatically actuated by a car in a ner to permit the opening` of the door only when a car is at the door opening closed thereby, and will engage the hanger bar of the lower door section to positively lock the door in the closed position either when the lower section is at the proper meeting' point of the two door sections, or when it sans or drops slightly below this position as the result of stretch in the cable connectingl the door sections, or in the actuating cable in a full automatic door, or because of a slight rebound of the door sections, or as a result of the operator failing to bring the sections properly together.

The invention consists primarily in a locking mechanism for elevator doors. consisting of the combination with a plurality of door sections movable in opposite directions, and a flexible connection between said sections, the lower of which sections has a laterally projecting hanger bar thereon, of an oscillatory lever pivoted adjacent the side of the door, said lever having a plurality of stop surfaces thereon adapted to alternatively pass beneath said hanger bar, means having a normal tendency to thrust said lever towards said hanger bar, and c coperating means operative upon said lever, and carried by an elevator car, whereby said lever is withdrawn from its operative relation to said hanger bar, or-perrnitted to assume its operative relation thereto; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts, as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. l is a view of an elevator door em- VCn bodying a locking mechanism made in accordance with my invention, said view being from the shaft side;

F ig. 2 is a side view of the locking mechanism, shown in the locked position, where the door sections meet upon the proper parting line, a. fragmentary portion of an elevator car being shown out of the operative relation to said mechanism; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, with the elevator car in the operative position with relation to the locking mechanism, indicating in dotted lines the operation of the locking mechanism in the event that the doors do not meet on the proper level. j

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown j in the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated in Figs. 'l and 2 a single elevator door structure of the counter-balanced type, showing a locking mechanism made in accordance with my invention, applied thereto. In Fig. 3 I have shown a structure ot' a locking mechanism embodying` my invention adapted for use in connection with semi-automatic, or full automatic doors.

The terms counterbalanced, semi-automatic, and full automatic, means, respectively, doors wherein opposed sections are connected so as to couiiterbalance each other; doors wherein one of said sections is overweighted with relation to the other, so that the door will either be self-opening, lor self-closing, but must be manually operated as to the other movement; or doors similar to the semi-automatic typewherein means are provided to relieve the operator of the necessity of either manually opening or closing the doors.

ln the accompanying drawings, I have indicated a doorcomposed of two sections, a and b, vertically slidable in opposite directions in the same` plane. mounted upon vertical tracks, or guides, c,

upon opposite sides of the door opening, and j are connected by flexible chainsor cables d passing over suitably arranged pulleys e.

The lower door section ZJ is provided with j a laterally extending` hanger bar f, projecting beyoi'idythe guides or tracks'c, which hanger bar providesthe proper offset connection for the chain or cable d.

TvVlien the door is opened, the sectionv Z) in its entirety passes the sill of the door, and the section a. passes above the lintel thereof, the proper meeting point of the doors being lmidway between said sill and lintel.

For lockiner the doers 'in the closed )osition, I provide fa latch lever g pivotally mounted upon the angle bar 7i,supporting the track or door.

Said lever g is normally thrust in the path of the hanger bar f, means operative Yupon ment of the hanger bar Said doors are guide c, adjacent the sidel of the said lever `and co-operating means carried by an elevator car being provided, whereby said lever will be automatically removed from this position when a car is adjacent the Vdoor opening, so as to permit the opening of the door.

In the form of the :invention shown in the drawings this means comprises a short secondary levert also pivoted upon the bar f, one arm of said lever being pivotally connected with an arm ofthe lever` r/ and the other arm thereof having; adj ustably mount-l ed thereon an impact member yf adaptedto be engaged byk a shoe 7c carried by the elevator car m. Acting upon the lever a' is a spring n, which spring is so set as to have a normal tendency to thrust the'V impact member into the path `oflthe shoe with a resultant oscillation of the lever g in a manner to bring it within the path of move- 'The length of the upper arm of the lever g is such as to bring thestofp surface 0, formed by the top of this lever, below,l the I lower edge of the hangerA bar f, said lever being provided with a projection of having a bevelled lower face adjacent the top thereof, and .presented toward the path of movement j of the hanger bar f, forming a second stop surface a short distan ce below said bar, when it is in this position. The distance between the stop surfaces 0 and of need not be great, it beingmerely necessary to afford a suflicient distance to vcompensate for a resonable stretch or elongation ofthe cable or chain d, or of the actuatingcablesl of semi-auto-` matic, or full automaticdoors.

In the formof the invention shown in Fig.

top of the hanger bar f' when thedoor is Q opened, a construction'which is particularlyadapted for doors.

self-closing, semi-automatic*Y` The locking mechanism heretoforede-,V

scribed is duplicated upon opposite sidesdof l.,

each door, in order to provide a suitablesup-j port for the section b, while it is closed, and Y minimize any tendency of thel door to sagten one side.

The use of a locking mechanism, such as I have described, does not in anyway inter-VV ferewith thev fireproof characterpf the door,

since the astragal is .of sufficient depthv to span any gap whichwill result because of the distance between thelocking point affordedby the surface 0 and that afforded .by` the surface 0. At g Ihaveshown the adjustable stops ordinarily used in doors of the VI truckable type.

The operation ofthe herein described mechanism is substantially as follows.

Then a door -is properly, set, and, the-'.V

chains or cables Z are of the proper length,`

the two door sections will meet and the hanger bar f will be so positioned that the stop surface o will pass thereunder. When 4 it is desired to open a door, it is essential that the car m be stopped adjacent the door opening, to bring the shoe /iz in operative relation with the impact member j carried by the lever z'. The construction of the shoe of said impact member is such, that, as it comes into operative relation to the impact member j, it will roel: the lever -z' against the tension of the spring n, and by reason of the pivotal connection between said lever z' and the lever g, roel: said last named lever in a manner to bring the stop surfaces 0 and o thereof, without the path of movement of the hanger bar f, and thus permit the door to either open automatically, or be opened manually.

lWhile a cai` is at the door opening, the door may be opened or closed, but the latch mechanism does not become operative until the lev r 'a' is released as a result of a movement of the shoe `When the lever z' is released the spring n will oscillate the lever i, and through it, the lever g, in a manner to bring the stop surface 0 or o within the plane of movement of the hanger bar 7'". lf the sections a and b, when closing a door, meet at the proper point, the surface 0 will pass beneath said hanger bar, but, to the contrary, if, through the failure of the operator to properly close the door, or of the doors to properly meet by reason of the elongation of the chains or cables CZ, the end of the lever g, adjacent the surface 0, will engage the face of the hanger bar f and the surface o alone will be brought within the plane of movement of said bar, thus ensuring the locking of the door, notwithstanding thatV the two sections thereof are not properly positioned with relation to each other.

lt is to be observed that normally the closing movement of the lower door section does not contribute in any way, towards the operation of the locking mechanism, so that even though a door may be closed before a car is started, or even though the operator may actually bring the doors together, this does not ensure the locking of the doors, which `must normally occur as a result of some movement, independently of that of the door sections themselves.

While, in the accompanying drawings, I have shown a latch lever having but two stop surfaces thereon, it is apparent that this number may be increased, if desired, providing that the door structure affords ample space for the desired increase in the width of the lever g.

ln Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, l have shown the locking mechanism in connection with door sections so set as to permit the surface 0 to pass beneath the hanger bar f, and in Fig. 3, l have indicated in dotted lines, the relation of parts in the event that the condition of the door is such as not to permit said surface o to pass beneath the hanger bar j', this view showing said hanger l; in engagen'ient with the surface o.

have shown and described a well lmown structure of actuating shoe f, it being un lerstoo-d, however, that desired construction of shoe for actuating the lever z' may be employed.

ln the event vthat the car m, after a door has been opened, should creep so to bring the lice out of the operative range of the act member j, the lievelled undersurface or the shoulder, forming the bearing surface o', will, with the eng'L ement of the upwa lly moving hanger bar, result in a cannning action forcing the lever g bacl; wards in a manner to permit the closing the door.

lt is not my intention to tion to the precise details limit the invenof construction i drawings, it beapparent that such may be varied withf, departing from the spirit and scope of tue invention.

Having described the invention, what l claim as new, and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is:-

l. A locking mechanism for elevator doors, consisting of the combination with a plurality of door sections movable in opposite directions, the lower of which sections has a laterally extending hanger bar thereon, and a flexible connection between said seetions, of an oscillatory lever pivoted adjacent the side of the door, said lever having a plurality of stop surfaces thereon arranged upon diiferent horizontal planes and adapted to alternatively pass beneath said hanger bar, the upper of said surfaces being adapted to engage said hanger bar when the doors are completely closed, and the lower of said surfaces being adapted to permit a limited opening movement of the door before engagement with said hanger bar, means having a normal tendency to thrust said lever toward said hanger bar, and co-operating means operative upon said lever and carried by an elevator car, whereby said lever may be withdrawn from its operative relation to said hanger bar, or permitted to assume its operative relation thereto.

2. A locking mechanism for elevator doors, consisting of the combination with a plurality of door sections movable in opposite directions, the lower of which sections has a laterally extending hanger bar thereon, and a flexible connection between said sections, of an oscillatory lever pivoted adjacent the side of the door, said lever having a shoulder adjacent the top thereof, forming a stop surface parallel with the surface formed by the top of said lever and projecting toward Said hanger bar, said shown in the accompanying l bij top and stop surfaces being adapted to alternatively pass beneath said hanger bar, the upper of said surfaces being adapted to engage said hanger bar when the doors are completely closed, and the lower of said surfaces being adapted to permit a limited opening movement oi' thel doorbeliore engagement with said hanger bar, means having a normal tendency to thrust said lever toward said hanger bar, and co-operating means operative upon said lever and carried by an elevator car, whereby said lever may be withdrawn from its operative relation to said hanger bar, or permitted to assume its operative relation thereto.

3. A locking mechanism for elevator doors, consisting of the combination with a plurality of door sections movable inopposite directions, the lower of which sections hasa laterally extending hanger bar thereon, and a Flexible connection between said sections, of an oscillatory lever pivoted adjacent the side of the door, said lever having a plurality of stop surfaces thereon arranged upon different horizontal planes and adapted to alternatively pass beneath said hanger bar, the upper o' said surfaces being adapted to engage said hanger bar when the doors are completely closed, and the lower of said surfaces being adapted to permit a limited opening movement the door beiiore engagement with said hanger bar, a secondary lever mounted adj acent the sill oll door opening and pivotally*connected with said lirst named lever, an impact member carried thereby, means carried by an elevator car adapted to operatively engage said impact member, and a spring acting on said secondary lever, whereby said first named lever 1s normally projected towards said hanger bar,

has a laterallyextending hanger bar thereon, and a flexible connection between said sections, of an oscillatory lever pivoted adjacent the lside of the door, said lever'having a shoulder adjacent the topy thereof, forming a stop surfaceV parallel with the surface r'ormed by the top of said lever and projecting toward said hanger bar, said stop surfaces being adapted to alternatively pass between said hanger bar, the upperv of said surfaces being adapted to engage said hanger bar whenv the doors are completely closed, and the lower of said surfaces being adapted to permit a limitedopening movement of the door before engagement with said hanger bar, a secondary lever mounted adjacent the sill of a door opening and pivotally connected with said first named lever, an impact member carried thereby, means carried by an elevator car adapted to operatively engage said impact member, and a spring acting on said secondary lever, whereby said lirst named lever is normally lprojected towards said hanger bar, andl said impact member is normally projected into the operative relation to said means.

ln witness whereof, I have hereunto atlixed my signature, this 21st day of 0ctober, 1918, in the presence of two sub-scribing witnesses. j

BENJAMIN WEXLER.

Witnesses Y AUGUST Knus,

F. T. WnNTwoRTH.

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