US1617950A - Jail-door-operating mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 15

B. J. HOPPENJANS JAIL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 22, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1927' B.- J..HOPPENJANS JAIL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 22 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb- B. J. HOPPENJANS JAIL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 22, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet? eb B. J. HOPPENJANS JAIL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 15 1927.

'UNITED STATES PATENTQOFF-ICE.

BERNARD JOHN HOPPENJANS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSQURI, ASSIGNOR TOJAULY JAIL BUILDING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSQURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

JAIL-DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed October 22, 1925.

My invention has relation to improvements in jail door operating mechanism and consists in the novel features of construction more fully set forth in thespeciiication and pointed out in the claims.

Briefly, the invent-ion consists in operating the doorsof the respective jail cells from a common operating lever arranged within a. box or casing wherein there is also an index lever for indexing the mechanism to operate any door or set of doors desired. In addition to the operation of the cell doors a door leading from the cells to an assembly room and disposed at right angles to the cell doors may also be operated from the mechanism within the index box, suit-- able mechanism being provided between the cell door operating bar and the right angled door for translating the motion of the cell door operating bar to make it effective on the right angled door.

It isthus the object of the invention to provide .jail door locking and operating mechanism which is .as absolute proof against jail delivery or as nearly so as human ingenuity can make it. It is a further object of the. invent-lento so construct and.

c rrange the door operating mechanism that all of the doorscan be operated from a common center, in the present instance from the index .box, a centralization of the door operating levers making for efficiency and simplicity. Among other objects of the invention are the following :The provision of a toggle arrangement between the door and operating bar for multiplying the travel of the door above that of the operating bar so that the door may be fully opened with a comparatively slight movement of the operating bar; the provision of suitable cams on. the index bar whereby the doors are indexed and any one or all of them may be opened with a given movement of the operating lever; the provision of a. suitable mechanism for unlocking the door automatically with a movement of the index lever to a position in which such door Will be acted upon by the operating lever. Further and other advantages will be better apparent from a detailed description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan of a jail building showing the arrangement of the cells and other rooms and their doors; Figure 2 is Serial No. 64,079.

a vertical, longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the jail partition and cell doors in. elevation; Figure 3 is a front elevation of the jail cell door operating mechanism with the index bar shown dotted in position for operating each door separately; Figure 4 is a side elevation of the jail door operating mechanism (one door only being shown) with the door operating lever moved to the posit-ion in which the door is opened; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the index bar and the cams thereon for the cell doors together with the drop bars for latching the doors, five relative positions of cams and drop bars being shown. In this view the drop bars are shown in different lateral positions While as a. matter of fact, it is the index bar and cams that move, the drop barsbeing shown moved in lieu of the index bar for the sake of clarity Figure dis a vertical, longitudinal section taken through the index or lever box, the door operating lever therein being shown in side elevation; Figure 7 is a top planet the jail cell door operating mecha-- nism (the index box and levers therein being broken away) and the mechanism for operating the rightangled door; Figure 8 is a vertical, sectional detail of the line 88 of F 3; Figure 9 is a fragmentary View of the index bar showing secured thereto the cam plate for indexing the right angled door operating mechanism; Figure 10 is a side elevation (parts being in section) of the mechanism for operating the rightangled door, said door being shown open; Figure'll is a view similar to Fig. 10, the door, however, being shown in closed position; Figure 12 is a perspective view showingthe lock bar forthe right angled door and the jump bar for coupling said door to the main operating lever.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the case or box for housing the locking mechanism which is provided with a door 2' adapted to be locked by means of a combination lock 3. The box is mounted in the guards corridor C in line with partition P in which are the cell doors D, D and the door D leading to the safety vestibule V. The safety vestibule is also provided with a door cl leading to an assembly or dining room A, the door cl, it will be observed, being disposed at right angles to the cell doors D, D and D". Between the guards corribox 1 and being adapted to close against a Iii) bar 4 in closely fitting relation with the side 5 of said box. Within the index or lever box are a plurality of locking bolts 6, 6, 6 operable by suitable mechanism within the box for locking the corridor d as fully described and claimed in the com panion application filed herewith by Peter J. Pauly.

The abide wing and cell door operating mechanism.

It is apparent that the jail doors D, D and D are not always opened together, it being more often the case that only one of the said doors will be opened at a lime. Therefore, suitable mechanism must be provided for determining which door is to be opened, this mechanism in the present case being called the index mechanism and which will now be described in d tail.

Arranged within tl e index box 1 is an index lever 35, said lever being pivotally mounted in a bracket 36 secured against the rear wall of the index box, said bracket having integrally formed with it notched sector 37 on the outer edge oi which is formed a plurality of notches 10, 11, 12, 18 and 1th, lever carrying a pawl 38 operable through guides and 40 on the lever 35 there being a spring all between guide e 0 and said pawl for forcing the pawl outwardly. The pawl is connected to the usual handle ll which may be pressed inwardly against the handle 42 of the lever 35 for the purpose of releasing the pawl 38 "from any notch in which it may be positioned. The short arm l?) of the lever 35 is bifurcated and has connected to it through a connecting link 4-4, one end of an index or cam bar so. The index bar 45 is slidingly mounted in brackets 1-6, l6 immediately above a structural member 18 extending along the partition P above the jail doors D, D and D. Jail door D, etc., is adapted to close against a hollow jainb 49, said jamb having a slot on its inner face to receive a keeper 51 having a notch 52 formed on its upper edge, and operable within the jamb and against the inner walls to thereof is a drop bar of said drop bar carrying an enlarged portion 54 which traverses a guide bracket 55, said enlarged portion being provided with a recess 55 for the reception of a cam 56 secured to the index bar 4:5 in a position so that for a movement of the index bar throughout its full extent, said cam will be operable through the notch 52 in the drop bar. It will be observed that the ram 56 for indexing door D is oi? ditl'erent shape than cam 56 for operating door D, the shape of these cams being such that when the index lever 35 is in its uppermost position (shown 53; the upper end dotted in Fig. 3), the high point of cam 56 will have been moved to a position to raise drop bar 53 to release the drop bar from the keeper of the door D. At this time the cam is in a position to have per mitted the drop bar to drop down into engagement with the keeper of the door D. Thus the door is locked and the door D has been unlocked by the action of the cams 56 and 56 respectively. The movement of the index bar is thus first etlective on the cams so as to unlock the door or doors that are to be opened (see Fig. 5). The doors are now in a position to be opened by a movement of the operating lever 58. The operating lever 58 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 59 secured to the rear wall of the index box 1 and extends downwardly between the SPElCGtl members (50, 60 forming a sector having notches 15, 16 on its outer edges for the reception of a pawl 61 secured at the end of a rod 62 mounted in a bearing 63 on the lever 58, the lower end of the rod 62 being connected to the short arm 64 of a lever handle 65 pivoted at the base of the main handle 66 of the ope 'ating lever 58. The pawl 61 is confined within a bearing block 6? on the lever 58 and is urged outwardly by a spring 68 coiled over the rod 62 between the pawl 61 and bearing 63. The notches l5 and 16 are spaced to hold the lever 58 in its two extreme positions when the pawl 61 is lodged in said notches. Connected to the upper bifurcated extremity 69 of the lever 58 by a connecting link 70 is a main operating bar 17, said operating bar being slidably mounted in openings 72 in the brackets 16. It wil be observed that the lower edge of said main bar 17 is provided with a plurality of notches 17, 17, 17 in spaced relation above each door, and pivotally mounted in the bracket 73 secured to partition plate 7e; Disposed above the cell grating is an extension ever or toggle de vice 75 the lower end 01 said extension lever being pivotally connected to a lug 76 projecling upwardly from the door at about its intermediate point. A jump bar 77 is pivoted at one end to the n'iiddle of extension lever 75 and extends through the slot 78 in the upper enlargement 54 01 drop l ar 53. lhere is a lug T5) projecting .lrom the jump bar 77 beneath and in line with the middle notch 72 in the main bar T1 when said main bar is in position assunied v it when the operating lever 58 is in operation or in position shown in Fig. 4:. Each door is provided with suitable rollers 80 mounted in bracl-tets 81 extending upwardly am the upper edge of the door, said brackets traversing an opening 82 in said plate l8, and said rollers are adapted to ride on a rail 83 disposed adjacent to the margin of said opening 82. It will be observed that when the index lever 35 is moved to a position to unlatch any door by virtue of the cam for said door having raised the drop bar thereof, the drop bar will lift the jump bar and cause the lug 79 thereof to enter the intermediate notch 17 as shown in the dotted position Fig. 3. Now if the operating lever is raised so as to move the main bar in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 3), said main bar will carry with it in its movement the jump bar and since the latter is connected to the extension lever which is also connected to the door, said extension lever will be swung to a position opposite to that just occupied by it, dragging with it in its movement, the cell door. It is thus apparent that by operating the index lever 35, not only is the door that it is desired to open unlocked, but said door is also connected to the main bar at the same time so that by now moving the main bar, the door will be moved to an open position by the movement thereof. 1

By referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that if the index lever 35 and the index bar 15 are moved to a position to cause the cams 56, 56 and 56 of all the doors to raise the respective drop bars 53, 53 and 53 and jump bars 77, 77, etc., then all the doors may be opened simultaneously by means of the operating lever 58. Thus the position and shape of the cams 56, 56 and 56 determines whether the doors may he individual-- ly opened, or collectively. or both; and the arrangement with respect to the opening of the doors may be changed by merely chang ing the shape or position of these cams.

T he right angle door.

The jail is provided with a safety vestibule V as heretofore explained, the purpose of which is to temporarily confine the prisoners on their way from a cell c to the as-.

sembly or dining room A. In admitting the prisoners to the dining room, the door D or D is opened by the operator at the index box (or they may both be opened) as is also the door D, allowing the prisoners in the prisoners corridor C to enter the vestibule V. The doors D, D and D are then closed, the prisoners being temporarily confined in the vestibule V after which the door (Z leading to the room A is opened to admit the prisoners into said room. It will be observed (Fig. 1) that the door (Z is disposed at right angles to the doors, D, D, D, consequently, the mechanism for operating this door now about to be described, must be disposed at right angles to the mechanism which operates the cell doors.

The door (Z is suspended by rollers 85. adapted to travel on a track 86' secured to a partition plate 87 above partition 88 and an extension or toggle lever 89 is pivotally connected to a lug 90 projecting from the center of the top horizontal door bar 91, the upper end of extension lever 89 being pivotally connected to a bracket 92 secured to plate 87 (as shown in Figures 10 and 11).

The door (Z is provided with a keeper'93' adapted to enter a slot 94 in the inner face of the hollow door jamb 95, saidkeeper being engaged by the upper edge of an'opening 96 in a looking or drop bar 97, said bar 9'!" having an angle plate 98 secured'to its up per extremity. A tr p lever 99 is pivotally mounted on a pm 100 at about its center,

said lever 99 carrying a roller'101 o'n'i'ts notch lt) the plate 103 carried bythe' index 1 bar 15 will be moved so that the roller 101" will be forced into thelower part 102 of,

slot 102; therefore, rocking the lever 99 and raising the drop bar 97 so as to release it from the door keeper 93 thus unlocking the doord. The rocking of the lever will also raise the angle bracket 98 which in turn will lift the free end of a special jump bar 104 which traverses a slot 105 in said angle bracket. It will be observed that the jump bar 104t is provided with a lug 106 extending laterally from its upper edgesaid lug being adapted to enter a notch 10!" in the bottom edge of a notch bar 108, said notch bar being pivotally connected to the free end of an extension lever 109 which lever is pivotally connected to a bracket 110 secured to plate 87 (as shown in Figures 10 and 11). Thus when the door (Z is to be opened, the index lever 35 is moved'to its proper position whereupon the door (Z is unlocked and at the same time the jump bar 104, is coupled to the notch bar 108 and extension lever 109.

The door is then indexed and if now the operating lever is raised. the door will be opened by means of the right angle door operating mechanism which consists in a main bar 111 and a right angle lever pivotally mounted on a bracket 112 at the junction of the short lever arm 113 and long lever arm 114. said bracket 112 being Secured t the plate 87. The long lever arm 11 1 has a pivotal connection through pin 115 and slot 116 with the notch bar 17, and the short lever arm 113 has a pivotal connection through pin 117 and slot 118 with special main bar 111. Thus the special main bar 111 is connected to the notch bar 17 and on moving the latter, the right angle lever will be rocked about its fulcrum and the movement of the notch bar translated to the special main bar 111. A movement of bar 111 is effective on extension lever 109 which transmits its motion to notch bar 108, the notch bar carrying with it in its movement the jump bar 104;. As the notch bar 104 is llii moved to a position either to open or close the door (Z, it will oscillate the extension lever 89, the latter swinging from one side to the other and carrying with it in its movement the door (Z. hen the door cl is opened (as shown in Fig. 10) the extension lever 109 will be contracted within its narrowest limits and as the special main bar 111 moves to the left, the notch bar 108 will travel twice the distance that the bar 111 travels (by virtue of the extension of the lever 109) at the same time the movement of the notch bar 108, and, of course, that of the jump bar 104-. is again multiplied by the extension lever 89 so that for a given movement of the bar 1.11, the door cl will move 4; times the distance. arrangement of lever is that the bell-cranl lever 113, 114, for translating the movement of the notch bar 71 to the special main bar 111 may be made comparatively small and not occupying a great amount of space. In order to have the moving parts operate easily they are provided with suitable roller bearings shown in the drawings but not specifically described since the use of antitriction bearings is an old expedient and is not herein claimed.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

The advantage of this mechanism therefor, said operating mechanism comprising an operating lever, a travel bar connected thereto and means between the travel bar and the door for imparting the movement of the travel bar to the door, said means being extensible for multiplying the door movement so that for a given movement of the travel bar, the door will be moved correspondingly greater amount, and means for coupling the travel bar to the door.

3. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of an operating lever, a travel bar connected thereto, a special travel bar disposed at right angles to the said travel. bar, means for translating the motion of the travel bar to the special travel bar, and means for coupling the door to the special travel bar.

it. In a door operating mechanism comprisin a travel bar and an operating lever therefor, a special travel bar disposed at right angles to the travel bar, means for translating the motion of the travel her to the special travel bar, means for locking the door in closed position, and means for unlocking said door and simultaneously therewith coupling the door to the special travel bar.

In a door operating mechanism coinpris a travel bar and an operating lever therefor, a special travel bar disposed at right angles to the travel bar, means for translating the motion of the travel bar to the special travel bar, means for coupling the special travel bar to the door, and an indexing lever adapted to actuate the coupling means.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature.

BERNARD JOHN HOPPENJANS.

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