US1943946A - Doorlatch - Google Patents

Description

K. BRAINERD Jan. 16, 1934.

DOORLATCH Filed July 20, 1933 B Y a "42:5 :2 TTORNE Y Patented Jan. 16, 1934- UNITED STATES PATEN'Il OFFICE DOORLATOH York Application July 20, 1933. Serial No. 681,297

5 Claims.

The invention relates to door latches such as are used, for example, on cupboards, cabinets, and the like. An object of the invention is to provide a simple and satisfactory door latch of this character which may be used indiscriminate- 1y on either right hand or left hand doors without any alteration or change in the latch whatsoever.

Another object is the provision of such a right and left hand latch which is simple and satisfactory in use, and particularly one which can be unlatched by a simple pulling movement, without the necessity of turning or twisting a knob or the like.

A further object is the provision of such a latch of simple and sturdy construction, which is not likely to get out of order, which can be manufactured easily and relatively economically, and which is neat and attractive in appearance.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully de scribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front view of a door showing applied thereto a latch constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the latch applied to an offset door, showing them in normal closed position;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the latch in open position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the latch applied to a door of the flush type;

Fig. 5 is a plan of the parts shown in Fig. 2, with the door and door jamb in horizontal section;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 of the latch itself and a fragment of the door, with the keeper removed for greater clarity, and

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section substantially on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

Certain latches capable of being used on either right hand or left hand doors have heretofore been proposed, but have been open to objections of one kind or another. In one such latch, certain parts of the latch must be changed to adapt it from a right hand latch to a left hand latch, or vice versa. In right and left hand latches of another type, the latch is controlled by a knob or handle which must be turned, so that the door is less easy to open than when the latch is operated by a handle of the lever type which can be given an outward pull to unlatch the door and at any way to adapt it from a right hand latch to a left hand latch or vice versa, and in which the latch is operated by a simple outward pull on a handle of the lever type, so that the same movement of the hand which unlatches the door will also serve to open it.

There is shown in Fig. 1 a door 10 mounted by means of the hinges 11 on a frame or jamb 12. The door either may be of the flush type or may be offset to project from the surface of the frame or jamb.

The drawing illustrates a latch constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, including a base 15 of metal or the like having two ears or brackets 16 and 17 upstanding therefrom substantially perpendicular to the plane of the door 10. The base 15 is secured to the door by any suitable means such as the screws 18. The portions 15, 16, and 17 may conveniently be formed from a single piece of sheet metal, and together they constitute a bracket on which an oscillating handle member is mounted.

The handle member is indicated in general by the numeral 20 and is formed preferably from a single piece of sheet metal stamped or pressed to have a broad smooth and slightly curved outer surface 21, side flanges 22 and 23 depending from the portion 21, and an arm 24 extending a substantial distance inwardly from the flange 23 toward the door. The handle member is mounted for oscillation on the ears 16 and 17 by means of a pivot 25 which passes through the ears near their outer ends and through the flanges 22 and 23 of the handle member. It is to be noted especially that this pivot, which forms the axis about which the handle member oscillates, extends in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the door.

When viewed from one position it will be seen that the handle member may be described as T-shaped. The portions 21, 22, and 23 form the cross bar or top of the T, while the arm 24 forms the vertical bar of the T. The pivot 25 is near the junction of the arms of the T. When thepivot is in its usual horizontal position on a vertical door as shown in Fig. 1, for example, the handle portions 21, 22, and 23 form an arm extending upwardly from the pivot and terminating at 28,

and another arm extending downwardly from the pivot and terminating at 29.

The extension 24 carries a latch member 30 in the form of a lug or pin permanently secured thereto as by riveting, and extending laterally therefrom for cooperation with a keeper 31 mounted on a base 32 attached'by screws or the like to the door jamb or frame 12. In order to adapt the latch for use either with flush doors or ofiset doors, the keeper preferably has a plu= rality of notches therein. For example, there is shown one notch 33 in which the latch pin 30 may engage when the door is offset or'projects' from the jamb as in Figs. 2 and 3, and another notch 34. in which the latch pin may engage when the door is of the flush type shown in Fig. 4.

Suitable resilient means is provided for holding the handle member in a normal neutral position as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 6, but permitting it to be oscillated in either direction from that position to unlatch the door. This resilient retaining means may comprise, for example, the coiled tension spring 40 (Fig. '7) having one end attached to an ear 41 formed on the flange 22 of the handle member and the other end hooked through a hole in the base 15.

One of the ears on the base, such as the ear 17, is provided with abutment portions 45 for engagement with the under surface of the part 21 of the handle when the handle is rocked or oscillated, to limit the extent of oscillation. Fig. 3 illustrates one of these abutments 45 in engagement with the handle to limit its motion.

In use, the base 15 is attached to the door adjacent its free edge so that the latch pin 30 projects over the edge of the door for cooperation with the keeper 31, which is attached to the jamb close to the edge of the door. When the door is closed, the latch pin engages in one or the other of the notches 38 and 34 of the keeper, depending on whether the door is offset or is flush with the jamb.

To open the door, a persons fingers are placed between the door and the lower arm of the handle, and are pulled outwardly away from the door. Contact with the downwardly extending arm of the handle causes the handle to swing in a clockwise direction about its pivot 25, when viewed as in Fig. 2, so that the handle is shifted from the normal neutral position shown in this figure to the position shown in Fig. 3, and the latch pin 30 is lowered to withdraw it from the notch in the keeper, which is preferably always placed above the pin. This releases the latch, and allows the door to be opened. The outward pull on the lower arm of the handle may be continued in order to open the door after it has been unlatched.

If the door is hinged on the opposite side from that shown in Fig. 1, it is obvious that the latch is simply turned upside down from the position shown in Figs, 1 and 2, so that the latch pin 30 projects leftwardly from the left edge of the door. The latch is then operated in exactly the same manner, the keeper being placed preferably above the latch pin as before, and the latch being unlatched by pulling on the downwardly extending arm of the handle, which is the same arm that extends upwardly when the latch is applied on the opposite edge of the door. Thus no change whatever is necessary in the latch, and it can be applied simply and easily to the door no matter whether the door is a right hand or a left hand door. The latch is sturdy, compact, and

' of neat appearance, and it can be readily operated at all times, even by a person having fingers which are slippery on account of being wet, greasy, or soapy.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or the. scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A door latch for use without alteration on either right hand or left hand doors, comprising a. support secured to a door, and oscillating means pivotally connected to said support for oscillation in either of two opposite directions from a normal position, about an axis spaced from and substantially parallel to the plane of the door, said oscillating means including a laterally extending member for cooperation with a keeper and a pair of oppositely extending substantially symmetrical handle portions readily accessible for oscillating said oscillating means to release said laterally extending member from the keeper.

2. A door latch for use on either right hand or left hand doors, comprising a bracket to be secured to a door, a handle member pivotally connected to said bracket for oscillation through a substantial distance in either of two opposite directions from a central normal position, about a pivot spaced from and substantially parallel to the plane of the door, said handle member exmoved to be released from the keeper when said handle member is shifted from said one position.

3. A door latch for use on either right hand or left hand doors, said latch comprising a bracket to be secured to a door, an oscillating member of substantially T-shape when viewed from one direction, said oscillating member being connected to said bracket for oscillation about a pivot substantially at the junction of the arms of said T-shaped member and extending substantially parallel to the plane of the door, one of the arms of said T-shaped member extending from said 1 pivot toward the door and the other arms of said T-shaped member extending approximately parallel to the plane of the door, a laterally extending latch member on the first mentioned arm of said T-shaped member for cooperation with a keeper, said other two arms serving as handles for oscillating said member, and resilient means tending to maintain said T-shaped member in predetermined normal position but permitting it to be forcibly oscillated from said position.

i. A right and left hand latch comprising a base, a handle member pivotally connected to said base for oscillation in either direction from r a normal neutral position, about an axis substantially parallel to the plane of a door to which said base is applied, said handle member having portions extending in opposite directions from said axis of oscillation and forming convenient- 1y accessible arms so that a pull on one arm will tend to oscillate said handle member in one direction and a pull on the other arm will tend to oscillate it in the opposite direction, resilient means tending to maintain said handle member in said normal neutral position, and a latch member operatively connected to said handle member and extending laterally therefrom for cooperation with a keeper.

5. A right and left hand latch comprising a base including a pair of upstanding ears, a handle member pivotally connected to said base for oscillation about an axis passing through said ears near their outer ends, said handle member having arms extending in opposite directions from said axis so that apull on one arm will tend to oscillate said handle member in one direction and a pull on the other arm will tend to oscillate it in the opposite direction, resilient means tending to maintain said handle member in an intermediate normal position from which it may oscillate in either direction, abutment means on one of said ears for contact with said handle member to limit the extent of oscillation thereof, and a latch member lying substantially in a plane between said pivotal axis and a door to which said base may be applied, said latch member being operatively connected to said handle member for oscillation therewith and extending laterally for cooperation with a keeper.

KENNETH BRAINERD.

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