US2001403A - Refrigerator doorlock - Google Patents

Description

May 14, 1935. E. WILLIAMS REFRIGERATOR DOORLOCK Filed March 24, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1935. L. E. WILLIAMS v 2,001,403

REFRIGERATOR DOORLOCK Filed March 24, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J/adezvZZm .Ze

in the case of refrigerator doors.

Patented May 14, 1935 PATENT. OFFICE REFRIGERATOR DOORLOCK Leroy E. Williams, Edgerton, Wis., assignor to Highway Trailer Company, Edgerton, W1s., a corporation of Wisconsin Application March 24,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to latching and locking means for closures, and particularly in situations where it is essential that such closures be snug and substantially air-tight, as for example, The structures herein illustrated are especially designed for use on such doors when installed upon railway cars or truck or trailer bodies, and for such use one object of the invention is to provide latching means which shall not involve any projection from the surface of the outer wall of the vehicle. Another object is to include means operated in conjunction with the release of the lock for initiating the opening movement of the door. A further object is to provide actuating means for the look at an easily accessible position, and of such nature as to require special keys or tools, thus rendering the lock substantially theft-proof.

The invention consists of certain features and elements of construction in combination as herein shown and described, and as indicated by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a car or vehicle body showing a door equipped with one form of lock embodying this invention.

Figure 2 is a detail section taken as indicated at line 22 on Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation similar to Figure 1, showing in dotted outline a modified form of lock and latching device.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in dotted outline in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a. vertical detail section.

Figure 6 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale, showing the actuating connection applicable to either of the forms of latching mechanism shown in the preceding figures.

Figure 7 is a transverse detail section taken as indicated at line 1-1 on Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of the receptacle for the operatingwrench.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the socket portion of the wrench.

Figure 10 is a side elevation of a trailer vehicle of the type for which the invention is designed, and indicates the location of the lock and actuating connection on the vehicle body.

The latching devices to which this invention is directed have been especially designed for use on doors of motor trucks and trailers which travel on the highways and frequently pass roadside structures or other vehicles with very slight clearance. It is therefore important that handles and locks associated with such doors shall not have 1933, Serial No. 662,476

projecting parts likely to be broken ofi or damaged in passing fixed or moving objects. And to prevent damage to these parts from any shifting of the load within the vehicle, it is preferable that the locking mechanism be mounted within the thickness of the wall. To avoid exteriorly projecting parts, these devices are designed to be operated by a removable wrench or key applied to the end of an actuating shaft which extends downwardly through the fioor or sill of the vel0 hicle body.

As shown in Figure 1, the door, I, is hinged at 2, and its free edge is fitted with one or more curved rack sections, 3, adapted to mesh with corresponding gears, 4, which are carried on a vertil5 cally extending shaft, 5, mounted in the jamb of the door-way. As indicated in Figure 2, the diameter of the gears, 4, is such that they are contained wholly within the thickness of the wall,

6. With this gear arrangement the teeth of the 20 racks, 3, will come into mesh with those of the gears, 4, automatically, as the door, I, is swung to closed position, and if the door should become stuck or frozen in closed position, the forcible rotation of the shaft, 5, will tend to free it. Such 25 rotation is effected by means of a removable wrench or key comprising a' socket portion, I, having interior ribs or splines,,8, as seen in Figure 9, and having a handle which is partially shown at III in said figure.

To retain the door in locked position, the lower end of the shaft, 5, is fitted with a terminal member, II, having ratchet teeth, I2, which are engaged by detent dogs, I3, urged into holding position by springs, I4, as shown in Figure 7. The 35 lower surfaces of these dogs, I3, are beveled at I5, and one end of the wrench socket, I, is correspondingly beveled at I6 so that when the wrench is entered over the splined end portion,

I8, of the terminal fitting, II, for rotating the 40 shaft, 5, its beveled portion, I6, contacts with the beveled surface, I5, and spreads the detent dogs out of engagement with the teeth, I2. This permits the wrench to turn the shaft, 5, in the direction for opening the door, I. For closing the 45 door the operator will preferably apply to the splined terminal, I8, the opposite end of the wrench socket, I, which terminates in a square or abrupt shoulder at I9, and is not adapted for spreading the ratchet detents, I3; thus the de- 50 tents act yieldingly in their intended manner for holding the shaft, 5, and gears, 4, at locking position.

As seen in Figures 6, 7 and 8, the splined terminal, In. for the shaft, 5, is centrally located in an annular housing, 20, having an external flange, 2 I, by which it is secured to the under surface, 22, of the floor or sill, 23. The chamber in which the terminal, I8, stands, may be closed by a cap, 24, fitted with a suitable lock which is not shown in detail. By means of this cap, the housing may be closed and locked against theft, so that when the-door, I, is secured in locked position, it'will be not only necessary to pick the lock of the 'cap, 24, and remove the cap, but the thief will also require a special wrench adapted to interlock with the splines of the member, I8, and beveled or otherwise formed for releasing the ratchet detents, l3.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate a modified form of latching mechanism in which the upright shaft, 25, is fitted with bevel gears, 26, each meshing with a bevel gear, 21, on a short shaft, 28, journaled in the jamb, 29, of the doorway. On the inner face ofthe door, 30, and preferably disposed within the total thickness, I provide notched keepers in the form of brackets, 3 I, each having an obliquely disposed open slot or notch, 32; and each of the shafts, 28, terminates in a crank, 33, mounted in position to enter one of the notches, 32, when the shaft, 28, is rotated. Simultaneous rotation of the cranks, 33, by means of the shaft, ,25, swings said cranks into locking position, engaging the notches, 32, as seen in Figure 5, and rotation of the shaft, 25, in the opposite direction throws the cranks, 33, out of these slots, 32, to the positions indicated in dotted lines in Figure 5. Adjacent the inner ends of the slots, 32, they are slightly eccentric at 32, with respect to the arcs in which the cranks, 33, swing so that as said cranks approach their limiting positions they act cam-wise to crowd the door shut. When the cranks are rotated in the opposite direction, after emerging from the slots, 32, they encounter the eccentric surfaces, 32 facing inwardly on the door, and as the cranks traverse these cam surfaces they forcibly initiate the opening movement of the door. This is of special advantage if the door should be frozen shut, as frequently happens in the case of refrigerator doors. In the same way the cam surfaces, 32*, permit the door to be forced into closed position so that it shall be tightly sealed to prevent leakage of heat into the refrigerator compartment.

As indicated in Figure 10, the placing of the housing, 20, on an under surface of the vehicle body, avoids any projecting fixtures at the side of the vehicle in connection with the locking mechanism. The operating handle, l0, being removable, is only applied at the time of opening or closing the door, and is kept in charge of the driver. It will be understood that the door and lock constructions herein described are equally applicable to motor trucks or trailers,Figure showing a trailer merely by way of illustration.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and re-arrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, and that the same is not limited to the particular form herein shown and described, except in so far as indicated by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a hinged refrigerator door having a pair of oppositely opening slots trending transversely of the direction in which the door opens, and arranged on the free edge thereof, a pair of cranks joumalled in the jamb in position to enter said slots respectively when said crank are rotated, and means for rotating the cranks simultaneously into and out of said slots for looking or releasing the door respectively; said means for rotating the cranks including a shaft and gearing connecting said shaft thereto, anautomatic detent for holding said shaft against rotation when the cranks have been rotated into engagement with the slots, and a re- 'movable operating handle for said shaft having a part adapted to release said detent when the handle is applied to the shaft.

2. In a refrigerator, in combination, cooperating closure parts including a hinged door and its jamb; locking means comprising cooperating elements on the door and jamb respectively, one of said elements being rotatable into and out of engagement with the other; a shaft carried by one of said cooperating closure parts between the planes of its inner and outer surfaces for rotating the locking element on said closure part into and out of said engagement; a wheel on said shaft adjacent one end thereof; means on said closure part arranged to engage said wheel against rotation of the shaft in the direction for disengagement of said locking elements when the door has been closed, and means operable at will exteriorly of the refrigerator for effecting said disengagement.

3. Ida refrigerator, in combination, cooperating closure parts including a hinged door and its jamb; locking means comprising cooperating elements on the door and jamb respectively, one of said elements being rotatable into and out of engagement with the other; a shaft carried by one of said cooperating closure parts between the planes of its inner and outer surfaces for rotating the locking element into and out of said engagement; a wheel on said shaft adjacent one end thereof; automatically operating means carried by said closure part arranged for engaging said wheel for locking the latter at gaging said wheel-engaging means from said wheel.

4. In a refrigerator, in combination, cooperat- -ing closure parts including a door and jamb;

locking means comprising cooperating elements on the door and jamb respectively, one of said elements being rotatable into and out of engagement with the other; a shaft carried by one of said cooperating closure parts for rotating the locking element on said closure part into and out of said engagement; a handle arranged exteriorly of the refrigerator for operating said shaft; a wheel on said shaft adjacent one end thereof; means on said closure part arranged to engage the wheel against rotation of the shaft by the handlein the direction for disengagement of said locking elements when the door is closed, said handle being movable axially of the shaft for rotative engagement with and disengagement from the shaft, and being formed and arranged for engaging said wheel-engaging means inthe movement of said'handle for rotative engagement with said shaft to actuate said wheel-engaging means in the direction for disengagement from the wheel.

5. In a refrigerator, in combination, cooperating closure parts including a door and jamb; looking means comprising cooperating elements on the door and jamb respectively, one of said elements being rotatable into and out of engagement with the other, a shaft carried by one of said cooperating closure parts for rotating the locking element on said closure part into and out of said engagement; detent means for holding the shaft in position to maintain the locking elements in engagement with each other; and a handle arranged exteriorly of the refrigerator for operating the shaft, said handle being removable and being adapted to release the detent when applied to the shaft.

6. In a refrigerator, in combination, cooperating closure parts including a hinged door and a jamb, locking means comprising cooperating elements on the door and jamb respectively, one of said elements being rotatable into and out of engagement with the other in a direction for drawing the door forcibly to its final closed position, a shaft carried by one of said cooperating closure parts for rotating the locking element on said closure part into and out of said engagement, a wheel on said shaft adjacent one end thereof, means on said closure part arranged to engage said wheel against rotation of the shaft in the direction for disengagement of said locking elements when the door has been closed, said means being disengageabie at will, said shaft being mounted extending vertically in the closure part for rocking about its axis to actuate the locking element, and an operating handle for said shaft.

LEROY E. WILLIAMS.

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