US2131642A

US2131642A - Locker construction and latch mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2131642A
Application number: US59079A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph F Schaefer
Original assignee: INTERIOR STEEL EQUIPMENT Co
Current assignee: INTERIOR STEEL EQUIPMENT Co
Priority date: 1936-01-14
Filing date: 1936-01-14
Publication date: 1938-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 1955-09-27

Description

Sept. 27, 1938. J. F. SCHAEFER LOCKER CONSTRUCTION AND LATCH MECHANISM Filed Jan. 14, 1936 INVENTOR. JOSEPH F. SCHHEFEI? ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES LOCKER CONSTRUCTION AND LATCH LIECHANISM Joseph F. Schaefer, ClevelandHeiglits, Ohio, assignor to The Interior Steel Equipment Company,'Cleveland, Ohio, acorporation of O-hio Application January 14, 153 6, Serial No. 59,079

3 Claims.

..This invention relates. to latching mechanism especially adapted for use in connection with clothes lockers and cabinets of various kinds, al-

though the invention is also capable of wider application for latching doors and the like.

It is'one of the objects of the invention to provide a relatively simple latching mechanism that will be comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, efiicient in operation, durable, and having the advantages of more expensive latching mechanisms now on-the market.

A further object of the invention is to provide a latching mechanism of the kind above referred to, that will be especially adapted for use in combination with an improved design of door and door jamb for clothes lockers and other types of cabinets, and which will provide a construction that is without projecting parts on which clothing might catch in being placed in or removed from the locker, and in which the latching mechanism is so concealed and arranged that it will be very difiicult to unlatch the door when locked.

Other objects of the invention and the features of novelty will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which several types of latching mechanism, embodying my invention, are illustrated. In this drawing,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a clothes locker embodying my invention;

.Fig.'2"is an enlarged fragment of Fig. 1 with certain parts broken away to show details of the latching mechanism, the latter being shown, in this figure, in the latching position;

' Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the latch in the released position;

Fig.4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

. F;ig.-;5 ;isa fragmentary elevation of the door jamb, as seen from the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

6- is an enlarged section onthe lineB-G E v ,Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. -2 but showing a. modification of the latch mechanism;

. Fig. 8 is an enlarged section on the line, 88 of Fig. 1-; 1 V

'9 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 4 but -illustratinganother form of latch mechanism which is shown in the latching position; l

Fig, 10 is asection on the line l0-l-0of Fig. 9;. Fig. 11 isa vertical section on the line ll-H 0 Ei Iota/11d Fig. 12 is a section on the line :|2-|-2 of Fig. 11. Referring to the drawing, in which similar reference-numerals designate the same parts in the different views, 20 indicates a clotheslocker having, a door 2| hinged to the front thereof, as indicated at 22. The locker is preferably made of sheet metal and the side wall of the locker, opposite to that carrying the hinges 22, is provided with a door jamb 23 having a longitudinal 5 bend '24 at the door opening and which forms a flange comprising the inwardly extending portion 25, the laterally extending portion 26, parallel with the front of the casing, and the inwardly extending portion 21, the

portions

26 and 21 be- 10 ing thus arranged by forming the flange with the bends 28and 29 which are parallel with the bend 24'. The edge of the door, which cooperates with the jamb, is of steppedformation, complementary to the .jamb to provide the portion 30 that is adapted to engage with the portion 26' of the jamb and thus form a stop for the door. At the inner surface of the :door the edge wall has a flange 3| extending parallel with the portion 30 and forming a channel in which the bar 32 is longitudinally slidable. The bar 32 is made from sheet metal and'isofchannel form, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

. Near the upper and lower ends of the door jamb and adjacent the middle thereof, openings 33 are formed in the portion 2'! 'to receive the 25 latch members which will be described later (see Fig. 5').

In Figs. 2 and 3, one of the latching devices is illustrated and it will be seen that this comprises a -swinging member 34 which is hinged at 35 to a part '36'that is welded or otherwise secured in the channeled edge of the door. A leaf spring 31-is riveted-or otherwise secured in the channelled' edge of the door, as indicated at 38, and the upper end of this leaf spring bears on the Q latch member 34. The latch member has a projectien 39 that extends through an opening 40 in the edge of the door and into an opening 33 in the=portion-21 of the -jamb. The projection 39 isbevell'ed on one edge, as indicated at 4 I, so that, when the door is being'closed, the latch member 34 will lie-forced back to the position shown in by'the engagement of the bevelled surface 4 with the corner 29' of the jamb.

While I have illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 the details of one of the latch devices, it will be understood that three of these will be used along the edge of the door, as previously stated, one near the top, one near the bottom, and one near the middle. 50

The bar 32 extends substantially the full length of the door and, adjacent each 01 the latch members 34, is provided with a cam member 42 which is welded or otherwise secured to the latch bar and has an upwardly projecting finger v thereby withdrawing the projection 39 from the" opening 33 and permitting the door to be opened.

It will be understood that all of the cam members 42 cooperate with the latch members 34, simultaneously, when the bar 32 is lifted. When the bar 32 is released it will drop from the position shown in Fig. 3 to its former position and the springs 3'! will return the latch members 34 to the position shown in Fig. 2.

The handle 44 is provided with lugs 45 at its opposite ends which project through slots 46 in the door and openings in the flange 41 on the bar 32. The lugs 45 fit the openings in the flange 4'! and are secured to the bar 32 by screws 48.

In order to lock the door, when closed, I provide means for preventing the bar 32 from being lifted to withdraw the projections 39 from the openings 33. In Fig. 6, I have shown a lock 49 that is secured on the inner side of the door and provided with a bolt 50 which may beprojected into an opening 5| in the bar 32 by means of a key 52. With the parts in this position the bar 32 cannot be lifted by means of the handle 44 and the door will thus be locked. Another form of locking means is shown in Fig. 8, in which a dog 53 is mounted on a pivot 54 on the bar 32 and is adapted to be projected through the slot 55 in the flange 41 and the slot 56 in the front wall of the door, by the spring 51'. The dog 53 is provided with an opening 58 which, when the dog is in the position shown in Fig. 8, is adapted to receive the shackle of a padlock and this will prevent the dog 53 from swinging inwardly, as would be necessary in order to permit the bar 32 to be lifted. Either of the locking means just described may be used with the construction illustrated, and from Figs. 4 and 6, it will be apparent that when the door is locked the construction of the jamb and the edge of the door and the position of the projection 39 is such that it would be very diflicult to unlatch the door by a wire or other tool, such as is commonly' used in jimmying the lock mechanism.

From Fig. 2 it will be apparent that, with the bar 32 in its normal position, the door may be closed and the latch members 34 will function automatically even though the bar 32 is locked in its lower position, because the latch members 34 are free to swing to the position shown in Fig. 3, without lifting the bar 32. This is of advantage because, when the door has been unlocked and opened, the bar 3 2 may be locked in its lower position and the door left open so that, when the door is closed, it will then automatically latch.

The form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 7 is similar to that previously described except that the latch member 59 is not pivoted to a member, such as 36, but is provided with a toe 60 that fits between the flanges of the bar 32 to prevent the latch member from being twisted out of its position by the engagement of the projection 6| with the corner 29 when the door is closed. The spring 52 is similar to the spring 31 except that it has a bent portion 63 at its upper end which engages a slot 64 in the latch member and thereby holds the latter against vertical displacement. This form of latch member will function substantially the same as previously described.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 9-12, the door jamb and the edge of the door, as well as the bar 32, are constructed the same as previously described, with the exception that the jamb has a flange 65 that is parallel with the flange 3| on the door adjacent thereto, as will be seen from Fig. 10. In this construction the latch member 66 is mounted at one end on a pivot 61 that is secured in the position 26 of the door jamb. The latch member 66 has a projection 68 that extends through a slot 69' in the portion 21 of the door jamb, and it will be noted that the flange 65 acts as a guard for the projection 68 so as to prevent clothing from catching on the latter when being put into or taken out of the locker. A spring 10, similar to the spring 31, normally holds the latch member 66 in the position shown in Fig..11. In this constructionthe flange 3|, on the door, is provided with a slot H opposite the projection 68 on the latch member so that when the door is opened and closed the projection 68 is moved through this slot. The flange 12 on the bar 32 is notched, as shown at 13, this notch being positioned below the slot II when the bar 32 is in its lower position, so that the flange 72, on the bar 32, will be engaged by the projection 68, when the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 9 and 11, and thus latch the door. By lifting the bar 32, as previously described, the notch 13 will be brought into registration with the slot 1| and the door may then be opened.

It will be noted that the projection .68 is provided with a bevelled edge 14 so that the latch member 66 will be automatically retracted when the door is closed.

As in the previously described constructions, there will be, preferably, three of the latch mechanisms illustrated in Figs. 912 spaced along the edge of the door, and these mechanisms will function to latch the door without the necessity for lifting the bar 32.

While I have illustrated and described what I now consider to be the preferred forms of my invention, it will be understood that changes may be made in the details of the construction that have been illustrated and described, without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: g

1. In a casing having a sheet metal door and jamb, the combination of a jamb edge pro vided with a longitudinal bend forming an inwardly projecting flange, said flange being provided with two bends parallel with the firstmentioned bend one of which forms a portion extending parallel with the plane of the door when closed and which acts as a stop for the door, the other of said bends providing a portion which projects from the first-mentioned portion into said casing, a door edge of channel form and provided with portions that are parallel with and complementary to the said portions of said flange, a channel bar slidable in the channelled edge of the door, said second-mentioned portion of said flange having openings therein to receive latchmembers, a plurality of latch members mounted for oscillatory movement in the channelled edge of the door and each having a projection to enter one of said openings to retain the door in closed position, and said bar serving as a cover for said latch members and having cam members thereon which extend toward the edge of the door and cooperate with said latch members to withdraw'said projections from said openings and thereby unlatch the door by a longitudinal movement of said bar.

2. In a casing having a sheet metal door and jamb, the combination of a jamb edge provided with a longitudinal bend forming an inwardly projecting flange, said flange being provided with two bends parallel with the first-mentioned bend one of which forms a portion extending parallel with the plane of the door when closed and which acts as a stop for the door, the other of said bends providing a portion which projects from the first mentioned portion into said casing, a door edge of channel form and provided with portions that are paralle1 with and complementary to the said portions of said flange, a channel bar slidable in the channelled edge of the door, said second-mentioned portion of said flange having openings therein to receive latch members, a plurality of latch members mounted for oscillatory movement in the channelled edge of the door and each having a projection to enter one of said openings to retain the door in closed position, said bar serving as a cover for said latch members and having cam members thereon which extend toward the edge of the door and cooperate with said latch members to withdraw said projections from said openings and thereby unlatch the door by a longitudinal movement of said bar, and locking means for securing said bar against movement.

3. In a casing having a sheet metal door and jamb, the combination of a jamb provided with a longitudinal bend forming an'inwardly projecting flange, said flange being provided with two bends parallel with the first-mentioned bend one of which forms a portion extending parallel with thejplane of the door when closed and which acts as a stop for the door, the other of said bends providing a portion which projects from the first-mentioned portion into said cas ing,ra door edge of channel form and provided with portions that are parallel with andcomplementary to the said portions of said flange, a channel bar slidable in the channelled edge of the door, said second-mentioned portion of said flange having openings therein to receive latch members, a plurality of latch members pivotally mounted in the channelled edge of the door and each having a projection to enter one of said openings to retain the door in closed position, and said bar serving as a cover for said latch members and having cam members thereon which extend toward the edge of the door and cooperate with said latch members to withdraw said projections from said openings and thereby unlatch the door by a longitudinal movement of said bar, and springs cooperating with said latch members to normally and yieldingly hold them in the position in which said projections are adapted to engage said openings.

I JOSEPH F. SCI-IAEFER.