US2154545A - Closure - Google Patents

Description

April 1s, 1939.` F. G, THwms cLQsURE Filed Nov. 16, 1936f 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

April 18, 1939. F. G. THwAlTs 2,154,545

CLOSURE Filed Nov. 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 C7 c7 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES CLOSURE Frederick G. Thwaits, Wauwatosa,

Wis., assignor to The Heil Co., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application November 16, 1936, Serial No. 111.038

4 Claims.

My present invention relates in general to improvements in the construction and operation of closures, and relates more particularly to improvements in manhole covers for tanks and to improved mechanism for manipulating and lfor sealing such covers.

An object of the present invention is to provide simple and efficient closure mechanism which may be readily and safely manipulated.

Another more specific object of my invention is to provide a durable closure assemblage which may be conveniently adjusted to effect tight sealing at all times when the closure cover is in closed position.

A further specific object of the invention is to provide -a new and `useful closure especially adapted for cooperation with the manhole of a vehicular tank wherein streamlined appearance is desirable.

Still another specific object of my invention is the provision of improved latching and release mechanism for closure covers, which is freely accessible for manipulation and adjustment of parts, and which is normally protected against damage.

An additional specic object of the invention is the provision of improved closure mechanism wherein the closure cover is automatically latched in sealed condition when it is swung or dropped into closed position.

Another specific object of this invention is the provision of improved manipulating mechanism which enables quick release and opening of a manhole closure or the like.

A further specific object of the present invention is' the provision of an improved manhole and closure assemblage which may be applied to a container as a complete unit, and which can be manufactured at moderate cost.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of embodiments of the improved features, and of the construction and ,5 operation of a manhole closure and actuating mechanism which is built in accordance with this invention, may be had by referring to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specication wher-ein like reference charac- 0 ters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 is a top View of one of the improved closure assemblages, showing the same applied to a fragment of a tank and with the cover s latched in closed position;

(Cl. 22o-57) Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the assemblage of Fig. 1, showing the hinge portion thereof in elevation 4and also showing the cover latched in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a part sectional elevation of the clo- 5 sure assembly, showing the latch released and the cover elevated to avoid compression of the sealing ring but still in closed position;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the major portion of the assemblage but a section through the latch, 10 showing the cover in fully opened position; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section through the assemblage with the cover sealed, the section having been taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Although the invention has been shown and l! described herein as being specifically embodied in a manhole closure assembly for streamlined vehicular liquid transporting tanks, it is not the intent to thereby unnecessarily restrict the scope, since some of the novel features may be susceptible of more general application or use.

Referring to the drawings, the improved closure assemblage shown therein comprises in general a rigid frame or support 8 having a central circular opening 9 surrounded by an upwardly 25 projecting continuous annular seating I D; a cover I I having a lower recess provided with a continuous annular compressibl-e or resilient sealing ring I2 adapted to snugly engage the seating l0; a double main levervIS swingably mounted upon the support 8 by means of a front pivot pin III and having a medial housing I 5 within which the cover II is swingably suspended by means of an adjustable pivot pin I6; and latching mechanism consisting of a spring pressed retaining latch I1 swingably supported upon the support 8 by a pivot pin I8 and cooperable with a transverse latching rod I9 carried by the swinging end of the lever I3, and a rel-easing lever 2D also swingably mounted upon the support 8 by a pivot 40 pin 2| and coacting with the latch I'l through a cam 22.

The frame or support 8 may be welded or otherwise permanently attached to a tank shell 23, and has a continuous apron 24 depending 45 into the liquid confining compartment of the tank. The front end of the support 8 is provided with integral upwardly extending ears 25 which support the front pivot pin I4, and is also provided with a vertically adjustable central stop screw 26 which is adapted to engage. a transverse web 21 on the lever I3 so as to limit the opening *movement of the cover II as shown in Fig. 4. The rear portion of the support 8 is likewise provided with integral upstanding ears 28 which 55 carry the pivot pins I8, 2l as shown in Figs. l and 2, the ears 28 being disposed within the streamlined side bars of the lever I3 when the cover II is in sealed position.

The closure cover II which carries the compressible sealing ring I2, and which is adjustably associated with its suspension pin I6, has an integral inverted cup-shaped medial portion 29 which projects upwardly into the lever housing I5 as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. The lower end of the cover portion 29 is normally sealed by a removable plate 30 from which a vent valve assemblage 3I is suspended, this assemblage preferably being of the type shown and described in co-pending application Serial No. 70,983, filed March 26, 1936, by H. A. Strelow. A relatively powerful compression spring 32 directly engages the bottom plate 30, at is lower end, and reacts at its upper end against a top plate 33 having a central lug 34 which embraces the grooved mid-portion of the pivot pin I 6, and the opposite ends of the pin I6 are snugly fitted in openings in the lever I3 but are free from direct contact with the sides of the cover portion 29 which are pierced by this pin. The pivot pin I 6 is held against axial shifting by a set-screw 35 having screw thread coaction with the upper central part of the cup-shaped portion 29, and also having a lower point engageable with the lug 34 and with the central groove of the pin I6; and this set-screw 35 is manipulable to vary the compression of the spring 32 and may be locked in adjusted position by a nut 36. The set-screw 35 and the nut 36 are accessible for manipulation through an opening in the lever housing I5 which is normally closed by a removable plate 31, and the pivot pin I 6 is normally locked to the lever I3 by means of another setscrew 38 shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

The lever latching rod I9 is rigidly attached to the swinging end of the lever I3 and spans the space between the side bars thereof, and the retaining latch I1 which is pivotally suspended from the pivot pin I 8, is constantly urged to swing in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, by means of a coil spring 39 which embraces the pin I8 and has end portions engaging the support 8 and the latch I1 respectively. The front noseportion 4U of the latch I1 has an arcuate or inclined upper surface which is adapted to be engaged by the latch rod I9 when the lever I3 is swung into cover closing position, to thereby swing the latch I1 away from the path of travel of the rod I9, and the portion 4u also has a lower retaining surface 4I cooperable with the rod I9 during sealing of the cover II. The latch I'I also has an integral lower stop 42 which is engageable with the top of the support B to positively limit the forward swinging of the latch by the spring 39 when the cover I I is open; and the rear upper portion of the latch I1 is provided with an integral actuating projection 43 and with a depending wall 44, the latter of which cooperates with the rear surface of the latch to form a socket 45.

The latch manipulating and releasing lever 20 which is swingably suspended from the pivot pin 2|, is of U-shaped formation as shown in Fig. 1, and one of the side arms of this lever 20 is provided with an outwardly extending pin 46 which is engageable with the rear surface of one of the ears 28 to limit the downward swinging motion of the lever 2D as indicated in Fig. 3. The lever 20 and the cam 22 are rigidly attached to the pivot pin 2| so as to swing in unison, and the cam 22 which is disposed within the latch socket interchangeably cooperable with the wall 44 and with the rear surface of the latch I1 to either retract this latch as shown in Fig. 3 or to hold the same in latching position as shown in Fig. 2.

When the improved closure unit has been properly assembled, adjusted and applied to a tank shell 23, the cover II may be opened or closed at will in the following manner. Assuming the cover II to be in closed and sealed condition as shown in Fig. 2, the sealing ring I2 is then pressed into snug engagement with the annular seating III by the compression spring 32 which coacts with the cover through the lower plate 30 and reacts against the locked lever I3 through the upper plate 33 and pivot pin I6. In order to release the lever I3 preparatory to opening of the cover II, it is only necessary to grasp the locking lever 20 and to swing the same to the position shown in Fig. 3 with the stop pin 46 in engagement with the adjacent ear 28. As the lever 2D is thus swung rearwardly, the cam 22 will rotate with the pivot pin 2| and will engage the rear latch wall 44, thereby swinging the latch I1 in a counter-clockwise direction and subjecting the coil spring 39 to additional tension. As soon as the latch I1 is thus retracted and frictionally retained, the spring 32 will become effective to elevate the lever I3 slightly and to thereby release the excess pressure acting upon the resilient sealing ring I2, and the ring I2 will then expand and will rest freely upon the seating I0 as indicated in Fig. 3. With the latch I1 thus positioned to clear'the rod I9, the lever I3 may subsequently be swung into open position as illustrated in Fig. 4, with the web 21 engaging the stop screw 26, thereby fully opening the cover II and retaining the same in open position. The interior of the tank 23 will then be freely accessible through the opening 9, and future closing of the cover II may be effected by merely swinging the lever I3 so that the center of gravity of the cover and main lever assembly is disposed rearwardly of the pivot I4. The cover II and lever I3 will thereafter drop by gravity toward closed position; and if the latch I1 and lever 2U have been pre-set as shown in Fig. 4, the descending rod I9 upon striking the inclined nose portion 40 of the latch I1, will automatically swing ,this latch rearwardly and will snap into position beneath the latch surface 4I. The momentarily excessively stressed coil spring 39 will thereafter become quickly effective to automatically return the latch I1 and the locking lever 20 to the position illustrated in Fig. 2. In case the latch I1 and the lever 20 have not been pre-set to the position shown in Fig. 4, but are still in the position indicated in Fig. 3, then nal latching and locking of the initially closed cover I I may be quickly manually effected by merely swinging the lever 20 forwardly into nal locking and retaining position whereupon the spring 39 will simultaneously function to swing the latch I1 over the rod I9.

The stop screw 26 may obviously be readily adjusted to properly position the lever I3 and the cover I I in open position, and proper seating coaction between the ring I2 and seating I0 may be conveniently effected by nierely removing the plate 31, releasing the lock nut 36, and by manipulating the adjusting screw 35. If the set-screw 35 is turned to increase the compression of the spring 32 between the plates 30, 33, the sealing contact between the ring I2 and the seating III wwill be increased as the lever I3 is forced into latching position, and vice versa, so that any desired sealing pressure may be obtained. The

45 is cover II may also be readily removed from the 75 lever I3, by merely withdrawing the set-screw 35 from the central groove in the suspension pin I6, and by subsequently releasing the retaining screw 38 and withdrawing the pin I6 longitudinally from its bearings. The stop 42 obviously limits the forward swinging motion of the latch I'I, and this latch may also be manipulated independently of the lever 20 with the aid of the projection 43. If so desired, the lever 20 and the cam 22 may be completely removed, `and the pin 46 normally functions to limit the rearward and downward swinging motion of the lever 20.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that my present invention provides an exceedingly simple assemblage for automatically closing and for locking a cover in closed position. When the lever 20 is swung forwardly, the latch I1 is positively locked in closed position, and the sealing ring I 2 is caused to snugly engage the seating I0 by the resilient connection between the cover II and the lever I3 aiorded-by the spring 32. The tension of this spring 32 may obviously be readily adjusted to vary the sealing pressure, and the cover II may be-either automatically sealed or manually manipulated to effect sealing. The' universal motion permitting *connection interposed between the cover II and its supporting lever I3 is also of considerable importance since it permits the seal I2 to uniformly -snugly engage all portions of the seating III thereby insuring tight sealing. 'I'he assemblage is obviously extremely compact anddurable in construction, and all parts thereof are conveniently acessible for inspection. The particular assemblage illustrated in the drawings is especially suited for use in conjunction with streamlined vehicular tanks, and the latching mechanism is eilectively protected against damage, being concealed between the side bars of the main actuating lever I3. 'I'he assemblage may also be utilized either with or without the final locking lever 2li. but the use of this lever is not. essentialV 'I'he assemblage may moreover be built and installed as a compact unit, and may be readily applied to tanks or other containers wherein tight sealing during normal use is a prerequisite.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the present invention to the exact details of construction and to the precise mode of operation herein shown and described, for various modiilcations within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled inthe art. f

I claim:

1. In combination, a support having an opening, a lever pivotally suspended to swing across said opening, a closure cover pivotally suspended from said lever and being cooperable with said support to seal said opening, and resilient means interposed between said cover and its suspension pivot, said means being adjustable to vary the sealing'pressure and the axes of the lever and cover suspension pivots being approximately parallel to each other.

2. In combination, a support having an opening surrounded by an annular seating, a lever pivotally mounted at one side of said opening for swinging movement acrossthe opening, a closure cover pivotally suspended from a medial portion of said lever and being cooperable with said seating to seal said opening, and a spring interposed between said cover and its suspension pivot, said spring being adjustable to vary the sealing pres' sure and the axes of the cover and lever suspensiiln pivots being approximately parallel to each ot er.

3. In combination, a support having an opening, a over for closing said opening, a lever for swinging said cover toward said opening, a latch pivotally suspended from said support and having a retaining surface engageable with a swinging end portion of said lever to hold said cover in closed position, a spring coacting with said latch to constantly urge the sametoward lever engaging position, and a locking lever pivotally suspended independently of saidv latch and having a locking portion engageable with said latch remote from its suspension pivot, said latch and locking lever being movable about their suspension pivots into lever engaging and retaining position by said spring when said lever and cover are swung into closed position.

4. In combination, a support having an opening, a cover for closing said opening, a lever pivotally suspended to swing said cover toward said opening, a latch pivotally suspended to swing toward said lever and having a retaining surface engageable with a swinging end portion oi' said lever to hold said cover in closed position. a spring coacting with said latch to constantly urge the same about its supporting pivot toward lever engaging position, and a locking lever pivotally suspended independently of 4said latch and having a cam portion engageable with said latch remote from its suspension pivot to positively lock theA latch in lever engasing Position.

FREDERICK G.

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