US2172467A - Refrigerator latch - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 12, 1939. N. B. GEDDES 2,172,467

REFRIGERATOR LATCH Filed July 23, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Sept. 12, 1939.

N. B. GEDDES REFR IGERATOR LATCH Filed July 23, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

$5M ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR LATCH Norman Bel Geddes, New York, N. Y., assignor to Servel, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware This invention relates to a latch for a door of a refrigerator and it is an object of the invention to provide an improved latch whereby the appearance and convenience in operation of a re- 5 frigerator door are improved.

The invention, together with the objects and advantages thereof, will appear upon consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, form- 10 ing a part of this specification, and of which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a refrigerator embodying. the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragment of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1, partly broken away;

1 Fig. 3 is a detail section taken on line 3-3 in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail section taken on line 4-4 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail section taken on line 5-5 in 20 Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a detail section taken on lines 6-6 in Figs. 2 and 5; and

Fig. 7 is a view like Fig. 5 showing the mechanism in a different position of operation.

25 There is shown in Fig. 1 a front view of a refrigerator cabinet l accessible by means of a door I l. The outer surface of the door H is flush with the outer surface of the front of the cabinet l0 and the door is hinged to the cabinet 30 on one side by means of concealed hinges. The door II is provided on the free side opposite the hinges with an improved latch to be presently described. which latch is operated by what may be termed a target l2 or other suitable impact' 35 receiving member. The target l2, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, may be a disc reciprocable in a recess It in the outer surface of the door II and is lo cated at a desired'height that it may be operated either by hand or other part of the body such as 40 the shoulder. The operating disc or target I! is secured on the end of a short rod l4 which is slidably journalled in the door so that the target I2 is movable perpendicularly to the plane of the door.

45 As seen in Fig. 2, a shaft I is rotatably iournalled in a vertical position within the door H by means of a suitable bearing Ii at its upper end and a thrust bearing II at its lower end. The upper end of the shaft l5 is adjacent the 50 rod l4 on the target l2, and the lower end of the shaft I5 is adjacent the latch bolt to be described. The rod l4 on the target I2 is operatively connected to the upper end of the shaft It by means of a short lever arm l8. One end of the lever 55 am ll-is secured to the shaft II. The other end of the lever arm I8 is bifurcated and straddles the rod H. A pin I 9 in the rod I4 engages in slots 20 in the end of the lever arm 3. Thus, when the operating disc or target I2 is moved from its full line position in Fig. 3 to its dotted line position, 5 the rod I4 is thrust inwardly and rotates the lever arm l8 and shaft l5 in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 7.

Referring now to the detail Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7, the refrigerator cabinet is provided with a 10 striking plate 2| adapted to be engaged and disengaged by a latch bolt 22 on the door The bolt 22 is pivoted at 23 on a stationary housing 24 in a suitable recess in the door I I. Between an inwardly projecting portion 25 of the pivoted bolt 1 22 and the stationary housing 24 is arranged a compressed spiral spring 26. The spring 26 is carried by usual slide bars 21 and 28, the head of the slide bar 21 being pivoted in a suitable groove in the housing 24, and the head of the slide bar 28 being pivoted in a suitable groove in the projecting portion of the pivoted bolt 22. The pivoted bolt 22 and the spring 26 constitute a snap action toggle. This toggle is shown displaced to one side of dead center in Fig. 5, and to 25 the other side of dead center in Fig. 7. When this toggle is on the side of dead center illustrated in Fig. 5, the bolt 22 engages behind the striking plate 2| if the door II is closed. When the toggle is shifted to the side of dead center 30 illustrated in Fig. 7, the bolt 22 is disengaged from the striking plate 2| and, if the door is closed, an outer lip 29, is-brought into contact with the outer edge of the striking plate 2|, giving an opening movement to the door I I.

Assume now that the door II is open and the bolt 22 is in the position indicated in Fig. 7. Upon closing the door the lip 29 of the bolt is brought up against the striking plate 2|, causing the toggle to snap to the position shown in Fig. 5 in which the bolt 22 engages behind the striking plate 2| to hold the door closed. To unlatch the door, there is provided a bolt shifting member 30 which is a generally U-shaped member also pivoted at 23 on the stationary housing 24. The closed end of the U-shaped member 30 is operatively associated with the lip 29 of the latch bolt 22, and the ends of the legs of the U-shaped member 30 are connected by similar links 3| and 32 to the ends of a bifurcated lever arm 33 secured on the lower end of the vertical shaft l5. It will now be understood that when the shaft I5 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction by pressing in on the target l2, as previously described, the lever arm 33 rotates from its position shown inFlg. 5 to its position shown in Fig. '7 and, by means of the links 3| and 32, rotates the bolt shifter 30 so that the closed end thereof engages the lip 29 of the bolt 22 and shifts the bolt to the posltion'shown in Fig. '7. This operation causes the door to open as previously described.

It will be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of this invention which is not limited except as indicated in the following claims.

What is claimed is: r

1. A latch for a refrigerator door including a pivotally mounted bolt having a latching finger and a trip finger, means for imparting. a snapaction to said bolt to rotate the latter about its pivot either to unlatched or latched position,'a

strike adapted to be engaged by the trip finger to impart opening movement to the door when said bolt is rotated to unlatched position, an impact receiving member, and mechanism operatively associating said impact receiving member and said bolt to cause said bolt to rotate to unlatched position to effect opening movement of the door upon impact. delivered to said impact. receiving member in a direction substantially opposite to the opening movement of the door. 4

2. A latch for a refrigerator door including a pivotally mounted bolt having a latching finger and a trip finger, means for imparting a snapaction to said bolt to rotate the latter either to latched or unlatched position, a strike adapted to be engaged by the trip finger to impart, outward opening movement to the door when said bolt is rotated to unlatched position, a member recessed in the outer surface of the refrigerator, and mechanism operatively associating said member and said bolt to cause said bolt to rotate to unlatched position to effect outward opening movement of the door upon impact on said member. l

3. A latch for a refrigerator door having a recess in the outer surface thereof, said latch ineludinga pivotally mounted bolt having a latching finger and a trip finger, means for imparting movement to said bolt .to rotate the latter about its pivot either to latched or unlatched position, a strike adapted to be engaged by -the trip finger to impart outward opening movement to the door when said bolt is rotated to unlatched position, a movable member located in the recess, and mechanism operatively associating said member and said bolt to cause said bolt to rotate to unlatched position'to effect outward opening movement of the door when said member is pressed inward.

4. A latch for a refrigerator door including a pivotally mounted bolt having a latching finger and a trip finger, means 'for imparting movement to said bolt to rotate the latter about its pivot either to latched or unlatched position, a strike adapted to be engaged by the trip finger to impart outward opening movement to the door when said bolt is rotated to unlatched position, an impact receiving member located in the outer surface of the door, and mechanism operatively associating said member and said bolt to cause said bolt to rotateto unlatched position to effect out ward opening movement of the door upon impact delivered to said member in a direction substantially opposite to the opening movement of the door.

5. A latch for a refrigerator door having a recess in the outer surface thereof, said latch comprising means including a bolt to impart opening movement to the door when it is released, a movable member located in the recess, and mechanism operatively associating said memberv and said bolt to cause said first-mentioned means to release said bolt to impart opening movement to the door when said member is pressed inward.

6. A latch fora refrigerator door comprising means including a bolt to impart opening movement to the door when it is released, an impact receiving member located in the outer surface of the door, and mechanism operatively associating said member and said bolt to cause said firstmentioned means to release said bolt to impart opening movement to the door upon impact delivered to said member in a direction substantially opposite to the opening movement of the door.

. NORMAN BEL GEDDES.

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