US2182206A - Releasable holding arms for door checks - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 5, 1939. o. R. LASIER RELEASABLE HOLDING ARMS FOR DOOR CHECKS Filed May 27, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fnuerzz r:

Dec. 5, 1939. D. R. LASlER 2,182,206

RELEASABLE HOLDING ARMS FOR DOOR CHECKS Filed May 27, 19:58 2 Shes-Sheet 2 Ina/$12227" Patented Dec. 5, 1939 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RELEASABLE HOLDING ARMS FOR DOOR CHECKS David R. Lasier, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Norton Lasier Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 27, 1938, Serial No. 210,353

6 Claims. (Cl. 189-49) This invention relates to an improved holding when the door is moved to open position on the device of the type usually applied to doors, hinges I'L. windows and the like, for holding them in a pre- The outer end of the crank arm 10 is prodetermined open position and which is affected by vided with a spiral faced friction head I 8 and is of heat at a predetermined temperature causing the substantially the same construction as that conholding means to become ineffective whereby the stituting the holding device disclosed in apdoor may be free to close automatically, cutting off plicants Patent No. 1,826,553, of October 6, 1931. drafts and preventing or deterring the spread of The forearm in the illustrated embodiment of fire. The releasing means may depend for its aothe invention has at its outer end a friction head- 10 tion upon a fusible element or link of well known 19, which is best illustrated in Figure 3 and is 19 construction. pivoted as by a pin 20 to the socket member 2l' An object of this invention is to provide a equipped with a set screw 22. The rod 49 is rereleasable holding device fordoors or the like, tained in the member 2! in any desired adjusted which will effectively hold a door in any desired position by the holding action of the set screw and open position and which will readily and quickly has provided at its other end, a universal joint 23 release the door when subjected to heat of a me having horizontal and vertical pivots for con determined temperature. necting the same to the bracket 24 which is at- Another object of this invention is to provide tached to the door frame. The above described a releasable holding device of such construction features of the forearm are substantially the that currents of heat passing-in either direction same as those illustrated in applicants Patent through the passageway will more quickly reach No. 1,826,553 above referred to, and thus the the releasing mechanism and eifect a rapid reforearm is capable of acting in substantially the lease of the door. same way, it being understood that the friction These and other objects not specifically head on the outer end is provided with a fric- 25 enumerated will readily appear to one skilled in tional face adapted to have cooperative engage- 25 the art as the following description proceeds. ment with the frictional face on the head 18 In the accompanying drawings of the crank arm. Figure 1 is a plan view of a door closing and The novelty of this invention resides in cer checking device of the surface type, equipped with tain structural features which are best illusa holding arm construction in accordance with trated in Figures 3 to 5, inclusive. The friction 30 this invention; head I5 is provided with a pivotlug 25 and, in

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the device addition, a lug 25 having right angle faces. Pivshown in Figure l; otally connected by means of a pin 21 to the pivot v Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a lug 25 is the element 28. This element is pro portion of the holding arm showing the con-- vided with a projecting portion 29 having an in- 35 struction of the friction head and part of the reside right angle surface 30 adapted to embrace leasing mechanism; the right angle faces of the lug 26, and also hav- Figure 4 is an enlarged plan view of a holding i g a te face device constructed in accordance with this in The friction head I 9 is also provided with a pair vention, showing it in released position; and of cars 32 which loosely embrace the sides of the 40 Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a control lever 33 which is pivotally held adjacent portion of the holding arm showing the fusible the end thereof by the pin 34 passing through the link and its relation to the releasing device. ears of the lever. The control lever may be sub- Ry referring to the drawings, it will be noted stantially straight sided as shown, and the under that the invention here illustrated is embodied in surface 35 adapted to abut the outer face 3i of 45 a holding arm which consists of a crank arm it the projecting portion 29. The opposite end of and a forearm II, the first of which is conthe lever is preferably round, as shown at 3B. nected at one end I2 to the spindle E3 of a door The arm II is provided at its inner end with a closing and checking device It. The checking pair of ears 3'! adapted to pivotally hold the lockdevice per se forms no part of this invention and ing pawl 38 by means of the pin 39. The lock- 50 may be of any suitable type or, in some instances, ing pawl 38 has an extension M1 to which is atomitted altogether. The device here illustrated tached a coil spring M by means of the hook 122 is the usual surface type door check and is conpassing through the slot 43 and held by the pin nected by means of a bracket E5 to the upper snr- 44. The locking pawl is also provided with a face of the door It so as to be carried thereby curved abutting surface 45 adjacent the pivot 39 .55

, trol lever 33.

one end of the fusible link 41.

are such that the curved abutting surface of the locking pawl 38 is held in intimate engagement with the round end 36 of the control lever 33 under the tension of the spring M in the manner shown in Figure 1. are so constructed that when the curved abutting surface 45 of the locking pawl 38 is in contact with the curved end Stof the control lever, the inner surface 35 of the lever 33 is in close contact with the outer face 3! of the element 28, and the inner right-angle faces 32 are in close contact with the right-angle faces of the lug 26. Consequently, when the parts are in assembled position as shown in Figure 1, the element 28 is held rigidly relative to the friction head l9 whereby, in effect, these parts are a single rigid member.

It will be noted that the pivoted connection at 34 is quite loose, that is, the opening in the control lever 33 through which the pin 32 passes is considerably larger than the circumference of the pin and the space between the ears 32 is greater than thewidth of the control lever 33. The play in this connection is'sufficient to allow the arm H to pivot at 2!! for the purpose of adjustment without in any way disturbing the rigidity of the pivotal connection 2i between the friction head I!) and arm II, when in the position shown in Figure 1.

It will also be noted that when the under face of the lever 35 is in contact with the face 3! of the element 28, the round end 35 of the lever cannot be inserted under the curved surface "35 of the locking pawl 38 without exerting pressure on the lever, causing it to flex and press tightly against the face 3!. Consequently, the lever, when in the position shown in Figure l, is held under tension and when the locking pawl 33 is released the lever will snap open, partly as a result of this tension, and assume the position shown in Figure 4.

In operation, the holding device is mounted in the customary manner, with the parts arranged as shown in Figures 1 and 2, whereby the elements i9 and 28 will berigidly held together in a manner to cause these parts to function as a unitary arm. In this event, the holding device, comprising the cooperating friction faces, functions in the manner of the device in applicants Patent No. 1,826,553 to hold the door open in any predetermined position.

In the event of fire, such that the fusible link l! will be fused, the portions of the link will become separated, breaking the tension in the spring ll and leaving the locking pawl 33 free to disengage the control lever 33, which in turn the arms to pivot relative to each other whereby the door is free to swing shut.

If the device is used in combination with a door closing mechanism, whether of the check- The various parts ing type or of any other type, this mechanism will allow the door to shut in the desired manner. It is obvious that the invention has application on all sorts of closures, such as doors, windows and the like, and that the device when installed is connected to a closure, such as a door at one end, and to a stationary part, such as a sill at its other end; and accordingly, the invention is to be construed broadly and as covering all such installations. However, for the purpose of clarity, the applicant has defined his device as connected between a door and door sill, but these terms are to be considered as covering all similar means.

One of the advantages of having the fusible link located in close proximity to the door sill becomes more apparent when the course of hot air currents is considered As is well known, fire starting in one room will quickly heat the upper air in that room to a high temperature. This air expands and rapidly spills into adjoining rooms and halls through open doorways. The average door sill being somewhat lower than the ceiling of the room, the hot air in expanding will be forced under the door sill. After it has passed under the door sill, it may again quickly rise to the ceiling; consequently, the temperature of the air in the immediate vicinity of the door sill may be higher than the air a short distance from it. By locating the fusible element nearer the door sill, it will be more quickly contacted by the hot air regardless of which direction the hot air is coming from; that is, whether it is coming from the side on which the releasing device is located or from the other side.

What is claimed is:

1. A holding device adapted to be pivotally connected between a door and door sill, respectively, comprising, in combination, an arm having J a friction face on one end, an element having a cooperating friction face pivotally connected to said end of said arm, a second arm independently pivoted at one of its ends to said element, re-

leasable means for normally holding inactive said second-named pivot comprising a lever independently pivoted to said element and adapted to have holding engagement with a portion of said second arm, and means including a fusible link connected at one of its ends to said lever and at the other of its ends to a member carried by said second arm adjacent the other end thereof, said means being so disposed as to locate said fusible link adjacent said other end of said second arm.

2. A holding device adapted to be pivotally connected between a door and door sill, respectively, comprising, in combination, an arm having a friction face on one end, an element having a cooperating friction face pivotally connected to said end of said arm, a second arm independently pivoted at one of its ends to said element, releasable means for normally holding inactive said second-named pivot comprising a lever independently pivoted adjacent one of its ends to said element and extending to a location adjacent the other end of said second arm, and means adjacent said other end of said second arm and carried by said second arm and lever, respectively, including a fusible linkand serving to maintain said lever in holding position.

i 3. A holding device adapted to be pivotally connected between a door and door sill, respectively, comprising, in combination, an arm having a friction face on one end, an element having a cooperating friction face pivotally connected to said end of said arm, a second element pivotally connected to said first-named element, a second arm pivotally connected to said second element, releasable means for normally holding inactive said pivot between said first and second elements so as to provide a rigid connection therebetween comprising a lever pivotally connected to said first element and adapted for holding engagement with a portion of said second element, said lever extending to a location adjacent the opposite end of said second arm, and means adjacent said opposite end of said second arm carried by said arm and lever, respectively, including a fusible link and serving to maintain said lever in holding position.

4. A holding device adapted to be pivotally connected between a door and door sill, respectively, comprising in combination, an arm having a friction face on one end, an element having a cooperating friction face pivotally connected to said end of said arm, a second element pivotally connected to said first-named element, a second arm pivotally connected to said second element, releasable means for normally holding inactive said pivot between said first and second elements so as to provide a rigid connection therebetween comprising a lever pivotally connected to said first element and adapted for holding engagement with a portion of said second element, said lever extending to a location adjacent the opposite end of said second arm, a locking pawl carried by the opposite end of said second arm for engaging the end of said lever, and means including a fusible link for normally maintaining said locking pawl in holding engagement with said lever.

5. A holding device adapted to be pivotally connected between a door and door sill, respectively, comprising, in combination, an arm having a friction face on one end, an element having a cooperating friction face pivotally connected on a Vertical axis to said end of said arm, a second element pivoted on a vertical axis to said first element, a second arm pivoted on a horizontal axis to said second element, releasable means for normally holding inactive said pivot between said first and second elements so as to form a rigid connection therebetween comprising a lever independently pivoted at one of its ends with slight universal movement to said first element and extending to a location adjacent the opposite end of said second arm, and means adjacent said opposite end of said second arm carried by said arm and lever, respectively, including a fusible link and serving to maintain said lever in holding position.

6. A holding device adapted to be pivotally connected between a door and door sill, respectively, comprising in combination, an arm having a friction face on one end, an element having a cooperating friction face pivotally connected on a vertical axis to said end of said arm, a second element pivoted on a vertical axis to said first element, a second arm pivoted on a horizontal axis to said second element, releasable means for normally holding inactive said pivot between said first and second elements so as to form a rigid connection therebetween comprising a lever adapted for engagement with a portion of said second element and independently pivoted at one of its ends with slight universal movement to said first element, said lever extending to a location adjacent the opposite end of said second arm, a locking pawl carried by the opposite end of said second arm for engaging the end of said lever, and means including a fusible link for normally maintaining said locking pawl'in holding engagement with said lever.

DAVID R. LASIER.

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