US2231908A

US2231908A - Door latch mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2231908A
Application number: US263345A
Authority: US
Inventors: Heizmann Raymond
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1939-03-22
Filing date: 1939-03-22
Publication date: 1941-02-18
Anticipated expiration: 1958-02-18

Description

Feb. 18, 1941. R. HEIZMANN DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Filed March 22, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVElVTOR mi 71,5 15

A TTORNEYS.

Feb. 18, 1941. R. HEIZMANN 2,231,903

DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Filed March 22, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES: I N VEN TOR Z/ 5 Raymond mi mann,

BY W Patented Feb. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE noon LATCH MECHANISM Raymond Heizmann, shillington, Pa. Application March 22, 1939, Serial No. 263,345

12 Claims. (01. 70-153) Thisinvention relates to door latch mechanism and it is concerned more particularly with latch mechanism of the type wherein the latch bolt is actuated by a spindle which passes through the door and which is fitted at opposite ends with manipulating grasp knobs.

In connection with latch mechanism of the type referred to, I aim to make it possible to set the latch bolt so that it cannot be operated by means of the outside knob, without precluding its operation at any time by means of the inside knob.

above advantages in door latch mechanism which is reliable in operation; which embodies a minimum number of parts in its construction; which is easily assembled incident to installation on the door; and which, moreover, lends itself to ready.

manufacture at very small cost.

9 Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. I is a view in transverse vertical section of a door embodying my improved latch mechanism.

Fig. II is a View like Fig. I showing themechanism in locked position.

Fig. III is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in section taken as indicated by the arrows III-III in Fig. I. l

" Fig. IV is a detail sectional view taken as indicated by the arrows IV-IV in Fig. II.

Figs. V and VI are perspective views respectively of two parts which, in accordance with my invention, together constitute the bolt actuating spindle of the latch mechanism.

Figs. VII and VIII are perspective views of bushings respectively for the outside and inside door knobs of the latch mechanism; and,

Fig. IX is a fragmentary perspective View showing how the components of the spindle are interengaged with a bushing whereto theoutside maniplating knob is secured.

With more detailed reference to the drawings,

45 l comprehensively designates a standard form of latch bolt unit which is recessed into the swinging edge of the door 2, and which hasa projecting beveled latch bolt 3 adapted to engage a keeper (not shown) on the door jamb. The

50 illustrated latch unit 1 maybe of any approved construction having a cylindric body 4 with a face plate 5 at one end thereof through whichthe securing screws 6 pass. The latch bolt 3 is op.- erable against spring pressure in. a well known 55 way through suitable connections (not illus Another aim of my invention is toattain thetrated) within the cylindric body 4, by rotation of the hub indicated at 1.

Disposed at opposite sides of the door 2 in axial alig-nment with the hub 1 of the latch unit I and secured to the door by

screws

8 and 9, are 5 centrally-apertured circular escutcheons l0 and ii respectively having outwardly-projecting bosses l2 and [3 with socket recesses l4 and IS. The means for actuating the latch bolt 3 includes outside and inside manipulating knobs I6 10 and I1 whichare shown as being of hollow sheet metal construction with axial cylindric shanks l8 and]?! respectively. As shown,'the shank [8 of theoutside knob l6 fits into the socket recess M of the escutcheon l0, and secured within it 1 by spot countersunk connections 20 is a bushing 2|. Similarly secured within the shank I9"of the inside knob II by spot countersunk connections 22, is a. bushing 23 which has a dia metrically-reduced projecting portion 24 fitting into 20 thesocket recess I5 of the escutcheon H. The knebs l6 and I! are held in the assembly by a retaining element in the form of a fiat bar 25 of oblong cross section which passes continuously through the door 2, the latch hub I, the 25 escutcheons l0 and II, and the bushings 2| and 23,.and which has

lateral projections

26 and 21 at its opposite ends which overlap shoulders afforded within the knobs by the remote ends of said bushings. As shown in Fig. VII, the inner 30 shoulder end of the bushing 21 for the outside knob I6 is formed with steps as at 23, 29, 30 and 3l, which, by placement of said bushing in different circumferential positions for selective coactiori with the projection 26 of the retaining bar 25, makes possible the adaptation of the latch mechanism .to doors of different thicknesses. Also extending continuously through the door 2, the latch hub l, the escutcheons l9 and l l and the knob bushings 2i and 23 is an 4) endwise slidable bar 32, which, like the retaining bar 25, is oblong in cross section, the cross sections of the two being so proportionedas to jointly fill the square opening .33 in the. latch hub and the square axial opening 34 of corresponding size in the bushing 21 of the outside knob 16. The

bars

25 and 32 thus jointly constitute the latch operating spindle of the mechanism. The bore 35 of the bushing 23 of the inside knob I], it will be noted from Fig. so VIII is cylindric, and as shown in Fig. IV of a diameterto clear the two spindle components 25. and 32. At its inner end, the shiftable spindle component 32 is formedwith a push button head 36 which normally projects outward st through and axial opening 31 in the inside knob ll, see Fig. I. The bar 32 moreover has a pair of spaced projecting

lugs

38, 39 at one of its corner angles adjacent the button head 36. As shown, the lug 39 extends into a longitudinal groove 49 internally of the bushing 23 of the inside knob said groove being relatively wide as shown in Fig. IV so as to permit a limited amount of turning movement of the knob in either direction on the spindle for a purpose presently explained. The lug 39 is adapted to enter a notch 4| in the inside escutcheon II when the spindle component 32 is pushed inward of the knob H to the positionshown in Fig. II and thereby prevents operation of the latch bolt 3 by means of the outsidefknob'IlG. Lodged within the internal grooveof the. inside knob bushing 23 is a leaf spring 42 with spaced offsets 43 which are adapted to cooperate with the lug 38 to prevent accidental displacement of the bar 32 in either of its two positions respectively shown in Figs. I and II. The bar 32 is held against withdrawal through cooperation of a lug 44 on its head 33 with the inside of the outer wall of the knob after passage through a notch in the latter. At its outer end, the bushing 23 of the inside knob I! has a double faced beveled cam projection 46 (Figs. I and VIII) which is normally aligned for coaction with. a reversely-configured cam recess 41 (Figs. I, II and V) in the inner end of the button head 36 on the bar 32; said notch being of greater widththan the cam projection to permit slight independent relative rotation of the inside knob as later on further explained.

The operation of my improved latch operating mechanism is as follows:

With the spindle component 32 positioned as shown in Fig. I, it is possible to operate the latch bolt 3 by means of either the outside or inside knob l6, respectively, since the lug 39 on said component is at this time withdrawn from the notch 4| in the escutcheon The mechanism may be locked against operation from the outside with .the knob It by pushing upon the button head 36 of the bar 32 at the inside knob II, with the result that the lug 39 on said bar is engaged in the notch 4| of the inside escutcheon H as shown in Fig. II. The door 2 however may be opened at any time from the inside by turning the knob Upon initiation of the turning of the knob IT in one direction or the other, the bar 32 will be shifted rightward in Fig. II as a result of coaction of the cam projection 46 with the cam depression 41, in the inner end of the button head 36, until said bar 32 reassumes the position shown in Fig. I with its lug 39 withdrawn from the notch 4| in the escutcheon In this connection it is to be noted that the width of the groove 40 in the bushing 23 of the inside knob I! is such asto allow the immediately foregoing action to take place before the side of the groove 49 engages the lug 39 to cause rotation of the spindle 32 as the knob I1 is turned further in the same direction to operate the latch bolt 3. In order that the bar 32 may be shifted back to its normal position from Without the door, the knob I6 is provided with a slot 48 (Fig. I) for reception of a suitable key 49. Thus when the key 49 is inserted, its inner end encounters the bar 32 and pushes the latter rightward until the lug 39 is disengaged from the notch 4| of the escutcheon l as in Fig. I, so that the door can be opened by means of thejoutside knob Hi.

In assembling my improved latch operating assists mechanism, the latch bolt unit I is first mortised in the usual way into the swinging edge of the door 2. The bar 25 is next thrust into the knob l1 and its end projection 21 hooked over the inner end of the bushing 23, and the bar 32 thereupon inserted through the hole 31 in the knob until its forward end is flush with the end of the knob shank l9. With this preparation, the escutcheon II is placed over the projecting end 24 of the bar 25 and the latter pushed through the opening 33 in the hub 1 until the escutcheon rests against the door 2 and the knob bears against said escutcheon. With the bar 25 still held tightly in place by the bar 32, the outside escutcheon I2 is run on and the knob l6 applied and its bushing 2| hooked by engagement of the lateral end projection 26 of the bar 25 over the proper one of the step shoulders 28-3! of said bushing. The bar 32 is next run home and locked into position by turning the inside knob until the lug 44 has passed through the notch 59, where upon the escutcheons Ill and II are finally ecured in place by the

screws

8 and 9.

Dismounting of the latch mechanism is effected simply by turning the knob I! to register its slot 50 with the lug 44 of the button 36 and then withdrawing the latter and bar 32 whereupon the assembly will of itself fall apart in an obvious manner.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Door latch mechanism comprising a latch unit with a latch bolt operating hub; inside and outside door knobs; and a lengthwise split spindle of polygonal cross section fitting a correspondingly configured opening through the latch operating hub, said spindle being formed of two bar components one of which is non-shiftable, said nonshiftable component embodying integrally-formed means for interlocking the two knobs, and means associated with the other component when shifted endwise for looking or unlocking said knobs.

2. Door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the spindle non-shiftable bar component knob-interlocking means consist of lateral projections from said component which engage over shoulders internally of the two knobs to hold said knobs in place.

3. Door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the door knobs have spindle engaging bushings; and the spindle non-shiftable bar component has lateral retaining projections which overlap the inner ends of the knob bushings to hold the knobs in place.

4. Door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the door knobs have spindle engaging bushings; the non-shiftable bar component of the spindle has lateral retaining projections which overlap the inner ends of the knob bushinings to hold the knobs in place; and the inner end of one of the knob bushings has steps providinga, number of shoulders which, upon placement of such bushing in different positions circumferentially of the spindle, enable application of the mechanism to doors of different thicknesses- 5. Door latching mechanismaccording to claim 1, wherein a member having a notch is fixed to the door, the shiftable bar component of the spindle extends through the inside knob and has a lateral lug, said lug, when the bar component is pushed inwards, engaging in the fixed. member notch to dog the spindle and thereby prevent operation of the latch bolt by the outside knob.

6. Door latchingmechanism according to claim 1,. wherein an escutcheon through which the spindle passes is secured to the inner side of the assists door, said escutcheon having a notch; the shiftable bar component extends through the inside knob and has a lateral lug, said lug, when the bar component is pushed inwards, engaging the escutcheon notch to dog the spindle and. thereby prevent operation of the latch bolt by the outside knob.

7. Door latching mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a member having a notch is fixed to the inside of the door, the shiftable bar component of the spindleextends through .the inside knob and has a lateral lug, said lug, when the shiftable bar component is pushed inward of said inside knob, engaging in the fixed member notch to dog the spindle and thereby prevent operation of the latch bolt by means of the outside knob; and the outside knob is provided with a slot for insertion of a key to release the spindle shiftable component for operation of the latch bolt by means of the outside knob.

8. Door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a member having a notch is fixed to the door, the shiftable bar component of the spindle extends through the inside knob and has a lateral lug, said lug when the bar is pushed inward of said inside knob, engaging the notch in the fixed member aforesaid to dog the spindle and thereby prevent operation of the latch bolt by the outside knob; and the inside knob includes means for coaction with the shiftable bar component whereby, upon initiation of turning movement thereof, said component is unlocked to permit operation of the latch bolt by continued turning of the inside knob.

9. Door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the outside knob is fixed upon the non shiftable spindle component; a member having a notch is fixed to the inside of the door; the shiftable spindle component extends through the inside knob and has a lateral lug which, when said shiftable component is pushed inward of the inside knob, engages the notch in the fixed member aforesaid to dog the spindle and thereby prevent operation of the latch bolt by said inside knob, said notch being of a width to permit slight independent rotative movement of the inside knob on the spindle; and opposing cam surfaces, respectively on the shiftable spindle component and on the inside knob, cooperating during the slight independent rotative movement of said inside knob to automatically withdraw the shiftable spindle component so that the latch bolt may be operated by continued turning of said inside knob.

10. Door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the outside knob is fixed upon the nonshiftable spindle component; a member having a notch is fixed to the inside of the door; the shiftable spindle component extends through the inside knob and has a lateral lug which, when said shiftable component is pushed inward of the inside knob, engages the notch in the fixed member on the door to dog the spindle and thereby prevent operation of the latch bolt by said inside knob, and said notch is of a Width to permit limited rotative movement of the inside knob in either direction on the spindle; and opposing cam surfaces, respectively on the shiftable spindle component and the inside knob, cooperate during the limited rotative movement of the inside knob in either direction, to automatically withdraw the shiftable spindle component so that the latch may be operated by continued turning of said inside knob in the same direction.

11. Door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the outside knob is fixed upon the nonshiftable spindle component; a member having a notch is fixed to the inside of the door; the shiftable spindle component extends through the inside knob and hasa lateral lug which, when said shiftable component is pushed inward of the inside knob, engages the notch in the fixed member on the door to dog the spindle and thereby prevent operation of the latch bolt by the outside knob; the inside knob having an axial bushing with an interior groove; the shiftable spindle component having a second lug which projects into the bushing groove, said groove being somewhat wider than the last mentioned lug to permit slight rotative movement of the inside knob in either direction independently of the spindle; the bushing aforesaid having a double faced cam projection, and the shiftable component having a shoulder with a reversely configured cam recess; and said cam projection and. recess cooperating during the slight rotative movement of the inside knob in one direction or the other to effect automatic withdrawal of the shiftable spindle component so that the latch bolt may be operated by continued turning of the inside knob in the same direction.

1 12. Door latch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the outside knob is fixed upon the nons'hiftable spindle component; a member having a notch is fixed to the inside of the door; the shiftable spindle component extends through the inside knob and has a lateral lug which, when said shiftable component is pushed inward of the inside knob, engages the notch in the fixed member on the door to dog the spindle and thereby prevent operation of the latch bolt by the outside knob; the inside knob having an axial bushing with an interior longitudinal groove; the shiftable spindle component having a second lug which projects into the bushing groove, said groove being somewhat wider than the last mentioned lug to permit slight rotative movement of the inside knob in either direction independently of the spindle; the bushing aforesaid having a double faced cam projection, and the shiftable component having a shoulder with a reversely configured cam recess; said cam projection and recess jointly cooperate during the slight rotative movement of the inside knob in one direction or the other to effect automatic withdrawal of the shiftable spindle component so that the latch bolt may be operated by continued turning of the inside knob in the same direction; and a yielding member with spaced notches within the bushing groove to coact with the last mentioned lug to prevent accidental displacement of the shiftable spindle component in either of its two positions.

RAYMOND HEIZMANN.