US2281947A

US2281947A - Refrigerator latch

Info

Publication number: US2281947A
Application number: US349269A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stuart W Parsons
Original assignee: Stanley Works
Current assignee: Stanley Works
Priority date: 1940-08-01
Filing date: 1940-08-01
Publication date: 1942-05-05
Anticipated expiration: 1959-05-05

Description

May 5, 1942. `s. w. PARsQNs REFRIGERATOR LATCH Filed Aug. l, 1940 woe/who@ STUART WPARJQNS Patented May 5, 1942 UNlTEB-f STATES PATENT REFRIGERATOR LATCH Application August 1, 1940,'Serial No. 349,263

5 Claims.

The presentA invention relates to refrigerator latches and has particular reference to latches of the type having a stationary bolt fixed to the door and a manually operable bolt keeper mounted on the door jamb in latchable alignment With the bolt. v

t is an object of this invention to provide a compact structure of this type whichv can be mounted on the exterior of the door and door jamb.- in a relatively small space.

A still further object is. t0 combine. the latch casing and the manually operable handle for manually releasing the latch in a single part or member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a latch of this type having a minimum number of parts which can be simply and inexpensively manufactured, quickly assembled and thereafter easily installed andoperated.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in f part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplied in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 shows a. plan view of the manually operated latch and cooperating latch bolt, ref spectively mounted on the refrigerator door jamb and door;

Fig. 2 is a top or profile View of the structure illustrated in Figure l;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View of the latch assembly taken from the line 3 3 of Figure 1';

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken through the line liv- 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective View illustrating the means for non-rotatably securing the pin relative to the latch casing.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated generally a refrigerator latch. operable mounted on a refrigerator door jamb J and latchably engageable with a latch bolt B rigidly secured to the refrigerator door D. The latch includes a mounting plate F secured to the jamb and supends of the wall IS adjacent thebase Il), and` pivotally supports the flanges 2l) of the keeper K for pivotal movement of the keeper from latched to unlatched position. p

The keeper K includes, in4 addition to the side iianges 20, a top Wall 22 and a. rear wall 24.

The walls 22v and 24 together with the flanges 2l)` define a bolt. receiving and latching recess 26.`

In` order to limit the pivotal travel of the keeper to unlatched position, there' are provided a pair of ears 35i extending outwardly from, the rear edges of the keeper ilanges 210 andlocated in a pair cf oppositelyfdisposed notched recessesy il.`

in the side walls I of the moiuiting plate. The rear shoulders 3d of the notches 32 engage the ears Sil and prevent further rearward move ment of the keeper when it isretracted to ,unlatch the door. For greater compactness in the latch assembly the base i0 of the mounting is provided with spaced slots 38 in which the lower ends of the keeper anges 2li are located. By providing the slots 38 it is unnecessary to locate the sleeve I8 away from the mounting plate base l0 in allowing for sufficient operating clearance between the flanges and the outer surfacek Il of the base l0. To resiliently urge the keeper to its forwardmost or latching position, a T shaped positioning tongue 4i) is secured at one end in a slot 42 in the mounting base Ill and is slidably supported at its other end in a similar slot 413 in the keeper. A heavy spring 46 is located on the tongue 4D and is compressed between the arms 48 thereof and the keeper, whereby the keeper is normallyY urged in a counterclockwise direction to latching position as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

As heretofore indicated the latch assembly includes a casing C which provides both a protective cover for the latch and manually operable means for retracting the keeper. The member C comprises a substantially rectangular casing having a top wall 5i), rear wall 52 and side walls 54. The pin P is nonrotatably secured outwardly in the side Walls 54 adjacent the forward edges thereof by a tongue and slot'connection 56 (see Fig. 6) and is rotatably supported in the sleeve I8 so as to pivotally support the casing relative to the mounting F and the keeper K. A light spring 58 is compressed between the top wall 50 of the casing and the base IIJ of the mounting for normally urging the casing in a counterclockwise direction as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

To prevent further counterclockwise rotation of the casing beyond the latching position and restrain the casing in the desired position the side walls 54 are provided with a pair of stump studs 60 which engage the forward shoulders 62 of the notches 32. As heretofore indicated the keeper K is likewise urged in a counterclockwise direction towards latching position by the heavyV spring 46. The keeper is normally retained thereat by the engagement of the forward edges 64 of its side nanges 20 with cooperating flanges 66 extending inwardly from the adjacent forward edges of the casing.

Referring to Fig. 2, the door D is opened by l manually pressing on the top wall 50 of the casing. The engagement of the casing flanges 66 with the keeper K forces the keeper to pivot with the casing to unlatched position, and thereby releases the latch bolt B allowing the door to be forward portion of the top casing wall 50 is cut 'n' away to provide an elongated notch 68 extending the width of the keeper through which the latch bolt can pass. With this construction, when the door D is swung to closed position the camming surface 'lll of the bolt engages the strike` edge 12 of the keeper forcing it rearwardly against the action of the spring 46. The nose 14 of the bolt passes through the notch 68 without camming the casing rearwardly and the light spring 58 retains the casing in its forward or latching position. When the nose 'I4 of the bolt clears the strike edge 12 the spring 46 forces the keeper forwardly and latchably engages the bolt in the keeper recess 26.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a refrigerator latch of the character described a mounting secured to a door jamb, a sleeve rotatably secured in the mounting, a latch bolt keeper pivotally mounted on the sleeve and having a recess for latchably receiving a latch bolt secured to a door, resilient means for urging the keeper to latching position, a casing substantially enclosing the mounting and the keeper, a pin in the sleeve pivotally supporting the casing relative to the mounting and the keeper, means on the casing normally engaging the mounting to retain the casing in latching position, and means on the casing normally engaging the keeper to retain the keeper in latching position and to retract the keeper to unlatched position when the casing is pivotally retracted.

2. A refrigerator latch of the character described, a mounting, a recessed latch bolt keeper pivotally secured to the mounting, resilient means for urging the keeper to latching position, and a combination casing and operating member pivotally supported on the mounting and engageable with the mounting and the keeper for retaining the keeper' in latching position and for pivotally retracting the keeper to unlatched position.

3. In a refrigerator latch of the character described a mounting, a latch bolt keeper pivotally secured to the mounting and having a recess for latchably receiving a latch bolt, resilient means for urging the keeper to latching position, and a casing pivotally secured to the mounting and to the keeper and substantially enclosing said mounting and said keeper, means on said casing engaging said mounting and said keeper for normally retaining said keeper and said casing in latching position and for manually retracting said keeper to unlatched position when said casing is retracted.

4. In a refrigerator latch of the character described including a mounting secured to a door jamb, a latch bolt keeper pivotally secured to the mounting and engageable` with a latch bolt mounted on a door, resilient means for urging the keeper to latching position, a. casing pivotally supported on the mounting and engageable with the mounting and the keeper for normally retaining the keeper and the casing in latching position and for pivotally retracting the keeper to unlatched position when the casing is pivotedV to unlatched position, and resilient means for retaining the casing in latching position when the keeper is forced to unlatched position by engagement with the latch bolt.

5. In a refrigerator latch of the character described a mounting secured to a door jamb, a latch bolt keeper pivotally secured to the mounting and latchably engageable with a latch bolt secured to a door, resilient means for urging the keeper to latching position, a casing pivotally secured to the mounting and substantially enclosing the mounting and the keeper, means connecting the casing and the mounting for normally retaining the casing in latching position, means connecting the keeper and the casing for normally retaining the keeper in latching position and for retracting the keeper to unlatched position when the casing is retracted, and resilient means for retaining the casing in latching position when the keeper is retracted by engagement with the latch bolt.

STUART W. PARSONS.