US2316401A

US2316401A - Latch

Info

Publication number: US2316401A
Application number: US389607A
Authority: US
Inventors: William O Burke
Original assignee: National Lock Co
Current assignee: National Lock Co
Priority date: 1941-04-21
Filing date: 1941-04-21
Publication date: 1943-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 1960-04-13

Description

April 13, 1943.

w. o. BURKE LATCH Filed April 21, 1941 INVENT OR.

BY ZUdZamO Patented Apr. 13, 1943 LATCH William O. Burke, Rockford, Ill., assignor to National Lock- C.o., Rockford, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application April 21, 1941, Serial N 389,607

4. Claims.

This invention relates. to latches adapte-idv for various purposes, the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated being particularly suitable for use on refrigerator cabinets and. the like where a tight closing of the door is essential.

A purpose of the invention is the provision of a latch Which will be sturdy and substantial in structure, and durable and reliable in operation. Furthermore, the latch is simple in constructio-n and consists of a few parts. so. that it can be economically produced.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a latch of the pivoted bolt type in which a manually operable lever is so connected with the bolt. that the bolt may be retracted by operation of the lever may also be retracted by the strdee upon closing movement of the door independent ly of the lever, which, during such. retractive movement of the bolt, is held stationary.

A further feature resides. in the employment of a spring interposed between a fixed abutment on the housing and the latch bolt by which the latch bolt is continuously urged into projected position and against the force of which the bolt is moved, whether retracted manually through the lever or independently of the lever by an external force.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated from the following description when considered in connection With the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through a door frame and door upon which my improved latch is mountd;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the latch shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, reference character 5 indicates a door jamb of a refrigerator cabinet, for instance, upon which is adjustably mounted a latch strike 6. A door I equipped with a sealing strip 8 is adapted to close against the jamb to provide an air-tight seal.

The latch which is mounted in the door structure comprises a housing 9, here shown as a channel-shaped, sheet metal structure having an end closure wall ll. Any other suitable mounting for the operating parts of the latch may be employed in lieu of the housing illustrated.

Near the end of the housing opposite the Wall H, a pivot pin or pintle 12 extends transversely between and through the walls of the housing.

Upon this pin is pivotally mounted the latch bolt, designated generally as 13, which comprises the two spaced apart legs l4 and I5 pivoted on the,

pin l2, connected by an integral crossbar l6 and provided between their outer extremities with a roller l'i' with which the strike 6 is designed to cooperate in holding the door snugly against the jam-b.

Extending between and through the legs 14 and i5 is a pin 58 upon which is pivotally mounted a spring guide in the form of a link 19 projecting inwarfly from the bolt and. provided with a slot 2! engaging a pin 22: anchored in the side walls of the housing and providing an abutment, between which and the latch bolt, the expansion spring 23v is interposed. It will be obvious. that this: spring continuously urges the latch bolt into the projected position illustrated in full lines on the drawing.

Upon the pivot pin it, there is also fulcrumed a lever which preferably comprises a pair of lever members 24 and 25 disposed upon'the pivot pin between the side Walls of the housing and the outer faces of thelatchbolt legs l4 and IS. The rear ends of these lever members are rigidly conneoted by a transverse pin 26 so that the assembly forms in efiect a single lever. A link 2'! pivoted upon the pin 26 between the lever members is connected at its opposite end with a pull rod '23 extending through the outer face of the door for connection with suitable means, whereby an outward pull upon the rod may be manually exerted to retract the latch bolt.

For the purpose of retracting the bolt by operation of the lever and for permitting the bolt to be retracted by the strike without moving the lever when the door is swung to closed position, a lost motion connection between the operating lever and the bolt is provided. This connection comprises the pin it and a pair of

arcuate slots

29 and 31 formed in the respective lever members 2 1 and 25 and through which the ends of the pin project, as will be apparent from Fig. 3.

In the present instance, the pin I8 is shown as projecting beyond the outer faces of the lever members 24 and 25, and the casing is struck outwardly to provide the

arcuate grooves

32 and 33 for the reception of these pin ends. This structural detail may be omitted if preferred. The ends of the pin I8 and the outer ends of the

slots

29 and 3| form cooperating abutments by which the latch bolt may be retracted by operation of lever 24. A coiled spring 34 surrounding the pivot pin l2 and anchored by its projecting end 35 has its other end 36 engaged in a tang 31 struck inwardly from the lever member 24 and serves to restore the operating lever to and retain it in normal position.

Assuming that the door is closed and th latch parts are in the position shown in full lines on the drawing, the latch'bolt may be retracted from the strike 6 into the dotted line position of Figs. 1 and 2 by an outward pull exerted upon the rod 28, which swings the operating lever from the full line to the dotted line position shown thereby, through the abutment of the outer ends of the slots 29 and 3i with th projecting ends of pin 18, pulling the latch bolt free from engagement with the strike. When the pull on the rod 28 is released, the parts will be restored to normal position by the spring 23. When the latch bolt engages the inclined portion of the strike 6 upon closing movement of the door, the bolt will be forced into retracted position to clear the strike against the force of spring 23. 'In this operation, however, the ends of the pin l8 ride idly in the

slots

29 and 3| while the operating lever is retained in normal position by the spring 34.

The structural details illustrated and described may obviously be varied within considerable limits without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a latch, the combination of a housing, a latch bolt and a lever coaxially pivoted on said housing, Cooperating abutments provided by slots in the lever and a pin carried by the bolt Whereby the bolt is retracted by operation of the lever, a link pivotally connected at one end by said pin to the bolt and slidably associated at its other end with a fixed abutment on the housing, and a spring interposed on said link between the bolt and said abutment for urging the bolt into projected position.

2. In a latch, the combination of a channelshaped housing, a latch bolt pivoted adjacent one end thereof, a lever pivoted concentrically with the pivot axis of the bolt, a spring for yieldingly holding said lever in normal position, a fixed abutment carried by the housing, a link slidable on said abutment, a pin connecting said link to said bolt, a spring interposed on said link between said abutment and the latch bolt pin for urging said bolt into projected position, and a lost motion connection between the bolt and the lever including slots in said lever through which said pin extends whereby the bolt is retracted by operation of the lever and is permitted to be retracted while the lever remains stationary.

3. In a latch, the combination of a housin a latch bolt comprising two spaced apart legs pivotally mounted in said housing, a pin extending transversely of the housing through said latch bolt legs, a lever pivoted concentrically with the latch bolt pivot, said lever comprising spaced apart legs straddling the latch bolt and provided with arcuate slots through which said latch bolt pin projects, a link pivoted at one end on said latch bolt pin and provided at its other end with a slot, an abutment pin extending through said slot and anchored in the sides of the housing, a spring on said link adapted to exert an operating thrust upon the latch bolt pin and said abutment pin, and means for actuating said lever.

4. In a latch, the combination of a housing, a latch bolt comprising two spaced apart legs pivotally mounted in said housing, a lever comprising a pair of spaced apart members interposed between the latch bolt legs and the housing walls and fulcrumed on said latch bolt pivot, said 1ever members being provided with arcuate slots and the inner faces of the housing walls being provided with correspondingly shaped grooves, a pin extending transversely through said latch bolt legs and said slots in said lever and into the grooves in the housing wall, an abutment pin extending transversely of the housing, a. spring interposed between said transversely extending pin and said abutment pin, a spring acting on said lever, and means for actuating said lever.

WILLIAM O. BURKE.