US2427436A - Door handle and latch construction - Google Patents

Description

' Sept. 16,1947. F. E. BEEMS ETAL boon HANDLE AND LATCH CONSTRUCTION Filed June 18, 1945 F. E. B cams E.D- Scuff INVHVTORS BY (2M5 6 Patented Sept. l6, 1947 V j2,427,436 DOOR HANDLE ANDLATCH CONSTRUCTION Floyd E. Beems, Dearborn, and Edwin D. Scott;

Plymouth, Mich., assignors to Ford Motor Company, Dearb orn, Mich, a.- corporation of Delaware This invention relates struction and, more particularly, to a door handle and door latch mechanism, designed primarily for use-on the doors of automobile bodies. although adaptable to other installations as well.

The present trend of automotive body design is such that instead'of the outer door panel being inset a considerable distance from the's ide clearance line of the vehicle '(which' formerly was' represented by the outer edge of the running board and fenders), the door panels themselves are now carried ou'tto, this line' and the ruin ning board, 'as such, hasdis'appeared--a smooth line being maintained from the front fender through the door and-side panels to the rear fender. While this. construction 1 provides considerably more roominside the vehicle, and a more streamlined appearance to the exterior, it... creates a diflicult problem in the location and.

operation 'of the door handles. .These, in the usual construction, must protrude a considerable distance outwardly of the door panel toprovide 1 an easy grasp and togive adequate roomior i rotation to operate the door latch. Obviously, in cars of present design, if the handles are mounted in this manner they will extend beyond the clearance lineof the vehicle. This creates an additional hazard'to pedestrians; and, indeed, in some states such projections beyond the clearance line are forbidden by law. In order to avoid these disadvantages, recourse has been had to operating the latch by an exterior push button set flush with the outer door panel or by recessing the conventional door handle within the door panel. Either of these expedients is considerably more expensive and has certain other features which are not entirely advantageous.

extreme upper portion of the door panel. As the panel generally has a pronounced inward curve inwardly at this point, if the handle might be located high enough on this curve, it can be,

placed within the minimum clearance lineof the vehicle. However, this leadsto complications in positioning of the latch mechanism which, for a number of reasons, should be placed lower on the door. In addition, it is desirable to-have the handle mechanism located substantially tangent to the surface upon which the handle is mounted mechanism mounted parallel with the inner surface of the door. These two surfaces are far from parallel as was usually the case in the earlier constructions so that the connecting means be- Application June 18, 19,45, Serial 'No. 5,99,976 v (o1. zin -164 I to automotivebody con- Another. expedient which has been'suggested many times is theinstallation of the door handle on the 60 and it is equally desirable to have the latch tween the handle and latch must make due means permitting unimpeded'transmission'of the operating rotational force from the" handle to g the latch. Anotherexpedientsuggested.hesbeen' to so change the latch mechanism-that theoper ative portion thereof-generally ,l mown the rollback-be ofiset from thel'atch Plat an ranged generally parallel-with thesurface' of outer door panel, so that it will be norm straight shank leading 'from the handle t ;rollback. Other proposals have also beenfa vanced. looking towards modification offthe lat mechanism or'of thefshanleonfs'tructioiior, both all with the ideaof perini g free joperationoi :and handle. I

joints to the shank would'be-expensive and i troduce an element likely to give trouble in se vice; Nor has the redesigning ofthe latch mach f anismitself met withfavor, since these devices elements of the latch mechanism incre asesf its over-allthicknessl aiid leadsfto iriterference withj the window clearanceE-f Becessedihandle's areexpensive tov manufacture; fspoil the smooth body 40 line, and rarelyprovide adequate hand clearance.

Under. these circumstances, the present" invention has particular merit, since: first, it is no more expensive to manufacture and install than the conventional latch and handle mechanism} second-, it 'permits'the use of the regular latch mec'hanism' withoutany'change whatever; third, g as it .is entirely positive in opera'tion and has no universal-Joint, Or other similar connection;

.fourt'h, ,itpermits the handle to be located in a mitsfree rotation to be transmitted from the handle to the latch even though these two elements are located in oblique planes.

It follows that the use of the invention permits allowance for the obliquity existing. In order to; allow for-these angular difierences existing between the outer and inner door panels', it has" 5 been suggested thatthe' latchoperating shank extending between the latch-mechanism'andthe I handle incorporate a universal Joint or] other the shaft despite thefobliduity "between;the latch Noneof these proposals have found in the' industry since.="the*addition ofuniversal have long been standardized have beenso f 30 designed as-to occupy the minimum possible transverse space to prevent interference with the window which is slidably'mounted within the door and which must, wlienlo'were'd, pfiss thelock j mechanism. 5 It has-been found that any sub f 35 stantial change in the disposition of' the various plane of considerable obliquity with the mount-: ing plane of, the latch mechanism; fifthyit per- 4 the mo'u'nting of the exterior handle on the'upper J'ciirve oftnedoor panel, so that fit will-be positioned-well inwardly ofthe clearance'lineofthe vehicle when the handle is in closed position.

"It also permits a conventional lrlock llatch m'echwhenth'eslat'ch-is operated, this isper'fectly per-.

missible and presents :no -hazard. The 'mount is such that adequate: room i is provided at all times stb egrasp the-handle and at least this initial -clearance may be maintained at :all stages of :the handle rotation. Thus, the inherent Jdisadvantage of a reces'sed handle is ravoided and lthere i's no diiiiciilty in :providing the necessary clearance when the handle is at its extreme opened position. The latchm'echanismismounted in exactly the usual manner and the handle and shank are assembled with it just 1 as had been ;done in conventional practice in the past. ""fw ithfthse and "other objects in view, the 'inventi n '(QOl'lSiStS in the arrangement, construc tion, 'and corn'bination f [the various elements comprising the structures :described in the specification, zclaimed in the claims and illustrated in 'theaccompanying drawings, in'which:

'1 is an end elevation f .a portion of a" ehlcle door incorporating the improved latch .ihandle, ;a portion thereof being shown in tion subs' tantlal1y on the line .'l-'l of' Figure 2. Figure f2 is 19. partially sectioned plan view tel-ten siibstagn't'ially =on the line 2i2 of Figure 1.

,;Figure 3 is 'an elevation of a conventional straight shaiikshown in iiclose'd. position and inidieating theextreme clearance required in the rollback. i 1. 1 ,Fi'g'ui'es 4 and 5 are :an elevation and a. plan view rot a, shank .[iha'ving warsingle intermediate bend shown in-closed posltion in full line and in open lposition {Figure "5) in dotted line :again il- .ilust'r'ating the rollback clearance required.

iFig'ure -fi is an elevationphtheshank of this in 'vention' shownclosed in full line and open in The handle mounting on the outer panel ll 6 comprises an escutcheon 3| which has (in this design) an outer plate 132 overlying the panel ll and an abutment 33, which is generally ellipsoidal in cross section extendingthrough an aperture 34. The shank 26 is permanently secured in the handle 35 which has a ball'section -30 surround- 'ing the shank adapted to seat in the concavity 36 in the escutcheon 3|. The escutcheon 3| is held inposition on the shank (on which it is rotatably mounted) by the staking 31, the interposed washers '38 reducing the frictional resistance.

The'remote end 39 of the escutcheonil is of reduced section to accommodate-the installation of the usual belt molding. An anchorplate 4| is welded to the inner surface of the panel II and :has a lip 42 through which the retaining bolt 43 passes to engageathreaded collar 44 on the abutdotted ;line;;and indicating the reduced -neecssary Referring-to Figuresl and 2; the door section I llghas the outer panel H; aninner' panel II, and anend panel 13 with a recess lllthrou'gh which eiitrnds{the latch bolt =I'5. The latch'mechanism of the "usual construction having a face plate Ii abu'tting the inner surface of the :end panel IB ofthe doora'ndformed integrally with thesbase plate 1I*1"abutting, for a"por;tion of its length,

"fit-gainst-a' 'd p e '8 formed in the innerpanel 12. The actu'ating :lever "19 is rotatably mounted io'n the -plate 1 and carriesa -pin,'-20 "which is enepr'events rattling ;of the associated parts. The i sual' position "of the "window channel is shown at rollback '22.

.ment, thus securing the assembled escutcheon and-handle in position with the shank 2'6 'inthe The dotted line 28 represents the clearance line of the body andit will be seen that the handle 35' in the closed positiondoes not extend beyond it, while if the escutcheon were arranged in alignment with the rollback, there would be an objectionable degree of interference. When'thehandle '35 is operated to open the latch, it assumes the position shown on dotted line which may fall outside the clearance line 28; but it will be noted that there is stilladequate room between the handle and the body panel toaccommodate the user's hand.

Before considering the conformation of the shank 26, attention is directed to Figures 3 t0 6. InFigure 3, approximately the same degree of obliquity is assumed as exists in Figures -1 and 2, but astraight shank 1-26 leads to'the rollback I22. Assuming that a 90 rotation is required to :operate the latch (actually somewhat less is usually required) ,:Figure 3 would also represent'the shank in rotated position and the exaggerated mini mum clearance required inthe opening I 25 of the rollback 122. Such a clearance is structurally iundesirable "and wouldoccasion undue wear and noiserin the lock mechanism as well as being inefficient. in Figures 4'and v5, the same obliquity obtains, but the shank 22B is bent midway between theends so that the ends are normal to the rollback and the plane of the handle, respectively. However, when the handle is rotated, as shown in'dotted line in Figure 5, through 90,

precisely the same clearance in the openin '225 of the rollback 222 is required as in the case of thestraight shank of Figure 3.

However, Figure 6 indicates the optimum concated as A in the vertical plane (Figure 1)-is twice the secondary angleindicated asB in the horizontal plane (Figure 2), the rollback end of l the shank 26 will rotate without substantial axial ing trunnion portions 523 "which are iournaled in 1 ithexlryer J I 9 andcover plate -Z4'- and *a squarecendeviation normal to the plane of the rollback.

' This is indicated. in Figure '6 in which the two positions are shown in full and dotted line, and

the diminution in clearance in the opening 25, in therollback 22 over that prevailing in theother examples is at once apparent. Thus, the rotation of the shank 26 at the rollback 22 within the opening 25 folloWs a constantly precessing axis 7 passing through a point at the rollback and more or less normal to the plane of the rollback. This is accomplished without the interposition of a universal joint or change in the configuration of the rollback even though considerable obliquity exists between the plane or theouter panel at the handle and that of the rollback. In,fact,theangleoi the precessing axi is substantially less than operates smoothly and without perceptible wear over the entirelife o'fthe vehic'lefi While the best conditions obtain wh n: the beads are made a the midpoint of the shank, the particular condition of obliquity obtaining may require that there be considerably more deviation in one plane than'i'n another. In such cases; the bend may that madewith the rollback planeby the linebe tween the handle and: the rollback; Thehandle I ceiv d et" hej-latpc'li endin-anionening'inatherm ar ues :b niv two h meplanes; the of ma q in one sad Diane-heir! Substam le of'ideformation' it d said shank being tatabie 1a (separatin larger thantheshanl;

member substantially 4.--A lat mechanism 1; for a' idoor ihavinga curved outer panel with a latch actuati'ng'"'handle 1o mounted thereon formation substantially inone plane comprising a latch mcmberjmounted onan axial deviation at-th'e rollback tosome extenhbutthe conditions are still'better'thanthoseobtain:

ing with a straight shaft'or one bent in but one plane.

It is apparent thatcertain changes may be made. in the; deta'ilsof the construction-shown, but it is the intention to cover by theclaimsfsuch' modifications as may be made within the'scope thereof.

The invention claimed is 1. A latch mechanism for a door, having an outer panel with a. latch actuating handle mounted thereon for rotation'substantially in'on'eplane comprising a latch member, mounted. on said door for reciprocation in a second plane oblique to said first-plane, and a solid actuating shank extending between said handle .and said latch member said shank having its ends substantially normal to saidrespective'planes' and intermediately deformed so that rotationof'sa'id' handle causes equivalent rotation ofsaid shank about an axis passing througha fixed point atsa'id latch member andhaving'a constant angular relationship to said secondplane substantially'less than the angle betweenthe line passing through said handle mounting. and said point and said second plane and said shank being received at l the large end in an opening substantially larger than the shank.

2. A latch mechanism; for a doorhavin an outer panel with a latch actuating handle mounted thereon for rotation substantially in one plane comprising a latch member mounted on said door for reciprocation in a second plane oblique to said first plane, a solidactuatingshank extending between said handle and said latch member and having its, ends-substantiallynormal to said respective planes, said shank being intermediately angularly deformedin each of two nor-(- mal planes, so that rotation of saidhandle causes equivalent rotation of said shank about a constantly precessing axis passing through afixed I point at said latch member, and said shank being received at the large end in an opening substantially largerthan the shank.

3. A latch, mechanism for a door having a curved outer panel with a latch actuating handle mounted thereon for rot'ation'substantially in one plane, said mounting including a ball joint between said handle andsaid outer panel comprising a latch member mounted on an inner panel of said door for reciprocation in a'second plane oblique to said first plane, a latch operating member rotatably mounted substantially in said second plane and relatively vertically displaced from said handle, a solid actuating shank extending between I said handle and said latch operating member and having its ends substantially normal to said respective planes, said shank beingintermediately operating/mechanism rotatably mount c to said respe tive pa es; said 'sh'ank he 1 gular bends ither inaina achcrtwonorin'a f-planesi 'conforming,to'fsaidlplanes of displacement e f angle-of saidibend in' said plane ofgj reater is placement being substantiallyt ice-that of" the angle ofsaid bend in said other normal plane; and said shank being' received at the latch end- 'v inan openingIsub'stanti'aHylarger thanth'e shank; 5 A latchimeciianismfor a door having an inwardly curved outer panel with alatch actuating handle mountedtheron for rotation substantially in one plane comprisingalatbh havi'n'ga back plate secured to an inner panel of said door in a-secondplane" oblique to said first plane and 1 carryin'ga latchlmemberreciprccaiiiein saidlsec-- 0nd plane operated by a rollback rotatablywith: said second plane, said rollback bein'g'displac'eda substantial distance vertically froms'a'id actuating handle, and'a solid actuating shank extendin'g'betvveensaid handle and said rollback and having its ends s bstantian'y norma to sa d respective plane's, said} shan'k being in'terme'diately deformed in each oftwo normai'pla'nes, so that rotation of said handle causes equivalent'rota'tion of said shank" and said rollbackabout a constantly processing axis passing through a fixed point at said rollback, and' said shank being-received at the latch endfi'n anopening in themtatable latch operating member substantially largerthan the shank. v

6. In a vehicle door, a lat'ch mechanism comprising a rollback, rotatably'mount'ed' in--. a housing in a plane substantially conforming tothat of an inner panel of'said door, acurved'outer panel Of said door having an'actuating-shandle mounted thereon .for rotation substantially in a second plane oblique tosaia 'flrst plane, the axis of-rotation orsaid handle being obliquetoith'e aiiis'of'rotation of said rollbackand'saidsaxes'b'eing lateral ly di'splacedya solid hank-fikcdlysecuredto saidv mounted on said backingv plate in parallelism han le-at one end substantially norma tosai second plane and havin'g'its other endextending shank I being bent intermediate its end in each"- of two normal planes, the angularity ofthe bend in one said normal plane being. substantially twice that in the other saidnorm'alplane.

7. In a lock actuating mechanism; "a handle,- a solid shank nixed for rotationwith" saidilia'ntlle;a ball joint element on said handle, saidsha'nk'being bentat-a point intermediate its ends-in each" oftwo substantially normal planes, the angularity of the bend in one said normal planebeingsubstantially twice the angularity of the bendin the othersaid normal plane,'the shank being received at the end remote from the handle in an opening substantially larger than the shank; v 8. A look actuating shank bentat a point in-- termediate its ends in' each of two substantially normal-planes, the 'angularity of the bendin'one of said normal planes being twice the angularity of thejben'd in'the other of said normal planes.

9. A lock actuating shank bent at a point intermediate-its end in each of two angularly disposed planes,; the angularity of the bend in one of said planes beingsubstantially greater than the angularity of the bend in the other of said planes;

10. 1:1 a latch' operatmg'mecnanism fora door having a curved outerv panel with a latch actuat inghandle mounted thereon for rotation in one plane,"said door having'a latch member mounted on said door for reciprocation in a second plane oblique to the first plane, a solid actuating shank extending between said handle and said latch member, said shank having its ends substantially normal "to said respective planes and interme- Number diately deformed so that rotation of said handle causes equivalent rotation of said shank about an axis passing through a fixed point at said latch REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: j 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 2,329,232 Van Voorhees Sept. 14, 1943 1,877,331 Johnstone Sept. 13, 1932 1,970,758 Lyons. et a1 Aug. 21, 1934 2,075,829 Ottinger Apr. 6, 1937

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