US2541720A

US2541720A - Roller latch

Info

Publication number: US2541720A
Application number: US27026A
Authority: US
Inventors: David M Robinson
Original assignee: Stanley Works
Current assignee: Stanley Works
Priority date: 1948-05-14
Filing date: 1948-05-14
Publication date: 1951-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 1968-02-13

Description

D. M. ROBINSON Feb. 13, 1951 ROLLER LATCH Filed May 14, 1948 l I E0 /9 50a 25 /O a woe/whom DAV/0 M ROB/N5 o/v Patented Feb. 13, 1951 ROLLER LATCH David M. Robinson, New Britain, Conn., assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Coma, a corporation of Connecticut Application May 14, 1948, Serial No. 27,026

Claims.

The present invention relates generally to latches and, more particularly, to roller latches of the type comprising a spring loaded roller supported in the edge ofa door for engaging a strike or keeper mortised into theiamb.

Roller latches of the type referred to are commonly utilized on interior doors which do not require a positive latch. Such latches are effective to retain the door in closed position by reason of the resistance to compression ofthe roller supporting spring but at the same time the door may be readily opened merely by applying sufficient opening force which causes the roller to ride up on the strike and thus release the latch.

When a roller latch is installed in a door, it will be appreciated, the functioningof the roller latch will depend on the amount of compression to which the supporting spring is subjected when the door is opened and closed. The desired amount of resistance to be obtained by the spring will vary in accordance with the intended use of the door and the wishes of the user. The amount of compression obtained will vary unless adjusted as a result of varying distances'between the door and jamb, this being different, not only as between different installations but will also vary in the same door with the seasons as the door expands or contracts due to moisture conditions.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a roller latch which has an adjustable spring action such that the amount of compression of the spring when the door is opened and closed may be adjusted as desired.

A principal object of the invention is to provide such an adjustable feature whereby the spring compression may be adjusted without removing the latch from the door thus facilitating the adjustment of the spring to the desired degree for the particular installation and without need for disassembly of the latch.

Another principal object of the invention is to provide such an adjustable arrangement which not only is operable while the latch is mounted in the door and without disassembly of the latch but which has the added feature of being adjustable without the use of any tools whatsoever, the construction being such that the latch members may be manually unlocked, manipulated and relocked in adjusted position with a minimum expenditure of time and effort and without the use of any instrumentality other than the fingers of the operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an adjustable latch which is foolproof in operation, which is made of a minimum of parts, which is easy and economical to fabricate and assemble, and which is of simple and rugged construction such that it will provide long and satisfactory service without the need for frequent replacements and repairs.

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

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

In the drawingsj- Figure 1 is a plan view of the latch mounted in a door with the door, ijamb and strike being shown in cross section; 1

Fig. 2 is a view similar to that in Fig. 1 except that it is taken at therefrom and with the latch housing in cross section to show the internal parts of the latch;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the latch;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the latch positioned as viewed in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the latch A, embodying the present invention, is shown mounted in the edge of a door B where it will engage a keeper C which i mortised into a jamb D in the usual manner. The latch of the present invention is intended to be used like any other roller latch where it is not required to have a positive latch, such as on closet doors or any other interior residential door, for example. The latch will provide a sufficient holding force to handle a full size residential door. The latch may be of any desired size but in the preferred embodiment is sufficiently small so as to fit into a hole in the edge of the door of the order of in diameter.

The latch includes a cylindrical or tubular housing In which is adapted to fit into the hole H in the edge of the door B as above described. The housing I0 is provided at its outer end with a plate [2 which may be secured to the edge of the door B by any suitable means such as'the screws I3. line to the plate 12 may be provided to improve the appearance of the asembled latch.

The housing 10 has a reduced portion l5 which is internally threaded as at !6 so as to threadinches ably receive a bushing I! which is similarly threaded. By turning the bushing ll, it will be A face plate l4 conforming in out- 3 apparent that the bushing may be adjusted toward and away from the edge of the door,

The bushing ll has a central opening 18 which, in the specific embodiment shown, is of square cross section so as to correspond to the cross section of a plunger i9. The plunger [3 is provided at its outer end with a yoke 28 which is considered part of the plunger and is adapted to fit within the housing '19, this yoke being provided with a transverse shaft 2! on which is rotatably mounted a conventional hard rubber roller 22.

A spiral spring is loosely mounted on the plunger 19 between the yoke Ziiand -the bushing IT. This spring 25 resiliently opposes any 'inward thrust of the plunger 19 and hence retraction of the roller 22. The inner'end of'theplunger l9 has a small washer 26 fixed thereto to provide a flange and between this washer 2'5 and the bushing I! there is provided a second spiral sprihg fl'l which i's a-lso loosely carried "oh the pmnger IS. The s'pri'n'g' '2 l is considerably light- 'r than the spring- 25 and ih'erely s'er'ves to y i'eldihgly retain'the plunger [9 in the retracted pos'i-tion with the yoke 2 aabuttin'g against the spring The housing fll is provided with a series of longitudinalindentations or grooves 36 of'which t'wo grooves 30a are somewhat wider and deeper than the remaining grooves. "The yoke 20 is pro- "Vldd at opposite sides "with a 'pair of notches 3 la which are of 'suificie'nt-depth to re'ceivethe grooves -30 a'hd thus 'permit the yoke to enterthe housing It] and, when the 'yok e is so received iri-tol the housing, prevent the yoke from ti'irhihg. The --'-1at'ch g'r ooves 30a are at opposite sides of the hoarse thatfi-when'the yoke is receivedinto the housing iii, the roller will always' -beat right angles 'to the-path of movement of the door and therefore will be properly positioned for proper functioning. 'I'he remaining grooves 30 are received in corresponding notches I ih 'the yoke 20 which further assistsin positioning the yoke.

During closing movement of the door -B, the roller 22 is first cammed inwardly by *the'strike portion-32 and then, when the door isfully closed, the roller is moved outwardly by'th'e expansion of spring-25 to the fullest extent permitted by the recessed "por'tion'of the keeper C, thereby retaining the'door in closed position. lhe adjustment 'of the latch is preferably such that thespring 25 is not fully extended when the door is closed and'the degree to which it remains compressed, of 'course, dependsupon the'adjusted position of bush-ing l7. applied to the door, the roller 22 will be again cammed inwardly by the strike portion 32 permitting the roller to clear the jamb. However, because of the shape of the strike portion 32, the resistance to opening movementof the door is about four times that which is exerted during closing movement of the door. It will be apparent, therefore, that the amount of force exerted by the spring 25, both when the door is fully closed and during opening and closing movements, will depend upon the design of the keeper C, which would be the same in most ins'tallations, and the extent to which spring 25 is compressed which, in turn, depends upon the adjusted position of the bushing ll as aforesaid. It is an important advantage of the present "invention that the latch formed as -descr1bed herein may be readily adjusted without disassembly of the latch and without the use'of any tools whatsoever. In order to adjust the posi- When sufiicient opening force is 4 tion of the bushing H, it is only necessary for the operator merely to grasp the roller 22 between the thumb and forefinger and pull out the plunger 19 to a sufiicient amount such that the yoke 26 will clear the housing I0. It is then a simple matter to turn the yoke 20 and hence the plunger i9 which, in turn, rotates the bushing I! to 'Ihove it in or out in the reducedportion I5 of the housing Il]. Turning of "the bushing I! when the plunger 19 is turned is caused by the square cross section of the plunger l9 and the opening I8 in the bushing H which permits sliding movement between the plunger 19 and the bushing I! but does'not permit relative turning "of one with respect to the other. Washer 26 "prevents the plunger I9 from being entirely withdrawn.

When the plunger I9 has been turned sufficiently'to adjust the bushing ll, the roller 22 is properly aligned, that is, turned parallel to the -'fioor and then rlea'se'd whereupon th'e spring 2 I will retract' the plunger is and yoke 2e into the housing. 'With the roller 22 S0 'ailigne'd, the notches 3la will receive the grooves 3011. and thus permit the yoke toenter into the housing 'and'thereafter prevent the yoke and plunger from turning.

When the foregoing adjustment hasb'een accomplished, the door 'rnay be tested by opening and closing same'to 'seeifthe latchis properly adjusted. It further adjustment is'requi'red, the operation above described may be'rea'dilyiepeated until the proper adjustment "is "accomplished. Inasmuch=as it is unnecessary to 'disassemble the latchor to utilize any tools,itwill be apparent that an exact adjustment will beaccomplished in'a minimum of time and with a minimum of efiort. I

As many changes could be made in "the above construction 1 and many apparently *Widely-difie'rent embodiments ofthis invention could'be made without*departin'g fromthe scope thereof, 'it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in'the accomp'ah'yingdrawmgs shall be interpreted as illustr'ative and not in a limiting sense. I I l v -It"is"also tofbe understood that the language use'din the following-claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specificieatures of'the inwe'ri'tioifhereihjdescrihed-ahd e11 statements'ofthe s'cope 6f the invention which, as "a "'matter of ran uage, might be said to "fa'll' therebetween.

T oIaiin aslny invention:

1. A roller latch{comprisingahou'sing adapted to be 'r n'ounted intheedge dfado'or, a supporting member threadably received 'in {the housing and -adapted by turningto be adjusted toward 'and fawa-y froin th'e edgeofthe door, aplurige'r in "said housing slidabl but. non-rotatably "received *through said iiiemben a "roller supported "on "the outer end of the plunger, and spring -means supported by said member 'forfurgin'g the 'jplunger 'outwardly.

2 A j'roller "latch "comprising a 'housirig adapt- "edtobe mounted in the edgeof' a door, Ia'supporting member threadably received in" the housing and a'c'laptedb'yturnihg to beadjusted toward and away from the edge or the door, "a plunger 'in said housing longitudinally slidably'but non- "ro'tatably received through said "member, rs'p'ri'rig means extending beiwveen the member .and the plunger f or "'yieldingly "supporting the plunger in predetermined longitudinal position, 'a'ri dfroller supporting mean an the outer-end of the plunger adaptedby "engagement withthe "housing "when the plunger is in said predetermined longitudinal position to prevent the plunger from turning.

3. A roller latch comprising a housing adapted to be mounted in the edge of a door, a supporting member threadably received in the housing and adapted by turning to be adjusted toward and away from the edge of the door, a plunger of non-circular cross section extending through said member, said member having an opening corresponding to said cross section for slidably and non-rotatabl receiving the plunger and said plunger including a. roller support fixed to the outer end thereof, a roller carried by said support, means for yieldingly maintaining the plunger in predetermined longitudinal position with respect to the supporting member such that the roller extends outwardly from the housing including a first spring extending between the roller support and. the adjacent side of the supporting member, a second spring at the opposite side of the supporting member, and means on the inner end of the plunger for engaging the second spring, and interengaging means on the housing and roller support for preventing turning of the support while the plunger is in said predetermined position, said roller being adapted to be manually drawn outwardly to free the roller support from the housing to permit the plunger to be turned to adjust the said supporting member.

4. A roller latch comprising a housing adapted 1 circular cross section extending through said 1 member, said member having an opening corresponding to said cross section for slidably and non-rotatably receiving the plunger, a roller support fixed to the outer end of the plunger, a roller carried thereby, a flange on the inner end of the plunger, a first spring extending between the roller support and said member for resiliently resisting inward movement of the plunger, a second spring extending between the flange and aid member for resiliently resisting outward movement of said plunger, and interengaging means on the housing and roller support to prevent rotation of the support within the housing and to prevent entry of the support into the housing except when the roller is in predetermined angular relationship with respect to the housing.

5. A roller latch comprising a generally cylindrical housing adapted to be mounted in the edge of a door, a supporting member threadably received in the housing and adapted by turning to be adjusted toward and away from the edge of the door, a plunger of polygonal cross section extending through said member, said member having an opening corresponding to th cross section of said plunger for slidably but non-rotatably receiving the plunger, a roller support on the outer end of the plunger, a roller carried thereby, said support and the housing being provided with indentations and ribs, respectively, such that the member may be slidably and non-rotatably received into the housing only when the roller is in a predetermined angular position with respect to the housing, a helical spring on the plunger extending between the roller support and said member for yieldingly resisting inward movement of the plunger, a flange on the inner end of the plunger, and a second helical spring on th plunger extending between said flange and said member for yieldingly resisting outward movement of the plunger whereby the roller support may be manually pulled outwardly to clear the housing and to turn the plunger to adjust the supporting member following which the roller support may be released for reentry into the housing when the roller is in said predetermined angular position.

DAVID M. ROBINSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,330,945 Kuhn Feb. 17, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 380,028 Great Britain Sept. 8, 1932 468,220 Great Britain June 30, 1937 477,855 Great Britain Jan. '7, 1938