US2544253A - Door closer mechanism - Google Patents

Description

March 6, 1951 M. CARLSON ETAL 2,544,253

DOOR CLOSER MECHANISM Filed May 11, 1949 l5 L 1 v INVENTORS Marina 0'7'26072 an vide animp oiled socketed" fnem on FIE ltlartin; Carlson; Broolifield; antBOt-tdb D: Michael;-

sen; Evel g11 .com Bggrk; Ill.,:(.assignots;- by miesne ignme ts: i ee cage, Ill

Thisinv'ention';rel'zttesf closer mechanisms. In dooiiolosefiiineohanismsof the type that'are mountedf the-floor; of a. build-"- ing structure; adjacent anedge: of thezdoor an actuatingpin o'r'stud generally'is providedas; e.- pai t of the" mechanismathat projectslabovej the. floor level for engagementby mam secured-{to the Iowa-edge 0'1. thedo'oiw fons'upportingthe; door alndi for? turning. the. pin as the door is opened; turning of: the? pin generally through. cam action stores: up: energy in a spring structure; which effects the: return movement of" the door' to closed" position; unden 94::- cushioning; or: com

trolling action: of a: dash 150E103 the: like; form:

ing a part ofi'theimechanismfl p The arms of the? type ment-ioned;iv and; here undeneons-ideretion, are provided withheads that are r sed; o ket o rece v e he pset portion of the pin; The sockets referred to are i rm d -n t lowe he tre-and 9 apt te dlv a t th' h h i o s ib tane t peee etlthe: upper ends, and; sincevsubsteintiellythe en;

tire. weight of the doorto which snchen erm is efiectuating pin v of dear closer" s which, when'the'head is fe ee; sli hu'y with sp'et'to thepiifin" eltatiri'gthe door to 'ajusted position above the floor, enables a shim o1 spei'oer" to'he 'ihsefted in the socket over the' end-of "the p'in without removing the-socketTroni the pin of 'the-fdooiffroih itsil iing'edsu' ipo'rt's5- A other objectfof tlie invehjtionis tb fir v 'secliet 'airmforn do or close'r' rneohanism' thet'i formed as to permit insertion of a shim OffS I'fl IDQ to improvements indoor Amadditional oki jeo't of theinvention is to pro: videeni improvedrdoon supportingiermfor at door closerm'echenisni that isxprovided with a clamp: ing head sorformed to permit insertion ot a; suitable? key; or spline imposition for keying the head to" the: pint of the door closer mechanism after: the! door has been hung and properly ad; justedlrelatiye to thedoor opening=, whereby'durf i'ng the making of:' such adjustments the door is freely movable; om its pivotal ajxis independently oflonuninfiuenced b y the-door closer-mechanism;

Other: objects: of; the.- invention relate to; var;- ious features -otgconstmictions25nd arrangement of parts: which wili be: apparent from a: consider-a: tion: of; the follovxzingg specification andeccom' pa-nying; drawing," wherein:

Eigure 1 isf 211 plan View; of: as door: supporting aim andthe associeted pin ofr a door 'closer mech ariisin: of the-type mounted in the: floor 5 adjacent one side: of the: door opening};

Fig;- 2: is; an eleilational View; of the structure shownm Fig? 13 a door being indicated by the broken-dines; V i

Fig; 3 is a;-: detailseetion'e h view-taken om line 3 3' at: 1;; ane-; p I

In? th I10: indicates; generally? as door v rm 0 a-typ' adaptedto be secured b-yscreWs; rth likepin atgroov on chehnePpTrofvided in the lower edge-ore; door. The ar ihr I50 is provided with el-xliterally' offset head ind-i'cateii generallyby numeral Hi. The-head: I :l isaprovided' with: at: rec'ess oi'tsocket' 1'2 open: at the lower side of the head whicii' enablesrtliemead to be slipped downwardly over-the upper portion: of a pin" or stud; l3 of:- a? door closer: mechanism? The. piri projects; ebove tli'e'? floor line} as is? well known? whilethe mechanism itself, indicated generally by numeral; l 4 ,1i s supn'car te'd ina5 cement" casing lo'ceitedwithiri the flooi' structiiie Siioh a' door is provided with: an: upper.- hinge: member, not snowman the-drewingpwhioh, vtogether with the pin: is; provide the pivotal? axis about which the: door swingsz The headil l isiprovided with an upper-wen l 5. whieh closes the upper: end of the socketg and which: wait normally: seeit the" upper end' of htlofi the door up: Ten-emitted t'othe p'iii needle! shownzin the. rewinlgis providedi ithar were Hi which -e tehds nemoriesia tt the je'oeht si f: ek'et foi rendering the heet V s" "hat nti eetn the' ti-gl'itenin of e v e: screw?" M; wherebythe so'eket cam-be tightened upon the pin. Mere frictional contact between the socket walls and the pin is not relied upon to prevent relative movement of the arm with respect to the pin, for the reason that the swinging of the door to open position must turn the pin, which generally, through cam action, results in the storing up of energy in a spring structure forming part of the door closer mechanism for effecting the closing of the door when the same has been released.

For preventing slippage or relative movement of a head with reference to a pin, the sockets and pins of door closers have heretofore sometimes been formed of rectangular form in crosssection or provided with splines or keys. The formation of a socket which is rectangular in cross-section for coaction with a pin of like shape, requires certain manufacturing steps that are avoided by the present construction. By makin the socket and the pin cylindrical, the manufacture of the pin and head is facilitated and the keying of the head to the pin can be accomplished by the mechanism shown in the drawing, after the door has been mounted on the arm and the arm placed upon the pin, and adjustments of the door have been made without thereafter removing the head from the pin. For accomplishing this and an additional purpose to be hereinafter described, an upper portion of the head is provided in efiect with a cut-out defined by faces I8 and I9, which intersect in an upper portion of the socket, providing a port 20 communicating with the socket. The socket is provided with a keyway 2| for receiving a key which is rectangular in cross-section and indicated by the numeral 22, while the pin is provided merely with a flat surface 23 which may be formed by a grinding operation, as will be seen. The provision of the cut-out described, renders the upper end of the keyway 2| accessible from the exterior of the head, which, as shown in Fig. 1, is located at one side of the plane of the door. Hence, when the keyway 2| and the fiat face 23 of the pin are in registration, the key 22 can be inserted in position for preventing relative rotation of the head with reference to the pin. After insertion of the key 22, the screw I! is rotated in a direction to tighten the head firmly upon the pin for holding the parts against relative movement.

After the arm has been secured to the door and the latter mounted in position with the head on the pin, a small tool constituting a temporary key, such as a screw driver bit, or the like, can be inserted in the keyway 2| when the door is closed, notwithstanding that the fiat surface 23 will not then be in perfect registration with the keyway. The reason for the lack of registration just mentioned, is that the flat face 23 is provided on the pin at such position that the closer mechanism will tend to swing the arm beyond a position parallel with the plane of the door when closed, and thereby exert sufficient force for retaining the door fully closed against the jamb against gusts of wind, etc. After insertion of the temporary key, the door is swung to an open position, which will effect rotation of the pin in a direction for storing up energy in the closer mechanism. The temporary key, such as the screw driver mentioned, is then withdrawn from the keyway and as the pin is rotated by the door closer mechanism, the door is manually rotated toward closed position at a rate to eifect registration of the keyway IS with the flat face 23, at which time, the key 22 is pressed into position for keying the parts together. Itwill be understood that the movement of the pin by the mechanism is relatively slow, and that a workman can readily swing the door at the proper rate to effect registration of the keyway 21 with the fiat face 23 to enable the key to be inserted. In the event the door closer mechanism is of the type which will releasably hold the door in an open position, a temporary key, such as a screw driver bit, can be utilized for temporarily keying the head to the pin for swinging the pin to the hold-open position referred to, after which the screw driver is removed and the door adjusted relatively to the pin to eifect registration of the keyway and the flat surface 23, and the key 22 then inserted. The final keying of the head to the key, as described above, is a distinct advantage not only from the standpoint of manufacture of the parts, but for the reason that after the arm l0 has been secured to the door and the head has been mounted upon the pin, the head can be freely rotated on the pin during adjustment of the door to proper position with respect to the door opening. Hence, with the improved structure, the door can be properly adjusted by means not shown, for shifting the position of the pin l3 or the pintle of the upper hinge member, before keying the head to the pin.

The cut-out section, above referred to, is of advantage in another respect. Sometimes, due to wear of the parts of the hinge structure, or due to sagging of the door, or to changes in the condition of the floor, it becomes necessary to elevate the door slightly with reference to the floor. With the mechanism shown in the drawing, the door can be raised with reference to the pin after loosening the clamp screw IT, to enable the insertion of a shim or spacer 24 of proper thickness between the upper end of the pin and the upper closed end of the socket, thus holding the door in the elevated position to provide the clearance necessary. The spacer 24 is shown in the form of a washer having a central recess 25 which is aligned axially with a threaded recess 26 provided in the pin I3. The recess 26 is designed to receive a screw 21 for holding an ornamental cover plate 28 in position on the head, the coverv plate being indicated by broken lines in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive. The screw, however, is removed when a shim 24 is to be inserted, and upon replacement of the screw, the diameter of which is less than the diameter of the recess 25, the screw retains the shim in position against dislodgment through the port 20 formed by the cut-out portion of the head above referred to. It will be understood that in forming the cut-out, the portion need not actually be cut away, but that the head may be forged in the form illustrated. The cut-out providesaccess to the socket for the insertion of a key, as described above, after a door has been hung and properlyadjusted, and also permits insertion of a shim for adjusting the door elevationally without removal of the head I from the pm.

The arm herein described is shown but not claimed in the prior application of Martin Carlson, one of the joint applicants of the present application, said prior application having been filed April 29, 1949, Serial No. 90,530 for Door Closers.

While we have shown and described a structure that is illustrative of the invention, variations thereof may be utilized without departure from the spirit of the invention defined by the appended claims- 'v:.-:

We claim:

1. A door supporting armvfor a floor mounted door closer mechanism comprising a rotatable vertical actuating pin, said arm being provided with a head having a vertical socket open at the lower surface of the head and having a top closure wall adapted to rest on the upper end of the pin when the head is in position on the pin, said head being provided with a lateral recess communicating with the upper portion of the socket through which a shim can be inserted between the upper end of the pin and said wall for supporting the head and arm in an elevationally adjusted position with respect to the pin, and means for retaining the shim in position on the end of the pin.

2. A door supporting arm for a door closer mechanism comprising a rotatable vertical actuating pin, said arm being provided with a head having a vertical socket open at the lower surface of the head and having a top closure wall adapted to rest on the upper end of the pin when the head is in position on the pin, said head being provided with a lateral recess communicating with the upper portion of the socket through which a perforated disc-shaped shim can be inserted between the upper end of the pin and said wall for supporting the head and arm in elevationally adjusted position with respect to the pin, said wall and pin being provided with registering openings, and a screw extending through the opening in the wall into the opening in said pin and adapted to pass through the perforation in the shim for retaining the latter in position on the end of the pin.

3. A door supporting arm for a door closer mechanism comprising a rotatable vertical actuating pin, said arm being provided with a head having a vertical socket open at the lower surface of the head and having a top closure wall adapted to rest on the upper end of the pin when the head is positioned on the pin, said head being provided with exterior walls intersecting in a chordal line of the socket to provide a recess communicating with the upper portion of the socket providing access to the latter for accommodating insertion of a shim horizontally into the socket between the upper end of the pin and the top wall of the socket, and means for retaining a shim in position in the socket.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Rixson June 10, 1913 Number

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