US3016255A

US3016255A - Leaf spring knob retainer

Info

Publication number: US3016255A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred J Russell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-12-13
Filing date: 1960-12-13
Publication date: 1962-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 1979-01-09

Description

Jan. 9, 1962 F. J. RUSSELL 3,01 I

LEAF SPRING KNOB RETAINER Filed Dec. 13, 1960 25 lo i jgl 1 f g 25 la 47 28 l4 IG :7 I8 35 I5) 50 i INVENTOR, [27250 J: RussELz BY 3% g 1W ATTORNEYS United States Patent U 3,016,255 LEAF SPRING KNOB RETAINER Fred L'Russell, 3800 Don Felipe Drive,

Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Dec. 13, 1960, Ser. No. 75,535 3 Claims. (Cl. 292-352) The invention relates to door locks but rather to that portion of a door lock which is concerned with the fastening of a knob on the lock actuating spindle.

When a door lock is to be mounted upon a door, it is regularly in a partially sub-assembled condition. In a passage set for an interior door, frequently both knobs are removed, although in an entrance set for reasons of security, one knob may be in position and only the second knob removed.

The most common expedient heretofore employed for fastening the knob to a tubular spindle has been a springpressed keeper which is forced outwardly through coinciding holes in the spindle and in a shank portion of the knob. Springs for spring keeper actuation of this kind have continued to present a problem because of the rather limited space allowed for them, making employment of rather small springs a necessity. In some instances a longitudinal leaf spring has been tried customarily located inside of the spindle with some degree of acceptance. On other occasions very small coiled springs have been resorted to in order to have them small enough to be mounted inside of the spindle between the keeper and the inner wall. Springs of the kind mentioned have been difficult to assemble. Moreover, because of the fact that they have had to be kept of rather small dimensions, building springs having a proper degree of strength and resiliency as well as offering the desired long life characteristics has presented more of a problem than the industry has been able to satisfactorily solve.

It'is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide a new and improved keeper means for attaching an operating assembly such as a knob to a tubular spindle which is simply constructed, thereby making it easy to install without any sacrifice of security and durability.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved keeper device for holding an operating assembly upon a tubular spindle which can be applied to the exterior of the spindle without need for enlarging any of the conventional portions of the lock and which by reason of application to the exterior greatly facilitates installation and removal, as well as improving the ease with which the operating assembly can he slid into place. that is to say, by manipulation of the operating assembly alone without specially depressing the keeper by hand.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved keeper device for holding an operating assembly upon a tubular spindle which, because of being built to relatively large dimension, minimizes tension to a degree such that the building of the spring is no longer critical and accordingly provides a rather 's-imple, inexpensive spring which can be counted upon to retain its operating efficiency for especially long periods without deterioration, hardening or breaking.

Still further among the objects of the invention is to provide a new and improved leaf type spring for holding a keeper pin in operating position in a tubular spindle, the arrangement being such that the pin can be easily dropped into position and the spring attached thereto at a location and in a fashion such that the spring serves not only to hold the keeper in a position securing the knobto the spindle but also may be depended upon to assist in bolding the spindle itself in proper operating relationship with the remaining portions of the device.

With these and other objects in view, the invention 3,016,255 Patented Jan. 9, 1962 consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, point,- ed out in the appended claims and illustrated in accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: k

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of one side of a lock set showing the operating assembly in attached" position upon a tubular spindle.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal view partially broken away and with the knob removed showing the relationship of the keeper elements.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1. 7

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIGURE view taken -on-- the line 4 but showing the action of the spring when the keeper pin is depressed.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view partially broken away taken from a position degrees removed'from the position of FIGURE 1. v

In the embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration, there is shown one side of a latch some appropriate plastic medium separating the tubular spindle 16 from an interior surface 18 of the bushing 15. At the inner end of the tubular spindle is a flange 19,a

portion of which may serve as a roll-back for manipulat-,-

ing a latch bolt (not shown) in the conventional fashion; The flange also serves to anchor the inner end of the spindle against being withdrawn longitudinally from the frame 13. i

On the exterior of the bushing are threads 20 adapted to be'engaged by a threaded portion 21 of a decorative sleeve 22, the sleeve being engageable with a rosette 23 which is forced into position against the door when the. latch operating assembly is mounted upon it. Anouter portion of the sleeve 22 is spaced from the bushing leaving an annular space 24 therebetween. a

'An operating assembly, here, shown in the form of a knob 25, has a neck 26 of such shape and size as to. be. slidably and rotatably mounted upon a smooth outer end 27 of the bushing 15, while atthe same time being long enough to extend into the annular space 24 beneath the,

decorative sleeve 22. A footing 28 may, if preferred, be

provided at the outer end of the knob in a position receptive of an outer end of the tubular spindle 16.

To .hold the knob non-rotatably attached to the tubuit .lar spindle, there is provided a keeper or keeper pin indicated generally by the reference character 30.. ;This is a flat element having a retaining end 31 and a pressure end 32. On one side of the tubular spindleis. an opening 33 having a width and breadth suiiicient to slidably receive the retaining end .31 of the keeper. On the wall of the tubular spindle diametrically opposite the opening 33 is a larger opening 35 having a length and breadth sufiicient to freely and slidably receive the pressure. end 32 of the keeper 30. From this relationship of sizes it will be noted that the keeper 30 can be dropped into position transversely mounted within the tubular spindle by inserting the keeper, small end first, through the opening 35 and then into the opening 33. Shoulders 36, which in the chosen embodiment are 10- the I cated between the retaining end 31 and the pressure end 32 of the keeper, serve as stops to limit motion of the keeper inwardly when they engage an inner wall 3'7 of the tubular spindle. A hole 38 through the keeper may be provided on those occasions where an inner locking spindle might need to be extended through the tubular spindle.

To hold the keeper 30 in position within the spindle and to provide the resilient retention needed for its operation, there is an arcuate leaf spring 40' having

opposite ends

41 and 42 extending more than half-way around the exterior of the tubular spindle, the ends having tips 43 outwardly turned to improve the ease of installation. There is, however, ample space between the tips sufiicient to adequately clear the side edges of the retaining end 31 of the keeper. At the outermost edge of the pressure end of the keeper is a boss 44 which fits in an aperture 45 in the spring 40. This serves a multiple purpose in that it secures the spring and keeper in proper relationship and also anchors the spring against longitudinal movement along the exterior of the tubular spindle. As shown particularly in FIGURES and 2, the spring 40 abuts an end edge 46 of the bushing 15 when assembled and since the spring is prevented from shifting endwise by its engagement with the keeper 30, the spring serves as a means for temporarily locking the spindle in the bushing.

In the neck 26 is an opening 47 which coincides with and is in radial alignment with the opening 33 in the tubular spindle. When the keeper is in the position shown in FIGURES l and 4, it extends simultaneously through the

openings

33 and 47, thereby to fasten the neck 26 of the knob and the knob 25 upon the spindle so that it cannot be moved either rotationally or longitudinally with respect thereto. In this position the spindle and knob act as a unit so that manipulation of the knob can be passed to the roll-backs for manipulating the latch bolt (not shown).

When the knob is to be removed, the retaining end 31 may be depressed by employment of some convenient tool such as a screwdriver end 39 far enough so that it clears the interior surface of the neck. W'hen depressed the spring 40 takes the position shown in FIG- URE to which it is forced by action of the keeper. This is sufiicient to permit the 'knob to be withdrawn, after which the spring will extend the keeper outwardly to the position of FIGURES 2 and 3.

When the knob is to be reapplied, it is not necessary to "manually depress the keeper inasmuch as the neck of the knob can be simultaneously titled over the spring keeper and over the outer end 27 of the bushing on the side opposite from the exposed end of the spring keeper and the keeper manipulated sufficiently by the neck of the knob to depress it until the neck is slid into the position of FIGURES 1 and 4, after which the spring 40 previously distended by depression of the keeper will force the retaining end 31 of the keeper through the

appropriate openings

33 and 47 to the retained position initially shown and described.

As is clear from the description, the employment of a leaf spring'of relatively great length and width on the exterior of the tubular spindle makes it possible to easily slip the arcuate spring into position. Because the length of the-spring is so great,'extending as it does around a relatively large proportion of the outside circumference of-the spindle, there is never exerted excessive strain upon the spring during its operation or during its assembly. Once in position, the spring works smoothly and evenly and in the dependable fashion which makes the relationship a particularly advantageous one.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

Having described the invention, what is claimed 'as new in support of Letters Patent is:

1. A look sub-assembly comprising a spindle having a keeper opening, a keeper positioned transversely within said spindle having a retaining end adapted to extend outwardly through said keeper opening and having a pressure end extending outwardly through said spindle.

on a side opposite said keeper opening, an arcuate leaf spring in engagement with said pressure end of the keeper, legs of said spring extending more than half-way around the outside of said spindle whereby to hold said spring on the spindle and to urge said keeper outwardly into position.

2. A lock sub-assembly comprising a spindle, an operating member including a neck surrounding said spindle, said neck having a keeper opening, said spindle having a keeper opening adapted to coincide with said first identified opening and having a keeper assembly opening in alignment therewith, a keeper positioned transversely within said spindle having a retaining end adapted to extend outwardly through said keeper openings thereby to releasably hold the neck in position relative to the spindle and having a pressure end extending outwardly into said keeper assembly opening, an arcuate leaf spring in engagement with said pressure end of the keeper, legs of said spring extending more than half Way around the outside of said spindle whereby to hold. said spring on the spindle and to urge said keeper into-a position of engagement jointlywith the neck and the spindle.

3. A lock sub-assembly comprising a frame having a bearing bushing extending outwardly therefrom, a spindle rotatably mounted in said bushing, an operating member including a neck surrounding said spindle, said neck having a keeper opening at a location outside said bushing, said spindle having a keeper opening adapted to coincide with said first identified opening and having a keeper assembly opening in alignment therewith, a keeper positioned transversely within said spindle having a retaining end adapted to extend outwardly through said keeper openings thereby to releasably hold the neck in position relative to the spindle and having a pressure end extending outwardly through said keeper assembly opening, an arcuate leaf spring having an opening therein in engagement 'with said pressure end of the keeper, legs of said spring extending more than half way around-the outside of said spindle whereby to hold said spring on the spindle and to urge said keeper into a position of engagement jointly with the neck and the spindle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS