US3072954A

US3072954A - Door closer construction

Info

Publication number: US3072954A
Application number: US54447A
Authority: US
Inventors: George P Patriquin
Original assignee: Independent Lock Co
Current assignee: Independent Lock Co
Priority date: 1960-09-07
Filing date: 1960-09-07
Publication date: 1963-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 1980-01-15

Description

Jan. 15, 1963 e. P. PATRIQUIN DOOR CLOSER CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 7, 1960 ATTORNEY United States Patent I 3,072,954 DOOR CLOSER CONSTRUCTION George P'. Patriquin, Gardener, Mass., assiguor to Indep'en'de'nt Lock Company, Fitchburg, Mass., at corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 54,447

6 Claims. (Cl. 16-66) This invention relates to a door closer assembly, and more particularly to a door closer assembly comprising an aircylinder adapted to be mounted to a door and having reciprocably mounted therein a piston adapted to be operatively connected to a door frame. Upon opening of the door, a coil spring is biased between the piston and the'cylinder, and when the door is released the expanding coil spring, acting through the piston and frame, causes the door to close. The closing movement of the door is dampened by providing a restricted bleed passage in the cylinder for limiting the speed with which air trapped by the piston in the cylinder during the opening of the door may be exhausted from the cylinder.

Still more particularly, this invention relates to an improved-door closer and dampener assembly which may be economically produced, and to a novel method of as-, sembling the same. 1

This invention'furtherrelates to an assembly of the type described having a hold open attachment which'functions to' maintain the door in' partly open condition against the action of the closing spring, the said hold open attachment co -acting with thecloser structure in a novel manner'to eliminate faults encountered when similar hold open attachments are used with closer units heretofore known.

- Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a door closer and dampener assembly of the type previously described.

II i a further object of this invention to provide a simple but efficient assembly of the type described which maybe manufactured inexpensively.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel, low cost door closer having highly economical methods of assembling the latter.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a novel closer of the type described, with a hold open attachmentof known type which functions, when combined with the'closer, to eliminate serious problems encountered when similar hold open expedients were used with closers heretofore known.

To attain these objects and such further objects as may appear herein or be hereinafter pointed out, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, forming a part here: of, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an assembly in accordance with the invention as applied to a door and door frame;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

5 FIGURE 3 is an exploded pre-assembly view of elements of the piston head assembly of the door closer.

. In accordance with the invention, an air cylinder is provided at one cylinder head end 11 with a bleed assembly 12. The end 11 of the cylinder 10 is pivotally secured at 13 to a bracket 14, adapted to be mounted to the door D (see FIGURE 1). A piston rod 15, reciprocably mounted within the cylinder 10, is provided at its outer end 16 with a bracket 17, adapted to be mounted to a door The head assembly 20 is of multi-part construction and,

includes a'rearward piston core member 21, and a forward retainerwasher member 22. The piston core mem-' ber 21, which is preferably formed of molded plastic, in-

cludes an axial cylindrical aperture 23 adapted to be slid" over cylindrical portion 18 of the piston rod 15..

The core 21 includes a rearward cylindrical flange 24. having an outer diameter corresponding closely to the.

inner diameter of the cylinder 10. The core 21 includes a forwardly directed, reduced cylindrical portion 25, the

forward face of the flange 24 defining a forwardly directed shoulder 26.

The core 21 includes a longitudinal aperture 30 extending from the rear of said core, part way through the core, said aperture being joined by a larger aperture 31 extending rearwardly from the forward face of the said core.

A forwardly directed shoulder 32 is formed at the junction of the said two

apertures

30, 31. A recess or aperture 35 extends rearwardly from the front face of the core, partially but not entirely through the said core 21.

Retainer washer 22 is provided with a central boringis seated over the forward cylindrical portion 25 of the core 21, the base 41 of said gasket in said seated position lying against the shoulder 26 of the 'core 21, the branches 42, 43 of said gasket being forwardly directed when the gasket is seated on the core' as above indicated.

A ball 46 is inserted in aperture 31, after which a coil spring 47 is inserted in said aperturebehind the ball 46. Assembly of the piston head is completed by sleeving the washer 22 over the cylindrical portion 18 of the pis-' ton rod 15 in position whereby projection .37 enters recess 35, in which position aperture 38 of the washer will regis-' ter with aperture 31 of the bore.

With the parts thus positioned, the end'48 of the pistonrod 15 may be swaged or otherwise formed outwardly against the outer face 49 of the washer 22, thus imprisoning the ball 46 and spring-47 in aperture 31, and securing the gasket 40 against removal in a forward direction from sylindrical portion 25 of core 21.

An end closure cap 50 is provided by a novel assembly consisting of annular washer 51 of rigid metal con forming closely to the bore of the cylinder 10 and having a central aperture 52, within which aperture there is secured a nylon bushing member 53, serving'the double purpose of providing a self-lubricating piston rod bearing and a yieldable spun metal edge seal. The bushing 53 is provided with an initially cylindrical neck portion 54, which portion is passed through aperture 52 and substantially flared outwardly to the position shown in dotted lines, FIGURE 2, by striking said portion with a spreading tool, by heating and simultaneously spreading said portion or by employing other forming methods to which the cap material responds.

Assembly of the dampener is completed by passing the piston head 20 into the cylinder 10 through the open end 59 of said cylinder, said open end at this stage of assent-- bly being in the dot and dash position shown in FIGURE' 2, and. the turned edges 59a being shielded from view. when forced against the periphery 59b of the cap 50.

Coil spring 60 is next sleeved over the piston rod 15 into position against the piston head 20, after which the end closure cap 50. is similarly sleeved over the rod 15 and againstvthespring60. The spring 60 is maintained under, compressive tension by forcingthe'end cap 5010 a over the washer 'S'Iiasa cylindrical. outlining form as" well as .a reinforcement, said latter operation being most conveniently-carried. out by spinning, raw edges being shielded from view by the cap, as previously described.

The cylinder may be made of aluminum or a light metal suitable for impact casting to the form shown, and

similarly'suitable for spinning over the end reinforce ment in the form of the washer 51, as previously indicated.

I It will be recognized that the end cap closure assembly construction herein provided makes possible and permits the use of a plastic bushing, with its inherent low friction coeflicient advantages, and at the; same time permits the spinning operation without reducing the diameter of the plastic bushing, by utilizing the rigidifying influences of the metallic washer member 51 as the support and rein forcement for spinning.

-Similarly, the piston head provides a highly eflicient air seal, as wellas a ball checkvalve member at a minimum'of cost. Moreover, the disclosed piston head assembly assures tight seal between the" gasket 40 and the walls of the cylinder 10. on the forward reciprocal or' compression stroke of the piston since, on such forward stroke, the outerjbranch 42 of the U-shaped annular gasket 40 tends to expand or be pushed against the said inner walls by the pressure developed between the piston head and the bleed end of the cylinder.

.The novel structure and methods of assembly herein disclosed will tend greatly to reduce the cost of producing an eflicient door closure and dampenerassembly since, unlike assemblies heretofore known, the end cap closure is maintained in position wtihout resort to such expensive expedients as complemental threading between the cap and cylinder. i

Upon opening the door, the piston is shifted toward the end cap 50, air being permitted to enter end 11 of the cylinder through the passage 30, around ball 46 and out passage. 31. The ball, in the course of the opening movement of the door, is dislodged from engagement with shoulder 32 against the pressure of spring 47. By providing an air passage through the piston head effective on the opening stroke of the door, the inward flexing of branch 42 of gasket 40 is avoided. It will be recognized that without such passage, the gasket would be flexed inwardly when the door is opened to permit air to pass between thegasket and the inner wall of the bore, which inward flexion may result in ultimate reduction in air trapping efficiency on the return stroke of the piston.

When the opened door is released, the ball 46 is seated against shoulder. 32, preventing air passage through piston head 20. The pressure in the end ll of the cylinder tends to force the branch 42 into close engagement with the inner bore of the cylinder, to assure maximum dampening .on the return stroke of the piston. 1

. The gradual e'sc'ape'of airthrough adjustablebleed means 12'slows the closing movement of the door. The bleed means 12 is fully'described-in US. Patent No. 2,940,111 and functions as the piston head 20 shifts toward: the end-11 of the cylinder during the closing of the'doon to' permit 'thegradual escape therethrough of air entrapped between the piston head 20 and the end 11. While the bleed means 12 includes a-spring seated ball interposed in the bleed passage, it will be understood that any known door closer bleed means may be employed, the invention herein not being restricted for use with or relating to any particular form of bleed.

1 As previously noted, the. :closure cap 50 is seated against turned ends59a of'thezcylin'der 10 by the action of the closer spring-'60,- and it 'willbe readily recognized that the cap-50. would"be free to move'to: a position within the bore of :the. cylinder but for the aforesaid seating action of the spring, The cap construction thus is differentsfrom closerl its heretofore known wherein the cap is either formed integrally with, or is non-movably secured to the end of the air cylinder, as by complemental threading or the like.

This distinction is important where the closer is provided with a hold open assembly whichmay be optionally engaged to maintain the door to which the closer is ap-. plied in open condition against the closing action of the' closer spring.

rod with slight clearance.

Such hold open assemblies conventionally take the form of a lug, such as the lug 70, afiixed to the end cap and having a rounded, rearwardly directed nose 71. A washer, such as the washer 72, is sleeved over the piston When it is desired to main tain the door in open or partially open condition, the door is first opened to the desired position and the Washer l is then slid along the piston rod into engagement with the nose of the end cap lug. The door may then be released, and the,closer.spring forces'tlie lug eccentrically against the washer, tilting the latter and wedging the same against the rod'to hold the door. l

In conventional closer structures having such hold open units, an additional closing force applied'to the door when the hold open mechanism is engaged, may result in slippage of the washer, bending of the hold washer, dis-- tortion' or unseatlng of the closer support'brack'ets, or even bending of the piston rod. Such additional closing l forces may result from an attempt to close the' door without releasing the washer, from accidental pr'es sure' applied to the door, or even from a strong gust of wind directed'agains't the door.

The conventional hold back unit in combination with the novel closer assembly herein described and illustrated may be used without fear of damage occasioned by the" application of a door closing force to the unit when the same is set in hold open position. The improved oper-" ation is due to the ability of the end cap 50 to shiftto a position within the cylinder (as shown in dot and dash lines, FIGURE 2) when such force is applied. v i

Thus, while an additional closing force mightdamage a conventional closer assembly, the application of such a force to the assembly herein described would merely cause a slight inward movement of the piston and cap 50 as a unit further into the cylinder and no damage to the components could result. This movement would be buffered by the air remaining between the piston head 20 and the bleed end of the cylinder.

' The closer is moved to the door release position in the conventional manner by opening thedoor slightly and at the same time sliding the washer 72 away from the"; cap 50. The door may then be released andwill be closed by the spring 60, as previously described.

Having thus described the invention and illustrated its" use, what is claimed as new and is desired to'be secured by Letters Patent is: p

-'I. A door closer assembly 'or' the like comprising a cylinder having bleed valve means at 'one end,- a'centrally' apertured closure member at the other end and a coilcornpressio'n spring member 'within 'saidcylinder having one end bearing against saidclosurdm'ember, a pistorr assembly contacting the other end of said spring and urged thereby toward said end of said cylinder having said bleed means comprising a cylindrical piston rod member having its outer end'extending through said closure" member and having a reduced cylindrical portion at its inner end section forming an annular shoulder at the junction of said section and said rod member, a piston c'ore having an axial boring sleeved over said inner end section of said piston rod member with the portions of said core surrounding said boring seated against said shoulder, said core including a cylindrical rearward portion of a diameter providing a sliding fit with the inner periphery of said cylinder and a forward cylindrical por-" tion of reduced diameter with respect to said rearward portion, a longitudinal passage being formed through said core, a valve seat formed in saidpassage, a flexible annular gasket member seated on said forward portion of said core, said gasket having an inner diameter corresponding to the diameter of said forward portion of said core and an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of said cylinder, 21 ball valve member loosely positioned in said longitudinal passage of said core forwardly of said valve seat, and a retainer washer carried by said inner end of said piston rod and seated against the inner face of said core, said retainer washer having an aperture aligned with said passage in said core and being of greater diameter than the diameter of said forward portion of said core.

2. A closer assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein said gasket is U-shaped in cross section and said legs of said U are directed toward said bleed end of said cylinder.

3. A door closer assembly or the like comprising a cylinder having bleed valve means at one end, a centrally apertured closure member at the other end and a coil spring member within said cylinder having one end bearing against said closure member, a piston assembly contacting the other end of said spring and urged thereby toward said end of said cylinder having said bleed means, comprising a cylindrical piston rod member having its outer end extending through said closure member and having a reduced cylindrical portion at its inner end forming an annular shoulder at the junction of said inner end section and said rod member, a molded plastic piston core having an axial boring sleeved over said inner end section of said piston rod member, with the portions of said core surrounding said boring seated against said shoulder, said core including a cylindrical rearward portion of a diameter providing a sliding fit with the inner periphery of said cylinder, and a forward cylindrical portion of reduced diameter with respect to said rearward portion, a longitudinal passage being formed through said core, a valve seat formed in said passage, a recess formed in the inner face of said core in angularly spaced relation to said passage of said core, a flexible annular gasket member seated on said forward cylindrical portion of said core, said gasket having an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of said cylinder, a ball iii 4. A closer assembly in accordance with claim 3 wherein said aperture of said washer is of smaller diameter than the diameter of the adjacent portion of said passage, and a valve spring is interposed in said passage between said ball and said Washer.

5. A door closer and damper assembly comprising a cylinder having bleed means at one end, and an end cap at the other end, said end cap being slidable within the bore of said cylinder, blocking means on said other end of said cylinder for retaining said cap in said bore, a

piston rod slidably mounted in said cylinder with portions of said rod slidably extending through an aperture of said cap, a piston head on the inner end of said rod, compression spring means interposed between said cap and said head to bias said cap against said blocking means and said head toward said one end of said cylinder, a hold open portion on said cap, and hold open means slidably mounted on said rod to be shiftable into engagement with said hold open portion to secure said rod against relative movement with respect to said cap.

6. A door closer assembly comprising a cylinder, a piston head slidably mounted in said cylinder, air bleed means in one end of said cylinder, an inturned flange at the other end of said cylinder, an end cap having a central bushing slidably positioned within said cylinder adjacent said flange, a piston rod having one end secured to said piston head and the other end extending through said bushing of said cap, compression spring means biased between said cap and said head, urging said head to a limiting position adjacent said bleed end of said cylinder and forcing said cap against said flange, a lug extending rearwardly from said cap and positioned eccentrically with respect to the axis of said rod and a washer slidably carried by said rod and shiftable into engagement with said lug temporarily to secure said rod against relative movement with respect to said cap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,170,718 Humphries Aug. 22, 1939 2,753,958 Whisler July 10, 1956 2,860,350 Miller Nov. 18, 1958 2,897,534 Pickerell Aug. 4, 1959 2,920,338 F-alk Ian. 12, 1960 2,940,111 Patriquin June 14, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 563,054 Canada Sept. 9, 1958

Claims

5. A DOOR CLOSER AND DAMPER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CYLINDER HAVING BLEED MEANS AT ONE END, AND AN END CAP AT THE OTHER END, SAID END CAP BEING SLIDABLE WITHIN THE BORE OF SAID CYLINDER, BLOCKING MEANS ON SAID OTHER END OF SAID CYLINDER FOR RETAINING SAID CAP IN SAID BORE, A PISTON ROD SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CYLINDER WITH PORTIONS OF SAID ROD SLIDABLY EXTENDING THROUGH AN APERTURE OF SAID CAP, A PISTON HEAD ON THE INNER END OF SAID ROD, COMPRESSION SPRING MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID CAP AND SAID HEAD TO BIAS SAID CAP AGAINST SAID BLOCKING MEANS AND SAID HEAD TOWARD SAID ONE END OF SAID CYLINDER, A HOLD OPEN PORTION ON SAID CAP, AND HOLD OPEN MEANS SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID ROD TO BE SHIFTABLE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID HOLD OPEN PORTION TO SECURE SAID ROD AGAINST RELATIVE MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO SAID CAP.