US336714A - Humphrey harrington - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

H. HARRINGTON.

GATE LATCH.

No. 336,714. Patented Feb. 23; 1886.

I UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

IIUhIII-IREY- HARRINGTON, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

GATE= LATCH.

FEPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 336,714, dated February 23, 1886.

Application filed September 8.18

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUMPHREY IIARRING- TON, of the city of Indianapolis, county of Marion,and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gate- Latches, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my said invention is to provide a cheap, simple, and efficient gate-latch which cannot be easily disengaged, as by the accidental shaking of the gate or by cattle or other animals, and which will quickly and se' curely engage at once upon the closing of the gate, thus overcoming many of the well-known disadvantages of other cheap latch: s, as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and on which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved latch applied to a gate in operation; Fig. 2', a side elevation of the latch separate,a portion of thehousi ng being broken away to show the form of the latch parts more ful y; Fig. 0, a longitudinal section of the same on the dotted line 3 3 in Fig. I; Fig. 4, a transverse section on the dotted line a 4. in Figs. 2 and 3; and Figs. 5 and 6, views showing slight modifications in the construction, which may be used, if desired.

In said drawings, the portions marked A. represent the keeper; B, the housing for the catch; 0, the catch proper; 0, an under part to said catch, and D a spring for holding the two parts together. The keeper A is simply an outwardly-projecting pin secured upon the gate-post in proper position for the catch to engage therewith when the gate is closed. It is preferably provided with a broad base or flange, a, in which screw-holes are provided for securing it to the post; but of course it might be secured thereto in any other suitable manner.

The housing Bis simply an appropriate casting, in which the catch is pivoted, its front and rear sides being open, and suitable screw-holes being provided in its ends for securing it to the gate, and pivot-bearings in its sides, for the ends of the pi vot on which the catch is mounted, as shown. The part 0 of the catch is in main of an ordinary construction, its end being of a slightlyhooked formation, to

(No model.)

render its engagement with the keeper more secure. It is pivoted in the housing B on the pivot I), which rests in the pivot-bearings in the sides thereof, as before described. The part 0 is also pivoted in said housing on the same pivot, the two parts being preferably halved together at this end, thus making the end of the catch of equal thickness when put together in the housing, and forming shoulders c and c on said parts 0 and C, respectively, in front of their pivot-holes. Said part 0 is of sufficient length to extend out under the keeper a short distance beyond the point of the part 0, it being formed with a downwardly-tapered end, so as to strike the under side of said keeper when the gate is closed. It is provided on the inner face of its rear part with an annular ring, 0", around its pivothole, which is ofsufiicient width to receive the coil of the wire spring D, the outer edge of said ring resting against the adjacent face of the part G,and thus holding said spring in position. It might of course be formed on the part 0, if preferred. The spring D is simply one coil of wire spring placed on the ring 0*, its ends projecting forward, and, when in operative po ,ition, sprung out by the corners of the shoulders c and 0, thus bearing against I said corners and the outside of the parts 0 and O and operating to force and hold their front ends together at all times.

In Figs. 5 and6 I show slight modifications of the construction shown in the principal figures, the parts 0 and 0 being provided with lugs c c on their outside faces, which engage with notches b in the sides of the housing B, instead of being pivoted on the pivot b, and a bent spring, I), being interposed be tween one end of the housing and one edge of one of the parts, and a coil-spring, D, being interposed between the other end and the edge of the other part, either of which constructions may be employed to hold the front ends of said parts together, instead of the spring D. Aswill be readily seen, these or similar modifications of the construction might be used, if preferred, without departing from my inven tion, which consists in mounting the two parts of the catch so that they will automatically engage with the keeper as the gate is closed, the top parthooking down over the keeper in the ordinary manner, and the under part sim' them apart, the part C passing over it and ply operating to hold said top part down into such engagement, its point being held in 0011- I tact with the top surface of said under part, E and said top surface being at or below the lower edge of said keeper.

The operation of my said invention may be briefly described as follows: The several parts i being in operative positim and properly ad- 1 justed on the gate, it being desired to latch the gate, it is simply swung to, when the keep- 1 er strikes the end of the catch between the diverging ends of the two parts and forces dropping down upon the other side,the spring D operating to force the ends of the two parts together. Thus, when the gate bounds back (as they usually do when forcibly closed) and the catch tends to fly up, the part 0 comes against the under side of said keeper and pre vents it from rising sufficiently to disengage from said keeper, as the spring D at all times holds the point of the part 0 down against the top surface ofsaid part 0. As willbe readily seen, the catch is disengaged from the keeper by simply raising up the end of the part 0 of 5 the catch with the hand in the usual manner. To further guard against the point of the part i G striking against the keeper at a point above 3 its center when the gate is thrown back by reaction, (as is frequently the case with other latches,) and thus permitting it to slide over said keeper and fail to secure the gate, the ta- 5 per of the endofthe part 0 may becornmenced 1 a short distance back of the point of the part 0 or directly under the keeper, thus holding said point below the lower edge of said keeper, even when the latch has raised up to the full i limit permitted by the part 0. A very secure fastening for the gate is thus provided, and one which cannot be shaken loose by catl tle or other animals. I am aware that latches of various kinds have been constructed with two catches, one of which engages wit-h or hooks over each side of the keeper; but I am not aware that any latch has heretofore been made with a single catch having apart which extends out beyond and bears against the underside of saidkeeper, the point of said catch being held in contact with the top surface thereof, whereby it operates to prevent the accidental lifting up of said catch, as herein set forth and claimed.

Having thus fully described my said invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A gate-latch consisting of a keeper and a two part catch, said parts being pivoted to gether at one end in an appropriate housing, one being formed to hook down over the keeper and the other being formed with a smooth top surface and extended out under said keeper, the ends of said two parts being held together by spring force located in said housing, substantially as set forth.

2. In a gate-latch, the combination of the keeper A, catch part 0, pivoted in an appropriate housing, catch part 0, pivoted in the same housing, and a spring, D, passing around the pivot between said two parts, one end of said spring being sprung out upon and hearing against the outside of each, whereby their front ends are held together, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a gate-latch, of the keeper, a catch consisting of the parts 0 and C, pivoted together in an appropriate housing, one of which is provided with an annular extension, 0 on its hub,which serves to keep the two parts sufficiently apart to receive the spring between them, and also as a support for said spring, and the spring D, passing around said annular extension, one end of which spring rests upon the outside of each of said parts, whereby their ends are forced together, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 2d day of September, A. D. 1885.

HUMPllRPlY HARRINGTON. [L 8.]

\Vitnesses:

E. W. BRADFORD, CHARLES L. THURBER.

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