US3742553A

US3742553A - Door closer

Info

Publication number: US3742553A
Application number: US00254796A
Authority: US
Inventors: B Sittmann
Original assignee: Vereinigte Baubeschlag - Fabriken Gretsch and Co GmbH
Current assignee: Vereinigte Baubeschlag - Fabriken Gretsch and Co GmbH
Priority date: 1971-05-15
Filing date: 1972-05-15
Publication date: 1973-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 1990-07-03
Also published as: FR2139484A5; GB1336687A; IT956253B; DE2124194A1; AT311831B; NL7206416A; CH535886A

Abstract

A housing of a door closer has two openings and accommodates a closing mechanism a shaft of which is to be connected with the door and will then turn in response to movement of the door between open and closed position. Depending on whether the door is a left-hand or a right-hand door, the shaft extends through one or the other of the openings so that the door closer is universally useable with both types of doors. An arresting unit is provided for arresting the shaft against turning when the door is prevented from moving and the arresting unit is accommodated in that one of the openings through which the shaft does not extend.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 Sittmann [451 July 3,1973

[ DOOR CLOSER [75] Inventor: Brigitte Sittmann, Stuttgart,

Germany [22 Filed: May 15, 1972 [2]] App]. No.: 254,796

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Anderson .L 16/51 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 159,674 5/1940 Germany 16/49 775,719 5/1957 Great Britain 1,351,550 12/1963 France 16/55 Primary Examiner--Ber'nard A. Gelak Assistant Examiner- -leter A. Aschenbrenner Attorney-Michael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT A housing of a door closer has two openings and acay 1971 Germany P 21 24 194 I commodates a closing mechanism a shaft of which 15 to [52] U 8 Cl 16/55 16/49 16/51 be connected with the door and will then turn in re- 16/185 sponse to movement of the door between open and [51] Int Cl E05 closed position. Depending on whether the door'is a [581' Fieid H 185 R left-hand or a right-hand door, the shaft extends l6/13l 49 through one or the other of the openings so that the door closer is universally useable with both types of [56] References Cited doors. An' arresting unit is provided for arresting the i shaft against turning when the door is prevented from UNITED STATES PATENTS moving and the arresting unit is accommodated in that 2 33'1" one of the openings through which the shaft does not oore t 2,703,906 4/1955 Wenzel 16/55 ex en 2,528,904 11/1950 Norballe 16/55 9 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures f I I 1 (D K 1 n 22 O v e 1' 212 1 PATENTED JUL 3 I973 sum 11m 2 SHEEI 2 [IF 2 en Q Q noon CLOSER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a door closer, and more particularly to a door closer which is universally usable with both left-hand and right-hand doors.

' Doors of the hinged or pivoted type include, as is well known, left-hand and right-hand doors. This means that the door is either hinged at the left-hand side and then opens from the right, or is hinged at the right-hand side and opens from the left. Evidently it is possible to provide door closers for such doors individually, that is a door closer can be constructed to be used with a lefthand door or can be constructed to be used with a right-hand door. However, it is equally evident that this is wasteful because it requires that each particular type of door closer must be available in two models, one for use with a right-hand door and one for use with a lefthand door. To eliminate the waste and inefficiency resulting from the necessity for providing such different types of door closers, it has been proposed to provide door closers which are universally movable, that is which can be used with both right-hand and left-hand doors.

Door closers are ideally also provided with arresting devices which make it possible to arrest the door with which they are associated, in one or more selected positions, that is for instance partially open and fully open. It is known to provide such arresting devices on the cover of the door closer housing, but this has not been found satisfactory because the mounting is difficult and expensive due to the fact that forces which develop in use of the door closer must be transmitted to the cover when the arresting device is mounted thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, a general object of the invention to provide an improved door closer.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide such an improved door closer which is provided with an arresting device mounted in a novel manner and which is universally useable with both left-hand and right-hand doors.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such an improved door closer which is particularly simple in its construction and in its installation, and which will operate precisely and reliably, both as to its closing operation and its arresting operation.

In pursuance of these objects and of otherswhich will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a door closer which, briefly stated, comprises housing means having two openings, and a closing mechanism which is accommodated in the housing means and which hasa shaft adapted to be connected with a door and to turn in response to movement of the door between open and closed position. The shaft extends through one or the other of these openings, depending upon whether the door is a left-hand door or a right-hand door. Arresting means is provided for arresting the shaft against turning when the door is to be prevented from moving and in accordance with the invention the arresting means is accommodated in that one of the openings through which the shaft does not extend.

According to a further concept of the invention, which makes it particularly simple to adjust the novel door closer for use with a particular type of door, and

which also facilitates repairs due to increased ease of assembly and disassembly of the components, the arresting means is configurated as an arresting unit which can be pushed into and slipped out of the opening to which it is to be assigned. Thus, no particular mounting means for the arresting unit are required. In particular it is not necessary to provide means for preventing the arresting unit against turning movement in the associated opening if the two openings partially overlap one another and if the arresting unit is provided with a recess into which a part of the journal for the tumable shaft extends.

The arresting means is advantageously provided with a disc having a diameter corresponding to that of the two openings so that it can be fittingly received therein. The disc is provided with a transverse bore in which a latch member is slidably accommodated, being urged in one direction by a biasing spring. A very simple construction according to the present invention provides for the latch member to have a flattened portion with a roller being joumalled on a bolt in the region of this flattened portion and the roller being provided in a slot of the disc member, with the roller cooperating with a cam track mounted on a cam disc provided on the shaft of the closing mechanism. ln this manner the latching force exerted by the latching member is controlled under conditions of minimum wear.

In order to be able to negate the arresting action of the arresting means it is advantageous to provide an arresting member or shaft which in arresting position extends to a recess of the latching member and arrests the same against displacement in the transverse bore. Access-ability from the exterior is achieved particularly simply if the arresting shaft extends in parallelism with the shaft of the closing mechanism, passes through an aperture provided in a cover of the housing means and abuts in axial direction against the cover via an abutment portion or surface.

By accommodating the disc portion of the arresting means in the respective opening of the housing means any force which act upon the arresting means are directly transmitted to be absorbed in the housing means itself, so that to all intents and purposes at most negligible forces act upon the cover of the housing means, making it possible to construct the cover of relatively thin material. p

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top-plan view of a door closer according to the present invention, with the cover of the housing means removed for clarity; and

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line Il-II of FIG 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing FIGS. 1 and 2 in detail, it will be seen that the housing means is generally identified with reference numeral 1 and is provided in the main housing portion,

which is illustrated (the cover having been omitted for clarity) with two laterally adjacent and partially overlapping openings 2 and 2 (see also FIG. 2). A closing mechanism is accommodated in the interior of the housing means 1, including a shaft 3 which is turnably journalled and which cooperates via a linkage 4 with a biasing spring 5 and a damping piston 6.

An arresting device 7 is provided which makes it possible to arrest the non-illustrated door in one or, if desired in more than one position. The shaft 3 is of course connected in use with the door in well known manner,

which is not believed to require detailed discussion. It will suffice to point out that when the door is moved between its open and closed positions the shaft 3 will turn about its longitudinal axis. It carries a cam track 9 provided with one or more peripheral depressions or recesses 8 and the number and locations of these recesses 8, which cooperate with the arresting device 7, dictates the number and locations of the positions at which the door can be arrested. When an external force is then exerted upon the door, for instance when the door is pushed by hand, the arresting action can be overcome and the closing device will then close the door.

The door closer according to the present invention is of the universal type which can be used with left-hand or right-hand doors, that is doors which as seen with respect to the direction in which they open are hinged on the left-hand or the right-hand side. To make this possible the two bores or

openings

2, 2 are provided and depending upon which type of door the door closer is to control, the shaft 3 is made to extend either through the opening 2 or the opening 2'. The shaft 3 is journalled in a bearing 10 which is accommodated in the particular opening through which the shaft 3 is to extend in a given use, in the illustrated embodiment in the opening 2. This leaves the opening 2 (in the illustrated embodiment) free, and the arresting device is configurated as a unit 7 which is slipped or pushed into the opening 2'. It will be seen that the arresting device 7 is provided with a disc portion 11 whose diameter corresponds to the diameter of the openings 2 and 2', so that it is fittingly received in the opening 2'. The disc portion 11 is provided with a transverse bore 12 in which a latch member 13 is slidably accommodated which is provided with a flattened portion 14. On the flattened portion 14 there is provided a roller 15 which is journalled on a bolt 16 and which is laterally guided in a slot 17 of the disc portion 1 l. A spring 18 biases the latch member 13 so that its roller 15 contacts the cam track of disc 9.

The overall dimensions of the unit are held particularly small due to the fact that spring 18 is partially accommodated in a bore 19 of the latch member 13.

To negate the arresting action of the device 7 there is providedan arresting shaft 20 which in the illustrated embodiment extends in parallelism with the shaft 3 and is turnably accommodated in a portion 21 of the disc portion 11. The portion 21 and the bore 12 partially overlap and the arresting shaft 20 is provided with a recess 22 to make it possible for the latch member 13 to slide by it when in alignment therewith.

Latch member 13 has also a recess 23 which is so arplacement when it is pushed back against the biasing action of spring 18 and when the arresting shaft 20 is 1 turned. The arresting shaft 20 should be accessible from the exterior so that it can be turned as desired,

' ranged that the latch member 13 is arrested against'disr and for this purpose it extends through an aperture 25 provided in the cover 24 ofthe housing means (see FIG. 2) a sealing arrangement 26 being provided to prevent the entry of contaminants. A slot 27 is provided on the end of the arresting shaft 20 which extends outwardly of the housing means so as to facilitate turning of the shaft 20 in a sense activating or deactivating the operation of the unit 7.

The arresting shaft 20 is provided with a transverse pin or similar abutment 28, having an abutment surface 29 which abuts against a surface 30 provided on or associated with the cover 24, to assure that the disc portion 11 cannot inadvertently or undesirably slide out of the bore or opening 2'.

Axially extending grooves or similar knurlings 31 are provided on the cam track disc 9 and the shaft 3, so that the arresting position of the shaft and thereby of the door can be varied in accordance with the given requirements by angularly changing the position of the cam track disc 9 on the shaft 3. The provision of the portions 31 which cooperate between the-cam track disc 9 and the shaft 3 prevents displacement of the former with reference to the latter, and viceversa, even under substantial forces. To prevent axial displacement of the cam track disc 9 with respect to the shaft 3, the disc 9 is provided with a slot 32 and retained on the shaft 3 via a screw 33 extending through this slot, that is across is, as shown in FIG. 1.

The disc portion 11 is provided with a peripheral recess 34 into which a portion of the bearing l0'extends, this being possible because of the overlapping of the

openings

2 and 2. Thus, a turning of the unit 7 in the opening 2' is prevented by the interengagement of the recess 34 with the bearing 10.

It will be appreciated that the door closer according to the present invention is a particularly simple construction which can be readily mounted and dismounted and which requires no particular means for retaining the various components in their relative positions. Furthermore, the novel door'closer is specially reliable in its operation and can be produced and of course therefore sold inexpensively.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a door closer, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present inventionv Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a door closer, in combination, housing means having two openings; a closing mechanism accommodated in said housing means and having a shaft adapted to be connected with a door and to turn in response to movement of the door between open and closed position, said shaft extending through one or the other of said openings depending upon whether said door is a left-hand door or a right-hand door; and arresting means for arresting said shaft against turning when the door is to be prevented from moving, said arresting means being accommodated in that one of said openings through which said shaft does not extend.

2. In a door-closer as defined in claim 1, said arresting means being an arresting unit which is removably accommodated in the respective opening.

3. In a door closer as defined in claim 1, wherein said openings partially overlap; said closing mechanism including a hearing which journals said shaft and which extends in part into the opening accommodating said arresting means; and wherein said arresting means includes a recess into which said part extends.

4. In a door closer as defined in claim 1, said arresting means including a disc member fittingly received in the respective opening and having a transverse bore, a latch member shiftably .accommodated in said bore, and a spring member urging said latch member in one longitudinal direction of said bore.

5. In a door closer as defined in claim 4, said latch member having a flattened portion and said disc member having a slit, and saidarresting means further comprising a bolt, a roller journalled on said bolt and guided in said slit adjacent said flattened portion; and further comprising a cam disc on said shaft and having a cam track which cooperatively engages said roller.

6. In a door closer as defined in claim 4; further comprising an arresting member operative to engage in a recess provided in said latch member for arresting the latter against displacement in said transverse bore.

7. In a door closer as defined in claim 6, said arresting member being elongated and extending in at least substantial parallelism with said shaft; said housing means including a main portion provided with said openings and a cover portion on said main portion and having an aperture through which said arresting member extends to the outside of said housing means.

8 In a door closer as defined in claim 7, said arresting 7 member including an abutment portion which engages said cover portion and axially supports said arresting member against movement through said aperture.

'9. In a door closer as defined in claim 5, said cam disc being turnable with reference to said shaft.

Claims

3. In a door closer as defined in claim 1, wherein said openings partially overlap; said closing mechanism including a bearing which journals said shaft and which extends in part into the opening accommodating said arresting means; and wherein said arresting means includes a recess into which said part extends.

4. In a door closer as defined in claim 1, said arresting means including a disc member fittingly received in the respectIve opening and having a transverse bore, a latch member shiftably accommodated in said bore, and a spring member urging said latch member in one longitudinal direction of said bore.

5. In a door closer as defined in claim 4, said latch member having a flattened portion and said disc member having a slit, and said arresting means further comprising a bolt, a roller journalled on said bolt and guided in said slit adjacent said flattened portion; and further comprising a cam disc on said shaft and having a cam track which cooperatively engages said roller.

8. In a door closer as defined in claim 7, said arresting member including an abutment portion which engages said cover portion and axially supports said arresting member against movement through said aperture.

9. In a door closer as defined in claim 5, said cam disc being turnable with reference to said shaft.