US716284A - Sliding-door fastening. - Google Patents

Description

"N o.l7|6,284. Patented Dec, I6, |902. W; E. RUSSELL 8;. E. R. MEAD. SLIDING DUUR FASTENING.

(Application tiled Apr. 29, 1902.)

(No Model.)

@Ew/ym Zig/flew! `UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. RSSELIJ AND EDWIN R. MEAD, OF FORT SCOTT, KANSAS.

SLlDlNG-DOOR FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,284, dated December 16, 1902.

Application fled April 29, 1902 To MZ whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that we, WILLIAM R. RUSSELL and EDWIN R. MEAD, `citizens of the United States, residing at Fort Scott, in the county of Bourbon and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sliding-Door Fastenings, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to sliding-door fastenings, of that class whereby the door can be reliably secured in its opened, closed, or at any intermediate position; and our object is to produce a device of this character which is of simple, strong, durable, and cheap construction and which serves as an efficient lock when the door is closed.

To these ends theinvention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construcsys adjustment.

tion and combinations of parts, as hereinaf- ,ter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,in Which- Figure lis avertical section of a car to disclose the inner side of one of the sliding doors thereof and the mechanism for securing the doorin the desired adjustment. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the inner side of the door and the supporting-track therefor and also shows, partly in section, the mechanism for securing the door in the desired position of Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line III III of Fig; 1.- Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line IV IV of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detailed perspective View of the bolt of the fastening.

Before proceeding with the detailed description of thefinvention it is desired to present the advantages which a door of this type possesses over the ordinary sliding door used on express-cars and the like; `As well known, as a train arrives at a station where mail or express packages are to be delivered the messenger or clerk stands in the open doorway for the purpose of delivering this mail or express matter to the proper person at the station. In this position he is frequently injured more `or less seriously by the closing door, the latter beingimpelled to such action by the engineer suddenly applying thebrakes, and frequently where the brakes are applied very gradually. The result in most cases is a damage suit against the company. As also Serial No. 105,150. (No model.)

of some one eecting an entrance or of the door closing through an application of the brakes.

Our invention by providing a means for fastening the door reliably at any point, and yet in such a manner that it can be instantly closed, if necessary, by a person inside, obviates these difficulties.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 designates a car provided with the usual door-opening 2 and slide-door 3, the latter being preferably suspended from hangers 4, slidingly engaging a metallic track-rail 4, said track-rail being preferably in the form of a stationary rackbar with its teeth presented downwardly. The front hanger 4 is preferably formed with a plate extension 5, bridging a recess 6y in the face and upper edge of the door, and said plate is provided with a vertical slot 7 in its center and a shoulder S at its lower edge, the la'tter projecting into the lower end of said recess and carrying a pair of vertical guiderods 9, also occupying said recess and supporting a pair of expansive coil-springs 10.

11 designates a T-shaped bolt occupying said recess and held therein by said bridgingplate, the stem of said bolt depending between springs 10, while the arms of the T-shaped bolt are provided with vertical holes 12, into which fit loosely the upper ends of guiderods 9. Projecting upwardly from the outer edge of said bolt is one or more teeth 13 for engagement with said rack-bar, a plurality of teeth being preferred to one, because of greater strength, said teeth normally engaging notches of the rack-bar to prevent accidental movement of the door.

Y 14 designates apin projecting from the .stem of the bolt through the slot 7 of bridge-plate 5, and pivotally connected at its upper end to said pin is a link 15, the lower end of said link projecting into a metallic keeper 16, secured to the door at a convenient point, and

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journaled in said keeper is a short shaft 17, upon which is rigidly secured a crank-arm 18, pivotally connected, as at 19, to the lower end of link 15. Said shaft also projects outwardly through thel keeper into a keyhole 2O of the door, an escutcheon-plate 21 being secured to the outer side of the door and havingits keyhole registering with that of the latter in order that a suitable key (not shown) may be inserted from the outside and engaged with the shaft to enable the latter to be turned and the bolt withdrawn from engagementwith the rack-bar preliminary to the operation of the door in either direction.

For the purpose of operating the door from the inside a rigid arm 22 is secured to the keeper in any suitable manner, and a lever 23 is secured to the shaft, the lever extending at an angle to said arm, but bearing such relation to the latter that a mail-clerk or expressmessenger can grasp them simultaneously with one hand and use the arm as a fulcrum for drawing the lever toward it, and thus withdrawing the bolt from engagement with the rack-bar. It will thus be seen that the bolt can be readily withdrawn by a person inside the car or by a person outside the car if provided with the proper key and not otherwise, and that after such withdrawal the door can be opened tothe position shown in dotted lines, Fig. l, or to any other positon and then be resecured automatically by simply releasing the lever or the key. The result is the clerk or messenger is enabled to occupy the open doorway with perfect safety to himself against injury by the closing door and against unauthorized intrusion and that on arrivingat a station where a stop of sufficient time is made he may leave the car with the door locked against unauthorized entrance during his absence, whereas at the present time he must remain in the car, because there is no means for externally securing the doors now in use.

From the above description it will be apparent that we have produced a fastening for sliding doors which possesses the features of advantage enumerated as desirable and which is obviously susceptible of modification in minor particulars without departing from the principle and scope of the invention,and while the door is shown with plain hangers it isobvious that antifriction-rollers as a means of eliminating friction may be employed, such use not involving invention in the present state of the art.

Having thus described the invention, what We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A sliding-door-fastening device, comprising a rack-bar-supporting rail, a sliding bolt suitably guided carried by the door to engage the rack-bar, springs holding said bolt in such engagement, a keeper secured to the door, a shaft journaled in the keeper and provided with a crank-arm, a link pivotally connected to the bolt at one end and to the crank-arm at its opposite end, a rigid arm secured to the keeper, and a lever secured to the shaft and extending normally at au angle to said arm.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM R. RUSSELL. EDWIN R. MEAD.

Witnesses:

HARRY C. ERNICH, FRANK E. BYRON.

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