US784475A - Awning-operating mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

No. 784,475. PATENTED MAB.. 7, 1905.

'I'. J. DANIELS. v AWNING OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 29, 1904.

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NITED STATES Patented March '7, 1905.

PATENT OEEICE.

AwNlNG-oPl-:RATING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 784,475, dated March '7, 1905.

Application filed February 29, 1904. Serial No. 195,782.

To all whom, it may concern,

B'e it known that I, THOMAS J. DANIELS, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Awning Operating Mechanism, of which the following' is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements made in means or devices for raising and lowering window-awnings in which the handcrank for turning the winding shaft or windlass is connected by gears for multiplying' the power or for applying it in the required direction.

The invention has for its object mainly to provide such awning -operating mechanism with a locking or holding device that will be strong' and durable, certain in action, and reliable under all conditions, and particularly it is designed with a view to provide a locking' means for mechanism of this character to handle large and heavy awnings. The locking means heretofore provided for this purpose, so far as I am aware, have been arranged to engage the teeth of one of the gears and have usually consisted of a dog or 'catch of some kind arranged to drop into the spaces between the working teeth of the gear at the proper time to prevent further rotation of the gear; but such mode of controlling the winding mechanism by using the working teeth of the gears as a part or element of the locking device is found to be unmechanical and defective in many respects, owing to the fact that gear-teeth being' constructed, primai-ily, for rolling contact with another gear are not of proper' shape or size to offer a sufficientlystrong and effective resistanceto engage and hold the latch which forms the lock and as the part or member provided on the latch itself to engage the teeth of the gear must necessarily conform to the shape of the gear-teeth or to the form of the spaces between the teeth to such extent as to form an element of weakness in the holding properties of the lock. In my present improvement I aim to overcome these defects and to provide a safetyloek that will act promptly without danger of slipping by forming locking projections of in the box.

rectangular shape on the body of the gear separate from or independently of the gear-teeth and providing the latch with a projection of similar shape, it being thus posssible to form the parts that are arranged to interlock of suflieient thickness to secure the required strength without changing or affecting the working teeth of the gear.

The nature of the said invention and the manner in which I proceed to construct, ap-

ply, and carry out the same are described at length in the following description and set` forth in the claims at the end thereof, reference being had tothe accompanyingdrawings.

Figure l of the drawings is a longitudinal sectional view of an awning-operating mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 11L is a sectional view of the latch-piece detached. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the right end of Fig. l. Figs. 4 and 5 show the locking-gear in plan View and side view. Fig. 6 represents a slight modification of the locking-gear in which the projections Vengaged by the latch are arranged on the periphery of the gear instead of on the hub. Fig. 7 is a side view of Fig. 6.

In the awning-operating mechanism here shown two bevel-gears z are supported to engage and work at right angles within an inclosing b'ox or case O, in which are provided strong bearings on both sides of the gears to carry the shafts or other part that forms the axis for the gear to turn on. The gear a is secured on ashort rod (Z, having one end extending outside the box and usually flattened and provided with an eyef to form, with a similar member on the end of the rod which connects with the awning-winding shaft, a knucklejoint in the well-known lnanner of coupling the rod of the awning-winding shaft or roller with the operating-gear. The opposite end of the rod (I, extending beyond the face of the gear a, has a step-bearing g in a block lixed In this block also is a second bearing, fm, for a short axle 'n on the face of the other gear, and in the closed front of the box is a circular opening y), in which the hub s of the gear is fitted to turn. To this gear b is attached the hand-crank II inthe IOO usual way by fitting the square shank 7L of the crank to slip into a socket t of corresponding shape in the hub of the gear. The handcrank is thus detachable when not in use, and the gears being inclosed by the box they are both protected from injury and from accumulation of dirt when the box is secured in position against a wall or the front of a building.

In the best forms and constructions of mechanism of this character the locking device by which the rod or shaft of the awning-winding mechanism is locked after the awning is raised or wound up is situated within the gear-box, so as to be entirely inclosed and where it cannot be tampered with by mischievous persons; but in all cases of such application and arrangement the working teeth of one of the gears, and usually the gear a on the rod, have been utilized for a part or element of the clutch or locking means.

In my present improvement I provide on the gear a a number of alternately-arranged and radially-set projections 2 and spaces or recesses 3 on the back of the gear and around the hub, as seen in Figs. 1', 2, and 3, and within the space provided for` that purpose 4in the rear of the box C behind the gear I attach a relatively heavy latch-piece l by a hinge-joint at the top, from which point of suspension it will hang perpendicularly down and with its inner side or face in close relation to but clear of the working teeth of the gear a. On the face of the latch-piece and in line with the projections on the hub of the gear is a tooth or projection 6 of rectangular shape in cross-section cast or formed solidly with the latch-piece and of proper thickness or Idimensions transversely to tit readily in the space or recess between two adjacent projections on the gear. These projections 2 are likewise rectangular in cross-section and of By placing the point of suspension 5 ofr the latch-piece forward of the vertical plane in which the tooth engages and locks the gear and extending the body of the latch-piece below the tooth the latch will operate by gravity and will swing forward into the projections on the gear as soon as the latch is released.

The coiled spring 8, attached to the latch-4 piece and to a fixed point on the casing, as seen in Figs. l and 2, will insure a quick action of the lock under the conditions of use. A The means provided for throwing off the lock and holding it out of action during the revolutions of the shaft as effected by the handcrank are the same as those already in use in the principal features-that is to say, the construction is such that the' locking device is thrown clear of the gear by the act of connecting the hand-crank to turn the gears, and it is also held out of action as long as the handcrank remains attached. Onthe other hand, on detaching the hand-crank the latch is automatically thrown on. In the present construction the square shank 7L of the hand-crank, which is fitted to the socket of corresponding form in the hub S of the gear, is provided with a pin or cylindrical extension 9 on the end, while the gear itself has a cylindrical aperture running through it from the bottom of the socket containing' a pin l0, loosely fitted to slide in it and having its rear end in line with and in close relation to the lower end of the' latch-piece. This pin is of such length that its front end will stand within or below the botttom face of the socket t; but as the square shank of the hand-crank is entered in the socket the pin 9 on the end of the shank will strike the head of the push-pin and press the latter back in its socket and force back the latch-piece. The object of this construction is to conceal the push-pin from view at the front, and thus prevent the latch-piece from being too readily tampered with. Y

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an awning-operatingv mechanism the combination with an awning-operating shaft, a beveled gear fast thereon, a second beveled gear in continual engagement with the firstnamed gear and havinga hub provided with a socket,a detachable hand-crank having a shank for insertion in said socket for turning the said gear, radially-set projections on the back of the first-named gear and extending around the circumference thereof separately of the gearteeth; of a swinging latch-piece suspended from a pivotal point situated above the plane of the said projections and adapted to normally engage the same by gravity the body of said latch-piece being arranged behind and in line with the socket in the hub of the socketcarrying gear, and means inclosed within said socket and interposed between the latch-piece and the shank of the crank when the latter is inserted, by which the latch-piece is pressed back and held out of the projections on the IOO gear by the act of placing the crank in the gear to turn it, and is released and allowed to drop into the projections by gravity by the act of removing the crank.

2. In an awning-operating mechanism, in combination, an awning-operating shaft having a beveled gear thereon, a gear engaging therewith having spaced projections arranged circumferentially of the gear and separately of the teeth thereof, a suspended latch-piece pivotally attached at the upper end at a point above the plane of rotation of thc said pro- IZO jections, and having a tooth to engage the said projections and normally held therein by gravity, a second beveled gear in continual engagement with the first-named gear and having a hub provided with a socket, a hand-crank having a shank insertible in the socket for turning the said gear, and means inclosed within the socket operating to engage and hold back the latch-piece when the shank of the handeranl is pressed into the socket, and to release I O the latch-piece when the crank is removed.

In testimony whereofl I have hereunto set my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS J. DANIELS. fitnessesz EDWARD E. OsBoRN, M. REGNER.

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