US1959325A - Swinging door closer and check - Google Patents

Description

May 15, 1934. G. H. ANDERSON SWINGING DOOR CLOSER AND CHECK Filed April 22, 1932 .a 10 Qu 3 33 .1w 3

Cil

Patented May 15, 1934 UNITED s'rATEs PATENT OFFICE icut signor to The Hart & Hutchinson Company, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connect Application April 22, 1932, Serial No. 606,805

8 Claims. (Cl. 16-55) This invention relates to door closers and checks, and more particularly to a device of this nature adapted to operate on a door having a swing of slightly less than 180 degrees.

One object of this invention is to provide a device of the above nature which is adapted to be attached to the lower edge of the door for supporting the weight thereof in a hinge bracket.

Y A further object is to provide a device of the above nature having a spring-pressed piston located within a cylinder and pivotally connected to ank adjustable crank shaft.

' A further object is to provide a device of the above nature comprising an elongated chamber divided into two axially alined cylinder compartments connected by a pair of valve controlled passages, one of which contains a spring-pressed piston and the other having a oating piston tted therein.

A further object is to provide a device of the above nature which may be adjusted so as to operate on doors opening in either direction or on doors adaptedfto swing in both directions.

A A further object is to provide a device of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very eiiicient and durable in use. I

With these and other objects in view there have been illustrated on the accompanying drawing two forms in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawing.: j Y Y Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of an `elevated swinging door and door posts, showing the door closer and check located in operative position vsecured to the lower edge of the swinging door.v

Fig. 2 is an Venlarged vertical longitudinal sectional view through the door closer and check and the lower part of the door.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the inner end of the doo-r closer and check, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing the door in its closed or dead-center position.

Fig. 4 is a similar View, showing the door in its open position.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the door closer and check, taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modied form of adjustable mounting for the door closer and check, showing the parts in disassembled arrange- A ment.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same.

`as by a wood screw'28.

Referring now to the drawing in which like reference numerals denote'corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 10 indicates a swinging door of the elevated type such as used in toilet compartments and shower stalls. The door 10 is mounted to swing between two upright posts 11 and 12, and is pivotally supported on the left-hand post 11, as viewed in Fig. 1, by means of a door closer and check unit 13 attached to the lower edge of the door 10. The top part of the door is preferably hinged to the post 11 as by means of a vertical pivot pin and bracket member, not shown.

The door closer and check unit 13 has an elongated hollow chamber 14 divided into two liquid retaining compartments 15 and 16 by means of an integrall partition wall 17, the front compartment 16 being substantially shorter than the rear compartment 15. y

The rear or innerend of the chamber 14 is provided with a vertical hollow crank housing 18 connected to said chamber as by angular lugs 19 and 20 and flat head screws 21 and 22. VThe crank housing 18 is provided with a pairof upright spaced lugs 23 and 24 which are adapted to embrace the opposite side of the door 10 to which said lugs are secured as by a through 'bolt' 25.

The upper part of the `chamber 14 is provided with alongitudinal groove 26 for embracing the lower edge of the swinging door'lO, and the outer or front end of said chamber 14 is provided with a protruding lug 27 for attachment to said door The lower end of the crank housing 18 is adapted to be closed'by a substantially thick closure 4 disc 29 'tightly tted therein.` The upper end30 of the crankhousing 18 and the yclosure disc 29 are provided with alined bores forming journals for the bearing sections 31 and 32 `of a crank member 33 which is threaded'at its lower end 34. The crank member 33 is adapted to be inserted through a vertical hole 33a in the horizontal arm of an angle bracket 35', the vertical arm of which is securely attached to the door post 11. The crank member 3'3`is adapted'to' be held in any adjusted position by means of a locking nut 36 tted upon said threaded extremity 3 4.

Mounted within the rear compartment 15 of the chamber 14 and adapted'to reciprocate longitudinally therein is a hollow piston 3'7 having an integral reduced section 38 extending forwardly therefrom. An interior rod 39 is located within the hollow piston 37, being ailixed to the piston 37 by means of an integral reduced threaded shank 40 tightly screwed therein. 'Ihe free rear end of the rod 39 is bifurcated to form a slot 41 within which is pivotally secured one end of a pitman link 42 as by means of a wrist pin 43. The other end of the pitman link 42 is journaled upon a crank pin 44 integral with an offset section of the crankmember 33.

In order, to form a liquid-tight seal, the piston 37 is provided with a pair of inverted juxtaposed hat leathers 45 and 46 securely attached to the reduced end 38 of said piston head, as by means of a retaining washer 47 and cap screw 48, said cap screw 48 having threaded engagement within the threaded shank 40 ofthe shaft 39,..y

To automatically return thedoor to closed position after it has been opened, .provision is made of a helical spring 49 seated within the piston 37 land surrounding the center rod 39 and attached pitman link 42. The inner end of the spring 49 is adapted to abut against the cylindrical wall of the vertical crank housing 18.

Y In orderV to maintain the cylinder chamber 14 completely iilled with liquid at all timesY without the use of exterior casings, provision is made of. a floating piston 50 slidably mounted Within the smaller outer chamber 16. This floating piston 50 consists `.of a metal block 51-slidable within the chamber 16 and having a pair of outwardly cupped Ahat leathers 52 and 53 secured to the opposite faces of said block 5l, asby means of a pair of retaining washers 54 and 55 and cap screws 56 and 57 having dianfietricallyA threaded engagement within said block 5,1.

In order to properly control the flow of liquid between the chambers 15 and 16 during the opening and-,closing movements of the door 10,

provision is made of a tapped hole 58 extending through the lower part of thefpartition wall 17. A threaded bushing-59 isadapted to be screwed within said tapped hole 58, and is provided with a central liquid passage 60 offsuicient diameter to allowan unrestricted flow of liquid therethrough to the left during the opening of the door. A ball check valve 61 is adapted to be loosely held in axial alinement with the central bore 60 by means of a ball cage formed by a plurality of metal prongs 62 (three in this instance) surrounding said ball valve 61 and permanently secured to the inner face of said bushing 59.'-l The-,inner ends 62a. of said prongs 62 aredirected inwardly to prevent the ball valve 61 from rolling out of its retainingcage. l

By -means of this construction it will,VV be obvious that as the door 10 is swung open the suction inthe compartments 15 and` 16 will cause the ball valve 61 to open andpermit anunrestricted flow of liquid through the liquid passage 60, and thus allowing said door 10 to Ybe swungl open with comparative ease. When the door is released', the piston will be retracted within the chamber 15 by the energy stored in the spring 49, and the liquid will be forced to the right, causing the ball valve 61 to seal the liquid passage 60. The'liquid will-then bev caused to flow through a restricted by-pass 63 located in the partition wall just above the tapped hole 58.

`The size of the by-passr63 may be adjusted as desired by means of a transverse needle valve pin 64 fitted within a tapered valve chamber 65 intersecting the by-pass 63. The needle valve pin 64 is preferably secured to the inner end of an adjustable set screw 64a which has threaded engagement with `the outer `tapped opening of the valve chamber 65.. Y Y z The forward end of the chamber 14 is adapted toY be tightly sealed by means of an annular plug 66 having an air vent hole 67 adjacent the upper edge thereof. As will be obvious, the space in the compartment 16 to the left of the iloating piston will be lled with liquid, while the space at the right of said piston will be lled withv air at all times.

If. desired, the checking effect of the liquid bypass 63 may be enhanced somewhat by means of a ball check Valve 68 loosely supported, as by wire retaining prongs 69. The ball valve 63 is adapted to be adjustably seated upon a vent hole 67 by means of a set screw 70 having an inner pointed extremity adapted to engage against the lower spherical surface of said rball Valve 68 and hold said ball valve 68 lin spacedrelation from said vent hole 67.

In the modied Vform of the invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the lower shaft 32 of the crank member 33'is provided with a square shank 71 which is adapted to i'lt into a square hole 72 provided in a circular adjusting plate 73.' Surrounding saidV square hole 72, the plate 73 is provided with a plurality of equally spaced transverse apertures 74.

In order to lock the plate 73 in any adjusted position,'the supporting arm 35a of the angle bracket 35 is providedrwith three upwardly extending vertical pins 75 equally spaced around a transverse hole 76 which is sufficient in diameter to clear any part of the square shank 71that may extend downwardly therein. l

The adjusting plate 73 is adapted to rest upon the supporting arm 35a with the three pins 75 engaged in three alined holes 74 in the plate 73, and thus preventing rotation of said plate 73 and securely holding the crank member 33 ina fixed position. As shown in Fig. 7, the crank member 33 may be readily adjusted to any angular.

Operation In operation, when the door 10 is swung from closed to open position, the spring-pressed piston 37 will move rearwardly relative tothe piston chamber 15. rThis movement of the piston 37 will causethe helical spring 49 to be compressed and also will lcreate a vacuum within the front end of the piston chamber 15. The ball check valve 61 will thus be caused to unseat itself and move to the-left withinV its retaining cage, thus permitting the liquid from the compartment 16 to'pass freely through the relatively large aperture 60 of the bushing 59 into the piston compartment 15. Simultaneously with the rearward movement of the piston 37, the floating piston 5.0,will also be forced rearwardly withinits respective compartment 16 by the pressure of theatmosphere. It vwill thus be seen that relatively little resistance will be olered to the opening of the door, but as soonas the door is released, the helical spring 49 will come into action, and will be retarded due tothe fact that as soon as the door starts to swing shut under the influence of said spring 49, the ball .valve 61 will close the oil passage 60 and force the liquid to escape from the chamber 15 through the restricted by-pass 63. The dampening action will be further increased by the ball check valve 68 seated in the air vent hole 67, as previously explained.

While there have been disclosed in this specication two forms inwhich the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these forms are shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is netto beflimited tothe specific disclosures but may be modified and embodied in Various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

l. In a door closer and check, a chamber adapted to be attached to a swinging door, a pair oi alined liquid-containing cylinders in said chamber, a valve controlled apertured partition separating said cylinders, a spring actuated piston in one cylinder, a floating piston in the other cylinder, the space in said cylinders between said pistons being completely lled with liquid at all times, means for connecting said spring actuated piston to a stationary member, and means for checking the reverse flow of iluid from one cylinder during the closing movement of the door.

2. In a door closer and check, a pair of alined cylinders, said cylinders being connected by a bypass of small area and a check valve controlled passage of relatively large area, a spring pressed piston in one of said cylinders connected to a door post, a Yfloating piston in the other cylinder adapted to maintain the space between said pistons completely full or liquid at all times, and a 1e stricted air vent in said other cylinder to enhance 4 the checking action of said check valve.

3. In a door closer and check, a pair of cylinders, said cylinders being connected by a by-pass of small area and a check valve controlled passage of relatively large area, a spring-pressed piston inl one of said cylinders connected to a door post, a noating piston in the other cylinder adapted to maintain the space between said pistons completely full of liquid at all times, and a restricted air vent in said other cylinder to enhance the checking action of said check valve.

4. In a door closer and check, a pair of cylinders, said cylinders being connected by a by-pass of small area and a check valve controlled passage of relatively large area, a spring pressed piston in one of said cylinders, a floating piston in the other cylinder adapted to maintain the space between said pistons completely full of liquid at all times, and a restricted air Vent in said other cylinder to enhance the checking action of said check valve.

5. In a door closer and check, a pair of cylinders, said cylinders being connected by a by-pass of small area and a check valve controlled passage of relatively large area, a spring pressed piston in one of said cylinders, a floating piston in the other cylinder adapted to maintain the space between said pistons completely ull of liquid at all times, and an adjustable restricted air Vent in said other cylinder to enhance the checking action of said check valve.

6. In a door closer and check, a cylinder, a hollow drum connected to said cylinder, means for attaching said connected cylinder and drum to the lower horizontal edge of a swinging door, a partition in said cylinder, a pair of valve controlled apertures in said partition, a spring actuated piston in the compartment adjacent the pivoting edge of said door, a floating piston in the other compartment, a liquid in said compartments between said pistons, a crank member held stationary in said drum and an oiset crank pin integral with said crank member, a pitrnan link connecting said crank pin to said spring actuated piston, means for supporting said crank member in a vertical position, and means for adjusting the angular position of said crank member to permit the door to be checked in different positions.

7. In a door closer and check, a pair of cylinders, said cylinders being connected by an adjustable by-pass of small area and a check valve controlled passage of relatively large area, a spring-pressed piston in one of said cylinders connected to a door post, a floating piston in the other cylinder adapted to maintain the space between said pistons completely full of liquid at all times, and a restricted air vent in said other cylinder to enhance the checking action of said check valve.

8. In a door closer and check, a pair of cylinders, said cylinders being connected by a by-pass or small area and a check valve controlled passage of relatively large area, a spring-pressed piston in one of said cylinders connected to a door post, a floating piston in the other cylinder adapted to maintain the space between said pistons completely full of liquid at all times, and a restricted adjustable air vent in said other cylinder to enhance the checking action of said check valve.

GUS'IAV I-I. ANDERSON.

Images