Door-locking mechanism.

Application filed June 1,1814. Serial No. 842,301.

To dll whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Antoine Van den Plas, a subject of the King of Belgium, residing at 32 Rue St. Michel, Woluwe, near 6 Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Locking Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The Patent No. 1,094,278 describes a method of absolute closing and fixing in every direction of doors of traveling vehicles, that is to say of motor cars, the fixing of the door in its closed position, and the 15 fixing of the same in every direction, being simultaneously effected by the engagements of the hooks of a sliding bolt concealed in the jamb of the door case with corresponding projections provided on the thickness face of the stile of the door. The present invention remains absolutely the same, except that the bolt is concealed in the upright or stile of the door and that the corresponding projections are arranged on the jamb of the door case (which arrangement is exactly the opposite of that described in the said prior patent) a novel device for controlling the sliding bolt and a device for the automatic locking of the latter in the closing po30 sition, being moreover provided..

A construction according to this invention applied to a closed body is illustrated merely by way of example, in the accompanying drawing, in which—

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the jamb to which are applied the projections with which the hooks of the sliding bolt engage. Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the door showing the lateral face of the 40 stile of the same, to which is applied the plate forming the mount and covering the mechanism controlling the sliding bolt. Fig. 3 shows in an enlarged scale the plate and the mechanism for controlling the sliding bolt, in the closing position. Fig. 4 is a partial view similar to that of Fig. 3, but showing the mechanism of the sliding bolt in. the open position. Fig. 5 is a partial side view, showing the mechanism for the sliding bolt 50 in the closing position, that is to say in the position shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a view similar to the preceding one, but showing the mechanism in the open position. Fig. 7 is a perspective detail view, and finally Fig. 8 is an elevation in vertical section on the 55 line 8—8 of Fig. 9, showing from the interior of the car the method of engagement of one of the projections provided on the jamb, with the hook of the sliding bolt provided on the door. Fig. 9 is a horizontal 60 cross-section on the line 9—9 of Fig. 8.

In the drawing 1, 2 are the connecting rods of the sliding bolt, which are respectively pivoted to the arms of a bell crank lever 3, the pin 4 of which is pivoted in two 65 brackets 5 6 secured to the plate or mount 7. of the sliding bolt, the said pin being provided at its ends with two operating handles 8,. 9. The second end of the upper connecting rod 1 is provided with a cam-boss 70 10 terminating in a button-hole 11 engaging with a projection 12 with a shoulder 13 provided at the end of an intermediate connecting rod 14 pivoted at 15 to the rod 16 of the closing hook 17, the said rod sliding in suit- 75 able guides 18 19. The intermediate connecting rod 14 can move simultaneously vertically and laterally in a loose guide 20, so that the projection 12 can slide against the branch of a fixed angle iron 21 or engage 80 under the bottom edge of the said branch, under the action of an antagonistic spring blade 22 against which slides the end of the connecting rod 14. The bottom end of the connecting rod 2 is pivoted at 23 to an inter- 85 mediate connecting rod 24 sliding in a guide 25 and pivoted at 26 to the rod or stem 27 of the bottom hook 28, the rod being guided at 29 and 30. The hooks 17 and 28 have the shape shown in Figs. 3, 4, 8 and 9, and have 90 an inclined and beveled back face 31.

On the face 32 of the jamb of the door case are provided two projections 33, 34 supported by fixing plates 35, 35, the said projections having, in opposite directions, a beak 95 or lip 36, the inclined face of which, beveled toward the jamb 32, corresponds, as regards the inclination and beveling to the face 31 of the corresponding hooks 17 and 28. When the inclined and beveled face 31 of 100 the hooks 17 and 28 comes into contact with the corresponding face 36 of the hooking projections 33 and 34, the downward movement of the said hooks, owing to their action

1,174,368 on the face of the hooking projections, produces a force which is exercised on the door in the direction of its thickness, in order to improve its closing, and also in the direction of its width, in order to press strongly the face 37 of the said door against the face 32 of the door jamb.

When the hooks 17 and 28 have been brought to the end of their closing travel, the door is strongly pressed against the stop of its case, and its face 37 is applied and pressed against the face 32 of the jamb. The door thus closed, is therefore locked in every direction by its closing face 37 against the corresponding face 32 of the jamb. Any play that may exist at the pivot pins of the hinges, is thus compensated, and any vibrations or movement of the said door in its case rendered impossible.

The operation of the device hereinbefore described and illustrated, is as follows: Assuming that the door is held closed simply by the reciprocating latch 38 (provided on the outer face of the plate or mount 7) engaging with a keeper 39 provided in the thickness of the jamb 32, the operation of one of the handles in the direction of .the arrow (Figs. 2 and 6) results in bringing the hooks 17 and 28 of the sliding bolt into engagement with the corresponding projections 33 and 34, and in engaging automatically the upper intermediate connecting rod 14 as will be hereinafter described, and in that way throwing into gear the whole of the operating mechanism, as the different parts (bell crank lever 3, the connecting rods 1 and 2, 14 and 24, and rods of the hooks 16 and 27) are secured to each other. The automatic engagement or throwing into gear takes place as follows: the rod 1 descending in the direction of the vertical arrow in Fig. 6, owing to the operation of one of the handles 8 or 9, the upper wall of the button hole 11 of the cam boss 10, comes into contact with the projection 12, the shoulder 13 of which is constantly held in contact with the face of the boss 10, and then pulls the said projection 12, the end of which slides along the branch of the fixed angle part 21. The spring blade 22 presses elastically against the end of the connecting rod 14 carrying the said projection; owing to the pressure of the said spring 22, the projection is brought to engage under the bottom edge of the said angle part and is thus thrown into gear, so that the hooks can no longer become loosened, and the closed door is firmly locked.

In order to open the door, it is only necessary to disengage and to raise the upper hook of the sliding bolt, by operating in the opposite direction the handle 8, whereupon the cam boss 10 rises and acts on the shoulder 13 so as to push away the projection 12 and to disengage the same from the bottom edge of the angle part 21, in spite of the action of the spring 22, a little before the bottom of the button hole 11 arrives in contact with the projection 12. By continuing then the movement of the handle 8 70 or 9, the intermediate connecting rod 14 will be raised and will raise the hook 17 which will be disengaged from the projection 33, that is to say, the door will be released and can be opened by pushing the handle 8 or 75 by pulling the handle 9. It is obvious that the rotation of the handle 8 or 9 has also produced the disengagement of the bottom hook 28.

According to the invention, the end of 80 the projection 12 is beveled, and the bottom edge of the branch of the angle part 21 is also beveled, so that the action of the spring 22 results in causing the beveled portion of the said projection to slide against the 85 beveled portion of the said branch, which brings about a supplementary elastic descent of the said projection, and consequently of the hook 17. In this way, the engagement of the two hooks 17 and 28 is elastically re- 90 inforced, which enables the wear of’ the faces in contact, and the play that may take place in the guides of the hooks or at the joints to be taken up. In spite of the said play and of the said wear, the contact faces 95 of the hooks always engage firmly with the faces of the projections, and the closing, as well as the locking in every direction remain absolutely perfect.

It is obvious that the number of hooks of 10Θ the sliding bolt is not limited to two, a larger number can be provided at will.