U.S. patent application number 13/960404 was filed with the patent office on 2015-02-12 for door closure.
The applicant listed for this patent is Martin P. Burns, Stanley Szprengiel, Wendy Wand. Invention is credited to Martin P. Burns, Stanley Szprengiel, Wendy Wand.
Application Number | 20150040347 13/960404 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52447310 |
Filed Date | 2015-02-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150040347 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Burns; Martin P. ; et
al. |
February 12, 2015 |
Door Closure
Abstract
The door closure employs a pivotally mounted roller assembly to
engage a roller within a recess of a mounting hook. The roller
assembly also has a pair of leaf springs that are used in tandem to
passively retain the bracket in each of the open position and the
closed position.
Inventors: |
Burns; Martin P.; (Forked
River, NJ) ; Szprengiel; Stanley; (Jackson, NJ)
; Wand; Wendy; (Middletown, NJ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Burns; Martin P.
Szprengiel; Stanley
Wand; Wendy |
Forked River
Jackson
Middletown |
NJ
NJ
NJ |
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52447310 |
Appl. No.: |
13/960404 |
Filed: |
August 6, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
16/65 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 16/299 20150115;
E05C 19/04 20130101; E05B 65/0042 20130101; F25D 23/028
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
16/65 |
International
Class: |
F25D 23/02 20060101
F25D023/02 |
Claims
1. A door closure comprising a mounting hook defining a recess; a
longitudinally extending housing defining a cavity therein; a
bracket pivotally mounted within said cavity of said housing for
movement between an open position and a closed position; a roller
mounted on one end of said bracket and projecting from said housing
for movement into said recess of said mounting hook; and at least
one leaf spring secured in said housing and extending across said
cavity, said leaf spring being in resilient contact with said
bracket for selectively holding said bracket in each of said open
position and said closed position.
2. A door closure as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a
second roller rotatably mounted in said bracket and disposed in
contact with said at least one leaf spring.
3. A door closure as set forth in claim 2 wherein said at least one
leaf spring is arcuately disposed within said housing to
accommodate rolling of said second roller thereon between said open
position and said closed position.
4. A door closure as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a
mounting bracket of flattened shape and wherein said housing is of
U-shaped cross-section and is slidable mounted on said mounting
bracket.
5. A door closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said at least one
leaf spring is of arcuate shape.
6. A door closure as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a
second leaf spring disposed in contiguous contact with said at
least one leaf spring.
7. A roller assembly for a door closure comprising a longitudinally
extending housing defining a cavity therein; a bracket pivotally
mounted within said cavity of said housing for movement between an
open position and a closed position; a roller mounted on one end of
said bracket and projecting from said housing for movement into
said recess of said mounting hook; and at least one leaf spring
secured in said housing and extending across said cavity, said leaf
spring being in resilient contact with said bracket for selectively
holding said bracket in each of said open position and said closed
position.
8. A roller assembly as set forth in claim 7 wherein said housing
is vertically disposed.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to a door closure. More particularly,
this invention relates to a door closure for a refrigerator. Still
more particularly, this invention relates to a door closure for a
commercial walk-in refrigerator.
[0002] As is known, there are many types of door closures for
commercial walk-in refrigerators. For example, door closures are
available from Component Hardware Group, Inc. of Lakewood N.J.,
which utilize a mounting hook that can be mounted in a stationary
manner on a door jamb or frame of a refrigerated compartment and a
roller assembly that can be mounted on a door for selective
engagement with the mounting hook. Typically, the roller assembly
is constructed so that a roller can be moved into engagement with
the mounting hook in order to close the door against the jamb or
frame and to be readily removed from engagement from the mounting
hook when the door is to be opened for access into the refrigerated
compartment. In order to effect the movement of the roller into and
out of engagement with the mounting hook, use is made of a coil
spring within a housing of the roller assembly to mount the roller
for reciprocation within the housing in order to engage with and to
dis-engage from the hook.
[0003] However, use of a coil spring requires mounting brackets in
order to maintain the spring in a desired position. Also, since the
use of a coil spring to reciprocate a roller requires the coil
spring to actively cause the motion of the roller, the constant
flexing of the coil spring and the forces generated thereby can
cause the coil spring to fail after a relatively short period of
use.
[0004] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to eliminate
the need for a coil spring in a door closure.
[0005] It is another object of the invention to reduce the number
of parts required to make a door closure.
[0006] It is another object of the invention to reduce the cost and
size of a door closure for use in commercial refrigerators.
[0007] Briefly, the invention provides a door closure for a
commercial refrigerator that is capable of a long useful life while
providing a reliable closure that is easy to close on and be
released from a door jamb or frame of the refrigerator.
[0008] The door closure includes a mounting hook that can be
mounted on a door jamb or frame of a refrigerator in a conventional
manner as well as a roller assembly that can be mounted on a door
of the refrigerator for selective engagement with the mounting
hook.
[0009] In accordance with the invention, the mounting hook defines
a recess and the roller assembly includes a longitudinally
extending housing that defines an elongated a cavity, a bracket
that is pivotally mounted within the cavity for movement between an
open position and a closed position, a roller that is mounted on
one end of the bracket for movement into the recess of the mounting
hook and at least one leaf spring secured in the housing and
extending across the cavity to be in resilient contact with the
bracket for selectively holding the bracket when in each of the
open position and the closed position.
[0010] The roller assembly is constructed so that the bracket is
able to freely pivot when the roller is moved into engagement with
the mounting hook during a closing of the door of the refrigerator
and when the roller is moved away from the mounting hook when the
door is opened from the refrigerator. To this end, the bracket is
mounted via bushings on a pin secured in and across the cavity of
the housing. In this way, the forces created upon opening and
closing of the door are transferred into the housing via the pin
thereby increasing the useful life of the door closure.
[0011] The roller assembly also includes a second roller that is
rotatably mounted in the bracket and disposed in contact with the
at least one leaf spring. This second roller facilitates movement
of the bracket on the leaf spring.
[0012] Since the forces created upon opening and closing of the
door are transferred into the housing of the roller assembly, the
leaf spring need only be sufficiently strong to allow the bracket
to pivot and to hold the bracket in either the open position or the
closed position. The leaf spring need only flex a small amount to
accommodate the movement of the pivoting bracket between the open
position and the closed position.
[0013] These and other objects and advantages of the invention will
become more apparent taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a door closure in
accordance with the invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the door closure of
FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the door
closure of FIG. 1 in a closed position; and
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the door
closure of FIG. 1 in position immediately prior to being moved to
an open position or being moved into the closed position of FIG.
3.
[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, the door closure 10 is constructed for
use on a commercial refrigerator and includes a mounting hook 11
and a roller assembly 12.
[0019] The mounting hook 11 is of conventional construction and
shape. For example, the mounting hook 11 has a U-shaped base 13
with a pair of flanges 14, a plate 15 of inverted J-shape that
defines a recess and a lip 16 that defines an entryway to the
recess defined by the plate 15. Each flange 14 is provided with
bores 17 that allow for the passage of fastening means, such as
screws or bolts or rivets or the like, (not shown) for securing the
hook 11 on a door jamb or frame of a refrigerator in a conventional
manner.
[0020] The roller assembly 12 is constructed to be mounted on a
door (not shown) of a refrigerator (not shown) for selective
engagement with the mounting hook 11.
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the roller assembly 12 includes
a mounting bracket 18 of flattened shape and a longitudinally
extending housing 19 of U-shaped cross-section that is vertically
disposed, as viewed, and slidably mounted on the mounting bracket
18 to define a cavity.
[0022] In addition, the roller assembly 12 has a bracket 20 that is
pivotally mounted within the cavity of the housing 19 for movement
between an open position (see FIG. 4) and a closed position (see
FIG. 3). As illustrated, the bracket 20 has a pair of parallel legs
21 that are connected by a bridge 22.
[0023] The U-shaped housing 19 has a pair of openings 23 and the
legs 21 of the bracket 20 have a pair openings 24 in alignment with
the openings 23 in the housing 19 to receive a pin (or axle) 25 for
pivoting of the bracket 20 thereon. In addition, a bushing 26 is
disposed in each opening 23 of the housing 19 to rotatably receive
the pin 25.
[0024] The roller assembly 12 also has a roller 27 mounted on one
end of the bracket 20 and that projects from the housing 19 for
movement into the recess of the mounting hook 11 (see FIG. 3). In
this respect, the roller 27 is rotatably mounted on a pin (or axle)
28 that is journalled in openings 29 at the ends of the legs 21 of
the bracket 20. In a similar manner, a smaller roller 30 is mounted
at the opposite end of the bracket 20 on a pin (or axle) 31 that is
journalled in openings 32 at the ends of the legs 21 of the bracket
20.
[0025] The roller assembly 12 also has a pair of leaf springs 33
secured in the housing 19 in tandem via a pair of rivets 34. Each
spring 33 extends across the cavity of the housing 19 in cantilever
manner and is of arcuate shape. The use of two leaf springs 33
provide spring characteristics similar to a compression spring.
[0026] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the upper leaf spring 33 is in
resilient contact with the roller 30 at the lower end of the
bracket 20 for selectively holding the bracket 20 in each of the
open position and the closed position thereof.
[0027] A pair of pins 35 are secured across the cavity of the
housing 19 to act as stops to limit the arcuate excursion of the
bracket 20 in each of a clockwise direction and a counter-clockwise
direction.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 2, the mounting plate 18 is provided with
a plurality of holes 36 through which fastening elements (not
shown) may pass to secure the plate 18 to a door jamb or frame.
[0029] In use, when a door on which the roller assembly 12 is
mounted is being closed onto a door jamb or frame on which the hook
11 is mounted, the roller 27 that projects from the housing 19
moves onto the lip 16 of the hook 11(see FIG. 4). As the door
continues to move, the roller 27 rides up the back of the base 13
and into the recess defined by the J-shaped plate 15 to take up the
closed position of Fog. 3. During this time, the smaller roller 30
at the bottom of the bracket 20 (as viewed) rides along the surface
of the upper spring 33 as the bracket 20 pivots clockwise as viewed
in FIGS. 3 and into the closed position of FIG. 4. The pivoting
motion of the bracket 20 causes the springs 33 to flex downwardly,
as viewed, to accommodate the motion of the bracket 20 until the
bracket 20 reaches a "dead center" position between the stop pins
35. Thereafter, the springs 33 flex upwardly to their initial
position as the bracket 20 reaches the closed position represented
by the stop pin 35 to the left of FIG. 3.
[0030] The springs 33 need only have a sufficient spring constant
(K) to hold the bracket 20 in either of the open position and the
closed position since the springs 33 are not required to cause
movement of the bracket 20 and do not receive any of the forces
imposed on the roller 27. As such, the springs 35 are passive in
nature.
[0031] The invention thus provides a door closure that is capable
of a long useful like.
[0032] The invention also provides a door closure for commercial
refrigerators that is reliable and easy to use.
* * * * *