U.S. patent number 3,651,786 [Application Number 05/130,406] was granted by the patent office on 1972-03-28 for animal cage door locking device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Research Equipment Company. Invention is credited to Thomas E. Lero, Carol M. Patterson.
United States Patent |
3,651,786 |
Patterson , et al. |
March 28, 1972 |
ANIMAL CAGE DOOR LOCKING DEVICE
Abstract
The specification discloses a door locking device for locking
sliding cage doors for animal cages and particularly including
means for simultaneously urging the sliding door laterally against
the side of its track and longitudinally against a stop to prevent
such door from being rattled by occupants of the cage.
Inventors: |
Patterson; Carol M. (Bryan,
TX), Lero; Thomas E. (Bryan, TX) |
Assignee: |
Research Equipment Company
(Bryan, TX)
|
Family
ID: |
22444549 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/130,406 |
Filed: |
April 1, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
119/481; 292/204;
292/259R; 292/205; 70/90 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01K
31/02 (20130101); Y10T 292/1085 (20150401); Y10T
292/1086 (20150401); Y10T 70/515 (20150401); Y10T
292/23 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
A01K
31/00 (20060101); A01K 31/02 (20060101); A01k
001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;119/96,17,18,19,11,12,27 ;292/259,338,241,304 ;312/270 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Medbery; Aldrich F.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In an animal cage door locking device for securing a sliding
door against movement in its tracks, an improvement comprising:
a. a rotatable shaft mounted on the cage adjacent the sliding
door;
b. shoe means connected to said shaft for engaging one edge of said
door;
c. lever means connected to said rotatable shaft for turning said
shaft to move said shoe means into engagement with said door when
it is in a closed position in its tracks; and
d. lug means on the cage having an opening therethrough and lug
means on said lever means having an opening therethrough which is
adapted to be aligned in substantially overlapping congruent
relationship with the opening in the lug means on said cage when
said lever means is rotated into a tensioned position after said
shoe means engages the top of said door for receiving a locking pin
to hold said lever means in tension and said door in
compression.
2. The invention of claim 1 wherein such shoe comprises an inverted
L-shaped member for engaging the upper and front surfaces of said
door for securing same in its tracks.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved door locking
apparatus for holding sliding doors tightly closed and also to
secure such doors against rattling in their tracks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art sliding doors were normally locked by a suitable hasp
to prevent such sliding door from being opened. However, as doors
are necessarily loose in their tracks to be free to slide or
travel, they are subject to being rattled and banged by the cage
occupants. When such doors are used on cages for animals such as
monkeys and the like, the sliding doors often prove to be very
bothersome and distracting as a common activity of the primate is
to entertain himself by banging and rattling the door of his cage.
This is particularly aggravating when several primate cages are
located in a single room such as is frequently the case in research
and scientific experimentation, especially since door banging
activities seem to be contagious.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a new and improved door locking
device for use on sliding doors or guillotine-type doors wherein a
locking device includes a lever actuated shoe which engages the
door in the closed position and urges it both longitudinally of the
track against the door stop and also forces such door to the rear
of the track in which it is carried to immobilize the door and thus
prevent it from being rattled or shaken about in its tracks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a part of a guillotine-type door
showing the cage door locking device of the present invention with
the door in the open position;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the lever actuated door locking
device of the present invention showing the door closed and the
lever locked in the locked position;
FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2
showing additional details of the door locking device of the
present invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 3 showing
additional details of such locking apparatus;
FIG. 5 is a partial elevation view showing the locking lever in the
normal closed door position before it is locked and showing in
phantom the position of the lever when it is in the locked
position; and
FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view showing the locking lever
holding the guillotine-type door in an open position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Briefly, the door locking device of the present invention,
designated generally A in FIG. 1 of the drawings, comprises a lever
L rotatably mounted on the front of a cage C with a locking shoe S
actuated by the lever L to urge the door D downwardly against a
stop (not shown) and inwardly as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.
With the apparatus of this invention, the shoe S not only forces
the door D downwardly against its stop but also urges it rearwardly
against the inner face of the track T in which the door is slidably
mounted. With the apparatus of this invention, after the
guillotine-type door D is moved to a closed position, the lever L
is rotated past the closed position to the locking position thus
springing the lever handle or placing the lever handle in tension
to thereby hold the door D in closed position under the force of
the spring tension imposed on the lever L.
Considering now the apparatus of the present invention in more
detail, the cage door preferably includes a rectangular bar
perimeter frame formed of side members 11 and 12 which have their
ends welded or otherwise suitably secured to an upper transverse
cross member 13 and a lower transverse cross member 14 to form a
rectangular cage door. A plurality of horizontally spaced
vertically extending bars 16 have their opposite ends secured in
the upper and lower transverse members 13 and 14, respectively, to
close the space within the perimeter frame. Such door D is slidably
mounted between a pair of parallel L-shaped track members or angle
bars 20 and 21, respectively.
As shown, the L-shaped or angle track members 20 and 21 include end
portions 20a and 21a, respectively, as well as outer side portions
20b and 21b, respectively. The free edges of the ends 20a and 21a
are welded or otherwise suitably secured to the door posts 23 and
24, respectively, to form U-shaped tracks T for receiving side
members 11 and 12 of the door D. As shown, the angle bars or tracks
20 and 21 are welded or otherwise secured to the door posts 23 and
24 at or near the outer edges thereof to provide vertical surfaces
27 and 28 in the tracks T adjacent the side members 11 and 12 for
receiving such members when the door is moved into the closed and
locked position which will be described in detail hereinafter.
The door D is slidably mounted in front of and adjacent the upper
bar wall portion 17 of the cage as best shown in FIG. 3 of the
drawings. Such bar wall portion includes a transverse member 30
which connects the door posts 23 and 24 and has a plurality of
vertically extending bars 32 substantially parallel to and
laterally spaced with respect to each other and the door posts 23
and 24.
The locking shoe S preferably comprises an inverted L-shaped member
or angle 40, which includes an upper leg 40a and a lower leg 40b,
is welded or otherwise suitable secured to a pair of laterally
spaced lugs 42 which are provided with suitable openings for
receiving the lever arm 44. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the
drawings, the lever arm 44 is rotatably mounted in suitable
bushings 45 which are carried in the lugs 47 that are welded or
otherwise secured to the outer flange portion 20b and 21b,
respectively, of the L-shaped track members 20 and 21.
The lever handle L is provided with a locking lug 50 having a
suitable opening 51 therein for receiving a pin or lock as shown in
FIG. 2 of the drawings. Also, a corresponding locking lug 53 having
an opening 54 therein is welded or otherwise secured to the post 23
and aligned so the opening 54 is congruent with the opening 51 when
the lever L is in the locked position such as shown in FIG. 4 of
the drawings.
When using the cage door locking apparatus of the present
invention, the cage door D is lowered to the closed position shown
in FIG. 4 of the drawings with the upper cross member 13 positioned
adjacent the lower cross member 30 of the fixed bar section 17
immediately adjacent and behind the sliding door D. With the door
in the closed position, when the lever L is rotated around to the
position shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings, the shoe S will be
positioned atop the upper cross member 13 of the door D. The upper
leg portion or flange 40a will engage the upper surface of the
aluminum bar or tubular member 13 and the vertically extending
lower leg 40b of the shoe S will engage the front portion 13a of
the upper bar 13. As the lever L is further rotated from the solid
line position to the dotted line or phantom position shown in FIG.
5, the shoe S will force the door D downwardly as indicated by the
arrow 81 into engagement with the front surfaces 27 and 28 of the
corner post 23 and 24, respectively, to thereby firmly secure the
door D to thereby prevent rattling or shaking of the door in its
tracks T. With the lever L rotated to the position shown in FIG. 4
so as to align the opening 51 in the lug 50 with the opening 54 in
the lug 53 for receiving the lock 55, the lever L is sprung or
placed in tension and the door D is placed in compression to
thereby hold the shoe S firmly against the door D and place the
door in compression.
Also, as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings, the shoe S may be used to
hold the gate or door D in an elevated position to facilitate
cleaning of the cage or other activity which requires that the door
D be opened. As shown the upper flange or side 40a of the L-shaped
shoe S is positioned beneath the bottom of the lower cross member
14 to support the door D above the lower cross member 30 adjacent
the opening in the cage C. It will be appreciated that when the
lever L is rotated into the position shown in FIG. 1 of the
drawings, the shoe S is withdrawn from alignment beneath the door D
so as to freely permit the door to be moved upwardly and downwardly
in the tracks T. Consequently, after such door D has been moved to
the upper position such as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, the lever L
may be rotated rearwardly as in the direction of the arrow 60 shown
in FIG. 5 to position the shoe S beneath the door D. With the shoe
thus positioned beneath the door, the lock 55 of other suitable pin
apparatus may be inserted through the aligned holes 51 and 54 to
hold the lever L in position beneath the door D.
It will be appreciated that the lever actuated door locking device
of the present invention may also be used with a horizontally
sliding door to lock or secure such door in place in its track to
thereby prevent rattling or shaking of the door in the cage.
The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are
illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the
size, shape, and materials as well as in the details of the
illustrated construction may be made without departing from the
spirit of the invention.
* * * * *