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.

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.

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.