Patent GB-789224-A (GB)
Title: Cabinets having combined door latching and hinging means
IPC: E05D15/50
Filed: 1954-09-24
Abstract: 789,224. Door latches; hinges. PHILCO CORPORATION. Sept. 24, 1954 [Sept. 25, 1953], No. 27648/54. Classes 44 and 65(2) A cabinet has a door operable about either of two opposite edges and includes a latch-hinge mechanism disposed at each of said two edges and each comprising a latch strike and a latch bolt mounted for swinging movement into and out of engagement with the latch strike and a manually operable latch actuating mechanism mounted in the door and selectively operable to displace either one of said latch bolts from engagement with its associated latch strike so as to release the door for opening about the hinge constituted by the latch-hinge mechanism not so actuated. In one construction Fig. 5 each latch-hinge mechanism comprises a hinge 53 which has a leaf 75 fixed to the' side of the cabinet and a swinging leaf 73 carrying a strike 52, leaf 73 being urged away from leaf 75 by a coiled spring 77 into the plane of the cabinet side. In this position strike 52 is in line with the path of movement of a forked end 51a of a latch bolt 51 when the door is moved to its closed position so that the latch bolt can be easily engaged with the strike. The latch bolt 51 is pivotally mounted in a housing 55 by a pin 68, the housing being fixed to the door of the cabinet. The latch bolt has a cam slot 69 in its upper end which is engaged by a pin 70 fixed to the lower end of a link 54 which is slidably mounted on pin 56 in the housing 55. The link is urged downwardly against the pressure of a spring 58 by a crank 63 and downward movement of the link pivots the latch bolt to open the door. As shown the bolt is moved in an anti-clockwise direction by the link 54 and when the pin 70 reaches the bottom of the cam slot a spring 71 moves the bolt still further in the same direction until the pin reaches the end of a lateral extension 69a of the slot so that despite the pressure of the spring 58 the bolt remains in a cocked position. When the door is closed the engagement of the strike 52 with the bifurcated end of the bolt returns the bolt to the latching position allows the spring 58 to move the link 54. The cranks 63 for the two latch-hinge mechanisms are selectively actuated by a handle (not shown) which is connected to a hub 83 Fig. 9. The hub carries a pair of pins 81 and 82 one for each of the cranks rotation of the handle clockwise causing the pin 82 to move one crank 63 to open the right hand latch-hinge mechanism and rotation of the handle anti-clockwise causing the pin 81 to move the other crank 63 to open the left hand latch-hinge mechanism. The hub is centered by a spring 86 which engages a projection 91 on the hub. To prevent-both cranks being actuated at the same time a forked link 93 is pivotally mounted on an escutcheon plate 84 which carries the hub and its forked end engages a pin 95 on the hub so that when the hub is rotated the forked end is moved to a position underneath the crank which is not actuated so that it cannot move. To prevent the door tilting about the engaged latch-hinge mechanism when the door is opened, a pair of separable hinges are provided at each side of the door. These hinges are of the type in which each hinge leaf is provided with three knuckles, two of the knuckles of each leaf being bridged by a pin 42 or 45, Fig. 1, each pin engaging the free knuckle of the other link which is slotted, the arrangement being such that the hinge leaves can be disengaged when the leaves are aligned, the leaves being connected together when they are not aligned. In a second embodiment, Fig. 17, each latchhinge mechanism has two latch bolts 102, 103, each of which engages a pivotally mounted strike 130, 131. The latch bolt 103 is identical with that of the previous construction and the latch bolt 102 is similar but is arranged to pivot upwards to its latching position instead of downwards. The latch bolts are actuated by pins 121, 125 carried by a sliding link 101, the pins engaging cam slots 120, 124. The latch bolt 103 remains in its cocked position when disengaged from the strike 131 by the pin entering a lateral extension of the cam slot as in the previous construction. The pin 125 similarly enters a lateral extension 127 of the latch bolt 102 and rests against the side of the extension to keep the latch bolt in its cocked position; the extension, however, has an offset extending upwardly above the pin so that should the door become unfastened from the lower latch bolt 103. the pin 125 will move into the upward offset of the extension 127 so locking the latch bolt in such position and as described below thereby preventing actuation of the mechanism on the other side of the door since the link 101 cannot then move. The strikes 130 and 131 are each mounted between the side walls of U-shaped brackets 132 the bases of which are pivotally secured to pintles 133 rotatably mounted in a hub 135 secured to the cabinet wall; Fingers 136 are mounted on the door adjacent each of the bolts 102, 103 and when the door is closed the fingers are received between the walls of the brackets and positively position the door relative to the cabinet. Each latch-hinge mechanism is actuated by a crank 113 the cranks being selectively actuated by a pivoted handle (not shown). The handle is connected to a hub 143, Fig. 19,. mounted in an escutcheon plate and carries two pins 141. 142 one for actuating each of the cranks as in the previous construction. To prevent both cranks being actuated together, vertically slidable links 145, 147 are provided each of which is biased against one of the cranks by springs 146, 148. Attached to the lower end of the hub 143 is a key member 149 which is slightly, narrower than the space between the vertical portions of the links 145, 147 and rotation of the hub in either direction moves the key member 149 through a notch 150 or 151 in the edge of one of the links which is thereby prevented from moving and so prevents movement of the associated crank, while the other link is moved downwardly by movement of its associated crank. The hub is returned to its normal position by a link member 152 which is loaded by a spring 154 and which has ears 153 to engage the pins 141, 142.