Improvements in Combined Door Spring and Check.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 27th Dec., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Combined Door Spring and Check.
I. JOSEPH BARDSLEY, of 59 Elm Street, in the City of New York, in the County
and State of New York, one of the United States of America, Manufacturer, do
bereby declare the nature of my "IMPROVEMENTS IN COMBINED DOOR SPRING AND
CHECK" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement. :-
The invention relates to improvements in combined springs and checks for doors
and embraces a pivot seated in a casing beneath the heel of the door and connected at
its upper end with the door, a piston, piston rod, cylinder, spring and stop, all
enclosed in said casing and adapted to be used in connection with a fluid whose
passage through channels from one end to the other of the piston regulates the action
of the door. The spring is compressed during the opening of the door and its force
upon the door being released operates to close the same, the flow of the fluid
preventing any sudden or violent action of either the spring or door. The check
which is made the subject of this application may be applied to either single or
double acting doors with equal efficiency, and its particular nature, objects and
construction will appear in full from the detailed description hereinafter presented.
Referring to the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a check embracing the invention, the door being
shown in section on the dotted line 1-1 of Figure 3 and heavy diverging dotted lines
being presented to indicate that the door is double-acting or may be moved in either
direction;
Figure 2 a longitudinal transverse section of same, the section being on the dotted
line 2-2 of Figure 3, and the parts of the check being shown in their normal
position with the door closed;
Figure 3 a vertical longitudinal section of the check, being on the dotted line 3-3
of Figure 2, and showing the door partly open and the spring compressed;
Figure 4a vertical transverse section of the check on the dotted line 4-4 of
Figure 2;
Figure 5 a slightly modified form of check constructed in accordance with the
invention, the door being shown open and the spring compressed;
Figure 6 a central vertical longitudinal section of same on the dotted line 6-6 of
Figure 5, and representing the position of the spring and other movable elements in
their normal position with the door closed;
Figure 7 an enlarged side elevation partly in section, on the dotted line 7-7 of
Figure 8, of the piston, cylinder and fluid regulator shown on a smaller scale in
Figure 6;
Figure 8 an end view, partly broken away, of same;
Figure 9 an elevation, partly broken away, of the inner end of the piston ;
Figure 10 a horizontal section through the upper outer ead of said piston and fluid
regulator on the line of the passage for the flow of fluid through the piston, and
showing a detached portion of the covering plate of the casing for the operative parts
of the check, the arrows denoting the two inotions of the fluid regulator to expedite
or retard the flow of the fluid and the two extreme positions of the regulator being
indicated by the letters "F." "S" respectively;
Figure 11 a top plan view of the invention embodied in a single acting spring
check;
Figure 12 a longitudinal transverse section of same on the dotted line 12-12
of Figure 13, the parts being in their normal position, as when the door is closed,
Figure 13 a central vertical longitudinal section of same on the dotted line 13-13
and

page_text: of Figure 12, the spring being shown partly compressed by the partial opening of
the door.
In the drawings (referring to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive) A denotes an enclosing
casing seated in the floor beneath the door B and provided with a covering plate C,
which is removably secured by screws, as indicated in Figure 1, and at its rear end
rests upon the supplemental plate D, the form of which is shown by dotted lines in
Figure 1. Within the rear end of the casing A is seated the vertical pivot E, which
carries the heart-shaped cam G, and, at its upper end, is angular in cross section and
projects upward through an aperture in the plate D into the correspondingly formed
seat in the rear end of the bar H fastened to the lower edge of the door. The purpose
of thus connecting the pivot E with the door is to cause the rotation of the pivot and
cam C in one direction during the opening of the door and thereby to compress the
spring hereinafter referred to, and to effect the closing of the door by the reverse
rotation of said pivot and cam under the action of said spring.
The cam G carried by the pivot E moves between the upper and lower arms of the
yoke I and is held in firm contact with the rollers J of said yoke by the spring K
which encompasses the piston rod L connected at its rear end with the yoke and at
its front end with the piston M. The spring K. is held between the piston M and the
stop N which encircles the rod L and has a bearing against the lugs O located a
sufficient distance from the pivot E to permit the movement of the cam G and yoke I
without coming into contact with them. On the yoke I is provided the lug P
projecting upward in position to act as a bearing for the point of the screw when
it is desired to relieve the stop N from contact with the lugs O, as hereinaftor
described. The screw Qis within an internally threaded aperture in the stop N, and
may be worked toward or from the lug P at will.
The front end of the piston rod L is reduced in diameter, forming a shoulder R,
and is threaded and passes through an aperture in the piston M, being there secured
by a nut T. The piston M is cup-shaped and through it passes the series of
apertures V (see Figures 3 and 4) for the fluid contained in the casing A, said
aperture being protected at the outer end of the piston by the screen W and adapted
to be closed, during the closing of the door, by the valve plate X loosely mounted
on a collar between the projecting edges of the nut T and the inner end of said
apertures.
The piston M is fitted to and adapted to have a sliding movement in the cylinder Z,
which is stationary being held by the screw a, and is provided with the port or
channel for the passage of the fluid from the cylinder Z. The port is furnished
with the regulating screw d, whose purpose is to more or less close the port for the
purpose of controlling the flow of the fluid through it, according to the consistency of
the fluid, the strength of the spring, and other circumstances.
When the parts of the check are in their normal position, being that illustrated in
Figure 2, and the door is pushed open, the rotation of the pivot E will bring the
cam G against one of the rollers J and cause it to force the yoke I, rod Land
piston M roarward (toward the said pivot) thereby compressing the spring K against
the stop N and withdrawing the piston to the outer end of the cylinder %, as shown
in Figure 3 during this movement of the piston M. the oil, water or other fluid
passes freely through the aportures V, opening the valve plate X therefrom and filling
the cylinder Z, in which it will act as a cushion against the inner end of the piston.
Upon the door being released, the force of the spring K moves the rod L, piston M
and yoke I back to their normal position, reversing the rotation of the pivot E and
cam G and closing the door; during the return movement of the piston M to its
position at the inner end of the cylinder Z the pressure of the fluid closes the valve
plate against the apertures V, and said piston drives the fluid out from the cylinder
through the port b, the escape of the fluid being slow and gradual, owing to the
smallness of the port, and regulating the movement of the piston into the cylinder
and thereby the closing of the door. The exit port 6 being contracted, the spring will
be unable to suddenly force the parts to their normal position and hence while the
door will with certainty be closed it will not have a violent action.

page_text: The spring K presses the stop N very firmly against the lugs O and this would render
it inconvenient to withdraw the parts of the check from the casing A were not some
means provided to overcome this pressure of the stop, and hence to facilitate the removal
of the parts in their connected condition, after withdrawing the covering plates and
screw a, I screw the screw Q against the lug P until the stop N is forced from contact
with the lugs O, at which time all the parts within the casing A may be withdrawn
and re-placed in connected condition at will, the pressure of the spring being confined
between the piston M and stop N and the force previously exerted against the lugs
having been transferred to the screw Q and lug P.
The foregoing description of the check shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, with the
letters of reference, applies also to the check illustrated in Figures 5 to 10 inclusive,
with the exception that in the latter figures a different form of piston, cylinder and
fluid regulator are shown. The description of the check represented in Figures 5
to 10 inclusive will therefore be more particularly confined to the construction and
operation of the cylinder, piston and fluid regulator, the other elements being lettered
the same as the like clements presented in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive.
Referring to Figures 5 to 10 inclusive the cylinder e is secured to the end of the
rod L, and encloses and moves upon the piston f, which is held stationary by the
screw . The piston is provided with the apertures h extending through it and
protected by the screen i at one end and adapted to be closed at their opposite and
by the loosely supported valve plate m. The piston is also provided with the escape
port n, which is controlled as to its operation by the rotary fluid regulator t, which is
seated in the piston in the path of the port and is provided at its upper end with a
slot so as to adapt it to be rotated by an ordinary screwdriver. It is to be noticed
that the regulator t has a rotary motion but not a vertical motion, such as a threaded
screw would have, and that the lower end of the regulator is provided with the
gradually enlarging groove w, which at its larger end turns inward to the vertical
opening, passing downward through the lower end of the regulator in position to
discharge the fluid behind the screen i. The purpose of the groove w, in the
regulator t is to expedite or restrict the flow of the fluid from the cylinder e'through
the port n and hence to control the action of the spring K and the closing of the
door. When the larger end of the groove w is brought into line with the port n the
fluid will escape more freely and the door will close more quickly, but when the
smaller end of the groove w is turned in line with the port n, the flow of the liquid
from the cylinder e will be retarded and the door will as a consequence close more
slowly. In Figure 10 the regulator is shown in a medium position with respect to
the port n, and from this figure it will appear obvious that by turning the regulator
toward the letter "F" the flow of the fluid will be expedited or made more free, and
by turning it toward the letter "S" the passage of the fluid through the port n will
be retarded or made more slow. The regulator & carries a pin a shown by dotted
lines in Figure 10, which at the extreme positions of the regulator will strike the
screw 9 and act as a stop. The form of regulator t shown Figures 5 to 10 inclusive
is equally applicable to the check presented in Figures 1 to 1 inclusive and is the
form of regulator I most prefer.
In the operation of the check shown in Figures 5 to 10 inclusive during the
opening of the door and the consequent compression of the spring, the fluid passes
through the apertures h into the cylinder e and during the closing of the door the
expansion of the spring and movement of the cylinder causes the fluid within the
latter to close the valve plate m against the apertures h and to make its escape through
the port n.
In the check shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive are a movable piston and a
stationary cylinder, while the check illustrated in Figures 5 to 10 inclusive makes use
of a movable cylinder and stationary piston.
In Figures 11 to 13 inclusive is illustrated the check constructed for use on a
single acting door and it is the same in all essential respects as the check shown in
Figures 4to 10 inclusive, with the exception that in the single acting check, the
corner of the casing is provided with the angular recess A¹ to fit against the corner

page_text: of the door frame, one pair of the arms of the yoke I are disponsed with, and the
cam G is conformed for a single acting check, the wall of the angular recess Al
serving as a stop for the cam; these elements of the single acting check are of course
applicable to the check shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive; the various figures have,
however, been presented with a view of fully explaining the character of the invention
and of illustrating the various operative parts in their different positions. The
novelty of the invention as relating to the rear or pivot end of the check is shown
in Figures 11 to 13 inclusive, while the remaining features of novelty are shown at
the opposite end of the check presented in Figures 1 to 10 inclusive.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. The door check consisting of the casing and the pivot seated in said casing,
combined with the sliding yoke and rod adapted to be moved by the rotation of said
pivot, the spring encompassing said rod, the stop for the spring, the piston, the
cylinder, the inlet for the liquid into said cylinder, and the escape port therefrom, the
said cylinder when in position being entirely open at its end which receives and
co-operates with said piston, and the whole being enclosed by the casing; substantially
as set forth.
2. The door check consisting of the casing A and the pivot seated in said casing,
combined with the sliding yoke and rod adapted to be moved by the rotation of said
pivot, the spring encompassing said rod, the stop for the spring, the cylinder secured
to and carried by said rod and the stationary apertured piston having the valve and
the escape port, the whole being enclosed by the casing A; substantially as and for
the purposes set forth.
3. The check consisting of the actuating pivot, yoke, rod, piston, cylinder, spring
and stop, all arranged with the casing containing the fluid, combined with an inlet
for the fluid into the cylinder, an escape port for the fluid therefrom, and the rotary
regulator having the gradually enlarging groove w in the path of said escape
port and the interior opening z connecting with said groove; substantially as set
forth.
4. The check consisting of the actuating pivot seated in the casing A beneath the
door, combined with the sliding yoke and rod adapted to be moved by the rotation of
said pivot, the piston on said rod, the stop also on said rod, the spring encompassing
said and confined between said piston and stop, the cylinder engaging said piston
and having the escape port, and the inlet apertures and valve plate for said piston,
the whole arranged within said casing A; substantially as set forth.
5. The door check consisting of the pivot connected with the door and seated in
the casing, beneath the samo, combined with the sliding yoke and rod adapted to be
moved by the rotation of said pivot, the cylinder, piston, spring and stop for said
spring, the stop carrying the screw Q, and the yoke a bearing for the point of the
screw; substantially as set forth.
6. The check consisting of the actuating pivot carrying the cam and seated in the
casing beneath the door, said casing having the angular recess A¹ to fit against the
corner of the door frame, combined with the sliding yoke and rod, the piston, cylinder,
spring and stop, all arranged within said casing; substantially as set forth.
Duis
DUS DISH [HAY OF weronon OXVIL
KERESTE MUSO TSI [HAY OF LIerobor XVIII
JOSEPH BARDSLEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.