Improved Devices for Preventing the Slamming of Doors.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1886.
Complete Left, 6th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 24th June, 1887.
Improved Devices for Preventing the Slamming of Doors.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows --
The object of this invention is to provide a device for use with self-closing doors,
to prevent them from closing too violently. This device is to check the door on
which it is used when the door ought to be checked, to provent slamming, but not at
other times.
My invention involves the use of a resilient tappet for neutralizing the force of a
closing door when necessary, a cam acting in conjunction with the tappet, and an
abutment. The cam and abutment are preferably mounted on a support secured to a
door casing, and the tappet on a support secured to a door, but their positions may be
reversed.
In one example of my invention the tappet consists of a resilient piece of metal
attached at one end to a rock shaft constituting a support for it. Instead of using a
rock shaft the tappet may be secured to a collar loosely surrounding a fixed shaft, so
as to be capable of rocking; the object being in either case to provide for a limited
rockng motion of the tappet. The cam and the abutment are united to a common
support, and the abutment is arranged rearward of the cam, a considerable space being
left between the cam and the abutment.
In this example of my invention the cam and the abutment may be rigid or
immovable. When the door swings in closing a lateral projection on the straight end
portion of the tappet comes in contact with the cam, and rides over the same, the
shaft or the collar thereon rocking to admit of this. This rocking motion causes
the tappet to move in the direction of its length. The tappet is not intended to
DQ71

page_text: bend or deflect during this movement. If the door is moving slowly and does not
require checking the tappet will not come in contact with the abutment. If the
door is closing quickly, however, and needs checking, the tappet will come in
contact with the abutment, and the rotary motion of the shaft or collar will be
stopped by a suitable stop. The tappet will then yield by deflection or bending, and
so check or neutralize the force of the closing door.
When the door is opened, the tappet may yield, to pass by the cam, or the latter
may be modified by bringing it in place, so that it will yield to allow the tappet to
pass it during the opening movement of the door.
It may he found advantageous to arrange a second cam on the same support as the
one already described. In such case the cams will be in line and there will be
between them a space sufficient for the passage of the straight portion of the tappet:
a lateral projection will then be provided at each side of the extremity of the tappet.
The advantage of using a second cam is that the door check may be used with a
door hinged at either the right or left hand edge.
In still another form of my invention the tappet, which is likewise a spring, is
fastened at one end to a support which may be made an integral part of the support.
The extremity of the straight portion of the tappet is also provided with a cross piece
or laterally extending projection. In this example of my invention I employ an
abutment and a cam, which are rigidly connected, and which are pivotted to their
support. When the door is closing the cross piece, or lateral projection at the
extremity of the tappet, comes in contact with the cam and raises it and the abutment,
the latter being below the cam. If the door is closing rapidly the cross-piece or
projection will, after leaving the cam, strike the abutment, and, by deflection or
bending, will check or neutralize the force of the closing door. When the door
closes slowly and it is not necessary to check the door, the projections will not strike
the abutment.
When the door is opened the cross piece or lateral projection of the tappet will
pass from between the cam and the abutment.
In this example of my invention, the cam and abutment have a movement in the
direction of the length of the tappet.
In all examples of my invention the resilient tappet is the part which neutralizes
the force of the closing door, or in other words, it is the part which forms a spring.
A. door when used with my improved device will usually have combined with it a
spring for closing it.
Dated this 17th day of Aroust 1886.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to provide a device for use with self closing doors
to prevent them from closing too violently. This device is to check the door on which
it is used when the door ought to be chocked to prevent slamming, but not at other
times.
My door check involves the use of a tappet mounted on a support so that it may
have a longitudinal movement and preferably also a rocking movement. A desirable
way of forming this tappet is to bend or coil a strip of spring metal about a shaft and
provide it with a straight tangential free end portion.
In conjunction with the tappet I employ a cam and an abutment arranged behind
the cam but at a short distance from it. The tappet will preferably be attached to a
door and the cam and abutment to the door casing adjacent to the tappet. When the
door closes, a lateral extension with which the extremity of the tappet is provided,
will ride over the cam. If the door is closing slowly and consequently requires no
checking, the end of the tappet will pass through the space between the tappet and
the abutment and so escape the abutment; but if the door is closing rapidly, the end
of the tappet will after riding over the cam, strike the tappet whereupon the resilience
of the tappet serves to check the door.
If the tappet were not made resilient, the abutment would need to have that
quality.
Although the tappet will preferably be arranged on the door and the cam with the
abutment on the door casing, yet they can be reversely arranged.
In the accompanying drawings Figure 1, is a side view of a door check embodying
my improvement, composed of two separate parts attached one to a door and the other
to a door casing. Figure 2 is a front view of the same. Figure 3 is a transverse
section of the part which is shown in the other figures as attached to the door, the
section being taken at the plane of the dotted line 2 x Figure 1. Figure 4, is
a section of this part taken at the plane of the dotted line y y Figure 2. Figure 5, is
a view illustrating a modification. Figure 6, is a view of another form of the device
shown in Figure 5. Figure 7, is a view illustrating still another modification.
Figure 8, is a view of a door and door casing having the door check applied thereto.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.
The door A and casing B may be of the usual or any desired construction. A door
when used with my door check will usually have combined with it a spring such for
instance, as the spring C for closing it.
In the example of my improvement illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8,
D designates a tappet which is arranged upon the door. As here shown it consists of
resilient strip of metal preferably steel, partly coiled in convolute form and having

page_text: a tangential end portion d. The convolute portion extends around a shaft S which is
sustained by a support E. This shaft may be solid or hollow, and it may be combined
with the support so as to rotate or so as to be stationary. If made to rotate tho
convolute portion of the tappet may be attached directly to it. If however the shaft
is supported in such manner as to be stationary then a collar will be mounted loosely
upon it and the convolute portion of the tappet will be secured to this collar; the
object being in either case to provide for a limited rocking motion of the tappet.
The support E may advantageously be made of cast malleable iron. It consists
essentially of a semi-cylindrical portion e containing the convolute portion of the
tappet D and two side portions e¹ extending from its periphery to an intermediate
plate like portion e². The semi-cylindric portion e may be made in sections in any
desirable manner to provide for the introduction of the shaft S and the convoluto
portion of the tappet D, or one of the side portions may be made removable. One of
two portions extending tangentially from the semi-cylindrical portion e of the
support E has in its circumference a slot through which the straight end d of the
tappet extends and along which this portion of the tappet plays when the tappet is
rocked and also when it is deflected or bent in its operation.
The rotation of the shaft S or the collar mounted thereon, is limited in one direction
by the straight portion of the tappet coming in contact with the end of the slot
through which it extends and in the other direction by the contact with a projection
in the support E of a stop or arm G which is affixed to the rotary shaft or collar.
The support E is shown as secured to the door A near the upper edge of the latter
by means of screws passing through holes in the plate like portion & and entering
the door.
H designates a cam and I designates an abutment which are united to a common
support. They may be made advantageously of malleable cast iron. The cam consists
of an inclined plate. The abutment is rearwards of the upper end of the cam, but
there is a considerable space between the cam and the abutment in the present
example of my improvement. The cam and abutment are both connected to a support
consisting of a plate J which is secured to the door casing in such position that when
the door closes the support E will be below it. The means employed to secure the
plato J to the door casing, consist of a screw or screws passing through it and
entering the door casing.
In this example of my improvement, the cam H is pivotally secured in place so
that it may rise when necessary or desirable. As the door swings to in closing, a pin
or lateral extension provided at the extremity of the straight end portion d of tho
tappet, comes in contact with the cam H, whereupon it rides up along said cam, the
shaft Sor the collar arranged thereon rocking to permit of this action of the tappet.
It will be understood that this motion of the straight end portion d of the tappet D,
will be in the direction of its length or in other words, a longitudinal movement.
During this movement of the tappet it is not intended to bend or be deflected.
If the door in closing happens to be moving so slowly that the extremity of the
tappet will have time to drop down below the abutment I while moving through the
space which intervenes between the cam H and the abutment, then the door
will close without being appreciably deterred by the door check. If howover the
movement of the door in closing should be too quick to permit the extremity of the
tappet to descend below the abutment I while moving through the space which is
intermediate of the abutment and the cam, the extremity of the tappet will come in
contact with the abutment and, as by this time the shaft S or the collar mounted
thereon, will have had its rotary motion arrested by means of the stop G, the tappet
can only yield by deflection or bending. This therefore happens and results in the
checking of the door. At this time the tappet acts as a spring and when acting as
such, it has neutralized the force of the door in the closing movement and hence it
straightens out again, swinging the door slightly open, and when it has moved the
door in this way sufficiently to enable it to resume its normal condition it drops down
through the space which is intermediate of the abutment and the cam, whereupon the
door will be closed quickly by the action of the spring C.

page_text: The cam H owing to its being pivotally connected to its support is free to rise when
the door is open to permit the tappet to pass by it.
It may be found advantageous to arrange a second cam H upon the same support
as the one already described. In such case the cams would be in line and there would
be between them a space sufficient for the passage of the straight portion d of the
tappet D. A lateral extension or pin would then be provided at each side of the
extremity of the tappet. The advantage of using a second cam will be so that
the door check may be used with a door hinged either at the right or left hand
edge.
Obviously the arrangement of the parts described may be inverted and a like result
accomplished.
In Figure 5, I have shown a cam of modified form part of which extends
under an abutment I. The pin or lateral extension at the extremity of the straight
portion of the tappet never gets below this cam and as the door opens the
tappet rides back over the cam, the rock shaft moving rotarily to permit of this.
In the example of my improvement shown in Figure 6, the part D of the door
check consists of a tappet and spring. The spring may be made of a strip of flat
steel fastened at one end to a non-rotary shaft coiled around the same and having the
outer end extended straight. The support for the shaft has the ends of the shaft fitted
in its sides so as to prevent it from turning.
The abutments and cams are arranged in pairs and may be cast together in one
integral piece. They are pivoted to the plate J.
The lugs on the extremity of the straight end portion of the tappet are intended to
come in contact with the cams or inclines and raise them and the abutments into an
elevated position. If the door having the tappet and spring applied to it is closing
with a rapid movement the lugs on the extremity of the straight end portion of the
spring will strike the ends of the abutments. The movement of the door will then be
checked, not suddenly however, but gradually because the spring will yield and
undergo deflection. While the door has thus been arrested the tappet by resuming
its normal condition, will swing the door slightly further open. As soon as the tension
of the spring has by this action become relaxed the cams and abutments will descend,
whereupon the lugs on the extremity of the tappet will enter the space between the
abutments and inclines and the door will close.
Whenever a door is closing slowly the tappet will simply raise the cams and abut-
ments and pass between them without acting against the abutments.
The cams and abutments will descend by gravity after being shifted by the
tappet; the bearing which their ends have against the plate J keeping them in their
norinal position.
When the door opens the tappet will pass from between the cams and abutments.
It is not absolutely necessary to use the cams and abutments in duplicate but if only
one cam and one abutment should be used, the end of the spring should be perforated
so that it can embrace and travel over the abutment as may be understood by reference
to Figure 7.
Instead of having a spring of a flat form shown, one made of wire can be used.
In this example of my improvement the cams and abutments have a movement in
the direction of the length of the tappet.
In all examples of my improvement the resilient tappet is the part which neutralizes
the force of the closing door or in other words, it is the part which forms the checking
springs.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is,
1. The combination of a resilient tappet for neutralizing the force of a closing door,
a support for the tappet, a cam, and an abutment secured to a support, one of said
supports being intended and adapted to be on a door and the other on a door casing,
the whole being so organized and combined that when the door in closing causes

page_text: contact of the tappet with the cam there will be a relative movement between the
tappet and the cain in the direction of the length of the tappet, substantially as
specified.
2. A resilient tappet, a rock shaft forming a support for the tappet, a stop for
limiting the rocking of the said shaft, a cam for moving the tappet and an abutment
secured to a support, one of said supports being intended and adapted to be on a door
and the other on a door casing, substantially as specified.
3. A door check consisting of an abutment and a cam connected together and
pivotally connected to a support, and a tappet and spring, the said parts being adapted
and intended for use on a door and door casing, arranged in such relative position
that the tappet will act on the cam and when the door needs checking rock the
abutment into a position to resist the closing of the door, substantially as specified.
Dated this 6th day of May 1887.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.