MECHANICAL DOOR CHECK
Year: 1885

page_text: I SAMUEL COOMBS of N° 10 Reedworth Street, Kennington Road, in the
County of Surrey, Joiner do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
A MECHANICAL DOOR CHECK to be as follows:-
This check is designed for the purpose of preventing doors slamming in closing,
and can be used with any spring, but preferably in combination with a spring-
hinge, and is fixed, either in the hanging style of the door, or the corresponding
post of the doorframe.
The construction of the check is as follows.
Two strong metal levers A and B are fitted inside a strong metal case D, the
fulcrums of which are at I and H respectively, A knob or ball F is fixed to the
lever A, and passes through a hole in the face plate E, the lever B is fitted at the
lower end "or other suitable position" with a powerful spiral "or flat" spring G,
the levers are so fitted as to form inclined planes with each other, and between
which is fitted a sliding piece " or wheel" C made of wood, metal, or other suitable
material.
Upon the door closing, the edge impinges sharply upon the knob or ball F and
lever A, reacting upon the lever B, through the medium of the sliding piece C,
bringing the two levers more parallel, and preventing the piece C from sliding up.
As soon as the force of the door is expended, the spring G restores the lever B to
its normal position, the piece C slides up and allows the door to close.
Upon the door being opend the lever A and the sliding piece C restore themselves
to their positions, by their own weight.

page_text: I, SAMUEL COOMBS of N° 10 Reedworth Street, Kennington Road in the
County of Surrey, Joiner, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
"A MECHANICAL DOOR CHECK and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings and to the letters and
Figures marked thereon:-
.
The mechanical door check forming the subject of this invention is intended to
prevent doors from slamming when they are closing; it may be used with any
door closing spring, or with spring hinges, and it may be fixed either in the hanging
stile of the door, or in the corresponding post of the door frame.
The construction of the check is illustrated in the Drawings hereto annexed in
which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation and Figure 2 a sectional plan showing the
check as applied to the hanging post of a door. A and B are two strong. metal
levers or arms fitted inside a strong metal case D inserted and secured in a mortice
in the hanging post J of the door frame; the fulcra of these levers are at I and H
respectively. A knob or projection F is fixed to, or formed with, the lever A and
passes through a hole in the face plate E of the case D. The lever B is acted on
by a spring G which tends constantly to force the free end of the lever B in the
direction of the arrow against the stop K. The levers A and B are placed so as to
form an angle with each other, the inner edges forming two inclined planes between
which is placed a sliding piece C preferably of hard wood, or of metal, or other
suitable material.
When the door L closes, the edge of the hanging stile, or preferably a metal
plate M secured therein, comes against the knob or projection F, as shown in
Figure 2; the upper end of the lever A is thereby pushed inwards, pressing against
the sliding piece C which reacts upon the lever B, the immediate effect being to
turn the said lever B slightly on its centre H against the action of the spring G, so
as to avoid any sudden rebound of the door, but when the sudden closing. force of
the door is expended, the spring G restores the lever B to its normal position
against the stop K. In consequence of the angular position of the levers A and B
with regard to each other, and the correspondingly tapered or wedge form of the
piece C, the movement of the lever A on its fulcrum I causes the piece C to slide
upwards between the two levers, but with a certain amount of friction which acts
as a brake or resistance that retards the closing of the door. The piece C continues
to slide upwards until the door is completely closed by the action of its closing
spring, or spring hinges. When the door is opened again, the lever A and the
piece C return by their own weight into the positions shown in Figure 1, ready to
act again in the same way.
Figures 3 and 4 show a modification of the above described arrangement, in
which the piece B is fixed in the case D, and does not turn on a fulcrum like the
piece B in Figures 1 and 2, the shock of closing being in this case wholly absorbed

page_text: by the friction of the sliding piece C in sliding up between the lever A on the one
hand and the fixed piece or abutment B on the other. The spring G of Figure 1 is
of course not required in this case. N is a piece of leather, or other soft material,
fixed to the piece C and bearing lightly against the edges of the pieces A and B for
the purpose of keeping the said edges free from dirt as the said sliding piece moves
up and down between them.
Similar letters of reference relate to like parts in all the Figures of the
Drawings.
.
If preferred the case D, with its contents may be secured in the hanging stile of
the door instead of in the door post as shown in the drawings, and in that case the
knob or projection F will come in contact with the door post as the door closes, and
the action and effect of the parts will be the same as above described.
In some cases, I combine my door check with a hinge (either a spring hinge or
otherwise) in such manner that the face plate E forms one of the leaves of such
hinge.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
A mechanical door check constructed with the parts A and B placed at an angle
with each other and having the frictional taper or wedge shaped sliding piece C
between them; the part A being adapted so as to be acted upon by the edge of
the door, or door frame as the case may be, and the part B being either fixed
rigidly, or made to yield against the action of a spring; the whole arranged,
combined and operating substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in
the Drawings hereto annexed.
Dated 11
T1
7000