Slamming of Doors.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1887
Specification Accepted, 6th Jan., 1888
[Communicated from abroad by John George WITTE and WILLIAM Lewis Witte,
Merchants, trading under the firm name of John G. Witte and Brother, of
No. 75, Chambers Street, in the City and State of New York, United States of
America.]
Slamming of Doors.
I, HENRY HARRIS 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 :-
These improvements embrace, first; a door check in which the latter part of the
closing movement of a door, actuated by a door closing spring, is controlled by a
brake acting upon the periphery of a buffer in the form of an eccentric, or scroll
cam, which by means of a spring or its equivalent is made to present its longer radius
for initially engaging the brake. The brake may be affixed to the door and the buffer
mounted upon the jamb, or the buffer may be mounted upon and carried by the door
and the brake affixed to the jamb.
In either case, the buffer, by contact with the brake, is rocked upon its axis, and the
door is permitted to conclude the last portion of its closing movement by the gradual
diminution in radius of the part of the buffer in contact with the brake.
Secondly, the combination of a door-check of the character described, with a door-
closing apparatus containing a spring which is automatically charged and locked
during the opening movement of the door and is unlocked at a prescribed stage in the
closing movement of the door and thereafter exerts the force to finish, or assist in
finishing, the closing movement of the door.
Thirdly, certain features of adjustability by means of which the apparatus is given
the capacity for adaptability to doors of different sizes and weights.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a door and door frame, to which is affixed
door-closing and door-checking apparatus embodying these improvements.

page_text: Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the line a, a, Figure 1 showing a top view
of such door closing and door checking apparatus, showing the door closed.
Figure 3 is a top view of the door checking apparatus illustrated in Figures 1
and 2, showing the door nearly closed.
Figure 4 illustrates a modification in which the scroll cam shaped buffer of the
door checking apparatus showing Figures 1 and 2, is pivotally mounted upon a
bracket supported upon the door frame, instead of upon the door.
The door checking apparatus consists of a pivoted buffer A having the form of a
scroll shaped or wiper cam, and a spring B for receiving the impact of the buffer at
the desired stage in the closing movement of the door.
The buffer is pivotally mounted upon the bracket C, a spring D exerts its strain
upon the buffer in the direction of the curved arrow d'and the buffer is thus made to
normally present its larger radius for initial contact with the brake.
The brake is simply a spring bar presenting its free end for engaging the
buffer.
In the construction shown in the drawings, the bar B is centrally supported upon
the expanding spiral spring and is held in position thereon by the screw 2 loosely
inserted, through a hole in the bar B and through the spiral spring b², and screwed
into either the door or jamb, as the case may be, upon which the brake is mounted.
Another screw 3 is loosely inserted through a hole near one end of the bar B and is
screwed into either the door or jamb. Each of the screws 62 and 63 afford a means
for adjusting the brake toward or from the direction in which it approaches or is
approached by the buffer, and of adjusting the angle of the surface of the brake
relatively to the path of movement of the door. By changing this angle in one
direction the surface of the buffer slides more easily upon the brake and thus less
resistance is opposed to the closing movement of the door. By changing the angle
in the opposite direction, the surface of the buffer slides less casily and thus more
resistance is opposed to the closing movement of the door.
In
While the door check is operating, the buffer is being turned upon its axis in
opposition to the force which the spring exerts upon it, hence when the door is so far
opened that the buffer and brake are disengaged from each other, the tension of the
spring D causes the buffer to turn back upon its axis to its normal position at which
it is arrested by the collision of the adjustable screw stop a with its cushion a'.
the construction shown in the drawings, the screw stop a is inserted into the heel
of the buffer and its cushion a' is affixed to the bracket C, it will of course be seen
that the screw stop can with like effect be inserted in the bracket and be provided
with a cushion affixed to the heel of the buffer. The effect of varying the projection
of the adjustable screw stop a is to vary the radius of the part of the buffer which
initially engages the brake and hence to vary the range of that part of the closing
movement of the door during which the checking operation is being performed.
This feature of adjustability, within certain limits, adapts the door checking
apparatus for employment in connection with doors of different weights. By means
of the brake bar adjusting screws 62 and 3, the brake bar is so adjusted, when the
door is fully closed that the free end of the brake bar occupies its normal position and
exerts little or no pressure upon the buffer.
To prevent noise and to increase the frictional hold of the brake upon the buffer, it
is desirable to apply a leather cover to the face of the buffer or to the surface of the
part of the brake bar against which the buffer bears or to both.
In the drawings, the face of the buffer is represented as covered with a strip a²
which may be composed of leather or any other suitable semi-elastic material.
It will be seen that the operation of the door checking apparatus requires the
existence of a force tending to impart the closing movement to the door. This force
may be supplied by any form of door spring, but it is preferred to employ in com-
bination with the door checking apparatus, a supplemental door closing spring applied
as I shall now describe.
The peculiarity of the said supplemental door closing spring is that it is auto-
matically distended or charged and locked in its distended position during the first

page_text: portion of the opening movement of the door and at a prescribe stage in the closing
movement of the door is unlocked, and thus set free to exert its force in finishing or
assisting to finish the closing movement of the door. It thus supplies the force
required to overcome the friction of the brake upon the buffer during the latter part
of the closing movement of the door while the checking movement is in operation.
For the sake of compactness in construction, the supplemental door closing spring E
is arranged with its axis in a plane parallel with the plane of motion of the actuating
bell crank lever F. The spring E is connected at one end to the adjusting screw e
and at the other end to the lower part of the rocker e'. The upper end of the rocker e¹
is connected by the pitman G to the shorter arm of the bell crank lever F. The
concave side of the curved arm fl of the bell crank lever F during the first portion
of the opening movement of the door bears against the roller H. By this bearing,
the bell crank lever is rocked upon its pivot F and the crank ping to which the
pitman G is connected, is rocked across the centre of the pivot F1 by the time the
door has so far opened as to withdraw the end of the curved arm f" from the roller H,
as is shown in Figure 3.
When the parts are in this position, the supplemental door closing spring E is
distended and locked and thereafter exerts no force tending to close the door until at
a prescribed stage in the closing movement of the door, the convex side of the curved
arm is brought into collision with the adjustable tripper I, by contact with which
the bell-crank-lever F is rocked backward until the tension of the door closing spring E
exerted through the rocker e¹ and the pitman G upon the shorter arm f of the bell
crank lever, pulls the concave side of the arm against the roller H and is thus exerted
in a direction tending to close the door.
As represented in the drawings, the tripper I, is a simple screw, the head of which
is presented for the impact of the curved arm of the bell-crank lever. The adjustable
tripper is especially useful because it affords an opportunity of suitably varying the
stage in the closing movement of the door at which the supplemental door closing
spring is unlocked and its force brought into action to increase the impetus of the
door to the extent which may be required to the most effective operation of the door
checking apparatus. The adjustable tripper I, is new and has an especially useful
relation to the door checking apparatus, as has been described. As the supplemental
door closing spring E is not brought into action until near the closing movement of
the door, it is assumed that a spring or other equivalent instrumentality is employed
to impart the initial closing movement to the door. As represented in the drawings,
the closing movement of the door is initiated by means of the main door closing
spring K one end of which is connected with the door and the other with the
jamb.
and the
The drawings, Figures 1, 2, and 3 represent the brake as affixed to the jamb and
the buffer, and the supplemental door closing spring and its actuating lever as mounted
upon and carried by the door. It will of course be seen that the position of the parts
may be reversed without departing from the Invention, that is, the buffer
supplemental door closing spring E and its actuating lever F may be mounted upon
the jamb, and the brake B and roller H be mounted upon and carried by the door, as
is shown in Figure 4.
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 correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
First. Apparatus for checking the closing movement of a door, composed
essentially of a yielding brake and a pivoted scroll-shaped buffer provided with a
spring for normally rocking the buffer, after its disengagement from the brake
during the opening movement of the door, into the position in which it presents its
longer radius for re-engagement with the brake at a prescribed stage in the closing
movement of the door.
Second. In door-checking apparatus of the character described, a pivotally mounted

page_text: scroll shaped buffer, a spring for rocking the buffer upon its axis in one direction and
an adjustable stop for limiting the range of rocking movement imparted by such
spring to the buffer..
Third. In door-checking apparatus of the kind described the combination, as
herein set forth, of a pivotally mounted scroll shaped buffer with an adjustable
yielding brake bar.
Fourth. The combination, as herein described, of the buffer A, the spring D, the
adjustable stop a and the yielding brake B, as and for the purposes set forth."
Fifth. The combination as herein described, of the buffer A, the spring D, the
adjustable stop a, the brake bar B, and the brake-bar adjusting screws 62 and 63
as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Sixth. The combination as herein described, of door-checking apparatus composed
essentially of a scroll shaped buffer pivotally mounted upon the door, and a brake
affixed to the jamb, with the supplemental door closing spring E and the lever
system connected with said supplemental and closing spring; as and for the purposes
set forth.
Seventh. The combination as herein described, of door checking apparatus com-
posed essentially of a scroll shaped buffer, pivotally mounted upon the door and a
brake affixed to the jamb, with the supplemental door closing spring E, the lever
system connected with said spring and the tripper I, as and for the purposes set
forth.
D
1007
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.