for
Year: 1898

page_text: We, JOHAN NORDQUIST, of Grefturegatan, 74, Stockholm, Sweden, Architect,
and PER ERIK NORDQUIST, Handtverkaregatan 16 C, Stockholm, Sweden, Mech.
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Hitherto known door-closers with weights or spring for shutting doors or gates
hung on hinges have, in several respects, greater or lesser disadvantages. Some
do not moderate the closing-speed, some cannot be used on doors which are
without fixed top-rails or in the immediate vicinity of a floor (for instance gates)
or on such a door as is hinged to another door, some can only be used on ordinary
doors opening in only one direction, others only on swinging or pendulum doors;
the majority are unsightly and bulky, and so constructed that they do not, with
decreasing strength and independent of wear and changes of temperature, shut
the door and hold it shut or do not allow it to be opened as much as at an angle
of 180°.
The present invention refers to a door-closer which is, not only free from the
aforesaid disadvantages, but has, furthermore, the following notable advantages,
namely that its dimensions are so small and the apparatus is so constructed that
it is entirely hidden in the door or door-post, and so secured that these parts are
not in any way weakened, that all the sliding-movements as is the case with
the hinges of the door) are supplied with ball or roller bearings, whereby the
apparatus is rendered extremely durable, that the braking contrivance is easy to
adjust, not only as to its strength, but even so that it can be entirely thrown out
of gear in such a way that the whole strength of the spring is brought to bear
on the door when it is just about to spring into lock (in case it is supplied with
spring lock), but so that the brake acts in the last moment and prevents the
door from banging; that the brake, no matter how it is adjusted, always easily
gives way if the door is pushed to with great force or with greater strength than
that of the apparatus itself; and that it is supplied with an easily manageable
contrivance for holding the door open in any position between 90° and 120° of
angle.
The invention consists in the combination and construction of parts, hereinafter
described and claimed.
In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a door-closer
made according to this invention and shown in the position it is in when the
door is shut. Fig. 2 is a corresponding horizontal section of the outer end of
the apparatus. Fig. 4 is a section along the line A-B in Fig. 1 when the
apparatus is sunk in the upper edge of a door. Fig. 3 is a view of the apparatus
as it looks when attached to a door which stands 180° open. Fig. 5 is a modified
detail.
In a casing 1 both the springs which serve to pull the door shut and the brake
as well as most of the other parts of the apparatus are enclosed. This casing is

page_text: tightly closed and contains a liquid, suitably glycerine, in which the brake works
and which, besides, constitute a lubricating element for all the sliding parts of
the apparatus. The spiral springs 2 press at one end against the liquid-tight
closing cast-metal end-piece 3 of the casing, and at the other end against a cross-
piece 4 on the cylinder 5 of the liquid-brake. Said cross-piece is connected with
one end of the cylinder 5 belonging to the liquid-brake, which cylinder fits over
the cylindrical chamber 6, and whose other end is connected with the inner end of
a draw-rod 7 which at its outer end is jointed to a link 8, which in turn, is
jointed to a end-plate 9 intended to be attached to the door-frame (or the door).
The link 8, which should be twice as long as the distance between the fixed
turning-axes of the door and the link, can suitably (as shown in the drawing,
Figs. 1 and 2) be attached to the end plate 9 by means of a pin or bolt 11 jour-
nalled on steel rollers 10. Both ends of the link S are forked to facilitate their
attachment to the end-plate 9 and the draw-rod 7, and near the attaching-point
of the latter there is between the shanks of the link, a roller 12 which can suit-
ably be journalled on steel rollers and which can run on one or the other of the
two guides 3, as the rod moves back and forth, when the door is opened in the
one direction or the other, said guides 3f being formed by an outwards widening
groove in the frame 3. The draw-rod runs tightly through a tightening sleeve 3b
at the inner part of the frame 3. The guides 3 on which the roller 12 runs
are formed to such a curve that, when the door is opened, the attaching-point
between the draw-rod 7 and the link 8 will move along a straight line.
In the bottom 14 in the inner end of the apparatus, there is a lever 15 turning
on a pivot 16 and by another pivot 17 the said lever 15 is movably connected
with the forked end of the piston 6, which enters the cylinder 5, whereby said
piston is held in its proper position. The lever 15 is at its upper end by means
of a pivot 18 jointed to a link-rod consisting of a tube 19, in whose other end
there is screwed in a screw 20 also screwed through the end-piece 3, said screw
being supplied with right and left threads. By turning this screw 20, the tube 19
is moved, whereby the arm 15 turns on the bolt 16 and moves the piston 6 in
one direction or the other. In one end of the cylinder 5 there is a ball-valve 21
held against its seat by means of a spring, and when the cylinder is drawn out,
said ball valve lets liquid into the cylinder through the openings 22, but pre-
vents said liquid from being forced back the same way when the cylinder next
moves. Furthermore, the piston 65 is supplied with a central canal 6" from which
lead side-openings 6b, while the cylinder 5 is also provided with similar
side-openings 5". These openings 5 and 6b are so disposed that when the
door is entirely open, they form a direct outlet for the liquid contained in the
cylinder, but when the door is nearly shut, they are closed by the walls of the
respective piston and cylinder. In order that the brake may not at once work
with full force, but the force of the brake gradually increase, the cylinder 5 can
suitably be supplied with two small openings 5b which co-operate with two slots 6°
in the end of the piston 6, and whereby some liquid escapes at the beginning of
the braking-process. The upper of these openings 5b also serves to let out air
from the cylinder 5 if any has happened to enter. For the escape of the liquid
after said openings have closed there is, in the piston, a valve 23 opening towards
itself, which valve is acted on by a spring 24, and closes the canal 6". The pres-
sure of the spring 24 on the valve 23 can be regulated by its end pressing against
a pin or rod 25 loosely placed in the canal, which pin or rod, in its turn, presses
against an arm 26 which, by means of a ball and socket joint is connected with
the inner end of a rod 27 screwed through the endpiece 3, while it otherwise.
presses lightly against the arm 15. By means of this arrangement, the adjust-
ment of the piston and the regulating of the tension of the spring 24 can take
place independently of each other by turning the screws 20 and 27 respectively,
in the former case both of the arms 15 and 26 turning on their pivots whereby
the situation of the pin or rod 25 in the piston is practically unaltered, and in
the latter case only the arm 26 rotates around the point of attachment of its

page_text: upper end, the position of the pin or rod 25 thus being changed. The tube 19
and the rod 27 form a support for the spiral springs 2.
In this door-closer there is an arrangement for holding the door open, said
arrangement consisting of a ratchet (stophook) 28 which can be caused to mesh
with the inner end of the link 8. This ratchet or stop-hook 28 is rotatably secured
to the upper end of a stiff spring 30, which at its lower end is jointed to the frame
of the apparatus. This spring 30 is double, that is to say, it consists really of
two spring steel-rods, which are disposed one on each side of the bolts 29 and 29b
which serve to close the apparatus by means of the hinge 29. The spring 30
also surrounds a screw 31 journalled (but not screwed) so as to be capable of
turning in the frame 3 and presses against a nut 32 on this screw. The turnable
hook 28 has two hook-shaped projections 28 and 28 the former being intended
to mesh with the link 8 and the latter with a triangular part 33 secured to the
nut 32 by means, of a bolt 33", so as to be capable of turning, said triangular
part 33 being supplied with a downward protruding arm 33b, to which is fastened
the one end of a spiral spring 34, whose other end is secured to the spring 30.
The part 33, which works like a lever, is besides, jointed to a draw-link 35, which
by a turnable arm 36, serving as handle, can be drawn down. The hook 28_is
acted on by a spring which tends to turn it up towards the link 8.
The modified device for holding open the door, shown in Fig. 5 differs from that
shown in Fig. 1 principally in the use of a strong spiral spring to counter-act the
pulling of the link by the shutting-springs. The stopping-hook is formed of a
nut 38 placed on a screw 37 which is provided with right and left threads, which
nut is guided by suitable guides so that it cannot turn but only be moved by the
turning of the screw 37. This nut 38 has a projection 38" formed in the same
manner as the said projection 28" (Fig. 1) which meshes with the link 8. The
screw 37 screws righthanded into the nut 38 and lefthanded in the upper end of
the rod 39, which acts as a two-armed lever and is provided with corresponding
screw-threads. The rod 39 does not here need to be springy as in the former
case. This rod lies, at about its middle against an edge or elevation 3" and can
be moved a short distance vertically. It is guided and held in proper position
by means of a bolt 3 inserted in the frame of the apparatus, and its upper end
presses against one end of a strong spiral spring 40 the ends of which rest on
edges instead of on plane surfaces so that the outer end of said spring can move
slightly up and down. The lower end of the rod 39 co-operates with a part 4.1
supplied with a notch 41ª which part 41 is jointed to a doublearmed bent lever 42
journalled in the frame and one arm of which is accessible outside the frame.
The working of the apparatus is as follows:
When the door is opened, the link 8 and the rod 7 are drawn out so that the
springs are more and more compressed, and the roller 12 runs on one of the
curved guides 3. Since the curve of these guides is so determined in relation to
the dimensions of the link 8 and the roller 12 and the distances from the roller 12
to the fastening-points of the roller, the joining-point between the link 8 and
the rod 7 will move along a straight line and consequently the rod 7 will not be
exposed to any bending or breaking strain. When the door is being opened, the
leverage (the distance between the swinging-axes of the door and the link) is
lessened more and more, but simultaneously the spring-power and its lever-arm,
in relation to the resting-point of the link 8 on the guide 3, increases so that
even after the door has been opened to such a great angle as over 180°, the spring
still tries to shut the door. While the door is being opened, the rod 7 and the
cylinder 5 are drawn out and liquid is let into the said cylinder first by the
valve 21 and thereupon by the openings 5 and 5b. When the door is let loose
and is being shut, the cylinder 5 is pressed, over the piston 6, the liquid in the
cylinder is thereby compressed, and begins to issue through the openings 5ª and 5",
but since these openings are soon shut and the openings 5 and Cb are, in relation
to each other, so disposed that they do not coincide until the door is almost closed,
the liquid has, at first no other escape from the cylinder than the canal 6ª,

page_text: through which it issues as soon as the pressure has become sufficiently strong to
open the valve 23. Since, however, the liquid can only issue comparatively slowly
through said canal, a certain resistance arises against the motion of the cylinder 5
and thereby against the motion of the door. By adjusting the compression of
the spring 24 more or less in the manner already described, the braking can be
regulated at will. The valve 23 also acts as a safety-valve, since, if the door is
shut with violence or with greater force than that of the apparatus itself it opens
more and more rapidly and lets out the liquid. When the door is nearly shut,
the openings 5 and 6 coincide and form a direct outlet for the liquid, so that
the braking is thereby caused to cease. By means of the screw 20, the piston 6
may be easily adjusted, as set forth above, so that the openings 5 and 6 can be
caused either not to coincide at all or to do so at a certain position of the door.
The piston is suitably adjusted so that the holes 5" and 6b pass each other shortly
before a door, that is supplied with latch (lock), is closed, so that the door is
given an increased impetus just in time to make it lock itself, and thereupon
slightly retarded in order to avoid banging.
The device for holding the door open shown in Fig. 1 works in the following
manner:-
The hook 28 tends (by means of a spring not shown in the drawing) to turn
upwards the link 8, but is held fast by the part 33, because the spring 34 tends
to turn this part (to the right) around the bolt 33" and because the projection 28
and the corresponding meshing surface on the part 33 form a sharp angle in
relation to the longitudinal direction of the hook 28. If now the arm 36 is
turned downwards, the part 33 turns back, while the spring 34 is compressed,
and the hook 28 is thereupon liberated and turns upwards (because the door is open
and consequently the link 8 drawn out), so that the projection 28" comes behind
the link. Then when the arm 36 is let loose, the spring 34 draws the part 33
so far back that its upper edge comes under the projection 28 on the hook 28,
so that it is thus hindered from returning to its former position. When the
door is let loose, the link 8 cannot be drawn in, but it stops against the projec-
tion 28 of the hook 28, and the door is kept standing open. The inner end of
the link, 8, which meshes with the hook 28 should, as shown in Fig. 2, be formed
as an arc of a circle whose centre is between the link and the rod 7, while the
projection 28 has a corresponding form. The pulling power of the spiral springs
is absorbed, while the stopping-hook (ratchet) is acting by the spring 30, which
presses against the nut 32 and thereby acts like an double armed lever with the
shorter arm turned upwards and the longer arm turned downwards. When later
on it is desirable to start the door-closer, it is necessary to turn the arm 36 down-
ward again, when the part 33 turns so that its upper edge comes on one side of
the projection 28b, and the hook 28 is pressed downwards into its original posi-
tion by means of the link, as above described. If the door, after it has been
braced open, is violently shut the hook 28, not being unhooked it will accompany
the link for a short distance, while the spring 30 is compressed and its upper
end accompanies the hook 28 until the projection of the latter has fallen down
on one side of the upper edge of the part 33, whereupon the spring 30 and the
hook 28 return to their original positions. By turning the screw 31 in one
direction or the other, it is easy to move the nut 33 and thereby the hook 28
backward, or forward, so that the link 8 is more or less drawn in and the door
remains in a more or less open position (900-120°).
The stopping-device shown in Fig. 5 works as follows:-
When the lever 42, after the door has been opened, is turned upwards, the
part 41 pushes the rod 39 upwards, so that the projection 38 of the nut 38 comes
in the way of the link 8 preventing it from being drawn in. By turning the
lever 42 the bearing point of the part 41 is removed to the opposite side of the
moving-centre of the lever 42 so that it cannot be pushed downwards by the pres-
sure of the rod 39. If the lever 42 is returned to its former position, the link 8
presses down the rod 39 so that the door closer again acts. If the door, after it

page_text: has been placed open, is shut by violence, the spring 40 gives way, so that the
nut 38 and the upper part of the rod 39 accompany the link S a short distance.
This causes the rod 39 to turn around its bearing-point 83°, and its lower end
moves in the opposite direction towards the upper end, until the latter slips off
the upper end-surface of the part 41 and is pressed down by the action of the
link 8. During the upward and downward movement of the rod 39, the end of
the spiral spring 40, that presses against the rod 39, moves with the rod, so that
no sliding friction arises between said parts, and the resistance against the move-
ment of the rod 39 is quite slight. If the door, after being placed open, is shut
without the lever 42 being first turned, it is of course necessary, when the door
is next to be placed open, first to turn down said lever and then raise it again.
The adjustment of the nut 38 to stop the door in different positions is done in
the same manner as in the stopping-device shown in Fig. 1, simply by turning
the screw 37.
The liquid (glycerin) which leaks out at the bushing 3 while the pulling-rod 7
runs in and out, becomes useful in that it gradually leaks out to the sliding sur-
face of the link 8 and the stopping device said leaking being considerably
facilitated by the dust that always collects on these parts, while the apparatus is
in action. completely automatic lubrication of said parts is thus accomplished.
The surplus of exuding liquid makes its way downwards and collects in a de-
pression 3 in the lowest part of the frame, from which it can be removed from
time to time. When, after long use, so much liquid has exuded from the
apparatus that the brake no longer works, it is necessary to fill it with new
liquid, which is done by removing the screws 37 and squirting in liquid through
the lower screw-hole, while the air issues through the upper.
The apparatus may be used for shutting swinging-doors as well as ordinary
doors opening only in one direction (right or left) by connecting it with zig-zag
coupled duplex hinges 29, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 in the drawing, or with
ordinary single hinges. The hinges should preferably be supplied with ball-
bearings.
This invention is not restricted to the special forms of construction shown in
the drawing, but the details of construction may, of course, be made in several
different ways. Thus, for instance, the roller serving to guide the outer end of
the pulling-rod may be omitted and the link itself may form a sliding-piece or
he exchanged for some special sliding-piece. The roller (or the sliding-piece)
may be placed concentrically in relation to the bolt which connects the link with
the pulling-rod, in which case the roller must, of course, run on straight guides.
The liquid-brake may be made with fixed cylinder and movable piston. The
adjustment of the spring-pressure of the escape-valve and the piston (or cylinder)
may be effected by means of screws placed at the inner end of the apparatus
instead of at the outer accessible end). The spiral springs for shutting may, of
course, be arranged in many different ways, in accordance with the arrangement
of the other parts of the apparatus.
Dated this 28th day of March 1898
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER.
Chartered Patent Agents,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: Engineer, 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:-
Hitherto known door-closers with weights or spring for shutting doors or gates
hung on hinges have, in several respects, greater or lesser disadvantages. Some
do not moderate the closing-speed, some cannot be used on doors which are
without fixed top-rails or in the immediate vicinity of a floor (for instance gates)
or on such a door as is hinged to another door, some can only be used on ordinary
doors opening in only one direction, others only on swinging or pendulum doors,
the majority are unsightly and bulky, and so constructed that they do not, with
decreasing strength and independent of wear and changes of temperature, shut
the door and hold it shut or do not allow it to be opened as much as at an angle
of 180°.
The present invention refers to a door-closer which is not only free from the
aforesaid disadvantages, but has, furthermore, the following notable advantages,
namely; that its dimensions are so small and the apparatus is so constructed that
it is entirely hidden in the door or door-post, and so secured that these parts are
not in any way weakened, that all the sliding-movements (as is the case with
the hinges of the door) are supplied with ball or roller bearings, whereby the
apparatus is rendered extremely durable, that the braking contrivance is easy to
adjust, not only as to its strength, but even so that it can be entirely thrown out
of gear in such a way that the whole strength of the spring is brought to bear
on the door when it is just about to spring into lock (in case it is supplied with
spring lock), but so that the brake acts in the last moment and prevents the
door from banging; that the brake, no matter how it is adjusted, always easily
gives way if the door is pushed to with great force or with greater strength than
that of the apparatus itself, and that it is supplied with an easily manageable
contrivance for holding the door open in any position between 90° and 120° of
angle.
The invention consists in the combination and construction of parts, hereinafter
described.
Referring to the drawing filed with the Provisional Specification, Fig. 1
is a longitudinal section of
a door-closer made according to this
invention and shown in the position it is in when the door is
shut. Fig. 2 is a corresponding horizontal section of the outer end of
the apparatus. Fig. 4 is a section along the line A-B in Fig. 1 when the
apparatus is sunk in the upper edge of a door. Fig. 3 is a view of the apparatus
as it looks when attached to a door which stands 180° open. Fig. 5 is a modified
detail.
In a casing 1 both the springs which serve to pull the door shut and the brake
as well as most of the other parts of the apparatus are enclosed. This casing is
tightly closed and contains a liquid, suitably glycerine, in which the brake works
and which, besides, constitute a lubricating element for all the sliding parts of
the apparatus. The spiral springs 2 press at one end against the liquid-tight
closing cast-metal end-piece 3 of the casing, and at the other end against a cross-
piece 4 on the cylinder 5 of the liquid-brake. Said cross-piece is connected with
one end of the cylinder 5 belonging to the liquid-brake, which cylinder fits over
the cylindrical chamber 6, and whose other end is connected with the inner end of
a draw rod 7 which at its outer end is jointed to a link 8, which in turn, is
jointed to an end-plate 9 intended to be attached to the door-frame (or the door).
The links, which should be twice as long as the distance between the fixed
turning-axes of the door and the link, can suitably (as shown in the drawing,
Figs. 1 and 2) be attached to the end plate 9 by means of a pin or bolt 11 jour-
nalled on steel rollers 10. Both ends of the link 8 are forked to facilitate their
attachment to the end-plate 9 and the draw-rod 7, and near the attaching-point
of the latter there is between the shanks of the link, a roller 12 which can suit-
ably be journalled on steel rollers and which can run on one or the other of the

page_text: two guides 3', as the rod moves back and forth, when the door is opened in the
one direction or the other, said guides 3f being formed by an outwards widening
groove in the frame 3. The draw-rod runs tightly through a tightening sleeve 3b
at the inner part of the frame 3. The guides 3 on which the roller 12 runs
are formed to such a curve that, when the door is opened, the attaching-point
between the draw-rod 7 and the link S will move along a straight line.
In the bottom 14 in the inner end of the apparatus, there is a lever 15 turning
on a pivot 16 and by another pivot 17 the said lever 15 is movably connected
with the forked end of the piston 6, which enters the cylinder 5, whereby said
piston is held in its proper position. The lever 15 is at its upper end by means
of a pivot 18 jointed to a link-rod consisting of a tube 19, in whose other end
there is screwed in a screw 20 also screwed through the end-piece 3, said screw
being supplied with right and left threads. By turning this screw 20, the tube 19
is moved, whereby the arm 15 turns on the bolt 16 and moves the piston 6 in
one direction or the other. In one end of the cylinder 5 there is a ball-valve 21
held against its seat by means of a spring, and when the cylinder is drawn out,
said ball valve lets liquid into the cylinder through the openings 22, but pre-
vents said liquid from being forced back the same way when the cylinder next
moves. Furthermore, the piston 6 is supplied with a central canal C from which
lead side-openings 6b, while the cylinder 5 is also provided with similar
side-openings 5". These openings 5 and 6 are so disposed that when the
door is entirely open, they form a direct outlet for the liquid contained in the
cylinder, but when the door is nearly shut, they are closed by the walls of the
respective piston and cylinder. In order that the brake may not at once work
with full force, but the force of the brake gradually increase, the cylinder 5 can
suitably be supplied with two small openings 5b which co-operate with two slots (*
in the end of the piston 6, and whereby some liquid escapes at the beginning of
the braking-process. The upper of these openings 5b also serves to let out air
from the cylinder 5 if any has happened to enter. For the escape of the liquid
after said openings have closed there is, in the piston a valve 23 opening towards
itself, which valve is acted on by a spring 24, and closes the canal 6. The pres-
sure of the spring 24 on the valve 23 can be regulated by its end pressing against
a pin or rod 25 loosely placed in the canal, which pin or rod, in its turn, presses
against an arm 26 which, by means of a ball and socket joint is connected with
the inner end of a rod 27 screwed through the endpiece 3, while it otherwise
presses lightly against the arm 15. By means of this arrangement, the adjust-
ment of the piston and the regulating of the tension of the spring 24 can take
place independently of each other by turning the screws 20 and 27 respectively,
in the former case both of the arms 15 and 26 turning on their pivots whereby
the situation of the pin or rod 25 in the piston is practically unaltered, and in
the latter case only the arm 26 rotates around the point of attachment of its
upper end, the position of the pin or rod 25 thus being changed. The tube 19
and the rod 27 form a support for the spiral springs 2.
In this door-closer there is an arrangement for holding the door open, said
arrangement consisting of a ratchet (stophook) 28 which can be caused to mesh
with the inner end of the link 8. This ratchet or stop-hook 28 is rotatably secured
to the upper end of a stiff spring 30, which at its lower end is jointed to the frame
of the apparatus. This spring 30 is double, that is to say, it consists really of
two spring steel-rods, which are disposed one on each side of the bolts 29ª and 29b
which serve to close the apparatus by means of the hinge 29. The spring 30
also surrounds a screw 31 journalled (but not screwed) so as to be capable of
turning in the frame 3 and presses against a nut 32 on this screw. The turnable
hook 28 has two hook-shaped projections 28 and 28 the former being intended
to mesh with the link S, and the latter with a triangular part 33 secured to the
nut 32 by means of a bolt 33ª, so as to be capable of turning, said triangular
part 33 being supplied with a downward protruding arm 33b, to which is fastened
the one end of a spiral spring 34, whose other end is secured to the spring 30.

page_text: The part 33, which works like a lever, is besides, jointed to a draw-link 35, which
by a turnable arm 36, serving as handle, can be drawn down. The hook 28 is
acted on by a spring which tends to turn it up towards the link 8.
The modified device for holding open the door, shown in Fig. 5 differs from that
shown in Fig. 1 principally in the use of a strong spiral spring to counter-act the
pulling of the link by the shutting-springs. The stopping-hook is formed of a
nut 38 placed on a screw 37 which is provided with right and left threads, which
nut is guided by suitable guides so that it cannot turn but only be moved by the
turning of the screw 37. This nut 38 has a projection 38 formed in the same
manner as the said projection 28ª (Fig. 1) which meshes with the link 8. The
screw 37 screws right-handed into the nut 38 and left-handed in the upper end of
the rod 39, which acts as a two-armed lever and is provided with corresponding
screw-threads. The rod 39 does not here need to be springy as in the former
case. This rod lies, at about its middle against an edge or elevation 3° and can
be moved a short distance vertically. It is guided and held in proper position
by means of a bolt 3 inserted in the frame of the apparatus, and its upper end
presses against one end of a strong spiral spring 40 the ends of which rest on
edges instead of on plane surfaces so that the outer end of said spring can move
slightly up and down. The lower end of the rod 39 co-operates with a part 41
supplied with a notch 41 which part 41 is jointed to a double-armed bent lever 42
journalled in the frame and one arm of which is accessible outside the frame.
The working of the apparatus is as follows;-
When the door is opened, the link 8 and the rod 7 are drawn out so that the
springs are more and more compressed, and the roller 12 runs on one of the
curved guides 3. Since the curves of these guides is so determined in relation to
the dimensions of the link 8 and the roller 12 and the distances from the roller 12
to the fastening-points of the roller, the joining-point between the link S and
the rod 7 will move along a straight line and consequently the rod 7 will not be
exposed to any bending or breaking strain. When the door is being opened, the
leverage (the distance between the swinging-axes of the door and the link) is
lessened more and more, but simultaneously the spring-power and its lever-arm,
in relation to the resting-point of the link 8 on the guide 3, increases so that
even after the door has been opened to such a great angle as over 180° the spring
still tries to shut the door. While the door is being opened, the rod 7 and the
cylinder 5 are drawn out and liquid is let into the said cylinder first by the
valve 21 and thereupon by the openings 5 and 5b. When the door is let loose
and is being shut, the cylinder 5 is pressed, over the piston 6, the liquid in the
cylinder is thereby compressed, and begins to issue through the openings 5 and 5',
but since these openings are soon shut and the openings 5 and 6b are, in relation
to each other, so disposed that they do not coincide until the door is almost closed,
the liquid has, at first no other escape from the cylinder than the canal 6ª,
through which it issues as soon as the pressure has become sufficiently strong to
open the valve 23. Since, however, the liquid can only issue comparatively slowly
through said canal, a certain resistance arises against the motion of the cylinder 5
and thereby against the motion of the door. By adjusting the compression of
the spring 24 more or less in the manner already described, the braking can be
regulated at will. The valve 23 also acts as a safety-valve, since, if the door is
shut with violence or with greater force than that of the apparatus itself it opens
more and more rapidly and lets out the liquid. When the door is nearly shut,
the openings 5 and 66 coincide and form a direct outlet for the liquid, so that
the braking is thereby caused to cease. By means of the screw 20, the piston 6
may be easily adjusted, as set forth above, so that the openings 5 and 6 can be
caused either not to coincide at all or to do so at a certain position of the door.
The piston is suitably adjusted so that the holes 5 and 6 pass each other shortly
before a door, that is supplied with latch (lock), is closed, so that the door is
given an increased impetus just in time to make it lock itself, and thereupon
slightly retarded in order to avoid banging,

page_text: 0
The device for holding the door open shown in Fig. 1 works in the following
manner:
The hook 28 tends (by means of a spring not shown in the drawing) to turn
upwards the link 8, but is held fast by the part 33, because the spring 34 tends
to turn this part (to the right) around the bolt 33" and because the projection 28b
and the corresponding meshing surface on the part 33 form a sharp angle in
relation to the longitudinal direction of the hook 28. If now the arm 36 is
turned downwards, the part 33 turns back, while the spring 34 is extended,
and the hook 28 is thereupon liberated and turns upwards (because the door is open
and consequently the link 8 drawn out), so that the projection 28" comes behind
the link. Then when the arm 36 is let loose, the spring 34 draws the part 33
so far back that its upper edge comes under the projection 28b on the hook 28,
so that it is thus hindered from returning to its former position. When the
door is let loose, the link 8 cannot be drawn in, but it stops against the projec-
tion 28% of the hook 28, and the door is kept standing open. The inner end of
the link 8, which meshes with the hook 28 should, as shown in Fig. 2, be formed
as an arc of a circle whose centre is between the link 8 and the rod 7, while the
projection 28 has a corresponding form. The pulling power of the spiral springs
is absorbed, while the stopping-hook (ratchet) is acting by the spring 30, which
presses against the nut 32 and thereby acts like an double armed lever with the
shorter armf turned upwards and the longer arm turned downwards. When later
on it is desirable to start the door-closer, it is necessary to turn the arm 36 down-
ward again, when the part 33 turns so that its upper edge comes on one side of
the projection 28, and the hook 28 is pressed downwards into its original posi-
tion by means of the link, as above described. If the door, after it has been
braced open, is violently shut the hook 28, not being unhooked it will accompany
the link for a short distance, while the spring 30 is compressed and its upper
end accompanies the hook 28 until the projection of the latter has fallen down
on one side of the upper edge of the part 33, whereupon the spring 30 and the
hook 28 return to their original positions. By turning the screw 31 in one
direction or the other, it is easy to move the nut 33 and thereby the hook 28
backward, or forward, so that the link 8 is more or less drawn in and the door
remains in a more or less open position (90°-120°).
The stopping-device shown in Fig. 5 works as follows:-
When the lever 42, after the door has been opened, is turned upwards, the
part 41 pushes the rod 39 upwards, so that the projection 38" of the nut 38 comes
in the way of the link 8 preventing it from being drawn in. By turning the
lever 42 the bearing point of the part 41 is removed to the opposite side of the
moving-centre of the lever 42 so that it cannot be pushed downwards by the pres-
sure of the rod 39. If the lever 42 is returned to its former position, the link 8
presses down the rod 39 so that the door-closer again acts. If the door, after it
has been placed open, is shut by violence, the spring 40 gives way, so that the
nut 38 and the upper part of the rod 39 accompany the link 8 a short distance.
This causes the rod 39 to turn around its bearing-point 3°, and its lower end.
moves in the opposite direction, towards the upper end, until the latter slips off
the upper end-surface of the part 41 and is pressed down by the action of the
link 8. During the upward and downward movement of the rod 39, the end of
the spiral spring 40, that presses against the rod 39, moves with the rod, so that
no sliding friction arises between said parts, and the resistance against the move-
ment of the rod 39 is quite slight. If the door, after being placed open, is shut
without the lever 42 being first turned, it is of course necessary, when the door
is next to be placed open, first to turn down said lever and then raise it again.
The adjustment of the nut 38 to stop the door in different positions is done in
the same manner as in the stopping-device shown in Fig. 1, simply by turning
the screw 37.
The liquid (glycerine) which leaks out at the bushing 3b while the pulling-rod 7
runs in and out, becomes useful in that it gradually leaks out to the sliding sur-

page_text: face of the link 8 and the stopping device said leaking being considerably
facilitated by the dust that always collects on these parts, while the apparatus is
in action. A completely automatic lubrication of said parts is thus accomplished.
The surplus of exuding liquid makes its way downwards and collects in a de-
pression 38 in the lowest part of the frame, from which it can be removed from
time to time. When, after long use, so much liquid has exuded from the
apparatus that the brake no longer works, it is necessary to fill it with new
liquid, which is done by removing the screws 37 and squirting in liquid through
the lower screw-hole, while the air issues through the upper.
The apparatus may be used for shutting swinging-doors as well as ordinary
doors opening only in one direction (right or left) by connecting it with zig-zag
coupled duplex hinges 29, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 in the drawing, or with
ordinary single hinges. The hinges should preferably be supplied with ball-
bearings.
This invention is not restricted to the special forms of construction shown in
the drawing, but the details of construction may, of course, be made in several
different ways. Thus, for instance, the roller serving to guide the outer end of
the pulling-rod may be omitted and the link itself may form a sliding-piece or
be exchanged for some special sliding-piece. The roller (or the sliding-piece)
may be placed concentrically in relation to the bolt which connects the link with
the pulling-rod, in which case the roller must, of course, run on straight guides.
The liquid-brake may be made with fixed cylinder and movable piston. The
adjustment of the spring-pressure of the escape-valve and the piston (or cylinder)
may be effected by means of screws placed at the inner end of the apparatus
(instead of at the outer accessible end). The spiral springs for shutting may, of
course, be arranged in many different ways, in accordance with the arrangement
of the other parts of the apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In door-closers the combination with the housing, of one or more springs, a
drawbar on which said springs act, a link connecting said drawbar to the door-
panel (or door), the length of said link being such that the distance between the
centres of joints is about double the distance between the swinging axis of the
door and of said link, a roller or gliding piece on the said link, one or more guides
on which said roller or slide runs, said guide or guides being of such form that
the joint between the said drawbar and link will move in a straight line, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination with a door-closer of the class described, of ball or roller-
bearings on one or both ends of the link that connects the drawbar with the door-
frame or door, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. The combination with a door-closer of the class described, of a cylinder joined
to the drawbar, a piston in said cylinder, and a spring-valve in said piston, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. The combination with a door-closer of the class described. of a cylinder joined
to the drawbar, a piston in said cylinder, a valve in said piston, said valve being
held to its seat by a spring the strength of which may be adjusted from the outside.
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
5. The combination with a door-closer of the class described, of a cylinder, a
piston in said cylinder, said cylinder and piston being provided with side-openings
so placed that they communicate just when the door is about to close, substantially
as and for the purpose specified.
6. The combination with a door-closer of the class described, of an adjustable
cylinder or piston. substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
7. The combination with a door-closer of the class described. of means such
as̟ a bolt or latch adapted to be put into such engagement with the link connecting

page_text: the drawbar with the door panel, that the door is thereby held open except when
violence is used for closing the same, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
8. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete door-
closer as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
1000
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
Chartered Patent Agents,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Agents for the Applicants.
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
Chartered Patent Agents,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Agents for the Applicants.