US3713682A

US3713682A - Latch lock mechanism for cabinet door

Info

Publication number: US3713682A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Feller
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-04-26
Filing date: 1971-04-26
Publication date: 1973-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-30

Abstract

A latching device for releasably securing the unhinged side of a cabinet door or the like to its frame, thereby closing the opening formed by the door frame. The device includes a latch member having one end secured to the door with its other end projecting through the opening when the door is closed for engagement, upon opening the door, with a keeper member attached to the frame and extending into the opening. The latch member is provided with a hook at its free end having cam faces thereon which guide said keeper member into said hook, thereby preventing further opening or closing of the door.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Feller LATCH-LOCK MECHANISM FOR CABINET DOOR 64l,745 l/l900 Winter ..292/262 Primary Examiner-Richard E. Moore [76] Inventor: Arthur G. Feller, 2226 Williams street, Fort Myers PM 22211 Attorney-Hood, Gust, lrish, Lundy & Coffey [22] Filed: April 26, 1971 57 ABSTRACT PP 137,519 A latching device for releasably securing the unhinged side of a cabinet door or the like to its frame, thereby 521 user ..292/s0 closing the Opening formed by the door frame- The [51] int. Cl ..E05c 17/36 device includes a latch member having one end [58] Field of Search ..292/DlG. 4, 80, 83, WI, 87, Secured l t e door with its other end projecting 292/262, 81, DlG. 65; 70/93 through the opening when the door is closed for engagement, upon opening the door, with a keeper [56] References Cited member attached to the frame and extending into the opening. The latch member is provided with a hook at UNITED STATES PATENTS its free end having cam faces thereon which guide said 2,879,123 3/1959 Newcomer, 'Jr. et al. ..292/1 keeper member into said hook, thereby preventing 3,621,684 11/1971 Horvay et al. ..292/87 X further opening or closing of the door. 3,381,992 5/1968 Friesen ..292/87 656,633 8/1900 Dutton ..292/262 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Q 16 )46 22:I g vzs 24 42 44/ I 30 w M PAIENTEIJJAH30 1913 3,713,682

sum 10F 2 INVENTOR ARTHUR G. FELLER ATTORNEYS LATCH-LOCK MECHANISM FOR CABINET DOOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to hardware for a cabinet. More particularly the invention concerns a fastening or latching device for a cabinet door hinged at one side of a door frame opening. The device has particular utility in association with a cabinet, the content of which should not be readily accessible or accidentally exposed to a certain class of persons, such as small children. The device also has application in house trailer cabinets in which the contents are subjected to shifting and rolling as the vehicle travels along rough and winding roads.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a fastening device for hinged cabinet door which when closed cannot subsequently be opened wide enough to have access to the cabinet contents without first disengaging said device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a latching mechanism for a cabinet door which when closed cannot thereafter be completely opened or closed until the mechanism has been unlatched.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a latch member having one end supported on the unhinged side of a cabinet door with its other end formed into a loop which entraps a pin-like member carried on the door frame upon opening the door to thereby restrict the amount ofopening.

An important object of the invention is to provide a latch member having one end supportedly attached to a hinged door with its other end having an open hook portion with oppositely facing cam surfaces thereon which guide a keeper member carried on the door frame into said hook portion to thereby restrict door opening and closing.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of one form of cabinet with which the invention is associated;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view from the inside of the cabinet looking toward the door which is now closed;

5-5 of FIG. 2 showing a slightly different arrangement; and

FIG. 6 shows the parts of the latching mechanism removed from the cabinet to better illustrate their relationship in performing their respective functions as the door is moved from open to closed position and finally to open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT R'EFERRING to FIG. I the reference numeral 10 designates generally a cabinet having a frame 12 forming an opening 14 covered by a door 16 swingably secured to the frame 12 by hinges 18. I

A latching device 20 releasably secures the unhinged side of the door 16 to the frame 12 to close the opening 0 14. The device 20 includes a latch member 22 mounted on the inner unhinged side of the door 16 and a bar or keeper 24 mounted to the door frame 12. The latch member 22 and keeper member 24 are preferably made of flexible, spring metal wires or strips, sometimes referred to as bar-like elements, capable of some distortion but with sufficient rigidity to function as fastening members. The latch member 22 is provided with a mounting or supporting portion 26, an intermediate or shank portion 28, and a loop or hook portion 30, the latter of which is formed with inner and

outer earns

32 and 34 the purpose of which will become apparent as the description proceeds. The book portion 30 terminates short of engagement with the shank portion 28 to provide a space 31 through which the bar or keeper 24 passes. The supporting portion 26 of the latch is designed to receive a screw 36 which secures the latch member to the inner side 38 of the door with the free end 30 of the latch projecting generally in a direction away from the inner side or surface 38 into the opening 14 when the door is closed, as best shown in FIG. 3.

The keeper 24, as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, is

formed with amounting portion 40 at its inner end, an

intermediate or shank portion 42, and a loop or hook portion 44 at its outer end. The keeper 24 is mounted to the frame 12 by a screw 46, passing through the mounting portion 40. As mounted on the frame the intermediate or shank portion 42 of the keeper 24 extends into the opening 14 for engagement with the latch 22. The shank 42 of the keeper 24, see FIGS. 4 and 5, lies in a horizontal plane parallel to and below the plane of the shank portion 28 of the latch 22 and also slightly below the space 31 so as normally to be engageable with the cam surface 34. The intermediate portion 28 of the latch 22 crosses over or above the corresponding portion of the keeper 24, as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 5, with the door in closed position so that when the door is opened, as in FIG. 4, the cam surface 34 engages the keeper 24, causing it to become entrapped in the loop 30. the keeper 24, as shown in FIG. 5, extends rearwardly or inwardly of the cabinet opening, to facilitate the camming action between the keeper 24 and the

respective cam surfaces

32 and 34 as the door is closed and opened. The loop 44 formed in the outer portion of the keeper prevents the latch 22 1 from becoming disengaged from the keeper if'an attempt is made to close the door after the keeper is entrapped in the latch hook, as illustrated in FIG. 4. The hook 44 provides positive latching vmeans for the keeper. The dimensions of the latch 22 and keeper 24 should be such that the fingers can be inserted into the space between the door and frame to release the latch at a time when the latch is captured by the keeper, as in FIG. 4.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6 for a description of the operation of the latching device. Assume that the door 16 has been moved from its wide open position in FIG. I to a partially closed position in which the cam surface 32 of the hook 30 of the latch just abuts the intermediate portion 42 of the keeper. This relationship between the parts is shown in a of FIG. 6. Further closing of the door in the direction of the arrow as shown in b" has caused the hook 30, under the influence of the cam 32 to ride over the shank portion of the keeper 24. [f the door is now moved in a direction to open it, as shown by the arrow in c of FIG. 6, the cam 34 of the latch will engage the keeper 24 forcing it into the hook 30 where it remains entrapped until some positive action is taken to release it. As now entrapped it is to be observed that moving the door 16 in a direction to open it, as in c causes the keeper to ride along the inner portion of the cam 32, positioning the keeper 24 in the upper closed portion 50 of the hook. Moving the door 16 in a direction to ciose it, the keeper shank 42 due to its being preformed below the space 31 engages the inner portion of cam 34 thus forcing the keeper into the lower closed portion 52 of the hook 30. Consequently, with the keeper 24 captured in the hook as in c", the door 16 cannot be opened or closed. The latch 22 may be released, however, by depressing it downwardly, see c and d", until the keeper shank 42 engages the latch shank 28, at which time the door, to which the latch 22 is attached, is moved in a closing direction thus causing the keeper to pass through the space 31 formed between the end of the hook 30 and the shank 28 as indicated in d. The door may now be completely closed if desired, as in FIG. 3. Also the door may be opened by raising the latch 22 to the position in e" so that the hook 30 is clear of the keeper 24 and then moving the door in the direction of the arrow.

For convenience in installation, the

mounting loops

26 and 40 may be formed elongated vertically instead of circular thereby providing a vertical mounting slot receiving the

respective screws

36 and 46 for adjustment thereon vertically of the keeper 24 and latch member 22, respectively.

While there have been described above the principics of this invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A latching device for a cabinet door hinged at one side to a frame forming an opening over which the door swings in closing relationship thereto, said device comprising: a latch member having one end mounted to the inner unhinged side of the door with the other end of the latch projecting into said opening; a keeper member having one end mounted to said frame with the other end projecting into said opening for engagement with said latch member upon opening the door a predetermined distance, both members being of bariike elements, said latch member having a loop-shaped hook portion at its other end engageable with said keeper member upon opening said door a predetermined distance to thereby restrict further opening of said door, said hook portion having inner angularly related cam surfaces engageabie with said keeper member to entrap it within the confines of said hook portion to thereby control further opening or closing of said door, said hook ortion being formed with a space contiguous an end t ereof through which said keeper member passes.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said keeper member extends rearwardly of the door opening to facilitate camming action between said cam surfaces and said keeper.

3. The device as defined in claim 2 wherein said keeper member has a loop at its other end engageable with said hook portion on said latch member to thereby secure said door against closing beyond a predetermined amount.

4. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein said keeper and latch members are of spring wire, and the loop-shaped portion is substantially triangular in shape, the front side of the loop .being angled forwardly so as to provide a cam surface, and the rear side of the loop being angled forwardly also to provide a cam surface.

Claims

1. A latching device for a cabinet door hinged at one side to a frame forming an opening over which the door swings in closing relationship thereto, said device comprising: a latch member having one end mounted to the inner unhinged side of the door with the other end of the latch projecting into said opening; a keeper member having one end mounted to said frame with the other end projecting into said opening for engagement with said latch member upon opening the door a predetermined distance, both members being of barlike elements, said latch member having a loop-shaped hook portion at its other end engageable with said keeper member upon opening said door a predetermined distance to thereby restrict further opening of said door, said hook portion having inner angularly related cam surfaces engageable with said keeper member to entrap it within the confines of said hook portion to thereby control further opening or closing of said door, said hook portion being formed with a space contiguous an end thereof through which said keeper member passes.