Door hold-open device
United States Patent Del Fiacco DOOR HOLD-OPEN DEVICE Mario J. Del F iacco, Princeton, I11.  
 Schlage Lock Co., San Francisco, Calif.  
 Filed: Sept. 17, 1973 Appl. No.: 397,952  
 Related U.S. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 206,778, Dec. 10, 1971.  
 U.S. Cl 16/49; 297/263 Int. Cl E05f 3/00 Field of Search 16/49, 55; 292/263 Inventor:  
 Assignee:  
 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1867 Wing 292/263 11/1911 Zempliner 16/154 3/1932 Johnson 292/263 [451 Apr. 15, 1975 1,967,592 7/1934 Rawlings 292/263 2,200,418 5/1940 Dudley 16/154 X 2,964,783 12/1960 Engels... 16/55 X 3,259,936 7/1966 Sheridan... 16/49 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 321,127 10/1929 United Kingdom 292/263 Primary Examiner-Marion Parsons, Jr.  
 Assistant Examiner--Peter A. Aschenbrenner Attorney, Agent, or FirmI-Iume, Clement, Brinks, Willian, Olds &amp; Cook, Ltd.  
 [57] ABSTRACT A door hold-open device consists of a spring loaded plunger with a detent end on the forearm of a door closer. A ball bearing is mounted on the soffit plate to be releasably engaged by the plunger detent end in the hold-open position.  
 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures DOOR HOLD-OPEN DEVICE This isa continuation of application Ser. No. 206,778, filed Dec, 10, 1971. I  
  The present invention relates to door holders, and more particularly to door hold-open devices for use with door closing and checking mechanisms.  
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Hold-open devices for doors are needed for many purposes. However, it is often also desirable to deactivate the hold-open device, so that the door may freely open and close without being maintained in a holdopen position. For example, in a school, or theatre, it is necessary to provide a hold-open for doors when there is a large amount of traffic, but the hold-open is not needed or desirable at other times.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a hold-open device for doors.  
  Another object of the invention is to provide a door hold-open device which can be readily latched and unlatched.  
  It is another object of the invention to provide a door hold-open device that is simple in construction, durable in operation, and characterized by long life.  
  It is a further object of the invention to provide a door holder that can be readily manufactured and installed.  
  Additional and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description in which the preferred embodiment is set forth in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the novel door holder of my invention.  
  FIG. 2 is an enlarged bottom view of the soffit plate, forearm, and the door holder embodying the invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 showing the device in a door hold-open position. FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the device in deactivated position.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a door mounted on door frame is controlled by a door closer l1, operated through parallel arms 12 and 14. The main arm 12 is connected to, and rotated by, the door closer I]. The forearm 14 is pivotally connected at one end to main arm 12 by pivot pin 13, and is pivotally connected at the other end to a soffit plate by pivot pin 22. Soffit plate 20 is suitably fastened to door frame 15. The door holder mechanism of the invention, indicated generally in FIG. 1 by reference numeral 30, extends from the forearm 14 for easy manual accessibility, and is provided with a mechanism for coaction with associated parts on the soffit plate 20 for latching the door in the hold-open position.  
  Referring more particularly to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the door holder mechanism will now be described in detail. A cylindrical, barrel-type housing 31 is secured to the bottom of the forearm 14 at the end portion adjacent pivot 22 so that it is positioned below the soffit plate 20 when the door is moved to the open position. A spring ,33 within the housing 31 biases a plunger 35 to extend i and project an end 37 on the opposite side of the arm 14. A detent 38 is formed in the end 37. A protrusion on the soffit plate preferably in the form of a rotatable ball bearing 40 mounted, for example by staking 41, on the soffit plate 20 receives the detent end 38 of the plunger whenthe arm is located in the door hold-open position.  
  The exterior end wall 50 of the housing 31 is provided with a V-shaped groove 51 extending across the diameter thereof. The end of the plunger 35 projecting exteriorly beyond&#39;the end wall50 of thehousing 31 is provided with a pin 39. A handle 52 is secured to the plunger 35 by pin 39 and it functions as a stop to regulate the extent to which the end 37 of the plunger projects beyond the arm 14. It will be noted that if the handle 52 is manually rotated the internal cams 53 will be cammed out of the groove 51 and the end 37 of the plunger 35 will be withdrawn toward the interior of the housing 31, as shown in FIG. 4. The relative proportions of parts are selected so that the rotation of handle 52 withdraws the end 37 from engaging the ball bearing 40 thereby deactivating the hold-open function of the device.  
  The spring 33 is a compression coil that is biased between the end wall 50 of the housing and an enlarged member 39 on the plunger 35. The spring urges the plunger out of the housing and toward the soffit plate 20.  
  A pair of ball bearings 45 are mounted between handle 52 and the end wall 50 of the housing 51 in order to increase the ease of rotation of the handle.  
  From the foregoing, it is believed thatthe operation of the device is apparent. As the door 10 opens, forearm 14 moves under soffit plate 20. As the door reaches hold-open position, the end 37 of spring loaded plunger 35 is partially retracted and coil spring 33 is compressed as the plunger end rides up the ball bearing 40. The plunger detent 38 then engages the ball bearing 40 to latch the door in hold-open position. Forearm I4 is thereby yieldably locked or latched to the soffit plate 20 and the door 10 is effectively held open.  
  The door is released from hold-open position by moving it toward the closed position. This causes plunger 35 to compress spring 33 and causes the detent 38 to ride out of engagement with ball bearing 40, releasing forearm 14, and permitting the door to close.  
  The ball bearing 40 rotates slightly as it is engaged and disengaged by the detent end 37. This reduces the friction, and also the wear on member 40.  
  If it is desired to eliminate the door hold-open function, the door holder may be deactivated by simply manually rotating the handle 52 approximately This causes the internal cam 53 to ride up cam surface 51 lifting the plunger 35 and withdrawing the end of the plunger 37 against the resistance of spring 33 from engagement with the ball bearing 40 on the soffit plate. The holder function is thereby inoperative.  
  The above disclosure has been given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, and it is desired to protect all of the embodiments of the herein disclosed inventive concept within the scope of the appended claims.  
 I claim:  
  1. In a door hold-open device, the combination comprising:  
 a soffit plate for attachment to a door frame, said soffit plate having an aperture therein for receiving a ball bearing member;  
 a ball bearing member rotatably mounted in the aperture in said soffit plate;  
 a forearm pivotally affixed at one end thereof to said soffit plate, said forearm having an aperture therein and being positioned on the soffit plate so that the forearm aperture traverses said ball bearing memher;  
 a main arm pivotally attached at one thereof to said forearm and coupled at the other end thereof to a door closing assembly;  
 a generally cylindrical housing disposed on said forearm and having a groove formed on a free end thereof away from said forearm;  
 a plunger member positioned within the cylindrical housing and having a first end thereof extending through the aperture in said forearm, the first end of the plunger member having a detent formed therein for engaging the ball bearing member in the soffit plate;  
 biasing means positioned within the cylindrical housing for urging the first end of the plunger member through the cylindrical housing toward the ball bearing member;  
 a handle member disposed on a second end of the plunger member and having camming surfaces disposed toward the free end of the cylindrical housing for engaging said free end, said handle member allowing the biasing means to urge the plunger member into engagement with the ball bearing member when said camming surfaces are positioned in the groove in the free end of the cylindrical housing; and  
 a plurality of ball bearings journaled between the free end of the cylindrical housing and the handle member to permit the handle member to turn freely.