US1818977A - Friction casement adjuster - Google Patents

Description

' Aug., 18A, 1931- R. c. cal-wn! 1,813,977

FRICTION CASEMENT ADJUSTER Filed Jan. 25. 1929 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 18, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT -oFFlcE ROBERT C. GRAY, OF WARREN TOWNSHIP, SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW' JERSEY FRICTION CASEMENT .ADJUSTER Application filed January 25, 1929. Serial No. 334,965.

My invention relates to improvements in friction easement adjusters of the type adapted for use on easements, transoms and similar hinged devices for holding the same A at any desired position. Y

My invention more particularly relates to easement adjusters provided with means for regulating the resistance offered by the adjuster to movement of the window or other device to which it is attached.

I am aware that adjusters have been producedrand are in commercial use in which tractive friction may be regulated after the adjuster has been attached to the easement.

` l5 In such adjusters a barrel and plunger are used, the barrel being connected to the frame ,of the window and the stem of the plunger to the easement, `so that as theV easement is swung open the plunger will be drawn along the barrel.l The plunger is made of two sections which are relatively expansible so as to vary frictional engagement with the barrel.l The plunger stem has a wedge thereon which its between the plunger sections and said sections engage a nut threaded on the stem, so that by turning the plunger in one direction or the other with respect to the stemthere will be a relative movement between the wedge and the plunger sections,

causing the latter to expand or contract, depending uponv the. direction of turning. Since the plunger is inaccessible the barrel is so mounted that it may be rotated and thus, by reason of frictional engagement between the barrel and the plunger, the latter will also be rotated. It will be observed that in this construction reliance is placed on initial friction between the plunger and the barrel, else the plunger cannot be turned, but inl adjusting the device a careless or unexperienced person might turn the barrel sufficiently to lose friction between the barrel and theplunger. When this happens, the only way of vadjusting the device is to take it it has expanded suiiiciently to produce the requisite friction. Y

It is an object of my invention to overcome this diiculty by providing a construction 5 such that expansion of the plunger will not Vvice as adapted to a Casement window;

apart and turn the plunger on the stem until depend upon frictional engagement between the plunger and barrel.

Another object is to provide means for adjusting a wedge in an expansible plunger from a point outside the barrel of the adjuster. j

Another object of my invention is to provide an adjuster in which the plunger is automatically lubricated,k thereby insuring a smooth operation at all times. With the constructions as heretofore produced it has been undesirable to provide lubrication for the plunger for the reason that the friction between the plunger and the barrel has been depended upon to furnish the means for adjusting the expansion of the plunger. By reason of the positive expansion of the plunger provided by my invention, this difiiculty no longer exists and consequently, I am able to provide means which will automatically keep the contacting surfaces of the plunger and barrel lubricated. Another advantage of `lubricating the plunger, lies in the fact that once the device has been adjustedfor a certain tractive resistance the adjustment will be maintained with a high degree of permanency, whereas in previous constructions the dry contacting surfaces were apt to wear and vary the tractive resistance, thus requiring constant adjustment'. 80

With these objects in view and other objects which vwill appearhereinafter, I shall now describe a preferred embodiment of my invention and shall thereafter point out the Y novelty and scope of the invention in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure'l is a side elevation of my improved friction Casement adjuster showing the' de- V9o Fig. 2 is a view of the adjusted in longitudinal section and on a larger scale;

Fig.- 3 is a view in section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Y y

Fig. 4 is a View in perspective ofone of the 95 plunger sections; r

Fig. 5 is a viewin transverse section taken on Vthe line 5 5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of one of the plates used in the plunger. f 10 My improved adjuster comprises a barrel or cylindrical casing 10 provided with a cap 11 on one end thereof. The cap is pivotally secured by means of a rivet 12 to a bracket 13. The opposite end of the barrel is provided with a cap 111 which is centrally apertured to pass a plunger stem 15. The plunger stem 15 is screwed or otherwise secured in one end of a fitting 16 which at its opposite end is pivotally connected by means of a rivet 17 to a bracket 18.

V'Vithin the barrel 10 is .an expansible plunger 21 which is longitudinallyV slit to form two like sections 22 and 23. Each section is in the form of a semi-cylindrical shell provided with an inwardly extending flange 211 at itsupper end. The stem lisformed with an annular recess to receive the flanges 24,

- thereby attaching the plunger to the stem so that the plunger may be drawn into or out of the barrel 10 and at the same time will be free to expand. Each of the plunger sections is further provided with a diaphragm wall 25 which lits `against the inner end of the stem 15K..

The plunger 15 is longitudinally bored to receive a rod 26 extending therethrough. This rod is provided at its upper end with a screw thread adapted to engage a nut 27. This nut is litted into a slot 23 which extends transversely through the fitting 16j. The outer surface ofthe nut is knu-rledv so that it may readily be turned between thumb and finger` to feed the rod 26r longitudinally with respect to the stem 15. The rod 26 projects from the inner end of the stem 15, passing through an aperture 29' formed between the diaphragm walls 2,5, and secured to the lower end ofthe rod there is a wedge 30. This wedge preferably consists. of a cylindrical plug with opposite sides thereof cut away at an angle to reduce the thickness` of the plug Atoward its lower end'.

The plug is adapted to bear against a pair of plates 31 which are mounted in the plunger 2l- These pla-tes,I asfindicatedin Fig. 6", are of'v spring steel and are mounted at anl angle corresponding substantially to the angle of Fig, 2'. In other words, the plates at one end are seated against the shell of the plunger sections at the base of the` diaphragm walls 25 and meet at. the junction line of the, sections near the lower end of the plunger. The lower ends 0f the plates 31v are preferably beveled as indicated at4 32 (Fig. 6) so as to fit against inclined surfaces 33 formedv in the `plunger' sections. The platesv are free to flexbecause they are supported only at their ends and being formed of spring metal, they provide for a resilient expansion ofA the plunger.

In use, the' devicemay be mountedas shown vin Fig. 1, or if desired it may be inverted.. In

either case one of the brackets will be secured to the window frame '345 and the bracket to the easement 35. Because the pivotal connection to the bracket secured to the frame 3l is not axially alined with the hinge 35?L connecting the easement to the frame, when the window is swung open, as indicated by broken lines in F ig. 1, the plunger stem 15 will be drawn out of the barrel 10, sliding the plunger 21 in the barrel. This movement `will be` resisted by friction between the plunger and the barrel. The friction is regulated by turning the nut 27 so as tofeed the wedge 30l in or out of the plunger, and it will be evident that as the wedge is fed inward the plunger sections22and 23 will be moved apart, expanding the plunger and increasing the friction between the plunger and the barrel. f

In order :to lubricate the plunger each plunger section is formed with an aperture 36 therethrough in that portion lof the sec'- cated so. that a smo-oth action will always A I be provided between the plungerV and the barrel, andv there will be no danger of wear'- ing the surfaces, as would' happen if dry friction surfaces were used..

lt will be observed' that in regulating this adjuster, the wedge 30 is positively fed into or out of the plunger" byturning the nut 27. In other words, there is a positive means for regulating the tractive friction of the adv juster from a'point outside of the barrel", so that no matter how loose the plunger may be in the barrel i't'can always he expanded tothe desired extent.` At first thought it may be considered that the rod 26' should be held while the nut 2.7 is turned thereon, Vbu the rod' 26" will not turn with the nut 27' hecause of.K its engagement. with the plates 31 and even though the. plunger were contracted to such an extent' as to provide no. frictional lcontact between the barrel 10 and the T15 tion and thatv I consider myself at liberty-1'25 to make such variations and changes in construction and arrangements ofparts 'asfall withinthe spirit andscope of the following claims. f i

l claim :V

'li n 1. In a device of the character described, a barrel, a plunger slidable therein, a hollow stem connected to the plunger and projecting from the barrel, the plunger having a pair of laterally separable sections, a wedge adapted to force the sections apart and thereby diametrically expand the plunger, a rod secured to the wedge and extending through the stem, and means for adjusting the rod longitudinally to control the expansion of the plunger.

2. In a device of the character described, a barrel, a plunger slidableV therein, a hollow stem connected to the plunger and projecting from the barrel, the plunger comprising a pair of laterally separable sections, a bearing plate in each section, a wedge operable between the bearing plates to force the sections apart, and means exterior to the barrel for operating the wedge.

3. In a device of the character described, a barrel, a plunger slidable therein, a hollow stem connected to the plunger and projecting from the barrel, the plunger comprising a pair of laterally expansible sections, a resilient bearing plate in each section, a wedge operable between the plates to force the sections apart, a rod secured at its inner end to the wedge and projecting through the stem, the outer end of the rod being threaded, a nut upon said threaded rod, and means for limiting axial movement of the nut with respect to the stem whereby on rotation of the nut the wedge will be adjusted to determine the diametric expansion or contraction of the plunger.

4:. In a device of the character described, a barrel, a plunger slidable therein, a hollow stem connected to the plunger and projecting from the barrel, the plunger comprising a pair of laterally expansible sections, a resilient bearing plate in each section, a wedge operable between the plates to force the sections apart, a rod secured at its inner end to the wedge and projecting through the stem, the outer end of the rod being threaded, a nut upon said threaded rod, a fitting secured to the outer end of the stem and having a transverse slot therein to receive the nut, and a fpair of brackets pivotally secured to the barrel and the fitting respectively.

5. In a device of the character described, a barrel, a plunger slidable therein and comprising a pair of laterally separable sections,

a resilient bearing plate in each section, a wedge movable between the plates to force the sections apart, and means exterior to the barrel for moving the wedge, each plunger section being formed with a pocket for lubricant closed by one of the bearing platesy and with an opening leading therefrom to the exterior of the plunger section whereby as the plate is flexed lubricant will be forced out of the pocket through the opening.

6. In a device of the character described, a

barrel member, a plunger member movable therein, means for attaching one of said members to a window casing and the other to a window, means for expanding the plunger member to cause friction between the latter member and the casing member, and means exterior to the casing member and operable while said members are attached for positively controlling the expanding means to maintain any desired degree of friction.

7. In a device of the character described, a barrel member, an automatically expansible plunger member, means for expanding the plunger member to cause friction between the latter member and the casing member, and means exterior to the casing member and operable while said members are attached for positively controlling the expanding means to maintain any desired degree of friction.

8. In a device of the character described, a barrel member, an automaticaly expansible plunger member, means for resiliently expanding the plunger member to cause friction between the latter member and the casing member, and means exterior to the casing member and operable while said members are attached for positively controlling the expanding means to maintain any desired degree of friction.

9. In a device of the character described, 95 a barrel, an automatically expansible plunger slidable therein, means within the plunger for resiliently expanding the same, means exterior to the barrel for actuating the expanding means, and means actuated by the ex- 100 panding means for lubricating the plunger.

10. In a device of the character described,

a barrel, a plunger slidable therein and comprising a pair of lateraly separable sections,

a wedge slidable between the sections, and 105 means exterior to the barrel for effecting a positive nonrotary sliding movement of the wedge with respect to the sections to force the sections apart and hold the same at any desired degree of spacing.

l1 In testimony whereof, I have signed this o specification.

ROBERT C. GRAY.

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