US2160611A - Automobile door handle - Google Patents

Description

ay 30, 1939- G. c. ALEXANDER 2,160,611

AUTOMOBILE DOOR HANDLE Filed Dec. 5/ 1936 n 'f'ar' exarza'er In Grover" Cf g .6 1 f \W/ Witnesses.-

Patented May 30,1939

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE A y Application December 8, 1986, Serial No. 118,991 I 01811118- (01.29%348) This invention relates to improvements in handles for doors and the like and especially handles for automobiles.

Heretofore the exterior part of the handle has been a source of weakness and trouble in certain respects. Forinstance, when the customary handle is forced, as by a burglar applying a sufficient leverage force, it breaks off at the shank by a twisting action, or the lock may give way, whereupon the door can be released without a key.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive construction for the outer handle and its connection with the latchand lock mechanism of the door, so that in normally turning the handle it will operate the latch of the door as required for use, but will yield when the door is locked, so as to turn without breaking the handle or connections should abnormal tuming force be applied to the handle, as by burglars or other unauthorized persons.

Another object of the invention is to form the outside handle, especially the heel part thereof, so as to preclude marring or injury thereby to any other car when the door, equipped with such a handle, is opened and swung against such other car, as sometimes occurs by accident or inad-' vertence.

This invention is illustrated by the accompany-- ing drawing in which: w Figure 1 is mainly a plan of the handle equipment of an automobile door with certain parts in section and with the adjacent part of-the door of handle 2 is made large and is provided with a corresponding chamber 8 in which is fitted and secured an annular cushion of rubber 9 adapted to receive snugly the head of shaft 4. This cushion is of polygonal shape interiorly and exteriorly, as 5 for instance, hexagonal so as to engage the corresponding head 4' of said shaft and the inner face part of chamber 8.

With this construction, as will be apparent, the rubber cushion 9- yields sufficiently, step-by-step, 10 to permit the turning of the handle 2 relative to the fixed shaft 4 whenever violent force is applied to said handle at a time when the door is locked. The cushion 9 is preferably molded to fit normally as shown in Fig. 2, so that the inner corners willreceive the comers of head 4'. When the handle turns as indicated, the cushion corner It will move from head corner 'I l toward head corner l2, leaving the lockedshaft 4 stationary. The cushion 9 is secured permanently in chamber 8, as by means of rubber cement.

The inner handle 3 is apertured at l3 to receive the opposite end l4 of shaft 4, in positively cooperative relation so as to be coturnable at all times, there never being any purpose or need for permitting the inner handle to. turn independently of shaft 4.

abnormal position relative to the operating shaft.

Fig. 4 is a plan, mainly in section, showing a somewhat different embodiment of the'yielding turn feature of my invention.

Fig. .5 is a handle section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, the door I is provided with an outer handle-2, inner-- handle 3, and a oonnectingshaft 4', together with a pair of retaining. plates 5 and 6, arranged substantially as customary for doors of this sort.

The outer handle is provided with a specialfeature, to permit rotary yielding thereof relative to the latch control shaft 4 when the latter is locked and sufficient force is applied to said handle 2.

. In order to accommodate this feature. the shank I structure of the heel part so that it .s'ent a relatively soft and yielding surface adapted Another feature of the outer handle 2 is the shall preto avoid marring varnished surfaces and the like,

.as for instance, the exteriors of cars that may be at times positioned or parked adjacent thereto. For this purpose I form the heel part IS with a special face including a boss l6 of dove-tail char- (acter to receive a yielding cushion l1, preferably made of rubber, forced into place thereon and preferably cemented thereto. Thus it is held in place both by its own tension and by the adhesive character of the cement. For securing the mem- 4o bers 9 and H in place, any one of several commercial rubber cement products may be used, for instance, one known as Bovel.

As a result of these improvements, the owner of-a 'car is largely relieved of anxiety and fear lest his car may be broken into by forcing the,

ments sufdcient to enable one skilled in the art to apply such featuresin various specific embodiments. The shaft 4 is shown to be square in section as customary for rotary handle operated door latch mechanisms.

Referring now especially to the modified constructi'on shown in Fig. 4, the outer handle 2| is composed entirely of a somewhat yielding rubber body of any desired color to match the car. This body contains a reinforcing member 22, for instance a spring steel wire.

The inner end of the shank 23 of this handle 2| is molded non-adhesively about the head 24 of a door bolt 25 coaxial 'with said handle, in such manner as to accommodate relative turning under severe and abnormal stress, as in forcing the handle when the door is locked. The head 24 of the bolt 25 is preferably hexagonal, and the chamber 26 is of corresponding shape.

A metal finish plate 3|, secured by machine screws 32, bears against the handle shoulder 33 and holds the handle 2| in place on the door 34 near its free edge 35.

- In order to assure a snug fit and to avoid looseness I place a helical compression spring 31 on the. bolt 25 against the inner end 38 of the handle shank 23, and I secure this spring in place by a centrally perforated metal cap 40 on shaft 23 where it is secured by a pin ll.

ing a serially'apertured face of resilient yielding material cooperatively disposed thereagainst to accommodate such turning, said resilient mate: rial being sufficiently yielding to resume its normal form after such turning. i a

2. A burglar-proof handle comprising a hollow shank lined with resilient yielding material,

. a latch-operating member having a head in gripping engagement with said resilient yielding material in turning or non-turning relation depending upon the degree of resistance opposed to said member when the handle is turned.

3. An automobile handle device comprising a headed metal shaft in combination with a suitably yielding rubber handle having a shank disposed coaxially with said shaft with its inner end molded non-adhesively about the head of said shaft.whereby the shaft and handle are adapted for relative turning yieldably when sufficient force is applied thereto.

4. An automobile door handle comprising a suitably yielding rubber body having metallic reinforcing means therein and having the headed end of a shaft imbedded non-adhesively in the end of its shank and projecting coaxially therefrom.

5. A device of the class described comprising.

a shaft and a handle connected frictionally in lengthwise coaxial alignment for relative turning step-by-step, one of said members having a serially shouldered'face and the other said member having a corresponding serially apertured resilient yielding face of friction material cooperatively disposed thereagainst to accommodate such turning, said faces in general arrangement being substantially concentric, and the yielding member being self restoratively resilient.

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