WO2002053862A2

WO2002053862A2 - Door or gate retainer

Info

Publication number: WO2002053862A2
Application number: PCT/CA2001/001737
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas James Lahey
Original assignee: Lahey and Sharpe Enterprises and Investments Inc
Current assignee: Lahey and Sharpe Enterprises and Investments Inc
Priority date: 2001-01-08
Filing date: 2001-12-04
Publication date: 2002-07-11
Anticipated expiration: 2003-07-08
Also published as: US6478348B2; EP1537284A2; US20020089191A1; EP1537284B1; AU2002215728B2; WO2002053862A3; CA2425606C; CA2425606A1

Abstract

A holdback device for holding a door or gate in either an open or closed position is described. A plate member (1) is affixed to a support, adjacent the vertical side edge of the door in the selected open or closed position, and is provided with an upstanding finger member (5) and a pivotally mounted bail (6) intermediate the ends thereof. A chain (8) is secured to the vertical side edge of the door and is passed upwardly through the bail (6) and the end is slipped over the end of the finger member, which is then allowed to fall back to its rest position and thereby secures the door in the selected open or closed position.

Description

Door or Gate Retainer

Field of Invention

This invention relates to a holdback device for holding a door or gate in a

selected open or closed position. More particularly the invention relates to a

holdback device for holding doors of a highway cargo trailer in an open

position.

Background of Invention

Highway trailers of conventional design are provided with hinged doors at

various positions along the sides and at the rear of the trailer. These doors,

which are generally pivotally mounted about vertical axes, are provided with

handles and/or locking rods extending therefrom. It is also usual to provide

means to secure the doors in an open position for loading and unloading

operations and while the trailer is being manoeuvred to and from a loading

dock or the like. Numerous devices have been described in the general and

patent literature for this purpose, and, for the purposes of illustration only,

attention is drawn to US Patents 4,269,439 issued 26 May 1 981 and

5,273,326 issued 28 December 1993. These devices generally require a

mechanical bracket secured to the sidewall of the trailer and a latch

mechanism secured to the hinged door. These devices generally protrude

considerably from the sidewall and the latch mechanism usually fails to provide "fail-safe" locking with the result that the latch and bracket can become

detached by vibration while travelling over rough terrain such as a potholed

yard, or by reason of a strong wind gust. This may result in the door slamming

shut causing damage to the door frame or to the door itself, or swinging in the

wind and causing damage to adjacent vehicles. Major trucking companies

report that the problem of insecure doors costs many of thousands of dollars in

damage repairs each year. There is, therefore, a need for an improved locking

device for securing vertically hung doors in the open position. While this

invention will be described with particular reference to transport vehicles such

as tractor-trailer or truck doors, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art

that the devices of the present invention find application to other vertically

hung doors or gates, such as farm or factory gates which may be held in either

an open or a closed position.

Object of Invention.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a door or gate retaining

device which incorporates a fail-safe mechanism to hold the door or gate in a

selected open or closed position.

Brief summary of Invention.

By one aspect of this invention there is provided a retaining device for

securing a planar member, swingable about a vertical axis between an open

and a closed position between support members, comprising: (a) plate means, mountable on a selected said support member adjacent a vertical side edge of

said planar member, including finger means integrally mounted, at a proximal

end thereof, on said plate means, adjacent one end thereof, and βxtenαing

perpendicularly therefrom and parallel thereto towards a distal end thereof

adjacent a second end of said plate means, and bail means transversely

pivotally mounted on said plate means intermediate the ends thereof for

movement between a first position substantially planar with said plate means

and a second position in abutting relation with said finger means intermediate

the proximal and distal ends thereof; and (b) an inelastic, elongated flexible

member having a proximal end attachable to said planar member adjacent said

vertical side edge thereof and a distal end provided with ring means adapted

for overlying sliding and removable engagement with the distal end of said

finger means.

Brief Description of Drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front view of a vehicle door plate according to one aspect of

the present invention as mounted on a side wall of a trailer;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the plate of Fig. 1 with the loop in the lower

position;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the plate of Fig. 1 with the loop in the upper

position; Fig. 4 is a side view of the plate of Fig. 1 with the loop intermediate the

positions of Figs. 2 and 3, showing the door chain being placed over the end of

the finger;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the plate of Fig. 1 , similar to Fig. 4, but showing

the door chain below the loop;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the plate of Fig. 1 incorporating a locking device;

and

Fig. 7 is a side view of the plate of Fig. 1 incorporating a handle.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments.

In Figs. 1 ,2 and 3 there is shown a back plate 1 , mounted on the sidewall

of a truck or trailer 2, adjacent the vertical side edge of the vehicle door in an

open position, having an upper end 3 and a lower end 4. It will be appreciated

that if it is desired to use the device to secure the door in the closed position,

the plate 1 is mounted on a sidewall, or other door in the case of a double door

arrangement or to a support pole, adjacent the vertical side edge of the door or

gate in the closed position. A finger member 5 projects perpendicularly from

and upwardly parallel to the plate 1 from a proximal position adjacent the lower

end 4 to a distal position adjacent upper end 3. Intermediate ends 3 and 4

there is also provided a bail or loop member 6, pivotally mounted about a

horizontal axis 7. Bail 6 can be raised from the rest position shown in Fig. 2,

flush with the trailer sidewall 2 and planar to the plate 1 , to an upper position, shown in Fig. 3, contacting the finger 5. Finger 5 is, however, somewhat

longer than the height of bail 6 which cannot, therefore, pass to a fully vertical

position. A short length of chain 8, or other elongated inelastic flexible member

having a loop at the distal end thereof, is mounted, at the proximal end

thereof, adjacent the edge of a vertically hung trailer door (not shown).

In operation, the truck or trailer door is swung to the open position, bail 6

is raised to an intermediate, approximately horizontal, position as shown in Fig.

4 and the distal end of chain 8 is passed upwardly therethrough and the end

link 9 thereof is placed over the distal end of finger 5. Link 9 is then allowed to

slide down finger 5 and when it has passed through bail 6, the bail 6 is

allowed to fall to the lower position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 but positively

trapping chain 8 behind it. It will be appreciated that neither vibration nor wind

can separate the end of the chain 8 from the finger 5. It is, however, a simple

matter to undo the lock, and release the door, by simply reversing the manual

steps described above. In certain circumstances, such as with use as a farm

gate, it may be desirable to lock the gate in a selected open or closed position.

This may be accomplished by providing a U-shaped locking block 10, either

rigidly or pivotally mounted on bail 6, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the arms of

block 10 pass one on each side of finger 5. The bail of a conventional padlock

(not shown) can then be passed through holes 1 1 , thereby locking bail 6 in the position shown in Fig. 6 and positively preventing end 9 of chain 8 from being

removed from finger 5.

Many modifications and other embodiments within the scope of this

invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art. For example, as shown in

Fig. 7, a handle 12 may be provided on bail 6 to facilitate handling thereof and

reduce the risk of injury to hands or fingers of an operator by pinching between

bail 6 and chain 8. It will also be appreciated that when the device is used to

secure farm or factory gates in either the open or closed position it may be

necessary to provide U-clamps and/or spacer pieces to mount plate 1 to the

appropriate square or circular support poles instead of the flat surface of a

trailer sidewall as shown in Fig 1 .

Claims

Claim.

1 . A retaining device for securing a planar member, swingable about a vertical

axis between an open and a closed position between support members,

comprising: (a) plate means, mountable on a selected said support member

adjacent a vertical side edge of said planar member, including finger means

integrally mounted, at a proximal end thereof, on said plate means,

adjacent one end thereof, and extending perpendicularly therefrom and

parallel thereto towards a distal end thereof adjacent a second end of said

plate means, and bail means transversely pivotally mounted on said plate

means intermediate the ends thereof for movement between a first

position substantially planar with said plate means and a second position in

abutting relation with said finger means intermediate the proximal and

distal ends thereof; and (b) an inelastic, elongated flexible member having

a proximal end attachable to said planar member adjacent said vertical side

edge thereof and a distal end provided with ring means adapted for

overlying sliding and removable engagement with the distal end of said

finger means.

2. A retaining device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said planar member is

selected from the group consisting of a gate and a transport vehicle door.

3. A retaining device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said door is a trailer door.

4. A retaining device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said support member is a

trailer sidewall.

5. A retaining device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said planar member is a

gate.

6. A retaining device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said support member is a

support post.

7. A retaining device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said elongated flexible

member is a chain.

8. A retaining device as claimed in claim 7 wherein said ring member is a link

of said chain.

9. A retaining device as claimed in claim 1 including means to lock said bail

means in said raised position.

10. A retaining device as claimed in claim 1 including handle means mounted

on said bail means.