Surface-mounted nonhanded door holder

Claim 2

A nonhanded door holder for a door hinged for movement between two extreme positions upon a door frame, comprising in combination: an elongate hollow housing having opposite sidewall portions, a bottom wall, a longitudinally slotted top wall portion, and opposite end portions; a slider reciprocable lengthwise within said housing; an elongate actuator arm having pivot means mounted upon the slider and movable therewith lengthwise of said wall slot; means for pivoting an end of said arm upon the door frame, whereby hinged movements of the door are translated to reciprocative movements of the slider within said housing; means for mounting the housing upon the door with either sidewall portion of the housing disposed substantially against a face of the door, means within said housing including a single cam latch element manually rotatable between an operative position at which the slider is securely through releasably restrained against return movement when the door is swung open, and an inoperative position at which the slider is free of restraint against return movement when the door is swung open; said cam element including an actuator portion which extends through, and projects beyond the bottom wall of said housing.

Claim 3

The combination as defined by claim 1, which includes means operative to preclude the aforesaid manual shifting of said cam latch element when the door is standing at one of its two extremes of hinged movement.

Claim 4

The combination as defined by claim 2, wherein said one extreme of hinged movement is the substantially fully closed position of the door relative to the door frame.

Claim 5

The combination as defined by claim 2, wherein said one extreme of hinged movement is the substantially fully open position of the door relative to the door frame.

Claim 6

The combination as defined by claim 1, wherein the length of said cam latch element is such that when rotated between operative and inoperative positions the outer end thereof projects outwardly through said wall slot beyond the top wall of the housing.

Claim 7

The combination as defined by claim 3, wherein the means last-mentioned includes said actuator arm.

Claim 8

The combination as defined by claim 4, wherein the means last-mentioned includes said slider.

Claim 9

The combination as defined by claim 5, wherein said cam latch element is proportioned to extend through the housing slot to strike and stop against said actuator arm when the door is substantially fully closed.

Claim 10

The combination as defined by claim 7, wherein said cam latch element is proportioned to strike and stop against said slider when the door is substaNtially fully open.

Claim 11

The combination as defined by claim 2, wherein said means last-mentioned is rendered inoperative by disposition of the door to said one extreme of its movement.

Claim 12

The combination as defined by claim 1, wherein said housing unaltered is mountable with its remaining sidewall portion disposed substantially flatly against a face of the door.

Claim 13

The combination as defined by claim 11, wherein the housing sidewall portions near the end portions thereof are provided with identical apertures receptive of said mounting means.

Claim 14

A nonhanded door holder for a door hingedly mounted upon a frame for movement between a fully open and a fully closed position, said door holder comprising in combination: an elongate hollow tubular housing having opposite sidewall portions, a longitudinally slotted wall portion, and opposite end portions; a slider reciprocable lengthwise within said housing; an elongate actuator arm having pivot means mounted upon the slider and movable therewith lengthwise of said housing slot; and means for pivoting an end of said arm upon a door frame, whereby hinged movements of the door are translated to reciprocative movements of the slider to opposite limits of travel within said housing; means for mounting the housing upon the door with one sidewall portion of the housing disposed substantially against a face of the door, and with the actuator arm overlying the housing slot; a keeper carried by and movable with the slider; a cam element carried by the housing; a keeper-engaging means on the cam element; and means supporting said cam element for manual shiftability selectively toward either end portion of the housing, to operative and inoperative positions; said cam element in the operative position being located to engage and restrain the keeper of the slider when the door is swung to approximate full open position, whereas in the inoperative position of the cam element said keeper-engaging means is located beyond the reach of the keeper when the door is swung to full open position.

Claim 15

A nonhanded door holder for a door hingedly mounted upon a frame for movement between a fully open and a fully closed position, said door holder comprising in combination: an elongate hollow tubular housing having opposite sidewall portions, a longitudinally slotted wall portion, and opposite end portions; a slider reciprocable lengthwise within said housing; an elongate actuator arm having pivot means mounted upon the slider and movable therewith lengthwise of said housing slot; and means for pivoting an end of said arm upon a door frame, whereby hinged movements of the door are translated to reciprocative movements of the slider to opposite limits of travel within said housing; means for mounting the housing upon the door with one sidewall portion of the housing disposed substantially against a face of the door, and with the actuator arm overlying the housing slot; a keeper carried by and movable with the slider; a cam element carried by the housing; a keeper-engaging means on the cam element; and means supporting said cam element for manual shiftability selectively toward either end portion of the housing, to operative and inoperative positions; said cam element in the operative position being located to engage and restrain the keeper of the slider when the door is swung to approximate full open position, whereas in the inoperative position of the cam element said keeper-engaging means is located beyond the reach of the keeper when the door is swung to full open position.

Claim 16

The combination as defined by claim 13, wherein an aperture is provided in the housing, through which aperture a portion of the cam element is accessible for manual shiftability thereof to the operative and inoperative positions aforesaid.

Claim 17

The combination as defined by claim 13, wherein is included means for varying the force with which the keeper is restrained by said engaging means.

Claim 18

The combination as defined by claim 13, wherein the supporting means for the cam element is a pivot fixed relative to the housing and about which pivot said cam element is rockable; said cam element having a nose end including an incline onto which the keeper may climb in approaching the keeper-engaging means; and means maintaining a yielding contact between the keeper and said engaging means during engagement thereof.

Claim 19

The combination as defined by claim 13, wherein the housing sidewall portions near the end portions thereof are provided with identical apertures receptive of said mounting means.

Claim 20

The combination as defined by claim 13, which is included shock-absorbing means to cushion movement of the slider in one direction as the door approaches a full open position.

Claim 21

The combination as defined by claim 16, wherein the nose end of the cam element is prolonged to extend through and beyond the housing slot for interception by the actuator arm when the cam element is swung about its supporting pivot while the door is substantially in closed position.

Claim 22

The combination as defined by claim 16, wherein said slider includes a wall to intercept the nose end of the cam element and limit pivotal movement of the cam element while the door is substantially in open position.

Claim 23

The combination as defined by claim 19, wherein is included shock-absorbing means to cushion movement of the slider in one direction as the door approaches a full open position.

Claim 24

The combination as defined by claim 20, wherein is included shock-Absorbing means to cushion movement of the slider in one direction as the door approaches a full open position.

Claim 25

The combination as defined by claim 14, wherein the housing sidewall portions are provided with identical apertures receptive of said mounting means.

Claim 26

The combination as defined by claim 23, wherein is included shock-absorbing means to cushion movement of the slider in one direction as the door moves to approach a full open position.

Claim 27

The combination as defined by claim 24, wherein an aperture is provided in the housing, through which aperture a portion of the cam element is accessible for manual shiftability thereof to the operative and inoperative positions aforesaid.

Claim 28

The combination as defined by claim 25, wherein is included means for inducing frictional drag between a housing wall portion and said slider.

Claim 29

The combination as defined by claim 13, wherein the door holder is nonhanded.

Claim 30

The combination as defined by claim 23, wherein said identical apertures are receptive of said mounting means from either sidewall portion of the housing, to render the door holder nonhanded.

Claim 31

The combination as defined by claim 27, wherein is included means to preclude manual shifting of the cam element when the door is standing at either of its fully open or fully closed positions.