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What is a door closer, a door closer is... Pt 2

6/28/2019

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Following on from my previous blog post (please read in conjunction with this post) when giving it some thought what is it that defines a door closer and why should it be so? I believe a door closer is any device fixed to a door for the purpose of closing it in a controlled manner once it has been opened.

Door closers have had many names over the years, work in many different ways, are fixed in many places, granted some control the closing and opening speed better than others but they all appear to use the same energy as was used to open the door to close it (so this must be a contributing factor in its description/definition). If it opens the door using a motor this is I believe is the exception and is rightly defined as a door opener, not a door closer.

Even if you consider the modern view of a door closer being surface mounted, is only single action and has an arm, why should that only that be thought of as a door closer? A floor spring for instance has an 'arm' (shoe/strap), can be single action (some are double action) are obviously mounted to a door and you can argue to the surface of the door if you take into account a single action shoe and how if fixes to the surface of the door.

A door closer can be simply called a overhead door spring

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or a door spring and check
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or a door check and spring using hydraulics in their design.
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The spring and check can be combined or not
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utilising a helical torsion spring or a compression spring and pneumatics.
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They can be mounted in the floor and called a door spring
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or be called a floor spring and have no damping.
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They can use leaf springs and be called a spring hinge
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or use compression springs and be called a floor door spring.
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They can have many springs and no check or have a single compression spring and hydraulic check mechanism but only called a door spring.

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Be single action or double action
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and look far more like a hinge than anything you would associate the word spring with.
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And just when you thought you knew what a door closer was you come across one set in the floor that has levers and weights
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or one that clearly closes doors but looks more like a bar than a spring, so it takes you right back to where you began, with the question what is a door closer?
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Does it have a spring? One spring, two springs or more springs or in fact just be a spring? Must it be regulated by air, gas, oil, or just rely on friction to dampen its closing speed? Where does it mount, in the floor, above the door, middle of the door, on the surface, in the door, in the hinges? Does it make a difference if the device is closing a door or a gate?
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I know what I consider to be a door closer and who should be credited (or not) as the case maybe with their name at the top of a google search for the question - Who invented the door spring, the door check or the door closer?

I hope you have enjoyed this post and as usual please feel free to leave a comment.

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Who invented the door closer? Re-Writing History Pt 1.

6/21/2019

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I have recently contacted Google to point out that when googling who invented the door closer and or who invented the door spring the result came back for both as Francis Richards. I pointed out as google is a global search engine should its answer to as specific a question as who was the first not reflect and or take into account the patents/products from all countries?

Having Francis Richards return as the answer to who invented the door spring, is like Alan Shepherd coming back as the answer to who was the first man in space?

They have kindly now changed the answer to direct to a Wikipedia article on door closers (one I have an interest in editing) as the terms door spring and door closer are used interchangeably along with a number of other terms.

My logic was if the terms are used interchangeably and the term door spring was used as early as 1748 as I have pointed out elsewhere the google search cannot correctly return Francis Richards as the first person to invent the door spring, he only received an American patent in the early 1870's.

Since the above I have now noticed that when googling who invented the door closer Lewis (Louis) C. Norton is returned, taken from an article produced by LCN and The American Society of Locksmiths. I also respectfully consider this to be not as accurate as it might, as you can see below the word 'door closer' was used as early as 1850 when referring to George Beattie's door spring/door closer (even earlier uses of the term "door closer" do exist), so again how can Mr Norton be considered the first person to invent the door closer, door closer and door check being one in the same?

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I have also contacted google again to ask they also consider amending this, along with the Oxford English Dictionary to put forward and or define the word/words door closer as there appears to be no listing for door closer or door-closer.
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Link to news paper article - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/18500807/059/0003
As you can see the same occurs when you google the question who invented the door check  (door check and door closer being the same thing)? The inquiry comes back as a piece written about the inventive, commercially savvy, Mr Lewis, Carey, Norton as you can see in the screen shot below, therefore google at least recognize, "door closer" and "door check" as one in the same thing. However by the same reasoning as above Mr Norton was not the first to invent the door check, door checks were originally designed to check a doors swing at 90 degrees (leather strap type) or later from mechanisms to prevent windows flying open (friction stays).

You can see in the rather gruesome news report of 1826 for example that door checks were mentioned long before Mr Norton turned his inventive mind to the problems at the Boston Church. Creative soul as he undoubtedly was, he should not, in my opinion, on a global search engine be returned in the number one slot for a search of who invented the door check either we have the Bullock and BOAZ for that as I discuss here -
https://www.midlandsfloorsprings.co.uk/blog/after-further-research  
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Here is a link to the fascinating story of Mr Norton and his brilliantly designed door closer.

https://idighardware.com/2011/08/how-i-discovered-door-checks-part-1-by-l-c-norton/

As always feel free to comment and whoever is editing my blog post can you please stop it, if I am doing something wrong let me know?
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Monarch from down under.

6/21/2019

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I was contacted by Peter, a parishioner from St Stephens in Scorparoo, Brisbane, Australia with regard to their Monarchs that have been faithfully controlling the main entrance doors of their Church since the mid 1950's. They had an intermittent fault that occasionally the doors were either closing too slowly of slamming to. The cost of the flight stopped me from jumping on a plane to assist, so this time I walked and talked Peter through a basic strip down and service.

All the usual signs were good that this Monarch had fortunately had an easy life. There appeared to be very little wear to the components and I am awaiting to hear that everything has been put back together in the right order and she is working correctly.

As always comments are looked forward to and appreciated.

Here is a link to the Church if anyone would like to know more -


https://ststephenscoorparoo.com/ 
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    Author

    As there is so little information out there with regard to door closers, especially vintage and antique model floor springs, I thought I would start this blog.

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