Abstract: A dishwasher and dishwashing method which generate steam from the surface of a body of water in the dishwasher tub, without substantial heating of the entire body of water, during at least parts of the washing and rinsing operations performed on dishes within the tub. Heating only a surface layer of the body of water to generate steam results in substantial energy savings, particularly when the dishwasher is supplied with cold water, instead of preheated water. Efficient steam generation, and heating limited to the surface layer of the body of water, are achieved by utilizing a large-area partially-submerged electric heater, comprising an electrical resistance heating element carrying a heat conductive, metallic jacket of enlarged cross section. The jacket is provided with a depending peripheral skirt for trapping air and/or steam beneath the jacket so as to minimize downward heat transfer from the jacket to the water below the surface layer.

Abstract: A plastic door lock, sometimes referred to as a door latch, makes use of moldable plastic material for most of the individual parts of the lock assembly with opposite roses adapted to interlock with each other and be held together with a single screw on the axial center line of the knobs and accessible from the outside. When used as a privacy lock unlocking the lock from the outside is prevented by pushing the inside knob into a releasable but non-rotatable engagement with the inside rose. A lost motion connection between the latch bolt and roll back spindle allows the door to be closed without damage to the latch bolt when the inside knob is locked. Inherent resiliency in the material of the latch bolt case, in cooperation with the movable latch bolt, releasably returns and holds the latch bolt in extended position.

Abstract: A resilient sleeve is provided as an accessory to enclose the space around a tubular type door lock mechanism mounted in a hole bored through a door. The diameter of the sleeve is normally larger than the diameter of the bore so that after being contracted and a pair of lugs are projected under the edge of the trim on one side, the sleeve will expand to the interior size of the bore and at the same time the lugs will engage beneath the edge of the trim.

Abstract: The invention involves a mechanism for simultaneously retracting two separate latch bolts which have previously been extended by their individual separate mechanisms. The individual mechanisms comprise a substantially conventional knob actuated latch bolt, and what is commonly called a locking dead bolt. There is a lever arm attached to the knob spindle and a bell crank arm on a thumb turn shaft of the dead bolt. A flexible strip anchored at one end to the free end of the lever arm projects slidably through a swivelling sleeve on the free end of the bell crank. By providing a stop at the extremity of the strip by rotation of the knob spindle and its lever arm the bell crank is induced to rotate and withdraw the dead bolt to unlocked position, at the same time that the latch bolt is withdrawn to open the door. Conversely, when the dead bolt only is withdrawn, by rotation of the thumb turn shaft merely to unlock the door, the strip will slide through the swivelling sleeve.

Abstract: A security type dead bolt for a door is arranged so that a key must be used on the inside, as well as on the outside, to extend the dead bolt to locked position, in that way to prevent an unauthorized person opening the door from the inside after surreptitious entry. To make certain that when the occupant is at home and with the latch bolt extended by the inside key to locked position, there can be no lost key situation blocking exit by the occupant in case of an emergency such as a fire, the dead bolt mechanism is arranged to trap the key in the lock whenever the dead bolt is extended to locked position, but to release the key when withdrawn. A yieldable mechanism permits unlocking the latch bolt from the outside even when a key is left in the lock on the inside.

Abstract: A plastic door lock makes use of moldable plastic material for most of the individual parts with opposite roses adapted to interlock with each other and be held together with a single screw on the axial center line of the knobs and accessible from the outside. A lost motion connection between the latch bolt and spindle allows the door to be closed without damage to the latch bolt when the inside knob is locked. Inherent resiliency in the material of the latch bolt case formed into spring fingers, in cooperation with the movable latch bolt shaft, releasably returns the latch bolt shaft to, and holds the shaft in extended position. Under some circumstances spring action of the fingers is supplemented with an auxiliary separate spring element to vary the spring return characteristics of the latch bolt and the knobs.

Abstract: A disengaging spindle locking mechanism for the latch bolt of a mortise type lock is actuated by the locking slide which is normally employed to engage a retractor hub to prevent the hub from being rotated. At the inner end of a split spindle where it is in non-rotatable engagement with the retractor hub there is a cam surface. On the inner end of a locking slide is a cam surface which cams the spindle out of engagement with the hub as hub action is blocked by the slide. Thereafter, should force be applied to the spindle, it will merely spin in place and no damage will be done to the lock mechanism such as might otherwise be done by unauthorized persons to force open the lock.