US2964783A - Hold open devices for single acting floor hinges - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 20, 1960 w. ENGELS 2,964,783

HOLD OPEN DEVICES FOR SINGLE ACTING FLOOR HINGES Filed June 25, 1958- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 j'yf 15 12 his ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1960 w. ENGELS Filed June 25, 1958 HOLD OPEN DEVICES FOR SINGLE ACTING FLOOR HINGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 221 In; M i

i R i y 363 INVENTOR W fi a/fm E72 6/J ZZ i 1259 y nOLn OPEN DEVICES FO SINGLEACTING FLOOR HINGES Walter Engels, Tryon, N.C., assignor to BommerSnring Hinge Co., Inc., Landrum, S.C., a corporation of New York I I Filed June 25, 1958, Ser. No. 744,403

18 Claims. (Cl. 1 6 --185 I nother object of the invention 1s of the above character whichmay be installed in single acting floorhinges of known construction.

i A further object of'tlie invention'is to provide a hold open device for single acting swingingfdoors'whose hold United States Pat n f to provide a device ing action is fully automatic, which is simple and cheap in manufacture, and which doesnot requireadditional space in the floor hinge."

The above and other objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a hold open device consisting essentially of a'spindle, of follower means, and of retaining means forthe' follower-means, at l'east"'one component partfof the retaining means being yi eldable when engaged by the follower means, and either the follower means or' the retaining means comprising oneor more elements of at least partly spherical configuration. In accordance with an imp ortantffea'ture of my invention, the follower means consists, or forms part of,' a connecting element which, in thefch'ecking'floorhinges to which my invention rnay be' a plied, connects the wrist of a cranked spindlewith the checking piston,"the'latters function being to retard'and cushion 'return'moverne'nts of a door into'closing positionwhen the follower'means of my improved hold open device is'f'orcibly'removed from its position of engagement with tli'e'retaining means.

The latterare preferably'installed in the axiallyaligned shafts of the' cranked. spindle,fand. the distance between the retainedportion or a componentpart of the follower means and the spindles wrist is so selecte'd'that the "former is automatically led into the'space formed between the adjacent ends of two interconnected shafts or portions offthe spindle to be engaged 'by the'retaining means when the door connected with the spindle is swung into: open position, The spindle hasa' neutral position in which the door connected thereto is closed,andan extreme position in which the door is fopenJ i The holding action of retaining-means i'sdue to the provision of'resilie'nt means constantly urging the one, the other, orboth components of the retaining means into the path of follower means, and, exerting. su'fficie'nt pressure against the follower meansto ,prevent the latters Pdisengagement from, the' retainingmeans under the influence of i a main spring forming part Of; the floor; hingeand constantly urging the cranked spindle into such position in which the door connected thereto is closed,

Thus, theflimprovedj hold open device actually coniprises a' cranked spindle including two interconnected shafts which define'therebetwecn a space forentryj'of the s a c a s m l an a W ist. afq wer ass mb y ona the mem rabl Plat ubs antia at al. sea ers. the ssist W ig-almonds ot te 1 as seen from line 2;-2 in Fig; l;

. sectional view of a' retaining member;

and passing through the aforementioned space, and of retaining means at least one component part of which has limited freedom of movement substantially coaxially with the spindle into the space between the latters shafts and thus substantially at right angles to the plane of movement of the follower assembly.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of m invention, the piston link of the checking means which at the same time acts as the follower of the improved hold open device, is provided with at least one seat or socket for reception of retaining means when the door is in open position, the retaining means comprising at least one spring biased spherical element which is receivable in the seat of the piston link.

In another embodiment of my hold open device, the

piston link of the checking device carries a spherical member extendableinto the space defined by the spindle shafts and receivable in one or two retaining means, the latter being mounted in or forming part of the spindle of the single actingfioor hinge. The spindle, as above mentioned, comprises two interconnected portions or shafts which are so spaced that they definetherebetween a space into which the link of the checking piston may extend. The one, the other, or both portions of the spindle are formed with bores opening into said space, the spring biased retaining element or elements being slidably received in their bores in such manner as to be extendable to a limited extent into said space and into the path of the piston link. Other features, advantages and attributes of the novel hold open device will become apparent and will be pointed out in greater detail in the course of the following detailed description of certain embodiments selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein-- 'Fig. lis a central vertical section through a single acting checking floor hinge embodying one form of the improved hold open device which is shown in non-retaining or idle position;

"'"Fig. 2is a fragmentary sectional view of the floor hinge Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2, with the hold open device shown inoperative or door-retaining position;

"Fig. 4 is an enlarged partly elevational and partly sectionalview of the cranked spindle; i i

Fig. 5' is. an enlarged partly elevational and partly Fig. 6 is a'vertical section, taken substantially at'right angles of the section of'Fig. 4, through a spindle embodying a slightlymodified"pair of retaining members and showing"the" pistonlink in operative position 'therebetween; Fig. 7, illustrates in a'section similarto that of Fig. 4 a pair ofretainingmemberswith seats slightly different from thoseshdwn inFigs. l, 2, '5 and 6, the spherical element forming part of the follower assembly being shown in door-retaining position; and" i Fig. 8 is a section, siniilar to that of Figs 4 and 7, showing a second embodiment of my invention in which the retaining'means'comprise two sphericalclements the link of the checking pistonconstituting the follower'of'the hold open device.

,prises a" casing '10 rotatably supportinga spindle formed as a double crank 11? whose upper-end l2'extends'above the casing and is of non-circular contourtobereceived in the aperture 14 of an 13 fixedithereto by a bolt 15 or the like. flhe-lower e r1dof'cranked spindle 11 is .forrned'with an asia l bo rei ltito receivethe vertical" pin I 18;. which is integral with a bearingplate' 11. The latiter is'of circular contourjand is screwed into" the bottom Palat sta in 0.-

Spindle 11 comprises a pair of webs 19, 20 with a wrist 21 therebetween. Web 20 has a cylindrical recess 22 which receives the upwardly extending pin 24 (see Fig. 3) at one end of a link 25, the latter forming one member of a link train which connects spindle 11 with a main or closing spring 26. Spring 26 is of the torsion type and is mounted between a carrier 27 and an adjusting element 28. The latter adjusts the tension of spring 26 to meet varying wind and draft conditions. Member 27 has a downwardly extending pin 29 received in the bore of a link 30 which is articulately connected with the aforementioned link 25 by means of two parallel links 31. Carrier 27 and adjusting member 28 are rotatably mounted on a vertical post 32 whose lower end is received in a bearing 33 integral with the casing 10. Adjusting member 28 is fixed to the casing in a selected position by means of a number of retaining screws, not shown. Bores 34 in member 28 facilitate application of a wrench or another adjusting tool.

A link 35 is articulately connected to the wrist 21 of spindle 11 at one end and with the piston 36 at the other end thereof. Piston 36 is reciprocably received in a cylinder 37. These two elements, together with a needle valve 38, constitute the checking assembly of the floor hinge.

The structure of the single acting checking floor hinge so far described, save for the specific spindle, is known and forms no part of my invention. In actual use, the casing is installed in a suitable recess provided in the floor beneath a swinging door in such a way that the axis of spindle 11 coincides with the axis of the upper hinge (not shown) on which the door is suspended. Arm 13 is fixed to the lower end face of the door by a number of screws or the like to impart movements to the door when the latter is released in open position, and to tension the spring 26 when the door is moved from its closed position by an operator or directly by a passing vehicle.

When the door is closed, checking piston 36 is in the position of Fig. 2, Fig. 3 illustrating the piston in its position when the door is open.

When a force is applied against the swinging door and thus against arm 13 in such a way that the arm and spindle 11 are rotated from their neutral into their extreme position through an angle of about 90 degrees, link 25 which swings with the wrist 21 of spindle 11, over members 31 and 30 in that order, rotates carrier 27 and subjects spring 26 to considerable tension suflicient to return the arm 13 and a swinging door connected thereto into closed position when the door is released. During movements of arm 13 in a direction to open the door connected thereto, piston 36 moves from its position of Fig. 2 into that shown in Fig. 3. A non-freezing, lubricating, checking fluid is then introduced into the cylinder 37 through a ball valve in piston 36 (not shown). The fluid, which now fills cylinder 37, cushions the return movement of arm 13 when the swinging door is released, and is discharged through the needle valve 38 whose position is controlled by a threaded element 39 screwed into the cover plate of casing 10.

The improved hold open device consists solely of spin- 7 dle 11, of retaining means mounted therein, and of piston link 35. The latter is movable with respect to the spindle by the wrist 21 in a horizontal plane passing through the space between the ends of spindle shafts 43, 45 and comprises a follower element in the form of a ball 40. The retaining means comprises a retaining pin 41 yieldably installed in a bore 42 provided in the upper portion or shaft 43 of spindle 11 and opening into the space between the spindle portions 43 and 45, and a second retaining member 44 which latter is externally threaded to be received in the tapped upper end of bore 16 in the lower portion or shaft 45 of the spindle.

Retaining pin 41 is illustrated in Fig. 5. It comprises 'an enlarged head 46 whose end face defines a concave seat 47 substantially conforming to a portion of the ball 40 when the latter is received therein as a result of which said ball 40 and seat 47 form cooperating convex and concave faces for receiving one another. A lateral cutout 48 is provided in the peripheral zone of head 46, this cutout receiving a horizontal pin or stud 50 (see Fig. l) which latter'extends through a bore 49 provided in the upper portion 43 of spindle 11.-- Shoulder 52 between portions 46 and 51 of retaining member 41 abuts against one end of a coil spring 53 whose other end bears against the upper end wall in bore 42. Thus, retaining member 41 is constantly urged in downward direction by resilient means 53 to the extent determined by the length of peripheral slot or cutout 48. When not engaged by the ball 40, head 46. of member 41 projects beyond the inclined surface 54 of upper web 19 into the position 46' indicated in phantom lines in Fig. 4.-

The upper surface of stationary retaining member or screw 44 which is threaded into the lower portion 45 of spindle 11 is formed with a concave depression 55 (see Figs. 1 and 2) conforming to the contour of ball 40. The lower end 56 of member 44 forms the inner race for rolling elements 57 on which the portion 45 of spindle 11 rotates.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the distance between the vertical axes of wrist 21 and spindle portion or shaft 45 equals the distance between the axis of member 21 and the verti cal axis of ball 40. Thus, when the axes of retaining element 44, wrist 21 and pin 58, which latter connects link 35 with piston 36, are in a common plane, ball 40 is received in the concave seats 47 and 55 of retaining members 41, 44, respectively. The ball is held in such position by the pressure exerted by compressed spring 53. In other words the opposing convex and concave faces of said ball 40 and seats 47 and 55 cooperate with said spring 53 to anchor said link 35 in open door position. During the entry of ball 40 into its seats between retaining members 41 and 44, the retaining member 41 slides in upward direction, such movement being permitted by the cutout 48 into which the stationary pin 50 extends. The inclination of surface 54 is so chosen that the ball 40 is free to bypass the web 19 and the lower end of spindle portion 43 during its movements from the position of Fig. 2 into that of Fig. 3, and vice versa.

When the door connected to arm 13 of the checking floor hinge should be returned into closed position, the operator exerts suflicient pressure thereagainst to cause compression of resilient element 53 and consequent displacement of ball 40 from its respective seats 47 and 55, whereupon the main spring 26 returns the door into closed position. 'Valve 38 controls the velocity of such movement by permitting only gradual evacuation of fluid from cylinder 37 under the influence of advancing piston 36. When the door is closed, piston 36 returns into the position of Figs. 1 and 2.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the seats in the retaining members may assume a number of shapes different from those shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5. Referring first to Fig. 6, it will be noted, by comparing the structure therein shown with Fig. 3, that the ball 140 is located off center in its link and that the seats 147, 155 in respective retaining elements 141, 144 are also olf center. To be retained, ball must travel along inclined surfaces 147a, 155a and between the crests 147b, 15Sb of members 141, 144, respectively. It will also be noted that the external threads on retaining member 144 are omitted, member 144 being held in the lower portion 145 of spindle 111 by a transverse retaining pin 159. The construction of upper portion 143 is identical with that of portion 43 shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 7, seats 247, 255 in respective retaining mem-- bers 241, 244 are in the form of truncated cones. This figure further shows that, in order to facilitate its mounting, link'235 carrying the ball 240 is formed with a bifurcated end' 235a surrounding a portion of the wrist 221 'forming part of the spindle 211 (see also Figs. 2 and 3). A U-shaped strap 260 is fixed to the bifurcated end 235a spindle is in said extreme position.

by means of a pin 261 and with said end defines a cylindri cal passage for the wrist 221. Other parts, of spindle 211 and of thehold open device in Fig. 6. n

Fig. 8 illustrates a different embodiment of my invention in which the link 335 of the checking piston by itself constitutes the follower of the hold open device. Member 335 is provided with a pair of.seats,362,363 for reception of spherical elements 364, 365, respectively, which form part of the retaining means. Ball 364 is installed in upper retaining member 341 which is retained in the upper portion 343 of spindle 311 by. a pin 7 350, and is constantly urged into retaining positionby the compressedcoil spring 353. Lower, retaining member 344 is rigidly held in portion 345 by a pin 359 and is pro-' vided with a suitable seat topreferably rotatably hold the ball 365. The mode of operation of this hold open device is identical with that of the assembly shown in Figs. 1 to.3. .It. will benotedthat thestrap 360 has sufficient play on the wrist pin 321. to permit. slight upward displacement of follower link 335. when the latter passesover the lower ball 365 while movingv its. seats 362, 363 into' position for reception of. members.364, 365, respectively.

Having thus described the construction of my improved hold open device, I desire it to be understood that many additional variations in the construction and arrangement of its parts may be resorted to without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the fol-' lowing claims.

I claim: Y

1. A hold open device for single acting checking floor hinges, having a checking piston which comprises, in combination: a cranked spindle having a vertical axis of rotation and connectable with a swinging door for rotation about the axis between an extreme position in which the door connected thereto is open and a neutral position in which the door is closed, said spindle comprising an upper portion, a lower portion coaxial with and vertically spaced from said upper portion whereby said portions form a space therebetween, and a wrist axially parallel with and interconnecting said portions; a link pivotally connected with said wrist and with said piston for movements with respect to said spindle in a substantially horizontal plane passing through said space, a part of said link extending into said space when the spindle is in said extreme position; and retaining means connected with at least one of said portions and comprising a spring-biased retaining element normally extending into said space and into the plane of said link for releasably retaining the link whereby the spindle is retainedin said extreme position and the door is maintained in open position, said retaining element and. link having opposing convex and concave faces receiving one another when the spindle is I in said extreme position.

2. The'combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein said retaining element is formed with a substantially concave seat and further comprising a spherical element installed in said link and received in said seat when the spindle is in said extreme position. 7

3. The combination as set forth in claim '1, wherein said retaining element comprises a spherical element at least partly extendable into said space and said link'is formed with a seat receiving said spherical element when the 4. A hold open device for single acting checking floor hinges having a checking piston which comprises, in combination: a cranked spindle having 'a vertical axis of rotation and connectable with a swinging door for rotation about the axis between anextreme position in which the door connected thereto is open and a neutral position in which the door is closed, the spindle comprising'an upper portion, a lower portion coaxial with and vertically spaced-from said upper portion whereby said portions form a space therebetween and one thereof having a substantially vertical bore with an end opening into said space,

are identical with those shown:

ing the retaining element toward and partly into said.

space; means connected with said one portion for limiting'the movement of said retaining element into said space; and a link pivotally connected with said wrist and with said piston for movements with respect to said spindle in a substantially horizontal plane passing through said space, a part of said link extending into said space when the spindle is in said extreme position, said link comprising a spherical element installed therein and engaged by said retaining element when the spindle is in said extreme position, said resilient means releasably urging the retaining element into engagement with said spherical element with a force sufficient to retain the spindle in said extreme position and to maintain the door in open position. i 4

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4, further comprising a main spring connected with said wrist and constantlyurging the spindle into said neutral position with a fixed force when the spindle is in said extreme position, the force with which said resilient means acts against said retaining element being greater than the force with which said spring urges the spindle into neutral position whereby the spherical element remains engaged by the retaining element when the spindle is in said extreme position.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 4, wherein said retaining element is a cylindrical member having a peripheral zone received in said bore and an elongated cutout in said peripheral zone, and said means for limiting the movement of said retaining element is a pin fixed to said one portion and extending into said cutout.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 4, wherein said spherical element is eccentrically installed in said link.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 4, further comprising a second retaining element installed in the other of said portions and having a substantially concave seat for reception of said spherical element when the spindle is in said extreme position.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 4, wherein the other of said portions has a bore with an end opening into said space, and further comprising a second retaining element rigidly received in said last mentioned bore and formed with a seat for receiving said spherical element when the spindle is in said extreme position.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 4, wherein said retaining element has a seat for reception of said spherical element when the spindle is in said extreme position.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 10, wherein said retaining element has a vertical axis and said seat is eccentric with respect to said axis.

12. The combination as set forth. in claim 10, wherein said seat is shaped as a truncated cone.

13. The combination as set forth in claim 10, wherein said seat is concave.

14. A hold open device for single acting checking floor hinges having a checking piston which comprises, in combination: a cranked spindle having a vertical axis of rotation and connectable with a swinging door for rotation about said axis between an extreme position in which the door connected thereto is open and a neutral position in which the door is closed, said spindle comprising an upper,

{constantly urging said retaining element in a direction toward and saidspherical element :partly into said space;

means for limiting the movement of said spherical element into said space; and a link pivotally connected with said wrist and with said piston for movements with respect to the spindle in a substantially horizontal plane passing through said space and a part thereof extending into said space when the spindle is in said extreme position, said link having a concave face receiving said spherical element when the spindle is in said extreme position, said resilient means releasably urging said spherical element into the seat of said link whereby the spindle is retained in said extreme position and the door connected with said spindle is maintained in open position.

15. The combination as set forth in claim 14, further comprising a second spherical element connected with the other of said portions and substantially vertically aligned with said first mentioned spherical element, said link having a second concave face for reception of said second spherical element when the spindle is in said extreme position.

16. The combination as set forth in claim 14, further comprising a main spring connected with said wrist for constantly urging the spindle with a fixed force into said neutral position when the spindle is in said extreme position, the force with which said resilient means acts upon said retaining element being greater than the force with which said spring acts upon said spindle, whereby the door connected with said spindle remains open when the spindle isin said extreme position.

-17. The combination as set forth in claim 14, wherein said resilient means is a coil spring and said retaining element has a shoulder at its side facing away from said space against which said coil spring abuts.

18. The combination as set forth in claim 14, wherein said retaining element has a peripheral zone received in said bore and an elongated cutout in said peripheral zone, and said means for limiting the movement of said retaining element into said space consists of a pin received in said one portion and extending into said cutout.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 987,467 Katzenberger Mar. 21, 1911 1,312,667 Ayres Aug. 12, 1919 1,827,595 MacGuire Oct. 13, 1931 1,832,699 Garrison Nov. 17, 1931 2,866,224 Ellis Dec. 30, 1958

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