US3758919A

US3758919A - Hinge

Info

Publication number: US3758919A
Authority: US
Inventors: T Dilworth
Original assignee: US Department of Army
Current assignee: US Department of Army
Priority date: 1971-08-19
Filing date: 1971-08-19
Publication date: 1973-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-18

Abstract

A hinge for mounting a cover over an access opening in a wall that includes one hinge part mounted on the wall and a second hinge part on the cover. A link having one of its ends pivotally mounted in each hinge part is connected between the two hinge parts to allow perpendicular motion of the cover with respect to the wall during initial opening and final closing movements of the cover. A resilient adjustment means is connected between one end of the link and the hinge part mounted on the cover for controlling the angular position of the hinge parts relative to one another.

Description

[111 3,758,919 [451 Sept. 18, 1973 l HINGE [75] Inventor: Thomas E. Dllworth, Jr., Huntsville,

Ala.

[73] Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, D.C.

[22] Filed: Aug. 19, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 173,187

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 918,264 4/1909 Bender 292/250 Van Voorhces 16/]84 Bommer l6/lli3 Primary Examiner-James T. McCall Assistant Examiner-Doris L. Troutman Attorney-Harry M. Saragovitz et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A hinge for mounting a cover over an access opening in a wall that includes one hinge part mounted on the wall and a second hinge part on the cover. A link having one of its ends pivotally mounted in each hinge part is connected between the two hinge parts to allow perpendicular motion of the cover with respect to the wall during initial opening and final closing movements of the cover. A resilient adjustment means is connected between one end of the link and the hinge part mounted on the cover for controlling the angular posi tion of the hinge parts relative to one another.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED 3.758.919

PRIOR ART FIG. 3

Thomas E. Dilworth,Jr.

PRIOR ART INVENTOR FIG. 4 BY HINGE ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION The invention described herein was made by an employee of the U.S. Government and may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to hinge mechanisms for supporting a door or cover over an opening the wall of a compartment so that the cover can be swung in an arc to cover and uncover the opening and seal off the interior of the comparement. Any desired number of hinges can be employed as needed to support the cover.

There are many applications for comparemtns sealed against the entry of water, air, or other gas and the invention described herein could be used to advantage in many applications. However, the invention is especially useful when used with a door or cover to a compartment to be shielded against the entry or exit of radiofrequency (RF) energy. Such enclosures were needed in the past to provide areas relatively free of electrical noise where radio transmitters could be operated. Now radar and tracking stations include equipment whose energy output is such that in addition to shielding data gathering and processing equipment against spurious electrical noise, it is necessary to guard personnel operating the stations and other equipment, from dangerous energy levels.

Such requirements lead to shielded rooms within shielded rooms or even to entirely shielded buildings. As shielded compartments become more elaborate and more extensively used, easy access to the compartments becomes increasingly important. Heretofore the access doors used in shielded enclosures were a major weak point in that they did not always provide adequate shielding and, due to their construction, they did not operate easily.

- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I An object of the present invention is to provide a hinge that permits perpendicular motion of the entire door or cover during initial opening and final closing movements. The motion is perpendicular to the plane occupied by the opening to be covered. This allows a floating action of the cover sealing surfaces on sealing surfaces around the access opening and results in an improved seal. Thus, when the cover is clamped down against the compartment wall by a suitable latching means (not shown) there will be, due to the perpendicular movement, a uniform sealing pressure achieved around the periphery of the access opening. In covers or doors that swing only through an arcuate path it is difficult to achieve uniform sealing pressures around the entire periphery thereof.

' Another important object of the invention is to provide a hinge mechanism for a cover that can go through desirable perpendicular motion described above without sagging due to looseness in the hinge parts. Such sagging is common in available hinge mechanisms capable of such perpendicular motion.

A new and improved hinge mechanism that will accomplish the desirable objects mentioned above while avoiding the disadvantages of prior art devices consists ofa first clevis or clcvis-like hinge part mounted on the wall adjacent the access opening to be sealed off. A second clevis hinge part mounted on the cover includes an outwardly extending ear portion having a hole therein. A link connects the two hinge parts, but permits relative movement between the two hinge parts; each end of the link being pivotally connected to a hinge part. The end of the link connected to the wall mounted hinge part has an outwardly extending lug with a hole therein. A shaft is mounted through the holes in the lug and ear portion and a coil spring is positioned around the shaft between the lug and ear portion so as to be placed in compression when the cover is secured in place over the opening.

The final closing motion of the cover is substantially perpendicular, but there is also some slight rotation or tilting of the cover and its hinge part about the pivotal connection between the link and the hinge part mounted on the cover. This rotation causes a slight compression of the coil spring. Therefore, when the hatch is released for opening, the spring rotates the hatch slightly causing it to pop open a small amount. This rotation during opening results in a wiping action between the sealing surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is pictorial view of a sealed compartment, with most of the compartment broken away, illustrating how an overlapping cover is used to close an access opening shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the access opening in the compartment wall and the cover. Electrical gaskets are shown mounted on the periphery of the cover so as to contact recessed sealing surfaces around the access opening.

FIG. 3 is a view in cross-section illustrating a known hinge that allows only arcuate movement of a door.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a hinge that has been used in the past in applications wherein perpendicular movement of the hatch is required to achieve a desired seal.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of FIG. 6 with the door in a closed position.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of a hinge constructed in accordance with the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 are a simplified illustration of a shielded compartment 8 wherein a cover 10 closes an access opening 12 in wall 14 of the comparment. Wall 14 is provided with sealing surfaces 16 and cover 10 has a gasket or seal 18 applied thereto which bears against sealing surface 16. The cover is tightened down utilizing a suitable clamping means (not shown).

It is desirable that the intial opening and closing motions of the cover be perpendicular to the plane occupied by wall 14 and access opening 12, that is, in the direction illustrated by the arrows A-A in FIG. 2. This perpendicular motion allows a floating action of gasket 18 on sealing surface 16 to seat gasket 18 on the sealing surface. Furthermore, this type of motion makes it possible to achieve uniform sealing pressures all around the periphery of the hatch. Contrary to this; with the hinge construction shown in FIG. 3, there is no floating action of the gasket and only arcuate motion of door 20 is possible. This causes high pressure points on gasket 22 next to the hinge when the door is swung to a closed position.

FIG. 4 illustrates a typical prior art hinge of a type that permits the desirable perpendicular motion described above. This hinge consists of a clevis type hinge part 24 having elongated slots formed therein, like that designated by numeral 26. Door 28 has a second hinge part 30 fastened thereto that is rotatably mounted in hinge part 24 by a pin 31 that fits loosely in slot 26 to allow door 28 to have perpendicular movement during its initial opening and final closing motions. The problem with this arrangement is that the hinge parts fit so loosely that the door can sag on its hinges, making the door difficult to open and close and increasing the likelihood of seal damage during use.

FIGS. and 6 disclose a preferred embodiment of a hinge mechanism that will allow a cover to move through the desired perpendicular motion without any lost motion or sagging on its hinges. The hinge consists of a first hinge part 32 mounted on a wall 34. The wall has an access opening 36 therein. Hinge part 32 includes a base 38 attached to wall 34 by bolts or other suitable means (not shown) and two spaced apart outwardly extending

ears

40 and 42. The ears have through holes, indicated by numeral 44 in FIG. 5, formed in the outer end thereof.

A second hinge part 46 is mounted on cover 48 that closes access opening 36. In this arrangement the cover 48 has a sealing surface 50 that contacts gasket 52 positioned on recessed surfaces 54 in wall 34. Hinge part 46 includes a base 56 fastened to the cover by bolts or other suitable means (not shown). Spaced ear-

like portions

58 and 60 that extend outwardly from base 56 have through holes therein, one of which is designated by 59in FIG. 5. A third ear portion 62 having a through hole formed therein is welded or otherwise fastened to

ear portions

58 and 60.

A hinge position control assembly 63 is connected between the hinge parts for controlling their relative positions. This assembly includes a link 64 connected between

hinge parts

32 and 46 by means of

pins

66 and 68 that pass through holes in the ends of link 64 and the through holes in the two hinge parts. This provides a pivotal connection at both hinge parts so as to allow hinge part 46 to swing in and arc about pin 66 and also to rotate relative to hinge part 32 by turning on pin 68. A lug or ear portion 70 is formed on the end of link 64. Lug 70 has a hole formed therein whose center is aligned in a substantially straight line with the center of the hole in ear portion 62. When so aligned a shaft 72 having threaded ends can be mounted through the holes. The shaft is secured in place by

nuts

74 and 76.

Nut 76 limits the counter-clockwise rotation of hinge part 46. A coil spring 78 positioned around shaft 72 is placed in compression by clockwise rotation of hinge opened wide its first closing motion will be arcuate about pin 66. When the cover has reached a point where the sealing surfaces of the cover and those around the access opening are approaching each other, or are in contact, the latching mechanism (not shown) will be utilized to achieve final clamping. During final clamping the movement of the cover is substantially perpendicular with respect to the plane occupied by wall 34 and access opening 36. Such perpendicular motion is accompanied by the desirable end results discussed above.

The effective length of shaft 72 is adjusted so that during the perpendicular closing motion there also results a small amount of clockwise rotation of hinge part 46 about pin 68 that compresses spring 78 slightly. The reason for this is that when the clamping force on the cover is released the force of spring 78 as it comes out of compression (or extends) will tilt the cover slightly with respect to the access opening by rotating hinge part 46 in a counter-clockwise direction. This causes cover 48 to pop open slightly and results in a wiping action of the sealing surfaces that has a cleaning effect and results in improved sealing. In applications where electrical sealing is desired this wiping action is particularly beneficial in that it improve the electrical contact between the sealing surfaces.

This completes the detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention. An alternate embodiment of a hinge mechanism shown in FIG. 7 includes a hinge part 80 fixed to a compartment wall and a link 82 pivotally connect at one of its ends to this hinge part by a pinned connection 84. A second hinge part 86 is pivotally pinned to the other end of the link. However, pivotal motion of hinge part 86 can occur only by compressing one and extending the other of a pair of

springs

88 and 90. Cover 92 is pivotally connected to hinge part 86 by a pinned connection 94, but here again pivotal motion of the cover can result only after one of a pair of springs has been compressed and the other extended. Only one of these springs is shown, see numeral 96. This construction permits the desired perpendicular motion discussed heretofore without sagging of the cover during opening and closing movements.

I claim:

1. A hinge mechanism for mounting a cover member adjacent an opening in a structure so that the opening can be closed by the cover member, said hinge mechanism compnsing:

a first hinge part mounted on the structure adjacent the opening therein,

a second hinge part mounted on the cover member in a position such that said second hinge part will be adjacent said first hinge part when the cover memberis covering the opening in the structure,

position control means connecting said first and second hinge parts whereby the cover member can be swung in an are either toward or away from the opening in the structure and, during the initial opening and closing motion of the cover member with respect to the opening, the entire cover member can move in a direction substatially perpendicular to the plane occupied by the opening, which perpendicular movement will cause rotation of said second hinge part relative to said first hinge part,

said position control means including a link having one end thereof pivotally mounted in said first hinge part and second end pivotally mounted in and said second hinge part to permit rotation of said position control means connecting said hinge parts so second hinge part relative to said first hinge part, that said door member can be swung in an are away said one end of said link including an outwardly exor t ard the access o ening and the initial opentending lug having a hole formed therein, Said 5 ing and the final closing motion of said cover memond hinge P including an outwardly extending ber is perpendicular to the plane occupied by the ear portion having a hole formed therein that is opening,

aligned with the hole in Said lug, said position control means including a bar'like link a shaft mounted through the holes in said lug and said having one end thereof pivotally mounted in Said ear pol-on, shat? havmg 3 P threaded 10 first hinge part and the other end thereof pivotally each end thereof that is larger in diameter than the mounted in said Second part to permit rotation of holes in said lug and portion t the angu' said second hinge part relative to said first hinge lar airangemfim of Said second.hmge par} relative part said one end of said link including an outto said first hmge part can be adjusted by nghtenmg wardly extending lug having a hole formed therein at least one of the nuts threaded on said shaft to said Second hi e an havin an outward] extend: alter the length of said shaft and thereby adjust the g ear p g a hole tgormed theriny distance between said lug and said ear portion, and a coil spring mounted on said Shaft so as to be placed a shaft mounted through the holes in said lug and said ear portion, said shaft having a threaded section on in com ression b the closin motion of the cover y g each end thereof and a nut threaded on each A door assembly for 3 Compartment having an threaded section that IS larger in diameter than the holes in said lug and ear portion, whereby the angu cess opening formed therein and the compartment walls around the periphery of the access opening prolar arrangement of said second hinge part relative vide a door frame having sealing surfaces, said door asto Said first hinge member can be adjusted y g sembly comprising: ening at least one of the nuts threaded on said shaft 21 cover member that covers the access opening and t0 qj the distance between Said ug an Said ear overlaps the edges thereof to contact the sealing p and surfaces of the door frame to seal the interior of a 6 11 spring m u t d n aid Shaft SO as t be placed said compartment, in compression by the closing motion of the cover a first hinge part mounted on the door frame, member. a second hinge part mounted on said cover member,

Claims

1. A hinge mechanism for mounting a cover member adjacent an opening in a structure so that the opening can be closed by the cover member, said hinge mechanism comprising: a first hinge part mounted on the structure adjacent the opening therein, a second hinge part mounted on the cover member in a position such that said second hinge part will be adjacent said first hinge part when the cover member is covering the opening in the structure, position control means connecting said first and second hinge parts whereby the cover member can be swung in an arc either toward or away from the opening in the structure and, during the initial opening and closing motion of the cover member with respect to the opening, the entire cover member can move in a direction substatially perpendicular to the plane occupied by the opening, which perpendicular movement will cause rotation of said second hinge part relative to said first hinge part, said position control means including a link having one end thereof pivotally mounted in said first hinge part and second end pivotally mounted in said second hinge part to permit rotation of said second hinge part relative to said first hinge part, said one end of said link including an outwardly extending lug having a hole formed therein, said second hinge part including an outwardly extending ear portion having a hole formed therein that is aligned with the hole in said lug, a shaft mounted through the holes in said lug and said ear portion, said shaft having a nut threaded on each end thereof that is larger in diameter than the holes in said lug and ear portion, whereby the angular arrangement of said second hinge part relative to said first hinge part can be adjusted by tightening at least one of the nuts threaded on said shaft to alter the length of said shaft and thereby adjust the distance between said lug and said ear portion, and a coil spring mounted on said shaft so as to be placed in compression by the closing motion of the cover member.

2. A door assembly for a compartment having an access opening formed therein and the compartment walls around the periphery of the access opening provide a door frame having sealing surfaces, said door assembly comprising: a cover member that covers the access opening and overlaps the edges thereof to contact the sealing surfaces of the door frame to seal the interior of said compartment, a first hinge part mounted on the door frame, a second hinge part mounted on said cover member, and position control means connecting said hinge parts so that said door member can be swung in an arc away or toward the access opening and the initial opening and the final closing motion of said cover member is perpendicular to the pLane occupied by the opening, said position control means including a bar-like link having one end thereof pivotally mounted in said first hinge part and the other end thereof pivotally mounted in said second part to permit rotation of said second hinge part relative to said first hinge part, said one end of said link including an outwardly extending lug having a hole formed therein, said second hinge part having an outwardly extending ear portion with a hole formed therin, a shaft mounted through the holes in said lug and said ear portion, said shaft having a threaded section on each end thereof and a nut threaded on each threaded section that is larger in diameter than the holes in said lug and ear portion, whereby the angular arrangement of said second hinge part relative to said first hinge member can be adjusted by tightening at least one of the nuts threaded on said shaft to adjust the distance between said lug and said ear portion, and a coil spring mounted on said shaft so as to be placed in compression by the closing motion of the cover member.