AU2020103144A4

AU2020103144A4 - A Damping Apparatus for a Hinged Closure Assembly

Info

Publication number: AU2020103144A4
Application number: AU2020103144A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Geoff Gray
Original assignee: Globalised Imp Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Globalised Imports Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2020-10-30
Filing date: 2020-10-30
Publication date: 2021-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 2028-10-30

Abstract

A damping apparatus for a hinged closure assembly includes a mount that is fastenable to one of a hinged edge of a closure of the closure assembly and a corresponding jamb of the closure assembly. A damping assembly is arranged on the mount. The damping assembly includes a body that is arranged on the mount. At least one damper is arranged in the body. The, or each, damper and the body are configured so that the, or each, damper projects past the hinged edge and into an access opening to be closed by the closure assembly, such that, when a closure of the closure assembly pivots into a closed condition, the, or each, damper can bear against a bearing member on the other of the hinged edge and the corresponding jamb to damp pivotal movement of the closure into the closed condition.

Description

A DAMPING APPARATUS FOR A HINGED CLOSURE ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a damping apparatus for a hinged closure assembly and to a damped hinged closure assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A problem with sprung door or gate closures is slamming. Slamming of door or gate closures can result in unwanted noise or even damage to the door or gate and associated components. A slamming closure can also result in injury, particularly where the associated spring is relatively strong.

Efforts have been made to address this problem.

For example, damping mechanisms can be mounted between a lintel of a door frame and the door closure. Such mechanisms can be bulky and would not be suitable for door or gate frames that do not have a lintel, such as garden and swimming pool gate frames.

Other forms of damping mechanisms are incorporated into hinge mechanisms of the closure assemblies. These can be costly, and retro-fitting may require that existing hinge assemblies be discarded, which is wasteful.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a damping apparatus for a hinged closure assembly, the damping apparatus comprising: a mount that is fastenable to one of a hinged edge of a closure of the closure assembly and a corresponding jamb of the closure assembly; and a damping assembly arranged on the mount, the damping assembly including: a body that is arranged on the mount; and at least one damper that is arranged in the body, the, or each, damper and the body being configured so that the, or each, damper projects past the hinged edge and into an access opening to be closed by the closure assembly, such that, when a closure of the closure assembly pivots into a closed condition, the, or each, damper can bear against a bearing member on the other of the hinged edge and the corresponding jamb to damp pivotal movement of the closure into the closed condition.

The closure assembly may include a closure panel that includes the hinged edge. The corresponding jamb may include a vertical edge of a structural panel adjacent the closure panel. The closure panel may be hinged to the vertical edge portion, the body of the damping assembly defining a slot to receive the hinged edge of the closure panel.

The mount may be generally rectangular with operatively inner, outer, top and bottom minor faces and opposed front and rear major faces, the slot extending inwardly from the outer face.

The body of the damping assembly may be fastened to the front face of the mount, such that the, or each, damper extends past the inner face of the mount when the closure is in an open condition.

The, or each, damper may be in the form of a dashpot arranged in the body with either a cylinder or a piston of the, or each, dashpot extending out of the body when the closure is in the open position.

The damping apparatus may include the bearing member, the bearing member being fastenable to said other of the hinged edge and the corresponding jamb.

The bearing member may define a slot to receive the vertical edge of the corresponding jamb and may define at least one bearing surface against which the, or each, damper can bear as the closure pivots into the closed condition.

The bearing member may be generally rectangular with operatively inner, outer, top and bottom minor faces and opposed front and rear major faces, the slot extending inwardly from the outer face and the inner face defining the, or each, bearing surface, the bearing member being mountable, via the slot, on the complementary hinging surface so that the, or each, bearing surface is aligned with the, or each respective, damper when the closure is in the closed condition.

The bearing member may have a generally flat outer face to facilitate mounting of the bearing member directly to a flat surface of the corresponding jamb, and an inner face defining the, or each, bearing surface so that the bearing member can be mounted on the flat surface of the corresponding jamb with the, or each, bearing surface positioned so that the, or each, damper can bear against the, or each respective, bearing surface when the closure pivots into the closed condition.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a hinged closure assembly that includes at least one of the damping apparatus as described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional, partially exploded view of one embodiment of a damping apparatus, in accordance with the invention, for a hinged closure assembly.

Figure 2 shows a further three-dimensional view of the damping apparatus of figure 1, with dampers removed for clarity.

Figure 3 shows a rear side of a damping assembly of the damping apparatus of figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a three dimensional view of another embodiment of a damping apparatus, in accordance with the invention, for a hinged closure assembly.

Figure 5 shows one view of the damping apparatus of figure 1 mounted on a closure assembly, the closure assembly being in an open condition.

Figure 6 shows another view of the damping apparatus of figure 1 mounted on the closure assembly, in the open condition.

Figure 7 shows one view of the damping apparatus of figure 1 mounted on a closure assembly, the closure assembly being in a partially closed condition.

Figure 8 shows another view of the damping apparatus of figure 1 mounted on the closure assembly, in the partially closed condition.

Figure 9 shows the damping apparatus of figure 4, mounted on a closure assembly, the closure assembly being in an open condition.

Figure 10 shows the damping apparatus of figure 4, mounted on a closure assembly, the closure assembly being a closed condition.

Figure 11 shows one example of a closure assembly, in accordance with the invention, including the damping apparatus of figure 1.

Figure 12 shows another example of a closure assembly, in accordance with the invention, including the damping apparatus of figure 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally indicates a damping apparatus, in accordance with the invention, for a hinged closure assembly 12 (figure 11).

The damping apparatus 10 includes a mount 14 that is fastenable to a hinged edge 16 of a closure 18 of the closure assembly 12. The closure assembly 12 is a closure assembly of a fence incorporating toughened glass panels. Thus, the closure 18 includes a glass closure panel 20. The hinged edge 16 is an operatively vertical, inner edge of the panel 20.

The closure assembly 12 also includes an adjacent fence panel 22. An operatively vertical edge of the panel 22, adjacent the hinged edge 16, defines a jamb 24 of the closure assembly 12. The jamb 24 thus has a rectangular cross section with flat sides. The closure 18 is pivotally connected to the jamb 24 with two hinge assemblies 13.

The mount 14 is generally rectangular with operatively inner, outer, top and bottom minor faces 26, 28, 30 and 32, and opposed front and rear faces 34, 36.

The mount 14 defines a slot 38 that opens at the outer face 28 and extends towards the inner face 26. The hinged edge 16 is received in the slot 38. The mount 14 can be fastened to the hinged edge 16 in any suitable manner, such as with one or more fasteners extending from the rear face 36 of the mount 14 and into the slot 38.

The apparatus 10 includes a damping assembly 40 arranged on the mount 14. The damping assembly 40 includes a body 42. The body 42 is arranged on the mount 14. For example, the body 42 is fastened to the front face 34 of the mount 14.

The body 42 is also generally rectangular with a front profile that corresponds with that of the mount 14 so that the body 42 can be fastened to the mount 14 with inner, outer, top and bottom minor faces 44, 46, 48 and 50 of the body 42 aligned with the inner, outer, top and bottom minor faces 26 - 32 of the mount 14, respectively.

To that end, a locating formation 58 projects from the front face 34 of the mount 14. The locating formation 58 is in the form of a nesting wall 60 that projects from the front face 34. The wall 60 has three sides. A rear face 64 of the body 42 has a rectangular recess 61 (figure 3) so that the wall 60 can serve to locate the body 42 correctly with respect to the mount 14.

An internally threaded, tubular projection 65 extends from the front face 34 of the mount 14. The body 42 defines a passage 67 in which the projection 65 is received, with the wall 60 nesting in the rear face 64. Thus, the body 42 can be fastened to the mount 14 with a suitable fastener received through the body 42 and into the projection 65.

The damping assembly 40 includes two dampers 66 that are arranged in the body 42, the dampers 66 and the body 42 being configured so that the dampers 66 project past the inner face 44. Thus, when the mount 14, with the body 42 fastened to the mount 14, is mounted on the hinged edge 16, the dampers 66 project past the hinged edge 16 and into an access opening 68 (figure 5) to be closed by the closure assembly 12. As a result, when the closure 18 pivots towards a closed condition (figures 7, 8) from an open condition (figures 5, 6), the dampers 66 can bear against a bearing member on the jamb 24 to damp pivotal movement of the closure 18 into the closed condition.

The body 42 defines two sockets 70 that extend into the body 42 from the inner face 44 of the body 42. The sockets 70 are parallel and elongate. Each damper 66 is positioned in a respective socket 70 and extends from the respective socket 70.

Each damper 66 is in the form of a dashpot. Each dashpot 66 has a cylinder 72 and a piston 74 that extends from the cylinder 72. Each dashpot 66 is positioned in the respective socket 70 so that the piston 74 bears against a floor 76 of the socket 70 and the cylinder 72 extends from the socket 70. The cylinders 72 are a sliding fit within the respective sockets 70. Furthermore, a closed end of each cylinder 72 defines a flat bearing surface 78. The dashpots 66 are internally biased so that the piston 74 is biased out of the cylinder 72. It follows that the damped movement of the piston 74 into the cylinder 72 is against the internal bias.

The body 42 defines two slotted openings 71 that provide access to the sockets 70, respectively. The slotted openings 71 facilitate the removal of the dashpots 66 from the sockets 70, for replacement, for example.

The damping apparatus 10 includes a bearing member 80. The bearing member 80 is fastenable to the jamb 24 to be in alignment with the mount 14.

The bearing member 80 is generally rectangular with operatively inner, outer, top and bottom minor faces 82, 84, 86 and 88, and front and rear faces 90, 92. A slot 94 extends inwardly from the outer face 84 towards the inner face 82 to receive the jamb

24. The inner face 82 defines a bearing surface 96 (figure 6). The bearing member is fastenable to the jamb 24 so that the bearing surface 96 is in alignment with the inner face 44 of the body 42 of the damping assembly 40 when the closure panel 20 and the adjacent fence panel 22 are in alignment with each other, in a closed condition. It follows that the bearing surface 96 pivots away from the inner face 44 when the closure 18 pivots from the closed condition into the open condition. With the dashpots 66 extending from the inner face 44, the bearing surface 96 bears against the cylinders 72 to drive the cylinders 72 at least partially into the body 42 as the closure 18 pivots back into the closed condition. The bearing surface 96 can include two recessed bearing zones 98 (figure 6) that correspond with the bearing surfaces 78 that can bear against the zones 98 as the closure 18 pivots back into the closed condition. The bearing zones 98 are recessed to facilitate engagement of the cylinders 72 with the bearing member 80. Furthermore, the bearing zones 98 are recessed from the front face 90 so that a front corner of the bearing member 80 does not obstruct engagement between the bearing surfaces 78 and the bearing zones 98

The damping apparatus 10 finds use with spring-mounted closures. Thus, the closure 18 can be spring-mounted on the adjacent fence panel 22 so that movement of the closure panel 18 into the closed condition is under action of a spring mechanism. The dashpots 66 are selected so that the cylinders 72 are driven into the body 42 under the action of the spring mechanism. Furthermore, the dashpots 66 are selected to achieve a predetermined speed of closure to suit requirements.

It will be appreciated that the closure assembly can take various forms. For example, in figure 12, reference numeral 100 generally indicates a closure assembly in which the closure panel 20 is pivotally mounted to a structure or component that has a mounting surface 102 extending generally orthogonally with respect to the closure panel 20, when the closure panel 20 is in the closed condition. For example, the mounting surface 102 can be defined by a wall 118. A closure 116 is pivotally mounted to the wall 118 with a pair of hinge assemblies 120.

In the drawings, reference numeral 104 generally indicates a damping apparatus suitable for the closure assembly 100. With reference to the preceding drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts, unless otherwise specified. The use of common reference numerals is for convenience and ease of description, only, and is not intended to indicate that the respective parts are identical.

The damping apparatus 104 includes a bearing member 106 (figure 4). The bearing member 106 has a generally flat outer face 108 to facilitate mounting of the bearing member 106 directly to the mounting surface 102, which is flat.

The bearing member 106 has an inner face 110 that defines a bearing surface 112. The bearing member 106 can be mounted on the mounting surface 102 so that the bearing surface 112 is in alignment with the inner face 44 when the closure 18 in the closed condition. Thus, pivotal movement of the closure 18 into the closed condition can be damped, as described above.

The bearing surface 112 includes two bearing zones 114 that correspond with the bearing surfaces 78 that can bear against the zones 114 as the closure 18 pivots into the closed condition. The zones 114 are recessed and terminate at a front of the bearing member 106 so that a front corner of the bearing member 106 does not obstruct engagement between the bearing surfaces 78 and the bearing zones 114.

The damping apparatus described above is particularly useful for retrofitting to existing closure assemblies. Currently, for fencing assemblies, such as those used for swimming pools, it is mandatory for the closure or gate to close automatically under the action of a spring. Currently, damping mechanisms for such gates are built into the hinge mechanisms. This can result in an expensive product. Furthermore, breakdown of the damping mechanism would usually require replacement of the hinge mechanism, as a whole. The damping apparatus described above can be maintained or replaced independently of the hinge mechanism. Furthermore, it has a relatively simple construction compared to existing damped hinge mechanisms. As a result, it can be significantly cheaper and easier to manufacture the damping apparatus when compared to existing damped hinge mechanisms.

The appended claims are to be considered as incorporated into the above description.

Throughout this specification, reference to any advantages, promises, objects or the like should not be regarded as cumulative, composite and/or collective and should be regarded as preferable or desirable rather than stated as a warranty.

Throughout this specification, unless otherwise indicated, "comprise," "comprises," and "comprising," (and variants thereof) or related terms such as "includes" (and variants thereof)," are used inclusively rather than exclusively, so that a stated integer or group of integers may include one or more other non-stated integers or groups of integers.

When any number or range is described herein, unless clearly stated otherwise, that number or range is approximate. Recitation of ranges of values herein are intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value and each separate subrange defined by such separate values is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein.

Words indicating direction or orientation, such as "front", "rear", "back", etc, are used for convenience. The inventor(s) envisages that various embodiments can be used in a non-operative configuration, such as when presented for sale. Thus, such words are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

The term "and/or", e.g., "A and/or B" shall be understood to mean either "A and B" or "A or B" and shall be taken to provide explicit support for both meanings or for either meaning.

It is to be understood that the terminology employed above is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The described embodiments are intended to be illustrative of the invention, without limiting the scope thereof. The invention is capable of being practised with various modifications and additions as will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A damping apparatus for a hinged closure assembly, the damping apparatus comprising: a mount that is fastenable to one of a hinged edge of a closure of the closure assembly and a corresponding jamb of the closure assembly; and a damping assembly arranged on the mount, the damping assembly including: a body that is arranged on the mount; and at least one damper that is arranged in the body, the, or each, damper and the body being configured so that the, or each, damper projects past the hinged edge and into an access opening to be closed by the closure assembly, such that, when a closure of the closure assembly pivots into a closed condition, the, or each, damper can bear against a bearing member on the other of the hinged edge and the corresponding jamb to damp pivotal movement of the closure into the closed condition.

2. The damping apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the closure includes a closure panel that includes the hinged edge, and the corresponding jamb includes a vertical edge of a structural panel adjacent the closure panel, the closure panel being hinged to the vertical edge portion, the body of the damping assembly defining a slot to receive the hinged edge of the closure panel.

3. The damping apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mount is generally rectangular with operatively inner, outer, top and bottom minor faces and opposed front and rear major faces, the slot extending inwardly from the outer face.

4. The damping apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the body of the damping assembly is fastened to the front face of the mount, such that the, or each, damper extends past the inner face of the mount when the closure is in an open condition.

5. The damping apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the, or each, damper is in the form of a dashpot arranged in the body with either a cylinder or a piston of the, or each, dashpot extending out of the body when the closure is in the open position.

6. The damping apparatus as claimed in claim 1, which includes the bearing member, the bearing member being fastenable to said other of the hinged edge and the corresponding jamb.

7. The damping apparatus as claimed in claim 2, which includes the bearing member, the bearing member defining a slot to receive the vertical edge of the corresponding jamb and defining at least one bearing surface against which the, or each, damper can bear as the closure pivots into the closed condition.

8. The damping apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the bearing member is generally rectangular with operatively inner, outer, top and bottom minor faces and opposed front and rear major faces, the slot extending inwardly from the outer face and the inner face defining the, or each, bearing surface, the bearing member being mountable, via the slot, on the complementary hinging surface so that the, or each, bearing surface is aligned with the, or each respective, damper when the closure is in the closed condition.

9. The damping apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the bearing member has a generally flat outer face to facilitate mounting of the bearing member directly to a flat surface of the corresponding jamb, and an inner face defining the, or each, bearing surface so that the bearing member can be mounted on the flat surface of the corresponding jamb with the, or each, bearing surface positioned so that the, or each, damper can bear against the, or each respective, bearing surface when the closure pivots into the closed condition.

10. A hinged closure assembly that includes at least one of the damping apparatus of any one of the preceding claims.

30 28 36 65 Oct 2020

34 14 64 60 10 58

80 40 92 2020103144

67 86

66

72

84 Figure 1 78 94 10 38 48 70 28 86 26 14 80

46

94 42

67 84 44 40

Figure 2 50 70 90

61 70 71 74 72 66 2020103144

42

64

76

104 Figure 3 110 106 14

114

108

40 114

112

Figure 4

10 14 Oct 2020

26

40 2020103144

44 66

16

78 Figure 5 80 24 68

10 82

14

98 40

96

80

98

Figure 6

10 Oct 2020

40 2020103144

Figure 7 80

14

98

40

80 98

Figure 8

114 40 2020103144

110

106

114

Figure 9

104

106

Figure 10

22 120 13

20 2020103144

116

102

18 12 104

10

16

24 120

13

118

Figure 11 Figure 12