US2948917A - Hinge assembly - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 16, 1960 D. D. CAMPBELL ET AL HINGE ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 13, 1956 @kz/gy A TTORNE Y m WH a m. w L 1 'IIIIIIIIIIIJI Aug. 16, 1960 D. D. CAMPBELL ETAL HINGE ASSEMBLY Aug. 16, 1960 D. D. CAMPBELL ETAL HINGE ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 13, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS.

g Arron/var 1950 D. D. CAMPBILL ET AL 2,948,917

HINGE ASSEMBLY INVENTORS.

ATTORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 13, 1956 E /fl United States Patent HINGE ASSEMBLY David D. Campbell, Detroit, and Louis P. Garvey, Birmingham, Mich., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 13, 1956, Ser. No. 621,589

1 Claim. (Cl. 16-163) This invention relates generally to hinge assemblies and particularly to hinge assemblies for use in connection with automotive vehicle body doors although not specifically limited thereto.

The hinge assembly forming the subject of the present invention comprises upper and lower hinge devices which include hinge butts connected to the doors for swinging therewith and connected to the vehicle body so that such swinging movement is about a movable pivot or center. In this type of hinge devices there is usually a multiplicity of links so that if it is desired to further combine with such hinge devices door hold-opens or door assists, there is either not enough room in the usual hinge box or else the box must be made impractically large. Furthermore, with the use of upper and lower movable center hinge devices, unless such hinge devices are made with extreme precisionand very painstakingly mounted on both the door and the vehicle body, there is a tendency for the hinge movements to' interfere with each other causing binding and generally unsatisfactory swinging of the door. This is particularly true when movable center hinge devices are-used with automotive vehicle doors because ofthe relatively great rigidity or inflexibility of the doors. Furthermore, when movable center hinges are provided on vehicle doors and an attempt is made to include the usual door hold-opens and door assists the result may be a hinge assemblywhich is too wide to be engineered into the door pillars or vehicle body panels. It is, there-- fore, an object of the present invention to provide a hinge assemblywhich utilizes at least two spaced hinge devices of the movable center type in which only one of the devices isprov'ided with the necessary links to cause swinging about a movable center-but wherein the other hinge device also swings about a movable center due to a stabilizing member or link extending'between the two hinge devices. y

It is a further object of the inventionto include'inthe stabilized hinge device the door hold open which ismo're easily combined therein due to the absence of certain of the links normally required in a movable center hinge and whose omission is made possible by the presence of the aforementioned stabilizing member.

Another object of the invention is to provide in combination with such a hinge assembly door assist means.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in one of the door hinge assemblies adjustable means for limiting closing movement of the door.

For a more complete understanding of the above and further objects of this invention, reference may be had to the accompanying detailed description and drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an automotive vehicle illustrating one application of the hinge assembly between a rear right door and a rear right quarter panel of the vehicle body.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view greatly enlarged taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 7 with parts shown in section and serves to illustrate one of the links'con fastened at one end thereof to the rear door 8 by the necting the upper hinge butt to the hinge" boxand with the hinge butt in the door full open position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and is taken sub stantially on the line 3--3 of Fig. 9 but is of the lower hinge device with the hinge butt shown in the door full open position.

Fig. 4 is. a detailed view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig; 10 and illustrates'the stabilizing link extending between lower and upper hinge devices and its connection to one of the links which pivotally connects the hinge butt to the hinge box.

Fig. 5 is a detailed view with parts broken away and in section illustrating the adjustable means for limiting closure of the door.- i

Fig. 6 is a view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 with parts broken away and in section illustrating many of the details of the upper hinge assembly in the ing many of the details of the lower hinge assembly in the door fully closed position.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 exceptthat certain parts have been broken away in a somewhat different manner to further illustrate details of the lower hinge assembly in the door full open position.

' Fig. 10 is a view in elevation with parts broken away and in section taken substantially on the line 10--10 of Fig. 6 illustrating the details of the connections between the upper and the lower hinge assemblies and in combination with the door assist.

Referring first to Fig. 1 of the drawings, an automotive vehicle 2 is shown which includes a rear right body panel 4 and a-=right front door 6 and a rear door 8. The

rear door 8 as indicated by means of the dotted lines shown thereon is hingedly supported on the rear quarter panel 4 by the new hinge assembly identified generally by a numeral 10. The hinge assembly 10 includes an upper hinge device 12 and a lower'hinge device 14.

The details of the lower hinge assembly 14 are best illustrated in Figs. 3, 8, 9, and 10. Upon reference to those figures, it will be observed that hinge device 14 in-' cludes a gooseneck hinge butt 16 which is suitably rigidly nut and boltassemblies 18 so as to swing therewith. The opposite end 20 of hinge butt 16 is pivotally connected (as best seen in Fig. 3) by a pin 22 to one end 24 of a bifurcated link 26 which is pivotally connected to the usual hinge box 27 by means of pivot pins 28. Also pivotally connected to the hinge box 27 at one end by means of a pin 30 is one end 32 of a control hinge link 34 whose opposite end 36 is pivotally connected at the point 38 to the gooseneck hinge butt 16. A pair of hifurcated hinge cover plates 40 and 42 are also pivotally connected between the hinge box 27 and the gooseneck hinge butt 16 at the points 44 and 46, respectively. The entire lower hinge device as so far described may be mounted in the recess normally provided in the rear quarter panel 4 and fixed in place in the usual manner by means of the threaded bolt nut assemblies 48.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 6, and 7, the upper hinge device 12 includes a hinge box having pivotally connected thereto by means of pin 52 a bifurcated link 54. The bifurcated end of link 54 has pivotally connected between the bifurcations 56 and 58 thereof one end 60 of a gooseneck hinge butt 62. The opposite end of link 54 is pivotally connected to hinge box 50 by pin 55. The opposite end of hinge butt 62 is connected to the upper portion of the rear door 8 by bolt and nut assemblies 64. The upper hinge. assembly 12 is mounted in the recess provided in the rear. quarter panel 4 and is rigidly held in place by the bolt assemblies. 66 and 68 which fasten the hinge box to a bulkhead 70. It willbe observed that the structure so far described for the upper hinge device will not in and of itself serve to stabilize the movement of the hinge butt 62 either about a fixed center or a movable center moving along a predetermined path. However, as. best noted in. Figs. 1, 4, and 10, the upper and lower hinge devices 12 and 14 are connected together in a manner hereinafter set forth. Upon reference to Fig. 4 it will be seen that the link 54 of the upper hinge device 12 is provided with an arm 72. and that the link 26 of the lower hinge device 14 is provided with a similar arm 74. The arms 72 and 74 have extending substantially vertically therebetween, and rigidly fixed thereto by means of studs 76 and 78 a sta-.. bilizing member or bar 80, The bar 80 serves as a link between the upper link 54 of the upper hinge device 12 and the lower link 26 of the lower hinge device 14 so as to impart in conjunction with the door 8 the same swinging movement of the hinge butt 16 to the hinge butt 62.

a It may now be appreciated that the movements of the upper and lower hinge devices 12 and 14 are interrelated and that the upper hinge device is not provided with a control link similar to the control link 34 of the lower hinge device. By this unusual hinge assembly the binding which might be present when the door hinges include control links in both the upper and lower hinge devices such as is shown in the lower hinge device of the present application is efiectively prevented. Furthermore, more room is made available in the upper hinge assembly for the presence of the door hold open and the spring door assist.

Turning again for a moment to Figs. 6 and 7 it will be seen that the upper hinge device 12 has pivotally con-. nected to the hinge box 50 at the point 82 an arm or lever 84 which serves as a door hold open. The arm 84. as viewed in Figs. 6 and 7 is normally biased in a counterclockwise direction by means of a helical coil spring 85 secured at one end thereof and to the hinge box 50 at the point 86. Movement of the hold open 84 is limited by a hold open stop comprising a pin 88 fixed. to the hinge box. 50*. It will be noted that the hinge butt 62 is provided with a pin follower 90 which, as the butt 62. swings from the closed position shown in Fig. 6 to the open position in Fig. 7, moves through an intermediatehold open position defined by a recess 92 or shoulder to a full hold open recess 94 where the pin 90 abuts a shoulder 96.

To regulate proper closure of the door 8 an adjust- 4 able door closing limit stop has been provided. This is best seen in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 and comprises an adjustable screw 98 supported by a bracket 100 fixed to the hinge box 50. The gooseneck 62 is provided with a shoulder 102 which engages the end of screw 98 upon predetermined closing of door 8 and gooserreck 62. If the door 8 tends to swing too far closed a simple adjustment of screw 98 will correct such overclosure.

To assist in the opening of the door a torque link 1424 is provided which has one end fixed to the hinge box 50 by a bracket and studs 106. (See Figs. 6, 7 and 10.) The torque rod then is bent in the form of a crank and has the opposite end fixed by a bracket and studs 108 to the gooseneck 62. The rod 104 is formed so that it is relatively unstressed when the door is in the full open position and is increasingly stressed as the door closes. To cover the opening in the upper hinge cover plate 110 which is fixed to the forward face of the rear quarter panel 4 is a split cover plate assembly comprising a first cover 112 fixed to the gooseneck 62 and a second cover 114 pivotally mounted in the hinge box point 116 and biased against the cover 112 by means of a torsion spring 118.

We claim:

A hinge assembly for an enclosure door, comprising a pair of spaced hinge devices each including a hinge butt adapted to be connected to the door for swinging bodily therewith and a hinge link pivotally connected to said butt and adapted to be pivotally connected to said enclosure, one only of said devices including a control link pivotally connected to the butt associated with the one of said devices and adapted to be connected to said enclosure to impart certain defined swinging hinge movement to said last-mentioned butt about a movable center, a stabilizing link rigidily connected to the hinge links of said spaced hinge devices to impart said same swinging movement to the butt of the other of said hinge devices about said same movable center, the said other of said devices having combined therewith a torsion bar having an end fixed to the butt of said latter device and a second end adapted to be anchored to the enclosure to assist in opening the door, and a door hold-open link adapted to be pivotally connected to said enclosure having detent means associated therewith and with the butt of the said other of said hinge devices to maintain said door in a predetermined open position.-

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 865,895 Hewitt Sept. 10, 1907 1,221,779 Wahlberg Apr. 3, 1917 2,707,302 Johnson May 3, 1955 2,743,476 Turner May 1, 1956 2,751,625 Vigmostad June 26, 1956

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