US2200311A - Hinge - Google Patents

Description

May 14, 1940.- H.'E'. m IVOORHIEES' 2,200.311

Original Filed larch 1 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a i I.

y 1940- I H. E. VAN. VOQRHIEES 2,200,311

rmms I Original Filed larch 1, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet z I I I Patented May 14,

PATENT OFFICE aztosu HINQE Harold E. Van Voorhees, to The Atwood Vacnu co-partnership com and James T. Atwood,

Detroit, Mich, assignor m Machine Company, a of Seth B. Atwood Rockford, 111.

A p ication March 1,- 1937, Serial No. 128,356 Renewed December 18. 1939' 15 Claims. (01. lit-135) This invention relates to improvements in concealed hinges for the doors of. motor vehicles.

It is common practice to use exposed hinges of the pintle type in mounting doors on motor vehicles. Due to the curvature of the bodies and the amount of deviation from standard body specifications occurring in quantity production, there has been considerable difliculty in mounting .these pintle hinges, and it has been customary to apply forked bars or other tools to thehinges and bend them enough to center the doors and align them relative to one another and to the body. This bending has been tolerated because no other way of meeting the problem has suggested itself, although it is apparent that pintles were thereby thrown out oi'alignment,

1 resulting in the doors not opening and closing as they should. Also, it is that most of the wear on pintles, and the consequent play and door rattling, is directly traceable to this practice of bending the hinges to make the doors fit. It should be obvious that, great as the problem was with exposed hinges,

the difilculties would be multiplied if concealed pintle hinges were used. Nevertheless, now that I automobile bodies are being madeof streamline vide concealed hinges. It

, the ball received in the socket is provided, prefdesign, it becomes increasingly important to prois, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide a pair of ball-and-socket type concealed hinges of improved design on each door of a motor vehicle, whereby to secure easy operation of the door without any of the aforesaid difiiculties in the mounting of the door on the body, whatever bending'or twisting of the hinges is necessary for door alignment having no effect whatever on the easy working of the doors. because the individual balls working universally in the sockets provide point suspensions, and. the two points at the two hinges determine the hinging axis of the door.

Other important objects of my invention are: 1. To provide a concealed hinge in which one member carries the socket and is slotted to provide working clearance for the gooseneck portion of the othermember on the end of which erably as an integral enlargement;

2. To provide a concealed hinge of the balland-socket type in which the socket member is made up of sections, part. of the socket being formed on one section and the rest on another section, and the sections being made to inter-fit to provide an accurate bearing for the ball;

3. To provide a concealed hinge of the ballgenerally conceded nated and an automatic take-up for wear secured;

4. To provide a hinge of the kind mentioned having rubber or other cushioning means limiting the opening of the door;

5. To provide a socket member of the kind mentioned made up of two pieces or L-shaped cross-section. one arm of which forms the attaching portion in a plane parallel to the edge of the door and the other portion carrying the socket in laterally spaced relation to the door opening, the portion of the latter arm next to the bend between the two arms serving as a limiting stop for abutment by the gooseneck and adapted to carry the bumper last mentioned, and

6. To provide a hinge of the construction last described in which the L-shaped pieces are slotted for extension therethrough of the gooseneck and at least the inner piece is flanged alongside the slot for reenforcement.

Other important objects will appear in the I course of the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein a Figure 1 is a horizontal section through a portion of a door pillar and door showing a concealed ball-and-socket type hinge made in accordance with my invention, this section being on the line L-l of Fig. 2;,

Fi 2 isa vertical section Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are isolated plan and front views of a gooseneck hinge member of modified form;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the retaining plate for said gooseneck member, this view being taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 5a is a fragmentary side view of an automobile showing how the doors thereof appear when equipped with concealed hinges of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing another concealed hinge oi the ball-and-socket Fig. 6a is a section on the'line A-A in Fig. 6. Fig. '7 is a ,of Fig. 6;

on the line 2-2 or vertical section on'the line 1-1 I Fig.8 is "another vertical section similar to Fig. 7, but showing a different construction; Figs. 9 and 10 are face views of the sections of the socket member of Figs. 6 and 7', Fig. 9.being a View of the socket section formed integral with the door pillar or door, and Fig. '10 an inside view of the companionplate;

Fig. 11 "is a sectional method of fastening the shank of the gooseneck respectively, or vice versa. 'The gooseneck memmember to its attaching plate, and Fig. 12 is a back view of the attaching plate showingthe flattened end of the shank attached thereto;

1 Fig. 13 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 6, showing still another concealed hinge of the ball-and socket type, the same however being shown in.

elevation;

Fig. 14 shows the same hinge in the door open; I v

Fig. 15 is a front view of the hinge of Fig. 13; Fig. 16 is 'a side viewshowing the shank of the gooseneck in section on the line l6-l6.of Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is a section similar to Fig. 14, but showing the addition of a rubber bumper, and

Fig. 18 is a sectional detail on the line l8- i8- Similar reference numerals are appliedto corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring first to Figs. Land 2, l9 designates the pillar and 20 the door frame or door portion, but it will .soon be evident that it is immaterial whether the socket member *2 and gooseneck member 22 of my improved ball-andsocket hin e. are mounted on the pillar and door.

ber. 22 is preferably formed in one piece to providea generallyJ-shaped shank 23 terminating in a ball head 24'formed as, an integral enlarge' ment of the end thereof. This shank is substantially round in cross-section and of gradually increasing diameter from the head end to the other end, where an enlarged-flattened pad portion 25 is formed integral with the shank and ina plane'substantially at right angles to the the socket through the hole 34 in the wall of the boss 3|, and the slot 32-33 communicates with one side of the hole.34 and is .wideenough to accommodate the shank", of the gooseneck member 22 throughout its range of approximately 90 movement or shaped as the slot 32" in Fig. 9. A companionplate 35 has abut inent with the plate 29 and there are registeringholes 36 in these two plates through .which capfs jc ews like the screws 21 are passed to fasten thesocket member 2| to the reenforeing anate 31 in the pillar l9. The'plate 31 has te 35 is slotted, as at 38, in register with the 'slot 32, and the anchor plate 31 is likewise slotted, as at 39', for registration with the slot 32 and also to accommodate the projecting boss 3|,

whereby to provide operating clearance through the assembled parts for the gooseneck member A block 40 with a hemispherical socket M5,

22. provided in the end thereof fits in a counterbore detail showing another section with The bles' therein similarly as the plate 28.

42 in the boss 3| that is preferably tapered, as indicated in Fig. 2, to match the taper of the block 40 and make for a tight wedging fit between the parts when the plates 23 and 35 are bolted together to" the pillar. Such interfitting also insures the desired accurate relationship of the sockets 30 and;;4 l 1s 0 that the ball head 24 will operate with=-substantially the same fit in both parts of its socket. One side of the block 40 is cut away, as at .43, in register with the slot 33, whereby to give additional operatingclear ance for the gooseneck member 22 and allow full 90 movement of the door 20 relative to the pillar i9. ;."1,he block 40 has a reduced shank portion fitting inqa 'hole 45 in the plate 3'5, and

the end of the shank is upset to permanently secure the block to the plate in the'tapered counterbore provided at the-end of the hole 45. 'The fact that a separate block 40 is used makes it possible to provide a hardened steel bearing at low cost. It will be noticed that this bearing block provides the major portion of the socket bearing" portion thereon. An oil hole 46 in the plate/35 registers with an oil hole 41 in the plate 23extending to the socket 30'at a point adjacent the inner end of the block 40, so that oil is' delivered simul taneously to both halvesof the socket for good lubrication. h I

It should' be clear from the above description that I have provided a concealed ball-and-socket' hinge for the doors of motorvehicles of an extremely practical and commercially feasible 'design and construction, inasmuch as it can be produced at a low enough cost to be competitive with the old style pintle hinges, and its design is such that it lends itself to easy assemblingon the doors and pillars of cars as now constructed. Two such hinges, as at-A and B in Fig. 5a, will be provided on each door, and with reasonable accuracy in the location of the tapped holes in the plates 28 and 31 the door will fit fairly accurately and operate easily as soon as the hinges are fastened in place. However, thework man in'the assembly line at the automobile factory may usea toolto bend or twist the gooseT neck 22 of either or both hinges to bring the ball 24 on either or both hinges closer or farther from the door, 'or-above or below the normal substantially horizontal plane of the gooseneck, or forwardly or rearwardly from its initial'position,

whereby to accordingly adjust the door in the.

door opening in the'centering and aligning of the door with reference to the body. Whatever bending ortwisting of the hinges is necessary 'to secure good door alignment and centering,

cannot affect the easy operation of the hinges, because the ball heads 24 swivelled in their sockets for universal movement each'determines a single'point suspension, and it is obviousthat the two points thus fixed are sufllcient to determine the hinging axis of the door in a plane inwardly spaced from the curved outside surfaces of thedoor and body'portions. These hinges, for obvious reasons, make the door swing uniformly smoothly throughout its ran e of opening. It

will be noted that the sockets are just inside the movement and'insures ample clearance between the door and the curved outside of the body. f Hinges of this construction will not bind nor' develop play and give rise to door'rattling like the old style pintle hinges, because, as stated be-' fore, most of the wear on hinge knuckles, and pintles was due to misalignment resulting from bending the hinges to produce door alignment. Furthermore, these ball-and-socket hinges aflord a much lower unit bearing pressure than the old style pintle hinges; so that wear is greatly reduced and longer life assured.

Referring to Figs. 3 to 5, thegooseneckmem ber 22a and retaining plate 25a'may be substituted in Figs. 1 and 2 for the one-piece goose neck member 22 with its integral bolting pad 25. In this case, the shank 22a having the ball head 24 on one end, has the other end flattened to narrow elongated form, as at 18, to flt snugly in a recess 49 formed in the bottom of the plate 25a and defined by the struck-up middle portion 50 of said plate. Holes ii in the marginal portions of the plate are provided to receive cap screws like the screws 21 previously mentioned, whereby to fasten the gooseneck member securely to the door or pillar, as the case may be. The operation of a hinge with the gooseneck member constructed'along these lines would be the same,

of course, as one having the gooseneck member constructed along the lines shown in Fig. 2.

Figs. "11- and 12 show still another gooseneck construction in which the shank 23b of the gooseneck member 22b has a reduced flattened rectangular end 52 made to fit snugly in ,a rectangular hole 53 in a plate 25b. These two parts are then arranged tovbe fastenedperxnanently together by welding along the joint lines, as at 54.

Stil another mode of connection between the shank of the gooseneck and the attaching plate 25 therefor is shown in Figs. 6 and 6:: wherein the ooseneck member" 220 has the end of its shank 220 provided with diametrically opposed flats 55 to enter a correspondingly shaped hole 56 in the attaching plate 250, so as to prevent turning of the shank relative to the plate while at the same time providing a pair of shoulders 51 next to the flattened end portion to permit tightening the nut 58 on the reduced threaded end 59 of the shank to fasten the shank securely to the plate, and incidentally also help to secure the plate to the door, although of course other additional cap screws or the like will be provided for that purpose.

The construction disclosed in Figs. 6, 7, 9, and

-10 is mainly of interest from the standpoint that it discloses a sectional socket member 2la differing from the socket 2| of Figs. 1 and 2, principally in that the wall or body 29a corresponding to the plate 29 of the other construction is integral with the pillar, as indicated at 60, and

has an annular flange 6| outlining the slot 32a to give increased stiffness and strength to make up for the absence of a separate plate on the pillar. The flared or tapered shape of the slot 32a permits a correspondingly increased latitude of adjustment of the gooseneck in the mounting of the door, it being apparent from this view how the gooseneck may be cooked up or down' from a mid position in the slot without interfering with its swinging movement in the opening and closing of the door and without interfering with the ball working freely in the socket. 3la is the wall of the socket 30a formed integral with the pillar, as shown, and it will be observed that the flange BI is continued to form a reenforcing collar around the opening a into the socket through which the gooseneck 23c extends from the ball head 24. A plate 35a formed with an embossed portion 40a providing a hemispherical socket portion lla therein is fastened to the pillar by bolts or rivets enteredthrough the registering holes-36a in the plate and pillar. The boss 40a fits with ample clearance in the recess 42a adjacent the socket .30a,.and the arrangement is such that the perforated marginal portions of the plate where the bolts or rivets pass through are also spaced a few thousandths of an inch from the wall of the pillar before the bolts are tightened or the rivets upset. Thus, in the tightening of the bolts or the upsetting of therivets, these marginal perforated portions of the plate 35a will be drawn into tight -engagement with the wall of the pillar, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 7, whereby to accordingly spring the plate and thereby place the ball head 24 under a predetermined spring tension, not suii'icient to interfere with the more or less free operation of 'the door, but still enough to eliminate any likelihood of the ball developing play in the socket after the hinge has been in service for some time. In that way, there is no likelihood of the door rattling. Furthermore, if the ball has been finished reasonably smooth but the socket parts are relatively rough sheet metal stampings, this construction makes suiiicient allowance for the ball wearing itself in; that is to say, it is equivalent to a lapping action in which the roughness of the socket parts and such roughness as still remains on the ball at the time of assembly are ,wom smooth soon after the hinge is in service, but the allowance for such wear is more than enough to prevent play being developed. The lapped'surfaces give a long lii'ed, easy working bearing. The plate 35a is cut away on the inside next to the socket Ma, as at 62, in register with the slot 32a to give additional working clearance for the nooseneck 230. 46a is an oil hole in the plate 35a through which the socket 3lia-4ia. can

be lubricated from they outside of the pillar similarlyas in the hinge of Figs. 1 and 2. The operation of this hinge is substantially the same as the hinge previously described.

Fig. 8 shows a construction similar to Figs. 6 and 7, but modified in two. respects, the first being that the plate 35b has its embossed portion 40b fitting with a wedging fit in the recess 42b when the rivets 63 are upset. The'body 29b of socket 2lb like the body 29a is formed integral with the pillar, and the socket 30b therein is in accurate registration with the socket Mb in the plate when the two parts are riveted together, as shown, the ball head 24 fitting snugly in the socket so as not to cause door rattling. The.

of Fig. 8 will operate substantially like the hinges of Figs. 1 and 6.

Referring now to Figs. 13 to 16, the hinge I shown here resembles that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, because the plates 29d and 35d are assembled together to form the socket member 2 Id. However, inthis case, the two plates are sheet metal stampings of right angle form providing abutting attaching portions 66 and 61 parallel to the edge h of thedoor through which bolts or cap screws 68 are passed to secure the hinge to the pillar I9 by means of an inner reenforcing anchor plate 69 having tapped holes to receive the bolts or screws. The other portions I0 and Ii wherein the ball socket isformed are at right angles to the attaching portions 66 and 61, respectively, and lie in a plane substantially parallel to the outside of the body, and the plate 2911 has a substantially hemispherical socket portion 3ld formed thereon as a hollow boss projecting from the plane of the flange I0, while the plate d' has a hemispherical socket d registering with the socket 3ld and formed in a boss projecting from the plane of the flange II. An inturned flange Bid is formed on the plate 29d defining the slot 32d and affording reenforcement for the socket member Zld. This flange 6Id, it will be noticed, is continued around the hole 3412 through which the gooseneck 23d extends from the ball head. 24 in the socket. The gooseneck member operates with ample working clearance in the slot 32d and the registering slot 38d in the plate 35d and it will be noticed that the plate 35d has a half round or trough-shaped boss 12 struck from. the plane of the portion II and extending from the socket portion id to provide additional working clearance as well as a limiting stop for the gooseneck member so that the door can open through a full 90. Rivets 13 are shown passed through registering holes in the portions 10 and II to join the plates 29d and 35d together in radially spaced relation to the socket. This is in keeping with an important object of the invention to provide a predetermined spring tension between the sections of the socket so that the ball head operating in the socket is gripped resiliently and play is eliminated and an automatic take-up for wear secured. It requires very little distortion of the flanges 10 and, II when they are riveted together to provide enough spring tension for the purposes stated. The ball head I struction, aside from its economy, is the fact that it is more compact than the designs of Figs. 1 and 6 and permits the use of a gooseneck with a simple'right-angle bend therein and still provides the desired range of door movement. The compact construction will obviously permit application of the hinge to bodies having shorter width pillars. There is also an advantage in this construction from the standpoint of easier lubrication, easy access to the socket being afforded when the door is opened, as should be clear from Fig. 14.

The construction of Figs. 17 and 18 is like that of Figs. 13 to 16, except that a deeper recess is afforded next to the socket in the boss I2, and this recess is of channel-shaped cross-section, as indicated in Fig. 18, and houses a rubberbumper block 14 arranged to be engaged by the gooseneck member 23d at the limit of the opening movement of the door. In that way, the opening of the door can be checked without other check means being required, or, if desired, the rubberbumpers may be provided simply to relieve the check straps or other check means provided from excess shock and strain. The bumper block-14 has a head '15, the reduced neck of which fits in the hole 16 in the wall of the boss 12' to retain the block in place, and of course it is obvious that the block buttons in place similarly as door bumpers are mounted on the door frame.

It'is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim: r i

1. A ball-and-socket hinge for mounting a door on a vehicle body comprisinga generally L-shaped socket member with attaching flanges onone leg of the L for securing the same to one of said door and body and a socket in the other leg of said L, and a generally L-shaped-ballended gooseneck member having its legs in transverse relation to the legs of the socket member inthe closed position of the door, said gooseneck member having atone end of one leg of the L a ball-and-socket connection with the socket member and adapted to be secured at its other end to the other .of said door and body.

2. A hinge as set forth in claim 1, wherein the socket member comprises two nested L-shaped plates, each of said plates being formed to provide a socket portion thereon,- and the plates when nested having the socket portions in register'to receive the ball end of the gooseneck member.

3. Ahinge as set forth in claim 1,- wherein the socket member comprises two nested 'L-shaped plates, each of said plates being formed to provide a socket portion thereon, the'plates when Y nested having the socket portions in register to receive the ball end of the gooseneck member, and said plates being furthermore slotted in register with one another in the p'ortionsat right angles to the socket portions to provide working'clearance therein for the gooseneck member.

4. A- hinge as set forth in claim 1, wherein the socket member comprises two nested L-shaped plates, each'of said plates being formed to provide a socket portion thereon, theplates when nested having the socket portions in register to receive. theball end of the gooseneck member, said plates being furthermore'slotted in register with one another in the portions atright angles 1 to the socket portions to provide working clearance therein for the gooseneck member, and at least one of said plates having a flange defining the slot therein, the flange extending to and being integral with the socket portion of said plate whereby to reenforce the socket member. 5. A hinge as set forth in claim 1, wherein the socket member comprises two nested L-shaped plates, each of said plates being formed to provide a socket portion thereon, the plates when'nested having the socket portions in register to receive the ball end of the gooseneck membensaid plates -being furthermore slotted in register with one,

another in the portions at right angles to the socket portions to provide working clearance therein for the gooseneck member, and the outer plate having an outwardly bent'hollow rib portion extending from the socket portion in the plane of the slot arranged to receive and provide additional working clearance for the gooseneck member at the limit of the door opening movement.

6. A hinge as set forthin claim 1, wherein the socket member comprises two nested L,-shaped plates,eaoh of said plates beingformed to provide a socket portion thereon, the plates when nested having thesocketportions in register to with one another in the portions at right angles to the socket portions to provide working clearance therein for the gooseneck member, the outer plate having an outwardly bent hollow rib portion extending from the socket portion in the shaped plates conformed to provide a ball socket therebetween on the one leg of the L, and having registering slots in the other leg of the L, said plates also having registering holes provided therein in the latter leg of the L adapted to receive fastening means for fastening the hinge to a door pillar, and an L-shaped gooseneck having a ball end fitting movably in the socket and means for securing the other end to a door to be hinged. I

8. A ball-and-socket hinge for mounting a doo I on a vehicle body, comprising a two-piece generally L-shaped socket member having the two pieces thereof conformed to provide a ball socket therebetween on the one leg of the L and having a slot in the other leg of the L communicating with one side of the socket, the latter leg of the L also having openings provided therein adapted to receive fastening means for mounting said hinge on the body, and an L-shaped gooseneck member working in the slot of the socket member having a ball end swiveledin the socket,

and means for securing the other end to the door to be hinged.

9. A hinge as set forth in claim 8, wherein one piece of the socket member has a generally L- shaped reenforcing flange extending lengthwise of the attaching leg of the socket member alongside the slot therein and then transversely along the other leg of the socket member around the socket portion.

10. A hinge as set forth in claim 8, wherein the socket portion in one piece of the socket member has an opening provided in the wall thereof through which the ball end of the gooseneck member extends, said opening communicating on one side with one end of the slot in the attaching portion of said piece, and said piece having a continuous reenforcing flange provided thereon projecting from the inner side thereof along both sides of the slot in the attaching portion of said piece and then I transversely and around the aforesaid opening in the socket portion.

11. A hinge of the character described comprising an L-shaped plate conformed to provide a half of a ball socket on one leg of the L and a longitudinal slot in the other leg of the L communicating at one end with an opening provided in the wall of the socket portion, the slotted leg of the L being adapted to be secured to a vehicle body adjacent a door to be hinged, another plate conformed to provide the other half of a ball socket, an L,-shaped gooseneck having a ball end entered in the socket between said plates with the gooseneck extending through the opening in the wall of the first-mentioned socket portion and out through the aforesaid slot, means for securing the other end of said gooseneck to the door to be hinged, and means for securing the aforesaid plates togetherretaining the ball end of the gooseneck therebetween.

12. A hinge as set forth in claim 11, wherein the plates are formed from sheet metal and wherein the means for fastening said plates together serve to draw the plates together at points radially spaced with respect to the outside of the socketso that a predetermined spring tension is set up between the plates causing the ball end of the gooseneck to be gripped resiliently to eliminate play and provide take-up for wear.

13. A hinge as set forth in claim 11, wherein the first -mentioned plate has a continuous L- shaped reenforcing flange projecting inwardly therefrom defining the sides of the slot and socket opening.

14. A hinge as set forth in claim 11, wherein the second plate is formed to provide a channel portion extending radially from the socket portion and communicating with the lower end of the slot in the other plate adapted to receive and provide'additional working clearance for the gooseneck at the limit of door opening movement.

15. A hinge as set forth in claim- 11, wherein the second plate is formed to provide a channel portion extending radially from the socket portion and communicating with the lower end of the slot in the other plate adapted to receive and provide additional working clearance. for the gooseneck at the limit of door opening movement, the hinge including a bumper of resilient material disposed in said channel and arranged to be engaged by the gooseneck at the limit of its movement.

HAROLD E. VAN VOORHEES.

Images