US3389501A - Combination gate hinge and automatic closer - Google Patents

Description

June 25, 1968 A. B. HARMON 3,389,501

COMBINATION GATE HINGE AND AUTOMATIC CLOSER Filed June 14, 1966 I N VEN TOR.

/6 ARIZONA B. HARMON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,389,501 COMBINATION GATE HINGE AND AUTOMATIC CLOSER Arizona Bill Harmon, 1821 N. 35th St., Phoenix, Ariz. 85008 Filed June 14, 1966, Ser. No. 557,451 1 Claim. (Cl. 49-386) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved hinge and automatic closer including a pair of vertically spaced hinge-eyes attached to a gate post to form a clevis and having an L-shaped rod with one leg thereof extending through the hinge as a clevis pin; a torsion coil spring is mounted adjacent the vertical portion of the L-shaped rod and is secured to the hingeeye at one end and to the horizontal leg of the L-shaped rod at the other end.

This invention relates to fence hardware.

More particularly, the invention concerns an improved gate hinge and automatic gate closer.

In a further aspect, the invention concerns an automatic gate closer which occupies relatively less space than conventional gate closers.

In still another aspect, the invention relates to an improved combination hinge and automatic gate closer which is less critically dependent upon proper alignment of the fence components for efficient and positive operation.

In many fencing applications, especially where it is desired to prevent accidental entry into the fenced area by small children, animals, and the like, it is necessary to have some means for automatically closing the gate after it is opened. Such gate closers have ranged from the familiar weight-and-sashcord apparatus to the complicated spring-return mechanisms. To date, however, no generally satisfactory apparatus has been developed for use where the gate must be closed with a positive return force such as is necessary to actuate a common automatic gate latch. This is particularly true in the case of socalled chain link fence and gate combinations.

In the chain link fencegate combination, proper alignment of the various parts is more critical in order to assure the positive operation of an automatic gate closer such as are commonly employed in the prior art. Also, it is highly desirable to minimize the Width of the opening between the gate post and the frame of the gate in order to deny access to the fenced area to small animals such as cats, puppies, and the like.

A wide variety of gate closers employing the principle of a power spring have been proposed. In a typical device of the prior art, a power torsion spring, designed to deliver a torque and generally in the form of a ribbon f heat-treated steel wound on itself, has been employed. However, in order to produce sufficient motive power to return the gate to its closed position with a sufficient positive force to activate an automatic gate latch, it has been necessary to provide a power spring having such a great diameter that the spacing of the gate post and gate frame is undesirably large. Furthermore, such gate return devices are generally dependent upon more or less perfect alignment between the gate assembly components and are usually not adapted to standard fence openings.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved automatic gate closer.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a combination hinge and automatic gate closer which is less critically dependent upon proper alignment of the fence components.

3,339,501 Patented June 25, 1968 Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of such a combination hinge and. automatic gate closer which is adapted to be used with only the conventional spacing between the gate post and gate frame.

An even further object of the invention is the provision of an improved combination hinge and automatic gate closer which is less susceptible to damage due to unnatural stresses such as occur when children swing on the gate, etc.

These and other, further, and more specific objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an assembly view of a conventional hinge and automatic gate closer embodying the present invention installed in a typical chain link fence application; and

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view, omitting the fence elements, showing the operative relationship of the various elements of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of a fence gate system incorporating the teachings of the present invention.

Briefly, in accordance with my invention, I provide improvements in a fence gate assembly which normally includes a stationary gate post, a gate, at least two hinge means connecting the gate to the post, and means for positioning the gate in the closed position. The improvements include the improved combination hinge and automatic gate closer comprising a pair of vertically spaced hingeeyes attached to the gate post and forming a clevis therewith, an L-shaped rod having a vertical leg forming a clevis pin received in the clevis and a horizontal arm extending to and affixed to the gate, and a torsion coil spring aflixed at one end to the horizontal arm adjacent the elbow of the L-shaped rod and affixed at its other end to the hinge-eye remote from the elbow. The mode of attachment of the coil spring to the horizontal arm and to the remote hinge-eye induces a compound torsion-bending displacement in the spring when the gate is opened against the spring action.

Turning now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements, FIG. 1 depicts the presently preferred embodiment of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration and shows the vertically spaced hinge-eyes 1 and 2 attached to a tubular gate post 3 by means of integral clamps 4 and 5. A retaining bolt 6 is provided in the lowermost clamp 5 to further resist the rotation of the clamp 5 around the post 3. It will be seen that the combination of the tubular fence post 3, the hinge-eyes 1 and 2 and the clamps 4 and 5 form a clevis. An L-shaped rod 7 is provided, the vertical leg 8 of which forms a clevis pin rotatably received in the hingeeyes 1 and 2. The horizontal arm 9 of the L-shaped rod 7 extends through the tubular frame member 10 of the gate and is affixed thereto by means of nuts 11 and 12. Motive power for returning the gate to the normally closed position is furnished by a torsion coil spring 13 affixed at its upper end 14 by means of a fillet weld 15 to the horizontal arm adjacent the elbow of the L-shaped rod 7. The coil spring is attached at its other end 16 by means of a fillet weld 17 to the hinge-eye 2 remote from the elbow 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the deformation of the coil spring 13 upon opening the gate is a compound torsion-bending displacement as indicated by the deformed center line 18. Thus, the motive power for returning the gate to its normally closed position is the sum of the energies stored in the spring through bending (into the plane of the paper) and torsion (in the direction of the spring winding in FIG. 2). In this manner, it is possible to obtain greater return force for the same diameter spring or, alternatively, obtain the same force with a smaller spring using the device of the present invention in place of common spring-loaded gate closers of the prior art.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the gate closer-hinge combination illustrated in the drawings can be used alone or in combination with presently known gate hinges such as the hinge element shown in FIGURE 3. When used alone, it is advantageous to employ a pair of the devices as shown in the drawings, one located near the top of the gate and the other located proximate the bottom of the gate. When used in conjunction with pre-existing gates, one or more of the devices of FIG. 1 can be attached at convenient points between the gate post and the gate not occupied by existing hinges or may be used to replace one of the existing hinges to form a structure as shown in FIGURE 3.

Various changes in the devices chosen for purposes of illustration in the drawings will readily occur to persons skilled in the art having regard for the disclosure hereof. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof which is not limited to the devices specifically illustrated in the drawings but, rather, only by a just interpretation of the following claim.

Having fully described the invention in such manner as to enable those skilled in the art to understand and practice the same, the invention claimed is:

1. In a fence gate assembly including:

a stationary gate post, a gate, first and second said post, and 5 means for positioning said gate in the closed position,

at least one of said hinge means being an improved combination hinge and automatic gate closer comprising:

(a) a pair of vertically spaced hinge-eyes attached to said gate post and forming a clevis therewith;

(b) an L-shaped rod having:

a vertical leg forming a clevis pin received in said clevis, and

a horizontal arm extending to and affixed to said gate;

(0) a torsion coil spring afifixed at one end to said horizontal arm adjacent the elbow of said L-shaped rod and afiixed at its other end to the hinge-eye remote from said elbow, thereby to induce a com pound torsion-bending displacement in said spring when said gate is opened against the spring action thereof the axis of said vertical leg of said L-shaped rod being positioned outside of said torsion coil spring.

hinge means connecting said gate to References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner.

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