Hinge Arrangement Including A Partially Concealed Means For Securing With A Swinging Door

Abstract

A hinge arrangement including a hinge housing and a hinge bracket for hingedly or swingingly supporting a swinging door adjacent a stationary wall surface. The means for securing the hinge arrangement to the swinging door is partially concealed so as to inhibit attempts at removal of the hinge arrangement either by vandalism or idle curiosity. The hinge arrangement is also constructed to present a smooth uninterrupted surface on the exterior of the door while having a minimum number of exposed screws or other securing means. The arrangement for maintaining the swinging door in a partially open position is such that it can be quickly and easily adjusted to maintain the door in any desired partially open position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present invention is shown but not claimed in our copending application for "Door Latch With A Concealed Self-Securing Arrangement" filed in the U.S. Pat. Office on Nov. 3, 1970 and bearing Ser. No. 86,511.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various hinge arrangements for swinging doors commonly found in rest rooms and the like have been heretofore provided. Also, such doors include an arrangement for maintaining the swinging doors in a predetermined partially open position. Most of such devices either use a plurality of screws to maintain the hinge arrangement in position on the door and an adjacent supporting wall surface or, the screws and manner of supporting the hinge arrangement on the door is such that the removal thereof may become readily obvious either to the idly curious or to vandals.

Furthermore, such hinge arrangements are such that the exterior surface of the swinging door may be interrupted by slots or by the arrangement of the hardware employed in the hinge arrangement.

The present invention provides a hinge arrangement which endeavors to conceal at least a portion of the manner in which the hinge arrangement is fixedly secured on the door and the adjacent wall surface to inhibit ready removal thereof either by the idly curious or vandalism.

Also, the present invention provides a construction of a hinge housing for slidably fitting within a slot of the door so that the door adjacent the edge of the slot is overlapped by the hinge housing and the end of the slot is overlapped by the hinge housing to provide a neat continuous appearing exterior surface on the door. The overlapping arrangement of the hinge housing aids in partially concealing the manner of securing it to the swinging door to aid in inhibiting removal thereof by vandals or loosening of the hinge housing by the idly curious.

A hinge bracket is used with the hinge housing and at least one of the hinge housings and hinge brackets includes a cam arrangement for maintaining the swinging door in a partially open position. The cam arrangement is such that it can be predetermined and preset at any desired angle, or may be changed after the door is mounted on the wall surface to any desired partially open position.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a consideration of the following description and drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the hinge arrangement of the present invention looking from the interior of an enclosure in which the door is employed, the arrow indicating the direction of opening of the door;

FIG. 2 is a reverse elevational view showing the exterior surface of the door illustrating the hinge arrangement of the present invention positioned in slots in the door and covering the slots so that the exterior of the door presents a neat and continuous surface;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view to more clearly illustrate the paired hinge arrangement of the present invention, one of such pair of hinge arrangements including a cam arrangement for maintaining the swinging door in a partially open position when it is not latched;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4--4 of FIG. 2 to more clearly illustrate certain structural details of the cam arrangement; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5--5 of FIG. 5 to illustrate still further structural details and the arrangement of the cam relationship as well as the manner of presetting and/or adjusting the cam relationship to maintain the door in any desired partially open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In FIG. 1 the paired hinge arrangement of the present invention is referred to generally by the numeral 25 and is shown as being secured to a stationary wall surface 27 which provides a means of supporting the door 28. The door can be maintained in partially open position by reason of the cam arrangement referred to generally at 30 in FIG. 3 of the drawings as will be described in detail hereinafter.

It will be noted that the hinge arrangement 25 includes a hinge housing referred to generally at 31 in FIG. 3 for slidably fitting within the slot 32 at one edge of the door; as shown, two of such slots are provided, with a hinge housing 31 slidably fitting in each slot.

By referring to FIG. 2 wherein the door is shown in closed or latched position, it can be appreciated that the hinge housing is constructed and arranged so that it may be readily and easily positioned within the slot on the one hand while providing a neat continuous exterior surface 35 on the wall surface 27. The hinge bracket referred to generally at 35 is adapted to be secured with the hinge housing 31 to accommodate pivoting of the door 28 for opening and closing thereof. The hinge housings 31 overlap the door adjacent the edge and inner end of each of the slots 32 to aid in concealing any rough edges or surfaces around the slot as well as providing a neat appearance and partially concealing the arrangement for locking the hinge housings in position in each of the slots.

The hinge housings 31 are locked in their respective slots by pins 36 which are adapted to be received through an opening 33 in the top and bottom edge of the swinging door 28 and through openings 63 in the hinge housings 31 and openings 71 in hinge brackets 35 and are received in opening 33a in the slot. When the hinge housings and hinge brackets and pin 36 are positioned properly in the door and slot, suitable locking means such as the Allen locknut referred to at 39 may be employed to engage the pin 36 and retain it in position.

The hinge brackets 35 are each constructed and arranged to be secured to the adjacent wall surface 27 as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings by means including screws 38. The screws 38 are the only exposed screws associated with the hinge arrangement and the manner of securing the screws with the hinge brackets 35 further aids in inhibiting removal of the screws as will be described.

A suitable latch arrangement referred to generally at 40 in the drawings is provided for latching the door to a column or wall surface 41, such latch construction being described in detail and claimed in our copending application for "Door Latch With a Concealed Self-Securing Arrangement" filed in the U.S. Pat. Office on Nov. 3, 1970, bearing Ser. No. 86,511.

The hinge housing 31 includes a platelike body 50 from which extends a pair of legs 51 and 52 in spaced relation to each other as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. The legs 51 and 52 extend across the platelike body 50 as shown in the drawings and terminate at one end 51a, 52a in the same plane as the edge 50a of the platelike body 50. The other ends 51b and 52b (52b is not visible in the drawings) terminate adjacent, but in spaced relation to the edge 50b of the platelike member so that the platelike member overhangs the legs 51 and 52 at one end thereof.

Also, the legs 51 and 52 are adjacent but spaced from the ends 50c and 50d respectively so that the platelike member 50 overhangs the legs 51 and 52 along the edges 50c and 50d of the platelike member 50.

At the outer extremity of the legs 51 and 52 flanges 51c and 52c are formed on each of the legs respectively, such flanges extending in the same direction as the overhanging portions 50c and 50d respectively of the platelike member 50, and are substantially parallel to such platelike member whereby U-shaped recesses referred to at 60 are provided by the flanges 51c, 52c, legs 51 and 52. The legs 51, 52 form the base of each of the recesses 60 and the overhanging portion of the platelike member 50 extending along the ends 50c and 50d forms one leg while the overhanging portion of the flanges 51c, 52c forms the other leg.

It will be noted that the flanges 51c and 52c terminate in the same plane as the legs 51 and 52 and the edge 50a of the platelike member 50 at one end whereas the flanges extend beyond the end 51b and 52b respectively of the legs 51, 52 at the other end to provide an overhanging portion 51d and 52d on the flanges which overhang its respective leg 51 and 52.

The overhanging portions 51d and 52d in cooperation with the edges 51b and 52b of the legs 51, 52 and the overhanging portion along the edge 51b of the platelike member 50 form another recess of generally U-shaped referred to by the numeral 65.

The width of the generally U-shaped recesses 60 and 65 is substantially the same as the thickness of the door 28 so that when the hinge housing 31 is slidably positioned in the slot 32 the flanges 51c and 52c overlap the door adjacent the edge of the slot on one side of the door and the body of the platelike member 50 overlaps the edges of the slot 32 on the other side of the door. The end of the slot 32 fits within the recess 65 so that the overhanging portion 51d and 52d of the flanges overlaps the end of the slot and the overhanging portion along the edge 50b of the platelike member 50 overlaps the door adjacent the end of the slot. The overlapping arrangement of the platelike body 50 covers up the slot and provides a smooth exterior surface on the door. The latch 40 is constructed to also provide a smooth continuous surface on the exterior surface of the door.

Each leg 51 and 52 includes an opening 63, the openings being aligned so that they in turn may be aligned with the opening 33 through one end of the door and the opening 33a in one edge of the slot 32.

The hinge bracket 35 includes a projecting portion 70 which has an opening 71 therethrough to be aligned with the openings 33, 63 and 33a for receiving the securing pins 36 therethrough. The hinge bracket 35 also includes a pair of spaced leg members 72 and 73 to engage around an edge of the stationary wall surface 27 which acts as a support for the swinging door 28. The legs 72 and 73 along with the bushing 75 and the screws 38 provide a means for mounting the hinge bracket 35 on the supporting wall surface 27.

The spaced members 72 and 73 are each provided with openings 72a, 73a which are in alignment with opening 80 formed in the supporting wall surface 20, as better seen in FIG. 4. The bushing 75 is hollow and is adapted to be received in the opening 80 and is threaded at each of its ends for receiving the screws 38. It will be noted that the bushing 75 is of less longitudinal extent than the distance between the inner surfaces 72b and 73b on each of the members 72 and 73 respectively so that as the screws 38 are tightened, the members 72, 73 are clamped tightly against the supporting surface 27. The clearance between the bushing 75 at its ends and the screws is such that the screws can be firmly tightened to inhibit tampering therewith by vandalism, or idle curiosity while at the same time avoiding damage to the facing 90 on the support wall 27 which may be a plastic or any other suitable material.

The hinge arrangement 35 shown in exploded view at the bottom of FIG. 3 is similar to that previously described with slight modifications so as to maintain the door 28 in a partially open position. As shown in FIG. 5, such means includes a seat 71a formed in the enlarged opening 71 for receiving a first bearing member 91 which may be formed of any suitable material such as plastic, and if desired, may be formed of Teflon. The member 91 is provided with an opening 91a therethrough which coincides with the opening 33, opening 63 and opening 33a. A cam surface 91b of the configuration as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5 of the drawing is provided on one end of the first bearing member 91. A second bearing member 92 is also received within the opening and may be formed of plastic such as Teflon or the like, and is similarly provided with an opening 92a similar to the opening 91a. Additionally, a cam surface 92b is provided on one end to cooperate with the cam surface 91b to maintain the door 28 in a predetermined partially opened position.

As previously noted, lock means 39 are provided for engaging each of the securing pins 36. The securing pin 36 employed in conjunction with the hinge bracket which incorporates the cammed bearing members is provided with a longitudinally extending keyway 93 in which is received the longitudinally extending key 94 formed in the opening 92a of the second bearing member. Thus, the second bearing member 94 is locked to rotate with the securing pin 36.

The angle of the door may be predetermined, and the relationship of the cammed surfaces 91b, 92b is adjusted to maintain a relationship so as to keep the door in a predetermined partially open position. The present invention also incorporates an arrangement for quickly and easily adjusting or varying the partially open position of the door when desired.

Two ways to set the angle of door opening, or the amount that the door will partially be open may be employed. First of all, the lockpin 95, one of which is on each side of the hinge bracket 35 employed with the first and second bearing members 91, 92 is employed which may be of the Allen locknut type. This can be tightened so as to secure the first bearing member 91 in position with the opening 71 so that the cammed surface 91b assumes a predetermined relationship within the opening 71. Thereafter, the pin 36 may be engaged in the slot 36a by means of a screwdriver and rotated whereupon the second bearing member 92 will rotate by reason of the key 94 engaging in the keyway 93, and when the securing pin 36 has been rotated so that the door 28 is in a desired partially open position, the lock means 39 may then be actuated so as to engage the securing pin 36 to maintain the adjusted relationship of the first and second bearing members 91, 92. Another way to accomplish the same purpose is to tighten the locknut 39 against the pin 36 and then open the door 28 to the desired angle and then tighten the lower setscrews 95 which will have been loosened prior to the time that the locknut means 39 is engaged against the securing pin 36.

Thus, if after installation it is desired to change the amount at which it is desired to maintain the doors in partially open position, such can be accomplished in the manner described.

The overlapping relationship of the platelike body 50 of the hinge housing and the overlapping relationship of the flanges on the legs covers up the edges of the slot on both surfaces of the door and particularly the platelike body 50 covers up the slots 32 so that a continuous neat appearing surface is provided to the observer's eye.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape, and materials as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A hinge arrangement for supporting a swinging door of a rest room or the like relative to an adjacent wall surface comprising:

a. a hinge housing for slidably fitting in a slot in a door edge; said hinge housing including:

1. a platelike body;

2. a pair of legs extending from said body, each of said legs extending across said platelike body and being in spaced relation to each other and each of said legs being adjacent, but spaced from an end of said platelike body whereby said body overhangs each of said legs;

3. each of said legs having a flange at their outer end which is substantially parallel to said platelike body and extends in the same direction as the overhanging body portion to thereby form a generally U-shaped recess at each end of said housing;

4. each of said legs terminating at one end in substantially the same plane as said platelike member along one of its edges and each of said legs terminating in a common plane with each other at their other end, but in a spaced relation to the adjacent other edge of said platelike body; and

5. each of said flanges terminating in a plane common with said other edge of said platelike body so that they overhang their respective leg at one end of each leg whereby a generally U-shaped recess is formed along said other edge of said platelike body;

b. there being an opening through each of said legs;

c. the width of the U-shaped recess at each end of said housing being of substantially the same as the door thickness whereby when said housing is slidably positioned in said slot, said flanges on each of said legs will overlap the door adjacent the edges of said slot on one side of said door and the overhanging portions of said platelike body overlap the door adjacent the edges of said slot on the other side of said door;

d. the width of the U-shaped recess along said other edge of said platelike body being of substantially the same width as the door whereby when said housing is slidably positioned inside the slot said flanges on each of said legs will overlap the door adjacent the end of said slot on one side of said door and said platelike body overlaps the door adjacent the end of said slot on the other side of said door;

e. a hinge bracket having a projecting portion for extending into said hinge housing between said spaced legs, said projecting portion having an opening therethrough;

f. a securing pin for fitting through the openings in said legs and hinge bracket and through an opening in the end of the door and in an opening in one side of said slot for securing said hinge housing to said door and for securing said hinge to said hinge housing;

g. a locknut threadedly engaged in one of said legs for engaging and retaining said pin in position; and

h. means for securing said hinge bracket with the adjacent wall surface.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the opening in said projecting hinge bracket portion is provided with a seat, a first bearing member supported on said seat and having an opening therethrough, said bearing member having a cam surface on one end thereof, a second bearing member with an opening therethrough and a cam surface on one end for resting on and coacting with said cam surface on said first member to maintain the swinging door in partially open position.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said securing pin is produced with a longitudinally extending keyway and said second bearing member is provided with a longitudinally extending key in the opening of said second bearing member for fitting in said keyway whereby the relationship of said cam surfaces on said first and second bearing members may be preset at a desired relationship so as to predetermine the amount of opening of the partially open door.

4. The invention of claim 3 including means for locking said bearing members to retain said cam surfaces in said desired relationship.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said means for securing said hinge bracket with the adjacent wall surface includes:

a. a pair of spaced members integrally formed with said bracket for overlapping an edge of the adjacent wall surface, there being an opening through said spaced members and coincident with an opening through the wall surface;

b. a bushing for fitting in the opening in the wall and in the openings in said spaced members; and

c. screws for threadedly engaging in the ends of said bushing for securing said hinge bracket to the adjacent wall surface.