U.S. patent number 3,738,301 [Application Number 05/104,094] was granted by the patent office on 1973-06-12 for hinge structure for trim flaps.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Hesselman Bil-Aero AB. Invention is credited to Bertil Roland Sjoo.
United States Patent |
3,738,301 |
Sjoo |
June 12, 1973 |
HINGE STRUCTURE FOR TRIM FLAPS
Abstract
A trim flap is hinged to a water craft by having its front edge
cylindrically bent and mounted with free play in a channel formed
in a retaining bracket fastened to the craft transom. An actuator
bag located between the flap and the bracket is held in place by
having its front edge passed around a locking tube located inside
the cylindrically bent front flap edge. A pneumatic operating line
for connecting a bag opening valve with controls at the driver's
seat is passed from the bag into the bag locking tube, extends in
the tube to the side edge of the flap and then extends up and into
the craft through a vertical locking tube preventing lateral
movement of the flap in its bracket channel.
Inventors: |
Sjoo; Bertil Roland (Bromma,
SW) |
Assignee: |
Hesselman Bil-Aero AB
(Hagersten, SW)
|
Family
ID: |
20256327 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/104,094 |
Filed: |
January 5, 1971 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
114/287 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B63B
39/061 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B63B
39/00 (20060101); B63B 39/06 (20060101); B63b
001/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;114/66.5P,66.5R,66.5H
;16/179 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Buchler; Milton
Assistant Examiner: Sotelo; Jesus D.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A hinge structure for trim flaps for influencing the flow of
medium adjacent a craft and including a plate-like flap element
which is pivotally connected at one edge thereof to the craft in
which the pivot edge of the flap element presents a longitudinally
extending portion with enlarged cross sectional dimension which
enlarged portion is swingably journalled in a channel attached to
the craft, the opening of said channel being smaller than the cross
dimension of the longitudinally extending enlarged portion of said
flap element, characterized in that said enlarged flap portion is
freely movable in said channel in that the cross section thereof is
substantially smaller than the channel inner cross section so that
there is free play in all directions, an expandable bag positioned
between the inside of the flap element and the craft to operate the
flap element, the pivot edge of the flap element being curved to a
substantially circular cylindrical structure and the leading edge
of the bag in a double-folded state being passed into the curved
structure and detachably retained therein by means of a rod passing
through the fold in the bag.
2. A hinge according to claim 1, for a trim flap for a watercraft,
the craft and the movable portion of the trim flap being mutually
connected by a line, for example a pressure medium line, the side
edge of the trim flap element the line being passed from the craft
into the bag locking rod, which is in the form of a tube, and
through said rod to the desired distance from the side edge of the
flap.
3. A hinge according to claim 2, the flap element being removable
by withdrawing it from said channel in its longitudinal direction,
a blocking means to block the end opening of the channel to prevent
unintentional withdrawal of the flap element, and retaining means
having a vertical guide structure for the blocking means, the line
extending to the operating bag of the flap element through said
tube.
4. A hinge structure for trim flaps for influencing the flow of
medium adjacent a craft and including a plate-like flap element
which is pivotally connected at one edge thereof to the craft in
which the pivot edge of the flap element presents a longitudinally
extending portion with enlarged cross sectional dimension which
enlarged portion is swingably journalled in a channel attached to
the craft, the opening of said channel being smaller than the cross
dimension of the longitudinally extending enlarged portion of said
flap element, characterized in that said enlarged flap portion is
freely movable in said channel in that the cross section thereof is
substantially smaller than the channel inner cross section so that
there is free play in all directions, the channel being formed in
the hull of the vessel, the flap element either being capable of
being passed into the channel in its longitudinal direction or of
being passed into said channel laterally in a wider opening in the
hull of the vessel and retained in said channel by means of a
detachable retaining element which partially closes the exit
opening of said opening.
Description
The present invention relates to a hinge structure for trim flaps
which influence the flow of medium adjacent a craft, such as
aircraft, watercraft, and which include a plate-like flap element
which is hinged at one edge surface thereof to the craft.
A large number of hinge structures for securing a trim flap to a
craft, e.g., the stern of a boat are known to the art. The object
of the invention is to provide a hinge structure of simple
construction which enables rapid assembly and disassembly of the
flap to the attachment fitting and by means of which the flap can
be moved easily without being obstructed by friction in the hinge
structure. This object is achieved by means of the hinge structure
of the invention, which is mainly characterized in that, in an
arrangement where the pivot edge of the flap element presents a
longitudinally extending portion with enlarged cross sectional
dimension which enlarged portion is swingably journalled in a
channel attached to the craft, the opening of said channel being
smaller than the cross dimension of the longitudinally extending
enlarged portion of said flap element, said enlarged flap portion
is freely movable in said channel in that the cross dimension
thereof is substantially smaller than the channel inner dimension
so that there is free play in all directions.
A particular object of the invention is to construct the hinge so
that an actuator bag can be attached to and removed from the trim
flap assembly in a simple, rapid and reliable manner. Assembly of
the operating bag to the flap system is made possible by means of
the fact that the pivot edge of the flap element is curved into a
substantially circular cylindrical form and that the front edge of
the bag is folded double to provide a double fold, which is
inserted in the curved hinge edge of the flap and detachably
retained therein by means of a rod passed through the fold in the
sack.
The invention will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawing, further characteristic features of the
invention being disclosed in conjunction therewith. In the drawing
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a trim flap according to the invention
seen in a section taken parallel with the fore-and-aft line of a
boat, and from the stern of said boat respectively.
The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises an attachment
plate 1, which is intended to be screwed securely to the stern of a
boat and which is so shaped that the under edge surface of the
plate, which is bent rearwards, forms a flange 3 which forms an
extension of the bottom plane of the hull. A substantially L-shaped
plate forms a retaining means, one leg 5 of said retaining means
being screwed to the stern transom of the boat together with the
attachment plate 1. The other, substantially horizontal leg 7 of
the retaining plate projects outwardly from the stern transom and
forms a support surface for an expandable bag 9 positioned there
beneath, by means of which bag the actual trim flap element 11 is
operated. Attached to the under surface of the flap element 11 is a
tube 13 which extends in the flow direction of the water and the
front portion of which communicates via a passage 15 with the
interior of the bag 9 and the rear end of which can be throttled to
a desired degree by means of a valve which, by means of an air line
17, can be actuated from the driving seat. This operating means is
known per se and will not be described in detail. Thus, the valve
and its connection to the line 17 are not shown.
The leg members 5 and 7 of the L-shaped retaining plate are not
joined by a single bend, but are bridged by means of a
quarter-circle bend 19 which projects outwardly in the same
direction as the leg members. Between the under side of the bend 19
and the flange 3 of the attachment plate 1 is formed a channel-like
cavity 21, which is open rearwardly in the form of a gap formed
between the rear edge of the flange 3 and the horizontal leg 7 of
the retaining plate.
The trim flap element 11 is also manufactured of sheet metal. The
leading edge of the flap element is bent upwardly to approx.
270.degree. to form a circular arcuate structure 23. The flap
element 11 is mounted in the attachment plate 1 and the retaining
plate 5, 7 by placing the arcuate structure 23 in the channel-like
cavity 21. The free edge of the arcuate structure 23 does not reach
to the surface of the flap element 11, but leaves a gap through
which the operating bag 9 can extend around a locking tube 25 and
then out through the gap of the arcuate structure 23. The end of
the bag 9 terminates outside the gap of the arcuate structure 23 in
a weld bead 27. The weld bead need only fasten together the two
free edges of the bag 9 passing around the locking tube 25 without
fastening said edges to the two underlying bag layers. The bead 27
is unable to pass in through the gap of the arcuate structure 23
and thereby prevents the bag 9 from being withdrawn.
The trim flap element 11 can be readily assembled and disassembled
by moving the same laterally into and out of the channel-like
cavity 21. Similarly, the operating bag 9 can be easily placed into
or withdrawn from the arcuate structure 23 of the trim flap element
11. To prevent unintentional withdrawal of the flap element or the
operating bag, the cavity 21 and the arcuate structure 23 may be
closed at one end of the trim flap, e.g., by a rearwardly bent side
portion of the attachment plate 1, while locking of the other end
of the trim flap can be effected in the manner illustrated in FIG.
2.
At the left end of the trim flap illustrated in FIG. 2 the
attachment plate 1 is folded rearwardly to form a vertical guide
structure 29, through which a tube 31 can be inserted downwardly to
prevent lateral withdrawal of the trim flap and operating bag. The
illustrated embodiment of the hinge protects the compressed air
hose 17 which connects the tube 13 mounted on the under side of the
trim flap element 11 to the driving seat. The hose 17 is drawn from
the tube 13 up through the flap element 11 and passes beneath the
operating bag 9 to the front edge of the flap element. The hose 17
passes through a lead-in in the bag 9 through an opening in the
locking pipe 25 of the bag and into the tube 25 and is protected
thereby from the left end of the flap. The hose 17 continues out of
the tube 25 and into an opening in the bottom of the vertical
locking tube 31. The hose 17 is also protected in the tube 31 and
said tube 31 may optionally be extended up to a point above the
water line where the hose 17 passes in through the stern
transom.
The invention is not restricted to the described and illustrated
embodiments.
The channel-like cavity 21 for the flap element can be obtained in
different ways, for example by using other attachment elements than
those illustrated in the drawing. The attachment 1 and the
retaining means 5, 7 may thus be formed integrally with each other
from a plastics or some other suitable material. The channel,
however, may also be formed to advantage directly in the hull,
particularly in the case of boats constructed of glass-fiber
reinforced plastics. In this instance, the flap element may be
inserted from the side in a ready formed channel, whereafter the
ends of the channel are closed, or may be inserted into a channel
having a large opening, whereafter a bar is securely screwed, for
example, to the bottom of the boat to project in over the channel
to reduce the size of the opening therein. In this latter case, the
channel need not be made longer than the flap, i.e., need not be
extended to the sides of the boat.
* * * * *