GB2180884A

GB2180884A - Lift-off hinge assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2180884A
Application number: GB08619907A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Neil Harrison
Original assignee: IHW Engeneering Ltd; AJC Johnson Controls Ltd
Current assignee: AJC Johnson Controls Ltd
Priority date: 1985-08-16
Filing date: 1986-08-15
Publication date: 1987-04-08
Also published as: GB8619907D0; GB2180884B

Abstract

A lift-off hinge assembly includes a first hinge leaf hingedly connected to a second hinge leaf by a hinge pin rotatably located in one hinge leaf, the hinge pin being connected to the other hinge leaf for rotation therewith and being axially withdrawable from the hinge pin, the hinge leaves being co-operative by means 32, 34 to restrain axial withdrawal of said other hinge leaf from the hinge pin for a predetermined arc of relative angular movement between said leaves. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Lift-off hinge assembly The present invention relates two a lift-off hinge assembly, particularly for use in hingedlyconnecting a vehicle door to a vehicle body.

According to one aspect ofthe present invention there is provided a lift-off hinge assembly including a first hinge leaf hingedly connected to a second hinge leaf by a hinge pin rotatably located in one hinge leaf, the hinge pin being connected to the other hinge leaf for rotation therewith and being axiallywithdraw- able from the hinge pin, the hinge leaves being Co- operative to restrain axial withdrawal of said other hinge leaf from the hinge pinfora predetermined arc of relative angular movement between said leaves.

According to another aspect of the present inven- tion there is provided a lift-off hinge assembly including a first hinge leaf hingedly connected to a second hinge leaf by a hinge pin rotatably located in one hinge leaf, the hinge pin being connected to the other hinge leaf buy a removable axially compressible collar which is located at least in partwithin a hinge eye of said other hinge leaf and arranged so that when the collar is placed under axial compression it rotatably locks the hinge pin and other hinge leaf together.

Preferably the compressible collar has inclined outer surfaces which are co-operable with the hinge eye of said other hinge leafto achieve correct positioning ofthe other hinge leaf relative to the hinge pin during axial compression ofthecollar.

Various aspects of the present invention are here inafterdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lisa plan view of an embodimentaccord- ing to the present invention; Figure2 is a sectional view taken along line ll-ll in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure4isa plan view of an alternative hinge leaf for use in the construction illustrated in Figure 1; and Figure5is a viewsimilarto Figure 2 ofanotherem- bodiment according to the present invention.

The hinge assembly 10 includes a hinge leaf 12 which is hingedlyconnected to hinge leaf 14 by means of a hinge pin 16. In the illustrated embodiment, leaf 12 is intended to be secured to a vehicle door 15 say bywelding and leaf 14 is intended to be secured to the vehicle body 13 by means of bolts 17.

The hinge pin 16 has a constant diameter portion 18which is rotatably received in a bush 20 located in a bore 22 formed in support arm 14a of leaf 14. The bush 20 is conveniently formed from a suitable plastics material such as polytetrafluoroethylene, which may be reinforced for instance with a metal mesh.

The pin portion 18 forms the majority of the length of pin 16 and provides a large rotative surface area for rotatably supporting large loads.

The pin 16 is provided with a head portion 24 of relatively short axial extent. The head portion 24 includes a connection portion 26 and a bearing portion 27. The connection portion 26 is slidingly received in an aperture 26aformed inasupportarm28which forms part of leaf 12. The connection portion 26 and aperture 26a are of complementary cross-sectional shape so asto prevent relative rotation there between. Additionally, the overall cross-sectional dimension ofthe connection portion 26 and aperture 26a are preferably substantially the same so as tore- duce relative lateral displacement therebetween to a minimum.

In use,thesupport arm 28 bears upon the bearing portion 27 which in turn bears upon support arm 14a via an annularflange 30 of bush 20.

The upper portion of support arm 1 4a is provided with a projection 34 which is spaced from the upper edge 1 46 of the support arm 14a to form a groove 14c.

The support arm 28 has an arcuate portion 32 which is arranged to passthroughthegroove 14c during relative angular movement ofthe hinge leaves about their hinge axes.

Accordingly whilst the arcuate portion 32 is located within groove 14c, it co-operates with projection 34 to prevent support arm 28 from being axially with- drawn from the head portion 24 ofthe pin and thereby prevents separation of the hinge leaves 12, 14.

In Figure 1,the arcuate portion 32 terminates ata radially inwardly directed shoulder 36.

Accordingly, if the leaves 12,14 are rotated about their hinge connection so that shoulder 36 passes beyond the projection 34 it will then be possible to withdraw support arm 28 from the head portion 24 of the pin.

In the embodiment of Figure 4, the support arm 28 has an arcuate portion 32 which terminates at a rad ia l ly outwardly located shou Ider 42.

Accordingly relative angular movement ofthe leaves 12, 14 is limited during opening movement by virtue of the support arm 14a abutting against shoul der42.

This is desirable in certain applications as it prevents the door supported on the hinge assembly from being opened to a position whereat it abuts againstthe surrounding vehicle body.

In orderto enable separation ofthe hinge leaves 12, 1 4the arcuate portion is provided with a recess 46 of sufficient dimensions to enable the projection 34 to pass therethrough on withdrawal of support arm 28 from the head portion 24 of the pin.

The position of the recess 46 along the length of arcuate portion 32 determines the relative angular position of leaves 12, 14 atwhich separation ofthe leaves can be effected. In use, this position is nor mallychosen to enable the door to be lifted art a position whereat it is less likely to interfere with the veh iclebodywhilstbeing lifted to separate the hinge leaves.

At least leaf 12, is conveniently made from metal sheeting by stamping and folding operations.

In use at least two hinge assemblies are used to support a vehicle door and the weight of the door applied to the hinges during opening and closing is carried by the relatively long pin portions 18. However to remove the door from the body when the door is in a predetermined position, it is only necessary to raisethe door by a relatively small amount (dictated by the length of connection portion 26). In normal usage ofthe door, a door check is provided to prevent the door opening to a position whereat the hinge leaves may be separated by raising ofthe door.

An alternative embodiment is shown in Figure 5 wherein parts similarto those in previous embodiments are given the same reference numerals. In Figure 5, the hinge pin 16 projects sufficiently far beneath the hinge leaf 14to receive a circlip 50 which prevents the hinge pin 16 from being axially withdrawn from leaf 14. if desired other types of stop means providing a similar function as circlip 50 may be used to prevent axial withdrawal ofthe pin 16.

The aperture 26a formed in hinge leaf 12 is ofcir- cularcross-section and has a minimum diameter portion 26b which is greaterthan the diameter of head portion 24. The head portion 24 is smooth walled and of cylindrical shape. Accordingly location of hinge leaf 12 onto the head portion 24 is facilitated during remounting due to the clearance between the aperture 26a and head portion 24.

In orderto rotationally lock hinge leaf 12 to the head portion 24 locking means are provided in the form of an axially compressible collar 60 which is generally frusto-conical in shape. The collar 60 has an axially extending bore 61 of slightly greater diameter than the head portion 24to facilitate insertion of the collar onto the head portion and also its removal from the head portion when in an axially relaxed condition.

A bolt 65 is provided which is screw threadedly received in a threaded bore 66 formed in the upper portion of the hinge pin 16. Tightening of the bolt 65 places the collar under axial compression which causesthecollarto move into the aperture 26a. Initially, the inclined outer surface ofthe collar acts against the walls ofthe aperture 26ato causethe head portion 24 to be axially aligned within the aperture 26a and thereafter, further compression causes the collarto wedgingly locate between the head portion 24 and the walls of the aperture 26a to thereby rotatably lock hinge leaf 1 to the pin 16.If necessary, the lower end of pin 16 may be provided with means for preventing rotation of pin 16 during tightening of the bolt 65, for instance such means may take the form of a socket for receiving an Allen key.

The collar 60 is preferably made from a resilient material which regains its original shape after axial compression. For instance the collar 60 may be in the form of a split ring which enables the bore ofthe collar to contract on axial compression of the collar to thereby positively grip the head portion 24. The split ring may be conveniently formed from a sintered metal.

Preferably, as shown, the aperture an inclined surface 67 complementaryto the inclined surface ofthe collar. The provision of surface 67 facilitates centralisation ofthe collar during initial axial compression and also provides a large seatforthe collar.

The minimum diameter portion 26c preferably has an axially extending face which serves as an abutmentface during initial remounting ofthe hinge leaf 12 and thereby serves to resistdemounting of the hinge leaf 12from the head portion 24 priorto insertion ofthecollar60and bolt65.

The provision of the locking means described above enables the axial length of the connection portion 26to be reduced to a minimum and thereby provide a lift-off hinge assembly which is capable of separation by lifting the hinge leaves axially apart buy a small distance. In the illustrated embodiment it will be noted that the connection portion 26 is of shorter axial extent than the aperture 26a.

If desired, projection 34 may be omitted in the embodiment of Figure 5 so that the hinge leaves are separable at any angular position.

Claims

1. A lift-off hinge assembly including a first hinge leaf hingedly connected to a second hinge leaf by a hinge pin rotatably located in one hinge leaf, the hinge pin being connected to the other hinge leaffor rotation therewith and being axially withdrawable from the hinge pin,the hinge leaves being cooperative to restrain axial withdrawal of said other hinge leaf from the hinge pin for a predetermined arc of relative angular movement between said leaves.

2. A hinge assembly according to Claim 1 wherein the hinge pin includes a head portion for connection to said other hinge leaf, the majority of the length ofthe remainder of the pin being rotatably received in a bore formed in said one hinge leaf.

3. A hinge assembly according to Claim 2 wherein the head portion includes a connection portion which is received within a bore formed in said other hinge leaf and a bearing portion upon which said other hinge leaf is supported when said connection portion is received in said bore.

4. A hinge assembly according to Claim 3 wherein said connection portion and the bore ofthe other hinge leaf are of complementary crosssectional shape so asto prevent relative rotation therebetween.

5. A hinge assembly according to Claim 3 wherein the connection portion and the bore of the other hinge leaf are cylindrical,the hinge pin being connected to the other hinge leaf by a removable axially compressible collar which is located between the connection portion and said bore and arranged so that when the collar is placed under axial compression it rotatably locks said hinge pin and said other hinge leaf together.

6. A hinge assembly according to Claim 3,4 or 5 wherein the connection portion has an axial extent less than the axial extent ofthe bore formed in said other hinge leaf.

7. A hinge assembly according to Claim 6 wherein at least said other hinge leaf is a metal pressing.

8. A hinge assembly substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated in anyoftheaccompanying drawings.

9. A lift-off hinge assembly including a first hinge leaf hingedly connected to a second hinge leaf by a hinge pin rotatably located in one hinge leaf,the hinge pin being connected to the other hinge leaf by a removable axially compressible collarwhich is located at least in part within the hinge eye of said other hinge leaf and arranged so thatwhen the collar is pla- ced under axial compression it rotatably locks the hinge pin and other hinge leaftogether.

10. Alift-offhinge assembly according to Claim 9 wherein the compressible collar has inclined outer surfaces which are co-operable with the hinge eye of said other hinge leaf to achieve correct positioning of the other hinge leaf relative to the hinge pin during axial compression ofthecollar.