US1406727A - Method of forming hinge joints - Google Patents

Description

N. B. DOUGLASS. METHOD OF FORMING HINGE JOINTS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.5| 1921.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET Q Inventor B Napoleon B-Dougl I flttorneg N. B. DOUGLASS.

I I METHOD orvroammc HINGE JOINTS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5. 92!. 1 ,406,727. PatentedFeb. 14, 1922.

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NAPOLEON B. DOUGLASS, OF @AKLAND, GALIFORNLk METHOD O35 FOR-MING HIEGE JGINTS.

Application filed. January 5, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, NAroLnoN B. DOUG- I,A'ss,'a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State 01 California, have invented new and v allow the legs and other parts to fold. The

construction oi the hinges used. for this purpose in the past has been rather expensive, and the object of the present invention is to simplify the construct-ion or these hinges and produce a satisfactory and inexpensive hinge joint.

in carrying out this object I so cut and shape the end of one tubular member as to form ears thereon which ears are presset outwardly or spread apart sutliciently to allow the other tubular member to fit between, it being understood that both tubular members are of the same diameter. iVhile the construction is a simple one and may not appear at first glance to involve any problems it is pointed out that this tubular stock is readily susceptible to mutilation and tearing, and being round it becomes a difficult matter to provide punches and dies with proper cutting ecges. After long experimentation I have succeeded in producing this type of hinge joint in such a way that the punches and dies do not mutilate or tear the stock and preserve their cutting edges foneonsiderable periods of time.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of a hinge joint formed between tubular members such as the present invention is concerned with,

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the same taken at right angles to the view shown in Fig. 1,

l 3 shows a side elevation of a similar hinge joint slightly modified so that the hinge members are free to swing in either direction past perpendicular position,

Fig. 4 shows one of the tubular members with longitudinal slots cut therein and representing the first step in my method of producing this hinge,

Specification of Letters ZFatent. Pgatgnteti Feb. 14, 1922.

Serial Ho. 435,181.

i 1g. shows 111 a diagrammatlc manner a suitable term of punch and die for forming these slots.

Fig. 6 shows a view of one of the tubular members withthe material between two of the slots cut awa representing the'second step of my method,

Fig. 7 illustrates the same member with the n'aterial at the opposite side also cut away,

1.. L .1 j 1 ustiares in a ciagiammatic way a sun le too for cutting this material bet -keen slots away,

9 shows a view of the tubular memher in its .liSllQd state, the ears being spread apart or omet sutiicientlv to receive the end or the adjacent tubular member between them,

Fig. 10 illustrates the suitable form of swedgi die tor pressing out these cars.

ihe type of hinge under consideration will now be described in detail. It consists of tubular members A and E of the same diameter. has a pair of ears l u ihe memoer ii 10 tormed on its end and spread apart to receive the end of the other tubular member betweer them. i hinge pin 11 is then i n and in the tubular member P for connecting the parts together. in Figs. 1 and 2 I show a shoulder 12 on the member A to serve as a step whereby to limit the swinging movement of the hinge members in one direction. in 3 the material at both sides is cut away so the members are free to swing in either direction past center. M

The steps involved in the production of this hinge are as follows First the member is placed upon a die 13 and tour longitudinal slots 15 are cut therein by means of a punch 16. These slots are cut one at a time, and hence no special types of tools are required. Thereafter the material between the slots at two sides is cut by placing the tubular member upon a punch 17 cooperating with a die 18 "terior. By having the punch act inside the material can be cut away 'i hout danger of mutilating or tearing the it is desired to form the shoulder 1? at one side then the material is cut away on a straight line slightly above the bottom of the slots. In the ease of the opposite side the material is preferably cut away on an arcuate line. As a result of these operations a tubular member is formed as shown in Fig. 7 having at its end a pair -of ears 10. It now becomes necessary to flatten these ears out and to spread them apart sufiiciently to allow the end of the other tubular member to fit between. To facilitate the next step the member A is preferably placed in an annealing oven and heated. Thereafter the said member is placed upon a swedging die such as is illustrated in Fig. 10 and the ears are offset andflattened out one at a time. This completes the method with the exception of shaping the ears and punching the holes therefor which may be done in any suitable manner.

A hinge such as is produced by the present invention costs about ten per cent of the cost of prior hinges used for the same purpose. The tools used are in no sense special or difficult to make and they preserve their cutting edges for a considerable period of time. By following the steps herein narrated there is no danger of splitting the tubes or of mutilating them in any way.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The method of forming a hinge joint between tubular members of the same diameter which consists in cutting longitudinal slots in one of said members, cutting away the material between the slots at two sides thereof, leaving two ears, and thereafter setting the ears out to the extent required to receive the end of the other tubular memher.

2. The method of forming a hinge joint between tubular members of the same diam eter which consists in cutting four. longitudinal slots in the end of the tubular memher one at a time, removing two of the strips between the slots leaving two others form ing ears at diametrically opposite points and thereafter setting the ears out sufliciently to receive the end of the other tubu- -lar member- 3. The method of forming a hinge joint between tubular members of the same diameter which consists in cutting longitudinal slots in one of said members, removing the material between the slots at two sides thereof by means of a punch acting upon the inside of the tubular member, and thereafter flattening and spreading the two remaining portions so as t receive the other tubular member between them.

a. The method of forming a hinge joint between tubular members of the same diameter which consists in cutting longitudinal slots in one of'said members, removing the material between the slots at two sides thereof, leaving tw ears at diametrically opposite points, heating the tubular member and thereafter spreading the ears apart so as to receive the other tubular member between them.

5. The method of forming a hinge joint between tubular members of the same diameter which consists in first cutting longitudinal slots in the end of one of said members, removing the material between the slots at two sides, leaving two ears at diametrically opposite points, and thereafter (jli'setting said ears by means of a swedging (1 1e.

NAPOLEON B. DOUGLASS.

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