US2867842A

US2867842A - Hinge structure for containers

Info

Publication number: US2867842A
Application number: US433407A
Authority: US
Inventors: Evans T Morton
Original assignee: Admiral Corp
Current assignee: Admiral Corp
Priority date: 1954-06-01
Filing date: 1954-06-01
Publication date: 1959-01-13
Anticipated expiration: 1976-01-13

Description

Jan. 13, 1959 E. T. MORTON HINGE STRUCTURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Jun 1, 1954 IN VEN TOR. EVA NJ 7*. MQET'QV United States Patent 2,867,842 HINGE STRUCTURE FOR CONTAINERS Evans T. Morton, Knoxville, Ill., assignor to Admiral Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application June 1, 1954, Serial No. 433,407

8 Claims. (Cl. 16-189) desired shape and which maybe easily maintained in a sanitary condition.

It is the aim of the present invention to provide an improved hinge structure for the doors of such containers that may bereadily assembled in place without extraneous fastening means, such as screws, and in which resilient means associated with the pivoting means and the container are provided for maintaining the pivoting means in position and for normally maintaining the door in closed position.

The resilient means of thepresent invention is so shaped that it may be readily assembled in place in a recess in the wall container so that it will not normally come in contact with and mar other parts of the refrigerator and is so designed that the hinge structure and the door may be easily removed when the container is to be cleaned, and while the improved hinge structure and resilient means of the present invention are designed more particularly for use with containers for holding and door or in sucha manner that the resilient means maintain the pintle in position in a groove in the container and the cover or door in a normally closed position.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which: I

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the hinge structure assembled in place on the container, the door being in open position and the container and door being broken away at a short distance beyond the hinge structure;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the container and door with the door in closed position and the hinge structure assembled in place;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on a plane passing through the line 33 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the springs utilized in the improved hinge structure;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 with the parts of i the spring arranged at an angle of 90 from the position special food products, in a broader sense, they may be utilized in conjunction with containers or walls and closures or 'doors therefor which are formed of any suitable material and used for any desirable purpose.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved structure for the door or closure of containers that may be readily assembled in place without the use of extraneous fastening means, such as screws.

.Another object of the invention is to provide; an improved hinge structure for'doors or closures for containers in which the hinge parts including the resilient means for maintaining the door in closed position are confined within recesses in a wall of the container to provide a neat appearance and so that neither the hinge nor the resilient means will mar other structure with which it comes in contact.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved spring for use in hinge structures which is so shaped that it may be easily associated with the pintle on which a door is pivoted and in which one part may be anchored within a recess in the wall of a container and another part arranged in a position to engage and normally maintain the door in closed position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the combination of a container and a door or closure therefor in which a wall of the container has a groove therein for receiving a rod or pintle on which the door or cover is pivotally mounted and recesses for receiving resilient means which are associated with the pintle an alternative hinge structure according to the present invention, assembled on the container.

While, the improved hinge structure of the present invention may be associated with the wall of a container and a door or closure therefor of any desired type, as illustrated, the container which is designated generally by the numeral 1 is formed of molded material having outer and

inner walls

2 and 3 which are normally maintained in spaced relation by struts or spacers, not shown.

. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, the inner and outer walls of the container converge upwardly and terminate at their upper ends in the form of a flat seat 4 and a rear flat edge portion 5 upon which a cover or door 6 is pivotally mounted, and the door 6 is provided with downwardly extending front and side flanges 7 which engage the seat 4 and a rear flange 7a which is of less width than the other flanges to provide 'a space 8 through which cold air may flow intocontact with the food in the container.

According to the present invention, improved means are provided to pivotally mount the door or closure on the container. For this purpose, the outer rear wall of the container is provided with one or more recesses depending upon the length of the container. As shown, the container is provided with a pair of spaced recesses 9 and 10 and formed in the rear edgeportion 5 of the container is an elongated groove 11 which extends between and a short distance beyond each recess 9 and 10 and arranged within the groove is a pintle or rod 12 on which the door or cover 6 is pivotally mounted. While the door 6 may be pivotally mounted on the rod 12 in any desirable manner, as shown, the rear flange of the door is provided with a pair of spaced arms 13 and 14 which are molded integralwith or otherwise secured to the rear flange of the door and which extend into the recess 9 and a second pair of arms 15 and 16 which are molded integral with or otherwise secured to the rear flange of the door and which extend into the recess 10. Each of the arms is provided with an aperture through which pintle or rod 12 extends.

In accordance with the present invention, means are provided to normally maintain the pintle or rod 12 in the groove 11 and to resiliently urge the door to closed position. For this purpose, one or more springs are provided depending upon the length of the container. As illustrated in Fig. 2, two similar springs are provided, one of which is shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5. Each of the springs consists of a central coil 17, one end of which extends upwardly and is shaped into the form of a second coil 18, the central axis of which lies in a plane extending normal to a plane passing through the central axis of coil 17. The central axis of coil 18, thus extends at an angle of 90 to the central axis of coil 17. To provide means for normally maintaining the door 6 in closed position when the hinge structure is assembled in place, the free end of coil 18 has a portion which extends upwardly as indicated by the numeral 19 and then downwardly and outwardly to form a projection of arm 20. I

The other end of coil 17 first extends downwardly as shown in Figs; 4 and 5 in the form of a single wire 21, the lower portion of which is in the form of a coil 22, the central axis of which is arranged in a plane at an angle of 90 to the central axis of coil 17. The springs may be formed of any suitable material, such as' stain less steel.

In the improved hinge structure, means are provided for anchoring the coil portion 22 of each spring to the container. For this purpose, the outer wall of the container is provided with

recesses

23 and 24 arranged below recesses 9 and respectively, and which are separated therefrom by partitions 25 as shown in Fig. 3, each of which partitions has a downwardly extending flange 26 provided with a slot 27 which extends partially into the partition 25.

in assembling the structure, the coil portion 18 of one of the springs is arranged between arms 13 and 14 and 1 time, the arms 20 engage the flange 7a of the door and if desired spaced grooves may be formed in the flange of the cover to receive these arms. The wire portion 21 of the spring is then inserted in the slot 27 in flange 26 of partition 25 extending between recesses 9 and 23 to arrange coil 22 of the first spring below the partition 25 and in a like manner the wire portion 21 of the second spring is inserted in the slot 27 in the flange and partition 25 extending between recesses 10 and. 24 to arrange the coil 22 of the second spring below partition 25. The portion of the container below

recesses

23 and 24 may, if desired, be strengthened by outwardly extending webs 28 as shown more particularly in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing.

With the coil portions 22 of each spring thus anchored inplace, the cover 6 may be raised against the force of the spring to a position in which the pintle or rod 12 may be inserted in the groove 11. It will be noted that the coil portion 22 of the first spring is now anchored in the recess 23 and bears against partition 25 extending between the recesses 9 and 23 and is maintained in place by flange 26 of the partition and in a like manner the coil 22 of the second spring is arranged in recess 24 and bears against the partition 25 extending between the

recesses

10 and 24 and is maintained in place by the flange 26 extending downwardly from the partition.

When the parts are thus assembled in place, the arms 13 and 14 extending from flange 7a and the

coils

17 and 18 of the first spring are arranged in the recess 9 and in a like manner the arms 15 and 16 extending from flange 7a of the door and the

coils

17 and 18 of the second spring are arranged in the recess 10 and, if desired, spaced recesses may be formed in the flange 7a of;the cover to receive arms 20 of the coils 18 of each spring. There is therefore no danger of the springs striking and marring other parts of the refrigerator.

It will of course be understood that the partitions onlthe container are arranged at a suflicient distance from the pintle 12 so that the spring will be under tension when the coil portion 22 is anchored in place. The springs therefore hold the pintle or rod 12 in place in groove 11 1 and the arm 20 extending from the coil of each spring is raised against the force of the spring to a sufficierit extent to remove rod 12 from the groove 11 and the rod 12 and door 6 are lowered to a suflicient extent to permit the wire portions 21 of the springs to be removed from the slots 27. When the container is formed of a molded material as shown, the recesses in the container may of course be readily formed during the molding operation.

It should be noted that the part 18 of the spring fulfills several functions; it furnishes a means of attaching the spring to the pintle and it alsoacts as a lever with, the

spring 17 applying power to one end with the pintle being the fulcrum and the lever arm being the arm 19-20. The greater the tension exerted by the spring 17 the more tension is placed on the'lever arm, which tension is more resilient because of the number of convolutions in the part 18.

It is contemplated that the spring 17 could be one part and that the part which receives the pintle could be a separate part. In the alternative hinge construction shown in Fig. 6 the pintle is received in a member 18a having an arm 20 extending tangentially from one side. The spring 17 is suitably connected to member 18a to fulfill the same function. However, the first-described hinge is the preferred form in that it is simple in construction and easy to assemble.

Having thus described my invention I am aware that numerousand extensive departures may be made there-- from without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a container having a wall and a door, said wall having an edge portion provided with a groove anda recess extending downwardly from said edge portion, a partition secured to said wall for dividing said recess into upper and lower recesses, said partition having a slot therein, a hinge structure including a pintlearranged in said groove and said door being pivotally mounted on said pintle, and resilient means having a portionbearing on said pintle, a second "portion arranged in the upper recess below said pintle, a wire portion arranged in said slot, and an enlarged portion arranged below said partition for anchoring one end of the resilient means to the wall of said container, and the opposite end of said resilient means being in the form of an arm for engaging 'saiddoor for normally maintaining it in closed position.

2. In a container having a wall and a door, said wall having an upper edge portion provided with a groove and a recess extending downwardly from the upper edge portion, a partition having its opposite ends connected to said wall and extending across said recess to divide it into upper and lower recesses, said partition having a slot therein, said door having a pair of apertured arms extending intoth'e upper recess, a hinge structure including a spring having an arm for normally engaging said door for maintaining it in closed position and an upper coil arranged in alignment with the apertures in said arms, a pintle arranged in said groove and extending through the apertures of said arms and the upper coil of said spring, said spring having a central coil arranged 'in the upper recess below said pintle, the central axis of which is at an angle of approximately f to the central axis of the upper coil, and said spring having a wire portion extending downwardly from the central coil and arranged. in saidfslot, and a lower coil, the'central axis of which is arranged at an angle of approximately 90 to a vertical plane passing through the central axis of the upper coil, said lower coil being arranged below said partition and said partition being arranged at sufiic'ient distance from said pintle to place tension on said resilient means when the lower coil is anchored in place.

3. In a container having a wall and a door, said wall having an edge portion provided with a pair of spaced recesses extending inward from the edge portion of said Wall, said edge portion being provided-with an elongated groove extending between said recesses .and with its opposite ends extending beyond said recesses, a hinge structure including a pintle arranged in said groove and extending across said recesses, said door being pivotally mounted on said pintle, a spring arranged in each recess having a portion engaging said pintle and one end engaging said door and the opposite end of said spring being anchored to said container at a position to place tension on said spring.

4. A hinge structure for pivotally mountinga door to a wall, said hinge structure including a pintle adapted to be placed in a groove in said wall and a spring having a first coil surrounding said pintle, a central coil having a central axis extending at right angles to the axis of the first coil, and a lower coil for engagement with said wall at a position to place tension on said spring.

5. A spring for use in a hinge structure, said spring including a first coil having an arm extending from one end thereof, a second coil having one end secured to the first coil, the central axis of the second coil being arranged at an angle to the axis of the first coil, a wire secured to the opposite end of the second coil which wire terminates in a third coil which is arranged substantially perpendicular to a vertical plane passing through the central axis of the first coil.

6. A spring for use in hinge structures, said spring including a first coil having an arm extending from one end thereof, a second coil having one end secured to the other end of the first coil, the central axis of the second coil being arranged at an angle of substantially 90 to the central axis of the first coil, said second coil having a wire extending from its opposite end which terminates in a third coil, the central axis of the third coil being arranged substantially perpendicular to a vertical plane passing through the central axis of the'first coil.

7. A hinge structure for a pair of members to be hinged to one another, one of said members being formed with a groove which is open at one edge of said member and a recess which extends inward from said groove intermediate the ends of the groove, comprising a pintle received in the groove at opposite sides ofsaid recess and extending across said recess, the other member being connected to said pintle at said recess, spring means comprising a first coil portion at said recess encircling said pintle and a second resilient portion connected to one end of said first coil portion and extending transversely therefrom and secured under tension at its opposite end to said one member inwardly of the pintle to maintain the pintle seated in said groove at opposite sides of the recess and to exert torsion on said first coil portion, and said first coil portion at its opposite end having an ofiset arm which engages said other member to urge said other member about the axis of the pintle to a predetermined position with respect to said one member.

8. In a container having a wall and a door, said wall being formed with a groove which is open at one edge of said wall and a recess which extends inward along said wall from said groove intermediate the ends of the groove, a pintle received in the groove at opposite sides of said recess and extending across said recess, said door beingconnected to said pintle at said recess, spring means comprising a first coil portion at said recess encircling said pintle and a second coil portion connected to one end of said first coil portion and extending perpendicular thereto and secured under tension at its opposite end to said container inwardly of the pintle to maintain the pintle seated in said groove at opposite sides of the recess and to exert torsion on said first coil portion, and said first coil portion at its opposite end terminating in an offset arm which engages said door to urge the door to a closed position on said container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,548,905 Schon Aug. 11, 1925 2,203,960 Hickman June 11, 1940 2,557,048 Haase June 12, 1951 2,580,310 Magnenat Dec. 25, 1951 2,621,917 Landers Dec. 16, 1952