US2939749A

US2939749A - Journal box lid

Info

Publication number: US2939749A
Application number: US505225A
Authority: US
Inventors: Glenn F Couch
Original assignee: Symington Wayne Corp
Current assignee: Symington Wayne Corp
Priority date: 1955-05-02
Filing date: 1955-05-02
Publication date: 1960-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 1977-06-07
Also published as: GB814469A

Description

June 7, 1960 G. F. COUCH JOURNAL BOXLID Filed May 2, 1955 FIG. 2

FIG. 4

Inventor: Glenn E Couch his Attorney FIG. 3

JOURNAL BOX LID Glenn F. Couch, Bergen, N.Y., assignor to Symington- Wayne Corporation, a corporation of Maryland Filed May 2, 1955, Ser. No. 505,225 o Claims. (Cl. 3408-47) This invention relates to journal box lids and has for its primary object the provision of an improved connection between the hood and cover of a so-called articulated lid.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved articulated journal box lid wherein the hood and cover are connected for limited relative universal movement by a bridge secured to the cover and straddling a part of the hood, the bridge and straddled part of the hood being of such construction and arrangement as to inhibit breakage ofthe connection under service shocks.

An additional-object of the invention is to provide an improved connection of the type described wherein the straddled part of the hood has an outwardly projecting ball portion adapted to be cupped in an inwardly opening socket in the bridge and the bridge except for the socket is substantially flat, whereby the hood and cover are connected for limited relative universal movement without risk to breakage in the connection.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved ball and socket connection between the hood and cover of an articulated lid whereby by forming the ball on a portion of the hood and the socket in an otherwise substantially flat bridge straddling the ball and secured to the cover, and recessing the hood to accommodate limited universal angling movement of the ballcarrying portion of the hood, points of potential failure in the bridge are eliminated and the connection is made at least as impervious to service shocks as are the hood and cover.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the improved articulated lid of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevational view taken partly in horizontal section along the lines 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of Figure l; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the lid of Figure 1 with portions broken away to more clearly illustrate certain of the details of construction.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved articulated journal box lid of the present invention is adapted to be applied to a journal box 1 for closing an access opening 2 therein and is comprised of a hood 3 and a cover or closure member 4, the hood being pivotally connectable to the hinge lug 5 of the journal box 1 through the usual hinge pin 6 and the cover 4 seating against the face 7 of the journal box about the access opening 2. Connected to the journal box through the hood 3, the cover 4 is designed to be pressed against the journal box, when in closed position, to seal the access opening 2 'nited States Patent ice against dust or other foreign matter. The necessary force is here supplied by a torsion spring 8 of the type generally employed in articulated lids. As usual in such applications, the spring 8 has its coils 9 seating against the underside of the hood 3, its closed end 10 carrying a roller 11 adapted to bear against the hinge lug 5 and the spaced inturned ends 12 of its lower extensions 13 normally bearing against the outer surface 14 of the cover 4. In the disclosed embodiment, the outer end portions of the lower extensions 13 of the springs 8, including the inturned ends 12, are contained in grooves 15 inset in the outer surface 14 of the cover 4 for fixing their lateral spacing as well as determining their position relative to the cover.

So that the cover 4 may seat itself uniformly against the opening-defining face 7 of the journal box, despite any deviation from parallelism between the plane of that face and the axis of the hinge pin 6, the cover 4 and hood 3 are connected or articulated for limited relative universal movement. In the particular form of connection utilized in the lid of the present invention, there is formed substantially centrally in the outer surface 14 of the cover a depression or cavity 16, preferably substantially rectangular in cross-section and onto opposite sides of which open the lower ends of the grooves 15 seating the lower extensions 13 of the spring 8. Received in or projecting into this depression or cavity 16 is a web 17 which conveniently may be formed integrally with .and connects the pair of transversely spaced legs 18 into which the lower portion of the hood is split or bifurcated. Forming the central portion of the web 17 and facing outwardly of the cover 4 is a ball or spherically convex protuberance or surface 19 which seats in an inwardly facing, spherically concave socket or pocket 29 of corresponding dimension in a bridge or strap 21, the latter being disposed or extending vertically of the cover 4 and straddling both the web 17 and the depression 16. As will be noted in Figure 3, the ball 19 preferably is relieved as at 19a over its top or mid-portion, so as to have surface engagement with the socket 20 only over its side portions and thus be wedged into and maintain its surface contact with the socket as their engaging surfaces wear under service shocks. Fitting or disposed in the opening 22 between the spaced legs 18 of the hood 3, the bridge preferably is elongated vertically and substantially rectangular in outline and its end portions or arms 23 are secured to the outer surface 14 of the cover beyond the depression or cavity 16 by suitable means, such as the illustrated induction welds 24.

It will be noted that the cavity 16 into which the web 17 projects, is of sufficient cross-section and depth relative to the web to contain or accommodate the latter, except for its ball 19, over a considerable range of relative universal movement between the web and the cover. This in turn permits the bridge 21 to be substantially flat or planar, except for its socket 20, without interfering either with the bearing of its arms 23 against the outer surface of the cover or the limited universal angling between the hood and cover permitted by the ball and socket connection between the bridge 21 and the web 17.

The flatness of the bridge, coupled with the inward facing of its socket 20, is of extreme importance in the permanency of the connection between the hood and cover. The lack of bends in the arms beyond the socket automatically eliminates any point of weakness in this portion of the bridge. Of at least equal importance, the inward facing of the socket subjects its periphery 25, where it approaches the plane of or joins the arms 23, to compression under the outward force applied to the ball 19 by the spring 8, rather than the tension to which it would be subjected were the ball and socket facing in the opposite direction. As a consequence, the connection is greatly strengthened and the outward force on the bridge 3 member, which could be critical if tensile, particularly over the areas at opposite sides of the socket, is well within its compressive limits.

With points of potential failure in the bridge eliminated and the securing means, especially if the preferred induction weld 24, at least as strong as the other parts of the connection, there is provided, an articulated lid of greatly extended life over those heretofore employed. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included which do not depart from either the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced legs and a cover, of a cavity in an outer surface of said cover, a web connecting said legs and projecting into said cavity, an outwardly facing ball on said web, and a bridge having a socket overlying and receiving said ball and a pair of substantially flat arms extending therefrom and secured to said cover on opposite sides of said cavity.

2. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced legs and a cover, of a substantially central cavity in an outer face of said cover, a Web connecting said legs and projecting into said cavity, a spherically con- Vex surface on said web, and a bridge disposed between said legs and secured to said cover at opposite sides of said cavity, said bridge having a spherically concave pocket overlying and receiving said convex surface for limited universal movement between said hood, and cover, said bridge except for said socket being substantially fiat,

3. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced legs and a cover of a cavity in and positioned substantially centrally of an outer surface of said cover, a web connecting said legs and projecting into and normally spaced from walls of said cavity, a spherically convex protuberance on said web, an elongated bridge extending between said legs, said bridge straddling said web and cavity and having end portions secured to the outer surface of said cover beyond opposite sides of said cavity, and an inwardly facing spherically concave socket centrally in an outer face of said cover, grooves in said outer face and opening ontosa'id cavity and receiving and positioning said extensionsv of said spring relative to said cover, a web connecting said extensions and projecting into said cavity, an outwardly facing ball on said web, a bridge straddling said cavity and welded on opposite sides thereof to said cover, and an inwardly facing socket in said bridge and overlying andreceiving said ball for limited relative universal movement between said hood and cover, said bridge except for said socket being substantially flat.

5. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced legs, a cover and a torsion spring bearing against said hood and cover, of a web connecting said legs, an outwardly facing ball on said web, and a bridge straddling said web and secured on opposite sides thereof to said cover, said bridge intermediate its ends having an inwardly facing socket overlying and receiving said ball.

6. In a journal box lid, the combination with a hood having spaced legs, a cover and a torsion spring bearing against said hood and cover, of a web connecting said legs, an outwardly facing truncated ball on said web, and

abridge straddling said web and secured on opposite sides thereof to said cover, said bridge intermediate its ends having an inwardly facing socket overlying and receiving said ball.

References Cited in the, file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Dorey Dec. 28, 1954