US3046570A

US3046570A - Hinge

Info

Publication number: US3046570A
Application number: US827614A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sherwood L Young
Original assignee: American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corp
Current assignee: American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corp
Priority date: 1959-07-16
Filing date: 1959-07-16
Publication date: 1962-07-31
Anticipated expiration: 1979-07-31

Description

S. L. YOUNG July 31, 1962 HINGE Filed July 16, 1959 q Mn TM N M m ma Km 3 0 M M B m &w 7

3,04 ,570 HINGE Sherwood L. Young, Monson, Mass, assiguor to American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation, Holyoke, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 16, 1959, Ser. No. 827,614 1 Claim. (Cl. 4-240) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in hinges and, more particularly, to a hinge which is especially adapted for pivotally connecting a seat member to a Water closet bowl, for connecting the seat and cover members to each other and-to the bowl or for connecting a cover member to a seat member.

An object of the invention is to provide a hinge of flexible, resilient material which will not be damaged by the dropping of the seat and/or cover members to the floor or ground when detached from the bowl which might occur, for example, in handling during shipment.

Another object is to provide a hinge which does not require lubrication.

Another object is to provide a hinge which will conform to surface unevenness or inequalities of a closet bowl which unevenness often occurs in china manufacture.

Another object is to provide a hinge structure which can be colored to match the color of the hinged parts such as the seat, cover and bowl, for example.

The foregoing and other objects will be apparent from I the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings to be taken as a part of this specification, there is fully and clearly illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which drawmgs,

FIGURE 1 is top plan view of the hinge attached to seat and cover members and showing a portion of the closet bowl on which they are mounted and to which the hinge is secured;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation, looking from left to right of FIG. 1 and showing in section certain portions of the closet bowl and hinge to illustrate the securement gf the seat and cover members to each other and to the FIG. 3 is a detail View in section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a detail view in section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 1 designates a water closet bowl preferably of china or porcelain, having rear shelf or flange portions with laterally spaced vertical holes 2 therethrough as is well known in the art. Each of the holes 2 receives a hinge post or rod 3 in the form of a screw threaded bolt preferably of brass having a generally flat surrounding head 4 providing an annular end flange. The heads 4 are embedded respectively in the supporting end portions 5 of hinge arms 6 which are of a rigid plastic material; preferably Marlex 50 which is a high density polyethylene made by the Phillips Chemical Company. By the term rigid plastic material is meant material which will give without taking a permanent set, which has sulficient rigidity to maintain alignment of the seat and cover, that is, not such rigidity as will prevent flexing but sulfi, cient resilience or flexibility to return the parts to their original molded alignment when they have been forced out of line. Additional rigid plastic materials which are suitable for the entire hinge structure including the arms 6, but in the preferred form excepting the bolts, are nylon; polypropylene; high impact polystyrene; Lexan, a

I polycarbonate produced by General Electric Company;

Kralastic, a blend of styrene-acrylonitrile resin and acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber produced by U.S. Rubber Company; and Delrin,

is of a type which does not need lubrication.

Each'of the endportions 5 which encasethe bolt heads 4 has a portion 7 underlying its head flange and having a flat undersurface extending transverse to its bolt axis;

It should be noted that the bolts or rods 3 could beof rigid'plastic material and be molded or formed integral with 'the arms 6. The flat undersurfaces lie upon the bowl flanges, the portions 7 not only locking the bolt heads in place within the arm end portions 5, but also act ing as abutment washers to cushion the clamping of the hinge structure to the china flanges. "Each of the posts or bolts 3 is pulled up tight against the china flanges with interposed fiber and metal washers under the nuts 8 in accordance with common practice. The portions 7 function to cushion the bolt heads in the same manner as the fiber washers which cushion the nuts 8. The arms 6 incline upward and forward and each terminates in a hearing portion 9 having a horizontally positioned cylindrical aperture 10 therethrough. The apertures 10 are aligned with each other and have their common centerline extending across the closet and substantially at right angles to its fore and aft centerline.

Extending through and journaled in the bearing apertures 10 is a shaft or rod 11 of circular cross-section and of the material used for the arms 6. The resilience of the shaft 11 and of the arms 6 permits the hinge structure to conform to any slight unevenness of the bowl flanges or failure of the top surface of the rear bowl portion to lie in a single plane. Journaled on the ends of the shaft 11 outward of the supporting arms 6, there are seat supporting hinge members 12. Each of the members 12 is in the form of an end cap rotatably fitting on the shaft and is of L-shape in end view, i'.e., in a plane at right angles to the shaft axis. Each of the members 12, when the seat 15 is substantially horizontal or in supporting position on the bowl, has a downward positioned arm 13 from which a forward extending arm 14 projects. Each of arms 14 has a flat top face which receivesthe fiat underface 16 of the rear portion of the closet seat 15. The hinge arms 14 are secured to the seat 15 'by screws 17 which extend through counterbored holes through the arms 14.

The bowl or seat cover 18 is supported by laterally spaced hinge members 19 having forwardly extending arms 20 with flat upper faces 21, the arms extending substantially horizontally between the seat and cover members, that is, they underlie the cover member. Each of the members 19 has a downward extending arm 22 which terminates in a bearing portion 23 having a horizontally positioned cylindrical aperture 24 therethrough which rotatably receives the shaft 11. The apertures 24 are in line with each other and substantially fit the shaft 11. The bearing portions 23 are positioned between and closely adjacent their respective supporting member bearing portions 9 such that the cover is closely confined against lateral movement, that is, against movement longitudinally of the shaft 11. The cover 18 is tightly secured to the arms 20 by screws extending through counterbored rear and

front holes

25, 26 respectively, through the arms 20.

Each of the arms 20 has on its underface a longitudinally extending rib 27 which extends fore and aft of and laterally beside the rear hole 25 so that it serves as a bumper to protect the seat from marring by the head Passes July 31 11952,

a polyformaldehyde, produced by E. I. "du Pont Company; These materials may be, used interchangeably for the various hinge parts and each metal screw heads quite likely might do so. Upon release of the pressure which depressed the cover hinge arms against the seat, the resilience of the hinge structure will return it to its original and correct or normal position as shown in FIG. 2, whereas if the hinge structure was of brass (which is the commonly used material), it might be given a permanent set which would throw the structure out of line.

The

hinge portions

12 and 23 are journaled on the shaft 11 which is free to turn in the bearing supports 9 which also form journals for the shaft. The plastic material has a further advantage over the commonly used plated metal in that it will not turn green when subjected to acid and has no plating or other finish to wear ofi.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A hinge for a toilet cover for use with a toilet bowl having a seat assembly comprising a toilet seat cover, a toilet seat, a pair of semi-rigid resilient plastic hinge members having countersunk fasteners securing said hinge members to the under side of said cover, one portion of each of said hinge members being an integral arm of the same semi-rigid plastic material extending downwardly at an angle away from said cover, a pivot connection to which said arm is pivotally connected and extending upwardly from said toilet bowl, a toilet seat pivotally connected to said pivot connection, each of said cover hinge members having a downwardly extending enlarged portion being adapted to lie in closely spaced relation to the seat when in closed position so that the same will engage said toilet seat when pressure is applied to said seat cover due to the resiliency of said semi-rigid plastic integral arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 157,272 -Lillyblad et a1. Feb. 14, 1950 1,673,915 Lowe June 19, 1928 2,086,211 Campbell July 6, 1937 2,431,263 Lundgren Nov. 18, 1947 2,535,789 De Bell Dec. 26, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 146,380 Sweden July 27, 1954 64,158 France May 18, 1955 (Addition to 1,03 6,170)