US3375546A - Hinge - Google Patents

Description

April 2, 1968 F. c. PETERsoN 3,375,546

HINGEI Filed April 7, 1966 2 Sheets-Shee'x 1 April 2, 1968 F. c. PETERso HINGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7, 1986 FGS FIG 3 United States Patent O 3,375,546 HINGE Francis C. Peterson, Webster Groves, Mo., assignor to C. Hager & Sons Hinge Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mo., a Corporation of Missouri Filed Apr. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 540,912 7 Claims. (Cl. 16-171) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge having a keeper which is placed in the hinge and retained in fixed relation theren by movable means so that said keeper cannot be removed therefrom without moving said movable means, said keeper forming a part of the overall knuckle of said hinge, said movable means not being accessible when the door is closed.

This invention relates to an improved hinge, and in particular, to a hospital hinge having a removable central keeper.

The term hospital hinge is well known in the art and refers to hinges permanently joined together in pivotal relation by pins welded or press fitted into the two leaves so that they are in permanent fixed relation. A hospital hinge has a rounded or hospital top so that the pins cannot be removed and making it impossible to attach ropes, wearing apparel, etc. A hospital hinge is used for safety and cleanliness. In the past, hospital hinges had to be afiixed to the door and the door then held while the other leaf was secured to the door frame. This presented problems in hanging the door, since several men were required to lift and retain the door in proper position while other workmen were securing the leaves to the door frame.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a hinge having separate leaves which can be individually secured to the door and to the door frame so that the door may simply be lifted on to the leaf secured to the door frame. Another object is to provide a hospital hinge which permits the door to be opened and closed once it has been placed or hung on the pins of the leaves previously secured to the door frame. Another object is to provide a keeper which can thereafter be placed into assembled relation in the hinge after the door has been hung in the door frame and then held into permanent fixed relation by special means which are inaccessible when the door is closed.

Another object is to provide a hospital hinge with a removable keeper having spring biased means theren to hold said keeper in place and to prevent said keeper from being removed from the hinge without the aid of a special tool.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.

The' present invention is embodied in a hinge having a keeper which is inserted into the hinge after the door with one leaf of said hinge thereon is placed onto a door frame having another leaf of said hinge thereon, said door then vbeing pivotally mounted on said door frame, said keeper adapted to be placed in the hinge and retained in fixed relation theren by special means so that said keeper cannot be removed therefrom without said special means, said keeper forming a part of the overall knuckle of said hinge, said special means not being accessible when the door is closed.

The invention also consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification and wherein like numerals and letters refer to like parts wherever they occur:

Patented Apr. 2, 1968 FIG. 1 is a plan view of a hospital hinge embodying the present invention, showing the parts prior to assembly,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the keeper,

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the hinge with the leaves in assembled relation prior to insertion of the keeper,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the assembled hinge with the leaves closed,

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the outside of the hinge with the leaves closed, and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the knuckles which receive the keeper.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the embodiment of the invention which has been illustrated comprises a hinge H having two leaves 1 and 2 and a keeper 3. The leaf 1 contains holes 4 for receiving screws or other means for securing said leaf 1 to a door frame, not shown. The door frame leaf 1 contains a lower knuckle 5 with an upstanding lower pin 6 having a top surface 7 thereon, and a bearing 8 around said pin,6. The pin 6 is secured in an opening 9 in the lower knuckle 5 and extends from its bottom 10 upwardly, with the bearing 8 being rotatably mounted on said lower pin 6. The door frame leaf 1 also has an upper knuckle 11 having an opening 12 theren. The upper knuckle 11 has an annular lower surface 13 with a groove or slot 14 theren having a sloping bottom 15.

The door leaf 2 contains holes 16 for receiving screws or other means for attaching the leaf 2 to a door 17. The door leaf 2 contains an upper knuckle 18 with a downwardly extending upper pin 19 having a lower surface 20, and a bearing 21 around said pin 19. The upper pin 19 is secured in an opening 22 in the upper knuckle 18 and extends from its rounded top 23 downwardly, with the bearing 2,1 being rotatably mounted on said upper pin 19. The door leaf 2 also has a lower knuckle 24 having an opening 25 and an annular top surface 26. The knuckles 18, 11, 24, 5 form an aligned knuckle assembly 27. The openings 25 and 12 in the knuckles 24 and 11 are slightly larger in diameter than the pins 6 and 19 which they receive. The bearings 8 and 21 are optional features and can be eliminated without departing from the present invention.

The keeper 3 forms part of the aligned knuckle assembly 27 which extends the entire distance between the rounded top and bottom hospital tops 23 and 10, so that in assembled relation, one continuous knuckle assembly 27 of uniform roundness is presented to the viewer (FIG. 5). The keeper 3 has a cylindrical. surface 28 with an opening 29 theren. A ball 30 is mounted .in the opening 29 and extends slightly outwardly of the lower surface 31 of the keeper 3. The keeper 3 has a plunger 32 at the top, said plunger 32 being normally biased upwardly by a spring 33 so that its curved head 34 extends above the upper surface 35. The lower end of the spring 33 contacts the ball 30 so that the plunger 32 and the ball 30 are biased outwardly beyond the top and bottom surfaces 35 and 31 of the keeper 3 and are adapted to be pushed inwardly against the action of the spring 31. The metal in the keeper 3 at the upper surface 35 and the lower surface 31 is staked or upset to limit the outward movement of the plunger 32 and the ball`30 from the keeper 3 and to retain them in the opening 29 of the keeper 3 at all times. The keeper 3 has a lug or pin 36 extending above the upper surface 32 slightly smaller than the groove 14 in the knuckle 11. The pin 36 may be circular and fixedly secured in a small hole drilled in the upper surface 35. The keeper 3 is also provided with a transverse threaded opening 37 which receives a set screw 38 having a sunken or special head 39, such as with an opening of hexagonal or any other desired Shape, requiring a special tool. When screwed into the annular recess 40 in the plunger 32, the set screw 38 prevents relative Vertical motion between the plunger 32 and wall of the opening 29 and maintains the plunger 32 in its outward position (FIG. 6).

From the foregoing description, it is readily apparent that two leaves 1 may be applied to the upper and lower portions of a door frame and that two cooperating leaves 2 may be applied to the door. With the leaves 1 and 2 properly mounted in their predetermined positions on the door frame and door, the door may be mounted on the door frame by placing the upper pin 19 above the opening 12 in the upper knuckle 11 and by placing the opening 25 of the lower knucklei24 above the lower pin 6 mounted in the lower knuckle 5. The door is then allowed to move downwardly by gravity so that the pins 19 and 6 are within the openings 12 and 25 of the respective knuckles 11 and 24. In this position, the surface 20 of the pin 19 is above the lower surface 13 of the knuckle 11 and the top surface 7 of the pin 6 is below the top surface 26 of the knuckle 24, and the door is free to swing in a normal manner, but, of course, can be lifted upwardly and removed. To prevent this removal, the keeper 3 is inserted into the space 41 between the upper knuckle 11 and the lower knuckle 24 with the ball 30 extending into the opening 25 and the plunger 32 snapping into an upward position in the opening 12. Before inserting the keeper 3, the lug 36 thereon must be oriented with the groove 14 in the upper knuckle 11, otherwise the keeper 3 cannot be inserted. The set screw 38 is then rotated with special means inserted into its special head 39 to retain the plunger 32 in its upward position within the opening 12 in the knuckle 11. A similar keeper 3 for the lower hinges of the door is applied in the same way.

When the door is closed, a hinge H with rounded tips at the top 23 and bottom with a uniform knuckle assembly 27 extending therebetween is presented to the Viewer and there is no way to remove the hinge, or any portion thereof, from the closed door. With the door 14 closed, the head 39 of the set screw 38 is not accessible to anyone in the room with the hinge H, since the set screw 38 extends substantially parallel to the leaf 1 and is covered by the leaves themselves. The lug 36 is positioned to prevent removal of the keeper 3 by force from the outside. Even with the door open, a special wrench is needed to loosen the set screw 38 to permit the plunger 32, as well as the ball 30, to be cammed inwardly as the keeper 3 is physically pulled from its assembled relation and from the space 41. Once the set screw 38 is loosened, the plunger 32 is free to move downwardly against the action of the spring 33 until the keeper 3 can be removed from aligned relation with the other knuckle portions by grasping it with two fingers, or if it is too tight, by applying pressure with a tool to pry it out of assembled relation. The set screw 38 may be positioned in a number of positions, but preferably should not be readily visible or be accessible to someone in a room when the door is in closed position. The keeper 3 may be arranged so that the plunger 32 may be either at the top or bottom of the keeper 3, and the ball 30 or other retaining means at the opposite end thereof.

The groove 14 has a bottom which slopes so that the groove 14 is deeper at the outer wall of the knuckle 11 than it is nearer the center. This prevents removal of the keeper 3 ex'cept radially outwardly. The dimensions of the keeper 3 are such that there is a very close fit between its upper surface 35 and the knuckle 11 and between its lower surface 31 and the knuckle 24.

The bearings 21 and 8 decrease friction as the hung door is opened and closed on the hinges H. However, the bearings 21 and 8 are optional features and can be eliminated, in which event the knuckles 18 and 24 rest directly upon the knuckles 11 and 5, respectively, and rotate or slide with respect to one another on their annular surfaces of contact when the door is opened and closed. While the invention has been shown in a hospital hinge 4` with a rounded top and bottom and is particularly useful for that kind of hinge, it may also be used for other kinds of hinges. If desired, a groove 14 may be provided on both the upper knuckle 11 and the lower knuckle 24 1 (FIG. 6) so that the keeper 3 may be inserted either with the lug 36 in an upward or downward position.

With the present invention, each leaf 1 and 2 may be plated individually and the leaves and bearings assembled thereafter. Prior hospital hinges were in practice assembled and then plated, with the result that grease was lost from the bearings.

This invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and `scope` of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hinge having two leaves with aligned knuckles, said knuckles having a space intermediate the top and bottom of said aligned knuckles, an opening in at least one of said knuckles adjacent to said space, a keeper adapted to fit in said space and having means thereon adapted to fit into said opening, vand movable means positioned in said keeper in angular relation to said means and adapted to retain said means in said opening to keep said keeper in assembled relation with said knuckles, said movable means being positioned so as to be inaccessible when the hinge is in its door-closed position.

2. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein each leaf 'has two aligned knuckles thereon, oneof said knuckles of each leaf having a pin extending therefrom toward the center of said hinge, the other of said knuckles having an opening therein for receiving the 'pin of the other of said leaves, said pins terminating short of the inner ends of said knuckles having openings therein, said space positioned between the knuckles having openings therein, said keeper being adapted to be inserted into` said space to form a continuous Vertical knuckle arrangement.

3. The hinge set forth in claim 1 wherein said means on said keeper which are adapted to fit into said opening comprises a pl-unger, said plunger being normally biased slightly outwardly of said keeper and into said opening by a spring, said spring being mounted within said keeper, said plunger being movable to a position within said keeper as said keeper is being installed or removed from said aligned knuckles.

4. The ihinge set forth in claim 1 wherein said keeper is provided with a lug on one end thereof and the adjacent knuckle is provided with a groove for receiving said lug,`

said groove extending radially inwardly from the outer surface of said knuckle, said groove positioned in said knuckle in such a circumferential position that said keeper can be installed or removed only when said leaves are in a door-open position.

5. The hinge set forth in claim 2 wherein one leaf is a door leaf adapted to be attached to a door and the other leaf is a frame leaf adapted to 'be attached-to a i door frame, said frame leaf having a lower knuckle with an upstanding lower pin therein and an upper knuckle with an opening therein, said door leaf having an upper knuckle with a downwardly extending upper pin therein and a lower knuckle with an opening therein, the distancc between the lower pin .and upper vknuckle: on said frame i leaf being vgreater than the 'height of said lower knuckle on said door leaf and the distance between the upper pin and the lower knuckle on said door leaf being greater than the height of said upper knuckle onsaid frame leaf, said door leaf being adapted to be assembled on said frame leaf by placingl the lower knuckle of said door leaf above said lower pin and 'by placing said upper pin above said upper knuckle on said frame leaf and allowing said door leaf to move downwardly with the upper and lower pins entering the openintgs in their `cooperating knuckles, thereby permitting the hinge to open and close without having to be held in position.

6. The hinge set forth in claim 5 Wherein said pins terminate Within the knuckles to form an opening in said knuckles adjacent to the space between the innermost -knuckles of the door leaf and the frame leaf, said keeper having means for extending into said openings for retaning said keeper in assembled relation, and Wherein said keeper has a lug adapted to fit into a groove in the lower knuckle of the door leaf.

7. The hinge set forth in clam 1 wherein the top of the uppermost knuckle and the bottom of the lowermost knuckle are rounded and the pins therein are flush with and form part of the rounded top and rounded Ibottom.

676,081 6/1901 Rowley 16 136 800,074 9/1905 c1ar1 16- 189 1,425,99s 8/1922 Mcoiveny 16-176 FOREIGN PATENTS 332,638 5/1903 France.

345,935 12/1921 Germany.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

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