The present invention relates to an automatic door closing hinge having a shock-absorbing function achieved by an air damper and a double swing door structure having the automatic door closing hinge.
In the related art, an automatic door closing hinge configured to rotate an opened door in a closing direction automatically using a restoring force of a coil spring and provided with a shock-absorbing function for absorbing a shock applied when the door is closed using a hydraulic cylinder is known and, in recent years, an automatic door closing hinge configured to absorb a shock with an air damper instead of the hydraulic cylinder is proposed. The automatic door closing hinge includes a type, for example, configured in such a manner that a piston is stored and arranged in a cylinder provided on one of a pair of vanes, and an operating rod which is fixed at an upper portion to the other vane is arranged within the cylinder, balls disposed so as to roll over a predetermined position of the piston and projecting from an inner periphery are engaged with a cam groove being formed on an outer periphery of a lower portion of the operating rod and having an inclined portion, the piston is moved forward and backward corresponding to the movement of the ball with respect to the inclined portion of the cam groove, and a shock is absorbed by an air cushion action in the cylinder by the returning operation of the piston when the door is closed (see JP-A-2002-303072 and JP-A-2005-113682).
Incidentally, the automatic door closing hinge configured to absorb a shock with the air damper has superior features such that a smooth shock absorption is achieved without contaminating the periphery with oil leakage and so on. However, the automatic door closing hinge described above is configured to be used for outward-opening or inward-opening doors, that is, for one-side opening doors, and cannot be installed on double swing doors which are opened inward and outward. Therefore, the automatic door closing hinge configured to absorb a shock with the air damper which can be installed on the double swing doors which can be opened inward and outward is being called for.
In view of such problem as described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic door closing hinge configured to absorb a shock with an air damper which allows installation on double swing door which is opened inward and outward, and a double swing door structure provided with the automatic door closing hinge.
The automatic door closing hinge of the present invention includes: a cylinder; an operating rod attached to one end of the cylinder so as to be rotatable and restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction; a first cam groove formed on an outer peripheral surface of the operating rod in the cylinder so as to have a substantially V-shape at opposed positions thereof; first balls disposed in engagement with the first cam groove at opposite positions; a compression ring engaged with the first balls and moved in the longitudinal direction in the cylinder in conjunction with the movement of the first balls with respect to the first cam groove; a compression coil spring disposed between the compression ring and an upper end portion of the cylinder for urging the compression ring toward the other end of the cylinder; a second cam groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the operating rod in the cylinder so as to have a substantially V-shape at opposed position thereof and disposed under the first cam groove with upper and lower ends being aligned with those of the first cam groove; second balls disposed in engagement with the second cam groove at opposed positions thereof; a piston engaged with the second balls and moved in the longitudinal direction in the cylinder in conjunction with the movement of the second balls with respect to the second cam groove; and an air damper unit configured to flow out air in the cylinder on the other end side with respect to a bottom portion of the piston gradually according to the movement of the piston toward the other end.
Also, the automatic door closing hinge according to the present invention includes: a cylinder; an operating rod attached to one end of the cylinder so as to be rotatable and restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction; a first cam groove including two substantially V-shaped grooves formed on an outer peripheral surface of the operating rod in the cylinder so as to oppose to each other; two first balls engaged respectively with the first cam groove so as to oppose to each other; a compression ring engaged with the first balls and moved in the longitudinal direction in the cylinder in conjunction with the movement of the first balls with respect to the first cam groove; a compression coil spring disposed between the compression ring and an upper end portion of the cylinder for urging the compression ring toward the other end of the cylinder; a second cam groove including two substantially V-shaped grooves provided on the outer peripheral surface of the operating rod in the cylinder so as to oppose to each other and disposed under the first cam groove with upper and lower ends being aligned with those of the first cam groove; two second balls engaged respectively with the second cam groove and disposed so as to oppose to each other; a piston engaged with the second balls and moved in the longitudinal direction in the cylinder in conjunction with the movement of the second balls with respect to the second cam groove; and an air damper unit configured to flow out air in the cylinder on the other end side with respect to a bottom portion of the piston gradually according to the movement of the piston toward the other end.
The automatic door closing hinge according to the present invention is characterized in that the first cam groove and the second cam groove of the substantially V-shape are respectively formed continuously in a circular shape.
The automatic door closing hinge according to the present invention is characterized in that the difference of elevation between the upper and lower ends of the second cam groove is formed to be longer than the difference of elevation between the upper and lower ends of the first cam groove.
The automatic door closing hinge according to the present invention is characterized in that an air distribution hole is provided on a bottom portion of the piston, the air distribution hole includes a large diameter portion on the other end side of the cylinder, a small diameter portion on the one end side, and a valve plate between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion, the valve plate is capable of forming a gap communicating from one end side to the other end side between the large diameter portion and the valve plate and closing the small diameter portion, and an adjustable screw portion being capable of adjusting the size of the air flow channel formed between a male thread and a female thread by the strength of screwing is provided at the other end of the cylinder.
A double swing door structure which allows opening and closing inward and outward according to the present invention includes the automatic door closing hinge installed on a door supporting portion or on a door, and is characterized in that a receiving hinge to be attached to the automatic door closing hinge is installed on a door or a door supporting portion. The door supporting portion is, for example, a column, a door frame, and the like as needed.
According to the present invention, when the door is opened inward, the first and second balls move relatively with respect to one of the inclined portions of the substantially V-shaped portions of the first and second cam grooves. When the door is opened outward, the first and second balls move relatively with respect to the other inclined portion of the substantially V-shaped portions of the first and second cam grooves. Therefore, the double swing door which can be opened and closed inward and outward can be automatically closed with the compressed coil spring, and the shock of the door closing operation of the both swing door can be absorbed by an action of air cushion.
In addition, by forming the respective first and second cam grooves of the substantially V-shape continuously in the circular shape, the manufacturing process is simplified.
Also, by forming the difference of elevation between the upper and lower ends of the second cam groove to be longer than that of the first cam groove, the capacity of the air trap is increased, so that the shock-absorbing function of the door-closing operation by the action of the air cushion can be enhanced.
Also, by configuring the valve plate of the air distribution hole on the bottom portion of the piston so as to form the gap communicating from one end side to the other end side between the large diameter portion and the valve plate and be capable of closing the small diameter portion and, in addition, by providing the adjustable screw portion which is capable of adjusting the size of the air flow channel by the strength of the screwing, smooth opening operation when opening the door is secured, and the action of the air cushion can be adjusted to an adequate degree easily, and the stabilization of the degree of the action of the air cushion is achieved.
Referring now to the drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An automatic door closing hinge 1 according to this embodiment includes a cylinder 2, an operating rod 3 rotatably attached to the cylinder 2 so as to project partly outward from an upper end side of the cylinder 2, a compression ring 4 formed into a short cylindrical shape arranged on an outer periphery of the operating rod and inside the cylinder 2, a compression coil spring 5 arranged on an upper side of the compression ring 4 and inside the cylinder 2, a piston 6 arranged on a lower side of the compression ring 4 inside the cylinder 2, and an air adjusting portion 7 provided on a lower end side of the cylinder 2, as shown in
The cylinder 2 has a hollow portion 21 of a substantially cylindrical shape, and is formed with a depressed groove 22 at front and rear positions of the interior surface thereof so as to extend respectively in the vertical direction. A rectangular mounting panel 23 is integrally formed on a back surface side of the cylinder 2 so as to project sideward to the left and right, and the cylinder 2 can be attached to a column, a door frame, and the like by inserting a flat countersunk head screw or the like through a mounting hole 24 of the mounting panel 23. A cylindrical hermetic ring 25 is fitted into and fixed to a lower portion in the hollow portion 21.
The operating rod 3 includes a small diameter portion 31 provided at a substantially upper portion, and large diameter portions 32, 33. A, mounting hole 311 of a hexagonal shape in plan view is formed on an upper end of the small diameter portion 31, a projecting portion 313 is provided at a substantially center of the small diameter portion 31 so as to penetrate through a mounting pin 312 in the lateral direction, and a loosely fitting ring 314 which absorbs a shock is provided on the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 31 so as to be capable of idling under the projecting portion 313. The small diameter portion 31 is inserted into an inserting hole 341 of an upper cap 34 fixed to an upper end of the hollow portion 21 with a flat countersunk head screw 342, and the loosely fitting ring 314 to be pressed from above by the projecting portion 313 is brought into abutment with an upper surface of the upper cap 34. In this state, an upper end surface of the upper large diameter portion 32 is arranged in the vicinity of a lower surface of the upper cap 34, the loosely fitting ring 314 and the upper end surface of the large diameter portion 32 are caught by the upper and lower surfaces of the upper cap 34, so that the vertical movement of the operating rod 3 is restricted.
Cam grooves 35, 36 continuing in a circular shape in plan view are formed in zigzag on an outer peripheral surface of the lower large diameter portion 33, the cam grooves 35, 36 each have an upper end at a center front portion and are formed from the center front position obliquely downward toward the left and right respectively along the outer peripheral surface, and respectively have lower ends at side center positions on the sides shifted from the front center position by 90° leftward and rightward in a state corresponding to the state of the door-opened in
The compression ring 4 is provided with a pin 41 projecting outward at respective center positions of the front and back in
The compression coil spring 5 is provided around the outer peripheries of the large diameter portion 32 and the upper portion of the large diameter portion 33 of the operating rod 3, and the lower end thereof is placed on a lower surface of the depressed portion 44 of the compression ring 4, while the upper end thereof is in abutment with the lower surface of the upper cap 34. When the compression ring 4 is moved upward by the rotation of the operating rod 3 by the external force described above, the compression coil spring 5 is compressed by the upward movement of the depressed portion 44. In contrast, when the external force is removed, the compression ring 4 is moved downward by the depressed portion 44 urged downward by the compression coil spring 5 being restored and expanded, the balls 43 are moved from the upper end to the lower end of the cam groove 35 with respect to the cam groove 35, and the operating rod 3 is rotated from the state shown in
The piston 6 has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape, and an outer fitting ring 62 having a short cylindrical shape is fitted on an upper end of a peripheral wall 61. The upper end of the peripheral wall 61 of the piston 6 and the outer fitting ring 62 are joined by a pin 63 projecting outward at respective center positions of the front and back in
A flange 66 projecting outward is formed at a lower end of the piston 6, and a packing ring 661 is fitted into a peripheral groove having an angular C-shape in cross section formed on the flange 66. The packing ring 661 slides in contact with an inner surface of the hermetic ring 25 of the cylinder 2 in the upward and downward movement of the piston 6. An air distribution hole is provided at a center position of a bottom portion 67 of the piston 6, and the air distribution hole is defined by an upper small diameter portion 671, a lower large diameter portion 672, and an intermediate portion 673 having a larger diameter than the large diameter portion 672 and positioned between small diameter portions 671 and 672. The intermediate portion 673 is provided with a valve plate 674 so as to be movable slightly in the vertical direction. The valve plate 674 closes the large diameter portion 672 with a gap formed partly in the vertical direction and is capable of closing the small diameter portion 671 in the vertical direction. When the piston 6 moves upward, air on the upper side of the bottom portion 67 of the piston flows from the small diameter portion 671, urges the valve plate 674 toward the large diameter portion 672, and flows from the gap formed partly toward a lower side of the bottom portion 67. When the piston 6 moves downward, when allowing air to flow out from an air trap formed in the hollow portion 21 on the lower side of the bottom portion 67 of the piston in
The air adjusting portion 7 includes a lower cap 71 and an adjustable screw portion 72. As shown in
As shown in
In the door-closed state in
When a user releases his or her hand from the door 102 and hence the external force is removed, the compression coil spring 5 is restored and expanded, and the compression ring 4 is moved downward, the balls 43, 65 roll to move from the upper ends to the lower ends of the cam grooves 35, 36, and the operating rod 3 rotates while moving the piston 6 downward, so that the state is moved from the one in
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications are possible. For example, the cam groove 35 and the cam groove 36 may be formed separately at two opposed positions respectively in substantially V-shape. Also, in order to obtain the adequate automatic door closing function and damper function according to the restoring force of the compression coil spring 5 or the flow-out volume of the air, a configuration in which the difference of elevation between the upper and lower ends of the cam groove 36 is set to be longer, or shorter conversely, than that of the cam groove 35, or be substantially equal to each other may be employed. The air damper unit in the present invention may have configurations different from that including the cylinder 2, the piston 6, and the air adjusting portion 7 in the embodiment described above as appropriate. For example, an existing air damper unit as in Patent Documents 1 and 2 may be employed. The air damper unit including the cylinder 2, the piston 6, and the air adjusting portion 7 in the embodiment described above may also be applied to the one-side opening door which is opened only inward or outward.
The present invention can be used as a hinge for a double swing door which is opened inward and outward.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP2007/073282 | 11/27/2007 | WO | 00 | 5/14/2010 |