In many applications it may be useful to be able to easily remove a hinged door of an enclosure. For example, for shipment of an industrial enclosure, removing the door can reduce the likelihood of damage to the enclosure from pressure changes experienced during transit. The door can then be reattached to the enclosure after arriving at a destination. In some contexts, other types of enclosures may require or benefit from the removal of a hinged door, including electrical enclosures or other enclosures. For example, when adding components to a door of an electrical cabinet, removing the door can make it easier to cut holes in the door for the components.
Some embodiments of the invention provide a hinge system for hingedly connecting an enclosure door to an enclosure body. The hinge system can include a set of hinge leafs, including a first leaf and a second leaf. The system can further include a pin extending from the first leaf. The pin can be removably received within a pocket in the second leaf. The system can further include a fastener. The pin can have a pin diameter and a pin length extending along a pin axis. The pin length can be defined from a proximal pin end to a distal pin end. The pin can have a groove that extends radially inward around the periphery of the pin, can be positioned between the proximal pin end and the distal pin end, and can have a groove width. The pocket can have a pocket diameter and a pocket length extending along a pocket axis. The fastener can extend into the second leaf transverse to the pocket axis to secure the second leaf to the enclosure door, with the hinge system selectively in either of: a locked configuration, in which the fastener can extend into the pocket and into the groove to inhibit withdrawal of the pin from the pocket; and an unlocked configuration, in which the fastener can be removed from the groove to allow the withdrawal of the pin from the pocket to separate the first leaf from the second leaf.
Some embodiments of the invention provide an enclosure. The enclosure can include an enclosure body, an enclosure door, and a hinge system that is convertible between a locked configuration in which the enclosure door is fixed to the enclosure body and an unlocked configuration in which the enclosure door is removable from the enclosure body. The hinge system can include a first leaf with a pin, a second leaf with a pocket, and a fastener. The pin can have a circumferential groove. The fastener can extend through the enclosure door and the second leaf and into the pocket to secure the second leaf to one of the enclosure door or the enclosure body, with a distal end of the fastener sized to be removably receivable within the circumferential groove of the pin when the pin is received within the pocket. With the hinge system in the locked configuration the fastener can be received within the groove to secure the pin within the pocket and thereby secure the second leaf and the enclosure door in pivoting engagement with the first leaf and the enclosure body. With the hinge system in the unlocked configuration, the fastener can be clear from the groove to release the pin to be removed from the pocket and thereby permit the enclosure door and the second leaf to be disengaged from the enclosure body and the first leaf.
Some embodiments of the invention can provide a method for an enclosure with an enclosure door, an enclosure body, and a hinge assembly. The method can include installing the enclosure door by: with a first leaf of the hinge assembly secured to the enclosure body and a second leaf of the hinge assembly secured to the enclosure door, moving the enclosure door to align a pin that extends from the first leaf with a pocket of the second leaf; lowering the enclosure door to insert the pin into the pocket and thereby pivotally engage the enclosure door with the enclosure body, with a circumferential groove on the pin extending within the pocket; and after inserting the pin into the pocket, moving the hinge assembly to a locked configuration by extending a fastener into the pocket and into the groove to secure the pin within the pocket and further secure the second leaf to the enclosure door.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of embodiments of the invention:
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
As used herein, unless otherwise defined or limited, directional terms are used for convenience of reference for discussion of particular figures or examples. For example, references to downward (or other) directions or top (or other) positions may be used to discuss aspects of a particular example or figure, but do not necessarily require similar orientation or geometry in all installations or configurations.
The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use embodiments of the invention. Various modifications to the illustrated embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein can be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from embodiments of the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not intended to be limited to embodiments shown, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The following detailed description is to be read with reference to the figures, in which like elements in different figures have like reference numerals. The figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of embodiments of the invention. Skilled artisans will recognize the examples provided herein have many useful alternatives and fall within the scope of embodiments of the invention.
Some of the discussion below describes a hinge that can be converted between a locked configuration, in which a door attached by a hinge cannot be removed from an associated enclosure, and an unlocked configuration, in which the door can be removed from the enclosure. The context and particulars of this discussion are presented as examples only. For example, embodiments of the disclosed invention can be configured in various ways, including with other shapes and arrangements of elements. Similarly, embodiments of the invention can be used for other types of hinged applications other than for use with an enclosure with hinged door. The context and particulars of this discussion are presented as examples only.
Enclosures, for example, industrial enclosures used for enclosing electrical components and instruments, can experience pressure changes during shipment when the door of the enclosure is in a closed position. The change in pressure can cause damage to the enclosure body, the door, the latches, or the hinges. Ideally, the doors are removed prior to shipping to eliminate this potential. As generally noted above, it may also be beneficial to be able to easily remove doors in other contexts. For example, when populating the cabinet with electrical components, switches (e.g., push-button, rotatable selector switches, etc.), status indicator lights, and/or other components can be installed on the door, which requires cutting holes in the door of the cabinet. Easy removal of the door from the cabinet can allow the door to be placed within a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machine or other machining device for more accurate and efficient placement of the holes.
Conventional arrangements for removing the door can include completely removing one half of the hinges from either the door or the enclosure body. This task can be arduous and time consuming for one enclosure, let alone a shipment of many enclosures or the modification of many doors for component installation, as it can require removing fasteners attaching the hinge portion to the enclosure body or door. Further, removing the hinge portion can alter the torque specifications of the fasteners used to secure the hinge portion, because the fasteners may not be reinstalled properly upon the enclosure's arrival at the destination or when reinstalled after door modification. Incorrect torqueing of the fasteners can also affect the efficacy of water-proofing seals, for example, O-rings, that are installed on the hinge portions at the factory.
Embodiments of the invention can address these or other issues. For example, in some embodiments, a hinge can be provided that can convert from a locked configuration to an unlocked configuration by loosening a fastener (e.g., one fastener of many) that is also used to attach one of the hinge leafs to an enclosure door. This can be beneficial in many contexts. For example, it requires a user to loosen only one fastener at each hinge, and it does not require the removal of either portion of the hinge from the enclosure body or the door.
In some embodiments, a hinge can have a leaf with a pin, with a circumferential groove, that can be attachable to an enclosure body and another leaf with a pocket, configured to receive the pin therein, that can be attached to a door. One of the fasteners used to attach the hinge portion to the door can also extent into the circumferential groove on the pin to prevent separation of the door from enclosure body, while still allowing the door to rotate about the pin relative to the enclosure body. To unlock the hinge, a user can partially remove the fastener received within the groove from the door until it is outside of the groove. Then the door can be removed the enclosure body without having to remove any of the hinge portions.
In some embodiments, the fasteners can include different configurations. For example, a fastener can include an internally movable set screw that can move axially within the fastener to be removably received within the groove of the pin. In some embodiments, the fastener can have a distal end that has no threads.
As used herein, a “circumferential” groove refers to a recess that is formed in a body (e.g., a hinge pin) that extends at least partly in a circumferential direction around the body. In some cases, a circumferential groove may extend around a substantial percentage of a full circumference of a body (i.e., more than 40% of the full circumferential distance of the body). For example, a circumferential groove may extend around 50%, 75%, or 100% of a full circumference of the body.
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In some embodiments, additional features can be included, including features configured to provide resistance to corrosion (e.g., liquid shedding features). For example, the mounting portion top surface 114 of the first leaf 102 and the top surface 144 of the second leaf 104 are sloped relative to the respective pin axis 130 and the pocket axis 156 (shown in
In some aspects, however, the pins 106, 206 differ from each other and the locking fasteners 150, 250 differ from each other. For example, the groove width 238 is smaller and the groove distance 258 from the hinge portion top surface 286 of the first leaf 202 to the groove center 260 is larger. Additionally, the locking fastener 250 further includes a set screw 282 extending through the center of the locking fastener 250 from the locking fastener head 266 through the locking fastener distal end 272 and coaxially with the locking fastener axis 274. The set screw 282 is threadably engaged with an internal passage (hidden) within and extending axially through the locking fastener 250. The set screw 282 is configured to be adjusted independently of the adjustment of the locking fastener 250. In this way, the second leaf (not shown) can be locked to and unlocked from the first leaf 202 through adjustment of the set screw 282 without adjusting the connection of the locking fastener 250 to an enclosure door (e.g., the enclosure door 14 shown in
In some aspects, however, the locking fasteners 150, 350 differ from each other. For example, the external threads 376 do not extend to the locking fastener shaft distal end 372, instead leaving a threadless portion 384. In some embodiments, the locking fastener 350 can be a “dog-point” fastener.
In some implementations, devices or systems disclosed herein can be utilized or installed using methods embodying aspects of the invention. Correspondingly, description herein of particular features or capabilities of a device or system is generally intended to inherently include disclosure of a method of using such features for intended purposes and of implementing such capabilities. Similarly, express discussion of any method of using a particular device or system, unless otherwise indicated or limited, is intended to inherently include disclosure, as embodiments of the invention, of the utilized features and implemented capabilities of such device or system.
For example, with reference to
In the illustrated examples, complementary sets of hinge leafs (e.g., the leafs 102, 104) include a pocket on a leaf secured to the enclosure body and a pin on a leaf secured to the enclosure door. This arrangement can be particularly useful for installation, for example, including as can allow the door to be lifted to align the pocket(s) on the door leaf with the associated pin(s) on the enclosure leaf, and then easily lowered to receive the pin into the pocket. In other examples, however, different relative configurations can be used for leafs with pockets and pins as generally disclosed herein. For example, some embodiments may include a first leaf with a pin on a door and a corresponding second leaf with a pocket on an enclosure body, or may include a pin that extends downwardly to be received into an upwardly opening pocket.
Thus, embodiments of the invention can provide improved hinges for an enclosure. In some embodiments, for example, a door can be removed form an enclosure body by separating the hinge at the joint between the hinge elements. The hinge can have a locked configuration preventing the removal of the door from an enclosure body and an unlocked configuration permitting the removal of the door from the enclosure body. The hinge can include a first leaf with a pin extending therefrom and a second leaf with a pocket configured to receive the pin. The pin can have a circumferential groove that is configured to receive a portion of a fastener extending through the second leaf when in the locked configuration. The fastener can also secure the second leaf to the door. The fastener can be configured to be partially removed from the second leaf to disengage with the pin, while continuing to secure the second leaf to the door.
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/157,031, filed Mar. 5, 2021, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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