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US 12,758,020 B2Granted
Damped hinge assembly for stadium seating
AssigneeHussey Seating Company
InventorsAdam Campisi, Chi Lam Yau
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A damped hinge assembly for a self-raising seat bottom for preventing the seat bottom from noticeably bouncing at its topmost position. The damped hinge assembly includes a clutch damping mechanism that is engaged at an intermediate position between its lowered position and topmost position to begin slowing the rotation of the seat bottom. The clutch damping mechanism has a number of adjacent plates with a viscous material disposed between them. When the clutch damping mechanism is engaged the plates rotate against one another and the viscous material applies a drag force that resists the rotation to slow the return of the seat bottom to its upright stored position.
Claims20
A damped hinge assembly configured to slow a seat bottom having a seat plate as it rotates about an axle from a lower position towards a topmost position, the damped hinge assembly comprising:
- a clutch pack assembly having:
- a plurality of plates disposed about said axle and stacked against one another;
- and
- a viscous damping medium, disposed between said plurality of plates;
- and
- a clutch damper cover having:
- a clutch pack receiver;
- and
- a clutch plate having a front projection and a rear projection;
- whereby, upon rotation of the seat bottom to an intermediate position between the lowermost position and the topmost position, one of said front projection or said rear projection of said clutch plate is contacted by a seat bottom plate causing the clutch damper cover to rotate therewith;
- and
- wherein, upon rotation of the clutch damper cover, the interior of the clutch pack receiver cooperates with one or more of the plurality of plates of the clutch pack assembly to rotate at a different speed from the other plates;
- and
- wherein shear forces created by the action of rotation of the plurality of plates within the clutch pack assembly on said viscous damping medium disposed therebetween acts to slow the rotation of the seat bottom through contact with the seat bottom plate by the clutch plate.
11 more elements
A damped hinge assembly for a seat comprising:
- a clutch pack assembly having a plurality of plates disposed about an axle and stacked against one another, and a viscous damping medium disposed between said plurality of plates;
- and
- a clutch damper cover having a clutch pack receiver sized to receive said clutch pack assembly, an extension extending from said clutch pack receiver, and a pressure cup disposed at an end of said extension opposite said clutch pack receiver, wherein said extension includes a first thread and said pressure cup includes a second thread configured to mate with the first thread such that said pressure cup is movable along said extension in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of said axle by relative rotation between said pressure cup and said extension, thereby adjusting a compressive force applied by a back wall of said clutch pack receiver against said clutch pack assembly disposed therein;
- and
- a clutch plate associated with said clutch damper cover and having a front projection and a rear projection, whereby, upon rotation of a seat bottom to an intermediate position between a lowermost position and a topmost position, one of said front projection or said rear projection is contacted by a seat bottom plate causing said clutch damper cover to rotate therewith,
- wherein, upon rotation of said clutch damper cover, the interior of said clutch pack receiver cooperates with one or more of said plurality of plates to rotate at a different speed from other of said plurality of plates, and
- wherein shear forces created by relative rotation of said plurality of plates on said viscous damping medium act to slow the rotation of said seat bottom through contact with said seat bottom plate by said clutch plate.
4 more elements
A damped hinge assembly for a seat comprising:
- a clutch pack assembly having a plurality of plates disposed about an axle and stacked against one another, and a viscous damping medium disposed between said plurality of plates;
- a clutch damper cover having a clutch pack receiver sized to receive said clutch pack assembly, and a pressure cup;
- a compression pack assembly disposed adjacent a bearing surface of said pressure cup, said compression pack assembly including at least one biasing member and at least one spacer disposed on at least one side of said at least one biasing member, said compression pack assembly configured to apply and maintain a compressive force against said pressure cup, which in turn compresses said clutch pack assembly within said clutch pack receiver through a back wall thereof;
- a pressure pin extending through said axle to restrain axial movement of said compression pack assembly in a direction away from said clutch pack assembly and to maintain said compressive force;
- and
- a clutch plate associated with said clutch damper cover and having a front projection and a rear projection, whereby, upon rotation of said seat bottom to an intermediate position between a lowermost position and said topmost position, one of said front projection or said rear projection is contacted by a seat bottom plate causing said clutch damper cover to rotate therewith,
- wherein, upon rotation of said clutch damper cover, the interior of said clutch pack receiver cooperates with one or more of said plurality of plates to rotate at a different speed from other of said plurality of plates, and
- wherein shear forces created by relative rotation of said plurality of plates on said viscous damping medium act to slow the rotation of said seat bottom through contact with said seat bottom plate by said clutch plate.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.