Self-latching hinge
AssigneeWhite Consolidated Industries, Inc.
InventorsRobert W. Kennedy, Howard J. Tyler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hinge for mounting an access door on a room air conditioner has a hinge member having a tang at one end engaging a slot on the air conditioner front frame to mount the hinge member in a fixed position. The other end of the hinge member has a pair of resilient legs interspaced by a projection and which carry projecting trunnions on their outer ends. The door has a notch in its side having opposed side walls with bores that receive the projecting trunnions to pivot the door about the hinge member. The hinge provides a self-latching arrangement by a projecting, resilient tongue on the hinge member which engages a projecting lug on the door to resiliently bias the door to a closed position when it is within a predetermined distance from the closed position.
Claims13
A hinge structure for pivotally mounting a door on a frame, comprising a hinge member, means fixedly mounting one end of said hinge member on said frame, said door having a notch receiving the other end of said hinge member, said notch having a pair of sides, pivot means on said other end of said hinge member and on the sides of said notch to allow rotation of said door about an axis, one position of said door and said frame defining a closed position, and cooperating means on said hinge member and said door to provide a biasing force operable to rotate said door to the closed position.
A hinge structure for pivotally mounting a door on a frame, comprising a hinge member, means fixedly mounting one end of said hinge member on said frame, said door having a notch receiving the other end of said hinge member, said notch having a pair of sides and a wall extending between said sides, pivot means on said other end of said hinge member and on the sides of said notch to allow rotation of said door about an axis, one position of said door and said frame defining a closed position, a lug on said wall, and resilient tongue means on said hinge member engageable with said lug when said door is rotated to a predetermined position near said closed position to provide a biasing force operable to rotate said door to the closed position.
A hinge structure for pivotally mounting a door on a frame, comprising a hinge member, a slot on said frame, a projecting tang on one end of said hinge member engaging said slot for mounting said hinge member on said frame, said door having a notch receiving the other end of said hinge member, said notch having a pair of sides and a wall extending between said sides, a pair of parallel extending resilient legs on said other end of said hinge member, a projecting trunnion on the outer side end of each of said legs, a pair of trunnion receiving bores on the sides of said notch to allow rotation of said door about an axis between an open and a closed position with respect to said frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.