Portable manway cover hinge device

A method of handling the removal and installation of a manway cover to a manway flange, the manway flange having a planar face parallel to a manway opening and a plurality of transverse bolt openings, and the manway cover having a peripheral manway portion containing a plurality of bolt openings corresponding to the bolt openings of the manway flange, the method comprising:

• removing a plurality of manway cover bolts from a portion of the manway cover and the manway flange, the plurality of manway cover bolts being transverse to the plane of and through the manway cover;
• assembling a portable manway cover hinge device having a pair of hinge plates, each hinge plate defining a longitudinal plane, wherein each hinge plate has a support member parallel to the longitudinal plane with a hinge aperture adapted to align with a bolt opening of a manway cover and a bolt opening of a manway flange, a linkage member adjacent a first end of each hinge plate and extending transversely out of the longitudinal plane of the hinge plate, and a pivotal connection coupling overlapping pairs of the linkage member of the pair of hinge plates;
• aligning a hinge aperture of the support member of one of the pair of hinge plates with one of the plurality of bolt openings of the portion of the manway cover and aligning a hinge aperture of the support member of the other of the pair of hinge plates with one of the plurality of bolt openings of the portion of the manway flange from which the bolts were removed;
• inserting a pin into each hinge aperture of one of the pair of hinge plates and corresponding manway cover bolt opening and a pin into each hinge aperture of the other of the pair of hinge plates and corresponding manway flange bolt opening;
• securing each pin within the corresponding cover bolt opening and flange bolt opening;
• and
• removing the remaining manway cover bolts from the manway cover.

A method of handling the removal and installation of a manway cover to a manway flange, the manway flange having a planar face parallel to a manway opening and a plurality of transverse bolt openings, and the manway cover having a peripheral manway portion containing a plurality of bolt openings corresponding to the bolt openings of the manway flange, the method comprising:

• removing a plurality of manway cover bolts from a portion of the manway cover and the manway flange exposing a plurality of bolt openings;
• assembling a portable manway cover hinge device having a pair of hinge plates, each hinge plate defining a longitudinal plane, wherein each hinge plate has a support member parallel to the longitudinal plane with a hinge aperture adapted to align with one of the plurality of bolt openings of the manway cover and the manway flange, a linkage member adjacent a first end of each hinge plate and extending out of and transverse to the longitudinal plane of the hinge plate, and a pivotal connection coupling overlapping pairs of the linkage member of the pair of hinge plates;
• aligning a hinge aperture of the support member of one of the pair of hinge plates with one of the plurality of bolt openings of the portion of the manway cover and aligning a hinge aperture of the support member of the other of the pair of hinge plates with one of the plurality of bolt openings of the portion of the manway flange from which the bolts were removed;
• inserting a pin into each hinge aperture of one of the pair of hinge plates and corresponding manway cover bolt opening and a pin into each hinge aperture of the other of the pair of hinge plates and corresponding manway flange bolt opening;
• securing each pin within the corresponding cover bolt opening and flange bolt opening;
• and
• removing the remaining manway cover bolts from the manway cover.

In combination, a manway cover connected to a manway flange having a planar face parallel to a manway opening, the manway flange having a plurality of transverse bolt openings, and a manway cover having a peripheral manway portion containing a plurality of bolt openings corresponding to the bolt openings of the manway flange wherein each of the plurality of corresponding bolt openings has a bolt inserted into each of the plurality of aligned bolt openings of the manway cover and the manway flange and a portable manway hinge device for handling the removal and installation of the manway cover, the combination comprising:

• a manway cover connected to a manway flange wherein a predetermined number of the plurality of bolts have been removed;
• and
• a portable manway hinge device connected to the manway cover and manway flange where the predetermined number of the plurality of bolts have been removed, the hinge device comprising:
• a pair of hinge plates, each hinge plate defining a longitudinal plane, wherein one hinge plate has a support member parallel to the longitudinal plane with a hinge aperture aligned with a bolt opening of the manway cover and wherein the other hinge plate has a support member parallel to the longitudinal plane with a hinge aperture aligned with a bolt opening of the cover flange;
• a removable pin inserted into the hinge aperture aligned with the bolt opening of the manway cover and a removable pin inserted into the hinge aperture aligned with the bolt opening of the cover flange.
• a linkage member adjacent a first end of each hinge plate and extending transversely out of the longitudinal plane of the hinge plate toward and overlapping with the other hinge plate;
• and
• a pivotal connection coupling overlapping pairs of the linkage member of the pair of hinge plates.