Abstract:
A housing in which a first hinge member is disposed on an enclosure and has a curved surface. A second hinge member is disposed on a door for the housing and also has a curved surface. The respective curved surfaces of the hinge members interlock to connect the door to the enclosure while permitting relatively pivotal movement therebetween and quick and easy removal of the door from the housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to a hinge assembly and, more particularly, to an assembly that pivotally connects a door to a housing while permitting quick removal of the door from the housing.  
           [0002]    There are many application involving a door that is hinged to a housing, or the like, and designed to pivot, or swing from a vertical closed position to an open position in which the door extends horizontally and outwardly from the housing. However, in most of these cases, when the door is opened to its horizontal position, access to the interior of the housing is difficult since stretching across the projecting door requires a long reach and places an individual in an awkward position to gain access to the rearmost portions of the interior of the housing.  
           [0003]    In an attempt to solve these problems, various techniques have been proposed to permit complete removal of the door. These techniques, however, cause other additional design problems. For example, even though they may include a hinge assembly that permits the door to be easily removable, the normal operation of the hinge assembly is often compromised and or the door sometimes inadvertently becomes disconnected from the housing. Also, since some hinge assemblies are spring biased toward the housing, removal of the door often removes the counter-balancing force exerted by the weight of the door on the spring. This can cause the hinge assembly to abruptly spring back towards the housing and thus creates a hazardous condition for the user. Further, many hinge assemblies of this type consist of a relatively high number of parts which adds to the complexity and cost of the assembly and reduces its reliability.  
           [0004]    Therefore, what is needed is a hinge that permits the door to be removed in a easy and quick manner without compromising the normal operation of the hinge. Also, what is needed is a hinge assembly of the above type that insures that the door will not become inadvertently disconnected from the housing, and that removal of the door will not cause a hazardous condition. Further, a hinge of the above type is needed that has a minimum of components and is relatively inexpensive and easy to assemble.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    Therefore the present invention is designed to pivotally connect two members and includes a first hinge member disposed on a first member and having a curved surface. A second hinge member is disposed on the second member and also has a curved surface. The respective curved surfaces of the hinge members interlock to connect the first and second members while permitting relatively pivotal movement therebetween.  
           [0006]    According to an example of the above, the first member is in the form of an enclosure and the second member would be a door for the enclosure. The hinge members of the present invention maintain the door secured to the enclosure in a positive and reliable manner for normal operation, yet allow the door to be pivoted to an open position and readily removed from the enclosure without compromising the hinged connection or causing the possibility of inadvertent removal of the door. Also, the hinges of the present invention eliminate any hazard caused by removal of the door, yet includes a minimum of components and is relatively inexpensive and easy to assemble. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a gas dispensing station that includes an electronics housing incorporating the hinge assembly of the present invention  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is an enlarged isometric view of the electronics housing of FIG. 1  
         [0009]    FIGS.  3 - 6  are enlarged, partial, isometric views of the hinge assembly of FIG. 2 shown in various stages of assembly 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0010]    The hinge assembly of the present invention will be shown and described, for the purpose of example, in connection with a gasoline dispensing station, shown in general by the reference numeral  10  in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The station  10  consists of a rectangular housing  12  containing three boots  12   a ,  12   b , and  12   c . Three hoses  14   a ,  14   b  and  14   c  extend from the interior of the housing  12  where each are connected at one end to piping (not shown) extending from underground storage tanks and through the housing to permit gasoline to be dispensed from the station  10 . Three dispensing nozzles  16   a ,  16   b , and  16   c  are connected to the other ends of the hoses  14   a ,  14   b , and  14   c , respectively, for dispensing the gasoline into tanks of vehicles and are supported in the boots  12   a ,  12   b , and  12   c , respectively, when not in use  
         [0011]    A self-contained electronics enclosure  20  is provider in the housing  12  of the station  10  and can be bolted thereto in a manner to be described. The enclosure  20  contains an array of electronics associated with dispensing of the gasoline and calculating and computing the cost of same, in a conventional manner. The enclosure  20  includes a door  22  defined in part by a face plate  22   a  having three windows  22   b ,  22   c , and  22   d  formed therein. A card reader  24  is mounted in the window  22   b  to receive the customer&#39;s credit card, and the windows  22   c  and  22   d  are provided for displaying various aspects of the transaction, including, for example, cost per gallon of gasoline, the amount of gallons dispensed, and the total sale price, all in a conventional manner. The electronics associated with the card reader  24 , and the display devices associated with the windows  22   c  and  22   d  are disposed in the enclosure  20 .  
         [0012]    The enclosure  20  is shown in FIG. 2 with the door  22  opened. In addition to the main face plate  22   a , the door  22  also includes a top plate  22   e , a pair of side wall plates  22   f  and  22   g , and a bottom plate  22   h , all of which extend from, and perpendicular to, the face plate  22   a    
         [0013]    The hinge assembly of the present invention permits swinging, or pivotal, movement of the door  22  from its vertically-extending, closed position shown in FIG. 1, to its horizontally-extending, open position of FIG. 2. To this end, the hinge assembly includes a pair of spaced, raised, hollow, bosses  30   a  and  30   b  formed integrally with the rear surface of the race plate  22   a  of the door  22  near its lower edge portion, and at the junction of the latter portion and the bottom plate  22   h  of the door. Each of the bosses  30   a  and  30   b  is formed by a circular plate that thus defines a hollow interior having a curved cross section. The purpose and function of the bosses  30   a  and  30   b  will be described in detail. A pair of steel cables,  32   a  and  32   b  support the door  22  in its open position and each cable is fastened at one end to the interior of the door and at the other end to the interior or the enclosure  20 , in any conventional manner  
         [0014]    The enclosure includes a bottom plate  20   a , a top plate  20   b , two side plates  20   c  and  20   d  and a rear plate (not shown). The respective ends of the bottom plate  20  are extended and bent downwardly, as viewed in FIG. 2, to form two mounting flanges, one of which is shown by the reference numeral  20   e , for mounting and securing the enclosure  20  to the housing  12  (FIG. 1) of the dispensing station  10   
         [0015]    A mounting board  34  is disposed in the front portion of the enclosure  20 , is mounted to, and extends upwardly from, the bottom plate  20 , and is connected to the bottom plate in any conventional manner. The mounting board  34  receives various electronics (not shown) associated with the card reader  24 , the display devices discussed above, and other electronics associated with the dispensing of gasoline from the station  10 . It is understood that additional mounting boards can be mounted in the enclosure in the same manner as the board  34  A pair of elongated gaskets  36   a  and  36   b  are mounted at the ends of the mounting board  34  for engagement by the leading edges of the side plates  22   f  and  22   g , respectively, of the door  22  in its closed position shown in FIG. 1, to prevent the ingress of fluids into the interior of the enclosure  20 .  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 shows the initial step in assembling the door  22  to the enclosure  20 . In this respect, a slot  22   s  in formed in the rear portion of the side wall  22   f  of the door  22  which has a profile with a curved portion that is identical to a curved portion defined by the interior of the boss  30   a  for reasons to be described. Although not shown in the drawings it is understood that a similar slot is formed in the rear portion of the side wall  22   g  and has a curved portion identical to the curved portion defined by the interior of the boss  30   b  (FIG. 2)  
         [0017]    The hinge assembly of the present invention also includes a hinge member  40   a  attached to the upper surface of the front end portion of the bottom plate  20   a  of the enclosure  20  in any conventional manner. The hinge member  40   a  has the same length as, and is in alignment with, the boss  30   a  of the door  22  and has a substantially “J” shaped cross section with its curved portion corresponding to the curved portions of the boss  30   a  and the slot  22   s . Although not shown in FIG. 3, a hinge member  40   b , partially shown in FIG. 2, is provided which is identical to the hinge member  40   a  and is also connected to the bottom plate  20   a  in a spaced relation to the hinge member  40   a  and in alignment with the boss  30   b  of the door  22 . An initial step in connecting the door  22  to the hinge assembly involves locating the door as shown in FIG. 3, in which it extends slightly above the bottom plate  20   a  of the enclosure  20 , with the bosses  30   a  and  30   b  in alignment with the hinge members  40   a  and  40   b , respectively.  
         [0018]    The door  22  is then lowered towards the bottom plate  20   a  of the enclosure  20  until the lower surface of the lower end portion of the door engages the corresponding upper surface of the bottom plate  20  as shown in FIG. 4. In this position, the hinge members  40   a  and  40   b  are interlocked with their respective bosses  30   a  and  30   b , with the curved surfaces of the hinge members  40   a  and  40   b  in engagement with the corresponding cured surfaces of the bosses  30   a  and  30   b  as well as the corresponding slots, including the slot  22   s  formed in the side plates  22   f  and  22   g , respectively. The upper end portion of the door  22  is then pivoted upwardly relatively to the enclosure  20  through an intermediate position shown in FIG. 5 and then to the final closed position shown in FIG. 6. In this closed position, the bosses  30   a  and  30   b  remain in engagement with their corresponding hinge members  40   a  and  40   b  as well as the slots in the respective side plates  22   f  and  22   g , including the slot  22   s . Also in this closed position, the pressure between the corresponding curved surfaces of the hinge members  40   a  and  40   b  and their respective bosses  30   a  and  30   b  keep the side plates  22   f  and  22   g  of the door  22  pushed against the gaskets  36   a  and  36   b  thus creating a seal  
         [0019]    In the event it is desired to open the door to the positions of FIGS. 2 and 4, the above pivoting movement is reversed an the interlocking curved portions of the hinge members  40   a  and  40   b  and their respective bosses  30   a  and  30   b  keep the door in place. According to a feature of the invention, if it is desired to remove the door  22  from the enclosure  20  to permit better access to the interior of the enclosure  20 , the door is pivoted to its horizontal position of FIGS. 2 and 4 and then simply lifted, or pulled, away from the hinge members  40   a  and  40   b  until the bosses  30   a  and  30   b  clear the hinge members.  
         [0020]    Several advantages thus result from the hinge assembly of the present invention. For example, it maintains the door  22  secured to the enclosure  20  in a positive and reliable manner for normal operation, yet allows the door to be readily removed without compromising the hinge assembly or causing the possibility of inadvertent removal of the door. Also, the hinge assembly of the present invention eliminates any hazard caused by removal of the door  23 , yet includes a minimum of components and is relatively inexpensive and easy to assemble.  
         [0021]    It is understood that variations may be made the above without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to use with an electronics housing in a gasoline dispensing station, but rather is equally applicable to pivotally connect any two members. Also, the present invention is not limited to two hinge members  40   a  and  40   b  and two corresponding bosses  30   a  and  30 . Rather, one relatively long hinge member and boss could be provided, or three or more hinge members and corresponding bosses could be provided. Further, the enclosure  20  and the door  22  could be oriented in different planes so that the door is not limited to movement from a vertical position to a horizontal position and is not removable from the enclosure by lifting it upwardly.  
         [0022]    It is understood that other modifications, changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.