Abstract:
A patch fitting for a glass door includes a mount for being mounted on a floor, a shaft connected with the mount, a clamping seat pivotally connected with the shaft, and a piston unit installed inside the clamping seat. When the glass door is sweeping to open or close, the clamping seat will turn along with the sweeping movement of the glass door about the shaft and the piston unit will be pushed by an eccentric cam of the shaft to press the hydraulic oil contained in the clamping seat so as to provide a damping resistance in response to the sweeping movement of the glass door. The patch fitting can be easily installed on the floor by a simple work.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a patch fitting with a closing function for mounting and closing a glass door and more particularly, to such a patch fitting that can be conveniently installed by a simple work. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Conventionally, a glass door is supported by hinges for enabling the glass door to be pivotally opened or closed. Because the glass door has a certain weight, the pivots of the hinges may become unstable after the hinges are used for a long time, resulting in that the glass door may offset downwardly. If this phenomenon happens, when the glass door is opened or closed, the glass door may hit the floor easily to cause damage and in a worse situation, the glass door may be broken accidently. To resolve the aforesaid problem, a door closer concealedly mounted in the floor, i.e. the so-called “concealed floor door closer” or “floor hinge”, is nowadays used for holding the glass door. 
         [0005]    The concealed floor door closer has the advantages of high reliability and high weight-bearing ability and is capable of adjusting the open angle and the return speed. However, before the concealed floor door closer is installed, the floor needs to be cut with a recessed mounting hole subject to the size of the concealed floor door closer to be mounted. After the door closer is embedded in the mounting hole, it usually needs to wait for another one or two days for mounting the glass door. The whole installation process of the conventional concealed floor door closer is quite complicated. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-noted circumstances. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a patch fitting for a glass door, which can be easily installed on the floor and can provide a damping resistance against the opening force and closing force during the process of opening and closing the glass door. 
         [0007]    To attain the above-mentioned objective, the patch fitting for a glass door provided by the present invention comprises a mount, a shaft, a clamping seat and a piston unit. The mount is adapted for being mounted on a floor. The shaft has a shaft body with an end connected with the mount, and an eccentric cam provided on the shaft body. The clamping seat is adapted for clamping the glass door. The clamping seat has an oil chamber and a shaft hole in fluid communication with the oil chamber. The shaft is inserted into the shaft hole of the clamping seat such that the clamping seat is turnable about the shaft along with a sweeping movement of the glass door. The piston unit is installed in the oil chamber of the clamping seat and contacted with the eccentric cam of the shaft, such that when the clamping seat is turned, the piston unit is actuated by the eccentric cam of the shaft to the press hydraulic oil contained in the oil chamber so as to provide a damping resistance in response to the sweeping movement of the glass door. The patch fitting can be easily mounted on the floor by a simple work and can provide a damping resistance of oil pressure to damp the opening force and the closing force exerting on the glass door. 
         [0008]    In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mount of the patch fitting comprises a mounting plate, a plurality of adjustment members and an adjustment plate. The mounting plate has a receiving space and a periphery provided with a plurality of adjustment holes communicated with the receiving space. Each of the adjustment members is screwingly inserted in one of the adjustment holes of the mounting plate. The adjustment plate is arranged in the receiving space of the mounting plate, connected with the end of the shaft and stopped by the adjustment members such that the adjustment plate can be actuated by the adjustment members to move backward and forward or leftward and rightward or to rotate relative to the mounting plate so as to compensate the offset of the glass door for enabling the glass door to be closed positively. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0009]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view showing a patch fitting in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is installed on a floor and coupled with a glass door; 
           [0011]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are partially exploded views of the patch fitting in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the clamping seat and the piston unit of the patch fitting of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5A  to  FIG. 5D  are cross-sectional views showing the processes of how the piston unit presses the hydraulic oil; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 6A  to  FIG. 6C  are bottom views of the mount of the patch fitting of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the ways of how to compensate the offset of the glass door. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the patch fitting  10  provided according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a mount  20 , a shaft  30 , a clamping seat  40 , and a piston unit  50 . 
         [0016]    The mount  20  includes a mounting plate  21 , a plurality of adjustment member  22   a,    22   b,  an adjustment plate  23 , and two end plates  24 . The mounting plate  21  is provided with a receiving space  212  at its center and two mounting holes  214  located respectively at left and right sides relative to the receiving space  212 , through each of which an expansion bolt  25  is inserted such that the mounting plate  21  is fixedly mounted on the floor by the expansion blots  25 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . In addition, the periphery of the mounting plate  21  is provided with a plurality of threaded adjustment holes  216  communicated with the receiving space  212  for installation of the adjustment members  22   a,    22   b.  The adjustment plate  23  is arranged in the receiving space  212  of the mounting plate  21  and stopped and pushable by the adjustment members  22   a  and  22   b,  such that the adjustment plate  23  is drivenable by the adjustment members  22   a  or  22   b  to move backward and forward or leftward and rightward or to rotate relative to the mounting plate  21 , i.e. the position of the adjustment plate  23  is adjustable relative to the mounting plate  21  by actuations of the adjustment members  22   a  and  22   b.  Further, the adjustment plate  23  is provided at the center thereof with an insertion hole  232 . The two end plates  24  are coupled with two ends of the mounting plate  21  respectively. In practice, the end plates  24  can be eliminated according to actual need. 
         [0017]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the shaft  30  has a shaft body  32  on which an eccentric cam  34  is provided. The bottom end of the shaft  30  is inserted into the insertion hole  232  of the adjustment plate  23  of the mount  20 . In addition, a bearing  36  is sleeved on each of the top and bottom sections of the shaft body  32  of the shaft  30 . 
         [0018]    As shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , the clamping seat  40  includes a seat body  41 , two end caps  42 , two clamping pieces  43 , and a plurality of fasteners  44 . The seat body  41  has an insertion groove  412  for insertion of a glass door  12 . A decorative strip  45  may be inserted in the insertion groove  412  according to the user&#39;s need. In addition, the two side walls that define the insertion groove  412  are provided with a plurality of threaded through holes  414  communicated with the insertion groove  412 . A decorative plate  46  may be provided and mounted on each side wall of the seat body  41  according to the user&#39;s need. Further, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the seat body  41  is provided at its inside with an oil chamber  47 , which can be divided into a compartment  472 , an oil duct  474  in fluid communication with the compartment  472 , and two valve holes  476  and  478  spaced from each other and in fluid communication with the compartment  472  and the oil duct  474 . Two regulation valves  48  and  49  are respectively mounted in the valve holes  476  and  478  as shown in  FIG. 5A . The bottom of the seat body  41  is opened with a shaft hole  416  in communication with the compartment  472  of the oil chamber  47 . The shaft  30  is inserted into the shaft hole  416  such that the seat body  41  of the clamping seat  40  is turnable along with a sweeping movement of the glass door  12  about the shaft  30  by means of the two bearings  36 . The two end caps  42  are mounted on the two ends of the seat body  41  to seal two end openings of the compartment  472  of the oil chamber  47 . The clamping pieces  43  are arranged in the insertion groove  412  of the seat body  41  and abutted against two opposite surfaces of the glass door  12  respectively. The fasteners  44 , which are screws in this embodiment, are respectively screwingly inserted in the through holes  414  of the seat body  41  and urged against the clamping pieces  43  such that the clamping pieces  43  can be pushed by these fasteners  44  to firmly clamp the glass door  12  therebetween. 
         [0019]    The piston unit  50  is installed in the compartment  472  of the oil chamber  47  and will function at the time when the clamping seat  40  is turned. The piston unit  50  includes a piston  52 , a contact member  54  and two springs  56  and  58 . The piston  52  has an elongated through hole  522  through which the shaft body  32  of the shaft  30  passes, and two oil passages  524  at two end portions thereof for conducting hydraulic oil. The contact member  54 , which is a roller in this embodiment, is rotatably mounted to the piston  52  by a pivot pin  542  and in contact with the eccentric cam  34  of the shaft  30 , such that the contact member  54  will be pushed by the eccentric cam  34  to move at the time when the clamping seat  40  is turned. The spring  56  has two ends stopped at the piston  52  and one of the end caps  42  for providing a rebound force to return the piston  52 . The spring  58  is inserted into inside of the spring  56  and has two ends stopped at the piston  52  and the one of the end caps  42  for providing a rebound force and a resilient compensation effect. It&#39;ll be appreciated that one of the springs  56  and  58  can be eliminated according to actual need. 
         [0020]    The structure of the patch fitting  10  has been detailedly described as above and the feature and operation of the patch fitting  10  will be further recited hereunder. 
         [0021]    When the glass door  12  is pushed to open, the clamping seat  40  will turn along with the sweeping movement of the glass door  12  about the shaft body  32  of the shaft  30 , which is served as a pivot center. At this moment, the piston  52  is pushed by the eccentric cam  34  of the shaft  30  to move in the compartment  472  of the oil chamber  47  in a direction away from the regulation valves  48  and  49 , resulting in that the hydraulic oil that is pressed by the piston  52  will flow from a left side of the piston  52  through the oil passages  524  to a right side of piston  52  as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . 
         [0022]    When the glass door  12  is closed, in an initial stage the piston  52  will be pushed by the spring  56  to move in a reverse direction to force the hydraulic oil to flow through the oil duct  474 , the regulation valve  48  and the valve hole  476  into the compartment  472  and then flow toward the left side of the piston  52  through one of the oil passages  524  as shown in  FIG. 5C . When the glass door  12  is continuously closed to an extent that the hydraulic oil is blocked by the piston  52  from entering from the entrance of the oil duct  474  into the oil duct  474 , the hydraulic oil will be forced to flow through the valve hole  478 , the regulation valve  49  and the oil duct  474  into the compartment  472  and then flow toward the left side of the piston  52  through one of the oil passages  524 , as shown in  FIG. 5D , until the glass door  12  is completely closed. The sweeping speed of the glass door at different door closing stages can be adjusted by adjustment of the flow rate of the hydraulic oil through the regulation valve  48  and/or the regulation valve  49 . 
         [0023]    On the other hand, if a displacement offset happens to cause misalignment of the door glass when the glass door is stayed in the closed position, the rotational offset or the offset in the backward and forward direction can be compensated by rotating the adjustment plate  23  or moving the adjustment plate  23  in the backward and forward direction in the receiving space  212 , which can be done by pushing the two lateral sides of the adjustment plate  23  by the four adjustment members  22   a,  as shown in  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B . That is, by means of adjusting the position of the adjustment plate  23  relative to the mounting plate  21  and by means of the coupling relationships among the shaft  30 , the piston unit  50  and the clamping seat  40 , the rotational offset or the displacement offset in the backward and forward direction can be compensated. As to the displacement offset in the leftward and rightward direction, it can be compensated by the adjustment members  22   b  that are urged against the two ends of the adjustment plate  23 , as shown in  FIG. 6C . 
         [0024]    As indicated above, the patch fitting  10  can be fixedly installed on the floor by a few of the expansion bolts  25 . The floor doesn&#39;t need to be cut with a mounting hole for installation of the patch fitting  10 , thereby simplifying the work of installation. In addition, the patch fitting  10  can provide a hydraulic oil damping resistance generated between the piston unit  50  and the hydraulic oil to damp the force for opening or closing the glass door. Further, after the patch fitting  10  is installed, the position of the glass door can be lightly adjusted to make sure that the glass door can be closed positively.