Patent Publication Number: US-8539643-B2

Title: Damped hinge and control device thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The instant disclosure relates to a hinge for glass doors; more particularly, to a damped spring hinge and a control device thereof. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Glass doors are frequently used in public buildings and shower rooms. Most glass doors can be closed automatically. Conventional glass doors are usually hinged to fixed walls or glass panels. Springs are normally used for the self-closing hinges, which tend to generate excessive impacts as the doors close. 
     To address the above issue, the inventor proposes the following solution. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the instant disclosure is to provide a damped spring hinge and a control device thereof. An elastic unit would generate the self-closing action, while the control device provides damping with hydraulic oil to reduce door impact. 
     Another aspect of the instant disclosure is to provide a damped spring hinge and a control device thereof, wherein a throttle valve is used to adjust the flow of hydraulic oil for controlling the door closing speed. 
     The damped spring hinge comprises: a shaft seat having a seat body with a shaft hole and a receiving hole formed therein, wherein the shaft hole is passaged to the receiving hole, with a oil conduit being formed in the seat body for connecting to the shaft hole and the receiving hole at opposite ends; a shaft rotatably disposed in the shaft hole, wherein a fixing surface is formed on the shaft; a sleeve disposed in the receiving hole; a sliding member having an opening formed on one end thereof slidably disposed in the sleeve, wherein an oil reservoir for hydraulic oil is formed by the sliding member and the sleeve, and wherein one end of the sliding member abuts to the fixing surface; an elastic unit disposed in between the sleeve and the sliding member; a non-return valve disposed in the oil reservoir; a throttle valve disposed on the shaft seat and extends to the oil conduit; a first connecting member connected to the shaft seat; and a second connecting member connected to the shaft. 
     The control device of the damped spring hinge comprises: a shaft seat having a seat body with a shaft hole and a receiving hole formed therein, wherein the shaft hole is passaged to the receiving hole, with a oil conduit being formed in the seat body for connecting to the shaft hole and the receiving hole at opposite ends; a shaft rotatably disposed in the shaft hole, wherein a fixing surface is formed on the shaft; a sleeve disposed in the receiving hole; a sliding member having an opening formed on one end thereof slidably disposed in the sleeve, wherein an oil reservoir for hydraulic oil is formed by the sliding member and the sleeve, and wherein one end of the sliding member abuts to the fixing surface; an elastic unit disposed in between the sleeve and the sliding member; a non-return valve disposed in the oil reservoir; and a throttle valve disposed on the shaft seat and extends to the oil conduit. 
     The instant disclosure has the following advantage. The control device is comprised of a shaft seat, a shaft, a sleeve, an elastic unit, a non-return valve, and a throttle valve. The control device has an oil reservoir and a oil conduit formed therein for circulating hydraulic oil. When the door shuts, the fixing surface is restored to the original position by the sliding member due to the elastic unit. At such state, the sliding member is slid away from the sleeve. The hydraulic oil would push a closing member toward an orifice of a valve seat to create a seal. Thereby, the hydraulic oil can only return to the reservoir by circulating through the oil conduit. A throttle valve of the oil conduit regulates the oil flow for controlling the damping effect. Thus, less impact can be generated when shutting the door. 
     In order to further appreciate the characteristics and technical contents of the instant disclosure, references are hereunder made to the detailed descriptions and appended drawings in connection with the instant disclosure. However, the appended drawings are merely shown for exemplary purposes, rather than being used to restrict the scope of the instant disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a damped spring hinge of the instant disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the damped spring hinge of the instant disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the damped spring hinge of the instant disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a damped spring hinge for another embodiment of the instant disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the damped spring hinge for the other embodiment of the instant disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the damped spring hinge for the other embodiment of the instant disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1˜3 , which show a damped spring hinge for a first embodiment of the instant disclosure. The hinge can secure the door (e.g. glass door) pivotally to the wall or the glass panel. For the instant embodiment, a glass-on-glass type hinge is disclosed. 
     The hinge comprises a shaft seat  1 , a shaft  2 , a sleeve  3 , a sliding member  4 , an elastic unit  5 , a non-return valve  6 , a throttle valve  7 , a first connecting member  8 , and a second connecting member  9 . The shaft seat  1  has a seat body  11 , which has a shaft hole  12  and a receiving hole  13  formed therein. The shaft hole  12  is projected thru the seat body  11  from side to side. The receiving hole  13  is open to another side of the seat body  11  on one end and passaged to the shaft hole  12  on the opposite end. An oil conduit  14  is formed inside the seat body  11  for oil circulation, wherein the opposite ends of the oil conduit  14  is connected to the shaft hole  12  and the receiving hole  13 . 
     The shaft  2  can be rotatably disposed in the shaft hole  12  of the seat body  11 . A bearing  15  is disposed at opposite ends of the shaft  2  in the seat body  11  for smooth shaft rotation. Both ends of the shaft  2  protrude from the shaft seat  1  for securing to the second connecting member  9 . A flat fixing surface  21  is formed on the middle portion of the shaft  2  for door (e.g. glass door) rotation purpose. The fixing surface  21  is arranged to face the receiving hole  13 . 
     The sleeve  3  has a tubular body for disposing in the receiving hole  13  of the seat body  11 . An O-ring  31  is disposed on the sleeve  3  in the receiving hole  13  to improve sealing. The sleeve  3  can be filled with the hydraulic oil to seal one end of the receiving hole  13 . An opening  34  is formed on one side of the sleeve  3  that communicates with the oil conduit  14 . 
     The sliding member  4  is barrel-shaped having a closed end with a thru hole  41  formed thereon, with an opposite end being open-ended. The sliding member  4  can be slidably disposed in the sleeve  3 , wherein the sliding member  4  can slide back and forth therein. Together, the sleeve  3  and the sliding member  4  form an enclosure for storing hydraulic oil, thus an oil reservoir  42  is established. The holed end of the sliding member  4  abuts to the fixing surface  21  of the shaft  2 . 
     The elastic unit  5  includes at least a coil spring. For the instant embodiment, a first spring  51  and a second spring  52  are disposed in the oil reservoir  42 . The first and second springs  51  and  52  abut to the sleeve  3  on one end and the sliding member  4  indirectly on the opposite end. By disposing the elastic unit  5  in between the sleeve  3  and the sliding member  4 , the sliding member  4  can be actuated. In other words, the sliding member  4  can abut to the fixing surface  21  of the shaft  2  elastically, wherein the elastic unit  5  provides the restoring energy for the self-closing door. 
     The non-return valve  6  is disposed within the oil reservoir  42 . As long as the non-return valve  6  can block reverse flow, there is no structural restriction for the non-return valve  6 . For the instant embodiment, the non-return valve  6  has a valve seat  61  and a closing member  62 . An orifice  611  is formed on the valve seat  61 . The closing member  62  is disposed at one side of the valve seat  61  and aligns to the orifice  611 . The closing member  62  is disposed in between the valve seat  61  and the thru hole  41  of the sliding member  4 . The above arrangement lets the hydraulic oil to flow in one direction only. In other words, the hydraulic oil of the oil reservoir  42  can only flow in the direction from the orifice  611  of the valve seat  61  to the thru hole  41  of the sliding member  4 . If the oil flows in reverse direction, the reverse flow would move the closing member  62  to abut against the orifice  611  of the valve seat  61  in creating a seal. Thus, backflowing is prevented in achieving the non-return effect. The elastic unit  5  (first spring  51  and the second spring  52 ) abuts to the valve seat  61  on one end. Thus, the spring force of the elastic unit  5  is transmitted by the valve seat  61  to actuate the sliding member  4 . 
     The throttle valve  7  is disposed on the shaft seat  1 . For the instant embodiment, the throttle valve  7  is bolted to the seat body  11  of the shaft seat  1 . The throttle valve  7  has a tapered portion  71  on one end that extends into the oil conduit  14  and near the opening  34  of the sleeve  3 . Thereby, the throttle valve  7  can be used to adjust the oil flow through the oil conduit  14  to change the damping effect accordingly. An O-ring  72  is disposed on the throttle valve  7  in the seat body  11  for sealing. 
     The first connecting member  8  and the second connecting member  9  connect to the shaft seat  1  and the shaft  2  respectively. The first connecting member  8  includes a first press plate  81  and a second press plate  82 . A plurality of gaskets  83  are disposed in between the first and second press plates  81  and  82 . Two fasteners  84 , such as pins, are used to secure the first press plate  81  onto the shaft seat  1 . Meanwhile, a plurality of fasteners  85  can be used to mount the first and second press plates  81  and  82  onto the glass panels. 
     The second connecting member  9  includes a third press plate  91  and a fourth press plate  92 . Likewise, a plurality of gaskets  93  are disposed in between the third and fourth press plates  91  and  92 . A sealing cover  94  is pinned or glued to one end of the third press plate  91 . The sealing cover  94  is disposed in between the shaft seat  1  and the second connecting member  9  to improve sealing. A plurality of fasteners  95  can be used to mount the third and fourth press plates  91  and  92  onto the doors (e.g. glass doors). Thereby, the door can be secured pivotally to the fixed glass panel for opening and closing. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 4˜6 , which show a glass-on-wall type hinge for mounting the glass door pivotally to the wall for a second embodiment of the instant disclosure. Compare to the first embodiment, the only difference is the first connecting member  8  of the instant embodiment has a base  86 . The base  86  is fixed to the shaft seat  1 . Meanwhile, fasteners (not shown) can be used to secure the base  86  onto the wall. 
     For the instant disclosure, the self-closing actuation is provided by the elastic unit  5 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , when the door is closing, the elastic unit  5  pushes the sliding member  4  to abut the fixing surface  21  of the shaft  2  elastically. When the door (e.g. a glass door) is rotatably opening (not shown), the second connecting member  9  enables the shaft  2  to rotate in the shaft hole  12 . The rounded portion of the shaft  2  forces against the sliding member  4  to collapse the elastic unit  5 , thus allowing the door to be opened. When closing, the sliding member  4  is pushed by the spring force as the elastic unit  5  releases. Thereby, the sliding member  4  turns the shaft  2  as the fixing surface  21  returns to the original state to complete the self-closing action. 
     The control device of the instant disclosure is comprised of the shaft seat  1 , the shaft  2 , the sleeve  3 , the sliding member  4 , the elastic unit  5 , the non-return valve  6 , and the throttle valve  7 . Plus, for the control device, the oil reservoir  42  and the oil conduit  14  for oil circulation are formed therein. When the door swings open, the shaft  2  is rotated against the sliding member  4 , which collapses the elastic unit  5  for the door to be opened. At such state, the sliding member  4  is moved toward the sleeve  3 , wherein the oil reservoir  42  is squeezed in becoming smaller. As a result, the stored hydraulic oil is forced to exit through the orifice  611  of the valve seat  61 . No damping effect is created at this point, wherein the door can be easily opened. 
     When the door closes, the sliding member  4  is actuated by the spring force as the elastic unit  5  releases. The actuated sliding member  4  would turn the shaft  2  and abuts the fixing surface  21  as prior to the door being opened. At such state, the sliding member  4  moves away from the sleeve  3  as the oil reservoir  42  is expanded. The hydraulic oil would flow in reverse direction and push the closing member  62  against the orifice  611  of the valve seal  61  to create a seal. Thus, a non-return effect is created, wherein the hydraulic oil can only return to the oil reservoir  42  by circulating through the oil conduit  14 . To adjust the oil flow, the throttle valve  7  is disposed in the oil conduit  14  to control the damping effect. Thereby, less impact is created when the door is self-closing. 
     The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferred embodiments of the instant disclosure; however, the characteristics of the instant disclosure are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alternations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the instant disclosure delineated by the following claims.