Patent Publication Number: US-3874803-A

Title: Swinging and locking device, particularly for vapour escape hoods at kitchen ranges

Description:
United States Patent [1 1 Svensson Apr. 1, 1975 i 1 SWINGING AND LOCKING DEVICE,  
 PARTICULARLY FOR VAPOUR ESCAPE {73] Assignee: Aktiebolaget Svenska Flaktfabriken,  
 Nacka, Sweden 221 Filed: Apr. 9, I973 211 Appl. No.:349.250  
 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. l2, i974 Germany 72l36l4 [52] U.S. Cl. 403/92, 98/l 15 MV. 403/103. 403/1 l 1, 403/329 I51] Int. Cl B08b 15/02 {58] Field of Search 403/52, 66, 7!, 83, 92,  
 403/93, 103, ill, 326, 329&#39;, 98/ll5 R, US K, 115 LH, ll5 MV Primary Examiner-Werner H. Schroeder Attorney, Agent, or FirmHowson and Howson [57] ABSTRACT A pivoting device suitable for pivotably mounting a pivotable vapor hood to a fixed housing above a cooking range, in a manner permitting the pivotable hood to be manually adjusted angularly to any desired for ward and backward position, while permitting easy removal and replacement of the pivotable hood for cleaning purposes. A pair of such pivoting devices are preferably fixed to opposite interior surfaces of the fixed housing, and each device is provided with an inwardly-extending sleeve for insertion into corresponding holes in opposite flexible end areas of the pivotable hood, to support the hood for rotation. An ar rangement of locking tabs on the pivotable hood detachably engages locking means on a pair of flexible follower arms extending from the pivoting devices. Each pivoting device contains a coil spring acting on its corresponding follower arm to urge the pivotable hood upward and backward, and each pivoting device is provided with a screw-adjustable friction disk tending, with the aid of the action of said spring, to clamp each follower arm in the angular position to which it is manually moved while permitting its easy motion between such desired positions.  
 ll Claims, 7 Drawing Figures FMEHTED APR 1 IEYS Fig.4  
 Fig.7  
 Fig.6  
 Fig.5  
  SWINGING AND LOCKING DEVICE, PARTICULARLY FOR VAPOUR ESCAPE HOODS AT KITCHEN RANGES This invention relates to a swinging and locking device of the kind suitable for use in providing an overrange vapour hood which is forwardly and backwardly pivotable. The aforesaid vapour escape hoods are adapted for movement between two end positions, viz. one position in which the hood is swung inwards and the space above the cooking plate is accessible at maximum, and a second position in which the hood is swung outwards and said space is enclosed in the upper section by the hood for collecting vapour from cooking and frying. In addition to its movability, the hood is desired to be detachable for cleaning it throughout from time to time. In the conventional swinging and locking devices it is necessary for this purpose to unscrew screw connections and to loosen other details. This renders it so tedious and complicated to attach and remove the hood, that housewives in general do not carry out these operations. Heretofore, the kind of movement of the hood permitted in relation to the stationary structure, has also not been satisfactory.  
  It is the primary object of this invention to overcome the aforesaid disadvantages and to bring about in general a further development and improvement of the state of art concerned. This object is achieved by the device according to the invention. Any housewife should be able to remove and attach the hood using the swinging and locking device of the invention without any difficulty. Even when the hood is detached and removed frequently, the parts will not loosen and give rise to rattling noises and the like. The construction according to the invention, furthermore, requires substantially no maintenance.  
  Further features and advantages of the invention will become evident from the following description, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 shows by a diametrical section on an enlarged scale a swinging and locking device according to the invention in mounted state,  
  FIG. 2 shows a follower arm of the device and a hood locking projection, seen from the left in FIG. 1,  
  FIG. 3 shows the housing of the device, seen from the right in FIG. 1,  
  FIG. 4 shows a sectional view according to the section lV-IV in FIG. 3, 4  
  FIG. 5 shows a housing end cover, seen from the left in FIG. 1,  
  FIG. 6 shows a section through the symmetry plane of said cover and FIG. 7 shows the same cover, seen from the right in FIG. 1.  
  Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the lower forward corner portion of a vapour escape arrangement not shown in detail. The lateral profile of this corner portion corresponds to the outline of a recess 17 visible in FIG. 3.  
  At said corner portion is fastened the housing 2 of the swinging and locking device according to the invention, for example by means of a screw (not shown) inserted through a bore 14 in a housing shoulder. The housing advantageously has the shape ofa flat cylinder and may be manufactured of an anodized metal.  
  The flat side of the housing which faces the hood is provided with a preferably eccentric annular blind bore 3, into which a helical spring 4 is inserted, which at the bottom of said blind bore engages, for example by a radially projecting end (not shown), with a corresponding extension of the annular bore and thereby is secured on one side.  
  In the pin-like uplift or bass surrounded by the annular bore 3, a central threaded blind bore 5 is provided into which engages a screw 18 with counter-sunk head. which is surrounded adjacent its head by a sleeve 20 having a corrspondingly counter-sunk end surface, which presses a housing end cover 6 in the direction against the housing.  
  The cover 6 shown in detail in FIGS. 5 7 includes in the area of screw 18 a through hole, about which as centre a substantially cylindric cover portion is arranged. To said cover portion adjoins with maintained thickness a radial extension (see FIGS. 5 and 7). The cover may be made of an anodized metal, like the housmg.  
  In the cover surface facing the housing a shallow depression I6 is recessed concentrically about said through hole, and a disk 8 of a material with suitable friction properties is placed in said depression. It will be explained in greater detail in the following of which kind these properties are. The friction disk 8 is of a thickness exceeding the height of the depression 16 so as to leave sufficient space between cover and housing to prevent direct friction between said parts, specially in the area of said extension.  
  About said through hole, furthermore, there is provided partially concentric a recess 7 for the other end of the spring 4. This recess 7 extends radially with diminishing width to the vicinity of the free end of the extension and leads into a transverse groove which is blind at both ends, so that substantially a T shape is formed. The spring end engaging with said recess 7 and said groove at first leaves the spring helix tangentially and finally is deflected at an angle of about By this deflection it projects into the right-hand or lefthand end of the groove, in dependency of the hood side, and thereby secures also the other spring end.  
  In the cover surface remote from the housing (FIG. 7) a shallow depression 15 is provided which extends at least from the area of the through hole to across .the whole cover extension and is intended to receive a follower arm of spring steel which is provided in one end area with a corresponding through hole. The other end of the arm at first projects laterally and is thereafter de flected at a right angle to an engagement surface 11, which in locking position projects, preferably spaced, past the adjacent edge of the swinging part. In the area of said projection an aperture 12 is provided for a locking projection 13 on the hood side to pass therethrough, which projection is deflected at the end at a right angle and embraces in locking position the follower arm. The follower arm is held in the depression 15 by the sleeve 20.  
  As is apparent from FIG. 1, the lower rearward corner area 9 of the hood, or a corresponding extension of the hood, rests on the sleeve 20. The two areas and, respectively, extensions at the opposite ends of the hood preferably are so flexible that they can somewhat be compressed and thereby adapted to permit the corresponding holes in the end hood areas to be slipped over the screws and sleeves already mounted and to elastically assume the position shown in FIG. 1. With the hood so inserted and the spring unloaded, the unloaded follower arms extend rearwardly downwards while the hood assumes its inward swung position with the inner edges inclined rearwardly upwards. Thereby the areas ll of the follower arms can be caught easily and the arms, slightly pressed outwards, can be swung upwards to cover the projections 13. Thereafter the free ends of the arms are pressed against the hood and over the projections l3 and assume automatically the locking posi tion shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.  
  For removing the hood, the follower arms can be swung against the spring action and the hood until they can be pressed outwards with the aperture 12 over the projections 13, whereafter they again assume their un loaded free position. The said hood areas or the like need be pressed only slightly in the direction toward each other for removing them from the screws with sleeves. The spring 4 is of such strength and the friction properties of the disk 8 are so chosen in view of the adjustable tightening effect of the screw 18, that only a minimum average force is required to move the hood into the two end positions, and that the hood by its own maintains its end positions and possibly also intermediate positions.  
  The embodiments described above and shown in the drawing are to be regarded only as non-restrictive examples, which can be modified at option, within the scope of the inventive idea and, of the following claims. Also many different other application fields can, of course, be imagined, and also objects other than hoods can be equipped with the new device within the scope of the invention.  
 I claim:  
  1. Pivoting apparatus for pivotably mounting a first member with respect to a second member, comprising:  
 housing means securable to said second member and supporting said first member for pivoting about an axis; locking means detachably securable to said first member at a position spaced from said axis;  
 follower means supporting said locking means on said housing means for pivoting about said axis;  
 spring means acting between said housing means and said locking means, and about said axis, for urging a portion said locking means against said first memher, when said first member is pivoted, in a manner tending to rotate said first member relative to said second member; and  
 means for holding said first member in either of at least two different angular positions about said axis, despite the urging of said spring means.  
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the weight of said first member is unbalanced about said axis and said spring acts in the direction to counterbalance said unbalanced weight.  
  3. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising cylindrical stub support means mounted on said housing means and providing a pivoting surface for said first member, the free end of which stub is adapted to be removably inserted into said first member.  
  4. The apparatus of claim 1, in which said follower means comprises a leaf-spring deflectable along said axis to facilitate detachable securing of said locking means to said first member.  
  5. The apparatus of claim 1, in which said holding means comprises friction means acting between said housing and said follower means.  
  6. The apparatus of claim 1, in which said spring means comprises a helical spring one end of which is held against rotation by said housing and the other end of which is held against rotation by said follower means.  
  7. The apparatus of claim 1, in which said housing means comprises a blind annular bore concentric with said axis and facing said follower means, said bore defining a cylindrical boss, said boss containing a threaded bore concentric with said axis, said spring means comprising a helical spring surrounding said boss, the interior end of said spring being restrained against rotational motion by said support means.  
  8. The apparatus of claim 7, comprising a housing end cover adapted to rotate about said axis, said end cover having a spring-restraining recess in one face thereof for rotating the other end of said spring about said axis when said end cover is so rotated and having another recess in the opposite face thereof for holding said follower means to rotate it with rotation of said end cover.  
  9. The apparatus of claim 8, in which said holding means comprises a friction member positioned between adjacent surfaces of said housing and said end cover, and screw means extending through said end covers into said threaded bore in said boss, whereby tightening of said screw means provides frictional restraint between said end cover and said housing.  
  10. The apparatus of claim 9, comprising sleeve means for rotatably supporting said first member on the exterior thereof, said screw also extending through said sleeve means.  
  11. The apparatus of claim 1, in which said locking means comprises an aperture in said follower arm means engagable by a projection on said first member. i: a