Patent Abstract:
Embodiments of the invention provide a hinge system and method for use with an electrical enclosure. The hinge system can include a first mounting plate having a bushing and a second mounting plate having an aperture. The hinge system can include a pin having a first portion received by the bushing and a second portion selectively received by the aperture. The hinge system can include a cam lever, which can extend from the first mounting plate at an angle. The cam lever can be moveable between a first position to retract the pin from the aperture and a second position to lock the pin in the aperture. The cam lever can be operable in a substantially single plane of motion.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/100,712 filed on Sep. 27, 2008, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Hinges are used to rotationally connect two parts, such as a door and a frame. For easy installment and removal, the hinge can include a separable connection using retractable pins. One conventional hinge system requires the operator to access a mechanism on both sides of the hinge system to retract the pins. This limits the location where such a hinge system can be installed. In other conventional hinge systems, two sets of mounting plates can be used on either side of the frame so that the door can be attached to either side. However, these hinge systems require additional mounting plates that are not used once the mounting location for the door is chosen. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some embodiments of the invention provide a retractable hinge system for use with an electrical enclosure. The hinge system can include a first mounting plate, a second mounting plate, a pin, and a cam lever. The first mounting plate can include a bushing, the second mounting plate can include an aperture. A first portion of the pin can be received by the bushing and a second portion of the pin can be selectively received by the aperture. The cam lever can extend from the first mounting plate at an angle. The angle being greater than about 45 degrees. The cam lever can move between a first position to retract the pin from the aperture and a second position to lock the pin in the aperture. The cam lever can be operable in a substantially single plane of motion. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrical enclosure mounted in two different positions, the electrical enclosure includes a hinge system according to one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an electrical enclosure including a hinge system with a cam lever located inside the electrical enclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a single-pin hinge system according to one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a dual-pin hinge system according to one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of the dual-pin hinge system of  FIG. 4  with the cam lever in a closed position. 
         FIG. 5B  is a perspective view of the dual-pin hinge system of  FIG. 4  with the cam lever in an open position. 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the hinge system of  FIG. 3  or  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. 
     The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use embodiments of the invention. Various modifications to the illustrated embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein can be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from embodiments of the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not intended to be limited to embodiments shown, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The following detailed description is to be read with reference to the figures, in which like elements in different figures have like reference numerals. The figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of embodiments of the invention. Skilled artisans will recognize the examples provided herein have many useful alternatives and fall within the scope of embodiments of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an electrical enclosure  1  according to one embodiment of the invention. The electrical enclosure  1  can include a back section  2 , a frame  3 , a door  4 , a latch  5 , and a hinge system  6 . The back section  2  can be mounted to a wall. A single person can align the frame  3  with the back section  2  and can operate the hinge system  6  to secure the frame  3  to the back section  2  without the use of tools or the help of a second person. 
     In some embodiments, the electrical enclosure  1  can be mounted in at least two different orientations depending on the configuration of the hinge system  6 . The hinge system  6  can be used on one side of the electrical enclosure  1  without restricting to which side the electrical enclosure  1  can open. In other words, the hinge system  6  can be permanently mounted to one side of the electrical enclosure  1 , and the electrical enclosure  1  can be rotated 180° to engage the back section  2  with a wall or other suitable structure. As a result, the electrical enclosure  1  can open within a given space on the wall or other suitable structure, for example, near a corner, pillar, and other obstructions. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates the electrical enclosure  1  with the door  4  open after the frame  3  has been aligned with the back section  2  and secured by the hinge system  6 . The hinge system  6  can include a handle  7 . In some embodiments, the handle  7  can be located inside the electrical enclosure  1  so that it is accessible by the person installing the electrical enclosure  1 , and so that the vertical rotation of the frame  3  with respect to the back section  2  is not obstructed. In some embodiments, the hinge system  6  can be mounted on an outside of the electrical enclosure  1  and the handle  7  can protrude into an interior space of the electrical enclosure  1 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a single-pin hinge system  10  according to one embodiment of the invention. The single-pin hinge system  10  can be one embodiment of the hinge system  6 . The single-pin hinge system  10  can include a first hinge plate  12 , a second hinge plate  14 , a single pin  16 , a spring  18 , a bushing  20 , a housing  22 , and a cam lever  24 . The pin  16  can be received by the second hinge plate  14  in an aperture  26 . In some embodiments, the first hinge plate  12  and the second hinge plate  14  can be mounted to the electrical enclosure  1  by fasteners or other suitable methods. The pin  16  together with the spring  18 , which can be held in position by a stub  28  of the pin  16 , can be inserted into the bushing  20  and can form a first axis of rotation  30 . The pin  16  can be moved by the cam lever  24 , which can be mounted in the housing  22  and can be rotated on a second axis of rotation  32 , which can result in a substantially single plane of motion for the cam lever  24 . The cam lever  24  can include the handle  7  and an eccentric plate  34 . The eccentric plate  34  can include an extension  36  offset from the second rotational axis  32  of the cam lever  24 . The eccentric plate  34  and/or the extension  36  can be used to lock the cam lever  24  in an open position or a closed position. The extension  36  can be received by a slot  38  in the pin  16 . The extension  36  can rotate within the slot  38  to move the pin  16  by a sliding motion in the bushing  20 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a dual-pin hinge system  100  according to one embodiment of the invention. The dual-pin hinge system  100  can be one embodiment of the hinge system  6 . The dual-pin hinge system  100  can include a first hinge plate  102 , a second hinge plate  104 , two pins  106 , a spring  108 , and a cam lever  110 . The first hinge plate  102  can receive the two pins  106  and the cam lever  110  in a housing  112 . The two pins  106  can be at least partly received by the second hinge plate  104  in apertures  114 . The first hinge plate  102  and the second hinge plate  104  can be mounted to the electrical enclosure  1  by fasteners, such as screws  116  secured in holes  118 . The two pins  106  together with the spring  108  can be inserted into a bushing  120  and can form a first axis of rotation  122 . In some embodiments, the two pins  106  can include a sledge  124 , which can fit into a slot  126  of the bushing  120 . The slot  126  can provide guidance during operation of the two pins  106 . In some embodiments, the spring  108  can extend from a stub  128  positioned on the bottom of the sledge  124  to be received by a fitting  130  in the head of the two pins  106 . 
     In some embodiments, the two pins  106  can be substantially simultaneously operated by the cam lever  110 , which can be mounted in the housing  112  and can be rotated on a second axis of rotation, which can result in a substantially single plane of motion for the cam lever  110 . In some embodiments, the cam lever  110  includes the handle  7  and two extensions  132 , one extension  132  interlocking in each pin  106  through a slot  134 . The two pins  106  can move in a sliding motion in opposite directions when the cam lever  110  is rotated. The cam lever  110  can include two stops  136 , which can be used to lock the cam lever  110  in an open position or a closed position. 
       FIG. 5A  illustrates the dual-pin hinge system  100  with the cam lever  110  in the closed position. The two pins  106  can extend beyond the bushing  120  to be received by the aperture  114  of the second hinge plate  104  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). The first hinge plate  102  and second hinge plate  104  are therefore interconnected and can be moved about the first axis of rotation  122  with respect to each other. 
       FIG. 5B  illustrates the dual-pin hinge system  100  with the cam lever  110  in the open position. The two pins  106  can be recessed within the bushing  120 . The first hinge plate  102  and second hinge plate  104  may be not connected and can be displaced with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the cam lever  110  can enable a removal of the frame  3  of the electrical enclosure  1  from the back section  2 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a top view of the hinge system  6 . The handle  7  can extend from the first hinge plate  12 ,  102  at an angle α. In some embodiments, the angel a can be an acute angle (less than about 90 degrees but greater than about 45 degrees) or, in one embodiment, about 90 degrees. During rotation of the handle  7 , the angle α can remain constant so that the handle  7  can be operated within a substantially single plane of motion. In some embodiments, the handle can extend substantially perpendicular to one or both of the first hinge plate  12 ,  102  and the second hinge plate  14 ,  104 . 
     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while the invention has been described above in connection with particular embodiments and examples, the invention is not necessarily so limited, and that numerous other embodiments, examples, uses, modifications and departures from the embodiments, examples and uses are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto. Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8