US2840847A - Hinging arrangement - Google Patents

Description

July 1, 1958 n. n. bANsER w Hmcmc ARRANGEMENT.

Filed Sept. 18, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR flaf/arflflazrez B I P a ATTORNEY y 1, 1958 D. D. DANSER 2,840,847

HINGING ARRANGEMENT Filed Sept. 1a. 1953 2 Shets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR United States Patent HlNGlNG ARRANGEMENT Dallas D. Danser, Flint, Micl1., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application September 18, 1953, Serial No. 380,934

1 Claim. (Cl. 16-128.1)

This invention relates to hinging arrangements and more particularly to a hinging arrangement of a spring biased differential type for automobile hoods and the like.

Present day automobiles are usually provided with hoods of the alligator type which are differentially hinged to the cowl of the automobile at their rearward end and latched in closed position by a hood catch at their forward end. The rear edge of the hood usually overlies the forward edge of the cowl and the contacting edges are curvilinear in the sense that they bow downwardly on either side of the longitudinal center line of the hood. This necessitates the use of a differential hinge so that the rearward edge of the hood will move forwardly and upwardly to clear the front edge of the cowl during opening of the hood. A spring to counterbalance the weight of the hood is necessary as the entire weight of the hood is carried by the hinges at its rearward edge. The spring is preferably of such force and is so secured to the differential hinge as to bias the hood open over most of the range of hood movement and to bias the hood closed over a small range of hood movement next the closed position of the hood. The spring offers slight resistance to manual opening of the hood during the initial opening movement and then assists in the remaining movement of the hood to full open position where it supports the hood against accidental closure.

Hinging arrangements of this general nature in usage prior to the present invention required exceptionally powerful springs to insure adequate biasing of the hood in open position and suffered from the disadvantage that the operator never felt that the hood was definitely and positively held in the open position.

An object of the invention is to provide a hinging arrangement of the spring biased differential type for an alligator type hood or the like with a means whereby the spring force may be reduced without sacrificing restraint against accidental closure of the hood.

Another object of the invention is to provide the hood hinge arrangement with means whereby the operator feels the hood catch in the full open position and is therefore assured against its accidental closure.

The invention is achieved by locating a rounded catch or cam to project into and slightly past the normal path of movement of the spring near the full open position of the hood so that the spring will ride over the catch during the final opening movement of the hood whereby the hood will be releasably retained in open position. The catch allows the usage of a lesser force spring than heretofore and imparts a sense of security in the mind of the operator.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings: Fig. l is a partial side elevation of an automobile 2,840,847 Patented July 1, 1958 having the hinging arrangement of the invention incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a partial enlargement of the side elevation of Fig. 1, partially broken away to show the hinging arrangement at one side of the hood with the hood in closed position; v

Fig. 3 is a partial enlargement of the side elevation of Fig. 1, partially broken away to show the hinging arrangement at one side of the hood with the hood in open position; and

Fig. 4 is a partial section taken substantially on the plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the'engine compartment hood 10 is secured by difierential hinges 12 on each side of the hood to each side wall 14 of the cowl structure 16. The downwardly curved upper wall 18 of the cowl 16 merges with the vertical side walls 14 of the cowl, and a vertical fire Wall 20 is secured to the front edges of the walls 14 and 18 to complete the'cowl structure. The rear edge 22 of the hood 10 overlies the upper wall 18 of the cowl and is bowed to conform-thereto. A suitable latch (not shown) may be provided'at the front end 24 of the hood.

The hinge structures 12 connect to the hood at each 28 and 30 to a L-shaped bracket 32 weldedto the firewall 20. A pair of links 34 and 36 are pivotally connected at longitudinally spaced points to the bracket 25 by pins 38 and 40 and by pins 44 and 46 to a bracket 42 suitably secured, as by welding, to the underside of the hood. Suflicient space is provided between the rear lower side wall portion of the hood 10 and the merging portion of the cowl walls 14 and 18 to accommodate the bracket 42, and the side wall 14 of the cowl is sufficiently spaced from the fender wall 48 to accommodate the bracket 24. The lower side edges of the hood 10 converge forwardly so the brackets 24 and 42 are stepped to allow the pivot points of the link 36 to be offset inwardly relative the pivot points of the link 34, as may be seen in Fig. 4. The hinge structure 12 is materially below the crown or center line 50 of the hood and must impart a differential swinging movement to the hood in order that the rear edge 22 of the hood will swing upwardly and forwardly to clear the front edge of the cowl 16 upon opening movement of the hood. The rearward link 34 is shorter than the forward link 36 to accomplish differential swinging movement of the hood by causing the same to swing about a movable center.

A coil spring 52 is hooked at its lower end 54 to the cowl fire wall 20 by a bracket 56 secured to the fire wall by bolts 58. A hook 60 secures the upper end of the coil spring 52 to a rearward link arm 62 that projects upwardly from the rearward link pivot 38.

In the closed position of the hood as shown by Fig. 2, the coil spring 52 is on the rearward side of the rearward link pivot 38 so that the hood is resiliently held in closed position. In the open position of the hood as shown in Fig. 3, the coil spring 52 swings to the forward side of the rearward link pivot 38 so that the hood is resiliently held in open position. As is apparent from Figs. 2 and 3, the major portion of the path of movement of the spring 52 is on the forward side of the pivot 38 so that the spring will urge the hood open except during the final portion of hood closing movement.

A rounded catch or cam 64 is secured to the bracket 25 by bolts 66 and projects into and slightly past the normal path or phase of movement of the spring so that the spring will ride over the cam and therefore out of and then back into its normal path of movement during the final portion of the opening movement of the hood to releasably retain the hood in full open position. Fig. 4 illustrates how the cam 64 shoves the spring 52 out of its normal path of movement, positions A, B and C being successive representations of the spring during opening movement as it first engages the rearward edge of the cam, as it rides around the farthermost projecting edge of the cam and as it releasably catches behind the forward edge of the cam.

The cam 64 provides a definite feeling of resistance and catching to the operator during the final opening movement of the hood and thereby reassures him against an accidental closure of the hood. The cam also permits the use of a weaker coil spring than heretofore by providing additional resistance to hood closure at the full Open position of the hood.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described fully in order to explain the principles of, the invention, it is to be understood that modifications of structure may be made by the exercise of skill in the art within the scope of the invention which is not to be, regarded as limited by the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.

I claim:

A hinge of the differential type comprising a forward link and a rearward link each pivoted at longitudinally spaced points to a support member and to a closure member respectively, said rearward link being shaped as a bellcrank having a longer arm and a shorter arm, said longer arm including the pivotal connections of said rearward link to said support member and to said closure member, said shorter arm extending with its free end in the general direction toward said forward link, a

counterweight tension coil spring, the lower end of said spring being pivotally connected to the support member at a fixed point below the rearward link-to-support member pivot at a relatively long distance therefrom, the upper end of said spring being pivotally connected to the shorter bellcrank arm of said rearward link, said spring moving about its fixed pivot in a path of swing during opening and closing of said closure member, a stationary cam on said support member arranged adjacent said spring below the rearward link-to-support member pivot at a relatively short distance therefrom as compared with its distance from the fixed pivot of the spring, the lateral position of said cam from the rearward link-to-support member pivot being forward with respect to said pivot, said cam having a transversely extending portion causing cam engagement with said spring during at least the last part of its motion to the open position of said closure member, said transversely extending cam portion having a contour composed of an ascending portion followed by a rounded crest and a descending portion extending into the path of movement of the spring for deflecting it laterally with respect to its axis, the final position of the spring in the open position of the closure member being defined by its engagement with the descending cam portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,185,214 Claud-Mantle Jan. 2, 1940 2,272,230 Van Voorhees Feb. 10, 1942 2,354,789 Atwood Aug. 1, 1944 2,523,207 Fowler et a1. Sept. 19, 1950 2,712,149 Harms July 5, 1955,

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