Hinge Butt and Mounting Assembly

In attaching hinges to aluminum ribs it is important to maintain the pivot of the hinge as close as possible to the rib, to avoid weakening the rib and to provide a strong durable as possible hinge assembly.

In accordance with this invention the hinge butt has a tapered plug on its base which is inserted within a slot through the rib. The butt is secured within the slot by a weldment between the tapered plug and the inner wall of the slot accessible through the back of the rib. A particularly strong assembly is formed by a forged aluminum alloy hinge butt attached to an extruded aluminum alloy rib. The base of the butt may be concavely indented to permit a curved strap to nest closely within it.

Novel features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear view in elevation of ten embodiments of this invention installed on the rear doors of the cargo container of a semi-trailer;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken through FIG. 1 along the line 2--2 illustrating slots inside corner extrusions before hinge butt assemblies and door are attached;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through FIG. 1 along the line 3--3 illustrating a cross-section of corner extrusions before hinge butt assemblies and door are attached;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmental rear view of one of the mounted hinges shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the hinge shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken through FIG. 1 along the line 6-6;

FIG. 7 is a view in elevation similar to FIG. 6 with a portion of the supporting rib in cut away cross-section;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken through FIG. 4 along the line 8--8;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken through FIG. 4 along the line 9--9; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9 with the hinge in the opened position.

In FIG. 1 are shown ten mounted hinges 10, connecting rear doors 12 of cargo container 14 of semi-trailer 16 to vertical ribs 18 disposed at the rear sides of cargo container 14. Ribs 18, as shown in FIGS. 2-10 are the outer extremities of aluminum extrusions 20 which are the main structural members of the rear sides of container 14.

Hinges 10 each include hinge straps 19 and hinge butts 22 connected to each other by hinge pins 23. Hinge pins 23 are received in ears 25 on the front of base 21 of butt 22. All of the aforementioned parts, particularly butt 22 are made of an aluminum alloy.

A plug 24 on the back of base 21 tapers to a relatively sharper tapered end 27 from an upper slightly tapered root 28 disposed adjacent flange 29 on the front of butt 22.

Tapered plug 24 is inserted within an elongated slot 26 of rib 18 in which it is loosely engaged at root 28.

A length of drill rod is inserted through the holes 38 in the four ears 25 of the upper and lower pair of hinge butts 22 to insure alignment of butts 22 to rear corner extrusion 20. Using 180 amperes, 28 volts, with inert gas flow of 60 CFH (40 He, 20 AR) a MIG weld 31 is deposited in one pass with a 3/64 inch diameter electrode (Alloy 5183). The recommended power supply is a 500 ampere Westinghouse D.C. rectifier with an Airco Midget Mig. Gun.

The front surface 32 of base 21 is concavely indented for receiving the convexly curved end 34 of hinge strap 19 in the closed condition.

Hinge pin 23 is disposed closely adjacent the rounded end 40 of rib 18. This substantially protects pin 23 in both the opened and closed positions of hinges 10 and attached doors 12. In the closed position shown in FIG. 8, all parts of hinge 10 are disposed within the side and rear outline 44 of semi-trailer 16. The cross-sectional shape of rib 18 intimately accommodates hinge 10 in its narrower mid-portion. It also enlarges into rounded end 40 to endow rib 18 and its assembly with hinge 10 with very high strength in all positions of hinge 10.