Self centering hinge design for concentric sealing of an enclosure

Abstract

A waterproof, clam-shell style enclosure including a first cover, a second cover that is hingedly coupled to the first cover to pivot about an axis of rotation between an open state and a closed state defining an enclosed interior region of the enclosure, a seal positioned to limit or prevent the passage of fluid into the enclosed interior region of the enclosure, and a hinge that is configured to accommodate translation of the second cover with respect to the first cover in two different, perpendicular directions upon pivoting the second cover to a closed state to achieve uniform compression of the seal along its circumference.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]This invention generally relates to sealable hinged enclosures and, more specifically, to a self centering hinge design for concentric sealing of such enclosures.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Clamshell-style sealable enclosures are waterproof or weatherproof enclosures that are employed to safely store articles, such as electronics, batteries or phones, for example. Such enclosures may be more commonly referred to as dry boxes. One example of a clamshell style sealable enclosure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,144 to Tajiri et al., which is incorporated by reference.[0003]Clamshell-style sealable enclosures generally include two covers that are rotatably connected together by a conventional fixed hinge. In use, upon mating the covers together, a seal that's positioned on one of the covers inhibits the introduction of water, air or other contaminants into the sealed interior of the enclosure. The fixed hinges of the enclosure are typically pinned or snappe...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]According to one aspect of the invention, a waterproof, clam-shell style enclosure comprises a first cover; a second cover that is hingedly coupled to the first cover to pivot about an axis of rotation between an open state and a closed state, wherein, in a closed state, the first cover and the second cover define an enclosed interior region of the enclosure for storing an object; a seal positioned on a sealing surface of either the first cover or the second cover, wherein the seal is positioned to inhibit the passage of fluid into the enclosed interior region of the enclosure in the closed state of the enclosure; and a hinge that is configured to accommodate translation of the second cover with respect to the first cover in two different, axially perpendicular directions upon pivoting the second cover to a closed state to achieve uniform compression of the seal along its circumference.

[0008]According to another aspect of the invention, a waterproof, clam-shell style enclosure comprises a first cover; a second cover that is hingedly coupled to the first cover to pivot about an axis of rotation between an open state and a closed state, wherein, in a closed state, the first cover and the second cover define an enclosed interior region of the enclosure; a seal positioned on a sealing surface of either the first cover or the second cover, wherein the seal is positioned to limit or prevent the passage of fluid into the enclosed interior region of the enclosure in the closed state of the enclosure; a hinge including a knuckle extending from either the first cover or the second cover and a pin positioned within a recess formed in the knuckle, wherein the knuckle is configured to rotate about the pin; and a gap, having a pre-determined size, defined between an exterior surface of the pin and the recess of the knuckle, wherein, upon pivoting the second cover to the closed state, the gap accommodates translation of the second cover with respect to the first cover in a direction that is orthogonal to both the axis of rotation and the sealing surface to achieve uniform compression of the seal along its circumference.

[0009]According to yet another aspect of the invention, a waterproof, clam-shell style enclosure comprises a first cover; a second cover that is hingedly coupled to the first cover to pivot about an axis of rotation between an open state and a closed state, wherein, in a closed state, the first cover and the second cover define an enclosed interior region of the enclosure; a seal positioned on a surface of either the first cover or the second cover, wherein the seal is positioned to inhibit the passage of fluid into the enclosed interior region of the enclosure in the closed state; and a gap, having a pre-determined size, defined between a hinge component of the first cover and a hinge component of the second cover, wherein, upon pivoting the second cover to the closed state, the gap accommodates translation of the second cover with respect to the first cover in a direction that is parallel to the axis of rotation to achieve uniform compression of the seal along its circumference.

Problems solved by technology

Due to the structural limitations of a fixed hinge and the cumulative dimensional tolerances of an enclosure, however, the seal may not be uniformly compressed across the perimeter of the enclosure, which can result in decreased or total failure of the enclosure seal.

The enclosure seal may be compromised if compression of the seal is too high in one region and / or too low in another region.

While sealing arrangements that account for a fixed hinge design and cumulative dimensional tolerances are known, those sealing arrangements suffer from various drawbacks.

For example, in a crush seal application, the crush seals are oversized to account for the dimensional tolerance accumulation, thereby increasing the weight of the enclosure.

In certain applications, such as a night vision goggle battery pack, for example, additional weight is undesirable.

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