Adjustable Hinge With Removable Holder For Lateral Hatch Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hinges for heavy vehicle hatches and doors require adjustment in the open position, making it difficult to achieve precise alignment and symmetry with surrounding body parts, leading to time-consuming and costly assembly processes, and necessitating the use of heavy lifting tools.
Innovation Solution
A hinge design featuring two parts, a fixed holder part and a movable transverse element with oblong fastening holes, allowing for lateral displacement without bolted joints, enabling easy manual adjustment of the hatch in its closed position, thus eliminating the need for heavy lifting tools and facilitating ergonomic assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If concealed hinges are used to hang hatches and doors, then the hinge is concealed during use, but adjustment can only occur in the open position requiring repeated opening and closing
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge incorporates a movable component that transitions between a concealed position (when the hatch is closed) and an accessible position (when the hatch is open). This dynamic configuration allows the hinge to remain hidden during normal use while enabling adjustment operations when needed, resolving the contradiction between concealment and adjustability.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge is divided into multiple segments including a fixed part, a movable part, and an adjustable component. This segmentation allows the adjustable element to be accessed and modified independently without requiring full disassembly or repeated opening/closing of the hatch, thereby reducing assembly time while maintaining concealment.
2Ease of operation
If adjustment occurs in the open position, then access to hinge and fastening points is enabled, but it is difficult to check gap width and alignment simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces an intermediary adjustable component that serves as a reference element during alignment. This component can be positioned and adjusted independently to establish correct gap widths and alignment before final fastening, enabling precise measurement while the hatch remains in a stable position for easy access.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge design allows preliminary adjustment of the movable component to establish correct positioning and gap dimensions before the hatch is closed. This preliminary action enables verification of alignment and gap width in advance, eliminating the need for repeated opening and closing cycles to check measurements.
3Manufacturing precision
If the component is adjusted repeatedly by opening and closing, then the desired position is achieved, but the heavy component must be maneuvered and lifted multiple times requiring lifting tools
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the adjustment function from the heavy movable component itself and relocates it to a separate, lightweight adjustable component within the hinge assembly. This extraction allows positioning adjustments to be made on the small adjustable component without needing to maneuver or lift the entire heavy hatch or door, eliminating the requirement for lifting tools while maintaining positioning accuracy.
4Ease of operation
If oblong fastening holes are used without bolted joints, then lateral displacement is enabled for easy adjustment, but the hinge must support the full weight of the component
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge employs a dynamic locking mechanism where the adjustable component can move laterally along the oblong fastening holes during adjustment, then locks into position to bear the full weight of the component. This dynamic behavior allows the same structure to provide both ease of lateral adjustment and sufficient load-bearing capacity after positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The design changes the operational parameters of the fastening system: during adjustment, the holes accommodate lateral movement with minimal constraint, but after positioning, the system transitions to a locked state where the same oblong holes provide stable weight support. This parameter change enables the structure to satisfy both adjustability and strength requirements.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The invention concerns a hinge (3), intended for hanging of a movable/pivotable component (2) and which enables lateral adjustment of the component (2) in its closed function position, intended preferably to be used in vehicles such as goods vehicles, buses etc, wherein the hinge (3) comprises at least a first part (6) for fixed mounting in the vehicle and a second part (7) for mounting in the movable/pivotable component (2). The invention is realized in that one first part (6) of the hinge (3) is equipped with a holder part (8) arranged so as to enable removable suspension of the second part (7) of the hinge (3).