Hinge With Hydraulic Damping And Elastic Plunger For Impact Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hinges for doors and shutters can cause damage due to sudden closure, fail to maintain precise closed positions, and lack damping mechanisms, leading to unsafe and unreliable operation.
Innovation Solution
A hinge design featuring a box-shaped body with a plunger element and counteracting elastic means, combined with hydraulic and mechanical damping systems, ensures controlled rotation, automatic closure, and precise positioning, while preventing impact damage through adjustable damping and fluidic control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional hinges are used for door closure, then the door can be opened and closed, but the sudden closure causes impact damage to the door and frame
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge incorporates a plunger element with elastic means (spring) that is pre-compressed during the door closing motion. This elastic element acts as a cushioning mechanism that absorbs the impact energy before the door reaches the closed position, preventing damage to the door and frame while maintaining a relatively simple hinge structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge utilizes a hydraulic damping mechanism where a plunger moves through a viscous fluid in a damping chamber. The fluid resistance provides controlled damping during door closure, reducing impact forces without requiring complex mechanical structures. The hydraulic system smoothly decelerates the door as it approaches the closed position.
2Measurement precision
If a hinge allows free rotation for easy operation, then the door can move freely, but the closed position cannot be maintained precisely over time
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge employs a ratchet mechanism that provides one-way engagement, allowing the door to be opened freely but preventing backward movement once closed. This feedback mechanism ensures the door remains precisely in the closed position by mechanically blocking reverse motion, while maintaining ease of operation during the opening direction.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge uses a spring-loaded plunger that changes its mechanical state based on door position. During normal operation, the spring allows free movement, but when the door reaches the closed position, the spring compresses and engages with a stop or ratchet, changing the mechanical parameter from free movement to locked position, thereby maintaining precision without affecting operational ease.
3Reliability
If a hinge provides shock damping for safety, then impact damage is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge merges the shock damping function with the existing pivot and plunger structure. The plunger element serves dual purposes: it guides the door movement and simultaneously provides shock absorption through its interaction with the elastic means and hydraulic fluid. This integration allows shock damping without adding separate complex mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The plunger element is designed as a multi-functional component that provides both mechanical guidance for door movement and shock absorption through its interaction with the spring and hydraulic fluid. The damping chamber and elastic means are integrated into the existing hinge body, allowing a single component to perform multiple functions and reduce overall system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The hinge effectively dampens the closing motion, ensures safe and precise operation, and maintains the closed position over time, reducing the risk of damage and enhancing user safety and convenience.
Implementation Method 1
counteracting elastic means, arranged to operate on the plunger element along a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis
Implementation Method 2
a viscous fluid, arranged to act on the plunger element in order to dampen the movement of the same along the axis perpendicular to the rotation axis
Data Source
Figure 1a~1c
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
A hinge for the controlled rotatable movement of a closing element, such as a door, a window, a shutter or the like, anchored to a stationary support structure, such as a wall, a floor, a frame or the like. The hinge comprises: a hinge body (10) and a pivot (20) reciprocally coupled to rotate around a first axis (X); a working chamber (13) defining a second axis (Y) substantially perpendicular to the first axis (X); a plunger element (50) slidable along the second axis (Y) between a position proximal to the end wall (14) of the working chamber (13) and a position distal therefrom.