Hinge joint for convertible roadster sections

Application filed March 29, 1921. Serial No: 458,595.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Benjamin V. Gilmore, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gauley Bridge, in the county of Fay⁵ ette and State of West Virginia, have invented- certain new and useful Improvements in Hinge Joints for Convertible Roadster Sections, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hinge joints for convertible roadster sections and has as its general object to provide a hinge joint especially useful in a structure such as illustrated and described in my. Patent No.

1363405, Dec. 28,1920.

More specifically, the invention has as its object to provide a hinge joint which will be exceptionally strong, and durable and which will relieve the sideboards of the convertible 20 sections of strain, to a. great extent, and which will more securely and firmly support and retain the sections in their different positions of adjustment.

Another object of the invention is to so 25 construct the joint that it will constitute a means for positively limiting the movement of the sections which it connects so that the sections when adjusted to one position or another will be caused to assume a correct re30 lation to each other, that is to say in properly aligned or in properly folded relation.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a convertible roadster in the construction of which the 35 hinge embodying the invention is employed;

Figure 2 is a detail horizontal· sectional view through the hinge joint ;

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating two of the sections which are to be connected 40 by the joint and upon which the members of the joint are secured;

Figure 4 is a detail vertical transverse sectional view taken axially through the joint;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of one of the sections of the joint, the other section being shown in dotted lines and one element thereof in vertical section.

In the drawings the numeral 1 indicates 50 in general the body of a Ford runabout and 2 the rear portion of the chassis frame from which the ordinary tonneau has been removed, The convertible tonneau forming the subject matter of my above-mentioned co-pending application and which is illus- 55 trated in. general iri.Figure 1 of the present drawings, comprises a relatively fixed body section which is indicated in general by the numeral 3 and which consists of a bottom or floor 4'which is bolted or otherwise secured 60 to the said portion 2 of the chassis frame, · . and sides 5 which upstand from the said bottom or floor 4, In addition to. the .fixed section 3, the tonneau includes a section which is indicated in general by .the numeral 65 6 and which is to constitute a portion of the rear part of the truck body when the .tonneau as a whole, is so converted, and this section comprises sides which are. indicated by the numeral 7 and a bottom which, is indi- 70 cated by the numeral 8. It will be noted by . reference to the drawings, that the hinge joint, embodying the present, invention-is designed to connect the ends of the sides 5 and 7 of the sections 3 and 6 of the. convertible 75 tonneau so that the section 6 may be swung forwardly to a folded position, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawings or rearwardly to extend in alignment with the. section 3 and thus constitute the rear end ⁸⁰of a truck body. . .

One .member of the hinge joint of the invention, is secured to the inner face of each side 5 of the section 3 of the tonneau , and is indicated in general, by the, numeral 9, and ⁸⁵this member comprises, a circular flat-sided plate 10 secured by screws or other suitable fastening elements 11 to the said face of the respective side 5, as best shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings. The. said plate 10 ⁹⁰is provided centrally with an opening 12 which is. in registration with,an opening 13 formed in the said side 5, and these openings receive the shank of a. bolt. 14 which constitutes the pintle of the hinge joint At ⁹⁵this point it may be stated that if desired instead of providing a bolt 14, the plate 10 may be formed centrally upon its inner face with an inwardly projecting threaded stud, although the bolt is to be preferred as it ¹⁰⁰may be readily replaced should it become broken. For a purpose to be presently described, the said plate 10 is formed upon its inner face near its periphery with an inwardly projecting relatively short stud indi- ¹⁰⁵cated by the numeral 15.

1.454.784

The other member of the hinge joint is indicated in general by the numeral 16 and the same likewise comprises a flat-sided circular plate whch is indicated by the numeral 5 17 and which is secured by screws or other suitable fastening elements 18 to the outer face of the respective side 7 of the section 6 of the tonneau. An opening 19 is formed centrally in the plate 17, and an opening 20 10 of larger diameter is formed in the side 7 of the tonneau section 6, the bolt 14 being . fitted through the, opening 19, and nuts 21 being threaded onto the said bolt and housed within the opening 20 .in the manner best 15 illustrated inVigure 4 of the drawings. The plate 17 is formed concentric to the opening 19 with an arcuate semi-circular slot 22 which is of a width slightly greater than the diameter of the stud 15 so as to receive the 20 said stud in the manner shown in Figures

2, 4 and 5. A groove 23 is formed in the outer face of the side 7 and is in registration with the slot 22 so that the stud 15, being of a length greater than the^ thickness 25 of the plate 17, will nevertheless Ise accommodated. It will now be evident that the section 6 of the tonneau may be swung forwardly upon the bolt .14. to assume a position partly or wholly housed within the sec³⁰ tion 3 of the tonneau in which position of the section the stud 15 of the hinge members 9 will seat in the lower end of the slot 22 in the respective member 16, or the section 6 max’ be swung rearwardly so as to extend ³³ rearwardly in alignment with the section 3, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, in which relative position of the sections, the said studs will seat in the upper ends of the respective slots and by engaging the end ⁴⁰ walls of the slot, will securely brace the sections in their relative position, and more especially the section 6. It will also be evident that the plate comprising the members of the hinge joint serve also as wear plates so ⁴⁵ as to prevent undue wear of the sides of the tonneau sections.

As illustrated in Figures 2 and 5 of the drawings, the sections of the tonneau are preferably so arranged and connected that ⁵⁰ when the'section 6 is in alignment with the section 3 to complete the truck body, the forward edge of its floor 8 will rest or abut against the rear edge of the floor 4 of the section 3 so that the parts are additionally, braced in the relation stated. . ⁵⁵