Hatch/Lid opening help against gravity- references ?

achopra1

I am looking for references to systems/designs/mechanisms that can help make the opening/closing efforts of large Hatches/Lids near effortless.
Not looking for powered systems - more like energy storage/release mechanisms. Preferably very compact designs.
Appreciate it if somebody can help point to references or even commercial systems...

Q_Goest

That's done all the time using counterweights, springs, gas springs, and other devices. Maybe you could be a bit more specific or post a drawing of what you're trying to do.

achopra1

I am looking for spring/counter weight ideas that are extremely compact and not affected by temperature. That cuts out gas springs. The range of motion needs to be about 100 degrees so most simple springs will not work.

Q_Goest

How about a torsion spring?

achopra1

Torsion springs are too big in diameter for large hatches. I am talking about say 300 Nm torque requirement over 100 degree opening

berkeman

Maybe use hydraulics to change the rotation to a translation, and use a traditional linear spring and plunger to store the energy?

achopra1

That sounds interesting. I have not dealt with hydraulic systems. Can you point to some systems that use concepts like these so I can look and learn ?

berkeman

I know almost nothing about hydraulics, sorry. So I'll punt and refer you to wikipedia.org. When I searched on hydraulics at wikipedia, it redirected me to the more general topic of "fluid power":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_power