AU2008286296A9

AU2008286296A9 - Hinge

Info

Publication number: AU2008286296A9
Application number: AU2008286296A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Wolfgang Beckmann; Ulrich Beneke; Jorn Kleffmann; Cord Rommelmann; Kai Michael Stuke; Eduard Thielmann
Original assignee: Hettich ONI GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Hettich ONI GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2007-08-10
Filing date: 2008-07-15
Publication date: 2013-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 2028-07-15
Also published as: TWI421402B; EP2176486A1; JP5493134B2; ATE544930T1; DE202007011194U1; ES2385802T3; TW200925380A; CN101861441B; WO2009021799A1; JP2010535955A; EP2176486B1; AU2008286296B2; CN101861441A; AU2008286296A1

Abstract

A hinge (1), in particular for an item of furniture, comprises a hinge part (2) which can be fixed to a door (6) or flap and is mounted pivotably on a side part (3) via a supporting lever (7) and a guide lever (8), wherein the side part (3) is mounted on an installation plate (4), which can be fitted to a furniture body (5), and at least one spring (18) by means of which the hinge part (2) is prestressed into a closed position in an automatic tightening region, and a linear damper (11) with a piston rod (13) which is movable relative to a damper housing (12) and is intended for damping a closing movement of the hinge part (2), wherein the damper (11) is designed as a compression damper, and a deflecting element (10) is provided, said deflecting element being coupled to the damper (11) and being movable via a tension lever (9) during a closing movement of the hinge part (2).

Description

A hinge The present invention relates to a hinge, especially for an item of furniture, comprising a hinge part which can be fixed to a door or flap and is mounted pivotably on a side part via a supporting lever and a guide lever, with the side part being held on a mounting plate which can be mounted on a furniture body, and at least one spring by means of which the hinge part is pretensioned into a closed position in an automatic draw-in region, and a linear damper with a piston rod which is movable relative to a damper housing for damping a closing movement of the hinge part. DE 20 2006 003 196 discloses a furniture hinge in which a hinge part is pivotably held on a supporting lever and a guide lever. An extension arm is provided on the guide lever which is coupled with a piston rod of a damper. During a closing movement of the hinge part, the damper will become effective, with the piston rod pulling the piston out of the damper housing, so that the same acts as a baffle. Although this furniture hinge is arranged in a compact way, it comes with the disadvantage that the damping curve is not adjusted in such a sensitive manner as a result of the direct coupling of the piston rod with the guide lever. There is also the problem that the dampers which act in tension are subjected to wear and tear in the sealing region, so that the damping properties can change. EP 1 555 372 discloses a furniture hinge in which a hinge part is held via a guide lever and a supporting lever on a side part. A linear damper is accommodated in the side part, with the piston rod of the same protruding, which is connected in the manner of a chain link with an extension arm on the guide lever. As a result, the damping properties during the closing of the hinge part can be modified by the geometry of the extension arm and the connecting elements. The problem remains however that the damping properties change over the life of the damper, especially because the seal is subjected to wear and tear on the open side of the damper housing and therefore the resilience of the damper is limited. When the damping force occurs too suddenly, then this will lead to the problem that a furniture door will spring back during the closing movement, which is perceived by the user as being disturbing. In the case of a too weak setting of the damping, a loud impact noise can occur when the furniture door hits the furniture body. It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a hinge, especially for items of furniture, which allows reliable damping of the hinge part during the closing even after many 2183001 (GHMatiers) closing processes and in which the damping effect is adjusted optimally to the different mounting situations. This object is achieved by a hinge with the features of claim 1. In accordance with the invention, the damper is arranged as a compression damper and a deflecting element is provided which is coupled with the damper and is movable via a tension lever during a closing movement of the hinge. As a result, a tensile force on the tension lever is converted during the closing of the hinge part into a pressure force which acts upon the damper during the closing. The damper is only subjected to pressure during the closing movement, so that a load on the seal arranged about the piston rod will be comparatively low since the pressure force will act only upon the closed side of the pot-like housing which is comparatively stable. In this way, at least no seal which seals the housing and is arranged about a movable piston rod will be subjected to loads. This ensures long service life and moreover the damper properties will remain the same even after a large number of actuation cycles. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the deflecting element is mounted in a rotatable manner on the side part and during a tensile force by the tension lever a pressure force is exerted upon the damper. The deflecting element can be coupled directly with one end of the piston rod, so that the rotational movement of the deflecting element is converted into a linear lifting movement of the piston rod. For this purpose, the damper is pivotably held on the closed end of the damper housing. Preferably, the damper is effective between an aperture angle of at least 250, preferably at least 400, and a closed position of the hinge part, so that damping occurs over a comparatively long pivoting path. This enables a defined closing of the hinge part which is comparatively independent of the initial closing speed of the hinge part and possible weights of the component connected with the hinge part. Initial kinetic energy is absorbed by the damper until the closing parameters have been reached as predetermined by the spring and the damper. In order to effectively realize a long damping path in an effective way, the stroke of the damper is 4 to 20 mm, preferably 5 to 10 mm. As a result, sufficient damping during the closing of the hinge part can be obtained in combination with a compact configuration. 2183800_1 (GHMetters) In order to effect a predetermined damping curve in the hinge, the transmission ratio during a closing movement of the hinge part is preferably chosen in a range of 150 before the closed position up to the closed position in such a way that a stroke of 0.05 mm to 0.24 mm, preferably 0.14 mm to 0.18 mm, is achieved between the pivoting angle of the hinge part and the stroke of the damper per degree of closing movement. The damper is to ensure a defined closing of a door or flap especially in the end region before the closing position, so that here comparatively high damping forces and thus a large stroke of the damper needs to be present relating to the closing movement. The stroke may not be too large though because otherwise there might be the likelihood of damage of the hinge by overloading forces. In this respect it is advantageous when the damping rises continually during the closing of the hinge part, so that jolts are avoided. Moreover, the damper can be moved more than 60%, preferably more than 70%, of its entire stroke in an opening range between the closing position and an aperture angle of 30*, so that high damping is achieved especially in an end region before the closing position. In the direction of opening, the damping effect is low despite the respective movement of the piston rod, which is achieved however by a respective arrangement of the piston in the damper housing. Such unilaterally acting dampers are known. Preferably, an automatic draw-in of the hinge part is achieved by the effectiveness of the spring in that the hinge part is moved automatically to the closed position. An automatic draw-in region is the one in which the hinge part is moved to the closed position is the range only by the force of a spring and no further forces are necessary for movement. It ends where the force of the spring is no longer sufficient in order to move the hinge part to the closed position. This automatic draw-in region can start in a range of between 200 and 50*, preferably 30' to 450, and can act up to the closed position. In order to arrange the handling in a built-in hinge as conveniently as possible, the spring is preferably effective in a first opening range adjacent to the closed position in the closing direction (automatic draw-in) and in a second opening range the spring will pretension the hinge part in the opening direction. The spring force can reach a maximum value preferably in an aperture angle range of 150 to 45*, especially 200 to 400, and be lower in other ranges. As a result, the material load on the spring during the opening of the hinge part is kept low, which increases the service life. 213800_1 (GHMatters) The spring can be arranged as a leg spring which comprises a first leg coupled with the hinge part and a second leg coupled with a shaft on an extension arm of the guide lever. In order to enable follow-up guiding of the spring, the spring can be held in a rotatable manner on a shaft of the supporting lever. In order to reduce the material load on the spring during the movement of the hinge part, the leg of the spring which is coupled with the deflecting element can rest on a deflection roller. The deflection roller reduces the frictional forces on the leg of the spring which is usually arranged in a comparatively short way, during which high loads occur. This increases the service life of the spring and thus the entire hinge considerably. In a further advantageous embodiment, the damper and spring are arranged in such a way that a substantially even closing speed is present during a closing movement of the hinge part in an opening range of between 40 and 00, preferably 80 and 0*. It is possible through a respective adjustment of the damper and spring and the transmission ratio to dampen kinetic energy of a flap or door to be closed in such a way that independent of an initial closing speed in an opening range shortly before the closed position the closing speed will depend exclusively on the spring force and the damper and can thus be optimized. It is thus ensured that the damper will generate forces against the closing direction already at a larger aperture angle. The invention is now explained in closer detail by reference to an embodiment shown in the enclosed drawings, wherein: Fig. I shows a side view of a hinge in accordance with the invention in the mounted position; Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a sectional side view of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows a perspective exploded view of the hinge of Fig. 1; Figs. 5A to 5G show several sectional side views of the hinge of Fig. I in different opening positions; 2183800_1 (GHMatters) Fig. 6 shows a graphical illustration of the damping path which depends on the aperture angle of the hinge; Fig. 7 shows a graphical illustration of the closing force of the spring of the hinge, depending on the aperture angle, and; Fig. 8 shows a graphical illustration of the closing speed of the spring of the hinge, depending on the aperture angle. Hinge 1 comprises a hinge part 2 which is held pivotably on a side part 3. The side part 3 is held on a mounting plate 4 which can be mounted on a furniture body 5 such as a cabinet. A door, flap or other component is fixed to the hinge part 2. As is shown in Fig. 1, the door 6 can be moved from a closed position to an opened position 6' as shown with the broken line, with the maximum aperture angle p being in a range of between 900 and 1200, preferably 100* to 110*. Hinge I is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in which the side part 3 is adjustably arranged, with a first adjusting screw 16 being used for a displacement of the side part 3 relative to the mounting plate 4 and a further adjusting screw 17 for the adjustment of a support. The hinge part 2 is held rotatably on a supporting lever 7 and a guide lever 8, with a tension lever 9 being linked to the extension arm 25 of the guide lever 8. The tension lever 9 is connected with a rotatable deflection element 10 which is coupled with a linear damper 11. The damper 11 comprises a pot-like damper housing 12, from which a piston rod 13 protrudes. The piston rod 13 is linked to the deflection element 10. The damper housing 12 is held rotatably on the side part 3 on the side of the housing averted from the piston rod 13. The side part 3 can be fixed to the mounting plate 4 via a spring-pretensioned latching lever 15. Fig. 4 shows the hinge with its individual parts in an exploded view. A spring 18 is provided between the supporting lever 7 and the guide lever 8, which spring comprises two legs 19 and 20 and is able to pretension the hinge part 2 to an opened or closed position. Figs. 5A to 5G show the part of hinge I which is relevant for the damping behavior during the closing movement of the hinge part 2. The hinge part 2 is connected via a shaft 21 with the supporting lever 7 and via a shaft 22 with the guide lever 8. Spring 18 is arranged between 2183800_1 (GHMatters) supporting lever 7 and the guide lever 8, with the spring 18 being arranged as a leg spring and being rotatably held in its helical area about a shaft 23, with the shaft 23 also forming the rotational bearing for the supporting lever 7 on the side part 3. The guide lever 8 is rotatably held on the side part 3 via a shaft 24. An extension arm 25 is formed on the guide lever 8, on which a shaft 26 is provided on which the tension lever 9 is rotatably held. A shaft 29 is provided on the opposite end of the tension lever 9 which connects the tension lever 9 with the deflection lever 10. The deflection element 10 is held on the side part 3 about a shaft 27, with the shaft 27 being arranged between the shaft 29 for connection with the tension lever 9 and a shaft 28 for coupling the deflection element 10 with the piston rod 13. Furthermore, a latching mount 30 is in the damper housing 12 on the side averted from the piston rod 13, so that the damper housing 12 is connected rotatably with the side part 3 on the latching mount 30 and transverse forces on the piston rod 13 are avoided. The damper 11 can also be retrofitted as a result of an arrangement of the connection between piston rod 13 and the shaft 28 as a latching mount. Fig. 5A shows the hinge part 2 in the maximum opening position, in which a first leg 19 of spring 18 rests on shaft 22 and the second leg 20 on a deflection roller 40 (Fig. 4) which is held on shaft 26. Fig. 5B shows the position of the hinge part 2 in which the hinge part 2 was moved from the maximum opening position to an aperture angle of approx. 850. The leg 19 of spring 18 now lies simultaneously on shaft 22 and shaft 21 and is now quasi "transferred" in this position from shaft 22 to shaft 21. No spring force is introduced by the spring 18 from the maximum opened position up to the aperture angle 85* because although the spring 18 is tensioned it rotates about shaft 26 and the angular position between the legs 19 and 20 remain substantially constant. The leg 19 is moved by shaft 21 during a further closing movement of the hinge part 2, so that the spring 18 is tensioned even further. The opposite leg 20 continues to rest on the deflection roller 40 on shaft 26. The spring 18 thus acts in a range of between 85* and 55* (see Fig. 5C) in the opening direction of the door or hinge part 2, i.e. against the direction of closing. The damper acts only slightly in this hinge position because the angular positions of the coupling members of extension arms 25 on the guide lever 8, tension lever 9 and the deflection lever 10 predetermine this. 2183800_1 (GHMatters) Fig. 5D shows the opening position of the hinge part with an angle of approx. 55*. Upon reaching this aperture angle, the axes 21, 22 and 24 form a line. Spring 18 is in the maximum tensioned position in which the legs 19 and 20 are spread to a maximum. When this position has been passed and the hinge part 2 is moved further in the closing direction, the spring 18 begins to act in the closing direction and the so-called automatic draw-in occurs. Since at the beginning the slight force of the spring 18 is not yet noticeable as a result of friction, tolerances and other influences, the real automatic draw-in angle where the hinge part 2 is pretensioned in the closed position lies close to approx. 400. The damper 11 is noticeably actuated by the deflection element 10 from an aperture angle of approx. 45*, with damping occurring here to a marked extent only at an angle of between 30* and 40* as a result of a certain idle stroke, tolerances and other influences. This is caused by the fact that the damper 11 is moved in an opening range of between an aperture angle of 30* and the closing position by more than 60%, preferably more than 70%, of its entire stroke, but performs an only very small stroke movement in the opening range outside of 300. In order to reduce the working stroke of the spring 18 after exceeding the stretched position and to simultaneously keep the forces acting on the system in the closing direction at a sufficiently a high level, the leg 20 is guided to follow up on the deflection roller 40, which means that after passing through the stretched position the leg 20 is moved counter-clockwise by the bearing of the deflection roller 40 on shaft 26, while leg 19 is also moved in a counter-clockwise manner by the bearing on the shaft 21. The relative movement of the legs 19 and 20 is thus very small and the spring 18 pivots about the shaft 23. It is thus possible to allow the spring force to rise at first during the closing of the hinge part 2 and then to drop again. Fig. 5F shows the hinge part 2 in an opened position of approx. 250. The spring 18 now presses the hinge part 2 to the closed position, with the spring 18 being tensioned via the legs 19 and 20. In this position, the deflection element 10 is rotated about the shaft 27 during the closing and causes an increased working stroke of the piston rod 13 relative to the damper housing 12 than in the preceding closing movement of the hinge part 2. Fig. 5G shows the hinge in an excess closing angle, in which the hinge part 2 was moved slightly beyond the closing angle. It is only in this excess closing angle that the spring 18 does not exert any more force via the legs 19 and 20 on the hinge part 2. It is thus ensured that in the case of a normal closing angle (0*) the hinge part 2 is pretensioned by spring 18 to the closed position. In 2183800_1 (GHMatr) the closed position, the piston rod 13 is arranged in the maximum entered position in the damper 12. A linear damper can be used as a damper as has been disclosed in the application PCT/EP2007/051849 for example. Other types of linear dampers can also be used. Fig. 6 shows an illustration of the damping path depending on the aperture angle of the hinge 2. Through a transmission of the closing movement of the hinge part 2 by the guide lever 8, the tension lever 9, the deflection element 10 on the damper 11, predetermined transmission ratios are obtained depending on the aperture angle which ensure optimal closing. As is shown in the diagram, less than 10% of the total stroke of the damper occurs up to an aperture angle of 450 during a closing movement, so that the piston rod 13 moves only slightly in the damper housing 12. Hardly noticeable damping forces are generated, which already have an effect at higher speed however in such a way that a moved part of furniture is braked without preventing secure closing. In most linear dampers it is necessary to consider an idle stroke of approx. 0.8 mm to 1.5 mm, especially 1 mm to 1.3 mm. It is thus ensured in the construction that the damper will only become noticeably effective approximately in an angular range of between 300 and 45*. The hinge is arranged in such a way that the damper generates weak damping forces at first during a closing movement which then increase at constant closing speed since the working stroke of the damper increases in a virtually linear way in an opening range between an aperture angle of 250 and the closing position, whereas the damper is hardly moved relative to the closing movement in larger aperture angles. The transmission ratio is chosen in such a way that a working stroke of between 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm, preferably 0.08 mm to 0.12 mm, occurs in an opening range between the closed position and an opening position of 150 per degree of closing movement of the hinge part. The working stroke of the damper does not start abruptly, but rises in a curve-like manner. It is thus ensured that no abrupt forces act on the damper, but the kinetic energy of a furniture door is dampened at first slightly. The changing transmission of the pivoting movement of the hinge part 2 on the damper stroke is achieved by angular positions of extension arm 25 on the guide lever 8, tension lever 9 and deflection lever 10 with respect to one another. In the case of a large aperture angle, they will be positioned nearly in a line, especially the extension arm 25 and tension lever 9, whereas in the 2183800_1 (GHMatters) case of small aperture angles they are positioned nearly in a rectangular way, through which the tension lever 9 transmits the movement of the extension arm 25 in a very direct way to the deflection lever 10. The transmission ratio between the hinge part 2 and the damper 11 is provided in such a way that the angular positions of the extension arm 25 on the guide lever 8 and tension lever 9 are approximately 1800 at an aperture angle of the hinge part 2 of approximately 80* to 1100, which means the shaft 24 of the guide lever 8, the shaft 26 for bearing one side of the tension lever 9 and the shaft 29 for bearing the opposite side of the tension lever 9 on the deflection lever 10 are disposed approximately in a line. The deflection lever 10 forms an acute angle with the tension lever 9. At an aperture angle of the hinge part 2 of approximately 00 to 400, the angular positions of extension arm 25 on the guide lever 8 and the tension lever 9 assume an approximate right angle of 90*, especially the connecting lines of the shafts 24, 26 and 29, with the deflection lever 10 also forming a right angle with the tension lever 9. In this case, the lines which cross one another in an approximate right angle and the shafts 26, 29 and 27 can be connected. Fig. 7 shows the closing force of spring 18 relative to the aperture angle. As is shown in the diagram, spring 18 presses the hinge part 2 into the closed position in an automatic draw-in region. The force of spring 18 has an aperture angle range of between 150 and 25*, a maximum value and decreases then until the force of the spring 18 reaches a minimum value between 500 and 75*. The maximum stress on spring 18 is thus limited. Fig. 8 shows the speed of the closing speed relative to the aperture angle, with different initial closing speeds being present. Damping must occur first depending on the speed of the closing movement in order to brake the door. The braking range lies approximately between 450 and 150. The higher the initial speed, the later the low end speed will be reached. At a smaller angle the damper force will increase as a result of the changing lever transmission (see Fig. 6), which ensures that braking occurs effectively even at very high initial speeds. The closing speed extends shortly before the closing position, e.g. remaining approximately the same linearly in a range of between 00 and at least 3*. After the braking of the kinetic energy, the system will work autonomously, which means the force of spring 18 and the damper determine the closing speed. 2193800.1 (GHMatters) Small "under-oscillations" are shown prior to reaching the linear end speed, which means sections failing below the end closing speed. These "under-oscillations" are caused by the elastic behavior of individual hinge components. During strong braking, they are tensioned by motion and will spring back once the damping force decreases. As a result of the stiff configuration of all components and especially the articulated connections, the result is a low "rebound" effect without any zero cross of the speed, which means there is no rebound of the hinge part 2. As is shown in Fig. 8, the automatic draw-in by spring 18 begins from approx. 45*, braked by the damper. Since the damper provides a speed-dependent force against the closing direction, but the spring a speed-independent force in the closing direction, even higher initial closing speeds will be decelerated effectively, so that in the last angular range before the closing the closing speed is independent of the initial closing speed. 2183800_1 (GHMatters)

Claims

1. A hinge (1), especially for an item of furniture, comprising a hinge part (2) which can be fixed to a door (6) or flap and is mounted pivotably on a side part (3) via a supporting lever (7) and a guide lever (8), with the side part (3) being held on a mounting plate (4) which can be mounted on a furniture body (5), and at least one spring (18) by means of which the hinge part (2) is pretensioned into a closed position in an automatic draw-in region, and a linear damper (11) with a piston rod (13) which is movable relative to a damper housing (12) for damping a closing movement of the hinge part (2), characterized in that the damper (11) is arranged as a compression damper and a deflecting element (10) is provided which is coupled with the damper (11) and is movable via a tension lever (9) during a closing movement of the hinge part (2).

2. A hinge according to claim 1, characterized in that the deflecting element (10) is mounted in a rotatable manner on the side part (3) and a tensile force by the tension lever (9) is converted by the deflection element (10) into a pressure force on the damper (11).

3. A hinge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the damper (11) is effective during the closing process between an aperture angle of the hinge part (2) of at least 250, preferably at least 400, and a closed position.

4. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 3, characterized in that the damper (11) can be moved more than 60%, preferably more than 70%, of its entire stroke in an opening range between an aperture angle of 300 and the closed position.

5. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 4, characterized in that the stroke of the damper (11) is in a range of between 4 to 20 mm, preferably 5 to 10 mm.

6. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 5, characterized in that the transmission ratio between the pivoting angle of the hinge part (2) and the stroke of the damper (11) during a closing movement of the hinge part (2) in a range of up to 15* before the closed position per degree of closing movement is 0.06 to 0.24 mm, preferably 0.14 to 0.18 mm. 2183800_1 (GHMatters)

7. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 6, characterized in that the spring (18) is effective in a first opening range adjacent to the closing position in the closing direction and in a section opening range the spring (18) pretensions the hinge part (2) in the opening direction.

8. A hinge according to one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the spring (18) is arranged as a leg spring which comprises a first leg (19) coupled with the hinge part (2) and a second leg (20) coupled with a shaft (26) on the extension arm (25) of the guide lever (8).

9. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 8, characterized in that the spring (18) is rotatably held on a shaft (23) of the supporting lever (7).

10. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 9, characterized in that the spring (18) is guided to the maximum opening position in order to avoid overextension during the pivoting of the hinge part (2).

11. A hinge according to one of the claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the spring force of the spring (18) reaches a maximum value in an aperture angle range of between 150 to 450, preferably 200 to 400.

12. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 11, characterized in that the leg (20) of the spring (18) which is coupled with the shaft (26) rests on a deflection roller (40).

13. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 12, characterized in that the automatic draw in region of the hinge part (2) by the spring (18) lies in a range of between 200 to 500, preferably between 250 to 35'.

14. A hinge according to one of the claims 1 to 13, characterized in that a substantially even closing speed is present at a closing movement of the hinge part (2) in an opening range of between 00 and 40, preferably 00 and 80.

15. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 14, characterized in that the deflection element (10) is coupled with the piston rod (13) which is guided in a displaceable manner 2183800_1 (GHMetters) in the pot-shaped damper housing (12).

16. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 15, characterized in that the damper housing (12) is held rotatably on the side part (3) on the side facing away towards the piston rod (13).

17. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 16, characterized in that the damper housing (12) and/or the piston rod (13) is connected via latching means with the deflection element or the side part.

18. A hinge according to one of the claims I to 17, characterized in that the transmission ratio between the hinge part (2) and the damper (11) is provided in such a way that the angular positions of the extension arm (25) on the guide lever (8) and tension lever (9) are approximately 1800 at an aperture angle of the hinge part (2) of approximately 80* to 1100, with the deflection lever (10) forming an acute angle with the tension lever (9), and the angular positions of extension arm (25) on the guide lever (8) and the tension lever (9) assume an approximate right angle of 900 at an aperture angle of the hinge part (2) of approximately 00 to 40", with the deflection lever (10) also forming an approximately 900 angle with the tension lever (9). 2183800_1 (GHMatters)