EP3406834B1

EP3406834B1 - Hinge mechanism and furniture

Info

Publication number: EP3406834B1
Application number: EP17878164.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shujuan LIN; Shuhua LIN; Jinji SUN
Original assignee: Hu Hua Metal Products Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hu Hua Metal Products Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-12-06
Filing date: 2017-04-07
Publication date: 2023-05-24
Anticipated expiration: 2037-04-07
Also published as: WO2018103246A1; KR102145513B1; EP3406834A4; CN106545253B; EP3406834A1; CN106545253A; KR20180108729A

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a hinge mechanism, for example, a hinge used in furniture, according to the features of claim 1.

BACKGROUND

Chinese Patent Publication No. CN 102587757B discloses a hinge with a damping device including: a base including a recessed body, and the recessed body includes two sidewalls and a bottom wall; a hinge arm connected to a first location of the two sidewalls of the base in a pin-jointed manner, and a cam portion is disposed in a pin-jointed portion; a mounting member connected to the hinge arm; a fixing pin member disposed on the recessed body of the base, the fixing pin member includes a first pin and a second pin corresponding to the first pin, the first pin is fixed to the first location of the two sidewalls of the base and connected to the hinge arm in the pin-jointed manner, and the second pin is fixed to a second location of the two sidewalls; a hinge spring including a first elastic portion, a second elastic portion corresponding to the first elastic portion, and an intermediate portion interconnected between the first and second elastic portions, with the first elastic portion pressing against the cam portion of the hinge arm, with the second elastic portion pressing against the base, with the intermediate portion receiving the second pin of the fixing pin member; and a damping device including: a fixed seat fixedly mounted in the recessed body of the base, with the fixed seat including a receiving space and a stop plate at a rear end of the receiving space; a sliding block movably received in the receiving space of the fixed seat, with the sliding block including a front portion, a rear portion corresponding to the front portion, two connecting walls and a top wall connected between the front and rear portions, and an elongated through-hole extending through the two connecting walls, with the front portion facing the hinge arm, with the rear portion facing the stop plate of the fixed seat, with the second pin of the fixing pin member extending through the elongated through-hole to restrain movement of the sliding block; a damping member mounted between the bottom wall of the base, the sliding block, and the second pin of the fixing pin member; and an elastic element mounted between the rear portion of the sliding block and the stop plate of the fixed seat, where when the base moves relative to the hinge arm to a closed position, the front portion of the sliding block comes in contact with the hinge arm and moves into the fixed seat, such that the damping member is pressed by the second pin of the fixing pin member and the bottom wall of the base to provide primary damping force and that the elastic element is compressed to provide auxiliary damping force and to provide returning force for the sliding block.
In the hinge structure disclosed in the above case, it is needed to connect the mounting member to the base in a rotatable way through the arm, and the mounting member rotates at a radius equal to a distance from the mounting member to a center of rotation of the arm. The disadvantage of this structure is that in the pursuit of a sufficiently large opening width and space when the mounting member is opened, it is needed that the mounting member has a sufficiently large radius of rotation, but an overlarge radius of rotation will make the mounting member and the base not be well sealed when the mounting member is closed up.

A hinge mechanism comprising a movable connector and a fixed connector for a refrigerator or a freezer is also known from DE20306043
A multi-link hinge for hinging a door leaf to a body of a piece of furniture is also known from US2005/177980 .
A furniture hinge for pivotably connecting at least two furniture parts is also known from WO2016/090391 .
Other similar hinge mechanisms are e.g. known from US 2010/101052 A1 , US 2003/159249 A1 and US 2008/276422 A1 .

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a hinge mechanism having a small radius of rotation and capable of sealing up a movable connector and a fixed connector when closed up.
The present invention provides a hinge mechanism including a movable connector, a fixed connector, and a hinge assembly connected between the movable connector and the fixed connector and configured for enabling the movable connector to rotate relatively to the fixed connector. The hinge assembly includes:

a hinge four-rod mechanism using the fixed connector as a rack; and
a first extension part served as an extension to a connecting rod in the hinge four-rod mechanism in a lengthwise direction of the connecting rod and rotatably connected to the movable connector.

Optionally, the hinge four-rod mechanism is a double-rocker mechanism. According to the invention, the hinge four-rod mechanism further includes:

a second extension part served as an extension to a first side link in the hinge four-rod mechanism in a lengthwise direction of the first side link, where the first side link is relatively far from the first extension among side links in the hinge four-rod mechanism; and
a first connecting arm, where a first end of the first connecting arm is connected to the second extension part, a second end of the first connecting arm is rotatably connected to the movable connector, and the first connecting arm has an allowance stretchable in a lengthwise direction thereof and has an elastic element for limiting recovery of the allowance after release of the allowance and/or limiting the release of the allowance.

According to the invention, the fixed connector includes:

a fixed portion and a bent portion bent on the fixed portion,
the first side link is rotatably connected to the fixed portion, and a second side link on the hinge four-rod mechanism is rotatably connected to the bent portion,
when the movable connector rotates such that at least a minimum included angle between the movable connector and the fixed portion exists, an end of the movable connector closest to the bent portion is within a region where the included angle between the fixed portion and the bent portion is located.

Optionally, the hinge mechanism further includes a connecting and rotating member secured to the movable connector and at least two connecting points rotatably connected to the first connecting arm are provided on the connecting and rotating member .
Optionally, the first connecting arm includes:

an elastic connector having elasticity, which is rotatably connected to the second extension part through a first connecting and rotating point disposed on one end of the first connecting arm and to the movable connector through a second connecting and rotating point disposed on another end of the first connecting arm; and
a first adjusting rod rotatably connected to the one end of the first connecting arm through the first connecting and rotating point and a second adjusting rod rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting arm through the second connecting and rotating point, where the first adjusting rod and the second adjusting rod are slidable relatively to each other and are both provided with a radially protruding boss, and the elastic element is mounted in a space between two bosses.

Optionally, modes of rotatable connecting in the hinge mechanism include:

connecting through a first through hole disposed in a first member, a second through hole disposed in a second member connected to the first member, and a connecting pin passing through the first through hole and the second through hole, where the connecting pin is connected to the first through hole in a fixed support manner and connected to the second through hole in a rotatable manner; or
connecting through a roller disposed in the first member and a plug pin disposed in the second member connected to the first member, where the first member is provided with a first connecting hole, the second member is provided with a second connecting hole, the roller is connected to the first connecting hole in a fixed support manner, the plug pin is connected to the second connecting hole in a fixed support manner, and the plug pin is inserted into the roller and connected with the roller in a rotatable way,
where interchangeability is satisfied between the connecting pin and the first through hole and between the connecting pin and the second through hole; or interchangeability is satisfied between the roller and the first connecting hole and between the plug pin and the second connecting hole.

Optionally, interchangeability between the inserted pin and the connecting pin is satisfied.
Optionally, the hinge four-rod mechanism is a double-rocker mechanism.
Optionally, the connecting and rotating member is riveted to the movable connector.
The present disclosure further provides a furniture, including a fixed furniture member, a movable furniture member, and at least one of the hinge mechanisms described above, where a movable connector is secured to the movable furniture member and a fixed connector is secured to the fixed furniture member.
The present invention discards a method of rotating around a fixed axis in the related art and uses the hinge four-rod mechanism. With the hinge four-rod mechanism, the movable connector can rotate and shift relative to the fixed connector during rotation, thereby ensuring that a relatively large extension amount and opening space are achieved when the movable connector is opened relative to the fixed connector, and relatively good closeness and tightness are achieved when the movable connector is closed up. This solves the problem in the related art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a model diagram of a hinge mechanism according to an embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a structure diagram of a hinge mechanism in an opened state according to embodiment 1, according to the invention;
FIG. 3 is a structure diagram of the hinge mechanism in a closed state according to embodiment 1;
FIG. 4 is a structure diagram of a hinge mechanism in an opened state according to embodiment 2, not covered by the invention;
FIG. 5 is a structure diagram of the hinge mechanism in a closed state according to embodiment 2;and
FIG. 6 is a structure diagram of a furniture according to an embodiment.

In the accompanying drawings: 1-hinge mechanism; 100-hinge four-rod mechanism; 2-movable connector; 4-fixed connector; 42-fixed portion; 44-bent portion; 6-hinge assembly; 8-connecting rod; 802-first extension part; 11-elastic element; 12-first side link; 1202-second extension part; 13-second side link; 14-first connecting arm; 16-connecting and rotating member; 18-elastic connector; 20-first adjusting rod; 22-second adjusting rod; 200-fixed furniture member; 300-movable furniture member

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The solutions of the present disclosure are described hereinafter through embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
As can be seen from a model diagram of a hinge mechanism shown in FIG. 1, the hinge mechanism 1 includes a movable connector 2, a fixed connector 4, and a hinge assembly 6 connected between the movable connector 2 and the fixed connector 4 and used for enabling the movable connector 2 to rotate relative to the fixed connector 4.
The hinge assembly 6 includes:

a hinge four-rod mechanism using the fixed connector 4 as a rack; and
a first extension part 802 served as an extension to a connecting rod 8 in the hinge four-rod mechanism in a lengthwise direction of the connecting rod 8 and rotatably connected to the movable connector 2.

The hinge four-rod mechanism 100 further includes: a second extension part 1202 served as an extension to a first side link 12 in the hinge four-rod mechanism 100 in a lengthwise direction of the first side link 12, where the first side link 12 is relatively far from the first extension 802 among side links in the hinge four-rod mechanism 100. Optionally, the first side link 12 is rotatably connected to the fixed portion 42.
The hinge four-rod mechanism 100 further includes: a first connecting arm 14, where a first end of the first connecting arm 14 is connected to the second extension part 1202, a second end of the first connecting arm 14 is rotatably connectable to the movable connector 2, and the first connecting arm 14 has an allowance stretchable in a lengthwise direction thereof and has an elastic element 11 for limiting recovery of the allowance after release of the allowance and/or limiting the release of the allowance. That is, the first connecting arm 14 includes the elastic member 11 so that the first connecting arm 14 is stretchable in the lengthwise direction.
The fixed connector 4 includes:
a fixed portion 42 and a bent portion 44 bent on the fixed portion 42.
The first side link 12 is rotatably connected to the fixed portion 42, and a second side link 13 on the hinge four-rod mechanism is rotatably connected to the bent portion 44.
Optionally, an included angle between the movable connector 2 and the fixed portion 42 changes within a preset included angle range when the movable connector 2 rotates. When the movable connector 2 rotates such that at least a minimum included angle between the movable connector 2 and the fixed portion 42 exists, an end of the movable connector 2 closest to the bent portion 44 is within a region where the included angle between the fixed portion 42 and the bent portion 44 is located.
A working principle of the hinge mechanism 1 in this embodiment may be: a door panel is fixed to the movable connector 2 and the fixed connector 4 is fixed to a door frame (the door frame and the door panel are not shown in the figure).
When a door is closed, the door panel and the door frame are closed, and the fixed connector 4 and the movable connector 2 are parallel to each other.
When the door is being opened, rotation of the door panel drives rotation of the movable connector 2, and the movable connector 2 is rotatably connected to the first connecting arm 14 and the first extension part 802 of the connecting rod 8. Rotation of the movable connector 2 drives movement of the hinge four-rod mechanism 100, and the hinge four-rod mechanism 100 is a double-rocker mechanism; therefore, when rotating around the hinge four-rod mechanism 100, the movable connector 2 has a sufficient extension amount, ensuring that the door panel has a sufficient opening width and space. A movement path of the hinge four-rod mechanism 100 is fixed, so the maximum angle at which the door panel finally opens is also fixed.
When the door is being closed, rotation of the movable connector 2 drives rotation of the hinge four-rod mechanism 100 through the first connecting arm 14 and the first extension part 802 of the connecting rod 8, so that the door panel rotates to a position where the door panel and the door frame are closed up. Movement of the movable connector 2 during the whole process includes rotation and shift, and the movement path of the hinge four-rod mechanism 100 is plannable; therefore, as long as a size and shape of the hinge four-rod mechanism 100 are designed according to requirements, the best state in which the movable connector 2 is located between the bent portion 44 and the fixed portion 42 is that the movable connector 2 or a section of the door panel abuts against the bent portion 44 when the door panel is closed up. This ensures relatively good closeness and tightness between the door panel (or the movable connector) and the fixed connector 4.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show structure diagrams of a hinge mechanism according to embodiment 1. The working principle has been mentioned above. In this embodiment, improvements are made on the first connecting arm 14. This first connecting arm 14 includes:

an elastic connector 18 having elasticity, which is rotatably connected to the second extension part1202 through a first connecting and rotating point disposed on one end of the first connecting arm 14 and to the movable connector 2 through a second connecting and rotating point disposed on another end of the first connecting arm 14; and
a first adjusting rod 20 rotatably connected to the one end of the first connecting arm 14 through the first connecting and rotating point and a second adjusting rod 22 rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting arm 14 through the second connecting and rotating point, where the first adjusting rod 20 and the second adjusting rod 22 are slidable relatively to each other and are both provided with a radially protruding boss, and the elastic element 11 is mounted in a space between two bosses.

The first connecting arm 14 and the first extension part 802 are connected to the movable connector 2 in a rotatable way, so the first connecting arm 14 is provided with the elastic element 11 (for example, a spring) for resistance of the movable connector 2 during rotation. A magnitude of this force is related to a spring force of the spring and a length of the first connecting arm 14. In this embodiment, this spring force acts when an opening angle of the door panel is 0 to 50 degrees and does not act when the opening angle of the door panel is 50 to 115 degrees.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show structure diagrams of a hinge mechanism according to an embodiment not covered by the invention. This Embodiment is similar to embodiment 1 except that the length of the first connecting arm 14 is changed and thus a deformation of the spring is changed. In this embodiment, the built-in spring force acts in the whole process when the opening angle is 0 to 115 degrees. Here, to satisfy the interchangeability between embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, a converter may be provided. The converter can be connected to the first connecting arm 14 of different sizes, thereby reducing the production costs.
In various embodiments, modes of rotatable connecting in the hinge mechanism 1 includes:

connecting through holes (which may include a first through hole disposed in a first member and a second through hole disposed in a second member connected to the first member) disposed in connected members (which may include the first member and the second member), and a connecting pin passing through the two connected through holes, where the connecting pin is connected to the first through hole in a fixed support manner and connected to the second through hole in a rotatable manner; or
connecting through a roller and a plug pin disposed in the connected members (which may include the first member and the second member), where the connected members are provided with connecting holes (the first member is provided with a first connecting hole, and the second member is provided with a second connecting hole), the roller is connected to the first connecting hole in a fixed support manner, the plug pin is connected to the second connecting hole in a fixed support manner, and the plug pin is inserted into the roller and connected with the roller in a rotatable way.

Interchangeability between the connecting pin and the through holes is satisfied; or interchangeability between the roller and the connecting hole and between the plug pin and the connecting hole is satisfied.
In this connection mode, installation is easy, multiple rotation pins and through holes have the same size, interchangeability is high, and thus the production costs are reduced. Further, it is also feasible to set the plug pin and the connecting pin into the same shape and size so as to satisfy the interchangeability requirement and further reduce the production costs.
FIG. 6 is a structure diagram of a furniture according to an embodiment. A hinge mechanism in this embodiment is widely used and is applicable to any furniture structure similar to a rotatable door panel. It is feasible to secure a fixed furniture member 200 of the furniture to a fixed connector 4 of the hinge mechanism 1 and a movable furniture member 300 to a movable connector 2 of the hinge mechanism 1. With the hinge four-rod mechanism 100, the movable connector 2 can rotate and shift relatively to the fixed connector 4 during rotation, thereby ensuring that a relatively large extension amount and opening space are achieved when the movable connector 2 is opened relative to the fixed connector 4, and relatively good closeness and tightness are achieved when the movable connector 2 is closed up. This solves the problem in the related art. In addition, it is to be noted that a connecting and rotating member 16 is riveted to the movable connector 2. Riveting has the following advantages: detachability is achieved, a simple process is involved, assembly and disassembly are flexible, vulnerable parts can be replaced, and toughness is strong.
The principle of the present disclosure is described above in conjunction with embodiments. The description is only intended to illustrate the principle of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The hinge mechanism provided by the present invention discards a method of rotating about a fixed axis in the related art and uses the hinge four-rod mechanism. With the hinge four-rod mechanism, the movable connector can rotate and shift relatively to the fixed connector during rotation, thereby ensuring that a relatively large extension amount and opening space are achieved when the movable connector is opened relative to the fixed connector, and relatively good closeness and tightness are achieved when the movable connector is closed up. This solves the problem in the related art.

Claims

A hinge mechanism (1) comprising: a movable connector (2), a fixed connector (4), and a hinge assembly (6) connected between the movable connector (2) and the fixed connector (4) and configured for enabling the movable connector (2) to rotate relatively to the fixed connector (4), the hinge assembly (6) comprising: a hinge four-rod mechanism (100) using the fixed connector (4) as a rack; and a first extension part (802) served as an extension to a connecting rod (8) in the hinge four-rod mechanism (100) in a lengthwise direction of the connecting rod (8) and rotatably connected to the movable connector (2), the hinge four-rod mechanism (100) further comprising:
a second extension part (1202) serving as an extension to a first side link (12) in the hinge four-rod mechanism (100) in a lengthwise direction of the first side link (12); the first side link (12) being relatively far from the first extension part (802) among side links in the hinge four-rod mechanism (100) and further comprising:
a first connecting arm (14), wherein a first end of the first connecting arm (14) is connected to the second extension part (1202), a second end of the first connecting arm (14) being rotatably connectable to the movable connector (2), when an opening angle of the movable connector is 0 to 50 degrees and until it reaches a closed position,

wherein the first connecting arm (14) has an allowance stretchable in a lengthwise direction thereof and has an elastic element (11) for limiting recovery of the allowance after release of the allowance and/or limiting the release of the allowance, such elastic element exerting a force when an opening angle of movable connector (2) is 0 to 50 degrees and not exerting any force when the opening angle of is 50 to 115 degrees, the end of the connecting arm (14) engaging into the movable connector (2) when the elastic element is exerting a force,

wherein the fixed connector (4) comprises a fixed portion (42) and a bent portion (44) bent on the fixed portion (42), the first side link (12) is rotatably connected to the fixed portion (42), and a second side link (13) on the hinge four-rod mechanism (100) is rotatably connected to the bent portion (44), so that when the movable connector (2) rotates such that at least a minimum included angle between the movable connector (2) and the fixed portion (42) exists, an end of the movable connector (2) closest to the bent portion (44) is within a region where the included angle between the fixed portion (42) and the bent portion (44) is located.
The hinge mechanism of claim 1, wherein the hinge four-rod mechanism (100) is a double-rocker mechanism.
The hinge mechanism of claim 1, further comprising a connecting and rotating member (16) secured to the movable connector (2), wherein at least two connecting points rotatably connected to the first connecting arm (14) are provided on the connecting and rotating member (16).
The hinge mechanism of claim 3, wherein the first connecting arm (14) comprises:
an elastic connector (18) having elasticity, which is rotatably connected to the second extension part (1202) through a first connecting and rotating point disposed on one end of the first connecting arm (14) and to the movable connector (2) through a second connecting and rotating point disposed on another end of the first connecting arm (14); and a first adjusting rod (20) rotatably connected to the one end of the first connecting arm (14) through the first connecting and rotating point and a second adjusting rod (22) rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting arm (14) through the second connecting and rotating point, wherein the first adjusting rod (20) and the second adjusting rod (22) are slidable relatively to each other and are both provided with a radially protruding boss, and the elastic element (11) is mounted in a space between two bosses.
The hinge mechanism of claim 4, wherein modes of rotatable connecting in the hinge mechanism (1) comprises :
connecting through a first through hole disposed in a first member, a second through hole disposed in a second member connected to the first member, and a connecting pin passing through the first through hole and the second through hole, wherein the connecting pin is connected to the first through hole in a fixed support manner and connected to the second through hole in a rotatable manner; or

connecting through a roller disposed in the first member and a plug pin disposed in the second member connected to the first member, wherein the first member is provided with a first connecting hole, the second member is provided with a second connecting hole, the roller is connected to the first connecting hole in a fixed support manner, the plug pin is connected to the second connecting hole in a fixed support manner, and the plug pin is inserted into the roller and connected with the roller in a rotatable way,

wherein interchangeability between the connecting pin and the first through hole and between the connecting pin and the second through hole is satisfied; or interchangeability between the roller and the first connecting hole and between the plug pin and the second connecting hole is satisfied.
The hinge mechanism of claim 5, wherein interchangeability between the plug pin and the connecting pin is satisfied.
The hinge mechanism of claim 6, wherein the connecting and rotating member (16) is riveted to the movable connector (2).
A furniture, comprising a fixed furniture member (200), a movable furniture member (300), and at least one hinge mechanism (1) of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the movable connector (2) is fixedly supported on the movable furniture member (300) and a fixed connector (4) is fixedly supported on the fixed furniture member (200).