GB2210102A - Improvements relating to hinges - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinge which allows sliding movement of a door away from a frame followed by pivotal movement is formed by a slide (19) arranged to move in a guide (34) in a fixed part (6) in a direction perpendicular to the door frame (4) between an inner and an outer stop position. The slide (19) is provided with a ratchet mechanism (29, 30, 31, 41) arranged to arrest the slide in an outer position by being activated by the movable part (6) when the door is opened and swung out from the door frame. A snap lock (28) is provided to hold the movable part (10) in a position in which the door (1) is parallel to the door frame (4), with a force which is greater than the force necessary to move the slide (19). When the door (1) is influenced by a force to open the same the slide (19) is moved to its outer position whereupon the snap lock (22) is overcome to allow pivotal motion. Closure of the door requires the reverse sequence of movements. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO HINGES.

The present invention relates to a hinge.

In particular the present invention relates to a hinge comprising a fixed part so arranged as to be attached to a door frame or similar, and a movable part so arranged as to support a door or similar so that it is free to swing, said hinge being designed to - be fitted inside the door so as to be concealed by the door in its closed position, said hinge incorporating a mechanism which, as the door or similar swings, will cause the pivot shaft of the door or similar, supported on the fixed part of the hinge, to move away from the door frame or similar, thereby providing clearance for the door to swing. So-called concealed hinges are encountered in cupboards in particular.

The present invention relates to a hinge of that type A hinge of the above mentioned type is usually situated on the inside of a door when the door, in its closed position, bears against the door frame. This means that, in the closed door position, the pivot of the hinge is located inside the door frame. If the pivot were to be rigidly attached to the door frame, it would mean that the door could not be opened, since the door edges would move inwardly as the door swings open, and then would therefore catch on the door frame. (A door could possibly be designed with, for instance, cylindrical edges, which would not catch on the door frame, although this is not envisaged here, but rather, doors with square edges).The pivot for such concealed hinges is thus capable of moving, so that, regardless of the point to which the door is swung out, the pivot point will move outwards with respect to the door frame, and will permit the edges of the door to swing past the door frame.

In the case of concealed hinges currently in use, this outward movement of the pivot is achieved in one arrangement by means of a system of levers in which a link is caused to fold by guide elements as the door swings.

Such systems of levers suffer from the disadvantage that the said link occupies a relatively large space in the course of swinging, which encroaches upon the space inside the cupboard. The situation has been known to arise in which objects placed next to the lever link, which is straight when the door is in its open position, have subsequently been damaged by the movement of the link as the door is closed.

In another arrangement the pivot is carried by a slide and is caused to slide outwardly and inwardly when the door swings. However, a complicated mechanism connects the slide and the swinging part of the hinge.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a hinge capable of concelaed mounting on the inside of the door, which includes a slide mechanism which is very simple and reliable compared to such previously known mechanisms.

According to the present invention there is provided a hinge consisting of a fixed part, which is adapted to be attached to a door frame or similar, and a movable part, which is adapted to be attached to a door or similar, said two parts being connected by means of a bearing arrangement with a pivoting axis allowing the door or similar to swing between a closed position and an open position, the bearing arrangement being a part of the movable part and being carried by a slide arranged to move in a guide in the fixed part in a direction substantially perpendicular to the door frame or similar, between an inner and an outer stop position, the slide having a ratchet mechanism arranged to arrest the slide in its outer position by being activated by the movable part when the door or similar is opened and swung out from the door frame or similar, a snap lock being provided between the fixed part and the movable part of the hinge to hold the movable part in a position in which the door or similar is parallel to the door frame or similar, with a force which is greater than the force necessary to move the slide from its inner to its outer position, so that when the door or similar is influenced by a force to open the same the slide is moved to its outer position whereupon the snap lock is released and the door or similar will swing, whereas, when the door or similar is forced to close, the slide is arrested in its outer position until the ratchet mechanism is released when the door or similar is at least nearly parallel to the door frame and the slide will thereafter be moved to its inner position under the influence of the closing force.

The ratchet mechanism preferably comprises a ratchet path and a pawl, pivotable between a first position, in which it is not in contact with the ratchet path and the slide is free to move, and a second position, in which a point of the pawl is in contact with the ratchet path and the slide is locked against movement in the direction from its outer position towards its inner position. While the ratchet path and the pawl are arranged so as to not arrest the slide against movement from its inner position to its outer position, the pawl is connected to activation means which hold the pawl in its first position, when the movable part is in a position in which the door is parallel to the door frame, and in its second position when the door is swung out from the door frame.

The present invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig.1 is a sectional view of a door in the closed position, hung by means of a hinge constructed according to the present invention; Fig.2 is a sectional view along line II-II in Fig.l; Fig.3 is the same view as shown in Fig.l, but with the door in the open position; and Fig.4 is a sectional view along the line IV-IV in Fig.3.

In Fig.l a door 1 of a cupboard 2 or similar unit, is shown in a broken sectional view. The door 1 is carried by the cupboard 2 by means of at least two hinges, one of which hinge 3 is shown in the Figure.

The hinge 3 allows the door to be opened from the closed position as shown in Fig.l in which an inner side 5 of the door connects with an edge 4 of the cupboard, which edge forms a door-frame. The edge 4 extends around an opening of the cupboard which the door is provided to close.

The hinge 3 comprises two main parts: a fixed part 6 and a movable part 10. As shown in Fig.l, the fixed part 6 is attached by means of two screws 8 to the surface of the board 2, which form the inside of the cupboard. The other movable part 10 of the hinge carries the door 1 and is attached to the door by a cylindrical part 11 which is located in a recess 12 in the door, and by means of screws 13 which pass through ears 14.

A shaft 16 (see Fig.2) is used to connect the fixed part 6 and the movable part 10, to allow the door to swing from its closed to its open position and vice versa, the movable part 10 pivoting about the shaft 16. The shaft 16 is fixed in holes in the material of the cylindrical part 11, the cylindrical part 11 being preferably made of a plastics material.

An intermediate portion of the shaft 16 thereby extends across a recess 17 in the said part 11. An outer portion 18 of an L-shaped slide 19 is located in the recess 17, the end region 20 of the portion 18 being bent around the shaft 16. As seen from Figs. 2 and 4 the slide is made of a rigid, flat bar.

In addition to the outer portion 18, the slide 19 comprises an inner portion 21 (compare Figs.l and 3) which has a narrower portion 22 which connects with the outer portion 18, and a wider portion 23. The narrower portion 22 is provided with a bend 24 where it connects with said outer portion 18, and a holder 25 is provided on the portion 22 and a shaft 26 (Figs.l and 3) on the portion 23.

The bend 24 is arranged to co-operate with a band-shaped spring 28, the ends of which are attached in slots in the cylindrical part 11. The holder 25 has a hole through which a bar 29 passes, the bar 29 extending to a pawl 30 pivotally carried on the shaft 26. The bar 29 is biased by a spring 31, which rests against a head 32 at the outer end of the bar, so as to be pressed outwards (to the left in the Figures) and to cause the pawl 30 to pivot anti-clockwise as viewed in the accompanying drawings.

The fixed part 6 is provided as a guide for the slide 19. The wider portion 23 of the slide 19 is guided in a recess 34 in a main part 35 of the fixedpart 6, and is movable between an inner position, shown in Fig.l, and an outer position, shown in Fig.3. The main part 35 is provided with holes for said screws 8 and is closed by means of a cover 36, attached to the part 35 by means of a snap lock 37.

The cover secures the slide 19 in its guide in the main part 35. Preferably, the parts 35 and 36 are made of a hard but somewhat resilient plastics material. The narrow portion 22 of the slide 19 runs in a groove 38 (see Fig.3) of the part 35, which ends in an inner shoulder 39 forming an end stop for the wider portion 23.

The pawl 30 has a point 40 which is arranged to co-operate with a ratchet path 41 in the main part 35. As can be seen from Figs. 1 and 3, the pawl 30 is positioned at an oblique angle to the ratchet path 41 under the influence of the spring 31, the pawl 30 thus preventing the slide 19 from being pressed inwards.

However, if the bar 29 is pressed inwards to cause the pawl 30 to pivot, the slide 19 can then be moved inwardly with respect to recess 34. The slide 19 can, of course, always be moved in an outwards direction with respect to recess 34 regardless of whether or not the bar 29 is pressed inwards or not.

When the door 1 is closed, the movable part 10 of the hinge is arrested in the position shown in Fig.2, the door 1 resting on the door frame 4 and being parallel to the same. The movable part 10 is held in this position by means of a snap action of the spring 28 against the bend 24 of the slide 19. It is assumed that the slide 19 is held in its inner position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by means of friction between the slide 19 and the fixed part 6. In this inner position, the head 32 of the bar 29 is engaged by the movable part 10 and the spring 31 is compressed, the pawl 30 being consequently caused to pivot clockwise, with its point 40 being thus spaced from the ratchet path 41.

If one tries to swing the door 1 in order to open it, the spring 28 has to pass over the bend 24 before the movable part 10 can swing around the shaft 16.

However, because of the resistance to the door being swung open, the force against it, directed outwards, will move the slide 19 outwards in the fixed part 6.

When the slide has reached its outer position, with the narrower portion 23 of the slide 19 resting against the shoulder 39, the force against the spring 28 will increase and press the spring 28 to pass the bend 24, and the door will begin to swing about shaft 16. During this movement the point 40 of the pawl 30 lands on the ratchet path 41 as the pawl 30 pivots counter-clockwise biased under the action of the spring 31 as the cylindrical part 11 pivots away from the head 32 of the bar 29. This means that the slide 19 is arrested in its outer position, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Consequently, when the door is opened by a force against the handle or similar and directed outwards from the edge 4, the door will not only swing but also, it will initially be moved linearly together with the pivoting shaft 16 and the slide 19 running in the fixed part 6. The moving of the shaft to the outer position provides clearance between the door 1 and the door frame 4 allowing the door 1 to swing without its edge positioned adjacent to the hinge 3 hitting the edge 4.

When one wants to close the door and thereby pushes against a handle or similar located at the edge region of the door which is opposite to the edge where the hinges are located the door will pivot but it cannot be pressed inwards along a linear path because the slide 19 of the hinge is, as mentioned, arrested in its outer position.

When the door is near to its fully closed position, the movable part 10 of the hinge 3 presses the bar 29 inwards, the bar turning the pawl 30 clockwise, so that the slide 19 is free to move inwards. In this door position, the force against the handle will be directed substantially inwards in the direction which causes the slide 19 to move to its inner position, the inside of the door 1 being thus brought into contact with the door frame, represented by the edge 4. In this position the spring 28 is forced over the bend 24 and the door snap-locked into the position shown in Fig.2. The force, which is necessary to press the spring 28 over the bend 24, will result in a force against the slide 19 and will help to bring the slide fully to its inner position.

As has been explained in the preamble of this description, by positioning the pivoting shaft 16 for a door or similar element, inside the door frame or very near it, it is necessary to move this shaft outwards before or during the opening of the door 1 in order to provide enough space for the pivoting movement. The shaft has then to be moved inwards when the door is closed, in order to obtain full contact between the door and the door frame. To move the pivotable shaft, the present invention utilizes the fact that the force for swinging the door 1 is directed substantially perpendicular to the door frame 4 in the near closed position of the door 1. This means that this force can additionally be used for moving said shaft 16 in said guide 35. In order to simplify the hinge, according to the present invention, no means are provided for synchronizing the swinging and the linear movements. Instead, the linear movement of the slide 19 is ensured in the first moments of an opening cycle, by means of the snap lock (bend 24 and spring 28) which hinders the door from being pivoted until the slide 19 reaches its outer position as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. During the closing cycle it cannot move inwards until the door 1 is swung to a position parallel to the door frame 4, because in more opened positions the slide 19 is arrested in its outer position, to which it was moved when the door was opened. Only when the pawl 30 is released can the slide 19 be moved as a last moment of the closing cycle.

Claims (3)

1. A hinge consisting of a fixed part, which is adapted to be attached to a door frame or similar, and a movable part, which is adapted to be attached to a door or similar, said two parts being connected by means of a bearing arrangement with a pivoting axis allowing the door or similar to swing between a closed position and an open position, the bearing arrangement being a part of the movable part and being carried by a slide arranged to move in a guide in the fixed part in a direction substantially perpendicular to the door frame or similar, between an inner and an outer stop position, the slide having a ratchet mechanism arranged to arrest the slide in its outer position by being activated by the movable part when the door or similar is opened and swung out from the door frame or similar, a snap lock being provided between the fixed part and the movable part of the hinge to hold the movable part in a position in which the door or similar is parallel to the door frame or similar, with a force which is greater than the force necessary to move the slide from its inner to its outer position, so that when the door or similar is influenced by a force to open the same the slide is moved to its outer position whereupon the snap lock is released and the door or similar will swing, whereas, when the door or similar is forced to close, the slide is arrested in its outer position until the ratchet mechanism is released when the door or similar is at least nearly parallel to the door frame and the slide will thereafter be moved to its inner position under the influence of the closing force.

2. A hinge as claimed in claim 1, in which the ratchet mechanism comprises a ratchet path and a pawl which is pivotable between a first position in which it is not in contact with the ratchet path and the slide is free to move, and a second position in which a point of the pawl is in contact with the ratchet path and the slide is locked against movement in the direction from its outer position towards its inner position, while the ratchet path and the pawl are arranged to not arrest the slide against movement from its inner position to its outer position, the pawl being connected to activation means which hold the pawl in its first position when the movable part is in a position in which the door or similar is parllel to the door frame or similar, and in its second position when the door is swung out from the door frame or similar.

3. A hinge constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.