GB2232199A - Hinge - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinge 1 for pivoting two members 3 and 5 together comprises a pivot pin projecting from the member 3 and held thereon by two projecting flanges 9, one at each end, a hinge receptacle 11 on the other member 5 and a two part hinge body 13. One end 19 of the hinge body 13 is adapted to be received in the hinge receptacle 11 so as to be retained, held together, therein while the other ends 21 of the parts 15 and 17 of the hinge body 13 are each formed with an opposed part cylindrical recess 23 therein such that, when the two parts 15 and 17 are placed together, the two recesses 23 form a complete cylinder around the pivot pin 7. The parts 15, 17 have mating formations 29, 31 and slide into channels 41 in the hinge receptacle 11. A detent 39 may engage in a slot 47. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE "Hinge" TECHNICAL FIELD a BACKGROUND ART This invention relates to a hinge for pivoting together two members.

When making a hinge between two members which are moulded from plastics material, a number of problems are encountered if the hinge is to be easily and economically assembled and the resultant hinge is to be strong and not easily pulled apart or otherwise broken. The simplest type of hinge between two members is the so called "film hinge" where the two members are joined together by a thinner portion or "film". Even with particularly suitable and expensive plastics material, such a hinge breaks down under repeated operations. It has little strength and cannot be used where large plastics mouldings are used. Other forms of hinge include various snap together types which can be too readily parted again.For larger applications, more conventional hinges are often used requiring the use, for example, of metal hinge pins which increases the cost of the hinge and makes it more difficult to assemble. It is necessary either to have a separate hinge which is fastened to the members to be pivoted or to hold the two members together while hinge pins are inserted.

The present invention seeks to provide a hinge in which some or all of the above disadvantages are obviated or substantially reduced.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION a ADVANTAGES According to the invention, a hinge for pivoting two members together comprises a pivot pin projecting from a first of the members and held thereon by two projecting flanges, one at each end, a hinge receptacle on the other of the members and a two part hinge body, one end of which is adapted to be received in the hinge receptacle so as to be retained, held together, therein and the other ends of which parts are each formed with an opposed part cylindrical recess therein such that, when the two parts are placed together around the pivot pin, the two part cylindrical recesses form a complete cylinder around the pivot pin.

Preferably, both of the two parts of the hinge body are formed with mating longitudinal edge portions towards said one end and the hinge receptacle is provided with a pair of channels having opposed and spaced mouths for receiving the edge portions of the hinge body, the interior dimensions of the channels being only slightly larger than the complementary dimensions of the edge portions of the hinge body whereby, when the edge portions are inserted in the channels they retain the two parts of the hinge body together.

The edge portions of one part of the hinge body may be provided with projections which mate with recesses in the edge portions of the other part of the hinge body whereby the two parts of the hinge body are prevented from separating in a longitudinal direction at right angles to the line of the hinge.

At least one of the parts of the hinge body may have first attachment means at its end away from the part cylindrical recesses which cooperates with second attachment means on the hinge receptacle for retaining the hinge body within the hinge receptacle. The first attachment means may comprise a sprung detent which engages over a projection on the hinge receptacle forming the second attachment means The parts of the hinge body may be provided at their ends adjacent to the part cylindrical recesses with cooperating interlocking means, such as a tongue on one part cooperating with a groove on the other part, for retaining the parts together at their ends adjacent to -the part cylindrical recesses.

The two hinge parts and/or the two members may be moulded in one piece from plastics material.

This hinge is particularly suitable for use in pivoting together two members moulded from plastics materials and can provide a hinge which is easy to assemble and which, when assembled can be particularly strong.

DRAWINGS One embodiment of a hinge constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first form of hinge in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the hinge of figure 1 with one of the parts of the hinge body removed; Figure 3 is a perspective exploded view of the hinge body shown in figure 1, and Figure 4 is a view similar to figure 3 showing an alternative form of hinge body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to figures 1 to 3, there is shown a hinge 1 for pivoting together two members, the appropriate parts of which are shown at 3 and 5.

In practice the two members are moulded from plastics material and may, for example, comprise the side walls of a pallet collar which can be folded together for storage and which, when assembled on the pallet provide the pallet with sides to retain articles thereon.

The hinge itself comprises four parts,.a pivot pin 7 projecting from the member 3, held thereon by two projecting flanges 9, one at each end of the pin 7, a hinge receptacle 11 on the member 5 and a hinge body 13 comprising two parts 15 and 17. One end 19 of the hinge body 13 is adapted to be received in the hinge receptacle 11. so as to be retained, held together, therein while the other ends 21 of the two parts 15 and 17 are each formed with an opposed part cylindrical recess 23 therein such that, when the two parts 15 and 17 are placed together around the pivot pin 7, the two part cylindrical recesses 23 form a complete cylinder around the pivot pin 7.

Considering the construction of the hinge body 13 in more detail, it will be-seen, particularly from figure 3, that each hinge part 15 or 17 has, in addition to the previously mentioned opposed recess 23, an engagement surface 25 or 27 by means of which, as will be explained hereafter, the two parts 15 and 17 are held together when assembled.

The engagement surface 25 on the part 15 is provided with cut outs 29 which cooperate with complementary projections 31 on the surface 27 of the part 17 so as to hold the two parts in position both longitudinally and transversely. Further engagement of the two parts 15 and 17 is achieved by means of a tongue and groove arrangement provided at the outer end of the hinge body 13. To this end, a tongue 33 is provided on the end 21 of the part 15 and extends radially with respect to the axis of its part cylindrical recess 23 while a groove 35 is formed in the end 21 of the part 17, this groove 35 facing radially inwardly of the recess 23 so as to be able to receive the tongue 33 therein.

The part 15 of the hinge body 13 is provided with a raised portion 37 leading to a rearward extending detent 39 which is used to retain the hinge body 13 in the hinge receptacle 11.

The hinge receptacle 11 comprises a recess 40 which can receive, not only the hinge body 13 itself but also the hinge pin 7 together with its supporting flanges 9. Operatively it is formed with two longitudinally extending slots 41 with opposed mouths, which slots 41 are of a dimension large enough to receive the edge flanges 43 formed at the edges of the engagement surfaces 25 and 27, when these are placed together, and narrow enough to retain the two parts 15 and 17 together when the flanges 43 are inserted therein. A transverse element 45, provided with a slot 47, is positioned to receive the detent 39 therein to retain the hinge body 13 within the hinge receptacle 11.

Assembly of the above described hinge will now be considered: Firstly, the part 17 of the hinge body 13 is positioned with its recess 23 against the hinge pin 7 of the member 3. Next, the tongue 33 on the end 21 of the part 15 of the hinge body 13 is inserted in the groove 35 in the part 17 and the two parts are pivoted towards each other, using the tongue and groove connection as an axis, until the engagement surfaces 25 and 27 come into engagement with the projections 29 seated in the cut outs 28.

At this point, the hinge body is locked longitudinally and transversely provided that the parts are held together. In this position, the recesses 23 make a closed cylinder around the pivot pin 7.

The hinge body 13 is now ready to be received in the hinge receptacle 11 of the member 5. To achieve this, the parts 15 and 17 are held together and the hinge body 13 is pushed into the hinge receptacle 11 so that the flanges 43 slide into the slots 41. When the hinge body is pushed right home the detent 39 will engage in the slot 47, thereby securing the hinge body 13 in the hinge receptacle 11. It will thus be appreciated that the parts 15 and 17 of the hinge body are held together by means of the tongue 33 and groove 35 and by the flanges 43 and slot 41. Wnile it is not normally desired to disassemble the hinge, once it has been formed, disassembly can be carried out if the detent 39 is pried out of the slot 47 to release the hinge body 13 from the hinge receptacle 11.

Figure 4 shows an alternative construction of the hinge body 13. Here, the part 15 remains as before but the part 17 is also provided with a raised part 49 which ends in a detent 51, similar to the detent 39 but opposed thereto. This increases the symmetry of the two parts an enables any sideways pull on the hinge to be taken up by both parts 15 and 17 of the hinge body. It will be understood that, with this modified arrangement, it is necessary to replace the slot 47 by a transverse element around both sides of which a detent 39 or 51 can pass. The detents can be secured in slots in the transverse element or can engage behind the appropriate edge of the element itself.

Claims (10)

1. A hinge for pivoting two members together comprising a pivot pin projecting from a first of the members and held thereon by two projecting flanges, one at each end, a hinge receptacle on the other of the members and a two part hinge body, one end of which is adapted to be received in the hinge receptacle so as to be retained, held together, therein and the other ends of which parts are each formed with an opposed part cylindrical recess therein such that, when the two parts are placed together around the pivot pin, the two part cylindrical recesses form a complete cylinder around the pivot pin.

2. A hinge as claimed in claim 1 in which both of the two parts of the hinge body are formed with mating longitudinal edge portions towards said one end and the hinge receptacle is provided with a pair of channels having opposed and spaced mouths for receiving the edge portions of the hinge body, the interior dimensions of the channels being only slightly larger than the complementary dimensions of the edge portions of the hinge body whereby, when the edge portions are inserted in the channels they retain the two parts of the hinge body together

3.A hinge as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the edge portions of one part of the hinge body are provided with projections which mate with recesses in the edge portions of the other part of the hinge body whereby the two parts of the hinge body are prevented from separating in the longitudinal direction at right angles to the line of the hinge.

4. A hinge as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 in which at least one of the parts of the hinge body has first attachment means at its end away from the part cylindrical recesses which cooperates with second attachment means on the hinge receptacle for retaining the hinge body within the hinge receptacle.

5. A hinge as claimed in claim 4 in which the first attachment means on the part or parts of the hinge body comprises a sprung detent which engages over a projection on the hinge receptacle forming the second attachment means

6. A hinge as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the parts of the hinge body are provided at their ends adjacent to the part cylindrical recesses with cooperating interlocking means for retaining the parts together at their ends adjacent to the part cylindrical recesses.

7. A hinge as claimed in claim 6 in which the interlocking means comprise a tongue on one part and a groove in the other part.

8. A hinge as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the two hinge parts are moulded from plastics material.

9. A hinge as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the two members to be hinged are moulded in one piece from plastics material.

10. A hinge for pivoting two members together substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.