GB2401146A

GB2401146A - Hinge with releasable clip-on protective cover

Info

Publication number: GB2401146A
Application number: GB0310193A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony James Rawson
Original assignee: Epwin Group PLC
Current assignee: Epwin Group PLC
Priority date: 2003-05-02
Filing date: 2003-05-02
Publication date: 2004-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 2023-05-02
Also published as: GB2401146B; GB0310193D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a means for protecting hinges. A preferred embodiment a protective cover 100, in the form of a resilient flexible member having an elongate portion 101 and a hooking portion 105 is deformed from a rest state to a tension state in which it clips over and protects a hinge 46, 48. Portions 102a, 110 of the protective cover bear against the hinge 46, 48 and a planer member, such as a door leaf 60 to which the hinge is attached, to resist return of the protective cover to its undeformed rest state. In this way the hinge can be protected from abrasions and impacts which may occur during storage or transportation. The invention may be especially useful for hinges for PVC-U doors, because such door hinges are large and project considerably from the plane of the door. It is intended that the protective cover is removed from the hinge upon installation of the door.

Description

2401 146 Apparatus For Use with A Hinge The present invention relates to

hinges and means for protecting hinges. It is thought that the present invention will be particularly useful for door hinges, especially hinges of the type used with PVC-U doors, although it is not limited thereto.

Door hinges stand proud from the plane of the door, and therefore can be damaged during manufacture, transport and whilst waiting installation on site. Hinges on PVC-U doors in particular are vulnerable to damage.

This is because the hinge on a PVC-U door is attached to the visible face of the door leaf and frame rather than being attached to the rebate face, between the edge of the leaf and the frame; in this way a PVC-U door hinge projects considerably from the plane of the door.

Hinges fitted to PVC-U doors are also often adjustable, (so that on-site installation problems can be rectified quickly), this feature makes the hinge bulky and much more likely to be damaged.

Figs. la and lb show the difference between a typical hinge fitted to a timber door leaf and frame compared to a hinge fitted to a PVC-U door leaf and frame. Thus, Fig. la shows a typical hinge which attaches the timber door leaf 1 to the timber frame 10 by the rebate edges, 2 and 12 thereof. The hinge 5 comprises a hinging portion 6 to which elongate hinge members 7 and 8 are hingedly attached. The first hinge member 7 attaches to the rebate edge of 2 of door leaf 1 and the second hinge member 8 attaches to the rebate edge 12 of the door frame 10. This arrangement is typical of timber doors.

Fig. lb shows a typical arrangement for a door with a PVC-U leaf 20 and a PVC-U frame 30. The door hinge 40 for the PVC-U door comprises a hinging portion 46 to which elongate hinge members 47 and 48 are hingedly attached. Elongate hinge member 48 is mounted on an outer face 21 of door leaf 20 and stands proud therefrom. The other elongate hinge member 47 is mounted to face of the PVC-U frame 30. As can be seen from the figures, the hinge for the PVC-U door differs from the hinge for the timber door in that it supports the door leaf along its outer face and is not attached to the rebate edge of the door leaf.

In loading a truck to take a consignment of doors to a customer, there is a desire to optimise the number of doors loaded and so doors are stacked very close together.

The hinges can be damaged during loading and during transport due to vibration, if one door is resting on the hinge of the next door. On site or at a customer's works, doors can be stacked in such a way that one door leans against another.

In both these ways there is the possibility that the hinge and in particular the 'flag' section of the hinge, which attaches to the face of the door leaf, may be damaged. To replace a damaged hinge is costly and time consuming.

Thus, there is a need for a method of protecting the door hinge from impact, scuffing and vibration and other potential sources of damage.

At its most general, the present invention proposes provision of a hinge protector which is fitted to the hinge to protect it from impacts and abrasions, and which can be removed when the hinge is installed. In this way, the hinge can be protected during storage and/or transport. Preferably the hinge is a door hinge which may be attached to a door leaf, and the hinge protector can be removed when the door is installed.

A first aspect of the present invention provides an assembly comprising a hinge and a protective cover releasably clipped over the hinge so as to protect said hinge from abrasions and/or impacts. As the protective cover is adapted to releasably clip over the hinge, it is simple to fit and is capable of retaining itself on the hinge so that it does not become dislodged due to accidental damage.

The assembly may also include a planar member, such as a door leaf, attached to the hinge.

Preferably, the protective cover is a flexible member which resiliently returns to a rest state when deformed therefrom. This is a simple and effective way of providing the protective cover with its desired releasable clipping nature.

Preferably, the hinge has a hinging portion and an elongate portion for attachment to an outer face of a planar member (e.g. a door leaf), so as to hingedly support said planar member. Preferably the hinge is a door hinge, and most preferably a door hinge for a PVC-U door.

Preferably the protective cover has a hooking portion for hooking around the hinging portion of the hinge and an elongate portion for extending over and protecting said elongate portion of the hinge (e.g. the 'flag' section of the hinge). In this way the most vulnerable part (the elongate portion) of the hinge is protected.

Preferably, the protective cover itself is configured so that it cannot fit over the hinge in its rest state, but has to be deformed into a state of tension to be fitted over the hinge. Thus, the resilient spring force of the protective cover acts to keep it in place when it is releasably clipped (in its tension state) over the hinge.

This makes it a simple matter to fit and release the protective cover. Furthermore, as no further attachments are necessary, the protective cover can be manufactured cheaply. The degree of tension in the clipping state can be controlled by the construction of the protective cover, so that the protective cover can adequately retain itself on the hinge so that it does not become dislodged due to accidental damage, but is not too difficult for a person to remove the protective cover when desired.

Preferably in said tension state respective parts of the hooking portion and the elongate portion bear against the hinging portion and the planar member to resist the return of the protective cover to its rest state.

Since the tension state is thus maintained whilst the cover is on the hinge, a clipping force is provided which keeps the protective cover in place.

Preferably it is the ends of the parts of the hooking portion and the elongate portion which bear against the ends of the hinging portion and the planar member, but flanges may be provided at intermediate portions on the hooking portion and elongate portion to achieve a similar effect.

The planar member which the protective covers bears against need not necessarily be a door leaf, it could alternatively be a plate intermediate the hinge's elongate member and the door leaf or a flange integral with the hinge's elongate member.

The protective cover should be sufficiently robust that it can absorb impacts which would otherwise damage the hinge. It is also preferable that the protective cover is simple in construction and cheap to manufacture because once the door is installed, the protector is discarded. Examples for suitable materials for construction of the protective cover are a plastics material (especially, but not necessarily an extrusion) or a metal material. It is also possible for the protective cover to be moulded, which has the advantage that a good fit to the hinge can be obtained, and potentially a larger proportion of the hinge surface area can be covered than, for example, with an extrusion.

Preferably the hooking portion of the protective cover is an approximately U-shaped portion for fitting around the hinging portion of the hinge.

Preferably the protective cover is extended to the tension state to fit over the hinge by 'uncoiling' from its rest position, e.g. by opening the 'U' to increase the angle between its two legs.

Preferably the protective cover is formed as a single piece. This allows for cheap manufacture and simple fitting of the protective cover.

As mentioned above, the protective cover should preferably be sufficiently hard or thick to protect the hinge from impacts and abrasions. The stiffness of the protective cover should preferably be such that it grips the hinge effectively, but can easily be removed by hand.

Where the protective cover has a U-shaped portion for fitting around the hinging portion of the hinge, and an elongate for protecting the elongate portion of the hinge, the protective cover can be constructed such that it unwinds or uncoils when it is extended into its tension state in which it fits over the hinge.

Preferably the protective cover has one or more grips for allowing easy handling of the protective cover, during removal from the hinge. The grips can advantageously be provided on the distal end of the protective cover, which in use is the end remote from the hinging portion of the hinge.

Preferably, the protective cover has one or more ridges for abutting against the hinge or abutting against a planar member to which the hinge is attached, so as to support the protective cover when it is clipped over the hinge. The ridges may be positioned at either end of the protective cover, so that in use it is supported at either end.

Preferably a first ridge is positioned on an inner side of the protective cover and abuts against the hinging portion of the hinge. Preferably a second ridge is positioned on the distal edge of the protective cover and abuts against a planar member, such as a door, to which the elongate portion of the hinge is attached.

While the hinge has been discussed above in the context of a door hinge it could be a hinge for attachment to other objects, e.g. windows or other types of planar members.

A second aspect of the present invention provides an assembly comprising a hinge having a hinging portion and an elongate portion attached to the surface of a planar member, such as a door leaf, and a protective cover releasably clipped over the hinge and having a hooking portion hooking around the hinging portion of the hinge and an elongate portion extending over and protecting the elongate portion of the hinge; the protective cover being a resilient, flexible member which is deformed from its rest state into an a tension state in order to fit over and protect the hinge, in said tension state respective parts of the hooking portion and the elongate portion bear against the hinging portion and the planar member to resist the return of the protective cover to its rest state.

Since the tension state is this maintained whilst the cover is on the hinge, a clipping force is provided which keeps the protective cover in place.

Preferably it is the ends of the parts of the hooking portion and the elongate portion which bear against the ends of the hinging portion and the planar member, but flanges may be provided at intermediate portions and the hooking portion and elongate portion to achieve a similar effect.

In its tension state the protective cover may be supported by said bearing of the parts of the hooking and! elongate portions such that its suspended over the elongate portion of the hinge without pressing against the elongate portion - which might damage it.

The planar member may be integrally attached to the elongate portion of the hinge, e.g. it may be a peripheral flange.

The second aspect of the present invention may have any of the features of the first aspect of the present invention discussed above.

A third aspect of the present invention provides a protective cover for a hinge adapted to releasably fit over the surface of a hinge so as protect said surface from abrasions and/or impacts. The protective cover of the third aspect of the present invention may have any of the preferred features mentioned above under the first or second aspects of the present invention, but does not include the hinge to which the protective cover is in use attached.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying diagrams in which: Fig. la and lb are examples of typical timber door hinges and PVC-U door hinges and have already been described; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a PVC-U door hinge; Fig 3. is a plan view of a PVC-U door hinge and a protective cover according to the present invention; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a protective cover according to the present invention; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a protective cover according to the present invention, showing both its rest and tension states.

Fig. 2 is a plan view from above of a PVC-U door hinge 40. This door hinge is the same as the door hinge of Fig. lb which has already been described. The same reference numerals are used in Fig.2 for like parts of the hinge. Note that the inner sides of the first and second hinge members 47, 48 have attachment means in the form of pegs 50 and 51 for attachment to the frame and door leaf respectively.

Fig. 3 shows the hinge Fig. 2 with a protective cover 100 releasably clipped thereto. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the protective cover 100 has an elongate portion 101 that fits over and protects the elongate second hinge member 48 that is attached to the outer face 60 of a door leaf 65. The distal end 102 of the protective cover curves around to protect the distal end 48a of the hinge.

The distal end 102 has an abutting portion in the form of a ridge 102a projecting from its end. This ridge 102a abuts against the outer surface of the door leaf 65.

The proximal end 105 of the protective cover is approximately U-shaped, and fits or hooks around the hinging portion 46 of the hinge. Note that there is a recess in the first hinge member 47 to allow the protective cover to wrap around the hinging portion 46 unobstructed.

The protective cover has first and second abutment portions 110, 102a for supporting the protective cover in its clipping position by bearing against the hinging portion 46 and the door leaf 65. The first of these portions is a ridge 110 on the inner side of the protective cover at the cover's proximal end and abuts against the hinging portion 46 of the hinge. The second is the projecting ridge 102a which has been described above and abuts against the door leaf 65. In this way the elongate portion 101 of the protective cover is suspended above the elongate portion 48 of the hinge and does not press against it, indeed in the present embodiment it need not contact the elongate portion 48.

In an alternative embodiment the abutment portion 102a may abut against a peripheral flange of the elongate portion 48 of the hinge.

The first and second abutment portions bear or press in opposite directions against the hinging portion 46 and the door leaf 65 due to the resilient returning force of the protective cover in its tension state which is explained below.

The protective cover is, in this embodiment, a single piece, as shown in Fig. 4. Preferably it is formed of a single member by extrusion or moulding. In this embodiment the protective cover is formed of an extruded plastics material, but it could equally well be formed of a metal material, e.g. a leaf spring, or it could be a moulded plastics material. The important consideration is that the protective cover is flexible so that it can be removed from the hinge, but is also sufficiently thick and/or hard enough to protect the hinge from potential impacts and/or abrasions. It is also desirable that the material(s) and manufacture method chosen are economical because the protective cover will be discarded when the door is installed.

The protective cover should also have a spring-like lO resilient nature as will now be described. In this embodiment, the protective cover is a flexible member having a rest state to which it resiliently returns when deformed therefrom. In Fig. 5 the rest state of the protective cover is shown in solid lines and the tension state, where it differs from the rest state, is shown in dashed lines.

The protective cover needs to be deformed or "un coiled" from its rest state to a tension state in order to fit over the hinge. Its resilient returning force then causes it to attempt to return to its rest state and its parts 102a, 110 to press or bear against the hinge and the door leaf respectively. Thus, once the protective cover has been fitted over the outer surface of the hinge, it resilient returning force clips it in place.

The protective cover is constructed so that its stiffness is such that it cannot easily be dislodged from the hinge during transport due to accidental knocks, but it is relatively easy to remove it from the hinge by hand. It is important that the attachment (clipping) of the protective cover to the hinge is releasable because it is desirable to remove the protective cover when the door is installed. The distal end 102 of the protective cover is provided with a ridge 102a which protrudes outwardly from the surface of the cover, as has been mentioned above. This ridge 102a allows easy handling of the cover, and helps a person to remove it by hand, as well as providing an abutment portion for abutting against the door leaf so as to support the protective cover in its clipping position.

Claims

Claims 1. An assembly comprising a hinge and a protective cover releasably

clipped over the hinge so as to protect a surface of the hinge. i
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the hinge has a hinging portion and an elongate portion attached to the surface of a planar member, and wherein the protective 2 cover has a hooking portion hooking around the hinging portion of the hinge and an elongate portion extending over and protecting the elongate portion of the hinges the protective cover being a resilient flexible member which is deformed from its rest state into a state of tension state in order to fit over and protect the hinge, in said tension state respective parts of the hooking portion and the elongate portion bear against the hinging portion and the planar member to resist return of the protective cover to its rest state.
3. An assembly according to claim 2 wherein, in its tension state, the protective cover is supported by said bearing of said respective parts of the hooking and elongate portions such that it is suspended over the elongate portion of the hinge without pressing against said elongate portion.
4. An assembly according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the hooking portion of the protective cover is approximately U-shaped.
5. An assembly according to any one of claim 2 to 4 wherein the protective cover is expendable to its tension state to fit over the hinge by uncoiling from its rest state.

L
6. An assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein said respective bearing parts of the protective cover comprise one or more ridges for abutting against the hinge or the planar member.
7. An assembly according to any one of the above claims wherein the protective cover has one or more grips for facilitating handling of the protective cover.
8. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the protective cover is formed as a single piece.
9. An assembly according to any one of the above claims wherein the hinge is a door hinge.
10. An assembly according to claim 9 wherein the hinge is a door hinge for a PVC-U door.
11. An assembly according to claim 9 or 10 wherein the assembly comprises a door leaf to which the hinge is attached.
12. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the protective cover is made from a plastics material.
13. An assembly according to claim 12 wherein the protective cover is an extruded plastic.
14. A protective cover for protecting a hinge, the protective cover being formed of a flexible resilient member which is deformable from its rest state to a tension state in order to releasably clip over and protect the surface of a hinge.
15. A protective cover according to claim 14, wherein the protective cover has an elongate portion and a generally U-shaped hooking portion, the protective cover being expendable into its tension state by moving apart the legs of the U of the U-shaped hooking portion.
16. An assembly comprising a protective cover and a hinge substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 3 to 5.
17. A protective cover for a hinge substantially as described herein and illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.