GB2467356A

GB2467356A - An adjustable hinge comprising an adjustment plate and adjustable pivot plate

Info

Publication number: GB2467356A
Application number: GB0901575A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher James Dawson
Original assignee: UAP Ltd
Current assignee: UAP Ltd
Priority date: 2009-02-02
Filing date: 2009-02-02
Publication date: 2010-08-04
Also published as: GB0901575D0

Abstract

An adjustable hinge is provided for mounting a movable element, such as a door or window, to a second element such as a jamb or frame. The hinge comprises a first leaf 2 for connection to one of said elements with at least one knuckle 6 and a second leaf for connection to the other of said elements with at least one knuckle 7 aligned with the knuckle or knuckles 6 of the first leaf 2. A pintle 8 passes through the aligned knuckles 6, 7. The second leaf comprises a cover plate 10, an adjustment plate 11 and a pivot plate 12. The cover plate 10 is adapted for attachment to said other of the elements. The adjustment plate 11 is secured to the cover plate 10 such that it is moveable relative to the cover plate 10 in a direction parallel to the pintle axis. The pivot plate 12 defines the knuckle 7 of the second leaf and is attached to the adjustment plate 11 such that it is moveable relative thereto in a radial direction relative to the pintle axis and such that it can pivot relative thereto about an axis offset from and perpendicular to both the pintle axis and the plane of the adjustment plate.

Description

AN ADJUSTABLE HINGE

The present invention relates to an adjustable hinge and, in particular, to a door hinge in which the position of one leaf thereof is adjustable relative to the other leaf in axial, radial and angular directions with respect to the hinge axis.

Conventionally, adjustable hinges comprise a plain leaf that is set into a door or a frame, usually the latter, and an adjustable leaf that is hinged to the plain leaf and that is set into the other of the door or frame. The adjustaMe eaf is adjustaMe in a direction paralle' to the hinge axis and may also be adjustable in a direction perpendicular to the hinge axis. More recently, adjustable hinges have been produced that can be adjusted in three directions. In these hinges the adjustable leaf comprises a housing in which is secured a plate carrying one or more knuckles that are interleaved with one or more knuckles of the plain leaf and interconnected by a pintle.

Typically, the adjustable leaf has two adjustment screws that secure the plate of the adjustable leaf in the housing in any of a multiplicity of different positions. If after the door has been hung on the frame its position either axially, radially or angularly with respect to the pintle axis has to be adjusted, both of the adjustment screws must be loosened and the position of the plate reset completely relative to the housing. This operation can be difficult to accomplish and makes such hinges hard to install and adjust.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved adjustable hinge that overcomes or substantially mitigates the aforementioned disadvantages of conventional adjustable hinges.

According to the present invention there is provided an adjustable hinge for mounting a movable element to a second element and comprising a first leaf for connection to one of said elements and comprising at least one knuckle a second leaf for connection to the other of said elements and comprising at least one knuckle aligned with the knuckle or knuckles of the first leaf; and a pintle that passes through the aligned knuckles of the first and second leaves along a pintle axis; and wherein the second leaf comprises a cover plate adapted for attachment to said other of the elements, an adjustment plate secured to the cover plate such that it is moveable relative to the cover plate in a direction parallel to the pintle axis, and a pivot plate which defines the said at least one knuckle of the second leaf and which is attached to the adjustment plate such that it is moveable relative thereto in a radial direction relative to the pintle axis and such that it can pivot relative thereto about an axis offset from and perpendicular to both the pintle axis and the plane of the adjustment plate.

The advantage of the hinge is that after the moveable element has been hung on the frame element its position relative thereto can be adjusted axially, radially and angularly with respect to the pintle axis without having to alter the positions of the first leaf and the cover plate relative to the elements to which they are attached. Also, the provision of both an adjustment plate and a pivot plate enables separate control of adjustments required in the direction parallel to the pintle axis, which is typically in a vertical direction, and of adjustments required in radial and angular directions relative to the pintle axis. This facilitates any adjustments that are required. During these adjustments the hinge can remain fixed in position.

Preferably, the pivot plate is located between a locking bar and the adjustment plate, two fasteners attaching the adjustment plate to the locking bar such that when the fasteners are slackened, the pivot plate and the locking bar are moveable relative to the adjustment plate and when the fasteners are tightened the pivot plate is clamped by the locking bar in a fixed position relative to the adjustment plate.

Preferably also, the locking bar defines an apex along its longitudinal axis over which a portion of the pivot plate is curved, the fasteners attaching the pivot plate to the locking bar through the apex of the locking bar.

Other preferred but non-essential features of the invention are described in the dependent claims appended hereto.

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a front view of an adjustable hinge in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a back view of the hinge shown in Fig. 1 to an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is an exploded isometric view of the hinge shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 4 to 7 are cross-sectional views respectively along the lines IV-IV, V-V, VT-VT and Vu-Vu in Fig. 1; Figs. 8 and 9 are, respectively, perspective views of an adjustment plate and of a pivot plate which both form part of an adjustable leaf of the hinge shown in Figs. 1 to 7; Figs 10 and 11 are, respectively, side and end views of a locking bar which also forms pare of an adjustable leaf of the hinge shown in Figs. 1 to 7.

An embodiment of an adjustable hinge 1 as shown in the drawings comprises first and second leaves 2 and 3 which are each provided with countersunk holes 4 and 5 respectively whereby they can be secured by fasteners such as screws to two elements that it is desired to hinge together.

The first leaf 2 comprises a flat plate and is intended to be attached to one element of the pair, usually a fixed element such as a frame or jamb of a window or door. The second leaf 3 is an adjustable leaf so that its position relative to the first leaf 2 can be varied in axial, radial and angular directions with respect to the hinge axis. This leaf 3 is attached to the other element, which is typically the movable element of the pair, in order that its position can be varied relative to the first element and thereby adjusted to open and close correctly.

Each of the leaves 2 and 3 comprises at east one knuck'e 6 and 7 respectively which are aligned with one another and interconnected by a pintle 8. Bearing washers 9 are mounted on the pintle 8 and are provided between the adjacent knuckles 6 and 7 of the two leaves. Preferably, the first leaf 2 comprises a pair of knuckles 6 and the adjustable leaf 3 comprises a single knuckle 7 that locates between the knuckles 6. This facilitates adjustment of the hinge 1, in particular as regards movement of the leaf 3 angularly relative to the longitudinal axis L of the pintle 8 as will be described below.

The adjustable leaf 3 of the hinge 1 comprises a cover plate 10, an adjustment plate ii and a pivot plate 12 which are nested and are connected together such that they are relatively movable. The cover plate 10 is outermost and comprises a housing in which the adjustment plate ii and pivot plate 12 are located and is provided with the holes 5 by means of which the leaf 3 is secured to the movable element such a door or window. The adjustment plate 11 seats within the cover plate 10 and is connected thereto by means of fasteners, such as a pair of socket head cap screws 13 and associated nuts 14. The screws 13 locate in countersunk apertures 15 which locate within hollowed portions i6 of the adjustment plate ii that are provided with slots 17 through which the screws 13 pass. The nuts 14 locate within channels i8 formed on the opposite side of the plate 11 to the hollowed portions 16. The slots 17 are orientated with their major axes aligned with the one another parallel to a longitudinal axis of the leaf 3 so that when the screws 13 are loosened the adjustment plate 11 can be moved relative to the cover plate 10 in a direction parallel to this longitudinal axis, which in use is typically vertically up or down parallel to the pintle axis L. Tightening the screws 13 will fix the cover plate 10 in position relative to the adjustment plate 11.

Nested within the adjustment plate 11 is the pivot plate 12. At one side, this plate 12 defines the knuckle 7 and at its opposite is bifurcated to define two projecting arms 19. The arms engage between elongated circumferential flanges 20 of a locking nut 21 (see Figs. 2, 3 and 4). The nut 21 is secured to the adjustment plate ii by a fastener such as a socket head screw 22 which passes through a countersunk aperture 23 in the adjustment plate ii such that the nut 21 is locked firmly in position. Although it is not intended that the tightness of the screw 22 is adjusted during fitment and use of the hinge, access to it is provided from the exterior of the hinge 1 via a slot 24 provided adjacent the aperture 22 in the cover plate 10. It will be appreciated that the pivot plate 12 is rotatable with respect to the locking nut 21, the edges of the projections 19 moving within the flanges 22 of the nut 21.

It will be appreciated that the longitudinal axis of the screw 22 is the axis around which the pivot plate 12 rotates. This axis is offset from the pintle axis L but perpendicular to both the pintle axis and the plane of the adjustment plate ii. Rotation of the pivot plate 12 about this axis will therefore pivot the adjustable leaf 3 with respect to the leaf 2, widening the gap between them on one side of the knuckle 7 and reducing it on the other side of the knuckle.

The pivot plate 12 is connected to the adjustment plate ii by a pair of fasteners such as socket head cap screws 25 which locate through slots 26 in the adjustment plate and through holes 27 in the pivot plate and are screwed into threaded apertures 28 in a locking bar 29 that is located on the opposite side of the pivot plate 12 to the adjustment plate ii. The locking bar 29 has a peaked edge defining a longitudinal apex 30 over which a portion 31 of the pivot plate 12 is curved. The longitudinal axis of the apertures 28 passes through the apex 30 of the locking bar 29. In this way, the pivot plate 12 is securely clamped to the adjustment plate 11 when the screws 25 are tightened and therefore can no longer rotate relative to the locking nut 22.

Slackening the screws 25, however, enables the pivot plate 12 and the locking bar 29 to be moved relative to the adjustment plate 11. To this end the slots 26 in the adjustment plate 11 are orientated with their major axes parallel to one another and, in addition, perpendicular to the major axes of the slots 17.

The pivot plate 12 can therefore be moved by translation relative to the adjustment plate 11 in a direction perpendicular to the pintle axis L by movement such that the heads of the screws 25 slide in the s'ots 26 in the same direction and by the same distance. The pivot plate 12 can also be pivoted relative to the pintle axis L by rotation around the nut 21. In this case, the heads of the screws 25 either move in opposite directions in their slots 26 or one of the heads of the screws 25 moves and the other remains stationary. The manner in which the portion 31 of the pivot plate 12 curves over the locking bar 29 and the shape of the latter ensures that the two move together when the pivot plate 12 is moved.

To enable the screws 25 to be slackened or tightened as desired, the cover plate 10 is provided with two substantially square apertures 32 which overlie the slots 26 and enable a tool to operate on the screws 25 in all of their possible positions.

In use, the leaves 2 and 3 are respectively mortised into the edge of a frame and into the edge of the moveable member such as the edge of a door or window to be fitted into the frame prior to the leaves being interconnected via the pintle 8. The door or window is then hung by coupling the two leaves 2, 3 of the hinge 1 using the pintle 8 and the bearing washers 9. The position of the door or window relative to the frame can then be adjusted by adjustment of the hinge 1. The longitudinal position of the leaf 3 can be adjusted by slackening the screws 13 and moving the adjustment plate ii relative to the cover plate 10 in a direction parallel with the pintle axis L. Tightening the screws 13 will fix the door or window in the desired axial position. The radial and angular position of the door or window relative to the frame can then be adjusted by slackening the screws 25. Preferably, both screws 25 are slackened and the door or window is moved radially towards or away from the pintle 8 to the desired radial position. One of the screws 25 can then be tightened sufficiently to hold it in position relative to the slot 26 while the angular adjustment takes place by moving the other slot 26 relative to its screw 25. This rotates the pivot plate 12 relative to the pintle axis L by rotation around the nut 21 and will alter the alignment of the adjacent inner edges of the leaves 2, 3. Once the desired angular position of the leaf 3 has been achieved, both of the screws 25 can be fully tightened.

It will be appreciated that each of these adjustments can be carried out independently and without affecting the other settings. In addition, the adjustments are carried out after the door or window is installed.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An adjustable hinge for mounting a movable element to a second element and comprising a first leaf for connection to one of said elements and comprising at least one knuckle a second leaf for connection to the other of said elements and comprising at least one knuckle aligned with the knuckle or knuckles of the first leaf; and a pintle that passes through the aligned knuckles of the first and second eaves a'ong a pinte axis; and wherein the second leaf comprises a cover plate adapted for attachment to said other of the elements, an adjustment plate secured to the cover plate such that it is moveable relative to the cover plate in a direction parallel to the pintle axis, and a pivot plate which defines the said at least one knuckle of the second leaf and which is attached to the adjustment plate such that it is moveable relative thereto in a radial direction relative to the pintle axis and such that it can pivot relative thereto about an axis offset from and perpendicular to both the pintle axis and the plane of the adjustment plate.
2. A hinge as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the pivot plate is located between a locking bar and the adjustment plate, two fasteners attaching the adjustment plate to the locking bar such that when the fasteners are slackened, the pivot plate and the locking bar are moveable relative to the adjustment plate and when the fasteners are tightened the pivot plate is clamped by the locking bar in a fixed position relative to the adjustment plate.
3. A hinge as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the locking bar defines an apex along its longitudinal axis over which a portion of the pivot plate is curved, the fasteners attaching the pivot plate to the locking bar through the apex of the locking bar.
4. A hinge as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the adjustment plate defines slots through which the fasteners attaching the adjustment plate to the locking bar pass to enable the pivot plate and locking bar to move relative to the adjustment plate.
5. A hinge as c'aimed in any of Uaims 2 to 4, wherein s'ackening both of the fasteners attaching the adjustment plate to the locking bar enables the pivot plate to be moved relative to the adjustment plate in the radial direction relative to the pintle axis.
6. A hinge as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 5, wherein when one of the fasteners is tightened sufficiently to hold it in position relative to its slot the pivot plate can pivot relative to the adjustment plate about said axis offset from and perpendicular to both the pintle axis and the plane of the adjustment plate
7. A hinge as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 6, wherein the cover plate is provided with apertures through which the fasteners can be accessed to enable them to be slackened or tightened in all of the relative positions of the cover plate, the adjustment plate and the pivot plate.
8. A hinge as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the pivot plate is bifurcated with arms that engage a locking nut which is secured to the adjustment plate such that the pivot plate can pivot about the locking nut.-10 -
9. A hinge as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the locking nut comprises circumferential flanges between which the arms of the pivot plate locate.
10. A hinge as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the adjustment plate defines slots through which other fasteners attaching the cover plate to the adjustment plate pass to enable the adjustment plate to move relative to the cover plate in a direction parallel to the pintle axis when these fasteners are slackened.
ii. An adjustable hinge for mounting a movable element to a second element substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.