GB2543373A

GB2543373A - A hinge

Info

Publication number: GB2543373A
Application number: GB1607841.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jenkins Steve; Gadsby Nick; Thomas Gareth
Original assignee: Royde and Tucker Ltd
Current assignee: Royde and Tucker Ltd
Priority date: 2015-10-14
Filing date: 2016-05-05
Publication date: 2017-04-19
Also published as: GB201518137D0; GB201607841D0

Abstract

A door hinge comprises first (3) and second (4) hinge leaves, e.g. plates, pivotally mounted to each other for rotation about a fixed axis that extends parallel to front and rear faces of a door to which the hinge is attachable and in which the rear face of the door abuts a door frame when closed. The first hinge leaf is attachable to an end face 31 of the door with the pivot axis closer to the front surface of the door than the rear face. The second leaf (4) protrudes from a recess 30 in the rear face of the door to attach to the door frame. The first plate is preferably flat and flush mounted in first recess portion (32, fig.5) spanning across a narrower recess portion (34, fig.5) in which is located second (frame) hinge plate which may include multiple bent portions at perpendicular angles or other angles (fig.7). A pair of hinges allows adjacent doors to open with clearance.

Description

A hinge

The present invention relates to a hinge. In particular, the invention relates to a concealed hinge for use with cupboard doors or the like. The invention also relates to a door and a hinge according to the invention.

Cupboard doors are mounted with hinges which are not visible when the cupboard door is closed. They also enable a door to be opened without fouling the edge of a closely adjacent door. A typical concealed hinge uses a four bar linkage to attach the door to a door frame. The door pivots about a pivot point which is also displaced in a direction away from the frame when the door is opened and so allows the door to follow a path that avoids any fouling against the door frame or a closely fitted adjacent door. However, this type of hinge is relatively complex and has a large number of components. A four bar linkage type hinge also requires four pivot points, or three pivot points and a slider, and is inherently less strong that conventional hinges having a single fixed pivot point.

The present invention seeks to provide a hinge which overcomes or substantially alleviates the problems identified above.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a door hinge comprising first and second hinge leaves pivotally mounted to each other for rotation about a fixed axis that extends parallel to front and rear faces of a door to which the hinge is attachable and in which the rear face of the door abuts a door frame when closed, the first hinge leaf being attachable to an end face of the door between said front and rear faces with the second leaf being attachable to the door frame, wherein the first hinge leaf is attachable to the end face of the door such that said fixed axis is positioned closer to the front face of the door than to its rear face, and so that the second leaf protrudes from a recess in the rear face of the door for attachment to the door frame.

The first and second hinge leaves may each comprise plates that extend from hinge knuckles, a hinge pin extending through the knuckles of both hinge leaves to pivotally mount the hinge leaves together.

The first hinge leaf may comprise a flat plate that extends across an end face of the door.

The second hinge leaf may comprise a first plate portion extending from the fixed axis, a second plate portion extending substantially at right angles to the first plate portion and, a mounting plate portion extending from said second plate portion.

The mounting plate portion may extend parallel to the second plate portion, the mounting plate portion and the second plate portion being connected by a intermediate plate portion that extends substantially parallel to and faces the first plate portion.

The mounting plate portion may have holes to enable insertion of a fastener to attach the second leaf to the door frame.

The first leaf may have portions that extend either side of outer edges of the second leaf in the direction of the axis.

The door hinge may further comprise a hole in each of said portions for attachment of said first leaf to the end face of the door on either side of the second hinge leaf.

Also according to the invention there is provided a door, mountable to a door frame, and a hinge, the door comprising front and rear faces, an end face between said front and rear faces to which the first hinge leaf of the hinge is mountable, and a recess extending into the end face and the rear face of the door to receive the second leaf so that the door pivots about the fixed axis of the hinge relative to the second leaf, the second leaf having a mounting plate protruding from the recess for attachment to a door frame.

The width of the second leaf in the direction of the axis may be less than the width of the recess to allow the door to pivot freely about the fixed axis with the second leaf extending from the recess.

The first hinge leaf may be mountable to the end face of the door so that it bridges the recess in the end face.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure l shows an assembled hinge according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the hinge;

Figure 3 shows a component of the hinge;

Figure 4 shows another component of the hinge;

Figure 5 shows a door adapted to fit the hinge;

Figure 6 shows two closely fitted doors, and

Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a hinge according to another embodiment. Detailed Description

Figure 1 shows a hinge 1 according to the invention. The hinge 1 comprises a barrel 2, a door leaf 3 and a frame leaf 4. The door leaf 3 and frame leaf 4 each comprise plates that extend from the barrel 2 and are rotatable about the barrel axis A-A. The barrel axis A-A extends parallel to front and rear faces of a door to which the hinge is attachable. As will be explained in more detail below, the door leaf 3 is mountable to an end face of the door between the front and rear faces, with the frame leaf 4 attachable to a door frame so that the door can rotate about the barrel axis A-A relative to the frame. With the hinge 1 mounted to the door and the door frame, the barrel axis A-A is positioned closer to the front face of the door than to its rear face to cause the door to rotate around this axis and away from a closely fitted adjacent door. In a preferred embodiment, the barrel axis A-A is positioned as close to the front face of the door as possible, as this enables a smaller gap to be present between the end face of the door and the end face of the adjacent door without fouling occurring. However, it will be appreciated that the barrel axis A-A can be located further away from the front face of the door towards the rear face, although a larger gap between the end face of the door and its adjacent door will be required to ensure that no fouling occurs as the door is opened.

Referring now to Figure 2 the components of the hinge 1 are shown in exploded view. The barrel 2 comprises an elongate cylindrical pin 5 about which the door leaf 3 and the frame leaf rotate 4. The barrel 2 further comprises two door knuckle portions 6 and a frame knuckle portion 7 that attach the door leaf 3 and the frame leaf 4 to the pin 5 respectively. Each knuckle portion 6,7 is tubular and disposed along an edge of a corresponding leaf. The knuckles 6,7 locate concentrically over the pin 5, so that an inside curved face of each knuckle 6, 7 is in loose fitting proximity to the pin 5 and allows the knuckle 6, 7 and corresponding leaf 3,4 to rotate freely about the pin 5. The door knuckle portions 6 are spaced apart such that they are disposed adjacent opposing ends of the pin 5 with the frame knuckle portion 7 mounted to the pin 5 in the space in between. Bushes 8 are provided in between the door and frame knuckle portions 6,7 to prevent excessive wear of the knuckle portions 6, 7 as they rotate relative to each other. Each bush 8 comprises a tubular section 9 which mounts concentrically to the pin 5, and a wall 10 which extends radially from one end of the tubular section 9 to form a bearing surface 11. The tubular section 9 of each bush is inserted into an end of a knuckle 6,7 so that the tubular section 9 is received between the pin 5 and the corresponding knuckle 6, 7. The dimensions of the bush 8 are such that an outer surface of the tubular section 9 locates tightly against the inside curved face of the corresponding knuckle 6, 7, whilst an inner surface of the tubular section 9 locates loosely around the pin 5 to allow it to rotate relative to the pin 5. Bushes are received in facing ends 12 of the door knuckle 6 and frame knuckle 7 portions respectively so that the bearing surfaces 11 of adjacent bushes 8 abut. The outer circumferential edges of the bearing walls 10 are flush with an outer surface of the knuckles so that the barrel 2 components combine to have a generally cylindrical appearance. A cap 13 is provided at either end of the barrel 2 to axially constrain the pin 5 within the barrel 2. According to the illustrated embodiments, each cap 13 comprises a tubular section 14 which mounts concentrically to an end of the pin 5. The tubular section 14 has an open end, in which the pin 5 is received, and a blind end. The blind end abuts an end of the pin 5 to locate the pin 5 axially relative to the cap 13. The caps are inserted into outward facing ends 15 of the door knuckles 6 with an outer surface of the tubular section 14 locating tightly against the inner curved surface of the knuckle 6. A wall 16 extends radially from the blind end of the tubular section 14 to locate the cap 13 axially with respect to the knuckle 6. An outer circumferential surface of the wall is disposed flush with the surface of the knuckle 6.

The door leaf 3 extends tangentially from the door knuckle portions 6 between outward facing ends 15 and comprises two planar surfaces: an inner surface 17 to which the end face of the door can be mated and an outer surface 18. Holes 19 formed in the door leaf 3 extend between the inner and outer surfaces 17,18 so that suitable fasteners can be inserted through the door leaf 3 to secure the door leaf 3 to the end face of the door. With reference to Figure 3 in which the door leaf 3 is shown in isolation, it can be seen that the door leaf 3 has a length Li measured from the barrel axis A-A to a distal edge 20 of the door leaf 3, and a width measured across outer edges 21 of the door leaf. The holes 19 are spaced apart a distance Wi across the width of the door leaf 3. The door leaf 3 and the knuckle portions 6 may be integrally formed to be made from a single piece of material.

Referring now to Figure 4 in which the frame leaf 4 is shown in isolation, it can be seen that the frame leaf 4 is formed of four separate interconnected flat plates 22, 23,24,25. Each plate 22,23, 24,25 extends in a respective plane arranged parallel to the barrel axis A-A. Opposing outer edges 26 of the interconnected plates 22,23, 24,25 are arranged parallel to each other and perpendicular to the barrel axis A-A. The width W2 of the frame leaf 4 is defined as the distance between these opposing edges 26 and is substantially less than the width Wi, which is important for reasons that are explained below. A first plate 22 extends tangentially from the frame knuckle 7 between ends 12 the frame knuckle 7. A second plate 23 extends perpendicularly a distance L3 from an end of the first plate 22 to overlap the knuckle 7. A third plate 24 extends perpendicularly a distance L4 from an end of the second plate 23 to face the first plate 22 so that together the first 22, second 23 and third plates 24 form a generally C shape section. A fourth plate 25 extends perpendicularly away from the C shape section from an end of the third plate 24. Holes 27 are formed in the fourth plate 25 so that fasteners can be inserted through the holes 27 to secure the frame leaf 4 to the door frame. The interconnected plates 22, 23, 24, 25 and knuckle 7 may be integrally formed to be made from a single piece of material.

The door leaf 3 and the frame leaf 4 rotate about the barrel axis A-A between an open position, in which a door 29 attached to the door leaf 3 (see figure 6) is moved to expose a doorway (not shown) and a closed position, in which the door 29 is received in the doorway.

In the open position the inner surface 17 of the door leaf 3 abuts an inner surface 28 of the first plate 22 of the frame leaf 4. In the closed position, the door leaf 3 is parallel to and facing the second plate 23. The distance Li is less than the distance L2 and the distance L3 so that the door leaf 3 can move into the closed position without fouling the frame leaf 4.

It shall be appreciated that it is not essential for the C shaped section to be formed from perpendicularly connected flat plates, but rather that the frame leaf is arranged to create a space for the door leaf 3 to rotate about the barrel axis without fouling it. For example, the C shaped section of the frame leaf 4 maybe formed by a single curved plate that extends away from the barrel axis and down toward a flat plate section for mounting to the door frame. Therefore, the door leaf 3 can rotate about the barrel axis A-A within the space defined by the curved plate.

Another embodiment is shown in figure 7 mounted to the door 29 and frame 37. In this embodiment, the frame leaf 4 consists of only two plates, a first plate 40 and a second plate 41. The first plate 40 extends tangentially from the frame knuckle 7. The second plate 41 extends obliquely from an end of the first plate 40. As above, the plates 40,41 of the frame leaf 4 extend in respective planes arranged parallel to the barrel axis A-A.

In this embodiment the door leaf 3 comprises a cut out 42 that is at least equal in width W2 to the frame leaf 4. Therefore, when the door leaf 3 is rotated into the open position, the frame leaf 4 passes through the cut out 42 to prevent the frame leaf 4 fouling the door leaf 3.

An advantage of this embodiment is that, when the hinge door 29 is moved between the closed position and the open position, out of plane bending supported by the plates 40, 41 of the frame leaf 4 as a result of the weight of the door 29 is reduced, thereby allowing the plate thickness to be reduced and less material to be used.

When the hinge 1 is mounted to the door 29, the door leaf 3 and the barrel 2 are located in a recess 30 in the door 29. The recess 30 extends into the door 29 to further provide a receiving space for the frame leaf 4 when the hinge 1 and the door 29 are in the closed position. The end face 31 of the door 29 to which the door leaf 3 is mounted and the recess 30 are shown in Figure 5. For simplicity the hinge 1 is not shown. The recess 30 extends into the door 29 from the end face 31 and comprises three portions appropriately sized to receive different parts of the hinge 1: a first portion 32 receives the door leaf 3, a second portion 33 receives the barrel 2 and a third portion 34 receives the frame leaf 4 when the door 29 is closed. With the hinge 1 mounted to the door 29 the outer surface 18 of the door leaf 3 is flush with the end face 31 of the door 29. The third portion 34 extends to a rear face 35 of the door 29 to create an opening in the rear face 35 so that the frame leaf 3 can be moved into and out of the third recessed portion 34 as the door 29 is opened and closed. The third recessed portion 34 has a width W3 which is less than the width Wi of the hole spacing in the door leaf 3 allowing fasteners to be inserted through the door leaf 3 and into the end face 31 of the door 29 either side of the third recessed portion 34. Therefore in this embodiment, in which the width W2 of the frame leaf 4 is less than the width Wi of the hole spacing in the door leaf 3, the frame leaf 4 can pass between fasteners inserted into the door 29 as the door 29 is opened and closed.

In an unillustrated embodiment of the invention, the frame leaf and the door leaf may alternatively be arranged so that the door leaf is disposed in between two frame leaf sections. In such an embodiment, the frame leaf sections are received in two separate cavities in the door and the door leaf fastened to the door between the two cavities. In yet another embodiment, the frame leaf is disposed to one side of the door leaf and the door leaf is mounted to the door to one side of a recess to receive the frame leaf. It shall be appreciated that in any embodiment of the invention, it is necessary to space the holes in the door leaf clear of the frame leaf in the direction of the axis A-A, such that the frame leaf may pass into and out of a recess in the door to one side of the fasteners holding the hinge to the door.

Referring now to Figure 6, two doors 29 arranged in close fitting proximity are shown in section and viewed along the axis of rotation of the hinge. The doors 29 are in a closed position so that end faces 31 of the doors 29 are facing each other and parallel.

So that the doors 29 are openable without the end faces 31 fouling, each door 29 pivots around an axis positioned as close as practicably possible to an outside edge 36 of the end face 31. This has the effect of moving the door 29 away from the adjacent door 29 and door frame 37. A gap L is required between the end faces 31 of adjacent doors 29 as a portion of the door 29 passes into this space when the door 29 is opened. The path followed by the portion of the door 29 that passes into this space is shown by arcs A. The size of the gap L required is increased the further the axis of rotation of each hinge 1 is positioned from the outside edge 36 of the end face 31 of the corresponding door 29. Therefore it shall be appreciated that in order to minimise this gap L it is necessary to make the distance D between the outside edge 36 and axis of rotation as small as possible by forming the recess 30 in the door 29 as close as is practicable to a front face 38 of the door.

With the door 29 in the closed position the end face 31 of the door 29 is offset from the inside face 39 of the frame so that the door 29 and the door frame 37 overlap. The degree of overlap is less than half the thickness T of the door frame 37 so that doors 29 can be mounted on both faces 39 of the frame whilst leaving the gap L. The degree of offset and therefore the gap L between adjacent end faces 31 of doors 29 can be set at a predetermined amount by the length L4 of the third plate 24. Increasing the length L4 of the third plate 24 increases the gap L between end faces 31 of adjacent doors 29. It shall be appreciated that in another unillustrated embodiment of the invention, the third and fourth plates 24, 25 are omitted and the second plate 23 extends from the rear face 35 of the door 29 and into abutting relation with the inside face 39 of the door frame 37. This maybe desirable, for example, where a thicker door frame 37 is used. Alternatively, where a hinge is used as illustrated by figure 7, the gap L is set instead by the length L5 of the first plate 40.

In an example application of the hinge 1, the door 29 supported by the hinge 1 is full sized door 29, by which it is meant that the door 29 gives access to a room. The single axis of rotation A-A of the hinge 1 described herein is inherently stronger than conventional 4 bar linkage type hinge normally required for closely fitted doors 29 and so is particularly suitable for supporting doors 29 of this size. Furthermore, as the door 29 moves between an open and a closed position, the door 29 traverses an arc of continuous radius about the axis A-A of rotation. By contrast, four bar linkage hinges have a moving axis of rotation so that the associated door 29 does not open in a continuous arc, but instead in an arc of changing radius. Doors 29 travelling in a continuous arc are more easily acted upon by door closers, so that the door 29 is pulled closed quickly and smoothly.

The door 29 to which the hinge is mounted is preferably a composite door 29 having a solid wood core between layers of panel that form the front face 38 and rear face 35 of the door 29. To fit the hinge 1 to the door 29, the recess 30 is mortised into the core from the end face 31 of the door 29, the mortised recess 30 extends up to the panel forming the front face 38 and through the panel forming the rear face 35. Therefore, the hinge 1 is concealed by the front face 38 of the door 29, so that when the door 29 is closed the hinge 1 is not visible from the outside. Lipping may also be provided to cover the end face 31 of the door 29 and conceal the door leaf 3 recessed into the end face 31 as described above.

The above described hinge 1 can be made from any suitable material, but is preferably cast from stainless steel.

The invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments only. Modifications and alterations to the embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims are included within the scope of protection.

Claims

1. A door hinge comprising first and second hinge leaves pivotally mounted to each other for rotation about a fixed axis that extends parallel to front and rear faces of a door to which the hinge is attachable and in which the rear face of the door abuts a door frame when closed, the first hinge leaf being attachable to an end face of the door between said front and rear faces with the second leaf being attachable to the door frame, wherein the first hinge leaf is attachable to the end face of the door such that said fixed axis is positioned closer to the front face of the door than to its rear face, and so that the second leaf protrudes from a recess in the rear face of the door for attachment to the door frame.

2. A door hinge according to claim 1, wherein the first and second hinge leaves each comprise plates that extend from hinge knuckles, a hinge pin extending through the knuckles of both hinge leaves to pivotally mount the hinge leaves together.

3. A door hinge according to claim 2, wherein the first hinge leaf comprises a flat plate that extends across the end face of the door.

4. A door hinge according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the second hinge leaf comprises a first plate portion extending from the fixed axis, a second plate portion extending from the first plate portion and, a mounting plate portion extending from said second plate portion.

5. A door hinge according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the second leaf comprises a first plate portion extending from the fixed axis and a mounting plate portion that extends from the first plate portion.

6. A door hinge according to claim 4, wherein the mounting plate portion extends parallel to the second plate portion, the mounting plate portion and the second plate portion being connected by a intermediate plate portion that extends substantially parallel to and faces the first plate portion.

7 A door hinge according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the mounting plate portion has holes to enable insertion of a fastener to attach the second leaf to the door frame.

8. A door hinge according to any preceding claim, wherein the first leaf has portions that extend either side of outer edges of the second leaf in the direction of the axis.

9. A door hinge according to claim 8, comprising a hole in each of said portions for attachment of said first leaf to the end face of the door on either side of the second hinge leaf.

10. A door hinge according to claim 9 when dependent on claim 5, wherein the first leaf portion comprises a cut out so arranged so that the second leaf portion can pass into a space defined by the cut out when the first and second leaves are rotated relative to each other about the fixed axis.

11. A door mountable to a door frame, and a hinge according to any previous claim, the door comprising front and rear faces, an end face between said front and rear faces to which the first hinge leaf of the hinge is mountable, and a recess extending from the end and rear face of the door to receive the second leaf so that the door pivots about the fixed axis of the hinge relative to the second leaf, the second leaf having a mounting plate protruding from the recess for attachment to a door frame.

12. A door and hinge according to claim 11, wherein the width of the second leaf in the direction of the axis is less than the width of the recess to allow the door to pivot freely about the fixed axis with the second leaf extending from the recess.

13. A door and a hinge according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the first hinge leaf is mountable to the end face of the door so that it bridges the recess in the end face.

14. A door substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.