WO2008020682A1

WO2008020682A1 - Door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of furniture doors

Info

Publication number: WO2008020682A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/003666
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chul Soo Pyo
Original assignee: Samsung Precision Industrial Co., Ltd
Priority date: 2006-08-18
Filing date: 2007-07-31
Publication date: 2008-02-21

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a door buffering device which is installed at a path where a door for furniture is opened/closed to absorb a noise generated upon the closing impact of a furniture door. The door buffering device comprises: a furniture hinge 10 adapted to hingeably interconnect a side wall 111 of a piece of furniture and a furniture door 112 and having at least one tension adjustment bolt 11 and a fixing bolt 15 mounted thereon; a damper adapter 20 fixedly mounted to the furniture hinge 10 by means of a fixing means, the damper adapter having a fluid damper 21 built therein for absorbing the closing impact of the furniture door 112 and a plurality of check openings 22 formed thereon to correspond to the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 of the furniture hinge; and a covering member 30 slidingly or hookingly fixed to a retaining part 23 of the damper adapter 20 and adapted to selectively close or open the check openings 22 of the damper adapter 20, whereby the covering member 30 is opened in a state where the damper adapter 20 is fixedly mounted on the top surface of the furniture hinge 10 so as to adjust the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 of the furniture hinge 10 through the check openings 22 of the damper adapter 20.

Description

DOOR HINGE DEVICE FOR ABSORBING THE CLOSING IMPACT OF FURNITURE DOORS

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a door buffering device which is installed at a path where a door for furniture is opened/closed to absorb a noise generated upon the closing impact of a furniture door, and more particularly, to a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door, which is adapted to maximize a fixing force thereof and enable adjustment of a tension force and a fixing force thereof even in a state where a damper adapter is not separated from a furniture hinge. Background Art

[2] In general, a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door is mounted at on the inner wall or the front side of pieces of furniture such as sinks, drawers or the like so as to absorb the impact noise or contact resistance generated in the course of closing the door. Such a door hinge device is configured such that a damper adapter having a built-in fluid damper is mounted on a top surface or a side surface of a hinge for furniture.

[3] For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a door hinge device 100 for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door includes a furniture hinge 110 hingeably mounted to a coupling portion between a side wall 111 of a piece of furniture and a furniture door 112 and serving as a rotating means of the furniture door 112, and a damper adapter 120 mounted on a top surface or a side surface of the furniture hinge 110 by means of a fixing means and having a built-in fluid damper 121 for absorbing the closing impact of the furniture door 112.

[4] And, the fixing means included in the door hinge device 100 includes one or more holes or openings 113 penetratingly formed equidistantly on the top surface of the furniture hinge 110, and a plurality of mounting protrusions 122 formed integrally on the underside of the fluid damper 120 so as to be correspondingly squeezed into the openings 113.

[5] Thus, when the mounting protrusions 122 of the damper adapter 120 is pressingly fit into the openings 113 of the furniture hinge 110 while abutting against the openings 113, the fluid damper 121 is positioned in the opening/closing direction of the furniture door 112 to thereby absorb and eliminate the closing impact of the furniture door 112 by means of the damping action of the fluid damper 121

[6] By the way, as shown in FIG. 2, since the fixation of the damper adapter 120 to the furniture hinge 110 is achieved only by the mounting protrusions 122, there are risks that the damper adapter 120 will easily escape from the furniture hinge 110 despite application of a small impact or shock to the door hinge device 100 and that the fluid damper 121 will be damaged in case where the damper adapter 120 falls down.

[7] Furthermore, when it is desired to adjust a tension adjustment bolt 114 in a state where the tension adjustment bolt 114 is covered by the damper adapter 120 mounted on the top surface of the furniture hinge 110, it is first required to separate the damper adapter 120 from the furniture hinge 110. As a result, there is caused a problem in that the tension adjustment work of the furniture hinge 110 is burdensome, thereby degrading convenience.

[8] For this reason, various reliabilities according to installation and tension adjustment of the door hinge device 100 are decreased and any inconvenience is caused. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[9] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the aforementioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door, which is adapted to maximize a fixing force thereof and enable adjustment of a tension force and a fixing force thereof even in a state where a damper adapter is not separated from a furniture hinge. Technical Solution

[10] To accomplish the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door, the device comprising: a furniture hinge adapted to hingeably interconnect a side wall of a piece of furniture and a furniture door and having at least one tension adjustment bolt and a fixing bolt mounted thereon; a damper adapter fixedly mounted to the furniture hinge by means of a fixing means, the damper adapter having a fluid damper built therein for absorbing the closing impact of the furniture door and a plurality of check openings formed thereon to correspond to the tension adjustment bolt and the fixing bolt of the furniture hinge; and a covering member slidingly or hookingly fixed to a retaining part of the damper adapter and adapted to selectively close or open the check openings of the damper adapter, whereby the covering member is opened in a state where the damper adapter is fixedly mounted on the top surface of the furniture hinge so as to adjust the tension adjustment bolt and the fixing bolt of the furniture hinge through the check openings of the damper adapter.

Advantageous Effects

[11] According to the door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door of the present invention, the fixation of the damper adapter to the furniture hinge is accomplished by the hook, the edge portions and the elastic piece in a dual or triple engagement manner, and a closely fixing force of the damper adapter is further increased as an external force is exerted to the damper adapter, such that escape and displacement of the damper adapter from the furniture hinge due to an external force exerted to the damper adapter is completely prevented, thereby improving reliability of the door hinge device, and such that even in a state where the damper adapter is not completely separated from the furniture hinge, it is possible to adjust a tension or fixing force of the furniture hinge, thereby improving convenience of the manipulation of the door hinge device. Brief Description of the Drawings

[12] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[13] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical view illustrating a state in which a conventional door hinge device is installed at a piece of furniture according to the prior art;

[14] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 1;

[15] FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of a door hinge device according to the present invention;

[16] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a door hinge device according to the present invention;

[17] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a door hinge device according to the present invention; and

[18] FIG. 6 is an assembled cross-sectional view of a door hinge device according to the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[19] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.

[20] FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of a door hinge device according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a door hinge device according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a door hinge device according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an assembled cross-sectional view of a door hinge device according to the present invention.

[21] As shown in FIGs. 3 to 6, a door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door according to the present invention comprises: a furniture hinge 10 adapted to hingeably interconnect a side wall 111 of a piece of furniture and a furniture door 112 and having at least one tension adjustment bolt 11 and a fixing bolt 15 mounted thereon; a damper adapter 20 fixedly mounted to the furniture hinge 10 by means of a fixing means, the damper adapter having a fluid damper 21 built therein for absorbing the closing impact of the furniture door 112 and a plurality of check openings 22 formed thereon to correspond to the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 of the furniture hinge; and a covering member 30 slidingly or hookingly fixed to a retaining part 23 of the damper adapter 20 and adapted to selectively close or open the check openings 22 of the damper adapter 20.

[22] First, the door hinge device according to the present invention is intended to maximize a fixing force of the damper adapter 20 mounted to the furniture hinge 10, and improve convenience of adjustment of the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 of the furniture hinge 10.

[23] Also, it is noted that reference numerals of a side wall 111 of the piece of furniture and a furniture door 112 according to this embodiment of the present invention are used identical to those of the prior art.

[24] The furniture hinge 10 is adapted to hingeably interconnect a side wall 111 of a piece of furniture and a furniture door 112. The furniture hinge 10 includes a body portion 12 securely fixed to the side wall 111 of the piece of furniture by means of bolts, and a rotating portion 13 securely fixed to the furniture door 112 by means of bolts in such a fashion as to be hingeably coupled to a front end of the body portion 12.

[25] In this case, the body portion 12 has one or more tension adjustment bolts 11 and fixing bolts 15 mounted on a top surface thereof so as to adjust a tension or fixing force of the rotating portion 13.

[26] Also, the body portion 12 has one or more retaining apertures 14 formed on the top surface thereof to allow a hook 27 of the damper adapter 20 which will be described later to be fittingly coupled thereto.

[27] In case of the furniture hinge 10, all the well-kwon products, which have the retaining aperture 14 for fitting the hook 27 of the damper adapter 20 thereto and a retaining surface for allowing the elastic piece 28 to be retained thereto, fall within a technical scope of the present invention.

[28] The damper adapter 20 is fixedly mounted to the top surface of the furniture hinge 10 by means of a fixing means. The damper adapter 20 includes a coupling portion 25 mounted on the top surface of the furniture hinge 10, and a body portion 24 formed integrally with a side of the coupling portion 25 and having a fluid damper 21 built therein so as to come at one end thereof into close contact with the inner surface of the furniture door 112.

[29] In addition, the damper adapter 20 has edge portions 26 formed at both sides thereof so as to contactingly surround both lateral sides of the furniture hinge 10 to thereby prevent displacement of the damper adapter 20.

[30] The coupling portion 25 also has a plurality of check openings 22 formed thereon to correspond to the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 of the furniture hinge; and

[31] The coupling portion 25 has a retaining part 23 longitudinally formed at both lateral sides of the top surface thereof so as to allow a covering member 30 which will be described later to be mounted thereto.

[32] The fixing means included in the damper adapter 20 includes a hook 27 formed integrally with the underside of the damper adapter 20 so as to be fit into the retaining aperture 14 of the furniture hinge 10, and an elastic piece 28 fixedly mounted to the underside of the damper adapter 20 by means of a fastening means such as rivet, etc., so as to retained by a flange portion of a rear end of the furniture hinge 10.

[33] In this case, the fixing means of the damper adapter 20 is limited to the hook 27 and the elastic piece 28, but any means capable of selectively fixing the damper adapter 20 to the furniture hinge 10 may, of course, fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[34] The covering member 30 is adapted to be hookingly mounted to the coupling portion

25 of the damper adapter 20 so as to selectively close or open the check openings 22 of the coupling portion 25. The covering member 30 is provided with a plurality of retaining hooks 31 formed at both later sides of the underside thereof so as to be fixedly hooked on the retaining part 23 of the coupling portion 25.

[35] In this case, the covering member 30 is limited to a manner of being hookingly fixed to the coupling part 25 of the damper adapter 20, but may be slidingly fixed to the coupling part 25.

[36] Also, the covering member 30 is preferably formed of a material having an excellent proccessability and elasticity such as plastic, rubber or the like.

[37] The operation of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference with FIGs. 3 to 6.

[38] First, when it is desired to fix the damper adapter 20 to the furniture hinge 10, the hook 27 of the damper adapter 20 is pressingly pushed into the retaining aperture 14 of the furniture hinge 10 while abutting against the retaining aperture 14.

[39] That is, in the course where the hook 27 of the damper adapter 20 is retainingly squeezed into the retaining aperture 14 of the furniture hinge 10, the damper adapter 20 is strongly pushed toward a rear portion thereof so as to be in close contact with the top surface of the body portion 12 of the furniture hinge 10. Then, the elastic piece 28 is fixedly retained by a flange portion of a rear end thereof using a jig.

[40] By doing so, in a state where the damper adapter 20 is fixedly mounted to the furniture hinge 10, the edge portions 26 of the damper adapter 20 encircle both lateral sides of the top surface of the furniture hinge 10 to thereby further improve a fixing force of the damper adapter 20. [41] Therefore, the fixation of the damper adapter 20 to the furniture hinge 10 is accomplished by the hook 27, the edge portions 26 and the elastic piece 28 in a dual or triple engagement manner, such that escape and displacement of the damper adapter 20 from the furniture hinge 10 is completely prevented despite application of an external force to the damper adapter 20.

[42] Furthermore, even when an external force is exerted to the damper adapter 20, the damper adapter 20 further comes into close contact with the furniture hinge 10 in an opposite direction to the proceeding direction of the fluid damper 21 by an elastic force of the elastic piece 28, thereby improving a fixing force of the damper adapter 20.

[43] Meanwhile, in case where it is desired to adjust a tension or fixing force of the furniture hinge 10, when the covering member 30 covered on the damper adapter 20 is pulled upwardly and is removed from the damper adapter 20, the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 are exposed to the outside through the check openings 22 of the damper adapter 20.

[44] As a result, even in a state where the damper adapter 20 is not completely separated from the furniture hinge 10, it is possible to adjust the tension adjustment bolt 11 or the fixing bolt 15.

[45] On the contrary, in case where the adjustment of the tension and fixing force of the furniture hinge 10 is completed, when the covering member 30 is squeezingly fit to the retaining part 23 of the damper adapter 20 while abutting against the retaining part 23, the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 are closely covered by the covering member 30. Industrial Applicability

[46] As described above, the door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door according to the present invention has an advantageous effect in that the fixation of the damper adapter to the furniture hinge is accomplished by the hook, the edge portions and the elastic piece in a dual or triple engagement manner, and a closely fixing force of the damper adapter is further increased as an external force is exerted to the damper adapter, such that escape and displacement of the damper adapter from the furniture hinge due to an external force exerted to the damper adapter is completely prevented, thereby improving reliability of the door hinge device, and such that even in a state where the damper adapter is not completely separated from the furniture hinge, it is possible to adjust a tension or fixing force of the furniture hinge, thereby improving convenience of the manipulation of the door hinge device.

[47] While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

[1] A door hinge device for absorbing the closing impact of a furniture door, the door hinge device comprising: a furniture hinge 10 adapted to hingeably interconnect a side wall 111 of a piece of furniture and a furniture door 112 and having at least one tension adjustment bolt 11 and a fixing bolt 15 mounted thereon; a damper adapter 20 fixedly mounted to the furniture hinge 10 by means of a fixing means, the damper adapter having a fluid damper 21 built therein for absorbing the closing impact of the furniture door 112 and a plurality of check openings 22 formed thereon to correspond to the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 of the furniture hinge; and a covering member 30 slidingly or hookingly fixed to a retaining part 23 of the damper adapter 20 and adapted to selectively close or open the check openings 22 of the damper adapter 20, whereby the covering member 30 is opened in a state where the damper adapter 20 is fixedly mounted on the top surface of the furniture hinge 10 so as to adjust the tension adjustment bolt 11 and the fixing bolt 15 of the furniture hinge 10 through the check openings 22 of the damper adapter 20.

[2] The door hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the damper adapter 20 has edge portions 26 formed at both sides thereof so as to contactingly surround both lateral sides of the furniture hinge 10 to thereby prevent displacement of the damper adapter 20.

[3] The door hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing means comprises: a hook 27 formed integrally with the damper adapter 20 so as to be fit into a retaining aperture 14 formed on the furniture hinge 10; and an elastic piece 28 fixedly mounted to the damper adapter 20 so as to retained by a rear end portion of the furniture hinge 10.