WO2008024469A2

WO2008024469A2 - Hinge with adjustable maximum opening angle

Info

Publication number: WO2008024469A2
Application number: PCT/US2007/018737
Authority: WO
Inventors: Terry Moseley
Original assignee: Terry Moseley
Priority date: 2006-08-25
Filing date: 2007-08-25
Publication date: 2008-02-28
Also published as: WO2008024469A3

Abstract

The present invention provides an improved four joint hinge comprising a field adjustable abutment screw through one rocker arm so as to impinge on the second rocker arm to limit the maximum opening angle of the hinge.

Description

HINGE WITH ADJUSTABLE MAXIMUM OPENING ANGLE

The present invention relates to improved hinges for furniture and cabinets, particularly furniture and cabinet hinges having quadruple knuckle joint style linkages. More particularly, the invention is a four joint style cabinet hinge having a field adjustable maximum opening angle.

Furniture and cabinet hinges often have mechanisms for various adjustments during installation of the doors onto a cabinet. To date, these typically adjust the lateral and/or vertical displacement of one part of the hinge relative to another to allow a door attached to the cabinet with such a hinge to be shifted up, down, right, or left to align the door to the cabinet and adjacent doors. Examples of adjustable hinges of this type are described in a number of patents, as for example US 4,698,877 and US 2002/0078527 Al.

Another typical adjustment allows for adjusting the depth of the door relative to the cabinet (i.e. displacing the door closer to or further away from the cabinet face).

Examples of hinges with this type of adjustment are described in US 2002/0078527 Al₅ US 2003/0041412 Al and US 2003/0061682 Al.

Another type of adjustment allows for the hinge to have different angles relative to the cabinet sidewall when the door is closed (e.g. for corner cabinets with faces set at an angle, as for example 45°, such that the hinge needs to close the door at an acute angle rather than the standard 90° relative to the cabinet sidewall.) Various examples of this type of adjustable hinge are described in US 5,099,547 and US 4,653,144.

Yet another type of adjustment limits the maximum opening angle of the hinge, and therefore the door. This type of adjustment is desirable in situations where the cabinet is in a corner or adjacent to some other protruding object, such that fully opening the cabinet door would result in the door colliding with the adjacent wall or other object, potentially damaging the door, wall, or object. Of this type of adjustment, US 2003/0131446 Al discloses a single rocker arm hinge having the pivot point of the hinge disposed in a cup-like recess and having an abutment screw through the rocker arm so as to impinge against the adjacent side wall of the cup-like recess to limit the maximal opening of the hinge.

US 4,184,228, discloses a quadruple knuckle joint cabinet hinge having a resiliently deformable damping means disposed between the two rocker arms so as to dampen the shock of the door swinging to its maximal position. By using various sized damping means, the hinge can be manufactured to allow different maximal opening angles.

US 5,035,026 describes a two rocker armed, scissor action type binge allowing telescoping of the attached door out past adjacent doors. This design includes an adjustment screw through one rocker arm to abut against the other, scissor attached rocker arm to limit the maximum opening angle of the door. Lastly, US 5,727,289 describes a hinge mounted adjustable door stop that can be added to a standard door hinge so as to protrude out the back of the hinge, blocking the full opening of the hinge by obstruction of the path of the door.

Currently, if the popular four joint style hinges are desired in furniture or cabinets, the installer must order hinges made with the specific maximal opening angle desired. Thus there remains a need for economical, adjustable hinges that allow for easy adjustment of the maximum opening angle of the hinge during installation to fit the immediate need for a given cabinet or furniture door.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a four joint style hinge having an easily adjustable maximum opening angle, allowing for the in-field adjustment of the maximum opening angles of from about 60° through to about 120° during cabinet installation or adjustment in the field. More specifically, the present invention provides for four joint style hinges having an adjustable abutment screw threaded through one rocker arm so as to abut against the second rocker arm to limit the maximum opening angle of the hinge.

In one embodiment, there is provided a cabinet hinge comprising a first base member for attaching to a cabinet, a second base member for attaching to a door of said cabinet, outer and inner rocker arms, each independently pivotally attached to said first and second base members, and an abutment screw adjustably threaded through said outer rocker arm so as to abut against said inner rocker arm when said hinge is maximally opened, thus limiting the maximal opening angle of said hinge as adjusted. In one preferred embodiment, the abutment screw has a conically shaped head and the outer rocker arm has a coordinating conically shaped countersunk hole to receive the screw head.

In another preferred embodiment, the abutment screw has a deformable tip such that after insertion into the threaded hole in the outer rocker arm, the tip may be flanged outward to prevent the screw from being unscrewed completely from the threaded hole.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the abutment screw has stopping means to prevent the removal of the abutment screw. Such means include a terminal flange, a lock ring, a cotter pin, or a stop pin disposed through the screw.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1. a) Side view of exemplary hinge in the open position adjusted for a 180° maximal opening, b) Side view of exemplary hinge in the open position adjusted for a 60° maximal opening.

Figure 2. Side view of exemplary hinge in the closed position.

Figure 3. a) End view of exemplary hinge in the open position adjusted for a 60° maximal opening, b) End view of exemplary hinge in the closed position.

Figure 4. a) Conical headed abutment screw having a deformable tip partially threaded into threaded bore hole, b) Conical headed abutment screw fully threaded into threaded bore hole having the deformable tip flanged outward to prevent its removal, c) Conical headed abutment screw fully threaded into threaded bore hole having the a lock ring near its tip to prevent its removal, d) Conical headed abutment screw fully threaded into threaded hole having a press fit stop pin inserted through the abutment screw near its tip to prevent its removal. Detailed Description of the invention

The present invention comprises a four joint styled hinge 1 having a first base member 2 for attaching to the carcass of a cabinet or other furniture piece having doors, a second base member 3 for attaching to a door of said cabinet, an outer rocker arm 4 and inner rocker arm 5, each independently pivotally attached to both the first 2 and second 3 base members by pivot pins 6, 7, 8, and 9, and an adjustable abutment screw 10 threadedly disposed though said outer rocker arm 4, in threaded bore hole 11, so as to abut against said inner rock arm 5 when the hinge is maximally opened, thus limiting the maximum opening angle θ of the hinge, and therefore the attached door, to the desired maximum angle. For the purposes of this disclosure, rocker arm and binge link are equivalent terms. It is understood that the rocker arms do not intersect nor operate in a scissoring action, but are arranged in the four joint or four knuckle joint hinge style.

As is well known in the art, a typical cabinet carcass-related base member for four joint style hinges may be in the form of a multi-part, adjustable base plate and adjusting arm. This type of base member comprises a mounting plate (not shown) attached to the cabinet carcass and a hinge arm 2 designed to attach to the base plate and then to be adjusted on the base plate by various means so as to align the attached door with the cabinet and adjacent doors. The present invention may employ such mounting base plates, but is not limited to them. Any means of stably attaching the second base member 2 to the cabinet carcass may be used.

As is also well known in the art, a typical door-related base member for four joint style hinges may be in the form of a recessed cup designed to be inset into a matching rabbet in the door. This type of recessed cup shaped first base member is a preferred embodiment of the invention and is advantageous for providing space for the linkage mechanism, i.e. the outer and inner rocker arms, to fold into when the hinge is in the closed position, as well as providing space for proper placement of the rocker arm pivot pins. In another embodiment, the door-related base member 3 may lack a recessed cup. The only requirement is that the hinge 1 is a four joint style hinge, thus having two, non- intersecting rocker arms. The present invention provides for a novel means to adjustably limit the maximum opening angle θ of a four jointed hinge. The invention provides a threaded bore hole 11 through the outer rocker arm 4. In a preferred embodiment, the threaded bore hole 11 is in the middle portion of the outer rocker arm 4, as compared to the extreme ends of the outer rocker arm 4. Abutment screw 10 is threadedly disposed in said threaded bore hole 11. To adjust the maximum opening angle θ of the hinge 1, the abutment screw 10 is rotated to adjust the screw in or out relative to the threaded bore hole H₅ thus positioning the tip of the abutment screw 10 closer or further away from the inner rocker arm 5 to lessen or increase the maximum opening angle θ, respectively. The maximum opening angle θ is limited by the contact of the inner rocker arm 5 against the tip of the abutment screw 10. Thus the absolute maximum opening angle of the hinge 1 is limited by the relative lengths of the outer 4 and inner 5 rocker arms and the geometry of pivot pins 6, 7, 8, and 9. In this absolute maximum opening setting, it is not necessary that the abutment screw 10 actually contact the inner rocker arm 5.

In the contrary manner, the absolute smallest maximum opening angle is limited by the length of the abutment screw 10; the longer the abutment screw 10, the more it can be advanced into the threaded bore hole 11 and the smaller the opening angle necessary for the inner rocker arm 5 to impinge upon the abutment screw 10. The length of the abutment screw 10 is itself limited by the space available in the recessed cup of the door- related base member 3; the longer the abutment screw 10, the further it will extend above the outer rocker arm 4 when not maximally advanced through the threaded bore hole 11, and thus the deeper into the recessed cup of the door-related base member 3 it will extend when the hinge 1 is in the closed position.

Typically, the absolute maximum opening angle of the hinge will be in the range of about 90° and about 170°, particularly between about 110° and aboutl20°. Typically the maximum opening angle θ of the hinge 1 will be adjustable down to about 45°. In one embodiment, the maximum opening angle is adjustable down to about 60°. In another embodiment, the maximum opening angle is adjustable-down to about 75°.

It is understood that abutment screw 10 may be any type of screw suitable for the space available and of a material durably compatible with the rocker arm material which is typically stainless steel. Thus, hard metals are preferred as are metals that will not corrode or react with the metal used for the rocker arms. In one embodiment the abutment screw 10 is a simple rod screw having no defined head. In a preferred embodiment the abutment screw has a broadened head, as for example, but not limited to a conical head to prevent the abutment screw 10 from being screwed completely through rocker arm 4 and becoming detached into the interior of the hinge joint. In a yet more preferred embodiment, the abutment screw 10 has a broadened head and the threaded bore hole 11 has a coordinating countersink 12 so that the abutment screw 10 will be flush with the surface of outer rocker arm 4 when maximally advanced into the threaded bore hole 11. It will be understood that the countersink need not exactly match the shape of the broadened head of the abutment screw to achieve this end.

Likewise, in another preferred embodiment, there is provided stopping means on or near the tip of the abutment screw to prevent the abutment screw from being completely unscrewed out of the threaded bore hole 11 and becoming detached from the hinge 1. Such stopping means can take any suitable form being limited only by space within the hinge joint and manufacturing considerations. In one embodiment, abutment screw 10 has a deformable countersunk tip 13 such that upon installation of the abutment screw into the threaded bore hole 11, the countersunk tip 13 may be deformed to form a flanged tip 14 which is larger than the diameter of the threaded bore hole 11, thus preventing its removal. It will be understood that other means to produce a flanged tip are well known in the art and that these other means are also contemplated within the present invention. In another embodiment, abutment screw 10 is fitted with a lock ring 15. In yet another embodiment, abutment screw 10 is fitted with a cotter pin, press fit stop pin 16, or welded stop pin near its tip. It will also be understood that the abutment screw 10 may, in the alternative, be threadedly disposed in a threaded bore hole through the inner rocker arm 5 so as to abut against out rocker arm 4 when the hinge 1 is maximally opened to angle θ. Though functioning in essentially the equivalent manner, having the abutment screw 10 disposed through the inner rocker arm 5 is less preferred because of the restricted access to the head of the abutment screw 10 for adjusting the screw while the hinge is installed on a cabinet and door. Figure Legend

1 Hinge (as a whole)

2 Carcass-related base member (for attaching to the carcass of the cabinet) 3 Door-related base member (for attaching to a door of the cabinet)

4 Outer rocker arm

5 Inner rocker arm

6, 7, 8, and 9 hinge pins (for pivotally attaching the rocker arms to the base members) 10 Abutment screw

11 Threaded bore hole

12 Countersink on threaded bore hole

13 Defoπnable countersink in the tip of the abutment screw

14 Flange (formed by deforming the defoπnable countersink in the tip of the abutment screw)

15 Lock ring

16 Press pin fit stop pin θ adjusted maximal opening angle

Claims

I Claim:

1. A four jointed cabinet hinge comprising a first base member for attaching to a cabinet, a second base member for attaching to a door of said cabinet, outer and inner rocker arms, each independently pivotally attached to said first and second base members, and an abutment screw adjustably threaded through said outer rocker arm so as to abut against said inner rocker arm when said hinge is maximally opened, thus limiting the maximal opening angle of the hinge as adjusted.

2. The hinge according to Claim 1 wherein the second base member is in the form of a recessed well.

3. The hinge according to Claim 1 wherein the abutment screw has a broadened head.

4. The hinge according to Claim 3 wherein said outer rocker arm has a countersunk threaded bore hole to coordinate with said broadened head.

5. The hinge according to Claim 1 wherein the abutment screw has stopping means to prevent complete removal of said abutment screw.

6. The hinge according to Claim 5 wherein the stopping means is selected from the group consisting of a flanged tip, a lock ring, a cotter pin, a press fitted stop pin, and a welded stop pin.

7. The hinge according to Claim 2 wherein the abutment screw has a broadened head.

8. The hinge according to Claim 7 wherein said outer rocker arm has a countersunk threaded bore hole to coordinate with said broadened head.

9. The hinge according to Claim 2 ^"wherein the abutment screw has stopping means to prevent complete removal of the abutment screw.

10. The hinge according to Claim 9 wherein the stopping means is selected from the group consisting of a flanged tip, a lock ring, a cotter pin, a press fit stop pin, and a welded stop pin.

11. A four jointed cabinet hinge comprising a first base member for attaching to a cabinet, a second base member for attaching to a door of said cabinet, outer and inner rocker arms, each independently pivotally attached to said first and second base members, and an abutment screw adjustably threaded through said inner rocker arm so as to abut against said outer rocker arm when said hinge is maximally opened, thus limiting the ^{' ■} maximal opening angle of the hinge as adjusted.