Patent Application
20180044961
The present disclosure relates to compact hinges for furniture products. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a compact hinge, adjustable in three directions, providing self-close and soft-close functionality.
In the field of cabinetry and mill work, a recurring problem is the uncontrolled speed at which a cabinet door closes. The typical hinged connection includes a hinge cup mounted to a furniture piece and pivotally connected to a hinge arm mounted to another furniture piece. A metal coil spring biases the metal hinge cup toward the metal hinge arm. Uncontrolled closure can result in damage to cabinetry doors create unwanted noise and premature wear of cabinet faces.
Prior art compact hinges have attempted to solve the uncontrolled closure problem unsatisfactorily with a generally combined damper and housing assembly removably fitted to the hinge cup. Such damper assemblies are prone to inadvertent or unwanted removal because they are designed to be removable. Furthermore, the damper assemblies are typically formed of plastic and so are not aesthetically pleasing. Still further, a damper assembly such as found in the prior art is bulky and requires delicate assembly which adds unnecessary expense to the manufacturing process.
Hence, there is a need for a damper for a compact hinge that is secured in the hinge cup permanently and yet is aesthetically pleasing, and easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
A preferred embodiment is comprised of a hinge cup mounted in a cabinet door, a hinge body mounted to a cabinet carcass, and a hinge arm biased by a coil spring. The hinge arm connects the hinge cup to the hinge body and provides a swinging connection between the cabinet door and the cabinet carcass. A damper, comprised of a fluid filled cylinder and a piston rod extending from the cylinder, is permanently secured within the hinge cup by a metal damper cover. The damper cover is fixedly attached to the hinge cup. The damper is acted upon by an abutment section of the hinge arm. The piston rod abuts the hinge cup. The coil spring is looped around the exterior of the hinge cup while the ends abut and ride on cam surfaces on the hinge arm. The hinge body is comprised of an “L” shaped overlay plate adjustably engaged with an adjustment plate adjustably engaged with a mounting plate. Three separate cam screws provide positional adjustability of the hinge body with respect to the hinge arm in three different directions. The overlay plate and the adjustment plate each include access holes aligned with a mounting hole in the mounting plate. Mounting hardware, such as a wood screw, attaches the mounting plate to the cabinet carcass.
In use, the apparatus controls the closing speed of the cabinet door. The damper cover permanently attaches to the hinge cup and secures the cylinder within the hinge cup and adjacent the hinge arm. As the door closes, the abutment section of the hinge arm contacts the cylinder and forces the cylinder towards the back of the hinge cup, positioned and guided by the damper cover, against the bias of the piston moving through the fluid within the cylinder. Rotation of each of the cam screws separately adjusts the position of the cabinet door in a depth direction, a vertical direction, and a horizontal or “overlay” direction without removing the mounting hardware used to mount the hinge body to the cabinet carcass.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate the above-mentioned features and advantages of the disclosure together with other important aspects upon reading the detailed description that follows in conjunction with the drawings.
In the description that follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and figures with the same numerals, respectively. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and may be shown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
Referring to
Hinge cup 102 has a semicircular shaped brim 140 opposite ledge 142 encompassing an indention or cup defining interior 144. Interior 144 includes at least two different horizontal surfaces, cup floor 146 and a pair of cup shelves 148 and 149. Cup floor 146 forms the base of the cup shape and is positioned between side walls 150 and 151. Side walls 150 and 151 are connected at one end by generally semicircular shaped rear wall 155. Cup shelves 148 and 149 are disposed in side walls 150 and 151, respectively and are positioned beside cup floor 146. Tab 154 extends from each side wall 150 and 151 at cup shelves 148 and 149 into interior 144. Each tab 154 is generally triangular shaped and biased in a downward orientation. Side walls 150 and 151 include spring holes 152 and 153 and hinge pin holes 156 and 157. Tab 160 extends from rear wall 155 underneath ledge 142.
Spring 112 creates a closing bias on the hinge arm. Spring 112 includes loop section 180 connected to coil sections 182 and 183. Coil sections 182 and 183 lead to spring legs 184 and 185, respectively.
Damper cover 170 is permanently connected to hinge cup 102 via engagement with tabs 154. As will be discussed in detail below, damper cover 170 secures damper 162 within interior 144 and guides movement of damper 162 along axis of movement 158. Damper 162 includes a fluid filled and spring loaded cylinder 164. Piston rod 168 extends from cylinder 164. Piston head 166 is attached to piston rod 168 within cylinder 164. The hinge arm acts on damper 162 during a closing movement to control the closing speed of the cabinet door and provide the damping function as the piston head moves through the fluid contained with the cylinder.
Typically, hinge cup 102 is affixed to cabinet door 116 with screws through holes 103 and hinge body 108 is affixed to cabinet frame 118 through slot 109. It should be noted that the orientation of the hinge cup fitted into a bore opening on a door and the hinge arm fitted on to the frame could be reversed. In a preferred embodiment, hinge cup 102, hinge arm 104, and hinge body 108 are typically constructed of metal such as cast aluminum or steel alloy plate stock and formed by stamping.
Hinge body 108 comprises overlay plate 124, adjustment plate 126, and mounting plate 128. Overlay plate 124 is adjustably connected to adjustment plate 126 by depth adjustment cam screw 130. Adjustment plate 126 is adjustably connected to mounting plate 128 by vertical adjustment cam screw 132. Each adjustment cam screw 110, 130, and 132 comprises a typical cam screw shape having a wider, cylindrical camming portion and a narrow, cylindrical offset portion extending therefrom. The separate plates of the hinge body cooperate with the adjustment cam screws to provide positional adjustment of the hinge body relative to the hinge arm in a vertical direction 172, a depth direction 174, and an overlay or horizontal direction 176.
Referring to
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Plane 228 of overlay plate 124 is adjacent raised seat 322 of adjustment plate 126. Sides 306 and 308 of adjustment plate 126 abut sides 216 and 217 of overlay plate 124, respectively. Blocks 310 and 316 slidably engage slots 232 in sides 216 and 217, respectively. Overlay plate 124 is slidable with respect to adjustment plate 126 in depth direction 174.
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Side wall 702 is comprised of guide portion 730 and engagement portion 732. Guide ridges 716 are formed in guide portion 730 of side wall 702 and extend toward interior 704. Engagement portion 732 of side wall 702 includes an angular shaped cutout 720 sized to engage tab 154 formed in side wall 150. Side wall 703 is comprised of guide portion 731 and engagement portion 733. Guide ridges 717 are formed in guide portion 731 of side wall 703 and extend toward interior 704. Engagement portion 733 of side wall 703 includes an angular shaped cutout 721 sized to engage tab 154 formed in side wall 151.
Guide ridges 712 and 713 extend from base 708 toward interior 704. Guide ridges 712 and 713 are positioned between guide portions 730 and 731. Guide ridges 712 and 713 are aligned generally parallel to each other and perpendicularly with opening 710. Hole 724 is a semicircular shaped opening in rear wall 706. Hole 724 is sized to allow piston rod 168 to pass through unobstructed.
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Shown assembled in
As shown in
In use, hinge 100 provides a pivotal connection between cabinet door 116 and cabinet frame 118. Hinge cup 102 is mounted in a bore in the cabinet door through holes 103 and hinge body 108 is mounted to the cabinet frame through slot 109 with typical mounting hardware such as wood screws. Hand tools gain access to slot 109 via access opening 218 and access slot 324. Guides 414, 415, 416, and 417 abut the cabinet frame.
Hinge 100 provides adjustment in three directions after mounting without removing or loosening the mounting hardware. One direction of adjustment is the depth movement of the cabinet door. This adjustment is required when the inside face of the door does not lay flush with the cabinet frame thus impeding the opening and closing action. To effect the depth adjustment, depth adjustment cam screw 130 is rotated. As depth adjustment cam screw 130 is rotated, the camming portion of depth adjustment cam screw 130 abuts, rotates within, and slides along depth adjustment slot 234 while the offset portion of depth adjustment cam screw 130 rotates within depth adjustment hole 328. During manufacture, the offset portion of depth adjustment cam screw 130 is inserted through access hole 420 and shot peened or deformed so as to prevent depth adjustment cam screw 130 from escaping depth adjustment hole 328. Rotation of depth adjustment cam screw 130 causes hinge arm 104 and overlay plate 124 to move together in direction 174 relative to adjustment plate 126 and mounting plate 128 and the cabinet frame. Once the desired position is achieved, rotation of depth adjustment cam screw 130 is ceased.
Another direction of adjustment is the horizontal or “overlay” adjustment of the cabinet door. This adjustment is required when the vertical edges of the cabinet door do not align with the vertical edges of the cabinet frame or the vertical edges of an adjacent cabinet door or drawer. To effect the overlay adjustment, overlay adjustment cam screw 110 is rotated. As overlay adjustment cam screw 110 is rotated, the camming portion of overlay adjustment cam screw 110 abuts, rotates within, and slides along overlay adjustment slot 222 while the offset portion of overlay adjustment cam screw 110 rotates within overlay adjustment hole 610. During manufacture, the offset portion of overlay adjustment cam screw 110 is inserted into overlay adjustment hole 610 and shot peened or deformed so as to prevent removal. Rotation of overlay adjustment cam screw 110 causes hinge arm 104 to move in direction 176 relative to hinge body 108 and the cabinet frame. Once the desired position is achieved, rotation of overlay adjustment cam screw 110 is ceased.
Another direction of adjustment is the vertical adjustment of the cabinet door. This adjustment is required when the horizontal edges of the cabinet door do not align with the horizontal edges of the cabinet frame or the horizontal edges of an adjacent cabinet door or drawer. To effect the vertical adjustment, vertical adjustment cam screw 132 is rotated. As vertical adjustment cam screw 132 is rotated, the camming portion of vertical adjustment cam screw 132 abuts, rotates within, and slides along vertical adjustment slot 326 while the offset portion of vertical adjustment cam screw 132 rotates within vertical adjustment hole 422. During manufacture, the offset portion of vertical adjustment cam screw 132 is shot peened or deformed to prevent removal of vertical adjustment cam screw 132 from vertical adjustment hole 422. Rotation of vertical adjustment cam screw 132 causes hinge arm 104, overlay plate 124, and adjustment plate 126 to move together in direction 172 relative to mounting plate 128 and the cabinet frame. Once the desired position is achieved, rotation of vertical adjustment cam screw 132 is ceased.
During a closing motion, spring 112 provides a closing bias. The closing bias provided by spring 112 is a result of spring legs 184 and 185 biasing hinge arm 104 via cam portions 602 and 603. Damper 162 opposes the closing bias and mitigates the closing speed of the cabinet door so as to lessen the impact of the cabinet door on the cabinet frame. Damper 162 is secured within hinge cup 102 by damper cover 170. As the cabinet door closes, abutment section 606 abuts face 810 and forces cylinder 164 towards rear wall 155 while piston rod 168 and damper cover 170 remain stationary relative to hinge cup 102. Since piston rod 168 abuts rear wall 155, as cylinder 164 moves through opening 710, piston head 166 moves through the fluid in cylinder 164 to provide the soft-close functionality. The guide portion of damper cover 170 directs the cylinder 164 so that it may slide longitudinally along axis 158 between sides 702 and 703 guided by guide ridges 712, 713, 716, and 717 through opening 710.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
