Patent Application
20210293070
The present invention relates to the technical field concerning the hinges for household appliances, furniture and the like and refers to a compact hinge device, balanced and with one or more intermediate metastable positions.
There are known hinges equipped with weight balancing springs and springs acting on sliding blocks or rollers constrained to the fixed hinge member for elastically pressing them against profile cams formed in the edge of a movable hinge member where such cams are profiled with metastable housing recesses of the rollers in certain intermediate or end positions of the rotation of the movable members of the hinges.
The earlier documents No. WO2017/097633 A1 and No. U.S. Pat. No. 9,121,211 B1 disclose a compact hinge in which the force of a spring is applied between the rotating elements of the hinge by means of a rocker arm having a median pin slidable into a cam profile of a shaped slot fixed or formed in one of the elements.
A drawback of these known hinges consists in the fact that they are bulky and unsuitable for certain uses, for example, they are not suitable for domestic or artisan ovens because of their dimensions.
Another drawback of said known hinges consists in the fact that they are complex and therefore expensive and subject to malfunctions or failures.
An object of the present invention is to propose a compact hinge device, balanced and with one or more intermediate metastable positions also suitable for installations with limited space for housing the hinge device, such as for example domestic ovens.
Another object is to propose a hinge device suitable for various equipment, furniture and applications.
The characteristics of the invention are below highlighted with particular reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
With reference to
The device 1 comprises a first element 3 assigned to be fixed to a body of the apparatus and a second element 5 assigned to be fixed to the door of said apparatus.
In an assembled condition of the device, the first 3 and second 5 elements are mutually connected by means of a hinge pin 7 engaged in respective hinge seats 6, 8, 10 formed in corresponding ends of the first 3 and second 5 elements, guaranteeing the possibility of the door rotation between the opening and the closing or vice versa, around an axis of rotation consisting in the longitudinal geometric axis of said hinge pin 7.
The apparatus may consist on a piece of furniture or furniture/appliance, on a device for industrial or artisan use, in a household appliance, in particular it is suitable for use in domestic ovens since the dimensions of the device are very small and it is also installable in such built-in ovens, integrated with the cookers or of another type.
Said device 1 comprises a rocker means 9 having, at its first end, a first coupling seat 11 connected, by means of a first junction pin 13, to a first junction seat 15 formed in the second element 5 and placed at a certain distance from the respective hinge seat 6 for the hinge pin 7.
The rocker means 9 second end, opposite to the first, carries a second coupling seat 19 connected, by means of a second junction pin 21, to a corresponding second junction seat 23 formed at one end of a tie rod means 25 onto which elastic means 27 acts with an elastic force whose directrix intersects or almost intersect the hinge pin 7 and it is directed in the opposite direction to the latter 7.
An intermediate portion of the rocker means 9, comprised between the first coupling seat 11 and the second coupling seat 19, carries a fulcrum seat 31 for a fulcrum pin 33.
The opposite ends of the second junction pin 21 of the rocker means 9 are protruding and are slidably engaged at least along a cam profile 35 of a respective first slot 37 made in the first element 3 or fixed thereto.
The various seats for the pins may consist of through cylindrical bores made in the parts carrying thereof, and having diameters approximately corresponding to those of the respective pins housing thereof; alternatively, the bores of the seats may be of greater diameter to accommodate respective rotation bushes of the corresponding pins, fulcrums and the like.
The rocker means 9 is constituted by one or, as shown in the enclosed figures, preferably two equal flat almost rectilinear plates. The geometrical axes of the first junction pin 13, of the second junction pin 21 and of the interposed fulcrum pin 33, lie, or nearly so, on the same geometrical lying plane which is perpendicular to the geometrical rotation plane of the second element 5 and parallel to the hinge pin 7.
One of the two parallel plates of the rocker means 9 is placed on one side of the second element 5 and of the tie rod means 25 portion carrying the second junction seat 23, the other plate, parallel and spaced from the previous one, is placed to the opposite side of such second element and tie rod portion.
The first element 3 comprises an elongated first box member 41, for example with an approximately “U” shaped cross-section and made of cut or die-cut and folded metal sheet, containing, at least partially, the rocker means 9, the tie rod means 25 and the elastic means 27 whose ends are connected respectively to one end of the tie rod means 25 and to the end of the first box member 41 opposite to its end which bears a pair of own side hinge seats 8 for the hinge pin 7.
The first element 3 further comprises a second box member 43, for example with an approximately “U” shaped cross-section and made of cut or die-cut and folded metal sheet, and contained at least partially in the first box member 41.
One end of the second box member 43 bears a pair of own side hinge seats 10 for the hinge pin 7 and bears two respective first side and shaped slots 37, for example as an “S”, each for the sliding of respective end of the fulcrum pin 33 projecting from the rocker means 9.
Alternatively, the first slots 37 can be formed in or fixed to the first box member 41.
Preferably, the second box member 43 furthermore bears a pair of respective side and rectilinear guide slots 51 for the sliding of the ends of a guide pin 49. The guide slots are separated and spaced from the first slots 37. Alternatively, the side guide slots 51 can be formed in or fixed to the first box member 41.
The tie rod means 25 comprises a connecting rod means 47, one end of which bears the second junction seat 23 and the opposite end bears a seat for said guide pin 49 whose protruding ends slide along the respective guide slots 51 parallel to the directrix of the elastic means 27 elastic force. Alternatively or in addition to the rigid connecting rod means, the tie rod means 25 can comprise a flexible element, for example a chain or a cable.
The guide pin 49 is connected to the elastic means 27, of the drawing spring type or the like, directly or, preferably as illustrated in the figures, by means of a cradle means 53 interconnected between the connecting rod means 47 and the elastic means 27 and slidably contained, at least partially, in the first box member 41 and/or in the second box member 43.
The rocker means 9 and the tie rod means 25 constitute a transmission element 44 that cooperates with the cradle means 53 to provide a kinematics chain that connects the elastic means 27 to the second element 5.
As an alternative to the rocker means 9 and to the tie rod means 25, the invention provides that the transmission element 44 can be constituted by a single rigid or flexible element, for example a steel or textile cable or a small chain, which connects the end of the elastic means 27, opposite to that fixed to the first box member 41, to the first junction seat 15 of the second element 5 or provides that the transmission element 44 is constituted by a set of pulling and/or connecting rods and/or rocker elements or similar, in a number greater than two.
The cradle means 53, preferably made of one or two parts of cut or die-cut and folded metal sheet, contains a dumping means 57, of cylindrical linear type and piston with protruding rod; whose each ends abut on a respective transverse pin 58 whose ends slide into respective side slots 54 carried out in the cradle means 53 and in the respective side slots 42 carried out in the first box member 41.
During the opening and closing of the door, the cradle 53 slides into the first box member 41; the slots for the sliding of the transverse pins' ends of the damping means 57 are positioned and sized and placed in phase to damp at least the opening and/or closing terminal rotation.
In the following, the terms distal and proximal are used with reference to the hinge pin 7 so that these relative terms indicate the greatest distance from or proximity to the hinge pin 7 of an element with respect to another.
During the terminal closing rotation of the door, the cradle means 53 translates away from the hinge pin 7 and the transverse pin 58 of the damper means 57 distal end abuts with one end of the distal slots 42 of the first box member 41 blocking this damper means distal end while the opposite pin 58, corresponding to the damping means proximal end, abuts with one end of the proximal slots 54 of the cradle means which also draws into its motion the pin and the damper means proximal end too, compressing it and therefore braking the door closing terminal rotation motion; even during the terminal door opening rotation, mutatis mutandis, the matching of the transversal pins with the slots induces the damping means compression causing a slowing down of the terminal opening rotation while, during the terminal rotation motion, the transverse pins are free to slide into the slots and there is no damping means compression and the door rotation is not braked.
It is obviously possible to position and size such slots 42, 54 so as to have compression of the damping means 57 and slow down of the rotation only in the terminal opening or closing section and for respective angular extensions which can be determined by means of suitable positioning and sizing of the slots and the damping means.
It should be noted that the shape and the size of the rocker means 9, the pins mutual positions and most of all the shape of the cam profiles 35 of the shaped first slots 37 may correspondingly modulate the elongation of the elastic means 27 spring and then the force exerted by this spring on the door and can vary the action arms with which this force is transmitted; it is therefore possible to adjust and modify these parameters and shapes to modulate the intensity of the torque acting onto the door, to increase for example the torque in correspondence with the closure for a better seal of the seals and/or to increase the closing torque in the closing rotation to balance the weight of the door and/or to create metastable intermediate positions, to allow for example the door to be positioned and kept in an almost closed position for the steam outlet during the grill or spit cooking.
The device variant of
Each plate's fulcrum seat 31 for the fulcrum pin 33 is formed in the angled portion connecting the plate two respective arms or in proximity of said portion.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102018000007641 | Jul 2018 | IT | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2019/069233 | 7/17/2019 | WO | 00 |
