Patent Application
20060090295
The present invention relates to a hinge for a folding door, in particular for movable furniture parts, having at least one abutment part with a first region for securing to a furniture part or the like and a second region which is at an angle thereto and is adjustable in length.
Hinges for folding doors are used to connect in pivotal manner two movable furniture parts which form for example the door in the region of a returning corner of a fitted kitchen or the like. For this reason, they are suitable for reaching around a reflex angle. So that a hinge for a folding door can be used for different panel thicknesses of the furniture parts, a tilted adjustment, as it is called, is already known. This is created in the case of the prior art in the second region of the abutment part, which is at an angle and is adjustable in length, as a combination of elongate hole and clamping screw. Fine teeth have to be provided in the elongate hole so that locking can be maintained with stability. To make an adjustment, first of all the clamping screw has to be loosened and then the adjustment performed, and thereafter the clamping screw has to be tightened again. This is very cumbersome. Moreover, as a rule at least two hinges have to be adjusted in the same way at the same time, which because of the need to loosen the clamping screws results in an unstable intermediate condition. A further disadvantage consists in the fact that stepless variable adjustment is not possible because of the need for teeth in the elongate hole.
It is therefore the object of the invention to improve the above-described tilted adjustment for hinges for folding doors such that a stepless adjustment which is as simple as possible is made possible.
In accordance with the invention, this is achieved in that, for the purpose of adjustment in length in the second region, a transmission device for converting a rotary movement into a longitudinal movement is provided.
As a result of the transmission device for converting a rotary movement into a longitudinal movement, for the purpose of making a tilted adjustment it is no longer necessary to loosen a clamping screw and tighten it again. The hinge for a folding door and the furniture parts which are secured thereto remain in a stable position with respect to one another throughout the adjustment procedure. Moreover, the transmission device according to the invention also makes it possible to perform a stepless tilted adjustment. In this connection, it is particularly advantageous if the transmission device is self-locking, that is to say that it remains in any position, once adopted, without further measures. The transmission device is advantageously arranged directly in the second region of the abutment part, that in which the adjustment in length is to be performed.
Various embodiments and further advantages of the invention will be explained with reference to the attached figures, in which:
FIGS. 2 to 5 show a first example embodiment of the invention,
FIGS. 8 to 10 show the parts which are essential to the invention, in a third example embodiment of the invention.
In this example embodiment, as in the others, the hinge arm 1 and the hinge cup 10 are provided as abutment parts. The pivotal connection between the hinge arm and the hinge cup, or the abutment parts, may take the same form as that known from the prior art. The hinge arm 1 may be clipped onto a base plate 17, as in this example embodiment. These embodiments of the abutment parts should be seen only as examples, however. The essential point for a hinge for a folding door is that an abutment part—in this case the hinge arm 1—has a first region 2 for securing to a furniture part 4 or the like and a second region 3 which is at an angle thereto and which is in turn adjustable in length. The length adjustment of the region 3 is achieved through the transmission device 5 according to the invention, for converting a rotary movement into a longitudinal movement.
In the first example embodiment, in accordance with FIGS. 2 to 5, the transmission device 5 has as an essential component a spiral-shaped link piece 6. The second region 3 of the abutment part 1 is constructed in two pieces in the examples shown. It has two mutually displaceable, substantially U-shaped profiled pieces 3′ and 3″. Two guide slits 22 in which the guide pins 23 of the component 3′ engage are arranged in the component 3″. In the arrangement in which mounting is complete, the two components 3′ and 3″ are thus mutually displaceable along the guide slits 22, which is a prerequisite for the length adjustment in the region 3 of the abutment part 1. So that the desired stepless and very easily performed adjustment in length is made possible in accordance with the invention, in this example embodiment the spiral-shaped link piece 6, which is mounted in the guide housing 19 of the component 3′, engages in the teeth 20 which are provided on the component 3″. The spiral-shaped link piece 6 is rotated with the aid of the slot 18, into which a screwdriver, for example, can be inserted. As a result of rotating the spiral-shaped link pieces 6 in the teeth 20, the two components 3′ and 3″ are displaced relative to one another. So that this kind of adjustment in length or angular adjustment can be performed with precision, in addition a marking 21 can be provided, for example on the component 3″. In
FIGS. 8 to 10 show an abutment part of a further hinge according to the invention. The other components of the hinge have been omitted from the illustration but may be constructed in the same way as in the other example embodiments. In this example embodiment, the adjustment in length is possible using a toothed wheel 9 which engages in a toothed rack 8. The toothed wheel 9 is arranged in the interior of the components 3′ and 3″, which have a U-shaped profile, and is fixed in its position relative to the outer component 3′ by the shaft 28. The toothing 8 is arranged on the second component 3″. When the toothed wheel 9 is rotated, because it engages the toothed rack 8, the two components 3′ and 3″ are displaced relative to one another and hence there is an adjustment in length in the region 3. So that the toothed wheel 9 can be rotated, once again, as in the other example embodiments, a slotted head 18 may be provided into which a screwdriver may be inserted. The slotted head 18, like the toothed wheel 9, is for this purpose arranged on a common shaft 28. The shaft 28 at the same time serves as a guide pin in the guide slit 22.
All the example embodiments are advantageously constructed to be self-locking, as a result of a correspondingly narrow seating of the components 3′ and 3″ on one another and the associated friction. The length of the second region 3, once it has been adjusted by means of the transmission device 5 for the purpose of converting a rotary movement into a longitudinal movement, is then maintained unchanged until the next adjustment is made deliberately. Should particularly large ranges of adjustment in length be desired, those solutions in accordance with the invention which have a spiral-shaped link track 6 or a toothed wheel 9 that engages in a toothed rack 8 are particularly suitable.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| A 1815/2004 | Oct 2004 | AT | national |
