This relates to a stop for a hinge, such as a door hinge. More particularly, it relates to a hinge pin with an integral stop for use in a loose-pin type hinge, and methods for use of same.
A problem with the use of existing loose-pin hinges is the requirement for a separate stop to limit the range of angular movement of a hinged member such a door that pivots about the hinge. If a stop is not provided, walls, doors, and hinges all can be damaged by unintentional impact when the door is opened fully. To limit the effects of such impact, traditional door stops are typically mounted in the floor, or attached to baseboards, or the wall itself. Those stops are generally aesthetically unpleasing. They can be particularly visually disruptive to the architectural features of a finely-crafted door and doorway. Traditional stops can have other undesired effects, e.g., they can present a physical obstacle, such as a tripping hazard, interfere with routine cleaning, and cause physical or aesthetic damage to architectural millwork, such as molding.
Solutions that attempt to deal with the problems presented by traditional door stops include using wall plates or bumpers, door handle pads, and hinge-integrated stops. In the case of wall plates and door-handle pads, while they overcome some of the problems associated with floor-mounted door stops, they are equally problematic in terms of aesthetics. In some cases, such devices are more visually intrusive than floor-mounted stops. In addition, because those devices do not limit the range of movement of the door, they are intended merely to absorb the impact against the wall. Thus, the use of such devices does not prevent noise, and damage can still result to the door, door handle, wall, or wall plate. In the case of hinge-integrated stops, devices that have thus far been available either do not function well, or do not solve the aesthetic problem because they, too, are not visually pleasing, particularly when the door is closed.
In some cases, existing designs for integrated door stops require expensive or complicated hardware. In other cases, hinge-integrated stops are not conveniently adjustable by an end-user, such as a home owner. Moreover, hinge-integrated stops may be prone to failure due, e.g., to repeated impact between the stop, the door, and the wall. Further, they may involve installation procedures that are not familiar to most craftsmen, and are too complex for a “do-it-yourselfer.”
Loose-pin type hinges featuring an integrated and adjustable stop are disclosed. The hinges are conveniently used with doors and other hinged members, and provide enhanced aesthetics, especially for finely crafted doors where conventional door stops can detract from the craftsmanship and beauty of the door and the surrounding moulding.
In one embodiment of the invention, a loose-pin hinge with integrated stop is provided. The hinge includes a first hinge leaf with a knuckle having a bore therethrough and a second hinge leaf with a lower knuckle and an upper knuckle each having a bore therethrough. The lower knuckle and the upper knuckle are interdigitially mated with the knuckle of the first hinge leaf such that the bores of the knuckles are coaxially aligned. The hinge further includes a hinge pin having a shank, a head disposed at an upper end of the shank, and a stop member extending radially outward from the head. The shank of the hinge pin is received through the coaxially aligned bores of the knuckles to enable the first hinge leaf to pivot about the hinge pin with respect to the second hinge leaf, the stop member limiting the pivoting of the first hinge leaf to a maximum pivoting angle with respect to the second hinge leaf.
In another embodiment of the invention, a loose-pin hinge with integrated stop is provided. The hinge includes a first hinge leaf with a knuckle having a generally cylindrical bore therethrough and a second hinge leaf with a lower knuckle having a generally cylindrical bore therethrough and an upper knuckle having a bore therethrough. In addition, the upper knuckle has an engaging formation. The lower knuckle and the upper knuckle are interdigitially mated with the knuckle of the first hinge leaf such that the bores of the knuckles are coaxially aligned. The hinge further includes a hinge pin having a shank, a head disposed at an upper end of the shank, an engaging member disposed along an upper portion of the shank, and a stop member extending radially outward from the head, the shank of the hinge pin being received through the coaxially aligned bores of the knuckles to enable the first hinge leaf to pivot about the hinge pin with respect to the second hinge leaf. The engaging member of the hinge pin engages with the engaging formation of the upper knuckle to set an angular position of the hinge pin with respect to the second hinge leaf, and the stop member of the hinge pin limits the pivoting of the first hinge leaf to a maximum pivoting angle with respect to the second hinge leaf, the maximum pivoting angle being determined as a pivoting angle between the first hinge leaf and the second hinge leaf at which the stop member contacts the first hinge leaf.
In another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for limiting a hinge pivoting angle. The method includes providing hinge having a first hinge leaf, a second hinge leaf, and a hinge pin. The first hinge leaf includes a knuckle having a generally cylindrical bore therethrough, and the second hinge leaf includes a lower knuckle having a generally cylindrical bore therethrough and an upper knuckle having a bore therethrough. The upper knuckle further has an engaging formation. The lower knuckle and the upper knuckle are adapted to be interdigitially mated with the knuckle of the first hinge leaf such that the bores of the knuckles are coaxially aligned. The hinge pin includes a shank, a head disposed at an upper end of the shank, an engaging member disposed along an upper portion of the shank, and a stop member extending radially outward from the head. The method further includes aligning an edge of the stop member with a desired maximum pivoting angular position of the first hinge leaf with respect to the second hinge leaf, and inserting the shank of the pin through the coaxially aligned bores of the knuckles so that the engaging member of the pin engages with the engaging formation of the upper knuckle at an angular position that retains the edge of the stop member nearest to the desired maximum pivoting angular position.
In another embodiment of the invention, a hinge pin is provided for limiting the pivoting angle between a first hinge leaf and a second hinge leaf in a conventional hinge to a desired maximum pivoting angle. The hinge pin includes a shank, a head disposed at an end of the shank, and a stop member extending radially outward from the head. The stop member spans a stop member angle that is complementary to the desired maximum pivoting angle such that the stop member contacts a face of the first leaf and a face of the second leaf when the pivoting angle is equal to the desired maximum pivoting angle.
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a loose-pin hinge comprising an integrated stop that is conveniently adjustable. A stop member is affixed to the hinge pin, and optionally, a mating stop member can be affixed to one or more hinge leaves. The loose-pin hinges disclosed herein provide many advantages over existing hinges and stops for use therewith. In certain embodiments, the hinges disclosed herein provide improved performance and/or aesthetics, and are particularly useful in settings where conventional stop members lack adequate adjustability or are deemed undesirable.
There is shown in
The angle between the inner faces 22, 42 of the first and second leaves 20, 40, respectively, is substantially equal to the angle between the edge 72 of the door 70 and the surface 82 of the door jamb 80. Thus, when the door 70 is closed so that the inside edge 72 is disposed directly opposite from and substantially parallel to the surface 82 of the door jamb 80, the outer face 22 of the first leaf 20 and the outer face 42 of the second leaf 42 are disposed directly opposite from and substantially parallel to each other. Further, for example, when the door 70 is open to about 90° with respect to the door jamb 80, the outer face 22 of the first leaf and the outer face 42 of the second leaf are disposed at about 90° apart with respect to each other. Typically, because the door jamb 80 is affixed to a wall 84, the maximum pivoting angle of the door 70 is about, or somewhat larger than, 180°. (It is understood that when the door 70 becomes parallel to a wall 84 to which the door jamb 80 is installed, the opening angle of the door 70 is about 180°, and that depending on the distance by which the center of the pin 60 is offset from the wall 84, the door 70 may be positioned at an angle somewhat greater than 180°, and typically as great as about 200°, before contacting the wall 84.)
The first leaf 20 has at least one knuckle 28 extending therefrom, each knuckle 28 having a generally cylindrical bore therethrough (not shown) for slidably receiving the pin 60. In the embodiment depicted in
In another embodiment of the hinge 10 (not shown), the second leaf 40 has only two knuckles, including one lower knuckle 52 and one upper engaging knuckle 50, and the first leaf 20 has only one knuckle 28 interposed between the knuckles 50, 52 of the second leaf 40. In another embodiment of the hinge 10 (not shown), such as for use in high end doors, the first leaf 20 has three knuckles 28 and the second leaf has four knuckles, including an upper knuckle 50, two middle knuckles 48, and a lower knuckle 50.
In another embodiment of the hinge 10, the lower knuckle 52 is a second engaging knuckle 52 having an engaging formation 54 the same as that contained in the upper engaging knuckle 50 and adapted to engage with the engaging member 66 on the hinge pin 60. In this embodiment, as is the case with conventional hinges, the loose-pin hinge 10 can be used with either left-opening or right-opening arrangements by inverting the hinge 10, as required, because each of the upper (inverted lower) knuckle 50 and the lower (inverted upper) knuckle 52 includes an engaging formation 54 for mating with the engaging member 66 of a pin 60.
As depicted in
The pin head 84 can be similar in thickness to the head of a standard hinge pin. In one embodiment, the pin head 84 is thicker than the head of a standard hinge pin (i.e., it has a larger dimension in the axial direction of the pin 60) in order to provide for a larger attachment area of the stop member 68, to ensure that the stop member 68 will remain affixed to the pin head 64 under the load imposed by the stop member 68 coming into contact with the inner face 22 of the first hinge plate 20.
The hinge 10 is assembled as follows. First, the bores of the knuckles 28 on the first leaf 20 are substantially coaxially aligned with the bores of the knuckles 48, 50, 52 on the second leaf 40. In particular, the knuckles are interdigitally mated in an alternating order from leaf to leaf, as shown in the figures and known in the art. Next, the pin 60 is inserted to adjoin the first leaf 20 and the second leaf 40. In particular, the shank 62 is inserted so as to extend through the engaging formation 54 and then successively through the bores of the knuckles 50, 28, 48, 28, 52. The length of the shank 62 is approximately equal to the height of the second leaf 40 from an upper edge of the upper knuckle 50 to a lower edge of the lower knuckle 52. When the pin 60 is fully inserted, the shank 62 is pivotable within the bores of the knuckles 28 on the first leaf 20, while the engaging member 66 of the pin 60 engages the engaging formation 54 of the knuckle 50 so that the pin 60 is substantially rotationally fixed, or not pivotable, with respect knuckles 48, 50, and 52, and thus with respect to the second leaf 40.
The respective shapes of the engaging member 66 and the engaging formation 54 are matched as male and female mating parts, respectively. In particular, the engaging member 66 of the hinge pin 60 has a male geometric shape and the engaging formation 54 of the upper knuckle 50 has a mating female geometric shape adapted to engagingly receive the male geometric shape of the engaging member 66. The geometric shape has a number of facets equally spaced about the circumference thereof to enable the hinge pin to be received through the knuckles in a respective number of angular positions to enable adjustment of a maximum pivoting angle between the first and second leaves 20, 40.
The engaging member 66 and the engaging formation 54 can have nearly any geometric shape that is not cylindrical. In one embodiment, the geometric shape is generally either in the form of an x-polygon or an x-spline each having x facets, although any geometric shape with a regularly recurring circumferential feature can be used. (An x-polygon refers to a regular polygon having x sides, e.g., a square is a four-sided polygon having four facets, a hexagon is a six-sided polygon having six facets, and an octagon is an eight-sided polygon having eight facets. An x-spline refers to a regular spline or star-shape having x facets, each facet including one lobe and one trough disposed between adjacent lobes, the facets being equally spaced around the spline; the peaks and troughs of the spine can be substantially pointed or substantially rounded off.) For example, the geometric shape can be an eight-pointed star (
When the hinge 10 is assembled, the stop member 68 is disposed in the angular space between the inner face 24 of the first leaf 20 and the inner face 44 of the second leaf 40, as shown in
A maximum pivoting angle α of the door 70 with respect to the door jamb 82 is set by placing the pin 60 at a desired angular position with respect to the second leaf 40. As shown in
Because of the ease with which the angular position of the pin 60, and thus the maximum pivoting angle α, can be adjusted, the setting of the pin position can be determined by actual measurements of the desired opening angle, or by trial and error. The setting can generally be accomplished with no tools, or at most, simple hand tools (e.g., a screw driver to raise the pin 60), and can be done by a homeowner or other end user of the hinge 10.
As can be seen from cross-sectional views of
In any of the disclosed embodiments, the pin 60 can be manufactured as an integral unit or can be formed from two or more separate parts. Preferably, the pin 60 is cast, forged, or stamped out of a metallic material, including but not limited to a material comprising one or more of brass, steel, stainless steel, or aluminum. Alternatively, one or more parts of the pin 60 can be formed from material such as fiberglass, graphite, thermoplastic, polymer, or any other material having sufficient mechanical strength for the application. In one embodiment, the pin head 64 and engaging member 68 are integrally formed with the pin shank 62, and the stop member 68 is integrally formed with the pin head 64. In another embodiment, the pin head 64, the stop member 68, and the engaging member 66 are formed integrally with each other and are affixed to the pin shank 62 by a mechanical means known in the art, included but not limited to welding, brazing, or bolting. In some embodiments, the pin head 64 and the stop member 68 are integrally formed as a part that can be separately removed from the pin shank 62 and engaging member 66 so that the pin head 64 and stop member 68 can be replaced should the stop member 68 become damaged or broken. As in a conventional hinge, the entire pin 60 can always be removed and replaced, if desired.
In one embodiment of the loose-pin hinge 10, the edge 69 of the stop member 68 can be angled slightly or disposed at a slight angle such that the lower portion of the edge 69 is slightly farther from the first plate 20 than the upper portion of the edge 69, so that upon contact between the outer face 24 of the first plate 20 and the stop member 68, the impact of the contact helps to retain the pin 60 within the knuckles of the first and second plates 20, 40, rather than tending to force the pin 60 upward and out of the knuckles. For example,
A bottom cross-sectional view of the pin 660 is shown in
The desired angle of opening a can be varied by simply replacing the pin 660 with another pin 660 having a stop member 668 spanning a different stop member angle γ. Pins 660 can readily be made having stop members 668 in various increments spaced apart, for example, by increments of 2°, 5°, 10°, 15°, 24°, or any other number of degrees desired. The edges 669a and 669b can be angled to have slopes that cause the pin 660 to be retained in the knuckles, rather than being forced upward and out of the knuckles.
A method is also provided herein for limiting or restricting the angular amount by which a first hinged member may be pivoted relative to a second hinged member, wherein the first and second hinged members are pivotably connected by a loose-pin hinge 10 as disclosed herein. The desired opening angle between the hinged members can be set by attaching a first hinge leaf 20 to the first hinge member, attaching a second hinge leaf 40 to the second hinge member, and inserting the pin 60 including a stop member 68 into respective knuckles of the first and second leaves 20, 40 so that the engaging member 66 of the pin 60 engages with the engaging formation 54 of the upper knuckle 50 on the second leaf 40. The maximum pivoting angle can be adjusted by raising the pin 60 to disengage the engaging member 66 from the engaging formation 54, rotating the pin 60 to a desired position, and lowering the pin 60 to reengage the engaging member 66 with the engaging formation 54.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12416206 | Apr 2009 | US |
Child | 13355174 | US |