Patent Application
20250163739
The present invention relates to a hardware part, especially to a hinge that may not make noises.
A hardware part, hinge, is conventionally made of metal. Since metal has high stiffness, the elements of a hinge may collide and rub each other when the hinge is pivoted. Therefore, the hinge may make noises.
To reduce the noises, the user may apply damping grease and lubricating oil on the hinge. Precisely, apply the damping grease and the lubricating oil in the gaps between the elements of the hinge. However, the damping grease and lubricating oil always leak and then stain the environmental elements, e.g. the door frame, etc. Besides, the stained elements are very hard to clean. Moreover, after the damping grease and the lubricating oil leak out or become dry, the metal elements of the hinge collide and rub each other again. In other words, the damping grease and the lubricating oil can only maintain for a short period.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a mute hinge to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a mute hinge that reduces contact between hardware parts.
The mute hinge has two fixing leaves, a pin, and at least one plastic element. Each one of the fixing leaves has at least one knuckle. The pin is mounted through the at least one knuckle of each one of the fixing leaves. The at least one plastic element encloses the pin and is located between the pin and the at least one knuckle of the fixing leaves.
As a result, the mute hinge makes no noise since the plastic element is mounted between the pin and the knuckles of the fixing leaves. Therefore, when the mute hinge is working, i.e. the fixing leaves pivot with respect to each other about the pin and the plastic element, the knuckles of the fixing leaves may not contact and rub the pin and thus the noise is reduced. Further, the useful lifetime of the plastic element is larger than the time drying the damping grease and the lubricating oil, so the present mute hinge maintains a longer silent time. Besides, the present mute hinge may not need the damping grease and the lubricating oil, which avoids leaking and staining the environment; or, during assembly, the user's hand can keep clean.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Please refer to
In the first embodiment, the mute hinge further has a cap 40. The cap 40 is mounted at an end of the pin 20 and thereby the knuckle 11 of each one of the fixing leaves 10 is clamped by the cap 40 and the pin 20. Precisely, the dimensions of the largest portion of the cap 40 and the largest portion of the pin 20 are larger than inner diameters of the knuckle 11 of each one of the fixing leaves 10, so when the cap 40 is fixed on the pin 20, the knuckle 11 of each one of the fixing leaves 10 is clamped.
Please also refer to
Correspondingly, in the first embodiment, the at least one plastic element 30 is one said plastic element 30. The plastic element 30 is mounted on and encloses the small section 22 of the pin 20. An outer diameter of the plastic element 30 is slightly larger than or equal to the diameter of the large section 21. In other words, the outer surface of the plastic element 30 is configured to contact the knuckles 11 of the fixing leaves 10, such that the pin 20 will not collide and rub the knuckle 11 of the fixing leaves 10.
Precisely, the plastic element 30 is a hollow cylinder and the pin 20 is sleeved in the hollow cylinder. A length of the hollow cylinder is equal to a length of the small section 22. In other words, the entire small section 22 is covered by the plastic element 30. However, it is not limited thereto; as shown in
Please refer to
The at least one groove 32A may include multiple grooves 32A. The grooves 32A may be concaved on the outer surface of the hollow cylinder, but it is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the multiple grooves 32A may extend along a longitudinal direction of the pin 20, a circumferential direction of the pin 20, or a spiral direction with respect to the pin 20. In another embodiment, the hollow cylinder may have only one groove 32A extending in the spiral direction with respect to the pin 20.
Then please refer to
Each one of the plastic elements 30B is ring-shaped and thus each one of the plastic elements 30B encloses one of the small sections 22B. Like the first embodiment, outer diameters of the plastic elements 30B are slightly larger than or equal to the diameter of the large sections 21B such that the plastic elements 30B can contact the knuckles 11.
In this embodiment, a distance between the adjacent two of the large sections 21B equals a distance of each small section 22B, and further equals a thickness of each plastic element 30B. In other words, each one of the plastic elements 30B is clamped by each two of the adjacent large sections 21B.
Consequently, with such structures, after assembled, the mute hinge makes no noise since the plastic element(s) 30 is mounted between the pin 20 and the knuckles 11 of the fixing leaves 10. Therefore, when the mute hinge is working, i.e. when the fixing leaves 10 pivot with respect to each other about the pin 20 and the plastic element(s) 30, the knuckles 11 of the fixing leaves 10 may not contact and rub the pin 20 and thus the noise is reduced. Further, the useful lifetime of the plastic element(s) 30 is larger than the time drying the damping grease and the lubricating oil, so the present mute hinge maintains a longer silent time. Besides, the present mute hinges may not use the damping grease and the lubricating oil, which avoids leaking and staining the environment; or, during assembly, the user's hands can keep clean.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
