SPRING-MOUNTED HINGE WITH ASSEMBLY TOOL

Abstract

Hinge of the type composed of two overlapping coaxial constituent wings, each of these constituent wings being made up of a body having an ogive profile in which a cavity is obtained inside, characterized in that one of these constituent wings carries a pivot of smaller diameter in stable engagement inside said cavity, surrounded by a spring, said pivot and said spring being able to engage in the cavity of said other constituent wing, said coaxial constituent wings having on the base surface of said internal cavity a tangential groove intended to house the terminal appendage of said spring.

Description

Title of the invention: SPRING-MOUNTED HINGE WITH AN ASSEMBLY TOOL

[0001] The present invention relates to a hinge, in particular a spring hinge for moving panels against a frame.

[0002] These components are generally used in industrial machines, for example to connect the covers of mechanical equipment to the chassis, or the doors to automatic dispensers, electrical cabinets, banking equipment, or in protective boxes, access barriers or the like.

[0003] Compared to conventional hinges, this type of product is intended to ensure a stable position of the opening relative to the frame, unless a force opposite to that which ensures the opening remains in the desired position is applied to the opening.

[0004] As a general rule, it is planned to insert a spring body associated with the internal axis connecting the two wings constituting the hinge itself, the ends of said spring body being disposed in cavities, on the bodies fixed respectively to the frame and the opening, so that the relative positions of the two elements are correctly defined.

[0005] Hinges available on the market today function perfectly in conventional situations, but they encounter numerous problems when mounted on box-like uprights, where they must be mounted significantly offset to achieve correct panel positioning relative to the upright in the rest (or preloaded) position and alignment when the panel is in the open (or loaded) position. In this regard, it is worth noting the significant problem for the installer that the hinge spring must be preloaded during installation to allow the hatch to remain closed when at rest.

[0006] The present invention therefore aims to provide a spring hinge for bringing a panel into a predefined position relative to a box support, in which the assembly is quick and the hinge is perfectly aligned with the support, so that the panel is at the same level as the frame structure when in the operating position and there are no imperfections in movement when the panel has to move from one stable position to another.

[0007] This goal is achieved by means of a hinge of the type composed of two coaxial and overlapping constituent wings, each of these constituent wings being made up of a body having an ogive profile in which there is an internal cavity, characterized in that one of these constituent wings carries a pivot of smaller diameter in stable engagement within said cavity, surrounded by a spring, said pivot and said spring being capable of engaging in the cavity of the other constituent wing, said coaxial constituent wings having on the base surface of said internal cavity a tangential groove for housing the terminal appendage of said spring. Another object of the present invention is to provide a tool associated with said hinge that allows the installer to proceed quickly, precisely, and efficiently with the assembly of said hinge to the structure to which it is to be fixed, so as to make assembly and adjustment rapid on the one hand, and on the other hand to ensure the perfect alignment of the two constituent wings with the elements of the machine to be connected and, consequently, the movement of one element relative to the other.

[0008] In one embodiment, holes are provided on its rear surface to accommodate means for engaging with the walls on which said hinge is to be fixed.

[0009] In one embodiment, said engagement means consist of at least one between threaded bushings and threaded studs respectively.

[0010] In one embodiment, the threaded bushings are placed on one constituent wing and the threaded studs are placed on the other constituent wing.

[0011] In one embodiment, said threaded studs are made of nickel-plated steel.

[0012] This goal is achieved by means of a hinge of the type composed of two constituent wings, coaxial and overlapping, one of these constituent wings being constituted by a hollow ogive body inside, the other of these constituent wings being constituted by a cylindrical body from one end of which extends a pin of smaller diameter, characterized in that these constituent wings are further provided with an assembly tool consisting of a substantially C-shaped body, from one of the short sides of said "C" extending vertically - over about half a height - a pair of support walls as high as one of the constituent wings.

[0013] Other preferred advantages and features will be the subject of secondary claims.

[0014] The invention is now described with reference to a preferred embodiment with the accompanying drawings, a brief description of which is given below for ease of understanding.

[0015] Fig. 1 is an exploded view of the hinge according to the invention, with one constituent wing rotated 90° relative to the other;

[0016] [Fig.2] is a cross-sectional view of the exploded view of [Fig.1] with the constituent wings aligned;

[0017] Fig. 3 is a rear view of the hinge according to the invention with the constituent elements aligned;

[0018] Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the hinge of Fig. 3;

[0019] Figures 5a and 5b show the detail of one of the opposite appendages of the spring, according to the two different forms of embodiment, dextrogyre and levogyre;

[0020] Figures 6a and 6b are views of the hinge ready to be installed, [Fig.6a] being the front view of a first constituent element and the side view of the second constituent element, [Fig.6b] being the reversed image, with the front view of the second constituent element and the side view of the second constituent element.

[0021] Figures 7a to 7f show the hinge mounted on the tool according to the invention in the various planned assembly stages;

[0022] Fig. 8 is a view of an assembled hinge.

[0023] As illustrated in [Fig. 1], the hinge 1 according to the invention comprises two coaxial and overlapping constituent wings 2, 3, each having a substantially ogival profile. A pivot 4, surrounded by a spring 5, projects from one of these constituent wings. More specifically, the pivot 4 comprises a main body 4a and a larger diameter head 4b, the head 4b defining the expansion zone of the spring 5.

[0024] Figures 2 to 4 show the internal structure of said component wings: the ogive body of wing 2 has an internal cavity 6 for housing the terminal part of said pin 4 and said spring 5, while the ogive body of wing 3 has a cavity 7 for housing the base part of said pin 4 and a part of said spring 5. More specifically, the pin 4 is embedded in its terminal part inside the base of said component wing 3, while a central part of said pin 4 and about half of said spring 5 are housed inside said cavity 7.

[0025] In order to facilitate the housing of the spring 5 and to allow the correct movement of one constituent wing relative to the other, the cavity 6 has two separate chambers, the upper chamber 6b having a diameter slightly smaller than that of the lower chamber 6a.

[0026] On the sides, two pairs of cavities 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d are provided to accommodate studs 9, preferably in nickel-plated steel, and threaded brass bushings 10 respectively.

[0027] In addition, a tangential groove 11 is provided on the contact surface between each of the coaxial constituent wings 2, 3 and said spring 5 to house the appendage 5a of the spring 5.

[0028] Indeed, figures 5a and 5b show that the spring body is configured so as to provide, at the terminal end of its coils, an appendage 5a, already mentioned, which has the function of defining the angle of rotation of the hinge - to the right or to the left - and, consequently, of identifying the reciprocal position of rest and maximum load of the wing attached to the hinge with respect to the wing attached to the frame.

[0029] As shown in figures 6a and 6b, when the hinge is in the operational phase, the two constituent wings are offset by 90°.

[0030] Furthermore, as clearly illustrated in Figures 7a to 7f, an assembly tool 12 is provided comprising a body substantially in the shape of a "C", from one of the short sides of said "C" extending vertically - over approximately half a height - from a pair of support walls 12a as high as one of the constituent wings, the base walls 12b and the head walls 12c of said tool acting as support walls for the opposite ends of the constituent wings 2, 3.

[0031] Figures 7a to 7f and [Fig.8] allow for a better understanding of the assembly and operation of the hinge according to the invention.

[0032] The operator carefully places the hinge inside tool "C" 12, with the two wings ([Fig. 7a]) aligned. After mounting the hinge in tool 12, the operator rotates it 90° in left-handed ([Fig. 7b]) or right-handed ([Fig. 7c]) rotation to pre-tension the spring. A pair of pushers 13, provided on at least one of the two walls 12a, 12b at the base and head, holds the hinge in the pre-loaded position, ready for installation.

[0033] At this stage, the operator takes care to fix the studs on the rising side ([Fig.7d]), associating them with conventional sealing nuts, possibly combined with washers to protect the panel itself.

[0034] Once this operation is completed, it is time to fix - by through bolting - the panel to the hinge, by screwing screws into the galvanized sockets provided on the remaining free constituent wing ([Fig.7e]).

[0035] Once the screwing operations are completed, the tool can be removed ([Fig.7f]), leaving the hinge free to operate in a conventional manner.

[0036] As shown finally in [Fig.8], this results in a simple and elegant hinge, which guarantees perfect sealing and precise alignment, without excessive difficulties in terms of measurements and subsequent checks after assembly.

[0037] The objectives set have therefore been achieved, namely the production of a quick-assembly hinge with perfect alignment with the post, so that the panel is flush with the frame structure in the operating position and there are no imperfections in movement when the panel has to move from one stable position to another, and at the same time a tool ensuring that the assembly of the hinge is indeed quick and precise.

[0038] As will be understood, the above description relates to a specific preferred embodiment. Various modifications to the solution described herein may be made without departing from the scope of protection of the invention, as defined by the attached claims.

[0039] In particular, the description relates to a specific and paradigmatic embodiment, but various configurations can be envisaged. For example, the constituent wings can appear in their initial state, i.e., when the spring is at rest, in different states: parallel, offset by 90°, or by another angle depending on the preload force to be applied when the door closes. Naturally, the relative position of the wings will differ from that illustrated in the figure depending on the preload angles considered, with a virtually infinite number of foreseeable embodiments.

[0040] To confirm the above, figure 7 shows a "C" shaped tool 12, with the two wings aligned: in case of different angles of the preloaded hinge, the tool - thanks to the pushers 13 - maintains the desired angle, while the operator completes by fixing the wings to the elements of the machine body.

[0041] Similarly, during the description, it was considered that the hinge could be fixed by a pair of bushings and a pair of studs. In substance, nothing would change if two pairs of bushings or two pairs of studs had been chosen: these would in fact be different variants of the same innovative solution.

Claims

Demands

1. Hinge of the type composed of two coaxial and overlapping constituent wings, each of these constituent wings being made up of a body having an ogive profile in which a cavity is obtained inside, characterized in that one of these constituent wings carries a pivot of smaller diameter in stable engagement inside said cavity, surrounded by a spring, said pivot and said spring being able to engage in the cavity of the other constituent wing, said coaxial constituent wings having on the base surface of said internal cavity a tangential groove intended to house the terminal appendage of said spring.

2. Hinge according to claim 1), characterized in that holes are provided on its rear surface to accommodate means for engaging with the walls on which said hinge is to be fixed.

3. Hinge according to claim 2), characterized in that said engagement means consist of at least one between threaded bushings and threaded studs respectively.

4. Hinge according to claim 3), characterized in that the threaded bushings are placed on one constituent wing and the threaded studs are placed on the other constituent wing.

5. Hinge according to claim 3), characterized in that the studs are placed on the two constituent wings.

6. Hinge according to claim 3), characterized in that said bushings are provided on the two constituent wings.

7. Hinge according to claim 3), characterized in that said threaded bushings are made of brass and said threaded studs are made of nickel-plated steel.

8. Hinge according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said pivot consists of a main body and a head of larger diameter, the head delimiting the expansion zone of said spring.

9. Hinge according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further provides an assembly tool consisting of a substantially C-shaped body, extending vertically from one of the short sides of said "C" - for approximately half a height - from a pair of bearing walls as high as one

10. of the constituent wings, the base and head walls of said tool serving as support walls for the opposite ends of the constituent wings. Hinge according to claim 9), characterized in that on at least one of said base and head walls there are pushers intended to maintain the relative position of one wing with respect to the other.

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