Low Profile Soft Close Hinge With Adjustable Damping Onset
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing soft close hinges for furniture are often bulky, complex, difficult to install, and costly, with limited adjustability and a high profile, which leads to uncontrolled cabinet door closure and premature wear.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile soft close hinge featuring a four-bar linkage arrangement with a spring bias, adjustable damper position, and a soft close adjustment mechanism using a helical cam and stop bracket to control the damping functionality, allowing for precise adjustment of the damping onset during door closure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a spring damper mechanism is attached between the hinge arm and the hinge body to provide soft close functionality, then the cabinet door closes softly and quietly, but the hinge becomes large and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The damper is positioned inside the hinge body, with the piston rod extending into the hinge arm through a recess. This nesting arrangement allows the damping mechanism to be contained within the existing hinge footprint, eliminating the need for external bulky components while maintaining soft close functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a external side-mounted damper configuration to an internal integrated configuration by positioning the damper within the hinge body and using the recess in the hinge arm. This dimensional reorganization reduces the overall envelope of the hinge mechanism.
2Speed
If a fluid filled damper with piston rod is used to control door closing speed, then the cabinet door closes at a controlled rate, but the hinge becomes bulky and complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The damper is merged with the hinge body structure, where the hinge body serves as the damper housing and the hinge arm recess serves as the piston rod mounting location. This integration eliminates separate mounting brackets and connection hardware, reducing overall complexity while maintaining controlled closing speed functionality.
3Reliability
If prior art soft close hinge designs are used, then damping functionality is provided, but they suffer from high manufacturing cost and difficulty of installation
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge is divided into distinct functional modules: the hinge body containing the damper, the hinge arm with recess, and the mounting components. This segmentation allows for standardized mass production of individual components and simplifies assembly during installation, reducing both manufacturing cost and installation difficulty while preserving damping functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a compact, easily installed, and affordable soft close hinge that ensures quiet and precise door closure, extending the life of cabinet hardware and reducing maintenance needs.
Implementation Method 1
A low profile adjustable soft close hinge apparatus includes a spring that biases a four-bar linkage arrangement
Implementation Method 2
A damping device, such as a soft close hinge, manipulates the closing motion of the cabinet door at a controlled rate so that the cabinet door, regardless of how much force is used to begin the closing motion, will softly and quietly close without slamming into the cabinet frame
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a low profile, adjustable, soft close hinge comprised of a hinge cup pivotally connected to a hinge body via a hinge arm and a hinge link in a four-bar linkage arrangement. A spring biases the hinge to a closed position. The hinge body is adjustably connected to an inner frame with an overlay adjustment screw and depth adjustment cam. The inner frame releasably connects the hinge body to a mounting plate. A stop bracket is adjustably and slidably connected to the hinge body by a cam. The adjustable position of the stop bracket relative to the hinge body determines the point at which the damping functionality of a damper begins during a hinge closing movement. A linkage sub-assembly pivotally connects the damper to the hinge link.