Concealed Hinge Hook-Shaped Lever Arm Shadow Gap

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional hinges for rebated doors or windows are complex and fail to provide a precise, predictable design that accounts for the overlapping edge, leading to issues in alignment and sealing.

Innovation Solution

A concealed hinge with a hook-shaped rotational lever-arm and a defined clearance area, allowing for a single rotational movement of the sash around a fixed axis, which includes a recess in the frame and a pin, ensuring the hinge does not overlap with the rebate section in the closed state, and incorporating 3D adjustability through sliders and adjustment screws.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If complex multi-part rotational arms with joints are used, then the hinge can accommodate the overlapping edge of rebated doors, but the device complexity increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccommodation of overlapping edgeVSAvoidmulti-part rotational arms with joints
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hinge arm is divided into a fixed arm and a movable arm that work together in a coordinated manner. The fixed arm provides stable mounting to the frame while the movable arm accommodates the sash movement, including the overlapping edge requirement. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function while reducing overall complexity compared to multi-joint systems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The hinge incorporates movement in multiple dimensions through the combination of rotational movement around the hinge axis and lateral movement of the movable arm. This dimensional approach allows the hinge to accommodate the overlapping edge of rebated doors without requiring complex multi-axis joints, as the movement is achieved through coordinated action in different dimensional planes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Device complexity

If a single-part rotational arm with fixed rotation axis is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing precision and alignment become difficult to control

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesingle-part rotational armVSAvoidalignment of door panel or sash
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The hinge transitions from a static fixed-axis design to a dynamic system where the movable arm can adjust its position laterally and the rotation axis can be repositioned within the frame pocket. This dynamic capability allows for post-installation adjustment to compensate for manufacturing tolerances and achieve precise alignment, while the basic single-arm structure maintains simplicity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The hinge allows for parameter changes in the position of the rotation axis and the lateral position of the movable arm. These adjustable parameters enable fine-tuning of the hinge geometry to achieve precise alignment of the door panel or sash, while maintaining the simplicity of a single-part arm design. The adjustment mechanisms allow modification of key geometric parameters without redesigning the entire hinge structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Length of moving object

If the hinge design does not account for clearance area, then the hinge may be too narrow, but if clearance area is added, the hinge becomes too large

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehinge widthVSAvoidclearance for movement
Core Design Contradiction:
Length of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The hinge design incorporates a predetermined clearance area in the movable arm that is calculated in advance based on the required rotation angle and safety margins. This preliminary design approach ensures that the clearance is sufficient for reliable operation without requiring excessive width. The clearance area is optimized to provide the minimum necessary space for the rotation movement while maintaining a compact overall hinge dimensions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4198229A13-d adjustable concealed hinge for door or window applications
Publication Date: 2023.06.21 SFS GROUP INTERNATIONAL AG
  • EP4198229A1 patent drawingFigure 1~5
  • EP4198229A1 patent drawingFigure 6~7
  • EP4198229A1 patent drawingFigure 8~9

AI summary

A concealed hinge is proposed (10) for mounting a door or a sash to a frame, with a defined opening angle 0° < ω < 180° between the open (20) and closed position (40), the hinge comprising a frame part (100) with a rotation axis R (120), a sash part (200) being pivotable around said rotation axis R, a rebate section (400) including neighboring portions of the frame part (100) and the sash part (200), forming a shadow gap (405) in between when the hinge (10) is in closed state. A rotational lever-arm (300) connecting the frame part (100) and the sash part (200) exhibits, viewed in cross-section, a hook-shaped contour. The rotational lever-arm (300) encompasses an enclosed clearance area F (350), said clearance area F (350) exhibiting an essentially circle-segment shape, which is defined by four corner points A, E, I', O' with circular arcs between A and E as well as I' and O' and straight lines between A and O' as well as E and I'; said corner points A E I' O' being designated by vectors A̅, E̅, I̅' , O', between the rotation axis R and said points, thus defining a polar coordinate system with the rotation axis R representing its origin. The clearance are is geometrically defined, wherein the length of vectors A̅ and E̅ as well as I̅' and O' are pairwise equal, the angle difference between I̅' and O̅' being designated as β, the angle difference between A̅ and E̅ being designated as α and the following relations for the angles α, β, ω are being valid: α ≥ ω as well as β ≥ ω. Further, a respective method for construing such a concealed hinge is disclosed.