External Door Hinge Locating System to Reduce Assembly Complexity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional externally mounted door hinges require multiple components and fasteners for precise alignment, leading to increased material costs, assembly complexity, and potential misalignment issues, which can decrease operational smoothness and increase fatigue in the hinge, door, and cabinet.
Innovation Solution
A hinge assembly system that includes a cabinet plate, a stiffener plate, and a hinge plate, with a fastener and locating holes along the X, Y, and Z axes, allowing for precise alignment and assembly using a single fastener and integral protrusion, reducing the need for additional fasteners and assembly steps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If multiple fasteners are used to attach the hinge to the cabinet, then the hinge can be securely attached, but the hinge may be located improperly which decreases operational smoothness and increases fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
A locating pin is introduced as an intermediary component between the hinge and cabinet. The locating pin fits into a locating hole in the cabinet and a corresponding locating feature in the hinge, serving as a precision reference that ensures accurate hinge positioning before final attachment with fasteners. This mediator component resolves the contradiction by providing both precise location (improving manufacturing precision) and secure attachment (maintaining attachment strength).
2Manufacturing precision
If additional locating features are added to properly locate and position the hinge, then positioning accuracy is improved, but material costs increase due to additional machining holes and assembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
The locating function and attachment function are merged into a unified system. The locating pin serves dual purposes: it precisely positions the hinge during assembly and also acts as a reference for the attachment process. By combining these functions into a single component rather than using separate locating features and attachment fasteners, the invention reduces assembly complexity and machining requirements while maintaining positioning accuracy.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple components are used in the hinge assembly, then the hinge can be properly aligned, but assembly time and material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The locating pin and locating hole arrangement enables self-aligning and self-positioning of the hinge components. The geometry of the locating features is designed such that the hinge naturally positions itself correctly relative to the cabinet during assembly, without requiring additional alignment operations or multiple components. This self-service mechanism maintains alignment precision while significantly improving assembly efficiency by reducing the number of steps and components required.
Data Source
AI summary
A hinge structure includes a cabinet plate defining a first face and a second face, the cabinet plate including a first fastening hole, a stiffener plate in planar contact with the first face of the cabinet plate along the Z-axis, the stiffener plate including a second fastening hole, a hinge plate in planar contact with the second face of the cabinet plate along the Z-axis, the hinge plate including a locating hole, and a fastener for fastening the cabinet plate to the stiffener plate, the fastener protruding through the first fastening hole and the second fastening hole along the Z-axis and including a fastener head, wherein the fastener head is cylindrical and accepted within the locating hole of the hinge plate.