Invisible Concealed Hinge with Deep-Drawn Box Structure

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional invisible hidden door hinges require complex geometric shapes and high precision in manufacturing, leading to material inefficiency and increased costs due to the need for thick metal structures to ensure mechanical strength, which can result in aesthetically unpleasant and installation-challenged designs.

Innovation Solution

A structurally perfected invisible hidden hinge design that utilizes a single metal sheet to create a box-shaped support structure with a concave shape, allowing for reduced material thickness while maintaining mechanical strength, and incorporates movable inserts and bodies with integral articulation devices to adjust position, all fabricated using deep drawing techniques.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If conventional metal structures with thick walls are used to ensure mechanical strength, then the hinge can support heavy doors, but the material consumption increases and costs rise

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemechanical strengthVSAvoidmaterial consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs thin-walled metal sheets formed into box-shaped structures through deep drawing processes. These thin-walled structures provide sufficient mechanical strength for supporting heavy doors while dramatically reducing material consumption compared to conventional thick-walled constructions. The thin-walled design is achieved by optimizing the forming process and structural geometry.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The patent utilizes curved surfaces and optimized geometries in the box-shaped structures formed from metal sheets. The curved surfaces distribute mechanical stresses more effectively, allowing thinner wall sections to maintain the required strength for door support while reducing overall material usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

2Manufacturing precision

If complex geometric shapes with numerous details are manufactured with high precision, then the hinge operation is ensured, but the manufacturing complexity and costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveprecisionVSAvoidstructural complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hinge is divided into separate modular components including connecting bodies, support structures, and articulation devices that can be manufactured independently using standardized deep drawing processes. This segmentation allows each component to be produced with consistent precision while simplifying the overall manufacturing system and reducing complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent optimizes key parameters such as wall thickness, box shape dimensions, and material properties to achieve the required precision and functionality. By carefully controlling these parameters during the deep drawing process, high precision is obtained without increasing structural complexity or manufacturing difficulty.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Quantity of substance

If the hinge structure is simplified to reduce material usage, then costs decrease, but the mechanical performance may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial savingsVSAvoidmechanical performance
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs composite construction by nesting multiple metal sheets into box-shaped structures, creating a composite structure that achieves high strength-to-weight ratio. This composite approach allows material reduction while maintaining or even improving mechanical performance through the synergistic effect of multiple layers working together.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

Solution Approach 2:

The curved surfaces and optimized geometries in the thin-walled box structures provide superior stress distribution compared to flat structures. This geometric optimization allows the simplified thin-walled design to achieve the same or better mechanical performance as thicker structures, ensuring reliability while reducing material usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentEP3362622B1Invisible concealed hinge for doors with an articulation device
Publication Date: 2019.12.04 KUANTICA SRL
  • EP3362622B1 patent drawingFigure 1(a)~2
  • EP3362622B1 patent drawingFigure 3(a)
  • EP3362622B1 patent drawingFigure 4(a)~4(d)

AI summary

In a invisible hidden door hinge (1), a first connecting body (2a) and a second connecting body (2b) are connected together by an articulation device (3) which allows the relative movement between a condition of opening and a closed condition in which the first (2a) and the second (2b) connecting body define a seat in which the articulation device (3). The articulation device (3) comprises at least one arm (32) with a first end (32a) on the first connecting body (2a) and a second end (32b), opposite to the second, on the second connecting body (2b). Said arm (32) is shaped from a respective single metal sheet in a single concave piece with concavity facing towards a reference plane parallel to the length direction (Z1, Z2) of the connection bodies (2a,2b) and passing through the ends (32a,32b) of the first arm (32).