MXPA99002180A - Adjustable hinge - Google Patents

Abstract

An adjustable cabinet hinge 5 includes a door wing to be mounted on a cabinet door, a frame wing to be mounted on the frame in front of the cabinet and rotatably connected to the wing of the door, and at least one fastener which may be a mounting screw with a head portion and a shank portion. The frame wing includes two opposing mounting slots. Mounting slots have an elongated shape and the length of the mounting slots are each greater than the diameter of the shank portion of one of the smaller when a mounting screw

Description

ADJUSTABLE HINGE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hinge that is used to mount a door to a frame. Specifically, the present invention relates to a cabinet hinge with a frame wing mountable to the frame that allows the hinge to be fitted to be adjusted in the frame for alignment of the door with respect to the frame without requiring the hinge to be removed. of the door or frame * More specifically, the present invention relates to a cabinet hinge with a frame wing having two opposite mounting slots secured to the frame by at least one fastener such as to allow adjustment of the position of the frame. hinge without requiring that the at least one fastener be removed from the frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Different arrangements are known for the pivotal mounting of a cabinet door to a cabinet frame. In a common arrangement, a hinge is used to mount the door to the frame. The hinge includes a mounting structure (e.g., a door wing such as a mounting plate or hinge cup) that is attached to the cabinet door by one or more fasteners (such as mounting screws) and A frame wing that attaches to the cabinet frame. The assembly of a cabinet door to a cabinet frame requires that the door be properly aligned with the cabinet frame for proper operation of the door, as well as to provide an adequate aesthetic appearance. It is well known to use wood screws or similar fasteners to mount the hinge to the cabinet frame and the cabinet door. According to these known mounting arrangements, a cabinet assembler may be necessary to drill holes for wood screws. The precise assembly of the cabinet door to the cabinet frame requires the precise placement of the screw holes by the assembler. However, it is often difficult to achieve sufficiently accurate placement of the holes due to measurement error, inaccuracies of the machine tools, variations in cabinet material, human error, etc. Consequently, adjustable cabinet hinges that allow adjustment of the cabinet door position with respect to the cabinet frame are becoming more common. An example of adjustable cabinet hinge is described in, for example, U.S. Patent No. 5,375,297 entitled "Furniture hinge" 'published by Lautenschlager on December 27, 1994, which discloses a hinge including a holding plate having a slot that runs in the longitudinal direction of the edge of the front frame of the cabinet that has an inlet slot for a mounting screw.The placement of the hinge can be adjusted by sliding the mounting screw into the slot. The clamping plate has at least one entry hole adjacent to the slot, however, these adjustment arrangements for a conventional cabinet hinge can be relatively complex, which increases manufacturing and assembly costs. overcome by the adjustment arrangements of conventional cabinet hinges, it is desirable that an adjustable hinge be easily manufactured. In addition, these conventional adjustable hinges can be relatively difficult to assemble or properly install, and difficult to adjust. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a cabinet hinge that is relatively simple in design and relatively simple to assemble, install and adjust. It would also be advantageous to have a cabinet hinge that requires only one fastener for mounting to the frame.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hinge for mounting a door to a frame, which includes a door wing to be mounted on the door, a frame wing to be mounted on the frame and at least one fastener having a head portion and a stem portion. The wing of the frame is connected in a rotating way in the wing of the door. The frame wing includes two opposite mounting slots, the mounting slots having a rectangular or oblong shape. The length of the mounting slots each is greater than the diameter of the shank portion of one of the fasteners. The present invention also relates to a frame wing for mounting a cabinet door hinge to a cabinet frame and to adjust the position of the cabinet door relative to the cabinet frame. The cabinet door hinge has a door wing mounted to the cabinet door and rotatably connected to the frame wing. The wing of the frame includes a hinge portion and a base portion. The hinge portion has a first end and a second end, the first end being rotatably connected to the wing of the frame. The base portion is connected on one side to the second end of the hinge portion and has at least one segment. The segment extends substantially perpendicular to the base portion. The base portion has at least two opposing mounting slots to accept at least one fastener. The present invention further relates to a cabinet hinge that includes a door wing to be mounted on a cabinet door, a frame wing to be mounted on a cabinet frame and rotatably connected to the door wing, and at least one fastener having a stem portion to secure the wing of the frame in the frame of the cabinet. The frame wing includes two opposing mounting slots. The mounting slots are oblong in shape with a length substantially greater than the diameter of the shank portion of the fastener.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a cabinet hinge having a mounting cup and a frame wing coupled thereto according to a preferred embodiment showing two mounting screws. FIGURES 2A through 2C are sectional views of the cabinet hinge, shown in FIGURE 1 depicting the steps of installation and securing I the hinge. FIGURE 3A is a front elevational view of the wing of the frame of FIGURE 1. FIGURE 3B is a plan view of the frame wing.

FIGURE 4A is a front view of an alternative embodiment of the frame wing. FIGURE 4B is a top view of the frame wing of FIGURE 4A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES With reference to the FIGURES, the preferred and alternative embodiments of an adjustable hinge for mounting a cabinet door to a cabinet frame are now shown. It should be noted at the outset that the hinge can be used in any of a wide variety of applications, with any of a wide variety of cabinet doors and other doors, such as in visible and invisible arrangements for cabinet hinges known to experts in the art who can review this description. With reference to FIGURE 1, a preferred embodiment of an adjustable hinge 10 is shown. Hinge 10 is used to mount a substantially solid cabinet door 20 for selective pivoting movement between an open position and a closed position with respect to a cabinet frame 25. In the embodiment shown in the FIGURES, the cabinet door 20 is of a superimposed type, as described in U.S. Patent No. 5,355,557 (entitled 'INVISIBLE LOCKING HINGE WITH INTEGRATED HINGE HALTER PIN') , published by Cress et al on October 18, 1994. Door 20 is shown in a cut and can be made of any suitable material for a cabinet door that includes, but is not limited to wood, melamine, pressed cardboard, metal , plastic, etc. With reference to FIGURE 1, the hinge 10 includes a door wing 30 shown with a hinge cup 31 engaged in a pivot fashion to a frame flange 32. According to the modality ad preferred, the hinge cup 31 is adapted to be mounted in and around a substantially circular hole or recess (not shown) on the inner surface of the door 20 (although, the hinge cup can be adapted to fit in other orifice geometries, not limited to substantially circular). The flange of the frame 32 is adapted to be mounted on a rim 34 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the frame of the cabinet 25. According to a preferred embodiment, the hinge cup 31 is substantially installed inside the door 20 and the frame wing 32 is mounted on the edge 34 of the frame 25 in an arrangement designed to occluding the view hinge (when viewed from the front of the cabinet). This arrangement is commonly known in the art as a "hidden hinge." The door wing 30 with the hinge cup 31 is fixed to the door 20 by means of fasteners 29 (shown as mounting screws). the door 30 is rotatably engaged with the wing of the frame 32, commonly by a locking mechanism (e.g., a spring 35a and cam 35b acting around the pin 33) .According to alternative embodiments, any of a variety of other Arrangements securing the wing from the door to the door (eg, without a 'hinge cup') or providing a pivot relationship between the door wing and the door frame can be used. The wing of the frame 32 is preferably made of cold rolled steel in one step, but can be made of other suitable materials, such as other materials, ceramics, polymers, etc. In a preferred embodiment as shown in FIGURES 1, 3A and 3B, the wing of the frame 32 includes a hinge arm 36, a base portion 37, two opposed, open-ended, rectangular-shaped mounting slots 38, and a connecting region 39. The hinge arm 36 it has a first end 41 and a second end 42. The first end 41 is rotatably connected to the hinge cup by the collar 35 and the pin 33. The second end 42 is connected to the base portion 37. The base portion 37 it has at least one outer segment 43 extending substantially perpendicular to the base portion. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3A and 3B the frame wing 32 may also have an inner segment 44 extending substantially perpendicular to the base portion 37. (A frame wing having an inner segment 44, an outer segment 43 and a base portion 37 is referred to as a "full wrap" frame wing * by those skilled in the art A frame wing having an inner segment 44 or an outer segment 43, and a base portion 37 is referred to as a frame flange. "partial winding" by those skilled in the art.) According to a particular preferred embodiment, the frame flange 32 has two opposite mounting slots 38, separated by a connector region 39, cut into the base portion 37. The two slots Mounting brackets 38 are designed to accept and engage at least one fastener, for example, mounting screw 60. The frame flange 32 is secured to frame 25 by fasteners, eg, mounting screws 60. As shown in FIG. In the preferred embodiment, the assembly is made by partially screwing a mounting screw 60a into the edge 34 of the frame 25. The wing of the frame 32 is then placed on the edge 34 so that one of the two opposing mounting slots 38 engages with the portion of the rod of the mounting screw 60a (which is partially screwed on the edge 34). The rectangular shape of the slot 38 allows the positioning of the frame flange 32 laterally adjusted along the edge of the frame 25. A second mounting screw 60b can then be screwed into the edge 34 of the frame 25 so that the portion of the frame 30 Shaft of the second mounting screw 60b is coupled with a second slot 38. (Otherwise, a single fastener (eg, a single mounting screw) may be used in place of two mounting screws for a single frame wing) . The mounting screw 60 includes a head with a diameter greater than the width of the mounting slots 38; otherwise, the mounting screw can be provided with a sheave (not shown), so that when the mounting screw 60 is tightened by screwing it onto the edge 34, the sheave pushes or presses against the face of the frame flange 32. opposite of the edge 34 of the base portion 37 to maintain the wing of the frame 32 in its relative position with respect to the frame 25. According to alternative embodiments, other types of fasteners can be employed, for example, rivets, combinations of nut and screw or combinations of sleeve and threaded screw. The wing of the frame 32 can be adjusted relative to the frame 25 in a corresponding lateral or longitudinal direction with the length of the mounting slots 38. (depending on the number and arrangement of the fasteners). As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, an adjusting mounting screw may initially be partially screwed into the edge 34 and the wing of the frame 32 may be placed in the proper position so that the slot 38-engages the stem of the mounting screw 60, as shown in FIGURE 2A. The mounting screw 60 can then be further tightened so that the wing of the frame 32 can still remain movable with respect to the frame 25, as shown in FIGURE 2B. With the wing of the frame 32 movable with respect to the frame 25, the wing of the frame 32 can be adjusted so that it is in the desired position. When the desired wing position of the frame 32 is reached, the mounting screw 60 can be tightened so that the wing of the frame 32 is secured and remains essentially motionless under ordinary operating forces, as shown in FIGURE 2C. According to an alternative embodiment, shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the wing of the frame 50 has two opposing mounting slots 52 located within the base portion 37, separated by and conjoined with a substantially circular opening 54. The arrangement of the assembly and adjustment is similar to the mounting arrangement and adjustment of other modes. That is, a first mounting screw 60 is partially screwed into position, the frame wing 50 is placed over the mounting screw 60 so that the head portion of the mounting screw 60 is inserted through the opening 54 and the wing of the frame 50 is positioned so that the slot 52 engages with the stem portion of the mounting screw 60. The mounting screw 60 is further tightened and the wing of the frame 50 is positioned as desired. The mounting screw 60 is further tightened so that the wing of the frame 50 is substantially immobile under operational loads. A second mounting screw can also be screwed into the other opposed mounting groove 52, to more firmly secure the wing of the frame 50 in the desired position, increasing the strength and rigidity of the hinge assembly arrangement to the frame 25. It is understood that, although the detailed drawings and the specific examples provided describe preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention, they are for illustration purposes only. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the precise embodiments described. For example, although two mounting screws are shown in the FIGURES, it is only necessary to use a single mounting screw. Various changes can be made to the described details without departing from the spirit of the invention, which is defined by the following claims:

Claims (22)

1. A hinge for mounting a door to a frame consisting of: a door wing to be mounted on the door; a frame wing to be mounted on the frame and rotatably connected to the wing of the door; and at least one fastener having a head portion and a stem portion; wherein the wing of the frame includes two opposite mounting slots, the mounting slots having a rectangular shape, wherein the length of the mounting slots each is greater than the diameter of the shank portion of one of the at least one fastener .

The hinge of claim 1, wherein the two opposing mounting slots are open ended slots separated by a connecting region of the frame wing.

The hinge of claim 1, wherein the two opposing mounting slots are open-ended slots separated by an aperture region of the frame wing.

The hinge of claim 3, wherein the opening region of the frame wing is substantially circular having a diameter greater than the width of the mounting slots.

5. The hinge of claim 1, wherein the wing of the frame is a complete winding frame wing.

The hinge of claim 1, wherein the at least one fastener comprises at least one mounting screw.

The hinge of claim 1, wherein the at least one mounting screw has a head portion with a diameter that is larger than the width of the mounting slots.

The hinge of claim 1, wherein the wing of the door is a hinge cup.

9. The hinge of claim 1, wherein the wing of the frame is made of cold rolled steel in one step.

The hinge of claim 1, wherein the wing of the frame includes a separate opening for accepting a set screw.

The hinge of claim 1, wherein the wing of the frame is a partial winding frame wing.

12. A frame wing for mounting a cabinet door hinge to a cabinet frame and to adjust the position of the cabinet door relative to the cabinet frame, the hinge of the cabinet door has a wing of the door mounted to the door of the cabinet and rotatably connected to the wing of the frame, the wing of the frame comprises: a hinge portion having a first end and a second end, the first end being rotatably connected to the wing of the door; and a base portion that is connected on one side to the second end of the hinge portion and having at least one segment, the at least one segment extending substantially perpendicular to the base portion; wherein the base portion has at least two opposing mounting slots to accept at least one fastener.

The frame flange of claim 12, wherein the two opposed mounting slots are open ended slots separated by a connecting region of the frame flange.

The wing of the frame of claim 12, wherein the two opposing mounting slots are open-ended slots separated by an aperture region of the frame wing.

The wing of the frame of claim 14, wherein the region of aperture of the wing d-the frame is substantially circular having a diameter greater than the width of the mounting slots.

The wing of the frame of claim 12, wherein the wing of the frame is a complete winding frame wing having a second segment portion extending substantially perpendicular to the base portion.

17. The frame wing of claim 12, wherein two mounting screws are used to attach the frame wing to the front frame of the cabinet.

18. The frame wing of claim 12, wherein the at least one fastener consists of at least one mounting screw having a head portion with a diameter that is larger than the width of the mounting slots.

19. The frame wing of claim 18, wherein the at least one mounting screw is a wood screw.

The wing of the frame of claim 12, wherein the wing of the frame is made of cold rolled steel in one step.

21. The wing of the frame of claim 12, wherein the wing of the frame includes a separate opening for accepting a set screw. - -

22. A cabinet hinge comprising: a frame wing to be mounted on a cabinet door; a frame wing to be mounted on a cabinet frame and rotatably connected to the wing of the door; and at least one fastener having a stem portion, to secure the wing of the frame to the frame of the cabinet; wherein the wing of the frame includes two opposite mounting grooves, the mounting grooves having a rectangular shape, wherein the length of the mounting grooves are substantially larger than the diameter of the rod portion of the fastener.