DE20105159U1 - Hinge and room divider, in particular shower cubicle with hinge for pivoting storage, in particular a glass door - Google Patents

Abstract

The hinge for a glass shower door has a mounting plate (12) carrying a pivot section (14) for the hinge joint. The plate is attached to the door or frame by a screw hole (40) which is formed in a sub plate (24) movable relative to the main plate. This allows positional adjustment of the hinge in a plane parallel to that of the main plate. The sub plate is locked to the main plate by friction when the screw is tightened.

Description

Patent Attorneys European Patent Attorneys Dipl.-Phys. Heinz Nöth Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Rainer Fritsche Lbm.-Chem. Gabriele Leißler-Gerstl Dipl.-Ing. Olaf Ungerer

oo m^&rdquor;>&igr;&lgr;&lgr;< Patent Attorney

Bremen. 23 March 2001 Dipl.-Chem. Dr. Peter Schuler Our reference: H 3401 MAN/MAC/Ü/lW Arnulfstrasse 25

D -80335 Munich Tel. +49-10)89-549 0750

Applicant/Owner: HÜPPE GMBH & CO. Tel. ₊ 49-(0)89-5441380

.. . , Fax +49-10)89-5502 7555 (G3I

Official reference number: New registration Fax +49-10)89-5441 3838 (G3)

Fax +49-10)89-5490 7529 (G4) mail@eisenfuhr.com http://www.eisenfuhr.com

Attorneys Ulrich H. Sander Christian Spintig Dr. Matthias Jestaedt Harald A. Förster Sabine Richter

Hamburg Patent Attorney European Patent Attorney Dipl.-Phys. Frank Meier

Attorney Rainer Böhm

Hüppe GmbH & Co., Industriestrasse 3, 26160 Bad Zwischenahn

Hinge and room divider device, in particular shower cubicle with hinge for pivoting mounting in particular of a glass door

The invention relates to a hinge for pivotably supporting a first component, in particular a glass door, on a second component, in particular a wall section of a shower cubicle, with two mounting sections for fastening the hinge to the first and second components and a bearing pivotably connecting the mounting sections, wherein at least one of the mounting sections can be fastened to a surface section of the corresponding component by means of fastening means. The invention further relates to a room divider, in particular a shower cubicle, with a wall section and a door pivotably supported on the wall section by means of at least one hinge.

Hinges of the type described above are used, for example, for pivoting cabinet doors or similar on a fixed wall section of a cabinet. Such hinges are usually mounted with one of their mounting sections on the wall section and the other on a surface section.

They are screwed onto the door section (screw-on hinges) or they are partially recessed into the door or wall section (cup hinges). However, this type of fastening is not possible with glass doors and/or glass wall sections, for example.

For glass components, one or more through-holes are often provided through the component, through which bolts are inserted as fastening means as precisely as possible, connecting two plate-shaped mounting elements of the hinge arranged on both sides of the component. The precisely inserted bolts ensure a good form fit between the component and the hinge. The mounting elements are tightened against each other by means of a screw connection that extends through the bolt, which also creates a frictionally locked clamp connection between the mounting elements and the component. The disadvantage of this design is that the position of the hinge in relation to the component is determined by the precise fit of the bolt. Subsequent adjustment of a door pivoted to a wall section using such a hinge, for example, in order to compensate for any hole tolerances, is hardly possible.

This problem can be avoided by making the through hole in the component larger than the diameter of the bolt inserted through it, which creates a clearance for adjusting the component. The disadvantage of this is that the positive connection between the bolt and the component deteriorates. In another known hinge, a bolt is provided for inserting through the component, which is eccentrically mounted in the mounting elements arranged on both sides of the component. The eccentric mounting offers the possibility of subsequently moving the door at least on a circular path and thus adjusting it, even with a precisely fitting hole and thus a positive connection between the bolt and the component. However, the specified circular path is often too limited to ensure the alignment of the door. This is particularly true for a hinge on two

door suspended on such hinges, since the constraint of the circular path only allows a synchronous movement of both eccentrically mounted bolts.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a hinge and a room divider of the type mentioned at the beginning, which ensures a secure, positive connection to the mounted components and provides the most unrestricted adjustment option possible.

The object is achieved according to the invention by a hinge of the type mentioned at the outset, which has the features of the characterizing part of claim 1. The object is further achieved by a room divider according to claim 11.

The solution according to the invention has the advantage that the fastening means together with the adjusting element can be moved vertically and independently horizontally in the plane parallel to the surface section, whereby the fastening means can be designed in such a way that a positive connection between the fastening means and the component is ensured. The mobility therefore has two degrees of freedom, which makes it easier to adjust the door. If the door is attached to several hinges, these can also be adjusted independently of one another. If the fastening means are fixed after the adjustment of the component has been completed, a frictional and/or optionally positive connection is created between the adjusting element and the mounting section of the hinge, whereby the fastening means are simultaneously locked in relation to the position of the mounting section.

In a preferred embodiment, the mounting section has a holding plate that rests against the surface section of the component. The fastening means are designed as a screw that engages in a corresponding threaded hole in the adjustment element. In the fastened state, the screw can be inserted through an opening in the component to be fastened and through an opening in the holding plate.

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plate and pulls the adjustment element and the component against the holding plate.

Preferably, the bearing is designed as a hinge joint assigned to each of the mounting sections and concentrically receiving a pivot pin. It is also advantageous to design the mounting section as a housing molded onto the hinge joint for receiving the adjustment element and to design the retaining plate so that it can be attached to the housing. The housing thus forms a visual cover for the adjustment mechanism.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the adjustment element has a cross-shaped structure and the stop elements are designed in the form of pins corresponding to the recessed corners of the cross. The cross-shaped structure of the adjustment element, which is movably arranged in the housing, results in the mobility according to the invention on the one hand and at the same time defined limits for this mobility and a rotation lock for the adjustment element are realized, since the outwardly extending projections of the cross-shaped structure can come into contact with corresponding stop elements of the housing.

In another advantageous embodiment of the hinge, an intermediate piece for centering the screw in the component opening is provided between the screw and the component, which intermediate piece has, for example, a cylindrical shape and/or a conical section.

Preferably, a friction or damping element, for example made of plastic or rubber, is arranged between the component, in particular a glass door or a wall section made of glass, and the screw or the retaining plate, which increases the friction and thus the strength of the connection and ensures sound and impact damping.

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Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the subclaims and further described with reference to the following figures. They show:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hinge half;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same embodiment of a hinge

half ;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the same embodiment of a

Hinge half in side view; and

Fig. 4 a shower cubicle according to the invention with two cubicle doors.

According to Figures 1 to 3, the hinge half 10 is made up of an assembly section 12 and a bearing 14. The bearing 14, which is only shown halfway in the figures, has a cylindrical hinge joint 16 with an axial bore 18 into which a pivot pin 20 is inserted. A housing 22 is integrally formed on the hinge joint 16 and serves to accommodate a cross-shaped adjustment element 24 in its interior. The housing 22, the adjustment element 24 and a holding plate 36 shown in section in Figure 3 together form the assembly section 12.

The complete hinge according to the invention (not shown) is composed, for example and preferably, of two such hinge halves 10, wherein the second hinge half is rotated by 180° and is arranged to pivot about the pivot pin 20 with a corresponding axial bore in its hinge joint.

The adjusting element 24 is arranged with its cross-shaped structure in a clearance 26 in the housing 22, which also has a cross-shaped structure and can also be referred to as a recess 26. The cross-shaped clearance 26 has larger dimensions than the adjusting element 24, so that the adjusting element 24 can be moved independently of one another in the horizontal and vertical directions within a clearance 28. The cross-shaped structure is

formed by four projections 27 extending radially outward from a central section of the adjusting element 24 - relative to a central axis 25 - which have essentially flat end sections. Rounded indentations or recessed corners 32 are formed between the outwardly extending sections 27.

The housing 22 has in its interior, in the area of the corners of the clearance 26, stop elements which are designed in the form of pins 30 corresponding to the recessed corners 32 of the cross-shaped adjustment element 24. Each of the four pins 30 is provided with a threaded hole 34 which serves to attach the holding plate 36 shown in Fig. 3 to the housing 22. The pins 30 have a quarter-circle structure with an outwardly curved convex edge 35 which is designed to correspond to the outer, concave edge of the recessed corners 32 of the adjustment element 24.

In the middle of the cross-shaped structure, on the front side of the adjustment element 24, a cylindrical projection 38 is provided, which has a threaded hole 40 coaxially penetrating the adjustment element 24 and ensures that the threaded hole has a sufficient depth. This threaded hole 40 serves to accommodate a fastening screw 42 for fastening the hinge half 10 with the mounting section 12 to a surface section 45 of a component, such as a glass door 44, see Fig. 3. To center the fastening screw 42 in the glass door 44, an intermediate piece 46 is also provided, which has a cylindrical and a conical section. The outward-facing surface of the intermediate piece 46 is flush with the flat surface on the glass door 44.

Furthermore, a damping element 48 is arranged between the intermediate piece 46 and the glass door 44, which is preferably made of plastic or rubber in order to evenly distribute the forces acting from the fastening screw 42 via the intermediate piece 46 onto the glass door 44, i.e. to ensure the positive connection.

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and thereby prevent damage to the glass door. A second, flat damping element 50 is provided between the holding plate 36 and the glass door 44, which also evenly distributes the forces transmitted to the glass door 44 by fixing the fastening screw 42 and via the mounting section 12. Furthermore, by using an elastic damping element 50, the frictional connection between the mounting section 12 and the glass door 44 can also be increased. Alternatively or in addition to the damping elements 48, 50, elements with adhesive components can be provided which improve the fastening of the hinge to the door by means of an adhesive connection.

The damping element 50 is inserted into corresponding holes 52 in the edge region of the housing 22 by means of four molded pins (not shown), and is thereby secured against slipping of the damping element when the hinge half 10 is mounted on the door 44.

In Fig. 3 it can be seen that the holding plate 36 has an opening 54 which serves to receive the cylindrical projection 38 on the adjustment element 24 and which has a sufficient width so as not to restrict the mobility of the adjustment element 24. The damping element 50 also has an opening 56 which in turn has a sufficient diameter so as not to restrict the movement of the fastening screw 42 connected to the adjustment element 24.

As an alternative to the embodiment shown, the cylindrical projection 38 on the adjustment element 24 can be extended to such an extent that it extends into the hole in the glass door 44 and, instead of the intermediate piece 46, creates a positive connection between the glass door 44 and the adjustment element. The diameter of the hole in the glass door 44 is then correspondingly determined by the diameter of the cylindrical projection, possibly taking into account an additionally provided cylindrical damping element. In such an embodiment, a space is provided between the screw head of the screw and

&bull; · * · &diams; * ft

the glass door 44 is provided with a washer or mounting plate with or without a damping element which projects radially beyond the bore of the glass door 44 in order to ensure a frictional connection between the screw head, the glass door 44 and the corresponding mounting section of the hinge half.

Other embodiments of the invention are also conceivable in which other fastening elements, such as clamping or wedge mechanisms, are provided instead of the screw 42 or which have several screws instead of one.

The hinge half 10 can be fastened either to the fixed component, e.g. the wall section of a shower cubicle, or to the pivotably mounted component, e.g. the glass door 44, or to both components equally. In the latter case, only one hinge half has a bearing 14 with a pivot pin 20, while the bearing of the second hinge half has a corresponding bearing bore for receiving the bearing pin. Furthermore, the hinge according to the invention is not necessarily designed as a hanging hinge.

The assembly and functioning of the hinge according to the invention is described below: The hinge half 10 shown in Figures 1 to 3 is held together with the screwed-on holding plate 36 and the damping element 50 approximately coaxially to a hole provided in a component, e.g. a glass door 44, on the corresponding surface section 45 of the component. From the opposite side, the damping element 48, the intermediate piece 46 and the screw 42 are inserted into the hole and the screw 42 is slightly tightened into engagement with the threaded hole 40 in the adjustment element 24, so that a frictional connection is created between the hinge half and the surface section 45, which is sufficient to fix the hinge half in a desired position on the component. If a second hinge is provided for pivoting the component, this is to be assembled in the same way.

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The component can then be hung with the pivot pin 20 of the screwed-on hinge half 10 in a corresponding bearing hole of a second hinge half that is attached to a second component, e.g. a wall section of a shower cubicle. The first component 22 can then be moved in the plane of the surface section 45 for the purpose of alignment. In the process, the fastening screw 42, which is always in a positive connection with the component via the intermediate piece 46 and the damping element 48, and the adjustment element 24 connected to the fastening screw 42 are moved within the scope of the play 28 within the housing 22. Once the component 44 is aligned in its position, the fastening screw 42 can be fixed, whereby the adjustment element 24 on one side and the component 44 on the other side are tightened via the intermediate piece 46 and the two damping elements 48, 50 against the holding plate 36 which is firmly connected to the mounting section 12 of the hinge half 10. In this way, a frictional connection is established between the hinge half 10 and the component 44.

Figure 4 shows an example of a shower cubicle 60 according to the invention, which has two glass doors 62, 64 and two wall sections 66, 68. The wall sections 66, 68 sit on a shower tray 70. The wall sections 66, 68 are connected in the corner of the shower cubicle opposite the glass doors 62, 64 by means of a panel 72 of the supply lines and fittings (not shown). The two glass doors 62, 64 are each pivotably mounted on an associated wall section 66, 68 by means of two hinges 74, 76 according to the invention.

The shower cubicle according to the invention is not limited to the embodiment shown. Instead of the wall sections, one or more doors can also be pivotably mounted directly on the walls of a room in the corner of which a shower cubicle is installed, using the hinges according to the invention. Furthermore, several doors mounted on one another using the hinges according to the invention can also be provided.

Claims (11)

1. Hinge for pivotably supporting a first component, in particular a glass door ( 44 , 62 , 64 ), on a second component, in particular a wall section ( 66 , 68 ) of a shower cubicle ( 60 ), with two mounting sections ( 12 ) for fastening the hinge to the first and second components and a bearing ( 14 ) pivotably connecting the mounting sections ( 12 ), wherein at least one of the mounting sections ( 12 ) can be fastened to a surface section ( 45 ) of the corresponding component ( 44 ) by means of fastening means ( 42 , 46 ), characterized in that the mounting section ( 12 ) has an adjusting element ( 24 ) which can be moved in all directions relative to the bearing ( 14 ) and in a plane substantially parallel to the surface section ( 45 ), which adjusting element can be connected to the fastening means ( 42 , 46 ) and which, after fixing the fastening means ( 42 , 46 ), is frictionally and/or positively connected to the mounting section ( 12 ). 2. Hinge according to claim 1, characterized in that the mounting section ( 12 ) has a holding plate ( 36 ) resting on the surface section ( 45 ) of the component ( 44 ) and the fastening means ( 42 , 46 ) are designed as a screw ( 42 ) which engages in a corresponding threaded bore ( 40 ) in the adjusting element ( 24 ), and that the screw ( 42 ) in the fastened state is arranged to be inserted through an opening in the component to be fastened and through an opening ( 54 ) in the holding plate ( 36 ) and attracts the adjusting element ( 24 ) and the component against the holding plate ( 24 ). 3. Hinge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bearing ( 14 ) is designed as a hinge joint ( 16 ) assigned to each of the mounting sections ( 12 ) and concentrically receiving a pivot pin ( 20 ). 4. Hinge according to claim 2 and 3, characterized in that the mounting section ( 12 ) is designed as a housing ( 22 ) molded onto the hinge joint ( 16 ) for receiving the adjusting element ( 24 ) and the holding plate ( 36 ) can be fastened to the housing ( 22 ). 5. Hinge according to claim 4, characterized in that the housing ( 22 ) has stop elements in the interior which limit the mobility of the adjusting element ( 24 ) and secure the adjusting element ( 24 ) against twisting when the screw is tightened. 6. Hinge according to claim 5, characterized in that the adjusting element ( 24 ) has a cross-shaped structure and the stop elements are designed in the form of pins ( 30 ) corresponding to the recessed corners of the cross. 7. Hinge at least according to claim 2, characterized in that the adjusting element ( 24 ) has a cylindrical projection ( 38 ) perpendicular to the plane of movement of the adjusting element ( 24 ), in which the threaded bore ( 40 ) runs concentrically and which extends axially into the opening ( 54 ) of the holding plate ( 36 ). 8. Hinge at least according to claim 2, characterized in that a cylindrical intermediate piece for centering the screw ( 42 ) in the component opening is arranged between the screw ( 42 ) and the component. 9. Hinge at least according to claim 2, characterized in that an intermediate piece (46 ) having a conical section for centering the screw ( 42 ) in the component opening is arranged between the screw (42) and the component. 10. Hinge at least according to claim 2, characterized in that damping elements ( 48 , 50 ), for example made of plastic or rubber, are arranged between the component, in particular a glass door ( 44 , 62 , 64 ) or a wall section ( 66 , 68 ) made of glass, and the screw ( 42 ) or between the component and the intermediate piece ( 46 ) and/or between the component and the holding plate ( 36 ). 11. Room partition device, in particular a shower cubicle ( 60 ), with a wall section ( 66 , 68 ) and a door, in particular a glass door ( 44 , 62 , 64 ), pivotably mounted on the wall section ( 66 , 68 ) by means of at least one hinge ( 74 , 76 ), characterized in that the hinge ( 74 , 76 ) is designed according to one of the preceding claims.