DE29918559U1 - Wide angle hinge - Google Patents

Description

Wide angle hinge

The present invention relates to a wide-angle hinge, in particular for furniture, in which a hinge part on the body side and a hinge flap on the wing side are connected to one another by several articulated levers in such a way that an opening angle of significantly more than 90° can be achieved, the usable opening angle being reduced by a spacer.

Wide-angle hinges with an opening angle of significantly more than 90° are well known.

In practice, it often happens that, due to the position in which furniture is installed, doors equipped with wide-angle hinges can only be opened to a lesser extent than the wide-angle hinges themselves allow.

This is the case, for example, if a piece of furniture is placed in the corner of a room and its door or doors are swung open towards the adjacent wall. In this case, there is a risk that the door or doors may accidentally hit the wall when opened and be damaged. Another example of the full utilization of the

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Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE · DIPL'.-ING* LOESEBJBECK - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD

Registration text dated 19.10.99 Page 2

The reason why the swivel angle of corresponding wide-angle hinges is undesirable is when two corresponding pieces of furniture are placed next to each other and their doors are swung open in opposite directions. In this case, there is a risk that when the doors of both pieces of furniture are opened, they will collide with each other.

For these applications, it is known to limit the opening angle of wide-angle hinges by using spacers.

For example, reference is made to the German utility models 80 30 550, 86 16 321 &iacgr;&ogr; and 88 17 256.

With the designs known to date, it is at least difficult to attach the spacers later. Even if this is possible, it is often problematic to attach such spacers to the corresponding components of a wide-angle hinge.

If the spacers are attached from the outside, they are visually disturbing and can often be easily removed unintentionally.

It also happens more frequently that, due to the tight spatial conditions within a wide-angle hinge, a spacer has to be placed so poorly that individual joints are subjected to excessive stress when they hit the end position, thus reducing the service life of the wide-angle hinge.

The present invention is based on the object of creating a wide-angle hinge of the generic type in which the spacer can be easily attached and removed again if required and does not have a visually or technically disturbing effect.

Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE · DfPLr-IWG? LOESEflBECK - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD

Registration text dated 19.10.99 Page 3

This object is achieved according to the invention in that the spacer is profiled approximately U-shaped in cross section and that the side legs of the U-shaped spacer are provided with longitudinal slots running parallel or almost parallel to the central web and that the spacer is pushed onto an articulated lever which is graduated in terms of its width, wherein in the pushed-on state the wider area of the articulated lever engages in the longitudinal slots of the side legs of the spacer.

A spacer designed in this way can, due to its construction on the one hand and the design of the corresponding articulated lever on the other hand, be easily pushed onto or removed from this articulated lever if necessary.

The spacer pushed onto the articulated lever becomes, in a sense, a component of the articulated lever in question and therefore has neither a visual nor a technical disturbance.

Advantageously, the spacer is made of a plastic, preferably of an elastic plastic.

By choosing a suitable plastic, the spacer can also serve as a damping element when it stops in the end position.

The spacer can also be arranged on the articulated lever in a movable but captive manner.

Such a construction makes it possible to move the spacer into a use position and, if necessary, also into a non-use position without the need to remove the spacer.

Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE · DlPLMNCrLOESgÄBßCK - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD

Registration text dated 19.10.99 Page 4

The central web of the U-shaped spacer can advantageously be slightly curved or angled to adapt to the curved shape of the articulated lever.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and is described in more detail below.

Show it:

&iacgr;&ogr; Figure 1 shows a section through a wide-angle hinge according to the invention in the fully opened state,

Figure 2 shows a section through the wide-angle hinge according to Figure 1 in a pivoting position in which a spacer can be conveniently attached and positioned,

Figure 3 shows a section through the wide-angle hinge according to Figures 1 and 2 in the pivoted state,

Figure 4 is a perspective exploded view of a hinge lever of the wide-angle hinge according to Figures 1-3 and the spacer that can be attached to this hinge lever,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the articulated lever according to Figure 4 with the spacer in the assembly position,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the articulated lever according to Figures 4 and 5 with the spacer finally brought into its operative position,

Figure 7 is a rear view of the articulated lever in the position of the spacer according to Figure 5,

Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE · DHfMNfi* LOESßftBßCK - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD

Registration text dated 19.10.99 Page 5

Figure 8 is a rear view of the articulated lever with the spacer in a position according to Figure 6,

Figure 9 is a side view of several spacers manufactured together and still connected to each other.

Figures 1-3 show a wide-angle hinge, designated overall by the reference numeral 1, in which a hinge part 2 on the body side and a hinge flap 3 on the wing side are connected to one another via an articulated lever group 4 in such a way that an opening angle of more than 90° can in principle be achieved between the hinge part 2 and the hinge flap 3.

This possible opening angle is reduced by a spacer 5, which is pushed onto an internal articulated lever 6.

The spacer 5, which is advantageously made of plastic, preferably of an elastic plastic, is, as shown in Figures 5-8, approximately U-shaped in cross section. The side legs 7 of the U-shaped spacer are provided with longitudinal slots 9 running parallel or almost parallel to the central web 8.

The articulated lever 6, onto which the spacer 5 is pushed, is graduated in terms of its width. Figures 4-8 also show this very clearly.

When the spacer 5 is fully pushed on, the wider area 6a of the stepped articulated lever 6 engages in the longitudinal slots 9 of the side legs 7 of the spacer 5. By appropriately dimensioning the longitudinal slots 9, a frictional, clamping fixation of the spacer 5 relative to the articulated lever 6 can be achieved.

Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE · &Ogr;^-&Igr;&Ngr;&bgr;.·&Igr;&Oacgr;&Egr;3&Kgr;1&Bgr;&Bgr;(·&Kgr; - PATCNTWNWÄLTE - BIELEFELD

Registration text dated 19.10.99 Page 6

For design reasons, the articulated lever 6 has an arc-shaped shape.

In order to ideally adapt the spacer 5 to this curved course, the central web 8 is curved at least on its side facing the articulated lever 6 according to the course of the articulated lever 5 or is angled approximately in this way.

In the embodiment shown, the spacer 5 can be removed from the articulated lever 6 when not in use by pushing the spacer 5 so far into the narrower area 6b that the wider area 6a of the articulated lever 6 no longer engages the spacer 5.

It is also easy for any expert to imagine that the spacer 5 can be fixed to the articulated lever 6 in a longitudinally displaceable but captive manner.

This can be done, for example, by a pin which is attached to the articulated lever 6 and engages in a longitudinal slot of the central web 8 of the spacer 5.

Such a solution would have the advantage that the spacer 5 could be moved into a use or non-use position as desired, but would also remain permanently connected to the articulated lever 6.

If, as shown in the drawings, the spacer 5 is completely removable from the articulated lever 6, a particularly favorable mounting position for the spacer 5 exists when the wide-angle hinge 1 is opened by approximately 45°, as shown in Figure 2.

Spacers 5 made of plastic can, as Figure 9 clearly shows, be manufactured in the form of a magazine strip 10, wherein the individual spacers 5 are only connected to one another in the region of predetermined breaking points 11.

Dr. LOESENBECK (1980) · DIPL.-ING. STRACKE · &Mgr;&Rgr;&iacgr;,&Mgr;&Ngr;&bgr;.&Pgr;,&Ogr;&Egr;^&Bgr;&Ngr;&Bgr;'&Bgr;&bgr;&Kgr;. - PATCNTWNWÄLTE - BIELEFELD

Registration text dated 19.10.99 Page 7

In addition to the associated advantages for storage and transport of such spacers 5, this design can also be helpful for assembly, since the magazine strip 10 can, to a certain extent, take on the function of a "handle".

Claims (4)

1. Wide-angle hinge, particularly for furniture, in which a hinge part on the body side and a hinge flap on the wing side are connected to one another by several articulated levers in such a way that an opening angle of significantly more than 90° can be achieved, the usable opening angle being reduced by a spacer, characterized in that the spacer ( 5 ) has an approximately U-shaped profile in cross-section and that the side legs ( 7 ) of the U-shaped spacer ( 5 ) are provided with longitudinal slots ( 9 ) running parallel or almost parallel to the central web ( 8 ) and that the spacer ( 5 ) is pushed onto an articulated lever ( 6 ) which is graduated in terms of its width, wherein in the pushed-on state the wider region ( 6a ) of the articulated lever ( 6 ) engages in the longitudinal slots ( 9 ) of the side legs ( 7 ) of the spacer ( 5 ). 2. Wide-angle hinge according to claim 1, characterized in that the spacer ( 5 ) is made of a plastic, preferably of an elastic plastic. 3. Wide-angle hinge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the spacer ( 5 ) is arranged displaceably but captively on the articulated lever ( 6 ). 4. Wide-angle hinge according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central web ( 8 ) of the U-shaped spacer ( 5 ) is curved or angled to adapt to the curved course of the articulated lever ( 6 ).