Link hinge

Abstract

A link hinge comprising a pair of hollow, preferably cylindrical shells hingedly interconnected at one end of each shell by link means normally housed inside said tubular shell. Each shell of the link hinge is inserted in an outher box, preferably made of plastic material, which in turn may be inserted and secured by glueing in borings made in the parts to be hinged together. Means are provided in the shells and the boxes for inserting each shell in its box in a prefixed alignment, and for securing said shell to said box.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to link hinges for pieces of furniture, doors and windows, and aims to provide a hinge of the kind comprising a pair of hollow, substantially tubular shells adapted to be encased in holes formed in two parts to be hinged together, whereby the tubular shells are interconnected in a known manner by link means permitting the hinged parts to swing from a position in which the shells are co-axial and the hinge links are enclosed and concealed inside the shells to a position in which the shells are rotated by 180.degree. and are arranged sidewise and parallel to each other.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Link hinges of the kind to which this invention refer, are for instance described in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,484,093; 3,209,390 and 3,512,211.

In the prior art hinges, the hinge shells are secured into the holes formed in the furniture parts, by means of nails or screws passed angularly through the opposite sides of the shells and into the furniture panels, or by means of a tongue formed integrally with the hinge shells, which may be deflected laterally so as to engage the side walls of the holes, or by means of screws screwed between the shells and the encasing holes, and partially engaging into half-cylindrical recesses formed in the shells, or by means of flanges projecting laterally from the shells, and provided with bores for the passage of fastening screws.

The above fastening means are however unsuited for fastening the hinges in wood fiber panels or the like soft wood panels, as used in the furniture manufacture, due to the fact that after a very short time the hinges become loose and may be easily extracted from their encasing holes.

A still further disadvantage of the prior art hinges, resides in the fact that, in assembling the hinges to the parts to be hinged together, it is necessary to exactly adjust the hinge shells angularly in the encasing holes before fastening them inside the holes, in order to obtain a perfect closure of the parts hinged together.

The above operation is time consuming, and requires the use of skilled craftsmanship.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above and other disadvantages of the prior art link hinges are solved according to the invention by providing in a link hinge comprising a pair of hollow, preferably cylindrical shells interconnected at one end by link means normally housed inside tubular shells, a pair of outer box like means preferably made of plastic material, in which the shells may be inserted and secured, the box like means being in turn inserted and secured by glueing in the holes made in the parts to be hinged together.

According to a still further object of the invention, the boxes and the shells are provided with cooperating adjusting means for inserting each shell in its box in a prefixed alignment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of a link hinge according to the invention, in a closed position.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the link hinge of FIG. 1, in a fully open position.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the link hinge of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of one hinge element, taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the hinge element of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the box-like element for the link hinge of FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the box-like element of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the shell of one hinge element according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is the box-like element for the hinge shell of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a link hinge element according to the embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9, and

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a link hinge element according to another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 of the drawings, a link hinge is shown comprising a pair of cylindrical shells 1, 101 each provided with a rectangular through bore.

The shells are connected together, in a known manner, by means of bell-crank-like levers 2, 102 hinged together intermediate their ends at 3, and each hinged at one of its ends at 4, 104 to the shells 1, 101, while the opposite ends of the levers are connected together by pins 5, 105, which are slidably guided in the internal grooves 6, 106 of the shells 1, 101.

As best shown in FIG. 5, each shell 1, 101 is provided on one side with a slit 10 extending along a chord of the shell for a substantial length, so as to form an elastic tongue 9. A hole is bored from the outer end of the shell along the plane of the slit 10, and is threaded in its upper half in which a screw 11 provided with a cylindrical extension ending with a conical tip, is screwed.

On their sides opposite to the slit 10, the shells 1, 101 are provided with a flattened surface 15, extending for a length substantially corresponding to the length of the slit 10, and parallel thereof. 16 is a flanged projection integral with the shell 1, 101 disposed above the flattened surface 15.

According to the invention, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the shells 1, 101 are each inserted in a box like cylindrical element 12, preferably made of plastic material. The box 12 is provided on its outer surface with longitudinal and circumferential ribs 13, and is provided on its inner side with a chordal projection 14, complemental to the flattened surface 15.

A hinge thus formed is mounted in the parts to be hinged together as follows:

At a suitable location, a hole 7, 107 is bored into the parts 8, 108 to be hinged together, the hole having a diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the boxes 12, and a length substantially equal to the length of the box 12. The external side of the boxes 12 is covered with a suitable glue, and the boxes are inserted into holes 7, 107, with the inner projections 14 aligned so as to provide for the final exact alignment of the link hinge elements with respect to the parts to be hinged together.

Thereafter, the shells 1, 101 are inserted into the boxes. Thanks to the cooperations of the flattened surfaces 15 with the projections 14, the said shells are inserted into the requested final alignment into the boxes 12.

Thereafter the screws 11 are screwed, thus causing the tongue 9 to spread out thus firmly clamping the hinge to the box 12.

It is evident that, due to the presence of the box 12, which is glued to the panels 8, 108, the hinge is clamped to the panels in a sure manner, even if the panels are made of a material which otherwise would not afford for a sure grip action to the hinge shells.

It is also evident that the boxes 12 may be glued into the holes in the parts to be hinged together at a stage prior to the assembling of the hinges, so that the final assembling of the hinges may be performed in a very short time, without the need of skilled craftsmanship.

In FIGS. 8 to 10 a second embodiment of the invention is shown, according to which the shells 1, 101 are each provided with two diametrically opposite flattened surfaces 15. The flanges 16 are provided with a through bore, through which a fastening screw 18 is inserted. The fastening screws 18 are screwed, on mounting the shells 1, 101 in their respective boxes 12, into grooves 17 formed into the internal projections 14 of the boxes 12.

In FIG. 11 a still further embodiment of the invention is shown, according to which the shells 1, 101 are provided with an adjusting slit in their bottom end, cooperating with a corresponding projection 19 formed in the bottom 112 of boxes 12 instead of with the flattened surface 15.

Claims

Having thus particularly described my invention, and the advantages deriving from its use, what I claim as my invention is:

1. In a link hinge for connecting two elements, the link hinge including a pair of hollow, substantially tubular shells hingedly interconnected at one end of each shell by link means normally housed inside said tubular shells, the improvement comprising a pair of thin walled cylindrical boxes into which said tubular shells are inserted, with each said box and its corresponding shell being substantially longitudinally coextensive, and with means in the form of at least one flattened surface formed at one side of each shell cooperating with a corresponding profile formed in each box for coupling the shells to the boxes in a non-rotatable manner, said boxes being received within respective ones of the elements to be connected.

2. A link hinge according to claim 1, in which said boxes are made of plastic material.

3. A link hinge according to claim 1, further comprising means for securing said shells to said boxes, said means including a deflectable portion of said shell and a screw which engages said deflectable portion and presses said deflectable portion against the inside wall of said box within which said shell is inserted.

4. A link hinge according to claim 1, in which said boxes are provided at their outer surfaces with longitudinal and circumferential ribs.