Patent ID: 6591467
Filing Date: 2003-07-15
Classification: B65D,E05D,E05Y,Y10T

Abstract:
A method of making a hinge joining two rigid pieces each with top and bottom surfaces, comprising the steps of:thermoforming a first piece of rigid plastic material having a first hinge joint, with the first hinge joint protruding from the first piece and having two external surfaces, with each of the two external surfaces parallel to each other, with a distance between each of the two external surfaces defined as a hinge-joint length; machining a hole with a tubular shape through each of the two external surfaces of the first hinge joint; thermoforming a second piece of rigid plastic material having a second hinge joint, with the second hinge joint having, protruding from the second piece, a first protrusion containing a first hollow and a second protrusion containing a second hollow with a distance between far-end internal surfaces of the first hollow and the second hollow defined as a hollow length, with a distance between near-end external surfaces of the first protrusion and the second protrusion defined as a gap length, with the gap length approximately equal to the hinge-joint length such that the first hinge joint fits between the near-end external surfaces of the first protrusion and the second protrusion; machining two keyhole-shaped passages perpendicular to the length of the surface and across the width of the near-end external surfaces of the first protrusion and of the second protrusion of the second piece, with the two keyhole-shaped passages each being defined by a tubular central portion and an outwardly extending slot of narrower width extending to one of a top of bottom surface; inserting a hinge pin through each hole with a tubular shape; and assembling the two pieces with the first hinge joint fitting into the gap of the second hinge joint, and such that the tubular central portions of each keyhole-shaped passage and each hole with the tubular shape of the two surfaces of the first hinge joint re aligned, for hinging together the first piece and the second piece.