Abstract:
The present invention is an ingenuously designed multiple self locking hinge assembly that is simple to manufacture and can come in a variety of shapes and sizes given the application requirements. It has few parts making it cost effect and simple to use. The hinge assembly can easily be opened and closed with a single hand while at the same time creating a strong hinge connection. The invention can be used in a number of applications, including use with multiple poled devices for many common applications such as crutches, walkers, golf bag and baby carriages to name a few. The invention can also be used in conjunction with devices that require a collapsible frame. The invention also provides lateral strength and stability to a multiple poled device.

Description:
[0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of a U.S. application, application Ser. No. 10/695,693, filed on Oct. 29, 2003. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     a) Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to the field of folding hinges designed for use in conjunction with devices that use multiple poles or similar means and where it is desirable to easily erect and collapse the same. More specifically, this device is used in conjunction with crutches where the user typically has an injury, is handicapped or otherwise physically challenged; and as such, would desire the convenience of a single hand operation. The device is also applicable with walkers, golf bag carriages, baby carriages, and similar devices. This invention consists of a plurality of self locking hinges connected via a connection means and a linked release mechanism that provides a means to engage and disengage the invention using only a single hand making use of multiple poled and related devices convenient. Presently there is no effective single release multiple poled hinged device in the market place. The present invention fills such a void.  
         [0004]     b) Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     The present invention is directed towards folding or collapsible hinges that are designed for use in conjunction with multiple poled or similar devices. The present invention consists of several self locking hinges connected to each other so that a multiple hinged device is created. Presently, there are different folding hinge designs that can be used in conjunction with a single pole or other device to create collapsible frames. However, none of the prior art has a means of connecting two or more hinges in a poled device to make an effective collapsing hinged device. But more critically, none of the prior art, individually or collectively, incorporates all of the novel aspects of the present invention of a simple, inexpensive, yet easy to manufacture, strong self locking set of hinges that can be operated with merely a single hand.  
         [0006]     The prior art has several different collapsible hinge designs but those designs have a limitation in that the hinge is designed to work solely as an independent hinge. A common collapsible hinge assembly in the prior art uses spring loaded poles that facilitate both the opening of the hinge assembly and the maintaining of the hinge assembly in a closed position. Some devices do not use an actual hinge at the connection point but rely on the spring loaded, or bungee cord loaded, poles and a sleeve type arrangement where one pole possess a sleeve designed to slide over a second pole. This arrangement is common with poles used to support pop up camping tents and other similar devices. The main draw back is that two hands are required to assemble the two sections of the pole due to the combination of the internal spring mechanism and the overlapping sleeve arrangement. Other devices have an internal spring loaded means, but have many internal parts that make is complicated and costly to manufacture. The hinged portions of the present invention only have three basic parts and are easily manufactured and placed inside a pole without any internal components.  
         [0007]     Other devices do not use springs or sleeves, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,964, but use the pole material to create the spring action. This device fails from the shortcoming of not yielding a true end-to-end 180-degree connection desirable for crutch, walker or other devices. Furthermore, this hinge device could be disengaged if one where to apply force to underside of the hinge, a concept not desirable for crutches or walkers. Still other devices utilize a latch mechanism as the present invention. One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 96,777, a device specifically designed for use with an umbrella. This device does not create a straight 180-degree orientation and does not easily collapse down for easy storage. Further, it does not have an offset hinge connection as the present invention preventing the device from being collapsed to a compact sized for easy transport and storage.  
         [0008]     Some devices possess an offset hinge pivot connection. An example can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,660 and its cited prior art references contained within the patent. All of these references suffer from the common problems of not being able to be engaged or disengaged with a single hand. The cited reference itself does have a push button to release the mechanism but in doing so one&#39;s own finger will be holding the press plate of the opposite hinge portion preventing the same from disengaging from the main hinge portion, thereby preventing the device from being a single hand operation. Other devices require an external means to disengage the hinge, for example Cheng, U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,540. The Cheng hinge design can not operated on its own as a self standing hinge but must be incorporated with non hinge elements for it to be operated. To disengage the hinge in the Cheng reference one must hold onto the playpen with one hand while grabbing the floor of the playpen with the other. Lastly and most critically, all of the abovementioned devices are not designed as multiple hinged assemblies.  
         [0009]     In sum, the present invention overcomes all the shortcomings of the prior art and discloses a simple self locking hinge assembly. The design is simple to manufacture, can come in a variety of shapes and sizes given the application requirements and has few parts making it cost effect. Due to the unique geometry of its elements and their respective geometric orientation the hinge assembly can be easily opened and closed with a single hand. Neither the unique geometry of the hinge&#39;s elements or their respective geometric orientation is seen in the prior art. When closed the hinge assemble creates a strong connection between a multiple of hinges and the respective poles that the hinges are attached. Furthermore, the device has an ingenious means of axially connecting several hinges together so that the hinges can work in unison in a multiple poled device while at the same time not compromising it&#39;s single hand operation, neither concept seen in the prior art. Lastly, the invention provides additional lateral strength and stability to a multiple poled device.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The invention consists of an ingenuously designed set of self locking hinges connected via a connection means. The invention can be used in a number of applications. The hinge can be used in conjunction with poles for many common applications such as crutches, walkers, golf bag carriages, baby carriages, and similar devices. The invention can come in any size and shape depending on the application needs. One key advantage of the invention is that it can be opened and closed with single hand and with one fluid motion. In the case of a crutch a person simply holds the upper half of the crutch containing the handle and releases the bottom half of the crutch. The self locking hinge assembly engages once the bottom half of the crutch is in place, that is, lined up end to end with the top half of the crutch (See  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 ). The hinge assembly is designed such that the force, typically gravity, which is used to bring the lower half of the crutch in orientation with the top half of the crutch is sufficient to cause the self locking latches to pivot sufficiently to engage the hinge assembly. Although it is not necessary one may wish to manually pivot the self locking latches to engage the hinge assembly without loosing the ability to use the invention as a single hand operation. One can easily disengage the assembly by applying pressure by the finger of one&#39;s hand on to the lever causing the self locking latches to pivot and thus disengage the hinge assembly. The single hand operation of the hinge assembly is desirable and convenient in many applications, especially in the case with one using a crutch as one would have an injury and as such he or she may need the convenience of a single hand operation.  
         [0011]     Another advantage of the invention is that it allows for a crutch, or other multiple poled devices, to be broken down to a compact size for easy transportation and storage. This is desirable in almost all applications, especially with crutches. If needed several hinge assemblies may be placed in the multiple poled device thereby allowing the device to be folded a number of times, further reducing the size of the device for transport and storage. Lastly, the connection means and the lever of the invention provide a lateral stability and strength to the multiple poled device.  
         [0012]     The invention consists of essentially three main pieces; a self locking latch lever, an axially aligning connection means and a plurality of self locking hinges. Each self locking hinge contains three pieces; two hinge portions that are pivotally joined and a self locking spring loaded latch that locks the two hinge portions together. The two hinge portions are designed to be disposed end to end and are pivotally engaged with each other around a pivot pin. The hinge portions are geometrically designed so that they do not protrude beyond the pole diameter. The only exceptions are the lobe portions of the hinge that create an offset pivot point. The offset pivot point allows the poles attached to the hinge to touch and to be parallel when the entire assembly is in its closed position. The third portion of the hinge is the self locking latch which is spring actuated. The self locking latch is permanently attached to top portion of one hinge portion. The self locking latch locks the hinge by engaging a recess or notch in the opposing hinge portion. When engaged the hinge creates a strong connection that is sufficient for its application purposes.  
         [0013]     Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a self locking hinge assembly that can be easily engaged and disengaged with a single hand.  
         [0014]     Another object of this invention is to provide a self locking hinge assembly that can be used in conjunction with a crutch such that the crutch can be folded and unfolded with a single hand, as the same would be a convenience to one using a crutch.  
         [0015]     A third object of this invention is to provide a self locking hinge assembly that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.  
         [0016]     A fourth object of this invention is to provide a self locking hinge assembly that can be incorporated with multiple poled devices, or other devices, so that one may possess a poled, or other, device that is strong in nature while being capable of being broken down to a compact size for easy transport and storage.  
         [0017]     A fifth object of the invention is to add lateral strength and stability to a multiple poled device.  
         [0018]     A sixth object of the invention is to fill the need in the marketplace for an effective multiple hinged assembly.  
         [0019]     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where,  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of the invention,  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a cut away plan view of the invention in its engaged position and showing the self locking latch engaged,  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the invention,  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a cut away view of the connecting device attached to the hinge portions,  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  is an elevation view of the invention in its closed position and used in conjunction with poles for a crutch,  
         [0026]      FIG. 6  is an elevation view of the invention in its engaged position and used in conjunction with poles for a crutch,  
         [0027]      FIG. 7  is cross sectional view of the connection between the self locking latch and the first hinge portion,  
         [0028]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of the invention when used in a crutch.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0029]     Referring to the Figures and more specifically  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , the invention  10  consists of essentially three main parts, a lever  70 , a connecting device  72  and a plurality of self locking hinges  76 . Each self locking hinge  76  itself consists of three main parts, a first hinge portion  12 , a second hinge portion  14  and a spring loaded self locking latch  16 . Each hinge portion has a main body portion and a connecting portion containing lobes designed to connect the two hinge portions. The first hinge portion  12  has a main body portion  18  and a connecting portion  20  with two lobes  26  and  54 . The second hinge portion  14  has a main body portion  22  and a connecting portion  24  with a single lobe  28 . The main body portions of the hinge portions are designed to allow the hinge portions to be engaged with poles or other devices. In  FIG. 1 , the main body portion  18  of first hinge portion  12  is disposed in pole  30  while the main body portion  22  of second hinge portion  14  is disposed in pole  32 . The main body portions of the hinges can be made in a variety of geometric shapes so that they can be connected with variety of different shaped poles or devices requiring the invention  10 . The preferred embodiment of the invention  10  is to have the main body portions of the hinges cylindrical in shape so that they may be accepted into a hollow cylindrical pole device. The invention  10  can be made in any size depending on the application needs. The parts of the invention  10  can be made from metal. In the preferred embodiment the spring  42  is made from steel, the pin  46  and rod  56  are both made from hardened steel and the remaining parts are made from aluminum. The parts are simple in design and can be made using standard machining techniques.  
         [0030]     The lobes  28 ,  26  and  54  extend from the bottom of their respective connecting portions and are designed to engage each other. The single lobe  28  is designed to be disposed between the two lobes  26  and  54 . Each lobe has a hole and when the hinge is assembled all three holes of the lobes are axially aligned with each other. A single rod  56  is disposed within the three holes of the lobes thereby providing a means to connect the lobes and thus connect the hinge portions. Any means known in the art could be incorporated to connect the rod  56  to the three lobes. In a preferred embodiment the rod  56  has a press fit in lobe  28  but only has a rolling fit in lobes  26  and  54  thereby allowing the hinges to pivot (See  FIG. 4 ). In the alternative one could affix the rod  56  to the lobe  28  via a setscrew, adhesive or other securing means.  
         [0031]     The pin and lobe connection provides a means to allow the hinge portions to be pivotally joined and allow for the hinge portions to engage and disengage. The lobes protrude from the base of their respective connecting portions and therefore are offset from the main center axis of the hinge portions. In the preferred embodiment the lobes are offset a sufficient distance so as to allow the hinge portions to pivot in a full 180-degree orientation from being parallel to each other to being axially aligned end to end.  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  illustrates the full movement of the invention  10  from its disengaged, or closed, position to its engaged, or open, position, with only the handle  48  of the crutch  52  preventing the hinge portions from being in perfect parallel orientation.  
         [0032]     The self locking latch  16  is the part of the invention  10  that locks the two hinge portions together end to end so that a strong connection is made. At the bottom of one end of the self locking latch  16  is a connecting lobe  34  designed to engage a recess  36  in the main portion  22  of the second hinge portion  14 . The preferred embodiment is to have the axis of the connecting lobe  34  in a 90-degree orientation with the axis of the main portion  74  of the self locking latch  16 . At the opposite end of the self locking latch  16  lever  70  is connected to the top part of the self locking latch  16 . The lever  70  is connected to all of the self locking latches of the respective hinges and provides a means to disengage the invention  10  with a single hand. When the lever  70  is pressed down it causes all of the self locking latches to rock and disengage in unison from their respective recesses. The main portion  88  of the lever  70  is disposed between the first hinge portions of each respective hinge. In the preferred embodiment the self locking latch  16  is pivotally connected to the top portion of the main body portion  18  of the first hinge portion  12 .  
         [0033]     A recess  40  is disposed on the bottom of the self locking latch  16  and directly opposite of where the lever  70  is attached to the self locking latch  16 . The recess  40  is designed to accept a spring  42  which itself is disposed within the connecting portion  20  of the first hinge portion  12  (see  FIG. 2 ). The spring  42  is disposed between the main body portion  18  and the recess  40  and provides a means for keeping the self locking latch  16  engaged in the recess  36 , and thus the hinge assembly engaged. The compression of the spring  42  created by the downward pressure on the lever  70  provides a means to help release the self locking latch  16  from the recess  36 .  
         [0034]     On the bottom of the self locking latch  16  is a pivot lobe  66  which is designed to engage two pivot lobes  44  and  64  protruding up from connecting portion  20  of the first hinge portion  12  (See  FIG. 7 ). A hole is disposed in all three lobes in such a manner that when the three holes are axially aligned the self locking latch  16  is in place in relation to the top part of the first hinge portion  12 . A pin  46  is disposed in holes of the lobes  44 ,  64  and  66  so that the self locking latch  16  can be connected to the top part of the first hinge portion  12  and provides a means for the self locking latch  16  to move pivotally on top of the first hinge portion  12 . This pivot connection in conjunction with the actions of the spring  42  and lever  70  allows the self locking latch  16  to be engaged and be disengaged from recess  36 .  
         [0035]     A connecting device  72  is disposed between a set of two self locking hinges and is axially aligned with the holes of the lobes  26 ,  28  and  54 . In  FIG. 4 . 0  one can see the connecting device  72 , which in the preferred embodiment is made of two pieces; namely, the rod  56  and a sleeve  80 . The rod  56  runs the entire width of the hinge assembly and is the means with which the hinges can be axially aligned and therefore pivot along the same axis. This ability for the hinges to pivot along the same axis is a key concept of invention. Allowing the hinges to pivot on the axis ensures that the hinge assembly will work properly and successfully. The rod  56  can be made from any strong metal material strong enough to maintain the axial alignment of the hinges. In the preferred embodiment the rod  56  is made from hardened steel. The sleeve  80  is made from any strong metal material with the preferred embodiment being aluminum.  
         [0036]     A sleeve  80  is disposed over and concentrically aligned with the rod  56  and also is disposed between two hinges. In the preferred embodiment, the sleeve  80  is press fit on to the rod  56 . Alternative, the sleeve  80  could be attached to the rod  56  via a setscrew or other means known in the art. If desired, the sleeve  80  could maintain a loose fit over the rod  56  allowing it to spin around the rod  56 . The sleeve  80  does maintain a line to line fit against the lobes of the hinge portions thereby allowing free movement of the hinge portions without any resistance from the sleeve  80 . The sleeve  80  also allows the hinges to be separated by a constant distance through the pivoting of the hinges, another novel feature of the invention allowing the hinge assembly to work properly and successfully. Also, the line to line fit between the sleeve  80  and the lobes of the hinge portion in conjunction with the lever  70  enhances the lateral stability of the entire hinge assembly and the attached device.  
         [0037]     The exterior surface  82  of the sleeve  80  could simply be cylindrical in shape, but any shape would be sufficient. The exterior surface  82  could also be hexagonal, octagonal, or have a cross sectional shape that is square, but the preferred embodiment is cylindrical.  
         [0038]     If desired one could make the connecting device  72  from one piece of material. In this particular embodiment a single piece of material is used for the connecting device  72  with each end of the connecting device  72  turned down on a lathe using standard machining techniques to create two rods  56 . The hinges portions are then fitted to the two rods  56  as mentioned above.  
         [0039]      FIG. 3 . 0  shows the preferred embodiment having two hinges and one connecting device  72 . If an application requires a plurality of hinges the connecting device/hinge orientation as displayed in  FIG. 3 . 0  would be repeated with several connecting devices axially aligned with the respective lobes of several successive hinges. In this particular application one would have to use the two piece version of the connecting device  72  by having a single rod  56  running the entire width of all of the hinges and individual sleeves  80  being placed over the rod  56  and between each set of hinges. Also, the lever  70  would necessarily be attached to the top of all of the self locking latches and the lever/self locking latch orientation displayed in  FIG. 3 . 0  would likewise repeat itself.  
         [0040]     The invention  10  can be easily assembled, by placing the main portions of the hinges into the devices to be connected. In  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  the invention is used in conjunction with a crutch  52 . The invention  10  is disposed within the four poles  30 ,  32 ,  84  and  86  of the crutch  52 . A handle  48  is in the middle of the crutch  52 .  FIG. 5  displays the invention  10  in its closed position for easy storage and/or transportation.  FIG. 6  displays the invention  10  in its open or engaged position. If desired the two halves of the crutch can be attached to each other through a locking mechanism. For example, an elastic based string  60  can be attached to the handle  48  and be used to secure the bottom half of the crutch to the top half of the crutch.  
         [0041]     In the example of the crutch  52 , engaging and disengaging the invention  10  is easy and can be accomplished with a single hand. To engage the invention  10 , and thus open up the crutch  52 , one need only grab the handle  48  and allow the bottom half of the crutch to drop down by the force of gravity or other force. As the bottom half of the crutch reaches full extension the self locking latches  16  will pivot allowing the connecting lobes to engage the respective recesses and thus engage the hinge assembly resulting in a strong connection and thus a sturdy crutch.  
         [0042]     The specific manner in which the hinge assembly engages is as follows. As the two hinge portions pivot together the connecting lobe  34  will come in contact with the leading edge  78  of the connection portion  24  of the second hinge portion  14 . In the preferred embodiment the surface of the leading edge  78  is rounded and bottom surface of the connecting lobe  34  is rounded. The rounded portions of the connection lobe  34  and leading edge  78  in combination with the spring actuated pivoting self locking latch  16  work in unison such that the force used to bring the hinge portions to their respective engaged position is sufficient to allow the connecting lobe  34  to engage the leading edge  78 , roll over the leading edge  78 , run along the top of the connecting portion  24  and finally come to rest into the recess  36  to thus engage the invention. The pivoting action of the self locking latch  16  allows the connecting lobe  34  to move in the manner mentioned. Also, the spring  42  maintains a constant pressure on the self locking latch  16  during this process and thereby providing a smooth flow of movement of the connection lobe  34  and no unnecessary movement by the self locking latch  16 . Also, the spring  42  in combination with pivoting lobes  44 ,  64 , and  66  allows the self locking latch  16  to pivot as necessary. Although it is not necessary but one may wish to manually pivot the self locking latch  16  by pressing down on the lever  70  with the finger of one&#39;s hand. Once engaged the bottom half of the crutch is axially aligned with the top half of the crutch.  
         [0043]     To disengage the hinge assembly, and thus close the crutch, one need only grab the connecting device  72  with the fingers of one&#39;s hand and then press down on the lever  70  with the thumb of that same hand. In the alternative one could just apply pressure to the lever  70  with a finger from one&#39;s hand. Regardless of the method chosen, the downward movement of the lever  70  will cause the self locking latches to pivot and thereby cause the respective connecting lobes to release from the respective recesses allowing the bottom half of the crutch to release freely from the top half of the crutch. The individual now simply turns the crutch in such a manner to allow the lower half of the crutch to pivot toward and rest next to the top half of the crutch. If the individual wishes he or she may use the aid of gravity to help the lower half of the crutch pivot towards the top half of the crutch. The lower half of the crutch can be secured to the top half of the crutch in a variety of ways, one of which would be an elastic based string  60  attached to the handle  48 .  
         [0044]     The specific manner in which the hinges disengage is as follows. The downward movement of the lever  70  causes the spring  42  to compress and thus the self locking latch  16  to pivot on pin  46  resulting in the connecting lobe  34  exiting the recess  36  sufficiently so that the invention  10  is disengaged. In the preferred embodiment the spring  42  is designed to be sufficiently depressed to allow the connecting lobe  34  to exit the recess  36  a sufficient distance so that the connecting portion  24  does not hinder the connecting lobe&#39;s  34  ability to release from the second hinge portion  14 . For ease of operation, the top of the recess  36  is rounded and in combination with the rounded surfaces of the leading edge  78  and connecting lobe  34  allows the connecting lobe  34  to easily exit the recess  36  and roll over the connection portion  24 . Although this arrangement is not necessary as in the preferred embodiment the spring  42  can be pressed sufficiently enough to allow the connecting lobe  34  to pass over the connecting portion  24  without interference, the invention  10  is designed in this manner just in case a user for some reason does not fully depress the spring  42  sufficiently and thus needs the rounded surfaces of the connecting lobe  34 , connecting portion  24  and the top of the recess  36  to aid in the disengagement, and engagement, of the invention  10 .  
         [0045]     Once the connecting lobe  34  is disposed in recess  36  and the hinge portions are axially aligned end to end and the invention  10  is engaged. The spring  42  maintains a constant vertical pressure on the self locking latch  16  and therefore keeps the connecting lobe  34  in the recess  36 . All the tolerances on all the parts of the invention  10  are sufficiently tight and a secure connection is made locking the hinge portions in place. The invention  10  is designed so that it can be engaged and disengaged with the minimal of force placed on the lever  70 .  
         [0046]     The self locking latch  16  has two prongs  58  that protrude out of the side of the self locking latch  16 . The prongs  58  are designed to provide a stop for the self locking latch  16 . When the self locking hinge  16  is engaged, the prongs  58  rest on the top part of the connecting portion  20 . The combination of the prongs  58  resting, or stopping, on the top part of the connecting portion  20  and the pressure created by the spring  42  maintain the self locking latch  16  in a secure position and prevents the self locking latch  16  from moving while the engaged invention  10  is in use.