Furnishing element hinge and furnishing element

A furnishing element hinge movably connecting a door to a fixed structure of a furnishing element is provided. The fixed structure rests on a support surface and delimits a compartment. The furnishing element hinge has a fixed hinge part connected to the fixed structure and a movable hinge part connected to the door. The movable hinge part is movable at least rotatably with respect to the fixed hinge part at least between a first position, adapted to open the compartment, and a second position, adapted to close the compartment. The furnishing element hinge has a support foot connected to the fixed hinge part and resting on the support surface to unload at least the weight of the door directly onto the support surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Phase Application of PCT International Application PCT/IB2020/056560, having an International Filing Date of Jul. 13, 2020 which claims priority to Italian Application No. 102019000013620 filed Aug. 1, 2019, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a furnishing element hinge, as well as to a furnishing element.

In particular, the present invention relates to a furnishing element hinge adapted to connect at least rotatably a door to a fixed structure of a furnishing element.

BACKGROUND ART

In the field of furnishing elements provided with movable doors, at least rotatably connected to a fixed structure resting on a support surface, a particularly felt need is the balanced adjustment and alignment of each door with respect to another one and/or with respect to the fixed structure.

Usually, the doors are connected to the fixed structure of the furnishing element by a plurality of hinges which connect the door to the fixed structure rotatably or in roto-translation.

The hinges of the known type comprise mechanisms for the adjustment of the relative position between the movable hinge part and the fixed hinge part so as to align the position of the door with respect to another door and/or to the fixed part of the furnishing element.

The alignment of a door to another door and/or to the fixed structure involves, on one hand, a geometric alignment between the doors and/or the geometry of the fixed structure, and, on the other hand, a balanced distribution of the load of the doors with respect to the support surface of the furnishing element.

The doors lose the alignment thereof both due to the natural wear of the hinges and of the position adjustment mechanisms, as well as due to slight geometric variations of the fixed structure of the furnishing element and/or of the support surface on which the furnishing element rests.

The geometric alignment alone is not sufficient to ensure the balanced distribution of the door loads, in fact, if the support surface of the furnishing element is not perfectly flat, it may happen that the doors, although geometrically aligned with the geometry of the fixed structure, do not maintain the opening position or, vice versa, the closing position of the fixed structure defined compartment.

Over time, and as the number of opening and closing cycles of the doors of a furnishing element increases, the alignment of the doors is lost, and a periodic adjustment of the hinges is required.

Furthermore, usually, the hinges of the known type are connected in a plurality of points to the shoulder of the fixed structure, and thus they stress such shoulder by disadvantageously accelerating the variations of the geometric type of the fixed structure, thus making the adjustments of the hinges for aligning the door more frequent.

A correct adjustment of the hinges of the known type is far from simple, since it must ensure not only a geometric alignment between the doors and the fixed structure, but also a distribution of the loads of the doors as balanced as possible with respect to the planarity conditions of the support surface of the furnishing element.

Such adjustment is therefore so complicated that many users are forced to turn to highly expensive specialized furniture assemblers.

In the context of furnishing elements, the need is therefore felt to devise devices for opening and closing doors with respect to the fixed structures which they are connected to, which maintain the alignment of the doors as much as possible over time and which thus reduce the frequency of the adjustments of the alignment and which are easily adjustable by an average user.

Therefore, the problem underlying the present invention is that of devising a furnishing element hinge which has structural and functional features such as to satisfy the aforesaid needs while overcoming the drawbacks mentioned with reference to the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to provide a furnishing element hinge which allows an adjustment of the position of a door with respect to the fixed structure to which it is connected and with respect to the support surface on which the furnishing element rests which is, on the one hand, simplified and, on the other, which allows to maintain the correct adjustment of the position of the door in a permanent manner, limiting the number of interventions required to adjust such position over time.

This and other objects and advantages are achieved by a furnishing element hinge and a furnishing element as described and claimed herein.

Some advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.

From the discussion of the claimed solution, it emerges that the suggested solution allows to simplify the adjustment of the position of the door by freeing, with a single device, the adjustment of the position of the door with respect to the support surface of the furnishing element from the adjustment of the position of the door with respect to the geometry of the fixed structure.

Furthermore, the suggested solution maintains the geometric alignment between a door and the fixed structure to which it is permanently connected, preventing the door from stressing the fixed structure with the weight thereof and limiting the occurrence of geometric variations in the fixed structure, which would lead to an increase in the frequency of the maintenance of the door position alignment with the geometry of the fixed structure.

The suggested solution allows to easily and intuitively correct planarity defects on the support surface of the furnishing element and provides highly precise and easy-to-use door position adjustment mechanisms.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with a general embodiment, a furnishing element hinge is indicated by reference numeral1.

Said furnishing element hinge1is adapted to movably connect a door102to a fixed structure101of a furnishing element100.

Said structure101rests on a support surface104and delimits a compartment103.

Said furnishing element hinge1comprises a fixed hinge part2, adapted to be connected to the fixed structure101.

Said furnishing element hinge1further comprises a movable hinge part3, adapted to be connected to the door102.

Said movable hinge part3is movable at least rotatably with respect to the fixed hinge part2at least between a first position, adapted to open said compartment103and a second position, adapted to close said compartment103.

In other words, in said second position of the movable hinge part3, the door102, to which the movable hinge part3is connectable, is positioned, with respect to the fixed structure101, closing the compartment103, while in said first position of the movable hinge part3, the door102is at least rotated with respect to the fixed structure in one of the possible opening positions of said compartment103.

Said furnishing element hinge1comprises a support foot4.

Said support foot4is connected to a fixed hinge part2.

Said support foot4is adapted to rest on said support surface104to unload at least the weight of said door102directly onto the support surface104.

In accordance with an embodiment, said fixed hinge part2is adapted to unload the weight of the door102onto the support foot4, avoiding unloading the weight of the door102onto the fixed structure101.

Therefore, the furnishing element hinge1also acts as a support structure for the door102and thereby the weight of the door102weighs on the support foot4and not on the fixed structure101, thus avoiding stressing it.

According to an embodiment, said fixed hinge part2comprises a hooking portion5adapted to be connected to said fixed structure101.

Said hooking portion5has an apical surface5aadapted to be connected to said fixed structure101.

Said hooking portion5has a basal surface5bdiametrically opposite with respect to said apical surface5a.

Said basal surface5his adapted to face said support surface104.

In accordance with an embodiment, said hooking portion5has a shaped lateral surface5cadapted to be housed in an undercut of said fixed structure101.

In accordance with an embodiment, said hooking portion5comprises a plurality of fastening holes22, passing through a direction transverse between said apical surface5aand said basal surface5b.

Said plurality of fastening holes22are adapted to house a respective plurality of fastening elements to the fixed structure101of said furnishing element100.

In accordance with an embodiment, said support foot4protrudes from said basal surface in the direction of said support surface104.

In accordance with an embodiment, said support foot4is movable between a minimum extension position and a maximum extension position with respect to said basal surface5b.

According to an embodiment, said support foot4is adjustable in a direction transverse with respect to said support surface104.

In accordance with an embodiment, said support foot4is adapted to unload at least one part of the weight of said fixed structure101onto said support surface104.

In accordance with an embodiment, said support foot4comprises a stem19connected to a flat support base20configured to rest on said support surface104.

In accordance with an embodiment, said stem19is connected to said flat support base20in a jointed manner.

According to an embodiment, said stem19is threaded and connected to said fixed hinge part in a threaded hole21obtained in said hooking portion5.

According to an embodiment, said threaded hole21is a hole passing through said hooking portion5in a direction transverse to the basal and apical surface.

In accordance with an embodiment, said support foot4is movable in rotation in the respective threaded seat between said minimum extension position and said maximum extension position with respect to said basal surface5b.

Therefore, when the furnishing element hinge1is connected to the furnishing element100, the support foot4acts, on the one side, as a structure supporting said fixed structure101by unloading the weight of a part of it on the support surface104, and, on the other side, it acts as an element for the adjustment under load of the distance between said fixed structure101and said support surface104.

In accordance with an embodiment, said furnishing element hinge1includes at least one mechanism for the horizontal adjustment6of the position of said movable hinge part3with respect to said fixed hinge part2.

Said first horizontal adjustment mechanism6comprises at least one fixed rotatable element7connected to the movable hinge part3in a rotatable manner.

Said first horizontal adjustment mechanism6further comprises a translational slide8connected to said movable hinge part3in a translatable manner along a horizontal direction X-X belonging to a plane substantially parallel to said support surface104.

Said translational slide8is connectable in a fixed manner to said door102.

Said fixed rotatable element7is adapted to cooperate with said translational slide8, so that a rotation of said fixed rotatable element7transmits a linear motion to the translational slide8, thus allowing to carry out a horizontal adjustment of the position of said door102with respect to said fixed structure101.

In accordance with an embodiment, said movable hinge part3comprises a hollow eyelet9developing along said horizontal direction X from a first hollow eyelet end9ato a second hollow eyelet end9b.

Said fixed rotatable element7comprises an eccentric pin10and has a rotation axis E-E transverse to said horizontal direction X.

Said fixed rotatable element7is rotatably hinged to said movable hinge part3.

Said rotatable eccentric pin10is positioned inside said hollow sliding eyelet9.

Said translational slide8comprises a connection element11protruding in a vertical direction with respect to said support surface104.

Said connection element11is housed inside the hollow sliding eyelet9and interferes with said eccentric pin10.

Said first horizontal adjustment mechanism6is configured so that a clockwise rotation, or vice versa, of the eccentric pin10interfering with said connection element11transmits a linear motion along said horizontal direction X-X to the translational slide8with respect to said movable hinge part3, between a first lateral position, in which said connection element11is close to said first eyelet end9aand a second lateral position, in which said connection element11is close to said second eyelet end9b, or vice versa.

In accordance with an embodiment, said translational slide8has a longitudinal slot23developing along said horizontal direction X-X between a first slot end23aand a second slot end23b.

Said longitudinal slot23has a slot bottom24and a first bottom eyelet24aand a second bottom eyelet24b, both passing through said slot bottom24.

Said furnishing element hinge1comprises a slot insert25housed in said longitudinal slot23.

Said slot insert25is connected in a fixed manner to said movable hinge part3by means of two connection elements, such as, for example, a first screw26aand a second screw26b, respectively passing through said first bottom eyelet24aand said bottom eyelet24b, so as to prevent a detachment between said translational slide8and said movable hinge part3and, at the same time, to allow a translation of said translational slide8in said horizontal direction X-X for a stroke in one direction and in the other one which is less than or equal to the dimension in the horizontal direction of said first bottom eyelet24aand said second bottom eyelet24b. In other words, said translational slide8is positioned in interposition between said movable hinge part and said slot insert, which are connected in a fixed manner, and may be translated in a horizontal direction X-X by a stroke less than or equal to the dimension of the bottom slot24aor24bin one direction and the other one.

In accordance with an embodiment, said connection element11is obtained in a median position with respect to the centers of said first bottom eyelet24aand said second bottom eyelet24b.

According to an embodiment, said connection element11is obtained in the form of a fork which has a recess in which said eccentric pin10is positioned. Said eccentric pin19rotates inside the recess and interferes with the internal edges of the recess to move said translational slide8.

In accordance with an embodiment, said hinge1includes a mechanism for the vertical adjustment12of the position of said movable hinge part3with respect to said fixed hinge part2.

Said vertical adjustment mechanism12has a lever13rotatably connected to the fixed hinge part2.

Said vertical adjustment mechanism12further has a rotatable adjustment dowel14which is connected to said fixed hinge part2and is adapted to adjust the inclination of the lever13.

Said rotatable adjustment dowel14is configured to cooperate, by interference, with the lever13so that a rotation of the dowel14transmits a vertical movement to the movable hinge part3along a vertical direction Y-Y substantially perpendicular to said support surface104to execute a vertical adjustment of the position of said door102with respect to said fixed structure101.

In accordance with an embodiment, said fixed hinge part2comprises a hinge hole15defining a hinge rotation axis A-A parallel to said vertical direction Y-Y.

Said fixed hinge part2comprises a lever housing16in communication with said hinge hole15.

Said fixed hinge part2comprises a dowel seat17which develops along a direction parallel to said hinge hole15and is in communication with said housing16.

Said lever13is positioned in said lever housing16and is pivoted to the fixed hinge part2with the lever rotation axis L-L transverse to said vertical direction Y-Y.

Said lever rotation axis L-L is arranged in an intermediate position between the hinge hole15and said dowel seat17.

Said movable hinge part3comprises a hinge pin18housable in said hinge hole15.

Said lever13has a first lever arm13aconfigured to interact with the hinge pin18housed in the hinge hole15and a second lever arm13bconfigured to interact with the rotatable adjustment dowel14.

Said rotatable adjustment dowel14is positioned in the dowel seat17and is rotatably movable in the dowel seat17between a minimum extraction position and a maximum extraction position inside the lever housing16.

The vertical adjustment mechanism12is configured so that a rotation of the rotatable adjustment dowel14, on interference with the second lever arm13b, transmits a rotation of said lever13, which moves the first lever arm13a, on interference with the hinge pin18, along the vertical direction Y-Y so as to execute a vertical adjustment of the position of the door102with respect to the fixed structure101.

In accordance with an embodiment, said lever13is a rocker arm.

According to an embodiment, said first lever arm13aand said second lever arm13bhave the same size.

In accordance with an embodiment, said dowel14is threaded and said dowel seat17is threaded.

In accordance with an embodiment, said furnishing element hinge1is retractable.

The present invention also relates to a furnishing element100.

Said furnishing element100comprises a fixed structure101resting on a support surface104and at least one door102.

Said furnishing element100comprises at least one furnishing element hinge1as previously described which at least rotatably connects the door102to said fixed structure101.

Said hinge1comprises a support foot4resting on said support surface104to unload at least the weight of the door102directly onto the support surface104.

In accordance with an embodiment, the fixed structure101comprises at least a first shoulder105and a second shoulder106connected by a structural base shelf107and by a structural head shelf108.

Said door102comprises a door base109and a door head110.

Said at least one furnishing element hinge1comprises a fixed hinge part2connected to said structural base shelf107and a movable hinge part3connected to said door base109.

Said furnishing element1comprises at least a second hinge111comprising a fixed second hinge part112connected to said fixed structure101and a movable second hinge part113connected to said door102.

In accordance with an embodiment, said at least one door102comprises a first movable door102aconstrained to said fixed structure101by means of said furnishing element hinge1and a second movable door constrained102bto said first movable door102aby means of a hinge constraint.

Said at least a second hinge111is a jointed parallelogram mechanism114connected to said fixed structure101and at least one from said first movable door102aand said second movable door102b.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS