SNAP HINGE

Abstract: A snap hinge, comprising a plurality of articulated levers interposed between a first member (1) and a second member (2) reciprocally angularly positionable between a first and a second end position, elastic means (12) being interposed between levers of said plurality of levers, at least one lever (16) comprising side portions and at least one interconnecting portion (17) interconnecting said side portions, said at least one lever cooperating with said elastic means (12) at respective hinge means (18a), said hinge means (18a) being only defined by said at least one interconnecting portion (17).

Description: SNAP HINGE The invention concerns an improved snap hinge for furniture, that is, a hinge that articulates, on the body of the piece of furniture, for example, doors and panels: the furniture being made of wood, metal or other materials; the type of hinge being that which causes the snap opening and closing of the door, or panel, through an angle which is approximately a right angle. IT-A-953903, filed on 10.8.1973, in the name of the same applicant, of the double articulated quadrilateral type for snap opening and closing through approximately 90° or even a little more. With this type of hinge, the non-recessed type, shown in Figure 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, the lever loaded by the snap spring inserted m a telescopic capsule consists mainly of a pair of side elements interconnected by dorsal bridging elements and a ventral pin in hardened steel, which is restrained in the indentation, with semi-circular m section, at the bottom of the base plate equipped with telescopic cover enclosing the spring which induces, by acting on said lever, the snap opening and closing of said hinge. Moreover, such a pin, whilst being adequately functional, requires that it be manufactured, with relative hardening and protective treatment, separately from the structure of the nmge all of which, on the other hand, is obtained using a single die with just one pass of the sheet. Furthermore, tne pin needs to be riveted on assembly. Tne pin being manufactured separately and the need fcr riveting entailing significant expenditure. Sucn prior art may be subject to considerable improvements with a view to eliminating said drawbacks and to considerably reducing costs. Froir the foregoing emerges the need to resolve the technical proolem of inventing a lever on whicn acts the snap spnm m a hinge for furniture that determines snap opening and closing, which has a lower cost. The invention resolves said technical problem by adopting, in tne hinge for furniture, a rotational coupling element between the base plate of the telescopic hinge and the lever, comprising a bridging element which is integral with the side elements of the same lever, located on the opposite side with respect to the traditional dorsal bridging elements: the stability of the lever being advantageously improved by a single, second ventral bridging element. The articulation between the recess of the base plate of the telescopic capsule and said integral bridging element acting as pin, is assisted by a rounding of the contact surface advantageously effected by means of a pair of chamfers obtained by upsetting. The advantages of the present invention are: for a given functionality of the articulation between the lever and the base plate of the telescopic capsule, a reduction in the manufacturing costs due to the substitution of the treated, coated and riveted pin with a ventral bridging element connecting the pair of side elements, integral with said side elements, thereby eliminating the dorsal bridging elements, which are substituted with a single complementary ventral bridging element; all of this advantageously manufactured in a single die, chamfering included. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of the hinge of the type that does not require to be recessed in the piece of furniture, fitted to the piece of furniture in the closed position, and object of the aforesaid patent by the same applicant; Figure 2 is the side view of the hinge m Figure 1, but ir. the completely open position; Figure 3 is the plan view of the hinge in Figure 1; Figure 7 is an enlarged projection as in Figure 1, cross- sectioned on a central plane; Figure 9 is the plan view of a strip of sheet metal undergoing successive punching, folding and drawing operations to manufacture the spring loaded lever in the snap hinge in the aforesaid patent: the punching tools are shown in cross-section with dashed lines; Figures 11, 12, 13 are, respectively, the side view, the plan view and the central cross-section of the traditional lever manufactured using the cycle in Figure 9. An embodiment of the invention is illustrated, purely by way of example, in the drawings attached in which: Figure 4 is a view as in Figure 1, but relative to the improved snap hinge object of the present patent application; Figures 5, 6 are, respectively, the side view with open panel and the plan view of the improved hinge m Figure 4 ; Figure 8 is an enlarged and cross-sectioned projection of Figure 4 ; Figure 10 is an analogous view to Figure 9, but in the case of the manufacture of the improved lever as described in the present invention; Figures 14, 15, 16 are, respectively, the side view, the plan view and the central cross-section of the lever according to the present invention, manufactured using the cycle in Figure 10. The figures show: 1, and 2, respectively, the door and the shoulder of the piece of furniture; 3, and 4, respectively, the attachment plates to the shoulder 2 and to the door 1, equipped with respective bases 3a and 4a for the interconnection of the elements of the double quadrilateral; 5, the lever loaded by the snap spring contained n the base plate 6 with telescopic cover 7 that slides inside said base plate: these constituting the telescopic capsule; 8, a dorsal lever of the quadrilateral, completed by the lever 5 and by links 9, 10; 11, the transverse, hardened ventral pin of the lever 5 loaded by the snap spring 12, on which tne load of said spring acts (Figures 7, 8) through the base plate 6 rotationally coupled to said pin; said pin being a separate component; 13, (Figure 7) three dorsal bridging elements connecting the side elements 13a of the traditional lever 5; 14, (Figure 8) a lever loaded by the same snap spring 12 of the hinge in Figures 1, 2, 3, having an analogous function to that of said lever 5, but which is integral and which has just two bridging elements which are ventral, not dorsal: one bridging element 15 connecting the two side elements 16 (equipped with anti-seizure protrusions) and a bridging element 17 (Figures 4, t, 8 constituting an integral crosspiece with prismatic section set into a recess m the base plate 6 substituting the ventral pin; 18, (Figures 14, 15, 16) a pair of chamfers of the bridging element 17, that give the dorsal surface of said bridging element the form of a semi-polygonal broken line so as to improve the rotational coupling with the recess 18a with semi-circular section set into the spherical base of the base plate 6; 19, three corresponding holes in the two side elements 16 of the lever 14 for the insertion of the pins 20; 21, the initial part of the metallic strip from which, on exiting from the die, a pair of levers 5 are made which are destined to be loaded by the spring 12 in the traditional snap hinge of Figures 1, 2, 3; 22, 23, 24, a series of holes (repeated along the two lines of the strip) respectively punched, drawn and gauged, which constitute the seat for riveting the hardened transverse pin 11 m the traditional hinge, whose opposite seat is 11a (Figure 9) ; 25, 25a, the two punches for carrying out the two punching operations for creating the three bridging elements of the lever 5; 26, 27, 28, punches for the punching the outline of the lever 5; 29, punches of the die for folding and centring purposes; 30, punches for the cutting and the fιna_ separation of the levers 5 from the strip; 31, (Figure 10) a metallic strip, conveniently narrower and thicker than the metallic strip 21, to manufacture the levers 14 with integral pin as described, by means of an automated procedure, advantageously in a single die; 32, a pair of gauged shears to cut a part of the outline of the lever 14; 36, a pair of punches that deform through compression or upsetting which act on the edge of the external part of each bridging element 17 to make one of the cnamfers of the pair 16 that constitute its "rounding": the other being made witn the action of the same final punching element 37 that effects the separation of the lever 14 from the strip 31; 38, two pairs of centring punches to prevent the forward displacement of the metallic material constituting the cridging element 17 during the deformation of the e ge required to obtain the external chamfer 18 of said bridging element . In practice the materials, dimensions and details of execution, tne thickness of the strip from which the parts of the integral lever with side elements are made, may be different from, but technically equivalent to those descπbeα without departing from the juridical domain of the present invention. Furthermore, the other components of the hinge may be shapeα and coupled differently without said hinge departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims: D CLAIMS 1. Snap hinge, comprising a plurality cf articulated levers (8, 9, 10, 14) interposed between a first member (1) and a second member (2) reciprocally angularly positionable between a first and a second end position, elastic means (12) being interposed between levers (9, 14) of said plurality of levers (8, 9, 10, 14), at least one lever (14) comprising side portions (16) and at least one interconnecting portion (17) interconnecting said side portions and integrally originating from corresponding opposite edge regions of said side portions so as to form a bridge-like structure between the side portions (16), said at least one lever (14) cooperating with said elastic means (12) at respective ninge means (17, 18a), characterised m that, said hinge means (17, 18a) are only provided for at said at least one interconnecting portion (17) . 2. Snap hinge according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of independent interconnecting portions (17, 15 is provided for on said edge regions. 3. Snap hinge according to claim 2, wherein said plurality of mtependent interconnecting portions (17, 15) are substantially co-planar. 4. Snap hinge as claimed m claim 1 and 2, or 3, wherein sa d at least one lever (14) has articulating end holes (20 and said interconnecting portions (17, 15) are located on the same side from an axis passing through centers of said articulated end holes (20) . M Snap hinge as claimed m claim 1, wherein said at least one interconnecting portion (17) is located in a ventral position with respect to the body of said lever (14) . 6. Snap hinge as claimed m claim 1, wherein said at least one interconnecting portion (1M has a round-snaped profile so as to couple with a recess (18a) of a telescopic capsule (6, M enclosing said elastic means. 7. Snap hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one interconnecting portion (17) has a profile comprising a pair of chamfers (18) so as to couple with a recess (18a) of a telescopic capsule (6, 7) enclosing said elastic means (12) . 8. A lever for a hinge, comprising a body (14) having side portions (16) joined together by interconnecting portions (17, 15), said side portions (16) having opposite ends provided with pairs of holes (19) at which said lever (16) can be articulated, characterised m that said interconnecting portions (17, 15) are situated on the same side with respect to an axis passing through the centres of said pairs of holes (19) . 9. A lever as claimed in claim 8, wherein one of said interconnecting portions is rounded m shape. 10. A lever as claimed in claim 8, wherein one of said mterconectmg portions is provided with a pair of chamfers (18) . 11. A method for manufacturing a lever (14) for a snap hinge, comprising punching a metallic strip (31) with a profile corresponding to a planar outline of the lever including side portions (16) joined together by at least one interconnecting portion (17), bending said side portions (16) at substantially right angle with respect to said at least one interconnecting portion (17), characterized in that, it further comprises forming said at least one interconnecting portion (17) so that its external shape ma be coupled with hinge means. 12. A method as claimed m claim 11, wherein said forming comprises obtaining a pair of opposing cna fers (18) by upsetting. 13. A method as claimed m claim 12, wherein said upsetting is obtained in the same die for said chamfers by means of punches (36, 37 ^ . 14. A method as laimed in claim 11, wherein said forming comprising obtaining a rounded profile of said interconnecting means (17) . 15. A method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein said at least one interconnecting portion (17) is obtained, integrally with the side elements (16), from a metallic strip (31) using a single die.

Inventors: ZETTI DANIELE, ZETTI, DANIELE
Applicants: TGN SPA, ZETTI DANIELE, T.G.N. S.P.A., ZETTI, DANIELE
Application year: 1995
Main classification: E05D11
IPC codes: E05D3, E05D11