Patent Publication Number: US-6701573-B1

Title: Fast assembly hinge

Description:
RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to an improved fast assembly hinge for hinging two elements together for movement relatively of each other and relates in particular to such a hinge for supporting the cover of a vertically mounted dispenser having a wall-mounting plate or back plate and a cover movable between open and closed positions. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are a wide number of dispensers for various products known in the art. One particular type of such a dispenser is designed to be mounted on a wall or other vertical surface and includes a back plate or wall-mounting plate and a cover which is hinged at one end to one end of the back plate and intended to be movable between open and closed positions. These dispensers generally will contain, on the back plate, a removable cartridge or refill package of some sort which will contain the material intended to be dispensed from the dispenser. 
     There are a number of various hinge arrangements known in the art, and in most of the prior art, the cover is hinged to the back plate by snapping the two elements together at the point of hinged connection. 
     The major disadvantage of this arrangement is that dispensers of this type tend to be found in every industrial and commercial facility and, as such, they sustain a significant range of abuse when they are installed. This can be a serious problem in the field in that the cover or the hinge or both can sustain severe damage even to the extent of making the dispenser unusable. 
     The problem with the current known designs are that the snap together forces are quite high because the snap is all that holds the hinged components together. For example, when one is routinely replacing a spent container or cartridge with a new, full one the procedure is simply to swing the cover to the open position, remove and discard the old, empty container or cartridge, insert the new full one and close the cover. In performing this function it is common to rest the new, full container or cartridge on the open cover while removing the old one. Thus, a common hinge robustness test would be to place a full refill cartridge or container on the cover to see if that causes the hinge to break or come apart. This test replicates what often happens in the field where the individual refilling the container will rest the refill cartridge on the cover in its open position while removing the spent cartridge and it has been found that the usual known hinge will frequently come apart or even break. 
     Accordingly, it is felt desirable to provide a hinge assembly which is quite easy to assemble when the dispenser per se is assembled, but yet which is strong enough to resist the major forces that the hinge will typically see in use. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the above-noted object, it has been found that such a fast assembly yet durable hinge assembly can be provided by providing hinge barrels carried by the cover which receive hinge pins carried by the back plate. The hinge pins are designed to snap into the barrels along their longitudinal axes and, in practice, the weight of the forces normally encountered are borne by the hinge pins. 
     It has further been found that if the hinge barrels and hinge pins can be arranged horizontally, then the length of the hinge pins and the barrels provide support along the axis of the hinging movement as contrasted to the snap together designs of the prior art. 
    
    
     It accordingly becomes a principal object of this invention to provide a fast assembly hinge assembly of the character above-described with other objects thereof becoming more apparent upon a reading of the following brief specification considered and interpreted in view of the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one type of dispenser showing the cover in the closed position with respect to the back plate. 
     FIG. 2 is side elevational view of the dispenser of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the back plate, cover and hinge assembly in the disassembled condition just prior to assembly. 
     FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line  4 — 4  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged elevational view showing the one part of the hinge assembly in the assembled condition. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line  6 — 6  of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line  7 — 7  of FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line  8 — 8  of FIG.  5 . 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that one type of dispenser with which the present invention would have utility is illustrated and generally indicated by the numeral  10 . This dispenser includes a back plate  20  which is intended to be mounted on a vertical surface and may be installed either permanently or removably. 
     The cover, generally indicated by the numeral  30 , is hinged as at  31  to the back plate for movement between open and closed positions relative to the back plate  20  as will be described in more detail below. 
     Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that a push bar or pressure member  40  is also carried by the cover and the operation of dispensers of this type generally involves placing a refill cartridge (not shown) with a pump on it inside the dispenser with the pump and an attached nozzle extending to the bottom of the assembled structure so that actuation of the push bar or pressure member  40  activates the pump and discharges a known quantity of material onto the hand of the user or into a receptacle, as the case may be. 
     It should be understood that one exemplar of a dispenser of this general nature is illustrated in the drawings and described herein for illustrative purposes, but that the hinge assembly, which is the subject of this invention, would have equal utility with a wide range of dispenser designs so long as a cover and a back plate are provided and it is intended that the cover be openable by pivoting about its point of connection with the back plate or support member. 
     Turning then to FIGS. 3 through 8 for a description of the hinge assembly of the current invention, it will be seen that attached to the cover and projecting therefrom are a pair of hinge “barrels”  50 . These barrels are mounted, in the form of the invention illustrated, by support brackets  51 ,  51  which project from one end of the cover  30  and are generally circular in configuration, although a complete circle is not necessary. That is, the body  52  of each barrel has at least a partial circular circumference and has at least one open end  53  for receipt of the appropriate hinge pin as will be described. 
     Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, it will be seen that interiorly of each barrel body  52  a radially projecting rib  54  is formed which cooperates with the hinge pin itself as will also be described below. 
     Still referring to FIGS. 3 through 8 of the drawings, it will be seen that a pair hinge pin assemblies  60 ,  60  project from the back plate or support plate  20 . As is the case with the hinge barrels  50 ,  50 , support brackets  61 ,  61  are provided to carry the hinge pins which comprise an elongate, generally tubular member  62 . This elongate member  62  has a body portion  62   a  and a head portion  62   b  with an annular groove  62   c  disposed adjacent the distal end of each pin  62 . 
     In use or operation of the dispenser, it is first necessary to assemble the cover  30  and attach it to the back plate  20 . This is accomplished by simply sliding the hinge pins  62  axially or laterally into the hinge barrels  52 . The distal end of each hinge pin can easily be snapped over the raised rib  54  of the barrels and the groove  62   c  will then register on the ribs  54 . In this fashion, the hinge connection will resist disassembly during normal operation. It is, however, possible to disassemble the cover from the back plate by pulling, for example, from the left to the right of FIG. 3 of the drawings to snap the grooves  62   b  out of engagement with the ribs  54  and thereby return the overall components to the FIG. 3 position. 
     However, when assembled, as illustrated, for example, in FIGS. 4 through 8 of the drawings, it will be seen that any weight applied to the cover  30  will be resisted by the length of the hinge pin  62  even when the cover is in the open position. This is in contrast, of course, to the snap together arrangements of the prior art in which a shaft or hinge pin extending transversely of the back plate is employed and the cover is snapped over that structure so that the only force resisting disassembly through abuse of the cover in the open position is the friction fit in the snap-together arrangement. 
     It will also be noted that these dispensers are generally fabricated from molded plastic or a similar material and that the components of the hinge assembly may be molded integrally with the cover and back plate for economy and to eliminate or reduce the number of separate parts for the overall dispenser. 
     While a full and complete description of the invention has been set forth in accordance with the dictates of the Patent Statutes, it should be understood that modifications can be resorted to without departing from the spirit hereof or the scope of the appended claims.