Patent Publication Number: US-2013239363-A1

Title: Slow-Down Mechanism Placed in Furniture Hinge

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention refers to a slow-down mechanism for moving furniture units like a door, wherein the mechanism is placed in a hinge which consists of minimum one arm and one cup and an internal and external articulating arm which associates the cup to the arm for slowing down the closure of moving components, for preventing noise, and preventing hitting of the moving component to the other side, to the fixed furniture unit when they are closed fast. 
     The invention is related especially to canceling the damper belonging to slow-down mechanism mentioned and adjusting the damper stroke depending on the weight of the moving furniture. 
     PREVIOUS ART 
     Mechanisms which contain slowing down shock absorbers located at different points of both furniture and furniture hinge which ensure slowing down the closure of the moving door, thus prevent the damaging of the furniture and making a loud noise due to slamming on the other side while closing the furniture with one or multiple moving doors which open and close by means of hinges on fixed furniture cases are known in the previous art. 
     In this field; the mechanisms with a shock absorber installed on a fixed or moving furniture are known from the patent publications DE3729597, U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,483, and KR100731336B1, those with a shock absorber installed on a hinge arm are known from the patent publications EP1199433, EP1920128, WO2008020682, WO2009131348, the mechanisms which contain rotating shock absorbers installed on the side surface of a hinge cup are known from the patent publications WO2009/105794 and WO2008083417, the mechanisms which contain a rotating shock absorber installed under a hinge cup are known from the patent publications EP1344885, EP1969200, and WO2009115171, mechanisms which contain a shock absorber installed on a hinge cup are known from the patent publications WO2008136780, US20080209674, DE102007037480 and WO2005088052, the mechanisms which include a shock absorber installed under the hinge arm are known from the patent publications EP1555372, EP1375797, and WO2009021799. 
     Among the mentioned patents, the patent publication EP1555372 defines a shock absorber body fixed on the hinge arm in order to ensure slow closure of the moving doors on the fixed furniture, characterized in that the shock absorber&#39;s pivot is articulated by means of a power transferring component to the bottom articulation component among internal and external articulation components which bind the hinge&#39;s cup and hinge&#39;s arm on each other in a manner to allow their rotation. 
     Also the patent publication WO20090217799 mentions a similar application to that of the publication EP1555372. 
     The patent publication EP1375797 mentions a shock absorber body installed in the hinge arm in an adjustable manner, and the pivot of the shock absorber is articulated on a protrusion created on the internal articulation component by means of a pin. 
     The biggest drawback of the slowing down mechanisms in the mentioned hinge arm is fixing the shock absorber body in the hinge arm in a static manner. 
     Another drawback is the reduction of the lifetime of the shock absorber as the shock absorber&#39;s pivot is exposed to impacts especially in cases of fast closing and opening. 
     OBJECTIVE AND FEATURES OF THE INVENTION 
     The purpose of the technique, keeping its known version in mind, is to develop a slow-down mechanism that will have moving units like covers, doors, etc. closed on fixed furniture units in the closing direction, mounted to the fixed furniture unit with at least one end while another is fixed to the moving furniture unit, located inside the hinge arm of the hinge made up of an arm and a bowl as well as at least one internal and external knuckle arm jointing the said arm and bowl to each other with pins, and preventing the damper&#39;s shaft suffering sudden shocks with the help of a damper having a body element mounted at least in a manner to move inside the hinge arm or an internal body taking place inside the hinge arm in cases where the moving cover is quickly opened and closed, thus extending the useful life of the damper; and, to have the capability, through the mechanism mentioned, to use the hinge also without damper by canceling the damper inside the hinge depending on the user&#39;s preference as well as the capability to make the stroke adjustment depending on the moving furniture&#39;s weight. 
     The invented furniture hinge, which is explained in more details with the following figures and reference numbers and which has been realized for achieving the mentioned objectives includes minimum one pulling arm which moves the shock absorber body while moving from open position to closed position and enables resting the shock absorber pivot onto the supporting component which is articulated on the inner articulating arm of the shock absorber pivot and operates the shock absorber, one end of which is connected to the shock absorber body connected to the pin in a channel and/or pivot along the hinge arm and/or internal body, and the other end of which is articulated on the protrusion on the inner articulating arm and/or on a pin which would have the same function, which contains minimum one hole which enables moving the pin on the shock absorber body, and minimum one spring which is attached on the shock absorber&#39;s pivot and which moves the shock absorber body to the initial position, in other words which rewinds the shock absorber while moving the hinge from the open position to close position. 
     One feature of the invention is that; as the pulling arm in the mentioned mechanism acts according to the movement of the internal and external articulating arm, the shock absorber body moves independent from the pulling arm when it is taken from closed position to open position, so involves a longitudinal pivot which is installed on the pin over the shock absorber body and which enables moving the shock absorber with spring force. 
     One other feature of the invention is that the shock absorber pivot may be attached to the supporting component either in a fixed manner or it can be positioned on an interim component with a pivot in a manner that it can act freely. 
     One other feature of the invention is that the shock absorber body may be positioned in the longitudinal pivot along the side surface of the internal body of the hinge arm, or it may also be positioned in the mentioned hole by means of protruding pins created on the shock absorber body. 
     The structural and characteristic features of the invention and its all advantages will be understood more clearly by means of the following shapes and the detailed description given with references to the figures, and therefore the assessment must consider these figures and the detailed description. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
       FIG.  1 —Slowing down mechanism and top perspective disassembly view of the hinge. 
       FIG.  2 —Top perspective assembly and cross sectional view of the hinge. 
       FIG.  3 —Side cross sectional view of the hinge in open position. 
       FIG. ( 4 - 7 )—Top perspective partial cross sectional view of the hinge in opening position until the moment of closing. 
       FIG.  8 —Side cross sectional view of the alternative embodiment. 
       FIG.  9 —Top perspective view of the adjusting mechanism connected to the damper. 
       FIG.  10 —Top perspective disassembly view of the adjusting mechanism. 
         FIG. 10   a —Bottom perspective disassembly view of the adjusting mechanism. 
       FIG.  11 —Sectional side view related to inactivating the damper inside the hinge in its open position. 
       FIG.  12 —Sectional side view related to the stroke adjustments of the damper inside the hinge in its open position. 
       FIG.  13 —Sectional side view belonging to the hinge and the damper in its closed position. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMBERS 
       1 —Hinge 
       2 —Arm 
       3 —Cup 
       4 —Assembly sole plate 
       4 . 1 —Channel 
       5 —External articulating arm 
       6 —Internal articulating arm 
       6 . 1 —Protrusion 
       7 —Pin 
       8 —Spring 
       9 —Pin 
       10 —Pin 
       11 —Pin 
       12 —Internal body 
       12 . 1 —Longitudinal channel and/or hole 
       13 —Height adjustment screw 
       14 —Eccentric back &amp; forth adjustment screw 
       14 . 1 —Perforated surface 
       15 —Flexible holder component 
       16 —Spring 
       17 —Pin 
       18 —Shock absorber 
       18 . 1 —Moving shock absorber body 
       18 . 2 —Pivot 
       18 . 3 —Protrusion 
       19 —Supporting component 
       20 —Interim component 
       20 . 1 —Channel 
       21 —Pulling arm 
       21 . 1 —Hole 
       22 —Pin 
       23 —Spring 
       24 —Latch 
       24 . 1 —Hook 
       25 —Adjusting mechanism 
       25 . 1 —Adjusting screw 
       25 . 2 —Helical tooth 
       25 . 3 —Body 
       25 . 4 —Hole 
       25 . 5 —Holder 
       25 . 6 —Moving stopper body 
       25 . 7 —Successive protrusions 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION IN DETAIL 
       FIG. 1  represents top perspective disassembly view of all components which belong to the slowing down mechanism and the hinge. According to the figure, the hinge ( 1 ) consists of minimum one cup ( 3 ) for installation into the socket on minimum one of the furniture panels, an arm ( 2 ) for installation on the other furniture panel by means of an installation sole plate ( 4 ), internal ( 6 ) and external articulating arms ( 5 ) which connect the hinge arm on the hinge cup in a rotating manner through the holes on it by means of pins ( 7 ,  10 ,  11 ), a pre-loaded spring ( 8 ) which is attached to the pin of the external articulating arm and one end of which applies pressure on the pin ( 9 ) over the internal articulating arm and prevents undesired opening of the hinge arm when it is in closed position, and an internal body ( 12 ) component which provides connection to the hinge arm and the installation soleplate in the hinge arm. 
     Also according to the figure, the mentioned hinge preferably includes a height adjustment screw ( 14 ) for height adjustment of the hinge arm on the internal body, an eccentric adjustment screw ( 14 ) for back and forth adjustment of the hinge arm on the internal body ( 12 ), a flexible holder component ( 15 ) which prevents slipping of the setting screw by bouncing towards perforated surfaces ( 14 . 1 ) on the adjustment screw in order to prevent the deformation of back &amp; forth adjustment, and a hatch component ( 24 ) which is articulated in the inner body by means of a spring ( 16 ) and a pin ( 17 ) and which bounces and interlocks with the installation sole plate ( 4 ) through the channel ( 4 . 1 ) on the installation base plate by means of a hook ( 24 . 1 ) on it. 
     According to the figures, the mentioned hinge ( 1 ) which is used for opening and closing moving furniture items such as a cover or a door on a fixed furniture includes a gas, air, oil or spring shock absorber ( 18 ) in it for slowing down the closing of the moving door, and especially in order to prevent the shock absorber pivot&#39;s exposure to impacts in cases of fast opening and closing and to increase the lifetime of the shock absorber, the body of the mentioned shock absorber is positioned in a moveable manner in the hinge arm ( 2 ) and/or inner body ( 12 ), while the shock absorber pivot ( 18 . 2 ) is attached to the supporting component ( 19 ) which is articulated to the hinge arm ( 2 ) by means of a pin ( 11 ) over the internal articulating arm ( 6 ). The reason for connecting the shock absorber pivot to the supporting component is to prevent the relocation of the supporting component due to the articulation movement, and to ensure that the pivot ( 18 . 2 ) presses properly on the supporting component when the hinge is opened and closed. In one alternative embodiment of the invention ( FIG. 8 ), the shock absorber pivot ( 18 . 2 ) is positioned in a manner that it moves in the channel ( 20 . 1 ) of an interim component ( 20 ) which is overspread on the supporting component. 
     Also according to the figures, the slowing down mechanism positioned in the furniture hinge includes minimum one spring which moves the shock absorber body while the hinge moves from open position to closed position and enables resting the shock absorber pivot onto the supporting component ( 19 ) thus enabling the operation of the shock absorber ( 18 ), one end of which is articulated to the hinge arm ( 2 ) and/or to the shock absorber body ( 18 . 1 ) which is attached freely with a pin ( 22 ) in the longitudinal channel and/or hole ( 12 . 1 ) on the inner body ( 12 ), and the other end of which is articulated to the protrusion ( 6 . 1 ) on the inner articulating arm ( 6 ) and/or to the pin which would have the same function, minimum one pulling arm ( 21 ) with minimum one hole ( 21 . 1 ) that enables the movement of the pin on the shock absorber body, which is attached to the shock absorber body and which moves back the shock absorber body to its initial state, or in other words rewinds the shock absorber pivot ( 18 . 2 ) as the hinge moves from the open position to close position. The components named as the fixed furniture, moving furniture or the furniture panel are not illustrated on the figures as they are not required). 
       FIGS. 4 to 7  provide illustrations of the shock absorber&#39;s movement from open position to closed position. According to the figure, when the hinge arm is closed in the cup direction, due to the rotating axis of the inner and outer articulation, the pulling arm ( 21 ) pulls the and moves the moving shock absorber body ( 18 . 1 ) in the longitudinal channel and/or hole ( 12 . 1 ) on the hinge arm or inner body. As the hinge turns from closed position to open position, the spring which is pressed between the supporting component surface ( 19 ) and the shock absorber pivot ( 18 . 2 ) returns the moving shock absorber body ( 18 . 1 ) to its initial position by the help of the pivot ( 21 . 1 ) which occurs on the pulling arm ( 21 ). Here, the pivot on the pulling arm prevents damaging the shock absorber pivot because of impacts due to the moving cover, in other words the hinge arm or the hinge cup in case of fast opening. 
     As the pulling arm ( 21 ) in the mentioned mechanism acts according to the movement of the internal and external articulating arm ( 6 ,  5 ), the shock absorber body moves independent from the pulling arm when it is taken from closed position to open position, so involves a longitudinal pivot ( 21 . 1 ) which is installed on the pin over the shock absorber body and which enables moving the shock absorber with spring force. 
       FIG. 9-13  represents the view related to the use of the hinge also without damper by cancelling it inside the hinge depending on the user&#39;s preference as well as the view showing the possibility to adjust the damper&#39;s stroke depending on the weight of the moving furniture. 
       FIGS. 10 and 10   a  represent the views belonging to the adjusting mechanism ( 25 ) making the stroke adjustments if the damper ( 18 ) or inactivating the damper inside the hinge. According to the figure, the adjusting mechanism ( 25 ) contains a body ( 25 . 3 ) fixed under the hinge arm ( 2 ), an adjusting screw ( 25 . 1 ) located in the hole ( 25 . 4 ) on the body and having a helical tooth ( 25 . 2 ) under it, and a moving stopper body ( 25 . 6 ) which is held by the stopper ( 25 . 5 ) under the said body and incorporating successive protrusions ( 25 . 7 ) which may be moved by the adjusting screw under the body. 
     According to the above-mentioned figures, the helical tooth ( 25 . 2 ) of the adjusting screw ( 25 . 1 ) which is located in the hole ( 25 . 4 ) on the body ( 25 . 3 ) fixed under the hinge arm ( 2 ) is rotated and the helical tooth of the adjusting screw ( 25 . 2 ) makes the moving stopper body ( 25 . 6 ) move back and forth on successive protrusions ( 25 . 7 ), then holding the damper at its protrusion ( 18 . 3 ) and preventing damper&#39;s shaft ( 18 . 2 ), connected to the support element ( 19 ) which is further connected to the internal knuckle arm ( 6 ) with a pin ( 11 ), stop and set under the spring&#39;s ( 23 ) effect and/or adjust it and thus making damper ( 18 ) inactivated and/or making stroke adjustment.