Patent Publication Number: US-2005125949-A1

Title: Adjustable hinge for assembling a non-frame plate glass of a bathroom

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention relates to a hinge particularly to one able to be adjusted to control a non-frame plate glass of a bathroom to recover its position and enabling the non-frame plate glass to swing to be fully and accurately closed with a doorjamb of a bathroom and also having an esthetic appearance.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      Nowadays, people are particular about the layout, the equipment and the display of articles of a bathroom, and more and more people like to partition a bathroom into an inner space for shower bath and an outer space, which can always be kept dry and clean. Generally, a high-class bathroom is partitioned with a non-frame plate glass pivotally assembled on a doorjamb of the bathroom by hinges, or directly assembled pivotally on a wall surface by hinges to let the non-frame plate glass swing open and closed freely.  
      In some cases, a bathroom is not built in a square shape due to poor building quality or a non-square building locality; therefore after two doorjambs a are fixed on the wall surface of a bathroom and a non-frame plate glass is assembled on one doorjamb or directly assembled on a wall surface by hinges, it is impossible to make the non-frame plate glass closed fully and accurately with the doorjamb or with the wall surface. The reason is that a conventional bathroom hinge can only be swung vertically for 90 degrees; therefore when the non-frame plate glass is assembled on a non-parallel doorjamb or wall surface, it cannot accurately be closed fully with another doorjamb and consequently a gap may form therebetween, not only spoiling its esthetic appearance but also rendering shower water splashing outward.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The objective of the invention is to offer an adjustable hinge for assembling the non-frame plate glass of a bathroom. The hinge has a bottom base pivotally fitted thereon with a position-recovering rotary button having an engage groove in the outer surface. The engage groove of the position-recovering rotary button is timely engaged and held by the press wheel of an elastic press unit, which is positioned in the lower groove of a clamp base. The position-recovering rotary button is provided with a tightening bolt, which can be screwed or unscrewed to adjust the position-recovering rotary button to any preset position to enable the non-frame plate glass to swing to be fully and accurately closed with the doorjamb of a bathroom, preventing shower water from splashing outward and having an esthetic appearance. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
      This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an adjustable hinge for assembling the non-frame plate glass of a bathroom in the present invention:  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the adjustable hinge for assembling the non-frame plate glass of a bathroom in the present invention:  
       FIG. 3  is, a cross-sectional view of the adjustable hinge for assembling the non-frame plate glass of a bathroom in the present invention:  
       FIG. 4  is a side c ross-sectional view of the adjustable hinge assembled thereon with a non-frame plate glass in the present invention:  
       FIG. 5  is a side cross-sectional view of the adjustable hinge for assembling a non-frame plate glass in the present invention, showing a tightening bolt unscrewed for adjustment:  
       FIG. 6  is a side cross-sectional view of the adjustable hinge for assembling a non-frame plate glass in the present invention, showing the non-frame plate glass turned and the tightening bolt screwed tight after the bearing of the hinge is adjusted: and  
       FIG. 7  is a side cross-sectional view of the adjustable hinge for assembling a non-frame plate glass in the present invention, showing the non-frame plate glass fully closed with a doorjamb. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      A preferred embodiment of an adjustable hinge for assembling a non-frame plate glass of a bathroom in the present invention, as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , includes a clamp base,  10 , an elastic press unit  20  and a bottom base  30  as main components combined together.  
      The clamp base  10  consists of a main clamp plate  11 , an auxiliary clamp plate  12  and two cushion sheets  13  positioned between the main and the auxiliary clamp plate  11 ,  12 . The main plate  11  contains a base plate  111 , a threaded stud  112  protruding upward near the upper edge of the base plate  111  and having a threaded hole  1121 , and a projecting portion  113  formed at the lower end of the base plate  111  and flush with the threaded stud  112 . The base plate  111  and the projecting portion  113  have their lower central portion bored with an accommodating groove  114 , and the projecting portion  113  is bored in the center with a press-wheel receiving groove  115  communicating with the accommodating groove  114 . Further, the projecting portion  113  has its lower opposite inner sides respectively bored with a lengthwise spring receiving groove  116  communicating with the press-wheel receiving groove  115 , its topside bored with a threaded hole  117  and its lower opposite outer sides respectively bored with a pin hole  118 . The auxiliary clamp plate  12  having the same shape as the main clamp plate  11  is provided with two through holes  122  respectively matching with the threaded stud  112  and the threaded hole  117  of the main clamp plate  11  for two bolts  121  to be respectively screwed therein. The two cushion sheets  13  are respectively bored in the left end with a positioning hole  131  for the threaded stud  112  of the main clamp plate  11  to be fitted therein, letting the two cushion sheets  13  fitted between the inner side wall of the base plate  111  of the main clamp plate  11  and the inner wall of the auxiliary clamp plate  12  and also hold the opposite outer walls of a non-frame plate glass  40  inserted and positioned by the threaded stud  112  of the main clamp plate  11 .  
      The elastic press unit  20  consists of two springs  21 , an interacting shaft  22  and a press wheel  23 . The two springs  21  are respectively received in the two spring receiving grooves  116  at the opposite inner sides of the projecting portion  113  of the main clamp plate  11 . The interacting shaft  22  is transversely inserted through the press-wheel receiving groove  115  and has its opposite ends respectively positioned in the two spring receiving grooves  116  and pressed by the two springs  21 . The press wheel  23  made of plastic is fitted around the intermediate section of the interacting shaft  22 , able to produce an elastic resisting force.  
      The bottom base  30  contains a base body  31 , a position-recovering rotary button  32 , a fixing rod  33 , two stuffing members  34  and an elongate pin  35 .  
      The base body  31  has its four corners respectively bored with an insert hole  311  for a bolt  312  to be screwed therein to fix the base body  31  on a wall surface or on a doorjamb. The base body  31  is further provided on the topside with two symmetrical ears  313  respectively having a shaft hole  314 , and one of the two ears  313  has the outer side of its shaft hole  314  formed with a stepped positioning groove  3141  having an engage block  3142  protruding inward at the outer side edge.  
      The position-recovering rotary button  32  to be received between the two ears  313  of the base body  31  is bored with a shaft hole  321  aligned to the two shaft holes  314  of the two ears  313  and an axial arc-shaped engage groove  322  at a preset location of the outer edge. The position-recovering rotary button  32  has its opposite sides respectively provided with a tightening bolt  323  able to be screwed in the shaft hole  321 .  
      The fixing rod  33  made of copper is inserted in the two shaft holes  314  of the two ears  313  of the base body  31  and the shaft hole  321  of the position-recovering rotary button  32 , having a shaft hole  331  and a head  332  with a comparatively large diameter. The head  332  of the fixing rod  33  is bored with an engage notch  333  at a preset location of its outer side edge. Thus, when the head  332  of the fixing rod  33  is fitted in the positioning groove  3141  of the ear  313  of the base body  31 , the engage notch  333  of the fixing rod  33  can exactly engage with the engage block  3142  on the outer side edge of the positioning groove  3141  of the ear  313  to keep the fixing rod  33  immovable on the two ears  313  of the base body  31  The tightening bolt  323  of the position-recovering rotary button  32  can screw inward to tightly press the outer wall of the fixing rod  33  and retain the position-recovering rotary button  32  in position.  
      The two stuffing members  34  are respectively inserted in the two shaft holes  314  of the two ears  313  of the base body  31  and the opposite shaft holes  331  of the fixing rod  33 . Each stuffing member  34  has a shaft hole  341  and a head  342  with a comparatively large diameter, with the two heads  342  of the two stuffing members  34  respectively sealing the opposite ends of the fixing rod  33 .  
      The elongate pin  35  is inserted through the two pin holes  118  of the main clamp plate  11  and the two shaft holes  341  of the two stuffing members  34 , letting the two ears  313  of the bottom base  30  pivotally positioned in the accommodating groove  114  of the main clamp plate  31  and able to rotate therein.  
      The hinge of the invention can be fixedly assembled on a wall surface or on a doorjamb of a bathroom for clamping a non-frame plate glass thereon to enable the non-frame plate glass to turn pivotally. The hinge of the invention can be adjusted in its position so it is applicable to non-parallel doorjambs or wall surfaces. If the hinge of the invention is to be assembled on a wall surface  50 , as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 7 , the bottom base  30  of the hinge is first fixed on the wall surface  50  and a non-frame plate glass  40  is firmly clamped on the clamp base  10  to be swung open and closed with a doorjamb  60  assembled on another wall surface  51 . Since the two corresponding wall surfaces  50 ,  51  are not parallel to each other; therefore the orientating angle of the hinge must be larger than 90 degrees so as to enable the non-frame plate glass  40  on the hinge to swing to be fully and accurately closed with the doorjamb  60 .  
      Before adjusting the orientating angle of the hinge, the press wheel  23  of the elastic press unit  20  is adjusted to engage in the engage groove  322  of the position-recovering rotary button  32  on the bottom base  30 . Subsequently, the tightening bolt  323  of the position-recovering rotary button  32  is unscrewed to let the position-recovering rotary button  32  rotate together with the clamp base  10  and the elastic press unit  20 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . At this time, the non-frame plate glass  40  is swung to a position where the non-frame plate glass  40  can be fully closed with the doorjamb  60  and then the tightening bolt  323  on the position-recovering rotary button  32  is screwed tight, letting the engage groove  322  of the position-recovering rotary butt on  32  exactly aligned to the doorjamb  60 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . By so designing, when the non-frame plate glass  40  is swung to a closed position with the doorjamb  60 , the press wheel  23  of the elastic press unit  20  will engage in the engage groove  322  of the position-recovering rotary button  32 , accurately positioning the non-frame plate glass  40 .  
      To sum up, the hinge of the invention can always make the non-frame plate glass  40  fully and accurately closed with the doorjamb  60 , impossible to let shower water splash outward. In, addition, the hinge of the invention can be adjusted to any positions a user prefers, easy and convenient in adjustment.  
      While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications that may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.