Patent Publication Number: US-4224715-A

Title: Hinge

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to hinges and, more particularly, to door hinges having hinge members which are exposed when the hinges are mounted. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Hinges used for room doors or furniture doors include those, in which both hinge members 1 and 2 have bent pivotable portions 1b and 2b at some angles with respect to base portions 1a and 2a as shown in FIG. 1A, or those, in which a hinge member 1 is bent by a certain angle as shown in FIG. 1B, and these hinges are mounted, for instance, as in FIGS. 2 and 5, with the base portion 1a of the hinge member 1 exposed. Designated at 1c and 2c are hinge pin guide holes, at 3 hinge pin, at 4 a door, and at 5 a pillar. 
     There are proposals to impart such hinges with a function of automatically closing the door, for instance, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,420 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 4365/72. 
     The above patents disclose decorative hinges comprising hinge members having various outer shapes and also provided various irregularities. However, the bending process of the bent portions of the pivotable portions 1b and 2b and the hinge pin guide holes 1c and 2c imposes limitations upon the decorative outer shape or pattern. Besides, it is not economical to produce a stamping mold or bending mold for each of a variety of shapes or patterns. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a hinge, which overcome the drawbacks inherent in the prior art. In the hinge according to the present invention the hinge members are simple in form, and the hinge is provided with a separate auxiliary hinge member provided with a decorative design so that hinges having a variety of decorative designs may be readily and inexpensively manufactured with the combination of the hinge members and auxiliary hinge member. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B are exploded perspective views showing prior-art hinges; 
     FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a set-up, in which a hinge embodying the invention is mounted; 
     FIG. 3 shows an elevational view showing an embodiment of the hinge according to the invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a section taken along line IV--IV in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the hinge according to the invention; and 
     FIG. 6 is a section taken along line VI--VI in FIG. 3. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 3 is an elevational view of an embodiment of the invention using the hinge shown in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 4 is a section taken along IV--IV in FIG. 3. Designated at 6 in the drawings is an auxiliary hinge member, which may be a plastic molding or a die casting or may be stamped from a metal plate with a press. It is provided in its portion other than its base portion with a suitable design. For the positioning of the base portion 1a and auxiliary hinge member 6 with respect to each other, the base portion is provided on its one side with convexed portions 7 while providing the auxiliary hinge member on the corresponding side thereof with concave portion 8 so that these portions may engage one other when the base portion and auxiliary hinge member are overlapped over each other. Alternatively, the base portion and auxiliary hinge member may be overlapped by registering wood screw holes 9 formed in them. In their overlapped state, the base portion and auxiliary hinge member are mounted by screws 10 on a pillar or the like. 
     It is possible to provide the auxiliary hinge member with the convexed portions 7 and the base portion 1a with the recesses 8. 
     As has been shown, by providing the auxiliary hinge member 6 separately from the base portion 1a it is possible to readily obtain various shapes or patterns independently of the bending process of the hinge members. In addition, since the base portion 1a of the hinge member is simple in form, the manufacture is ready. Further, it is possible to use the auxiliary hinge member for positioning the hinge before mounting, so that the mounting can be facilitated.