Patent ID: 8166613

Claim:
A limiting hinge comprising: a stationary bracket; a pintle attached securely to the stationary bracket; a stationary limiting washer mounted securely around the pintle and having an arced limiting flange formed transversely on and protruding from an annular edge of the stationary limiting washer and having two ends; a rotating limiting washer mounted rotatably around the pintle adjacent to the stationary limiting washer and having a limit formed longitudinally on and protruding from a first side of the rotating limiting washer and selectively abutting the ends of the limiting flange of the stationary limiting washer; and at least one boss formed longitudinally on and protruding from a second side of the rotating limiting washer, each of the at least one boss having two straight ends; a rotating bracket mounted rotatably around the pintle adjacent to the second side of the rotating limiting washer and having at least one recess formed longitudinally in a first side of the rotating bracket and selectively engaging the at least one boss of the rotating limiting washer; and at least one detent formed longitudinally in a second side of the rotating bracket, and each of the at least one detent having two inclined ends; a positioning washer mounted slidably around and rotated simultaneously with the pintle, disposed adjacent to the second side of the rotating bracket and having at least one protrusion formed longitudinally on and protruding from a first side of the positioning washer and selectively engaging the at least one detent of the rotating bracket, and each of the at least one boss having two inclined ends; a resilient element mounted around the pintle and abutting the positioning washer; and a fastener mounted securely around an end of the pintle, wherein when an external force is exerted to rotate the rotating bracket relative to the stationary bracket, the at least one protrusion is gradually disengaged from the at least one detent, and the rotating limiting washer is rotated simultaneously with the rotating bracket until the limit abuts the limiting flange to disengage the rotating limiting washer from the rotating bracket.