An appliance cabinet may be made having at least a first metallic tub, and a mounting bracket by which a component of the appliance may be mounted to the cabinet. The bracket and the first metallic tub may be juxtaposed. The bracket may be attached to the first metallic tub by moving one of a portion of the first metallic tub or the bracket at a speed great enough to induce plastic flow of the portion of the first metallic tub about a portion of the bracket.

A goose neck hinge assembly for a motor vehicle includes a base portion extending from a panel attachment portion to a hinge portion, the base portion having a substantially rectangular cross section. The goose neck hinge assembly further includes a mounting bracket mounted to the motor vehicle and rotatably connected to the hinge portion of the base portion. The base portion has a first structural element includes a first material with a first material thickness and a second structural element includes a second material with a second material thickness. The first material thickness is different than the second material thickness. The first structural element forms a substantially U-shaped portion of the substantially rectangular cross section and defines a longitudinal gap, and the second structural element is disposed over the longitudinal gap.

A compliant hinge for deployable membrane-like structures and other applications is provided. The compliant hinge generally includes a flexible intermediate portion having one or more enclosed contours connected by inner longitudinal segments along a longitudinal axis of symmetry. The enclosed contours are resiliently deformable in response to an in-plane load, including tension and shear forces. The compliant hinge allows for rotation, bending, and extension, and can interconnect rigid panels in tensioned precision structures and other applications.

An automotive hinge assembly adapted to facilitate motion of a closure panel relative to a fixed body structure comprises a door component constructed from two press formed angle brackets structurally connected via a pivot pin and adapted to be mounted to a vehicle closure panel, a body component constructed from two press formed angle brackets structurally connected via a simple formed feature and the pivot pin and adapted to be mounted to a vehicle body structure, such that the pivot pin structurally assembles the two hinge components, facilitates relative rotary motion between them and structurally connects the multiple press formed angle brackets so that the resulting assembly achieves a much higher material efficiency than the prior art with an associated significant cost reduction.

An automotive hinge assembly adapted to facilitate motion of a closure panel relative to a fixed body structure comprises a door component constructed from two press formed angle brackets structurally connected via a pivot pin and adapted to be mounted to a vehicle closure panel, a body component constructed from two press formed angle brackets structurally connected via a simple formed feature and the pivot pin and adapted to be mounted to a vehicle body structure, such that the pivot pin structurally assembles the two hinge components, facilitates relative rotary motion between them and structurally connects the multiple press formed angle brackets so that the resulting assembly achieves a much higher material efficiency than the prior art with an associated significant cost reduction.

The present invention provides a packaging sleeve that can be attached to a base, such as a pallet, to form a container. The container can be used for the shipping and/or storage of goods. The packaging sleeve comprises latching members by which the packaging sleeve may be securably attached to the base in a manner of seconds. The present invention also provides a collapsible packaging sleeve having four panels, each panel being hingedly connected to two adjacent panels by non-metallic hinges. By operation of the non-metallic hinges, the box can be collapsed such that the packaging sleeve lays substantially flat, rendering it suitable for easy, out of the way storage and enhancing warehouse efficiency. The non-metallic hinges are designed to have a long life span and to be operable with panels having various dimensions.

A hinge for a refrigerator includes a hinge support configured to be mounted on a front surface of a cabinet of the refrigerator, where the hinge support has a plate shape and defining a coupling hole, a hinge bracket including an insertion part configured to be inserted into the coupling hole, where the hinge bracket is coupled to the hinge support along a longitudinal direction of the hinge support, and a hinge pin that is configured to mount to the hinge bracket and that is configured to allow a door of the refrigerator to rotate about the hinge pin. The hinge support includes a bracket support that at least partially surrounds the coupling hole and protrudes from a front surface of the hinge support, the bracket support being configured to provide support to the hinge support.

An automotive hinge assembly adapted to facilitate motion of a closure panel relative to a fixed body structure comprises a door component constructed from two press formed angle brackets structurally connected via a pivot pin and adapted to be mounted to a vehicle closure panel, a body component constructed from two press formed angle brackets structurally connected via a simple formed feature and the pivot pin and adapted to be mounted to a vehicle body structure, such that the pivot pin structurally assembles the two hinge components, facilitates relative rotary motion between them and structurally connects the multiple press formed angle brackets so that the resulting assembly achieves a much higher material efficiency than the prior art with an associated significant cost reduction.

An automotive hinge assembly adapted to facilitate motion of a closure panel relative to a fixed body structure comprises a door component constructed from two press formed angle brackets structurally connected via a pivot pin and adapted to be mounted to a vehicle closure panel, a body component constructed from two press formed angle brackets structurally connected via a simple formed feature and the pivot pin and adapted to be mounted to a vehicle body structure, such that the pivot pin structurally assembles the two hinge components, facilitates relative rotary motion between them and structurally connects the multiple press formed angle brackets so that the resulting assembly achieves a much higher material efficiency than the prior art with an associated significant cost reduction.

A method of manufacturing a door hinge, which can improve productivity by applying both metal injection molding and additive manufacturing is disclosed. The method includes: preparing a first mixture of a first metal powder and a first binder, and a second mixture of a second metal powder and a second binder; molding the first mixture into a first body including a first connection member having a first pinhole; molding the first mixture into a second body including a second connection member having a second pinhole to communicate with the first pinhole; arranging the first body and the second body to align the first pinhole and the second pinhole along an axis to form a cavity; forming a pin member with the second mixture in the cavity by adding up droplets of the second mixture in the cavity; and sintering the first body, the second body, and the pin member.