A hinge device includes: a first and a second hinge components having a common reference axis; and a power generating device. The first and the second hinge components are engaged with each other, so as to be rotatable about the reference axis relative to each other, and so that one of the first and the second hinge components supports the other. The power generating device includes a housing and an input shaft, and generates electric power by rotation of the input shaft. The housing of the power generating device is fixed to the first hinge component, so that the input shaft of the power generating device is positioned on the reference axis. The input shaft of the power generating device is restrained to the second hinge component with respect to the direction of rotation about the reference axis, so that the input shaft of the power generating device rotates by as much as rotation of the second hinge component when the second hinge component rotates about the reference axis.

A refrigerator includes a cabinet, a door, and a hinge connecting the door to an upper surface of the cabinet. The hinge includes a mounting part mounted on the cabinet and a hinge pin inserted into the door. The door includes a door body that has a hinge mounting part and is filled with an insulating material, and a panel assembly mounted on a front surface of the door body. The hinge mounting part is recessed into the door body and receives the hinge inserted at a position spaced apart from the upper end of the door body. A pin mounting hole into which the hinge pin is inserted is formed on a lower surface of the hinge mounting part, and an upper opening through which an electric wire directed into the door passes is formed on an upper surface of the hinge mounting part.

A refrigerator includes a cabinet having a storage space, a hinge bracket configured to be installed on an upper wall of the cabinet and having a hinge shaft, a door configured to be connected to the hinge shaft and to open and close the storage space while rotating, and a hinge cover configured to be installed on the upper wall of the cabinet and to cover the hinge bracket, in which the hinge cover includes a first mounting part and a second mounting part disposed to be spaced apart in a horizontal direction, a bracket cover detachably mounted on one mounting part of the first mounting part and the second mounting part disposed at a position corresponding to the hinge bracket and configured to cover the hinge bracket, and a shielding member detachably mounted on another mounting part of the first mounting part and the second mounting part.

Particular embodiments described herein provide for an electronic device that can be configured to include a first housing, a second housing, a hinge that rotatably couples the first housing to the second housing, and a flexible heat spreader that extends from the second housing, through the hinge, and to the first housing. The hinge can accommodate deformations in the flexible heat spreader when the first housing is rotated relative to the second housing.

A locking system includes a server, an electronic locking mechanism, and a controller associated with a user. The controller is configured to detect the electronic locking mechanism and acquire lock data therefrom, and transmit the lock data to the server. The server, absent any interaction from the user, is configured to receive the lock data for the electronic locking mechanism, register the electronic locking mechanism to the user, and transmit an access credential for accessing the electronic locking mechanism to a user device associated with the user. The electronic locking mechanism is configured to receive the access credential directly from the user device or indirectly from the user device through the controller and make an access decision based on the access credential, independent of the server.

A household appliance includes a door pivotable via door hinges and having an electrical load. A treatment chamber has a loading opening which is closeable by the door. An energy transmission device has a primary side including a primary coil which is attached to a stationary part of a respective one of the door hinges, and a secondary side including a secondary coil which is arranged on the door and is electrically connected to the electrical load. The primary coil is capable of being coupled in a manner of a transformer to the secondary coil when the door is closed.

A torque hinge for pivotally connecting two objects has an inner cable guide that provides electrical connection of the objects. The inner cable guide has at the interface a reversibly connectable electrical connector element pair. The torque hinge has a hollow-pin element, a friction element and a first and second bush element. The hollow-pin element is arranged in the first bush element at one end and extends into the second bush element at the other end. The friction element is arranged between the first and second bush elements. The hollow-pin element is connected at one end to the first bush element for conjoint rotation and is pivotably received in the second bush element at the other end, or the hollow-pin element is formed as a free-running pin that is pivotably received in the first bush element at one end and in the second bush element at the other end.

A dual axis hinge assembly couples first and second hinges to each other with a central barrel and routes cables across hinge axles with cable channels formed in the axles. The dual axis hinge assembly rotationally couples information handling system housing portions to each other and routes cables between the housing portions distal the barrel by running the cables through a channel formed in each axle of one of the hinges with the cable entering one axle distal the barrel, routing through the axle to a position proximate the barrel, crossing the hinge to enter the other hinge axle proximate the barrel and routing though the other axle to exit distal the barrel.

Disclosed is a washing machine having an improved wire connection structure for electrically connecting electrical components. The washing machine includes a cabinet which has a first electrical component, forms an exterior, and has an opening through which laundry is inserted; a door provided with a second electrical component, and configured to open and close the opening; a wire which electrically connects the first electrical component and the second electrical component; and a hinge which has a wire guide portion for coupling the door to the cabinet so as to be rotatable about a rotating axis and for guiding the wire.

Cable assemblies for providing electrical communication between hinged sections of an electronic device are described. The cable assemblies can include a cover that covers one or more cables that run through a hinge region of the electronic device. The cable and cover can be drawn over a mandrel of the hinge region. The cover and the portions of the mandrel can be visible to a user at the hinge region of the electronic device. The cover can be sufficiently rigid to guide a path of the cable and protect the cable from bending beyond a prescribed angle during rotation of the electronic device at the hinge region. The cover can also be sufficiently rigid to prevent ceasing or folding of the cover and the cable during rotation of the electronic device at the hinge region.