Rotating hinge and sneeze guard

Abstract

Adjustable hinge assemblies for partially or completely rotating an object joined thereto about an axis in specific, pre-determined increments defined by the interaction of ball pins and detents permit the adjustable hinge to retain an attached object in specific rotational positions until sufficient force is applied in the plane of rotation to overcome this interaction. In certain cases the object may be a door, window, baffle, or airfoil. Preferably, the adjustable hinges may be used as part of a sneeze guard assembly to hold a main sneeze guard pane whose angle can be adjusted to protect food from airborne contamination, such as in airborne saliva or mucus droplets. An optional tuck-away hinge pane prevents contamination of food from the ends of the sneeze guard assembly.

Claims

1. An adjustable hinge apparatus comprising: a) a first retaining plate component having an outer surface and an inner surface, said first retaining plate comprising an axial cavity and a plurality of ball pins protruding from the inner surface thereof, said ball pins being retained within respective ball pin holes formed in the first retaining plate component; b) a rotatable arm component comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion extending away from the proximal portion, wherein said proximal portion comprises an axial hole and a plurality of detent holes formed at least partially around the axial hole; c) a second retaining plate component having an outer surface and an inner surface, said inner surface comprising an axial cavity and a raised shoulder component circumferentially positioned around said axial cavity and structured to fit within the axial hole of the rotatable arm component; and d) a joining component affixed to the axial cavities of the first retaining plate component and the second retaining plate component, and extending through the axial hole of the rotatable arm component so as to retain the rotatable arm sandwiched between the first retaining plate component and the second retaining plate component and to retain the axial hole of the rotatable arm component positioned on the raised shoulder component of the second retaining plate component, wherein the ball pins of the first retaining plate and the detent holes are structured and arranged so as to engage and disengage when the rotatable arm is rotated about the raised shoulder component, and the rotatable arm is movably held in place by the ball pins relative to the first retaining plate when the ball pins engage with the detent holes.

2. The adjustable hinge of claim 1, wherein the distal portion of the rotatable arm comprises a fastening component.

3. The adjustable hinge of claim 2, wherein the fastening component comprises a plurality of holes defined in the distal portion of the rotatable arm.

4. The adjustable hinge of claim 1 wherein the plurality of ball pins comprises at least three, and the corresponding ball pin holes are arranged in an equilateral polygonal distribution around the axial cavity on the inner surface of the first retaining plate.

5. The adjustable hinge of claim 4 wherein the axial cavity of at least one of the first retaining plate and the second retaining plate is tapped to contain threads, and the joining component comprises a retaining screw having threads complementary to those of said axial cavity.

6. The adjustable hinge of claim 5 containing no structure restricting rotation of the rotatable arm between 0 and 360 about the raised shoulder of the second retaining plate.

7. The adjustable hinge of claim 5 containing a structure restricting rotation of the rotatable arm between 0 and 360 about the raised shoulder of the second retaining plate.

8. A sneeze guard assembly comprising: a) two vertically extending support posts, each comprising features for affixing the support post to a horizontal surface and lacking an integral attachment fixture for mounting one or more hinge; b) a main sneeze guard pane having a thickness and two lateral ends; c) a hinge joining each end of the main sneeze guard to one of the support posts with at least one such hinge comprising an adjustable hinge including: i) a first retaining plate component having an outer surface and an inner surface, said first retaining plate comprising an axial cavity and a plurality of ball pins protruding from the inner surface thereof, said ball pins being retained within respective ball pin holes formed in the first retaining plate component; ii) a rotatatable arm component comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion extending away from the proximal portion, wherein the proximal portion comprises an axial hole and a plurality of detent holes formed at least partially around the axial hole and the distal portion comprises a fastening component joined to an end of the main sneeze guard pane; iii) a second retaining plate component having an outer surface and an inner surface, said inner surface comprising an axial cavity and a raised shoulder component circumferentially positioned around said axial cavity and structured to fit within the axial hole of the rotatable arm component; iv) a joining component affixed to the axial cavities of the first retaining plate component and the second retaining plate component, and extending through the axial hole of the rotatable arm component so as to retain the rotatable arm sandwiched between the first retaining plate component and the second retaining plate component, and to retain the axial hole of the rotatable arm component positioned on the raised shoulder component of the second retaining plate component; wherein the ball pins of the first retaining plate and the detent holes are structured and arranged so as to engage and disengage as the rotatable arm is rotated about the raised shoulder component, and the rotatable arm is movably held in place by the ball pins relative to the first retaining plate when the ball pins engage with the detent holes.

9. The sneeze guard of claim 8 wherein the support posts are part of separate, inverted U-shaped, support frames; and wherein a horizontal pane is mounted on a horizontally extending portion of each support frame, thereby connecting the support frames.

10. The sneeze guard of claim 9 wherein both said hinges comprise said adjustable hinge.

11. The sneeze guard of claim 10 wherein said first retaining plate is directly or indirectly mounted on said support post by a plurality of screws or bolts.

12. The sneeze guard of claim 11 wherein said first retaining plate is directly mounted to a mounting bracket having a foot portion, said mounting bracket having a plurality of hinge mounting holes, and said mounting bracket is directly or indirectly mounted to said support post by a plurality of screws or bolts.

13. The sneeze guard of claim 12 wherein said mounting bracket is directly mounted to said support post by a plurality of screws or bolts.

14. The sneeze guard of claim 12 wherein said mounting bracket is directly mounted on an intermediate mounting plate, said intermediate mounting plate being directly mounted to said support post by a plurality of screws or bolts.

15. The sneeze guard of claim 9 comprising: an additional support frame containing a hinge joining one end of an additional main sneeze guard pane having lateral ends thereto, wherein at least one of said support frames is a vertically extending intermediate support frame having a support post affixed to two adjustable hinges firmly joined back-to-back or front-to-back; wherein an end of the main sneeze glass pane is joined to the distal end of the rotatable arm of one said adjustable hinges, and the other end of the additional main sneeze glass pane is joined to the distal end of the rotatable arm of the adjustable hinges of said joined adjustable hinges so that the main sneeze guard pane and the additional sneeze guard pane are aligned substantially from back to front, and wherein the angle of the main sneeze guard pane and the angle of the additional main sneeze guard pane may be independently adjusted.

16. A food service table having said horizontal surface, two ends and two sides, and a sneeze guard assembly of claim 9 along each side thereof.

17. A food service table having said horizontal surface, two ends and two sides, and a sneeze guard assembly of claim 15 along each side thereof.

18. A sneeze guard assembly compromising a) two vertically extending support posts, each comprising features for affixing the support post to a horizontal surface and lacking an integral molded attachment fixture for mounting one or more hinge; b) a main sneeze guard pane having a thickness and two lateral ends; c) an adjustable hinge joining each end of the main sneeze guard to one of the support posts, said adjustable hinge including: i) a first retaining plate component having an outer surface and an inner surface, said first retaining plate comprising an axial cavity and a plurality of ball pins protruding from the inner surface thereof, said ball pins being retained within respective ball pin holes formed in the first retaining plate component, ii) a rotatable arm component comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion extending away from the proximal portion, wherein the proximal portion comprises an axial hole and a plurality of detent holes formed at least partially around the axial hole and the distal portion comprises a) a first fastening component joined to an end of the main sneeze guard pane, and b) an optional second fastening component joined to a tuck-away wing pane, said wing pane having a surface plane aligned with the axis of rotation of said rotatable arm about 90 to an axis of the main sneeze guard pane, iii) a second retaining plate component having an outer surface and an inner surface, said inner surface comprising an axial cavity and a raised shoulder component circumferentially positioned around said axial cavity and structured to fit within the axial hole of the rotatable arm component; iv) a joining component affixed to the axial cavities of the first retaining plate component and the second retaining plate component, and extending through the axial hole of the rotatable arm component so as to retain the rotatable arm sandwiched between the first retaining plate component and the second retaining plate component, and to retain the axial hole of the rotatable arm component positioned on the raised shoulder component of the second retaining plate component, wherein the ball pins of the first retaining plate and the detent holes are structured and arranged so as to engage and disengage as the distal end of the rotatable arm is rotated about the raised shoulder component, and the rotatable arm is movably held in place by the ball pins relative to the first retaining plate when the ball pins engage with the detent holes, and wherein each of the rotatable arms of the adjustable hinges independently optionally comprises said second fastening component joined to a tuck-away wing pane.

19. The sneeze guard assembly of claim 18 wherein all the rotatable arms of each of the adjustable hinges comprises said second fastening component joined to a tuck-away wing pane.

Description

EXAMPLES

(1) The following examples are intended to provide additional clarity to specific embodiments and aspects of the invention or inventions, which are not limited thereby. The invention(s) are defined solely by the claims.

(2) FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an adjustable hinge assembly 101 of the present invention. The adjustable hinge assembly comprises a first retaining plate 103, a second retaining plate 105 and a rotatable arm 107. The first retaining plate comprises a tapped axial cavity 109 on its inner surface, as does the second retaining plate (not visible in FIG. 1). The rotatable arm has an axial hole 111 through which retaining screw 113 is introduced when the hinge is assembled. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the retaining screw 113 is threaded at both ends so it may be screwed into the axial cavity of the first and second retaining plate 109. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that in other embodiments the hinge may be designed to have an retaining bolt rather than a threaded screw. In such variations, a nut or similar retaining fixture may be retained in a countersunk recess on the outside face of the first and/or second retaining plate.

(3) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 the first retaining plate 103 has four tapped ball pin holes 115 arranged in a rectangular pattern. The tapped ball pin holes 115 penetrate all the way through the first retaining plate 103 from the outer surface (not shown) to the inner surface 119 thereof. The exterior housings of ball pins 117 are threaded to fit ball pin holes 115, and the ball pins may introduced from the outside face of the first retaining plate.

(4) The rotatable arm 107 comprises a proximal portion 123 having a series of detent holes 121 arranged circumferentially around the axial hole 111. A distal portion 125 of the rotatable arm 107 extends away from the axial hole 111.

(5) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the adjustable hinge structured to comprise a tuck-away wing 131. A plurality of holes 127 in the distal portion 125 of the rotatable arm 107 are arranged and aligned with a corresponding plurality of holes 129 in the tuck-away wing 131. The tuck-way wing is substantially is preferably transparent and made of glass or a polymer; particularly preferably the tuck-away wing 131 is fabricated from thick tempered glass, having polished edges.

(6) The tuck-away wing 131 is affixed to the rotatable arm 107 by any suitable means. In preferred embodiments the wing and the rotatable arm are joined by screws or bolts (see FIG. 3; 155) extending through the holes (127,129) in the rotatable arm and tuck-away wing, respectively.

(7) Preferably, the ball pins 117 have a drive such as a slot or a cross inscribed on the end opposite the end containing the balls (not shown) to permit the height of the ball pins 117 above the inner surface 119 of the first retaining plate 103 to be adjusted so as to suitably engage detent holes 121 of the rotatable arm 107 when the adjustable hinge is assembled.

(8) As shown in FIG. 1, rotatable arm 107 also comprises a pair of slotted pane fastening components 133 structured to hold a main sneeze guard pane. Preferably the main sneeze guard pane is fabricated from glass, such as thick tempered glass, having polished edges. The slots of the slotted fastening pane components 133 are slightly wider than the thickness of the main sneeze guard pane; the slotted fastening pane components each comprise a screw, rivet or bolt hole aligned to permit the main sneeze guard pane to be securely held against the rotatable arm when in use, and held in place using retaining screws. The main sneeze pane preferably contains holes that such retaining screws may extend through. The slotted pane fastening components 133 may be held in place on the rotatable arm 107 by rivets, screws or bolts.

(9) The first retaining plate shown on FIG. 1 also comprises a plurality of countersunk retaining holes 137 for bolting the adjustable hinge to a mounting bracket 135. The mounting bracket has a corresponding set of hinge mounting holes 139 for mounting the first retaining plate 103 to the mounting bracket, either by bolts or screws. The mounting bracket also comprises a foot portion 141, wherein the mounting bracket bends at a 90 angle, thereby enabling the foot to be directly or indirectly mounted to a support post by using post mounting holes 143 in the foot portion, and securing the mounting bracket to the support post 149 (or an intermediate mounting plate 145).

(10) In FIG. 2 an adjustable hinge assembly 101 is shown indirectly mounted to a support post 149 using an intermediate mounting plate 145. The mounting plate 145 provides a larger flat surface area against which the foot portion 141 of the mounting bracket can be secured. In some embodiments the reverse side of the mounting plate 145 may be radiused to fit the curvature of a rounded support post 149, such as the one shown in FIG. 2, to provide a more secure fit. The mounting bracket 135 is mounted to the mounting plate 145 and the mounting plate is mounted to the support post 149 using mounting screws 151.

(11) FIG. 2 also shows the adjustable hinge of FIG. 1 in an assembled state, with slotted pane fastening components 133 shown holding a sample pane of glass depicting the main sneeze guard pane 147 within the slots of a slotted pane fastening component 133 at any approximately horizontal angle (i.e., at about a 90 angle to the support post 149). Furthermore, the tuck-away wing 131 is also shown as mounted to the rotatable arm 107, which rotates between first retaining plate 103 and second retaining plate 105.

(12) FIG. 3 shows the same adjustable hinge assembly 101 mounted on the support post 149 (as shown in FIG. 2), from the opposite side. Thus, the outer surface of second retaining plate 105 is clearly visible; adjustment screw 153 is inserted in a hole in the second retaining plate in order to be able to fine-tune the rotation of the rotatable arm 107.

(13) In FIG. 3, two slotted fastening components 133 can be clearly seen gripping the main sneeze guard pane 147. It will be understood that any desired number of slotted fastening components 133 may be used; for example, in other embodiments a single elongated single slotted fastening component (preferably having at least two screw, rivet or bolt holes) would function adequately, and would be particularly useful if it is made to be long enough to prevent unwanted movement of the main sneeze guard pane 147. Also, the distal portion 125 of rotatable arm 107 is shown in FIG. 3 with bolts 155 connecting the tuck-away wing 131 to the rotatable arm through respective holes 129 and 127 (shown in FIG. 1).

(14) FIG. 4 is a view of a single-sided sneeze guard apparatus 101 and food service table of the present invention. Sneeze guard support frames 157, with each frame comprising a length of stainless steel tubing bent in an inverted U shape and having support posts 149 and a horizontal central span 159. Each support post is secured to the surface of the table using a foot apparatus 161 which is structured to be fastened to the top of the food service table 163 or other equipment.

(15) As shown in FIG. 4, two sneeze guard support frames 157 are employed in this embodiment, and are positioned a sufficient distance apart to hold the main sneeze guard pane 147. Adjustable hinge assemblies 101 are affixed to support posts 149 on each sneeze support frame 157. Each adjustable hinge apparatus comprises a first retaining plate (shown in FIG. 3), a rotatable arm 107 containing slotted fastening components 133 and structured to hold both the main sneeze guard pane 147 and tuck-away wing 131, and the second retaining plate 135.

(16) Additionally, the sneeze guard apparatus and food service table shown in FIG. 4 also comprises a horizontal upper pane 163 affixed to the horizontal central span 159 of the sneeze guard support frames 157. The horizontal upper pane may be secured and fastened to the support frame by any suitable method. Preferably, one or more slotted fastening components 165, similar or identical to the slotted fastening components 133 used to hold the main sneeze guard pane 147, are fastened to the horizontal central span 159 to hold horizontal upper pane firmly to the sneeze guard support frames 157.

(17) The sneeze guard support frames 157 of FIG. 4 also comprise terminal frame panes 167 affixed to each sneeze guard support frames 157 to prevent infiltration of containments from either end of the food service table. Again, the terminal frame panes may be attached to the sneeze guard support frame (or only the support posts in other embodiments of the invention) by any suitable means; as shown the terminal frame panes are attached by screws to the outside of each sneeze guard support frame.

(18) The food service table of FIG. 4 also comprises a lip component 169 so that plates or trays may be rested on the lip while food is served.

(19) FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the invention comprising two joined adjustable hinges (501, 501), in which the first retaining plates (503, 503) are screwed or bolted together back to back, and assembled as previously described, with rotatable arms 507, 507 and second retaining plates 507 and 507.

(20) As shown, the rotatable arms 507, 507 of the adjustable hinges are fitted with slotted fastening components 133, 133, structured to hold a main sneeze guard pane (not shown in FIG. 5).

(21) Additionally, as shown in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, two tuck-away wings (531, 531) are affixed to the rotatable arms (507, 507) of the linked adjustable hinges (501, 501); in other embodiments, involving both single and joined adjustable hinges, one or both tuck-away wings may be absent. When tuck-away wings are absent, the distal portions of the rotatable arm(s) (e.g. 507, 507) may be narrower in width and/or lack fasteners or holes structured to hold tuck-away wings.

(22) FIGS. 6A and 6B show front and side view, respectively, of a double-sided, double length sneeze guard apparatus 607 and food service table 603 of the present invention. In this embodiment each end of the sneeze guard apparatus comprises a sneeze guard support frames 657, and an intermediate support frame 605, with each support frame being structured substantially as set forth in FIG. 4, with support posts 649 and a horizontal centrals span 659. Between each pair of support frames a horizontal upper pane 663, is affixed to the horizontal central span 659 of each support frame by slotted fastening components 665.

(23) Each of the sneeze guard support frames 657 located at the ends of the food service table 603 comprise one adjustable hinge 601 on each of the two support posts 649. Intermediate support frame 605 comprises joined adjustable hinges 501, as depicted in FIG. 5, mounted on each support post with one or more mounting brackets.

(24) Main sneeze guard panes 647 are each joined to the rotatable arms of adjustable hinges 601 mounted on the intermediate support frame 605 and the sneeze guard support frames 657 located on the ends of the food service table 603 by slotted fastening components 633. Additionally, tuck away wings 631 are also mounted to the rotatable arms of the adjustable hinges (501, 601) as shown in FIGS. 1-4.

(25) FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the double-sided sneeze guard apparatus of the present invention, comprising two double-length apparatus 707 substantially as shown in FIG. 6 positioned in series on a single food service table 703, and having four independently adjustable main sneeze guard panes 747 on each side of the apparatus. Those of ordinary skill in the art are aware that the function of this embodiment may also be equivalently structured as a single apparatus comprising sneeze guard support frames positioned at each end of the apparatus and having single adjustable hinges on each support post thereof, and three intermediate support frames having joined, paired adjustable hinges mounted to each intermediate support post thereof.

(26) FIG. 8 shows the inside surface of an example of the second retaining plate, showing the tapped axial cavity 803. The ring-like shoulder 805 surrounds the axial cavity and serves as the axle around which the rotatable shoulder 107 rotates.

(27) All patents, photographs, drawings and publications described in this specification are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

(28) To the extent that a plurality of inventions are disclosed herein, any such invention shall be understood to have disclosed herein alone, in combination with other features or inventions disclosed herein, or lacking any feature or features not explicitly disclosed as essential for that invention. For example, the inventions described in this specification can be practiced within elements of, or in combination with, other any features, elements, methods or structures described herein. Furthermore, each of said plurality of inventions is not to be construed as implicitly requiring elements or any other invention disclosed herein.

(29) Additionally, features illustrated or disclosed herein as being present in one or more particular example are intended, in other examples of the present invention, to be explicitly lacking from the invention, or to be combinable with features described elsewhere in this patent application, in a manner not otherwise illustrated in this patent application or present in that particular example. The scope of the invention shall be determined solely by the language of the claims.

(30) Thus, the various descriptions of the invention provided herein illustrate presently preferred examples of the invention; however, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the examples provided, or to the specific configurations, shapes, and relation of elements unless the claims specifically indicate otherwise. Based upon the present disclosure a person of ordinary skill in the art will immediately conceive of other alternatives to the specific examples given, such that the present disclosure will be understood to provide a full written description of each of such alternatives as if each had been specifically described.