Door hinge

Abstract

A door hinge having two hinge leaves joined together at a knuckle defining a hinge axis about which the leaves are relatively pivotal and top and bottom sheet-metal parts forming a housing surrounding one of the hinge leaves. Two rotatable adjustment spindles are each journaled in the housing, rotatable about respective axes extending in a first direction perpendicular to the hinge axis, and operatively threadedly connected to the one leaf so that rotation of the spindles moves the one leaf in a first direction perpendicular to the hinge axis. A base plate between the parts is formed with respective threaded hole receiving the spindles, the base plate being secured to the one leaf for movement of the one leaf in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction relative to the base plate.

Claims

1. A door hinge comprising: two hinge leaves joined together and relatively pivotal about a hinge axis, one of the leaves being formed with a center offset extending in a second direction; top and bottom sheet-metal parts forming a housing surrounding the one hinge leaf; two rotatable adjustment spindles each journaled in the housing for rotation about respective parallel axes extending in a first direction perpendicular to the second direction, the spindles being captured in the housing against movement therein in the first direction; and a base plate between the parts, formed with respective threaded holes in which the spindles are threaded, and formed with a longitudinal edge extending in the second direction, bearing on the center offset, and slidable on the offset in the second direction, whereby rotation of the spindles shifts the base plate in the first direction relative to the housing, slides the longitudinal edge in the second direction on the center offset, and moves the one leaf in the second direction on the base plate.

2. The door hinge defined in claim 1, wherein the top part is formed with a plurality of laterally projecting side flaps each projecting toward and bearing on an upper face of the bottom part, each side flap being formed with at least one laterally projecting tab that extends past the bottom part, is bent over, and bears against a bottom face of the bottom part.

3. The door hinge defined in claim 2, wherein the bottom part is formed with a pair of bent-up wings bearing upward on the upper plate between the flaps thereof, the bent-over tabs bearing upward on the wings.

4. The door hinge defined in claim 3, wherein the tabs are bent up so as to lie in a common plane with the lower face of the bottom part between the wings.

5. The door hinge defined in claim 1, wherein one of the parts is formed with holes each adapted to receive a mounting screw.

6. The door hinge defined in claim 5, wherein the holes are formed in the top part and the hinge further comprises: solid plastic spacer blocks sandwiched between the parts and formed with passages aligned with the holes, whereby mounting screws can pass through the spacer blocks.

7. The door hinge defined in claim 1, further comprising: at least one screw bearing axially on one of the parts and seated in the other of the parts and tightenable to lock the parts together.

8. The door hinge defined in claim 1, wherein the one leaf is formed with two threaded bores and the base plate is formed with at least two slots throughgoing in the first direction, aligned in the first direction with the threaded bores, and elongated in the second direction, the hinge further comprising: respective screws engaged through the slots with the threaded bores of the base plate, whereby, when the screws are tightened, the base plate is locked to the one leaf and, when the screws are loosened, the leaf can move in the second direction relative to the base plate.

9. The door hinge defined in claim 8, wherein each of the screws has a spread end projecting through the respective bore of the one leaf and preventing withdrawal of the respective screw from the respective threaded bore of the one leaf.

10. The door hinge defined in claim 8, the hinge further comprising: means between the parts and the one leaf for shifting the one leaf relative to the parts in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction when the screws are loosened.

11. The door hinge defined in claim 10, wherein the one leaf has an end edge extending parallel to the first direction and the means includes at least one wedge engaging in the second direction against the end edge of the one leaf and means for shifting the wedge in the first direction and thereby displacing the one leaf in the second direction.

12. The door hinge defined in claim 1, wherein the second direction is parallel to the hinge axis.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of the assembled door hinge with the first hinge leaf and a housing for the first hinge leaf;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view from below of the hinge of FIG. 1;

(4) FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3c are perspective views from above of the three principal parts of the FIG. 1 hinge;

(5) FIG. 4 is a large-scale bottom view of the assembled parts shown in FIGS. 3A and 3C;

(6) FIG. 5 is a large-scale axial end view of the bottom part;

(7) FIG. 6 is a vertical section of the installed hinge of this invention in a view with the door closed;

(8) FIG. 7 is a horizontal section taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 6;

(9) FIG. 8 is a view like FIG. 1 of another embodiment of the door hinge; and

(10) FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the spacer used in the FIG. 8 embodiment.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(11) As seen in FIG. 1 a first hinge leaf 1 is adjustably secured in a housing 2 and is rotatable about an axis A at a hinge knuckle 3 relative to a second hinge leaf 4 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIGS. 1, 3B, and 3C show a housing 2 formed of two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6. The part 5 is of one piece and generally U-shaped and the part 6 is flat and has planar faces 13a and 13b (FIG. 2). FIGS. 3B and 3C show the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 separately, before assembly. When the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 are fitted together, tabs 7 unitarily formed on the top part 5 are bent over so that the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 are attached to one another in a positive-fit such that they cannot be separated without damage to the parts 5 and 6.

(12) Before the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 are attached to one another during assembly, resulting in a permanent connection, the first hinge leaf 1 is inserted between the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 along with a rigid cast-metal base plate 8. Here, the base plate 8 is formed with bores threadedly receiving respective adjustment spindles 9 whose reduced-diameter ends engage in respective journal holes 24 and 25 of the parts 5 and 6 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2).

(13) Here, the top part 5 comprises an essentially planar main section 10 formed with the journal holes 25 for the adjustment spindles 9. Planar flaps 11a and 11b extend parallel to each other and perpendicular to the section 10 from opposite longitudinal edges of the section 10. The flap 11a is formed of two coplanar sections that axially flank the leaf 1, and the flap 11b is a single piece laterally closing that side of the housing. The bottom part 6, which is essentially a planar plate, is received between the flaps 11a and 11b. The corners of the flaps 11a and 11b are each formed with one of the unitary downwardly extending tabs 7, and each longitudinal edge of the bottom part 6 is formed with a respective cutout 12 through which the respective tab 7 projects, and between these cutouts 12 each of the flaps 11a and 11b is cut back by a distance equal to the thickness of the tabs 7.

(14) When the first hinge leaf 1 with the base plate 8 is inserted into the housing 2, the two flaps 11a and 11b each formed with the respective pair of the tabs 7 (see FIG. 3) are located above and below the first hinge leaf 1 when the rotational axis A of the knuckle 3 is vertical.

(15) For assembly, the tabs 7 are bent back in order to connect the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 to one another integrally and permanently. In addition the part 6 is formed along each longitudinal edge with an integral wing 14 that is bent up above the lower face 13b of the part 6 by a distance equal to a thickness t of the tabs 7, which is typically equal to the thickness of the sheet metal forming the part 5. Thus the housing 2 is assembled by fitting the two parts 5 and 6 together so the two pairs of tabs 7 project downward through the respective cutouts 12 past the lower face 13b of the part 6 and the lower edges of the flaps 11a and 11b are coplanar or flush with this lower face 13, then the tabs 7 of each pair are bent over to extend toward each other and lie against the respective wing parts 14, and above the lower face 13 of the part 6. Thus nothing on the assembled hinge projects past this planar lower face 13, making routing of a mortise for the hinge easy.

(16) Furthermore the positive connection by the tabs 7 allows for a mounting that is particularly simple but at the same time reliable. A very small amount of space is required for the connection. It may be particularly seen from FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 that the bottom part 6 may be used over its entire length for the arrangement of screws, bores, or the like.

(17) The bottom part 6 is formed with mounting holes 15 by means of which the housing 2 may be secured by screws to a door frame Z or, particularly preferably, to the edge of door panel F. In this context, FIGS. 6 and 7 show that the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 connected to one another in a positive fashion are thus arranged in a fixed and unmovable fashion on the door frame Z or the door panel F, with the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 forming the rigid closed housing 2 containing the base plate 8 fixed to the leaf 1.

(18) In addition to the permanent, positive connection by means of the tabs 7, the top part 5 and the bottom part 6 may also be connected to each other by at least one screw 16. According to FIG. 2, one such screw 16 is provided directly next to each adjustment spindle 9, with its head bearing upward on the part 6 and its shank threaded into a blind rivet 16a set in the part 5. Any play that may still be present between the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 in spite of the permanent, positive connection by the tabs 7 may be eliminated with certainty by the screws 16. Moreover, the screws 16 also stabilize the assembly at the adjustment spindles 9. Due to the use of the blind-rivet nuts 16a, it is not necessary to cut a thread in the sheet-metal parts 5 and 6, although it is also possible to do so as an alternative.

(19) Using the adjustment spindles 9, the hinge leaf 1 may be adjusted via the base plate 8 along a longitudinal axis of the adjustment spindles 9 in a first direction x typically horizontally parallel to the plane of the door F. Thus as shown in FIG. 7, when the entire door hinge is mounted between a door panel F and a door frame Z, rotation of the adjustment spindles 9 by an allen wrench or screwdriver in the end exposed through the hole 25 on the part 5 moves the first hinge leaf 1 via the base plate 8 in the horizontal direction x, thus changing the lateral spacing between the door panel F and the door frame Z. Such an adjustment is also referred to in practice as side-to-side adjustment.

(20) The structure of the door hinge with the first hinge leaf 1 and the base plate 8 also allows an adjustment perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the adjustment spindle 9 along a second direction z perpendicular to the plane of the door F, which is parallel to the view plane in FIG. 6 and perpendicular thereto in FIG. 7. This second direction z extends vertically and allows the vertical position of the door F in the frame Z to be adjusted.

(21) According to FIG. 3, two screws 17 are provided that each extend through a respective longitudinal slot in the base plate 8 and engage in a respective threaded bore of the first hinge leaf 1. FIG. 4 shows that the ends of the binding screws 17 project through the threaded bores in the hinge leaf 1. These projecting ends are upset or deformed such that the binding screws 17 cannot be inadvertently screwed out of the first hinge leaf 1.

(22) When the binding screws 17 are loosened, the first hinge leaf 1 is movable only in direction z on the base plate 8. This is because the first hinge leaf according to FIG. 5 is formed generally Z-shaped, with a double offset, and the first hinge leaf 1 slides at the offset on a longitudinal edge of the base plate 8.

(23) Finally, adjusting screws 18 that are part of an adjuster for shifting the first hinge leaf 1 along the second direction z are shown in FIG. 3 as well. According to FIG. 6, the adjusting screws 18 act on respective wedges 19 that bear axially oppositely against the first hinge leaf 1. In order to lift the first hinge leaf 1, the lower adjusting screw 18 is screwed into the base plate 8 so that the respective wedge 19 is lifted. At the same time, the upper adjusting screw 18 shown in FIG. 6 is loosened so that the respective wedge 19 does not block upward movement of the first hinge leaf 1. In order to adjust the first hinge leaf 1 in the vertical direction, only a single lower wedge 19 with an adjusting screw 18. However, in order to be able to use the hinge for doors that open to the left as well as doors that open to the right, it is advantageous for wedges 19 and respective adjusting screws 18 to be provided above and below the first hinge leaf 1.

(24) FIG. 7 shows that the housing 2 is provided with a cover plate 20 on the free side of the door panel F. This cover plate 20 is fastened via short screws to the blind-rivet nuts 16a, to which end the thread of the blind-rivet nuts 16a is accessible from both ends.

(25) FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment in which the mounting holes 15 are not formed on the bottom part 6 but rather on opposite ends of the top part 5. These ends form the upper and lower ends of the housing 2 in the mounted state. The bottom part 6 disposed underneath the part 5 is vertically shorter in the vertical direction z, so that less material overall must be cut away from the door panel F. Thus the variant shown in FIG. 8 may be considered for installation on a thinner door or one of less stable material.

(26) However, it should be noted that the top part 5 laterally comprises the flaps 11a and 11b that, during installation of the housing 2, are not supposed to dig into the material located therebelow in an uncontrolled fashion. In order to allow a particularly even and reliable contact by the housing 2 when attached to a door panel F, a spacer block 21 made of plastic is placed on each end section of the top part 5 below the mounting holes 15. The bottom of the spacer block 21 is designed as a flat contact surface.

(27) FIG. 9 shows a detailed view of the spacer block 21. The spacer block 21 is formed with throughgoing holes 22 for the mounting screws that will pass through the holes 15. This also results in the advantage that the mounting screws are guided through the holes 22 over a greater length, thus reducing the risk of defective installation.

(28) In the embodiment according to FIG. 8, another difference is that the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6 are connected to one another only by the tabs 7 and not also by the screws 16.

(29) In order to be able to subsequently install a cover plate 20 on the housing 2, holes 23 are formed in the section 10 of the top part 5 between the mounting holes 15. The cover plate 20 may therefore be installed using simple self-tapping screws that extend through the openings 23 and cut into the plastic material of the spacer block 21.

(30) The adjustment spindles 9 are only shown schematically in the drawing. However, it is advantageous for the thread of the adjustment spindles 9 to only extend over a central large-diameter portion between the two sheet-metal parts 5 and 6. In particular, the length and position of the threaded region may be adjusted in such a way that the base plate 8 as well as the hinge leaf 1 attached thereto cannot strike against the top part 5 or against the bottom part 6, which could cause the housing 2 to be spread apart or even break. At the end of the thread of the adjustment spindle 9, an increase in diameter is provided that prevents any further rotation. For example, the adjustment spindles 9 may have between the parts 5 and 6 a cylindrical shape that has essentially the outer diameter of the thread. The adjustment spindles 9 may also subsequently be deformed after insertion in the base plate 8. Naturally, providing a thickened region at only one end of the thread of the adjustment spindles 9 also lies within the scope of the invention.