Locking spring hinge

Claim 2

A locking spring hinge having means for fixed mounting on a wall adjacent an access opening in a piece of furniture, means for mounting to a door adapted to close the opening, and articulating lever arm structure pivotally connected to and between said means and operable to support the door and control movement of the door between open and closed positions relative to the opening, comprising: an oscillatable rocking lever pivotally connected at one end to a lever arm of said lever arm structure and pivotally connected at an opposite end to one of said means; a locking element carried by and movable with said rocking lever; a locking element carried by said one means; one of said locking elements being resiliently biased toward the other of said locking elements; said other locking element having a glide surface along which said biased locking element rides and maintaining said one element against bias thrust effect in a closed door direction throughout a major extent of rocking oscillations of said rocking lever between the open door and closed door positions; said other locking element having a locking shoulder surface leading from said glide surface and with which shoulder surface said biased locking element engages in the closed door position of said rocking lever for thereby maintaining the closed door position by resilient thrust of the biased locking element against said locking shoulder surface; said other of said locking elements comprising a mounting ear rigid with said one of said means; said rocking lever having a slot within which said ear is received; pivot means connecting the rocking lever to said ear; said ear having said glide and locking shoulder surfaces thereon in cam profile; and said resiliently biased locking element being carried by said rocking lever within said slot.

Claim 3

A hinge according to claim 1, said rocking lever having a pivot pin extending across said slot spaced from said fixed locking element, and said resiliently biased locking element including a generally U-shaped spring having its bight engaged over said pivot pin, shoulder means on said lever and providing a thrust backing for one leg of said spring, and another leg of said spring being thereby maintained in tensioned bias toward said fixed locking element.

Claim 4

A hinge according to claim 1, wherein said other locking element comprises a metal core having fixedly thereon a plastic portion providing said surfaces.

Claim 5

A hinge according to claim 1, wherein said other locking element has a lobed cam profile providing said surfaces and including a lobe extension of said glide surface in the direction of closing movement of said resiliently biased element along the glide surface effecting an increase of tension of the biased element as it approaches a dead center position adjacent to said locking shoulder surface, and movement of said resiliently biased element from dead center to said locking surface being within a small incremental remaining movement of said rocking lever into the cloSed door position, whereby to avoid acceleration in the door closing movement.

Claim 6

A locking spring hinge having first means for fixed mounting on a wall adjacent an access opening in a piece of furniture, second means for mounting to a door adapted to close the opening, and articulating lever arm structure pivotally connected to and between said means and operable to support the door and control movement of the door between open and closed positions relative to the opening, comprising: an oscillatable rocking lever pivotally connected at one end to a lever arm of said lever arm structure and pivotally connected at an opposite end to said first means; a locking element carried fixedly by said one means adjacent to said rocking lever and having a glide surface and a locking shoulder surface leading from said glide surface; a resiliently biased locking element comprising a generally U-shaped spring carried by and movable with said oscillatable rocking lever and having one leg biased toward said glide and locking surfaces; and said rocking lever being made from plastic material and having a low-friction detent shoe comprising a finger element integrally connected flexibly with the rocking lever and interposed between said spring leg and said surfaces and functioning in oscillating movements of the rocking lever to ride along said surfaces, maintaining the elements free from door closing bias effect of the spring while the detent shoe rides said glide surface and effecting a door closing engagement with said locking shoulder in the closed door position of the elements.

Claim 7

A locking spring hinge having first means for fixed mounting on a wall adjacent an access opening in a piece of furniture, second means for mounting to a door adapted to close the opening, and articulating lever arm structure pivotally connected to and between said means and operable to support the door and control movement of the door between open and closed positions relative to the opening, comprising: an oscillatable rocking lever pivotally connected at one end to a lever arm of said lever arm structure and pivotally connected at an opposite end to said first means; a locking element carried fixedly by said one means adjacent to said rocking lever and having a glide surface and a locking shoulder surface leading from said glide surface; a resiliently biased locking element comprising a generally U-shaped spring carried by and movable with said oscillatable rocking lever and having one leg biased toward said glide and locking surfaces; and said rocking lever being made from plastic material and having a low-friction detent shoe comprising a finger element integrally connected flexibly with the rocking lever and interposed between said spring leg and said surfaces and functioning in oscillating movements of the rocking lever to ride along said surfaces, maintaining the elements free from door closing bias effect of the spring while the detent shoe rides said glide surface and effecting a door closing engagement with said locking shoulder in the closed door position of the elements.

Claim 8

A locking spring hinge having means for fixed mounting on a wall adjacent an access opening in a piece of furniture, means for mounting to a door adapted to close the opening, and articulating lever arm structure pivotally connected to and between said means and operable to support the door and control movement of the door between open and closed positions relative to the opening, comprising: an oscillatable rocking lever pivotally connected at one end to a lever arm of said lever arm structure and pivotally connected at an opposite end to one of said means; a locking element carried by and movable with said rocking lever; a locking element carried by said one means; one of said locking elements being resiliently biased toward the other of said locking elements; said other locking element having a glide surface along which said biased locking element rides and maintaining said one element against bias thrust effect in a closed door direction throughout a major extent of rocking oscillations of said rocking lever between the open door and closed door positions; said other locking element having a locking shoulder surface leading from said glide surface and with which shoulder surface said biased locking element engages in the closed door position of said rocking lever for thereby maintaining the closed door position by resilient thrust of the biased locking element against said locking shoulder surface; a lever arm pivotally attached at one end to said rocking lever and having an opposite end comprising a pair of spaced co-extensive parallel side portions; the remaining of said mounting means comprising a member having parallel slots therein within which said parallel side portions are pivotally engaged; and a pivot pin securing said parallel side portions pivotally to said mounting member and in said slots.

Claim 9

A locking spring hinge having means for fixed mounting on a wall adjacent an access opening in a piece of furniture, means for mounting to a door adapted to close the opening, and articulating lever arm structure pivotally connected to and between said means and operable to support the door and control movement of the door between open and closed positions relative to the opening, comprising: an oscillatable rocking lever pivotally connected at one end to a lever arm of said lever arm structure and pivotally connected at an opposite end to one of said means; a locking element carried by and movable with said rocking lever; a locking element carried by said one means; one of said locking elements being resiliently biased toward the other of said locking elements; said other locking element having a glide surface along which said biased locking element rides and maintaining said one element against bias thrust effect in a closed door direction throughout a major extent of rocking oscillations of said rocking lever between the open door and closed door positions; said other locking element having a locking shoulder surface leading from said glide surface and with which shoulder surface said biased locking element engages in the closed door position of said rocking lever for thereby maintaining the closed door position by resilient thrust of the biased locking element against said locking shoulder surface; a lever arm pivotally attached at one end to said rocking lever and having an opposite end comprising a pair of spaced co-extensive parallel side portions; the remaining of said mounting means comprising a member having parallel slots therein within which said parallel side portions are pivotally engaged; and a pivot pin securing said parallel side portions pivotally to said mounting member and in said slots.

Claim 10

A knuckle joint hinge assembly including a first member adapted to be mounted on a wall adjacent to an opening adapted to be closed by a door and a second member adapted to be mounted on the door, comprising: a hinge arm connected to the second member; a rocking lever for at least controllably connecting the rocking lever with said one member, including means pivotally connecting the rocking lever to said one member and a hinge pin connecting the rocking lever to said hinge arm; a U-shaped locking spring having a cLosed end engaged about said hinge pin with one leg of the spring bearing against a fixed abutment on said rocking lever; a guide surface fixedly on said one member and toward which a second arm of the spring thrusts with spring bias; said guide surface having a portion thereof which is arcuate substantially concentric with an arc of movement of said hinge pin in movements of the hinge arm and rocking lever during opening and closing movements of the door such that bias of said second spring leg toward the arcuate surface avoids influencing the door in closing direction; and said guide surface having an end portion of substantially decreased radius and leading to a locking surface such that the second spring leg can act with an easy transition from the open door bias toward said arcuate portion of the surface to the locking portion of the surface wherein bias of the second leg maintains the closed door position releasably.

Claim 11

A knuckle joint hinge assembly including a first member adapted to be mounted on a wall adjacent to an opening adapted to be closed by a door and a second member adapted to be mounted on the door, comprising: a hinge arm connected to the second member; a rocking lever for at least controllably connecting the rocking lever with said one member, including means pivotally connecting the rocking lever to said one member and a hinge pin connecting the rocking lever to said hinge arm; a U-shaped locking spring having a cLosed end engaged about said hinge pin with one leg of the spring bearing against a fixed abutment on said rocking lever; a guide surface fixedly on said one member and toward which a second arm of the spring thrusts with spring bias; said guide surface having a portion thereof which is arcuate substantially concentric with an arc of movement of said hinge pin in movements of the hinge arm and rocking lever during opening and closing movements of the door such that bias of said second spring leg toward the arcuate surface avoids influencing the door in closing direction; and said guide surface having an end portion of substantially decreased radius and leading to a locking surface such that the second spring leg can act with an easy transition from the open door bias toward said arcuate portion of the surface to the locking portion of the surface wherein bias of the second leg maintains the closed door position releasably.

Claim 12

A knuckle joint hinge assembly according to claim 7, wherein said surface comprises a low friction plastic material.

Claim 13

A knuckle joint hinge assembly according to claim 7, wherein said surface comprises a lobed cam profile including a lobe extension of said arcuate surface portion in the direction of closing movement of the second spring leg along the surface and effecting an increase of tension of the second leg as it approaches a dead center position adjacent to said locking portion of the surface, and movement of said second leg from the dead center position to the locking portion of the surface being within a small incremental remaining movement of the rocking lever into its closed door position, whereby to avoid acceleration in the door closing movement.

Claim 14

A knuckle joint hinge assembly according to claim 7, wherein said surface is provided on a mounting ear rigid with said first member, said rocking lever having a slot within which said ear is received, pivot means connecting the rocking lever to said ear, and said spring being located within said slot.

Claim 15

A knuckel joint hinge assembly according to claim 10, including a low-friction detent shoe comprising a finger element flexibly connected to the rocking lever within said slot and interposed between said second spring leg and said surface.

Claim 16

A knuckle joint hinge assembly according to claim 7, wherein said second spring leg engages directly with said surface.

Claim 17

A knuckle joint hinge assembly according to claim 7, including complementary interlocked interlock means on said first spring leg and on said rocking lever.

Claim 18

A knuckle joint hinge assembly according to claim 7, wherein said hinge arm has one end thereof pivotally connected to said rocking lever by said hinge pin and has in the opposite end thereof a pair of spaced coextensive parallel side portions, said second mounting member having parallel slots therein within which said parallel side portions are pivotally engaged, and a pivot pin traversing said slots and extending through said side portions.