Abstract: A hinge is provided with two elements pivotally connected together for relative rotational movement about a hinge axis. The hinge has a spring formed of bent wire. The spring is mounted on one of the elements and a mechanism causes it to apply a biassing force between the two elements over at least part of their relative rotational movement. The biassing force is transmitted via a finger on the spring. A spreader is arranged to fit over the finger for engagement with the other element. The spreader extends continuously over the finger and engages substantially the whole of the finger.

Abstract: A hinge is provided with two elements pivotally connected together for relative rotational movement about a hinge axis. The hinge has a spring formed of bent wire. The spring is mounted on one of the elements and a mechanism causes it to apply a biassing force between the two elements over at least part of their relative rotational movement. The biassing force is transmitted via a finger on the spring. A spreader is arranged to fit over the finger for engagement with the other element. The spreader extends continuously over the finger and engages substantially the whole of the finger.

Abstract: A device controls closing movement of a drawer in a drawer cabinet. The device includes an actuator driven by a spring for imparting a biassing force to the drawer as it closes. The actuator is mounted on a housing, which is itself mounted on the cabinet, and is movable back and forth in the direction of movement of the drawer. A damper is mounted on the housing and is operable on the actuator to impart a damping force on it in a sense to resist the closing movement of the drawer. The actuator is triggered by a catch mounted on the drawer. The housing and catch are mountable without need of pre-drilling and include locating members for determining their relative positions on the cabinet and drawer respectively.

Abstract: A damper assembly is provided for a toggle type hinge with a mounting flange (13) and an arm assembly (11) pivotally connected thereto. The assembly comprises a damping device (16) that is actuable along a linear axis and a housing (20) mounted on the mounting flange to retain the damping device. The assembly further comprises means for converting pivotal movement of the hinge into linear actuation of the damping device. This comprises an actuating lever (21) connected to the damping device and engageable with the hinge arm assembly via a first camming mechanism causing the actuating lever to rotate in response to pivotal movement of the hinge arm assembly. A second camming mechanism causes linear displacement of the actuating lever in response to its rotational movement.

Abstract: A device is provided for forming a joint between two panels. The device comprises a fastening element in the form of an elongate dowel (14) within a sleeve (15), and a tightening element in the form of a rotatable cam (10). The dowel (14) has a head (16) at one end for engagement by the cam (10). At its other end, the dowel (14) engages with an expandable section (19) of the sleeve (15) for anchoring the fastening element in a hole in one of the panels. The sleeve (15) is provided with a reduced diameter end section (22), which is arranged to engage in a rebate (27) on the cam (10), with the arrangement thus serving to block lateral movement of the fastening element in a direction transverse to its longitudinal axis.

Abstract: A damper assembly is provided for a toggle-type hinge (41). The assembly comprises a linear damping device (10?), which is mounted via a radiussed groove (44) on a flange (43) of the hinge and held in place by a housing (45). A wing (16?) on the damping device is contactable by an arm (42) of the hinge in its closing movement. A mechanism converts closing movement of the hinge into linear actuation of the damping device. This mechanism includes two camming surfaces (19?, 25?) on the flange. A first one of these normally engages with the damping device, with the second one also engaging if the transmitted force exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: A device is provided for controlling the motion of a movable member such as a sliding door. The device comprises two springs. Each spring has its own catch for releasably holding it in a pre-loaded condition. The catches are releasable by motion of the door to apply force to its closing movement. The catches are arranged so that one of the springs will exert force on the door before the other.

Abstract: A damper assembly for a hinge includes a damper unit (10) with a piston arranged to be moveable over a working stroke within a cylinder (15) containing damping fluid. The damper unit (10) is mounted on a bracket (11) and retained in position by a housing (12). A mechanism is provided for converting rotational movement of the hinge in at least part of one direction into actuation of the damper unit (10) on its working stroke. The movement converting mechanism is arranged to act on the cylinder (15) at a position substantially outside the range of movement of the piston on its working stroke. The arrangement minimises the transmission of radial forces from the movement of the door to the cylinder (15).

Abstract: A damped closure mechanism is provided for controlling movement of a first member relative to a second member, for example the door (12) of an oven (11). The mechanism comprises a housing (14) having a main spring which is engagable with the oven door (12) for urging it towards its closed position and a damper (25) for providing damped resistance to this closing movement. The mechanism further comprises a second spring (29) which is also engagable with the oven door (12) for urging it towards its closed position. The second spring (29) is arranged to act in parallel with the main spring (24), and serves to hold the door (12) shut with spring force.

Abstract: A hinge assembly has first and second parts pivotally connected together. One of the parts has a hinge cup (13) and is connectable to a first element such as a cupboard door. The other part is connectable to a second element such as the cupboard carcase. The assembly includes a linear damping device (17), which is actuable to provide a damped resistive force over at least part of the range of relative pivotal movement between the two hinge elements. The linear damping device (17) is conveniently mounted within the hinge cup (13).

Abstract: A piston and cylinder type damper is provided, with a cylinder (11) having a piston assembly (15) mounted for reciprocal movement therein. The piston assembly (15) divides the cylinder (11) into two separate chambers (12a, 12b), with a restricted flow path (30, 31) for passage therebetween of damping fluid contained within the cylinder. A piston rod (13) is mounted for reciprocal movement with respect to the cylinder (11) and acts via a first one of the chambers (12a) on the piston assembly (15) in a first direction. A seal assembly (17) is provided for sealing between the piston rod (13) and the cylinder (11) in order to retain damping fluid in the first chamber (12a). The seal assembly (17) is movable axially with respect to the cylinder (11), with the cylinder further including a centering device (24) for assisting alignment of the seal assembly (17).

Abstract: A damper assembly is provided for a toggle type hinge with a mounting flange (13) and an arm assembly (11) pivotally connected thereto. The assembly comprises a damping device (16) that is actuable along a linear axis and a housing (20) mounted on the mounting flange to retain the damping device. The assembly further comprises means for converting pivotal movement of the hinge into linear actuation of the damping device. This comprises an actuating lever (21) connected to the damping device and engageable with the hinge arm assembly via a first camming mechanism causing the actuating lever to rotate in response to pivotal movement of the hinge arm assembly. A second camming mechanism causes linear displacement of the actuating lever in response to its rotational movement.

Abstract: A fastening element (20) is provided for use with a tightening element (14) in a device for forming a joint between two panels (18,22). The fastening element is elongate and has a head (13) at one end for engaging the tightening element, an expander (15) at the other end and a shank (11) extending there between. The fastening element further comprises a sleeve (10) having an expandable section (16) at one end extending over the expander, with the expander operatively engaging the sleeve to cause outward movement of its expandable section upon axial displacement of the fastening element relative to the sleeve. The sleeve is provided with at least one outwardly facing cutting edge (19) on its expandable section. The cutting edge has sufficient strength to cut into the panel material in use of the device, when the expandable section is inserted into a face hole in a first one of the panels.

Abstract: A device is provided for controlling the motion of a movable member such as a sliding door. The device comprises two springs (10, 11). Each spring has its own catch (19, 22) for releasably holding it in a pre-loaded condition. The catches are releasable by motion of the door to apply force to its closing movement. The catches are arranged so that one of the springs will exert force on the door before the other.

Abstract: A damper assembly includes a cylinder (10) having a piston assembly (14) mounted for reciprocal movement therein. The piston assembly (14) divides the cylinder (10) into separate chambers with a restricted flow path therebetween for passage of damping fluid contained within the cylinder. The restricted flow path is defined between elements whose shape and/or relative position is designed to vary with temperature.

Abstract: A hinge assembly in the form of a toggle type hinge includes an arm assembly (11) anchorable in use to a first member and a cup flange (13) pivotally connected thereto and anchorable in use to a second member. The assembly includes a linear damping device (15) and a mechanism for converting pivotal movement of the hinge into actuation of the damping device, at least over part of the range of this pivotal movement. The movement converting mechanism is arranged to produce the actuation of the damping device (15) through rotational movement about its linear axis via transmission of at least two equal and opposite forces acting symmetrically about this axis.

Abstract: A piston and cylinder type damper is provided, with a cylinder (11) having a piston assembly (15) mounted for reciprocal movement therein. The piston assembly (15) divides the cylinder (11) into two separate chambers (12a, 12b), with a restricted flow path (30, 31) for passage therebetween of damping fluid contained within the cylinder. A piston rod (13) is mounted for reciprocal movement with respect to the cylinder (11) and acts via a first one of the chambers (12a) on the piston assembly (15) in a first direction. A seal assembly (17) is provided for sealing between the piston rod (13) and the cylinder (11) in order to retain damping fluid in the first chamber (12a). The seal assembly (17) is movable axially with respect to the cylinder (11), with the cylinder further including a centering device (24) for assisting alignment of the seal assembly (17).

Abstract: A device is provided for controlling the closing movement of a sliding door. The device comprises a housing (10) containing a spring (11) which is actuable to provide a pulling force to the closing movement of the door. The housing (10) also contains a damper (12) which is actuable to impart a damped resistive force to the closing movement of the door. Incorporated within the device is a gearing mechanism for converting the rate of the closing movement of the door into two or more rates of actuation of the damper over at least part of the door's travel.

Abstract: A hinge assembly includes a toggle type hinge mechanism (10) with a linear damper (13) arranged with its longitudinal axis parallel to the axis of movement of the hinge mechanism. First and second wings (19, 30) operate the damper. First and second striker plates and an arm assembly (20, 32, 55) activate the first and second wings in response to movement of the hinge mechanism.

Abstract: A fastening element (20) is provided for use with a tightening element (14) in a device for forming a joint between two panels (18,22). The fastening element is elongate and has a head (13) at one end for engaging the tightening element, an expander (15) at the other end and a shank (11) extending there between. The fastening element further comprises a sleeve (10) having an expandable section (16) at one end extending over the expander, with the expander operatively engaging the sleeve to cause outward movement of its expandable section upon axial displacement of the fastening element relative to the sleeve. The sleeve is provided with at least one outwardly facing cutting edge (19) on its expandable section. The cutting edge has sufficient strength to cut into the panel material in use of the device, when the expandable section is inserted into a face hole in a first one of the panels.