Over-center Spring Or Linkage Travel (e.g., "holdback Hinge") Patents (Class 16/291)
  • Patent number: 4773105
    Abstract: A collapsible sauna box is disclosed, which comprises a collapsible box body consisting of front and rear wall members, inwardly foldable left and right side wall members and a ceiling member provided at one end and heaters pivoted for angle adjustment to brackets capable of being mounted inside the collapsible box body at corners thereof. The side wall members, ceiling member and heaters are completely confined between the front and rear wall members overlapped over each other when the collapsible box body is in a collapsed state. In its collapsed state, the collapsible sauna box can be conveniently carried and stored. The heaters are not obstructive in the sauna box in use and can irradiate the user with far-infrared rays in a face-to-face relation to each other on the opposite sides of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1988
    Assignee: Japan Home Sauna Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takao Toyoshima
  • Patent number: 4731904
    Abstract: A spring system for stabilizing bifolding door hinged positions includes an integral "C"-shaped spring with at each end of the "C"-shape a respective straight shank formed at right angles to the plane of the "C"-shape in parallel spacing from each other. On each shank is a rotatable tubular sleeve bearing with a collar-shaped enlargement at the end adjacent the "C"-shape, and a retainer on the free end of each shank that keeps the tubular sleeve bearings in place. Installation is by insertion of the tubular sleeve bearings in parallel-spaced drilled holes in the top edges of two doors that are hinged together so that the spring assembly substantially bridges the hinges and biases the faces of the doors together to keep them in the open position, and biases the edges of the doors together to keep them in the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 22, 1988
    Inventor: George W. Sprague
  • Patent number: 4731903
    Abstract: A hinge for mounting an access door on a room air conditioner has a hinge member having a tang at one end engaging a slot on the air conditioner front frame to mount the hinge member in a fixed position. The other end of the hinge member has a pair of resilient legs interspaced by a projection and which carry projecting trunnions on their outer ends. The door has a notch in its side having opposed side walls with bores that receive the projecting trunnions to pivot the door about the hinge member. The hinge provides a self-latching arrangement by a projecting, resilient tongue on the hinge member which engages a projecting lug on the door to resiliently bias the door to a closed position when it is within a predetermined distance from the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 22, 1988
    Assignee: White Consolidated Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert W. Kennedy, Howard J. Tyler
  • Patent number: 4690468
    Abstract: A reversible hinge for use on a freezer compartment door of a single door refrigerator includes a stationary leaf for mounting to the refrigerator cabinet and a movable leaf for mounting to the freezer compartment door, as well as a tension spring extending therebetween to provide bias toward either an open position or a closed position. The spring is connected between a first pair of tabs when the hinge is mounted for left-hand opening of the freezer compartment door and between a second pair of tabs when the hinge is mounted for right-hand opening of the freezer compartment door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1987
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventor: Robert G. Lau
  • Patent number: 4654930
    Abstract: In a hinge for cabinet doors, a four-joint hinge articulation having two links and a single-arm lever pivotally mounted in the cabinet wall-related hinge part with its free end able to swing in a plane lying at right angles to the axis of the articulation and being urged under resilient bias against the cam face of a cam body disposed in the area of the wall-end pivot eye of the inner link, the cam body is journaled on an axis offset from the pivot axis of the pivot eye of the inner link, and additionally guided for displacement at a distance from the two pivot axes between the pivot eyes on opposite sides of the inner link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1986
    Date of Patent: April 7, 1987
    Assignee: Karl Lautenschlager GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Karl Lautenschlager, Jr., Gerhard Lautenschlager
  • Patent number: 4590641
    Abstract: Crosslink hinge for mounting a door on the carcass of a cabinet. The door-related part of the crosslink hinge can be affixed in a recess in the door and is composed of an attaching member and a link holder disposed in the attaching member. To vary the position of the door, the link holder is displaceable at right angles to the pivot axis of the hinge and parallel to the door back and can be fixed in the desired position. The carcass-related part of the hinge has on its bottom an inverted-T-shaped projection which can be inserted into a complementary T-shaped socket in its mounting plate. A set screw is threaded into the mounting plate to fix the carcass-related hinge part thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 27, 1986
    Assignee: Mepla, Inc.
    Inventors: Karl Lautenschlager, Horst Lautenschlager, Gerhard W. Lautenschlager
  • Patent number: 4543686
    Abstract: A hinge with a closing mechanism includes a hinge arm connected with a hinge casing by two hinge links. The internal hinge link is a two-arm lever pivotable around a hinge axle on the hinge arm. A pressure member is pivotably mounted on an arm of the internal hinge link which extends into the hinge arm, such pressure member pressing on a pressure surface on the hinge arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1985
    Assignee: Julius Blum Gesellschaft m.b.H.
    Inventors: Erich Rock, BruKlaus
  • Patent number: 4536917
    Abstract: A hinge is urged into a closed position by a spring. The hinge includes a hinge arm and a hinge casing which are linked by internal and external outer hinge links. The internal hinge link is a two armed lever and a pressure member is mounted on an end of an arm thereof extending into the hinge arm. The pressure member and a spring which acts thereon abut hinge axles which connect the hinge links to the hinge arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1985
    Assignee: Julius Blum Gesellschaft m.b.H.
    Inventors: Erich Rock, Klaus Brustle
  • Patent number: 4534594
    Abstract: In this leg-rest, which consists of a fixed housing (9), able to be secured to a luggage rail (7) of a chair, and of four flaps (10, 11, 12, 13) articulated to each other, the flap (10) which is pivotable on the housing (9) is in addition linked to the latter by two pneumatic jacks (34) which hold the said flap (10) in an automatic and permanent manner either in a folded (10') or opened out position.Especially applicable to aeroplane chairs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1984
    Date of Patent: August 13, 1985
    Assignee: The National Company Air France
    Inventor: Staub Lucien
  • Patent number: 4506409
    Abstract: A single-pivot cabinet hinge (10) for hanging doors has a cup (12) which can be fastened in a gain in the back of a door (16) and in which there is journaled one end of a pivot arm (24) whose other end bears a fastening plate (28) having a slot (30) engaged by a projection (60) of a mounting element (34) which can be fastened to the carcass of the cabinet. The fastening plate is displaceable on the mounting element (34) under the guidance of the projection and can be fixed at selectable positions by means of a fastening screw (50) which can be driven into the projection. The projection in turn is continuously adjustable in the mounting element (34) at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the slot and likewise fixable at selectable positions, so that the pivot arm together with the door cup is adjustable relative to the mounting element, and therefore a door hung by the hinge on a cabinet carcass is adjustable relative to the cabinet carcass, in coordinate directions at right angles to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 1983
    Date of Patent: March 26, 1985
    Assignee: Karl Lautenschlager KG, Mobelbeschlagfabrik
    Inventor: Gerhard W. Lautenschlager
  • Patent number: 4502182
    Abstract: An over-center self-closing hinge for furniture. In the door-related part of the hinge, which is in the form of a cup to be set in a mortise, there is provided a resiliently biased, pivotingly mounted cam which, in cooperation with a contact surface on the jamb-related part of the hinge, forms the over-center mechanism. Within the hinge cup there is provided a swivel arm which can be swung upwardly to a position in which it holds the resiliently biased cam in its dead-center position. With the swivel arm there is associated a resilient element which seeks to swing it up into the raised position. The resilient element is preferably an elastically flexible arm reaching beneath the swivel arm and joined fixedly to the cam adjacent the pivot axis thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1985
    Assignee: Karl Lautenschl/a/ ger KG, M/o/ belbeschlagfabrik
    Inventors: Karl Lautenschl/a/ ger, Gerhard Lautenschl/a/ ger
  • Patent number: 4477941
    Abstract: A lower edge wall of a luggage case part has camming teeth with intervening grooves. The other case part has a set of spaced apart teeth for consecutive meshing with those of the first case part. One or more leaf springs are received across the meshed teeth of the case parts. The dimensions and geometry of the spring are such that when the case parts reach a predetermined maximum opening angle, the central spring portions contact opposing portions of the two case parts forming a limit stop to further opening of the case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 1982
    Date of Patent: October 23, 1984
    Assignee: Samsonite Corporation
    Inventor: James S. Gregg
  • Patent number: 4470169
    Abstract: An articulated hinge for pivotally connecting a door flap to the carcass of a piece of furniture which has spaced carcass walls and a frame facing the door and extending essentially at right angles to the carcass walls and confining a free door opening, while the door flap in closed position partially overlaps the frame. The hinge has a carcass-related part connected to the edge surface of the frame offset inwardly relative to the adjacent carcass wall, and a door-related part connected to the door flap and pivotally connected to the carcass-related part via a link mechanism. The door-related part is in the form of an insert cup with a connecting part fittingly inserted into a recess in the backside of the door flap, and a link carrier part which has a portion interlocking with the connecting part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1982
    Date of Patent: September 11, 1984
    Assignee: Mepla, Inc.
    Inventors: Horst Lautenschlager, Gerhard Lautenschlager, Karl Lautenschlager, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4457047
    Abstract: Over-center hinge (10) whose jamb-related part is in the form of a supporting arm (16) coupled by two links (18 and 20) to the door-related part (14) in the manner of a four-joint hinge. In the linkage end of the supporting arm (16) there is provided a thruster (26) whose one end is mounted so as to be longitudinally displaceable under resilient bias and rotatable about the fixed pivot (28) of one of the hinge links (18), and whose other end, which is provided with a cam (42-44), is urged against a crosspiece (36) in the supporting arm (16). By way of studs (50) on the other hinge link (20), which are guided by a cam (48), the thruster (26) is swung during the hinge movement, while in the vicinity of the closed position a ramp surface (44) cooperates with the crosspiece (36) in such a manner that the thruster (26) is swung towards the second hinge link (20 ) and exerts a force thereon acting in the closing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 1982
    Date of Patent: July 3, 1984
    Assignee: Karl Lautenschlager K.G., Mobelbeschlagfabrik
    Inventor: Karl Lautenschlager
  • Patent number: 4422214
    Abstract: Over-center hinge for a cabinet door, having a supporting-wall-related part which can be fastened to the supporting wall of a cabinet, and a door-related part joined pivotingly to the supporting-wall-related part by a linkage mechanism and constructed as a plug-in cup. In the peripheral wall of the cup a tongue biased toward the interior of the cup by a compression spring is mounted for pivoting over a given angle. On its contour surface projecting slantingly into the interior of the cup a contact surface provided in the area of the linkage end of the supporting-wall-related part, slides during a portion of the opening and closing movement between the hinge closed position and dead center position and urges the door into the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 1981
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1983
    Assignee: Karl Lautenschlager KG
    Inventors: Karl Lautenschlager, Gerhard Lautenschlager
  • Patent number: 4393541
    Abstract: A two-piece hinge which is spring biased in both its folded position and in its unfolded or deployed position to provide built-in deployment power for structural members and which is provided with trigger/locking mechanisms which are held in an unlocked position when the hinge and the structural members are in their folded position and which triggers and releases the locking mechanisms to lock the hinge in its unfolded or deployed position for positive locking capability. Two trigger-locking mechanisms are used for redundancy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1980
    Date of Patent: July 19, 1983
    Assignee: General Dynamics Corporation/Convair Div.
    Inventors: Edward J. Hujsak, Hans M. Stocker
  • Patent number: 4347645
    Abstract: A hinge comprises an L-shaped stationary flap having a pair of legs each having a rounded, tubular end, an L-shaped rotatable flap having a leg formed with a rounded, tubular end aligned with the tubular ends of the stationary flap, and disposed between the legs of the stationary flap, and a hinge pin extending through the tubular ends of the flaps, and about which the rotatable flap is rotatable. A pair of oppositely directed cam shafts project from the opposite extremities of the tubular end of the rotatable flap and are each received in a recess formed in each leg of the stationary flap. Each cam shaft has a flat surface, and each recess of the stationary flap accommodates a cam rest and a spring urging the cam rest outwardly to maintain it in intimate contact with the flat surface of the cam shaft, whereby the door to which the hinge is attached is closed automatically, and kept in its closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 1980
    Date of Patent: September 7, 1982
    Assignee: Ohta Company Limited
    Inventor: Kazuo Iseki