Hinge assembly

Abstract

 The hinge assembly comprises a first hinge member, having at least one loop forming a pivot hole; a second hinge member, having at least one further loop forming a further pivot hole, and a hinge pivot extending through said pivot holes to pivotally join the first and the second hinge members. The loop of the second hinge member is provided with a transverse hole giving access to the pivot hole and being accessible in the open but not in the closed position of said closure member. In order to avoid having to apply a set screw in this transverse hole to prevent the hinge pivot from being removed by unauthorised persons, the hinge pivot is rotatably mounted in the pivot holes. The hinge pivot is provided with a lateral recess which is accessible, in the open position of said closure member, by a tool inserted through said transverse hole in said further loop to lock the hinge pivot against rotation with respect to the further loop to enable screwing said fixing element on and off the hinge pivot.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a hinge assembly for hingedly mounting a closure member, such as a door or a gate, onto a support so that the closure member can pivot between an open and a closed position. The hinge assembly comprises a first hinge member, having at least one loop forming a pivot hole; a second hinge member, having at least one further loop forming a further pivot hole, which further loop is provided with a transverse hole giving access to said further pivot hole and being accessible in the open but not in the closed position of said closure member when this closure member is hingedly mounted by means of the hinge assembly to said support; and a hinge pivot having a longitudinal axis and a first extremity which is provided with a fixed head and a second extremity which is screw threaded to receive a correspondingly screw threaded fixing element. The hinge pivot is arranged to extend through said pivot holes to pivotally join the first and the second hinge members, with the head of the hinge pivot being situated on a first side of said loops and the fixing element which is screwed onto the hinge pivot on a second side of said loops, opposite to the first side. The screw threads on the hinge pivot and on the fixing element enable to unscrew the fixing element from the hinge pivot by applying a moment of force thereon which is at least equal to a predetermined minimum moment of force required to unscrew the fixing element from the hinge pivot.

[0002] A hinge assembly of such a type is disclosed for example in BE 1018899. In this known hinge assembly, the hinge pivot is provided with a radial projection underneath its head which protrudes in a slot applied laterally in the loops of the first U-shaped hinge member. In this way, the hinge pivot is locked against rotation when screwing the screw threaded fixing element on or off the hinge pivot. In its mounted state, the fixing element can thus be unscrewed easily, in particular also by intruders which would try to release the closure member from its support. To prevent this, the hinge pivot is provided with an annular groove and that a blind set screw (grub screw) is screwed through the transverse hole in the second hinge member, which is screw threaded, into the annual groove. In this way, the second hinge member can still rotate around the hinge pivot but the hinge pivot can no longer be removed. As the threaded transverse hole is only accessible in the open but not in the closed position of the closure member, the set screw and thus also the hinge pivot cannot be removed in the closed position of the closure member.

[0003] A drawback of this known hinge assembly is that a screw thread has to be tapped in the transverse and that a set screw is required. Apart from the additional costs, the set screw may de difficult to remove due to its small internal wrenching drive, which is usually a hex socket, and due to the fact that after being subjected for a prolonged time to all weather conditions it may get stuck in the transverse hole, especially when it is made of cheaper, non-stainless steel materials. Moreover, due to the small size of the set screws and the small distance it penetrates into the shallow annular groove, it may still be possible to force the hinge pivot out off the loops by knocking on the hinge pivot by means of a hammer.

[0004] A further drawback is that such hinge assemblies are often coated, in particular galvanized, in order to prevent it from rusting. The coating material flows however also into the small transverse hole, which is provided with a fine screw thread, so that after the coating the transverse hole has to be tapped a second time. This is not only time consuming but, by removing the coating layer in the transverse hole, the inner surface of this transverse hole may again start to rust.

[0005] An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a new hinge assembly of the hereabove described type, the hinge pivot of which cannot be removed in the closed position of the closure member without having to provide a set screw in the second hinge member and without having to cut a screw thread in the transverse hole for this set screw.

[0006] To this end, the hinge assembly according to the invention is characterised in that the hinge pivot is rotatably mounted around its longitudinal axis in said pivot holes so that, when the closure member is hingedly mounted by means of the hinge assembly onto the support, the hinge pivot starts to rotate in said pivot holes when exerting a moment of force thereon which is smaller than the minimum moment of force which is required to unscrew the fixing element from the hinge pivot, the hinge pivot being provided with a lateral recess which is accessible, in the open position of said closure member, by a tool, in particular a pin, inserted through said transverse hole in said further loop to lock the hinge pivot against rotation with respect to the further loop to enable screwing said fixing element on and off the hinge pivot.

[0007] Due to the fact that, in contrast to the hinge assembly disclosed in BE 1018899, the hinge pivot can rotate in the first and second hinge members, a person who is not authorised to open the closure member cannot release it by removing the hinge pivot. As a matter of fact, the fixing element cannot be unscrewed from the hinge pivot since, when rotating the fixing element, the hinge pivot rotates with respect to the hinge members so that there is no rotation of the fixing element with respect to the hinge pivot. To be able to unscrew the fixing element, an elongated tool, such as a pin or a rod, can be inserted through the transverse hole in the second hinge member into the recess in the hinge pivot so that this hinge pivot is locked against rotation with respect to the second hinge member. This can be done only in the open position of the closure member. Since the hinge pivot can rotate with respect to the second hinge member, it will normally be required to rotate the hinge pivot until the recess in the hinge pivot is aligned with the transverse hole in the second hinge member before the tool can be inserted through the transverse hole in the second hinge member into the recess in the hinge pin. In practice, to unscrew the fixing element, the tool can be inserted in the transverse hole until it is urged against the hinge pivot, the fixing element can then be rotated, in particular with a wrench, so that the hinge pivot rotates until the tool urged against the hinge pivot penetrates into the recess in the hinge pivot and locks the hinge pivot against rotation. In this locked state, the fixing element can be unscrewed from the hinge pivot.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the hinge assembly according to the present invention, the head of the hinge pivot has a lateral outer edge and the hinge assembly comprises a spacer which is arranged to be provided between the head of said hinge pivot and the loops of the hinge members. The spacer has a circumferential flange for shielding off the outer edge of the head of the hinge pivot, which circumferential flange defines a recess in the spacer for receiving the head of the hinge pivot wherein the head of the hinge pivot can rotate around said longitudinal axis with respect to the spacer.

[0009] The flange of the spacer prevents to hold the head of the hinge pivot for example by means of pliers, in particular when the fixing element is not tightened completely onto the hinge pivot (so that there is some play between the head of the hinge pivot and the spacer) and in particular also when the lateral outer edge has a relatively large height, for example to enable to galvanize this edge.

[0010] Preferably, this flange has over the entire periphery of the spacer a free edge which extends in the direction of said longitudinal axis beyond the lateral outer edge of the head of the hinge pivot received in said recess, in particular over a distance of at least 0.5 mm, preferably over a distance of at least 1.0 mm.

[0011] The gap which is formed between the inner surface of the flange of said spacer and the lateral outer edge of the head of the hinge pivot has preferably a maximum width, measured in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, which is smaller than 3.0 mm and preferably smaller than 2.0 mm.

[0012] In a further preferred embodiment of the hinge assembly according to the present invention, the head of the hinge pivot has a lateral outer edge and has an end surface which is domed starting from said lateral outer edge.

[0013] The advantage of a domed end surface is that the thickness of the head of the hinge pivot can be increased to increase the strength thereof without enabling however to grip this head by means of pliers.

[0014] In another preferred embodiment of the hinge assembly according to the present invention, the first hinge member has two loops forming each a pivot hole arranged to receive the hinge pivot, the first hinge member comprising a U-shaped bracket part having two legs which are connected to one another by a connecting part and which are each provided with one of said pivot holes, said transverse hole in the further loop of the second hinge member having an access opening which is shielded off by the connecting part of the U-shaped bracket part of the first hinge member when the closure member, which is hingedly mounted by means of the hinge assembly to said support, is in its closed position.

[0015] In this embodiment, there is a fixed distance between the connecting part of the U-shaped bracket part of the first hinge member and the loop of the second hinge member. This distance can thus be reduced easily to prevent access to the access opening of the transverse hole in the second hinge member.

[0016] In an advantageous embodiment of the hinge assembly according to the present invention, the lateral recess in the hinge pivot is formed by a further transverse hole in the hinge pivot, which hole has a side wall abutting laterally against said tool when a moment of force is applied onto said fixing element to screw it on or off the hinge pivot.

[0017] In a further advantageous embodiment of the hinge assembly according to the present invention, the lateral recess in the hinge pivot is formed by a transverse groove in the surface of this hinge pivot, which transverse groove has a bottom abutting laterally against said tool when a moment of force is applied onto said fixing element to screw it on or off the hinge pivot.

[0018] In a still further advantageous embodiment of the hinge assembly according to the present invention, the second extremity of the hinge pivot is externally screw threaded and said fixing element comprises a nut, in particular a locknut, more particularly a distorted thread locknut or a polymer insert locknut.

[0019] In the hinge assembly according to the present invention, the minimum moment of force required to unscrew the fixing element from the hinge pivot should be sufficiently large so that when the closure member is mounted by means of the hinge assembly onto the support, the hinge pivot starts to rotate when exerting a moment of force thereon which is smaller than this minimum moment of force. This minimum moment of force comprises in particular at least 0.5 Nm, preferably at least 1.0 Nm and more preferably at least 1.5 Nm. To achieve these minimum moments of force, use can be made of locknuts.

[0020] Other particularities and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of some particular embodiments of the hinge assembly according to the present invention.

[0021] The reference numerals used in this description relate to the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view on a hinge assembly in accordance with the present invention, with the first hinge member being welded to a support;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the hinge assembly shown in Figure 1 hinge-connecting a gate to the support;

Figure 3 is a same view as Figure 2, illustrating the gate however in its open position with a tool being inserted into the hinge assembly to lock the hinge pivot against rotation;

Figure 4 is, on a larger scale, a longitudinal sectional view through the hinge pivot and the spacer applied thereon;

Figure 5 is, on a still larger scale, a perspective view on the nut provided to be screwed onto the hinge pivot;

Figures 6 and 7 are view similar to Figures 1 and 3 but illustrating an alternative embodiment of the hinge assembly according to the invention; and

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view through the hinge assembly illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 hinge-connecting a gate to a support.

[0022] The hinge assembly illustrated in the drawings is arranged for hingedly mounting a closure member 1, in particular a door or a gate, onto a support 2 so that the closure member 1 can pivot between a closed position, illustrated in Figure 2, and an open position, illustrated in Figure 3. The support 2 may be a post, a wall or a second leaf of the door of the gate.

[0023] The hinge assembly comprises a first hinge member 3 which is arranged to be mounted onto the support 2 (or onto the closure member 1), a second hinge member 4 which is arranged to be mounted onto the closure member 1 (or onto the support 2 when the first hinge member 3 is mounted onto the closure member 1) and a hinge pivot 5 arranged to join the first 3 and second hinge members 4 so that they can pivot about the longitudinal axis 14 of the hinge pivot 5.

[0024] The first hinge member 3 has at least one loop 6 forming a pivot hole 7 for rotatably receiving the hinge pivot 5. In the drawings, the first hinge member 3 has two loops 6 forming each a pivot hole 7. The first hinge member 3 more particularly comprises a U-shaped bracket part having two legs, forming the two loops 6, which are rigidly connected to one another by a connecting part 8. This connecting part 8 is welded, or alternatively screwed, onto the support 2.

[0025] The second hinge member 4 has at least one further loop 9 forming a further pivot hole 10 for rotatably receiving the hinge pivot 5. In the drawings, the second hinge member 4 has only one loop 9 forming one single pivot hole 10. The second hinge member 4 is more particularly an eye bolt wherein the loop 9 is fixed to a screw threaded arm 11. This arm 11 is arranged to be fixed to the closure member 1, more particularly in such a way as to enable to adjust the distance between the closure member 1 and the pivot hole 10 in the second hinge member 4. Since there are usually two hinge assemblies for hanging the closure member 1 onto the support 2, the arms 11 enable to hang the closure member 1 with its lateral side in a vertical position.

[0026] The arms 11 can be screwed directly into a nut 12 welded onto the lateral side of the closure member 1. Alternatively, the arms 11 could extend entirely through a hole in an upright member 13 of the closure member 1 and be fixed thereto by means of two nuts each applied on one side of the upright member 13 onto the arms 11 to clamp the upright member 13 between those nuts. In practice, often a transverse plate is welded onto the lateral side of the closure member, which transverse plate is provided with the hole, usually a slot, for the arms 11. This transverse plate can optionally be mounted in an adjustable vertical position onto the lateral side of the closure member 1 as disclosed in EP 1 528 202.

[0027] The hinge pivot 5 has a first extremity which is provided with a fixed head 15 and a second extremity 16 which is screw threaded to receive a screw threaded fixing element 17. Although the second extremity 16 may show an axial hole which is internally screw threaded to receive an externally screw threaded fixing element (bolt), the second extremity 16 preferably has an external screw thread whilst the fixing element 17 comprises a correspondingly screw threaded nut 17 since such an arrangement enables a strong and reliable connection between the hinge pivot 5 and the fixing element 17, which is especially important for heavy closure members 1 such as large gates and the like.

[0028] The hinge pivot 5 extends through the different pivot holes 7 and 10 in the first 3 and second hinge members 4 to pivotally join those hinge members. In this mounted position, the head 15 of the hinge pivot 5 is on a first side of the loops 6, 9 that form the pivot holes whilst the fixing element 17 is screwed onto the threaded extremity 16 of the hinge pivot 5 on a second side of these loops 6, 9, opposite to the first side. The loop 9 of the second hinge member 4 (eye bolt) is situated in this mounted position between the two loops 6 of the first hinge member 3 (U-shaped bracket part), the clearance between the different loops being filled up by means of washers 18.

[0029] In the hinge assembly of the present invention the hinge pivot 5 can be removed by unscrewing the fixing element 17. Unscrewing the fixing element 17 from the hinge pivot 5 requires applying a moment of force onto the fixing element 17, relative to the hinge pivot 5, which is at least equal to a predetermined minimum moment of force. This predetermined minimum moment of force can be increased by using for example a locknut. Different types of locknuts are known, including polymer insert nuts, such as Nyloc, and distorted thread locknuts. Figure 5 illustrates a distorted thread locknut, in particular a toplock nut wherein three small sections 19 of the thread are deformed on one end of the nut 17. The minimum moment of force required to screw this nut on or off the screw threaded extremity 16 of the hinge pivot 5 is equal to about 2 Nm.

[0030] An essential aspect of the present invention is that the hinge pivot 5 is rotatably mounted around its longitudinal axis 14 in the different pivot holes 7, 10 so that, when the closure member 1 is hingedly mounted by means of the hinge assembly onto the support 2, the hinge pivot 5 starts to rotate in said pivot holes 7, 10 when a moment of force is exerted thereon which is smaller than the predetermined minimum moment of force which is required to unscrew the fixing element 17 from the hinge pivot 5. This means that the fixing element 17 cannot be unscrewed without preventing the hinge pivot 5 from rotating.

[0031] In order to be able to prevent the hinge pivot 5 from rotating, this hinge pivot 5 is provided with a lateral recess 20 and the loop 9 of the second hinge member 4 with a transverse hole 21 which gives access to the pivot hole 10 in this loop 9. The lateral recess 20 is more particularly accessible, through the transverse hole 21 in the loop 20, by a tool 22 to lock the hinge pivot 5 against rotation with respect to this loop 9. In this way the fixing element 17 can thus be unscrewed from the hinge pivot 5.

[0032] As illustrated in Figure 3, the tool 22 may comprise a rod. As also appears from this Figure, the transverse hole 21 in the second hinge member 4 is accessible in the open, but not in the closed position of the closure member 1. Indeed, the transverse hole 21 in the second hinge member 4 has an access opening 23 which is shielded off by the connecting part 8 of the bracket-shaped part of the first hinge member 3 when the closure member 1 is in its closed position. The lateral recess 20 in the hinge pivot 5 is thus only accessible by the tool 22 in the open position of the closure member 1 so that, in the closed position of the closure member 1, the tool 22 cannot be inserted in the lateral recess 20 to lock the hinge pivot 5 against rotation. In other words, in the closed position of the closure member 1, an unauthorised person cannot disassemble the hinge assembly to remove the closure member 1 from its support 2. Authorised persons, on the other hand, can open the closure member 1 and can insert the tool 22 through the transverse hole 21 in the second hinge member 4 in the lateral recess 20 in the hinge pivot 5. As the hinge pivot 5 can rotate both with respect to the first 3 and the second hinge members 4, the hinge pivot 5 will usually have to be rotated to align the lateral recess 20 in the hinge pivot 5 with the transverse hole 21 in the second hinge member 4, which can easily be done by means of the wrench used to unscrew the fixing element 17.

[0033] In the embodiment illustrated in the Figures, the closure member 1 is a closure member 1 which is arranged to rotate over about 90° (or somewhat more). In this embodiment the first hinge member 3 is mounted on the side of the support 2 facing the closure member 1. The transverse hole 21 is provided in the extremity of the second hinge member 4 which is opposite its screw threaded extremity. As disclosed for example in EP 1 528 202 there are also closure members 1 which hinge about a first hinge member 3 mounted onto the front side of the support 2 so that the closure member 1 can rotate over about 180°. In this case the transverse hole 21 has clearly to be made in the lateral side of the second hinge member 4 which faces, in the closed position of the closure member 1, the front side of the support 2.

[0034] In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, the lateral recess 20 in the hinge pivot 5 is formed by a transverse hole 24 in the hinge pivot 5. This hole 24 has a side wall abutting laterally against the tool 22 when the fixing element 17 is screwed on or off the hinge pivot 5. In this way, the hinge pivot 5 can be effectively locked against rotation with respect to the second hinge member 4.

[0035] In the alternative embodiment illustrated in Figures 6 to 8, the lateral recess 20 in the hinge pivot 5 is formed by a transverse groove 25 in the surface of the hinge pivot 5. As can be seen clearly in Figure 8, the groove 25 has a bottom which laterally abuts against the tool 22 when the fixing element 17 is screwed on or off the hinge pivot 5. In this way, the hinge pivot 5 can again be effectively locked against rotation with respect to the second hinge member 4.

[0036] An advantage of the use of the combination of a transverse hole 21 in the second hinge member 4 and a lateral recess 20 in the hinge pivot 5 is that no screw thread has to be tapped in the transverse hole 21 and that this screw thread has not to be tapped again after the second hinge member 4 has been coated, either with paint or in particular with a galvanization layer. Especially when the screw thread on the hinge pivot 5 is an external screw thread, it may be relatively coarse so that after being coated, in particular galvanised, it also doesn't have to be cut again. The hinge assembly, including the hinge members 3, 4 and the hinge pivot 5, is thus preferably coated, in particular galvanised, so that it can be made of relatively cheap materials, such as iron, which do not have to be rust proof.

[0037] The head of the hinge pivot 5 may be relatively flat, especially its lateral outer edge 26, so that it cannot easily be gripped, for example with pliers, in particular with locking pliers. To prevent it completely from being gripped, a spacer 27 is provided in the illustrated embodiments between the head 15 of the hinge pivot 5 and the loop 6 of the first hinge member 3. The spacer 27 has a circumferential flange 28 (upstanding edge) which defines a recess 29 in the spacer 27 wherein the head 15 of the hinge pivot 5 is received. The circumferential flange 28 of the spacer 27 thus shields the outer edge 26 of the head 15 of the hinge pivot 5 off so that it cannot be gripped. Moreover, hinge pivot 5, more particularly the head 15 thereof, can rotate with respect to the spacer 27 so that a rotation of the hinge pivot 5 cannot be prevented by gripping the spacer 27. In this respect, the recess 29 in the spacer 27 is preferably round and also the lateral outer edge 26 of the head 15 of the hinge pivot 5 is preferably round.

[0038] As can be seen in Figure 4, a gap 30 is formed between the lateral outer edge 26 of the head 15 of the hinge pivot 5 and the inner surface of the flange 28 of the spacer 27. Measured in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 14 of the hinge pivot 5, the maximum width w of this gap 30 should preferably be smaller than 3.0 mm, more preferably smaller than 2.0 mm. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, the maximum width w of this gap 30 comprises for example 1.0 mm.

[0039] The flange 28 has further preferably a height h, measured from the bottom of the recess 29, which is over the entire periphery of the spacer 27 larger than 1.0 mm, preferably larger than 2.0 mm. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, this height h comprises for example 3.0 mm.

[0040] Over the entire periphery of the spacer 27 the flange 28 has a free edge 31 which extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis 14 of the hinge pivot 5 beyond the lateral outer edge 26 of the head 15 of the hinge pivot 5, in particular over a distance d of at least 0.5 mm, preferably over a distance d of at least 1.0 mm. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, the distance d comprises for example 1.0 mm.

[0041] The head 15 of the hinge pivot 5 has preferably an end surface 32 which is domed starting from the lateral outer edge 26 thereof so that this end surface 32 cannot be gripped whilst providing for an increase of the thickness, and thus of the strength, of the head 15. Due to its dome-shape, the head 15 of the hinge pivot 5 may extend with its domed end surface 32 out of the recess 29 formed by the flange 28 of the spacer 27.

Claims

1. A hinge assembly for hingedly mounting a closure member (1) onto a support (2) so that the closure member (1) can pivot between an open and a closed position, which hinge assembly comprises:

- a first hinge member (3) having at least one loop (6) forming a pivot hole (7);

- a second hinge member (4) having at least one further loop (9) forming a further pivot hole (10), which further loop (9) is provided with a transverse hole (21) giving access to said further pivot hole (10) and being accessible in the open but not in the closed position of said closure member (1) when this closure member (1) is hingedly mounted by means of the hinge assembly to said support (2); and

- a hinge pivot (5) having a longitudinal axis (14) and a first extremity which is provided with a fixed head (15) and a second extremity (16) which is screw threaded to receive a correspondingly screw threaded fixing element (17), which hinge pivot (5) is arranged to extend through said pivot holes (7, 10) to pivotally join the first (3) and the second hinge members (4), with the head (15) of the hinge pivot (5) being situated on a first side of said loops (6, 9) and the fixing element (17) which is screwed onto the hinge pivot (5) on a second side of said loops (6, 9), opposite to the first side, the screw threads on the hinge pivot (5) and on the fixing element (17) enabling to unscrew the fixing element (17) from the hinge pivot (5) by applying a moment of force thereon which is at least equal to a predetermined minimum moment of force required to unscrew the fixing element (17) from the hinge pivot (5),
characterised in that
said hinge pivot (5) is rotatably mounted around its longitudinal axis (14) in the pivot holes (7, 10) so that, when the closure member (1) is hingedly mounted by means of the hinge assembly onto the support (2), the hinge pivot (5) starts to rotate in said pivot holes (7, 10) when exerting a moment of force thereon which is smaller than said minimum moment of force, the hinge pivot (5) being provided with a lateral recess (20) which is accessible, in the open position of said closure member (1), by a tool (22) inserted through said transverse hole (21) in said further loop (9) to lock the hinge pivot (5) against rotation with respect to the further loop (9) to enable screwing said fixing element (17) on and off the hinge pivot (5).

2. A hinge assembly according to claim 1, characterised in that the head (15) of said hinge pivot (5) has a lateral outer edge (26) and in that the hinge assembly comprises a spacer (27) which is arranged to be provided between the head (15) of said hinge pivot (5) and said loops (6, 9), which spacer (27) has a circumferential flange (28) for shielding off the outer edge (26) of the head (15) of the hinge pivot (5), which circumferential flange (28) defines a recess (29) in the spacer (27) for receiving the head (15) of the hinge pivot (5), in which recess (29) the head (15) of the hinge pivot (5) can rotate around said longitudinal axis (14) with respect to the spacer (27).

3. A hinge assembly according to claim 2, characterised in that the flange (28) of said spacer (27) has an inner surface, with a gap (30) being formed between said inner surface and said lateral outer edge (26), which gap (30) has a maximum width (w), measured in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal axis (14), which is smaller than 3.0 mm and preferably smaller than 2.0 mm.

4. A hinge assembly according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that said flange (28) has a height (h), measured from the bottom of said recess (29), which is over the entire periphery of the spacer (27) larger than 1.0 mm and preferably larger than 2.0 mm.

5. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 2 to 4, characterised in that over the entire periphery of the spacer (27) said flange (28) has a free edge (31) which extends in the direction of said longitudinal axis (14) beyond the lateral outer edge (26) of the head (15) of the hinge pivot (5) received in said recess (29), in particular over a distance (d) of at least 0.5 mm, preferably over a distance (d) of at least 1.0 mm.

6. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 2 to 5, characterised in that the recess (29) in said spacer (27) is round.

7. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the lateral outer edge (26) of the head (15) of the hinge pivot (5) is round.

8. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the head (15) of the hinge pivot (5) has a lateral outer edge (26) and has an end surface (32) which is domed starting from said lateral outer edge (26).

9. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 8, characterised in that said first hinge member (3) has two loops (6) forming each a pivot hole (7) arranged to receive the hinge pivot (5), said first hinge member (3) comprising a U-shaped bracket part having two legs which are connected to one another by a connecting part (8) and which are each provided with one of said pivot holes (7), said transverse hole (21) in the further loop (9) of the second hinge member (4) having an access opening (23) which is shielded off by the connecting part (8) of the U-shaped bracket part of the first hinge member (3) when the closure member (1), which is hingedly mounted by means of the hinge assembly to said support (2), is in its closed position.

10. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the second hinge member (4) comprises a screw threaded arm (11) arranged to be fixed to the closure member (1) to enable to adjust the distance between the closure member (1) and the pivot hole (10) in the second hinge member (4), the second hinge member (4) being in particular an eye bolt.

11. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 10, characterised in that at least the second hinge member (4), including said transverse hole (21), is coated, in particular galvanized, the first hinge member (3) and the hinge pivot (5) being preferably also coated.

12. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 11, characterised in that said lateral recess (20) is formed by a further transverse hole (24) in the hinge pivot (5), which hole (24) has a side wall abutting laterally against said tool (22) when a moment of force is applied onto said fixing element (17) to screw it on or off the hinge pivot (5).

13. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 11, characterised in that said lateral recess (20) is formed by a transverse groove (25) in the surface of the hinge pivot (5), which transverse groove (25) has a bottom abutting laterally against said tool (22) when a moment of force is applied onto said fixing element (17) to screw it on or off the hinge pivot (5).

14. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 13, characterised in that the second extremity (16) of the hinge pivot (5) is externally screw threaded and said fixing element (17) comprises a nut, in particular a locknut, more particularly a distorted thread locknut or a polymer insert locknut.

15. A hinge assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 14, characterised in that said minimum moment of force comprises at least 0.5 Nm, preferably at least 1.0 Nm and more preferably at least 1.5 Nm.

Drawing