Hinging element and relative method of manufacture

Abstract

 Hinging element of a hinge (10) for the articulation of a movable structure (42) with respect to a fixed structure (40), able to be fixed to a structure (40, 42), comprising a platelet (14) for assembly to one of the structures (40, 42) and a bushing (18), connected to the platelet (14), having a first concave internal surface (19a) and a second convex external surface (19b), mating with the first internal surface (19a), able to alternately achieve the hinging with a coordinated hinging element (11) of the hinge (10). The bushing (18) is made in a single piece with the platelet (14) and the first surface (19a) and the second surface (19b) are obtained by means of successive drawing operations of a flat portion (31) of the platelet (14).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention concerns a hinging element of a hinge for doors and/or windows, able to articulate a movable structure with respect to a fixed structure, and the relative method to manufacture said hinging element.

[0002] The hinging element according to the present invention is provided with a platelet, attachable to one of the structures, panel or frame, of a door and/or window, of a piece of furniture or other, and with a bushing disposed substantially parallel to the platelet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Hinges for doors and/or windows are known, able to articulate a movable structure, such as the panel of a window or door, with respect to a fixed structure, such as for example a supporting frame. Known hinges comprise a female element, normally associated with the movable structure, having a bushing. The bushing is attached by welding, at predetermined coupling points, to a platelet for the assembly of the female element to the movable structure. Through holes are made on the platelet to insert a corresponding attachment screw to the structure of the door and/or window or piece of furniture. Known hinges also comprise a pintle, or male element, normally assembled on the fixed structure, having a pin which is disposed during use in the bushing and able to pivot the bushing to allow the reciprocal rotation of the male element and the female element and therefore the articulation of the movable structure with respect to the fixed structure.

[0004] One disadvantage of known hinges is that the weight of the movable structure is substantially discharged onto the fixed structure through said welding points. The welding points can yield or break, both due to the weight of the panel itself when it remains for a long time in an open configuration, and also due to incorrect welding operations. Moreover, it is possible that, as the hinges age and are exposed to humidity, corrosion may be triggered in the welding points, which in turn can cause the female element of the hinge to break through yielding.

[0005] Another disadvantage of known hinges, and hence of their manufacturing method, is that, since the bushing of the female element is attached to the platelet by welding, this entails a high production cost, both due to the management of a corresponding welding step and also due to the provision and management in the production line itself of two distinct components.

[0006] One purpose of the present invention is to achieve a hinging element in a single piece of a hinge for doors and/or windows which has a minimal probability of breaking through yielding and that is resistant and economical.

[0007] Another purpose is to perfect a method to make a hinging element of a hinge for doors and/or windows which allows to achieve, simply and in a limited number of steps, a hinge for doors and/or windows.

[0008] The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention is set forth and characterized in the independent claims, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention or variants to the main inventive idea.

[0010] In accordance with the above purposes, a hinging element of a hinge according to the present invention is able to cooperate with a coordinated hinging element, to articulate a movable structure with respect to a fixed structure of a door and/or window. The hinging element according to the present invention comprises a platelet to assemble it to the movable structure or to the fixed structure, and a bushing connected to the platelet. The bushing is provided with a first concave internal surface and a second convex external surface, mating with the first concave internal surface, suitable to achieve alternately the hinging with the coordinated hinging element.

[0011] The first concave internal surface of the bushing allows the hinging element to function as a female element of the hinge, cooperating therefore with a corresponding male element. Alternatively, the second convex external surface allows the hinging element to function as a male element of the hinge, cooperating with a corresponding female element.

[0012] According to one feature of the present invention, the bushing is made in one piece, that is, in a single body, with the hinging element. The first concave surface and the second convex surface are obtained by means of successive drawing operations of a flat portion of the platelet.

[0013] According to a variant of the present invention, the hinging element is made of metal material.

[0014] In this way, the hinging element according to the present invention, and therefore the hinge comprising the hinging element, is much more resistant and much more economical to make than the hinging elements of known hinges, since it does not have welded components. Furthermore, the storeroom management is simplified since it is limited to a single component.

[0015] The present invention also concerns a method to make a hinging element of a hinge for doors and/or windows able to articulate a movable structure with respect to a fixed structure. The hinging element comprises a platelet, for assembly to a structure of the door and/or window and a bushing connected to the platelet. The bushing is provided with a first concave internal surface and a second convex external surface, mating with the first internal surface, able to achieve alternately the hinging with a coordinated hinging element of the hinge.

[0016] According to one feature of the present invention, the bushing is made in a single piece and the first concave surface and the second convex surface are made at the same time by means of a sequence of successive drawing operations or steps, starting from a metal sheet, substantially flat, from which the platelet is also made in a single piece.

[0017] In this way, the method according to the present invention allows to make, simply and quickly, and with a limited number of steps, the hinging element for a hinge of a door and/or window.

[0018] According to one feature of the present invention, the method comprises at least a first drawing step, in which a portion of sheet is subjected to drawing so as to make a shaped element, provided with a first part, substantially flat and having the final function of the platelet, and a second part, which is substantially cup-shaped and has the final function of the bushing. The second part extends perpendicularly with respect to the respective first part.

[0019] The method also comprises at least a second drawing step, in which the shaped element is subjected to further drawing operations in order to reduce the internal diameter and to increase the height of the second part, in which each drawing operation is carried out acting directly on the second part.

[0020] According to a variant of the invention, the further drawing operations are repeated until the second part reaches predetermined sizes and shape, so as to obtain the bushing in its final form.

[0021] According to another variant of the present invention, the method comprises a bending step in which said first part and/or said second part are reciprocally bent so that the cup-shaped second part has its symmetry axis substantially parallel to a longitudinal development of the first part, in this way making the hinging element in its final form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] These and other characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferential form of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

• fig. 1 is a schematic lateral view of a hinge according to the present invention;
• fig. 2 is a sectioned lateral view of an element of the hinge in fig. 1;
• figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are lateral, partly sectioned views of a sheet element during the various steps of a method according to the present invention to make the element in fig. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERENTIAL FORM OF EMBODIMENT

[0023] With reference to fig. 1, a hinging element, in this case a female element 12 according to the present invention, is able to be coupled with a male element or pintle 11 of a hinge 10 of a door and/or window. The pintle 11 and the female element 12 are made of metal material and are respectively associated with a fixed structure, such as the frame of the door and/or window, and a movable structure, such as a panel 42 of a window or external shutter of the door and/or window, so as to articulate the movable structure with respect to the fixed structure.

[0024] The pintle 11 comprises a body and a threaded shank 13, solid with the body, attachable to the frame 40. The pintle also comprises a pin 17.

[0025] The female element 12 (figs. 1 and 2) comprises a platelet 14, substantially flat, suitable to be coupled with a surface of the panel 42. A centering pin 15 is also made, in the case shown here, on the platelet 14, and is able to be coupled with a corresponding hole in the panel of the door and/or window to facilitate the assembly of the female element 12. It is understood that more than one pin 15 could be made, according to the sizes of the platelet 14 and hence of the female element 12.

[0026] The platelet also comprises a pair of through holes 25 suitable for the insertion of corresponding attachment screws 26 of the female element 12. The holes 25 are disposed in proximity with the pin 15 in opposite positions with respect to the pin 15 and have a flared lateral profile so as to cooperate effectively with the head of the attachment screws 26.

[0027] The female element 12 also comprises a bushing 18, disposed in such a manner that a symmetry axis thereof is substantially parallel to the longitudinal development of the platelet 14.

[0028] The bushing 18 is suitable to cooperate with the pin 17 of the pintle 11 so as to allow the articulation of the panel 42 with respect to the frame 40. The bushing 18 comprises a circular cavity, closed at one end, having a concave surface 19a able to allow the insertion of the pin 17, and an opposite external convex surface 19b.

[0029] According to one feature of the invention, the bushing 18 is made in a single piece with the platelet 14, and is connected to it by means of a connection part 22. In particular, the bushing 18 and the surfaces 19a, 19b are made by means of successive drawing operations, as will be described in detail hereafter, starting from a substantially flat metal element.

[0030] In this way, the female element 12 according to the present invention, and therefore the hinge 10 which comprises it, is much more resistant and much more economical to make than known hinges, since the female element 12 does not have any distinct and separate components, welded together.

[0031] This also allows to eliminate possible yield points or corrosion triggers, which are usually located in correspondence with the weld points between the platelet and the bushing of the known female element.

[0032] The present invention also concerns a method to produce a hinging element, in this case a female element 12, for a hinge 10 able to articulate a movable structure with respect to a fixed structure.

[0033] The method provides to make the female element 12 starting from a first step in which a strip of metal material is sheared so as to obtain sheet elements (fig. 3).

[0034] The method also comprises a step in which a centering pin 15, substantially cylindrical in shape, is made (fig. 4) on one surface of the sheet element 30 and protrudes perpendicularly with respect to said surface. The pin 15 is made in correspondence with a first part 32 of the sheet element and is obtained by drawing, for example by means of a punch and a corresponding die not shown in the drawings. The pin 15 is obtained by generating a corresponding recess 16 on an opposite surface of the sheet element 30 with respect to which it protrudes.

[0035] The method comprises a step in which, on the sheet element 30, a pair of through holes 25 are made, disposed in proximity with the centering pin 15. The holes 25 are disposed in opposite positions with respect to the pin 15.

[0036] The method also comprises a drawing step in which, in correspondence with a flat portion 31 thereof, the sheet element 30 is shaped by means of a second punch to achieve in a second part 34 a cup-shaped portion, substantially orthogonal to the first part 32 and connected to it by means of a connection part 22. The second part 34 is therefore provided with a cavity 19 having a diameter D1 and a height H1 from which the bushing 18 and the surfaces 19a, 19b will be made, as will be described hereafter. On the contrary, the platelet 14 is made from the first part 32.

[0037] The method comprises successive drawing steps (figs. 7 and 8) made by acting always on the second part 34, modifying the sizes of the cup-shaped portion, or the cavity 19, substantially narrowing it and lengthening it. In this case, figs. 7 and 8 show two successive drawing steps in which the cup-shaped portion is further worked until the cavity 19 is made, provided with a final diameter D3, smaller than the diameter D1, and a final height H3, greater than the height H2. The final diameter D3 and the final height H3 of the cup-shaped portion are consistent with the sizes of the pin 17 of the associated pintle 11. In this final configuration the cup-shaped portion has sizes and shape equal to those of the bushing 18 of the female element 12 in its final form.

[0038] Finally, the method provides a step in which the connection part 22 (fig. 8) is bent by 90° in an anti-clockwise direction, to dispose the second part 34 and the corresponding cup-shaped portion substantially parallel with respect to the first part 32 in which a symmetry axis X thereof is parallel to the longitudinal development of the platelet 14, thus obtaining the bushing 18 and the corresponding concave surface 19a.

[0039] It comes within the field of the present invention to provide that the various operations, for example drawing and holing, are performed sequentially on a single portion of sheet, which is then subjected to shearing operations to obtain each female element 12.

[0040] It also comes within the field of the present invention to provide that the second part 34 is bent so as to dispose the bushing 18 adjacent and bent back on the first part 32, rotating the bushing 32 in a clockwise direction by 90°. In this way the convex surface 19b can function as a pin, able to be coupled with a coordinated female element, and the hinging element according to the present invention can assume the function of the male element of the hinge.

[0041] It is clear that modifications and/or additions of parts and/or steps may be made to the hinging element of a hinge according to the present invention and the method to make it as described heretofore, without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

[0042] It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to some specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of hinging element, or female element, and relative method to make it, having the characteristics as set forth in the claims and hence all coming within the field of protection defined thereby.

Claims

1. Hinging element of a hinge (10) for the articulation of a movable structure (42) with respect to a fixed structure (40), able to be fixed to one of said structures (40, 42), comprising a platelet (14) for assembly to one of said structures (40, 42) and a bushing (18), connected to said platelet (14), having a first concave internal surface (19a) and a second convex external surface (19b), mating with said first internal surface (19a), able to alternately achieve the hinging with a coordinated hinging element (11) of said hinge (10), characterized in that said bushing (18) is made in a single piece with said platelet (14) and in that said first surface (19a) and said second surface (19b) are obtained by means of successive drawing operations of a flat portion (31) of said platelet (14).

2. Hinging element as in claim 1, characterized in that said internal surface (19a) defines a seating (19) to house a male hinging element.

3. Hinging element as in claim 1, characterized in that said convex external surface (19b) is able to be coupled with a female hinging element.

4. Hinging element as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it is made of metal material.

5. Hinging element as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said bushing (18) is disposed with a symmetry axis (X) disposed parallel to the platelet (14).

6. Hinging element as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said platelet (14) comprises a centering element (15) able to be coupled with a corresponding hole in the movable structure (42).

7. Method for the manufacture of a hinging element (12) of a hinge (10) able to articulate a movable structure (42) with respect to a fixed structure (40), said hinging element (12) comprising a platelet (14) for assembly to one of said structures (40,42) and a bushing (18) connected to said platelet (14), having a first concave internal surface (19a) and a second convex external surface (19b), mating with said first internal surface (19a), able to alternately achieve the hinging with a coordinated hinging element (11) of said hinge (10), characterized in that said bushing (18) is made in a single piece with said platelet (14) and in that said first surface (19a) is obtained simultaneously with said second surface (19b) by means of a sequence of successive drawing steps of a flat portion (31) of said platelet (14) performed starting from a flat metal sheet (30).

8. Method as in claim 7, characterized in that it comprises at least a first drawing step, in which a portion of said sheet (30) is subjected to drawing in order to make a shaped element, provided with a first part (32) associated with the first portion (14) of the hinging element (12) and with a second part (34) associated with the bushing (18), cup-shaped and having a cavity (19), wherein said second part (34) extends orthogonally with respect to said first part (32).

9. Method as in claim 8, characterized in that it comprises a second drawing step, in which said shaped element is subjected to further drawing operations so as to reduce the internal diameter of said cavity (19) and to increase the internal height of said cavity (19), wherein every drawing operation is carried out acting directly on said second part (34).

10. Method as in claim 9, characterized in that further drawing operations are repeated, until the second part (34) reaches predetermined sizes and shape, in order to obtain the bushing (18) in the desired shape and sizes.

11. Method as in claim 10, characterized in that it comprises a bending step in which said first part (32) and/or said second part (34) are reciprocally bent so as to be disposed parallel, thus making the hinging element (12) in its final form.

12. Method as in any claim from 7 to 11, characterized in that in one of said drawing steps a centering element (15) is also made in said first part (32).

13. Method as in any claim from 7 to 12, characterized in that it comprises a step in which, in said first part (32) of said shaped element, through holes (25) are made, suitable for the insertion of corresponding attachment screws (26).

14. Method as in claim 13, characterized in that said holes are made in proximity with said centering element (15).

15. Method as in any claim from 7 to 14, characterized in that the various drawing and/or perforation steps are made in a sequential manner on a single portion of metal sheet, which is subsequently subjected to a shearing step in order to manufacture each hinging element (12).

16. Hinge for doors and/or windows able to articulate a movable structure (42) with respect to a fixed structure (40), comprising at least a hinging element as in any claim from 1 to 6.

Drawing