CN212668173U - Hinge device and folding container with same - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a hinge device and a folding container with the same, wherein the hinge device comprises a fixed hinge, a movable hinge and a locking mechanism; the movable hinge is pivotably connected to the fixed hinge between a horizontal position and a vertical position; the locking mechanism is pivotally connected to the fixed hinge between a locking position and a releasing position and comprises a support, a handle and a locking block, the support is pivotally connected to the fixed hinge, the handle is connected to the support, and the locking block can be movably clamped on the support; the living hinge can push the lock block in the locking position during pivoting of the living hinge from the horizontal position to the vertical position such that the living hinge in the vertical position is at least partially below the lock block in the locking position; the lock block blocks movement of the living hinge during pivoting of the living hinge from the vertical position to the horizontal position, and the handle is configured to be operable to rotate the lock block from the locked position to the released position to allow pivoting of the living hinge to the horizontal position.

Description

Hinge device and folding container with same

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a container technical field especially relates to a hinge means and have its foldable container.

Background

In the existing folding container, a folding end frame is hinged to an underframe through a hinge device, and after the end frame is erected, a bolt of the hinge device needs to be manually operated to lock the end frame. The hinge device generally comprises a movable hinge fixedly connected to the lower end of the end frame, and fixed hinges fixedly connected to both sides of the end portion of the bottom frame, wherein the movable hinges are hinged to the fixed hinges through hinge pins, so that the end frame of the container can be turned over at a folding position folded on the bottom frame and an opening position along the vertical direction. When the end frame of the container is in the opening position, an operator inserts the bolt from the inner side of the fixed hinge outwards into the corresponding hole or gap of the movable hinge and the fixed hinge, so that the movable hinge is fixed on the fixed hinge, and the end frame can not be turned over from the opening position to the folding position under the action of external force. When the end frame of the container needs to be turned from the open position to the folded position, the operator needs to pull out the bolt in advance.

In addition, current collapsible containers have the pivot axis (e.g., the roll-over pin) of the hinge assembly remote from the end frame of the container so that the end frame of the container can stand in an open position to facilitate operation of the latch by an operator without requiring other operators to hold the end frame. However, in some cases, the operator may forget to lock the latch in place and may be difficult to find because the latch is in the plane of the outer profile of the housing in both the open and locked positions. If the latch of the hinge assembly is not locked in place, there are significant safety concerns for the personnel on site, the container, the cargo and the equipment that operates the container when the operator operates the collapsible container.

In order to solve the above problems, patent application publication No. CN110406820A discloses a hinge device, which, although solving the above problems, has the following disadvantages: (1) in order to ensure the tight locking between the movable hinge and the fixed hinge, when in locking, the clearance between the locking block and the fixed hinge and the movable hinge is smaller, in order to ensure that the locking block can be operated smoothly when turning over along with the support pin shaft, the locking block needs to be movably clamped on the support, and the locking block can turn over around the support pin shaft while turning over; however, in order to move the locking mechanism to the release position, the locking mechanism is provided with a pull ring which is directly pivoted on the locking block, when the pull ring is manually pulled up for operation, the locking block cannot be turned over around itself, the locking block is clamped, and the opening operation of the locking block is greatly influenced and even cannot be operated; (2) the support includes the sideboard and connects the end plate of sideboard, and the contact surface of sideboard and end plate and locking piece is outside convex arcwall face, and then realizes that the activity card between locking piece and support is held, is equivalent to the locking piece holding tank and forms through two parts processing of support and end plate, and the processing cost, the degree of difficulty are big, and the process is many.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a hinge device and a foldable container having the same to at least partially solve the above problems.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In the summary section a series of concepts in a simplified form is introduced, which will be described in further detail in the detailed description section. The inventive content does not imply any attempt to define the essential features and essential features of the claimed solution, nor is it implied to be intended to define the scope of the claimed solution.

To solve the above problem at least partially, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a hinge device including:

fixing the hinge;

a living hinge pivotably connected to the fixed hinge between a horizontal position and a vertical position;

a locking mechanism pivotably connected to the fixed hinge between a locked position and a released position, the locking mechanism comprising:

a bracket pivotably connected to the fixed hinge;

a handle connected to the bracket; and

the locking block can be movably clamped on the bracket;

wherein during pivoting of the living hinge from the horizontal position to the vertical position, the living hinge is capable of pushing the lock block in the locked position such that the living hinge in the vertical position is at least partially below the lock block in the locked position;

the lock block blocks movement of the living hinge during pivoting of the living hinge from the vertical position to the horizontal position, and the handle is configured to be operable to rotate the lock block from the locked position to the released position to allow pivoting of the living hinge to the horizontal position.

According to the utility model discloses a hinge device, through setting up locking mechanical system, can be at the vertical position with the activity hinge locking automatically when the activity hinge pivot to vertical position, convenient operation reduces the damage to hinge device, the cost of maintenance of product has been reduced to through directly with the leg joint with the handle, and not be connected with the locking piece, consequently can not restrict the activity of locking piece, can make locking mechanical system move towards release position from the locking position through operating handle, thereby can follow vertical position with the activity hinge and remove horizontal position.

Optionally, the living hinge is provided with a projection having a bearing surface capable of abutting against and pushing the lock piece away from the locking position during pivoting of the living hinge from the horizontal position to the vertical position, the bearing surface being disposed on the underside of the lock piece and abutting against the lock piece when the living hinge is in the vertical position.

Optionally, the outer end of the fixed hinge is provided with a locking surface, and when the movable hinge is in the vertical position, the locking block can be clamped between the locking surface and the supporting surface along the vertical direction.

Optionally, the fixed hinge comprises a pair of vertically disposed wall panels, the living hinge and the bracket being disposed between the pair of wall panels, one of the wall panels being provided with an operating aperture through which the handle extends and is movable along the operating aperture.

Optionally, the fixed hinge further includes a latch disposed at an outer end of the pair of wall plates and transversely mounted to the pair of wall plates, and the locking surface is a lower surface of the latch.

Optionally, the bracket includes a pair of side plates disposed vertically between the pair of wall plates and disposed on both sides of the living hinge, and a connecting member connecting the pair of side plates, and the handle is disposed on one of the side plates.

Optionally, the locking mechanism further comprises a bracket pin through which the pair of side plates are pivotally mounted to the pair of wall plates, the operating hole being configured as an arc-shaped through hole extending around a center line of the bracket pin.

Optionally, a pair of sideboard is provided with the holding tank, locking piece movably card is held in the holding tank, the connecting piece sets up the outer end of locking piece.

Optionally, the upper region of the inner surface of the accommodating groove is configured as an arc surface protruding outwards, and the arc surface is oppositely arranged on two sides of the lock block and is in contact with the lock block, so that the lock block can turn around the bracket pin shaft and can also turn around itself.

Optionally, a lower region of the inner surface of the accommodating groove, which is close to the outer end, is configured as a circular arc-shaped transition surface, an avoiding notch is arranged at a position of the lock block, which corresponds to the transition surface, and the part of the lock block, which is located between the pair of side plates, is not provided with the avoiding notch.

Optionally, the outer end face of the lock block is provided with a blocking piece, and the blocking piece is arranged on the lower side of the connecting piece to block the lock block from being separated from the accommodating groove upwards.

According to the utility model discloses a second aspect discloses a foldable container, including chassis and end frame, be provided with according to any one of above-mentioned first aspect hinge means between chassis and the end frame, the activity hinge with end frame fixed connection, the fixed hinge with chassis fixed connection.

Drawings

The following drawings of the embodiments of the present invention are provided as a part of the present invention for understanding the present invention. There are shown in the drawings, embodiments and descriptions thereof, which are used to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, there is shown in the drawings,

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hinge assembly of a collapsible container according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the living hinge is in a vertical position and the locking mechanism is in a locked position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hinge assembly of FIG. 1 with the living hinge in a horizontal position and the locking mechanism in a locked position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hinge assembly of FIG. 1 in a position between a vertical position and a horizontal position with the locking mechanism in a release position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fixed hinge of the hinge assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a living hinge of the hinge assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded schematic view of the locking mechanism of FIG. 1;

fig. 7 is a perspective view of a lock block of the locking mechanism of fig. 6.

Description of reference numerals:

100: the hinge device 110: fixed hinge

111: wall panel 112: clamping block

113: locking surfaces 114: operation hole

115: outer pin shaft hole 116: bottom corner fitting

117: corner fitting 118: wallboard pin shaft hole

120: the living hinge 121: projecting part

122: supporting surface 123: inner pin shaft hole

124: the abutting surface 130: pivotal shaft

140: locking mechanism 141: support frame

142: the handle 143: lock block

144: support pin 145: side board

146: connecting piece 147: accommodating tank

148: the arc-shaped surface 149: transition surface

151: blocking member 152: avoiding gap

153: side plate pin shaft hole

Detailed Description

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without one or more of these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in order to avoid obscuring embodiments of the present invention.

In the following description, a detailed structure will be presented for a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. It is apparent that the implementation of the embodiments of the present invention is not limited to the specific details familiar to those skilled in the art.

The utility model provides a hinge means 100 and foldable container that has it. The folding container mainly includes a bottom frame (not shown) arranged in a horizontal direction and end frames (not shown) arranged at both ends of the bottom frame, the end frames being movable between a folded position folded on the bottom frame and an unfolded position perpendicular to the bottom frame. The hinge device 100 is used to pivotally connect the end frame to the base frame. The base frame is constructed substantially in a rectangular frame structure, and the hinge devices 100 are provided on both sides of the end portions of the base frame and on both ends of the end frame.

The hinge device 100 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to fig. 1 to 7.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the hinge device 100 mainly includes a fixed hinge 110, a movable hinge 120, a pivot shaft 130, and a locking mechanism 140. The fixed hinge 110 is fixedly coupled to the base frame (not shown), and the movable hinge 120 is fixedly coupled to the end frame (not shown). The pivot shaft 130 can pivot the fixed hinge 110 with the living hinge 120 such that the living hinge 120 can move between a horizontal position and a vertical position. The locking mechanism 140 can be pivotably connected to the fixed hinge 110 between a locking position (see fig. 1) that locks the living hinge 120 and a releasing position that releases the living hinge 120.

It should be noted that, in this context, the "horizontal position" of the living hinge 120 corresponds to the "folded position" of the end frame, and the "vertical position" of the living hinge 120 corresponds to the "open position" of the end frame. That is, when the living hinge 120 is in a horizontal position, the living hinge 120 is disposed in a substantially horizontal direction, and when the living hinge 120 is in a vertical position, the living hinge 120 is disposed in a substantially vertical direction.

The pivot shaft 130 may be generally configured as a circular cylindrical structure. One end of the living hinge 120 is disposed inside the fixed hinge 110. As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the living hinge 120 may be provided with an inner pin hole 123, and the fixed hinge 110 may be provided with an outer pin hole 115, and the pivot shaft 130 extends through the inner pin hole 123 and the outer pin hole 115 to pivot the living hinge 120 to the fixed hinge 110.

When the locking mechanism 140 is in the locked position (see fig. 1), the position of the living hinge 120 is locked such that the end frame is locked in the open position. When the locking mechanism 140 is in the release position, the locking of the position of the living hinge 120 can be released, thereby enabling the end frame to be pivoted from the open position to the folded position. As shown in fig. 6, the locking mechanism 140 mainly includes a bracket 141, a handle 142, a lock block 143, and a bracket pin 144. The bracket 141 is pivotably connected to the fixed hinge 110 (see fig. 1 to 3) by a bracket pin 144, so that the structure of the existing hinge device can be fully utilized, an additional pivoting fixing structure is not required, and the hinge device has a simple structure and is low in cost. The handle 142 is connected to the bracket 141. The lock 143 is substantially configured as a rectangular parallelepiped structure, and is movably held by the holder 141.

In this embodiment, the living hinge 120 can push the lock piece 143 at the locking position and push the lock piece 143 away from the locking position in the process of pivoting the living hinge 120 from the horizontal position to the vertical position. When the living hinge 120 is in the vertical position, the locking block 143 can automatically return to the locking position under the action of gravity, so that the living hinge 120 in the vertical position is at least partially under the locking block 143 in the locking position, and the locking block 143 is clamped between the living hinge 120 and the fixed hinge 110, and the locking block 143 can always be maintained in the locking position without an external force. During pivoting of the living hinge 120 from the vertical position to the horizontal position, the lock block 143 blocks movement of the living hinge 120, and the handle 142 is configured to be operable to rotate the locking mechanism from the locked position to the released position to allow pivoting of the living hinge 120 to the horizontal position. Thus, by providing the locking mechanism 140, the living hinge 120 can be automatically locked in the vertical position when the living hinge 120 is pivoted to the vertical position.

Specifically, during pivoting of the end frame from the folded position to the open position, the living hinge 120 pivots from the horizontal position to the vertical position as the end frame pivots, and the lock 143 in the locked position can be pushed to push the lock 143 away from the locked position, such that when the end frame is in the open position, the lock 143 is captured between the living hinge 120 and the fixed hinge 110 to position the locking mechanism 140 in the locked position, thereby locking the end frame in the open position. Thus, the locking mechanism 140 can automatically lock the end frame in the open position when the end frame is pivoted to the open position without manual locking by an operator, thereby effectively avoiding potential safety hazards, reducing damage to the hinge device 100 caused by misoperation, and reducing the maintenance cost of products.

As shown in fig. 5, the living hinge 120 is provided with a projection 121. A tab 121 is provided at the outer end of the living hinge 120, and the tab 121 may include an upwardly facing bearing surface 122. It should be noted that the directional terms "outer" and "upper" are used herein with reference to the living hinge 120 being in an upright position. During pivoting of the living hinge 120 from the horizontal position to the vertical position, the projection 121 can abut against the lock 143 and exert a pushing force on the lock 143, causing the lock 143 to move outward and away from the locked position. When the living hinge 120 is in the vertical position, the support surface 122 is disposed at the lower side of the lock block 143, and can abut against the lock block 143, so that the lock block 143 can be held between the support surface 122 of the projection 121 and the fixed hinge 110 in the vertical direction.

The projection 121 may also be provided with an abutment surface 124. The support surface 122 is disposed obliquely relative to the abutment surface 124. In this embodiment, the abutment surface 124 is disposed obliquely upward toward the outer end of the hinge device 100 when the living hinge 120 is in the upright position. During pivoting of the living hinge 120 from the horizontal position to the vertical position, the abutment surface 124 can abut against the lock 143 and push the lock 143 away from the locked position.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the fixed hinge 110 mainly includes a pair of wall plates 111 arranged in a vertical direction and a latch 112 arranged between the pair of wall plates 111. The pair of wall plates 111 are disposed in parallel, and the latch 112 is disposed at outer ends of the pair of wall plates 111 and is mounted to the pair of wall plates 111 in a transverse direction. The outer pin shaft hole 115 is correspondingly provided on the one wall plate 111 at the bottom of the inner end of the wall plate 111. The latch 112 is provided with a locking surface 113, and the locking surface 113 is a lower surface of the latch 112. When the living hinge 120 is in the vertical position, the lock block 143 can be captured between the locking surface 113 and the support surface 122 in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, the living hinge 120 and the bracket 141 are disposed between a pair of wall plates 111, one of the wall plates 111 is provided with an operation hole 114, and the handle 142 extends through the operation hole 114 and is movable along the operation hole 114.

The fixed hinge 110 may further include a bottom corner piece 116 disposed at a lower portion of the wall panel 111 and a corner connector 117 disposed at an upper portion of the wall panel 111, the bottom corner piece 116 and the corner connector 117 being disposed at outer ends of the wall panel.

As shown in fig. 6, the bracket 141 includes a pair of side plates 145 vertically disposed and a connecting member 146 connecting the pair of side plates 145. The pair of side plates 145 are disposed in parallel, the pair of side plates 145 are disposed between the pair of wall plates 111 and at both sides of the living hinge 120, the connecting member 146 is disposed between the pair of side plates 145 in a transverse direction, and the handle 142 is disposed on one of the side plates 145. If the handle 142 is provided on the edge plate 145 close to the outer end surface of the hinge device 100, the handle 142 can be operated outside the hinge device 100, the operation space is large, and the operation arm is long and easy to operate. If the handle 142 is provided on the edge plate 145 away from the outer end surface of the hinge device 100, it is possible to sufficiently utilize the open space at the inner end of the hinge device 100 of the existing folding container, and an operator can operate the handle 142 while standing on the end of the hinge device 100, which is large in operation space and safer, and the operation force is long enough to be conveniently operated.

The pair of side plates 145 are pivotally mounted to the pair of wall plates 111 by bracket pins 144 (see fig. 1-3). The access hole 114 is configured as an arcuate through hole extending about the centerline of the bracket pin 144. The bottom of the side plate 145 is provided with a side plate pin hole 153, and the pair of wall plates 111 of the fixed hinge 110 are correspondingly provided with wall plate pin holes 118 (see fig. 4). The bracket pin 144 extends through the side panel pin hole 153 and the wall panel pin hole 118 to pivotally connect the bracket 141 to the fixed hinge 110. In this embodiment, the bracket pin 144 is disposed at the bottom of the outer end of the bracket 141, specifically, at the bottom of the outer end of the wall plate 111, so that the center of gravity of the locking mechanism 140 is located at the side of the vertical plane where the axis of the bracket pin 144 is located near the pivot shaft 130, and thus the locking mechanism 140 can automatically return to the locking position under the action of its own gravity.

With continued reference to fig. 6, the pair of side plates 145 are provided with receiving grooves 147, the locking piece 143 is movably caught in the receiving grooves 147, and the connecting piece 146 is provided at the outer end of the locking piece 143. In the present embodiment, since the accommodation grooves 147 are all provided on the edge plate 145, the accommodation grooves 147 can be processed only by ring-shaped cutting and blanking, and the processing is simpler, the cost is low, and the accuracy control is better. The upper region of the inner surface of the receiving groove 147 is configured as an arc surface 148 protruding outward, and the arc surface 148 is oppositely disposed at both sides of the locking piece 143 and contacts with the locking piece 143, thereby reducing the contact area of the receiving groove 147 and the locking piece 143, and ensuring that the locking piece 143 can turn over around itself while turning around the bracket pin 144, thereby realizing the switching operation of the locking mechanism 140 between the release position and the locking position.

The lower area of the inner surface of the receiving groove 147 is configured as a circular arc-shaped transition surface 149, the transition surface 149 may be disposed at a side near the outer end of the side plate 145, an escape notch 152 is disposed at a position of the lock block 143 corresponding to the transition surface 149, and a portion of the lock block 143 between the pair of side plates 145 is not provided with the escape notch. Therefore, the escape notches 152 are provided at both sides of the outer end of the lock block 143, so that the lock block 143 can rotate in the receiving groove 147 with the arc-shaped surface 148 as a fulcrum, and the side plate 145 can perform a lateral limiting function on the lock block 143. The transition surface 149 may be rounded or chamfered.

The outer end face of the locking piece 143 is provided with a blocking member 151, and the blocking member 151 is disposed at the lower side of the connecting member 146 and can abut against the connecting member 146 to block the locking piece 143 from being upwardly separated from the receiving groove 147.

According to the utility model discloses a hinge device, through setting up locking mechanical system, can be at the vertical position with the activity hinge locking automatically when the activity hinge pivot to vertical position, convenient operation reduces the damage to hinge device, the cost of maintenance of product has been reduced to through directly with the leg joint with the handle, and not be connected with the locking piece, consequently do not restrict the activity of locking piece, can make locking mechanical system move towards release position from the locking position through operating handle, thereby can follow vertical position with the activity hinge and remove horizontal position.

Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Terms such as "disposed" and the like, as used herein, may refer to one element being directly attached to another element or one element being attached to another element through intervening elements. Features described herein in one embodiment may be applied to another embodiment, either alone or in combination with other features, unless the feature is otherwise inapplicable or otherwise stated in the other embodiment.

The present invention has been described in terms of the above embodiments, but it is to be understood that the above embodiments are for purposes of illustration and description only and are not intended to limit the invention to the described embodiments. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many more modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching and are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims (12)

1. A hinge assembly for a collapsible container, comprising:

fixing the hinge;

a living hinge pivotably connected to the fixed hinge between a horizontal position and a vertical position;

a locking mechanism pivotably connected to the fixed hinge between a locked position and a released position, the locking mechanism comprising:

a bracket pivotably connected to the fixed hinge;

a handle connected to the bracket; and

the locking block can be movably clamped on the bracket;

wherein during pivoting of the living hinge from the horizontal position to the vertical position, the living hinge is capable of pushing the lock block in the locked position such that the living hinge in the vertical position is at least partially below the lock block in the locked position;

the lock block blocks movement of the living hinge during pivoting of the living hinge from the vertical position to the horizontal position, and the handle is configured to be operable to rotate the locking mechanism from the locked position to the released position to allow pivoting of the living hinge to the horizontal position.

2. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the living hinge is provided with a projection having a bearing surface that is capable of abutting and pushing the lock piece away from the locking position during pivoting of the living hinge from the horizontal position to the vertical position, the bearing surface being disposed on an underside of and abutting the lock piece when the living hinge is in the vertical position.

3. The hinge assembly of claim 2, wherein an outer end of the fixed hinge is provided with a locking surface, and the lock block is vertically capturable between the locking surface and the support surface when the living hinge is in the vertical position.

4. The hinge assembly of claim 3, wherein the fixed hinge includes a pair of vertically disposed wall panels, the living hinge and the bracket being disposed between the pair of wall panels, one of the wall panels being provided with an access aperture through which the handle extends and is movable along the access aperture.

5. The hinge device of claim 4, wherein the fixed hinge further comprises a latch provided at an outer end of the pair of wall plates and mounted to the pair of wall plates in a transverse direction, and the locking surface is a lower surface of the latch.

6. The hinge assembly of claim 5, wherein the bracket includes a pair of side plates disposed vertically between the pair of wall plates and disposed on either side of the living hinge, and a connector connecting the pair of side plates, the handle being disposed on one of the side plates.

7. The hinge assembly of claim 6, wherein the locking mechanism further comprises a bracket pin through which the pair of side plates are pivotally mounted to the pair of wall plates, the access hole being configured as an arcuate through-hole extending about a centerline of the bracket pin.

8. The hinge assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pair of side plates are provided with receiving grooves in which the locking pieces are movably held, and the connecting members are provided at outer ends of the locking pieces.

9. The hinge assembly of claim 8, wherein an upper region of the inner surface of the receiving groove is configured as an outwardly convex arc-shaped surface which is oppositely disposed on both sides of the locking piece and is in contact with the locking piece, so that the locking piece can be turned around itself while being turned around the bracket pin.

10. The hinge device as claimed in claim 8, wherein a lower region of the inner surface of the receiving groove near the outer end is configured as a transition surface in a circular arc shape, an escape notch is provided at a position of the locking piece corresponding to the transition surface, and a portion of the locking piece between the pair of side plates is not provided with the escape notch.

11. The hinge assembly of claim 8, wherein an outer end surface of the lock block is provided with a stopper provided at a lower side of the connector to block the lock block from being upwardly separated from the receiving groove.

12. A collapsible container comprising a base frame and an end frame, wherein a hinge arrangement according to any one of claims 1-11 is provided between the base frame and the end frame, the living hinge being fixedly connected to the end frame and the fixed hinge being fixedly connected to the base frame.

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