GB2245309A - Hinge assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinge assembly, typically for a collapsible container with a base 2 and a side wall 1 comprises an integral pivot pin 3 of the side wall seated in a seating 11 of the base, the pin 3 being retained in the seating 11 by a plastics clip 13 having legs 14 and 15 hinged together and formed with barbs 18 and 19 which snap together to form an enclosure around the seating 11 and the pin 3 which retains the pin for rotation in and between the seating 11 and an opposed seating 17 in the clip leg 14. The clip ends are received in an opening 12 in the base 2. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE "A hinge assembly" TECHNICAL FIELD & BACKGROUND ART The present invention relates to a hinge assembly and is particularly concerned with such assemblies in which two members are hingedly connected by means of a pivot pin.

The invention was primarily developed for plastics moulded components where the pivot pin is formed integral with one of the members and is secured at each end as part of that member. With such a structure it is known to provide the other member as a plastics moulding in which the pin snap engdyeS in a sea:in Y of the other mes-u2s~L to be captured by claws which extend part way only around the pin to permit its rotary motion. The claws are convenient for manufacture by through moulding techniques but form a relatively weak hinged connection between the two members whereby pressure exerted on one member relative to the other perpendicularly to the axis of the pin may force the pin out of engagement with the claws.Such a pivot pin connection is therefore considered unsuitable for heavy duty use, as for example, is experienced with large collapsible containers having plastics moulded compoents.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hinge assembly by which the aforementioned disadvantage may be alleviated and which lends itself to economic manufacture and permits the structure of the assembly to be effected simply and quickly.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION & ADVANTAGES According to the present invention there is provided a hinge assembly comprising a first member having a pivot pin; a second member having a wall part carrying a seating within which seating the pivot pin is received for the first member to exhibit pivotal movement about the pin relative to the second member and a retaining means which is assembled to enclose the pivot pin and the wall part of the second member and which has legs with snap engaging barbs that when engaged secure the enclosure formed by the retaining means to retain the pivot pin in its seating.

Preferably the first and second members are plastics mouldings with the pivot pin and seating integrally moulded therewith. The pivot pin will usually present a cylindrical profile and as mentioned previously the opposed ends of the pin may be secured to or integral with the first member. The seating may be part cylindrical to be complementary to the pin and when the pin is seated therein the retaining means is fitted to extend around or enclose both the pivot pin and che wall paLt of the second member on which the seating is located.This fitting may be achieved simply by opening up the retaining means and then closing such means by snap engagement of barbs on legs of the retaining means so that the pin is captured in its seating but may be permitted rotary movement between the retaining means and the seating where it is necessary for the pin and first wall member to exhibit unified angular or rotary movement relative to the second member.

The retaining means preferably has a further seating substantially complementary to the profile of the pin and which opposes the seating in the wall part so that the pin is retained between the two seatings.

The retaining means may be formed as a clip in relatively rigid material and effectively comprise two legs, one of which is hinged relative to the other so that the legs can be spread to receive therebetween the pivot pin and the wall part and then closed around the pivot pin and the wall part and secured together by snap engaging barbs provided at or towards the free ends of the legs.

In a preferred arrangement the retaining clip is a one piece plastics moulding having an integral leaf hinge formed between the two legs. One of these legs is conveniently provided with the previously mentioned further seating for the pivot pin.

DRAWINGS One embodiment of a hinge assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pivot pin on one member co-operating with a seating of another member prior to the fitting of the re.air.ir.! means to the members to provide the hinge assembly; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the retaining means which is to be fitted to the members of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a dlagrammatic section on the line III III of Figure 1 and in which the retaining means of Figure 2 is shown fitted to form the hinge assembly with the two members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The hinge assembly illustrated is primarily itended for a heavy duty plastics container where, typically, a side wall 1 is hingedly mounted on a base 2 (which could be another side wall) to be capable of pivotal movement in the direction of arrow A from an upstanding condition (shown in Figures 1 and 3) of the side wall to a collapsed condition where the side wall may overlie and extend parallel to a substantially flat bottom of the container formed by part of the base 2. Each of the side wall and base is formed as a one piece moulding in plastics. Located on a bottom flange 1A of the side wall 1 as a pivot pin 3 having its opposite axial end part lengths 3A integral with the flange 1A while its mid part length 3B is of cylindrical profile and effectively extends axially across a recess 4 in the flange 1A to form an aperture 5 in the side wall.The end part lengths 3A of the pivot pin are of part circular radial section to present a part cylindrical profile and the flange 1A is offset from the axis of the pivot pin to extend generally tangentially therefrom and parallel to the pin axis as will be appreciated from the ends of the flange 1A and the pivot pin seen in Figure 1.

The base 2 has an upstanding wall part 10 in an upper edge of which is provided a semi cylindrical concave seating 11 which is substantially complementary to and which receives the cylindrical profile of the pin 3. The pin 3 is intended to rotate about its axis in the seating 11 to provide the required hinged movement of the side wall 1. Conveniently the upstanding condition of the side wall is determined by abutment of the flange 1A against upstanding flanges 10A of the wall part 10.

Extending through the thickness of the wall part 10 beneath the mid part length 3B of the pivot pin and spaced from the seating 11 is an aperture or opening 12.

For securing the wall 1 to the base 2 to permit the required pivotal movement therebetween, a retaining clip 13 is provided (Figure 2). This clip is formed as a one piece moulding in relatively rigid plastics to have a generally C-shaped leg 14 and a generally L-shaped leg 15 which are hingedly connected at one end of their respective legs by an integral plastics leaf hinge 16. Located adjacent to the hinge 16 in the leg 14 is a substantially semi-cylindrical concave seating 17, the axis of which extends parallel to the hinge 16. The seating 17 is substantially complementary to the cylindrical profile of the mid-part length 3B of the pivot pin and is substantially co-extensive with that part length. The end of the C-shaped leg 14 remote from the hinge 16 is provided with a barb 18 and the end of the L-shaped leg 15 remote from the hinge 16 is also provided with a barb 19. The barbs 18 and 19 are complementary in the sense that they are intended to snap engage with each other as the legs 14 and 15 are hinged to close relative to each other to form an enclosure. During this snap engagement the barb 19 rides over a chamfered leading face of the barb 18 and the barb 18 rides over a chamfered leading face of the barb 19.

Following their snap connection, the resilience of the plastics material urges the two barbs into engagement with each other to prevent the legs from opening.

The retaining clip 13 will normally be moulded with the legs 14 and 15 spread and in this condition the clip is fitted to the members as shown in Figure 1 so that the leg 15 with Ses barb la leading ic passed through the opening 5 in the flange 1A and the barbed end 18 of the leg 14 is inserted in the aperture 12. During this fitting the seating 17 move cer and receives tne part length JB at the pivot pin, a rear wall 20 on the leg 14 of the clip abuts one side face of the wall part 10, and a flange 21 at the free end of the clip leg 14 moves through the aperture 12 to engage over an edge of that aperture and bear against the opposite side face of the wall part 10 so that the clip leg 14 is securely retained.To complete the fitting of the clip, the barbed end 19 of the clip leg 15 is inserted into the aperture 12 and forced by pivotal movement at the hinge 16 over the barb 18 so that the barbs 18 and 19 snap engage as shown in Figure 3. Following such snap engagement the pin 3 is retained on the wall part 10 between the opposed seatings 11 and 17 within the enclosure formed by the retaining clip 13 which extends closely around the mid part length 3B and the wall part 10.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3 it is intended that when the barbs 18 and 19 are snap engaged the retaining clip is fitted once-and-for-all. It will be realised however that appropriate clearances can be provided to permit release of the retaining clip should it prove necessary to replace the base, side wall or retaining clip in the event that one of these components becomes damaged during use of the assembly.

With the retaining clip fitted as shown in Figure 3 the opposed seating 11 and 17 permit rotary motion of the pin 3 relative thereto during pivotal movement of the wall 1. Furthermore, the location of the flange part 1A to extend substantially tangentially from the cylindrical profile of the pivot pin will permit the wall 1 to pivot through at least 900 from its upstanding condition prior to the flange part 1A abutting the upper edge of the wall part 10. The engagement of the clip 13 in the apertures 5 and 12 restrains relative displacement between iht C;Xtt the wall 1, and the base 2 in the axial direction of the pin 3.

The engagement of the barbs 18 and 19 in the aperture 12 and within the thickness of the wall part 10 alleviates the possibility of those barbs from accidentallly being disengaged.

Where the fitted clip 13 forms a closure around the pivot pin and wall part 10 which is other than circular (and as shown in Figure 3 is preferably predominantly rectangular - from the major surface presented by the rectangular section of the wall part 10 enclosed by the clip) it will be appreciated that the clip is restrained from rotating relative to the base 2 and about the wall part 10 which it encloses. Therefore the clip may have an upstanding flange extension 22 against which the wall 1 abuts when in its upstanding condition to provide a further restriction (together with the flanges 10A) to the pivotal displacement of that wall 1.

Claims (14)

1. A hinge assembly comprising a first member having a pivot pin; a second member having a wall part carrying a seating within which seating the pivot pin is received for the first member to exhibit pivotal movement about the pin relative to the second member and a retaining means which is assembled to enclose the pivot pin and the wall part of the second member and which has legs with snap engaging barbs that when engaged secure the enclosure formed by the retaining means to retain the pivot pin in its seating.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the pivot pi has opposes efd .h--rec' engaging ot integra@@ with the first member and the retaining means is located the pivot pin between those ends.

3. An assembly as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 in which the pivot pin presents a cylindrical profile which is received by a substantially complementary part cylindrical seating of the wall part.

4. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the retaining means provides a further seating which opposes the seating on the wall part so that the pivot pin is received between said seatings.

5. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the retaining means comprises a clip having two legs which are hinged relative to each other so that the legs can be spread during fitting of the clip to enclose the pivot pin and the wall part and each leg is provided with a barb remote from the hinge so that the barbs snap engage as the legs are hinged to close and form an enclosure around the wall part and pivot pin seated thereon.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 5 in which the retaining clip is a one piece plastics moulding and the hinge between the legs is provided by an integral plastics hinge.

7. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the barbs of the legs when in snap engagement are located within the thickness of the second member in an opening of the second member which is remote from the seating on the wall part.

8. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which pivotal movement of the first member relative to the second member is restricted in one sense of direction by abutment of the first member against a flange on the wall part.

9. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding cw s n wnlicl t'ae reta r.irM reans is e > ra fLo.l rotating relative to and about the wall part enclosed by that means and in which pivotal movement of the first member relative to the second member is restricted in one sense of direction by abutment of the first member against an extension portion of the retaining means.

10. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the first member is a plastics moulding with the pivot pin being moulded integrally with a flange part of the first member.

11. An assembly as claimed in claim 10 in which the pivot pin presents a cylindrical profile and said flange part extends substantially tangentially from the circular section of that profile and substantially parallel to the axis of the pivot pin..

12. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the second member is a plastics moulding with the wall part and seating carried thereby moulded integrally.

13. A hinge assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the first and second members are components of a collapsible container.

14. A hinge assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.