Upright hinge for spa cover
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Accused Products
Abstract
A hinge assembly for coupling a spa cover to a spa includes a mounting bracket disposed near a top of the spa, a support arm which is pivotably coupled to the mounting bracket about an axis of rotation, and a spring member disposed between the mounting bracket and the support arm. The spa cover is movable between a fully closed position and a fully open position. The support arm is attached on an outside surface of the spa cover at a vertical offset from the axis of rotation when the spa cover is in the fully closed position. The spring member, which may be a gas spring, forms an angle of less than approximately 45 degrees with respect to the top of the spa when the spa cover is in the fully open position. A metal plate may be affixed using a double sided tape on an outside surface of the spa cover, and then anchored to the spa cover. The metal plate may be used to attach the support arm to the spa cover.
65 Citations
15 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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2. A hinge assembly for coupling a foldable spa cover to a spa, said spa cover having an upper section and a lower section that are coupled to each other at a hinge joint and being movable between a horizontal position and an upright position, said hinge assembly comprising:
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a mounting bracket adapted to be installed near a top of the spa;
a support arm pivotably coupled to the mounting bracket about an axis of rotation, and adapted to be attached to the lower section of the spa cover, wherein the support arm is bent such that an attachment location between the support arm and the lower section of the spa is higher than the axis of rotation when the spa cover is in the horizontal position; and
a gas spring disposed between the mounting bracket and the support arm, wherein the gas spring is adapted to extend toward a rear end of the spa with respect to the axis of rotation as the spa cover is rotated about the axis of rotation from the horizontal position toward the upright position. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A spa system comprising:
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a spa;
a foldable spa cover having at least two sections including an upper section and a lower section that are coupled to each other at a hinge joint, said spa cover being movable between a horizontal position and an upright position;
a hinge assembly for coupling the spa cover to the spa, said hinge assembly comprising;
a mounting bracket disposed near a top of the spa;
a support arm pivotably coupled to the mounting bracket about an axis of rotation, and attached to the lower section of the spa cover, wherein the support arm is bent such that an attachment location between the support arm and the lower section of the spa cover is higher than the axis of rotation when the spa cover is in the fully closed position; and
a gas spring disposed between the mounting bracket and the support arm, wherein the gas spring is adapted to extend toward a rear end of the spa with respect to the axis of rotation as the spa cover is rotated about the axis of rotation from the horizontal position toward the upright position. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification