Furniture hinge

• US 20080172834A1
• Filed: 03/26/2008
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Julius BLUM GmbH (BLUM Verwaltung GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Julius BLUM GmbH (BLUM Verwaltung GmbH)
• Inventors: Sutterlutti, Herald
• Granted Patent: US 8,677,568 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 16/286
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 3/142 with at least one of the hinge parts having a cup-shaped fixing part, e.g. for attachment to cabinets or furniture E05D11/1021 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 3/16 with seven parallel pins and four arms
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/611 for swinging wings
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/614 operated by meshing gear wheels, one of which being mounted at the wing pivot axis; operated by a motor acting directly on the wing pivot axis
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 5/006 for hinges having a cup-shaped fixing part, e.g. for attachment to cabinets or furniture
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2201/21 Brakes
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2201/232 by automatically acting means
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2201/246 by motors, magnets, springs or weights
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2201/434 Electromotors; Details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2201/462 Electromagnets
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/326 of the angular type
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2600/40 Mounting location; Visibility of the elements
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2600/45 in or on the fixed frame
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2800/11 Manual wing operation
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2800/113 Power assistance
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2800/70 Retrofitting of elements
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/20 for furnitures, e.g. cabinets

Abstract

Disclosed is a furniture hinge for pivotally connecting at least two parts (1, 2) of a piece of furniture. Said furniture hinge comprises at least two fastening pieces which can be fixed to one part (1 or 2) of the piece of furniture, respectively, and can be hingedly joined to each other via at least one articulated shaft (5, 5′). The inventive furniture hinge further comprises at least one motor (6), preferably an electric motor, for swiveling the fastening pieces.

Claims

1. A furniture hinge for pivotably connecting at least two parts of an item of furniture comprising at least two stop parts which can each be fastened to one part of said item of furniture and can be articulated to one another via at least one articulated axle, wherein said furniture hinge has at least one motor for swiveling said stop parts.

2. A furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor is an electric motor.

3. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said stop parts is a hinge cup.

4. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said stop parts is a hinge arm.

5. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the furniture hinge is a frame hinge.

6. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said stop parts can be clipped onto a base plate which can be fastened to one of said stop parts of the item of furniture.

7. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stop parts can be joined together via four or seven articulated axles.

8. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stop parts can be joined together via at least one articulated lever.

9. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one articulated lever has two legs which can be swiveled relative to each other via said articulated axle.

10. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor has a motor housing and at least one motor shaft, the motor shaft being mounted so as to be rotatable or longitudinally displaceable with respect to said motor housing.

11. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor with its motor housing, is arranged on one of said stop parts.

12. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor with its motor housing, is arranged on an articulated lever.

13. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor with its motor shaft acts or is arranged on the or one of the articulated axle(s).

14. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor engages via a first gear-wheel or a first worm wheel arranged on its motor shaft with a second gear-wheel or a second worm wheel, arranged on said articulated axle or an articulated lever.

15. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor shaft is arranged coaxially with or parallel to the or one of the articulated axle(s).

16. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor shaft is arranged substantially perpendicularly to the or one of the articulated axle(s).

17. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor housing is arranged on one of said stop parts and said motor shaft acts on at least one articulated lever or on the or one of the articulated axles of the hinge or on the other of said stop parts.

18. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor housing is arranged on one of said stop parts and said motor shaft acts via a lever or toggle lever on at least one articulated lever or on the or one of the articulated axles of the hinge or on the other of said stop parts.

19. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor is a rotational motor or a linear motor.

20. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor is a DC motor or an AC motor.

21. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor requires an operating voltage, preferably a DC voltage, of between 5 V and 25 V.

22. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor has a power of from 2 W to 30 W.

23. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor is capable of damping or braking the relative movement of said stop parts with respect to one another in dependence on at least one defined value or a defined function, during an opening and/or closing movement.

24. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 23, wherein said motor can be damped inductively or in a resistance-loaded manner.

25. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the furniture hinge has a free-wheel.

26. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor has a free-wheel.

27. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 25, wherein said free-wheel can be switched on and off.

28. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 26, wherein said free-wheel can be switched on and off.

29. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is arranged in an output of said motor a coupling which is switchable at least between a closed state in which it transmits a force or a torque of said motor and an opened state in which it transmits no force or no torque of said motor.

30. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor can be switched on or off by a movement or an exertion of pressure and/or tension on the stop parts.

31. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 30, wherein the furniture hinge has a movement sensor or a pressure and/or tension exertion sensor for triggering said motor.

32. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 31, wherein said movement sensor is an encoder or a potentiometer.

33. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 31, wherein said movement sensor determines an absolute value.

34. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 30, wherein the motor has an inductive movement sensor by means of which it can be triggered in the event of movement of said stop parts.

35. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein it has a mechanical holding means which holds the furniture hinge in a resting state in a respective instantaneous position.

36. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 33, wherein said respective instantaneous position is the closed position.

37. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the furniture hinge has a means for determining an instantaneous relative position and/or an instantaneous relative speed of at least two of said stop parts with respect to one another.

38. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 10, wherein said motor has a means for determining an instantaneous relative position and/or an instantaneous relative speed of said motor shaft with respect to said motor housing.

39. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 38, wherein the means for determining said relative position and/or said instantaneous relative speed is an encoder or potentiometer or said motor is a stepper motor.

40. The furniture hinge as claimed in claim 39, wherein said encoder or said potentiometer determines absolute values.

41. An arrangement comprising a furniture hinge as claimed in claim 37, wherein it has a regulating means which is capable of regulating, using at least one actual value of said instantaneous relative position and/or said instantaneous relative speed of said stop parts, said motor for accelerating and/or for braking said stop parts in dependence on a defined value or a defined function.

42. An arrangement comprising a furniture hinge as claimed in claim 38, wherein it has a regulating means which is capable of regulating, using at least one actual value of said instantaneous relative position and/or said instantaneous relative speed of said motor shaft with respect to said motor housing, said motor for accelerating and/or for braking said stop parts in dependence on a defined value or a defined function.

43. The arrangement as claimed in claim 41, wherein said regulating means is capable of regulating, using at least one actual value of a movement sensor or of a pressure and/or tension exertion sensor, said motor taking into account said defined value or said defined function, in such a way as to trigger acceleration or braking of said stop parts.

44. The arrangement as claimed in claim 42, wherein said regulating means is capable of regulating said motor in such a way that said motor swivels taking into account at least one actual value of said instantaneous relative position and/or said instantaneous relative speed of said stop parts or of said motor shaft with respect to said motor housing, said stop parts over a predetermined angular range in the opening or closing direction.

45. The arrangement as claimed in claim 41, wherein said regulating means is capable of regulating said motor in such a way that said motor brings, in dependence on a signal of a movement sensor or of a pressure and/or tension exertion sensor, said stop parts into a closed or an open position.

46. The arrangement as claimed in claim 41, wherein said regulating means is capable of regulating said motor in such a way that said motor brings said stop parts, if they are in an opened position, into a closed position after a predetermined period of time.

47. The arrangement as claimed in claim 41, wherein said arrangement has, in addition to the furniture hinge, a movement sensor or pressure and/or tension exertion sensor which can be arranged on one of the parts of the item of furniture.

48. The arrangement as claimed in claim 41 comprising a furniture hinge as claimed in claim 29, wherein said regulating means switches said coupling between said closed and said opened state.

49. The arrangement as claimed in claim 41, wherein said regulating means is arranged on the furniture hinge or integrated therein.