Counterbalance support

• US 4,312,097 A
• Filed: 02/26/1980
• Issued: 01/26/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Weber Knapp Company
• Original Assignee: Weber Knapp Company
• Inventors: Boyd, Kenneth J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Reynolds, Wm. Carter
• Application Number:
  US06/124,797
• Time in Patent Office: 700 Days
• Field of Search: 16/54, 16/55, 16/66, 16/68, 16/72, 16/80, 16/85, 16/180, 16/190, 16/84
• US Class Current: 16/279
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 1/1292 with a gas spring
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/20 for furnitures, e.g. cabinets

Abstract

A counterbalance support for hingedly mounting a cover on a cabinet for vertical swinging movements between horizontally disposed closed and vertically disposed open positions, which features an arrangement for maintaining a counterbalance spring device in a deactivated condition permitting non-counterbalanced pivotal movements of hinge parts of the support, as an incident to mounting the cover on the cabinet.

Claims

1. In a combination hinge and counterbalance mechanism for hingedly mounting a cover on a cabinet for vertical swinging movement between horizontally disposed closed and vertically disposed open position, said mechanism including a first hinge part adapted to be attached to one of said cover and said cabinet, a second hinge part adapted to be attached to the other of said cover and said cabinet, hinge pin means for pivotally interconnecting said first and second hinge parts for relative vertical swinging movement, a counterbalance spring device having first and second ends, a first pivot means for connecting said first end to said first hinge part for pivotal movement relative thereto, and second pivot means for connecting said second end to said second hinge part for pivotal movement relative thereto, said spring device being adapted to exert a force tending to swing said cover vertically about said hinge pin means from said closed position toward said open position, the improvement for selectively disabling said spring device to permit disassembly of said first pivot means, which comprises in combination:

said first pivot means includes a bearing opening in said first end of said spring device, an enlarged bearing opening provided in said first hinge part and a pivot pin sized to be removably inserted within said bearing opening and said enlarged bearing opening, said enlarged bearing opening having a bearing end portion and a remote end portion spaced from said bearing end portion through a distance sufficient to permit displacement of said pivot pin from engagement with said bearing end portion, said enlarged bearing opening being positioned in said first hinge part such that said force exerted by said spring device tends to move said pivot pin in said enlarged bearing opening as required to normally maintain said pivot pin in bearing engagement with said bearing end portion;

said first end of said spring device is provided with a cam surface; and

retaining means removably disposed for engagement by said cam surface and cooperation therewith for releasably retaining said spring device in a partially retracted condition and arranging said bearing opening of said first end in alignment with said enlarged bearing opening intermediate said bearing and remote end portions thereof.

2. The improvement according to claim 1, wherein said retaining means includes first and second openings formed in said second hinge part and first and second retaining pins sized to be removably received within said first and second openings, respectively, and said first and second openings are arranged to position said first and second retaining pins for engagement by said cam surface.

3. The improvement according to claim 2, wherein said first hinge part is adapted to be fixed to said cover, said second hinge part is adapted to be fixed to said cabinet, said bearing and remote end portions of said enlarged bearing opening are arranged relatively remotely from and adjacent to said hinge pin means, respectively, said cam surface is generally convex, and said cam surface successively engages said retaining pins to effect movement of said pivot pin lengthwise of said enlarged bearing opening from engagement with said bearing end portion thereof and generally towards said hinge pin means.

4. The improvement according to claim 3, wherein said spring device is a pressure cylinder having an end surface thereof serving to define said cam surface.

5. In a combination hinge and counterbalance mechanism for hingedly mounting a cover on a cabinet for vertical swinging movement between horizontally disposed closed and vertically disposed open position, said mechanism including a first hinge part adapted to be attached to said cover and a second hinge part adapted to be attached to said cabinet, hinge pin means for pivotally interconnecting said first and second hinge parts for relative vertical swinging movement, a counterbalance spring device having first and second ends, a first pivot mens for connecting said first end to said first hinge part for pivotal movement relative thereto, and second pivot means for connecting said second end to said second hinge part for pivotal movement relative thereto, said spring device being adapted to exert a force tending to swing said first hinge part vertically about said hinge pin means from a closed position toward an open position corresponding to said closed and open positions of said cover, respectively, the improvement for selectively disabling said spring device to permit disassembly of said first pivot means, which comprises in combination:

said first pivot means includes a bearing opening in said first end of said spring device, an enlarged bearing opening provided in said first hinge part and a pivot pin sized to be removably inserted within said bearing opening and said enlarged bearing opening, said enlarged bearing opening having a bearing end portion and a remote end portion spaced from said bearing end portion through a distance sufficient to permit displacement of said pivot pin from engagement with said bearing end portion, said enlarged bearing opening being positioned in said first hinge part such that said force exerted by said spring device tends to move said pivot pin in said enlarged bearing opening as required to normally maintain said pivot pin in bearing engagement with said bearing end portion;

said first end of said spring device is provided with a cam surface; and

a pair of retaining pins are removably supported by said second hinge part in positions immediately above said cam surface when said first hinge part is in said closed position thereof for successive engagement by said cam surface incident to movement of said first hinge part away from said closed position thereof towards said open position thereof to effect deactivation of said spring device and movement of said pivot pin from engagement with said bearing end portion to permit disassembly of said first pivot means.

6. The improvement according to claim 5, wherein said bearing end portion and said remote end portion are disposed relatively remotely from and adjacent said hinge pin means, respectively, and successive engagement of said retaining pins by said cam surface moves said pivot pin from engagement with said bearing end portion in a direction generally towards said hinge pin means.

7. The improvement according to claim 6, wherein said cam surface is generally convex.