Opening/closing hinge construction for a housing

• US 6,055,705 A
• Filed: 06/29/1998
• Issued: 05/02/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Yamazaki, Takayuki, Komatsu, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Mah, Chuck Y.
• Application Number:
  US09/106,309
• Time in Patent Office: 673 Days
• Field of Search: 16/225, 16/226, 16/382, 16/385, 16/DIG. 13, 16/248, 16/243, 16/235
• US Class Current: 16/225
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 1/02 made of one piece
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 16/13 Plastic hinge

Abstract

The present invention relates to an opening/closing hinge construction for an electronic and electrical equipment housing. By improving the hinge construction so that the hinge construction between a body case and body cover is contained within the housing, the housing is prevented from being large-sized and the assembling property is enhanced, whereby the whole manufacturing cost including the assembly cost is reduced. The construction is such as to open and close the body case forming an equipment housing by the body cover of cover member, and a hinge sheet having flexibility formed into a sheet form is used for a hinge connection portion. One end of the hinge sheet is fixed to the interior of the body case by using hinge bosses and set screws as a fixed locking end, and the other end is fixed to the inside of the body cover as a movable locking end. At the movable locking end, two elongated hinge variable adjusting grooves extending in the direction in which the movable locking end is connected to the fixed locking end in the body case are formed in parallel. The hinge sheet is locked at an arbitrary position in the hinge variable adjusting groove via a hinge fixing plate by means of set screws.

Claims

1. An opening/closing hinge attached to an equipment housing for opening and closing a body cover of the equipment housing over a body case of the equipment housing by hingedly connecting the body cover to one end of the body case, said opening/closing hinge comprising:

a hinge member comprising a flexible sheet and having a first end being locked to an inside surface of said body case and a second end being adjustably mounted and locked to an inside surface of said body cover, said hinge member being contained within the equipment housing when said body case is closed by said body cover; and

at least one elongated hinge variable adjusting groove formed at the second end of the hinge member such that the second end is a movable locking end locked to said body cover at an arbitrary position in said hinge variable adjusting groove.

2. An opening/closing hinge according to claim 1, wherein the fixed locking end is locked to the interior of said body case with a set screw and the movable locking end is locked to the inside of said body cover at an arbitrary position in said hinge variable adjusting groove by using a set screw and a hinge fixing plate.

3. An opening/closing hinge construction for a housing according to claim 2, wherein two of said hinge variable adjusting grooves are formed in parallel on both sides in the width direction of the movable locking end of said hinge member.

4. An opening/closing hinge construction for a housing according to claim 3, wherein said hinge fixing plate extends over said two hinge variable adjusting grooves and is fixed at both ends thereof by set screws so as to be loosened or tightened freely.

5. An opening/closing hinge according to claim 1, further comprising two of said hinge variable adjusting grooves formed in parallel on both sides in the width direction of the movable locking end of said hinge member.

6. An opening/closing hinge according to claim 5, wherein a hinge fixing plate extends over said two hinge variable adjusting grooves which is fixed at both ends with set screws so as to be loosened or tightened freely.

7. A combination of an opening/closing hinge and an equipment housing,

said equipment housing including:

a body case having a bottom plate and side plates erected around said bottom plate;

protruding hinge bosses provided on said bottom plate of said body;

a body cover positioned over said body case when said equipment housing is in a closed position; and

cover bosses extending from said body cover and aligned with said protruding hinge bosses;

said opening/closing hinge including;

a hinge member being a flexible sheet and having a first end being locked to said protruding hinge bosses, said hinge member being contained within said equipment housing when said body case is closed by said body cover; and

elongated hinge variable adjusting grooves formed at said second end of said hinge member such that said second end is a movable locking end locked to said cover bosses at an arbitrary position in said hinge variable adjusting groove.

8. A combination of an opening/closing hinge and an equipment housing according to claim 7, wherein said equipment housing further comprises a hinge fixing plate mounted to said cover bosses for mounting said hinge member to said cover over said elongated hinge variable adjusting grooves.

9. A combination of an opening/closing hinge and an equipment housing,

said equipment housing including:

a body case having a bottom plate and side plates erected around said bottom plate;

a body cover positioned over said body case when said equipment housing is in a closed position;

said opening/closing hinge including;

a hinge member being a flexible sheet and having a first end being locked to said bottom plate of said body, said hinge member being contained within said equipment housing when said body case is closed by said body cover; and

elongated hinge variable adjusting grooves formed at said second end of said hinge member such that said second end is a movable locking end locked to a bottom surface of said cover at an arbitrary position in said hinge variable adjusting groove.