EP2767188A1

EP2767188A1 - Angle-adjustable hinge and sofa

Info

Publication number: EP2767188A1
Application number: EP20130194611
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tadanobu Yamashita
Original assignee: Koyo Giken KK
Current assignee: Koyo Giken KK
Priority date: 2013-02-15
Filing date: 2013-11-27
Publication date: 2014-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 2033-11-27
Also published as: CN103989339A; EP2767188B1; JP5555341B1; CN203662307U; JP2014155570A; ES2546300T3; CN103989339B

Abstract

In an angle-adjustable hinge having a construction in which a first member (1) and a second member (2) having a gear portion (4) are pivoted as to oscillate, a floating wedge member (6), of which one face is a toothed face (7) engaged to the gear portion (4) and another face is a contact face (9) which contacts a wedge face (8) formed on the first member (1) side, is provided, and, a recovery means (10), for recovering the floating wedge member (6) from a retreat state to an engaged state with the gear portion (4) by a return action (M₂) of a predetermined small angle (θ) in a standing direction (A) during an inclining action (M₁) to relatively oscillate the first member (1) and the second member (2) from a final standing position (P₀) in an inclining direction (B), is provided.

Description

This invention relates to an angle-adjustable hinge and a sofa.
A legless chair shown in a perspective view of figure 19, for example, having a seat portion 31 and a back portion 32, is provided with a joint hinge (angle-adjustable hinge) having an angle-adjusting mechanism between the back portion 32 and the seat portion 31 to adjust inclination angle of the back portion 32.
The applicant of the present invention proposed an angle-adjustable hinge constructed as to randomly set the angle formed by a first member on the seat portion 31 side and a second member on the back portion 32 side (refer to Japanese patent No. 5091362 ).
The angle-adjustable hinge disclosed by Japanese patent No. 5091362 is constructed to make oscillation of the second member toward the first member in standing direction possible, and hold at a desired inclination angle with restriction of oscillation in inclining direction with multi stage.
The conventional angle-adjustable hinge is provided with a gear portion formed on the second member and a floating wedge member of which one side is a toothed face engaged to the gear portion and another side is a contact face to contact a wedge face of the first member, and the oscillation of the second member toward the first member in the inclining direction is restricted by wedge function of the floating wedge member. On a final standing position where the angle formed by the first member and the second member is approximately 90° , the engagement of the floating wedge member and the gear portion is released, the above-mentioned wedge function is nullified, and the second member is freely oscillated in the inclining direction.
However, when the engagement of the floating wedge member and the gear portion is released and the wedge function of the floating wedge member is nullified, the wedge function can't be recovered until a horizontally opened state in which the angle formed by the first member and the second member is 180° . When sufficient space can't be kept behind the back portion of the legless chair in figure 19, the back portion may not be horizontally opened and have to be opened by force with raising the seat portion. This causes disadvantage of bad utility and laborious operation.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an angle-adjustable hinge with which the oscillation restricted state is easily recovered on a random position on way of the oscillation of the back portion from the final standing position to the horizontally opened state, and angle adjustment is conducted swiftly and smoothly.
This object is solved according to the present invention by angle-adjustable hinge including features of claim 1. Furthermore detailed embodiments are described in dependent claims 2 and 3.
The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of an angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention in an assembled and used state;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a principal portion in which a first member and a cover member are omitted;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view of the principal portion of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention;
Figure 15 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 16 is a perspective view of the other embodiment of the present invention in an assembled and used state;
Figure 17 is a front view of the other embodiment of the present invention in which a cover member is omitted;
Figure 18 is a perspective view showing a sofa of the present invention; and
Figure 19 is a perspective view showing a legless chair.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
An angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention, for example, used for a sofa having an inclinable rest portion as shown in a perspective view of figure 18, has an angle-adjusting mechanism to adjust the inclination angle of the rest portion. Or, the angle-adjustable hinge is disposed on a connecting portion 33 between a seat portion 31 and a back portion 32 to adjust the inclination angle of the back portion 32 in a legless chair having the seat portion 31 and the back portion 32 as shown in figure 19, and can be used as a joint hinge (connecting hinge) to connect the seat portion 31 and the back portion 32. The angle-adjustable hinge 30, other than for the sofa and the legless chair, can be used for connecting seat portions and back portions in bed, reclining chair, etc., or used as a joint hinge of headrests, footrests, etc.
As shown in figure 1 through figure 3, the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention, in which a first member 1 and a second member 2 having a gear portion 4 is connected as to oscillate around a first axis C₁, is provided with a floating wedge member 6 of which one side is a toothed face 7 engaged to the gear portion 4 and another side is a contact face 9 to contact a wedge face 8 formed on the first member 1 side.
As shown in figure 4, in an engaged state in which the contact face 9 of the floating wedge member 6 contacts the wedge face 8 and the toothed face 7 and the gear portion 4 are engaged, oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 relatively in an inclining direction (opening direction) B is restricted (stopped). And, the first member 1 and the second member 2 are relatively oscillated in a standing direction (folding direction) A to a final standing position P₀ as shown in figure 10 as to make a retreat state in which the floating wedge member 6 is moved and parted from the gear portion 4 to release the engagement of the gear portion 4 and the toothed face 7, and the first member 1 and the second member 2 are freely oscillated in the inclining direction B under the retreat state.
The first member 1 has a case portion 23 having a pair of facing wall portions 17 and a cylindrical attachment portion 18. A through hole 21 to which a pivot shaft 24 is inserted and a wedge-shaped window portion 5 to movably hold the floating wedge member 6 are formed on the case portion 23 (facing wall portions 17). The wedge-shaped window portion 5 has the wedge face 8 arc-shaped outwardly when observed with the first axis C₁ side as a center. The wedge-shaped window portion 5 has a retreat space 15 to store the floating wedge member 6 parted from the gear portion 4.
The second member 2 has two mutually parallel gear plate portions 45 and a cylindrical attachment portion 19. The gear portion 4 is formed on an arc-shaped peripheral edge portion of the gear plate portion 45 of which center is the first axis C₁ for a range of, for example, a center angle of 100° to 120°. The floating wedge member 6 and the gear portion 4 engage on two positions in width direction, and all teeth of the toothed face 7 simultaneously engage with the gear portion 4. A protruding portion 14 is formed on a beginning portion and an end portion of the gear portion 4. A shaft receiving hole 22 is formed on the gear plate portion 45 to insert the pivot shaft 24. And, 13 to 20 teeth are formed on the toothed face 7 of the floating wedge member 6, and more than 40 teeth, more preferably 45 to 65 teeth are formed on the gear portion 4. Therefore, number of angle adjustment stages can be made more than 40.
And, the first member 1 is provided with a spring member 16 to contact and elastically push the floating wedge member 6 in a direction to be pressed to the gear portion 4.
The angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention is provided with a recovery means 10 which recovers the floating wedge member 6 in the retreat state to the engaged state with the gear portion 4 by a return action M₂ of a predetermined small angle θ in the standing direction A during the inclining action M₁ in which the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the final standing position P₀ are relatively oscillated in the inclining direction B.
In the embodiment shown in figure 1 through figure 14, the recovery means 10 is provided with a pressed frictional plate 13 press-fit with small frictional force to the second member 2 as to slide and restricted to the first member 1 as to rotate within a range of the predetermined small angle θ, and a lever member 3 of which end 3a is connected (pivoted as to oscillate for a small angle) to the pressed frictional plate 13 and freely oscillated for a predetermined angle range with a middle portion as a fulcrum 42, and another end 3b is disposed to be pressed to the floating wedge member 6 in the retreat state.
Under the retreat state shown in figure 10 through figure 12, the floating wedge member 6 keeps the retreat state (kept on a non-pressed position V₁ on which the end 3b of the lever member 3 does not press the floating wedge member 6) during the inclining action M₁ of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B. By the return action M₂ in the standing direction A as shown in figure 13, the pressed frictional plate 13 is rotated by frictional force with the second member 2 for the predetermined small angle θ, and the lever member 3 (moving to a pressed position V₂ on which the end 3b presses the floating wedge member 6) presses the floating wedge member 6 upward to make the gear portion 4 and the toothed face 7 engaged.
The lever member 3 is composed of metal (or resin) of high rigidity formed approximately V-shape. The end 3a has a short cylindrical head, fit to an arc-shaped concave portion of the pressed frictional plate 13, and held as to freely oscillate. The lever member 3 is formed as that a lower face of the middle portion contacts the first member 1 on the fulcrum 42, and when the end 3a is moved up and down like a seesaw, the corresponding end 3b moves oppositely down and up.
A pivot hole 25 to which the pivot shaft 24 is inserted is formed on the center of the pressed frictional plate 13, and an elongated hole 29 is formed through a protruding piece 43 protruding from a part of the peripheral edge. And, the pressed frictional plate 13 has a pair of sliding convex portions 26 protruding on left and right side faces, and plural sliding piece portions 27 bent in left and right directions in turn to be curved.
In the assembled and used state, the pressed frictional plate 13 is inserted to the inner faces of the gear plate portions 45 of the second member 2 to be pressed, the gear plate portions 45 are set to the facing wall portions 17 (case portion 23) of the first member 1 to be held, and the first member 1, the second member 2, and the pressed frictional plate 13 are pivoted by insertion of the pivot shaft 24 to the case portion 23. A stopper pin member 28 fixed to the first member 1 is inserted to the elongated hole 29 of the pressed frictional plate 13, and the pressed frictional plate 13 is attached as to rotate around the first axis C₁ as the center within the range of the predetermined small angle θ.
And, a cover member 20 of resin surrounding the case portion 23 of the first member 1 is provided.
The cover member 20, having a bottom wall portion 20A covering the lower faces of the first member 1 and the second member 2, side wall portions 20B covering left and right side faces, and a ceiling wall portion 20C covering over the parts such as the floating wedge member 6 unitedly, is fixed to the first member 1 by a hitching piece 35 of metal having insertion holes 39. A slit-shaped opening portion 36 to which the second member 2 can intrude when oscillated in the standing direction A is formed on a part of the ceiling wall portion 20C, and a lip 37 of thin piece, of which width can be widened to slide on the second member 2, is disposed on both end edges of the opening portion 36. The side wall portion 20B contacts or comes close to the side end face of the floating wedge member 6 to prevent falling, and has a hole portion 38 on a position corresponding to the through hole 21. The hitching piece 35 is attached to the case portion 23 of the first member 1 surrounded by the cover member 20 as to hold the side wall portions 20B with elastic force, further, the pivot shaft 24 is inserted to the insertion holes 39, the hole portion 38, the shaft receiving hole 22, the pivot hole 25, and the shaft receiving hole 22 to connect the first member 1, the second member 2, the cover member 20, and the hitching piece 35. The bottom wall portion 20A may have a flexible tongue portion 40 separated from the side wall portion 20B and oscillatable upward and downward.
The method of usage (function) of the above-described angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention is explained.
In the engaged state shown in figure 4, the toothed face 7 of the floating wedge member 6 is engaged to the gear portion 4, and the contact face 9 contacts the wedge face 8 to restrict (stop) the relative oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B (even if outer force in the inclining direction B is given to the second member 2) by the wedge function of the floating wedge member 6.
Next, as shown in figure 5, when a standing action M₀ to oscillate the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the standing direction A is started, the floating wedge member 6 slightly moves downward within the window portion 5, and the contact face 9 is parted from the wedge face 8 to form a slight gap d. In this case, the pressed frictional plate 13 is rotated in an arrow N direction (anticlockwise direction in figures) by frictional force of the second member 2. The pressed frictional plate 13 is stopped to rotate by the stopper pin member 28 which contacts an end of the elongated hole 29.
As shown in figure 6 and figure 7, when the second member 2 is oscillated in the standing direction A further, the toothed face 7 of the floating wedge member 6 is parted from the gear portion 4 by the gap d, and the toothed face 7 goes over the gear portion 4 with click sound.
As in figure 8, even if the second member 2 is made oscillate in the inclining direction B to the first member 1 during the standing action M₀, the oscillation is restricted by wedge function of the floating wedge member 6, and the inclination angle of the first member 1 and the second member 2 is kept (held fixed).
And, in figure 9, the standing action M₀ is continued, the toothed face 7 repeatedly goes over the gear portion 4 until the end of the gear portion 4, and the protruding portion 14 contacts the upper end of the floating wedge member 6.
As shown in figure 10, when the first member 1 and the second member 2 are oscillated in the standing direction A further to the final standing position P₀ under the state in which the protruding portion 14 contacts the floating wedge member 6, the floating wedge member 6 is moved downward (pushed down by the protruding portion 14) to the retreat space 15 to be stored, and the toothed face 7 is parted from the gear portion 4. This is called retreat state. In this case, the other end 3b of the lever member 3 is pushed by the lower end of the floating wedge member 6 and oscillated around the fulcrum 42 as the center to descend. This position of the lever member 3 is the non-pressed position V₁. The lever member 3 oscillates to the non-pressed position V₁, the end 3a gives rotational force to the pressed frictional plate 13, and the pressed frictional plate 13 rotates in an arrow R direction (clockwise direction in figures) only for the small angle θ. The lower end of floating wedge member 6 hits the bottom face of the wedge-shaped window portion 5 to stop, and the second member 2 does not oscillate further in the standing direction A beyond the final standing position P₀.
Under the retreat state, the floating wedge member 6 is stored within the retreat space 15, and the engagement of the toothed face 7 and the gear portion 4 is released. Therefore, the lock (restriction) in the inclining direction B is released, and the relative oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B (free state) is made possible.
Next, as shown in figure 11, the inclining action M₁ to oscillate the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B is started, the pressed frictional plate 13, receiving frictional force (in the arrow R direction) with the left and right gear plate portions 45 of the second member 2, is stopped to rotate by the stopper pin 28 which contacts another end of the elongated hole 29. That is to say, the lever member 3 is kept to the non-pressed position V₁, Therefore, during the inclining action M₁ of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B, the end 3b of the lever member 3 does not push the floating wedge member 6 upward to keep the retreat state.
As shown in figure 12, under the retreat state, the wedge function of the floating wedge member 6 is nullified, and the second member 2 is made freely oscillate in the inclining direction B to the first member 1 and opened to a desired inclination angle.
In figure 13, when the return action M₂ in the direction A for the predetermined small angle θ is conducted during the oscillation (the inclining action M₁) of the second member 2 in the inclining direction B from the final standing position P₀ to the horizontal opened state, the pressed frictional plate 13 is rotated by frictional force of the second member 2 in the arrow N direction (anticlockwise direction in figures). The end 3a of the lever member 3 is pushed down by the pressed frictional plate 13 and the other end 3b presses (pushes down) the lower end of the floating wedge member 6. As described above, the lever member 3 on the non-pressed position V₁ moves to the pressed position V₂ along with the rotation of the pressed frictional plate 13. The lever member 3 pushes the floating wedge member 6 out of the retreat space 15 upward. The floating wedge member 6 pushed out of the retreat space 15 becomes (recovers to) the engaged state in which the toothed face 7 engages with the gear portion 4.
In figure 14, similar to figure 4, the engaged state, in which the toothed face 7 of the floating wedge member 6 is engaged with the gear portion 4 and the contact face 9 contacts the wedge face 8, is made, the wedge function of the floating wedge member 6 is recovered, and the relative oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B can be restricted (restrained) on the middle inclined position between the final standing position P₀ and the horizontal opened state.
In the present invention, which is modifiable, for example, a plate-shaped member may be used to press the contact face 9 of the floating wedge member 6 instead of the wedge-shaped window portion 5. And, design and dimensional ratio of the cover member 20 may be changed.
Especially, the lever member 3 described with figure 1 through figure 14, as long as a connecting member to move and push (take or draw) the floating wedge member 6 out of the retreat state in the opposite direction (clockwise direction) along with the rotation of the pressed frictional plate 13 (in anticlockwise direction) for the small angle θ from figure 12 to figure 13, may be modified to various designs.
Next, another embodiment of the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention is described with figure 15 through figure 17.
The embodiment in figure 15 through figure 17 is provided with a pair of wall portions 62 formed circular of which center is an oscillation axis L, four wedge-shaped window portions 65 disposed rotation symmetric of which axis of symmetry is the oscillation axis L on each of the wall portions 62, a pair of floating wedge members 6 movable within the (two of four) wedge shaped window portions 65, disposed on positions rotation symmetric for 180° with the oscillation axis L as the axis of symmetry, and having a toothed face 7 on one side, a pair of arc-shaped gear portions 4 disposed between the wall portions 62 and formed as outer teeth which engage with the toothed face 7 around the oscillation axis L as the center, and spring wires 66 to always elastically push the floating wedge members 6 to the gear portions 4.
A first member 1 is composed of facing plate pieces 61 and formed as to include the gear portions 4 between the wall portions 62. And, a center hole concentric with the oscillation axis L is formed through the wall portion 62. A second member 2 has the gear portions 4 on an attached piece portion disposed between the wall portions 62, and a non-circular hole 73 is formed through the center portion of the attached piece portion to correspond to the center hole of the wall portion 62. The first member 1 and the second member 2 are connected by a pivot member 63 as to oscillate around the oscillation axis L. The pivot member 63 has a non-circular portion 86 can be fit to the non-circular hole 73.
In the wedge-shaped window portion 65, of which inner side near the oscillation axis L is an arc face, an arc-shaped wedge face 8 is formed on an outer side. The wedge face 8 is eccentric from the oscillation axis L, and formed as a gap between the wedge face 8 and the gear portion 4 is made gradually small (close) toward the clockwise direction in figure 17. And, the wedge shaped window portion 65, in which a floating staged portion for guiding the floating wedge member 6 protruding from the arc face on the inner side is formed, has a retreat space 15 to store the floating wedge member 6 under a released state of the engagement of the toothed face 7 and the gear portion 4.
Each of the pair of floating wedge members 6 is respectively inserted to each of the wedge-shaped window portions 65 disposed rotation symmetric for 180°. The floating wedge members 6 is formed slightly larger than the interval dimension of the wall portions 62, and both end portions are protruding from the outside faces of the wall portions 62 when inserted to the wedge-shaped window portion 65. In the floating wedge member 6, one side is the toothed face 7, another side is a contact face 9 to contact the wedge face 8, and a guiding sloped face 64 to contact the floating staged portion on the inner side of the wedge-shaped window portion 65 and guide itself in a parting direction from the gear portion 4 is formed on a rear edge portion of the toothed face 7.
The pair of gear portions 4 is formed as outer teeth on positions rotation symmetric for 180 ° with the oscillation axis L as the axis of symmetry on arc-shaped escape window portions 68 to which the floating wedge members 6 are inserted, and having a configuration with which stress concentration is hardly generated on the attached piece portion having the non-circular hole 73. A push-in protruding portion to press the floating wedge member 6 to the retreat space 15 is formed on an end portion side (end portion of engagement) of the gear portion 4, and a push-out protruding portion to push the floating wedge member 6 out of the retreat space 15 is formed on another end portion side (beginning portion of engagement).
The spring wire 66, of which one end is straight and another end is bent into a hook or a circle, is attached to a supporting pin protruding from the outer side face of the wall portion 62. The spring wire 66, pressed to the contact face 9 of the floating wedge member 6 and elastically deformed into an arc, always elastically pushes the floating wedge member 6 (with recovery force) in a direction to the gear portion 4.
The angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention is provided with a recovery means 70 which recovers the floating wedge member 6 in the retreat state to the engaged state with the gear portion 4 by a return action M₂ of a predetermined small angle θ in the standing direction A during the inclining action M₁ in which the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the final standing position are relatively oscillated in the inclining direction B.
The recovery means 70 is provided with a ring member 72 which rotates to the wall portion 62 within a range of the predetermined small angle θ, an oscillation member 71 of which end 71a is interlockingly connected to the ring member 72 and freely oscillated for a predetermined angle range with a middle portion as a fulcrum, and another end 71b is disposed to be pressed to the floating wedge member 6 in the retreat state, and a pressed frictional member 75, having a non-circular fitting hole 69 to which the pivot member 63 is fit and an elastic portion 74 which rotates with the pivot member 63 and slides on the ring member 72 with elastic push in an axial inner direction.
Under the retreat state in which the engagement of the toothed face 7 of the floating wedge member 6 and the gear portion 4, the floating wedge member 6 keeps the retreat state (kept on a position on which the end 71b of the oscillation member 71 does not press the floating wedge member 6) during the inclining action M₁ of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B. By the return action M₂ in the standing direction A, the ring member 72 is rotated by frictional force with the elastic portion 74 for the predetermined small angle θ, and the oscillation member 71 (moving to a position on which the end 71b presses the floating wedge member 6) presses the floating wedge member 6 (as to push out of the retreat space 15) to make the gear portion 4 and the toothed face 7 engaged.
As shown in figure 15, the ring member 72 is formed into a ring having a circular hole portion 82 to which the pivot member 63 is inserted, and having a hitching hole portion 84 corresponding to a small protrusion 83 protruding from the outer side face of the wall portion 62 and an arc-shaped notched portion 85 on a peripheral edge. The small protrusion of the ring member 72 is movably hitched to the hitching hole portion 84 (with a clearance) and rotatable around the oscillation axis L as a center within a range of the predetermined small angle θ.
The oscillation member 71 is composed of metal (or resin) of high rigidity formed approximately V-shape. The end 71a (formed into a short cylinder shape) is fit to the arc-shaped notched portion 85 and interlockingly connected to the ring member 72. A pivot hole portion 81 is formed on a middle portion of the oscillation member 71, and a pivot shaft portion 67 protruding from the outer side face of the wall portion 62 is inserted to the pivot hole portion 81. For example, the oscillation member 71 is pivoted on (the outer side face of) the wall portion 62 as that the end 71a of the oscillation member 71 is moved up and down like a seesaw, the corresponding end 71b moves oppositely down and up.
In figure 15, the elastic portion 74 is formed ringshaped, and plural small convex portions 87 are protruding from one end face. The elastic portion 74 is composed of elastically deformable resin (or metal), and another end face of the elastic portion 74 is a sliding face 79 (elastically pushing in the axial inner direction in an assembled and used state described later) sliding on the ring member 72.
The pressed frictional member 75 is formed ring shaped, and plural small concave portions 88 are formed corresponding to the small convex portions 87 of the elastic portion 74. The elastic portion 74 is attached by insertion of the plural small convex portions 87 to the small concave portions 88 as to rotate (corotate) unitedly with the pressed frictional member 75. And, it is also preferable to form the elastic portion 74 with the pressed frictional member 75 as one unit.
The pressed frictional member 75 is disposed on an outer side of the ring member 72, and the elastic portion 74 contacts the outer face of the ring member 72. The sliding face 79 of the elastic portion 74 is arc-shaped under an uncompressed state. The pressed frictional member 75 is held by cover members 90 of thin disc from outer side in the oscillation axis L direction.
The wall portions 62, the gear portions 4, the ring members 72, and the pressed frictional members 75 are surrounded by the cover members 90, and concentrically pivoted by a hitching member 89 on both end portions of the pivot member 63.
The function of the angle-adjustable hinge shown in figure 15 through figure 17 is explained.
In the engaged state shown in figure 17, the toothed face 7 of the floating wedge member 6 is engaged to the gear portion 4, and the contact face 9 contacts the wedge face 8 to restrict (stop) the relative oscillation of the second member 2 to the first member 1 in the inclining direction B.
Next, when the second member 2 is oscillated in the standing direction A, the floating wedge member 6 slightly moves within the window portion 5, and the contact face 9 is parted from the wedge face 8 to form a slight gap d. When the second member 2 is oscillated in the standing direction A further, the guiding sloped face 64 of the floating wedge member 6 climbs up the staged portion of the window portion 65, the toothed face 7 of the floating wedge member 6 is parted from the gear portion 4 by the gap d, and the toothed face 7 goes over the gear portion 4 with click sound. Even if the second member 2 is made oscillate in the inclining direction B to the first member 1, the oscillation is restricted (stopped) by wedge function of the floating wedge member 6, and the posture of the second member 2 is kept (held fixed). In the oscillation in the standing direction A, although rotational force in anticlockwise direction in figures by the frictional force with the elastic portion 74 (the pressed frictional member 75) works on the ring member 72, the ring member 72 is hitched by the contact of the small protrusion 83 with the (hitching) concave portion 84. When the first member 1 is oscillated in the standing direction A further, the toothed face 7 repeatedly goes over the gear portion 4, and the push-in protruding portion disposed on an end portion side (an end portion side of engagement) of the gear portion 4 contacts the floating wedge member 6.
Although not shown in figures, when the second member 2 is oscillated in the standing direction A further to make a standing lock-releasing position, under the state in which the push-in protruding portion contacts the floating wedge member 6, the floating wedge member 6 is pushed by the push-in protruding portion and moved to the retreat space 15 to be stored, and the toothed face 7 is parted from the gear portion 4 (the retreat state is made). In this case, the other end 71b of the oscillation member 71 is pushed by the floating wedge member 6 and oscillated, the end 71a of the oscillation member 71 pushes the ring member 72, and the ring member 72 is rotated only for the small angle θ in clockwise direction in figures.
Under the retreat state, the floating wedge member 6 is stored within the retreat space 15, and the engagement of the toothed face 7 and the gear portion 4 is released. Therefore, the lock (restriction on oscillation) in the inclining direction B is released, and free oscillation of the second member 2 in the inclining direction B is made possible.
Next, the ring member 72, although receiving the rotational force in the clockwise direction by frictional force with the elastic portion 74 when the second member 2 is oscillated in the inclining direction B, is hitched by the contact of the small protrusion 83 with the (hitching) concave portion 84. That is to say, the oscillation member 71 is kept without oscillation in the inclining action M1 of the second member 2 in the inclining direction B, and the floating wedge member 6 is kept in the retreat state.
When the return action M₂ in the direction A for the small angle θ is conducted during the inclining action M₁ of the second member 2 in the inclining direction B, the ring member 72 is rotated by receiving the rotational force in the anticlockwise direction by the frictional force with the elastic portion 74. The end 71a of the oscillation member 71 is pushed by the ring member 72 and the other end 71b of the oscillation member 71 pushes the floating wedge member 6 to move out of the retreat space 15. The floating wedge member 6 pushed out of the retreat space 15, being pressed to the gear portion 4 by the spring wire 66, becomes the engaged state in which the toothed face 7 engages with the gear portion 4 (recovers to the locked state).
In figure 16, the engaged state, in which the toothed face 7 of the floating wedge member 6 is engaged with the gear portion 4 and the contact face 9 contacts the wedge face 8, is made, the wedge function of the floating wedge member 6 is recovered, and the oscillation of the second member 2 in the inclining direction B is restricted. As described above, the locked state is easily recovered on a random middle inclined position on way of oscillation of the second member 2 in the inclining direction B from the final standing position, and angle adjustment is started by oscillation from the middle inclined position in the standing direction A.
In the angle-adjustable hinge, which is modifiable, for example, a plate-shaped member may be used to press the contact face 9 of the floating wedge member 6 instead of the (wedge-shaped) window portion 65. And, design and dimensional ratio of the cover member 90 may be changed.
And, the number of gear teeth of the toothed face 7 and the gear portion 4 may be increased beyond the above-mentioned numbers, and oppositely, may be decreased below the above-mentioned numbers according to the cases. The forming method of the gear teeth may be selected from various plastic (press) works, die-casting, roulette work, etc.
Especially, the oscillation member 71 as shown in figure 18, as long as being a connecting member to move and push (take or draw) the floating wedge member 6 out of the retreat state in the opposite direction (clockwise direction) along with the rotation of the ring member 72 (in anticlockwise direction) for the small angle θ, may be modified to various designs.
The pivot member 63 has a regular hexagonal shaft portion, and the non-circular hole 73 of the fixation piece of the second member 2 is correspondently regular hexagonal. The pivot member 63 and the non-circular hole 73, as long as being mutually fitting non-circular, may be various polygons, or other configurations.
The angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention in a sofa having rest portions 51 such as headrests, armrests, and footrests as shown in figure 18, is very convenient because the lock (inclination stop) in the inclining direction B is recovered by the return action M₂ in the direction A for the predetermined small angle θ conducted during the inclining action M₁ of the rest portion 51 oscillated from the final standing position in the inclining direction B, and the rest portion 51 is kept in the middle inclined posture.
In the sofa as shown in figure 18, weight of a person may concentrate to the headrest and the armrest and excessive external force is loaded to the frame member in many cases, and the frame member such as the headrest and the armrest may be bent in the inclining direction B. Conventional angle-adjustable hinges have a problem that the lock (inclination stop) in the inclining direction B can't be recovered unless the headrest and the armrest are inclined beyond the horizontal opened posture because of generation of plastic deformation in the frame member.
With the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention, even when used in a sofa, the headrest and the armrest can be held in the middle inclined posture by returning in the standing direction A during the inclining action M₁ even if the frame member is plastically deformed and bent in the inclining direction B because the lock (inclination stop) can be recovered without the inclination of the headrest and the armrest beyond the horizontal opened posture.
And, the angle-adjustable hinge of the present invention is used for a legless chair as shown in figure 19 having a seat portion 31 and a back portion 32, and provided with an angle-adjustable hinge 30 having angle-adjusting function on a connecting portion 33 of the seat portion 31 and the back portion 32 as to adjust the inclination angle of the back portion 32. With the angle-adjustable hinge 30, the oscillation of the back portion 32 to the seat portion 31 in the standing direction A is made possible, the oscillation of the back portion 32 in the inclining direction B is restricted, and, (free) oscillation of the back portion 32 in the inclining direction B is made possible by releasing restriction by making the back portion 32 approximately vertical to the seat portion 31 to make a final standing position To, further, the restriction (inclination stop) in the inclining direction B is recovered by the return action M₂ in the direction A for the predetermined small angle θ conducted during the inclining action M₁ of the back portion 32 oscillated from the final standing position To in the inclining direction B, and the back portion 32 is kept in the middle inclined posture T₁.
As described above, the angle-adjustable hinge relating to the present invention can make the floating wedge member 6 certainly engaged to the gear portion 4 and restrict the oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B by the small return action in the standing direction A on a random position on way of oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 from the final standing position P₀ in the inclining direction B because in the angle-adjustable hinge relating to the present invention, the first member 1 and the second member 2 having the gear portion 4 are pivoted as to oscillate, the floating wedge member 6, of which one face is the toothed face 7 engaged to the gear portion 4 and another face is the contact face 9 which contacts the wedge face 8 formed on the first member 1 side, is provided, relative oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B is restricted under the engaged state in which the toothed face 7 and the gear portion 4 are engaged, the retreat state is made by moving the floating wedge member 6 to part from the gear portion 4 for releasing the engagement of the toothed face 7 and the gear portion 4 by relative oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the standing direction A to the final standing position P₀, the relative oscillation of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B is made possible under the retreat state; and the recovery means 10, for recovering the floating wedge member 6 from the retreat state to the engaged state with the gear portion 4 by the return action M₂ of the predetermined small angle θ in the standing direction A during the inclining action M₁ to relatively oscillate the first member 1 and the second member 2 from the final standing position P₀ in the inclining direction B, is provided. That is to say, after the engagement of the floating wedge member 6 and the gear portion 4 is released, the first member 1 and the second member 2 can be easily held with a desired inclination angle before the first member 1 and the second member 2 are opened horizontal to form an angle of 180°.
And, the floating wedge member 6 keeps the retreat state without errors during the inclining action M₁, and the floating wedge member 6 is certainly moved by the return action M₂ in the standing direction A to make the engaged state of the gear portion 4 and the toothed face 7 because the recovery means 10 is provided with the pressed frictional plate 13 slidably press-fit to the second member 2 and restricted as to rotate within a range of the predetermined small angle θ, and the lever member 3 of which one end 3a is connected to the pressed frictional plate 13 and oscillated around the middle portion as a fulcrum within a predetermined angle range, and another end 3b is disposed as to be pressed to the floating wedge member 6 in the retreat state, and, the floating wedge member 6 keeps the retreat state during the inclining action M₁ of the first member 1 and the second member 2 in the inclining direction B, and the pressed frictional plate 13 is rotated by frictional force with the second member 2 for the predetermined small angle θ by the return action M₂ in the standing direction A and the lever member 3 presses and moves the floating wedge member 6 to engage the gear portion 4 and the toothed face 7.
And, the sofa of the present invention can hold the rest portion 51 with a desired angle by a simple operation during the oscillation in the inclining direction B after the rest portion 51 is made the final standing position because the sofa has the inclinable rest portion 51 using the above-described angle-adjustable hinge to adjust the inclination angle of the rest portion 51. Therefore, it is very convenient to easily adjust the rest portion 51 to a desired inclination angle even in a case that the lock (inclination stop) in the inclining direction can't be recovered without inclination of the rest portion 51 such as a headrest and an armrest beyond the horizontal opened posture for plastic deformation generated in the frame of the rest portion 51.

Claims

An angle-adjustable hinge having a construction in which:
a first member (1) and a second member (2) having a gear portion (4) are pivoted as to oscillate;

a floating wedge member (6), of which one face is a toothed face (7) engaged to the gear portion (4) and another face is a contact face (9) which contacts a wedge face (8) formed on the first member (1) side, is provided;

relative oscillation of the first member (1) and the second member (2) in an inclining direction (B) is restricted under an engaged state in which the toothed face (7) and the gear portion (4) are engaged;

a retreat state is made by moving the floating wedge member (6) to part from the gear portion (4) for releasing the engagement of the toothed face (7) and the gear portion (4) by relative oscillation of the first member (1) and the second member (2) in a standing direction (A) to a final standing position (P₀) ; and

the relative oscillation of the first member (1) and the second member (2) in the inclining direction (B) is made possible under the retreat state:
characterized by that a recovery means (10), for recovering the floating wedge member (6) from the retreat state to the engaged state with the gear portion (4) by a return action (M₂) of a predetermined small angle (θ) in the standing direction (A) during an inclining action (M₁) to relatively oscillate the first member (1) and the second member (2) from the final standing position (P₀) in the inclining direction (B), is provided.
The angle-adjustable hinge as set forth in claim 1, wherein:
the recovery means (10) is provided with a pressed frictional plate (13) slidably press-fit to the second member (2) and restricted as to rotate within a range of the predetermined small angle (θ), and a lever member (3) of which one end (3a) is connected to the pressed frictional plate (13) and oscillated around a middle portion as a fulcrum within a predetermined angle range, and another end (3b) is disposed as to be pressed to the floating wedge member (6) in the retreat state; and

the floating wedge member (6) keeps the retreat state during the inclining action (M₁) of the first member (1) and the second member (2) in the inclining direction (B), and the pressed frictional plate (13) is rotated by frictional force with the second member (2) for the predetermined small angle (θ) by the return action (M₂) in the standing direction (A) and the lever member (3) presses and moves the floating wedge member (6) to engage the gear portion (4) and the toothed face (7).
A sofa having an inclinable rest portion (51) characterized by using the angle-adjustable hinge of claim 1 or claim 2 to adjust an inclination angle of the rest portion (51).