GB2543255A

GB2543255A - A hinge arrangement for a cubicle door

Info

Publication number: GB2543255A
Application number: GB1516176.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mills Paul; Bennett Gareth
Original assignee: Inscape Interiors Ltd
Current assignee: Inscape Interiors Ltd
Priority date: 2015-09-14
Filing date: 2015-09-14
Publication date: 2017-04-19
Anticipated expiration: 2035-09-14
Also published as: GB201516176D0; GB2543255B

Abstract

A hinge arrangement is provided for a cubicle in order that a door 3 of the cubicle can be removed to provide emergency access to the cubicle and comprises a hinge and a moveable obstruction 10. The obstruction is adapted for attachment to one side of a door 3 or panel 2 of the cubicle and in a first position located adjacent one part 5 of the hinge to block movement of it away from a second part 8 of the hinge. The obstruction is moveable to a second position where movement of one part of the hinge is not obstructed. The obstruction is adapted to be actuated from its first position to its second position preferably from an opposite side of the door or panel of the cubicle. Preferably an actuator 17 is located on the exterior side of the door or panel of the cubicle and operationally linked to the obstruction. Also provided is a cubicle door and panel fitted with the hinge arrangement as above.

Description

A HINGE ARRANGEMENT FOR A CUBICLE DOOR

The present invention relates to a hinge arrangement, primarily but not exclusively, for use on cubicle doors and the like and to a cubicle door and panel fitted with such an arrangement.

Unlike ordinary doors, a cubicle door does not usually have a lintel beneath which the door fits when closed. Rather, a cubicle door is such that when closed there is usually a gap above and/or below it, for example to save materials and/or for cleaning purposes. If a person collapses in a cubicle he or she often blocks the opening of the door inwards and entry into the cubicle from below the door, requiring the door to be removed to allow access to the cubicle without having to climb over it. Hence, when fitting a cubicle door, for example for use in a lavatory or a changing room, a choice usually has to be made between fitting the door with hinges that cannot come apart in use or with hinges that allow the door to be removed from the cubicle quickly in emergencies. Hinges typically used for the latter purpose are lift-off hinges or rising-butt hinges that allow the door to be readily lifted up in order that an uppermost gudgeon of the hinge can be lifted off a pintle of the hinge. However, the use of this type of hinge opens the way for accidental or malicious removal of the door and often a safety screw is fitted to the hinge to prevent it coming apart. The property owner then has to decide whether to leave the safety screw in position so that the door cannot be removed in emergency situations or to remove it to provide emergency access to the cubicle.

It is an object of the present invention to remove the aforementioned dilemma by the provision of a hinge arrangement that obviates or substantially mitigates the risk of accidental or malicious removal of a door fitted with such a hinge arrangement while still allowing removal of the door to provide emergency access to the cubicle.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided hinge arrangement for a cubicle comprising a hinge constructed so as to permit relative movement of one part of the hinge away from a second part of the hinge to allow these parts of the hinge to be separated; and a moveable obstruction adapted for attachment to one side of a door or panel of the cubicle and which in a first position locates adjacent said one part of the hinge to block movement of said one part away from the second part of the hinge and which is moveable into a second position wherein movement of said one part of the hinge is not obstructed, the obstruction being adapted to be actuated to move from said first position into said second position.

Preferably, the obstruction is adapted to be actuated to move from said first position into said second position from an opposite side of the door or panel of the cubicle.

Preferably also, an actuator is located on said opposite side of the door or panel of the cubicle and operationally linked to the obstruction.

Preferably also, the actuator is physically linked to the obstruction whereby movement of the actuator causes movement of the obstruction between its first and second positions.

Preferably also, the obstruction moves by rotation or translation relative to said one part of the hinge between its first and second positions.

Preferably also, the obstruction is spring-loaded into its first or its second position.

Preferably also, a releasable detent is provided to retain the obstruction in its first or in its second position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a cubicle door and panel fitted with a hinge arrangement in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention wherein the first and second parts of the hinge are connected to the door and to the panel respectively or vice versa.

Other preferred but non-essential features of the various aspects of the present invention are described in the dependent claims appended hereto.

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. l is a perspective view of a first embodiment of hinge arrangement in accordance with the present invention when fitted to the interior of a cubicle panel and door;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of part of the hinge arrangement shown in Fig.i when modified by the provision of a detent;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. l but showing a second embodiment of hinge arrangement in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of part of the hinge arrangement shown in

Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an exploded view of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of actuator for use with the first embodiment of hinge arrangement and its variants as shown in Figs. 1 to 3;

Figs. 8 and 9 views similar to Fig. 7 of second and third embodiments of actuator respectively for use with the first and second embodiments of hinge arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 6;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of actuator for use with the first and second embodiments of hinge arrangement shown in Figs. 4 to 6; and

Fig. 11 is a front view of part of a third embodiment of hinge arrangement. A first embodiment of hinge arrangement 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown in Fig. 1 and in variant versions in Figs. 2 and 3. The arrangement 1 is secured to a panel 2 of a cubicle adjacent its door 3 and also to the door 3 itself. The arrangement 1 comprises a rising-butt hinge 4 that has an upper gudgeon 5 connected by a leaf 6 to a side edge 7 of the door 3 and a lower gudgeon 8 connected by a leaf 9 to the adjacent panel 2 against the edge of which a front face of the door 3 closes. It will be appreciated that the cubicle arrangement is one wherein the door 3 opens inwardly of the cubicle so that hinge arrangement 1 is located on the interior of the cubicle and not readily accessible when the door 3 is closed.

The hinge arrangement 1 also comprises an obstruction 10. In the first embodiment and variant shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the obstruction 10 includes a backing plate 11 which is adapted to be secured to the panel 2, for example by one or more screws and a cam 12 that is rotatable mounted on the backing plate 11 by a pin or screw 13. The backing plate 11 is adapted to locate around the upper part of the leaf 9 of the hinge 4 in order that the cam 12 is located directly above the upper gudgeon 5 when it is in a first position as shown in Fig. 1. To this end, the backing plate 11 comprises a cut-away portion 14 defining two depending legs 15 that fit around opposite edges of the leaf 9 of the hinge 4. In a modification, the hinge 4 and the obstruction may be integrated so that the backing plate n is an extension of the leaf 9 of the hinge 4.

The cam 12 is rotatable between the first position, as shown in Fig. 1, and a second position similar to that shown in Fig. 2, wherein its lower edge 16 is not directly above the upper gudgeon 5 of the hinge 4. When in its first position, the cam 12 obstructs separation of the hinge 4 into two parts by raising of the door 4. However, in its second position the cam 12 no longer obstructs separation of the hinge 4 into two parts and thereby enables the door 3 of the cubicle to be raised and removed.

The cam 12 may be actuated to move from its first to its second position in various ways. For example, pushing a slim object or tool between the face of the door 4 and the adjacent panel 3 may move the cam 12. Preferably, however, an actuator is provided as part of the hinge arrangement. An example of such an actuator 17 is shown in Fig. 7. This comprises a paddle 18 that is connected directly to the cam 12 via the pin or screw 13 and may be secured via a backing plate 19 to the opposite side of the panel 3 on the exterior of the cubicle. Rotation of the paddle 18 is arranged to rotate the cam 12. The cam 12 and paddle 18 are arranged so that the cam 12 tends to adopts its first position under the influence of gravity. However, the cam 12 may also be spring-loaded so that it is always urged into its first position. Hence, the paddle 18 has to be turned at the same time as the door is raised in order to separate the hinge 4 into two parts to permit the door to be removed. This usually requires two persons to be present to remove the door.

Preferably, therefore, a more sophisticated variant is employed to frustrate vandalism or malicious removal of the door 4 and to allow one person to remove the door. To this end, the cam 12 may be spring-loaded in the opposite direction so that it is urged by a spring 20 into its second position but is normally retained by a detent in its first position. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 3. Here, the spring 20 is located in a hollow (not shown) at the back of the cam 12 and has a leg 23 that engages in a blind hole 24 in the backing plate 11. The detent comprises a pin 25 that locates in a bore 26 that passes through the cam 12, the backing plate 11 and also through a corresponding bore in the panel 3. When the detent is in position, the pin 25 retains the cam 12 in its first position. However, if pushed or pulled out of the bore 26 in the cam 12, the cam 12 is free to move under the influence of the spring 20 into its second position thereby enabling the door 4 to be raised and removed from the cubicle. Such a detent in the form of the pin 25 can be simply pushed out of the bore 26 by insertion of an appropriate tool into the bore from the exterior of the cubicle. Alternatively, if the pin 25 is ferromagnetic, a magnet maybe employed on the exterior side of the panel 3 to withdraw it from the bore 23 in the cam 12. Preferably, however, the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 is adapted for use with an actuator 21 or 22 as shown in Fig. 8 or Fig. 9 respectively. Here the detent is captive within the actuator 21 or 22, which comprises a plate 27 and a bore 26 corresponding to the bores 26 in the cam 21 and the backing plate 11. The pin 25 preferably also is provided with a head 28 to facilitate operation.

Movement of the detent can be arranged in several ways. First, the pin 25 may be provided with its own locking mechanism within the plate 27 so that, for example, it has to be turned or screwed through a predetermined angle before it can move freely longitudinally and be manually pulled forwards out of the bore 26 in the cam 21, as shown in Fig. 8. In a variation as shown in Fig. 9, the pin 21 may be spring-loaded so that on release, for example by turning or screwing, it moves out of the bore 26 in the cam 21 under the influence of a spring 29. All of these arrangements permit removal of the door 4 by one person and when it is desired to replace the door 4, the positions of the cam 12 and the pin 21 can be reset. A fourth embodiment of actuator 30 is shown in Fig. 10. This is also adapted to be secured to the exterior side of the panel 3 opposite the obstruction 10. The actuator 30 comprises a plate 31 which is secured to the panel 3 by fasteners 32 and which comprises a slot 33 along which can slide a magnet 34. The magnet 34 is moved by a slider 35 with a handle 36, the slider 35 being arranged to slide from side to side over the plate 31 to move the magnet back and forth along the slot 33.

This actuator 30 can be used to move an unbiased cam 21 from its first to its second position in an obstruction 10 without any detent if the cam 21 is ferromagnetic or incorporates a ferromagnetic portion that can be acted on by the magnet 34. Hence, the actuator 30 needs to be mounted so that the magnet 34 lies opposite the lower portion of the cam 21 when it is in its first position. It will be appreciated that the use of this actuator 30 does not require a bore or slot to be cut in the panel 3 to enable it to be fitted thereto. A second embodiment of hinge arrangement 40 in accordance with the present invention is shown in Figs. 4 to 6. Here, the arrangement of the cubicle and hinge 4 is identical to that shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and similar parts are given the same reference numerals as above. Also, as before an obstruction 41 includes a backing plate 42 that is secured to the panel 2 by a screw 43 and that has an aperture defining two depending legs 15 that fit around opposite edges of the leaf 9 of the hinge 4. The backing plate 42 could also be integrated with the leaf 9 of the hinge 4. However, instead of a cam, this obstruction comprises a block 44 that is arranged to slide along a channel 45 formed in the backing plate 42. The block 44 is biased into a first position above the upper gudgeon 5 by a spring 46. The block 44 also comprises a detent 47 in the form of a pin with a spring-loaded ball bearing 48 at its end. The detent 47 is located in a bore 49. When the block 44 is in its first position, the ball-bearing 48 is urged against the face of the backing plate 42. However, a hole 50 is formed in the backing plate 42 which aligns with the bore 49 when the block 44 is pushed out of its first position into a second position at the other end of the channel 45 against the bias of the spring 46. When the hole 49 and the bore 48 align, the spring loaded ballbearing 48 is urged into the hole 50 and retains the block 44 in the second position. This then enables the hinge 4 to be separated and the door 3 of the cubicle to be raised and removed. It will be appreciated that the operation of this arrangement requires only one person to operate it and to remove the door.

In a variation of this embodiment, the spring 46 is located at the other end of the channel 45 and urges the block 44 into its second position. The hole 50 in the backing plate 42 is also adjacent the other end of the channel in order that the block 44 is retained in its first position by the detent 47. In this case, moving the block 44 with sufficient force to disengage the ballbearing 48 from the hole 50 then enables the spring 46 to move the block into the second position thereby freeing the hinge 4.

Movement of the block 44 out of its first position and into its second position can be accomplished in several ways. First, pushing an object or tool between the face of the door 3 and the adjacent panel 2 to move the block 44 is the simplest form of actuation. However, an actuator may be included in the arrangement. Such an actuator may comprise any of the actuators described above with reference to Figs. 8 to 10. The actuators shown in Figs. 8 and 9 and their variants are suitable for use with the variation described above. These actuators are located on the exterior of the panel so that the bore 26 aligns with the hole 50 in the backing plate 42. The pin 21 can then be used to push the ball-bearing 48 out of the hole 50 to enable the block 44 to move under the bias of the spring 46. The actuator shown in Fig. 10 is suitable for use with the arrangement shown in Figs. 4 to 6 when the block 44 is ferromagnetic or comprises a ferromagnetic portion. Sliding of the magnet 34 will therefore move the block 44. In yet a further variation, the magnet 34 could be replaced by a simple linkage to the block 44 through a slot cut in the panel 2 that lines up with the track 33 and the channel 45 so that the block 44 can be moved manually out of the first position and into its second position from the exterior of the cubicle.

Finally, a third embodiment of hinge arrangement in accordance with the present invention comprises an obstruction 51 as shown in Fig. 11. This comprises a backing plate 11 similar to that described above but the actual obstruction is in the form of a plunger or screw 52 that projects from the backing plate 11 above the hinge 4. The hinge 4 can only be separated by retraction of the plunger or screw 52 into the backing plate 11. If the plunger 52 is spring-loaded to project outwards over the hinge, the connection of the plunger to the pin 25 of the actuators shown in Figs. 8 and 9 will enable it to be withdrawn as required. Alternatively, if the pin is ferromagnetic or comprises a ferromagnetic portion then a magnet applied to the exterior of the panel 3 directly opposite to it can be used to retract it.

In all of the above embodiments, it will be appreciated that the hinge 4 could be connected to the panel 2 and door 3 in the opposite way, with its upper gudgeon 5 connected by the leaf 6 to a side edge of the panel 2 and its lower gudgeon 8 connected by the leaf 9 to the interior face of the door 3. In these circumstances the obstructions and actuators would be connected to the door rather than to the panel and the descriptions above should be understood accordingly. However, in all cases the obstruction moves by rotation or translation relative to the upper gudgeon 5 of the hinge 4 between its first and second positions.

Claims

1. A hinge arrangement for a cubicle comprising a hinge constructed so as to permit relative movement of one part of the hinge away from a second part of the hinge to allow these parts of the hinge to be separated; and a moveable obstruction adapted for attachment to one side of a door or panel of the cubicle and which in a first position locates adjacent said one part of the hinge to block movement of said one part away from the second part of the hinge and which is moveable into a second position wherein movement of said one part of the hinge is not obstructed, the obstruction being adapted to be actuated to move from said first position into said second position.

2. An arrangement as claimed in Claim l, wherein the obstruction is adapted to be actuated to move from said first position into said second position from an opposite side of the door or panel of the cubicle.

3. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 2 , wherein an actuator is located on said opposite side of the door or panel of the cubicle and operationally linked to the obstruction.

4. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the actuator is physically linked to the obstruction whereby movement of the actuator causes movement of the obstruction between its first and second positions.

5. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the actuator comprises a magnet which causes movement of the obstruction between its first and second positions.

6. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the obstruction is adapted to be moved by a magnet between its first and second positions.

7. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the obstruction is movably mounted on a backing plate.

8. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the backing plate is adapted to be connected on an interior side of a door or a panel of the cubicle and the actuator is adapted to be connected to an exterior side of the door or said panel of the cubicle.

9. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein the backing plate is adapted to locate around said one part or said second part of the hinge.

10. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the backing plate comprises two legs that fit around edges of a leaf of the hinge whereby the obstruction is located adjacent said one part of the hinge.

11. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein the backing plate is integrally formed with said one part or said second part of the hinge.

12. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 11, wherein the obstruction moves by rotation or translation relative to said one part of the hinge between its first and second positions.

13. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 12, wherein the obstruction is spring-loaded into its first or its second position.

14- An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 13, wherein a releasable detent is provided to retain the obstruction in its first or in its second position.

15. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 14 when dependent on Claim 13, wherein the obstruction is spring-loaded into its second position and the releasable detent retains the obstruction in its first position.

16. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 14 when dependent on Claim 13, wherein the obstruction is spring-loaded into its first position and the releasable detent retains the obstruction in its second position.

17. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 14 to 16 when dependent on Claim 3, wherein the detent is connected to or is integrally formed with the actuator.

18. An arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 17, wherein the hinge is a rising-butt hinge.

19. A cubicle door and panel fitted with a hinge arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 18, wherein the first and second parts of the hinge are connected to the door and to the panel respectively or vice versa.

20. A hinge arrangement for a cubicle substantially as described herein and as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 or in Figs. 4 to 6 or in Fig. 11 or in any of the foregoing in combination with any of Figs. 7 to 10.

21. A cubicle door and panel fitted with a hinge arrangement substantially as described herein and as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 or in Figs. 4 to 6 or in Fig. 11 or in any of the foregoing in combination with any of Figs. 7 to 10.