BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to hinges. Particularly, the invention relates to articulated hinges or hinges having joints.

Hinges are known in the art and are provided for the opening and closing of a member such as a door or panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, it is an object to provide an improved hinge with a smooth opening and closing operation such that the hinge does not stick or bind during the opening or closing operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a hinge mechanism with structural components for ease of assembly, and reliable operations.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a hinge which permits a deep or thick door or panel on an enclosure to open approximately 90 degrees when another door of the same depth is located directly below the first door or panel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hinge which has two fixed pivot points on a hinge body or base from which members of the hinge pivot.

Atty doc 100-05 The objects of the present invention are realized in a hinge having a scissors arm structure which permits rotation of the panel to occur at a distance away from the hinge body. This hinge has a scissor arm structure, which is suitable for operating a panel on an enclosure, or bin and the like.

The hinge has an elongate first member and an elongate second member which move relative to one another in the plane of their elongations thereby pivoting in a scissor-like operation. A spring attached at one end to the central pivot means of the first member and second member biases the first member relative to a support member which is pivotable at an end of the first member. A link member attached to an end of the second member is pivotable at one end relative to an end of a support member to implement an articulated motion between the first member and second member as they move relative to one another.

The hinge base or body has a base link member pivotable at a fixed point on the hinge base or body and the base link member is pivotable at one end relative to an end of the first member. One end of the second member is pivotable at a fixed point on the hinge base or body also.

The spring force is selected to match the door weight, and other factors which are considered.

When the hinge is extended from the closed position to an open position or an intermediate open position, the support member can support the weight of the panel and hold it in the open position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features, advantages and operation of the present invention will become readily apparent and further understood from a reading of the following detailed description of the invention with the accompanying drawings, in which like numeral refer to like elements, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled hinge of the present invention in the closed position; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in an open position; Fig. 3 is a rear view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in the closed position; Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the hinge of Fig. 1 taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3 in the closed position; Fig. 5 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in the closed position; Fig. 6 is a rear view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in the closed position; Fig. 7 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 9 in a first intermediate opening position; Fig. 8 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in a first intermediate opening position; Fig. 9 is a front view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in a first intermediate opening position; Fig. 10 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 taken along line 10-10 of Fig. 12 in a second intermediate opening position; Fig. 11 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in a second intermediate opening position; Fig. 12 is a front view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in a second intermediate opening position; Fig. 13 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 taken along line 13-13 of Fig. 15 in a third intermediate opening position; Fig. 14 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in a third intermediate opening position; Fig. 15 is a front view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in a third intermediate opening position; Fig. 16 is a rear view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in the open position; Fig. 17 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 taken along line 17-17 of Fig. 16 in the open position; Fig. 18 is a side view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in the open position; Fig. 19 is a front view of the latch of Fig. 1 in the open position; Fig. 20 is a top view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in the open position; Fig. 21 is a bottom view of the hinge of Fig. 1 in the open positon; Fig. 22 is an exploded view of the latch of Fig. 1 in an open position; Fig. 23 is a top view of the first member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 24 is a rear view of the first member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 25 is a side view of the first member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 26 is a front view of the first member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 27 is a perspective view of the first member of the hinge of Fig. 1 ; Fig. 28 is a bottom view of the first member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 29 is a rear view of the second member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 30 is a side view of the second member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 31 is a front view of the second member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Atty doc 100-05 Fig. 32 is a perspective view of the second member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 33 is a rear view of the support member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 34 is a side view of the support member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 35 is a front view of the support member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 36 is a perspective view of the support member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 37 is a front view of the support link member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 38 is a side view of the support link member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 39 is a perspective view of the support link member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 40 is a side view of the base link member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 41 is a perspective view of the base link member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 42 is a side view of the base member of the hinge of Fig. 1; Fig. 43 is a perspective view of the base member of the hinge of Fig. 1; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As seen in Fig. 2, the hinge 15 has an elongate first member 1 and an elongate second member 2 which move relative to one another in the plane of their elongations thereby pivoting in a scissor-like operation about central pivot means 10. A spring 7 attached at one end to the central pivot means 10 biases the first member 1 relative to a support member 3 which is in turn pivotable at pivot support means 14 relative to an end of the first member 1. A link member 4 is attached to an end of the second member 2 and is pivotable at one end at first link pivot means 12. Second link pivot means 13 permits pivoting of link member 4 relative to an end of support member 3 to implement Atty doc 100-05 an articulated motion between the first member 1 and second member 2 as they move relative to one another.

The hinge base 6 or body has a base) link member 5 pivotable around pivot means 8 on the hinge base 6 or body and the base link member 5 is pivotable at base link pivot means 9 at one end relative to an end of the first member 1. One end of the second member 2 is pivotable at second member pivot means 11 on the hinge base 6 or body.

The spring force of spring 7 is selected to match the door or panel weight, and other factors which are considered.

When the hinge is extended from the closed position to an open position or an intermediate open position, the support member 3 can support the weight of a panel (not shown) and hold it in the open position.

Opening of the hinge is shown in Figs. 7-9 at a first intermediate position to a second intermediate position in Figs. 10-12 and a third intermediate position in Figs.

13-15. Figs. 16-18 show the hinge in the preferred fully open position in which a panel to which the hinge is attached has been opened fully 90 degrees. As can be seen by the location of support member 3 to which a panel can be attached, the panel has moved away from the body of the hinge, thereby avoiding contact with an object such as another panel which may be located below the opened panel.

As can be seen in the exploded view shown in Fig. 6, the central pivot means 10, the second link pivot means 13, and pivot means 8 are in the form of a pin in their preferred form.

Many changes can be made in the above-described invention without departing from the intent and scope thereof. It is therefore intended that the above description be read in the illustrative sense and not in the limiting sense. Substitutions and changes can be made without departing from the scope and intent of the invention.