BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to hinges for supporting doors, panels, lids, covers and the like.

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art Various types of hinge assemblies are known in the art and are particularly useful for securing a door, cover or the like to a frame or other hinging surface. In many cases, hinge assemblies include multiple parts which must be connected and assembled for installation. There are leaf hinges which can comprise a single piece hinge member, which itself, may consist of a group of elements. A leaf hinge can have one end mounted to a door panel and another end mounted to a frame to permit the door panel to swing relative to the frame. There are also adjustably provided hinges which contain elements which can be adjusted to position the hinge. The addition of the adjustment elements, while facilitating the positioning of a hinge, also increases the installation time and the production cost.

Generally hinges have been known to include a pair of opposite parts which are pivotally connected to one another by a pintle serving as a pivot pin. For example, it is customary to provide a simple pintle consisting of a cylindrical shaft which can slide into aligned apertures in the hinge knuckles to hold the hinge leaves together. The pintle can be provided with a head which engages the upper side of the uppermost

hinge knuckle to hold the pintle in position. Generally, the pin is maintained by its configuration and gravit. It is further known to provide a pintle of a composite construction and having a torsion spring which acts against the leaf hinges for automatically swinging the door to a closed position. When the leaf hinge is installed in the usual manner, one hinge leaf is attached to the door panel edge and the other hinge leaf is attached to the frame. Usually, this type of hinge can be concealed between the door edge and the frame, with the hinge knuckles being visible. This type of hinge, however, has the problem of being susceptible to permitting unauthorized access to an enclosure by removing the hinge pintle. Although some solutions have been provided by furnishing additional hinge components, such as the"Hinge Pintle Retaining Means"shown in U. S. Patent 4,073,037 issued on February 14,1978, the added components make the hinge more complex, and can increase installation and production costs.

Other types of hinges have been constructed where the hinge pin is provided as part of the hinge leaf and cannot be removed. Generally, these hinges are preferred in installations where controlling access to a compartment or enclosure is important.

In addition, there are yet other hinge types which are widely used. Lift-off hinges, for example, are a type of hinge which can consist of two parts, one of which is installed on a door and the other on a corresponding frame. The lift-off hinge permits the installation of a door by lifting the door panel with its hinge part attached thereto and moving the door panel hinge part into engagement with the frame hinge part which is attached to the frame. The lift-off hinge can be mounted to a door panel and frame and can be configured in a number of ways, since the distance between the door edge and frame is not a limitation with this type of hinge.

Furthermore, in many hinge applications, it is often desirable to have a detent feature to maintain a door panel at one or more of a variety of positions over the door

panel swing arc. Many applications require a door panel to be partially opened, for air circulation, limited access, cords or other objects which might pass through the enclosure opening, and the like. It is known to employ various types of hinge devices which operate to retain a door, lid, cover and the like, in an open or closed position.

For example, some types of hinge devices, including, in particular, those employed on vertically swinging kitchen cabinet doors, exert a torque to retain the door in a closed position. However, in certain circumstances, the amount of torque provided from the hinge is insufficient to maintain the door in a closed position, such as, for example, in response to inadvertent contact forces or simply the weight of the door panel itself.

Many of these types of hinges do not function to permit the door to remain in an open position. Another type of hinge known is used on vertically swinging doors and incorporates a wave-shaped cam surface which allows the door to rest in either an open or closed position. However, the open or closed positioning of the hinge is limited to the location of the downward sloped portion of the cam surface. In addition, the application of the hinge is limited to vertically swinging doors since the weight of the door on the cam surface functions to position the hinge.

Still, another type of hinge in common use incorporates an adjustable knuckle member which generates a torque upon a hinge pin in order to retain a vertically or horizontally swinging door in an opened position. However, the torque which is generated by adjustment of a screw member creates drag throughout the entire range of motion of the hinge. In addition, the hinge has a tendency to spring open slightly when the door is closed, thereby necessitating an additional latch to retain the door in the closed position.

Another type of hinge is shown in U. S. Patent No. 5,412,842 to Allen Riblett and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the complete disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. U. S. Patent No. 5,412,842 is directed to a detent

hinge for use with either vertically or horizontally swinging doors. The detent hinge incorporates detent balls and coil springs which operate to bias the detent balls in the direction of a pin assembly. The pin assembly is provided with a number of openings within its surface into which the detent balls are adapted to be received for retaining the door in a detent position relative to the frame. The detent hinge also incorporates means for adjusting the amount of torque which is required to move the hinge out of its detent positions, which is accomplished by varying the size, strength and/or number of coil springs and detent balls within the hinge. For this purpose, the detent hinge is provided with a removable retaining member which is opened to gain access for adjusting the amount of torque provided by the coil springs and detent balls.

Additional examples of hinges which employ detents include: US 4,073,037 for a"Hinge Pintle Retaining Means,"issued on Feb 14,1978, which provides a projecting rib which is received in a groove in order to prevent the removal of a door when the door is in a particular position; GB 404,854 entitled"Improvements in or Relating to Hinges,"which includes a projecting detent for holding a door in a number of positions; and DE 816,066"Pin Hinge for Window leaf, doors and the Like"which discloses lengthwise grooves provided in the lower half of a pin-hinge for retention of the door or window leaf in a particular position.

An"Adjustable Lift-Off Hinge"is disclosed in U. S. Patent 5,150,500 to Robert H. Bisbing, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the complete disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. This hinge assembly employs a longitudinal adjustable knuckle member which is rotatably coupled to a support member along the longitudinal axis, and a longitudinal fixed base member having a convex outer surface pivotally connected to a longitudinal side of the adjustable knuckle member.

A need still exists for a hinge which can be readily assembled and installed and which also has a mechanism which will permit a swinging panel, such as a door, to be held open at one or more positions over its swing arc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a novel hinge assembly for maintaining a first member, such as a door panel, in a swingable relation to a second member, such as a frame or cabinet, and at intermediate positions between fully opened and fully closed.

The hinge assembly has a first hinge part which can be mounted to a door, and a second hinge part which can be mounted to a doorframe. The first hinge part and second hinge part are provided to engage with each other when the door panel is installed on a frame or enclosure to permit the door panel to swing in relation thereto.

The first hinge part preferably carries a pin member for receipt within the second hinge part. A pin-receiving member is carried within a bore of the second hinge part.

Preferably, the pin-receiving member is a spring member which is adapted to engage the sidewalls of the bore. The pin member is provided to fit with the pin receiving member to rotate therewith when the first hinge part is rotated relative to the second hinge part. The bore of the second hinge part is configured to interfere with the pin- receiving member as the pin-receiving member is rotated along with the pin. The pin- receiving member also facilitates retention of the pin member within the bore.

Preferably, the pin receiving member comprises a spring member which is biased by the bore of the second hinge part.

The hinge assembly of the present invention preferably permits the door panel to be maintained in an open position at one or more locations along the swing arc of the door panel through the biasing interaction of the spring member and the second hinge part bore.

An object of the present invention is to provide a two-part hinge assembly which can be readily installed on a panel and a corresponding frame.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hinge with a spring detent feature with a plurality of stops for maintaining a hinging panel in various positions between fully opened and fully closed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a detent feature which facilitates maintaining a hinging panel in a closed position against a door frame or gasket.

A further object of the present invention is to accomplish the above objects wherein the hinge assembly is configured as a lift-off hinge assembly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a two-part hinge assembly wherein a first hinge part can be mounted to one of a door and frame and a second hinge part mounted to the other of the door and frame, and the door lifted with a hinge part mounted thereon to engage the frame carrying the other hinge part mounted thereon for installation of the door in the frame.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a detent feature which maintains the door in intermediate positions between open and closed positions and which facilitates retention of the assembly by permitting attachment and detachment of hinge parts at a single orientation with respect to the pivot arc of the hinge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES Fig. 1 is a parallel perspective view of the hinge assembly according to the present invention, looking down at the front of the hinge from the top left, shown in use with a door panel and frame, with the door being partially raised from the frame.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation view of the hinge assembly of Fig. 1, with the second hinge part rotated clockwise into the direction of the plane of the page.

Fig. 3 is rear elevation view of the first hinge part of the hinge assembly shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the first hinge part shown in Fig. 3, as viewed without the pin member.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the first hinge part shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged parallel perspective view of a pin member element of the hinge according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a rear elevation view of the second hinge part of the hinge assembly shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the second hinge part shown in Fig. 7, taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a parallel perspective view of the second hinge part shown with the spring member disposed within the pin-receiving bore, in the aligned position with the slot of the spring member aligned with the slot of the bore.

Fig. 9a is an enlarged view of the section of the second hinge part shown in the window 9a of Fig. 9.

Fig. 10 is a parallel perspective view of the second hinge part shown in Fig. 9, viewed from a different angle and showing the spring member rotated relative to the second hinge part so that the slot of the spring member is not aligned with the slot of the bore.

Fig. 10a is an enlarged view of the second hinge part shown in the window 10a of Fig. 10.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged parallel perspective view of the spring member shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

Fig. 12 is a top plan view of the spring member shown in Fig. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to Fig. 1, a preferred embodiment of a hinge assembly 10 according to the present invention is shown. The hinge assembly 10 comprises a first hinge part 11 and a second hinge part 12. The first hinge part 11 is adapted for mounting to a first panel member, such as a door 100. The second hinge part 12 is adapted for mounting to a corresponding panel member, such as a doorframe or cabinet 200. As shown in Fig. 2, preferably, the mounting means can comprise threaded bores, such as the bores 13,14 provided on the rear of the first hinge part 11 and the bores 15,16 provided on the rear of the second hinge part 12.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, the first hinge part 11 has a body portion 20 with a knuckle 21 disposed at the lower end thereof and a ledge 22 at the top of the

knuckle 21. The knuckle 21 has a bore 24 disposed therein (Fig. 4). The bore 24 begins from the ledge 22 and is shown extending through the bottom of the first hinge part body 20 (Fig. 5). A pin member 25 is connected to the first hinge part 11 and is carried thereon as shown in Fig. 3. The pin member 25 while shown as a separate member carried in the bore 24 of the first hinge part 11, can alternately be integrally provided with, or connected by other means to, the first hinge part 11.

Connecting means is provided for connecting the pin member 25 with the knuckle 21 of the first hinge part 11. Referring to Fig. 6, preferably, the pin member 25 is provided as a separate component which has a connecting end 26 for connection to the knuckle portion 21 of the first hinge part 11, and a projecting end 27 which extends from the knuckle 21 for receipt within the second hinge part 12. The connecting means preferably can comprise a series of raised bosses 28 disposed on the connecting end 26 of the pin member 25. The raised bosses 28 secure the pin member 25 to the first hinge part 11 when the pin member connecting end 26 is inserted into the bore 24.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, the second hinge part 12 is shown comprising a body portion 30 with a knuckle portion 39 having a pin-receiving bore 31 disposed therein. The pin-receiving bore 31 includes a plurality of longitudinal grooves 32,33.

34,35 disposed along the inner surface of the upper wall portion 36. The pin-receiving bore 31 further has an annular ledge 37 disposed at the bottom of the upper wall portion 36. A lower wall portion 38 defines the lower end of the pin-receiving bore 31.

A slot 40 is provided in the body portion 30 of the second hinge part 12 which, as shown in Fig. 8, permits lateral access to the pin-receiving bore 31. This facilitates connecting the first hinge part 11 with the second hinge part 12 by providing a path for the pin member 25 to travel to be situated in the pin-receiving bore 31.

The present invention provides an improvement over the prior art type hinge assemblies in that there is further utilized a detent feature. Referring to Figs. 9,9a, 10 and 10a, the detent means of the present invention is shown comprising a spring member 50 which is carried within the pin-receiving bore 36 of the second hinge part 12. The spring member 50, shown best in Figs. 11 and 12, has a body portion 51, which can be configured as shown to comprise a generally u-shaped configuration, with legs 52,53 extending therefrom. Interference means is provided on the leg members 52,53. Preferably, the interference means comprises a longitudinal projection 54,55 disposed respectively on each leg member 52,53. The leg members 52,53 preferably are flexible to permit deflection of the longitudinal projections 54,55 and compression of the spring member legs 52,53 when a projection 54,55 encounters the upper wall portion 36 of the pin-receiving bore 31. A spring leg member 52,53 can relax to extend the longitudinal projections 54,55 into a pair of the longitudinal grooves 32, 33,34,35 disposed along the inner surface of the upper wall portion 36, as shown best in Figs. 9a and 10a. The positioning of the spring leg member projections 54,55 maintains the first and second hinge parts 11 and 12, respectively, in one or more predetermined positions. This enables the door panel to be maintained at one or more positions along the swing arc, between fully open and fully closed positions. The spring member 50 is positioned within the pin-receiving bore 31 of the second hinge part 12. The body portion 51 of the spring member 50 defines a space 58 therein in which the pin member 20 can be received. The pin member 20 engages the spring member 50 so that the spring member 50 is rotated along with the pin member 20 when one or the other of the first hinge part 11 and second hinge part 12 is rotated relative to the other.

The spring member 50 is shown aligned with the longitudinal slot 40 of the second hinge part 12 in Fig. 9a. In Fig. 10a, the spring member 50 is shown rotated

from its position in Fig. 9a. Although not shown in Figs. 9a and 10a, the pin member 20 is disposed within the space 58 of the spring member 50 when the first hinge part 11 and second hinge part 12 are connected. The space 58 of the spring member 50 which holds the pin member 20 is no longer aligned with the second hinge part longitudinal slot 40 and therefore captures the pin member 20 therein when the first hinge part 11 occupies any position along the swing arc with respect to the second hinge part 12 other than the position shown in Fig. 9a where the longitudinal slot 40, and spring member space 58 are aligned. This facilitates retention of the assembly components as well as the first panel member 100 and second panel 200.

While the above description constitutes the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is subject to modification, variation and change, without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the present invention. In this regard, although the various features of the present invention have been shown and described in relation to a door and/or door frame, it will be understood that many of these features are suitable in connection with hinging of other members. The present hinge assembly can be used in connection with other applications where one member is to be swingably connected to another member, such as, for example, a top-hinged, cabinet panel and cabinet. Moreover, the hinge parts can be installed in either direction provided that the first and second hinge parts are aligned for engagement. For example, it is also possible to have one pair of hinge parts facing the opposite direction as another pair of hinge parts. These and other modifications of the present invention can be made consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the Summary of the Invention, the Brief Description of the Drawing Figures, the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and the appended claims.