The present invention refers to a hinge for wings, particularly for wings pivoting around a horizontal axis .

In the field of furniture, doors or wings for closing spaces of the so-called "flip-down" type are commonly used, which, in their motion for opening and closing the access gap to the respective space, pivot around a horizontal axis, fixed or movable, defined at their top side or at their bottom side.

In particular, flip-down wings are known that are mounted on the frame that defines the space, the access gap of which is closed by it, through hinges of the type with at least one plane articulated quadrilateral. Such hinges allow the wings to move with a combined rotation and translation motion between the closed configuration and the completely open configuration of the access gap to the space in the piece of furniture.

Unlike wings pivoting around a vertical axis, wings pivoting around a horizontal axis need mechanisms that balance their weight during the opening and closing steps, ensuring that the wings themselves are kept both in open configuration, and in closed configuration.

Currently there are known balancing mechanisms consisting of coil springs or gas springs the opposite ends of which are respectively associated with the frame that defines the space of the furniture and with the wing itself or with a fixed member and with a movable member of the hinge itself, in the structure of which they are, therefore, integrated. Mechanisms of this kind are designed to balance the weight of the wing in open configuration, in which the springs are biased from a traction load that acts along their geometric axis and through the action of which they undergo an elongation (extension) . Consequently, in closed configuration of the wing, the springs are biased by a corresponding compression load that, in the act of opening the wing, must be overcome with the exertion of a certain force by the users.

Moreover, mechanisms of this kind are difficult to size correctly and need adjustment devices as a function, for example, of the variability of the sizes and of the materials, more or less dense, of the wings themselves .

An oversizing or an undersizing of the springs, indeed, can cause anomalies in the opening and closing manoeuvres of the wings or them being kept incorrectly open or closed. An oversizing, for example, can require the exertion of a substantial initial force from the user in the act of opening the wing and causing the wing itself to open suddenly. An undersizing, on the other hand, cannot ensure that the wings are supported in open configuration.

Another drawback of mechanisms of this kind consists of the fact that the springs have not negligible bulks that make it difficult to position and, in particular, integrate them inside the structure of the hinges themselves.

The purpose of the present invention is to avoid the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a hinge for wings, particularly for wings pivoting around a horizontal axis, equipped with a balancing mechanism of the weight of the wing that has a compact structure and low bulk.

A further purpose of the present invention is to provide a hinge for wings, particularly for wings pivoting around a horizontal axis, equipped with a balancing mechanism of the weight of the wing that allows the wing to be stopped in any position desired by the user, by exerting a sufficient return force of the wing in closed configuration and without increasing the effort in opening or closing the wing itself.

Yet another purpose of the present invention is to provide a hinge for wings, particularly for wings pivoting around a horizontal axis, equipped with a balancing mechanism of the weight of the wing of the adjustable type and easily accessible from the outside even in assembly configuration.

A further purpose of the present invention is to make a hinge for wings, particularly for wings pivoting around a horizontal axis that is compact and has low bulk so as to leave the gap of the space closed by the wing free and to be able to be optionally housed in standard profiles.

Another purpose of the present invention is to make a hinge for wings, particularly ante pivoting around a horizontal axis, which is particularly simple and functional, with low costs.

These purposes according to the present invention are accomplished by making a hinge for wings, particularly ante pivoting around a horizontal axis, as outlined in claim 1.

Further characteristics are foreseen in the dependent claims. The characteristics and advantages of a hinge for wings, particularly ante pivoting around a horizontal axis, according to the present invention will become clearer from the following description, given as an example and not for limiting purposes, referring to the attached schematic drawings in which:

figure 1 is a section view of a wing for closing a space of a piece of furniture opening upwards to which a hinge according to the present invention is applied; figure 2 is an axonometric and partially sectioned exploded view of the hinge of figure 1 ;

figures 3, 4 and 5 schematically show partial section views of the hinge of figure 2 in closed configuration, in an intermediately open/closed configuration and in an open configuration, respectively;

figure 6 is a graph that shows the progression of the braking moment required as a function of the opening angle of the hinge;

figure 7 is a graph showing the progression of the force that the user must exert on the handle of the wing both during opening, and during closing thereof, with and without the contribution of the elastic recovery means of the wing in closed configuration, as a function of the opening angle of the wing;

figure 8 is an axonometric view of a hinge according to the present invention applied to a wing for closing a space of a piece of furniture with downward opening;

figure 9 is an axonometric partially sectioned view of an alternative embodiment of the hinge according to the present invention for wings for closing a space with upward opening;

figures 10 to 13 schematically show a partial section view of the hinge of figure 9 in closed configuration, in two successive intermediately open/closed configurations and in open configuration, respectively;

figure 14 is a graph showing the progression of the force that the user must exert on the handle of the wing both during opening, and during closing thereof, with and without the contribution of the elastic recovery means of the wing in closed configuration, as a function of the opening angle of the wing referring to the hinge of figure 9;

figure 15 is an axonometric partially sectioned view of a further alternative embodiment of the hinge according to the present invention for wings for closing a space with downward opening;

figures 16 to 18 schematically show a partial section view of the hinge of figure 15 in closed configuration, in an intermediately open/closed configuration and in open configuration, respectively; figure 19 is a graph that shows the progression of the force that the user must exert on the handle of the wing both during opening, and during closing thereof, with and without the contribution of the elastic recovery means of the wing in closed configuration, as a function of the opening angle of the wing referring to the hinge of figure 15.

With reference to the attached figures a hinge for wings 2, particularly for wings pivoting around a horizontal axis, has been wholly indicated with 1. It should be specified that in the present description the use of adjectives like "first" and "second" should not be taken in the limiting sense, but solely for the purpose of distinguishing between two elements. Moreover, adjectives like "upper" and "lower" or "front" and "rear" are used considering the hinge and, therefore, the wing to which it is applied, in assembly configuration and they should not be taken in the limiting sense, but solely for the purpose of distinguishing between different elements.

With particular reference to figures 1 to 5 , the hinge 1 is applied to a wing 2 that closes the gap 3 for accessing a space 4 of a piece of furniture, in which the wing 2, in its opening and closing motion, pivots around a horizontal axis defined at its upper side. In figure 8, on the other hand, the hinge 1 is applied to a wing 2' that, in its opening and closing motion, pivots around a horizontal axis defined at its lower side.

With particular reference to figures 1 to 5, the hinge 1 comprises a first attachment base 5 to the frame 6 that defines the space 4 the access gap 3 of which is destined to be closed by the wing 2 and a second attachment base 7 to the wing 2 itself.

The second attachment base 7 is associated with the first attachment base 5 through an articulation mechanism of the type with at least one plane articulated quadrilateral and, in particular, of the type with two plane articulated quadrilaterals that are coplanar to one another.

The attachment of the first and second attachment base 5 and 7 respectively to the frame 6 and to the wing 2 can occur directly or indirectly through the interposition of plates suitable for allowing the adjustment of their position and with threaded means or with snap- type or quick- fastening means, not described and depicted any further since they are known to the man skilled in the art.

The first attachment base 5 comprises two walls 5' and 5' ' facing one another and parallel and kept apart from one another by spacer elements 8. Overall, therefore, the first attachment base 5 has a box-shaped structure .

The second attachment base 7 consists of a profile with a "U" , "C" or similar shaped cross section.

The articulation mechanism of the first and of the second attachment base 5 and 7 with respect to one another comprises a wing 9, also consisting of two metal sheets 9' and 9'' that face one another and are parallel a certain distance apart from one another and made integral with each other.

Two rods 10 and 11, of which, considering the hinge

1 in assembly configuration, the rod 10 is at the rear and the rod 11 is at the front with respect to the other, are pivoted to the wing 9 by means of respective pins 12 and 13 that define corresponding pivoting axes.

The rear rod 10 has the end opposite to the respective pivoting axis to the wing 9, i.e. to the respective pin 12, which is pivoted to the first attachment base 5 by means of a corresponding pin 1 .

The front rod 11 has the end opposite the respective pivoting axis to the wing 9, i.e. to the respective pin 13, which is pivoted to the first attachment base 5 by means of a corresponding pin 15. The wing 9, the rear rod 10, the front rod 11 and the first attachment base 5 and the respective articulation pins 12, 13, 14 and 15 thus define a first plane articulated quadrilateral, advantageously an articulated parallelogram.

The rear rod 10 and the front rod 11 consist of profiles with "U" , "C" or similar shaped cross sections .

The wing 9 comprises a piece 90 that extends beyond the front rod 11 to pivot to the second attachment base 7 by means of a corresponding pin 16.

Similarly, the front rod 11 extends beyond its pivoting axis (pin 13) to the wing 9 to pivot, by means of a corresponding pin 17, to the end of a third rod 18, the opposite end which is pivoted, by means of a corresponding pin 19, to the second attachment base 7.

The piece 90, the extension of the front rod 11, the third rod 18 and the second attachment base 7 and the respective articulation pins 13, 17, 19 and 16 thus define a second plane articulated quadrilateral coplanar to the first.

Hereafter, we will refer to the articulation pins of the various members to indicate the pivoting axes respectively defined by them.

According to the special characteristic of the present invention, the hinge 1 comprises a balancing mechanism 20 of the weight of the wing 2 in open configuration, said balancing mechanism 20 comprising a first arm 21 and a second arm 22 that are pivoted to one another around a common axis A, which is defined by a pin not depicted in detail and substantially orthogonal to the plane defined by the two plane articulated quadrilaterals as identified above. The first arm 21 and the second arm 22 have the respective end opposite that of mutual pivoting that is pivoted around a corresponding pivoting axis B and C substantially parallel to the common axis A, to a respective element of the articulation mechanism of the hinge 1.

With reference to the embodiment represented in the attached figures, the first arm 21 is pivoted, by means of a pin 23 that defines the pivoting axis B, to the first attachment base 5. The second arm 22, on the other hand, is pivoted, by means of a pin 24 that defines the pivoting axis C, to the wing 9. However, different embodiments are not ruled out, in which for example the first and the second arm 21 and 22 are pivoted respectively to the rear rod 10 and to the wing 9, or to the wing 9 and to the front rod 11.

The balancing mechanism 20 also comprises a braking device that acts between the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 or between one of them and the respective element of the articulation mechanism of the hinge 1 to which it is pivoted.

In the depicted embodiment, the braking device acts between the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 at their mutual pivoting (axis A) . However, this does not rule out alternative embodiments in which, for example, the braking device acts between the first arm 21 and the first attachment base 5 at the pivoting of one to the other (axis B) , or between the second arm 22 and the wing 9 at the pivoting of one to the other (axis C) .

By braking device we mean to indicate a device suitable for generating a braking moment between the two members pivoted to one another between which it acts - in the case depicted between the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 - at least in one of the two directions of relative rotation of such two members, so as to generate a braking moment compensating the weight of the wing 2 in open configuration.

In the case in which the wing 2 is able to pivot around a horizontal axis defined at its upper side (figures 1-5), the braking device must generate a braking moment compensating the weight of the wing in the direction of relative rotation of the two members between which it acts (first arm 21 and second arm 22) during closing of the wing itself, so as to balance its weight. In the opposite direction of rotation (opening step of the wing 2) the braking device is, advantageously, idle; although it is not ruled out the case in which the braking device is two-directional, i.e. exerting a braking moment in both directions of relative rotation of the two members between which it acts. In this last case, however, during the opening of the wing 2, the braking moment would add to the weight of the wing, thus requiring an additional force to be applied by a user.

In the case in which the wing 2 is able to pivot around a horizontal axis defined at its lower side (figure 8), the braking device must generate a braking moment compensating the weight of the wing 2' in the direction of relative rotation of the two members between which it acts (first arm 21 and second arm 22) during the opening of the wing itself, so as to balance its weight. In the opposite direction of rotation (closing step of the wing 2') the braking device is, advantageously, idle; although it is not ruled out the case in which the braking device is two-directional, i.e. exerting a braking moment in both directions of relative rotation of the two members between which it acts. In this last case, however, during the closing of the wing 2, the braking moment would add to the weight of the wing, thus requiring an additional force to be applied by a user.

As an example, the braking device is of the type with a wheel braked in one direction of rotation and free in the opposite direction, like for example with a friction joint as described in IT250441 parallel to EP 1.188.891 to the same Applicant and the descriptive content of which is referred to in full; however, this does not rule out alternative embodiments thereof.

In the attached figures, the braking device is not represented in detail, since it is for example of the type described in the aforementioned EP 1.188.891 and contained in the discoidal extensions of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22.

Finally, the hinge 1 comprises elastic recovery means 25 of the wing 2 in closed configuration of the space 4 that are interposed between the first attachment base 5 and a movable member of the articulation mechanism of the hinge itself.

In particular, the elastic means 25 comprise one or more coil springs contained in a capsule 26 that has one end pivoted in a respective pin 27 to the rear rod 10 on the side of the articulation pin 14 of the rear rod 10 itself to the first attachment base 5 and the opposite end provided with a sliding slot 28 of a reference pin 29 integral with the first attachment base 5.

With such a configuration, the position of the geometric axis D of the elastic means 25 and the action arm thereof vary during the opening and closing steps of the hinge 1.

With particular reference to the embodiment represented in the attached figures, it has been found to be particularly advantageous to kinematically connect the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 so that the pivoting axis C (pin 24) of the second arm 22 to the wing 9 is interposed and, seen in a projection on a plane parallel to that defined by the two plane articulated quadrilaterals that constitute the articulation mechanism (the plane of the sheet of figures 3-5), substantially aligned with the pivoting axes of the rear rod 10 and of the front rod 11 to the wing 9 itself, i.e. to the pins 12 and 13.

The first arm 21, on the other hand, is pivoted to the first attachment base 5 at the pivoting axis B (pin 23) that, considering the hinge 1 in closed configuration (figure 3), lies close to the pivoting axis C of the second arm 22 to the wing 9, both of the pivoting axes B and C, respectively of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22, lying between the rear rod 10 and the front rod 11.

Having identified the centre of instantaneous rotation I of the pin 24 (pivoting axis C) , the distance I-C between it and the pin 24 itself (pivoting axis C) is less than the distance I-B between it and the pin 23 (pivoting axis B) that articulates the first arm 21 to the first attachment base 5. Moreover, having identified the straight line R passing through the two pivoting axes B and C (pins 23 and 24), the straight line along which the braking action acts, in passing from the closed configuration to the open configuration of the hinge 1 (figures 3-5) the following should be noted.

In closed configuration (figure 3), the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 are brought towards one another and partially contained in the gap inside the wing 9. The two pivoting axes B and C (pins 23 and 24) are brought together to a minimum distance and the straight line R passing through them is substantially parallel and coincident with the straight line I-C. Close to such a condition, the braking device does not exert any braking moment, since the angle formed by the first and second arm 21 and 22 between two successive moments is close to zero.

In this configuration, moreover, the geometric axis D of the elastic means 25 is substantially parallel to the straight line passing through the pivoting axes (pins 12 and 14) of the rear wing 10 with respect to the wing 9 and to the first attachment base 5. In such a condition, therefore, as can easily be understood by the man skilled in the art, the action of the elastic means 25 is at its maximum to hold the wing 2 in a configuration closing the space 4.

From the closed configuration, a user, by exerting a force on the handle of the wing 2 that is necessary and sufficient to overcome the reaction of the elastic means 25 and the weight of the wing 2, takes the wing 2 into open configuration. In passing between the closed configuration and the open one, the angle formed by the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 increases and, if the braking device is advantageously of the unidirectional type, there is no resistance opposing such an opening out, whereas the resistance of the elastic means 25 progressively decreases until it inverts so as to help the opening of the wing itself (figures 4 and 5) .

As the angle formed by the first arm 21 and by the second arm 22 increases, the work necessary to balance the weight of the wing 2 increases, i.e. the braking moment that must be exerted by the braking device to compensate the weight of the wing 2 and then keep it open, opposing the closing of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22, increases.

The configuration in which the work necessary to balance the weight of the wing 2 is the maximum corresponds, as can easily be understood by the man skilled in the art, to the condition in which the straight line passing through the common axis A and the pivoting axis C (pin 24) and the straight line I-C are substantially orthogonal to one another (figure 4) . This is the condition as a function of which the braking device is sized, which exerts a substantially constant braking moment.

Once such a configuration has been passed, as the angle formed between the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 increases, the work necessary to balance the weight of the wing 2 decreases.

In the configuration of maximum opening of the hinge 1, i.e. of the wing 2 (figure 5), the distance between the pivoting axes B and C (pins 23 and 24) of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22 respectively to the first attachment base 5 and to the wing 9 is close to, but less than, the sum of the distance that such pivoting axes B and C have with respect to the common axis A.

The braking device exerts a braking moment such as to oppose the relative rotation of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22 corresponding to the closing of the hinge 1, i.e. coming towards one another, so as to compensate for the weight of the wing 2 in completely open configuration and in the intermediately open configurations .

Near to where the wing 2 closes, on the other hand, the braking action is close to zero, since the variation of the angle defined between them is substantially close to zero, and the reaction of the elastic means 25, which are sized so as to exert a force necessary and sufficient to hold the wing 2 closed, prevails.

It should be noted that it would not be possible to obtain such behaviour should the braking device be arranged so as to act between two relatively movable members of the articulation mechanism of the hinge itself, i.e. between two relatively movable members that make up the two plane articulated quadrilaterals, like for example between the rear rod 10 and the wing 9.

Figures 6 and 7 show graphs that show, as a function of the opening angle of the wing, the progression of the work required for the balancing of the weight of the wing 2 (figure 6), the braking moment exerted by the braking device being constant, and the progression of the force that a user must exert on the handle of the wing during opening and closing thereof with and without the contribution of the reaction of the elastic means 25 (figure 7) .

The considerations indicated above can be applied, by inverting the braking direction of the braking device, for hinges according to the present invention applied to wings pivoting around a horizontal axis defined at their lower side (figure 8) . In this case, indeed, the braking device must exert a braking moment that, to balance the weight of the wing in open configuration, must oppose the relative rotation of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22 in the opening direction of the wing itself.

In a further possible embodiment of the hinge 1 according to the present invention, represented in figures 9 to 18, the body of the hinge itself integrates at least one damping device 31 that acts between two elements of the articulation mechanism of the second attachment base 7 to the first attachment base 5 or between the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 of the braking device, where the damping device 31 is active for at least one sector of the angle of relative rotation between the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 in the passage of the hinge 1 from its open configuration to its closed configuration and/or vice -versa .

In particular, should the hinge 1 be applied to wings hinged around a horizontal axis at their upper side, i.e. wings opening upwards or flip-up, the damping device 31 is active for at least one sector of the angle of relative rotation of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22 in the closing direction of the wing, where at such a sector the braking mechanism does not exert any braking moment in closing.

If, on the other hand, the hinge 1 is applied to wings hinged around a horizontal axis at their lower side, i.e. opening downwards or flip-down, the damping device 31 is active for at least one sector of the angle of relative rotation of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22 both in the closing direction of the wing, and in the opening direction thereof.

With reference to figures 9-13 and 15-18, the hinge 1 differs from the one represented in the previous figures 1-5 for the different arrangement of the hinging axes B and C of the first and second arm 21 and 22 of the braking device.

In greater detail, the second arm 22 is pivoted to the front rod 11 at the pin 24 advantageously coincident with the pin 13 that articulates the front rod 11 to the wing 9. In this case, therefore, the centre of instantaneous rotation I of the pivoting axis C coincides with the pin 15 that articulates the front rod 11 to the first attachment base 5.

The first arm 21, on the other hand, is hinged around the pivoting axis B defined by the pin 23 to the first attachment base 5, where the pivoting axis B (pin 23) lies outside of the first articulated quadrilateral (14, 15, 13=24, 12) on the side of the wing 9 opposite the one from which the front rod 11 and the rear rod 10 extend.

Considering the hinge 1 in closed configuration (figures 10 and 16), in a projection on a plane parallel to the one defined by the two plane articulated quadrilaterals of the articulation mechanism of the first attachment base 5 to the second attachment base 7, the straight line R passing through the pivoting axis B and the pivoting axis C is incident to the straight line passing through the pivoting axis C and the respective centre of instantaneous rotation I .

The same straight line R passing through the pivoting axis B and the pivoting axis C coincides with the straight line passing through the pivoting axis C and the respective centre of instantaneous rotation I when the hinge 1 is in an intermediate configuration (figures 11 and 17) between the open one and the closed one .

In such an intermediate configuration (figures 11 and 17) the distance between the pivoting axes B and C, i.e. between the first and the second arm 21 and 22, is at its minimum, so that by bringing the hinge 1 from its open configuration (figures 13 and 18) to the closed one (figures 10 and 16) the distance between the pivoting axes B and C first decreases, until it reaches the minimum value when the hinge is in such an intermediate configuration, to then increase, with the opposite occurring considering the passage of the hinge 1 from the closed configuration to the open one.

If, therefore, the braking device is of the unidirectional type, i.e. it is such as to generate a braking moment only in one of the two directions of relative rotation of the first and of the second arm 21 and 22, respectively when moving together or apart, behaving like a free wheel in the opposite direction, both during the closing of the hinge 1, and during the opening of the same hinge 1, the first and the second arm 21 and 22 rotate freely with respect to one another for at least one sector.

With reference to the hinge 1 applied to wings opening upwards or flip-up (figures 9-14), the braking device, having to support the wing in open configuration, generates a braking moment in the closing direction of the hinge itself until it reaches the intermediate configuration of figure 11, i.e. when the first and the second arm 21 and 22 approach one another along the rotation sector schematically indicated with SI, and leaves the relative rotation of the first and of the second arm 21 and 22 free when they move apart passing from the intermediate configuration (figure 11) to the closed one (figure 10) along the rotation sector schematically indicated with S2, with the opposite occurring considering the passage of the hinge 1 from the closed configuration to the open one.

The opposite occurs with reference to the hinge 1 applied to wings opening downwards or flip-down (figures 16-18), where the braking device, having to slow down the opening of the hinge, generates a braking moment along at least one section of the relative rotation of the first and of the second arm 21 and 22 in the direction of opening of the hinge, i.e. when the distance between the pivoting axes B and C increases, leaving the rotation free in the opposite direction, i.e. when the distance between the pivoting axes B and C decreases .

Thus, from the closed configuration of the hinge 1 (figure 16) until the intermediate configuration is reached (figure 17), in which the pivoting axes B and C come together until the minimum distance is reached, the braking device does not generate any braking moment. Whereas in the passage of the hinge 1 from the intermediate configuration (figure 17) to the open one (figure 18), where the distance between the pivoting axes B and C increases, the braking device generates a braking moment for supporting the wing; the opposite occurs considering the passage of the hinge 1 from the open configuration to the closed one.

This particular arrangement of the pivoting axes B and C is particularly useful where it is foreseen to integrate a damping device 31 in the hinge 1; however, this does not rule out it being able to be adopted also in the absence of the damping device 31 or the second arm 22 being articulated to the rear rod 10 instead of to the front rod 11.

Advantageously, the damping device 31 is active at least for the sector of relative rotation of the first arm 21 and of the second arm 22 in which the braking moment is zero, without ruling out the possibility, like in the case of hinges for wings with flip-down opening, that it can be active also when the braking moment generated by the braking device is not zero.

The damping device 31 can be of the linear type or of the rotary type.

If the hinge 1 is applied to wings opening upwards (figures 9-14), the damping device 31 is advantageously of the linear cylinder and piston type and acts between a reference element integral with the first attachment base 5 and advantageously consisting of the spacer 8 and a movable element of the mechanism that articulates the first attachment base 5 to the second attachment base 7, advantageously consisting of the rear rod 10. In particular, the rear rod 10 has a piece 101 that extends from the end thereof articulated to the first attachment base 5.

The piece 101 cooperates with a slider consisting of a shell 32 that is slidably associated with the first attachment base 5 along the axis of the damping device 31. The shell 32 in turn slidably houses one of the two ends of the damping device 31.

The shell 32 has an abutment surface 33 on which the piece 101 abuts when the hinge 1 passes from the intermediate configuration to the closed on thus activating the damping device 31. In such passage, the braking device behaves like a free wheel and the completion of the closing of the hinge 1 is ensured by the action of the elastic means 25.

The graph of figure 15 shows the progression of the force at the handle of the wing as a function of the angle of rotation of the hinge both in the opening direction and in the closing direction. It can be noted that the curve representing the force that a user must exert to close the wing becomes negative, which occurs when the hinge goes beyond its intermediate configuration of minimum distance between the pivoting axes B and C.

If the hinge 1 is applied to wings opening downwards or flip-down (figures 16-18), the damping device 31 is advantageously of the rotary type and performs its action both in a section of the closing stroke of the hinge 1, and in a section of the opening stroke of the hinge 1. In particular, the damping device 31 acts between the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 and comprises a first gear 34 that is mounted pivoting around an axis parallel to the common axis A on the second arm 22 and that engages with a second gear 35 that is mounted integral with the first arm 21, where the first gear 34 has a smaller diameter than that of the second gear 35. As represented in figure 17, the work angle a of the damping device 31 is at its minimum when the hinge 1 is in its intermediate configuration in which the distance between the pivoting axes B and C is at its minimum (i.e. in which the straight line R coincides with the straight line passing through the pivoting axis C and the respective centre of instantaneous rotation I) . As can be easily understood by the man skilled in the art, this means that the damping device 31 works both during the closing of the wing, when the hinge 1 passes from the intermediate configuration (figure 17) to the closed one (figure 16), slowing down the closing, and during the opening of the wing, when the hinge 1 passes from the intermediate configuration (figure 17) to the open one (figure 18) .

Both during opening and during closing, therefore, the action of the damping device 31 adds, for at least a section of the opening or closing stroke of the hinge itself, to that exerted by the braking device, as can be worked out from the curves of the graph of figure 19.

It should be noted that the plates 5' and 5'' that make up the first attachment base 5 are each equipped with a further insertion hole 51 of the pin 23 that defines the pivoting axis B of the first arm 21 able to be used to configure the hinge 1 for wings with flip-up opening instead of for wings with flip-down opening.

Finally, it should be noted that the plates 5' and 5'' that make up the first attachment base 5 are provided with a respective access opening 50 to the adjustment screw 30 of the braking device, thus making the adjustment manoeuvres easy to carry out even with the hinge 1 in assembly configuration.

In practice it has been noted that the present invention achieves the preset purposes, in particular the hinge according to the present invention makes it possible to compensate the weight of the wing in open configuration with a balancing device integrated in the structure of the hinge itself, which thus remains, as a whole, simple and with low bulk. The hinge according to the present invention also ensures both the balancing of the weight of the wing in open configuration, and the holding thereof in closed configuration without worsening the effort that a user must exert to open or close the wing itself.

The hinge according to the present invention also has regular snap- free operation.

The hinge thus conceived can undergo numerous modifications and variants, all of which are covered by the invention; moreover, all of the details can be replaced with technically equivalent elements. In practice, the materials used, as well as the sizes, can be whatever according to the technical requirements .