Hinge Assembly

This invention relates to hinge assemblies for two relatively movable parts such as, for example the lid of a container.

It is sometimes desirable to be able to easily remove and replace the lid and it is an object therefore of the present invention to provide a hinge assembly which is readily assembled and dismantled and which is low in cost.

According to an aspect of the present invention a hinge assembly for two relatively movable first and second parts comprises a pivot member formed on the first part which is rotatably mounted in a recess formed in the second part, the pivot member being retained in the recess by an abutment member formed on the second part, the abutment member being flexible whereby it can be moved to a position in which the pivot member can be removed from or inserted into the recess.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which,

FIG. 1 illustrates a container with a lid having a hinge assembly in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view through the container of FIG. 1 and,

FIG. 3 is a similar cross-sectional view showing the method of removing or fitting the lid.

The container consists of a housing 10 made of moulded plastic material which is supported by any suitable means on a base 12. An opening 14 is formed in the upper portion for receiving the lid 16, there being formed each side of the opening 14 inside the housing 10 a substantially semicircular recess 18. Also formed inside the housing is an abutment member 20 which has a U-shaped cross-sectional shape and extends across the complete width of the opening 14. The abutment member 20 is formed integrally with the housing, one side 22 extending from the housing 10 along the edge of the opening 14 and the other side 24 terminating close to a line connecting the centres of the semi-circular recesses 18. Since the abutment member 20 is formed out of plastics material it has a degree of flexibility and the sides 22 and 24 can be deflected as shown in FIG. 3. By forming the sides 22 and 24 of the abutment member 20 substantially vertical, i.e. substantially parallel to the walls of the housing 10, and with the side 22 forming the edge of the opening 14, as shown in FIG. 2, there is nothing to prevent a straight withdrawal of the internal moulding tool after mounting and no additional removable portions are required on the mould. All other sides and edges such as the edges of the opening 14 and the recesses 18 are also substantially parallel to the sides of the housing 10 to permit the straight withdrawal of the moulding tool. The lid 16 is also made of plastics material and is formed integrally with a circular pivot pin 26 located at one end of the lid. The ends of the pivot pin 26 project beyond the width of the lid and are adapted to fit into the recesses 18 whereby the lid is pivotable on the housing 10. The pivot pin is held in this position by the side 24 of the abutment member 20 which contacts the pivot pin 26 and urges it into the recesses 18. To insert the lid into position, the sides 22 and 24 are deflected, as shown in FIG. 3, and the ends of the pivot pin 26 are located in the recesses 18 from inside the housing 10. Removal of the lid can be achieved by similarly deflecting the sides 22 and 24 to permit the pivot pin 26 to be removed from the recesses 18.

It is intended that the housing 10 is made from a fairly rigid plastics material, such as A.B.S., and the U-shape of the abutment member 20 provides sufficient length to obtain the required degree of flexibility of the member 20 in a small space.

Thus the housing is reasonably strong and the use of a single internal moulding tool with no movable parts results in a minimum cost for the container.