This invention relates generally to hinge means and, more particularly, to hinge means for mounting an element such as a door for swinging between open and closed positions on an element such as a cabinet.
In certain so-called European-style cabinets, the door is mounted on the cabinet by hinges which are fully concealed from the front and sides of the cabinet when the door is fully closed. Prior fully concealed hinges of this type are comparatively large and complex and require a significant amount of material. For example, a hinge which enables the door to be opened through approximately 175 degrees generally requires a linkage mechanism with as many as seven parallel pivots or requires a linkage mechanism with six parallel pivots and a slide. Another type of a prior fully concealed hinge has a somewhat simplified linkage mechanism with only four parallel pivots but such a hinge generally does not permit the door to be opened beyond approximately 125 degrees.
The complexity of the prior fully concealed hinges is increased even further when the hinges are of the self-closing type. A self-closing hinge includes a spring mechanism which acts to swing the door to its fully closed position once the door has been closed part way.