Oven hinge mechanism including cam balance modifier

• US 4,163,344 A
• Filed: 12/08/1977
• Issued: 08/07/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kitchenaid Incorporated (Whirlpool Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Chambers Corporation
• Inventors: Scherer, Richard M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kannan, Philip C.
• Application Number:
  US05/858,642
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 49/386, 49/381, 49/389, 126/194, 126/191, 312/276, 312/319
• US Class Current: 49/386
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 1/1276 for counterbalancing
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2201/416 for counterbalancing
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/308 for ovens
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 15/023 Mounting of doors, e.g. hinges, counterbalancing

Abstract

A hinge mechanism is provided for use with an oven housing having side walls, a rear wall, an access opening opposite the rear wall and a door for the access opening wherein the door is movable through a plurality of positions between a closed position and an open position. The hinge mechanism includes a bracket rigidly mounted to the side wall of the oven structure for pivotally securing the door to the side wall of the oven housing. The bracket includes specifically designed camming surface along the top edge. A lever is pivotally secured to the door and includes first and second arm members. A spring having first and second ends is provided for biasing the lever toward the side wall of the oven housing. The first end of the spring is attached to the first arm member of the lever, and the second end of the spring is attached to the side wall of the oven housing adjacent the bracket. The second end of the lever includes a cam follower for engaging the camming surface of the bracket. The lever acting on the camming surface is operative to counterbalance the door so that the door can be balanced at desired positions between the door closed and open positions, and so that the door can be maintained in an unbalanced state at the ends of the door swing. The counterbalancing effect of the lever increases as the door moves from the door closed position to the door open position to match the force delivered by the spring as the spring extends due to the door moving from the door closed position to the door open position.

Claims

1. For use with an oven structure having side walls, a rear wall, an access opening disposed in a substantially vertical plane opposite the rear wall and a door for the access opening, the door being movable through a plurality of positions between a vertical closed position where the door closes the access opening and a substantially horizontal open position to provide access to the interior of the oven structure, a hinge mechanism comprising:

bracket means rigidly mounted to the side wall of the oven structure having a camming surface on a horizontal top edge thereof and further including an integrally connected arm member;

said camming surface of said bracket means including a relatively long convex arcuate portion, a relatively short concave arcuate portion adjacent one end of said relatively long convex arcuate portion and a relatively short convex arcuate portion adjacent one end of said relatively short concave arcuate portion;

a hinge bracket having first and second ends, said second end thereof being pivotally secured to said arm member of said bracket means;

a channel frame secured within the door adapted to receive said hinge bracket for rendering the door pivotally cooperative with said hinge bracket for movement between the door closed position and the door open position;

a lever having first and second ends, said first end being pivotally secured to said hinge bracket between said first and second ends thereof, said second end of said lever including first and second arm members integrally connected to said lever and disposed on opposite sides of said lever to form a substantially T-shaped structure on said second end of said lever;

spring means having first and second ends for biasing said lever of the oven structure, said first end of said spring means being attached to said first arm member of said lever and said second end of said spring means being attached to the side wall of the oven structure to a point remote from said bracket means, said spring means lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the rear wall of the oven structure;

said second arm member of said lever including an anti-friction roller mounted for rotation about a fixed axis secured to said second arm member for frictionally engaging said camming surface of said bracket means, said anti-friction roller engaging said relatively short convex arcuate portion in the closed position of the door, such that said relatively short convex arcuate portion of said camming surface provides a relatively slight initial resistance to the opening of the door from the door closed position; and

said lever acting on said camming surface is operative to counterbalance the door over a predetermined range, the counterbalancing effect of said lever increasing in the course of moving the door through the plurality of positions between the door closed position and the door open position to match the force delivered by said spring means as said spring means extends as the door moves from the door closed position to the door open position.

2. The hinge mechanism of claim 1 wherein said camming surface further includes:

stop means disposed adjacent said relatively long convex arcuate portion for engaging said second arm member of said lever for restraining the movement of said antifriction roller on said camming surface.

3. The hinge mechanism of claim 1 wherein the distance between said lever first end and said second arm member of said lever is at least as long as the length of said bracket means to thereby reduce the forces exerted by said anti-friction roller on said camming surface of said bracket means.

4. The hinge mechanism of claim 1 wherein said first arm member of said lever is angled toward the rear wall of said oven structure and said second arm member is angled toward the access opening such that said anti-friction roller is disposed intermediate the end of said first arm member of said lever and said first end of said lever.