Appliance door hinge
First Claim
1. A self-contained hinge assembly for a range door comprising:
- a frame bracket having a body portion adapted to be mounted within a housing of a range or similar appliance and a hinge flange having an outer portion adapted to project outwardly from the housing;
a one-piece rigid hinge arm having a door-attaching portion adapted to be rigidly mounted to a door mounted exterior to the housing and a cam arm adapted to project into said housing, the cam arm having a cam surface with a first and second end;
means pivotably mounting the hinge arm to the outer portion of the frame bracket hinge flange for pivotable movement of the door about the pivotable mounting means, the hinge arm being movable between a first position at which the door will be closed and a second position at which the door will be substantially perpendicular to the housing;
a cam follower arm having a cam follower element thereon;
means for pivotably mounting the cam follower arm to the frame bracket body portion so that the cam follower arm bears against the cam surface between the first and second ends thereof and so as to produce a counterbalancing moment on the hinge arm at all positions between the first and second ends; and
means acting between the frame bracket and the cam follower arm for biasing said cam follower arm in a direction to force the cam follower element against the cam follower cam surface so as to counterbalance the weight of the door between the first and second positions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A hinge for a range door and the like having a frame bracket (18) adapted to be mounted to a range housing, a hinge arm (40) adapted to be mounted to a range door and pivotably mounted to the frame bracket (18) and a cam follower arm (16) pivotably mounted to the frame bracket (18). A cam follower element (76) on the cam arm (60) is biased by a tension spring (80) against a cam surface on a cam arm portion (46) of the hinge arm to counterbalance the weight of the range door. The cam surface has indentations (50, 52) which define equilibrium positions of the door for an ajar and fully open position. A tab stop (34) is struck out from the frame bracket (18) to stop the pivotable movement of the cam follower arm (60) as the hinge arm (40) reaches the fully open position (FIG. 5). The cam follower arm (60) has a number of indentations (64) for receiving one end (84) of the spring (80) to adjust the counter-balancing force on the oven door.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A self-contained hinge assembly for a range door comprising:
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a frame bracket having a body portion adapted to be mounted within a housing of a range or similar appliance and a hinge flange having an outer portion adapted to project outwardly from the housing; a one-piece rigid hinge arm having a door-attaching portion adapted to be rigidly mounted to a door mounted exterior to the housing and a cam arm adapted to project into said housing, the cam arm having a cam surface with a first and second end; means pivotably mounting the hinge arm to the outer portion of the frame bracket hinge flange for pivotable movement of the door about the pivotable mounting means, the hinge arm being movable between a first position at which the door will be closed and a second position at which the door will be substantially perpendicular to the housing; a cam follower arm having a cam follower element thereon; means for pivotably mounting the cam follower arm to the frame bracket body portion so that the cam follower arm bears against the cam surface between the first and second ends thereof and so as to produce a counterbalancing moment on the hinge arm at all positions between the first and second ends; and means acting between the frame bracket and the cam follower arm for biasing said cam follower arm in a direction to force the cam follower element against the cam follower cam surface so as to counterbalance the weight of the door between the first and second positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification