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Method of opening an appliance door

  • US 7,770,330 B2
  • Filed: 12/19/2007
  • Issued: 08/10/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2007
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of opening a door for an appliance, the door having an inner liner, a front surface, and a lower surface, the method comprising:

  • while rotating the door about a pivot point in a first direction, translating the door from a closed position to a first intermediate position, the pivot point being translated along an X direction away from the appliance by an amount Δ

    x1 measured by a horizontal change in distance of the pivot point in the closed position and the pivot point in the first intermediate position with respect to a vertical datum line, and upward along a Y direction by an amount Δ

    y1 measured by a vertical change in distance of the pivot point in the closed position and the pivot point in the first intermediate position with respect to a horizontal datum line;

    while rotating the door further about the pivot point in the first direction, translating the door from the first intermediate position to a second intermediate position, the pivot point being translated along the X direction away from the appliance by an amount Δ

    x2 measured by the horizontal change in distance of the pivot point in the closed position and the pivot point in the second intermediate position with respect to the vertical datum line, and downward along the Y direction by an amount Δ

    y2 measured by the vertical change in distance of the pivot point in the closed position and the pivot point in the second intermediate position with respect to the horizontal datum line; and

    while rotating the door further about the pivot point in the first direction, translating the door from the second intermediate position to an opened position, the pivot point being translated along the X direction away from the appliance by an amount Δ

    x3 measured by the horizontal change in distance of the pivot point in the closed position and the pivot point in the opened position with respect to the vertical datum line, and downward along the Y direction by an amount Δ

    y3 measured by the vertical change in distance of the pivot point in the closed position and the pivot point in the opened position with respect to the horizontal datum line.

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