Home cooking appliance with a side swing oven door having a friction hinge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10077906-B2
Application number	US-201715446047-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 1, 2017
Priority date	Sep 18, 2013
Publication date	Sep 18, 2018
Grant date	Sep 18, 2018

Abstract

A home cooking appliance with a side swing door is provided. The home cooking appliance includes a housing having a cooking cavity and a side swing door movable about at least one hinge between a closed position and an open position to provide access to the cooking cavity, wherein the at least one hinge includes a friction hinge configured to impede rotational motion of the side swing door, wherein the friction hinge is a variable torque friction hinge configured to provide a variable torque throughout at least a part of a range of motion in at least one of an opening direction and a closing direction of the of the side swing door.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A home cooking appliance comprising:
a housing having a cooking cavity; and
a side swing door movable about at least one hinge between a closed position and an open position to provide access to the cooking cavity,
wherein the at least one hinge includes a friction hinge configured to impede rotational motion of the side swing door,
wherein the friction hinge is a variable torque friction hinge configured to provide a variable torque throughout at least a part of a range of motion in at least one of an opening direction and a closing direction of the of the side swing door, such that no detents are required and a tactile perception of the side swing door by a user is enhanced, while improving safety of the side swing door.

2. The home cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the friction hinge is a variable torque friction hinge configured to provide a first variable torque throughout at least a part of a first range of motion in an opening direction and a second variable torque throughout at least a part of a second range of motion in a closing direction of the side swing door, and
wherein the first variable torque is different than the second variable torque.

3. A home cooking appliance comprising:
a housing having a cooking cavity; and
a side swing door movable about at least one hinge between a closed position and an open position to provide access to the cooking cavity,
wherein the at least one hinge includes a friction hinge configured to impede rotational motion of the side swing door,
wherein the friction hinge is configured to provide a first torque during a commencement of rotation of the side swing door from a resting position,
wherein the friction hinge is configured to provide a second torque during the rotation of the side swing door, and
wherein the first torque is different than the second torque, such that no detents are required and a tactile perception of the side swing door by a user is enhanced, while improving safety of the side swing door.

4. A home cooking appliance comprising:
a housing having a cooking cavity; and
a side swing door movable about at least one hinge between a closed position and an open position to provide access to the cooking cavity,
wherein the at least one hinge includes a friction hinge configured to impede rotational motion of the side swing door,
wherein the friction hinge is configured to provide a predetermined amount of free motion of the side swing door about the friction hinge in a first direction after an external force is applied to the side swing door before the friction hinge provides a torque in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, such that no detents are required and a tactile perception of the side swing door by a user is enhanced, while improving safety of the side swing door.

5. The home cooking appliance of claim 4 , wherein the predetermined amount of free motion of the side swing door about the friction hinge in a first direction continues for a time after the external force applied to the side swing door is removed before the friction hinge provides a torque in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.

Assignees

• Bsh Home Appliances Corp

Inventors

• Gayle James
• Geiger Joseph
• May George
• Rueter Felix

Classifications

• E05D11/08

  Friction devices between relatively-movable hinge parts (E05D7/086 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F24C15/02

  Doors specially adapted for stoves or ranges · CPC title

• E05F1/08

  spring-actuated {, e.g. for horizontally sliding wings (counterbalancing sliding or lifting wings E05D; springs per se F16F, e.g. gas-springs F16F9/00)} · CPC title

• F24C15/023 Primary

  Mounting of doors, e.g. hinges, counterbalancing · CPC title

• E05C1/08

  with latching action · CPC title