A household appliance with shock absorbing hinge

Abstract

 The present invention relates to a household appliance (1) comprising shock absorbing oven hinges (4). The said household appliance (1) comprises a body of the appliance (2) which fulfills the main function of the household appliance (1) and has an opening, at least one door (3) which enables the opening on the body of the appliance (2) to be closed and at least one hinge (4) which has shock absorbing feature.

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to an oven hinge with shock absorber used in doors of the household appliances.

Background of the Invention

[0002] Today household appliances used for various purposes such as oven, dish washer, microwave oven are manufactured. Each of the said household appliances has doors in order to access their inner compartments. Movement mechanisms and hinges of the doors show great difference in various embodiments and each embodiment has its own advantages and disadvantages.

[0003] That the system has too many connectors and the said connectors cannot fulfill its function in time stand out as one of the biggest problems of the hinge systems used in the doors of the household appliances. As a result of these problems, the door cannot be closed completely, more force is required to open and close the door compared the first state of it and noise is seen.

[0004] European Patent document no EP1847670, an application known in the state of the art, discloses a hinge produced to be used especially in electrical appliances. The force created during the door closing is absorbed right before the door is closed, so that the noise and the door hitting the electrical appliance strongly are prevented. But in the European patent document no EP1847670, the movement received from the door is transferred to the damper using a lot of connectors. For this reason there are risks that can occur from the incompatibilities between the parts in the system of the European patent document no EP1847670.

[0005] However in the inventive household appliance with shock absorbing hinge, the movement received from the door is transferred to the damper with a single connector in order to solve the abovementioned problems. Cost advantage is provided with reducing the part number. Since a single connector is used, the problems that can occur from the incompatibilities between the parts are eliminated.

[0006] International Patent document no WO2009033960, an application known in the state of the art, discloses a door hinge which is produced to be used in household appliances such as oven and dish washer. The door can be brought to the vertical closed position from almost horizontal open position. The hinge comprises a door lever that is mounted on a door, a housing which can be mounted on the carcass of a household appliance and to which the door lever is connected so as to be pivotable, a weight compensation spring, and a closing spring. The closing spring applies a closing force right before the door is closed. A damping device applies counter force to the closing force right before the door reaches the final position.

[0007] International Patent document no W02010091770 another application known in the state of the art, discloses an opening and closing device used in oven doors. The device comprises at least one hinge, at least one element which generates closing force, at least one kinematic means which transforms the movement of the door to a reciprocal movement, and at least one damper which applies counter force to the closing force.

Summary of the Invention

[0008] The objective of the present invention is to provide a household appliance with shock absorbing hinge which transfers the movement received from the hinge arm to the damper via a single connector.

[0009] A further objective of the present invention is to provide a shock absorbing oven hinge which prevents noise while the door is closing and opening and slows down the fast movement during closing.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0010] "A household appliance with shock absorbing hinge" developed to fulfill the objectives of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying figures, in which:

Figure -1 is the view of the household appliance.

Figure 2 is the view of the shock absorbing oven hinge in completely open position from below.

Figure 3 is the sectional view of the shock absorbing oven hinge in completely open position.

Figure 4 is the sectional view of the shock absorbing oven hinge at the moment of the first protrusion contacting the roller.

Figure 5 is the sectional view of the shock absorbing oven hinge at the moment of the second protrusion contacting the slider.

Figure 6 is the shock absorbing oven hinge when the door is in completely closed position.

[0011] The components in the figures are numbered individually, where the numbers refer to the following:

1. Household appliance

2. Body of the appliance

3. Door

4. Shock absorbing hinge

5. Body of the hinge

6. Main spring

7. Main spring holder

8. Small spring

9. Small spring holder

10. Roller

11. Damper

12. Slider

13. Arm

14. First pin

15. Pipe pin

16. First protrusion

17. Second protrusion

51. Primary slot

52. Secondary slot

53. Nail

[0012] The inventive household appliance (1) comprises a body of the appliance (2) which fulfills the main function of the household appliance (1) and has an opening, at least one door (3) which enables the opening on the body of the appliance (2) to be closed.

[0013] The inventive household appliance (1) comprises at least one hinge (4) having

• a body of the hinge (5) which is fixed to the part of the household appliance (1) having an opening such that it will extend inside the household appliance (1) and has a nail (53) at the end extending inside the household appliance (1) in order to support other components;
• at least one main spring (6) which is placed inside the body of the hinge (5) and one end of which is attached to the nail (53) at one end of the body of the hinge (5) and the other end is attached to the main spring holder (7) located inside the body of the hinge (5), and which is in stretched state in all positions of the door (3), and enables the balance of the door;
• at least one small spring (8) which applies counter force to the closing force first during the door (3) being closed, and after a certain point enables the door (3) to be closed tightly by generating force in the same direction with the closing force,
• at least one small spring holder (9) which is passed inside the small spring (8) and positioned inside the body of the hinge (5) such that it can move in order to support small spring (8) and compress the small spring (8);
• at least one roller (10) the ends of which are placed inside the primary slots (51) located on both sides of the body of the hinge (5) such that it can move inside the primary slots (51), is in the shape of a cylinder and the middle part of which contacts the small spring holder (9), and which enables the small spring (8) to be compressed or come loose by moving the small spring holder (9) with its movement in the primary slots (51);
• at least one damper (11) which absorbs the sudden force generated right before the door (3) is closed and enables gently closing;
• a slider (12) which transfers power to the damper (11) during the door (3) closing; and
• at least one arm (13) which is fixed on the door (3), one end of which is connected to the end of the body of the hinge (5) wherein the nail (53) is not located via a pipe pin (15) such that it can rotate around the axis of the pipe pin (15), by this means transfers the movement it receives from the door (3) to the roller (10) via the first protrusion (16) located thereon, and to the slider (12) via the second protrusion (17) located thereon,

preventing the door (3) from hitting strongly to the body of the appliance (2) and preventing the noise by absorbing the force generated during the door (3) closing.

[0014] The body of the appliance (2) is the part of the household appliance (1) which fulfills the function. There is an opening on the body of the appliance (2) enabling access inside the household appliance (1).

[0015] The door (3) enables the opening on the body of the appliance (2) to be closed and opened.

[0016] The hinge (4) absorbs the applied force right before the door (3) is closed in order to prevent the door (3) from hitting the body of the appliance (2) strongly and the noise during closing the door (3).

[0017] The body of the hinge (5) supports the components constituting the said hinge (4) and is fixed to the household appliances (1) such as oven, dish washer. There is at least one nail (53) present at the end of the body of the hinge (5) extending inside the household appliance (1).

[0018] The main spring (6) is a spring one end of which is attached to the nail (53) at one end of the body of the hinge (5) and the other end is attached to the main spring holder (7) enabling the connection between the main spring (6) and the door (3) via the first pin (14). The end of the main spring holder (7) which is not connected to the main spring (6) is attached to the arm (13) enabling the connection of the hinge (4) to the door (3) preferably via a rivet such that it can rotate around the rivet. The ends of the first pin (14) enabling the connection of the main spring (6) and the main spring holder (7) with each other are placed into the primary slots (51) on both sides of the body of the hinge (5) such that they can move therein. When the door (3) is brought to the closed position from open position or open position from closed position, the main spring holder (7) moves with the arm (13) and enables the first pin (14) to move along the primary slots (51), thus causes the main spring (6) to stretch or come loose. The main spring (6) stretches while the door (3) is opening, and while the door (3) is closing the force originating from the stress generated in the main spring (6) helps the door (3) to close and enables the door (3) to remain fixed without applying any force at one point between completely open or completely closed positions.

[0019] The small spring (8) applies counter force against the force applied by the main spring (6) while the door (3) is closing and the force applied by the person closing the door (3). While the door (3) is being brought to completely closed position from completely open position, after a certain point the small spring (8) starts to compress and applies counter force. When it is continued to bring the door (3) to completely closed position, after a certain point the small spring (8) does not compress more and after this point the small spring (8) starts to apply force helping the door (3) to be closed.

[0020] The small spring holder (9) is a component one end of which is passed through the small spring (8) in order to support small spring (8) and compress the small spring (8). The end of the small spring holder (9) which is not passed through the small spring (8) has a shape that cannot pass through the small spring (8).

[0021] The roller (10) is preferably a cylindrical structure which is positioned such that it can move inside the secondary slots (52) located on both sides of the body of the hinge (5). The middle part of the roller (10) contacts the end of the small spring holder (9) which is not passed through the small spring (8). While the door (3) is being brought to closed position from open position, the roller (10) starts to move inside the secondary slots (52) towards the side of the hinge of the body (5) which has nail (53) on its end. The movement of the roller (10) inside the secondary slots (52) enables the small spring holder (9) which the roller (10) contacts to move in the same direction and thus the small spring (8) starts to be compressed.

[0022] The damper (11) prevents the door (3) from hitting the body of the appliance (2) strongly by absorbing the force generated right before the door (3) is closed.

[0023] The slider (12) is the component which transfers the movement it receives from the door (3) to the damper (11) directly during bringing the door (3) from open position to closed position. One end of the slider (12) which is placed inside the body of the hinge (5) such that it can move back and forth along the body of the hinge (5) contacts the piston of the damper (11). After the door (3) is started to be closed from completely open position and reaches certain angle, the slider (12) starts to move towards the damper (11). The movement of the slider (12) towards the damper (11) causes the piston of the damper (11) to go inside the damper (11). By this means, the damper (11) absorbs some part of the force generated during closing the door (3).

[0024] The arm (13) is a component one end of which is fixed to the door (3) and the other end is connected to the body of the hinge (5) via a pipe pin (15) such that it can rotate around the pipe pin (15). There are two protrusions being first protrusion (16) and second protrusion (17) which are for activating the roller (10) and the slider (12) respectively, on the side of the arm (13) which is connected to the body of the hinge (5). The arm (13) rotates around the pipe pin (15) with the movement of the door (3) while the door (3) is being closed and opened. While the door (3) is being brought to completely close position from completely open position, primarily the first protrusion (16) contacts the roller (10). As long as the door (3) is continued to be closed, the first protrusion (16) starts to move the roller (10) inside the secondary slots (52) inside the body of the hinge (5). The roller (10) moving inside the secondary slots (52) starts to move the small spring holder (9) contacting the middle point of the roller (10) such that it will compress the small spring (8). The small spring (8) which starts to be compressed applies counter force against the force applied by the main spring (6) helping the door (3) to be closed. When the door (3) is continued to be brought to completely closed position, the second protrusion (17) located on the arm (13) contacts the slider (12) and activates the slider (12). From the moment that the second protrusion (17) contacts the slider (12), the first protrusion (16) cannot move the roller (10) such that it will cause the small spring (8) to be compressed more because of the shape of the first protrusion (16). The small spring (8) which is compressed from the moment that the second protrusion (17) contacts the slider (12) starts to apply force that will help to close the door (3) because of the shape of the first protrusion (16). If the door (3) is continued to be brought to completely closed position after the second protrusion (17) contacts the slider (12), the second protrusion (17) starts to move the slider (12) by pushing and the piston of the damper (11) touching the end of the slider (12) which the second protrusion (17) does not contacts starts to go inside the damper (11). After this point the damper (11) enables the door (3) to be closed relatively slow. From the moment that the second protrusion (17) contacts the slider (12) during the movement continuing until the door (3) is completely closed, the forces generated by the main spring (6) and the small spring (8) are absorbed and relatively slow closing is enabled.

[0025] In the inventive household appliance (1) with shock absorbing hinge (4), the movement made by the door (3) is transferred to the damper (11) by using single connector called as slider (12) above. By this means the cost is reduced and also the risk of errors and break downs originating from too many connectors is reduced. The arm (13) fixed to the door (3) activates both the roller (10) and thus the small spring (9) with single movement of the door (3) and the slider (12) and thus the damper (11). When the door (3) is in completely open position, the main spring (6) is in stretched position and applies force trying to close the door (3) to the arm (13) via the main spring holder (7) one end of which is connected to the arm (13) and the other end is connected to the main spring (6). While the door (3) is being brought to completely closed position from completely open position, the arm (13) fixed to the door (3) starts to rotate around the pipe pin (15) constituting the connection between the body of the hinge (5) and the arm (13). While the door (3) is being brought to completely closed position from completely open position, primarily the first protrusion (16) contacts the roller (10) and starts to move the roller (10) inside the secondary slots (52) on the body of the hinge (5). The roller (10) moving inside the secondary slots (52) starts to move the small spring holder (9) contacting itself such that it will compress the small spring (8). The said compressing force generated in the small spring (8) applies counter force against the force applied by the main spring (6) to close the door (3). When the door (3) is continued to be brought to completely closed position, the second protrusion (17) contacts the slider (12) and starts to move the slider (12). At the moment when the second protrusion (17) contacts the slider (12), the small spring (8) reaches the point where it is compressed the most and the small spring (8) starts to apply force helping to close the door (3) because of the shape of the first protrusion (16) from this moment as long as the door (3) is continued to be brought to completely closed position. The piston of the damper (11) contacting the end of the slider (12) which the second protrusion (17) does not contact enables the door (3) to be closed relatively slow by moving inside the damper (11) with the movement of the slider (12). From the moment that the second protrusion (17) contacts the slider (12) during the movement continuing until the door (3) is completely closed, the forces generated by the main spring (6) and the small spring (8) are absorbed and relatively slow closing is enabled. There is a spring (not shown in the figures) present on the piston of the damper (11) in order that the piston of the damper (11) goes out of the damper (11) and pushes the slider (12) when the door (3) is opened. The spring located on the piston of the damper (11) is compressed when the piston of the damper (11) goes inside the damper (11). And when the door (3) is opened, the said compressing force generated on the spring in the piston of the damper (11) enables the slider (12) to be directed to the same direction by pushing the piston of the damper (11) outside the damper (11).

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the invention the household appliance (1) is an oven.

[0027] In another embodiment of the invention the household appliance (1) is a dish washer.

[0028] In a further embodiment of the invention the household appliance (1) is a microwave oven.

[0029] It is possible to develop various embodiments of the inventive household appliance (1). The invention can not be limited to the examples described herein and it is essentially as defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A household appliance (1) comprising at least one hinge (4) a body of the appliance (2), at least one door (3) and at least one hinge (4) which prevents the door (3) from hitting the body of the appliance (2) strongly, and characterized by hinge (4) having

- a body of the hinge (5) which is fixed to the part of the body of the appliance (2) having an opening such that it will extend inside the body of the appliance (2) and has a nail (53) at the end extending inside the body of the appliance (2) in order to support other components;

- at least one main spring (6) which is placed inside the body of the hinge (5) and one end of which is attached to the nail (53) at one end of the body of the hinge (5) and the other end is attached to the main spring holder (7) located inside the body of the hinge (5), and which is in stretched state in all positions of the door (3), and enables the balance of the door;

- at least one small spring (8) which applies counter force to the closing force first during the door (3) being closed, and after a certain point enables the door (3) to be closed tightly by generating force in the same direction with the closing force,

- at least one small spring holder (9) which is passed inside the small spring (8) and positioned inside the body of the hinge (5) such that it can move in order to support small spring (8) and compress the small spring (8);

- at least one roller (10) the ends of which are placed inside the primary slots (52) located on both sides of the body of the hinge (5) such that it can move inside the primary slots (51), is in the shape of a cylinder and the middle part of which contacts the small spring holder (9), and which enables the small spring (8) to be compressed or come loose by moving the small spring holder (9) with its movement in the primary slots (51);

- at least one damper (11) which absorbs the sudden force generated right before the door (3) is closed and enables gently closing;

- a slider (12) which transfers power to the damper (11) during the door (3) closing; and

- at least one arm (13) which is fixed on the door (3), one end of which is connected to the end of the body of the hinge (5) wherein the nail (53) is not located via a pipe pin (15) such that it can rotate around the axis of the pipe pin (15), by this means transfers the movement it receives from the door (3) to the roller (10) via the first protrusion (16) located thereon, and to the slider (12) via the second protrusion (17) located thereon.

2. A household device (1) according to claim 1, characterized by small spring (8) which applies counter force to the force applied by the main spring (6) and the force applied by the person closing the door (3) first while the door (3) is brought to the completely closed position from completely open position, and after a certain point helps the door to be closed.

3. A household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by roller (10) which is positioned such that it can move inside the secondary slots (52) located on both sides of the body of the hinge (5).

4. A household appliance (1) according to claim 3, characterized by roller (10) the middle part of which contacts the end of the small spring holder (9) which cannot be passed through the small spring (8).

5. A household appliance (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by roller (10) which moves towards the side of the hinge of the body (5) wherein the nail (53) is located while the door (3) is brought to closed position from open position, and compresses the small spring (8) by enabling the small spring holder (9) which it contacts to move in the same direction.

6. A household appliance (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by slider (12) which transfers the movement it receives from the door (3) to the damper (11) directly during the door (3) being brought to closed position from open position.

7. a household appliance (1) according to claim 6, characterized by slider (12) which is placed inside the body of the hinge (5) such that it can move back and forth along the body of the hinge (5) and one end of which contacts the piston of the damper (11).

8. A household appliance (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by slider (12) which enables the piston of the damper (11) to enter inside the damper (11).

9. A household appliance (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by arm (13) one end of which is fixed to the door (3) and the other end is connected to the body of the hinge (5) via the pipe pin (15) such that it can rotate around the pipe pin (15).

10. A household appliance (1) according to claim 9, characterized by arm (13) which has two protrusions being the first protrusion (16) and the second protrusion (16) on its side connected to the body of the hinge (5), which are for activating the roller (10) and the slider (12), respectively.

11. A household appliance (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, which is an oven.

12. A household appliance (1) according to any of the claim 1 to 10, which is a dish washer.

13. A household appliance (1) according to any of the claim 1 to 10, which is a microwave oven.

Drawing