Tensioning system for appliance door

An adjustable spring-tension system for an appliance door, said system comprising:

• a pull member including an expansion spring between a first pull member end and a second pull member end, where the first pull member end is configured for direct or indirect attachment to an appliance door and the second pull member end is configured for attachment to a base portion of an appliance;
• a pulley including an external circumferential surface in contact with at least a lengthwise portion of the pull member between the first and second pull member ends, where the pulley is rotatably mounted in a channel of an inner bracket;
• and
• an outer bracket including a raceway defined on two sides by opposed walls, where the inner bracket is mounted in the raceway and is movable along a track in at least one of said opposed walls;
• where movement of the inner bracket relative to the outer bracket is effected by operation of a threaded member contacting the outer bracket and abutting the inner bracket, and where a range of said movement is limited by a length of the track and by operation of the threaded member along a tension adjustment axis that is perpendicular to a rotation axis of the pulley.

An oven including a door-tensioning system, said oven comprising:

• a door mounted by a door hinge to an oven body;
• where the door-tensioning system is disposed in the oven body, and the door tensioning system comprises:
• a first bracket defining a raceway;
• a second bracket disposed in the first bracket raceway, where the first bracket is movable relative to the second bracket, or the second bracket is movable relative to the first bracket, and said movability is mediated along an adjustment axis by an adjustment member attached to the first bracket and abutting the second bracket;
• where a selected one of the first or second bracket that is not movable relative to the other of the first or second bracket is mounted to the oven body;
• a pulley disposed in a raceway of the second bracket, where the pulley is rotatably mounted to one of the first bracket or the second bracket and is slidably attached to the other of the first bracket or the second bracket, where rotation of the pulley is around a pulley rotation axis orthogonal to the adjustment axis, and slidable movement of the pulley is along the adjustment axis;
• and
• a pull member, including a first pull member end attached to the door hinge opposite a second pull member end attached to the oven body,
• where the pull member includes an expansion spring providing tension between the first and second pull member ends and includes at least one pull member surface between the pull member ends, with said pull member surface contacting at least a portion of the pulley such that movement of the pulley along the adjustment axis in a first direction increases said tension and movement of the pulley along the adjustment axis in a second direction decreases said tension.