Oven door counterbalance system
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorArthur C. Wilson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A door construction for an appliance such as a baking and broiling oven for domestic use. The door has a counterbalance spring mechanism at each side of the door that includes a swing link interposed between the tension spring and the hinge lever of the door to obtain a door balancing torque that substantially follows the torque of the door as it moves between a vertical closed position and a horizontal fully open position.
Claims6
An appliance comprising an outer cabinet with a front-opening access door, the cabinet having a front frame forming a door opening, and hinge means connecting the door to the cabinet so the door may move between a vertical closed position and a generally horizontal open oposition, hinge lever means pivotally connected to the door and generally overlying the said hinge means, a slot means in the front frame for accommodating the hinge lever means therethrough, a link means pivotally connected to the hinge lever means, and a generally horizontal tension spring means connected at one end to the link means and at its other end to the said cabinet near the rear thereof, the said hinge lever means becoming fixed with respect to the door starting at an angle between about 20.degree. and 35.degree. and continuing until the door reaches the horizontal fully open position, said link means being attached to the said hinge lever means at a point outwardly of the door frame when the door is in its fully open position whereby the weight of the door is substantially balanced throughout its entire range of door movement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.