Storage bin with counterbalanced door
AssigneeSteelcase Development Corporation
InventorsGiuseppe Luigi Motta, Piero Molteni
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An assembly includes panels forming a bin or cabinet, and a flipper door operably attached to the bin by a pair of opposing modules. Each module includes a body forming a groove forming a curvilinear track along its upper edge, and the door includes a follower operably engaging the track. Each module further includes a spring-biased lever pivoted to the body of the module at a mid-lever pivot. A first leg of the lever is pivoted to the door at a door pivot, and an oppositely extending second leg is connected to a spring-biased force-generating device. The arrangement is constructed to counterbalance a weight of the door in most intermediate positions.
Claims38
An assembly comprising:
- a bin including sites, a bottom, and a top defining an access opening;
- a door configured to close the access opening;
- a track located along each side of the bin proximate the top;
- a lever pivoted to each side at a lever pivot and spaced from the track, the door including followers slidably engaging the tracks and bottom connectors pivotally attached to the levers, the tracks and the followers being configured to slidingly guide of the door, and the levers being configured to pivotally guide a bottom of the door as the door is moved between a closed position and an open position;
- and
- a force-generating device attached to the lever for balancing the weight of the door as the door is opened and closed, the force-generating device including a spring that extends along the bottom, and further including a cable operably extending from the spring to the lever, the cable being connected to the lever at a location spaced from the lever pivot, the spring generating a torsional force about the lever pivot on the lever.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.