Abstract:
A hinge assembly is provided for pivotably attaching a door to a domestic appliance. The hinge assembly includes a damper cylinder; a rod partially located inside the cylinder and partially located outside the cylinder, the rod having an outer surface and being slidable relative to the cylinder in a reciprocating motion between a fully contracted position and a fully extended position; and a coil spring positioned inside the cylinder and around the rod such that the rod extends through a center of the coil spring, the coil spring having an inner surface and an outer surface. The outer surface of the rod contacts the inner surface of the coil spring to prevent the outer surface of the coil spring from contacting the inside surface of the cylinder.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention is directed to a hinge assembly for a domestic appliance that reduces or eliminates noise and damage caused by a spring inside a cylinder contacting the internal wall of the cylinder. 
         [0002]    An example of an application for the invention is a hinge assembly used with a door of a domestic appliance. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Many domestic appliances, such as built in ovens, have one or more doors that swing open about a horizontal axis such that the door swings downward into an open position. Such a door is often heavy and uses springs of significant strength to counteract a portion of the weight of the door so that it is easier for a user to open and close the door. These springs often act to slam the door into the closed position after the door has passed a particular rotational position when moved upward toward the closed position. This slamming is undesirable for at least the reasons that it can make a load noise, it can damage the appliance over time, and it gives the appearance of low quality. The result of such slamming is usually that the user continues to hold the door unit it has reached the closed position. 
         [0004]    To prevent the undesirable slamming, soft-close hinges can be employed. Soft-close hinges often include some type of damper that slows the movement of the door for a predetermined distance before the door reaches the closed position. This damping prevent the slamming of the door and results in a much more desirable appliance. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    Some dampers include a spring mounted inside a cylinder. The spring is often very long compared to its diameter in order to fit inside the cylinder. The damper can include a rod that moves relative to the cylinder when the damper is operated. This movement can compress the spring, which can result in the spring moving in a direction perpendicular to the direction of compression. This lateral movement of the spring can result in the outside of the spring contacting the inside wall of the cylinder. 
         [0006]    The invention recognizes that contact between the spring and the inside wall of the cylinder can cause noise and can reduce the life of the cylinder, the spring, and other components of the damper. To address the problem of the spring contacting the inside wall of the cylinder, the invention provides a rod that extends through the middle of the spring and supports the spring so that it cannot touch the inside wall of the cylinder. 
         [0007]    Particular embodiments of the invention are directed to a hinge assembly for pivotably attaching a door to a domestic appliance. The hinge assembly includes a hinge body configured to attach to the door such that the hinge body is fixed relative to the door; a damper cylinder attached to the hinge body and having an inside surface; a foot attached to the hinge body and the cylinder, the foot being configured to engage a foot receiving portion of the domestic appliance such that the hinge body and the door pivot relative to the domestic appliance; a rod partially located inside the cylinder and partially located outside the cylinder, the rod having an outer surface and being slidable relative to the cylinder in a reciprocating motion between a fully contracted position and a fully extended position; and a coil spring positioned inside the cylinder and around the rod such that the rod extends through a center of a coil of the coil spring, the coil spring having an inner surface that is an inside surface of the coil of the coil spring, and an outer surface that is an outside surface of the coil of the coil spring. The outer surface of the rod contacts the inner surface of the coil spring to prevent the outer surface of the coil spring from contacting the inside surface of the cylinder. 
         [0008]    Other embodiments of the invention are directed to a door assembly for pivotably attaching to a domestic appliance. The door assembly includes a door and a hinge assembly. The hinge assembly includes a hinge body attached to the door such that the hinge body is fixed relative to the door; a damper cylinder attached to the hinge body and having an inside surface; a foot attached to the hinge body and the cylinder, the foot being configured to engage a foot receiving portion of the domestic appliance such that the hinge body and the door pivot relative to the domestic appliance; a rod partially located inside the cylinder and partially located outside the cylinder, the rod having an outer surface and being slidable relative to the cylinder in a reciprocating motion between a fully contracted position and a fully extended position; and a coil spring positioned inside the cylinder and around the rod such that the rod extends through a center of a coil of the coil spring, the coil spring having an inner surface that is an inside surface of the coil of the coil spring, and an outer surface that is an outside surface of the coil of the coil spring. The outer surface of the rod contacts the inner surface of the coil spring to prevent the outer surface of the coil spring from contacting the inside surface of the cylinder. 
         [0009]    Other embodiments of the invention are directed to a domestic appliance including a domestic appliance body having a foot receiving portion; a door; and a hinge assembly. The hinge assembly includes a hinge body attached to the door such that the hinge body is fixed relative to the door; a damper cylinder attached to the hinge body and having an inside surface; a foot attached to the hinge body and the cylinder, the foot engaging the foot receiving portion of the domestic appliance such that the hinge body and the door pivot relative to the domestic appliance; a rod partially located inside the cylinder and partially located outside the cylinder, the rod having an outer surface and being slidable relative to the cylinder in a reciprocating motion between a fully contracted position and a fully extended position; and a coil spring positioned inside the cylinder and around the rod such that the rod extends through a center of a coil of the coil spring, the coil spring having an inner surface that is an inside surface of the coil of the coil spring, and an outer surface that is an outside surface of the coil of the coil spring. The outer surface of the rod contacts the inner surface of the coil spring to prevent the outer surface of the coil spring from contacting the inside surface of the cylinder. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The following figures form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the disclosed features and functions, and should not be used to limit or define the disclosed features and functions. Consequently, a more complete understanding of the exemplary embodiments and further features and advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a domestic appliance in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a hinge assembly in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a partial exploded view of the hinge assembly shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of a damper in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a damper in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view of a damper in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    The invention is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. 
         [0018]    Many domestic appliances, such as, for example, built-in ovens, have a door that pivots relative to the body of the appliance to permit access to an internal space of the appliance. These doors are often heavy due to glass view panels, insulation, ventilating structure, and other elements. Springs are often used to reduce the effort needed from the user to close the door. These springs can be strong in order to exert a force that counteracts a large portion of the weight of a heavy door. The result of strong springs is often a slamming of the door once the door passes a particular point in the pivoting. 
         [0019]    One or more dampers can be used to damp the closing action resulting from the strong springs to eliminate the slamming that can be caused by undamped springs. The dampers can be any type of damper including, but not limited to, gas filled or liquid filled dampers. Examples of fluid (gas and/or liquid) filled dampers have a cylinder that contains the fluid and may or may not include one or more orifices through with the fluid moves to create the damping force. 
         [0020]    Some door hinge assemblies include both a spring and a damper. Some of these door hinge assemblies place the spring inside the damper cylinder to provide a compact assembly. 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  shows an example of a domestic appliance  20  mounted in a cabinet  10 . An example of a domestic appliance  20  is a cabinet-mounted oven. In this example, domestic appliance  20  includes a door  30  pivotably attached to a body of domestic appliance  20  to selectively open and close an interior space of domestic appliance  20 . In some embodiments, door  30  is attached to the body of domestic appliance  20  by two hinge assemblies. Examples of the hinge assemblies are discussed below. 
         [0022]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of a hinge assembly  100  that can be used to pivotably attach door  30  to the body of domestic appliance  20 . In particular embodiments, two hinge assemblies  100  are used, one on each side of the opening of the interior space of domestic appliance  20 .  FIG. 3  shows hinge assembly  100  in a partially exploded view. A hinge assembly body  110  partially surrounds an assembly that includes a damper  200  and a foot  120 . 
         [0023]    Damper  200  includes a cylinder  300  and a rod  400 . Rod  400  is partially inside cylinder  300  and partially outside cylinder  300  and moves in a reciprocating motion relative to cylinder  300 . A damping force is applied to rod  400  as it moves relative to cylinder  300  and damps the motion of rod  400  relative to cylinder  300 . This damping force can result from a fluid inside cylinder  300  being forced through at least one aperture when rod  400  moves, or from some other type of damping mechanism. 
         [0024]    In this example, hinge assembly  100  is attached to door  30  such that hinge body  110  does not move relative to door  30 . Also shown in  FIG. 3  is a foot  120  that is pivotably attached to damper  200  by a pin  122 . The lower end of foot  120  in  FIG. 3  engages a foot receiving feature on domestic appliance  20  to attach door  30  to domestic appliance  20 . Hinge assembly  100  and door  30  are then pivotable relative to the body of domestic appliance  20 . 
         [0025]    Embodiments of the invention include a coil spring positioned inside cylinder  300  as shown in  FIGS. 4-6 .  FIG. 4  shows rod  400  extending through the center of spring  500  and including a shoulder that supports the right side end of spring  500 . As rod  400  is moved to the left in the figure, spring  500  is compressed. This movement corresponds to door  30  being moved from the closed position to the open position. As rod  400  is moved farther to the left, spring  500  becomes increasingly more compressed. When a coil spring having a longitudinal length much longer than its diameter is compressed, it tends to move laterally such that it is no longer straight in the longitudinal direction. When such a coil spring is located in a cylinder, the lateral movement of the spring can cause the spring to contact the inner surface of the cylinder. This contact can cause undesirable noise and can result in the generation of metal shavings and other debris in the cylinder. For example, the spring and/or the inner surface of the cylinder can be worn away due to the contact. The shavings/debris can partially clog damping orifices or otherwise change the damping performance of the damper. Also, the spring characteristics can change due to a loss of material of the spring and due to the friction between the spring and the cylinder wall. These changes are undesirable because they can result in the door no longer having the proper spring force and/or damping force to provide the desired damped closing. 
         [0026]    Applicants identified a solution to this problem by providing rod  400  with an outside diameter that supports spring  500  such that the outside of spring  500  cannot come in contact with the inside surface of cylinder  300 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  shows an embodiment in which rod  400  extends through the center of spring  500  such that the inside of spring  500  touches rod  400  along the entire length, or along substantially the entire length, of spring  500  and the outside of spring  500  does not touch the inside of cylinder  300 . In this embodiment, spring  500  is supported by the outside of rod  400  at all position of rod  400  including the fully retracted position. The lateral movement of spring  500  discussed above is prevented because the inside of spring  500  contacts the outside of rod  400  and, therefore, contact between the inside of cylinder  300  and the outside of spring  500  is prevented. 
         [0028]      FIGS. 5 and 6  show an embodiment of the invention in which the inside of spring  500  does not touch the outside of rod  400  when spring  500  is in an uncompressed position or in a slightly compressed position. 
         [0029]      FIG. 5  shows spring  500  in an uncompressed position or in a slightly compressed position. A gap A exists between the inside of spring  500  and an outside surface  410  of rod  400  and a gap B exists between the outside of spring  500  and an inside surface  310  of cylinder  300 . This condition can exist when the spring is compressed up to a certain amount depending on the particular spring parameters of the particular spring being used. However, most springs that are appropriate for use in a compact hinge assembly for a domestic appliance will tend to move laterally (as discussed above) at some point when compressed beyond a certain amount. 
         [0030]      FIG. 6  shows a partial view of the spring  500  shown in  FIG. 5  when spring  500  is compressed to the point where spring  500  moves laterally.  FIG. 6  shows at point C that gap A has been reduced to zero such that inside surface  510  of spring  500  comes into contact with outside surface  410  of rod  400 . This contact is the result of spring  500  bowing (to the left in  FIG. 6 ) as a result of compression. Because inside surface  510  of spring  500  comes into contact with outside surface  410  of rod  400  at point C, a gap F exists between spring  500  and inside surface  310  of cylinder  300  (see point D). The condition shown in  FIG. 6  can exist at one location along spring  500  or at multiple locations. However, by providing a relatively small gap A (for example 3% to 5% of the diameter of spring  500 ), the condition shown in  FIG. 6  can be limited to only one location. Limiting the condition shown in  FIG. 6  to only one location can eliminate noise caused by the spring transitioning from a wave form having a single crest to a wave form having multiple crests. Further, by providing only a small gap A between the inside of spring  500  and outside surface  410  of rod  400 , even if spring  500  transitions from a wave form having a single crest to a wave form having multiple crests, spring  500  can move laterally only a small amount. This small lateral movement reduces or prevents noise caused by inside surface  510  slamming against outside surface  410  during the wave transition. 
         [0031]    In particular embodiments, spring  500  has a diameter of preferably between 0.565″ and 0.595″, and more preferably between 0.570″ and 0.580″, and a length preferably between 8.83″ and 8.7″, and more preferably between 8.84″ and 8.86″. In particular embodiments, spring  500  has a diameter to length ratio of preferably between 1:15.7 and 1:14.7, and more preferably between 1:15.5 and 1:15.3. 
         [0032]    In particular embodiments, gap A is preferably between 0.005″ and 0.020″, and more preferably between 0.010″ and 0.015″, and gap B is preferably between 0.035″ and 0.050″, and more preferably between 0.055″ and 0.075″. 
         [0033]    It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the invention.