Patent Publication Number: US-6338352-B1

Title: Self-rising door handle

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A dishwasher normally has a door which moves between a vertical closed position and a horizontal open position. When the door is open, it is positioned relatively low and close to the floor. To move the door from the open position to the closed position requires a person to bend over to reach the door with their hand. Alternatively, it is known that people often raise the door from the lower open position by using their foot to gently kick the door upwardly, so as to avoid having to bend over. Bending over to close the opened door is difficult for some people, while kicking the door closed may cause damage to the dishwasher. Therefore, it is desirable to eliminate or minimize bending by the person closing the door, and to eliminate kicking the door closed. 
     Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an easily assessable handle on the inside of the dishwasher door to facilitate raising the door from the low open position. 
     Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a dishwasher door handle which is self-rising when the door is in the open position. 
     A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a handle which is pivotally mounted on the inside of the dishwasher door and which automatically moves from a flush position to maintain full dish loading capacity when the door is closed to an upstanding position when the door is open. 
     Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a handle on the interior of a dishwasher door which does not interfere with the lower dishwasher rack being fully rolled out onto the opened door for loading. 
     These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is directed towards a handle provided on the interior surface of a dishwasher door to facilitate lifting of the door from the horizontal open position to the vertical closed position. The handle is pivotally mounted upon the door and includes a counter weight so as to automatically maintain the handle in a vertical orientation, regardless of the position of the door. The handle is substantially flush with the interior panel of the door when the door is closed and automatically pivots to an upstanding position relative to the interior door panel when the door is moved to the open position. Thus, the handle can be easily grasped by a person with little, if any, bending, so as to raise the door from the low opened position. The pivotal mounting of the handle in the door allows the handle to be pivoted downwardly by the lower dishwasher rack when the rack is rolled onto the door for loading. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation view showing the position of the door handle of the present invention when the dishwasher door is in the closed position. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation view showing the position of the door handle relative to the door when the door is partially opened. 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevation view showing the upstanding position of the door handle when the door is fully opened. 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevation view showing the position of the handle when the lower dishwasher rack is rolled out of the washing chamber onto the door for loading. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the door handle and housing according to the present invention with the handle oriented in an upstanding position. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the handle and housing as oriented when the dishwasher door is closed. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A conventional dishwasher  10  includes a cabinet  12  with opposite side walls  14 , a top wall  16 , a bottom wall  18 , and a rear wall  20  which define a washing chamber. Typically, an upper rack (not shown) and a lower rack  22  are rollably mounted within the cabinet  12  for holding dishes, glasses, utensils, and other objects to be washed. 
     A door  24  is pivotally mounted to the cabinet  12  for movement between a closed position covering the front opening of the washing chamber, as shown in FIG. 1, and an open position providing access to the washing chamber, as shown in FIG.  3 . In the open position, the door  24  is horizontally oriented and positioned relatively low and close to the floor. The door  24  has opposite interior and exterior sides or panels  26 ,  28  respectively. 
     The present invention is directed towards a handle  30  which is pivotally mounted in the door  24  to facilitate raising of the door  24  from the low opened position. More particularly, a housing  32  is mounted in the interior panel  26  of the door  24 . The housing  32  includes an outer perimeter flange  34 . An appropriate seal is provided between the flange  34  of the housing  32  and the interior panel  26  so as to prevent water leakage between the interior and exterior sides of the door  24 . As an alternative to the housing  32 , a recess or cavity can be molded or formed into the interior panel  26  of the door  24  to accommodate the handle  30  as further described below. 
     The handle  30  includes a base  36  which is pivotally mounted to the opposite sides of the housing  32  so as to be pivotal about a pivot axis  38 . A U-shaped handle grip  40  extends from the base  36 . It is understood that the grip  40  may take other configurations, such as a T-shape. A counter weight  42  is provided within the base  36  below the pivot axis  38 , as best seen in FIG.  6 . The counter weight  42  maintains the grip  40  in a vertical orientation, regardless of the position of the door, as seen in FIGS. 1-3. 
     When the door  24  is closed, as seen in FIG. 1, the handle grip  40  is contained within the housing  32  so as to be substantially flush with the interior panel  26  of the door  24 . As the door  24  is moved from the closed position to the open position, the counter weight  42  causes the grip  40  to pivot out of the housing  32  so as to be in an upstanding position when the door  24  is fully opened, as shown in FIG.  3 . When the lower rack  22  is rolled from the washing chamber outwardly onto the door  24  for loading, the lower front edge of the rack  22  engages the handle  30  which pivots downwardly, thereby allowing the rack  22  to be fully withdrawn from the washing chamber for loading. Thus, the grip  40  does not interfere with the normal use of the lower rack  22 . 
     Since the grip  40  extends upwardly above the interior panel  26  of the door  24  when the door  24  is in the open position, a person can easily grasp the grip  40  of the handle  30  so as to raise the door  24  from the lowered position. The higher elevation of the grip  40  relative to the door  24  eliminates or minimizes the need for a person to bend over to reach the door  24  with his or her hand, and eliminates the undesirable kicking of the door  24  with the person&#39;s foot to close the door  24 . 
     Whereas the invention has been shown and described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended broad scope of the following claims. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of the stated objectives.