Patent ID: 7252082

Claim:
A household appliance, comprising: a housing defining a useful space, a door opening, and a storage space; a horizontal hinge pin connected to said housing; a slotted-guide track connected to said housing; a door pivotally mounted about said hinge pin to pivot with respect to said housing and, thereby, selectively close off said door opening and said useful space; a guide system having at least one guide element connected to said door, said guide system displacing said door into said storage space, said door being pivotable about said hinge pin between a close position in which said door closes off said door opening and a position of said door in a substantially horizontal plane when said slotted-guide track guides said door into said storage space; and at least one weight-balancing configuration operatively connected to said door and, during the initial pivoting of said door about said hinge pin between said close position and said substantially horizontal position of said door, exerting a balancing force on said door with a cessation of said balancing force exerted on said door occurring before said door reaches said substantially horizontal position of said door, said balancing force acting counter to a weight of said door during said initial pivoting of said door about said hinge pin and said door being movable horizontally, during at least the completion of the displacement movement of said door into said storage space, without said balancing force being exerted thereagainst.