Patent ID: 8087185

Claim:
A clothes dryer comprising: a reclined front panel reclined from a vertical plane by a first predetermined angle, the reclined front panel having an access opening passing therethrough permitting clothing articles to be placed into and removed from the dryer, and the reclined front panel having spaced apart upper and lower apertures passing therethrough and located one above the other adjacent one side of the access opening; a door for opening and closing the access opening; a hinge assembly for pivotally connecting the door with the reclined front panel to allow pivotal movement of the door about a first vertical axis; the hinge assembly comprising: a support plate mounted to a rear surface of the reclined front panel, the support plate comprising an upper hinge locating seat portion positioned adjacent the upper aperture and recessed from the reclined front panel by a first predetermined distance, and a lower hinge locating seat portion positioned adjacent the lower aperture and recessed from the inclined front panel by a second predetermined distance greater than the first predetermined distance whereby the upper and lower hinge locating seat portions are aligned and define a second vertical axis extending therebetween; and, a pivoting member having pivotally connected first and second end portions which pivot about the first vertical axis, the first end portion being mounted to the door and the second end portion being mounted with the reclined front panel via the support plate, the second end portion comprising upper and lower horizontally extending arms that pass through the upper and lower apertures in the reclined front panel, the upper and lower horizontally extending arms being attached to the support plate respectively at the recessed upper and lower hinge locating seat portions, and the upper and lower arms having equal lengths between the first vertical axis and the respective recessed upper and lower hinge locating seat portions.