Patent ID: 6918159

Claim:
A hinge apparatus to dispose a panel to be opened and closed with respect to a body of an appliance, comprising: a fixing bracket fixed on the body; a supporting bracket fixed on the panel; a hinge shaft fixed on the fixing bracket to rotatably support the supporting bracket; an automatic pivot unit having a guide hole, to cause the panel to be opened with respect to the body by a predetermined free rotation angle when a locking state between the panel and the body is released, the guide hole being provided in the supporting bracket; a manual pivot unit to provide a frictional force between the supporting bracket and the hinge shaft, the frictional force restricting the supporting bracket from being automatically rotated by the automatic pivot unit and fixing the panel, which is opened further from the predetermined free rotation angle, in position; and a fixing pin connected to one end of the hinge shaft to restrict the hinge shaft, the supporting bracket, the automatic pivot unit and the manual pivot unit from being separated from each other.