1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to dishwashers and, more particularly, to a counterbalance assembly for a dishwasher door, and an apparatus and method associated therewith.
2. Description of Related Art
A dishwasher typically includes a wash tub for containing the dishware to be washed, wherein the tub defines a front opening. The front opening is configured to be engaged by a door for closing/sealing the front opening. The door is typically hinged at the lower end thereof such that the upper end of the door can be pivoted downward so as to permit access to the interior of the tub.
The dishwasher may include a device for balancing or counterbalancing the weight of the door, when opening and closing the door. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,706 to Tuller discloses an adjustable door balancing mechanism that includes a counterbalance spring. The counterbalance spring extends between the door and an adjustable bracket mounted to the tub support. The tension in the counterbalance spring may be varied by changing the position of the adjustable bracket.
Despite these improvements in counterbalancing a dishwasher door, it would be advantageous for the door of the dishwasher to be balanced or counterbalanced so as to allow for smooth opening and closing of the door. That is, it may be advantageous to configure the door so as to prevent the door from inadvertently pivoting to the open or closed positions and/or to allow for the door to be maintained at various positions between the open and closed positions.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a counterbalance assembly that facilitates opening and closing of a dishwasher door. In addition, it may be desirable to provide a counterbalance assembly that may be easily integrated with a dishwasher, is cost efficient, and may be readily adjusted.
The above and other needs may be met by embodiments of the present invention which, in one embodiment, provides an appliance, comprising an appliance body having a door pivotably engaged therewith. A counterbalance assembly is coupled to the appliance body for facilitating pivoting of the door about the engagement with the appliance body, wherein the counterbalance assembly comprises a first and a second biasing member each coupled to the appliance body. A guide member is coupled to the appliance body and includes a fixed arcuate member defining a first guide track, and a pulley element rotatable about an axis and defining a second guide track. The first guide track of the fixed arcuate member is parallel to and offset from the second guide track of the pulley element along the axis thereof. A first flexible element has a first end serially engaged with the first biasing member and extends therefrom to at least partially wrap about the pulley element and about a first side of the fixed arcuate member, so as to serially engage the first and second guide tracks, whereafter a second end of the first flexible member, opposed to the first end thereof, is coupled to the door. A second flexible element has a first end serially engaged with the second biasing member and extends therefrom to at least partially wrap about a second side of the fixed arcuate member so as to engage the first guide track, wherein the second side of the fixed arcuate member is substantially opposite the first side thereof, whereafter a second end of the second flexible member, opposed to the first end thereof, is coupled to the door.
Another aspect of the present invention comprises a method for facilitating pivoting of a door with respect to a body of an appliance, wherein the body includes a guide member secured thereto. The guide member includes a fixed arcuate member defining a first guide track and a pulley element rotatable about an axis and defining a second guide track, wherein the first guide track of the fixed arcuate member is parallel to and offset from the second guide track of the pulley element along the axis thereof. Such a method comprises coupling each of a first and a second biasing member to a body of an appliance, wherein the body has a door pivotably engaged therewith, and serially engaging a first end of each of a first and a second flexible element with the respective first and second biasing member. A second end of each of the first and second flexible elements is coupled to the door, wherein the second ends are opposed to the respective first ends of the first and second flexible elements. The first flexible element is wrapped at least partially about the pulley element and about a first side of the fixed arcuate member, such that the first flexible element serially engages the first and second guide tracks. The second flexible element is wrapped at least partially about a second side of the fixed arcuate member, such that the second flexible element engages the first guide track, wherein the second side of the fixed arcuate member is opposite the first side.
Yet another aspect provides a counterbalance assembly coupled between a door and a body of an appliance, for facilitating pivoting of the door with respect to the body. Such a counterbalance assembly comprises a first and a second biasing member, wherein each biasing member is adapted to be coupled to the body, and a guide member adapted to be coupled to the body, wherein the guide member includes a fixed arcuate member defining a first guide track, and a pulley element rotatable about an axis and defining a second guide track, with the first guide track of the fixed arcuate member being parallel to and offset from the second guide track of the pulley element along the axis thereof. A first flexible element has a first end serially engaged with the first biasing member and extends therefrom to at least partially wrap about the pulley element and about a first side of the fixed arcuate member, so as to serially engage the first and second guide tracks, whereafter a second end of the first flexible member, opposed to the first end thereof, is adapted to be coupled to the door. A second flexible element has a first end serially engaged with the second biasing member and extends therefrom to at least partially wrap about a second side of the fixed arcuate member so as to engage the first guide track, wherein the second side of the fixed arcuate member is substantially opposite the first side, whereafter a second end of the second flexible member, opposed to the first end thereof, is adapted to be coupled to the door.
Aspects of the present invention may thus provide significant advantages as further detailed herein.
Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Although reference is made herein to a dishwasher 10, it is understood that the counterbalance assembly 12 is adapted to be used with other devices where pivoting between a door and a body is necessary. For example, the counterbalance assembly 12 may be used with other kitchen appliances, such as a stove. In addition, although only one counterbalance assembly 12 is shown in
As shown in
The opposite end of the first biasing member 18 is coupled to a first flexible element 20. In this regard, the first biasing member 18 may include a hook 37 at its free end that is coupled to a first coupling member 32 secured to one end of the first flexible element 20. Thus, the first coupling member 32 may define a hole sized and configured to receive the hook 37 of the first biasing member 18. The opposite end of the first flexible element 20 is coupled to a hinge bracket 28 with a second coupling member 30. In one embodiment, the second coupling member 30 is configured to be positioned within a slot 29 defined by the hinge bracket 28. The first flexible element 20 may be, for example, an inelastic cord, such as a braided material. However, the first flexible element 20 may be comprised of other materials, including elastic materials, capable of maintaining tension between the first biasing member 18 and the hinge bracket 28 to facilitate opening and closing of the door 14.
The hinge bracket 28 and door 14 may pivot about a hinge pin 34.
In one embodiment, the guide member 22 may be secured to the bracket 27, while the bracket 27 may be secured to the body 16 of the dishwasher, as shown in
In one embodiment, the arcuate member 26 of the guide member 22 is fixed, while the pulley 24 of the guide member 22 is rotatable. In addition, the arcuate member 26 and pulley 24 define respective guide tracks 40, 42, as shown in
It is understood that the exemplary guide member 22 shown in
In some instances, the counterbalance assembly 12 may further include a second biasing member 100, in addition to the first biasing member 18, to provide a dual-biasing or multi-biasing configuration, as shown in
As illustrated in
Further, the opposite end of the second biasing member 100 may be coupled to a second flexible element 120. In this regard, the second biasing member 100 may include a hook 108 at its free end that is coupled to a third coupling member 110 secured to one end of the second flexible element 120. Thus, the third coupling member 110 may define a hole sized and configured to receive the hook 104 of the second biasing member 100. The opposite end of the second flexible element 120 may be coupled to the hinge bracket 28 (at the same position as or separate from the second coupling member 30 associated with the first flexible element 20) with a fourth coupling member 130. In one embodiment, the fourth coupling member 130 may be configured to be positioned within the slot 29 defined by the hinge bracket 28 such that both the second coupling member 30 and the fourth coupling member 130 are coupled or otherwise secured thereto. In other instances, however, the second coupling member 30 and the fourth coupling member 130 may be coupled to the door 14/hinge bracket 28 at different positions. The second flexible element 120 may be, for example, an inelastic cord, such as a braided material. However, the second flexible element 120 may be comprised of other materials, including elastic materials, capable of maintaining tension between the second biasing member 100 and the hinge bracket 28 to facilitate opening and closing of the door 14. As shown in
As described previously, the first flexible element 20 may be configured to extend in a serpentine manner about the arcuate member 26 about a first side 140 thereof (i.e., disposed toward the first biasing member 18) and the lower pulley 24, about a second side thereof (wherein the second side of the lower pulley 24 is disposed opposite the lower pulley 24 from the first and second biasing members 18, 100), within the guide tracks 40, 42. Accordingly, the first side 140 of the arcuate member 26 may provide friction with the first flexible element 20 such that the door 14 can be maintained in various positions between the fully opened and the fully closed positions and/or prevented from inadvertently pivoting to the open or closed positions. To further facilitate maintaining the door 14 at various positions (particularly with a relatively heavier door 14), the second flexible element 120 may be configured to extend or otherwise wrap about the fixed arcuate member 26. For example, the second flexible element 120 may extend from the second biasing member 100 in a substantially horizontal or, in other instances, angled direction toward the fixed arcuate member 26 such that the second flexible element 120 engages the guide track 40 thereof. Further, in some instances, the second flexible element 120 may wrap about the fixed arcuate member 26 about a second side 145 thereof (substantially opposite to the first side 140) and extend substantially vertically therefrom to be coupled to the door 14 at the hinge bracket 28. As such, both the first flexible member 20 and the second flexible member 120 may be engaged with the fixed arcuate member 26 so as to be opposed to each other about the guide track 40. Furthermore, the first flexible member 20 and the second flexible member 120 may be wrapped about first and second sides 140, 145, respectively, such that the first and second flexible members 20, 120 extend from opposite sides of the fixed arcuate member 26 toward the hinge bracket 28. In this manner, the second biasing member 100 may provide additional/supplemental support to the door 14 as its position varies between the fully open and closed positions.
In one aspect of the counterbalance assembly 12 having the first and second biasing members 18, 100, the guide track 40 of the fixed arcuate member 26 may be parallel to and offset from the guide track 42 of the pulley element 24, with respect to the axis about which the pulley element 24 rotates. As such, the first and second flexible members 20, 120 may engage the guide track 40 of the fixed arcuate member 26 at a different lateral position (i.e., spaced further outward from the base of the dishwasher) than the lateral position at which the first flexible member 20 engages the guide track 42 of the pulley element 24. In this manner, for example, the first flexible member 20/first biasing member 18 may be disposed further inward under a base portion 200 of the dishwasher 10, while the hinge bracket 28 can be spaced laterally outward therefrom to clear the sides of the body 16 of the dishwasher 10.
In some embodiments, the hinge bracket 28 and door 14 may pivot about the hinge pin 34.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/869,911 filed Oct. 10, 2007 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,132, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/916,013 entitled “Counterbalance Assembly for a Dishwasher Door and Associated Method” filed May 4, 2007, of which the contents of both are incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090072686 A1 | Mar 2009 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11869911 | Oct 2007 | US |
Child | 12174410 | US |