Appliance Door Hinge Assembly With Latch Cam for Secure Engagement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hinge assemblies for appliances lack efficient mechanisms to securely engage and disengage the door, leading to potential instability and accidental door opening or closing, particularly when handling heavy doors or in environments where precise control is necessary.
Innovation Solution
A hinge assembly featuring a hinge receiver with opposing side walls and a latch cam system, where the latch cam is hingedly coupled with the hinge arm and movable between engaged and disengaged positions, with a top surface abutting a striker to maintain engagement and a tab for easy disengagement, ensuring secure door positioning and easy operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a latch cam system is added to the hinge assembly, then door engagement security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The latch cam is integrated into the hinge arm structure, combining the latching function with the hinge mechanism. The latch cam and hinge arm form a unified assembly where the latch cam is positioned to engage with the striker on the door, eliminating the need for separate latching components and reducing overall complexity while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch cam automatically engages with the striker when the door is closed, providing self-latching functionality without requiring additional actuators or complex control mechanisms. The spring-loaded design allows the latch cam to maintain constant pressure against the striker, ensuring secure engagement through passive mechanical action.
2Ease of operation
If a latch cam with tab is used for easy disengagement, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tab extends from the latch cam body and serves as an intermediary element that users can easily grasp and manipulate. This simple protruding feature allows manual actuation of the latch cam without requiring users to access or manipulate the main latch mechanism, significantly improving ease of operation with minimal added complexity.
3Reliability
If the latch cam is spring-loaded to maintain engagement, then reliability is improved, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded latch cam uses the door's own weight and position to compress the spring, converting gravitational potential energy into spring energy automatically. The system self-regulates by using the door's movement to charge the spring, which then maintains constant engagement pressure without requiring external power sources or additional energy input.
Data Source
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AI summary
An appliance (10) includes an appliance body (12) having a front panel (14) defining a connector slot (16). A hinge receiver (18) is coupled with the appliance body (12) and has opposing side walls (20, 22) defining a receiving space (24) therebetween. The hinge receiver (18) includes a first striker (28) positioned above a second striker (30). The first and second strikers (28, 30) are aligned with the connector slot (16). A hinge arm assembly (34) includes a hinge arm (36) configured to engage with the second striker (30) and a latch cam (38) hingedly coupled with the hinge arm (36). The latch cam (38) is movable between an engaged position and a disengaged position, and a top surface (40) of the latch cam (38) abuts the first striker (28) in the engaged position. A door (44) is rotatably coupled with the appliance body (12) by the hinge receiver (18) and the hinge arm assembly (34) and is rotatable about a door axis (X) between open and closed positions.