Side-Swing Oven Door Hinge with Horizontal Pivot for Safe Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Built-in ovens with side swing doors pose a challenge for safe removal due to the proximity of control panels, which often require partial or full removal of the oven to access hinge pins, making the process difficult and dangerous.
Innovation Solution
A hinge system that allows the side swing door to pivot horizontally, limiting the pivot range to safely remove the upper hinge pin while keeping the door attached, featuring upper and lower hinge brackets with pivot limiting elements and a system pivot element to maintain the door's attachment during removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the door is allowed to pivot freely about the horizontal axis, then the door can be removed from the oven, but the door may fall off and cause safety hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot limiting element is designed to prevent the door from pivoting beyond a safe angle before removal. This preliminary restriction counteracts the potential hazard of the door falling off by limiting the pivoting range to a controlled amount, ensuring the door remains attached during the removal process.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot limiting element acts as an intermediary mechanism between the door and the hinge bracket. It mediates the pivoting motion by allowing controlled movement while preventing excessive pivoting, thus ensuring safe door removal without the door falling off the oven.
2Ease of operation
If the oven is removed from the cabinet to access the hinge pins, then the door can be removed, but the process becomes difficult and dangerous due to the large size and weight of the oven
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge system is segmented into removable components (hinge pins) that can be accessed and removed independently. This allows the door to be detached from the oven without moving the entire heavy oven unit, eliminating the need to remove the oven from the cabinet for door removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge pins are designed to be extractable from the hinge bracket and door assembly. By taking out the hinge pins, the door can be separated from the oven while the oven remains in place, avoiding the need to move the heavy oven unit for maintenance or door removal.
Data Source
AI summary
A hinge system for mounting a door to an appliance has an upper hinge bracket having an upper hinge swing element configured to engage a door upper swing element fixed to the door, the engagement of the upper hinge swing element and the door upper swing element allowing the door to swing about a vertical axis between an open position and a closed position, and an upper hinge pivot limiting element configured to engage a frame pivot limiting element fixed to the appliance; a lower hinge bracket having a lower hinge swing element configured to engage a door lower swing element, and a system pivot element configured to engage a frame pivot element such that the upper hinge bracket, the lower hinge bracket, and the door are pivotable about a horizontal axis as a unit relative to the appliance while still being attached to the appliance.