CN111395901A

CN111395901A - Hinge assembly and household appliance

Info

Publication number: CN111395901A
Application number: CN201910000983.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 胡岚; 张亿智; 胡蝶; 唐丽; 闵金才
Original assignee: Foshan Shunde Midea Washing Appliances Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Foshan Shunde Midea Washing Appliances Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-01-02
Filing date: 2019-01-02
Publication date: 2020-07-10

Abstract

The invention discloses a hinge assembly and a household appliance. The hinge assembly comprises a hinge body and a balance assembly rotatably connected with the hinge body, the hinge body can be located at a plurality of first positions of the balance assembly and can be switched back and forth between the first positions, the balance assembly comprises a first elastic piece, and the balance assembly is used for providing a pulling force for keeping the first position for the hinge body by compressing the first elastic piece. In the hinge assembly and the household appliance, the hinge body is rotatably connected with the balance assembly, and the balance assembly provides the pull force for keeping the hinge body at the first position, so that a movable part (such as a door body) connected with the hinge body can hover at different angles when the movable part is opened.

Description

Hinge assembly and household appliance

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, in particular to a hinge assembly and a household appliance.

Background

At present, household appliances with door bodies are widely applied to the household life of people. The household appliance with the pull-down door is convenient for a user to take and place articles in the household appliance, and the door body is generally required to be capable of hovering at any angle between 0 and 90. However, the hinge mechanism in the prior art can only realize the opening and closing of the door body, and cannot enable the door body to hover at any opening angle at any time. Therefore, there is a need for a hinge assembly that can achieve hovering of a door body at different angles when the door body is opened.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a hinge assembly and a household appliance.

The hinge assembly comprises a hinge body and a balance assembly rotatably connected with the hinge body, wherein the hinge body can be located at a plurality of first positions of the balance assembly and can be switched back and forth between the first positions, the balance assembly comprises a first elastic piece, and the balance assembly is used for providing tension for the hinge body to be kept at the first positions by compressing the first elastic piece.

The hinge body of the hinge assembly of the embodiment is rotatably connected with the balance assembly, and the balance assembly provides pulling force for keeping the hinge body at the first position, so that the movable part (such as a door body) connected with the hinge body can hover at different angles when being opened.

In some embodiments, the hinge assembly includes a base, the counterbalance assembly is disposed on the base, and the hinge body is rotatably coupled to the base.

In some embodiments, the counterbalance assembly includes a coupling assembly that couples the first resilient member and the hinge body, the first resilient member providing the pulling force through the coupling assembly when the hinge body rotates.

In some embodiments, the connection assembly includes a first connection member, a second connection member and a connection portion, the connection portion is rotatably connected to the hinge body, the first connection member and the second connection member penetrate through the connection portion at intervals, the first elastic member is abutted between the first connection member and the second connection member, and the hinge body is rotated to drive the connection portion to move so as to compress or release the first elastic member.

In some embodiments, the connecting portion includes a first portion and a second portion, the second portion rotatably connects the hinge body and the first portion, the first connecting member and the second connecting member penetrate through the first portion at intervals, and the first elastic member is sleeved on the first portion.

In some embodiments, the first portion has a sliding groove, the second connecting member penetrates through the sliding groove, and when the connecting portion moves, the first portion drives the first connecting member to move, and the second connecting member is stationary.

In certain embodiments, the hinge assembly includes a locking assembly positionable in a second position of the counterbalance assembly and switchable back and forth between the second position and the first position, the locking assembly abutting the hinge body and being for providing resistance to the hinge body when the hinge body is switched between the second position and the first position.

In some embodiments, the locking assembly includes a second elastic member and a supporting member, the second elastic member is connected to the supporting member, the supporting member supports against the hinge body, and the second elastic member provides the resistance to the hinge body through the supporting member.

In some embodiments, the abutting assembly includes an abutting member and a contact member, the abutting member is formed with a mounting portion, the contact member is movably mounted on the mounting portion, and the contact member abuts against the hinge body.

In some embodiments, the hinge body is formed with a supporting portion, the supporting component supports at least one surface portion of the supporting portion, the surface portion includes a curved surface, and when the hinge body is switched between the first position and the second position, the curved surface deforms the second elastic component through the supporting component to provide the resistance.

In certain embodiments, the hinge assembly includes a base, and the locking assembly is mounted to the base.

The household appliance comprises a machine body, a door body and the hinge assembly in any embodiment, wherein the door body is also fixedly connected with the hinge body, and the door body is rotatably connected with the machine body through the hinge assembly.

The hinge body of the hinge assembly of the household appliance is rotatably connected with the balance assembly, and the balance assembly provides pulling force for keeping the hinge body at the first position, so that the movable part (such as a door body) connected with the hinge body can hover at different angles when being opened.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is another structural schematic diagram of the home appliance according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a further structural schematic diagram of the household appliance of the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded isometric view of a hinge assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a movable portion of a household appliance in a first position according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic view of a state in which a movable portion of a home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention is in another first position;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a hinge assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is another cross-sectional schematic view of a hinge assembly of an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic view of a state in which a movable part of the home appliance of the embodiment of the present invention is in a second position;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural view of a locking assembly of the hinge assembly of the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural view of a retainer of a hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the main element symbols:

the hinge assembly comprises a household appliance 1000, a hinge assembly 100, a hinge body 10, a butting portion 101, a first inclined surface 11, a second inclined surface 12, a corner surface 13, a base 20, a first sliding groove 21, a third sliding groove 22, a limiting portion 23, a fourth sliding groove 24, a mounting hole 25, a balance assembly 30, a first elastic piece 31, a connecting assembly 32, a connecting portion 321, a first portion 3211, a second sliding groove 32111, a second portion 3212, a receiving groove 32121, a first connecting piece 322, a second connecting piece 323, a shaft sleeve 324, a third connecting piece 325, a locking assembly 40, a butting assembly 41, a butting piece 411, a mounting portion 4111, a mounting groove 41111, a contact piece 412, a second elastic piece 42, a fourth connecting piece 43, a machine body 200 and a movable portion 300.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative only for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", and the like, indicate orientations and positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are used only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, should not be considered as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first", "second", may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected unless otherwise explicitly stated or limited. Either mechanically or electrically. Either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, a household appliance 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hinge assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, a body 200, and a movable portion 300. The hinge assembly 100 includes a hinge body 10, a movable part 300 coupled to the hinge body 10, and the movable part 300 rotatably coupled to the body 200 by the hinge assembly 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the movable portion 300 is a door. It is understood that in other embodiments, the movable portion 300 may also be a cover portion, or other component rotatably coupled to the body 200.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned machine body 200 includes a cavity 201 and a base 202, the cavity 201 is disposed on the base 202, the hinge assembly 100 is mounted on a side wall of the base 202, and the movable part 300 can rotate relative to the machine body 200 through the hinge assembly 100 to open or close an opening of the cavity 201. The cavity 201 may be used for placing articles, and the base 202 may be used for placing electrical components of the household appliance 1000. For example, for a washing appliance, the cavity 201 can be used for placing dishes to be washed, and the base 202 can be used for placing electric components such as a washing pump, a drainage pump, a heating system, and the like. In other embodiments, the hinge assembly 100 may also be mounted on a sidewall of the cavity 201. In addition, in some home appliances, the body 200 may omit the base 202, and the hinge assembly 100 may be mounted at a sidewall of the cavity 201. Of course, it should be noted that, in general, the main body 200 of the household appliance 1000 includes, in addition to the base 202 and the cavity 201, a housing (not shown) disposed on the cavity 201 and the base 202.

The hinge assembly 100 of the embodiment of the present invention further includes a balancing assembly 30, the balancing assembly 30 is rotatably connected to the hinge body 10, the hinge body 10 can be located at a plurality of first positions of the balancing assembly 30 and can be switched back and forth between the plurality of first positions, the balancing assembly 30 includes a first elastic member 31, and the balancing assembly 30 is configured to provide a pulling force to the hinge body 10 to maintain the first position by compressing the first elastic member 31.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, in the present embodiment, the plurality of first positions are positions at different angles when the movable portion 300 is in the open state, and fig. 6 and 7 are schematic views of states at two different first positions. Further, in the present embodiment, when the hinge body 10 is in any one of the plurality of first positions, the first elastic member 31 is in a compressed state to maintain a tensile force to the hinge body 10. The specific magnitude of the pulling force can be calibrated through verification, and the first elastic element 31 should be selected to satisfy the requirement of the pulling force, depending on the weight of the movable portion 300, the opening angle of the movable portion 300, and other factors. The first elastic member 31 may be an elastic member such as a spring.

The home appliance 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a pull-down type home appliance, a flip type home appliance, a side door type home appliance, and the like. Taking the pull-down type home appliance as an example, the hinge assembly 100 is located at a lower portion of the home appliance 1000 (see fig. 1 and 2), and the movable part 300 can be rotated by the hinge assembly 100 to open or close the opening of the cavity 201. In one example, the household appliance 1000 is a pull-down door type dishwasher, and the cavity 201 may be an inner container of the dishwasher. It is understood that in other examples, the household appliance 1000 may also be other household appliances 1000 such as an oven or a microwave oven.

In summary, in the household appliance 1000 and the hinge assembly 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention, the hinge body 10 is rotatably connected to the balance assembly 30, and the balance assembly 30 provides a pulling force for keeping the hinge body 10 at the first position, so that the movable portion 300 (e.g., a door body) connected to the hinge body 10 can hover at different angles when being opened, and the hinge assembly 100 has a simple and reasonable structure, is quickly disassembled and assembled, improves the assembly efficiency of the whole machine, and reduces the production cost.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, in the present embodiment, the hinge assembly 100 further includes a base 20, the balance assembly 30 is disposed on the base 20, and the hinge body 10 is rotatably connected to the base 20.

Therefore, the balance assembly 30 can be arranged on the base 20, and only the base 20 needs to be arranged on the machine body 200 and the hinge body 10 needs to be fixedly connected with the movable part 300 in the whole assembling process of the household appliance 1000.

Specifically, in the prior art, a spring, a pull rope or a friction belt, and a corresponding fixed structure are generally adopted to realize the arbitrary-angle hovering of the movable portion 300. However, in the above-described method, when the entire machine is assembled, a plurality of parts need to be mounted on the machine body 200 or the movable portion 300, respectively, and the assembling method is complicated, and the assembling process is performed in many steps, which results in low assembling efficiency and high production cost. However, in the present embodiment, the balance assembly 30 may be mounted on the base 20 and the hinge body 10 may be connected to the balance assembly 30 before the complete machine is assembled, so that it is relatively simple to fixedly mount the base 20 on the machine body 200 and fixedly connect the hinge body 10 and the movable portion 300 during the complete machine assembly, and it is not necessary to mount a plurality of components, and many assembling processes are not required, thereby improving the assembling efficiency.

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the hinge assembly 100 may not be provided with the base 20, but the balancing assembly 30 may be directly provided on the body 200.

Referring to fig. 5, 8 and 9, in the present embodiment, the balancing assembly 30 further includes a connecting assembly 32, the connecting assembly 32 connects the first elastic member 31 and the hinge body 10, and the first elastic member 31 provides a pulling force to the hinge body 10 when the hinge body 10 rotates through the connecting assembly 32.

Further, the connection assembly 32 includes a connection portion 321, a first connection member 322, and a second connection member 323. The first connecting member 322 and the second connecting member 323 penetrate through the connecting portion 321 at an interval, the connecting portion 321 is rotatably connected to the hinge body 10, the first elastic member 31 is supported between the first connecting member 322 and the second connecting member 323, and the hinge body 10 can drive the connecting portion 321 to move to compress or release the first elastic member 31 when rotating.

Specifically, the base 20 is formed with a first sliding chute 21 and a mounting hole 25, the first connecting member 322 is disposed on the first sliding chute 21 and can slide in the first sliding chute 21, and the second connecting member 323 penetrates through the mounting hole 25 on the base 20. Thus, the first and

second connectors

322 and 323 can mount the connection part 321 of the connection assembly 32 on the base 20.

In addition, the connecting portion 321 includes a first portion 3211 and a second portion 3212, the second portion 3212 rotatably connects the hinge body 10 and the first portion 3211, the first connecting member 322 and the second connecting member 323 penetrate the first portion 3211 at intervals, and the first elastic member 31 is sleeved on the first portion 3211. The first portion 3211 is provided with a second sliding slot 32111 (corresponding to a sliding slot in the claims), the second connecting member 323 is inserted into the second sliding slot 32111, when the connecting portion 321 moves, the first portion 3211 drives the first connecting member 322 to move, and the second connecting member 323 does not move.

In the present embodiment, when the hinge body 10 is switched between the plurality of first positions, the first link 322 slides in the first sliding groove 21, the second link 323 is fixed to the base 20, and the first portion 3211 slides with respect to the second link 323. The first connecting member 322 changes the compression amount of the first elastic member 31 when sliding in the first sliding groove 21 to change the pulling force provided by the first elastic member 31 to the hinge body 10, so that the movable portion 300 can be balanced in any first position.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first portion 3211 is a straight strip, and the first elastic member 31 is fitted over the first portion 3211. It is understood that in other embodiments, the first elastic element 31 may not be sleeved on the first portion 3211 but sleeved on another straight rod connected to the first portion 3211, and the straight rod is disposed parallel to the first portion 3211.

In the present embodiment, the connection portion 321 is movable forward relative to the base 20 and the machine body 200 by the movable portion 300 and the hinge body 10 in a process in which the movable portion 300 rotates relative to the machine body 200 to open the opening of the cavity 201. When the connecting portion 321 moves, the first portion 3211 can drive the first connecting element 322 to move in the first sliding slot 21, the second connecting element 323 is fixed relative to the base 20, and two ends of the first elastic element 31 respectively abut against the first connecting element 322 and the second connecting element 323. Therefore, as the opening angle of the movable part 300 increases, when the connecting assembly 32 moves forward relative to the base 20, the first connecting member 322 moves forward in the first sliding slot 21, the distance between the first connecting member 322 and the second connecting member 323 decreases, thereby compressing the first elastic member 31, the compression amount of the first elastic member 31 increases, the elastic resistance generated by the first elastic member 31 reacts to the connecting assembly 32, thereby providing the pulling force to the hinge body 10 and the movable part 300, and the moment generated by the pulling force provided by the first elastic member 31 on the hinge assembly 100 and the movable part 300 is equal to the moment generated by the self weight and the friction force of the hinge assembly 100 and the movable part 300, thereby maintaining the balance of the hinge body 10 and the movable part 300 so that the hinge body 10 and the movable part 300 can hover at any position where the movable part 300 opens the cavity 201.

During the process that the movable part 300 rotates relative to the machine body 200 to close the opening of the cavity 201, the opening angle of the movable part 300 gradually decreases, the connecting assembly 32 moves backwards relative to the base 20 and the machine body 200 under the action of the movable part 300 and the hinge body 10, the first connecting piece 322 slides backwards in the first sliding slot 21, the distance between the first connecting piece 322 and the second connecting piece 323 increases, so as to release the first elastic piece 31, the compression amount of the first elastic piece 31 decreases, but still in a compressed state, the elastic resistance generated by the first elastic piece 31 acts against the connecting assembly 32 to keep the hinge body 10 and the movable part 300 balanced, so that the hinge body 10 and the movable part 300 can hover at any position during the process that the movable part 300 closes the opening of the cavity 201.

The first and

second connectors

322 and 323 may be pins or pins in this embodiment.

Furthermore, it is understood that in some embodiments, the first sliding slot 21 can also serve as a limiting function, that is, when the movable portion 300 is fully opened, the first connecting element 322 moves to the rightmost end to prevent the movable portion 300 from further rotating, and when the movable portion 300 is closed, the first connecting element 322 is located at the leftmost end to prevent the movable portion 300 from further rotating. The second slide groove 32111 formed in the first portion 3211 may also serve as a stopper, and its principle is the same as that of the first slide groove 21.

In the example shown in fig. 5, the first slide groove 21 includes two first sub-slide grooves 211 located on opposite sides of the connecting member 32. The first connecting member 322 passes through one of the two first sub-sliding grooves 211 and further passes through the connecting assembly 32 and passes through the other one of the two first sub-sliding grooves 211 to be slidably connected with the base 20 and fixedly connected with the connecting assembly 32. Thus, the stability of the sliding of the first connecting member 322 is better under the guidance of the two first sub-sliding grooves 211.

In the present embodiment, the first elastic member 31 is in a compressed state as long as the movable portion 300 is in the open state. As the opening angle of the movable portion 300 gradually increases, the compression amount of the first elastic member 31 gradually increases. Further, the above-described release of the first elastic member 31 means that the first elastic member 31 is gradually released to reduce the amount of compression thereof during the closing of the movable portion 300, but the first elastic member 31 is still in a compressed state during this process. It is to be understood that in the following description of the embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, various embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

Referring to fig. 5, 8 and 9, in the above embodiment, the connecting assembly 32 further includes a bushing 324 disposed on the first portion 3211 and a third connecting member 325 disposed through the second portion 3212 and the bushing 324, and the bushing 324 and the third connecting member 325 are used to connect the first portion 3211 and the second portion 3212.

Further, a third sliding groove 22 slidably engaged with the third connecting member 325 is formed on the base 20.

In this way, the third connecting member 325 can stably slide in the third sliding groove 22 to ensure that the second portion 3212 can stably move relative to the base 20.

It is understood that the first portion 3211 and the second portion 3212 are both pull rods, that is, in the present embodiment, the connecting assembly 32 is a pull rod assembly. In this embodiment, the two rotationally connected pull rods can make the pull rod more stable when moving forward, and can prevent the working reliability of the balance assembly 30 from being affected by the overlong length when only one pull rod is adopted. Meanwhile, when the hinge body 10 rotates, the second portion 3212 tends to rotate downward, so that the first portion 3211 and the second portion 3212 are rotatably connected to prevent the second portion 3212 from exerting a downward force on the first portion 3211 when moving downward, so that the first connecting member 322 is locked in the first sliding groove 211, which makes the first connecting member 322 difficult to move.

In the present embodiment, the length of the second chute 3211 may be set as appropriate. In the present embodiment, the hinge body 10 is hinged to the second portion 3212 by a hinge shaft.

With continued reference to fig. 5 and 8, in some embodiments, in order to save the installation space of the hinge body 10 in the balance assembly 30, a receiving groove 32121 is formed on the second portion 3212, and the hinge body 10 is at least partially disposed in the receiving groove 32121.

Referring to fig. 4-9, in some embodiments, the hinge assembly 100 includes a locking assembly 40, the hinge body 10 can be in the second position of the counterbalance assembly 30 and can be switched back and forth between the second position and the first position, and the locking assembly 40 abuts the hinge body 10 and is configured to provide resistance to the hinge body 10 when the hinge body 10 is switched between the second position and the first position.

Further, in the above embodiment, the locking assembly 40 includes the abutting assembly 41 and the second elastic member 42, the second elastic member 42 is connected to the abutting assembly 41, the abutting assembly 41 abuts against the hinge body 10, and the second elastic member 42 provides resistance to the hinge body 10 through the abutting assembly 41. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the second elastic element 42 is sleeved on the abutting assembly 41.

Please refer to fig. 10, the second position is a position of the hinge body 10 relative to the balancing assembly 30 when the movable portion 300 is in the closed state, and fig. 10 is a schematic state diagram when in the second position. That is, when the hinge body 10 is at the second position, the movable portion 300 is in the closed state.

In the present embodiment, since the lock assembly 40 can provide resistance to the hinge body 10 when the hinge body 10 is switched between the second position and the first position. Therefore, when the user needs to open the movable portion 300 (i.e., switch from the second position to the first position), a certain force needs to be applied to the movable portion 300 to open the movable portion 300, and when the user needs to close the movable portion 300 (i.e., switch from the first position to the second position), a certain force needs to be applied to the plurality of movable portions 300 to close the movable portion 300. This ensures that the movable portion 300 does not open automatically or open erroneously.

Referring to fig. 11 and 12, in some embodiments, the abutting assembly 41 includes an abutting member 411 and a contact member 412, the abutting member 411 is formed with a mounting portion 4111, the contact member 412 is movably mounted on the mounting portion 4111, and the contact member 412 abuts against the hinge body 10.

Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the contact 412 is a roller that is rotatable relative to the mounting 4111. It is understood that in other embodiments, the contact 412 may be other elements that can slide relative to the mounting portion 4111.

Further, referring to fig. 8 and 9, in the present embodiment, the base 20 is formed with a limiting portion 23, the locking assembly 40 is disposed on the base 20, the abutting member 411 is inserted into the limiting portion 23, and the second elastic member 42 is sleeved on the abutting member 411 and is located between the limiting portion 23 and the mounting portion 4111.

The base 20 further has a fourth sliding groove 24 formed thereon, and the contact member 412 is mounted on the mounting portion 4111 via a fourth connecting member 43, wherein the fourth connecting member 43 can slide in the fourth sliding groove 24 to compress or release the second resilient member 42.

Referring to fig. 5, 8 and 9, in some embodiments, the hinge body 10 is formed with a supporting portion 101 cooperating with the supporting component 41, at least one surface portion of the supporting component 41 supporting the supporting portion 101 includes a curved surface 13, and when the hinge body 10 is switched between the first position and the second position, the curved surface 13 deforms the second elastic component 42 through the supporting component 41 to provide resistance.

Specifically, the surface portion further includes a first inclined surface 11 and a second inclined surface 12 (see fig. 5 and 8), the first inclined surface 11 is connected to the second inclined surface 12 through a crank surface 13 (see fig. 5), and the second elastic member 20 is configured to generate an elastic force acting on the abutting assembly 41 so that the abutting assembly 41 abuts against the first inclined surface 11 or the second inclined surface 12, thereby providing resistance to the hinge body 10. In the present embodiment, the angle between the first inclined surface 11 and the second inclined surface 12 is an acute angle.

It can be understood that the specific magnitude of the elastic resistance of the second elastic member 42 to the hinge body 10 and the movable portion 300 can be calibrated through verification, for example, the optimal door opening and closing force of the household appliance 1000 can be verified through experiments to prevent the door body from opening automatically or opening by mistake. The first elastic member 31 should be selected to meet the requirements for elastic resistance.

The second elastic member 42 may be an elastic member such as a spring. In the present embodiment, the first inclined surface and the contact member 412 (roller) are in an interference fit, and a certain force is required to bypass the roller when the hinge body 10 rotates. It will be appreciated that in this embodiment, the door opening and closing force may be adjusted to meet different user requirements by adjusting the angle of the first ramp.

Referring further to fig. 11 and 12, in the above embodiment, the mounting portion 4111 is formed with a mounting groove 41111, and the contact 412 is partially disposed in the mounting groove 41111.

In the present embodiment, when the hinge body 10 is at the second position (i.e. the movable portion 300 is in the closed state), the second elastic element 42 is in the compressed state, and the acting force generated by the second elastic element makes the contact element 412 abut against the first inclined surface 11, so as to apply an acting force to the hinge body 10 and the movable portion 300, so that a user needs to apply a certain acting force to the door body to open the movable portion 300, which can ensure that the movable portion 300 cannot be automatically opened or erroneously opened. In addition, in the present embodiment, locking of the movable part 300 can be achieved directly by means of the hinge assembly 100 without providing an additional door lock device.

Specifically, when the movable portion 300 needs to be opened (i.e., switched from the second position to the first position), the abutting portion 101 rotates following the hinge body 10. When the contact part 101 rotates, the contact part 412 is gradually pressed by the inflection surface 13, so that the second elastic element 42 is compressed, and the reaction force generated by the second elastic element 42 acts on the contact part 101. Therefore, the user needs to apply a certain force to the movable portion 300 to open the movable portion 300 at a certain angle for taking and placing the article. This can further ensure that the movable portion 300 does not open automatically or open erroneously.

When the movable portion 300 is in the open state and is opened at a certain angle (i.e. the inflection surface 13 of the hinge body 10 needs to go around the abutting contact 412), the second elastic element 42 is also in the compressed state. At this time, the elastic force of the second elastic member 42 acts on the contact 412 to make the contact 412 abut against the second inclined surface 12 of the hinge body 10. As described above, even when the user needs to apply a certain force to the movable portion 300 to close the movable portion 300 by moving the contact 412 around the inflection surface 13, the compression amount of the second elastic member 42 increases and the elastic resistance of the second elastic member 42 gradually increases during the door closing process, so that the movable portion 300 can be prevented from being closed at a high speed and colliding with the body 200.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the hinge movable portion 300 is at the second position, the second elastic member 42 is in a compressed state, and the first elastic member 31 is also in a compressed state, so that the first elastic member 31 can apply a pulling force to the movable portion 300, which can maintain the stability of the movable portion 300 in the closed state. It is understood that, in other embodiments, when the hinge movable portion 300 is in the second position, the second elastic member 42 is in a compressed state, and the first elastic member 31 may also be in a normal state, which is not limited in particular. The above-described normal state is a state in which the first elastic member 31 is not compressed and stretched.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, "above" or "below" a first feature means that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact with each other via another feature therebetween. Also, the first feature being "on," "above" and "over" the second feature includes the first feature being directly on and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicating that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature includes the first feature being directly under and obliquely below the second feature, or simply meaning that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

The disclosure herein provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the invention. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present invention, the components and arrangements of specific examples are described herein. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples, such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. In addition, the present invention provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize applications of other processes and/or uses of other materials.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the description of the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "an illustrative embodiment", "an example", "a specific example", or "some examples", etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A hinge assembly comprising a hinge body and a counterbalance assembly rotatably connected to the hinge body, the hinge body being positionable and switchable between a plurality of first positions of the counterbalance assembly, the counterbalance assembly comprising a first resilient member, the counterbalance assembly being adapted to provide a pulling force to the hinge body to maintain the hinge body in the first position by compressing the first resilient member.

2. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the hinge assembly includes a base, the counterbalance assembly being disposed at the base, the hinge body being rotatably coupled to the base.

3. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the counterbalance assembly includes a coupling assembly that couples the first resilient member and the hinge body, the first resilient member providing the pulling force through the coupling assembly when the hinge body is rotated.

4. The hinge assembly of claim 3, wherein the connecting assembly comprises a first connecting member, a second connecting member and a connecting portion, the connecting portion is rotatably connected with the hinge body, the first connecting member and the second connecting member are arranged at intervals in a penetrating manner in the connecting portion, the first elastic member is abutted between the first connecting member and the second connecting member, and the hinge body is rotated to drive the connecting portion to move so as to compress or release the first elastic member.

5. The hinge assembly of claim 4, wherein the connecting portion includes a first portion and a second portion, the second portion rotatably connecting the hinge body and the first portion, the first and second connectors being spaced apart from one another through the first portion, and the first resilient member being fitted over the first portion.

6. The hinge assembly of claim 5, wherein the first portion defines a slot, the second connecting member extends through the slot, and the first portion moves the first connecting member and the second connecting member remains stationary during movement of the connecting portion.

7. The hinge assembly of claim 1, comprising a locking assembly, the hinge body positionable in a second position of the counterbalance assembly and switchable back and forth between the second position and the first position, the locking assembly abutting the hinge body and being for providing resistance to the hinge body when the hinge body is switched between the second position and the first position.

8. The hinge assembly of claim 7, wherein the locking assembly comprises a second resilient member and an abutment assembly, the second resilient member connecting the abutment assembly, the abutment assembly abutting the hinge body, the second resilient member providing the resistance to the hinge body through the abutment assembly.

9. The hinge assembly of claim 8, wherein the retaining assembly includes a retaining member formed with a mounting portion and a contact member movably mounted to the mounting portion, the contact member abutting the hinge body.

10. The hinge assembly of claim 8, wherein the hinge body defines a retaining portion, the retaining assembly retains at least a surface portion of the retaining portion, the surface portion including an inflection surface, the inflection surface deforming the second resilient member via the retaining assembly to provide the resistance force when the hinge body is switched between the first position and the second position.

11. The hinge assembly of claim 7, wherein the hinge assembly includes a base, the locking assembly being mounted to the base.

12. A household appliance, characterized in that it comprises:

a body;

a movable part; and

the hinge assembly of any one of claims 1-11, the movable portion being coupled to the hinge body, the movable portion being rotatably coupled to the body via the hinge assembly.