EP1090575B1 - Hinge for cover for electrical household appliance with compensated weight - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a joint of a cover whose weight is compensated. It applies to any type of household appliance equipped of this type of cover, and the cover of which may have defects in sheer curtains, for example covers made of painted or enameled sheet metal and the weight is compensated.

Some models of cookers, for example, are equipped with this type of covers. The articulation of these covers includes a weight compensation mechanism to hold the cover when a user switches it from the open position to the closed position, or support its weight when the user lifts the cover. The compensation mechanism includes for example mechanisms to spring whose implementation is known and which will be described later. The cover is for example made of glass, or of painted or enamelled sheet metal.

If the glass covers have few defects manufacturing, the enamelled sheet covers often have defects sheer. These defects come from the residual stresses of stamping which are released during the enamelling phase, phase during which the cover is subjected to high temperatures. In the models appliances with lids that weigh compensated, these defects are visible and appear at the junction of the cover and upper front edge of the appliance. This defect is illustrated in FIG. 1. The household appliance 1, for example a cooker, is fitted with a cover 2, for example of enamelled sheet metal, of which the weight is compensated. The articulation of the cover is not shown here. A warping defect is visible at the junction of the cover 2 and the edge 3, corresponding in this example to the front edge of the hearth plate of the stove.

The only solution today to remedy this difficulty is to sort the covers manually and discard any that have a defect sheer, which generates significant scrap.

The present invention provides a cover hinge including the weight is compensated, as claimed in claim 1.

• La figure 1, le schéma d'un appareil électroménager dont le couvercle présente un défaut de voilage (déjà décrite) ;
• La figure 2, une vue d'un exemple d'articulation de couvercle selon l'invention ;
• La figure 3, une coupe de la vue de la figure 2 ;
• La figure 4, un exemple de mise en oeuvre de l'invention ;
• la figure 5, une courbe donnant schématiquement en fonction de la nature du voilage à compenser, la position de l'appui local.

The invention thus allows the use of all the covers, even those which have a warping defect. Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear on reading the description which follows, illustrated by the figures which represent:

• Figure 1, the diagram of a household appliance whose cover has a warping defect (already described);
• Figure 2, a view of an example of hinge cover according to the invention;
• Figure 3, a section of the view of Figure 2;
• FIG. 4, an example of implementation of the invention;
• FIG. 5, a curve giving diagrammatically as a function of the nature of the curtain to be compensated, the position of the local support.

In these figures, identical elements are indexed by the same references.

FIG. 2 represents a view of an example of articulation of cover according to the invention. In this example, the joint 4 comprises a rigid beam 5 on which the rear edge 21 of the cover 2 is fixed, by example an enamelled sheet cover. The beam extends along the edge back of the appliance, such as a stove. She is mobile in rotation about an axis (denoted OO 'in the example of FIG. 2), parallel to the rear edge of the device, so as to allow opening and closing of the cover by a user. According to the invention, the joint also includes a mechanism for compensating the weight of the cover, known from the state of the art. In the example in Figure 2, the compensation mechanism is formed by two spring mechanisms 6 (one only mechanism is shown) whose operation is known. The mechanisms are mounted at each of the two ends of the beam. Each mechanism includes for example a part 61 which is fixed in a side cheek of the apparatus (not shown), a part 62, engaging in the beam and a spring 63. A system of cams per example (not shown) allows the spring to be compressed when the user maneuver the cover from top to bottom, thus retaining the cover in its movement. When the user lifts the cover, the spring instead relaxes, helping to support the weight of the cover.

The articulation according to the invention also comprises a local support additional cover 2 on the beam 4. This support makes it possible to apply punctually a resistant torque, which, depending on the position of this additional support, allows twisting the cover to compensate for possible veiling. In the example in Figure 2, the additional local support is obtained by means of an intermediate piece 7 interposed between the cover 2 and beam 5. Advantageously, this part is movable along of the beam, thus making it possible to adjust the position of the local support additional cover on the beam depending on the nature of the sheer, i.e. its position (left or right of the cover) and its amplitude. Alternatively, this part can also be made accessible to the user of the household appliance, so that he can adjust the position of the local support according to the nature of the curtain, if it changes over time.

In the example of Figure 2, the beam 5 includes a body cylindrical 51 and rails (52, 53, 54) extending over the length of the beam, and forming contact strips between the cover 2 and the beam. A section of the beam 5 is presented in FIG. 3. In this example, the rear edge 21 of the cover is fixed to the rail 52 positioned at the rear of the beam and which forms the fixing strip. The other two rails 53 and 54 form two long contact strips on which the cover relies. Advantageously, additional local support is obtained at by means of a local allowance between the beam and the cover, near of the contact strip closest to the front of the cover. Indeed, if the additional support is made towards the rear of the beam, where the fixing band, the resistant torque to be applied will be significantly more important and the enamel of the sheet metal forming the cover may be damaged.

In the example of Figures 2 and 3, the intermediate piece is formed of a shoe housed between the two rails 53 and 54, the rail 54 forming the contact strip between the cover and the beam closest to the front of the lid. As shown in Figure 3, the pad 7 has a extra thickness 71 near the contact strip 54, which constitutes additional local support of the cover on the beam. The applicant has shown that an extra thickness of about 0.5 mm made it possible to compensate for a 15 mm sheer. Advantageously, the skate can slide along the beam, allowing to adjust its position according to the nature of the veiling.

Figures 4A and 4B show the effect of the interposition of a support additional room for the cover on the beam, for example by means an additional part formed by a shoe 7. An additional support to right allows, as appears in Figure 4A, to twist the cover 2 to the right, and therefore to compensate for a veil located on the left. Conversely, additional support on the left allows, as appears in the figure 4B, to twist the cover 2 to the left, and therefore to compensate for a warping located on the right. So, when a curtain is visible, cover closed, left of the cover (front view), the shoe is placed to the right of the beam and conversely, when a curtain is visible to the right of the cover, the shoe is placed to the left of the beam. On the other hand, the greater the amplitude of the curtain the larger, the more the pad must be positioned at the ends of the beam.

Figure 5 illustrates in a schematic curve the amplitude of the compensated net curtain according to the position of the intermediate piece. If the cover has no curtains, just position the shoe towards the center of the beam (abscissa 0, in Figure 5). If a curtain is visible at right, the skate must be positioned to the left relative to the center (curve C1), and if a curtain is visible on the left, the skate must be positioned on the right relative to the center (curve C2). This curve shows that more the greater the sheer width, the further the skate should be positioned away from the center, the relationship being substantially linear.

Of course, the shape of the intermediate piece 7 is not limited to that of a skate. Many forms can suit the moment that they make it possible to form an additional local support of the cover on the beam, and this, advantageously, as much as possible towards the front of the lid. For example, according to a variant (not shown), the part intermediate can be formed of a rider riding on a rail forming the contact strip between the cover and the beam closest to the front of the cover as described in Figures 2 and 3 (rail 54). This rider slides along the rail, allowing to adjust its position according to the nature of the curtain. The excess thickness at the level of the rail, typically a few fractions of millimeters, allows for additional local support. This variant makes the intermediate piece accessible to the user by providing a tab on the jumper which will be accessible towards the front of the rail 54, at the junction between the beam and the cover.

Such an intermediate part is advantageously produced in a material which does not creep over time, i.e. which deforms little. For example, the part can be made of aluminum, which has a suitable hardness and good temperature resistance.

Alternatively, adding an intermediate piece in articulation of the cover can be avoided, for example by means of a local extra thickness of the beam 5 which makes it possible to form the local support additional. The articulation of the cover is further simplified since there has no room to add or position. However, in this variant, it is not possible to adjust the position of the local support according to the nature of the curtain. However, on a series of covers, it may appear a statistical law on the position and the amplitude of the curtain. The extra thickness of the beam will then compensate for the defect of these covers in the vast majority of cases.

Of course, the articulation of the cover according to the invention is not limited to the examples described above. In particular, local support additional cover on the beam can be of any shape when it punctually introduces a resistant torque on the cover, allowing to compensate for a possible veiling of the latter.

Claims (6)

1. Hinge (4) for a lid (2) for a domestic electrical appliance, whose weight is compensated, comprising a rigid beam (5) on which the rear edge (21) of the lid is fixed, the beam (5) extending along the rear edge (21) of the appliance and being able to move in rotation about an axis (00') substantially parallel to the said rear edge of the appliance so as to allow the opening and closing of the lid (2), and also comprising a mechanism (6) for compensating for the weight of the lid (2), the hinge (4) being characterised in that it also comprises an additional local abutment obtained by means of an intermediate piece (7) interposed between the said lid (2) and the said beam (5), the said intermediate piece (7) being able to move along the beam (5), thus making it possible to adjust the position of the additional local abutment of the lid (2) on the beam (5) according to the nature of the warping.
2. Hinge according to Claim 1, characterised in that the intermediate piece (7) is accessible to a user of the cooking pot, enabling him to adjust the position of the said local abutment himself.
3. Hinge according to one of Claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the said piece (7) is made from aluminium.
4. Hinge according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the local abutment is obtained by means of a local protrusion (71) between the beam (5) and the lid (2), close to a contact strip between the beam (5) and the lid (2), the said strip extending along the beam (5) and constituting the contact strip between the beam (5) and the lid (2) closest to the front of the lid (2).
5. Hinge according to Claim 4, characterised in that, the beam (5) comprising rails (52, 53, 54) extending over its length and forming contact strips between the lid and the beam, the local abutment is obtained by means of an intermediate piece (7) formed from a shoe housed between two rails, one (54) of which forms the contact strip closest to the front of the lid (2), the said shoe being able to slide along the beam (5) and having a protrusion (71) on the same side as the said contact strip.
6. Hinge according to Claim 4, characterised in that, the beam (5) comprising rails (52, 53, 54) extending over its width and forming contact strips between the lid (2) and the beam (5), the local abutment is obtained by means of an intermediate piece (7) formed by a rider straddling the rail forming the contact strip closest to the front of the lid (2), the said rider being able to slide along the said rail.

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