Dishwasher door balancing system

Abstract

A kitchen or household appliance such as a dishwasher includes a base portion, a door hingably connected to the base portion, a cord operatively connected to the door, an extension spring operatively connected to the cord and the base portion to partially balance opening of the door by exerting a force on the cord and the door, a damping pulley positioned along the cord between the extension spring and the door to further balance opening of the door by providing resistance to motion of opening the door without manual adjustment.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A kitchen appliance, comprising: 
 a base portion;    a door hingably connected to the base portion;    a cord operatively connected to the door;    an extension spring operatively connected to the cord and the base portion to partially balance opening of the door by exerting a force on the cord and the door;    a damping pulley positioned along the cord between the extension spring and the door to further balance opening of the door by providing resistance to motion of opening the door without manual adjustment.    
     
     
         2 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 1  further comprising a flange in operative contact with the damping pulley to provide resistance to motion of opening the door.  
     
     
         3 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 2  wherein the flange is a spring flange for engaging a perimeter surface of the damping pulley.  
     
     
         4 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 2  wherein the flange engages a side-wall of the damping pulley.  
     
     
         5 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 1  wherein the force is an inwardly directed force.  
     
     
         6 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 1  wherein the kitchen appliance is a dishwasher.  
     
     
         7 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 1  wherein the cord is stranded.  
     
     
         8 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 1  wherein the damping pulley includes a plurality of teeth.  
     
     
         9 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 8  wherein the cord includes a plurality of catch members.  
     
     
         10 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 9  wherein the catch members are beads.  
     
     
         11 . The kitchen appliance of  claim 1  wherein the cord is wrapped completely around the pulley to reduce slippage.  
     
     
         12 . A door balancing system for a dishwasher having a cabinet and a door, the door balancing system, comprising: 
 an extension spring operatively connected to the cabinet;    a cord operatively connected to the extension spring and to the door;    a pulley engaging the cord between the extension spring and the door such that the extension spring provides a first force to balance opening of the door and the pulley resists motion of opening the door to further balance opening of the door.    
     
     
         13 . The door balancing system of  claim 12  further comprising a flange in operative contact with the pulley to provide resistance to motion of opening the door.  
     
     
         14 . The door balancing system of  claim 13  wherein the flange is a spring flange for engaging a perimeter surface of the pulley.  
     
     
         15 . The door balancing system of  claim 13  wherein the flange engages a side-wall of the pulley.  
     
     
         16 . The door balancing system of  claim 12  wherein the pulley includes a plurality of teeth.  
     
     
         17 . The door balancing system of  claim 12  wherein the cord is wrapped completely around the pulley to reduce slippage.  
     
     
         18 . A front-loading dishwasher having a cabinet and a door operatively connected to the cabinet, comprising: 
 an extension spring operatively connected to the cabinet to provide a force for partially counterbalancing weight of the door;    a cord operatively connected between the extension spring and the door;    a damping pulley positioned along the cord to provide resistance to motion of opening of the dishwasher door such that the door opens in a controlled manner without a manual adjustment to alter the force provided by the extension spring.    
     
     
         19 . The dishwasher of  claim 18  further comprising a flange in operative contact with the damping pulley to increase resistance to the motion of opening the door.