Laundry machine door assembly

Abstract

A laundry machine including a housing, a drum in the housing, a door movable to close and open access to the drum, and a door latch assembly. The door latch assembly has a bolt that is movable between first and second bolt positions, with first position on a first travel path of the door, and the second position on a second travel path of the door. The door has a bolt handle connected to the bolt to move the bolt between the bolt positions. A catch is mounted within the first travel path and not within the second travel path, and configured to engage the bolt to exert an opening force opposing movement of the bolt along the first travel path upon movement of the door from the closed door position towards the open door position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry machine, comprising:
 a housing having an access opening;   a door rotatably connected to the housing adjacent to the access opening, the door being movable between a closed position and an open position; and   a door latch assembly comprising:   a bolt movable between a first bolt position and a second bolt position, wherein the first bolt position is located on a first travel path defined by movement of the door between the closed position and the open position, and the second bolt position is located on a second travel path defined by movement of the door between the closed position and the open position,   a bolt handle operatively connected to the bolt and configured to move the bolt from the first bolt position to the second bolt position, and   a catch mounted within the first travel path, the catch being configured to engage the bolt when the door is in the closed position and the bolt is in the first bolt position, wherein the catch and bolt are configured to exert an opening force opposing movement of the bolt along the first travel path upon movement of the door from the closed position towards the open position, and   wherein the bolt comprises an entry face directed towards the closed position and an exit face directed towards the open position and the catch comprises opposed leaf springs configured to be spread apart by the entry face upon movement of the door to the closed position.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry machine of  claim 1 , wherein the bolt maintains the first travel path when engaging the catch. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry machine of  claim 1 , wherein the entry face comprises an entry wedge that tapers at a first angle towards the closed position to an entry wedge tip. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry machine of  claim 3 , wherein the exit face comprises an exit wedge that tapers at a second angle towards the open position to an exit wedge tip. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry machine of  claim 4 , wherein the first angle equals the second angle. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry machine of  claim 1 , wherein the opposed leaf springs extend along the first travel path. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry machine of  claim 1 , wherein the bolt is operatively connected to the door or the housing by a resilient member configured to exert an unlatching force opposing movement of the bolt from the first bolt position to the second bolt position. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry machine of  claim 1 , wherein the bolt and the bolt handle are mounted to the door and the catch is mounted to the housing. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry machine of  claim 7 , wherein the unlatching force is less than the opening force. 
     
     
         10 . A laundry machine, comprising:
 a housing having an access opening;   a door rotatably connected to the housing adjacent to the access opening, the door being movable between a closed position and an open position; and   a door latch assembly comprising:   a bolt operatively connected to the door or the housing by a resilient member and movable between a first bolt position and a second bolt position, wherein the first bolt position is located on a first travel path defined by movement of the door between the closed position and the open position, and the second bolt position is located on a second travel path defined by movement of the door between the closed position and the open position,   a bolt handle operatively connected to the bolt and configured to move the bolt from the first bolt position to the second bolt position, and   a catch mounted within the first travel path, the catch being configured to engage the bolt when the door is in the closed position and the bolt is in the first bolt position, wherein the catch and bolt are configured to exert an opening force opposing movement of the bolt along the first travel path upon movement of the door from the closed position towards the open position, and   wherein the bolt comprises an entry face directed towards the closed position and an exit face directed towards the open position and the catch comprises opposed leaf springs configured to be spread apart by the entry face upon movement of the door to the closed position and to move together to at least partially surround the exit face upon the door reaching the closed position.   
     
     
         11 . The laundry machine of  claim 10 , wherein the resilient member comprises a spring positioned between the door or the housing and at least one of the bolt and the bolt handle. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry machine of  claim 11 , wherein the spring is integrally formed with the bolt. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry machine of  claim 10 , wherein the entry face comprises an entry wedge that tapers at a first angle towards the closed position to an entry wedge tip and the exit face comprises an exit wedge that tapers at a second angle towards the open position to an exit wedge tip. 
     
     
         14 . The laundry machine of  claim 13 , wherein the first angle equals the second angle. 
     
     
         15 . The laundry machine of  claim 10 , wherein the bolt maintains the first travel path when engaging the catch. 
     
     
         16 . The laundry machine of  claim 10 , wherein the resilient member is configured to exert an unlatching force opposing movement of the bolt from the first bolt position to the second bolt position and the unlatching force is less than the opening force. 
     
     
         17 . A laundry machine, comprising:
 a housing having an access opening;   a door rotatably connected to the housing adjacent to the access opening, the door being movable between a closed position and an open position; and   a door latch assembly comprising:   a bolt movable between a first bolt position and a second bolt position, wherein the first bolt position is located on a first travel path, and the second bolt position is located on a second travel path, wherein the first and second travel paths are defined by movement of the door between the closed position and the open position, and   a catch mounted within the first travel path, the catch being configured to engage the bolt when the door is in the closed position and the bolt is in the first bolt position, wherein the catch and bolt are configured to exert an opening force opposing movement of the bolt along the first travel path upon movement of the door from the closed position towards the open position, and wherein the bolt comprises an entry face directed towards the closed position and an exit face directed towards the open position and the catch comprises opposed leaf springs configured to be spread apart by the entry face upon movement of the door to the closed position.   
     
     
         18 . The laundry machine of  claim 17 , wherein the entry face comprises an entry wedge that tapers at a first angle towards the closed position to an entry wedge tip. 
     
     
         19 . The laundry machine of  claim 18 , wherein the exit face comprises an exit wedge that tapers at a second angle towards the open position to an exit wedge tip. 
     
     
         20 . The laundry machine of  claim 19 , wherein the first angle equals the second angle.