Supports: cabinet structure – With movable components – Having biasing means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-28
2003-03-25
Hansen, James O. (Department: 3637)
Supports: cabinet structure
With movable components
Having biasing means
C312S322000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536860
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to door mechanisms on storage units, such as for partition-mounted binder bins. However, it should be understood that a scope of the present invention is not limited to only partition-mounted storage units.
It is desirable to counterbalance a weight of doors on binder bins so that the doors do not swing closed with a hard action. Further, it is desirable to bias a door into a fully open or fully closed position for aesthetic and ergonomic reasons and also so that the door does not accidentally fall from the open position toward the closed position. However, such biasing devices are generally not available or are undesirably complex. One reason is because an operative weight of the door changes as the door moves between its opened and closed positions, such that it is difficult for a single mechanism to satisfy the force requirements near the open position and at the same time near the closed position. For example, in a door pivoted to a sidewall of a binder bin, the operative weight of the door is at its maximum when the door is near the closed position, because the center of gravity of the door is farthest forward of the pivot point. Contrastingly, when the door is near its opened position, the operative weight is relatively low because the center of gravity of the door is closest to the pivot point.
Accordingly, an apparatus is desired having the aforementioned advantages and that solves the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus includes a storage bin and a door pivoted to the storage bin for movement between open and closed positions. A biasing device is operably connected to the storage bin and to the door for biasing the door toward both the open position and closed positions. The biasing device includes a shifting anchor member that translates toward a first position where the biasing device creates a first biasing force sufficient to close the door during a last portion of door closure movement and that translates toward a second position where the biasing device creates a second biasing force sufficient to open the door during a last portion of door opening movement.
In another aspect of the present invention, a closable storage apparatus includes a storage bin with an opening therein. The apparatus also includes a door pivoted to the storage bin for movement between open and closed positions along a path that includes a near-to-open path segment near the open position, a near-to-closed path segment near the closed position, and an intermediate path segment between the near-to-open and near-to-closed path segments. A moment-arm-shift biasing device is operably coupled to the storage bin that is configured to translatingly shift to a first position when the door is in the near-to-open path segment, and is configured to translatingly shift to a second position when the door is in the near-to-closed path segment, and is configured not to shift when the door is in the intermediate path segment.
In still another aspect of the present invention, a method of biasing a cover member of a furniture unit includes steps of attaching a biasing element to the cover member at a first attachment point, and attaching the biasing element to an anchorage member at a second attachment point, the anchorage member being operably coupled to the furniture unit. The method still further includes translatingly moving one of the first and second attachment points from a first position to a second position as the closure member is moved from an open position to a closed position and translatingly moving the one attachment point from the second position to the first position as the closure member is moved from the closed position to the open position. The biasing element biases the closure member with a first biasing force when the one attachment point is in the second position to positively close the cover member. The biasing element biases the closure member with a second biasing force when the one attachment point is in the first position to positively open the cover member.
These and other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to a person of ordinary skill upon reading the following description and claims together with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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Eich Thomas B.
Heidmann Kurt R.
Hansen James O.
Price Heneveld Cooper DeWitt & Litton
Steelcase Development Corporation
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