Hinge assembly for an appliance lid and installation method therefor
A laundry appliance includes a cabinet having a top panel that defines an aperture for selectively accessing a treatment chamber defined within the cabinet. A lid is rotationally operable relative to the aperture of the top panel between open and closed positions. Hinge assemblies extend between the lid and the top panel. The hinge assemblies include a first hinge assembly. A second hinge assembly is selectively retractable into the lid to a retracted position. A biasing member biases the second hinge assembly out to an extended position. At least the second hinge assembly is operable to the retracted position to bypass a portion of the top panel to define an installed position where the first and second hinge assemblies are engaged with respective hinge receptacles of the top panel.
1 . A method for installing a lid onto an appliance comprising steps of:
positioning a guide structure on a cabinet;
aligning sloped portions of the guide structure toward respective hinge receptacles that are disposed within a lid opening of the cabinet;
positioning a first hinge and a second hinge on respective sloped portions;
sliding said lid along the sloped portions and toward the lid opening, wherein the sloped portions bias the at least one of the first hinge and the second hinge, respectively, toward a retracted position;
disposing said lid into an installed position within the lid opening, wherein the first hinge and the second hinge are each biased outward toward the respective hinge receptacles;
engaging the first and second hinges within the respective hinge receptacles to secure said lid to the cabinet, wherein the step of positioning the guide structure includes configuring the sloped portions of the guide structure to cooperate with an installation spring of the first hinge and an installation spring of the second hinge, respectively; and removing the guide structure from the cabinet after the lid is in the installed position.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the guide structure includes opposing guide members, and wherein the sloped portions of the opposing guide members define different slopes, wherein the different slopes are calibrated according to the installation springs of the first and second hinges.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of positioning the first and second hinges on the sloped portions includes positioning the first hinge and the second hinge onto the sloped portions of the opposing guide members.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the first hinge defines a damper and the second hinge defines a lift-assist mechanism, and wherein the damper is a one-way damper that operates only when said lid moves from an open position to a closed position relative to the cabinet.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sloped portions of the guide structure are positioned to guide a downward movement of the first hinge and the second hinge toward the installed position.
6 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the opposing guide members of the guide structure are separate components that are separately attached to the cabinet.
7 . A method for installing a lid onto an appliance comprising steps of:
positioning a guide member on a cabinet;
aligning a sloped portion of the guide member to slope toward an installed position of said lid, the installed position defined by said lid disposed within a lid opening of the cabinet;
positioning a first hinge assembly within a hinge receptacle of respective hinge receptacles within the lid opening;
positioning a second hinge assembly on the sloped portion;
rotating said lid about the respective hinge receptacles and toward the installed position;
sliding the second hinge assembly along the sloped portion and toward the installed position within the lid opening, wherein the sloped portion biases at least the second hinge assembly toward a retracted position;
disposing said lid into the lid opening, wherein the first hinge assembly and the second hinge assembly are each biased outward toward the respective hinge receptacles of the cabinet;
engaging the first and second hinge assemblies within the respective hinge receptacles to secure said lid to the cabinet in the installed position; and removing the guide member from the cabinet after the lid is in the installed position.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the step of positioning the first hinge assembly includes positioning a portion of a damper of the first hinge assembly into a hinge receptacle of the respective hinge receptacles, wherein the damper of the first hinge assembly is at least partially disposed within a hinge cavity of the lid.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the second hinge assembly is biased to the retracted position at least partially by compression of an installation spring of the damper that is positioned within the hinge cavity.
10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the second hinge assembly is a lift-assist mechanism that includes an installation spring.
11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the step of sliding the second hinge assembly along the sloped portion and toward the installed position within the lid opening includes moving the second hinge assembly in a downward direction toward the installed position.
12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the step of positioning the guide member includes selectively securing the guide member to a surface of a top panel for the cabinet.
13 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the step of sliding the second hinge assembly along the sloped portion and toward the installed position includes sliding the second hinge assembly along a guide channel of the guide member that guides the second hinge assembly toward the respective hinge receptacle.