Door lock for home appliance with hook sensing mechanism
A door-lock for household appliances, comprising: a casing having an opening through which it is intended to be inserted a hook connected to the door of the appliance, a cam articulated to the casing and rotatable between an open door position and a closed door position, wherein the insertion of the hook in the casing rotates the cam from the open door position to the closed door position, a locking mechanism including a locking pin movable between an unlocking position and a locking position, a main switch switchable between an open position and a closed position, wherein said locking pin in the unlocking position prevents the closure of the main switch, and a hook sensing mechanism including a hook sensing pin movable between a disengaged hook position and an inserted hook position, wherein said hook sensing pin cooperates directly with said main switch and prevents the closure of the main switch in the disengaged hook position.
1. A door-lock for a household appliance, the door-lock comprising:
a casing having an opening through which a hook connected to a door of the household appliance can be inserted,
a cam articulated to the casing and rotatable between an open door position and a closed door position, wherein insertion of the hook into the casing rotates the cam from the open door position to the closed door position,
a main switch switchable between an open position and a closed position,
a locking mechanism including a locking pin selectively engaging the main switch, the locking pin movable between:
an unlocking position defined when the locking mechanism is unlocked and the locking pin engages the main switch to prevent closure of the main switch to the closed position; and
a locking position defined when the locking mechanism is locked and the locking pin is disengaged from the main switch to allow closure of the main switch to the closed position; and
a hook sensing mechanism including a hook sensing pin selectively engaging the main switch, the hook sensing pin movable between:
a disengaged hook position defined when the hook is not inserted into the casing and the hook sensing pin engages the main switch to prevent closure of the main switch to the closed position; and
an inserted hook position defined when the hook is inserted into the casing and the hook sensing pin is disengaged from the main switch to allow closure of the main switch to the closed position,
wherein the locking pin and the hook sensing pin are independent from each other so that:
closure of the main switch to the closed position is prevented when either:
the locking pin is in the unlocking position and engages the main switch independent of a position of the hook sensing pin, or
the hook sensing pin is in the disengaged hook position and engages the main switch independent of a position of the locking pin, and
closure of the main switch to the closed position can only occur when both:
the locking pin is in the locking position and is disengaged from the main switch, and
the hook sensing pin is in the inserted hook position and is disengaged from the main switch.
2. A door-lock according to claim 1 , wherein the main switch comprises a fixed electric contact and a movable electric contact carried by a flexible blade, wherein the locking pin, when in the unlocked position, and the hook sensing pin, when in the disengaged hook position, both act on the flexible blade to prevent contact between the movable electric contact and the fixed electric contact, thereby preventing closure of the main switch to the closed position.
3. A door-lock for a household appliance, the door-lock comprising:
a casing having an opening through which a hook connected to a door of the household appliance can be inserted;
a cam articulated to the casing and rotatable between an open door position and a closed door position, wherein insertion of the hook into the casing rotates the cam from the open door position to the closed door position,
a locking mechanism including a locking pin movable between an unlocking position and a locking position;
a main switch switchable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the locking pin, when in the unlocking position, prevents the closure of the main switch to the closed position;
a hook sensing mechanism including a hook sensing pin movable between a disengaged hook position and an inserted hook position,
wherein the hook sensing pin cooperates directly with the main switch and prevents the closure of the main switch to the closed position when in the disengaged hook position; and
wherein the hook sensing mechanism further comprises:
a shaft rotatable relative to the casing about an axis and having at least one arm intended to contact with the hook during the insertion of the hook into the casing; and
a transmission for controlling the movement of the hook sensing pin from the disengaged hook position to the inserted hook position as a function of the position of the shaft about the axis.
4. A door-lock according to claim 3 , wherein the hook sensing mechanism further comprises an elastic element disposed between the hook sensing pin and the casing and that tends to push the hook sensing pin to the disengaged hook position.
5. A door-lock according to claim 3 , wherein the shaft has an eccentric pin which engages a groove of the hook sensing pin.
6. A door-lock according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one arm comprises a pair of radial arms adapted to contact the hook, the radial arms being located laterally on opposite sides of the cam.