The disclosure relates to motor type hinge apparatus for a door, which can reduce load of a motor when a door of a washing machine is opened and closed, and of opening and closing the door even with less load of the motor. The motor type hinge apparatus includes a housing provided at a main body of an appliance that is equipped with a door, a motor assembly including a shaft, a joint, and a motor, a cam provided in the housing, and including a first hole and a second hole respectively formed at first and second ends thereof, a cam link including a second link hole and a first link hole respectively formed at first and second ends thereof, and a lever including a lever hole, a rod, and first and second steps.

A centering apparatus for bi-directionally pivotable hopper doors. The apparatus is coupled between a frame of a hopper car and a bell crank of a hopper door. The apparatus includes a housing with a piston extending from one end. An end of the piston within the housing includes a piston head. A pair of coil springs are disposed within the housing on opposite sides of the piston head and counteract one another to bias the piston head toward the center of the housing and thus bias the hopper door toward a closed state. In a second configuration the apparatus includes a double-acting actuator with a pair of independent piston assemblies. An actuation system coupled to the actuator maintains the actuator and an associated hopper door in a closed position in a normal state and returns the hopper door to the closed position upon a failure in the system.

An ejecting device for a folding door is movably arranged on a furniture body. First and second door leaves of the folding door are interconnected in an articulated manner. The ejecting device has an ejecting element for folding open the folding door from a closed position, in which the door leaves are in a common closed plane, into an open position, in which the door leaves form an angle not equal to 180°. The ejecting device has a first fitting part for mounting the ejecting device on the first door leaf. The ejecting element can move the second door leaf from the closed position into the open position by a scissor mechanism having at least two scissor levers, and is mounted between the first and second door leaves by an articulated connection formed by an intermediate lever connected in an articulated manner to the first and/or second scissor lever.

A swing door operator for moving a door leaf between an open and a closed position is described, the swing door operator including at least one drive unit that has a motor and a spring, the motor and spring being arranged to interact to enable moving the swing door leaf between the open and closed positions. The swing door operator also has a control unit that is operatively connected to the drive unit and thereby to the motor and that controls different modes of door operation.

An actuating apparatus (1) for opening and closing a cover in or on a vehicle, having a locking and/or arresting kinematics that cooperate with the cover. The actuating apparatus includes a housing (2) and an actuating part (3) received in the housing (2) and movably supported relative to the housing (2). The actuating part (3) cooperates with the cover in such a way that the actuating part (3) performs a movement relative to the housing (2) between a first position and a second position upon a movement of the cover between a closed position and an open position, wherein, in the first position, the actuating part (3) is in a locked state. The actuating apparatus (1) further includes an elastically deformable spring system (4) associated with the actuating part (3), in particular having a progressive spring characteristic.

The present invention relates to a device and a method for opening and closing supported covers, in which a first compressive force is exerted onto a working body having a longitudinal axis in a first axial direction so that the working body is released from a latch connection, the working body being displaced in a spring-mounted manner from the housing into a first working position against the first compressive force direction when the first compressive force is cancelled, wherein a cover operatively connected to the working body is opened, is returned partially into the housing into a second working position by a renewed compressive force in the same axial direction of the working body; the working body, when partially returned, latches with the latch connection, and, by way of a continued compressive force in the same axial direction, the working body is returned against a resistance of a damping element into a starting position in the housing, the cover being returnable into a closed position.

An exemplary method involves operating a door operator coupled to a door. The door operator includes a motor operable to move the door in at least one direction and a controller operable to control the motor. The method generally involves a calibration procedure including: with the door at a first position and the door having an initial speed, initiating, by the controller, measurement of a time duration; in response to the door reaching a target speed different from the initial speed, ceasing, by the controller, measurement of the time duration; and determining, by the controller, a maximum speed based on the time duration. The method further includes performing at least one operation based upon the maximum speed.

Provided is a drive device for the movement of a closure element of a motor vehicle relative to a body of the motor vehicle including an outer tube with a longitudinal axis for coupling to the body, an inner element arranged in the outer tube for coupling to the closure element, a helical compression spring arranged between the inner element and the outer tube, and an internal guide element arranged between the inner element and the helical compression spring and axially fixed to the inner element for the internal guidance of an internal guide end section of the helical compression spring. The inner element is extendable along the longitudinal axis from the outer tube. The helical compression spring is compressed against a spring tension of the helical compression spring when the inner element is pulled out of the outer tube.

A refrigerator includes a cabinet; a storage compartment located within the cabinet; a first door pivotally mounted to the cabinet, the first door configured to open or close a first portion of the storage compartment; a second door pivotally mounted to the cabinet, the second door configured to open or close a second portion of the storage compartment; a pillar pivotally mounted to the first door and configured to block leakage of cold air between the first door and the second door; a pillar boss protruding outward from the pillar; a guide recess configured to guide the pillar boss; and a rotator that defines the guide recess, the rotator being configured to rotate about a rotation axis.

A spindle drive for a closure element of a motor vehicle including a downstream spindle/spindle nut mechanism, a spindle, a spindle nut and a spindle guide tube, for producing drive movements along a drive axis. A number of drive connections adjustable with respect to one another to transmit the drive movements, the first drive connection axially fixed to the spindle guide tube, a second drive connection axially fixed to the spindle, a drive spring configured to produce drive movements along the drive axis, the spindle guide tube has a first outer radius extending along at least one axial portion and on a side facing the first drive connection, a tube end portion with a tube end edge, that the tube end portion is widened radially so that the tube end edge has an outer end edge radius which is greater than the first outer radius.