Refrigerator Storage System

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/347,358 filed on Jul. 5, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.

The present disclosure relates to an appliance such as a refrigerator.

In order to keep food fresh, a low temperature must be maintained within a refrigerator to reduce the reproduction rate of harmful bacteria. Refrigerators circulate refrigerant and change the refrigerant from a liquid state to a gas state by an evaporation process in order to cool the air within the refrigerator. During the evaporation process, heat is transferred to the refrigerant. After evaporating, a compressor increases the pressure, and in turn, the temperature of the refrigerant. The gas refrigerant is then condensed into a liquid and the excess heat is rejected to the ambient surroundings. The process then repeats.

A refrigerator includes a door, a bin, opposing rails, and a protrusion. The door has an interior surface. The bin is disposed on the interior surface of the door. The opposing rails are positioned below the bin such that a space is defined below the bin and between the opposing rails. The protrusion extends downward from the bin and into the space. The container defines grooves on opposing sides of the container. The container is operable to engage the opposing rails within the grooves to facilitate movement of the container into and out of the space. The protrusion is operable to engage a top-rearward region of the container to force the container downward and restrict vertical movement of the container within the space. Rearward regions of the opposing rails are sloped downward to bias the container into the space.

A refrigerator storage system includes a storage bin, rails, a protrusion, and a container. The rails are positioned below the storage bin and define a space. The protrusion extends downward from the storage bin into the space. The container is operable to engage the rails to facilitate movement of the container into and out of the space. The protrusion is operable to engage the container to force the container downward. The rails are sloped downward to bias the container into the space.

A refrigerator storage system includes a container, rails, and a protrusion. The container is operable to receive items for storage therein. The rails define a space and operable to guide the container into and out of the space, wherein the rails are sloped downward to bias the container into the space. The protrusion extends into the space and is operable to engage the container to force the container downward and restrict vertical movement of the container within the space.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and other embodiments may take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features could be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the embodiments. As those of ordinary skill in the art will understand, various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures may be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combinations of features illustrated provide representative embodiments for typical applications. Various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of this disclosure, however, could be desired for particular applications or implementations.

Referring to, generally a refrigeratorof the French-Door Bottom Mount type is illustrated. However, it should be understood that this disclosure could apply to any type of refrigerator, such as a side-by-side, two-door bottom mount, or a top-mount type. As shown in, the refrigeratormay have a first internal storage chamber, internal cavity, or fresh food compartmentconfigured to refrigerate and not freeze consumables within the fresh food compartment, and a second internal storage chamber, internal cavity, or a freezer compartmentconfigured to freeze consumables within the freezer compartmentduring normal use. The refrigeratorincludes panels or wallsthat form a housing and define the fresh food compartmentand the freezer compartment. The wallsmay more specifically form an inner or internal liner of the refrigerator. The wallsmay include a rear or back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and two side walls. The wallsmay also include additional internal walls, such as a divider wall between the fresh food compartmentand freezer compartment.

One or more shelvesmay be secured to the wallswithin the fresh food compartment. One or more drawersmay be slidably secured to the shelvesor the walls within the fresh food compartment. More specifically, the drawersmay be slidably secured to the shelvesor the walls within the fresh food compartmentvia tracks or rails. One or more of the drawersmay be either a pantry draweror a crisper drawer. Crisper drawermay more specifically be drawers defining a storage space that is kept at a desired humidity that may be different from the remainder of the fresh food compartment, but that is optimal for maintaining freshness of fruits and vegetables.

The refrigeratormay have one or more doors,that provide selective access to the interior volume of the refrigeratorwhere consumables may be stored. As shown, the fresh food compartment doors are designated, and the freezer door is designated. It may also be shown that the fresh food compartmentmay only have one door. The doorsmay be rotatably secured to the wallsby one or more hinges.

It is generally known that the freezer compartmentis typically kept at a temperature below the freezing point of water, and the fresh food compartmentis typically kept at a temperature above the freezing point of water and generally below a temperature of from about 35° F. to about 50° F., more typically below about 38° F.

The doorsmay each include an exterior paneland an interior panelthat is disposed on an internal side of the respective exterior panelof each door. The interior panelsmay be configured to face the fresh food compartmentwhen the doorsare in closed positions (See). The interior panelmay more specifically be a door liner. An insulating material, such as an insulating foam, may be disposed between the exterior paneland interior panelof each doorin order to reduce the heat transfer from the ambient surroundings and increase the efficiency of the refrigerator.

The refrigeratormay also have a water inlet that is fastened to and in fluid communication with a household water supply of potable water. Typically, the household water supply connects to a municipal water source or a well. The water inlet may be fluidly engaged with one or more of a water filter, a water reservoir, and a refrigerator water supply line. The refrigerator water supply line may include one or more nozzles and one or more valves. The refrigerator water supply line may supply water to one or more water outlets; typically one outlet for water is in the dispensing area and another to an ice tray. The refrigeratormay also have a control board or controller that sends electrical signals to the one or more valves when prompted by a user that water is desired or if an ice making cycle is required.

Such a controller may be part of a larger control system and may be controlled by various other controllers throughout the refrigerator, and one or more other controllers can collectively be referred to as a “controller” that controls various functions of the refrigeratorin response to inputs or signals to control functions of the refrigerator. The controller may include a microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) in communication with various types of computer readable storage devices or media. Computer readable storage devices or media may include volatile and nonvolatile storage in read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), and keep-alive memory (KAM), for example. KAM is a persistent or non-volatile memory that may be used to store various operating variables while the CPU is powered down. Computer-readable storage devices or media may be implemented using any of a number of known memory devices such as PROMs (programmable read-only memory), EPROMS (electrically PROM), EEPROMs (electrically erasable PROM), flash memory, or any other electric, magnetic, optical, or combination memory devices capable of storing data, some of which represent executable instructions, used by the controller in controlling the refrigerator.

Control logic or functions performed by the controller may be represented by flow charts or similar diagrams in one or more figures. These figures provide representative control strategies and/or logic that may be implemented using one or more processing strategies such as event-driven, interrupt-driven, multi-tasking, multi-threading, and the like. As such, various steps or functions illustrated may be performed in the sequence illustrated, in parallel, or in some cases omitted. Although not always explicitly illustrated, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that one or more of the illustrated steps or functions may be repeatedly performed depending upon the particular processing strategy being used. Similarly, the order of processing is not necessarily required to achieve the features and advantages described herein, but is provided for ease of illustration and description. The control logic may be implemented primarily in software executed by a microprocessor-based controller. Of course, the control logic may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware in one or more controllers depending upon the particular application. When implemented in software, the control logic may be provided in one or more computer-readable storage devices or media having stored data representing code or instructions executed by a computer to control the refrigeratoror its subsystems. The computer-readable storage devices or media may include one or more of a number of known physical devices which utilize electric, magnetic, and/or optical storage to keep executable instructions and associated calibration information, operating variables, and the like.

The doorsmay also include storage binsthat are able to hold food items or containers. The storage binsmay be secured to interior surfacesor the interior panelsof each door. Alternatively, the storage binsmay integrally formed within or defined by the interior panelsof each door. In yet another alternative, a portion of the storage binsmay be secured to the interior panelsof each door, while another portion of the storage binsmay be integrally formed within or defined by the interior panelsof each door. The storage binsmay include shelves (e.g., a lower surface upon, which a food item or container may rest upon) that extend from back and/or side surfaces of the interior panelsof each door.

Referring to, a bin systemfor the refrigeratoris illustrated. The bin systemmay be referred to as the refrigerator bin system. The bin systemmay be disposed anywhere within the refrigerator(e.g., within the fresh food compartmentor the freezer compartment). The bin systemmay be secured to one of the panels or wallswithin the fresh food compartmentor the freezer compartment. The bins systemmay be secured to one of the doors(e.g., the bin systemmay be secured to the interior surfaceor the interior panelof one of the doors). For example, one or more of the binsillustrated inmay be replaced by the bin system. If the bin systemis secured to one of the doors, the bin systemmay be referred to as the refrigerator door bin system.

The bin systemmay be disposed along or secured to the interior surfaceor the interior panelof one of the doors. Alternatively, the bin systemmay disposed along or secured to one of the panels or wallswithin the fresh food compartmentor the freezer compartment. The bin systemincludes a bin. The binhas a receptacledisposed along a top sideof the bin. The binalso includes at least one rail (hereinafter referred to as rails) that are disposed below the receptaclealong a bottom sideof the of the bin. The railsextend downward from receptacleand define a spacebelow the receptacle. The railsmay include first and second spaced-apart opposing rails and the spacemay be at least partially defined between the first and second opposing rails.

An insert or adapter plateis secured to the top sideof the bin. More specifically, the adapter platemay be secured to the top side of the receptacle. The adapter platedefines a plurality of orificesconfigured to receive primary containers. The orificesmay be referred to as container-receiving openings. The plurality of orificesmay vary in size, the primary containersmay vary in size, and the orificesmay be configured to receive primary containershaving corresponding sizes. Alternatively, the bin, or more specifically the receptacle, may define the plurality of orificesas opposed to a separate adapter plate.

The depth at which the primary containersextend downward into the adapter plateis designed to be equal to or within a plus or minus 15% variance of the height of the center of mass of the primary containers. When the center of mass of each primary containeris below the top of the adapter plate, or very close to the top of the adapter plate(e.g., with the plus or minus 15% variance), the primary containershave an unfavorable rotational moment about the adapter plate, maintaining the position of the primary containerson the bin systemas the refrigerator doorsopen and close. Furthermore, when the primary containersare partially filled with food (e.g., below the top of the container), the resultant center of masses of the primary containersis below the center of masses of the empty primary containersresulting in an increased favorable condition for the primary containersto remain in place and not rotate out of the adapter plateas the refrigerator doorsopen and close.

A secondary containeris configured to engage the railsfor securing the secondary contain 48 onto the bin, or more specifically onto the receptacle, and for removing the secondary containerfrom the bin, or more specifically from the receptacle. More specifically, the secondary containeris configured to engage the railsfor inserting the secondary containerinto the spaceand for removing the secondary containerfrom the space. The secondary containerdefines grooveson opposing sides of the secondary container. The secondary containeris configured to engage the railswithin the groovesfor inserting the secondary containerinto the spaceand for removing the secondary containerfrom the space.

The secondary containermay include a container portion, a lid, and a seal. The sealmay be disposed between the lidand the container portion. The lidmay include clips, clamps, or snapsthat engage a ridgeprotruding from an outer periphery of the container portionto secure the lidto the container portion. Engagement of the snapsand the ridgemay result in the lidcompressing the sealand forcing the sealinto contact with the container portionsuch that sealprevents the contents within the secondary containerfrom spilling out of the container portionwhen the lidis secured to the container portion.

Each primary containermay include all of the same subcomponents as the secondary container(e.g., each primary containermay include a container portion, a lid, a seal, snaps, and a ridge) that may function in the same manner as subcomponents the secondary container(e.g., engagement of the snapsand the ridgemay result in the lidcompressing the sealand forcing the sealinto contact with the container portionsuch that sealprevents the contents within each primary containerfrom spilling out of the container portionwhen the lidis secured to the container portion).

The railsmay include upward at least one upward extending protrusion (hereinafter upward extending protrusions). The secondary containerdefines at least one notch (hereinafter notches) extending upward from the grooves. The upward extending protrusionsare configured to engage the secondary containerwithin the notchesto secure the position of the secondary containeron the bin, or more specifically on the receptacle. Also, the upward extending protrusionsare configured to engage the secondary containerwithin the notchesto secure the position of the secondary containerwithin the space.

Rearward endsof the railsare sloped downward. The secondary containermay be configured to engage the rearward endsof the railssuch that the secondary containeris biased onto the bin, toward a back endof the bin, and into the space. More specifically, the secondary containermay be configured to engage the rearward endsof the railssuch that the secondary containeris biased onto the receptacle, toward a back end of the receptacle, and into the space.

The binmay further comprise a stop, or multiple stops, disposed along the back endof the binwithin the spaceThe stopis configured to engage the secondary containerto limit travel of the secondary containerrelative to the binand into the spacealong direction. The stopmay more specifically extend downward from the receptacleand into the space, and may be configured to engage the secondary containerto limit travel of the secondary containerrelative to the receptacleand into the spacealong direction.

The binmay further comprise a protrusionconfigured to engage a top of the secondary containerto restrict vertical movement of the secondary container(e.g., movement along vertical axis) relative to the binand within the space. The protrusionmay more specifically extend downward from the receptacleand into the space, and may be configured to engage top of the secondary containerto restrict vertical movement of the secondary container(e.g., movement along vertical axis) relative to the receptacleand within the space. The protrusion may include a ramped section that engages the secondary containerto wedge or lodge the secondary containeronto the bin. The protrusionmay be integral with the stop.

Engagement between the upward extending protrusionsand the notches, biasing the secondary container toward the back endof the binvia the sloped rearward endsof the rails, and the protrusionengaging the top of the secondary containerto restrict vertical movement of the secondary containeroperates to lock the secondary containerto the bin, or more specifically to the receptacle. The secondary containeressentially hangs from the rails. Therefore, the various engagements that operate to lock the secondary containerto the binprevent the secondary container from dislodging or moving as the refrigerator doorsopen and close, or in the event the refrigerator doorsare slammed.

It should be understood that the designations of first, second, third, fourth, etc. for any component, state, or condition described herein may be rearranged in the claims so that they are in chronological order with respect to the claims. Furthermore, it should be understood that any component, state, or condition described herein that does not have a numerical designation may be given a designation of first, second, third, fourth, etc. in the claims if one or more of the specific component, state, or condition are claimed.

The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. As previously described, the features of various embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments that may not be explicitly described or illustrated. While various embodiments could have been described as providing advantages or being preferred over other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more desired characteristics, those of ordinary skill in the art recognize that one or more features or characteristics may be compromised to achieve desired overall system attributes, which depend on the specific application and implementation. As such, embodiments described as less desirable than other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more characteristics are not outside the scope of the disclosure and may be desirable for particular applications.