DOCKING STATION FOR A REFRIGERATOR

• US 20090064705A1
• Filed: 07/30/2008
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: MAGLINGER, FRANK WESTON
• Granted Patent: US 8,276,399 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/377
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/12 Arrangements of compartments additional to cooling compartments; Combinations of refrigerators with other equipment, e.g. stove

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator having a docking station for holding electronic accessories tight against the door of the refrigerator. In one aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator includes a body having one or more doors, a docking station associated with the door, and having a receiving portion adapted to receive a module, and at least one spring associated with the docking station adapted to keep the docking station and the module flush against the door to eliminate variation and fit between the module and the door.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a body having one or more doors;

a docking station associated with the door and having a receiving portion adapted to receive a module; and

at least one spring associated with the docking station adapted to keep the docking station and the module flush against the door to eliminate variation in fit between the module and the door.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising a corresponding pair of fasteners positioned on the door and the module adapted to keep the bottom position of the module snug against the door.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2 wherein the corresponding pair of fasteners are hook and loop fasteners.

4. The refrigerator of claim 2 wherein the corresponding pair of fasteners are a suction cup and a surface capable of receiving the suction cup.

5. The refrigerator of claim 2 wherein the corresponding pair of fasteners are a magnetically active plate and at least one magnet.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5 wherein a pole shoe is mounted across the magnets to increase holding power and concentrate magnetic flux to prevent interference with the module.

7. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the receiving portion is cup-shaped having a bottom wall with a pair of spring levers extending perpendicularly upward from the bottom wall adapted to bias a top portion of the module against the door to eliminate variation in fit between the top portion of the module and the door.

8. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the module has an abutment shaped to mate within the docking station whereby the spring presses against the abutment to urge the module against the door to eliminate variation in fit between the module and the door.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the docking station further comprises a top surface having parallel edges terminating in a pair of sidewalls, whereby one edge further comprises a pair of spring levers extending generally downward from the edge and generally outward from the sidewall.

10. The refrigerator of claim 9 wherein the pair of spring levers push against an interior of the door to bias the docking station against an exterior of the door.

11. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the door further comprises a cover having an inner and outer surface, whereby at least one of the springs keeps the docking station flush against the inner surface and another spring keeps the module flush against the outer surface.

12. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the docking station is adapted to be positioned relative to the door by one or more snaps adapted to ingress the door and/or the module.

13. The refrigerator of claim 12 wherein the module has an aperture adapted to mate with the snaps on the docking station to secure the module to the docking station.

14. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the docking station further comprises one or more cavities adapted to receive a pin to secure a cap to the docking station.

15. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the docking station further comprises a mounting plate adapted to floatably house a connector, whereby contact pins in the connector are mateably received in the module when docked in the docking station.

16. The refrigerator of claim 15 wherein the connector is a power connector adapted to provide power to the module.

17. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the docking station is housed within a top portion of the door.

18. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the module is an electronic device.

19. The refrigerator of claim 18 wherein the electronic device is an iPod docking station, cell phone charging/hands-free docking station, TV, digital picture frame, Web tablet, message board, DVD system or other electronic device.

20. A refrigerator comprising:

a body having one or more doors with an exterior surface;

a docking station positioned at a top of the door and having a receiving portion adapted to receive a module; and

at least one pair of spring levers associated with the docking station adapted to keep the docking station and the module flush against the exterior surface of the door to eliminate variation in fit between the module and the door.

21. The refrigerator of claim 20 wherein the at least one pair of spring levers is positioned within the docking station to keep the module flush against the exterior surface of the door.

22. The refrigerator of claim 20 wherein the at least one pair of spring levers is positioned outside the docking station to keep the docking station flush against an inner sidewall of the exterior surface of the door.

23. The refrigerator of claim 20 wherein a ferrous metal plate is positioned behind the exterior surface of the door.

24. The refrigerator of claim 23 wherein the module has one or more magnets attracted to the ferrous metal plate to urge the module flush against the exterior surface of the door.

25. The refrigerator of claim 20 wherein the module further comprises an abutment adapted to be mateably received within the docking station, whereby the at least one pair of spring levers press against the abutment to urge the module flush against the exterior surface of the door.

26. A refrigerator comprising:

a body having one or more doors with an exterior surface;

a magnetically active plate positioned behind the exterior surface of the door adapted to receive a module; and

a magnet associated with the module to keep the module flush against the exterior surface of the door to eliminate variation in fit between the module and the door.

27. The refrigerator of claim 26 further comprises a docking station positioned at a top of the door having a receiving portion adapted to receive the module.

28. The refrigerator of claim 27 further comprises at least one pair of spring levers associated with the docking station adapted to keep the docking station and the module flush against the exterior surface of the door to eliminate variation in fit between the module and the door.

29. The refrigerator of claim 26 wherein the magnetically active plate is a ferrous metal plate.

30. The refrigerator of claim 26 further comprising a docking station with sidewalls connected by a bottom wall to form a receiving portion, the bottom wall having a pair of upwardly extending spring levers.

31. The refrigerator of claim 30 wherein the module further comprises an abutment having a front side and opposite backside, whereby the pair of upwardly extending spring levers are in contact with the front side of the abutment to bias the backside of the abutment against one sidewall to draw the module up flush against the door when the module is docked in the receiving portion.