Slide out door bin

• US 9,816,746 B1
• Filed: 11/18/2016
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Haney, Trevor, Haque, Niyaz Ul, Kadu, Bhushan Chandrakant, Myers, John Jay, Powade, Amit Prakash
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Hanh V
• Application Number:
  US15/356,148
• Time in Patent Office: 361 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 11/00 Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/028 Details
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/04 with special compartments, e.g. butter conditioners
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2323/023 Door in door constructions
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 25/021 combined with trays
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 25/024 Slidable shelves
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 25/025 Drawers

Abstract

A refrigeration appliance door bin assembly that includes: a refrigeration appliance door bin having a substantially planar main base portion, at least one upwardly extending wall that is free of an indentation, apertures or recesses extending upward from the main base portion and a downwardly extending perimeter lip portion where the main base portion and the downwardly extending lip portion define a downwardly facing door bin frame engagement space, the door bin engagement space engages a door bin frame of a refrigerator spaced within the door of a refrigerator such that the downwardly extending lip portion surrounds an exterior portion of the door bin frame and prevents substantial movement of the door bin when the door bin is engaged with the door bin frame caused by a refrigeration appliance door opening force or a refrigeration appliance door closing force; and a refrigeration appliance door bin bottom surface cover.

Claims

1. A refrigeration appliance door bin assembly comprising:

a refrigeration appliance door bin comprising;

a substantially planar main base portion, at least one upwardly extending wall that is free of an indentation, apertures or recesses extending upward from the substantially planar main base portion surrounding and thereby defining an interior volume of the refrigeration appliance door bin wherein the interior volume is sized to fit within a sub-volume within a larger volume of a door where the larger volume of the door is defined by a top wall, a bottom wall and two side walls of the door; and

a downwardly extending perimeter lip portion; and

wherein the main base portion and the downwardly extending lip portion define a downwardly facing door bin frame engagement space and the main base portion establishes a door bin frame cavity upper surface and the downwardly extending lip portion establishes an exterior surface of the door bin frame engagement space;

the door bin engagement space engages a door bin frame of a refrigerator spaced within the door of a refrigerator such that the downwardly extending lip portion surrounds an exterior portion of the door bin frame and prevents substantial movement of the door bin when the door bin is engaged with the door bin frame caused by a refrigeration appliance door opening force or a refrigeration appliance door closing force; and

a refrigeration appliance door bin bottom surface cover removably engaged with the refrigeration appliance door bin'"'"'s substantially planar main base portion and spaced within the interior volume of the refrigeration appliance door bin and wherein the refrigeration appliance door bin bottom surface cover is removable by hand and without the use of tools from the interior volume of the substantially planar main base portion and wherein the refrigeration appliance door bin bottom surface cover covers at least one recess or aperture on a bottom of the refrigeration appliance door bin and the refrigeration appliance door bin bottom surface cover is engaged with at least a portion of the substantially planar main base portion.

2. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 1, wherein the door bin frame has a rectangular shape including two side frame members having a width of from about 1 inch to about 2 inches, a front frame member, and a back frame member wherein the front and the back frame members are each a width of from about 0.5 inches to about 1.5 inches, and the front frame member, the back frame member and the side members are interconnected to form the rectangular shape and have a height of from about 1 inch to about 2 inches.

3. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 1, wherein the substantially planar door bin base portion comprises a perimeter defining a base section area and has an aperture in a center section of the substantially planar door base portion;

and

wherein the bottom of the refrigeration appliance door bin comprises at least one recess or aperture on the bottom of the refrigeration appliance door bin and the aperture is defined by a perimeter of an interior perimeter the main base portion; and

wherein the aperture on the bottom of the refrigeration appliance door bin has an area that is about 80% of a total surface area defined by an exterior perimeter of refrigeration appliance door bin'"'"'s at least upwardly extending wall.

4. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one upwardly extending wall and the downwardly extending perimeter lip portion are coplanar and form an exterior of the door bin.

5. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 1, wherein the door bin bottom surface cover is sized to matingly engage and at least substantially fill a surface area defined by the at least one upwardly extending walls at the substantially planar main base portion.

6. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one upwardly extending wall is four upwardly extending side walls with a cross section that is at least substantially the same shape as the shape of the door bin frame and wherein the four upwardly extending side walls do not matingly engage a retention element of a door that secures the refrigeration appliance door bin in engagement with a refrigeration appliance door.

7. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one upwardly extending wall comprises four upwardly extending walls where, opposing walls are parallel to one another and have at least side sections of each wall that are the same height.

8. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 7, wherein the four upwardly extending walls are free of recesses, apertures or indentations.

9. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one upwardly extending wall is four upwardly extending walls that include a front wall, two side walls and a back wall and at least the two side walls are free of recesses, apertures or indentations that project into the interior volume of the refrigeration appliance door bin.

10. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 6, wherein the four upwardly extending walls together extends entirely around the interior volume of the door bin and is free of any recesses, aperture or indentations.

11. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 1, wherein the door bin frame is disposed in an cabinet door interior volume of a refrigerator and the at least one upwardly extending wall extends entirely around the interior volume of the door bin and is free of any recesses, aperture or indentations.

12. The refrigeration appliance door bin assembly of claim 11, further comprising a main door and an exterior door disposed coaxially on a cabinet of the refrigerator, and wherein the door bin frame is slidably connected to the main door by a sliding mechanism having an overall length, wherein the sliding mechanism allows the door bin to be actuated by a user between an extended position where the refrigeration appliance door bin is extended away from a storage position when the exterior door is open and, when completely extended, is extended at least 80% of the overall length of the sliding mechanism.

13. An appliance comprising:

a door bin frame further comprising at least one door bin frame support member that extends around and defines an aperture; and

a door bin comprising;

a substantially planar main base portion;

an upwardly extending wall section extending upward from the substantially planar main base portion that surrounds and defines an interior volume of the door bin; and

a downwardly extending perimeter lip portion; and

wherein the main base portion and the downwardly extending lip portion define a downwardly facing door bin frame engagement space and the main base portion establishes a door bin frame cavity upper surface and the downwardly extending lip portion establishes an exterior surface of the door bin frame engagement space;

the door bin engagement space engages a door bin frame of a refrigerator spaced within a door of a refrigerator such that the downwardly extending lip portion surrounds an exterior portion of the door bin frame and prevents substantial movement of the door bin when the door bin is engaged with the door bin frame caused by a refrigeration appliance door opening force or a refrigeration appliance door closing force;

wherein the upwardly extending wall section is free of indentations or recessed portions configured to mate with a portion of an appliance and that project into the interior volume of the bin; and

an appliance cabinet having an interior storage area defined by at least a first side wall, a second side wall, a back wall, and a rotatably connected door system comprising a main cabinet door and an exterior door wherein the main cabinet door provides user access to the interior storage area of the appliance cabinet and wherein the exterior door provides access to the door bin when positioned within the rotably connected door system, but not unobstructed access to the interior storage area; and

a sliding mechanism assembly comprising an interior facing bracket mounted to at least an interior facing surface of the main cabinet door and slidably engaged to a sliding mechanism, allowing the door bin to extend linearly outward.

14. The appliance claim 13, wherein the sliding mechanism assembly further comprises an exterior facing bracket mounted to an exterior facing surface of the main cabinet door and engaged with the interior facing mounting bracket by a plurality of fasteners through the main cabinet door.

15. The appliance of claim 13, wherein the door bin is configured to be disengaged from the door bin frame by hand and without the use of tools.

16. The appliance claim 13, wherein the interior facing bracket has a length and the door bin frame extends linearly out of the main cabinet door by sixty to ninety percent of length of the interior facing bracket while retaining the door bin in engagement with the door bin frame.

17. The appliance of claim 13, wherein the at least one upwardly extending wall is free of indentations or recessed portions that project into the interior volume of the bin and are configured to mate with a portion of an appliance.

18. The appliance of claim 17, wherein the exterior door is rotatably engaged and on the same axis with the main cabinet door and wherein the door bin is a rectangular cuboid shape with four upwardly extending walls.

19. A method for removing a door bin from a door frame and setting the bin and any contents of the bin on an at least substantially planar surface, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a refrigerator comprising a cabinet, a main cabinet door for allowing access to an interior volume of the cabinet, wherein the main cabinet door with two opposing main cabinet door sides defines an interior door volume and an exterior door that provides access to the interior door volume;

selectively opening the exterior door such that a side of a door bin spaced within the interior door volume faces a user of the refrigerator or opening the main cabinet door such that an opposite side of the door bin faces the user of the refrigerator;

sliding the door bin away from the interior of the cabinet when the exterior door is open, the door bin being removably engaged to a door bin frame attached to a sliding mechanism disposed within the interior door volume; and

lifting the door bin by hand and without the use of tools from the door bin frame to disengage the door bin from the door bin frame and remove the door bin from the refrigerator; and

setting the door bin on a surface that is not part of the refrigerator to provide convenient access to the door bin and the contents of the door bin;

wherein the door bin has a substantially rectangular cuboid shape where at least two opposing sides of the door bin proximate the main cabinet door sides are free of any indentation, aperture or recess that mates with or engages a movable portion of an appliance.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the door bin frame is rectangular shape and configured to matingly engage the door bin and the door bin frame defines at least one aperture spaced within a perimeter defined by the exterior of the door bin frame that prevents the door bin frame from functioning as a shelf when the door bin is disengaged from the door bin frame.