Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.

Alisa Marie Stoops

Louis Anthony Wantland

Bagawathkumar Chellappan

Retractable soft-close shelf system and assemblies for use with appliance are provided. Shelf assembly includes a fixed shelf with a guide defining a support surface and a movable shelf slidably mounted to the fixed shelf. Movable shelf can be moved between an extended and a retracted position Support surface can include a front portion and a rear portion. Front portion is positioned at a first guide angle and rear portion is positioned at a second guide angle. Movable shelf includes a front boss and a rear boss on opposite sides of the movable shelf. Front and rear bosses are received within the guide and are slidably supported by the support surface. Shelf assembly includes a striker extending from the bottom of the movable shelf and a soft close mechanism. Soft close mechanism is configured to engage the striker when rear boss contacts the rear portion of the support surface.

Retractable soft-close shelf system

A refrigerator appliance having Universal Serial Bus (USB) features is provided. In one aspect, a refrigerator appliance has a cabinet defining a chamber. At least two shelf mounting tracks are disposed within chamber. A shelf having a USB port is mountable to the shelf tracks. The shelf tracks each include at least two bus bars. One bus bar is charged with a power charge, one is charged with a ground charge, one is charged with a positive data charge, and one is charged with a negative data charge. When the shelf is mounted to the tracks, the bus bars are in electrical communication with the USB port of the shelf such that data transmissions can be routed between the USB port and a controller or some other processing device. In another aspect, a refrigerator appliance includes features for enabling USB data transmissions to a bin mounted in a door thereof.

Refrigerator appliance having USB features

A refrigerator appliance is provided herein. The refrigerator appliance may include a cabinet defining a food storage chamber and a door rotatably attached to the cabinet. The door may be movable between an open position permitting access to the food storage chamber and a closed position restricting access to the food storage chamber. The door may include a molded support body, an interior panel, and a gasket. The molded support body may extend across an opening of the cabinet in the closed position and along an interface perimeter of the door. The interior panel may be attached to the molded support body.

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Louisville, KY, United States of America

Alisa Marie Stoops