Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.

General Electric Company

Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.

Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co., Ltd.

Bagawathkumar Chellappan

Louis Anthony Wantland

Madan Gopal Reddy Pathapati

Brent Alden Junge

Danister Abeygunawardana

Lauren Nicole Platts

William Jeremy Leachman

Satish Gundala

Ratnakar Sahasrabudhe

Alisa Marie Dickerson

Pat Napier

James Bryan Rawson

John Keith Besore

Stephanos Kyriacou

Omar Haidar

Mark Heimerdinger

Todd D Cook

Roger Shawn Nelson

Marc Eric Hottenroth

Randall Winfield Calmeise

Steven David Paul

Rebecca Ann Alvord

Christopher George Bissig

Alisa Marie Stoops

Jonathan Michael Cepress

Gopi Krishna Chowdary Vulava

Scott Gabriel Brown

Sarah Currie

Mary Bellinger

Jackeline Morales-Trice

Wenkai Yu

Phani Kumar Kalva

Santosh Kumar

Veeresh P

Sundaramoorthy Venkatraj

Mukta Marwah

Manivannan Loganathan

A microwave appliance is provided, including a cabinet including a plurality of walls forming a cooking chamber, wherein a plurality of cabinet openings is formed at a front wall. A door is positioned adjacent to the front wall when in a closed position. A lighting system is positioned at one or more of the plurality of cabinet openings. The lighting system includes a circuit board at which a light-emitting diode (LED) is operably coupled. The lighting system includes a diffuser coupled to the circuit board and positioned around the LED. The LED is positioned in adjacent arrangement along the circuit board. The circuit board is positioned on a mount structure configured to attach to the front wall of the cabinet.

Lighting assembly for over the range microwave oven

A brew module for use with a refrigerator appliance is provided. The brew module includes a brewing body removably mounted to a dispensing assembly of the refrigerator appliance. The brewing body defines a brew chamber configured to receive a brew pod and a flow of heated water from the dispensing assembly to mix with contents of the brew pod to create a beverage. Electrical contacts positioned on the brew module electrically couple the brew module and the dispensing assembly, e.g., to power a user interface panel and/or communicate data such as pod type, a desired temperature and volume of water, etc.

Electrically connected single serve beverage dispenser for a refrigerator appliance

A bottle support assembly positioned within a chilled chamber of a refrigerator appliance includes a support panel, a first support, and a second support. Each of the first support and the second support are pivotally mounted to the support panel and are movable between a collapsed position and a raised position. In addition, the first support and the second support each define concave support surfaces which may be positioned at different heights and may have different radiuses of curvature for supporting bottles having any size and at any angle.

Bottle support assembly for a refrigerator appliance

A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet that defines a chilled chamber. The cabinet has an outer casing with a first front flange and a second front flange. The first and second front flanges are connected at a mitered joint. Each of the first and second front flanges has a tab extending into the outer casing. The tabs of the first and second front flanges are plastically deformed together at the mitered joint.

Refrigerator casing with a mitered front corner joint

A refrigerator appliance having a liner supported shelf is provided. The liner includes mounting features that provide for secure mounting of a shelf thereto. The shelf includes mounting features that securely engage the mounting features of the liner at multiple contact loading points.

Liner supported shelf assembly for a refrigerator appliance

A refrigerator appliance and methods of operation are provided herein. The refrigerator appliance may include a cabinet, a storage bin, a lid, an ozone passage, an air conduit, an air handler, and an ozone filter. The storage bin may include a plurality of walls defining a storage volume. The lid may be positioned on the storage bin to selectively cover the storage volume in a closed position. The ozone passage may be defined through at least one of the plurality of walls in fluid communication with the storage volume. The air conduit may be disposed in selective fluid communication with the ozone passage. The air handler may be disposed in fluid communication with the air conduit to direct ozone through the ozone passage. The ozone filter may be disposed in fluid communication with the air conduit to filter ozone passing from the storage volume through the air conduit.

Refrigerator appliance and methods of operation

An appliance having a drawer assembly that has features that facilitate organization and user access to the contents of the drawer assembly is provided. In some exemplary embodiments, the appliance, such as a refrigerator appliance, includes a drawer movable between a retracted position and a withdrawn position. A bin is rotatably coupled with the drawer between a received position and an expanded position. When the drawer is moved outward from a chamber defined by the appliance to the withdrawn position, the features of the drawer assembly automatically rotate the bin from the received position to the expanded position such that the contents within the bin are readily accessible. When the drawer is moved the retracted position, the features of the drawer assembly automatically rotate the bin to the received position so that drawer assembly may be retracted within the chamber of the appliance.

Drawer assembly with expandable bins for an appliance

An appliance equipped with a cascading basket system is provided. In one example aspect, the cascading basket system includes a first basket connected to a door and movable together forward and backward, a second basket positioned above the first basket, and a third basket positioned above the second basket. The cascading basket system includes features that allow a user to pull out the baskets as a single unit and in a cascading manner by moving the door forward. As one example, the first and second baskets can define pocket recesses configured to receive rollers of the seconds and third baskets respectively to engage the baskets. As another example, the first and second baskets can include protruding ribs that receive bosses of the seconds and third baskets respectively to engage the baskets. In another example, the baskets can include magnets to move the baskets forward together as a single unit.

Appliance equipped with a cascading basket system

Appliance handle

A hinge assembly for an appliance includes features that allow for a door rotatably hinged to the appliance to be raised or lowered through various phases of the swing arc of the door by utilizing a ramped surface of a bracket of the hinge assembly as the working surface. In one exemplary aspect, a hinge assembly includes a hinge bracket having a pivot pin and a ramped surface. The door hinge assembly also includes a cam assembly coupled with the door and having a cam projection. As the door is swung about its swing arc, the cam projection engages the ramped surface of the hinge bracket. In this way, the door can be raised along the vertical direction as the door is rotated through its swing arc.

Door hinge assembly for an appliance

A refrigerator appliance includes drawer assembly for a chilled chamber of the appliance. The drawer assembly includes a storage bin positioned within the chilled chamber and one or more adjustable dividers slidably mounted within the storage bin. The adjustable dividers include a top support arm, a window that acts as a light guide or diffuser, and a light source mounted to the adjustable divider for illuminating the storage bin. The drawer assembly further includes a power supply, such as a bus bar assembly having parallel positive and negative strip terminals that remain connected with spring terminals on the adjustable dividers to ensure the light source remains illuminated when the adjustable dividers are moved within the storage bin.

Illuminated adjustable divider for a storage bin of a refrigerator appliance

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.

Refrigerator appliance and door assembly having an interior panel

A refrigerator appliance and variable shelf assembly are generally provided herein. The variable shelf assembly may be mounted within the refrigerator appliance and include a stationary support screw extending along a movement axis, a mated screw, a shelving bracket, and a bi-directional ratchet gear. The mated screw may include an interior surface and an exterior surface. The interior surface may be rototranslatably mounted on the stationary support screw to rotate about the movement axis during translation therealong. The mated screw may be coaxial with the stationary support screw. The shelving bracket may be coupled to the mated screw. The shelving bracket may be rotationally fixed to translate along the movement axis. The bi-directional ratchet gear may be operably coupled to the mated screw to motivate rototranslation of the mated screw.

Refrigerator appliance and variable shelf assembly

A locking assembly for a refrigerator appliance having inner and outer doors includes a catch mounted to an inner door of the refrigerator. The catch includes a body having a support surface and a locking member. The support surface may be positioned between an outer surface of the inner door and an inner surface of the outer door. The locking assembly also includes a latch coupled to the outer door and operable to engage the latch member. In addition, the locking assembly includes a magnet positioned on the support surface, and the magnet is operable to exert a magnetic bias on the outer door towards the inner door along the transverse direction to compress a gasket that is operable to seal against the outer surface of the inner door or the inner surface of the outer door.

Locking assemblies for door-in-door refrigerator appliances

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Louisville, KY, United States of America

Bagawathkumar Chellappan