General Electric Company

Bernhard Thomas Klaus

Andrew Reinhard Krause

Jarvis Ward

Christopher George Bissig

Justin Daniel Berger

Robert H Lewis

Vinayak Reddy

Edward Philip Strauss

Robert Dennis Halleron

David Calvert

Joseph Wimsatt

An apparatus includes a refrigerator door, comprising an inner door material and an outer door material, wherein a portion of the outer door material of the refrigerator is formed into a shape of a dispenser recess. The apparatus also includes a support structure, wherein the support structure is situated behind the dispenser recess of the outer door material and in front of the inner door material, and wherein the support structure facilitates implementation of one or more dispenser features. A refrigerator using the apparatus is also disclosed.

Apparatus for refrigerator dispenser recess integrated with door material

A door handle configured for mounting onto a surface of an appliance door, such as a refrigerator door, includes a thermoplastic molded body having a central grip section intermediate of a mounting foot provided at each opposite end of the body. Each mounting foot has a flat planar cross-sectional end face configured for mounting flush against the surface of the appliance. A tubular metal insert is overmolded in each mounting foot, with the insert having an open end generally flush with the mounting foot end face. The insert has an inner cross-sectional profile configured for engagement over a stud provided on the surface of the appliance with, for example, a setscrew inserted through a setscrew hole.

Thermoplastic refrigeration appliance handle with overmolded inserts

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Taylorsville, KY, United States of America

Bernhard Thomas Klaus