Amana Refrigeration, Inc.

Glenn E Goetz

Brian D Towle

Michael J Eveland

Ramon L Klemmensen

Jeffrey L Prunty

Larry D Yoder

A refrigerator door handle and a method of attaching the handle to a door panel. A door handle retainer strip includes an elongated channel having a shoulder opposite a laterally extending longitudinal groove. After the retainer strip is screwed to the door panel, a rail on the back of the handle is inserted into the channel. The rail has a laterally extending tongue that is received in sliding engagement in the groove as the handle is moved laterally. The handle is then secured or locked in that position within the channel of the retainer strip by driving screws between the shoulder and the rail at the ends of the handle.

Refrigerator door handle and method of attaching

A selective ice cube and crushed ice dispenser having a crusher section including a crusher arm mounted to a horizontal shaft axially rotatable in either direction, and a stationary crusher arm mounted to one side of the shaft. When the shaft is driven in one direction, ice pieces fed to the crusher section are caught and crushed between the rotating and stationary crusher arms. However, when the shaft is driven in the opposite direction, the ice pieces escape down the side of the shaft opposite the stationary crusher arms thereby avoiding being crushed. The ice piece feed within the ice piece receptacle is also rotatably driven by the shaft and is operable to feed ice pieces to the crusher section regardless of which direction the shaft is being driven.

Ice cube and crushed ice dispenser

A rigid plastic twist lock drain funnel for conveying defrost water from the interior of the refrigerator cabinet, through the insulation space, to the exterior. A top portion of the funnel has a groove seating an O-ring, and a central portion has a pair of radially extending cam-shaped ears. During fabrication, the drain funnel is inserted from inside the refrigerator liner through an aperture having notches for receiving the ears, and then the funnel is twisted approximately 90.degree. to engage the ears as a cam lock. In such arrangement, the funnel is securely attached to the liner and the O-ring provides a seal therebetween so as to prevent subsequently injected foam insulation from leaking to the interior of the cabinet. To allow for misalignment between the linear and the outer case, the opposite end of the drain funnel passes through an oversized hole in the outer case of the refrigerator. A spongy gasket around the lower end of the funnel is compressed between a shoulder of the funnel and the outer case so as to provide a seal therebetween.

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Amana, IA, United States of America

Glenn E Goetz