Amana Refrigeration, Inc.

Other

Amana Company, L.p.

Jeffrey L Prunty

James M Grace

John J Pink

Ronald E Haltmeyer

Ramon L Klemmensen

Donald Alba

Glenn E Goetz

Toni L Vandarakis

Joseph M Nurre

A refrigerator has a refrigerator cabinet and a refrigerator door. The refrigerator door is arranged to open and close with respect to the refrigerator cabinet. A storage compartment is associated with either the refrigerator cabinet or the refrigerator door, and a container door cooperates with the compartment to form a container. First and second hinge members are on the container door, and third and fourth hinge members are on the compartment. The first and third hinge members form a first hinge and the second and fourth hinge members form a second hinge between the container door and the compartment. Ribs are on the container door adjacent to, and on either side of, the first and second hinge members. The ribs contact the compartment adjacent to the third and fourth hinge members in order to permit the container door to move quietly into opened and closed positions with respect to the compartment.

Quiet compartment door

A cam adjustment apparatus facilitates vertical adjustment of an appliance door. The apparatus includes a support bracket which is arranged to support the appliance door on an appliance, and a cam which abuts the support bracket so that, as the cam is moved, the vertical position of the appliance door is adjusted. The support bracket has a pair of holes for receiving a corresponding pair of fasteners in order to fasten the support bracket to the appliance. The holes are elongated to accommodate movement of the support bracket as the cam is moved.

Cam for vertical adjustment of appliance doors

A vertical sliding door for a compartment within the main door of a refrigerator. A frame is positioned adjacent the front of the door liner and has opposing vertical U-shaped channels. The sliding door includes a cover portion having laterally extending vertical runners that are slidably engaged in the respective channels. Each of the runners has a pair of notches into which glide members are snapped. Each of the glide member has a mid portion boss that extends laterally beyond the runner edge to provide a smooth bearing surface for engagement with the U-shaped channel. In the open position, at least one of the glide member bosses is received in a detent to hold the compartment door open.

Vertical sliding chiller compartment door

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.

Refrigerator drain funnel

A refrigerator having a crisper pan with a back passageway that is always open and a front passageway that is adjustable so that the operator can adjust the amount of flow through ventilation to control the humidity in the pan. The lid for the pan also functions as a refrigerator shelf and the back passageway is defined by a gap between the lid and the back of the pan. The front passageway is defined by a front lid plenum having a floor with a plurality of ports. A slide gate positioned in the plenum has a plurality of windows which, by sliding laterally in the plenum, can be made to respectively align with the ports to enable flow through ventilation. Full or partial sealing of the ports is provided by sliding the slide gate laterally to alter the alignment of the windows with the ports.

Growing community of inventors

Cedar Rapids, IA, United States of America

Jeffrey L Prunty