Whirlpool Corporation

John R Revlett

Patrick A Braun

Jeffrey Allen DeBoer

Donna J Heacock

Franklin G Katje

Edward A Anderson

Steve J Kerwin

A door construction is provided for a refrigeration appliance where the door has an exterior shell with a certain degree of rigidity, an interior liner spaced from the exterior shell and being less rigid than the shell, a foamed insulation material disposed between the exterior shell and the interior liner and a reinforcement sheet having a rigidly greater than the liner located between the exterior shell and the liner. The reinforcement sheet may either be retained and placed by the foamed insulation material or by an adhesive layer between the sheet and the liner. Preferably the liner has a planar surface and the sheet has a planar surface in engagement with the planar surface of the liner. The sheet may be non-perforated or perforated and be made of a metallic material.

Refrigeration appliance door with reinforcement sheet

A refrigerator door includes an outer metal shell having an outer rectangular panel connected to four inwardly turned side panels connected to an inwardly facing peripheral flange. An inner liner has a peripheral flange in registry with the outer door shell flange, a central wall and a pair of vertical, inwardly projecting sidewalls connecting the central wall to the liner flange. Each sidewall includes a scallop in the form of an inwardly opening notch at a select aligned longitudinal position of the inner liner. The central wall includes a transverse inwardly opening recess groove extending between the sidewalls at the select longitudinal position to provide an expansion joint to prevent bowing when an insulation cures in the space between the liner and the shell and when the refrigerator is in operation, thus cooling the door. Moreover, C-shaped beams in the door aid in providing strength to further prevent bowing.

Refrigerator door structure to reduce thermal bow

A refrigerator door includes an inner door panel having parallel, vertical dikes and horizontal shelves extending between the dikes. A door shelf support system includes a shelf trim piece mountable on the inner door panel. The trim piece includes end walls having openings receiving projections extending sidewardly from the dikes to provide a snap-fit connection without openings extending through the dikes. The trim piece can be a one-piece structure having a channel at a bottom edge for receiving a front edge of the shelf to provide a closed shelf arrangement, or can have a shorter front wall to provide an open shelf arrangement with the trim piece wall spaced above the door shelf.

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Henderson County, KY, United States of America

John R Revlett