Whirlpool Corporation

Michael S Kauffman

Steven John Kuehl

Jim J Pastryk

Donald E Janke

Devinder Singh

Jeffrey L Burk

James R Peterson

Li Gong Ling

Richard C Spears

Jeffrey Allen DeBoer

Patrick A Braun

Donna J Heacock

A refrigerator having a middle fresh food compartment and a relatively large bottom freezer compartment arranged below the fresh food compartment and a relatively small freezer compartment arranged above the fresh food compartment. The bottom freezer compartment preferably supports a drawer including a frame and a removable bin. Cool air can be supplied to the compartments of the refrigerator by employing a two fan control system such that no electromechanical baffles are required. Alternatively, cool air can be directed to the compartments of the refrigerator by use of a baffle which requires only a single electromechanical device to control air flow into three different compartments. The baffle includes a main rotary damper which can be positioned to provide proportional amounts of chilled air to the three separate compartments based on the degree of cooling required.

Multi-compartment refrigeration system

A refrigerator having a middle fresh food compartment and a relatively large bottom freezer compartment arranged below the fresh food compartment and a relatively small freezer compartment arranged above the fresh food compartment. The bottom freezer compartment preferably supports a drawer including a frame and a removable bin. Cool air can be supplied to the compartments of the refrigerator by employing a two fan control system such that no electro-mechanical baffles are required. Alternatively, cool air can be directed to the compartments of the refrigerator by use of a baffle which requires only a single electro-mechanical device to control air flow into three different compartments. The baffle includes a main rotary damper which can be positioned to provide proportional amounts of chilled air to the three separate compartments based on the degree of cooling required.

A refrigerator includes an adjustable utility compartment and sliding shelf. Particularly, the refrigerator includes a door having an inner door panel including a rear wall extending between opposite vertical sidewalls. The utility compartment is removably mounted to the inner door panel adjacent a first one of the sidewalls. A shelf trim piece extends between the sidewalls and is spaced forwardly of the panel rear wall. A storage shelf is of a length shorter than a distance between the sidewalls. The storage shelf is slidably positioned between a ledge on the panel rear wall and the shelf trim piece for slidable lateral movement between a usable storage position located between the utility compartment and a second one of the sidewalls and a non-usable retracted position beneath the utility compartment.

Refrigerator adjustable utility compartment/sliding shelf

Growing community of inventors

Stevensville, MI, United States of America

Michael S Kauffman