Whirlpool Corporation

Patrick A Braun

Jeffrey Allen DeBoer

Donna J Heacock

John R Revlett

James F Dasher

Dennis J Staley

Michael S Kauffman

Franklin G Katje

Terry Eugene Goldman

Edward A Anderson

John Charles Meadway

Steve J Kerwin

Trent A Stone

A refrigeration appliance is provided with a freezer compartment accessible through an openable door, the freezer compartment extending between two side walls. An ice bin is slidably mounted in the freezer compartment occupying a width of the freezer compartment, less than a full width between the two side walls. A food storage compartment is slidably mounted in the freezer compartment with at least a portion horizontally adjacent to the ice bin, and slidable independently of the ice bin. A non-contact ice level sensing apparatus having an emitter component and a receiver component is provided, with one of the components mounted between the ice bin and the food storage compartment and the other of the components mounted on an opposite side of the ice bin from the food storage compartment.

Ice level sensing system for a bottom freezer refrigerator

A two piece bin for mounting to a refrigerator door having a transparent container portion and surrounding collar portion welded thereto, the collar portion having a portion on a front side being tubular for a light weight yet sturdy structure. The bin having an indented width to interfit within the vertical columns of the refrigerator door and an outwardly extending portion abutting an exposed end face of the vertical columns, the tubular portion of the collar arranged around this outward portion to be abutted to the vertical columns.

Two piece collar bin

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 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

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.

Growing community of inventors

Ohio Township, IN, United States of America

Patrick A Braun