Amana Refrigeration, Inc.

Toni L Vandarakis

James M Grace

Ramon L Klemmensen

Jeffrey L Prunty

Kyle B Elsom

Richard L Johnson

Lou D Montuoro

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

An air flow control for a multi-port refrigerator duct that conveys cold air from the evaporator chamber to a plurality of storage chambers within the fresh food compartment. The duct has a baffle providing individual branches for each storage chamber such that each is substantially coupled directly to the evaporator chamber so that a change in air flow in one branch does not significantly affect the flow in the opposite branch. A manually operated control is mounted within the fresh food compartment and has a face plate with a vent aligned with a liner input aperture communicating with the duct. A shutter disc is captured between the face plate and the liner, and has a tear drop opening. Rotation of the shutter disc alters the location of the tear drop opening and, thus the size of the passageway through the air flow control.

Air flow control for multi-port refrigerator duct

A refrigerator door shelf arrangement wherein the door liner has opposing side panels with corresponding front to back slots or guide channels at a plurality of vertical positions. The slots are formed by a plurality of horizontal ribs, each of which has a laterally facing notch. Bucket shelves have lateral horizontal runners on the sides arranged to be received in sliding engagement in corresponding slots. Each side of a shelf has a flap that can bend inwardly. As the runners of the shelf are being inserted into corresponding slots, a ramp tab on each flap engages the rib above the runner thereby causing the flap to be bent away from the rib until the tab aligns with and enters the respective notch of the rib. Thus, in the fully inserted position, the shelf is securely mounted, and movement upward, downward, or frontward is prevented. Manual bending of the flaps away from the ribs permits the shelf to be removed for cleaning or to be mounted at an alternate vertical position.

Growing community of inventors

Iowa City, IA, United States of America

Toni L Vandarakis