Midea Group Co., Ltd.

Vinayak Naik

Eric Scalf

Mark Wayne Wilson

Pierce Woodling

Kirk Lemmen

Michael Gaunt

A refrigerator utilizes an ice maker including a shut off arm position sensor capable of sensing a plurality of positions of a shut off arm. Doing so may enable, for example, false full or empty indications to be detected, and in some instances, enable detection of potentially fused ice in a storage bin.

Refrigerator ice maker with shut off arm position sensor

A refrigerator includes a cabinet with one or more food compartments and one or more doors closing the food compartments and an ice maker located in the cabinet to produce ice. The ice maker includes a mold body for forming ice, the mold body having multiple cups, where each cup has an opening for receiving water to be frozen within the cup. The ice maker further includes a thermally conductive component located near a bottom surface of the cups. The thermally conductive component includes at least one heater that provides heat to the plurality of cups, so that the thermally conductive can distribute heat and facilitate a release of ice from the plurality of cups.

Refrigerator with a thermally conductive component with heater for ice maker

A wheel support assembly for a bottom drawer is disclosed. When the bottom drawer is open, the wheel support assembly may provide support in a deployed position. When the bottom drawer is closed, the wheel support assembly may be retracted in a cavity to be invisible to consumers.

Wheel support assembly for bottom drawer

A refrigerator utilizes a quick fill dispenser that incorporates a fluid storage receptacle that is easily removable for cleaning and/or dispensing independently of the refrigerator, and that is coupled to a dock through a combined inlet/outlet through which the receptacle is filled and fluid is dispensed through the receptacle. A dock closure may also be used to inhibit fluid flow through the combined inlet/outlet when the fluid storage receptacle is removed.

Refrigerator with quick fill dispenser incorporating removable fluid storage receptacle and combined inlet/outlet

An appliance having at least a freezer compartment. The appliance may include a at least one freezer door accessing the freezer compartment. The freezer door may include one or more articulating feet positionable between a stowed position and a deployed position. The freezer door may include one or more handles. The appliance may include one or more freezer racks.

Method and apparatus for articulating feet of a freezer door

A rotating support handle assembly for supporting a bottom-hinged door is disclosed. The rotating support handle assembly may comprise a handle member and a support member. The handle member may rotate from a first position to a second position, and the support member may be configured to contact a floor to provide support to the bottom-hinged door in the second position.

Rotating support handle assembly for bottom-hinged door

A refrigerator includes a cabinet with one or more food compartments and one or more doors closing the food compartments and an ice maker located in the cabinet to produce ice. The ice maker includes a mold body for forming ice, the mold body having multiple cups, where each cup has an opening for receiving water to be frozen within the cup. The mold body is divided into at least a first zone and a second zone and the ice maker including at least a first heater and a second heater configured to provide heat to the first and second zones of the mold body, respectively, and a controller configured to harvest ice from the first zone independently of the second zone by actuating the first heater to provide heat to the first zone of the mold body to facilitate a release of ice from the first zone.

Refrigerator with multi-zone ice maker

A refrigerator appliance having one or more adjustable bins. The refrigerator door may include the one or more adjustable bins. The adjustable bin may move along one or more rails. The adjustable bin may include one or more actuators engaging the one or more rails. The adjustable bin may include one or more bushings slidably engaging the one or more rails. The adjustable bin may include a storage bin removable from a carriage. The adjustable bin may include a locking mechanism between the storage bin and the carriage. The carriage may include one or more actuators.

Refrigerator with an adjustable bin

A refrigerator appliance having one or more sliding shelves. The sliding shelf may slide along one or more tracks. The sliding shelf may include one or more shelf plates. The one or more tracks may be adjustable.

Refrigerator with a sliding shelf

A refrigerator appliance having one or more adjustable bins. The refrigerator door may include the one or more adjustable bins. The adjustable bin may move along one or more rails. The adjustable bin may include one or more actuators engaging the one or more rails. The adjustable bin may include one or more bushings slidably engaging the one or more rails. The adjustable bin may include a storage bin removable from a carriage.

A refrigerator utilizes a dispenser control with a multi-function control paddle to perform multiple dispenser functions in response to different types of actuation of the control paddle. The control paddle may be positioned below one or more dispenser openings and pivotable in multiple directions about one or more axes such that placement of a container below the one or more dispenser openings and against different actuation regions of the control paddle will initiate different dispenser functions.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, KY, United States of America

Vinayak Naik