Drawer assembly with expandable bins for an appliance

A refrigerator appliance, comprising:

• a cabinet defining a chilled chamber;
• a drawer assembly movable between a retracted position and a withdrawn position, the drawer assembly comprising:
• a frame coupled with the cabinet;
• a drawer movably coupled with the frame and configured to be received within the chilled chamber in the retracted position and at least partially withdrawn from the chilled chamber in the withdrawn position;
• a bin rotatably coupled with the drawer about a rotation axis and movable between a received position and an expanded position, wherein when the bin is in the received position, the bin is received within the drawer and wherein when the bin is in the expanded position, the bin is rotated about the rotation axis, wherein the bin defines a hinge aligned along the rotation axis and the drawer defines an aperture aligned along the rotation axis;
• a striker having a shaft portion and a striker arm, the shaft portion extending along the rotation axis and received through the aperture of the drawer and within the hinge of the bin, the striker arm projecting from the shaft portion, and
• wherein when the drawer assembly is moved toward the withdrawn position, the bin is automatically rotated toward the expanded position and wherein when the drawer assembly is moved toward the retracted position, the bin is automatically rotated toward the received position.

An appliance, comprising:

• a cabinet defining a chamber;
• a drawer assembly configured to slide between a retracted position and a withdrawn position, the drawer assembly comprising:
• a drawer slidably received within the chamber in the retracted position and at least partially withdrawn from the chamber in the withdrawn position;
• a bin rotatably coupled with the drawer about a rotation axis between a received position and an expanded position, wherein when the bin is in the received position, the bin is received within the drawer and wherein when the bin is in the expanded position, the bin is rotated outward from the drawer about the rotation axis, and wherein the bin defines a hinge and the drawer defines an aperture both aligned along the rotation axis;
• a lead gear having a shaft portion extending along the rotation axis and received through the aperture of the drawer and within the hinge of the bin;
• an idler gear in meshing engagement with the lead gear and rotatably coupled with the drawer;
• and
• a drive gear in meshing engagement with the idler gear and rotatably coupled with the drawer, and
• wherein when the drawer assembly is in the withdrawn position, the bin is rotated to the expanded position and wherein when the drawer assembly is in the retracted position, the bin is received within drawer in the received position.