Refrigerator with push-to-open door opener

A door opener for a refrigerator appliance, the door opener defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the vertical, lateral, and transverse directions being mutually perpendicular, the refrigerator appliance comprising a cabinet defining a food storage chamber and a door mounted on the cabinet, the door movable between a closed position and an open position to selectively sealingly enclose the food storage chamber in the closed position and provide access to the food storage chamber in the open position, the door opener comprising:

• an outer case configured to be fixedly mounted to the cabinet;
• an inner case positioned within the outer case and movable relative to the outer case;
• a finger extending through the inner case and the outer case towards the door of the refrigerator appliance;
• a sensor configured to detect relative movement between the inner case and the outer case;
• and
• a motor in operative communication with the sensor and the finger;
• wherein the finger is positioned in contact with an inner surface of the door when the door is in the closed position and the door opener is in a zero position, wherein the sensor is configured to detect movement of the inner case from the zero position of the door opener backward along the transverse direction, and
• wherein the sensor is configured to transmit a signal to the motor when the sensor detects movement of the inner case from the zero position of the door opener backward along the transverse direction, the motor configured to receive the signal from the sensor, to activate in response to the signal from the linear sensor, and to move the finger forward along the transverse direction when the motor is activated.

A door opener for a refrigerator appliance, the door opener defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the vertical, lateral, and transverse directions being mutually perpendicular, the refrigerator appliance comprising a cabinet defining a food storage chamber and a door mounted on the cabinet, the door movable between a closed position and an open position to selectively sealingly enclose the food storage chamber in the closed position and provide access to the food storage chamber in the open position, the door opener comprising:

• an outer case configured to be fixedly mounted to the cabinet;
• an inner case positioned within the outer case and movable relative to the outer case;
• a finger extending through the inner case and the outer case towards the door of the refrigerator appliance;
• and
• a sensor configured to detect relative movement between the inner case and the outer case;
• wherein the finger is positioned in contact with an inner surface of the door when the door is in the closed position and the door opener is in a zero position, wherein the sensor is configured to detect movement of the inner case from the zero position of the door opener backward along the transverse direction, and
• wherein the finger comprises a magnetic tip at a front end of the finger, the magnetic tip of the finger configured to pull the door towards the closed position when the finger moves backward along the transverse direction.