# US 12,000,646 B2 · Refrigerator appliance with flexible storage container > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,000,646 B2 - Document ID: US12000646B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/544,156 - Filed: 2021-12-07 - Published: 2023-06-08 - Granted: 2024-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2021-12-07 - Assignees: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc. - Applicants: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc. - Inventors: Alexander B. Leibman; Venkata Chakradhar Rangu; Brent Alden Junge; Veera Venkata Anil Bhaskar Prasad Seereddy - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12000646B2 ## CPC - F25D 23/04: with special compartments, e.g. butter conditioners - F25D 23/028: {Details} - F25D 25/005: {using containers} - F25D 25/022: {Baskets} - F25D 2325/021: Shelves with several possible configurations - F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B) ## Abstract A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet that cabinet defines a food storage chamber therein. The refrigerator appliance also includes a shelf having an upper surface and a lower surface opposite the upper surface along the vertical direction. A flexible telescopic storage container mounted to the shelf. A top flange of the flexible storage container may be flush with the upper surface of the shelf. The shelf may include an aperture extending through the shelf from the upper surface to the lower surface and the flexible telescopic storage container may be mounted to the shelf through the aperture. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A refrigerator appliance 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; a shelf comprising an upper surface, a lower surface opposite the upper surface along the vertical direction, and an aperture extending through the shelf from the upper surface to the lower surface; and a flexible telescopic storage container mounted to the shelf through the aperture, the flexible telescopic storage container comprising a single grip tab extending downward along the vertical direction from a bottom surface of the flexible telescopic storage container, wherein the single grip tab is the only grip tab and extends downward from a center of the bottom surface of the flexible telescopic storage container. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, wherein a top flange of the flexible telescopic storage container is flush with the upper surface of the shelf. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container comprises a lid rotatably coupled to a top flange of the flexible telescopic storage container, the lid rotatable between a closed position and an open position, wherein the lid of the flexible telescopic storage container is flush with the upper surface of the shelf in the closed position. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container is removably mounted through the aperture. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, further comprising a door rotatably mounted to the cabinet, the door movable between a closed position wherein the door abuts the cabinet to sealingly enclose the food storage chamber and an open position which permits access to the food storage chamber, wherein the shelf is a floor of a bin mounted on an interior surface of the door whereby the shelf is positioned within the food storage chamber when the door is in the closed position. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container is deformable and movable downward along the vertical direction from a collapsed position to an expanded position. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The refrigerator appliance of claim 6, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container comprises a plurality of flexible joints, the plurality of flexible joints spaced apart along the vertical direction when the flexible telescopic storage container is in the expanded position and aligned along the vertical direction when the flexible telescopic storage container is in the collapsed position. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, wherein the aperture is one of a plurality of apertures extending through the shelf from the upper surface to the lower surface, and wherein the flexible telescopic storage container is one of a plurality of flexible telescopic storage containers, each flexible telescopic storage container mounted through a respective one aperture of the plurality of apertures. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The refrigerator appliance of claim 8, further comprising a lid rotatably coupled to a top flange of one flexible telescopic storage container of the plurality of flexible telescopic storage containers, the lid rotatable between a closed position and an open position, wherein the lid encloses an internal storage volume of more than one flexible telescopic storage container of the plurality of flexible telescopic storage containers in the closed position. ### Claim 10 A refrigerator appliance 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; a shelf comprising an upper surface and a lower surface opposite the upper surface along the vertical direction; and a flexible telescopic storage container mounted to the shelf with a top flange of the flexible telescopic storage container flush with the upper surface of the shelf, the flexible telescopic storage container comprising single grip tab extending downward along the vertical direction from a bottom surface of the flexible telescopic storage container, wherein the single grip tab is the only grip tab and extends downward from a center of the bottom surface of the flexible telescopic storage container. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The refrigerator appliance of claim 10, further comprising an aperture extending through the shelf from the upper surface to the lower surface, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container is mounted to the shelf through the aperture. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The refrigerator appliance of claim 11, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container is removably mounted through the aperture. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The refrigerator appliance of claim 10, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container comprises a lid rotatably coupled to the top flange of the flexible telescopic storage container, the lid rotatable between a closed position and an open position, wherein the lid of the flexible telescopic storage container is flush with the upper surface of the shelf in the closed position. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The refrigerator appliance of claim 10, further comprising a door rotatably mounted to the cabinet, the door movable between a closed position wherein the door abuts the cabinet to sealingly enclose the food storage chamber and an open position which permits access to the food storage chamber, wherein the shelf is a floor of a bin mounted on an interior surface of the door whereby the shelf is positioned within the food storage chamber when the door is in the closed position. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The refrigerator appliance of claim 10, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container is deformable and movable downward along the vertical direction from a collapsed position to an expanded position. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The refrigerator appliance of claim 15, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container comprises a plurality of flexible joints, the plurality of flexible joints spaced apart along the vertical direction when the flexible telescopic storage container is in the expanded position and aligned along the vertical direction when the flexible telescopic storage container is in the collapsed position. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, wherein the flexible telescopic storage container is one of a plurality of flexible telescopic storage containers, each flexible telescopic storage container mounted to the shelf with a respective top flange of each flexible storage container flush with the upper surface of the shelf. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The refrigerator appliance of claim 17, further comprising a lid rotatably coupled to the top flange of one flexible telescopic storage container of the plurality of flexible telescopic storage containers, the lid rotatable between a closed position and an open position, wherein the lid encloses an internal storage volume of more than one flexible telescopic storage container of the plurality of flexible telescopic storage containers in the closed position.