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US 12,429,277 B2Granted
Refrigerator storage system
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsBrent Burgess, Christopher Carpenter, Christopher Hartnett, Luis Yahir Macias, Douglas Pohl, Steven Schatz, Shekhar Shetty
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refrigerator bin system includes a receptacle, at least one rail, and a secondary container. The receptacle has a top side defining a plurality of orifices of varying sizes configured to receive primary containers of varying sizes. The at least one rail is disposed below receptacle. The secondary container is configured to engage the at least one rail for securing and removing the secondary container onto and from the receptacle.
Claims17
A refrigerator comprising:
- a door having an interior surface;
- a bin disposed along the interior surface of the door, the bin having (i) a receptacle disposed along a top side of the bin, (ii) opposing rails disposed below the receptacle along a bottom side of the of the bin, wherein a space is defined between the opposing rails, and (iii) a protrusion having a ramped region that extends downward, into the space and toward a back end of the bin;
- primary containers;
- a secondary container defining grooves on opposing sides of the secondary container;
- and
- an adapter plate (i) secured to the top side of the bin and (ii) defining a plurality of orifices configured to receive the primary containers, wherein (a) the rails are configured to interact with the secondary container, (b) the secondary container is configured to engage the opposing rails within the grooves for inserting and removing the secondary container into and from the space, and (c) the ramped region of the protrusion is configured to engage a top of the secondary container along a rear of the secondary container to wedge the secondary container onto the bin, force the rear of the secondary container downward, and restrict vertical movement of the secondary container within the space, and wherein (i) rearward ends of the opposing rails are sloped downward and (ii) the secondary container is configured to engage the rearward ends of the opposing rails such that the secondary container is biased toward the back end of the bin and into the space.
3 more elements
A refrigerator door bin system comprising:
- a receptacle;
- rails extending downward from the receptacle and defining a space below the receptacle;
- a protrusion having a ramped region that extends downward from the receptacle, into the space, and toward a back end of receptacle;
- an adapter (i) secured to a top side of the receptacle and (ii) defining a plurality of container-receiving openings;
- and
- a container configured to engage the rails for inserting and removing the container into and from the space, wherein the ramped region of the protrusion is configured to engage a top of the container along a rear of the container to wedge the container onto the receptacle, force the rear of the container downward, and restrict vertical movement of the container within the space, and wherein (i) rearward ends of the rails are sloped downward and (ii) the container is configured to engage the rearward ends of the rails such that the container is biased into the space.
3 more elements
A refrigerator bin system comprising:
- a receptacle having a top side defining a plurality of orifices of varying sizes configured to receive primary containers of varying sizes;
- a protrusion having a ramped region that extends downward from the receptacle and toward a back end of receptacle;
- a secondary container;
- and
- at least one rail disposed below receptacle, wherein the at least one rail is configured to interact with the secondary container such that the secondary container engages the at least one rail for securing and removing the secondary container onto and from the receptacle, wherein the protrusion configured to engage a top of the secondary container along a rear of the secondary container to wedge the secondary container onto the receptacle, force the rear of the secondary container downward, and restrict vertical movement of the secondary container relative to the receptacle, wherein (i) rearward ends of each rail of the at least one rail are sloped downward and (ii) the secondary container is configured to engage the rearward ends of each rail of the at least one rail such that the secondary container is biased onto the receptacle.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.