US 12,440,024 B2Granted

Refrigerator

AssigneeThetford Corporation

InventorsYannick Maaskant, Kevin Wolterink, Wilhelmus Hendrikus Nicolaas Maria Van Mensvoort, Joost Marinius Van Rooijen, Dennis Dekkers, Yahui Xian, Victorius Godefridus Maria Haans, Leendert Jan Antoon Jansen, Godefridus Wilhelmus Van Dorst, Emma Recter, Thomas Cornelis Johannes Kieboom

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Abstract

A modular refrigerator includes a plurality of modules with at least one cooling unit module and at least one refrigeration module. The at least one cooling unit module and the at least one refrigeration module are independently constructed and secured to one another. The at least one refrigeration module may include at least a first refrigeration module and a second refrigeration modules. The at least one cooling unit module may be a common cooling unit module for selectively providing a refrigerant to the first and second refrigeration modules.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A refrigerator comprising:

a drawer movable to a first open position and a second open position, the first open position being directly opposed to the second open position;
a tub;
and
a latching arrangement for connecting the tub to the drawer such that the drawer is selectively openable to one of the first and second open positions while preventing the drawer from opening to the other of the first and second open positions;
wherein the latching arrangement includes a first set of components associated with a first side of the drawer and a second set of the components associated with a second side of the drawer, the first and second sets of components including:
a handle pivotable about an axis;
a rotation bracket mounted on a panel of the drawer, the handle carried by the rotation bracket;
a connecting pin having a first end coupled to the handle such that rotation of the handle by an end user upwardly displaces the connecting pin;
a locking pin connected to a second end of the connecting pin, the connecting pin being upwardly displaceable in response to upward displacement of the connecting pin;
a tub locking mechanism carried on the tub;
a spring-loaded tub pivot plate activated by the tub locking mechanism;
a locking bracket is mounted on the front panel of the drawer and holding the spring-loaded tub pivot plate and the locking pin in place;
and
a spring-loaded base pivot plate activated by a base locking mechanism on the base.

11 more elements

A refrigerator comprising:

a drawer movable to a first open position and a second open position, the first open position being directly opposed to the second open position;
a tub;
and
a first latching arrangement disposed adjacent a first side of the tub and operatively associated with a first side of the tub, the first latching arrangement including a first user graspable handle;
a second latching arrangement disposed adjacent a second side of the tub, longitudinally opposite the first side of the tub, and operatively associated with the tub, the second latching arrangement having a second user graspable handle;
the first and second latching arrangements configured to enable a user to use the first handle to enable the first latching arrangement to couple to the first side of the drawer, to move the drawer into a first open position, while simultaneously causing the second side of the drawer to cause the second latching arrangement to inhibit movement of the drawer towards a second open position longitudinally opposite to the first open position;
and
the first and second latching arrangements further configured to enable the user to use the second handle to enable the second latching arrangement to couple to the second side of the drawer, to move the drawer into the second open position, while simultaneously causing the first latching arrangement to inhibit movement of the drawer back towards the first open position.

5 more elements

A refrigerator comprising:

a drawer movable to a first open position and a second open position, the first open position being directly opposed to the second open position;
a tub, the drawer being mounted within the tub;
and
a first latching arrangement disposed adjacent a first side of the tub and operatively associated with a first side of the tub and a first side of the drawer, the first latching arrangement including a first user graspable handle carried at the first side of the drawer;
a first tub locking mechanism carried on the first side of the tub and forming a portion of the first latching arrangement;
a second latching arrangement disposed adjacent a second side of the tub, longitudinally opposite the first side of the tub, and operatively associated with the tub, the second latching arrangement having a second user graspable handle;
a second tub locking mechanism carried on the tub at the second side of the tub and forming a portion of the second latching arrangement;
the first and second latching arrangements configured to enable a user to use the first handle to enable the first latching arrangement to couple to the first side of the drawer, to move the drawer into a first open position, while simultaneously causing the second tub locking mechanism to inhibit movement of the drawer towards a second open position longitudinally opposite to the first open position;
and
the first and second latching arrangements further configured to enable the user to use the second handle to enable the second latching arrangement to couple to the second side of the drawer, to move the drawer into the second open position, while simultaneously causing the first tub locking mechanism to inhibit movement of the drawer back towards the first open position.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/026,791Filed 17 Sep 2021 · us provisional application
Priority: 18 Sep 2020
Published: US 2023/0324107 A112 Oct 2023
Granted: 14 Oct 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

A47B 88/403
Sliding drawers; Slides or guides therefor: drawer slides being extractable on two or more sides of the cabinet
F25D 23/062
Walls: defining a cabinet
A47B 87/0276
Stackable ; stackable and linkable: stackable modular units, each consisting of a closed periphery
A47B 88/975
Drawers having means for organising or sorting the content: in the form of repositionable partition walls