Retrofit humidity membrane
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsMaria Paola Pirovano, Muhammad Khizar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An appliance includes a housing defining an interior cabinet; and a crisper drawer disposed within the interior cabinet. The crisper drawer includes a base, walls, and lid to define a cavity for receiving food items to be stored in the crisper drawer. The lid selectively closes the crisper drawer to limit air flow to and from the cavity. One or more of the base, the walls, and the lid define an opening and include a humidity membrane disposed within the opening. The humidity membrane includes a seal therearound for sealing the opening, wherein the seal of the humidity membrane retains moisture and limits leakage of humidity from the crisper drawer.
Claims20
An appliance comprising:
- a housing defining an interior cabinet;
- and
- a crisper drawer disposed within the interior cabinet, the crisper drawer including a base, walls, and lid to define a cavity for receiving food items to be stored in the crisper drawer, the lid selectively closing the crisper drawer to limit air flow to and from the cavity, one or more of the base, the walls, and the lid defining an opening and including a humidity membrane disposed within the opening, the humidity membrane including a seal therearound for sealing the opening;
- wherein the seal of the humidity membrane retains moisture and limits leakage of humidity from the crisper drawer.
A compartment of an appliance comprising:
- a base, walls, and lid to defining a cavity for a crisper drawer for receiving food items to be stored in the crisper drawer, the lid selectively closing the crisper drawer to limit air flow to and from the cavity, one or more of the base, the walls, and the lid defining an opening and including a humidity membrane disposed and sealed within the opening, the humidity membrane including a seal therearound for sealing the opening;
- and
- a mist system including a mist device and a water source fluidly connected to the mist device, the mist device disposed within the cavity of the crisper drawer,
- wherein the mist device produces a moisture spray from water from the water source to increase a moisture level within the crisper drawer.
A system for controlling humidity within a crisper drawer of an appliance, the system comprising:
- a humidity membrane sealed by a seal in an opening of a body of the crisper drawer, the humidity membrane facilitating air flow from a cavity of the crisper drawer to an interior cabinet of the appliance and the seal limiting humidity leakage from the opening;
- a circulation system disposed within the cavity of the crisper drawer, the circulation system including a fan configured to promote airflow within the cavity when actuated;
- a mist system disposed within the cavity and in fluid communication with a water source, the mist system including a mist device to produce a moisture spray in the cavity;
- and
- a controller configured to actuate the circulation system and promote air flow responsive to a humidity level within the crisper drawer, and actuate the mist system and produce moisture responsive to a moisture level within the crisper drawer,
- wherein when the humidity level is below a threshold humidity level and the moisture level is below a threshold moisture level, the controller actuates both the circulation system and the mist system to increase the humidity level and moisture level, respectively.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.