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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsPhillip D. Baker, Gordon Turner Walker, Dennis Paul Matz, Gerald Lee Mitchell, Joseph Murphy Miller, Charles William Nelson, Bruce Lloyd Ruark, Jerry Clyde Martin, Michael Joseph McCauley, John Joseph Domagala, Duane Jubenville, Michael Stephen Csernik, Mark Walter Steiner
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A refreshment center having a modular construction and including a mini door and a frame is described. The mini door is fabricated and assembled separate from the frame, and the mini door includes a hinge system and a trigger. The mini door provides quick and convenient access to the refreshment center by being simple and easy to open and close. The frame, in an exemplary embodiment, is a one piece plastic molded part which serves as the main structural member of the assembly. The frame includes first and second spaced apart planar members, and further includes a keeper slot and a keeper for being inserted within the slot. The keeper extends from the slot and at least partially through a keeper slot in the door trim. The frame further includes a switch cavity for housing at least a portion of a switch assembly. A switch bracket is provided to be secured over the switch cavity and is engaged to the frame by a screw. The mini door is secured to the frame by a hinge system which includes a hinge arm which extends between, and is secured to, the mini door and the frame. More specifically, at the frame, the hinge arm is secured to a slide located between the frame first and second planar members. Hinge pins are secured to the mini door outer door member and extend from the outer door member and through the bushings of pivot slides. The pivot slides are secured to the frame by retainers, and springs are provided to maintain the pivot slides in position within the retainer. The switch assembly includes a switch having a switch actuator arm. Wires extend from the switch to a harness which mates with a receptacle. The receptacle is in electric circuit with a light in the fresh food compartment. The light used to illuminate the refreshment center can be one of the existing lights used in current side-by-side refrigerators since the inner cover is transparent.
A side-by-side refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a fresh food storage compartment and a freezer storage compartment, said fresh food storage compartment comprising a front access opening normally closed by a fresh food door, and a refreshment center accessible through an access opening in said fresh food door, said refreshment center comprising a modular mini door for closing said access opening in said fresh food door, a frame secured between outer and inner walls of said fresh food door, and a hinge system for securing said mini door to said frame.
A method for fabricating a refreshment center for a refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a fresh food storage compartment and a freezer storage compartment, said method comprising the steps of:
A mini door for a refreshment center of a refrigerator, the refrigerator having a fresh food door with an access opening therein, said mini door comprising:
A mini door for a refreshment center of a refrigerator, the refrigerator having a fresh food door with an access opening therein, said mini door comprising:
A mini door for a refreshment center of a refrigerator, the refrigerator having a fresh food door with an access opening therein, said mini door comprising:
A frame for a refreshment center of a refrigerator, the refrigerator having a fresh food door with an access opening therein, said frame comprising first and second spaced apart planar members and a keeper slot in said first member.
A light actuation system in a refreshment center in a fresh food compartment of a refrigerator, the refreshment center including a frame and a mini door secured to the frame by a hinge system, the hinge system including a slide which moves upward as the mini door is opened, said light actuation system comprising:
A hinge system for a refreshment center of a refrigerator, the refreshment center including a mini door and a frame secured between outer and inner walls of a refrigerator door, said hinge system comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.