US 6,267,272 B1Granted

Ice cube outlet cover assembly for refrigerator

AssigneeSamgsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

InventorDong-In Shin

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Abstract

An ice cube outlet cover assembly for a refrigerator includes an improved cover (40) and a cover actuating lever (50) for providing opening and closing of an ice cube outlet (22). The cover (40) and lever (50) include a hinge portion (49) and hinge member (53) which are made of a flexible material and include respective hinge shafts (42 and 53a) for rotatably supporting the associated cover (40) and lever (50). Shaft supporting members (43 and 54) are provided on the inner wall (25a) of an access opening (25) in which the hinge shafts (42 and 53a) are easily fitted by bending and releasing the hinge portion (49) and hinge member (53). The hinge portion (49) and hinge member (53) include respective spring supporting bars (44 and 53b) on which springs (45 and 47) are mounted to return the cover (40) and lever (50), respectively, to the original positions thereof when an ice dispensing operation is completed.

Claims16

Dependent claims

An ice cube outlet cover assembly for a refrigerator having an access opening in which an ice cube outlet is formed, said cover assembly comprising:

a cover for the ice cube outlet including a cover portion for covering the ice cube outlet and a hinge portion for hingedly mounting said cover portion in the access opening, and
a cover actuating lever for moving said cover between a first position wherein the ice cube outlet is open and a second position wherein the ice cube outlet is closed,
said hinge portion including connecting members extending upwardly from both sides of said cover portion, cover hinge shafts extending outwardly from upper ends of respective ones of said connecting members, a spring supporting bar extending inwardly from one of said connecting members, a cover spring mounted on said spring supporting bar for exerting a biasing force on said cover portion, and support projections extending outwardly from lower ends of said respective ones of said connecting members, and
said cover actuating lever including an actuating portion having pushing bars for pushing said projections forwardly to open said ice cube outlet, a user operated tongue portion extending downwardly from said actuating portion, and hinge members extending downwardly from both sides of said actuating portion and including a spring supporting bar projecting inwardly therefrom and a lever hinge shaft projecting outwardly therefrom.

1 more element

An ice cube outlet cover assembly for a refrigerator having an access opening in which an ice cube outlet is formed, said cover assembly comprising:

a cover for the ice cube outlet including a cover portion for covering the ice cube outlet and a hinge portion for hingedly mounting said cover portion in the access opening, and
a cover actuating lever for moving said cover between a first position wherein the ice cube outlet is open and a second position wherein the ice cube outlet is closed,
said hinge portion including connecting members extending upwardly from both sides of said cover portion, cover hinge shafts extending outwardly from upper ends of respective ones of said connecting members, a spring supporting bar extending inwardly from one of said connecting members, a cover spring mounted on said spring supporting bar for exerting a biasing force on said cover portion, and support projections extending outwardly from lower ends of said respective ones of said connecting members;
and said assembly further comprising shaft supporting members disposed above the ice cube outlet for rotatably supporting respective ones of said cover hinge shafts.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.