Methods and apparatus for controlling refrigerators
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsDebra Ann Miozza, Martin Zentner, Anand Ganesh Joshi, Sanjay Manohar Anikhindi, Venkataramana Rachakonda, Venkata Ramakrishna Ramayanam, John Kenneth Hooker, Omar Haidar
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A refrigerator including a refrigerator compartment, a refrigerator door coupled to the refrigerator compartment, the refrigerator door has an inner surface. The refrigerator further includes a bin for storing items therein mounted to the inner surface of the refrigerator door and at least one thermoelectric module operationally coupled to the bin, such that the bin is temperature controlled independent of the refrigerator compartment.
Claims21
A refrigerator comprising:
- a refrigerator compartment;
- a refrigerator door coupled to said refrigerator compartment, said refrigerator door including an inner surface;
- a bin for storing items therein mounted to said inner surface of said refrigerator door;
- and
- at least one thermoelectric module operationally coupled to said bin such that said bin is temperature controlled independent of said refrigerator compartment.
A bin mounted to an inner surface of a refrigerator door, said bin comprising:
- a bin housing assembly having a bottom wall, a side wall, and a top wall, defining an inner surface of said bin;
- a bin door having an inner surface and an outer surface;
- and
- a linkage system coupling said bin door to said bin for moving said bin door between an open position and a closed position in a single vertical plane, said linkage system comprising:
- a first linkage member comprising a first end coupled to said inner surface of said side wall and a second end coupled to said inner surface of said bin door;
- a first biasing member comprising a first end coupled to said inner surface of said side wall and a second end coupled to said first linkage member;
- a second linkage member comprising a first end coupled to said inner surface of said side wall and a second end coupled to said inner surface of said bin door;
- and
- a second biasing member including a first end coupled to an anchor member extending from said inner surface of said side wall and a second end coupled to said second linkage member.
A bin mounted to an inner surface of a refrigerator door, said bin comprising:
- a bin housing assembly having a bottom wall, a side wall, and a top wall defining an inner surface of said bin;
- a bin door coupled to said bin housing assembly by a hinge;
- and
- a leaf spring system for moving said bin door between an open position and a closed position in a single vertical plane, said leaf spring system comprising:
- a leaf spring including a first end fixedly attached to said inner surface of said top wall and a second end including a curved tip at a distal end thereof;
- an arcuate hinge member extending from said hinge, said hinge member disposed between said leaf spring and said top wall so that said leaf spring applies a force on said hinge member.
A refrigerator comprising:
- a refrigerator compartment;
- a main refrigerator control system for controlling the temperature of said refrigerator compartment;
- a refrigerator door coupled to said refrigerator compartment by a hinge, said refrigerator door including an inner surface;
- and
- a bin for storing items therein mounted to said inner surface of said refrigerator door, said bin is temperature controlled independently of said refrigerator compartment, said bin having a local bin control system for controlling the temperature within said bin, said local bin control system electrically coupled to said main refrigerator control system through said hinge.
A method for operating a thermoelectric module, said method comprising:
- providing a pulse width modulation (PWM) controller, wherein the PWM controller comprises an H-bridge circuit;
- electrically coupling a shunt capacitor to the thermoelectric module;
- and
- controlling the thermoelectric module with the PWM controller.
A refrigerator comprising:
- a refrigerator compartment;
- a main refrigerator control system for controlling the temperature of said refrigerator compartment;
- a refrigerator door coupled to said refrigerator compartment by a hinge, said refrigerator door has an inner surface and an outer surface;
- and
- a bin for storing items therein mounted to said inner surface of said refrigerator door, said bin is temperature controlled independently of said refrigerator compartment, said bin having a local bin control system configured to control the temperature within said bin, said bin control systems configured to provide a signal to said main refrigerator control system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.