Refrigerator with varying width compartments and uniform width doors
AssigneeMaytag Corporation
InventorXiaoyong Fu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A side-by-side refrigerator includes fresh food and freezer compartments each having upper and lower sections which vary in width and volume. The fresh food and freezer compartments are separated by a dividing wall or mullion having first and second upright portions interconnected by a laterally offset section. Fresh food and freezer doors are pivotally mounted about respective vertical axes for sealing the fresh food and freezer compartments. Each of the fresh food and freezer doors has a substantially uniform width. With this construction, the varying width compartments are sealed by substantially uniform width fresh food and freezer doors.
Claims17
A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet shell including a pair of laterally spaced side panels, a top panel interconnecting upper edge portions of the side panels, and an open frontal zone permitting access to within the cabinet shell;
- at least one liner positioned within the cabinet shell, said at least one liner defining laterally spaced, fresh food and freezer compartments separated by a fore-to-aft extending divider wall, said divider wall including at least first and second interconnected upright portions which are laterally offset, wherein each of the fresh food and freezer compartments has varying lateral dimensions;
- and
- fresh food and freezer doors each including first and second, substantially parallel, side edge portions joined by a top edge portion and a bottom edge portion, each of said doors being pivotally mounted relative to the cabinet shell about a vertical axis, wherein, when the fresh food and freezer doors are in closed positions, the freezer door completely seals the freezer compartment, a portion of the freezer door extends beyond the divider wall when closed such that opening of the freezer door exposes at least a portion of each of the fresh food and freezer compartments, and the freezer door includes an element to which the fresh food door, when closed, engages in sealing off the fresh food compartment.
In a side-by-side refrigerator including a cabinet shell in which is defined laterally spaced fresh food and freezer compartments having a divider wall therebetween, said fresh food compartment including an upper section having a first lateral dimension and a lower section having a second lateral dimension which is different than the first lateral dimension and said freezer compartment including an upper section having a third lateral dimension and a lower section having a fourth lateral dimension which is different than the third lateral dimension, the improvement comprising:
- fresh food and freezer doors for sealing the fresh food and freezer compartments, each of the fresh food and freezer doors having a substantially uniform width from top to bottom thereof, wherein, when the fresh food and freezer doors are in closed positions, the freezer door completely seals the freezer compartment, a portion of the freezer door extends beyond the divider wall when closed such that opening of the freezer door exposes at least a portion of each of the fresh food and freezer compartments, and the freezer door includes an element to which the fresh food door, when closed, engages in sealing off the fresh food compartment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.