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US 8,240,159 B2Granted
In-door fluid drainage system for a refrigerator
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsRagavendra Prabhakar, Mahesh Natarajan, Pranav Mittal, Martin Zentner, Matthew William Davis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An in-door fluid drainage system for a refrigerator is disclosed. The drain fluid transfer system is described as extending from the door of a refrigerator to the lower compartment for transfer of drain fluid from the door to a drain fluid removal system. Also described is a drain fluid transfer system which comprises one or both of a transfer tube at least partially enclosed in a hinge assembly, and a valve assembly positioned at the lower portion of the door.
Claims14
A refrigerator comprising:
- a main body defining an upper compartment and a lower compartment, the upper compartment having a frontal access opening;
- a drain fluid removal system in the main body;
- a door pivotally mounted to the main body for selectively closing the frontal access opening, said door having a lower portion;
- and
- a drain fluid transfer system for transfer of drain fluid from the door to the drain fluid removal system;
- said refrigerator further coin rising a hinge assembly supported on the main body for pivotally mounting said door, and
- wherein said drain fluid transfer system comprises at least one transfer portion selected from the group consisting of:
- transfer tube at least partially enclosed in the hinge assembly;
- and valve assembly positioned at the lower portion of the door.
6 more elements
A refrigerator comprising:
- a main body defining an upper compartment and a lower compartment, the upper compartment having a frontal access opening;
- a door pivotally mounted to said main body and movable from a closed position for selective access to the interior of said upper compartment through said frontal access opening, said door including a source of drain fluid, wherein said source of drain fluid comprises an ice generating unit;
- a drain fluid removal system;
- and
- a drain fluid transfer system extending from the source of drain fluid to the drain fluid removal system,
- said drain fluid transfer system including a valve assembly selectively movable between a first position and a second position, said valve assembly being operative in said first position to permit fluid flow from said source to said removal system and operative in said second position to inhibit fluid flow from said source to said removal system, said first position being selected when said door in its closed position and said second position being selected when said door is not in its closed position.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.