Refrigerator with door mounted dispenser supply mechanism

Abstract: The utility conduits (electric conductors (47) and water conduit (46)) of a door mounted dispenser (21) are conducted from below the cabinet (11) to the inside of the door (14) through an inflexible tube (34). One section (35) of tube (34) rests on a shelf (24) under the refrigerator cabinet (11) and a second section (37) of the tube (34) projects into the bottom of the door (14) in free-standing relationship to the door (14). The lengths of the tube sections (35,37) assure that the second section (37) stays in the door (14) without the need of any mechanical connection between the tube (34) and door (14).

Description: This invention relates to refrigerators, and more particularly to an improved mechanism for supporting the conduits supplying utilities to a door mounted dispenser. For many years refrigerators, particularly refrigerator/freezer type refrigerators, have included door mounted dispensing mechanisms. In most such refrigerators the conduits to carry electric power and water to the dispenser were routed through the hinge mounting the door to the cabinet. This obviated the need for the conduits to travel in a longitudinal direction and simplified any problems as the door rotated about the hinge through which the conduits were directed. US-A-3 089 202; US-A-3 429 140 and US-A-4 543 800 disclose refrigerators with various mechanisms for directing electric conductors and/or water conduits through the door hinge. More recently some refrigerator have included "outboard" hinges, in which the pivot point is outside the cross sectional area of the door. This enables the user to mount the refrigerator with its front even with adjacent cabinets and still fully open the door, even if there is a thick decorative trim on the front of the door. However, utility conduits cannot be directed through the hinge pin as it is outside the door. US-A-4 912 942 which is the closest prior art document describes one mechanism for carrying the utility conduits to such a door. This mechanism is time consuming and unwieldy to assemble as one end of its tube must be threaded through a small guide opening provided on the cabinet and the other end of the tube must be rotatably joined to a fitting provided on the door. US-A-2786338 discloses a refrigerating apparatus having a concealed, high pressure protected, manually generated dispenser. The water line includes metal pipes which are joined by a flexible tube provided with a loop long enough to accommodate opening of the door. The flexible tube is liable to damage when the door is open. The present invention is intended to overcome one or more of the problems of the prior art. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator with an improved mechanism for carrying dispenser utility conduits to the door. It is another object of the present invention to provide such a mechanism that is simple and easy to install and does not require a joint or mechanical connection with the door. According to the invention there is provided a refrigerator having the features as recited in claim 1. In a preferred arrangement the lengths of the tube portions are sufficient to assure that the tube remains in the door independent of any connection to the door. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer cabinet structure incorporating one form of the present invention and with a portion of the freezer door broken away for purposes of illustration; FIG. 2 is a simplified horizontal section view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a simplified horizontal section view taken along line 3-3 in Fig. 2; FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section view of the portion of the interior of the freezer door shown in the broken away portion of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a simplified plan view, similar to FIG. 2, showing the door slightly ajar; FIG. 6 is a simplified plan view like FIG. 5, showing the door at right angles to the cabinet; and FIG. 7 is a simplified plan view similar to FIG. 5, showing the door in its fully open position. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS While the invention is applicable to any refrigerator in which ice, water (or other liquid) or both ice and water are dispensed through the door, it will be described in relationship to a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer type of refrigerator. Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, a refrigerator/freezer type refrigerator 10 includes a cabinet 11 defining separate vertically extending freezer 12 and fresh food 13 compartments, as is well known in the art. Doors 14 and 15 are rotatably mounted on the cabinet by hinges such as 16 to selectively open and close the compartments 12 and 13 respectively. It will be noted that the hinge 16 is an "outboard" hinge, that is the pivot pin is outside the outer edge or periphery of the cabinet and door. The cabinet is mounted on a floor or other surface by elongated support channels 18 and 19 which project downwardly from the bottom of the cabinet 11 and extend along its lateral edges. The channels mount rollers 20 to simplify moving the cabinet. As is well known in the art, refrigerators include numerous other components such as, for example, a sealed refrigerant system. Such components are not part of the present invention and have been omitted for the sake of simplicity and clarity. A dispenser or dispensing mechanism 21 is mounted in the door 12. Since the pivot pin 17 is outside the door, conduits for utilities, such as water and electricity, cannot be introduced into the door through the pivot pin. Referring particularly to FIG.'s 2 and 3, a shelf 24 includes a bottom or horizontal portion 25 and a vertical end portion 26. The bottom portion is mounted to the support channel 18 by some suitable means such as screws, not shown, and the end portion 25 is similarly mounted to the under side of the cabinet 11 using the flange 27. In this way the bottom portion 25 provides a large, flat area projecting under the cabinet 11 from the channel 18. A right angled flange 28 is secured to the front portion of the channel 18 by screws 29. The flange includes a top portion overlying the shelf bottom 25 and an end portion 31 which extends downwardly and engages the shelf bottom 25. Thus, the flange 28, together with the corresponding portions of the support channel 18 and shelf 24, define a guidance tunnel 32. A hollow, elongated substantially inflexible tube 34 is mounted with an elongated, horizontal first portion 35 projecting through the tunnel 32 and supported on the bottom portion 25 of the shelf 24. The tube includes a substantially right angled bend 36 so that a second elongated portion 37 is perpendicular to the first portion 35 and projects into the bottom of the door 14. More specifically, and viewing particularly FIG.'s 2 and 4, a hollow nipple 40 is mounted in an opening 41 formed in the bottom wall 42 of the door 12, a pipe or conduit 43 connects the nipple to the dispenser 21. The second portion 37 of the tube 34 extends well into the door 12 and may extend through the nipple 40 into the pipe 43. The outside diameter of the tube is smaller than the inside diameter of the nipple 40 and pipe 43 so that the portion 37 of the tube has a free-standing rotatable relationship to the nipple and pipe, and thus to the door. At the same time, the tube is not mechanically connected to the door. Utility conduits, such as a flexible water conduit 46 and electric conductors 47 extend from the dispenser 21 through the pipe 43 and tube 34. The other end of the water conduit 46 is connected to a water valve mechanism 48, mounted under the cabinet 11, and the electric conductors are connected to appropriate electric terminals, not shown. A flexible braided sleeve 50 is connected to the distal end of first tube portion 35 and covers the remaining portions of the utility conduits overlying the shelf 24. Referring now more particularly to FIG.'s 3 and 5-7, it will be seen that the first tube portion is bent at 51 and 52 so that it easily moves within the tunnel 32 as the door is opened and closed (that is moves from the position of FIG. 3 through those of FIG.'s 5 and 6 to that of FIG. 7 and back). If desired, a pin or roller 53 may be mounted to extend vertically through the tunnel 32 adjacent the front of the support channel 18. This will preclude any possibility of the edge of the channel 18 wearing away the tube. It will be seen in FIG. 7 that the first portion 35 of tube 34 substantially overlaps the bottom 25 of shelf 24 when the door is in its fully open position and the tube is correspondingly in its most extracted position. This, coupled with the significant projection of tube portion 37 into the lower portion of door 12, assures that the tube will remain in the door without the need of any connection or joint between them.

Claims: A refrigerator (10) including a cabinet (11) defining a refrigerated compartment (12), a door (14) hingedly mounted to the cabinet to selectively close the compartment, the door including dispensing means (21) ; and a supply mechanism for the dispensing means; the door including a bottom opening (41) spaced from the hinged mounting of the door to the cabinet; a hollow nipple (40) mounted in the opening; a shelf (24) mounted below the cabinet and comprising a flat horizontally extending area (25) ; a substantially inflexible tube (34) including a first elongated portion (35) supported on said flat horizontally extending area (25) of said shelf and a second portion (37) disposed generally perpendicular to said first portion and projecting into the bottom of the door through said nipple and in free-standing rotatable relationship to the door; flexible utility conduit means (46) extending through said tube and operatively connected to the dispensing means; and means (28) defining a guide tunnel (32) for said tube, characterised in that said guide tunnel defining means includes at least the flat horizontally extending area (25) of said shelf, and that the first elongated portion (35) of said tube rests on said flat horizontally extending area (25) of said shelf (24) for sliding movement thereon, the cross-sectional area of said tunnel being substantially greater than that of said tube. A refrigerator as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said first tube portion is sufficiently long and said second tube portion projects sufficiently far into the door to assure retention of said second portion within the door independent of any connection to the door. A refrigerator as set forth in claim 1 or 2 characterized in that said guide tunnel defining means includes a right angled flange (28) provided at the front portion of said shelf (24) and secured to the front portion of a channel (18) to form a guide tunnel for said tube. A refrigerator as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that said flexible conduit means includes at least one electric conductor (47). A refrigerator as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that said flexible conduit means includes a water supply conduit.

Inventors: CHERRY DAVID NOEL, HAYNES GARY LEE, VIRGIN STEPHEN PAUL, CHERRY, DAVID NOEL, HAYNES, GARY LEE, VIRGIN, STEPHEN PAUL
Applicants: GEN ELECTRIC, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
Application year: 1993
Main classification: F25D23
IPC codes: F25D23, F25C5