Patent Publication Number: US-2023152031-A1

Title: Modular appliance bin

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a storage assembly for a household appliance. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Refrigerator door bins are generally known and can include a bin unit configured for removable assembly with a liner of the door. The configuration of the bin unit separate from the liner is generally a product of the material and process limitations associated with the liner, which is usually formed using a vacuum-forming process. The bin unit is generally more suitable for an injection molding or similar process. Accordingly, the bin unit and liner are separately made and must be assembled together. Most such assemblies facilitate selective placement of the bin within a number of available positions and ease of disassembly and repositioning of the bin by a consumer. Further, many bins are made of or include a transparent or translucent material. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one embodiment, a refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator may include a bin and a door that may be provided with an inner liner. The inner liner may include a first vertical wall, a second vertical wall, a third vertical wall and a first horizontal wall. The bin may include an enclosure portion, a retention portion, and a second horizontal wall. The first, second, and third vertical walls may extend in a vertical direction and may collectively define a pocket recessed with respect to an inner surface of the inner liner. The first vertical wall may be provided with a first protrusion that may include a first load-bearing surface, a second load-bearing protrusion, and a relief region that may be disposed therebetween. The first horizontal wall may extend from the third vertical wall in a depth direction and may be configured to support a number of food or beverage items. The bin may include an enclosure portion, that may extend in the vertical direction, a retention portion that may extend in the depth direction from the enclosure portion, and a second horizontal wall that may extend from at least one of the enclosure portion and the retention portion. The retention portion may include a fourth vertical wall that may define a slot that may be configured to receive at least one of the first load-bearing surface or the second load-bearing protrusion. The second horizontal wall may also be configured to engage the first horizontal wall so that the enclosure portion is detachably fixed in at least one of the depth direction or the width direction. 
     According to another embodiment, a refrigerator door is provided. The refrigerator door may include a door skin and an inner liner that may be fixed to the door skin. The inner liner may include a number of vertical walls, a first horizontal wall, and a first retention member. The number of vertical walls may extend in a vertical direction and may include a first vertical wall. The first horizontal wall may form a support surface and the first vertical wall and the first horizontal wall may collectively define a pocket that may be recessed with respect to an inner surface of the liner. The refrigerator door may include a bin that may be provided with an enclosure portion, a retention portion, and a second horizontal wall. The enclosure portion may be configured to at least partially close off a portion of the pocket. The retention portion may include a second retention member that may be configured to engage the first retention member so that the bin is detachably fixed to the inner liner. The second horizontal wall may extend from the enclosure portion and may be configured to lie along the first horizontal wall. The second horizontal wall may include a first edge that may be configured abut against a second edge formed by the support surface. 
     According to yet another embodiment, a refrigerator door is provided. The refrigerator door may include a door skin and an inner liner that may be fixed to the door skin. The inner liner may include first load supporting protrusion, a second load bearing protrusion, a relief region and a shelf. The relief region may be disposed between the first and second load bearing protrusions. The shelf may be disposed between the first and second load supporting protrusions and may extend in a first direction and a second direction that may be substantially orthogonal to the first direction. The refrigerator door may include a bin that may be provided with a side member, an enclosure member, and a support wall. The side member may form a slot that may be configured to receive one of the first or second load bearing protrusions. The enclosure member may extend from the side member and may be configured to at least partially close off the recessed portion. The support wall may extend from the side member and the enclosure member. A first portion of the support wall may be configured to lie along the shelf and a second portion may be configured to detachably fix the outer bin to the shelf. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a plan view of an exemplary French-Door Bottom Mount type refrigerator according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a plan view of an elevated front view of a French-Door Bottom Mount type refrigerator with the refrigerator compartment doors open refrigerator shown in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary bin attached to a refrigerator door. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates an exploded-perspective view of the refrigerator door and the exemplary bin each shown in  FIG.  3   . 
         FIG.  4 A  illustrates a detailed-perspective view of a portion of the refrigerator door. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a partial-cross-sectional view taken along the lines  5 - 5  in  FIG.  3    of a portion of the refrigerator door and the bin. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates a partial-cross-sectional view of a portion of the refrigerator door and another bin according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a partial-cross-sectional view of a portion of the refrigerator door and another bin according to one or more embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. 
     As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular form “a,” “an,” and “the” comprise plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, reference to a component in the singular is intended to comprise a plurality of components. 
     The term “substantially” or “about” may be used herein to describe disclosed or claimed embodiments. The term “substantially” or “about” may modify a value or relative characteristic disclosed or claimed in the present disclosure. In such instances, “substantially” or “about” may signify that the value or relative characteristic it modifies is within ±0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% or 10% of the value or relative characteristic. 
     When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). The term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 
     Referring generally to the figures, a refrigerator  100  is provided. The refrigerator  100  may include a main body such as a cabinet  102  that may form a fresh food compartment  104 . One or more doors  106  may be pivotally attached to the cabinet  102  and the doors  106  may be configured to pivot about the cabinet  102  between an open position and a closed position. When the one or more doors  106  are in the open position, a user may access the fresh food compartment  104 . The doors  106  may include an inner liner  108 , that may face the fresh food compartment  104 , and an door skin  110  that may form an exterior surface of the refrigerator door  106 . The inner liner  108  may include a number of vertical walls, such as a first vertical wall  112 , a second vertical wall  114 , and a third vertical wall  116  extending between the first and second vertical walls  112 ,  114 . The first, second, and third vertical walls  112 ,  114 ,  116  may form a pocket  118  that may be recessed with respect to an inner surface  120  of the inner liner  108 . For purposes of clarity, the inner surface  120  faces the fresh food compartment  104  when the door is closed. 
     The first vertical wall  112 , the second vertical wall  114 , or both may include a supporting portion that may be configured to support a bin  122  or portions or a bin enclosure  125 . As an example, the first vertical wall  112  may include a first protrusion  124 , a second protrusion  126  and a relief region  128  disposed therebetween. The first protrusion  124  may include a first load-bearing surface  186  and the second protrusion  126  may include a second load-bearing surface  188  ( FIG.  4 A ). The bin  122  may include an enclosure portion  130  that, when assembled to the inner liner  108 , may close off portions of the pocket  118  and retain food or beverage items disposed in the bin  122 . A retention portion  132  may extend substantially orthogonally from the enclosure portion  130  and the retention portion  132  may be configured to engage the supporting portion to fix the bin or bin enclosure portion to the inner liner  108 . 
     The retention portion  132  may include a fourth vertical wall  134  that may define a slot  136  that may be configured to receive at least one of the first protrusion  124  or the second protrusion  126 . The retention portion  132  may include a retention protrusion  135  that may be inserted into the relief region  128  when the bin  122  is assembled to the inner liner  108 . The retention portion  132  may include a first lip  156  that may extend from the fourth vertical wall  134  and the first lip  156  may lie against the first protrusion  124 . The first lip  156  may be configured to prevent the bin  122  from being dislodged from the inner liner  108  in response to tipping the bin  122  towards the door skin  110 . The retention protrusion  135  may be formed by a pair of vertical struts  138  and a number of horizontal struts  140  that may extend between the pair of vertical struts  138 . In one or more embodiments, a portion of the first vertical wall  112  disposed in the relief region  128  may include a number of relief notches  142 . The relief notches  142  may form a number of stiffening ribs  143  to stiffen the portion of the first vertical wall  112  disposed in the relief region  128 . 
     The inner liner  108  may include a first horizontal extending wall  144  that may extend between the first vertical wall  112  and the second vertical wall  114 . The first horizontal wall  144  may form a first food support surface  147  that may be configured to support food or beverages. In one or more embodiments, the inner liner  108  may include a V-shaped cross-section portion and the first horizontal wall  144  may form a portion of the V-shaped cross-section. As an example, a bottom portion of the V-shaped cross-section may include a nose  146  that may be tapered with respect to the food support surface  147 . In one or more embodiments, the bin  122  may be formed by one or more plastic or polymeric materials by injection molding. Portions of the bin  122  such as the enclosure portion  130  may be formed by opaque material and other portions of the bin  122  including but not limited to the fourth vertical wall  134  and the second horizontal wall  170  may be formed by a translucent material. 
       FIG.  1    generally shows the refrigerator  100  with the doors  106  in a closed position and  FIG.  2    generally shows the refrigerator  100  with the doors  106  in an open position. The refrigerator may be of the French-Door Bottom Mount type, but it is understood that this disclosure could apply to any type of refrigerator, such as a side-by-side, two-door bottom mount, or a top-mount type. As shown in  FIGS.  1 - 2   , the refrigerator  100  may have a first internal storage chamber or the fresh food compartment  104  configured to refrigerate and not freeze consumables within the fresh food compartment  104 , and a second internal storage chamber or a freezer compartment configured to freeze consumables within the freezer compartment during normal use. The refrigerator  100  includes cabinet walls that define the fresh food compartment  104  and the freezer compartment. The refrigerator  100  may have one or more doors  106  that provide selective access to the interior volume of the refrigerator  100  where consumables may be stored. As shown, the fresh food compartment doors are designated  106 , and the freezer door is designated  107 . It may also be shown that the fresh food compartment  104  may only have one door  106 . The bins  122  described herein can also be disposed on the freezer door  107 . 
     A number of bins  122   a - 122   d , configured to store food and beverage items, may be fixed to the inner liner  108  of one or more of the doors  106 . Typically, bins of different size and shapes may be arranged on the inner liner  108 . One of the challenges with bins that are generally available is that the bins in certain location within the door include various interfaces to fix the bin to the inner liner. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of the refrigerator door  106 . For the purposes of clarity, portions of the inner liner  108  that are covered by the bin  122  are shown in dashed lines. The inner liner  108  and the door skin  110  may be fixed to one another and one or more seals or gaskets  148  may be disposed between the inner liner  108  and the door skin  110 . One or more of the inner liner  108 , door skin  110  and gaskets  148  may be formed from a multilayer thermoplastic polymer material including one or more barrier layers that are substantially impervious to nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other such gasses whereby a vacuum can be maintained in an internal space between inner liner  108  and the door skin  110 . The gasket  148  may include a thermoset material with or without fillers or reinforcements (i.e. fibers) and may optionally include a barrier coating. 
     One or more of the components  108 ,  110 ,  148  may optionally be made from metal or other suitable material. For example, the door skin  110  may be made from sheet metal, and inner liner  108  may be made from a multi-layer thermoformed polymer material having barrier properties. The door skin  110  may include a generally planar central sidewall portion  152 , and four sidewalls  154 A- 154 D that extend transversely from the central sidewall portion  152  to define an interior space that receives inner liner  108  when assembled. The inner liner  108  may include the first, second and third sidewalls  112 ,  114 ,  116  and the third sidewall  116  may be spaced apart from the central sidewall portion  152  when assembled. When assembled, the sidewalls  112 ,  114  are spaced inwardly from the sidewalls  154 A,  154 D, respectively, of door skin  110  to form a gap or space therebetween that may be filled with a porous filler material and evacuated to form a vacuum. The sidewalls  112 ,  114  may form the inner surface  120  of the inner liner  108  that faces the refrigerated compartment  104  when the doors  106  are in the closed position. The third sidewall  116  may be recessed towards the door skin  110  to form the recessed pocket  118 . 
       FIG.  4    illustrates a cross-sectional-exploded view of a portion of the refrigerator door  106 . The inner liner  108  includes a V-shaped cross-section portion that extends from the third vertical sidewall  114 . The V-shaped cross-section portion includes the first horizontal wall  144  and the nose  146 . In addition to the first horizontal wall  144 , a second horizontal wall  158  may extend from the nose  146  towards the door skin  110 . The first and second horizontal walls  144 ,  158  and the nose  146  may form a void  160  that may be configured to receive insulating filling. The first horizontal wall  144  may form the first food support surface  147  that may be raised with respect to the nose  146 . The first food support surface  147  may converge with a first inner radius  162 . The first inner radius may converge with the first protrusion  124 . 
     The bin  122  is shown in an uninstalled position, spaced apart from the inner liner  108 . The bin  122  may include the enclosure portion  130  that may extend in a direction parallel to the third vertical sidewall  114 . A second horizontal wall  170  may extend from the enclosure portion  130  in a direction that may be substantially orthogonal to the enclosure portion  130 . The second horizontal wall  170  may form a second support surface  172  that may be configured to support a number of food or beverage items. 
     The second horizontal wall  170  may cooperate with the retention features formed by the fourth vertical wall  134  to provide support for the bin  122 . Because the second horizontal wall  170  may lie along the first horizontal wall  144 , portions of the load of the bin or contents disposed therein may be supported by the first horizontal wall  144 . Accordingly, a less robust and more adaptable or removable interface between the fourth vertical wall  134  and the first vertical wall  112  may be employed. The second horizontal wall  170  may define a number of slots  174  that may have an elongated shape. The slots  174  may be arranged so that the air may flow through the slots  174  to the storage area formed by the first horizontal wall  144  and the bin  122 . While only one side of the bin  122  is illustrated, the side not shown may include substantially the same features described herein. 
     In one or more embodiments, a majority of the second horizontal wall  170  may lie along a portion of the first horizontal wall  144  such as the nose  146 . The nose  146  or other portions of the first horizontal wall  144  may support the second horizontal wall  170  in the vertical direction. The second horizontal wall  170  may lie along the nose  146  so that the second horizontal wall  170  and the first horizontal wall  144  lie in a common plane. In other words, the first horizontal wall  144  and the second horizontal wall  170  may form a planar surface that may be configured to evenly support a number of food or beverage items stored within the bin  122 . The planar surface between the second horizontal wall  170  and the food support surface  147  may provide a relatively seamless appearance for the bottom portion of the bin  122 . 
     A lip  176  may extend from the fourth vertical wall  134  to the second horizontal wall  170 . The lip  176  may include an edge  178  that may be configured to engage a portion of the food support surface  147  such as an inner edge  164  so that the fourth vertical wall  134 , by way of the lip  176 , is sandwiched between the retention members such as the first protrusion  124  and the second load bearing protrusion  126 . The food support surface  147  may also include a front edge  182  that may be configured to abut against a rear edge  185  of the second horizontal wall  170 . As an example, the edge  178  and the edge  180  of the food support surface  147  may fix the bin  122  so that the bin  122  is fixed to prevent movement of the bin in a width direction such as towards the first vertical wall  112  and the second vertical wall  114 . 
     In one or more embodiments, the bin  122  may include a peripheral lip  190  that may extend from the enclosure portion  130 . The peripheral lip  190  may be configured to route or transport condensate from the bin  122  to a bottom portion of the fresh food compartment  104  that may be provided with a drain configured to route the condensate to a drip pan (not illustrated). The peripheral lip  190  may also provide a finished surface for improved aesthetics. 
       FIG.  4 A  illustrates a detailed-perspective view of a portion of the inner liner  108 . The food surface  147  may include the inner edge  164 . The inner edge  164  and second protrusion  126  may engage portions of the bin  122  so that the bin  122  is detachably secured to the first horizontal wall  144 . The inner edge  164  and portions of the first vertical wall  112  may form a recessed portion  184  that may receive the lip  176  of the fourth vertical wall  134 . The lip  176  may be disposed in the recessed portion  184  so that the food support surface  147  and the lip  176  provide a generally seamless surface. 
     In one or more embodiments, the first protrusion  124  may have a first width W 1  and a first height H 1  and the second protrusion  126  may define a second height H 2  that may be substantially equal to the first height H 2 . The relief region  128  may have a second width W 2  and the third load-bearing protrusion  126  may have a third width W 3 . The second width W 2  may be less than the first width W 1  and may be greater than the third width W 3 . As an example, the first, second, and third widths W 1 , W 2 , W 3  may be relatively constant between the top and bottom portions of the protrusions  124 ,  126  and the relief region  128 . As another example, the  124 ,  126  and the relief region  128  may be tapered. 
     As an example, the first protrusion  124  may be disposed closer to the third vertical sidewall  116  than the relief region  128  and the second protrusion  126 . The first protrusion  124  may include a top surface such as the first load-bearing surface  186  and the second protrusion  126  may include another top surface such as the second load-bearing surface  188 . When the bin  122  is assembled to the inner liner  108 , the first lip  156  may line along the load-bearing surfaces  186 ,  188  so that front and rear portions of the fourth vertical wall  134  are supported. Supporting the front and rear portions of the fourth vertical wall  134  may prevent inadvertent rocking or movement of the bin  122  with respect to the inner liner. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of the bin  122  and inner liner  108  taken along the lines  5 - 5  in  FIG.  3   . In one or more embodiments, a second protrusion  126 ′ may include a step  192  that may be configured to act as a stop so that as the bin  122  is assembled to the inner liner  108 , a bottom portion of the fourth vertical wall  134  bottoms out on the step  192 . The relief region  128  may be formed by a first inner edge  194   a  of the first protrusion  124 , a second inner edge  194   b  and a third inner edge  194   c  of the second protrusion  126 ′. 
     The first and third inner edges  194   a ,  194   c  may be spaced apart so that the retention protrusion  135  formed by the pair of vertical struts  138  may engage the first and third inner edges  194   a ,  194   c  to form a force-fit condition. The force fit condition may allow the bin  122  to be selectively attached and detached from the inner liner  108 . The first and third inner edges  194   a ,  194   c  may engage the vertical struts  138  so that the bin  122  is fixed in a vertical direction and depth direction, extending towards and away from the in the inner surface  120 . As another example, a gap may be formed between the 
     As previously mentioned, a number of horizontal struts  140  may extend between the vertical struts  138  and engage the relief notches  142  disposed in the relief region  128 . Use of struts  138 ,  140 , as opposed to a solid member, may allow the retention protrusion  135  to flex and prevent cracking or breaking of the retention protrusion  135  as the retention protrusion  135  is inserted and removed from the relief region  128 . The horizontal struts  140  may engage edges of the relief notches to act against an upward force or lateral force applied to the bin  122 . The horizontal struts  140  may also help stabilize the fourth vertical wall  134  and the bin  122  to prevent rattling of the bin  122  against the inner liner  108 , caused by vibration of the refrigerator  100 . 
     A bottom portion of the V-shaped cross-section may be formed by the second horizontal wall  158  a radii  194  may extend between the bottom portion and the third vertical sidewall  116 . The radii  194  and a space disposed between the second horizontal wall  158  and the first and second protrusions  124 ,  126  may facilitate injection molding of the first and second protrusions  124 ,  126 . As an example, the dashed lead lines may indicate material flow of the inner liner  108  material and insulation disposed between the inner liner  108  and the door skin  110 . 
       FIG.  6    illustrates an exemplary bin assembly  200  according to one or more embodiments. As an example, the bin  200  may include a receptacle  202  formed by a first sidewall  206  and a second sidewall  208 . The bin  200  may include a front sidewall  210  that may have a substantially planar shape and the second sidewall  208  may extend from the first sidewall  206  and terminate at the front sidewall  210 . The receptacle  202  may include a bottom wall  204  that may be disposed above the second horizontal wall  170  and configured to lie along the food support surface  147 . The receptacle  202  may be configured to store and separate some food or beverage items from others that are stored in the bin assembly  200 . The bin assembly  200  is another example of a bin that may be detachably connected, and in turn exchangeable, to the inner liner  108 . 
       FIG.  7    illustrates another exemplary bin assembly  212  according to another embodiment. In one or more embodiments, the enclosure portion  130  may include a top portion  166  and a bottom portion  168  arranged to form a Z-shaped cross-section. In other words, when the bin  122  is assembled to the inner liner  108 , the top portion  166  may be spaced further away from the inner liner  108  than the bottom portion  168 . The bin  212  may include a trim member such as a bezel  214 . The bezel  214  may include a bottom arm  216  and a top arm  218  that may be spaced apart from one another to form an opening  220 . The opening  220  may allow a user to view food or beverage items that are retained in the bin  212  by the enclosure portion  130  and the bezel  214 . The bottom arm  216  may be connected to the top arm  218  by a medial portion  224  and a pair of curved portions  222 ,  226 . The bottom arm  216  may include a rear wall  228  and a front wall  230  that may collectively sandwich the top portion  166  of the enclosure portion  130 . As an example, the rear wall  228  may be substantially aligned with the bottom portion  168  of the enclosure portion  130 . 
     While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.