Patent Abstract:
A refrigerator is provided with a casing in the form of a shell that defines an internal storage compartment, such as a freezer or fresh-food section. A door is configured on the casing to provide access to the storage compartment, with the door closing on front edges of the casing. A hinge assembly connects the door to the casing and includes a hinge bracket having an insert end that extends through one of the front edges, for example the top front edge, and is fixed to an internal surface of the casing. The hinge bracket has an opposite end that is rotationally connected to the door for hinged support of the door on the casing.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present subject matter relates generally to door hinges, and more particularly to a refrigerator door hinge assembly. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Various styles of conventional refrigerators (e.g., a side-by-side refrigerator) typically have one or more vertically oriented doors to provide access to the internal storage compartments of the appliance. The top hinge assemblies for these doors usually include a hinge bracket that is mounted to the top wall of the refrigerator casing adjacent to the side of the refrigerator. The bracket extends laterally outward from the casing and mates (via a hinge pin) with a receiver in the corresponding hinge component mounted to the door. The bracket may have a stepped profile to accommodate the door height. 
         [0003]    The externally mounted brackets on the top of the refrigerator casing are readily visible and detract from the overall aesthetics of the appliance. In this regard, caps or other decorative devices are commonly attached over the brackets to mask their appearance. With other conventional designs, the height of the refrigerator doors is increased to extend above the top of the casing so as to hide the hinge components when the door is closed. The height of the brackets and attached caps above the top surface of the casing or increased height of the doors, are thus the limiting design height restraints of the refrigerator. Any space in a cabinet, wall, or other enclosure structure in which the refrigerator is located must have a vertical height so as to accommodate the brackets/caps or increased door height. The additional volume of space required to accommodate the brackets/caps or doors can be substantial and is essentially wasted. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2009/0284116 describes a refrigerator having a reinforcement frame attached to the appliance housing. The door hinges are secured to the reinforcement frame and may be housed in a recessed pocket formed in the frame. This type of reinforcement structure is generally not applicable or reasonable for conventional residential refrigerator designs. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a refrigerator hinge assembly that hides the hinge brackets and makes efficient use of the additional volume of space needed to accommodate the brackets. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. 
         [0007]    In an exemplary embodiment, a refrigerator is provided with a casing in the form of a shell that defines an internal storage compartment, such as a freezer section or fresh-food section. A door is configured on the casing to provide access to the storage compartment, with the door closing on front edges of the casing. A hinge assembly connects the door to the casing and includes a hinge bracket having an insert end that extends through one of the front edges, for example the top front edge, and is fixed to an internal surface of the casing. The hinge bracket has an opposite end that is rotationally connected to the door for hinged support of the door on the casing. 
         [0008]    In a further embodiment, a refrigerator is provided with a casing defining an internal storage compartment. The casing has a top wall defining a top front edge. A door is attached on the casing with a hinge assembly to provide access to the storage compartment. The hinge assembly includes a slot defined in the top front edge of the casing. The hinge assembly includes a hinge bracket having an insert end fitted into the slot and an opposite end rotationally connected to the door. The insert end is attached within the casing, for example with fasteners disposed through a top wall surface of the casing adjacent to the top front edge. With this unique configuration, no portion of a hinge bracket or associated cap is located on the top of the refrigerator casing and, thus, the design height of the casing need not be reduced in order to accommodate for any such structure on the top of the casing. The increase in casing height may be used to increase the internal volume of the storage compartment, for additional insulation material within the casing, or any other reason. 
         [0009]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a conventional refrigerator having hinge brackets mounted to the top of the refrigerator casing; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a refrigerator having a pocket hinge assembly in accordance with aspects of the invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of a refrigerator casing with an embodiment of a pocket hinge assembly; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is front enlarged view of an alternative embodiment of a pocket hinge assembly; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a partial perspective view of yet another embodiment of a pocket hinge assembly. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  depicts a conventional refrigerator  10 . It should be appreciated that the term “refrigerator” is used in a generic sense herein to encompass any manner of refrigeration appliance, including a freezer, refrigerator/freezer combination, and any style or model of conventional refrigerator. In the illustrated embodiment, the refrigerator  10  is depicted as an upright refrigerator having a casing  12  (including top casing wall  24 ) that defines any number of internal storage compartments. For example, the illustrated refrigerator  10  includes upper fresh-food compartment  14  having doors  16  and lower freezer compartment  18  having upper pull-out drawer  20  and lower pull-our drawer  22 . The doors  16  are mounted to the casing  12  by way of lower and upper hinge brackets (not visible in  FIG. 1 ). The upper hinge brackets are mounted to the top surface of the top casing wall  24 . Decorative caps  26  are typically placed over the brackets, as is well known in the art, to mask the appearance of the brackets. 
         [0018]    It can be appreciated from  FIG. 1  that the design height dimension of the refrigerator  10  must include the height of the caps  26  (and underlying hinge brackets) above the top casing wall  24 . Any type of cabinet, enclosure, wall recess, or the like, in which the refrigerator  10  is intended to be placed must accommodate the height of the caps  26 , which results in a noticeable space between the top wall  24  and the cabinet or other structure, with the caps  26  (and underlying hinge brackets) readily visible in this space. 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  depicts a refrigerator  100  that incorporates hinge assemblies  130  in accordance with aspects of the invention to mount the doors  116  to the casing  112 , particularly to the top wall  124  of the casing  112 . The casing  112  may be a conventional design wherein an outer sheet metal case is formed around one or more inner liners that define the internal compartments of the refrigerator  100 . For example, a piece of sheet metal may be formed into a U-shape to define the outer top and sides of the casing  112 , with folded edge portions defining the front face edges of the casing  112 , including the top front edge  125  and side front edges  127  ( FIG. 3 ). A bottom wall is normally formed separately and attached to sidewalls of the metal case and a bottom frame. The liners may be molded from a suitable plastic material to form the fresh food compartment  14  and freezer compartment  18 . The liners may also be formed from a suitable metal. The space between the sheet metal case and liners is typically filled with foam or other suitable insulation. 
         [0020]    The bracket components  134  ( FIG. 3 ) of the hinge assemblies  130  are disposed at least partially within the top wall  124  of the casing and, thus, the upper surface of the top wall  124  defines the design height of the refrigerator  110 . The design height can thus be increased to occupy the space that was previously needed for the caps  26  and underlying brackets (or increased door height) in the conventional design of  FIG. 1 . This height increase may provide an increased internal volume to the fresh-food compartment  14 . Alternatively, the top wall  124  may have a wider (vertical aspect) front edge  125  and proportionately larger internal volume  166  ( FIG. 4 ) as compared to the top wall  24  of the conventional design of  FIG. 1 . This increased volume may be used for various purposes, including additional insulation material between the sheet metal case and liner along the top wall  124 . 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 through 5  in general, the hinge assemblies  130  include a slot  132  that is defined in the front edge  125  of the top wall  124 . As described above, the front edge  125  may be defined by a bent-over portion of the sheet metal used to form the outer case of the top wall  124 . The slot  132  is generally defined adjacent to a side wall  123  of the casing  112 , or at any other desired location for the hinge assembly  130 . 
         [0022]    A hinge bracket  134  is provided with an insert end  136  that is configured for insertion into the slot  132  and an opposite end  138  that is configured for hinged attachment to the doors  116  ( FIG. 2 ) by conventional means. For example, the end  138  may include a hinge pin hole  156  through which a hinge pin  154  is used to connect the hinge bracket  134  to a complimentary receiver in a door frame, as is well known by those skilled in the art. A jacket or sleeve  158  may be incorporated with the hole  156 , with the hinge pin  154 , or in the complimentary receiver in the door frame. 
         [0023]    The insert end  136  of the hinge bracket  134  is fastened within the slot  132  by any suitable configuration of fasteners  140 . In the illustrated embodiment, the fasteners  140  are illustrated as threaded members, such as screws or bolts, which pass through the top casing wall  124 . The fasteners  140  may also pass through the front edge  125 . In alternate embodiments, the fasteners  140  may be rivets, welds, and the like. The invention is not limited by any particular type of fasteners  140  used to securely attach the insert end  136  of the hinge bracket  134  within the top wall  124 . 
         [0024]    A frame reinforcement member  142  may be provided within the casing  112  along the top wall  124 , as well as around other portions of the circumference of the casing  112 . For example, the reinforcement member  142  may comprise an L-shaped frame member depicted by the dashed lines in  FIGS. 3 through 5 . This L-shaped frame member is disposed within the internal volume of the casing  112  with an upper leg along an inner surface of the top wall  124  (as well as along an inner surface of the side walls  123 ) of the casing  112 . A perpendicular front leg of the reinforcement member  142  extends along an inner face of the front edge  125  of the top wall  124  and edges  127  of the side walls  123 . Thus, the slot  132  is defined through the front leg of the reinforcement member  142  at a location such that the insert end  136  of the hinge bracket  134  extends through the front leg and is disposed against the upper leg of the reinforcement member  142  within the internal volume of the top wall  124 , as can be appreciated from  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
         [0025]    Holes  146  for the fasteners  140  are defined through the top wall  124  and upper leg of the reinforcement member  142 . Referring particularly to  FIG. 4 , it can be appreciated that the top planar surface of the insert end  136  of the hinge brackets  134  is disposed directly against the upper leg of the reinforcement member  142  that extends along the top wall  124 , and is drawn against the reinforcement member  142  by the fasteners  140 . The frame member  142  provides the desired degree of structural rigidity to the casing  112 , as well as a strong structural attachment point for the hinge brackets  130 . 
         [0026]    Any manner of guide structure may be provided between the hinge brackets  134  and the slot  132  to ensure proper relative location of the hinge brackets  134  within the top wall  124  of the casing  112 . For example, in the embodiment of  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the hinge bracket  134  includes shoulders  137  that essentially define the extent of the insert end  136 . The shoulders  137  engage against the front edge  125  of the top wall  124  at the opposite sides of the slot  132 . The insert end  136  may also include a notch or other type of slot  164  defined therein that mates with a projection  162  within the slot  132 , as depicted in  FIG. 4 . The projection  162  may be, for example, a bent-down portion of the frame member  142 , or a component attached to the frame member  142 . 
         [0027]    As discussed above, the internal volume  166  ( FIG. 4 ) within the top wall  124  may be increased as compared to the conventional design of  FIG. 1  due to increased width of the top front edge  125 . This internal volume  166  may be filled with additional insulation material  168 , as depicted in  FIG. 4 . In an alternative embodiment, it should be understood that the top front edge  125  may have essentially the same width as the prior conventional embodiment of  FIG. 1 , but with the casing  112  having an overall greater height dimension. In this embodiment, the internal compartment of the casing  112  (i.e., the fresh food compartment  14 ) would thus have an increased volume. 
         [0028]    Still referring to  FIG. 4 , the insulation material  168  may also essentially fill the space in the slot  132  around the hinge brackets  134  and, in this way, serve to further secure the hinge brackets  134  within the slots  132 . 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 5  in particular, it may be desired to provide a means for relative adjustment of the brackets  134  within the slots  132 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a cam bolt  170  extends through an elongated slot  150  defined through the top of wall  124  and underlying leg of the reinforcement member  142 . The cam bolt  170  includes a cam surface that will engage within an elongated slot  152  in the hinge bracket  134  to provide a means of relative rotational positioning of the bracket  134  with rotation of the cam bolt  170  so that the fastener holes  148  in the bracket  134  can be aligned with the holes  146  in the top wall  124 . Alternatively, the cam bolt  170  may be used for fine-tuning of the position of the bracket  134  within the slot  132  prior to drilling the fasteners holes through the top wall  124  and the brackets  134 . It should be appreciated that any other manner of conventional position adjustment device may be utilized between the hinge brackets  134  and the structure of the slot  132  for this purpose. 
         [0030]    This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5