Patent ID: 7869201

Claim:
A modular system comprising: an appliance conducting a useful cycle of operation, and having a cabinet with an open face, a door with a front surface and a recess in the front surface and movably mounted to the cabinet for selectively closing the open face, and an appliance service interface that provides an electrical service; an electrical hinged adapter mounted to the door and having a first adapter service interface that couples with the appliance service interface and a second adapter service interface, wherein the hinged adapter comprises a pivot axis of rotation that is generally horizontal and a hinged axis of rotation that is transverse to the pivot axis of rotation and generally normal to the front surface of the door; and an electronic device mounted to the hinged adapter, the electronic device having a display and a device service interface that is incompatible with the appliance service interface and that couples with the second adapter service interface; wherein the hinged adapter selectively communicates the electrical service between the appliance and the electronic device via the coupled first adapter service interface and appliance service interface and the coupled second adapter service interface and device service interface, and the electronic device is moveable relative to the appliance between a first orientation, where the display faces away from the front surface of the door, and a second orientation, where the display faces the front surface of the door by pivoting the hinged adapter away from the door about the pivot axis, rotating the hinged adapter about the hinge axis, and pivoting the hinged adapter toward the door about the pivot axis; wherein the display is received in the recess in the first and second orientations.