Patent ID: 7752713

Claim:
A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet defining at least one food preservation compartment and having at least a first conductor configured to connect to a source of electricity; a door for selectively closing the cabinet and having at least a second conductor configured to supply power to at least one user device provided on the door; an electrical connection device coupling the first and second conductors and comprising a hinge connecting the cabinet to the door and the hinge comprising an electrically conductive first hinge plate and a first electrically conductive fastener mounting the first hinge plate to the cabinet and electrically coupled to the first conductor, an electrically conductive second hinge plate and a second electrically conductive fastener mounting the second hinge plate to the door and electrically coupled to the second conductor, wherein the first and second hinge plates are electrically coupled to define an electrically conductive path from the first conductor to the first hinge plate to the second hinge plate to the second conductor to supply power from the source of electricity to the user device; and first and second electrically conductive reinforcement elements, the first electrically conductive reinforcement element electrically coupled to the first electrically conductive fastener, and the second electrically conductive reinforcement element electrically coupled to the second electrically conductive fastener.