Patent ID: 6918259

Claim:
A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet shell including a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment; a passage for fluidly interconnecting the fresh food compartment with the freezer compartment such that a flow of cooling air can flow from the freezer compartment to the fresh food compartment; a damper provided in the passage, said damper being selectively movable between at least an open position and a closed position in order to control the flow of cooling air; a cooling system for developing the flow of cooling air directed from the freezer compartment into the fresh food compartment when the damper is in the open position; a fresh food stirring fan assembly mounted in the fresh food compartment for developing a recirculating airflow within the fresh food compartment, said fresh food stirring fan assembly including: a housing; a stirring fan positioned in the housing; a removable fan cover attached to the housing and disposed about the stirring fan; and a filter pad arranged between the fan cover and the stirring fan, said stirring fan assembly including a central portion through which a recirculating airflow is drawn, and a peripheral portion for redirecting the recirculating airflow back into the fresh food compartment, wherein operation of the stirring fan causes the recirculating airflow to pass through the filter in order to remove odors and other contaminants carried by the recirculating airflow; and a control unit for operating the stirring fan whenever the cooling system is de-activated and the damper is in the closed position to create a substantially uniform temperature within the fresh food compartment.