U.S. patent application number 13/685746 was filed with the patent office on 2014-05-29 for modular interface for pantry temperature control.
This patent application is currently assigned to WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION. Invention is credited to TROY M. ANDERSON, RONALD E. HALTMEYER, TREVOR L. HAWKINS, CHAD J. ROTTER, DAVID A. STAUFFER, TODD J. TUNZI, DENNIS WINDERS.
Application Number | 20140145579 13/685746 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50772622 |
Filed Date | 2014-05-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140145579 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ANDERSON; TROY M. ; et
al. |
May 29, 2014 |
MODULAR INTERFACE FOR PANTRY TEMPERATURE CONTROL
Abstract
A refrigerator includes a refrigerator cabinet, a refrigerator
compartment disposed within the refrigerator compartment, a drawer
within the refrigerator compartment, a cover on a top of the
drawer, a plurality of apertures in the cover, and controls on the
cover for controlling temperature within the drawer. The cover is
configured to be positioned between a user interface assembly and a
user interface cover with screws through the apertures in a first
configuration wherein the controls are electronic controls for
controlling temperature within the drawer. The cover is further
configured to be snapped to a control housing using the plurality
of apertures for alignment in a second configuration wherein the
controls are manual controls for controlling the temperature within
the drawer.
Inventors: |
ANDERSON; TROY M.; (Marion,
IA) ; HALTMEYER; RONALD E.; (Swisher, IA) ;
HAWKINS; TREVOR L.; (Belle Plaine, IA) ; ROTTER; CHAD
J.; (Amana, IA) ; STAUFFER; DAVID A.; (Belle
Plaine, IA) ; TUNZI; TODD J.; (St. Joseph, MI)
; WINDERS; DENNIS; (Cedar Rapids, IA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION |
Benton Harbor |
MI |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
Benton Harbor
MI
|
Family ID: |
50772622 |
Appl. No.: |
13/685746 |
Filed: |
November 27, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/404 ;
29/428 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2400/361 20130101;
Y10T 29/49826 20150115; F25D 29/005 20130101; F25D 25/025 20130101;
F25D 11/02 20130101; F25D 2400/40 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/404 ;
29/428 |
International
Class: |
F25D 25/02 20060101
F25D025/02; F25D 23/00 20060101 F25D023/00 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator cabinet; a
refrigerator compartment disposed within the refrigerator
compartment; a drawer within the refrigerator compartment; a cover
on a top of the drawer; a plurality of apertures in the cover;
controls on the cover for controlling temperature within the
drawer; wherein the cover is configured to be positioned between a
user interface assembly and a user interface cover with screws
through the apertures in a first configuration wherein the controls
are electronic controls for controlling temperature within the
drawer; wherein the cover is configured to be snapped to a control
housing using the plurality of apertures for alignment in a second
configuration wherein the controls are manual controls for
controlling the temperature within the drawer.
2. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the plurality of apertures
comprise a receiver opening for the controls and through holes on
opposites sides of the receiver opening.
3. The refrigerator of claim 2 wherein the receiver opening is
substantially centered along a length of the cover.
4. The refrigerator of claim 3 wherein the receiver opening and the
holes extend through a top surface of the cover.
5. The refrigerator of claim 4 wherein the cover further comprises
a first window on one side of the plurality of apertures and a
second window on an opposite side of the plurality of
apertures.
6. The refrigerator of claim 5 wherein the drawer is a pantry
drawer and wherein the cover is a pantry drawer top cover.
7. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the refrigerator compartment
is a fresh food compartment.
8. A method of manufacturing a refrigerator, the method comprising:
determining if a pantry of the refrigerator is to provide manual
controls or electronic controls; providing a top cover for the
pantry; if the pantry of the refrigerator is to provide the manual
controls, snapping the top cover to a manual control housing; and
if the pantry of the refrigerator is to provide the electronic
controls, attaching the top cover between a user interface assembly
and a user interface cover.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the top cover comprises controls
for controlling temperature within the pantry.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the top cover comprises a
plurality of apertures.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the plurality of apertures
comprise a receiver opening for the controls and through holes on
opposite sides of the receiver opening.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the receiver opening is
substantially centered along a length of the cover.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the receiver opening and the
holes extend through a top surface of the cover.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the cover further comprises a
first window on one side of the plurality of apertures and a second
window on an opposite side of the plurality of apertures.
15. A method of manufacturing a plurality of refrigerators, each
having a pantry drawer disposed within a refrigerator compartment,
the method comprising: providing a top cover for the pantry drawer
of each of the plurality of refrigerators, the top cover having a
plurality of apertures therein including a receiver opening and
through holes on opposite sides of the receiver opening; for a
first subset of the plurality of refrigerators, assembling each of
the first subset of the plurality of refrigerators by snapping the
top cover to a manual control housing; for a second subset of the
plurality of refrigerators, assembling each of the second subset of
the plurality of refrigerators by attaching the top cover between a
user interface assembly and a user interface cover.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the receiver opening is
substantially centered along a length of the cover.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein the receiver opening and the
holes extend through a top surface of the cover.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the cover further comprises a
first window on one side of the plurality of apertures and a second
window on an opposite side of the plurality of apertures.
19. The method of claim 15 further comprising attaching the top
cover to the pantry drawer for each of the plurality of
refrigerators.
20. The method of claim 19 further comprising placing the pantry
drawer into the refrigerator compartment for each of the plurality
of refrigerators.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to refrigerators and the
manufacturing thereof. More particularly, the present invention
relates to refrigerators with drawers configured for manual or
electronic temperature control.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Refrigerators may have multiple enclosed spaces in the form
of compartments or drawers. Where drawers are present, in the
refrigerator, it may be desirable to allow a user of the
refrigerator to separately control temperature of the drawer. Yet
there are problems in manufacturing such refrigerators.
[0003] One of the problems associated with manufacturing such
refrigerators relates to the desire to provide for standardization
of parts across different platforms. For example, refrigerators
with a refrigerator drawer with a manual temperature control will
use significantly different parts then a refrigerator with an
electronic temperature control. What is needed is a refrigerator
and a method of manufacturing a refrigerator which allow for
standardization of component parts associated with an interface for
pantry temperature control regardless of whether manual or
electronic temperature control is used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Therefore it is a primary object, feature, or advantage of
the present invention to improve upon the state of the art.
[0005] It is a further object, feature, or advantage of the present
invention to provide a refrigerator with a pantry drawer with
separate temperature control.
[0006] It is a still further object, feature, or advantage of the
present invention to provide a pantry drawer which may be
configured for either electronic or manual temperature control.
[0007] Another object, feature, or advantage of the present
invention is to provide for standardization of parts across
different platforms for refrigerators.
[0008] Yet another object, feature, or advantage of the present
invention is to provide for manufacturing refrigerators with
drawers with different types of temperature controls in a manner
that is cost effective and efficient.
[0009] One or more of these and/or other objects, features, or
advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the
Specification and claims that follow. No single embodiment need
meet all of these objects, features, or advantages and different
embodiments may meet different objects, features, or advantages.
The present invention is not to be limited by or to these objects,
features, or advantages.
[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, a
refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes a refrigerator
cabinet, a refrigerator compartment disposed within the
refrigerator compartment, a drawer within the refrigerator
compartment, a cover on a top of the drawer, a plurality of
apertures in the cover, and controls on the cover for controlling
temperature within the drawer. The cover is configured to be
positioned between a user interface assembly and a user interface
cover with screws through the apertures in a first configuration
wherein the controls are electronic controls for controlling
temperature within the drawer. The cover is further configured to
be snapped to a control housing using the plurality of apertures
for alignment in a second configuration wherein the controls are
manual controls for controlling the temperature within the
drawer.
[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, a
method of manufacturing a refrigerator is provided. The method
includes determining if a pantry of the refrigerator is to provide
manual controls or electronic controls and providing a top cover
for the pantry. If the pantry of the refrigerator is to provide the
manual controls, the method provides for snapping the top cover to
a manual control housing. If the pantry of the refrigerator is to
provide the electronic controls, the method further provides for
attaching the top cover between a user interface assembly and a
user interface cover.
[0012] According to another aspect of the present invention, a
method of manufacturing a plurality of refrigerators, each having a
pantry drawer disposed within a refrigerator compartment. The
method includes providing a top cover for each of the pantry
drawers, the top cover having a plurality of apertures therein
including a receiver opening and through holes on opposite sides of
the receiver opening. For a first subset of the plurality of
refrigerators, the method further provides for assembling each of
the first subset of the plurality of refrigerators by snapping the
top cover to a manual control housing. For a second subset of the
plurality of refrigerators, the method provides for assembling each
of the second subset of the plurality of refrigerators by attaching
the top cover between a user interface assembly and a user
interface cover.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The above mentioned objects, feature, or advantages of this
invention, and the methods of attaining them, will become more
apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by
reference to the following description of embodiments of the
invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures,
wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a French door
refrigerator with a bottom-mount freezer with a pantry drawer.
[0015] FIG. 2 is an isolated view of a pantry drawer with a manual
temperature control.
[0016] FIG. 3 is an isolated view of the pantry drawer with a
manual temperature control with the drawer extended outwardly.
[0017] FIG. 4 is an isolated and exploded view of a pantry drawer
top where manual temperature control is provided.
[0018] FIG. 5 is an isolated and assembled view of the pantry
drawer top cover where manual temperature control is provided.
[0019] FIG. 6 is an isolated and exploded view of a pantry drawer
top cover where electronic temperature control is provided.
[0020] FIG. 7 is an isolated and assembled view of the pantry
drawer top cover where electronic temperature control is
provided.
[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates one example of a screen display
associated with the electronic temperature control.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of a
method for manufacturing refrigerators which may include either
manual or electronic temperature control for a drawer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a refrigerator 10. The refrigerator 10
has a refrigerator cabinet 12. There is a fresh food or
refrigerator compartment 14 positioned above a freezer compartment
with a freezer drawer 18 providing access to the freezer
compartment and the French doors 16 providing access to the
refrigerator compartment 14. A pantry drawer 20 is shown. The
pantry drawer 20 preferably extends the full width and depth of the
refrigerator compartment 14 and may have one or more dividers 21
therein for organizing contents within the pantry drawer 20. The
pantry drawer 20 may have a temperature which is different from the
refrigerator compartment 14 depending upon user preferences which
may be based in part on the items which a user decides to store in
the pantry drawer 20.
[0024] The pantry drawer 20 has a top cover 30 which extends
generally along its length. In a central portion of the top cover
30, a receiver 34 is present in which user interface controls may
be positioned to provide for either electronic or manual
temperature control of the pantry drawer 20.
[0025] FIG. 2 is an isolated view of a pantry drawer 20 with a
control housing 40 present within the receiver 34 for providing
manual temperature control of the pantry drawer 30. The control
housing 40 may include a slider 42 which may be moved along a
linear axis to allow a user to select a temperature for the pantry
drawer 30. Although a slider is shown, the present invention
contemplates that other types of manual controls may be used such
as knobs, selector switches, or other types of manual controls. A
cold air housing 62 may be located at the back of the pantry drawer
20 to provide for circulating cold air in the direction of arrow 60
into the pantry drawer 20 in order to maintain the temperature
within an acceptable range set by the user
[0026] FIG. 3 is an isolated view of the pantry drawer 20 with a
manual temperature control with the drawer 20 extended outwardly.
The drawer 20 has first and second opposite side walls 23, 25, a
front wall 22, and an opposite back wall 24. Rails 26 may be used
to allow the drawer 40 to slide to an outward position as shown in
FIG. 3 from or to the inward position shown in FIG. 2.
[0027] FIG. 4 is an isolated and exploded view of a pantry drawer
top cover 30 where a control housing 40 is provided to allow for
manual temperature controls to be used. The control housing 40
includes a frame assembly 41 and a manual control assembly 42 which
fits within an opening 44 of the frame assembly 41. A slide 49 or
other manual user control is positioned on the control assembly.
Flanges 45 may be inserted into the opening 43 on the frame
assembly in order to secure the manual control assembly 42 to the
frame assembly 41. The control housing 40 may be snapped to the
cover 30 using a plurality of apertures 38 which extend through the
top surface of the cover 30 for alignment purposes. The apertures
38 may be through holes which extend through the frame 31 of the
drawer cover 30.
[0028] The frame 31 of the drawer cover 30 also has end members 33
which allow the pantry drawer top cover 30 to be connected at
opposite ends such as by snap fitting in place. The pantry drawer
top cover 30 may have transparent windows 32 on opposite sides of
the receiver or opening 34. The transparent windows 32 allow a user
of the refrigerator to see inside the pantry drawer without
necessarily needing to open the pantry drawer. The receiver 34 as
shown is generally centrally located in the cover 30 although, it
could be otherwise placed. The manual control assembly may be
inserted into the frame assembly 41 of the control housing 40 which
may then be snap fit to the cover using the plurality of apertures
38 for alignment purposes such that the ends 46 of the manual
control assembly 42 are aligned over the apertures or holes 38
within a recess 35 of the frame 31 and the tab 47 fits against the
shoulder 37.
[0029] FIG. 5 is an isolated and assembled view of the pantry
drawer top cover 30 where manual temperature control is provided.
As shown here, the control housing 40 is secured in place, with the
slider 49 or other manual control accessible to a user of the
refrigerator.
[0030] FIG. 6 is an isolated and exploded view of a cover 30 for
the top of a pantry drawer where electronic temperature control is
provided. Note that the structure of the frame 31 of the pantry
drawer top cover is the same as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. Here,
however, the manual control housing is not present and instead a
user interface module 50 is provided. The user interface module 50
includes a user interface cover 56 and a user interface assembly 51
which sandwich the pantry drawer top cover 30 at the receiver 34.
The user interface module 50 allows for electronic controls to be
used for controlling temperature within a drawer. At top of the
cover 30 of the pantry drawer, a user interface cover 56 with a tab
57 is provided. Posts 63 extend downwardly from the top cover 56.
The user interface cover 56 may then fit against a gasket 59 and
intro the receiver 45 with the tab 57 fitting into the shoulder 37.
The posts 63 align with corresponding apertures 65 in the gasket
and the apertures 38 in the cover 30. Screws or bolts 58 may extend
through the user interface assembly 51 and into the posts 63 for
securing the user interface cover 56 to the user interface assembly
51.
[0031] A wiring harness 55 may connect with other components such
as a thermistor 107 and LED assembly 53 associated with the user
interface module 50. Thus, temperature associated with the pantry
drawer may be sensed at the cover 30 and illumination may be
provided. In addition, the user interface cover may provide for
displaying information associated with the pantry drawer such as
temperature information.
[0032] FIG. 7 is an isolated and assembled view of the pantry
drawer top cover 30 where electronic temperature control is
provided with the user interface module 50.
[0033] FIG. 8 illustrates one example of a screen display
associated with the electronic temperature control. A temperature
111 associated with the pantry drawer is shown. The user can adjust
this setting such as by selecting the on-screen button 112 to
decrease temperature or selecting the on-screen button 113 to
increase temperature. The user may do so by touching the
appropriate portion of the user interface cover 56 which protects
the display or screen beneath it. The user may also select
temperature or other settings based on the contents of the pantry
drawer such as by selecting "Fresh Meat", "Party", "Deli", or Wine"
or the associated "Preset" button or screen area. Although one
particular user interface is shown, it is contemplated that what is
displayed and the manner in which temperature settings are made may
vary widely.
[0034] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of a
method for manufacturing refrigerators which may include either
manual or electronic temperature control for a drawer. In step 120
a top cover is provided. In step 122 a determination is made as to
whether the top cover is to have electronic or manual controls.
This may be based on a model number of the refrigerator being
manufactured or otherwise. If the refrigerator being manufactured
is to have manual user temperature controls on the drawer, then in
step 126 the top cover is snapped or otherwise affixed. Then in
step 128 the manufacturing process can continue with the manual
control housing in place. Returning to step 122, if the
refrigerator being manufactured is to have electronic temperature
controls on the drawer, then in step 125 the top cover is attached
between the user interface assembly and the user interface cover.
Then in step 128 the manufacturing process can continue with
electronic control housing in place. Regardless of whether there
are electronic or manual controls on the top cover, the same top
cover may be used thus efficiencies in the manufacturing process
are realized.
[0035] Although the invention has been described and illustrated
with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it is not to be so
limited since changes and modifications may be made therein which
are within the full intended scope of the invention. For example,
the present invention contemplates variations in the sizes, shapes,
configurations, and inclusion or exclusion or various component
parts, the manner in which parts are connected, the specific type
of manual controls or the specific type of electronic controls
being used.
* * * * *