This disclosure relates generally to appliances such as, but not limited to, refrigerators, and more particularly to methods and apparatuses to provide lighting in appliances.
Many appliances include lighting to assist in the viewing of items present, placed or stored in an appliance.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes a compartment disposed within the refrigerator having first and second opposite side walls and a movable component having a front edge and being moveably mounted within the compartment with the front edge extending between the first and second side walls with a first end adjacent the first side wall. The refrigerator further includes a light pipe extending along the front edge of the movable component and having a first edge adjacent the first side wall and a first light source positioned on the first side wall and aligned with the first end to emit light into the first end of the light pipe.
According to another aspect, a movable component for use in an appliance includes a body defining a front edge extending laterally from a first side to a second side. A light pipe extends along a front edge of the body and includes a diffuser and first and second opposite ends respectively adjacent the first and second sides of the body. The component further includes a first light reflector extending along a portion of the light pipe adjacent the first end and further extending laterally beyond the first end.
These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present device will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
One of the problems with providing lighting or other features in appliances such as refrigerators relates to the use of electronics. When electronics are used within a cavity of an appliance, issues are presented regarding how to route power connections and/or other electrical connections to the electronics. Such problems are further complicated when movable/removable members such as, but not limited to, shelves, drawers, or bins have associated electronic components, assemblies, modules, etc. Although contacts or powered rails could be used to provide energy to the electronics on each member, such systems may be costly and/or complex to design and manufacture. To overcome at least these problems, methods and apparatus are disclosed herein that allow lighting to be efficiently provided within appliances.
Although one particular style or configuration of refrigerator is shown in
As shown in
The light module or light source 60 may be, for example, a light emitting diode (LED) or an LED array. In some examples, the light source 60 may be selectively controlled to emit different intensities and/or colors of light. In the example of
A refrigerator supporting the example shelf 40 disclosed herein may include a controller or control system to control operation of the light source 60 in response to one or more events. Example events include, but are not limited to, a user action, opening of the refrigerator, proximity of the user to the shelf, contact of the user with the shelf, etc. The light source 60 may be on when the door is open regardless of whether the shelf 40 is installed, or may be configured to only illuminate when the light pipe 44 is in place. The controller and/or control system may adjust the intensity and/or color of light emitted from the light pipe 44 in response to one or more inputs received, for example, via the user interface of the ice and water dispenser 20.
A light reflector 62 is shown which may be opaque and formed of plastic to block light from the light source 60 from illuminating the back portion of the shelf 40. Thus, light from the light source 60 may be more fully directed towards the light pipe 44 to illuminate the light pipe 44. In some examples, to the reflector 62 focuses the light into the pipe 44 when the shelf 40 is in place. The example reflector 62 also hides the light source 60 from being directly visible. These features allow for aesthetic purposes to prevent bright spots at the edge of the light pipe 44, which may distract from the aesthetic benefits of the light pipe 44 with diffuser 50. The connector 52 may also be a light reflector operating similarly to the light reflector 62. In some examples, the connector 52 and the light reflector 62 form a light reflector and light director.
Thus, instead of trying to safely get energy to movable members in the cavity of an appliance to power electronics in the movable members, the use of light pipes under a movable member keeps the electronics stationary and directs the light where it is desired. Therefore, targeted lighting may be provided in a manner that eliminates the need to specifically route electronics within the cavity of an appliance. The light modules may be embedded into the side walls of the refrigerator as they are and the light may be routed using light pipes, which may have a reflector and/or a diffuser to selectively direct light where it is desired.
Although described primarily in terms of a refrigerator with a shelf or shelf handle, it is to be understood that the same or similar structures with the same or similar functionality may be used otherwise. For example, instead of a shelf, the lighting may be provided in a bin or drawer of a refrigerator, or other stationary or removable component of an appliance.
Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/207,982, (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,377,578), filed on Mar. 13, 2014, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO PROVIDE LIGHTING IN REFRIGERATORS,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,377,578, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/790,054 filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO PROVIDE LIGHTING IN REFRIGERATORS,” the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5735589 | Herrmann | Apr 1998 | A |
5836669 | Hed | Nov 1998 | A |
5913584 | Swindell | Jun 1999 | A |
6179434 | Saraiji | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6210013 | Bousfield | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6558017 | Saraiji et al. | May 2003 | B1 |
6601984 | Yamamoto | Aug 2003 | B2 |
6726341 | Pashley et al. | Apr 2004 | B2 |
6918679 | Wu | Jul 2005 | B2 |
6962116 | Bienick et al. | Nov 2005 | B2 |
7163305 | Bienick | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7201487 | Pinter | Apr 2007 | B2 |
7260438 | Caldwell et al. | Aug 2007 | B2 |
7413321 | Kim et al. | Aug 2008 | B2 |
7434951 | Bienick | Oct 2008 | B2 |
7628525 | Lee et al. | Dec 2009 | B2 |
7628585 | Lee et al. | Dec 2009 | B2 |
7670018 | Kim et al. | Mar 2010 | B2 |
8021009 | Knoll | Sep 2011 | B2 |
8135482 | Caldwell et al. | Mar 2012 | B2 |
8186844 | Hall | May 2012 | B2 |
8322873 | Glovatsky et al. | Dec 2012 | B2 |
20040062031 | Pinter | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20080121146 | Burns et al. | May 2008 | A1 |
20080236183 | Iimura | Oct 2008 | A1 |
20090021927 | Hall et al. | Jan 2009 | A1 |
20110079034 | Kim et al. | Apr 2011 | A1 |
20110164399 | Driver et al. | Jul 2011 | A1 |
20120043338 | Yang | Feb 2012 | A1 |
20120106129 | Glovatsky | May 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
0971186 | Jan 2000 | EP |
0970642 | Dec 2000 | EP |
1887299 | Feb 2008 | EP |
2007032861 | Feb 2007 | JP |
2007041708 | Apr 2007 | WO |
2009132954 | Nov 2009 | WO |
2013017792 | Feb 2013 | WO |
2014069872 | May 2014 | WO |
Entry |
---|
European Search Report, dated Jul. 27, 2015, for Application No. 14160287.0-1605/2778585, 7 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20160259124 A1 | Sep 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61790054 | Mar 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 14207982 | Mar 2014 | US |
Child | 15152723 | US |