The present device generally relates to a refrigerator with a hinge assembly for hinging a door to a cabinet, and more specifically, to a hinge assembly in which a hinge pin is provided external to the door.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes at least one hinge assembly configured to hinge a door to a cabinet. The at least one hinge assembly includes a mounting block coupled to, and that extends at least partially along, the door. A hinge bracket is coupled to the cabinet. The hinge bracket is coupled to a top panel of the cabinet and includes an upward extending flange that spans a width of the cabinet and that is coplanar with a front panel of the door. A hinge pin is disposed between the mounting block and the hinge bracket and is coupled thereto such that the entirety of the hinge pin is external to the door and is positioned between the door and the hinge bracket.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a hinge assembly for hinging a door to a cabinet of a refrigerator includes an exposed door frame that extends at least partially about a top panel and opposing side panels of the door. A mounting block is configured to be coupled to the top panel of the door. The mounting block is positioned in a cutout of the exposed door frame that is disposed between the opposing side panels. A hinge support bracket extends across a width of the cabinet and is coupled thereto. A hinge bracket is configured to be coupled to the hinge support bracket. A hinge pin is disposed between the mounting block and the hinge bracket and engaged thereto such that the entirety of the hinge pin is external to the door.
According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator configured to be disposed beneath cabinetry includes a vacuum insulated cabinet, a door, and at least one hinge assembly configured to hinge the door to the cabinet. The at least one hinge assembly includes a mounting block that is coupled to a top panel of the door. A hinge mounting bracket is coupled to the cabinet and has an orthogonally-extending flange that spans a width of the cabinet and is coplanar with the door. The flange is configured as a cosmetic cover to conceal a gap between the refrigerator and the cabinetry. A hinge bracket is operably coupled to the hinge mounting bracket. A hinge pin is disposed between the mounting block and the hinge bracket and is coupled thereto such that the entirety of the hinge pin is external to the door.
These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present disclosure will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
For purposes of description herein the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the device as oriented in
As used herein, the term “and/or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.
Referring to
The door 24 is hinged to the cabinet 12 using one or more hinge assemblies exemplarily shown as first hinge assembly 38A and second hinge assembly 38B. As depicted, hinge assembly 38A is generally provided at a front upper right corner of the refrigerator 10 and hinge assembly 38B is generally provided opposite hinge assembly 38A at a front bottom right corner of the refrigerator 10. In such a configuration, the door 24 opens and closes in a counterclockwise and clockwise direction, respectively. Hinge assemblies 38A, 38B each include a corresponding mounting block 40A, 40B, hinge bracket 42A, 42B, and hinge pin 44A, 44B.
Mounting blocks 40A and 40B are located at a front right corner of the door 24 and are coupled to respective top and bottom panels 26, 28 of the door 24 through a cutout 46 of the door frame 36. It is contemplated that the mounting blocks 40A, 40B may be welded to the door 24 or otherwise secured thereto. Hinge brackets 42A and 42B are coupled to respective top and bottom panels 14, 16 of the cabinet 12 via a corresponding hinge support bracket 48A, 48B using one or more mechanical fasteners 49 or other coupling means. Hinge support brackets 48A and 48B are directly coupled to the respective top and bottom panels 14, 16 of the cabinet 12 using one or more mechanical fasteners 50 or other coupling means. In alternative embodiments, the hinge brackets 42A, 42B may be directly coupled to the cabinet 12. Hinge pins 44A and 44B are each disposed between a corresponding mounting block 40A, 40B and a corresponding hinge bracket 42A, 42B. The resulting couplings enable the entirety of the hinge pins 44A, 44B to be external to the door 24. Additionally, the hinge pins 44A, 44B are free from having to be directly secured to the door 24. Such an arrangement provides several advantages. For example, by locating the hinge pins 44A, 44B external to the door 24, there is no need to alter the door 24 to provide a recess or other accommodation for receiving the hinge pins 44A, 44B. In embodiments where the door 24 is vacuum-insulated, recesses or other accommodations formed in the door 24 may compromise the vacuum seal of the door 24. Accordingly, the hinge assemblies 38A, 38B described herein may aid in preserving the integrity of vacuum-insulated structures.
Optionally, additional mounting blocks 40C and 40D are located at a front left corner of the door 24 and are provided opposite to mounting blocks 40A and 40B, respectively. The mounting blocks 40C and 40D are coupled (e.g., welded) to respective top and bottom panels 26, 28 of the door 24 through a cutout 51 of the door frame 36. In this way, hinge pin 44A and hinge bracket 42A may be engaged to mounting block 40C and hinge pin 44B and hinge bracket 42B may be engaged to mounting block 40D if desiring to change the direction in which the door 24 is opened and closed, for example, from a counterclockwise and clockwise direction to a clockwise and counterclockwise direction, respectively. The hinge brackets 42A, 42B may be engaged to the corresponding hinge support brackets 48A, 48B or directly engaged to the respective top and bottom panels 14, 16 of the cabinet 12 as described herein.
Referring to
Referring to
With respect to the embodiment of
It will be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that construction of the hinge assembly and associated components is not limited to any specific material. Other exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be formed from a wide variety of materials, unless described otherwise herein.
For purposes of this disclosure, the term “coupled” (in all of its forms, couple, coupling, coupled, etc.) generally means the joining of two components (electrical or mechanical) directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary in nature or movable in nature. Such joining may be achieved with the two components (electrical or mechanical) and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two components. Such joining may be permanent in nature or may be removable or releasable in nature unless otherwise stated.
It is also important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the hinge assembly as shown in the exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments of the present innovations have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements shown as multiple parts may be integrally formed, the operation of the interfaces may be reversed or otherwise varied, the length or width of the structures and/or members or connector or other elements of the system may be varied, the nature or number of adjustment positions provided between the elements may be varied. It should be noted that the elements and/or assemblies of the system may be constructed from any of a wide variety of materials that provide sufficient strength or durability, in any of a wide variety of colors, textures, and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present innovations. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the desired and other exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present innovations.
It will be understood that any described processes or steps within described processes may be combined with other disclosed processes or steps to form structures within the scope of the present disclosure. The exemplary structures and processes disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting.
The above description is considered that of the preferred embodiments only. Modifications of the hinge assembly will occur to those skilled in the art and to those who make or use the hinge assembly. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims as interpreted according to the principles of patent law, including the doctrine of equivalents.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/765,720, filed on May 20, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,243,022, entitled “REFRIGERATOR WITH HINGE ASSEMBLY HAVING AN EXTERNAL HINGE PIN,” which is a National Stage Application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2017/062576, filed on Nov. 20, 2017, entitled “REFRIGERATOR WITH HINGE ASSEMBLY HAVING AN EXTERNAL HINGE PIN,” the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2443516 | Rockwell | Jun 1948 | A |
3157306 | Courson | Nov 1964 | A |
3430386 | Sandin et al. | Mar 1969 | A |
4610489 | Dibert, Jr. et al. | Sep 1986 | A |
4774740 | Gidseg et al. | Oct 1988 | A |
4864691 | Gidseg et al. | Sep 1989 | A |
5040857 | Mandel et al. | Aug 1991 | A |
5187837 | Gunderson et al. | Feb 1993 | A |
5265954 | Keil | Nov 1993 | A |
5687509 | Barreoro et al. | Nov 1997 | A |
5931554 | Koopman | Aug 1999 | A |
5960518 | Jeong | Oct 1999 | A |
6446396 | Marangoni et al. | Sep 2002 | B1 |
7322209 | Hwang et al. | Jan 2008 | B2 |
8162415 | Hägele et al. | Apr 2012 | B2 |
8162421 | Lim et al. | Apr 2012 | B2 |
8307502 | Bonomie et al. | Nov 2012 | B2 |
8382219 | Hottmann et al. | Feb 2013 | B2 |
9212846 | Lee et al. | Dec 2015 | B2 |
9383135 | Park | Jul 2016 | B2 |
10197326 | Son et al. | Feb 2019 | B2 |
10260261 | Reuter et al. | Apr 2019 | B2 |
10501971 | Zhang et al. | Dec 2019 | B2 |
10697694 | Steiger et al. | Jun 2020 | B2 |
10876333 | Zhang et al. | Dec 2020 | B2 |
10995542 | Tezon | May 2021 | B2 |
11289081 | Asada | Mar 2022 | B2 |
20020009903 | Malnati | Jun 2002 | A1 |
20030014941 | Mazza | Jan 2003 | A1 |
20050284159 | Kim | Dec 2005 | A1 |
20070246945 | Chiang | Oct 2007 | A1 |
20080048539 | Beek et al. | Feb 2008 | A1 |
20080104797 | Chung et al. | May 2008 | A1 |
20080168618 | Hottmann | Jul 2008 | A1 |
20090031634 | Glanz et al. | Feb 2009 | A1 |
20120096734 | Moon et al. | Apr 2012 | A1 |
20120025686 | Darney | Nov 2012 | A1 |
20150054396 | Trulaske, Sr. | Feb 2015 | A1 |
20150059126 | Dubina et al. | Mar 2015 | A1 |
20160047152 | Suarez Gonzalez | Feb 2016 | A1 |
20160201975 | Bazzucchi | Jul 2016 | A1 |
20160252291 | Kikuchi et al. | Sep 2016 | A1 |
20170081891 | Thielmann et al. | Mar 2017 | A1 |
20170135498 | Windrich | May 2017 | A1 |
20170167173 | Johnson | Jun 2017 | A1 |
20200152192 | Asada et al. | May 2020 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2722827 | Jan 1996 | FR |
2016177427 | Nov 2016 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220155003 A1 | May 2022 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 16765720 | US | |
Child | 17592180 | US |