REFRIGERATOR DOOR MULLION APPARATUS AND SYSTEM
A French-style refrigerator door is disclosed. The refrigerator door includes an actuator and a mullion bar rotatably mounted to the door. The mullion bar is responsive to the actuator to automatically rotate from a first position to a second position upon actuation of the actuator.
The present disclosure relates generally to a refrigerator including French-style doors. More particularly, aspects of the disclosed embodiments relate to a French-style door having a rotating mullion.
In general, refrigerators having French-style doors are known. Typically, two French-style doors are used in side-by-side configurations to seal fresh food and freezer compartments. With the growing popularity of bottom mount freezers, manufacturers are now finding it desirable to provide French-style doors for the upper fresh food compartment.
French-style doors are desirable for a number of reasons, including for example, weight reduction. The doors divide an opening in half such that each French-style door is approximately half the weight of a conventional door. Additionally, the use of French-style doors enhances the arrangement for storing, as well as the accessibility to, a wide variety of objects within the refrigerator. Accordingly, when used in conjunction with a fresh food compartment, the size and strength of the support structure can be reduced.
A rotating mullion bar may be attached to one of the two French-style doors to provide a sealing surface therebetween. The rotating mullion bar may include a pin to engage a striker attached to a body structure of the refrigerator and a spring to bias the mullion to one or more positions. Upon initial opening or final closing of the French-style door to which the rotating mullion bar is attached, engagement of the pin with the striker causes the mullion bar to rotate. During such engagement and corresponding mullion bar rotation, an amount of resistance to motion of the French-style door felt by the user varies, or is inconsistent. Additionally, on some refrigerators, the striker may reduce the available magnetic seal contact area, disrupt the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator interior, and interfere with the user's line of site to refrigerator controls or other portions of the interior of the refrigerator.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a French-style refrigerator door arrangement that overcomes at least some of the problems identified above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONAs described herein, the exemplary embodiments overcome one or more of the above or other disadvantages known in the art.
One aspect of the disclosed embodiments relates to a French-style refrigerator door. The refrigerator door includes an actuator and a mullion bar rotatably mounted to the door. The mullion bar is responsive to the actuator to automatically rotate from a first position to a second position.
Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments relates to a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes at least one compartment defined within a main body of the refrigerator and two French-style doors rotatably mounted to the main body of the refrigerator. At least one of the French-style doors includes an actuator and a mullion bar rotatably mounted to the door. The mullion bar is responsive to the actuator to automatically rotate from a first position to a second position.
A further aspect of the disclosed embodiments relates to a French-style refrigerator door. The door includes a mullion bar rotatably mounted to the door and means for rotating the mullion bar from a first position to a second position. The means for rotating the mullion bar are independent from any physical interaction with a structure of a refrigerator.
These and other aspects and advantages of the exemplary embodiments will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. Moreover, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein. In addition, any suitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used.
In the drawings:
As shown in
The fresh food compartment 102 and the freezer compartment 104 are arranged in a bottom mount configuration where the freezer compartment 104 is disposed or arranged beneath or below the fresh food compartment 102. The fresh food compartment 102 and the freezer compartment 104 are contained or defined within a main body 112 of the refrigerator 100. The main body 112 includes a top wall 114 and two sidewalls 116. The main body 112 also has a bottom wall 118, which connects the two sidewalls 116 to each other at the bottom edges thereof, and a back wall (not shown).
The fresh food compartment 102 is shown with French-style doors 106, 108 that close the frontal access openings of the fresh food compartment 102. A drawer or an access door 110 closes the freezer compartment 104. Although the refrigerator 100 is shown as the “bottom freezer” configuration or type, aspects of the disclosed embodiments are applicable to other types of refrigeration appliances, including but not limited to, side-by-side refrigerators. The aspects of the disclosed embodiments are therefore not intended to be limited to any particular type or configuration of a refrigerator.
In one embodiment, each French door 106, 108 is rotatably mounted to the main body 112 by a top hinge 120 and a corresponding bottom hinge 122. Generally, each door 106, 108 is rotatable about its outer vertical edge between an open position for accessing the respective part of the fresh food compartment 102, as shown in
Similarly, when an access door 110 is used for the freezer compartment 104, it is rotatably mounted to the main body 112 in a known fashion. When the access door 110 is a drawer for the freezer compartment 104, the drawer is slidably received in the freezer compartment 104 in a known fashion.
In an embodiment, the refrigerator 100 further includes an actuator 156 mounted within door 108 in operative communication with mullion 150 and a sensor 158 in operative communication with actuator 156. While the embodiment of
Mullion 150 may be responsive to sensor 158 to rotate about axis 152. For example, the actuator 156 may respond to detection by sensor 158 that the refrigerator door 108 has begun (or is about to begin) to open to initiate rotation of the mullion 150 from position A to position B. Similarly, the actuator may be responsive to detection by sensor 158 that the refrigerator door 108 has begun (or has completed) closure to initiate rotation of the mullion from position B to position A.
In one embodiment, actuator 156 is an electric motor coupled to the mullion 150 via appropriate linkages and gears, and sensor 158 is a door closure switch 158. The motor 156 is responsive to detection of initial opening of the door 108 by the switch 158 to rotate the mullion from position A to position B. The motor 156 is further responsive to detection of initiation (or completion) of closure by switch 158 to begin to rotate the mullion 150 from position B to position A. In some embodiments, it may be preferable to implement a time delay such that rotation of the mullion 150 from position B to position A begins after a short delay following detection of initiation (or completion) of closure of the door 106. This delay may allow both doors 106, 108 to be in fully closed positions before any rotation of the mullion 150 begins, thus enhancing freedom of any obstruction or interference to the mullion 150 rotation. Switch 158 may be of the contact closure type or non-contact proximity detection type, and may be mounted upon the main body 112 of the refrigerator 100, or upon door 108.
Referring still to
In another embodiment, the electric motor 156 may be responsive to two sensors. For example, a first sensor 158 may be a door closure switch 158 mounted upon the frame of the refrigerator 100, and a second sensor may be a handle switch 162 mounted upon the handle 160. In this embodiment, the motor 156 may be responsive to detection of a hand of a user upon the handle 160 by the switch 162 to rotate the mullion from position A to position B. Use of the door handle switch 162 may thereby enable rotation of the mullion 150 before motion of the door 106 begins. Such rotation of the mullion before motion of the door 106 may enhance a likelihood that mullion 150 is fully in position B prior to motion of door 108, thus enhancing freedom of any obstruction or interference to opening of the door 108. Examples of the type of switch 162 may include, but are not limited to, contact closure, capacitive sensing, touch sensing or non-contact proximity detection. The motor 156 may be further responsive to detection by the first sensor 158 of initiation (or completion) of closure to begin to rotate the mullion 150 from position B to position A. As described above, a delay may be incorporated with the first sensor 158 to postpone mullion 150 rotation from position B to position A until after closure of the door 108.
With reference to
In response to opening of French-style door 108 from an initially closed condition, while French-style door 106 remains in the closed position of
In response to opening of French-style door 106 from an initially closed condition, while French-style door 108 is in the closed position, the mullion 150 may rotate freely from position A to position B. For example, contact between the door 108 and mullion 150 to cause the mullion 150 to rotate to the open position B. An embodiment may utilize the clutch 159 (as shown in
In response to closure of French-style door 108 from an initially open condition, while French-style door 106 is open, the mullion 150 may remain stationary in position B.
In response to closure of French-style door 106 from an initially open condition, while French-style door 108 is in the open position, the sensor 158 is activated. As described above, a delay may follow, and the actuator 156 is responsive to the sensor 158 to rotate the mullion 150 from position B to position A. The speed of actuator 156 may be selected to maintain a desired level of sound or vibration.
While embodiments have been described using electric motors as actuators 158, it will be appreciated that the scope of the present disclosure is not so limited, and is contemplated to include alternate actuators, such as compressed air, fluid, and piezoelectric actuators, for example. Further, while an embodiment has been described using a clutch to reduce a resistance to mullion rotation, it will be appreciated that the scope is not so limited, and is contemplated to employ other means to reduce resistance to mullion rotation, such as actuator-provided assist, for example.
As disclosed, some embodiments of the present disclosure may include advantages such as enhanced user perception of refrigerator quality resulting from consistent force feedback; enhanced line of sight visibility to refrigerator controls; and enhanced refrigerator sealing efficiency resulting from increased magnetic contact surface area.
Thus, while there have been shown, described and pointed out, fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Moreover, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps, which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results, are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. A French-style refrigerator door comprising:
- An actuator; and
- a mullion bar rotatably mounted to the door, the mullion bar responsive to the actuator to automatically rotate from a first position to a second position upon actuation of the actuator.
2. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 1, wherein the actuator is an electric motor.
3. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 2, further comprising:
- a sensor;
- wherein the actuator is responsive to the sensor to rotate the mullion bar from the first position to the second position.
4. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 3, wherein the sensor detects an initial closure of the refrigerator door; and the actuator is responsive to the sensor to rotate the mullion bar from the first position to the second position following a time delay after detection of the initial closure of the refrigerator door.
5. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 3, wherein the sensor is a first sensor and the refrigerator door further comprises:
- a second sensor;
- wherein the actuator is responsive to the second sensor to rotate the mullion bar from the second position to the first position.
6. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 1, wherein rotation of the mullion bar is independent of any physical interaction with a refrigerator structure.
7. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 1, wherein rotation of the mullion bar is decoupled from motion of the French-style refrigerator door.
8. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 1, wherein rotation of the mullion bar is absent bias toward the second position.
9. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 8, wherein rotation of the mullion bar is absent bias toward the first position.
10. A refrigerator comprising:
- at least one compartment defined within a main body of the refrigerator;
- first and second French-style doors rotatably mounted to the main body of the refrigerator;
- wherein at least one door of the first and the second French-style doors comprises:
- an actuator; and
- a mullion bar rotatably mounted to the at least one door, the mullion bar responsive to the actuator to automatically rotate from a first position to a second position upon actuation of the actuator.
11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the actuator is an electric motor.
12. The refrigerator of claim 11, the at least one door further comprising:
- a sensor;
- wherein the actuator is responsive to the sensor to rotate the mullion bar from the first position to the second position.
13. The refrigerator of claim 12, wherein the sensor is a first sensor and the at least one door further comprises:
- a second sensor;
- wherein the actuator is responsive to the second sensor to rotate the mullion bar from the second position to the first position.
14. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein rotation of the mullion bar is independent of any physical interaction with the main body of the refrigerator.
15. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein rotation of the mullion bar is decoupled from motion of the at least one door.
16. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein rotation of the mullion bar is absent bias toward the second position.
17. The refrigerator of claim 16, wherein rotation of the mullion bar is absent bias toward the first position.
18. A French-style refrigerator door comprising:
- a mullion bar rotatably mounted to the door; and
- means for automatically rotating the mullion bar from a first position to a second position, the means for automatically rotating being independent from any physical interaction with a structure of a refrigerator.
19. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 18, wherein the means for automatically rotating the mullion bar rotates the mullion from the first position to the second position following a delay after closure of the French-Style refrigerator door.
20. The French-style refrigerator door of claim 18, wherein the means for rotating comprises means for rotating the mullion bar from the second position to the first position.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 29, 2010
Publication Date: Mar 29, 2012
Inventors: Matthew William DAVIS (Prospect, KY), Scott Gabriel Brown (Louisville, KY)
Application Number: 12/893,633
International Classification: F25D 23/02 (20060101);