RECREATIONAL VEHICLE REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

An RV refrigerator is provided with vertical walls and access doors on opposing sides. The refrigerator is installed through the wall of an RV such that one side with doors can be accessed from the outside and the opposing door can be accessed from the inside of the RV. Installing the refrigerator in this fashion allows the user to get to the contents inside the refrigerator whether the user is inside or outside the RV.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/737,424, filed Dec. 14, 2012, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Refrigerators have been installed in recreational vehicles (RV) for quite some time, however these require a user of such a refrigerator go into the vehicle to access the contents. This may not always be desirable because such a person wishing to retrieve food or a beverage will be forced to leave the outdoors and go indoors. This in some ways defeats the purpose of an RV in the fact that many RV users are such because they wish to be outdoors as much as possible. Therefore, it is desirable to have access to contents of a refrigerator from inside or outside of an RV.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an RV showing the refrigerator installed;

FIG. 2 is a view of the interior of the RV shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the refrigerator; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 3 showing the exterior door.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an RV showing the refrigerator in an alternate installation.

FIG. 6 is a a view of the interior of the RV as shown in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The refrigerator 10 of the present invention is designed to be used within a recreational vehicle (RV) 12. Although the RV shown is a motorhome, it is contemplated that the present invention could work well within a towable RV as well. The RV has an exterior 14 and an interior 16. The interior is defined by the sidewalls 18 of the RV in combination with the floor, roof, front and back walls. One of the sidewalls 18 has an opening 20 through it, that allows access to the interior 16 of the RV. The refrigerator 10 is positioned in the opening as shown in FIG. 1.

The refrigerator 10 has sidewalls 24 that define the sides of the refrigerator 10. A top wall 26 spans the sidewalls 24. A bottom wall 28 spans the sidewalls opposite the top wall 26. The top wall 26 and bottom wall 28 are parallel to each other and rigidly maintain the spaced relationship between the sidewalls 24.

The refrigerator 10 has a first door 29 that is pivotally attached to one of the sidewalls 24 with upper and lower hinges 30. The first door 29 swings open into the interior 16 of the RV. This provides access to contents 32 of the refrigerator 10 from the interior 16 of the RV. The first door 29 in combination with the top wall 26, the bottom wall 28 and sidewalls 24 forms a first enclosure 31 that is sealed. The first door 29 includes a seal that is well known in refrigerator construction. Oppositely, there is a second door 36 that provides access to the first enclosure 31 from the exterior 14 of the RV. This is hinged similarly to that of the first door 29.

Above the first enclosure 31 is a second enclosure 42 that is a freezer. The second enclosure is defined by sidewalls 24 that extend upwardly of the top wall 26, a back wall 44 and a freezer top 48. The second enclosure includes a freezer door 50 that opens to the interior of the RV.

The condenser coils 52 for the refrigerator 10 are located on the back wall 44 opposite the freezer door 50. When the refrigerator 10 is installed in an RV as shown in FIG. 1, the coils 52 will remain hidden. This allows the refrigerator to be placed amongst cabinets or other interior furnishings within the RV as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 shows a refrigerator 10 that is stowed within an exterior storage compartment 60. The storage compartment 60 has a door 62 that closes and is flush with the sidewall 18 of the RV when it is closed (the closed position not being shown). The refrigerator 10 fits tightly within an opening 64 within the interior 16 of the RV. The opening 64 is through a back wall 65 of the storage compartment 60 that divides he storage compartment 60 from the interior 16 of the RV. The storage compartment 60 typically includes other accessories such as cabinets 66 or other items that may be used outside of the RV. In FIGS. 5 and 6 the configuration of the refrigerator is the same as that in FIGS. 1 and 2, however, the RV is built differently to accommodate the refrigerator 10. The coils 52 for the refrigerator 10 are located oppositely the freezer door 50. A decorative panel 70 is used to cover the coils 50.

A user of the refrigerator 10 is able to make use of the first enclosure 31 which is the refrigerator portion of the refrigerator from inside or outside of the RV. As seen in FIG. 1, the contents 32 of the refrigerator 10 can be accessed from the outside and door 29 provides access to the same contents 32 from the inside. The second enclosure 42, that is the freezer, is only accessible from the interior 16 of the RV.

Claims

1. A refrigerator for use in combination with a recreational vehicle having an interior and an exterior, said interior defined by at least one sidewall having an opening therein allowing access to said interior of said recreational vehicle from said exterior of said vehicle, said opening receiving said refrigerator comprising:

sidewalls opposingly spaced apart;

a bottom wall connected to said sidewalls and spanning between said sidewalls;

a top wall opposingly spaced from said bottom wall and spanning between said sidewalls;

a first door, pivotally attached to one of said sidewalls;

a second door, pivotally attached to one of said sidewalls and oppositely spaced from said first door, said sidewalls, said top wall, said bottom wall, said first door and said second door defining an enclosure, said first door positioned within said interior of said recreational vehicle so that it may be opened within said interior of said recreational vehicle to access said enclosure from said interior of said recreational vehicle and said second door positioned outwardly of said interior of said recreational vehicle so that it may be opened from the exterior of said recreational vehicle to provide access to said enclosure from said exterior of said recreational vehicle.

2. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said refrigerator includes a second enclosure divided from said enclosure forming a freezer, said second enclosure including a freezer door pivotally attached to one of said sidewalls.

3. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 2, wherein said freezer door is pivotal within said interior of said recreational vehicle.

4. A refrigerator a claimed in claim 1, including condenser coils opposite said freezer door.

5. A refrigerator for use in combination with a recreational vehicle having an interior and an exterior, said interior defined by at least one sidewall having an opening therein which contains a storage compartment having a back wall offset from said sidewall toward said interior of said recreational vehicle, said back wall including an opening therethrough for receiving said refrigerator comprising:

sidewalls opposingly spaced apart;

a bottom wall connected to said sidewalls and spanning between said sidewalls;

a top wall opposingly spaced from said bottom wall and spanning between said sidewalls;

a first door, pivotally attached to one of said sidewalls;

a second door, pivotally attached to one of said sidewalls and oppositely spaced from said first door, said sidewalls, said top wall, said bottom wall, said first door and said second door defining an enclosure, said first door positioned within said interior of said recreational vehicle so that it may be opened within said interior of said recreational vehicle to access said enclosure from said interior of said recreational vehicle and said second door positioned outwardly of said interior of said recreational vehicle so that it may be opened from the exterior of said recreational vehicle to provide access to said enclosure from said exterior of said recreational vehicle.