Patents by Inventor Donald Alba

Donald Alba has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4783971
    Abstract: Refrigerator drain pan apparatus including a pair of spaced mounting brackets having longitudinal guide slots for receiving in sliding engagement the longitudinal rims of the drain pan. The brackets also have clamps for securely engaging gripper pads on the rims of the drain pan at the operating position for eliminating vibration noise. The guide slots include a rim support shelf and a parallel top panel space thereabove. Forward extending ramps guide the drain pan rims up into the guide slots. The clamps include V-shaped tabs positioned in front and back of the guide slots, which tabs extend below the plane of the top panel and engage the gripper pads in an interference fit at the operating position. The pan also has bumpers protruding from the rims to engage the front V-shaped path at the operating position of the drain pan thereby providing a stop. An upward cone in the pan bottom provides a drip area for incoming water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1988
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Amana Refrigeration, Inc.
    Inventor: Donald Alba
  • Patent number: 4557118
    Abstract: A refrigerator having a crisper pan with a back passageway that is always open and a front passageway that is adjustable so that the operator can adjust the amount of flow through ventilation to control the humidity in the pan. The lid for the pan also functions as a refrigerator shelf and the back passageway is defined by a gap between the lid and the back of the pan. The front passageway is defined by a front lid plenum having a floor with a plurality of ports. A slide gate positioned in the plenum has a plurality of windows which, by sliding laterally in the plenum, can be made to respectively align with the ports to enable flow through ventilation. Full or partial sealing of the ports is provided by sliding the slide gate laterally to alter the alignment of the windows with the ports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 10, 1985
    Assignee: Amana Refrigeration, Inc.
    Inventors: John J. Pink, Jeffrey L. Prunty, Donald Alba
  • Patent number: 4539819
    Abstract: A refrigerator having a reversible cold air meat keeper for providing convenient access thereto regardless of the side of the refrigerator that the doors are hinged. The cold air is channeled into a plenum behind the back wall of the refrigerator compartment and there are at least two spaced ports communicating from the plenum into the chamber. The cold air meat keeper has a conduit extending from the rear wall thereof. In one predetermined mounting position of the meat keeper, the conduit removably couples with one of the ports for receiving cold air from the plenum. In the alternate predetermined mounting position of the meat keeper, the conduit removably couples with the other port for receiving cold air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1984
    Date of Patent: September 10, 1985
    Assignee: Amana Refrigeration, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald Alba, Michael A. Hawkes