CA2174155A1 - Two piece collar bin - Google Patents

Two piece collar bin

Info

Publication number
CA2174155A1
CA2174155A1 CA002174155A CA2174155A CA2174155A1 CA 2174155 A1 CA2174155 A1 CA 2174155A1 CA 002174155 A CA002174155 A CA 002174155A CA 2174155 A CA2174155 A CA 2174155A CA 2174155 A1 CA2174155 A1 CA 2174155A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
collar
bin
container portion
plastic
bin according
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA002174155A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Patrick A. Braun
Trent A. Stone
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Whirlpool Corp
Original Assignee
Whirlpool Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Whirlpool Corp filed Critical Whirlpool Corp
Publication of CA2174155A1 publication Critical patent/CA2174155A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25DREFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D23/00General constructional features
    • F25D23/02Doors; Covers
    • F25D23/04Doors; Covers with special compartments, e.g. butter conditioners
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25DREFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D2331/00Details or arrangements of other cooling or freezing apparatus not provided for in other groups of this subclass
    • F25D2331/80Type of cooled receptacles
    • F25D2331/803Bottles
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25DREFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • F25D2400/00General features of, or devices for refrigerators, cold rooms, ice-boxes, or for cooling or freezing apparatus not covered by any other subclass
    • F25D2400/18Aesthetic features

Abstract

A two piece bin for mounting to a refrigerator door having a transparent container portion and surrounding collar portion welded thereto, the collar portion having a portion on a front side being tubular for a light weight yet sturdy structure. The bin having an indented width to interfit within the vertical columns of the refrigerator door and an outwardly extending portion abutting an exposed end face of the vertical columns, the tubular portion of the collar arranged around this outward portion to be abutted to the vertical columns.

Description

SPECIFICATION
TITLE:
"TWO PIECE COLLAR BIN"

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to container construction, and particularly to a construction of a refrigerator door bin for use in refrigerator/freezer compartments.
Refrigerator door tray or bin assemblies are previously known from U.S.
Patent 4,859,010; U.S. Patent 3,469,711; U.S. Patent 2,898,173; and U.S.
Patent 4,921,315. However, U.S. Patents 4,859,010 and 4,921,315 disclose unitary containers, that is, containers formed of one material including the binportion and the collar portion. U.S. Patents 2,898,173 and 3,469,711 disclose two level constructed containers having upper portions and lower portions connected together at a flange.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new method and article of manufacture, for forming a refrigerator door bin. It is an object of the present invention to provide a two piece plastic bin having respectively two different color plastics. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sturdy and rigid bin for a refrigerator door. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bin for a refrigerator door which is resistant to impact damage and which provides the required strength and durability, yet is light -weight and cost effectively manufactured. It is an object of the invention to provide a door bin of plastic having a transparent container portion and an opaque sturdy collar portion surrounding the container portion, the opaque collar portion providing impact protection and rigidity to the bin and providing a hand 5 gripping region where finger prints are less noticeable than on the transparent portion.
It is an object of the invention to provide a door bin which does not easily dislodge from its receiving space in the refrigerator door even though the bin has a depth greater than the receiving space in the door.
The objects of the invention are achieved in that a two piece bin structure and method of manufacturing thereof is provided. The bin is designed as a two piece welded assembly. Therefore, the flexibility of producing a two color door bin, particularly an opaque colored collar piece with a clear container portion, is increased. The objects are achieved in that a collar portion of the door bin is 15 produced using a "gas assisted" injection molding process to produce a hollow beam construction for a front portion of the collar, providing increased strength along an area more susceptible to impact caused by a closing of the door against a protruding object within the refrigerator compartment.
The objects of the invention are also achieved in that the bin is provided 20 with locking tabs to retain the bin in its receiving space allocated in the refrigerator door. The door can be provided with laterally spaced apart columns having protrusions for engaging the locking tabs. The locking tabs are arranged on a back side of the bin extending downwardly.

- 217A~5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator/freezer utilizing the door bin of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a exploded perspective view of a door bin as shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the door bin of Figure 2 in assembled condition;
Figure 4 is a partial sectional view taken generally along IV-IV of Figure 1 showing the installed door bin in side elevation;
Figure 5 is a plan view of the door bin as shown in Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a partial sectional view taken generally along Vl-VI of Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a sectional view taken generally along line VII-VII of Figure 5;
Figure 8 is a partial sectional view taken generally along VIII-VIII of Figure 5; and Figure 9 is an enlarged partial side view of a protrusion as shown in Figure 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 illustrates a refrigerator/freezer 10 with freezer door 14 and a refrigerator door 16 shown open from the cabinet 20. Arranged on either or both of the doors 12, 14 are door bins 24. Although a vertically stacked refrigerator/freezer is shown, the door bins 24 are also applicable to side-by-side refrigerator/freezer. The bins 24 (one shown) can be supported on vertical walls - 217415~

25, 26, 27 on the refrigerator door 16. Protrusions 28 are provided on inwardly directed surfaces 25a, 26a, 27a of the walls 25, 26, 27 respectively to support bins 24 at selected elevations on the door 16 as described below.
Figure 2 shows a bin 24 having a container portion 29 having a generally 5 rectangular rear section defined by a rear wall 30, a left side wall 32, a right side wall 34, and a floor 36. A front section is formed by the floor 36, a left lateral wall 40 and a right lateral wall 42 connected to an arcuate front wall 44 having a generally elongate C-shape.
A collar 46 having an overall horizontal profile matching the container 10 portion 29 is placed thereon and is bonded by an adhesive or plastic welded, such as ultrasonically welded, to the container portion. The collar 46 provides a C-shaped elongate flange 48 having an inverted L-shaped cross section, integrally formed with an opposing elongate C-shaped trim 50 having an enclosed, hollow cross section. The collar 46 has an open face 46a which 15 substantially matches an open face 29a of the container portion 29. The collar 46 also provides tabs 54, 56 extending downwardly from the flange region on opposite lateral sides of the bin 24, for mounting the bin 24 to the selected refrigerator space. The lateral walls 40, 42 create indented areas or pockets 60, 62 on opposite lateral sides of the tray 24 which receive two walls 26, 27 20 of the refrigerator door. The rear wall 30 extends at an upper edge into an L-shaped flange 30a with a horizontal leg 30b. The sidewall 32 extends at an upper edge into an L-shaped flange 32a with a horizontal leg 32b and an end cap 32c. The opposite sidewall 34 extends upward into an L-shaped flange 34a " -~17~155 with a horizontal leg 34b and an end cap 34c. The flanges 32a, 34a are arranged adjacent the lateral walls 40, 42 respectively. The arcuate wall 44 extends at an upper edge into an outwardly turned lip 44a. The horizontal legs 30b, 32b, 34b flushly abut an underside 48a (Fig. 7) of the flange 48 for plastic welding thereto to connect the collar 46 to the container portion 28. The trim 50 is plastic welded to the lip 44a.
Figure 3 shows the bin 24 in assembled condition with the collar 46 bonded to the container portion 29. In the preferred embodiment, the container portion 29 is transparent and the collar 46 is opaque and color coordinated withthe refrigerator compartment.
Figure 4 illustrates the bin 24 installed into the door 16. The tabs 54, 56 are arranged to tightly engage against two selected opposing protrusions 28 of the door 16 (see Fig. 1). The tabs 54, 56 prevent forward retraction of the bin 24 out of the door 16. The bin 24 is held tightly between the protrusions 28 and a front surface 26b, 27b of the walls 26, 27 respectively. To install the bin -24, the bin is tilted to insert the tabs 54, 56 behind the protrusions 28.
Figure 5 illustrates the bin 24 in place in the door 16. The tabs 54, 56 are engaged behind the protrusions 28. The protrusions have a tapered profile from front to back to assist in installing the bin 24.
The clamping of the protrusions 28 and`the door surfaces 26b, 27b between the tabs 54,56 and the lateral walls 40, 42 of the bin 24 allows the bin 24 to extend substantially outwardly from the horizontal divider 69 while resisting overturning. This provides a bin 24 which has a capacity greatly 217~155 exceeding a space 73 allocated in the door 16 defined by the horizontal dividers69, the vertical walls 26, 27 and a back wall 74 of the door 16. Also, larger items such as milk containers 75 and large condiment jars can be stored in the bin 24 which otherwise would be too large or tall for the space 73.
Figures 5, 6 and 7 illustrate that the tab 54 has parallel gusset stiffeners 54a,b perpendicular to the tab 54. The tab 56 has identical stiffeners arranged in mirror image to the stiffeners 54a,b.
Figure 8 shows a section of the front generally C-shaped trim 50 which extends between the lateral walls 40, 42. The trim 50 is substantially hollow with a void 76 therein. The trim 50 is formed using a gas assisted injection molding process. The trim 50 thus forms a sturdy yet light weight surrounding member which is crush and dent resistant and provides a convenient and easy grasping handle for removing the bin 24. If the trim 50 is opaque, finger smudges are less observable than would otherwise be observed on a transparent surface.
Figure 9 illustrates the advantageous shape of the protrusion 28 for locking the tabs 54, 56 against the door 16. The protrusions 28 are generally rectangular but with an inclined trailing face 28a for locking against the tabs 54, 56. The angle A is preferably 10 + 1 .
The invention is particularly advantageous in that the container portion 28 can be injection molded of a transparent material and the collar 46 to be secured thereto can be formed of an opaque material using the gas assisted injection molding process. The container portion 29 can be made with a more 21741~5 conventional injection molding process and is readily molded because of its openshape as contrasted to the finished shape of the bin 24 which may have an overhanging lip formed by the collar 46. Thus, the bin 24 can be advantageously formed by injection molding while still retaining an inwardly directed lip 78 for retaining articles within the bin 24. The collar 46 provides an increased structural rigidity to the container portion 29 through the advantage of gas assisted molding to create the hollow beam member. A two piece molding process allows that the collar 46 can be color coordinated with the remaining refrigerator cabinetry while retaining a substantially transparent bin.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, those of skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

Claims (16)

1. A bin for mounting to a refrigerator door, comprising:
a plastic container portion having an open top face; and a plastic collar having an overall profile to match the open face of said container portion and a front trim portion having an impact resistant beam construction, said collar bonded to said open face of said container portion.
2. The bin according to claim 1, wherein said collar is formed of an opaque plastic and said container portion comprises a transparent plastic.
3. The bin according to claim 1, wherein said collar comprises an inside profile extending at least partially within an inside profile of said container portion, said container portion having no inward protrusions from said open top face for ease of injection molding.
4. The bin according to claim 1, wherein said beam construction is a hollow enclosed one piece injection molded construction.
5. The bin according to claim 1, wherein said collar comprises a flange portion having an L-shaped cross section molded integrally to said front trim portion, said flange portion and said front trim portion forming an approximate rectangle; and tabs extending downward from said flange portion to engage protrusions on said door.
6. The bin according to claim 1, wherein said collar comprises a flange portion connected to said front trim portion, said flange portion and said front trim portion forming an approximate rectangle; said container portion having upwardly extending L-shaped flanges plastic welded to said collar.
7. The bin according to claim 6, wherein said container portion has an outwardly turned lip welded to said front trim portion.
8. A method of forming a refrigerator door bin comprising the steps of:
injection molding a container portion having a bottom and surrounding sidewalls and an open top;
injection molding a collar having an open face substantially corresponding to said open top; and bonding said collar to said container portion with said open face in registry with said open top.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said step of injection molding said collar is further defined in that said collar is injection molded using a gas assisted injection molding method to form a hollow beam construction at least in a front region of said collar.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said step of injection molding said collar is further defined in that said front region extends across a width of said collar and is substantially C-shaped in a horizontal plane as installed.
11. A bin for mounting to a refrigerator door, comprising:
a plastic container portion having an open top face;
a plastic collar surrounding said open top face and bonded thereto, said plastic collar having a hollow beam construction across an exposed front side of said collar.
12. The bin according to claim 11, wherein said collar comprises a flange portion having an L-shaped cross section molded integrally to said front trim portion, said flange portion and said front trim portion forming an approximate rectangle; and tabs extending downward from said flange portion to engage protrusions on said door.
13. The bin according to claim 11, wherein said container portion has a tapered rear profile to interfit within a space defined by lateral columns of the refrigerator door, and an expanded front profile to extend laterally overlying the lateral column of the refrigerator door.
14. The bin according to claim 11, wherein said beam construction is a hollow enclosed one piece injection molded construction.
15. The bin according to claim 11, wherein said collar comprises an inside profile extending at least partially within an inside profile of said container portion, said container portion having no inward protrusions from said open top face for ease of injection molding.
16. The bin according to claim 11, wherein said collar is formed of an opaque plastic and said container portion comprises a transparent plastic.
CA002174155A 1995-04-17 1996-04-15 Two piece collar bin Abandoned CA2174155A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US08/423,067 US5951134A (en) 1995-04-17 1995-04-17 Two piece collar bin
US08/423,067 1995-04-17

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2174155A1 true CA2174155A1 (en) 1996-10-18

Family

ID=23677559

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002174155A Abandoned CA2174155A1 (en) 1995-04-17 1996-04-15 Two piece collar bin

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (1) US5951134A (en)
CA (1) CA2174155A1 (en)

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US7073876B2 (en) * 2002-07-15 2006-07-11 Maytag Corporation Exchangeable components for color customizing of appliances
US6782710B2 (en) * 2002-07-16 2004-08-31 Maytag Corporation Kid's zone compartment assembly for a refrigerator
US7124896B2 (en) * 2002-10-23 2006-10-24 Lockheed Martin Corporation Equipment tray
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US7228612B2 (en) * 2004-03-23 2007-06-12 Viking Range Corporation Methods of making refrigerator storage assemblies
US7293846B2 (en) * 2004-10-15 2007-11-13 Whirlpool Corporation Storage bin assembly for a refrigerator
US8562089B2 (en) * 2005-01-12 2013-10-22 Whirlpool Corporation Refrigerator shelf retainer and divider assembly for tall packages
US20070151880A1 (en) * 2005-12-29 2007-07-05 Chapman Jarvis A Stabilizer to aid in installation and removal of a transmission
CN101454628B (en) * 2006-05-30 2013-05-08 Lg电子株式会社 Apparatus for preventing leakage of cooling air for refrigerator
US8820864B2 (en) 2008-11-14 2014-09-02 Electrolux Home Products, Inc. Refrigerator drawers with trim
DE202009003726U1 (en) * 2009-03-16 2009-07-16 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Domestic refrigeration appliance and door racks for a refrigeration appliance
KR20100118435A (en) * 2009-04-28 2010-11-05 삼성전자주식회사 Door guard assembly and refrigerator having the same
US8317019B2 (en) * 2009-08-19 2012-11-27 Christopher J. Cruce Golf ball picker basket and method
US8616665B2 (en) 2011-05-24 2013-12-31 Whirlpool Corporation Door bin for a domestic refrigerator
USD669506S1 (en) 2011-05-24 2012-10-23 Whirlpool Corporation Door bin
DE102012001321A1 (en) * 2012-01-25 2013-07-25 Liebherr-Hausgeräte Lienz Gmbh frame
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US10495373B2 (en) * 2016-01-05 2019-12-03 Lg Electronics Inc. Refrigerator
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