Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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REFRIGERATOR DOOR MOUNTED WATER DISPENSING
ASSEMBLY
Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator door mounted
portable water dispenser removably mounted to the inner liner of the
refrigerator door and accessible for dispensing water when the door is
open.
Background of the Invention
Modern day refrigerators typically include door mounted modules,
such as bins, drawers, trays or shelves used to store numerous items
which are handy to a user. In the pasiF several years a number of schemes
or assemblies have been introduced to provide greater flexibility by
enabling the user to selectively mount different modules at numerous
locations on the inner liner of the door, particularly on the fresh food
compartment door. Usually, the portable mounting involves ribs,
recesses, apertures or bosses mounted along opposing side support walls
of the door liner and corresponding mating or anchoring supports on the
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drawers or bins.
Examples of refrigerator door module mounting assemblies are
shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,346,299 issued September 13, 1994 to
Werkmeister et al; 3,220,558 issued November 30, 1965 to Olsson;
5,685,624 issued November 11, 1997 to Lee; 3,227,502 issued January 4,
1996 to Roberts; 3,682,521 issued August 8, 1972 to Kesling; 3,807,822
issued April 30, 1974 to Amore; 4,859,010 issued August 22, 1989 to
Jeziorowski; 4,908,544 issued March 13, 1990 to Lau; 5,004,305 issued
April 2, 1991 to Montuoro et al.; 5,042,398 issued August 27, 1991 to
Lau et al.; Re. 34,377 reissued September 14, 1993 to Wilkins et al.;
5,322,366 issued June 21, 1994 to Revlett et al.; 5,226,717 issued July 13,
1993 to Hoffman; 5,370.455 issued December 6, 1994 to Sedovic et al.;
5,375,924 issued December 27, 1994 to Pohl et al.; 5,567,029 issued
October 22, 1996 to Haenisch et al.; and 6,231,146 issued May 15, 2001
to Dang.
While door shelves and bins are utilized to support many items
such as a water jug resting in or on the shelf, refrigerators having a water
dispensing feature require a water dispenser incorporated with the door
that typically extends through the door providing access to a user from
the outer panel of a closed refrigerator door. These through the door
mounted water dispensers typically involve placing a water line into the
door and connecting the water line with a faucet or valve actuated by a
lever accessible to a user from outside the door. The costs associated
with the plumbing connections and door construction for a through the
door mounted water dispenser are much higher than simply buying a
water jug and placing it onto a shelf in the refrigerator.
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Portable water dispensers or jugs have been filled with water and
placed on a shelf within the refrigerator fresh food compartment or, for
much smaller jugs, on a door shelf. The jugs used on the door shelf or
bin are much smaller due to the space requirements of the door shelf and
non-tipping requirements of the jug placed on the door shelf. However,
due to the weight of a filled water jug located on the door shelf, care must
be taken when closing the door in order not to upset the jug and cause
spillage. For larger volume water jugs, they must be placed on a shelf
within the refrigerator cabinet. Some of these jugs include a filter for
removing un-wanted chemicals from the water poured into the jug.
However, jugs placed on a shelf in the refrigerator cabinet typically
occupy a considerable amount of space that could be otherwise used for
food storage and are heavy to load onto the shelf.
There is a need for a water disp'nser that does not require through
the door plumbing connections, has a relative large volume, is portable,
and is adapted for secure removable mounting to the refrigerator door
thereby being less prone to spillage and freeing up space within the fresh
food compartment for storage of other food items.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a refrigerator door mounted water
dispensing apparatus comprising a water dispensing module portably
mounted relative to the inner liner of a refrigerator door. The refrigerator
door has an outer shell and an inner liner. The inner liner has at least two
spaced apart liner side walls and a rear liner wall extending between the
liner side walls that defines a liner recess. The liner side walls have
aligned and vertically spaced module supports. The water dispensing
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module is at least partially receivable within the liner recess and has a
reservoir defined by a front wall portion, opposing side wall portions, a
rear wall portion and a bottom wall portion. Each of the reservoir side
wall portions has at least one anchoring support for releasably mating
with the module supports of the liner side walls to mount the water
dispensing module on the refrigerator door with the reservoir rear wall
portion adjacent the liner rear wall and the reservoir side wall portions
adjacent the corresponding liner side walls. The reservoir front wall
portion extends across the refrigerator door between the liner side walls.
The water dispensing module further has a spigot that is mounted to the
reservoir front wall portion adjacent the reservoir bottom wall portion to
permit for the dispensing of the water from the reservoir when the
refrigerator door is open.
The releasable mating of the water dispensing module with the
liner permits for the water dispenser to be releasably mounted directly to
a refrigerator door. Further, the spigot permits for water to be dispensed
from the reservoir when the door is opened. Since the water dispensing
module is an independent unit mounted to the inside door liner, there is
no requirement for plumbing a water line in the door and for the spigot to
be accessible from outside the refrigerator door as in a through the door
dispenser. Further, the reservoir is readily accessibly when the door of
the refrigerator is open hence the water contained within the reservoir
will provide a supply of chilled water for a user.
In a preferred construction, the refrigerator liner side walls each
have has a series of liner module supports vertically spaced along each of
the liner side walls which allow for the water dispensing module to be
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inserted vertically relative to the refrigerator door. As a result, the water
dispensing module may be located at a desired height allowing it to be
readily filled while still mounted on the refrigerator door or to be easily
removed from the refrigerator door for filling at a remote location.
Preferably, the front wall portion of the reservoir has a recess
located adjacent to the reservoir bottom wall into which the spigot is
mounted substantially rearwardly of the front wall. This rearward
mounting of the spigot relative to the front wall portion prevents the
spigot from coming into contact with other food articles within the food
chamber when the door is closed. Further, there is less chance of a user
catching accidentally touching the spigot when accessing food articles
within the fresh food compartment. The spigot further comprises a stem
that is mounted through the reservoir front wall portion, a valve and a
lever for opening and closing the valve. The majority of the spigot is
located rearwardly of the front wall portion and only a portion of the
lever projects forward of the front wall portion to allow it to be accessed
readily by a user for dispensing fluids. Since the spigot is located
adjacent the bottom front wall, when the lever is activated, the valve
opens and water is dispensed by gravity from the reservoir through the
stem of the spigot and drops from the spigot into a cup or other collecting
vessel utilized by a user.
To facilitate the portability of the present invention, each of the
reservoir side wall portions has a recessed handle located in a leading side
wall portion that extends forward of the corresponding liner side wall.
The recessed handle projects back into the reservoir and permits the user
to insert her fingers into the handle portions and allow her thumbs to
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wrap around the reservoir front walt portion to permit the user to readily
mount or remove the water dispenser from the refrigerator door when the
door is in an open position. Additionally, the construction of the recessed
handle portions also provides for a support shoulder where each handle
portion projects into the reservoir. The shoulders are preferably relatively
flat surfaces that extend along a horizontal plane inward from the
opposite reservoir side wall portions. The shoulders are adapted to
support a fill chamber mounted into an upper portion of the reservoir.
The fill chamber preferably carries a filter and provides an upper
chamber in which water is initially contained. The water passes through
the filter attached between the fill chamber and the reservoir and the
filtered water is held by the lower or main portion of the reservoir. It
should be understood that the user may fill the fill chamber up and as
water filters into the lower chamber may then continue to fill the fill
chamber so that the entire reservoir and fill chamber is completely filled
with water. When the user then dispenses water from the spigot,
additional amounts of water located in the fill chamber passes through
the filter by gravity into the lower reservoir. Consequently, the volume of
filtered water supplied by the water dispensing module is relatively large
when compared to jugs placed in the door shelves or trays.
The water dispensing module preferably further includes a lid that
fits over the fill chamber and closes off the fill chamber. The lid
preferably has a rear top wall raised platform portion and a forward
platform portion that is lower than the rear platform portion. In other
words, the rear platform portion which is adjacent the rear liner wall is
raised relative to the forward portion. The forward portion preferably
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further includes a cap that closes an access opening. The cap may be
removed from the forward platform portion to facilitate pouring of water
either from a faucet when the module is placed beneath a faucet or from a
container when the dispensing module is left mounted within the
refrigerator door liner when filled. Any spillage associated with this
pouring procedure runs off the rear platform into the forward platform
and into the access opening.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the present
invention reference may be had to the following detailed description
when taken in conjunction with the accompanying diagrammatic
drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator having a door
mounted portable water dispensing apparatus in accordance with a
preferred aspect of the present invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged partial perspective view of the preferred
water dispensing module mounted to the liner;
Figure 3 is an exploded view of the component parts of the water
dispensing module;
Figure 4 is a front sectional view of the water dispensing module;
and,
Figure 5 is a side sectional view showing the interconnection
between the water dispensing module and the refrigerator door liner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Referring now particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a refrigerator
of the top mount type where the cabinet 11 encloses a freezer
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compartment 12 mounted above a fresh food compartment 13. The
compartments include front access openings which normally are closed
by hinged doors 14 and 15, respectively. Typically drawers 16 and
shelves 17 are mounted in the fresh food compartment to support articles
to be refrigerated. The freezer may have a shelf 18 to enhance the storage
capability and some models may include an automatic ice maker 19.
The fresh food compartment door 15 includes an outer shell or
casing 20 and an inner liner 21. The space between the outer shell 20 and
inner liner 21 is filled with a suitable insulation material, such as, for
example, a body of foamed in place insulation. A gasket (not shown)
extends around the periphery of the door to seal against air leakage when
the door is closed.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the inner liner 21 has a rear liner wall
22, a bottom wall (not shown), a top wall 23 , liner side walls 24, 25 and
a liner intermediate wall 26 (also considered a side wall). The
intermediate wall 26 is parallel to the side walls 24, 25 and is spaced
between them. The top, bottom, side and intermediate liner walls extend
forward from the rear wall 22 to form liner recesses 27, 28 in the liner
which face into and become part of the fresh food compartment 13 when
the door 15 is closed. More particularly, the walls 24, 26, along with the
other walls of the liner, define a first recess 27 while the walls 25, 26,
along with the other walls of the liner, define a second recess 28. Thus
each of the walls 24, 25 and 26 is a side wall of a recess. It will be
understood that the fresh food compartment doors of some smaller size
refrigerators and of many side-by-side refrigerators do not include an
intermediate wall 26 and the door liner has only one recess.
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For storage of items on the door 15, a permanent shelf 29 (Figure
1) is mounted across the bottom of the door 15 to store tall items. Also
each of the side walls 26, 27, 28 is provided with a series of vertically
aligned and spaced apart module supports or, as shown in the preferred
embodiment, supporting ribs 30. Both sides of the intermediate side wall
26 are provided with ribs so that each side wall of each of the recesses 27,
28 has a series of ribs. The ribs 30 on each side wall are aligned with the
ribs on the facing side wall. While the ribs 30 are aligned across both
recesses 27, 28, it will be understood that such alignment from one recess
to the other is not necessary.
Each of the ribs 30 in this preferred embodiment, as best seen in
Figures 2 and 5, extends forward from the liner rear wall 22 and
terminates in a distal end or tip 31. The top wall 32 of each rib is
generally horizontal and includes an upwardly tab 33 proximate the distal
end 31. Each rib has a bottom wall 34 including a horizontal portion or
section 35 adjacent the liner rear wall 22. The preferred construction of
the ribs is disclosed in detail in the aforementioned U.S. patent 5,346,299.
Referring to all the Figures, a number of storage modules,
illustrated by bins 40, are assembled to, or mounted on, the door liner by
utilizing the ribs 30. In addition, a water dispensing module 60 is shown
at least partially receivable within the liner recess 27.
The water dispensing module 60 has a reservoir 62 that has a front
wall portion 64, opposing side walls portion 66, a rear wall portion 58,
and a bottom wall portion 70. Each of the reservoir side wall portions 66
has at least one anchoring support 68 for releasably mating with the
module supports of the liner side walls to mount the water dispensing
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module 60 on the refrigerator door with the rear wall portion 58 at least
closely adjacent to the rear liner 22 and the side wall portions 66 adjacent
to side walls 24 and 26. In the preferred embodiment shown, at least a
portion of the reservoir side walls 66 and the reservoir rear wall portion
68 are shaped or contoured to snugly fit between corresponding liner side
walls and the liner rear wall.
The anchoring supports 68 for the water dispensing module 60 are
provided adjacent the top portion 98 of the reservoir side wall portions 66
and comprise an upper rai148 and a lower rail 49. The rails 48, 49 extend
from adjacent the rear edge of the module side walls 66 toward the front
of the module. Each upper rail 48 is formed adjacent the top of the
module 60 and, in the illustrative modules the horizontal upper wall 50 is
part of the rim around the upper edge of the module 60. The lower wall
52 of each upper rail 48 is also generally horizontal and is spaced
relatively close to the upper wall 50 so that, when a module 60 is
assembled to the liner 21, the lower wall 52 will rest on the upper wall 32
of one liner rib 30 and the upper wall 50 of the upper rail 48 will be
spaced below the next higher rib 30.
In addition, due to the overall height of the water dispensing
module 60 being larger than a bin 40, lower portions of the side wall
portions 66 are provided with a protruding boss 80 which is inserted
between an additional pair of ribs 30 in the side walls which additional
pair of ribs 30 are located below and adjacent to the pair or ribs 30
supporting rails 48 and 49. AS shown in FIG. 5 the boss 80 rests against
the horizontal section 35 of lower wall 34 of the upper rib of the lower
pair of ribs 30.
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The water dispensing module 60 is assembled to or mounted on a
liner by inserting the module into one of the liner recesses 27, 28 with the
rails 48, 49 being received between vertically adjacent pairs of ribs 30.
When the tabs 33 are aligned with the recesses 58, 59 the module is
lowered or tilted forward to insert the tabs into the recesses. Boss 80
swings into engagement with wall section 35 of a lower rib 30 to
complete the support.
The front wall portion 64 of the reservoir 62 has a forward facing
mounting wall 69 recessed a predetermined depth therefrom into which
the spigot is mounted at the lower fropt portion 94 rearwardly of the front
wall portion 64.. The spigot 82 comprises a threaded stem 84 which
passes through the front wall portion 64. The stem is held in place by
lock nut 85 and a sealing washer 87. The spigot 82 includes a valve 86
and a lever 88 movable to open and close the valve 86. Only a portion 91
of the lever 88 projects forward of the front wall portion 66 as best seen
in FIG. 5. Below the spigot 82, a user may place a cup or other collection
device to capture water flowing out through the spigot 82 as a result of
gravity fed water flow when the valve 86 is open.
The reservoir 62 is a main reservoir and it is provided with handle
portions 90 that are recessed into leading side wall portions 92 and 94 of
the reservoir side wall portions 66. The leading side wall portions 92 and
94 extend forward of the inner liner side walls 24, 25, 26 and have a rear
wall 93 adapted to lie flush with the forward edges of the liner side walls
24, 26. Each of the handle portions 90 projects into the reservoir 62 and
defines a horizontal extending flat shoulder 95 (Figure 4) that projects
into the reservoir 62. The handle portions 90 facilitate the mounting and
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the removal of the water dispensing module 60 from the refrigerator door
15 when the door is open.
The water dispensing module 60 further includes a fill chamber
100 having side walls 102 and a floor 104 with a filter 106 mounted
through the floor 104. The fill chamber 100 is positional in an upper
portion 98 of the reservoir 62 with floor portions 104 of the fill chamber
100 resting on and supported by the shoulders 95 defined by the handle
portions 90 as can best be seen in FIG. 4. Hence the recessed handle
portions 90 have a dual functionality.
The water dispensing module 60 further includes a lid or cover 110
having a rear platform surface 112 and a forward platform surface 114 .
The rear platform surface 112 that is raised relative to the forward
platform 114. This allows for any water spilled water during filling of the
dispenser, if still mounted to the door, to flow towards opening 116 in the
forward platform 114. Opening 116 is normally closed by a removable
cap 118.
It will be appreciated that alternative embodiments falling within
the scope of the present invention may be apparent to those skilled in the
art and accordingly the present invention should not be limited to those
embodiments herein described.
