Horizontal flipper mullion incorporated within a false mullion of an appliance
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
A47B-096/04
F25D-023/06
F25D-023/04
F25D-023/08
F25D-025/02
출원번호
US-0975914
(2015-12-21)
등록번호
US-9739524
(2017-08-22)
발명자
/ 주소
Giacomini, Neomar
Ramm, Axel Julio
출원인 / 주소
Whirlpool Corporation
대리인 / 주소
Price Heneveld LLP
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
0인용 특허 :
6
초록▼
An appliance includes a cabinet having outer walls that define a portion of a contact surface. Operable panels are engaged with the cabinet and operate between closed and open positions. A lateral mullion is pivotally attached to a mullion panel of the plurality of operable panels and is operable be
An appliance includes a cabinet having outer walls that define a portion of a contact surface. Operable panels are engaged with the cabinet and operate between closed and open positions. A lateral mullion is pivotally attached to a mullion panel of the plurality of operable panels and is operable between contact and tucked positions. When the mullion panel is in the closed position, an outer surface of the lateral mullion is in the vertically pointed contact position and defines a portion of the contact surface to receive a seal of the mullion panel and selectively receive a seal of a vertically adjacent panel. Movement of the mullion panel to the open position rotates the lateral mullion about a horizontal axis to define the tucked position such that the mullion panel can move to the open position free of operation of the vertically adjacent panel.
대표청구항▼
1. An appliance comprising: a cabinet having a plurality of outer walls that define a portion of a contact surface;a plurality of operable panels operably engaged with the cabinet, wherein each operable panel is operable between closed and open positions, wherein the closed position of each respecti
1. An appliance comprising: a cabinet having a plurality of outer walls that define a portion of a contact surface;a plurality of operable panels operably engaged with the cabinet, wherein each operable panel is operable between closed and open positions, wherein the closed position of each respective operable panel is defined by a seal of the respective operable panel being in direct contact with the contact surface; anda lateral mullion that is pivotally attached to a mullion panel of the plurality of operable panels and is pivotally operable between a contact position and a tucked position, wherein the contact position is defined when the mullion panel is in the closed position such that an outer surface of the lateral mullion is in a vertical orientation and defines a portion of the contact surface to receive the seal of the mullion panel and selectively receive seals of two vertically adjacent panels, and wherein movement of the mullion panel to the open position rotates the lateral mullion about a horizontal axis to define the tucked position such that the mullion panel can move to the open position free of operation of the two vertically adjacent panels, at least one mullion guide that includes first and second mullion guides, wherein the first and second mullion guides define first and second mullion blocks that each support a hinge for one of the two vertically adjacent panels, respectively. 2. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the lateral mullion is positioned proximate a top edge of the mullion panel. 3. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the mullion panel is defined by a drawer panel of a slidable drawer, and wherein the two vertically adjacent panels are first and second rotationally operable door panels that rotate about respective vertical axes. 4. The appliance of claim 1, further comprising: the at least one mullion guide that further defines the contact surface, wherein the at least one mullion guide is positioned to engage the lateral mullion in the contact position, wherein the lateral mullion and the at least one mullion guide cooperate to define a false mullion extending between side walls of the cabinet. 5. The appliance of claim 4, wherein the at least one mullion guide includes a guide groove that engages a guide flange at an end of the lateral mullion, and wherein movement of the mullion panel proximate the closed position engages the guide flange of the lateral mullion with the guide groove of the at least one mullion guide to operate the lateral mullion between the contact and tucked positions. 6. The appliance of claim 4, wherein the first and second mullion guides slidably engage respective ends of the lateral mullion. 7. The appliance of claim 6, wherein the first and second mullion guides define first and second mullion blocks that each support a hinge for one of the two vertically adjacent panels, respectively, and wherein the seals of the two vertically adjacent panels selectively engage the portion of the contact surface defined by the lateral mullion when the lateral mullion is in the contact position. 8. The appliance of claim 7, wherein each of the hinges are defined within the first and second mullion blocks, respectively, and wherein a space between the first and second mullion blocks receives the lateral mullion in the contact position. 9. The appliance of claim 8, wherein each of the first and second mullion blocks are separated by the space and are free of structural support from the other of the first and second mullion blocks. 10. The appliance of claim 9, wherein the first and second mullion blocks include structural members that extend from opposing sidewalls, respectively, of the plurality of outer walls and into each of the first and second mullion blocks. 11. The appliance of claim 9, wherein the lateral mullion in the contact position and the first and second mullion blocks define a substantially continuous portion of the contact surface extending between opposing sidewalls. 12. A mullion assembly of an appliance, the mullion assembly comprising: a lateral mullion operable about a horizontal axis between a contact position and a tucked position, wherein the contact position places an outer surface of the lateral mullion in a vertical orientation to define a portion of a contact surface of the appliance, and wherein the contact surface is substantially positioned in a single vertical plane;first and second mullion guides attached to a cabinet of the appliance that are positioned such that each of the first and second mullion guides receives a respective end of the lateral mullion in the contact position to define the contact surface;a mullion panel that is operable between open and closed positions relative to the contact surface, wherein the lateral mullion is pivotally coupled to the mullion panel such that operation of the mullion panel to the closed position defines an engagement between the lateral mullion and the first and second mullion guides to operate the lateral mullion from the tucked position to the contact position, and wherein operation of the mullion panel away from the closed position causes the first and second mullion guides to operate the lateral mullion from the contact position to the tucked position; andvertically adjacent first and second operable door panels that are each operable between a panel open position and a panel closed position, wherein when at least one of the first and second operable door panels is in the panel closed position, the at least one of the first and second operable door panels engages the portion of the contact surface defined by the lateral mullion in the contact position, wherein the first and second mullion guides define first and second mullion blocks, respectively, and wherein the first and second mullion blocks support first and second hinges, respectively. 13. The mullion assembly of claim 12, wherein the tucked position of the lateral mullion provides for operation of the mullion panel from the closed position to the open position when either of the first and second operable door panels are in either of the panel open and panel closed positions. 14. The mullion assembly of claim 12, wherein the lateral mullion is positioned proximate a top edge of the mullion panel. 15. The mullion assembly of claim 12, wherein the mullion panel is defined by a drawer panel of a slidable drawer, and wherein the first and second operable door panels are each a pair of hinged door panels that rotates about respective vertical axes. 16. The mullion assembly of claim 15, wherein the slidable drawer is a pantry drawer. 17. The mullion assembly of claim 12, wherein each of the first and second mullion guides include a guide flange that engages a guide groove at a respective end of the lateral mullion, and wherein movement of the mullion panel proximate the closed position engages the guide grooves of the lateral mullion with the respective guide flanges of the first and second mullion guides to operate the lateral mullion between the contact and tucked positions. 18. The mullion assembly of claim 12, wherein the first and second hinges support the first and second operable door panels, respectively, wherein the first and second mullion blocks are separated from one another to define a space that receives the lateral mullion, wherein the first and second mullion blocks define a portion of the contact surface and are free of structural support from the other of the first and second mullion blocks. 19. An appliance comprising: a cabinet having a plurality of walls that define a portion of a contact surface, wherein the contact surface includes a selectively operable lateral portion that operates between a flush position and a displaced position;a lateral mullion that selectively defines the selectively operable lateral portion of the contact surface, wherein the lateral mullion is selectively operable between a contact position that corresponds to the flush position, wherein the selectively operable lateral portion is flush with a remainder of the contact surface, and a tucked position that corresponds to the displaced position wherein the selectively operable lateral portion is free of alignment with the remainder of the contact surface, wherein the contact surface includes first and second mullion blocks positioned at opposing sides of the lateral mullion and attached to opposing sidewalk of the plurality of walls, and wherein each of the first and second mullion blocks includes a structural member that is parallel with the lateral mullion and that supports respective hinges within the contact surface, and wherein the first and second mullion blocks define a space therebetween such that each of the first and second mullion blocks are free of structural support from the other of the first and second mullion blocks;a mullion panel that is operable between open and closed positions and wherein the lateral mullion is pivotally connected proximate a laterally extending edge of the mullion panel, wherein the open position of the mullion panel corresponds to the displaced position of the selectively operable lateral portion and the closed position of the mullion panel corresponds to the flush position of the selectively operable lateral portion within the space between the first and second mullion blocks; anda pair of vertically adjacent hinged door panels that are each mounted on the respective hinges and are operable between respective panel open and panel closed positions, wherein each door panel of the pair of vertically adjacent hinged door panels in the panel closed position engages the selectively operable lateral portion in the flush position, and wherein the selectively operable lateral portion is operable between the flush and displaced positions when the pair of vertically adjacent hinged door panels is in any of the panel open and panel closed positions. 20. The appliance of claim 19, further comprising: first and second mullion guides that define a portion of the contact surface, and wherein the first and second mullion guides are defined within the first and second mullion blocks, respectively, and engage the lateral mullion to operate the selectively operable lateral portion between the flush position and the displaced position.
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