8307results about "Support" patented technology

Touch switches are integrated with thermoformable, injection molded, and other substrates to yield integrated touch switch/control panel assemblies. The ensuant assemblies can include ridges, depressions, anchors, overlaps, rivets and bezels or other housings. They can have any combination of flat and curved surfaces. Further, such assemblies can be incorporated into components of other assemblies, such as automobiles.

A cooler is provided which has various improvements. The cooler may be a passive cooler or may be actively cooled for providing desirable cooling effects. The cooler may include an accessory system, for example, with bottle or can holders or a post holder which utilizes the weight of the cooler to support a sunshade. The accessory system may be positioned in various locations of the cooler, one location being in a recess which is utilized to open the cooler lid. The smart cooler may also comprise a cushion assembly which may be placed on an upper surface of the lid and may have straps to retain the cushion on the lid. The lid may be formed to accept and retain a cushion retaining feature so that the cushion does not excessively move from the top surface of the lid.

System and method for preserving food. Embodiments of the system include a food compartment to store food and a user interface configured to receive user input relating to the preservation of the food stored. The system also includes a humidity sensor configured to sense a humidity level, an ozone generator configured to generate ozone gas, an ozone sensor configured to sense an ozone level and a gas sensor configured to sense a level of residual gases inside the food compartment. The system further includes a controller, responsive to the user interface, the humidity sensor, the ozone sensor and the gas sensor. In one embodiment, the controller preserves the food stored in the food compartment as a function of the user input, the humidity level, the ozone level, the residual gas level and as a function of a type of the food stored in the food compartment.

An article retainer assembly for a refrigerator shelf includes a pair of support brackets and a retaining member. The support brackets are preferably mounted at opposing side portions of a refrigerator shelf, with the retaining member extending therebetween and across a front edge section of the shelf. The support brackets include corresponding guide tracks having first and second portions adapted to support the retaining member in an upright, lowered or stowed configuration. In the upright position, the retaining member prevents articles resting upon the shelf from moving beyond the front edge section. In the lowered position, unobstructed access is provided to the articles on the shelf and, in the stowed position, the retaining member is held in place below the shelf.

A storage stack for storing sample containers in a low temperature sample store. The low temperature sample store is equipped with a robot that acts according to Cartesian X, Y, and Z coordinates for horizontally positioning sample containers in X/Y planes inside of individual storage stacks and for vertically moving individual storage stacks within the low temperature sample store in Z direction. The sample store defines a storage area for accommodating an array of m×n storage stacks that are accomplished to be oriented adjacent to each other and parallel to the vertical Z direction. Each individual storage stack includes first and second rigid lateral support flanges extending in the Z direction and including a multitude of storage webs for supporting sample containers inserted into the storage stack; a rigid back panel, rigidly linking the lateral support flanges to each other; a rigid bottom plate, fixed to lower ends of at least one lateral support flange and/or of the back panel; and a rigid insulation cover, fixed to upper ends of at least one lateral support flange and/or of the back panel. The insulation cover includes a handling plate and an insulation block. A number of m×n insulation covers of all storage stacks of a storage stack array form an essentially continuous insulation layer on a storage area of the low temperature sample store. For all storage stacks, carrying elements are provided. These carrying elements statically connect the bottom plate of each individual storage stack with a bottom structure of the storage area of the low temperature sample store. These carrying elements are accomplished to carry the entire weight of the individual storage stack and all sample containers inserted in this storage stack and to confer this entire weight to a bottom structure of the storage area of the low temperature sample store.

A refrigerator includes a body having a compartment in the body and a door for opening and closing the compartment, an electrical device movable with respect to the body along a first direction, a conductor electrically connecting the electrical device with the body, and a winding device for adjusting a length of the conductor in the first direction when the electrical device moves along the first direction.

An article retainer assembly for a refrigerator shelf includes a pair of support brackets and a retaining member. The support brackets are preferably mounted to opposing side portions of a compartment liner, with the retaining member extending therebetween and across a front edge section of the refrigerator shelf. The support brackets include corresponding guide tracks having first, second and third portions that correspond to upright, lowered and stowed configurations of the retaining member. In the upright position, the retaining member limiting articles resting upon the shelf from moving beyond the front edge section. In the lowered position, the retaining member is positioned to allow unobstructed access to the articles on the shelf and, in the stowed position, the retaining member is held in place below the shelf.

Disclosed herein are an automatic door opening/closing apparatus to automatically open or close a door without applying any manual force to the door, and a refrigerator having the same. The automatic door opening/closing apparatus devised to automatically open or close a sliding door that is mounted, in a drawer manner, to a refrigerator body, includes a drive device coupled to the sliding door to automatically open or close the sliding door with respect to the refrigerator body, an input part to receive an user input and to operate the drive device based on the user input, a sensing part to sense an open or closed state of the sliding door, and a controller to operate the drive device based on signals from the input part and signals from the sensing part.

The invention relates to an automated liquid dispenser employing ultrasonic sensing to determine the level of a dispensed liquid with respect to the height of a container to be filled. In one aspect, the invention relates to a refrigerator with an automated liquid dispenser that utilizes ultrasonic sensing.

A dispenser of a refrigerator comprises a dispensing chamber recessed in one of doors for opening and closing freezing and refrigerating compartments, a chute member pivotally mounted in the dispensing chamber and connected with a water supply pipe for supplying water toward the dispensing chamber, and an operating means for rotating the chute member about a pivot axis of the chute member. Accordingly, water can be easily stored in a vessel regardless of the size of the vessel, utilization effect of an internal space of the refrigerator can be improved, and insulation effect of the refrigerator can be also improved because of an increase in a thickness for insulation of the refrigerator.

A refrigerator includes a cabinet within which is arranged an upper fresh food compartment and a lower freezer compartment. A freezer basket is slidingly supported in the freezer compartment, preferably for concurrent movement with a freezer door. The freezer basket is coupled to a lifting mechanism that selectively shifts the freezer basket from a first or lowered position to a second or raised position in order to facilitate removal of items from the freezer basket. The lifting mechanism can be formed by a mechanical, electrical or pneumatic system.

A portable dispensing system comprising a vending machine including an upper snack-holding portion, an intermediate beverage-holding portion, a lower refrigeration portion, contained within a housing that fits within the basket of a golf cart. The snack-holding portion and the beverage-holding portion occupy a common cabinet being separated by an insulating wall, allowing a refrigeration mechanism within the refrigeration portion to refrigerate the beverage-holding portion without refrigerating the snack-holding portion. The cabinet is disposed above the basket within the golf cart, and may be provided with a pair of belts for fastening the dispensing system to the golf cart. Within the snack-holding portion, snacks are held in a plurality of snack-holding bins, with similar snacks being stored in a single bin, separated from one another by sliding platforms. When a sliding platform is pulled away, the snack product resting atop the sliding platform is released to fall downward into a lowest position within the bin, to be retrieved by the user through a door. Within the beverage-holding portion, cans are stored in a plurality of columns to be retrieved through doors. An inventory management system is disclosed for controlling and monitoring the dispensing of refreshments and sundries. The inventory management system including a systems for electronically accepting payment, a system for monitoring inventory levels, and a system for wirelessly communicating with a remote terminal.

A cooler insert system that includes an open-sided, main frame structure including an end wall and two opposed side walls, the end wall and the two opposed side walls each having an opening formed therethrough, the two opposed side walls having three pairs of divider screen guide channels; a snap fit, hinged frame panel that is simultaneously snap fittable to an end of each of the two opposed sidewalls of the frame structure to form an open topped box with the main frame structure; three divider screens, each divider screen being insertable into one pair of the three pairs of divider screen guide channels of the main frame structure to divide the interior of the main frame structure into compartments; and a number of stackable trays that are positionable within a compartment formed by one of the divider screens, each stackable tray having a holding cavity defined therein that is accessible through an access opening and a lower registration protrusion extending from the bottom thereof; the registration protrusion being sized and shaped to sealing fit into the access opening of a holding cavity of another tray member and to seal the access opening into the holding cavity.

A shelf arrangement has an electrical connector which is disposed with one of a plurality of mechanical connection elements of a shelf bracket wherein the connection elements are configured to be received in openings formed in a vertical support bracket; and a contact strip which is disposed with the vertical support bracket and which has electrical connection features that are engageable with the electrical connector to establish an electrical connection therebetween when the mechanical connection elements are inserted into the openings.

A refrigerator includes a body; a compartment within the body; a container within the compartment, the container being moveable along a first direction; an electrical device, the electrical device moving along with the container in the first direction when the container moves along the first direction; and a conductor for providing an electrical signal to the electrical device, the conductor being extendable and retractable in the first direction when the electrical device moves along the first direction.

A refrigerator comprising a fresh food compartment, a freezer compartment, a lower freezer drawer and an upper freezer bin. A primary set of glides allow the freezer drawer and the upper bin to be pulled out of the freezer compartment. A secondary set of glides mounts the upper bin onto the lower drawer for movement along the drawer, and back into the freezer compartment to allow access to the contents of the lower drawer.

The present invention relates to a double drawer of a refrigerator. An object of the present invention is to provide a double drawer of a refrigerator, wherein a sufficient extended length can be secured, the space usability is improved, and the durability can also be improved in spite of its long extended length. To this end, a double drawer of a refrigerator comprises a main drawer having a predetermined space defined therein for accommodating foods; an auxiliary drawer having an inner space defined therein for accommodating the main drawer, the auxiliary drawer including drawing rails for guiding the main drawer to slide in a fore and aft direction and allowing the main drawer to slide in and out; and guide rails installed in a main body of the refrigerator to guide the auxiliary drawer to slide in the fore and aft direction. According to the present invention so configured, there are advantages in that a sufficient extended length of the main drawer can be secured, and the durability can be improved since the main drawer can withstand a moment resulting from the weight of the foods accommodated in the main drawer by the extended length in spite of the sufficient extended length of the main drawer.

A wine cooler unit has a refrigerated cabinet housing two pull-out assemblies, each having a door panel and one or more wine racks. One rack can be mounted to the door panel, and one or more follower racks can be extended and retracted by movement of the door panel mounted rack, or by independent manual movement thereof. Two or more racks can be pulled out from the cabinet in a staggered or cascading fashion in which an upper rack extends from the cabinet to a lesser extent than a next lower rack to provide access to the bottles on each rack. The door panels can be made of a glass thermopane allowing visual inspection of the contents inside the cabinet. The cabinet can be cooled by a refrigeration system having two evaporators, which provide two independent cooling zones, one for each pull-out assembly. A capacitance-operated control can be provided under the glass front of one door panel for controlling the temperature zones inside the cabinet.

The present invention relates to a refrigerator. A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises a pair of fixed rails 12 installed on both side walls of inner surfaces of a storage space 11; a pair of movable rails 22 combined with the fixed rails so as to be drawn forward with respect to the fixed rails 12; a food storage container 30 supported on the movable rails 22; a linkage mechanism for moving the storage container 30 upward in a certain range; and a holding means for holding the storage container 30 at a position where the storage container has moved upward by the linkage mechanism. The linkage mechanism includes first and second links 40 and 50, both ends of each of which are pivotably connected to each movable rail 22 and to the storage container 30. According to the refrigerator of the present invention, it is easy to take foods in and out of the storage container of the storage space positioned at a lower position of the refrigerator.

A refrigerator with a home bar door is smoothly and automatically opened and includes an automatic opening unit, a hook unit, a latch unit, and a damping unit. The automatic opening unit pushes the home bar door to a predetermined angle, so that the home bar door is automatically opened by gravity. The hook unit cooperates with the latch unit to lock or unlock the home bar door. The damping unit includes a casing and is connected to at least one hinge shaft. The automatic opening unit is provided with a push rod and an elastic member to open by a rotation thereof. The home bar door is rotated to be opened. A rotary member is rotatably installed in the casing, with oil contained therein to reduce rotating speed of the rotary member. An associated hinge shaft engages with the rotary member to rotate along with the rotary member.

A three dimensional vapor chamber is disclosed which has a horizontal vapor chamber portion and a vertical flat heat pipe portion. The interiors of the two portions are in fluid communication and can have a wick material saturated with a working fluid such as water. The vertical flat heat pipe portion can also have fins or other heat exchange structure connected to the exterior thereof to increase heat transfer away from the heat pipe portion. In operation, the vapor chamber portion is placed in contact with a heat source, thus causing the working fluid to evaporate and move into the vertical flat heat pipe portion, where it is condensed. The fluid is then transported back to the vapor chamber portion via capillary action through the wick. The interiors of the two portions may be constructed as a vacuum chamber, so that evaporation of the working fluid can occur at lower temperatures than would occur at atmospheric pressure.

An illuminated shelf includes a tempered transparent glass panel having edges each housed in a slot of a housing defining a chamber through which and/or in which light is generated to illuminate the transparent panel. Each housing is preferably snap-secured together to access the chamber interior for purposes of replacement and/or repair. Each housing can be totally or partially encapsulated and the encapsulation includes conductors which are operative in any position of vertical adjustment or sliding adjustment of the shelf.

A cover panel unit for a refrigerator is provided in which a replacement of a door panel covering the front of the refrigerator is easily conducted. A cover panel unit 1 has an outer side panel 2a and an inner side panel 3a for covering lateral sides of the right door 23, and an outer side panel 2b and an inner side panel 3b for covering lateral sides of the left door 24, and a front panel 6a for covering the front side of the right door 23 being engaged with the outer side panel 2a and the inner side panel 3a, and a front panel 6b for covering the front side of the left door 24 being engaged with the outer side panel 2b and the inner side panel 3b. Grips 37, 37 are fixed to the inner side panels 3a, 3b respectively.