Injection-molded refrigerator liner with icebox door hinge pins

摘要

An injection-molded door liner for a refrigerator door is provided. The door liner is injection molded as a single, integral piece and defines an icebox compartment, an upper hinge assembly, and a lower hinge assembly. An icebox door is rotatably mounted to the upper and lower hinge assembly to insulate the icebox compartment from the fresh food chamber. In this manner, the icebox compartment and the icebox door define a sealed chamber for receiving chilled air from a sealed cooling system.

主权项

1. An injection molded door liner for a door of a refrigerator appliance, the refrigerator appliance defining a vertical direction, the door liner comprising:
an icebox compartment having a back wall and a plurality of sidewalls; an upper hinge assembly comprising an upper bracket extending from the icebox compartment, an upper hinge pin extending from the upper bracket downward along the vertical direction, and a first keyed feature extending from the upper bracket downward along the vertical direction; a lower hinge assembly comprising a lower bracket extending from the icebox compartment and a lower hinge pin extending from the lower bracket upward along the vertical direction; an icebox door rotatably mounted to the icebox compartment by the upper hinge assembly and the lower hinge assembly, the icebox door defining a second keyed feature and being attachable or detachable from the icebox compartment only when the icebox door is positioned at a selected angle relative to the icebox compartment such that the first keyed feature and the second keyed feature are aligned and the first keyed feature may be disposed within the second keyed feature, or vice versa; and a guide wall extending from the upper bracket downward along the vertical direction, the guide wall being positioned adjacent to the first keyed feature and extending along the selected angle, wherein the icebox compartment and at least one of the upper hinge assembly and the lower hinge assembly are injection molded as a single, integral part; the icebox door is configured to be movable to a lifted position relative to the upper and lower hinge assemblies, the lifted position defined by the first keyed feature aligned with and disposed in the second keyed feature, or vice versa, so that a lower hinge recess of the icebox door is vertically separated from the lower hinge pin to allow the icebox door to detach from the icebox compartment; and the icebox door is configured to be vertically movable from the lifted position to an assembled position, the assembled position defined by the first keyed feature and second keyed feature vertically separated such that the lower hinge pin is received in the lower hinge recess to allow the icebox door to rotate.