The present invention relates generally to refrigerators and, more particularly, to a french door chiller compartment for refrigerators, wherein the chiller compartment is maintained at a temperature slightly lower than the rest of the interior of the refrigerator.
A refrigerator is often provided with a chiller compartment to keep beverages or food items at a slightly lower temperature than the rest of the interior. Quick and easy access to the items stored in the chiller compartment is desirable and therefore it would be preferable to mount the chiller compartment in the refrigerator door.
One disadvantage of current chiller compartments is that the doors, which separate the chiller compartment from the rest of the interior of the refrigerator, function independently of each other, requiring the user to employ both hands when gaining access to the chiller compartment to load or retrieve items. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,368 to Daniels discloses a refrigerator storage compartment that utilizes two sliding doors that work independently of each other. To gain access to the storage compartment, the user must slide each door individually. Further, sliding one of the doors only permits access to half of the storage compartment at one time. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,482 to Smith discloses a wine chiller with two doors that swing away from the cabinet. These cabinet doors function independently of each other, and the user would have to employ both hands to simultaneously open the doors in gaining quick access to all of the contents inside.
Another disadvantage of many chiller compartments is that the door or doors protrude from the chiller compartment while in the open position and may be damaged should the refrigerator door be closed while the chiller compartment door or doors are left open. U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,199 to Stewart discloses a compartment located in the bottom of the interior of the refrigerator with two doors that swing outward. While in the open position, the compartment doors protrude significantly from the interior of the refrigerator and may be damaged should the refrigerator door be shut while these compartment doors are in the open position. It is therefore desirable to have a chiller compartment with doors that will not break should the refrigerator door be closed while the compartment doors are open.
Additionally, the door or doors of many chiller compartments may not stay open on their own. These doors may require additional stops or latching devices to stay open, again requiring the user to employ both hands when gaining access to the chiller compartment to load or retrieve items. U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,213 to Vandarakis et al. discloses a refrigerator door chiller compartment with a door that slides open vertically. To keep the door open on its own, the user must slide the door to the fully open position, where a stop or latching device is used to keep the door open. However, the door will close if not manually restrained by the user. It is therefore desirable to have a chiller compartment which includes doors that will open and close automatically and appropriately to provide access when desired.
Accordingly, a general feature of the present invention is the provision of a chiller compartment which overcomes the problems found in the prior art.
A further feature of the present invention is the provision of a chiller compartment for refrigerators including doors that allow for one-hand operation.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a chiller compartment for refrigerators with doors that will not become damaged while the refrigerator door is closed.
A further feature of the present invention is the provision of a chiller compartment for refrigerators with doors that will close automatically as the refrigerator door is closed.
A still further feature of the present invention is the provision of a chiller compartment for refrigerators with doors that will open automatically as the refrigerator door is opened.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a chiller compartment for refrigerators with doors that open to provide full accessibility to the interior of the chiller compartment.
A further feature of the present invention is the provision of a chiller compartment for refrigerators capable of holding and retaining containers of a various dimensions during normal opening and closing of the refrigerator door.
These, as well as other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims.
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