Back bar refrigerator appliance

Abstract

A back bar refrigerator appliance includes a storage compartment and a door, wherein the door includes an inner surface facing into the storage compartment when the door is closed and an opposite outer surface, wherein the door includes an insulated panel and a window covering less than 75% of the outer surface of the door, and wherein the window is aligned with a shelf of the back bar refrigerator appliance to provide visual access to items positioned on the shelf.

1 . A back bar refrigerator appliance comprising a storage compartment and a door, wherein the door comprises an inner surface facing into the storage compartment when the door is closed and an opposite outer surface, wherein the door comprises an insulated panel and a window covering less than 75% of the outer surface of the door, and wherein the window is aligned with a shelf of the back bar refrigerator appliance to provide visual access to items positioned on the shelf. 
     
     
         2 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the window covers less than 50% of the outer surface of the door, for example less than 25% of the outer surface of the door. 
     
     
         3 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the insulated panel comprises a sandwich panel with an outer casing and a rigid insulation foam within the outer casing. 
     
     
         4 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the outer casing comprises stainless steel or aluminium sheet. 
     
     
         5 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the rigid insulation foam comprises polyurethane foam or polyisocyanurate foam. 
     
     
         6 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the window comprises glass or a composite material, said glass or composite material being at least partially transparent. 
     
     
         7 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1  further comprising a light source configured to illuminate contents of the refrigerator visible through the window. 
     
     
         8 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 7 , wherein the light source is attached to the door. 
     
     
         9 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 7 , wherein the light source is disposed at an edge of the window. 
     
     
         10 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 7 , wherein the light source comprises an LED and/or a light guide. 
     
     
         11 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the shelf is attached to the inner surface of the door and aligned with the window. 
     
     
         12 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the shelf is substantially the same width as the window. 
     
     
         13 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the shelf is removably attached to the door. 
     
     
         14 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the shelf is integrally formed with the insulated panel of the door. 
     
     
         15 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the shelf is mounted in the storage compartment such that the shelf is approximately aligned with a lower edge of the window when the door is closed. 
     
     
         16 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 15 , comprising a second shelf mounted in the storage compartment such that the second shelf is positioned above the shelf and aligned with the window when the door is closed. 
     
     
         17 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the window has a height of between about 15 centimetres and about 60 centimetres. 
     
     
         18 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 17 , wherein the window has a height of between about 15 centimetres and about 30 centimetres, for example between about 18 centimetres and about 23 centimetres, for example about 20 centimetres. 
     
     
         19 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the window has a width of between about 10 centimetres and about 20 centimetres, for about 15 centimetres. 
     
     
         20 . The back bar refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of doors and wherein one or more of the plurality of doors comprises the window. 
     
     
         21 . A refrigerator appliance comprising a storage compartment and a door, wherein the door comprises an integrated compartment formed within the door, the integrated compartment being defined by a window on one side of the compartment, a door panel on an opposite side of the compartment, and a shelf for holding products. 
     
     
         22 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 21 , wherein the door panel comprises a mirrored surface. 
     
     
         23 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 21 , wherein an inner side of the window comprises a mirrored surface, for example a semi-transparent mirrored surface. 
     
     
         24 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 21 , wherein the door panel comprises insulation. 
     
     
         25 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 21 , wherein the window covers less than about 75% of the outer surface of the door. 
     
     
         26 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 21 , further comprising a light source configured to illuminate contents of the refrigerator visible through the window. 
     
     
         27 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 26 , wherein the light source is attached to the door. 
     
     
         28 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 26 , wherein the light source is disposed at an edge of the window. 
     
     
         29 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 28 , wherein the light source comprises an LED and/or a light guide.