Water routing from cabinet to door of a refrigerator with articulated hinge

Abstract

A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet; a door operably connected to the cabinet, the door having a closed position relative to the cabinet and an opened position relative to the cabinet, and the door transitions from the closed position to the opened position in a non-circular path; a liquid outlet disposed at the cabinet; and a liquid receiver disposed at the door, the liquid receiver configured to receive liquid exiting the liquid outlet when the door is in the closed position but not in the opened position. The refrigerator can further include a gasket adjacent to the liquid receiver and a gasket adjacent to the liquid outlet. When the door is in the closed position, the gasket of the door can cooperate with the gasket of the cabinet to form a sealed channel to seal liquid transfer from the liquid outlet to the liquid receiver for use at the door.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a cabinet;   a door operably connected to the cabinet, the door having a closed position relative to the cabinet and an opened position relative to the cabinet; and   a liquid line to transport liquid from the cabinet to the door, the liquid line is stretchable from a relaxed state when the door is in the closed position to a stretched state when the door is in the opened position, the liquid line having a length that is longer in the stretched state than in the relaxed state.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein
 the liquid line comprises a door portion disposed at the door and a cabinet portion disposed at the cabinet.   
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein
 the cabinet portion of the liquid line is disposed within the fresh food compartment.   
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein
 the door portion and the cabinet portion of the liquid line are disposed at the same elevation from level ground.   
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein
 while the door is in the closed position, the liquid line is disposed in a straight-line path between the cabinet portion and the door portion.   
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein
 the cabinet further comprises a guide to guide a portion of the liquid line between the cabinet portion and the door portion as the liquid line transitions from the stretched state to the relaxed state.   
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein
 the door further comprises a guide to guide a portion of the liquid line between the cabinet portion and the door portion as the liquid line transitions from the stretched state to the relaxed state.   
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein
 the liquid line transitions from the stretched state to the relaxed state as the door moves from the opened position to the closed position.   
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein
 the door moves from the closed position to the opened position in a non-circular manner.   
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein
 the door further comprises a liquid dispenser,   the liquid dispenser is in liquid communication with the liquid line, and   the liquid dispenser is configured to dispense liquid, which the liquid line transported, from the door while the door is in the closed position.   
     
     
         11 . The refrigerator of  claim 10 , wherein
 the door further comprises an ice dispenser and an ice maker configured to make ice that the ice dispenser is configured to dispense, and   the door is configured to allow a user to dispense liquid from the liquid dispenser and ice from the ice dispenser while the door is in the closed position.   
     
     
         12 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein
 the door further comprises a valve in liquid communication with the liquid line, the valve configured to selectively divert liquid received from the liquid line to either the ice maker in the door or the liquid dispenser.   
     
     
         13 . The refrigerator of  claim 1  further comprising:
 one or more articulated hinges that operably connect the door to the cabinet and that move the door away from the cabinet when the door transitions from the closed position to the opened position. 
 
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein
 the cabinet further comprises a tank that stores liquid received from a source external to the refrigerator, and   the liquid line is in liquid communication with the liquid tank.   
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator of  claim 14 , wherein
 the cabinet further comprises a one-way valve disposed in liquid communication between the tank and the liquid line to permit liquid flow only toward the liquid line from the tank.   
     
     
         16 . The refrigerator of  claim 14 , wherein
 the cabinet houses a freezer compartment and a fresh food compartment,   the refrigerator is configured so that the freezer compartment provides a temperature-controlled environment to store foods at a below freezing temperature, and   the refrigerator is configured so that the fresh food compartment provides a temperature-controlled environment to store foods and beverages at a temperature above freezing temperature but below ambient temperature.   
     
     
         17 . The refrigerator of  claim 16 , wherein
 the freezer compartment comprises an ice maker.   
     
     
         18 . The refrigerator of  claim 17 , wherein
 the cabinet further comprises a valve configured to selectively divert liquid received from the source external to the refrigerator to either the tank or the ice maker.   
     
     
         19 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein
 the door further comprises a filter in liquid communication with the liquid line, the filter configured to filter the liquid that the liquid line transports to the door.   
     
     
         20 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein
 the cabinet houses a freezer compartment and a fresh food compartment,   the refrigerator is configured so that the freezer compartment provides a temperature-controlled environment to store foods at a below freezing temperature, and   the refrigerator is configured so that the fresh food compartment provides a temperature-controlled environment to store foods and beverages at a temperature above freezing temperature but below ambient temperature.