Samsung patents fridge ice maker with a shelf on top
This patent describes a refrigerator where the ice maker has a removable cover that doubles as a shelf. The cover snaps onto the ice maker using small protrusions and holes, allowing users to place items on top of the ice-making unit.
In the filing’s own words
A refrigerator includes: an outer case forming an exterior of the refrigerator; an inner case provided in the outer case and including a first inner wall and a second inner wall opposite to the first inner wall; and an ice maker mounted on the inner case and configured to produce ice, the ice maker including an ice making case and an ice making cover covering an upper side of the ice making case, wherein the ice making case is supported by the first inner wall and the second inner wall, and the ice making cover is detachably coupled to the ice making case and configured to support an item on an upper side of the ice making cover.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A refrigerator comprising: an outer case forming an exterior of the refrigerator; an inner case comprising a first inner wall and a second inner wall opposite to the first inner wall; and an ice maker mounted on the inner case and configured to produce ice, the ice maker comprising an ice making case and an ice making cover covering an upper side of the ice making case, wherein the ice making case is supported by the first inner wall and the second inner wall, wherein the ice making cover is detachably coupled to the ice making case and configured to support an item on an upper side of the ice making cover, wherein the ice making cover comprises: a shelf member, covering the ice making case, and a first fixing protrusion protruding from the shelf member toward the ice making case, wherein the ice making case comprises a first insertion hole into which the first fixing protrusion is inserted, wherein the inner case further comprises a rear wall, wherein the ice making cover further comprises a second fixing protrusion parallel to the first fixing protrusion and spaced apart in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction in which the ice making cover is inserted toward the rear wall, and wherein the ice making case further comprises a second insertion hole disposed parallel to the first insertion hole, spaced apart in the second direction, and configured to receive the second fixing protrusion inserted thereinto.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
- Official title
- Refrigerator
- Patent number
- US12760961B2
- Application number
- 18222060
- Filed
- Jul 14, 2023
- Granted
- Oct 13, 2026
- Inventors
- 5
- Claims
- 18
Classified under
F25D 23/12 Mechanical engineeringF25C 5/18 Mechanical engineeringF25C 5/22 Mechanical engineeringMore from Samsung in Other
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.