Drawer in door assembly for a refrigerator appliance

Abstract

A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet defining a chilled chamber, a door being rotatably mounted to the cabinet to provide selective access to the chilled chamber, the door defining an access opening passing through the door, and a drawer assembly mounted to the door. The drawer assembly includes a drawer frame slidably mounted to the door within the access opening and being movable between an open position and a closed position and a drawer front mounted to the drawer frame, the drawer front being configured to seal the access opening when the drawer frame is in the closed position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, comprising:
 a cabinet defining a chilled chamber;   a door being rotatably mounted to the cabinet to provide selective access to the chilled chamber, the door defining an access opening passing through the door; and   a drawer assembly mounted to the door, the drawer assembly comprising:
 a drawer frame slidably mounted to the door within the access opening and being movable between an open position and a closed position; and 
 a drawer front mounted to the drawer frame, the drawer front being configured to seal the access opening when the drawer frame is in the closed position. 
   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the door defines a seating recess configured to receive the drawer front. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the seating recess is defined at least in part by an engagement surface for engaging the drawer front in the closed position. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein a front surface of the drawer front is flush with a front surface of the door when the drawer frame is in the closed position. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the drawer assembly further comprises:
 a sealing member for engaging the door in the closed position.   
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 5 , wherein the drawer assembly comprises:
 a magnet for urging the drawer frame toward the closed position.   
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 6 , wherein the sealing member and the magnet are integrated into a single component. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a ferromagnetic member positioned proximate an engagement surface of the door for engaging the magnet to urge the drawer frame to the closed position.   
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the drawer assembly further comprises:
 a plurality of linear slide bearings to facilitate sliding of the drawer frame between the open position and the closed position.   
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the drawer assembly further comprises:
 a triple pane glass window positioned within the drawer front for facilitating viewing through the drawer front.   
     
     
         11 . The refrigerator appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the drawer frame defines an ice storage reservoir, the refrigerator appliance further comprising an icemaker for generating ice that is dropped into the ice storage reservoir. 
     
     
         12 . A drawer assembly mounted to a door of a refrigerator appliance, the door defining an access opening passing through the door, the drawer assembly comprising:
 a drawer frame slidably mounted to the door within the access opening and being movable between an open position and a closed position; and   a drawer front mounted to the drawer frame, the drawer front being configured to seal the access opening when the drawer frame is in the closed position.   
     
     
         13 . The drawer assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the door defines a seating recess configured to receive the drawer front. 
     
     
         14 . The drawer assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the seating recess is defined at least in part by an engagement surface for engaging the drawer front in the closed position. 
     
     
         15 . The drawer assembly of  claim 12 , wherein a front surface of the drawer front is flush with a front surface of the door when the drawer frame is in the closed position. 
     
     
         16 . The drawer assembly of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a sealing member for engaging the door in the closed position.   
     
     
         17 . The drawer assembly of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a magnet for urging the drawer frame toward the closed position.   
     
     
         18 . The drawer assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the sealing member and the magnet are integrated into a single component. 
     
     
         19 . The drawer assembly of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a ferromagnetic member positioned proximate an engagement surface of the door for engaging the magnet to urge the drawer frame to the closed position.   
     
     
         20 . The drawer assembly of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a triple pane glass window positioned within the drawer front for facilitating viewing through the drawer front.