A barrier door for a protective enclosure includes a lower section and an upper section. The upper section includes an outer stationary portion and an inner movable portion disposed within the outer stationary portion. The outer stationary portion and the inner movable portion are light transmissive. The inner movable portion is movable in a vertical direction and is coupled to a lift device disposed in the lower section. The lift device is configured to move the inner movable portion between a lowered position in which the inner movable portion is at least partially withdrawn into the lower section to form an opening in the upper section and a raised position in which the inner movable portion is extended to close the opening.

A hinged mobile computing device includes a first housing part and a second housing part coupled by a hinge assembly having a harness, a harness cover, a first hinge body, and a second hinge body. The harness is configured to accommodate flexible printed circuitry and a cable that extend from the first housing part to the second housing part via the hinge assembly. The hinge bodies include respective friction bands, each friction band being configured to engage a respective shaft formed on the harness and having a gear configured to mesh with a respective cog arranged within the harness cover to coordinate a timing of the rotation of the first and second housing parts between face-to-face and back-to-back orientations. The hinge assembly further includes a spring-loaded opening mechanism.

A refrigerator includes a cabinet, a mounting bracket disposed at a top surface of the cabinet, a door configured to rotate relative to the cabinet, a hinge cover that is disposed at the top surface of the cabinet and covers the mounting bracket, a hinge including a door bracket disposed at the door, a hinge bracket disposed at the mounting bracket, and a plurality of links that connect the door bracket to the hinge bracket, a guide device having a first side disposed at the door and a second side that passes through a cover opening at a front surface of the hinge cover and is disposed inside the hinge cover, and an electric wire or a water pipe disposed along an inside of the guide device.

A method for making an electric hinge comprising providing first and second hinge plates, each hinge plate having at least one knuckle and forming in each hinge plate an open slot extending from an edge distal from the knuckle and terminating at a mid-portion of the hinge plate to the knuckle. The open slot depth is less than the thickness of the hinge plate. The method includes drilling a hole from the terminus of each open slot to the knuckle of the hinge plate and passing a wire through the hole from the terminus of the open slot to the knuckle in the first hinge plate and from the knuckle of the second hinge plate to the corresponding terminus of the second hinge plate. The method includes mating the first and second hinge plates by inserting a hinge pin through the knuckle of each hinge plates to form the electric hinge.

A refrigerator of this embodiment includes a housing that includes a storeroom, a door that is rotatably provided in the housing through a hinge portion and opens or closes an opening of the storeroom by the rotation, a connection line that is led out to the vicinity of the hinge portion, and a wireless communication apparatus that includes a wireless communication unit and is connected to the connection line.

A hinge assembly includes a first arm, a second arm, a rotatable pin coupling, and a power transfer conduit. The rotatable pin coupling rotationally couples the second arm to the first arm. The first arm defines a first portion of a channel, the second arm defines a second portion of the channel, and rotatable pin coupling defines a third portion of the channel. The power transfer conduit extends through the first portion of the channel at the first arm, the third portion of the channel at the rotatable pin coupling, and the second portion of the channel at the second arm.

A hinge is disclosed including a first connecting plate, a second connecting plate, a hinge element rotatably coupling said first and second connecting plates, a first pin coupled to the first connecting plate, wherein said first pin extends through a first end of the hinge element, a locking bracket coupled to the second connecting plate, and a second pin coupled to a second end of the hinge element, wherein said second pin extends through the locking bracket. The hinge optionally includes one or more friction locks, cableways, or cable tabs.

Disclosed in this application is a u-shaped grommet for use in a refrigerator. The grommet is fixed so as to allow wires to be routed towards an opening in the liner of the refrigerator, pass through the opening in the liner, and exit the grommet in the opposite direction as the wires entered. The grommet is preferably molded to the wires so that the combined product is inseparable from the wiring which it protects. The grommet is also described as a single piece grommet, although multiple piece grommets are anticipated. Further disclosed in this application is an improved pass-through hinge for routing utilities, including water and electricity, from the door to the body of the refrigerator. The improved hinge features a hollow hinge pin through which utilities may be routed, thereby overcoming the deficiencies of the current state of the art.

In one embodiment, systems and methods include to fluid transfer hinge used to transfer fluid from one surface to another. The fluid transfer hinge comprises a first housing. The fluid transfer hinge further comprises a second housing, wherein the first housing is coupled to the second housing, wherein the first housing is rotatable about the second housing along a central axis of the fluid transfer hinge. The fluid transfer hinge further comprises a fluid inlet, wherein the fluid inlet is disposed about at least a portion of the thickness of the first housing. The fluid transfer hinge further comprises a fluid outlet, wherein the fluid outlet is disposed about at least a portion of the thickness of the second housing.

A refrigerating appliance comprises a cabinet, at least one door, and at least one hinge allowing the door to rotate about an axis for opening and closing, and further comprising at least one bracket configured to support the hinge, and at least one flexible tubular element inserted on one side in the cabinet and on the other side in the door. The flexible tubular element is configured to exit through a top wall of the cabinet, and is further configured to enter a cavity of the door by passing through a slot formed in the top wall of the door. The slot partially surrounds the hinge, and the slot is partially under the bracket when the door is closed.