US-12623251-B2 - Method of making stainless steel refrigeration appliance and painted stainless steel refrigeration appliance

Abstract

A method of making a made-to-order color matched stainless steel refrigeration appliance includes formulating a color-formulated liquid paint to match a specified color, and preparing a prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance for being painted at a production facility remote from a purchaser before shipping the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance to the purchaser. Moreover, the method includes painting decorative stainless steel surfaces of the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance at the production facility with liquid-applied primer, liquid-applied color-formulated paint, and liquid-applied clear coat. Lastly, the painted stainless steel refrigeration appliance is packaged to prepare the painted stainless steel refrigeration appliance for shipment to the purchaser.

Inventors

• Alyssa Biggs
• Steven Trulaske

Assignees

• TRUE MANUFACTURING CO., INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240126

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A method of making a stainless steel refrigeration appliance, the method comprising: formulating a color-formulated liquid paint to match a specified color; preparing a prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance for being painted at a production facility remote from a purchaser before shipping the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance to the purchaser, wherein said preparing the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance for being painted comprises partially disassembling a prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance at a production facility remote from a purchaser to prepare the appliance for being painted before shipping the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance to the purchaser; painting decorative stainless steel surfaces of the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance at the production facility with the color-formulated liquid paint; and readying the painted stainless steel refrigeration appliance for shipment to the purchaser.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of partially disassembling the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance comprises removing one or more doors, a kick plate, a rain shield, and a cabinet header from a cabinet of the refrigeration appliance.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said readying the stainless steel refrigeration appliance for shipment comprises reassembling the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance at the production facility after said painting.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said preparing the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance for being painted comprises masking non-paint surfaces of the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance.
5. 5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein said masking the non-paint surfaces comprises masking a plastic thermal breaker along a doorframe of the stainless steel refrigeration appliance such that there is a masking line along an edge boundary between the plastic thermal breaker and a stainless steel front cabinet face around the doorway.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said preparing the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance comprises sanding the decorative stainless steel surfaces.
7. 7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein sanding the decorative stainless steel surfaces comprises sanding the decorative stainless steel surfaces with 180-grit sandpaper.
8. 8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the said preparing the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance for being painted comprises cleaning the decorative stainless steel surfaces with a cleaning solution before sanding the decorative stainless steel surfaces.
9. 9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of preparing the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance for being painted comprises cleaning the decorative stainless steel surfaces with a cleaning solution after sanding the decorative stainless steel surfaces.
10. 10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of painting the decorative stainless steel surfaces comprises priming the decorative stainless steel surfaces using a liquid primer.
11. 11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of painting the decorative stainless steel surfaces comprises spraying a base coat of the color-formulated liquid paint, then allowing the base coat to flash, then spraying a control coat of the color-formulated liquid paint.
12. 12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of painting the decorative stainless steel surfaces comprises applying a clear coat to the decorative stainless steel surfaces after painting the decorative stainless steel surfaces with the color-formulated liquid paint.
13. 13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said readying the painted stainless steel refrigeration appliance for shipment comprises packaging the painted stainless steel refrigeration appliance.
14. 14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving an order for the stainless steel refrigeration appliance in a specified color indicated by a color sample.
15. 15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein said formulating a color-formulated liquid paint to match the specified color comprises using an automated color-matching system to determine an automated color-matched formula for the liquid paint based on the color sample.
16. 16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising preparing a test sample of the automated color-matched formula, evaluating the test sample of the automated color-matched formula by eye, and modifying the automated color-matched formula based on said evaluating to obtain a production color formulation for the color-formulated liquid paint.
17. 17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of painting further comprises heat curing the painted decorative stainless steel surfaces.
18. 18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein said heat curing comprises heating the painted decorative stainless steel surfaces to a temperature of greater than 120° F.
19. 19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein applying the clear coat comprises spraying a first liquid clear coat, allowing the first liquid clear coat to flash, and then spraying a second liquid clear coat.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/481,882, filed Jan. 27, 2023. FIELD This disclosure generally pertains to a method of making a stainless steel refrigeration appliance and painted stainless steel refrigeration appliances. BACKGROUND Stainless steel refrigeration appliances, such as stainless steel refrigerators, freezers, combination refrigerator/freezers, and ice makers, are widely used in residential and commercial settings. Occasionally the purchaser of a stainless steel refrigeration appliance prefers a color finish to the standard polished stainless steel finish. Conventionally, high end manufacturers provide a limited number of powder-coated color finishes for stainless steel refrigeration appliances. Powder-coated finishes are formed by powder coating individual parts of the appliance on a dedicated powder coating line before final assembly. SUMMARY In one aspect, a method of making a stainless steel refrigeration appliance comprises formulating a color-formulated liquid paint to match a specified color. A prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance is prepared for being painted at a production facility remote from a purchaser before shipping the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance to the purchaser. Decorative stainless steel surfaces of the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance are painted at the production facility with the color-formulated liquid paint. The painted stainless steel refrigeration application is readied for shipment to the purchaser. In another aspect, a production stainless steel refrigeration appliance comprises a plurality of decorative stainless steel surfaces, liquid-applied primer on the decorative stainless steel surfaces, liquid-applied color-formulated paint on the liquid-applied primer, liquid-applied clear coat on the liquid-applied color-formulated paint, and removable packing for shipment to a primary purchaser of the production stainless steel refrigeration appliance. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating sequential processes in an exemplary method of making a stainless steel refrigeration appliance in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a process of the method of FIG. 1 for formulating a color-formulated liquid paint; FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a process of the method of FIG. 1 for preparing a prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance for painting; FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a process of the method of FIG. 1 for painting decorative stainless steel surfaces of the prefabricated stainless steel refrigeration appliance; FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a process of the method of FIG. 1 for readying a painted stainless steel appliance for shipment; FIG. 6 is a perspective of an unpainted stainless steel column refrigerator; FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective the refrigerator of FIG. 6 showing the refrigerator partially disassembled for painting; FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective of the refrigerator similar to FIG. 7, but after decorative stainless steel surfaces of the refrigerator have been painted, wherein the painted surfaces are represented as stippling in the drawing; FIG. 9 is a perspective of the refrigerator of FIG. 6 after it is painted and reassembled; and FIG. 10 is a color photograph of a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer combination made according to the method of claim 1. Corresponding parts are given corresponding reference characters throughout the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The inventors desire to provide stainless steel refrigeration appliances that are prefabricated to have custom, one-off, made-to-order colors matched to a customer's specification. The inventors believe that the conventional powder coating process is not well-suited to made-to-order color matching. The powder coating process requires a dedicated coating line for coating individual parts before assembly. Any made-to-order color matching program must accommodate frequent color changes, and changing colors in a powder coating line is a cumbersome, time-consuming process. Furthermore, the powder for powder coating is sold in minimum units of 50 pounds. For a custom color that is only used on one appliance, most of the 50 pounds of powder will go to waste. Additionally, it is difficult and time consuming to formulate powders to match a customer's specification. Lastly, the inventors have recognized that high-end refrigeration appliances are increasingly used as decorative showpieces for the end customer. Powder-coated stainless steel has an inherent texture that may not meet every customer's expectations for a premium showpiece. Referring to FIG. 1, the inventors have developed a new method of making made-to-order color-matched stainless steel refrigeration appliances, which is generally indicated at reference numb