The present invention relates generally to an appliance liner, and to a method of manufacturing such liners.
Typically appliance components, such as refrigeration liners, contain or support electronic components that need to be supplied with electrical current. Usually a plurality of wires are used to supply the necessary electrical current to the various electronic components, which requires not only an assembly of the wires to the appliance, such as in wire harnesses, or as individual wires, but also the wires need to be individually connected to connectors or to connection points on the electronic components. Such an arrangement adds to the complexity and cost of the manufacturing process. Also, human error may cause the improper connection of individual wires during the manufacturing process.
Use of conductive ink for transmitting electrical current is known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,369,369, 6,266,969, 5,993,698 and 5,899,078 disclose the use of resistive inks in a refrigeration appliance to selectively heat certain areas of the appliance. U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,364 discloses an electrode that may be formed of conductive ink and that may be used in a refrigerator to protect the user from electric shock.
It would be an improvement in the art if appliance liners were provided with a means of transmitting electrical current between points in the appliance without the use of individual wires for such transmission.