Patent Application
20230175765
The present disclosure relates to assemblies for translating components including drawers or trays for use in a household appliance such as a refrigerator.
Refrigerators may include a variety of storage components that may be moved between a closed position and an open position. Such components can include bins, trays, pans, or the like and can be disposed within an interior of both a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment. These components may be mounted to an inner liner of the refrigerator by one or more tracks or guides.
According to one embodiment, a refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator may include a cabinet, a first shelf member, a number of partition walls, and a number of horizontal partition walls. The cabinet may define a refrigerated compartment and the first shelf member may be coupled to an inner liner of the cabinet. The number of partition walls may be arranged substantially orthogonal to the first shelf member and each of the partition walls may define a number of apertures. The first shelf member may extend through a first aperture of the number of apertures. The number of horizontal partition walls may be configured to be inserted into a second aperture of the number of apertures to form a shelf that is spaced apart from the first shelf member.
According to another embodiment, a household appliance is provided. The household appliance may include a housing that defines a receptacle, a first shelf member, a second shelf member, a first partition wall, a second partition wall, and an intermediate shelf. The first and second shelves may be disposed in the receptacle so that the first shelf member is spaced apart from the second shelf member to form a storage space. The first shelf member may carry the first and second partition walls and the first and second partition walls may each define a number of slots. The intermediate shelf may be inserted into a first slot of the number of slots, formed by the first partition wall, and a second slot of the number of slots formed by the second partition wall, so that at least a portion of the storage space is subdivided.
According to yet another embodiment, an adjustable shelf assembly for use in a refrigerator is provided. The adjustable shelf assembly may include a number of mounting members and an adjustable shelf. The number of mounting members may each be provided with a main body and a number of fingers that may extend from the main body. The number of fingers may collectively define a number of interstices disposed interstitially between adjacent fingers of the number of fingers. A first finger of the number of fingers may define an aperture configured to receive a shelf of the refrigerator. The adjustable shelf may be configured to be inserted into one or more of the interstices so that adjustable shelf is detachably connected to one or more of the number of interstices.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
This invention is not limited to the specific embodiments and methods described below, as specific components and/or conditions may, of course, vary. Furthermore, the terminology used herein is used only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to be limiting in any way.
As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular form “a,” “an,” and “the” comprise plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, reference to a component in the singular is intended to comprise a plurality of components.
The term “substantially” or “about” may be used herein to describe disclosed or claimed embodiments. The term “substantially” or “about” may modify a value or relative characteristic disclosed or claimed in the present disclosure. In such instances, “substantially” or “about” may signify that the value or relative characteristic it modifies is within ±0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% or 10% of the value or relative characteristic.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). The term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
Refrigerators generally include a number of shelves that are fixed or detachably connected to an inner liner of the refrigerator. Such shelves are generally formed of pane of glass or translucent plastic material surrounded by a frame that may be formed of a reinforced plastic material such as Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or a metal frame. Refrigerator shelves are generally made of relatively stiff materials to provide sufficient rigidity and strength to support contents such as food, beverages, and food storage containers. Refrigerator shelves may be relatively heavy and adjusting the position or location of the shelves relative to one another may require a user to grasp the shelves with both hands to detach and move one or more of the shelves to one or more desired locations. Moreover, contents supported by the shelves must be removed prior to relocating the shelves to the desired locations. Clearing the shelves and repositioning the same may require significant time and effort. On the other hand, because food and beverage containers generally come in various shapes and sizes gaps may be formed between the shelves and the contents of the refrigerator. Accordingly, if a user does not reposition the refrigerator shelves, the storage space may be underutilized.
As mentioned above, known refrigerator shelves generally have a fixed or non-adjustable width. And some known shelves may extend between lateral walls of the refrigerator. Because the width of known shelves is not adjustable and portions of the same may not be lowered or raised to accommodate food and beverage items of different sizes, the storage area formed by known shelves may result in unused spaced that may otherwise be used.
Referring generally to the figures, household appliance such as a refrigerator 100 is provided. The refrigerator 100 may include a housing or cabinet 110 that may form one or more receptacles or compartments 102 such as a refrigerated compartment 102a or a freezer compartment 102c. One or more of the compartments 102 may include first shelf member 112 and a second shelf member 114 that may be arranged parallel to one another and spaced apart with respect to a vertical direction to form a storage space 116. An adjustable shelf assembly 118 may be disposed in one or more of the compartments 102 and the adjustable shelf assembly 118 may be configured to subdivide the storage space 116.
In one or more embodiments, the adjustable shelf assembly 118 may include a number of mounting members 120 such as a first partition wall 120a and a second partition wall 120b. The first and second partition walls 120a, 120b may be arranged substantially orthogonally to the first shelf member 112, the second shelf member 114, or both. The mounting members 120 may be fixed to one or more of the shelf members 112, 114. As an example, the mounting members 120 may form a number of slots 122 or apertures such as a mounting aperture 124 that may receive the first shelf member 112, the second shelf member 114 or both. The mounting aperture 124 may be sized so that one or more of the first and second shelf members 112, 114 may be inserted or slid through the mounting aperture 124. One or more of the mounting members 120 may be configured to slide along one or more of the shelf members 110, 112 to vary a width between the first partition wall 120a and the second partition wall 120b. One or more of the slots 122 may be configured to receive an intermediate shelf or adjustable shelf 126 so that the adjustable shelf 126 and one or more of the mounting members 120 subdivide the first storage space 116 into a first sub-storage space 128 and a second sub-storage space 130.
As shown, the fresh food compartment doors are designated 106, and the freezer door is designated 108. It may also be shown that the refrigerated compartment 102a may only have one door 106. As example, each of the compartments 102 divided by seals that may interact with the mullions 104 to insulate the compartments 102 from each other. Accordingly, the refrigerator 100 may be flexibly implemented in a variety of configurations.
The refrigerated compartment 102a, the convertible storage compartment 102b, and the freezer compartment 102c may be formed by an inner liner 132 that may include one or more lateral walls 134 and a rear wall 136 that may extend between the lateral walls 134. The first and second shelf members 112, 114 may be fixed to the lateral walls 134, the rear wall 136, or some combination thereof. As an example, the first shelf member 112 may extend through the mounting aperture 124 of the first partition wall 120a and the second partition wall 120b so that the first shelf member carries the first and second partition walls 120a, 120b. The first storage space 116, represented by the dashed lines, may be defined by the first and second shelf members 112, 114, the lateral walls 134, and the rear wall 136.
Referring to
The adjustable shelf assembly 118 may be provided with the mounting members 120 including the first partition wall 120a and the second partition wall 120b that may be carried by the first shelf 112 or supported by the second shelf 112. The first and second partition walls 120a, 120b may define the mounting aperture 124 and the first shelf 112 may extend through the mounting aperture 124 of the first and second partition walls 120a, 120b. An inner periphery of the mounting aperture 124 (
The mounting member 120 may include a main body portion 154, that may be arranged adjacent to the rear wall 136 of the inner liner 132, and a number of fingers 152 that may extend from the main body portion 154 to collectively define the interstices or notches 122. In one or more embodiments, the main body portion 154 and the bottom most finger or fifth finger 152e may be spaced apart from the second shelf 114. As another example, the main body portion 154 and the fifth finger 152e may lie along portions of the second shelf 114.
The adjustable shelf 126 may be inserted into the notches 122 such as the third notch 122c to form the first sub-storage space 128 and the second sub-storage space 130. The adjustable shelf 126 provides an additional shelf and the sub-storage spaces 128, 130, 138 for more efficient use of the storage space 116 (
Referring to
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The adjustable shelf 126 may include a main body portion 160 that may be configured to support food or beverage items. The main body portion may define a first edge 162 and a second edge 164, the first edge 162 may be configured to abut against or be adjacent to one of the lateral walls 134 of the inner liner 132 and the second edge 164 may be configured to abut or be adjacent to against the rear wall 136. A first lip 166 may extend from a side of the main body portion 160 that opposes the first edge 162. The first lip 166 may be configured engage one of the fingers 152 to prevent the adjustable shelf 126 from sliding to a position where the adjustable shelf is not supported by the fingers 152. A second lip 168 may extend from a side of the main body portion 160 that opposes the second edge 164. The second lip 168 may be configured to engage one or more of the fingers 152, such as a distal end of the fingers 152 to provide a rearward stop for the adjustable shelf 126. As another example, the adjustable shelf may include a protrusion or locking mechanism that may cooperate with one or more portions of the first and second partition walls 120a, 120b to constrain the placement of the adjustable shelf 126 with respect to the first and second partition walls 120a, 120b.
The adjustable shelf 126 may be have a length, extending between the second edge 164 and the second lip 168, that may be substantially equal to a length of the first shelf 112, the second shelf 114, or both. A width of the adjustable shelf 126, extending between the first lip 166 and the first edge 162 may, may be less than the width of the first shelf 112, the second shelf 114, or both. Because the adjustable shelf 126 is smaller than either the first shelf 112 and the second shelf 114, the adjustable shelf 126 may weigh less and easier to manipulate than first shelf 112 and the second shelf 114.
The mounting member 120 includes the main body 154 that may have an elongated shape extending in a vertical direction. The number of fingers 152 may include a first finger 152a that may be disposed at one end of the main body 154. The first finger 152a may form the mounting aperture 124. The mounting aperture 124 may be closed off by the first finger 152a. The interstices or notches 122 may be open ended and the open end may be arranged to face away from the main body 154. Some of the fingers 152 may have different heights and the interstices or the notches may have substantially the same height as one another. As an example, the second finger 152b may have a height H3 and the third finger 152c may have a height H4. The height H3 may be less than the height H4. The number of fingers 152 and the height of each of the fingers may be varied to meet different requirements for various types of shelving arrangements provided in refrigerators.
The adjustable shelf assembly 118 may be used with a number of shelving arrangements including those provided in the freezer compartment 102c, crisper drawers in the refrigerator compartment 102a, or in the convertible compartment 102b (
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
