AU3877201A - Refrigerator cabinet with a shelf - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION NAME OF APPLICANT(S): Aktiebolaget Electrolux ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

INVENTION TITLE: Refrigerator cabinet with a shelf The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- The invention refers to a refrigerator cabinet with a shelf, which extends over the width of the cabinet and at its ends is removably supported by the side walls of the cabinet.

The object of the invention is to bring about a shelf of the kind introductorily set forth with such a shape, that bottles and cans easily can be furnished from it and that the shelf by being put in different positions in the cabinet can *ee e offer different possibilities to place said bottles and cans.

This object is reached by the refrigerator cabinet according to the invention thereby that the shelf has a first substantially plane part, which in sidewards direction converts into a second substantially plane part located in a plane forming an angle with the plane in which the first part is located, and that the shelf is arranged so that it can be put in 4 different positions on each height level in the cabinet supported by the side walls, one of said parts in each one of these positions being located in a horizontal plane and the other of said parts sloping downwards in direction in to or out from the cabinet.

An embodiment of a shelf according to the invention is described below in connection with the enclosed drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a part of a refrigerator cabinet with the shelf in a first position, Fig.

2 shows the same shelf turned upside down in a second position, Fig. 3 shows the very shelf, Fig. 4 shows a third position of the shelf, Fig. 5 shows the shelf turned to a fourth position, a box being arranged to be pushed in beneath a sloping part of the shelf, and Fig. 6 shows the shelf and the box with means for supporting the box.

By 10 is designated a refrigerator cabinet with two side walls 12 and 14, respectively, which at the back are joined by a rear wall 16 and in the front frame an access opening 18, closable by a door (not shown), to a storage space 20 in the cabinet. On the inside of the respective side wall a plurality of horizontal grooves 22 are arranged above each other at regular interspaces.

By 24 is designated a shelf, see fig. 3, which can be made in one piece of plastic and at its respective ends is provided with two pins 26. The shelf 24, which extends over the whole width of the space 20 and is insertable through the opening 18 to rest with the pins 26 in the grooves 22 of the respective side wall 12, 14, has a broader, plate-shaped and rectangular part 28 and a narrower, plate-shaped and rectangular part 30, which parts, which are located in planes forming an angle with each other, are joined by a vertical, plate-shaped part 32.

The shelf is arranged so that it can be put in four different positions on each height level in the space 20. In the first of these positions, see fig. 1, the two pins 26 of eeee the narrower part 30 are inserted into one and the same groove 22 of the wall 14, the part 30 being located horizontally and the two pins of the broader part 28 being inserted into each one of adjacent grooves of the other wall 12, at which the part 28 will slope downwards in direction towards the wall 16. At this position of the shelf 24 several e e bottles 33 can be stored lying beside each other on the part 28 in the way shown in fig. i.

In the second of the positions of the shelf, see fig. 2, the shelf has been turned upside down and been inserted so into the grooves 22, that the part 30 will slope downwards in direction towards the opening 18 by the pins 26 of the part having been inserted into each one of adjacent grooves 22 of the wall 14. The part 28 is here located in a horizontal plane by its pins being inserted into one and the same groove of the wall 12. In this position of the shelf 24 several cans 34 can be stored lying beside each other on the part 30 in the way shown in fig. 2. A U-shaped means 36 has been mounted on the part 30 at its lower end to prevent the cans from rolling off from the part In the third of the positions of the shelf, see fig. 4, the shelf has been turned a half revolution and been inserted so into the grooves 22, that the part 30 will slope downwards in direction towards the wall 16 by the pins of the part being inserted into each one of adjacent grooves of the wall 12. The part 28 will here be located in a horizontal plane by its pins 26 being inserted into one and the same groove 22 of the wall 14. In this position of the shelf 24 one bottle can be stored lying on the part 30 in parallel with the wall 12.

In the fourth of said positions, see fig. 5, the shelf has been turned upside down and been inserted so into the grooves 22, that the part 30 will slope downwards in direction towards the wall 16 by the pins 26 of the part being inserted into each one of adjacent grooves 22 of the wall 12. The part 28 is here located in a horizontal plane by its pins being inserted into one and the same groove of the wall 14. A small box 38 is arranged insertable beneath the part 30 and is provided with a ledge 40, by which the box 38 on its one side rests in a groove 22. On its other side the box rests on two U-shaped means 42, which have been mounted on the part 32.

The reference numerals in the following claims do not in any way limit the scope of the respective claims.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

Claims (4)

1. Refrigerator cabinet (10) with a shelf which extends over the width of the cabinet and at its ends is removably supported by the side walls (12 and 14, respectively) of the cabinet, characterized in that the shelf (24)has a first substantially plane part (28, 30), which in sidewards direction converts into a second substantially plane part 28) located in a plane forming an angle with the plane in which the first part is located, and that the shelf is arranged so that it can be put in 4 different positions on each height level in the cabinet supported by the side walls, ao one (28, 30) of said parts in each one of these positions being located in a horizontal plane and the other (30, 28) of said parts sloping downwards in direction in to or out from the cabinet

2. Refrigerator cabinet according to claim I, characterized in that, when the shelf (24) is located such, that the other of the parts slopes downwards in direction out from the cabinet, a stop (36) is mounted at the lower end of the sloping part (30) (fig. 2)

3. Refrigerator cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the shelf (24) is located such, that the other of the parts slopes downwards in direction in to the cabinet and is located above the plane of said one part (28) a box (38)is arranged to be pushed in under the other (30) of the parts (fig.

4. A refrigerator cabinet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings and/or Examples. The steps, features, compositions and compounds disclosed herein or referred to or indicated in the specification and/or claims of this application, individually or collectively, and any and all combinations of any two or more of said steps or features. .e C, 9 9r 9 9 *9.9 DATED this TWENTIETH day of APRIL 2001 Aktiebolaget Electrolux by DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys for the applicant(s) 9 9* 9 9o