CA2140604A1 - Encapsulated cantilever refrigerator shelf - Google Patents
Encapsulated cantilever refrigerator shelfInfo
- Publication number
- CA2140604A1 CA2140604A1 CA002140604A CA2140604A CA2140604A1 CA 2140604 A1 CA2140604 A1 CA 2140604A1 CA 002140604 A CA002140604 A CA 002140604A CA 2140604 A CA2140604 A CA 2140604A CA 2140604 A1 CA2140604 A1 CA 2140604A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- shelf
- supports
- rim structure
- vertical
- set forth
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D25/00—Charging, supporting, and discharging the articles to be cooled
- F25D25/02—Charging, supporting, and discharging the articles to be cooled by shelves
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D2325/00—Charging, supporting or discharging the articles to be cooled, not provided for in other groups of this subclass
- F25D2325/022—Shelves made of glass or ceramic
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Refrigerator Housings (AREA)
Abstract
A shelf assembly for a refrigerator with a pair of ladder tracks secured to the rear wall of a storage compartment includes a pair of supports secured to corresponding tracks. Each shelf support includes a vertical wall extending forwardly from the track and a horizontal flange projecting inwardly of the vertical wall. Each of the vertical walls has openings therein. A rectilinear shelf member extends between the support members and its lateral edge portions overlie the horizontal flanges. An unitary molded plastic rim structure encapsulates the lateral edges of the shelf and the horizontal flanges of the shelf supports and extends through the openings in the vertical walls. The shelf member has a planar upper surface and the rim closely overlies and projects above the upper surface to restrain flow of spilled liquid from running over the side of the shelf.
Description
2~0~4 BACKGROUN~ OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to shelf assemblies for use in refrigerators and, more particularly, to such shelf assemblies which restrain spilled liquids from running over the shelf and at the same time are simple and economical to manufacture.
Modern refrigerators often include cantilevered shelves, that is shelves which are supported in a cantilever fashion from slotted brackets that are attached to the rear wall of either the fresh food or freezer storage compartment of the refrigerator. The brackets are sometimes called ladder tracks as they resemble ladders. The shelves are vertically adjustable within the storage compa~ment by inserting lS hooks and feet on the base of the shelf supports into selected openings in the ladder tracks.
The connection between a shelf and the csQr~rating sl~rports has taken many forms. For example, in US Patent No. 4,932,260, channel members enclose each of the front and rear edges of the glass shelf and the channel members are mechanically attached to the shelf supports. In US Patent No.
5,228,764, the shelf supports include inner and outer members which form channels to receive the rear portion of the shelf side edges and the rear shelf edge, with the edge portions being glued in the channels.
Recently shelves have been provided with continuous rims, usually formed of a molded plastic material, which ~nc~rC~late the lateral edges of the glass shelf. Some such r~m~ have been molded as a unitary structure encA~C~llating the glass edge while others have been molded as two separate pieces which 2~60~
are then glued together about the edge of the glass.
In either event, the shelf and rim normally are constructed as a separate sllh~csembly and then connected to the shelf supports in some manner.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved shelf assembly for use in a refrigerator in which both the side edges of the shelf member and adjacent portions of the shelf supports are encapsulated in a rim of molded plastic to form an unitary structure.
It is another object of this invention to provide such a shelf assembly in which the plastic material extends through openings in the encapsulated portion of the shelf supports.
SUMMARY OF ~HE INVENTION
In a refrigerator having a storage compartment with a rear wall and a pair of elongated ladder tracks secured to the rear wall in a cp~c~ apart vertical orientation, there is provided an unitary shelf assembly. The assembly includes a pair of shelf ctlpports mounted to a coLre~onding ladder track.
Each Cllppsrt also includes a generally vertical wall extending forward from the coLLe~o~ing ladder track and a horizontal flange projecting inward of the vertical wall toward the other C~lrrort. A rectilinear imperforate shelf member extends between the supports and overlies the horizontal flanges. A molded plastic rim structure e~c~pe~l~tes the lateral edge portions of the shelf me~ber, the horizontal flanges and a portion of each vertical wall adjacent the coL~e~o..ding horizontal flange. The ~nc~pslllated portions of the vertical walls include openings there ~l4~6a4 through and the plastic rim structure extends through the openings to form an unitary shelf assembly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a simplified front pe~ye~Live view of a side-by-side refrigerator with a shelf assembly incorporating one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shelf ~cs~ y illustrated in Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-section view as seen along line 3-3 in Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section view as seen along line 4-4 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section view as seen along line 5-5 in Fig. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ~Kh~KKED EMBODIMENT
Referring particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a household refrigerator 10 of the side-by-side type;
that is the cabinet 11 includes a fresh food compartment 12 and a freezer compar~ent 13 arranged in a side-by-side configuration. Each of the compartments has a front access opening which is normally closed by hinged doors 14 and 15 ~e ~e~ively. The particular refrigerator structure 10 is shown for illustrative pul~oses only. It will become apparent as the description p~Gylesses that the present invention is equally useful with other types of refrigerators, such as, for example, top mount refrigerators in which the freezer is positioned or mounted above the fresh food compartment. Various operating components of a refrigerator, such as the refrigeration system for example, are not involved in the present invention and have been omitted for the sake of simplicity.
Shelf assemblies, such as that illustrated at 16, are provided to support various items stored in either the fresh food 13 or freezer 12 compartment of the refrigerator 10. m e shelves 16 are provided with flexibility of vertical positioning in the compartment by the use of a cantilever mounting including a pair of vertically elongated ladder tracks 17, 18 which are mounted to the rear wall of the compartment in lateral spaced apart relationship. The shelf assembly 16 includes supports 19, 20, which are mounted to corresponding ladder tracks 17, 19 in any one of numerous vertical positions along the tracks.
Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, each support 19, 20 includes means to removably mount or connect the support to a ladder track. More specifically each support includes a hook 21 and foot 22 which are received in vertically spaced apart openings in the co~e~po-lding ladder track, as is well known in the art. Each support includes a generally vertically oriented wall 23, 24 which extends forward from its hook 21 and foot 22 and the upper portion of each wall 23, 24 is bent over to form a horizontal flange (as seen at 25 in Fig. 3). Each flange pro~ects inward toward the other support so that the flA~e^ are ~;~pOC~ in a spaced apart relationship.
A number of spaced apart openings 26 extend through each vertical wall. Preferably the openings 26 in each wall 23, 24 are in at least the upper portion of that wall toward the end connected to the ladder track. mus each s~lrport is a mirror ~mAge of the 2~Q60~
other support. However, the number of openings and their particular locations is a matter of choice.
me shelf assembly 16 also includes a rectilinear, imperforate shelf member 27 with a planar S upper surface 28. Preferably the shelf member 27 is formed from a sheet of tempered glass. m e member 27 has spaced apart front, rear and side lateral edges.
The member extends between the walls 23, 24 and the side edges overlap and are supported by the horizontal flanges of the walls 23, 24.
The shelf assembly also includes an unitary rim structure 30 which encapsulates the front, rear and side edges of the shelf member 27 and the horizontal flanges 25 of the walls 19, 20. me rim structure lS also closely overlies a sufficient portion of each side of each vertical wall 19, 20 to enclose and extend through the openings 26. ln this manner the rim structure unites the shelf assembly into an integrated structure and assures that the shelf member and rim will not separate from the supports.
As best seen in Fig's 3-5, the rim 30 closely surrounds and is in intimate contact with all the lateral edge portions of the shelf member 27 and projects above the upper surface 28 of the member 27, as indicated at 31. Thus the Imperforate member 27 and rim 30 cooperate to restrain any liquid spilled on the shelf from seeping between the shelf member 27 and rim 30 and the upward projection 31 of the rim will ~eaLrain spilled liquid from running over the edge of the shelf.
Preferably the rim structure is formed as an unitary body of in~ection molded plastic material, preferably composed of a polyolefin. Preferably the 2140~0~
supports 19, 20 and shelf member 27 are placed in a suitable mold and the rim structure is in~ected into the mold to form a unitary assembly.
While a specific embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein, it is realized that various modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. It is therefore to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
This invention relates to shelf assemblies for use in refrigerators and, more particularly, to such shelf assemblies which restrain spilled liquids from running over the shelf and at the same time are simple and economical to manufacture.
Modern refrigerators often include cantilevered shelves, that is shelves which are supported in a cantilever fashion from slotted brackets that are attached to the rear wall of either the fresh food or freezer storage compartment of the refrigerator. The brackets are sometimes called ladder tracks as they resemble ladders. The shelves are vertically adjustable within the storage compa~ment by inserting lS hooks and feet on the base of the shelf supports into selected openings in the ladder tracks.
The connection between a shelf and the csQr~rating sl~rports has taken many forms. For example, in US Patent No. 4,932,260, channel members enclose each of the front and rear edges of the glass shelf and the channel members are mechanically attached to the shelf supports. In US Patent No.
5,228,764, the shelf supports include inner and outer members which form channels to receive the rear portion of the shelf side edges and the rear shelf edge, with the edge portions being glued in the channels.
Recently shelves have been provided with continuous rims, usually formed of a molded plastic material, which ~nc~rC~late the lateral edges of the glass shelf. Some such r~m~ have been molded as a unitary structure encA~C~llating the glass edge while others have been molded as two separate pieces which 2~60~
are then glued together about the edge of the glass.
In either event, the shelf and rim normally are constructed as a separate sllh~csembly and then connected to the shelf supports in some manner.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved shelf assembly for use in a refrigerator in which both the side edges of the shelf member and adjacent portions of the shelf supports are encapsulated in a rim of molded plastic to form an unitary structure.
It is another object of this invention to provide such a shelf assembly in which the plastic material extends through openings in the encapsulated portion of the shelf supports.
SUMMARY OF ~HE INVENTION
In a refrigerator having a storage compartment with a rear wall and a pair of elongated ladder tracks secured to the rear wall in a cp~c~ apart vertical orientation, there is provided an unitary shelf assembly. The assembly includes a pair of shelf ctlpports mounted to a coLre~onding ladder track.
Each Cllppsrt also includes a generally vertical wall extending forward from the coLLe~o~ing ladder track and a horizontal flange projecting inward of the vertical wall toward the other C~lrrort. A rectilinear imperforate shelf member extends between the supports and overlies the horizontal flanges. A molded plastic rim structure e~c~pe~l~tes the lateral edge portions of the shelf me~ber, the horizontal flanges and a portion of each vertical wall adjacent the coL~e~o..ding horizontal flange. The ~nc~pslllated portions of the vertical walls include openings there ~l4~6a4 through and the plastic rim structure extends through the openings to form an unitary shelf assembly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a simplified front pe~ye~Live view of a side-by-side refrigerator with a shelf assembly incorporating one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shelf ~cs~ y illustrated in Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-section view as seen along line 3-3 in Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section view as seen along line 4-4 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section view as seen along line 5-5 in Fig. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ~Kh~KKED EMBODIMENT
Referring particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a household refrigerator 10 of the side-by-side type;
that is the cabinet 11 includes a fresh food compartment 12 and a freezer compar~ent 13 arranged in a side-by-side configuration. Each of the compartments has a front access opening which is normally closed by hinged doors 14 and 15 ~e ~e~ively. The particular refrigerator structure 10 is shown for illustrative pul~oses only. It will become apparent as the description p~Gylesses that the present invention is equally useful with other types of refrigerators, such as, for example, top mount refrigerators in which the freezer is positioned or mounted above the fresh food compartment. Various operating components of a refrigerator, such as the refrigeration system for example, are not involved in the present invention and have been omitted for the sake of simplicity.
Shelf assemblies, such as that illustrated at 16, are provided to support various items stored in either the fresh food 13 or freezer 12 compartment of the refrigerator 10. m e shelves 16 are provided with flexibility of vertical positioning in the compartment by the use of a cantilever mounting including a pair of vertically elongated ladder tracks 17, 18 which are mounted to the rear wall of the compartment in lateral spaced apart relationship. The shelf assembly 16 includes supports 19, 20, which are mounted to corresponding ladder tracks 17, 19 in any one of numerous vertical positions along the tracks.
Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, each support 19, 20 includes means to removably mount or connect the support to a ladder track. More specifically each support includes a hook 21 and foot 22 which are received in vertically spaced apart openings in the co~e~po-lding ladder track, as is well known in the art. Each support includes a generally vertically oriented wall 23, 24 which extends forward from its hook 21 and foot 22 and the upper portion of each wall 23, 24 is bent over to form a horizontal flange (as seen at 25 in Fig. 3). Each flange pro~ects inward toward the other support so that the flA~e^ are ~;~pOC~ in a spaced apart relationship.
A number of spaced apart openings 26 extend through each vertical wall. Preferably the openings 26 in each wall 23, 24 are in at least the upper portion of that wall toward the end connected to the ladder track. mus each s~lrport is a mirror ~mAge of the 2~Q60~
other support. However, the number of openings and their particular locations is a matter of choice.
me shelf assembly 16 also includes a rectilinear, imperforate shelf member 27 with a planar S upper surface 28. Preferably the shelf member 27 is formed from a sheet of tempered glass. m e member 27 has spaced apart front, rear and side lateral edges.
The member extends between the walls 23, 24 and the side edges overlap and are supported by the horizontal flanges of the walls 23, 24.
The shelf assembly also includes an unitary rim structure 30 which encapsulates the front, rear and side edges of the shelf member 27 and the horizontal flanges 25 of the walls 19, 20. me rim structure lS also closely overlies a sufficient portion of each side of each vertical wall 19, 20 to enclose and extend through the openings 26. ln this manner the rim structure unites the shelf assembly into an integrated structure and assures that the shelf member and rim will not separate from the supports.
As best seen in Fig's 3-5, the rim 30 closely surrounds and is in intimate contact with all the lateral edge portions of the shelf member 27 and projects above the upper surface 28 of the member 27, as indicated at 31. Thus the Imperforate member 27 and rim 30 cooperate to restrain any liquid spilled on the shelf from seeping between the shelf member 27 and rim 30 and the upward projection 31 of the rim will ~eaLrain spilled liquid from running over the edge of the shelf.
Preferably the rim structure is formed as an unitary body of in~ection molded plastic material, preferably composed of a polyolefin. Preferably the 2140~0~
supports 19, 20 and shelf member 27 are placed in a suitable mold and the rim structure is in~ected into the mold to form a unitary assembly.
While a specific embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein, it is realized that various modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. It is therefore to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims (6)
1. In a refrigerator having a storage compartment with a rear wall and a pair of elongated ladder tracks secured to the rear wall in a spaced apart vertical orientation; a shelf assembly including:
a pair of shelf supports, each of said supports including means connected to a corresponding one of the ladder tracks, a generally vertical wall extending forwardly of said corresponding ladder track within the compartment and a generally horizontal flange projecting inwardly of said vertical wall toward the other of said supports, so that said shelf support flanges are disposed in a spaced apart relationship;
each of said vertical walls also being formed with at least one opening therein;
a rectilinear imperforate shelf member extending between and overlying said flanges, said shelf member having lateral edges;
a molded plastic rim structure encapsulating each of said lateral edges of said shelf member and said horizontal flanges of said shelf supports, closely overlying a portion of the sides of each of said vertical support walls and extending through said at least one opening therein to firmly join said shelf supports and said shelf member.
a pair of shelf supports, each of said supports including means connected to a corresponding one of the ladder tracks, a generally vertical wall extending forwardly of said corresponding ladder track within the compartment and a generally horizontal flange projecting inwardly of said vertical wall toward the other of said supports, so that said shelf support flanges are disposed in a spaced apart relationship;
each of said vertical walls also being formed with at least one opening therein;
a rectilinear imperforate shelf member extending between and overlying said flanges, said shelf member having lateral edges;
a molded plastic rim structure encapsulating each of said lateral edges of said shelf member and said horizontal flanges of said shelf supports, closely overlying a portion of the sides of each of said vertical support walls and extending through said at least one opening therein to firmly join said shelf supports and said shelf member.
2. A shelf assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of said vertical walls includes a plurality of spaced apart openings therein and said molded plastic rim structure extends through said plurality of openings.
3. A shelf assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said rim structure is injection molded as an unitary body of plastic material.
4 A shelf assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein: said molded plastic rim structure is composed of a polyolefin.
5. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said shelf member includes a planar upper surface and said rim structure closely overlies said upper surface to restrain any flow of liquid between said shelf member and said rim structure.
6. A shelf structure as set forth in claim 5, wherein: said rim structure projects upwardly from said shelf to thereby contain a spill from running over the edge of said shelf.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002140604A CA2140604A1 (en) | 1995-01-19 | 1995-01-19 | Encapsulated cantilever refrigerator shelf |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002140604A CA2140604A1 (en) | 1995-01-19 | 1995-01-19 | Encapsulated cantilever refrigerator shelf |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2140604A1 true CA2140604A1 (en) | 1996-07-20 |
Family
ID=4155081
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002140604A Abandoned CA2140604A1 (en) | 1995-01-19 | 1995-01-19 | Encapsulated cantilever refrigerator shelf |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2140604A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN100397010C (en) * | 2003-12-15 | 2008-06-25 | 乐金电子(天津)电器有限公司 | Shelf structure of refrigerator |
| WO2008095780A2 (en) * | 2007-02-06 | 2008-08-14 | BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH | Refrigeration device comprising shelves that are suspended on a rail |
-
1995
- 1995-01-19 CA CA002140604A patent/CA2140604A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN100397010C (en) * | 2003-12-15 | 2008-06-25 | 乐金电子(天津)电器有限公司 | Shelf structure of refrigerator |
| WO2008095780A2 (en) * | 2007-02-06 | 2008-08-14 | BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH | Refrigeration device comprising shelves that are suspended on a rail |
| WO2008095780A3 (en) * | 2007-02-06 | 2008-11-06 | Bsh Bosch Siemens Hausgeraete | Refrigeration device comprising shelves that are suspended on a rail |
| US8979225B2 (en) | 2007-02-06 | 2015-03-17 | Bsh Bosch Und Siemens Hausgeraete Gmbh | Refrigeration device comprising shelves that are suspended on a rail |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |