US20110012493A1

US20110012493A1 - Mobile shelf for refrigerators and freezers

Info

Publication number: US20110012493A1
Application number: US12/808,888
Authority: US
Inventors: Luiz Afranio Alves Ferreira; Gean Ricardo Hay; Marcos Heinzle
Original assignee: Whirlpool SA
Current assignee: Whirlpool SA
Priority date: 2007-12-17
Filing date: 2008-12-09
Publication date: 2011-01-20
Also published as: WO2009076736A1; WO2009076736A8; BRMU8702530U2; EP2223032A1

Abstract

A mobile shelf is horizontal and displaceably mounted in rails fixed to the cabinet of refrigerator or freezer, inwardly to a refrigerator chamber. The shelf comprises an actuator device operatively associated to the shelf and cabinet. The actuator device is driven to an inoperative armed position, achieved when the shelf is displaced backwards, to a retracted position, and an operative distended position, in which the shelf is displaced forward, to a forward position. The actuator device is actuated, from the inoperative armed position to an operative distended position, when applying a manual instantaneous axial force backwards, against the shelf.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a new construction applied to mobile shelf for refrigerators and freezers of the type that comprises a cabinet defining inwardly at least a refrigeration chamber provided with a access anterior opening closed by respective door, wherein said shelf is displaceable horizontally between a retracted position and a forward position, and back to the retracted position, by user specific actuation without requiring the latter to exert, on the shelf, a continuous tensile force to produce its displacement between the retracted position and the forward position. The invention is particularly useful when applied to mobile shelves, built as usual drawers provided inside the refrigeration chamber of a refrigerator or freezer, to define a subchamber, someway apart from the rest of the refrigeration chamber and which access is only achieved with a linear displacement of said shelf from a retracted position to a forward position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known in the art simple or drawer shaped shelves assembled inside a respective refrigeration chamber, to be displaced between a retracted position, in which access to said shelves or drawers is restricted or even impossible, and a forward position, in which user access to shelves or drawers is facilitated. Despite of drawers and shelves constructions linearly displaceable between a retracted position and a forward position are well known in the art, they require the user exert, with at least one of his hands, a tensile effort to displace the shelf or drawer from the retracted position to the forward position, to then remove or put some product in the surrounding defined by said shelf or drawer. Even though this manual tensile effort upon the shelf or drawer is usually small, it requires that the user has at least one of his/her hands free so he/she can exert this tensile force to displace the shelf or drawer, from retracted position to forward position to, then, accomplish the products load and unload operations relative to the displaced element.
It occurs that, in many occasions, mainly in those of products loading inside the refrigeration chamber, the user has his/her two hands busy to hold the product or vessel that contains the product to be stored, which makes it notably difficult to do the shelf or drawer displacement operation to the forward position, in which the user can place the product to be refrigerated on the shelf, with greater easiness, or inside the drawer, that if held in the retracted position, usually makes it unfeasible products load and unload operations relative to inside. The need of the user exerting, with one of his hands, a tensile force upon the shelf or drawer to displace it to the forward position, is a shortcoming of said elements operation, which shortcoming leads to a kind of discomfort in refrigerators and freezers appliances operation, making it desirable to provide a solution that results in a greater easiness or practicability of products loading and unloading operations in relation to those mobile shelves or drawers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above-mentioned shortcoming, it becomes an object of the present invention to provide a mobile shelf, that can resemble to a drawer, to be mounted inside refrigerators and freezers of the type herein considered, and that can be easy and quickly displaced from a retracted position to a forward position, making it easier products loading and unloading, without requiring a manual tensile force actuation by the user.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a mobile shelf or drawer as above-mentioned and that has a simple and robust construction and that still allows accomplish, during the mobile shelf or drawer displacement from retracted position to forward position, the displacement of a front lid between a closed position, blocking the anterior access to shelf or drawer top region, and an open position, in which the shelf or drawer access is released.
Considering a refrigerator or freezer of the above-mentioned type, that is, of front door in each inner refrigeration chamber, the mobile shelf of the invention comprises an actuator device having a tubular body fixed to one of the parts of the shelf and cabinet and from which projects, axially, an impeller rod having a free end to be kept seated against other of said parts in a inoperative armed position of the actuator device, achieved when the shelf is displaced backwards, to a retracted position, and yet in a operative distended position of actuator device, in which the shelf is displaced forward, to a forward position.
The actuator device of the invention is actuated from inoperative armed position to a operative distended position, when applying a backwards axial instantaneous manual force against the shelf, in its retracted position and the actuator device being conducted, from operative distended position to an armed position, by manual displacement of the shelf, from forward position to a retracted position.
The proposed construction of present invention allows that the actuator device displaces the shelf or drawer from retracted position to forward position when user applies, against the still in retracted position shelf, a backwards instantaneous axial force, which force is capable of triggering the actuator device, that, once distended, causes desired displacement of mobile shelf or drawer to the forward position. When the mobile shelf or drawer is at the forward position and once the user has stored the product to be refrigerated, he usually gets one or both hands available to apply a return axial force to the mobile shelf or drawer to the retracted position, causing also that the actuator device be disarmed, to a new displacement operation of mobile shelf or drawer to the forward position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in the following with reference to the attached drawings, given as example of an embodiment of the invention and wherein:

FIG. 1 represents a anterior lower perspective view of a refrigerator or freezer cabinet provided with a single refrigeration chamber having access anterior opening and housing two mobile shelves, in drawer-shaped, built according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 represents a perspective view of mobile shelf, in drawer-shaped, illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 represents an enlarged perspective view of the inner region of refrigeration chamber in which the mobile shelf in drawer-shaped is slidably mounted;

FIG. 4 represents an enlarged perspective view similar to that of FIG. 3, but illustrating two mobile shelves, in drawer-shaped, in their retracted position, with front lid closed;

FIG. 5 illustrates a similar view as that of FIG. 4, but illustrating one of the two mobile shelves, in drawer-shaped, somewhat displaced forward, toward forward position and in which frontal lid is taken to a intervening opening position, whereas the other shelf, in drawer-shaped, is at the retracted position;

FIG. 6 represents an enlarged cross sectional view of one of the mobile shelves in drawer-shaped at the retracted position illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 represents a cross sectional view similar to that of FIG. 6, but illustrating the mobile shelf. in a position somewhat displaced forward, toward a forward position, such as illustrated in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 represents an enlarged and cross sectional lower perspective view of the two mobile shelves in drawer-shaped, illustrated in previous figures and mounted inside the refrigeration chamber.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated and already previously mentioned, the concerned mobile shelf is used in refrigerators and freezers of the type that comprises a cabinet 10, made of well known means of the art and defining, inwardly, at least one refrigeration chamber 11 provided with an access anterior opening 12 that is closed by a front door not illustrated in the present patent application for not being part of the proposed development.
The refrigeration chamber 11, of cabinet 10, has inner side walls 13 made so as to incorporate, in single piece or in separated pieces and precisely affixed thereto, rails 14 disposed longitudinally in only one section or in a plurality of horizontally aligned sections and in a orthogonal direction to the plane of access anterior opening 13. In the construction illustrated herein as an example, one of the inner side walls 12 of the cabinet 10 incorporates, in single piece, a rail 14 defined by a deformation of the own inner side wall 13 of cabinet 10, said rail 14 having a cross section that is substantially rectangular and protruding to inside the refrigeration chamber 11, from inner side wall 13 of cabinet 10.
In the embodiment construction illustrated in the drawings, two mobile shelves 20 are provided, each one having a width substantially lower than the total width of the refrigeration chamber 11, inside which they are housed. In this case, the other rail of sliding side support of each shelf 20 is not applied to opposite inner side wall 13, it being necessary to provide an inner support 30, usually fixed under a wall or upper divisor 15 of cabinet 10, which support, in the illustrated example, is defined by a storage and dispenser device of beverage cans, of the type described and claimed in the patent application PI 0604040-3 of the same applicant. In this case, the support 30 incorporates in each one of its sides faced to the mounting region of adjoining shelf 20, a rail 34 (see in particular FIG. 8), having a transversal section like that of rail 14 incorporated, for instance in single piece, to the opposite inner side wall 13 of cabinet 10. The inner support 30 for beverage cans will not be herein described in detail for not being part of the invention and for being already described in detail in said previous patent application, it should be understood that this support can have different constructive shapes since it can be used to carry a respective rail 34 along which a respective side of shelf 20 will be slidably supported.
As illustrated in the attached drawings, each shelf 20 comprises a basic plate 21 having side edges 21 a, opposed to each other, each of which incorporating, outwardly, a guide follower 22 configured to be operatively associated to a respective rail 14, 34 fixed to the cabinet 10, inwardly to the refrigeration chamber 11. As already mentioned, one of the rails 14 is incorporated, in single piece, to one of inner side walls 13 of cabinet 10, whereas the other rail 34 is incorporated in single piece or otherwise fixed to the support 30 provided inwardly the refrigeration chamber 11. If only one shelf is provided having a width corresponding to the width of refrigeration chamber 11, there will be two opposite rails 14 provided, each one fixed or incorporated in single piece to one respective inner side wall 13 of cabinet 10. Only one shelf 20 can be yet provided, with reduced width, mounted between an inner side wall 13 of cabinet 10 and the support 30.
In the exemplified construction, each guide follower means 22 comprises a longitudinal gutter 22 a with U-shaped cross section, laid and faced outside, wherein inside each longitudinal gutter 22 a is slidably housed a respective rail 14, 34 as better illustrated in FIG. 8.
Although each shelf 20 can be defined only by basic plate 21, in the illustrated embodiment, it takes the shape of a drawer, incorporating, in each side edge 21 a, a side wall 23, protruding upward, in relation to the basic plate 21, wherein the two side walls 23 are later joined by a back wall 24. The side 23 and back 24 walls form, with the basic plate 21, said mobile drawer that, in the illustrated example, does not carry, in its own body, a front lid.
In the illustrated embodiment, each shelf 20 still comprises a front lid 40 that is superior and horizontally hinged to the cabinet 10, inwardly to the refrigeration chamber 11, so as to be displaced to a closed position, blocking anteriorly the shelf 20 in drawer shape, when this is in the retracted position; the front lid 40 being angularly displaced to an open position, unblocking the anterior access to shelf 20 in drawer shape, when this is displaced to the forward position, wherein the angular displacement of front lid 40 to the open position is effected by actuation of at least one of the side walls 23 of the shelf 20.
In a possible construction, as per that one illustrated in the drawings, the front lid 40 is superior and horizontally hinged to the cabinet 10, so as to be gravitationally displaced to the closed position, in which it stays substantially vertically, blocking anteriorly the shelf 20, the front lid 40 being angularly displaced upwards, to the open position, in which it stays substantially horizontally, to unblock the anterior access to shelf 20. In this construction in which the front lid 40 is superior and horizontally hinged to the cabinet 10, its upward angular displacement, to the open position, is effected by actuation of the two side walls 23 of shelf 20, particularly of its front edges, against the front lid 40, more particularly against two inner side projections 41 of said front lid 40. In the illustrated construction, the front lid 40 incorporates a pair of opposite side pins 42, just one of which is illustrated in FIG. 5, being one of them borne directly in one of inner side walls 13 of cabinet 10, whereas the other pin 42 is borne in inner support 30.
Thus, when the shelf 20 is displaced forward, to the forward position, it causes by itself the angular displacement of front lid 40 to the open position wherein with the shelf 20 return to the retracted position, the front lid 40 returns to its closed position, wherein the front lid 40 return to the closed position is done by gravity in the type of mounting illustrated in the drawings or even by actuation of a return elastic element, such as a spring and that is not here illustrated to constantly urge the front lid 40 against an anterior region of shelf 20, in which situation the front lid 40 could be hinged according to a vertical axis.
To obtain the operational practicability aimed by the present invention, the concerned mobile shelf still comprises an actuator device 50 having a tubular body 51 fixed to one of the parts of the shelf 20 and cabinet 10, wherein in the illustrated example the tubular body 51 is fixed under the shelf 20, with its longitudinal axis orthogonal to the plane of access anterior opening 12 of refrigeration chamber 11.
The tubular body 51 carries and projects axially a impeller rod 55 having a free end 55 a to be kept seated against the shelf 20 or against the cabinet 10, depending on the mounting of tubular body 51 wherein in the illustrated example the free end 55 a of impeller rod 55 is kept seated against the cabinet 10, inwardly to the refrigeration chamber 11.
The free end 55 a of impeller rod 55 is kept seated against the respective part against which it actuates, when the actuator device 50 is in an inoperative armed position, which is accomplished when the shelf 20 is displaced backwards, to its retracted position and also when the actuator device 50 is in an operative distended position, in which it displaces the shelf 20 forward, to the forward position. The herein considered actuator device is actuated or triggered from inoperative armed position to an operative distended position when the user applies manual and instantaneously an axial force backwards against the shelf 20, more specifically against an anterior edge of shelf 20, when this is at the retracted position. The actuator device 50 is driven from operative distended position to inoperative armed position by means of manual displacement of shelf 20, from forward position to retracted position.
It should be herein understood that the actuator device 50 can have different constructions, provided that it can be suitably fixed to one of the parts of the shelf 20 and cabinet 10 and that has enough force when triggered to produce displacement of shelf 20 without load or with load, from retracted position to forward position.
The particular constructive features of actuator device 50 are not here described because they are not relevant to the arrangement of proposed mobile shelf by present invention, provided that the actuator device 50 can operate as described, it should be observed that said device can have different construction able to allow its use in different applications.
Despite of being here illustrated only one form of embodiment of present invention, it should be understood that changes of shape and arrangement of component elements can be made, without departing from the constructive concept defined in the claims that accompany the present specification.

Claims

1-9. (canceled)

10. A mobile shelf for refrigerators and freezers including a cabinet defining inwardly at least a refrigeration chamber provided with a access anterior opening, said shelf being horizontal and displaceably mounted in rails fixed to the cabinet, inwardly to the refrigeration chamber, the shelf comprising: an actuator device having a tubular body, fixed to one of the parts of shelf and cabinet, and from which protrudes axially an impeller rod having a free end to be held seated against the other of said parts in an inoperative armed position of actuator device, accomplished when the shelf is displaced backwards, to a retracted position, and still in an operative distended position of actuator device, in which it displaces the shelf forward, to a forward position, the actuator device being actuated, from inoperative armed position to the operative distended position, when applying a manual instantaneous axial force, backwards, against the shelf in its retracted position.

11. The mobile shelf of claim 10, wherein the actuator device has its tubular body fixed to the shelf and the free end of impeller rod seated against the cabinet, inwardly to the refrigeration chamber.

12. The mobile shelf of claim 10, further comprising: a basic plate having side edges opposite each other, each one of them incorporating outwardly a guide follower operatively associated to a respective rail fixed to the cabinet, inwardly to the refrigeration chamber.

13. The mobile shelf of claim 12, wherein each guide follower includes a longitudinal gutter with a U-shaped cross section, laid and faced outside, wherein in the inside of each longitudinal gutter is slidably housed a respective rail.

14. The mobile shelf of claim 13, wherein at least one of the two rails is incorporated in single piece to the cabinet.

15. The mobile shelf of claim 12, wherein the actuator device has its tubular body fixed under the basic plate of shelf.

16. The mobile shelf of claim 12, wherein the basic plate includes, in each side edge, a side wall protruding upwards in relation to the basic plate, wherein the two side walls are later joined by a back wall, said side and back walls forming, with the basic plate, a drawer-shaped shelf.

17. The mobile shelf of claim 16, further comprising: a front lid hinged to the cabinet, inwardly to the refrigeration chamber, so as to be gravitationally displaced to a closed position, blocking anteriorly the shelf in drawer-shape, when this is in the retracted position; the front lid being angularly displaced to an open position, unblocking the anterior access to shelf in drawer-shape, when this is displaced to the forward position, wherein the angular displacement of front lid to the open position is effected by actuation of at least one of the side walls of shelf.

18. The mobile shelf of claim 17, wherein the front lid is superior and horizontally hinged to the cabinet and gravitationally displaced to its closed position, in which it takes a substantially vertical positioning, wherein its displacement to the open position is done in downward angular way to achieve a substantially horizontal positioning, wherein the upward and downward angular displacement of front lid 40 is still effected, respectively, by actuation of the side walls of the shelf and by the gravity force upon front lid.