U.S. patent application number 11/140095 was filed with the patent office on 2007-01-25 for refrigerator storage system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Maytag Corporation. Invention is credited to Lawrence J. Ertz, Chad J. Rotter.
Application Number | 20070018548 11/140095 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37678436 |
Filed Date | 2007-01-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070018548 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ertz; Lawrence J. ; et
al. |
January 25, 2007 |
Refrigerator storage system
Abstract
A refrigerator comprising a fresh food compartment, a freezer
compartment, a lower freezer drawer and an upper freezer bin. A
primary set of glides allow the freezer drawer and the upper bin to
be pulled out of the freezer compartment. A secondary set of glides
mounts the upper bin onto the lower drawer for movement along the
drawer, and back into the freezer compartment to allow access to
the contents of the lower drawer.
Inventors: |
Ertz; Lawrence J.; (Amana,
IA) ; Rotter; Chad J.; (Amana, IA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCKEE, VOORHEES & SEASE, P.L.C.;ATTN: MAYTAG
801 GRAND AVENUE, SUITE 3200
DES MOINES
IA
50309-2721
US
|
Assignee: |
Maytag Corporation
Newton
IA
|
Family ID: |
37678436 |
Appl. No.: |
11/140095 |
Filed: |
May 27, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/402 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 25/025 20130101;
A47B 88/75 20170101; A47B 2210/17 20130101; F25C 2400/10 20130101;
A47B 88/70 20170101; F25D 23/021 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/402 |
International
Class: |
A47B 88/00 20060101
A47B088/00 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator comprising: a fresh food compartment; a freezer
compartment below the fresh food compartment; the freezer
compartment having a bottom wall, side walls, a back wall; a lower
freezer drawer; a primary set of glides connected to the side walls
of the freezer compartment and to the freezer drawer to allow the
freezer drawer to be pulled forwardly out of the freezer
compartment and to be pushed rearwardly into the freezer
compartment; an upper freezer bin; and a secondary set of glides
mounting the upper freezer bin on the lower freezer drawer and
allowing the upper bin to be moved forwardly and rearwardly
relative to the lower drawer.
2. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the primary and secondary
sets of glides allow the upper bin and lower drawer to move in
opposite directions.
3. The refrigerator of claim 2 wherein the primary and secondary
set of glides each include male and female members.
4. The refrigerator of claim 2 wherein the upper bin pulls out of
the freezer compartment with the lower drawer when the lower drawer
is opened and the upper bin can then be moved back into the freezer
compartment while the lower drawer is still out.
5. The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising multiple bins
mounted to and, located above the lower drawer.
6. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the secondary set of glides
is mounted to a pair of cradles on the lower drawer.
7. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the primary and secondary
sets of glides are mounted such that the upper bin travels with the
lower drawer when the freezer drawer is opened.
8. The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising an icemaker in
the freezer compartment.
9. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the freezer drawer can be
closed even if the upper bin is pushed into the freezer
compartment.
10. The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein primary set of glides
and/or the secondary set of glides include rollers.
11. A refrigerator storage system comprising: a main drawer; a
primary set of glides mounting the drawer in a compartment of the
refrigerator for movement in and out of a the compartment; a
secondary bin; a secondary set of glides mounting the bin onto the
drawer to allow the bin to move forwardly or rearwardly above the
drawer and back into the compartment when the drawer is pulled out
of the compartment.
12. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the primary set of
glides and the secondary set of glides are parallel to one
another.
13. The storage system of claim 12 wherein the primary set of
glides and the secondary set of glides are mounted to allow
opposite directional movement of the drawer and bin.
14. The storage system of claim 11 wherein the sets of glides
include rollers.
15. The storage system of claim 11 further comprising a second bin
mounted to the drawer for forward or rearward movement thereon.
16. A method of mounting a bottom storage system in a refrigerator
freezer comprising the steps of: attaching a primary set of glides
to a freezer drawer and to freezer side walls to support the drawer
for movement into and out of the freezer; attaching a secondary set
of glides to the drawer and to an upper bin to support the upper
bin above the drawer for forward or rearward movement on the drawer
whereby the bin is moveable into the freezer compartment while the
drawer is pulled out of the freezer compartment.
17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of mounting
the primary and secondary sets of glides in opposite travel
directions to one another.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The current invention relates to a refrigerator storage
system and method of use.
[0002] Refrigerator freezers which have a bottom freezer
compartment and an upper fresh food compartment are becoming more
popular. Some bottom freezers have a large drawer which pulls out
of the freezer compartment to allow access to items stored in the
freezer drawer. One problem with such a large, single drawer is
food items get buried and stacked, which makes it difficult to get
to some items stored within the freezer drawer.
[0003] Some freezer drawers have a slidable tray which slides
laterally across the width of the drawer and perpendicular to the
travel of the drawer, allowing access to items in one side or the
other of the drawer. If a person needs to get to the items stored
on the other side of the drawer, they simply slide the upper
storage bin to the left or to the right to gain access to the other
side.
[0004] Some refrigerator freezers have multiple drawers that pull
out separately. With these, one must pull out the main drawer and
then pull out a second or third drawer to gain access to items in
the top drawer, such as ice.
[0005] One problem with the aforementioned style of freezer
compartment is that a person does not have access to all of the
storage space in the freezer and therefore has a difficult time
retrieving items stored in the freezer. Therefore, it is desirable
to have an improved refrigerator storage system and method of
use.
[0006] The primary feature or advantage of the present invention is
to provide an improved refrigerator storage system, and method of
use.
[0007] Another feature or advantage of the present invention is
allowance of easy access to items stored in a refrigerator freezer
pull out drawer.
[0008] A further feature or advantage of the current invention is a
method of mounting a bottom storage system in a refrigerator
allowing easy access to all portions of the storage system.
[0009] A further feature or advantage of the current invention is a
provision of a refrigerator storage system which is economical to
manufacture, durable in use, and efficient in operation.
[0010] These and other features or advantages of the invention will
be apparent from the specification and claims that follow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A refrigerator comprises a fresh food compartment with at
least one door, and a freezer compartment below the fresh food
compartment. The freezer compartment has a door and a bottom wall,
opposite side walls, and a back wall. The freezer door is connected
to the front wall of a freezer drawer mounted on a primary set of
glides. The glides are connected to the side walls in the freezer
compartment allowing the freezer drawer to be pulled forwardly out
of the freezer compartment. A secondary set of glides is mounted to
the side walls of the drawer and support a second bin or basket
above the drawer for forward and rearward movement between the
freezer door and the back wall of the freezer compartment.
[0012] Another feature or advantage may be achieved by a
refrigerator storage system comprising a refrigerator freezer
drawer, the drawer moveable in and out of the refrigerator freezer
compartment with a primary set of glides. A secondary set of glides
is operatively connected to the drawer and/or a drawer cradle
allowing a bin or basket to move back and forth above the drawer
and back into the freezer compartment when the drawer is pulled out
of the freezer compartment.
[0013] A further feature or advantage of the present invention may
be achieved by a method of mounting a bottom storage system in a
refrigerator freezer comprising the steps of attaching a primary
set of glides between a first freezer bin or basket, to the freezer
compartment side walls to allow the first freezer bin or basket to
move in and out of the freezer compartment; attaching a secondary
set of glides to the first freezer bin or basket and to a second
freezer bin or basket to allow a user to move the second freezer
bin or basket forwardly and rearwardly above the first freezer bin
or basket and into the freezer compartment while the first freezer
bin or basket is pulled out of the freezer compartment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bottom mount refrigerator
having the storage system of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bottom mount refrigerator
with the freezer drawer pulled out.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the freezer drawer of
the present invention removed from the refrigerator and with one
upper bin removed for clarity.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the one bin moved
forwardly and another bin moved rearwardly.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with both bins moved
forwardly.
[0019] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the lower drawer and secondary
glide assemblies.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a center
glide bracket.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of
the invention wherein the freezer drawer and upper bin are
baskets.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a cradle for the drawer
with a secondary glide attached.
[0023] FIG. 10 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 viewed from
the back side showing an upper bin with one embodiment of an upper
bin configured to use with an ice maker.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] This invention relates to a refrigerator storage system and
method of use. The invention will be shown and described as a
bottom mount refrigerator storage system and method of use.
However, the invention can be used with any type of refrigeration
system in any location within a refrigerator/freezer. Therefore,
the invention is not to be limited to a bottom mount freezer
refrigerator storage system.
[0025] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the current invention is
preferred to be used on a bottom mount refrigerator 10, but can be
used on any type of appliance. Generally, a refrigerator 10 has a
fresh food compartment 12 with one or more fresh food door(s) 14.
Additionally, there is a freezer compartment 16 having a freezer
door 18. The freezer door 18 operatively connects to the front wall
of a lower freezer drawer 20. The lower freezer drawer 20 can be
either a bin, a basket, or other similar type storage container.
The freezer drawer 20 can be pulled out of the freezer compartment
16 using the handle 21 on the door 18. However, the freezer drawer
20 does not have to be completely removed from the freezer
compartment 16 and may have a portion of the freezer drawer 20
remaining within the freezer compartment 16.
[0026] The freezer drawer 20 pulls out of the freezer compartment
16 by the use of main glides 22. The main glides 22 can be standard
furniture drawer glides, custom made glides for this specific
application or other types of glides. Each of the main glides 22
has a female track or channel member 24 and a male member 26
slidably or rollably received in the track 24. The glides 22 can
have other members, such as the glide center member 25, and are
preferred to be telescoping with rollers or ball bearings. In one
embodiment, the tracks 24 are mounted to the inside walls 28 of the
freezer compartment 16 and the male members 26 of the main glides
22 are mounted to the freezer drawer 20. However, the main glide 22
can be mounted in any way such that the freezer drawer 20 can slide
or roll easily in and out of the freezer compartment 16. Stop
elements (not shown) may be provided on the main glides 22 to
prevent the drawer 20 from being pulled completely out of the
refrigerator 10 or pushed too far into the freezer compartment.
[0027] The invention includes one or more sets of secondary glides
30. The secondary glides 30 can be similar construction as the main
glides 22. The female tracks 32 of the secondary glides 30 are
attached to the side walls of the freezer drawer 20. The male
members 34 of the secondary glides 30 are attached, and preferably
removeably attached, to an upper freezer, drawer, bin or basket 36
for movement forwardly and rearwardly above the freezer drawer 20.
Similar to the main glides 22, the secondary glides 30 can have
other members, such as the glide center member 33, and are
preferred to be telescoping with rollers or bearings.
[0028] Since the upper freezer drawers or baskets 36 are supported
by the lower freezer drawer 20, the upper freezer drawers 36 are
pulled out of the freezer compartment 16 with the lower freezer
drawer 20. Then, the upper freezer drawer 36 can be pushed back
away from the freezer door 18 and back into the freezer compartment
16 in order to allow access to the lower freezer drawer 20. Stop
elements (not shown) may be provided on the locating feature
between the upper bin(s) 36 and the glides 30, glide extension
would not be insured. Independent motion of the upper bin(s) 36
relative to the glides 30, bin adapters 62 may result in the
falling of the upper bin(s) 36 into freezer compartment 16 behind
the opened pullout drawer 20. Conversely, should the bin(s) 36 and
glides 30/bin adapter(s) 62 have traveled successfully in unison
rearward, the user may pull the upper bin(s) 36 forward while one
or both glides 30 fail to travel forward. The locating method
chosen involves a pair of lugs 63 per bin adapter 62, of which
there are 2 per upper bin 36 which fit into a corresponding pair of
openings 37 in the upper bin 36. This provides the user visual
access to the operation of aligning the upper bin 36 to the bin
adapters 62. To attach the bin adapters 62 to the glides 30, a pair
of formed bayonets (not shown) exist in the center member 33 of the
glides 30. These bayonets in conjunction with corresponding
openings in the bin adapters 62 capture and compress the bin
adapter 62 against the face of the glide center member 33,
therefore creating a connection. The bin adapter 62 is pulled
forward during assembly against the glide's closed position, in the
direction of the door 18 of the pullout drawer 20. The bin adapter
62 is keyed to the glide center member 33 when fully installed,
preventing disassembly.
[0029] The outer glide assemblies 88 and the outer bin adapters 92
serve the same functions and are connected similarly as described
above. The attachment of the glides 30 to the lower bin 20 is
accomplished through the use of glide retainers 94, glide profile
and the lower bin 20. The lower bin 20 has a plurality of tapered
box sections 96 which receive correspondingly tapered lugs 98 of
the glide retainers 94. The glide retainer lugs 98 are inserted
into the box sections 96 of the lower bin 20 and due to their taper
initially fit loosely. A tight fit is achieved when the lug 98 is
fully inserted into the box section 96. At approximately this time,
three snaps on the glide retainer 94 will engage features in the
lower bin 20, maintaining the location and therefore the tight
connection. The combination of the glide retainer 94 and the lower
bin 20 form a receiving, approximate female version of the glide 30
outside profile. To assemble the glide 30 into the receiving
assembly, comprised of glide retainer 94, lower bin 20 and glide
profile, the upper outside surface of the glide 30 may be tucked
under the lip of the glide retainer 94. In this state of assembly,
the lower outside surface of the glide 30 is in approximate contact
with a tapered lip of the lower bin and upon applying a force, the
glide 30 will travel along the tapered lip of the lower bin 20 and
snap into place behind the lip.
[0030] The freezer drawers 20, 36 can be constructed from plastic,
metal, a wire mesh basket, or other similar type construction. To
aid in structural support of a mesh lower freezer drawer 20, as
seen in FIG. 8, lower basket cradles 40 can be used to support the
lower freezer drawer 20 and used for mounting both the main glides
22 and/or the secondary glides 30. The lower basket cradle 40 is
basically is a rigid member adding structural support to the lower
freezer drawer 20.
[0031] The refrigerator 10 can be equipped with an icemaker
assembly 50 in the freezer compartment 16, which can release ice
cubes into one of the upper freezer drawers 36. The icemaker
assembly 50 is preferred to be attached inside the freezer
compartment 16, but is shown floating above an upper bin for ease
of viewing. Thus, as the lower freezer drawer 20 is pulled out of
the freezer compartment 16, the upper freezer drawer 36 will
present ice for the user in an ice bin 54. Thus, the user would not
have to pull out the lower freezer drawer 20 and then pull out the
upper freezer drawer 36 to gain access to ice. When the freezer
compartment 16 is opened and the upper freezer drawer 36 is pulled
away from the icemaker 50, the icemaker 50 is preferred to be shut
off so that ice is not discharged behind the upper freezer drawer
36. Icemaker cutouts 52 can be used on an upper bin 36 and ice bin
54 to allow the upper bin 36 and ice bin 54 to move back and forth
under the icemaker 50. The ice bin 54 is preferred to be removable
from the upper bin 36.
[0032] The upper freezer drawer 36 is preferred to be removable
from the lower freezer drawer 20. In addition, the upper freezer
drawer 36 does not have to be pulled forwardly over the lower
freezer drawer 20 in order to close the lower freezer drawer 20. In
other words, when a person pulls out the lower freezer drawer 20
and pushes back the upper freezer drawer 36 into the freezer
compartment 16, the upper freezer drawer 36 will automatically be
pushed back into position above the lower freezer drawer 20 by the
freezer back wall 42, a glide stop device, or other device stopping
rearward movement of the upper bin 36 when the freezer door 18 is
pushed rearward to close the freezer compartment 16.
[0033] As mentioned above, the main glides 22 and the secondary
glides 30 are preferred to be telescoping glides with rollers.
However, other types of glides can be used. It is also preferred
that the glides be constructed with sufficient rigidity so that
when upper freezer drawers 36 are pushed back into the freezer
compartment 16, the upper freezer drawer 36 remains relatively
level and does not tilt downward to drop the contents of the upper
freezer drawer 36.
[0034] The drawers 20, 36 of this invention are preferred to be
made so that they can be assembled and installed into the freezer
compartment 16 quickly and easily. In addition, it is preferred
that drawers be made so that they can be interchangeable with
respect to the locations of their use in the refrigerator 10.
[0035] In summation, the current invention is preferred to be the
positioning and attachment of glide rails 22, 30 that support
multiple storage bins and/or basket configurations 20, 36, inside
the freezer compartment 16 of a refrigerator 10. The design
preferably consists of main support glides 22 onto which the
freezer door 18 and the lower freezer drawer 20 is attached and has
a set or sets of secondary glides 30 mounted in an opposite travel
direction on either the lower drawer 20 itself or lower basket
cradles 40 for the purpose of supporting an upper freezer drawer or
drawers 36. The design allows the upper drawer or drawers 36 to be
pulled forward or out of the freezer compartment 16 with the lower
drawer 20 when opening the freezer door 18 and further allows for
the upper drawer 36 to be pushed back inside the freezer
compartment 16 for easy access to the contents of the lower drawer
20. The secondary glides 30 also allow the freezer door 18 and
lower basket 20 to be returned to the closed position without first
returning the upper drawer 36 to its original position.
[0036] The invention has been shown and described above with the
preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many
modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are
within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the
foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes
at least all of its stated objectives.
* * * * *