Cantilever Refrigerator Shelf

Abstract

A refrigeration cabinet having an outer housing formed of sheet metal or similar material and an inner liner formed of a molded thermoplastic material. The inner liner is spaced from the outer housing and the space may be filled with an insulating material. The inner liner has substantial lateral flexibility and is generally insufficient to support the weight of refrigerator shelves. Shelf support members are positioned between the outer housing and the inner liner. Shelf attachment means such as an adjustable rack is then positioned against the inner surface of the molded liner and firmly secured directly to the shelf support member by means of fasteners which extend through the inner liner to the shelf support member. In this way, racks may be firmly supported within the refrigeration cabinet. The entire assembly gives sufficient rigidity to the shelf racks to support the shelves in a cantilever manner. In such an arrangement, only two shelf support means are required. Each of the shelf support means extend vertically at the rear of the refrigeration cabinet between the molded liner and the outer housing of the cabinet.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The field of art to which this invention pertains is refrigeration cabinets and in particular to means for supporting refrigeration shelves in a refrigeration cabinet having a molded plastic inner liner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a principal feature of the present invention to provide an improved refrigeration cabinet.

It is another feature of the present invention to provide a refrigeration cabinet having improved shelf means wherein the cabinet may incorporate a molded thermoplastic inner liner.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved shelf support means for a refrigeration cabinet.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a combination of a refrigeration cabinet having a molded thermoplastic inner liner and having cantilever type supported shelves.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration cabinet having a molded plastic liner and having shelf support means positioned between the molded plastic liner and the outer housing of the cabinet wherein rack attachment means for shelves may be secured through the inner liner directly to the shelf support means.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide shelf support means as described above which comprise elongated members having a first flange secured to the outer cabinet housing and a second flange secured to a rack attachment means adjacent the inner plastic liner.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a refrigeration cabinet of the type described above wherein thermal break shims are positioned between the shelf support means and the outer wall of the cabinet.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of a certain preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a refrigeration cabinet according to the present invention having some portions thereof cut away to illustrate the internal construction thereof.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken vertically through one of the shelf support means shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a portion of a horizontal section taken through the refrigeration cabinet of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

This invention relates to a refrigeration cabinet and particularly relates to a refrigeration cabinet of the type having a molded plastic inner liner. With the advent of the molded plastic inner liner and many of its desirable features, the problem of suitably mounting shelves within the refrigeration cabinet has required considerable engineering development, and the present invention is directed to providing an improved means for mounting shelves in such a cabinet.

In earlier refrigeration cabinets having metal inner liners, refrigeration shelves have been mounted by a variety of techniques most of which have shelf support means attached directly to the metal liner. While plastic liners have many advantages, and in particular are believed to be more sanitary than metal liners, plastic liners do not have the lateral stiffness required to support a shelf over a period of time, especially when heavily loaded as is likely to be the case in a household refrigeration cabinet.

The present invention solves the problem of mounting a shelf in such a refrigeration cabinet even when the shelf is mounted in a cantilever manner which, in effect, increases the loading on the point of attachment to the wall as compared to other forms of shelf mounting arrangements.

The present invention provides the required stiffness for the refrigeration liner by interposing a shelf support means between the outer cabinet wall and the inner plastic liner. The shelf support means may take the form of an elongated metal beam having a first flange secured to the outer cabinet wall and a second oppositely disposed flange secured directly to a shelf rack which is mounted against the inner liner. In this way the inner liner is given the required lateral stiffness in the immediate vicinity of the shelf racks. In this way, adjustable shelf racks may be used, and cantilever shelves may be adequately supported without danger of cracking or deformation of the inner cabinet liner.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows a refrigeration cabinet 10 according to the present invention. The cabinet 10 has an outer cabinet wall or outer housing 11 and an inner plastic liner 12. The inner liner 12 is spaced from the outer wall 11, and the space may be filled with a suitable insulating material such as fiberglass or the like. Since the inner liner 11 is molded, a continuous smooth surface is provided at the entire inner surface 13 of the cabinet. Accordingly, a more sanitary, more readily cleaned refrigeration cabinet is provided.

A refrigeration shelf 14 is shown mounted within the interior of the cabinet 13. The shelf 14 is mounted in a cantilever manner. Shelf support arms 15 are shown in FIG. 2 as having a pair of fingers 16 and 17 which may be received in slots 18 and 19 which are formed at spaced intervals in a pair of racks 20 and 21. The racks 20 and 21 are positioned vertically at the rear wall 22 of the cabinet 10. By this arrangement, the shelf 14 may be moved upwardly or downwardly by simply lifting the shelf arms out of their respective positions in the racks 20 and 21 and repositioning them at a desired location.

As is well understood, cantilever supported shelves increase the torque at the point of attachment to the wall 22. This increase in torque is compared, for instance, to a shelf support arrangement which provides supporting means both at the rear and at the forward edge of the shelf. Many proposals have been made for providing means to support the racks 20 and 21 within the molded liner. However, the present invention provides a unique solution which is inexpensive to assemble and which provides the required support for the shelf racks at the entire length of the racks.

The support for the racks 20 and 21 are provided by a pair of shelf support means 23 and 24 which are positioned between the outer cabinet wall 11 and the inner liner rear wall 22.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shelf support means 23 and 24 have a generally C-shaped cross section and have a first flange 25 which generally is supported against the rear cabinet wall 11 and a second flange 26 which is secured directly to the shelf racks 20 and 21.

The means of attachment of the shelf racks to the shelf support means is shown generally in FIG. 2. Clearance openings 27 and 28, for instance, are provided in the inner liner 22 and shelf rack spacers 29 and 30 are fixedly positioned between the shelf rack 20 and the flange 26 of the shelf support means 23. The racks, such as the rack 20 is then secured to the shelf support means by a series of screws 30 and 31. The shelf rack spaces provide improved rigidity of the U-shaped shelf racks and allow the base of the shelf racks to bear directly against the adjacent flange of the shelf support means.

The opposite flange 25 of the shelf support means 23 is secured to the outer wall 11 by means of a series of sheet metal screws 32. A thermal shim 33 may be provided between the outer wall 11 and the flange 32 to improve the insulating qualities of the refrigeration cabinet.

In this way, a refrigeration cabinet having a molded plastic liner may also incorporate adjustable refrigeration shelves and may even incorporate cantilever type shelves as described above. The entire assembly provides an easily cleaned inner surface for the refrigerator cabinet and yet provides the required rigidity for normal loading of shelves.

Claims

We claim as our invention:

1. A refrigerator cabinet having an enclosure with a plurality of shelves mounted therein at various vertically adjustable positions, comprising: an outer cabinet formed of sheet-like material having walls defining walls of said cabinet; an inner plastic liner having walls defining an enclosure having an access opening on one side, said inner plastic liner being disposed in said cabinet with the walls of the liner spaced from the walls of the cabinet; a pair of spaced apart shelf support members extending vertically and positioned between the outer cabinet wall and the walls of the inner plastic liner, said support members having a central portion and a flange on each longitudinal edge thereof and being firmly secured to the wall of the inner plastic liner to rigidify the wall of the inner plastic liner at points immediately adjacent to said shelf support members, a shelf attachment member positioned on an inner surface of a wall of said liner and overlying each of said shelf support members and secured to said shelf support member through the liner wall at said flanges, each of said shelf attachment members having means for removably mounting shelves in various vertical positions in said enclosure, a plurality of shelves removably carried by said shelf attachment members, and said shelves being supported on cantilever arms carried by said shelf attachment members which are mounted on a wall of the liner facing said access opening.