WO2005003660A1

WO2005003660A1 - Movable shelf for a refrigerator door

Info

Publication number: WO2005003660A1
Application number: PCT/BR2004/000108
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ricardo Kolb Filho; Rodolfo FLOETER JÚNIOR; Claiton Emílio do AMARAL; Edson Isaltino Bento
Original assignee: Multibrás S.A. Eletrodomésticos
Priority date: 2003-07-03
Filing date: 2004-06-30
Publication date: 2005-01-13
Also published as: BR0302604A

Abstract

A movable shelf (P) for a refrigerator door of the type that comprises an internal panel (11), against which are removably affixed shelves (12) provided with a rear wall (12a), said movable shelf (P) comprising a support (20) having a mounting portion (21), disposed between the internal panel (11) and one of said shelves (12) and which is slidingly fitted along said rear wall (12a) of said one shelf (12), and a lower portion (22) projecting downwardly from said shelf (12) and carrying a tray (30), in order to be vertically displaced, said support (20) incorporating and upper portion (23) rotatively supporting a knob (40) which is operatively coupled to the tray (30) and which is displaced between a first position, in which it maintains the tray (30) in the lowered position, and a second position, in which it conducts the tray (30) to the elevated position.

Description

MOVABLE SHELF FOR A REFRIGERATOR DOOR Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to a movable shelf to be mounted to a shelf affixed to the internal panel of the front door of a refrigerator, aiming to provide the user with greater flexibility in the utilization of the storage volume defined by the shelves mounted to the internal panel of the door. Prior Art The front door of the refrigerating compartment of a refrigeration appliance, such as a simple or combined refrigerator, has its internal panel usually shaped to receive, by fitting, a plurality of shelves vertically spaced from each other and which are generally affixed to the internal panel of the door only by their opposite end walls.

The shelves mentioned above present a rear wall, disposed parallel to and slightly spaced from the internal panel of the door and which has an upper edge that defines a rail on which is slidingly seated an upper portion of a support, projecting downwardly through the gap existing between the fixed shelf that sustains the support and the internal panel , in order to have a lower portion carrying a movable shelf positioned immediately below the fixed shelf.

The movable shelf presents a longitudinal extension, which is generally much smaller than that of the fixed shelf, so as to be manually and selectively displaced, in the horizontal direction, to different positions along the width of the internal panel of the door.

This characteristic of horizontal mobility is necessary to allow the user to position the movable shelf in a place where it will not interfere with the height of the objects or products stored on the door fixed shelf immediately below. In the assembly of the movable shelf described above, the vertical length of the support is fixed and dimensioned to maintain the movable shelf spaced from the fixed shelf immediately above, by a height sufficient to store determined products with a known height, such as beverage cans or other packages with well known dimensions.

Thus, although it can be displaced along the extension of the fixed shelf, the movable shelf has its vertical positioning fixed and not adjustable as a function of the needs for a free storage height, which vary as a function of the products to be seated on the movable shelf and on the fixed shelf immediately below. In the present assemblies, it is usual to have situations in which the storage gap of the movable shelf is undersized or oversized, whereas the storage gap of the lower fixed shelf is undersized or oversized, respectively. In these cases, the horizontal displacement of the movable shelf may be insufficient to attain an optimum usage of the storage gaps close to the internal panel of the door. Objects of the Invention

It is a generic object of the present invention to provide a movable shelf to be mounted to the internal panel of the front door of a refrigerator, in order to have its positioning adjusted by the user along at least part of the width of the internal panel and of the height of the storage gap defined between two consecutive shelves affixed to said internal panel. It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a movable shelf as mentioned above, which can be slidingly mounted to one of the shelves affixed to the internal panel of the door. Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a movable shelf for a refrigerator door of the type that comprises an internal panel, against which are removably affixed shelves provided with a rear wall, said movable shelf comprising a support having a mounting portion, disposed between the internal panel and one of said shelves and which is slidingly fitted along said rear wall of said one shelf, and a lower portion projecting downwardly from said shelf and carrying a tray. According to the invention, the tray is mounted to the lower portion of the support, in order to be vertically and selectively displaced between a lowered position and an elevated position, said support incorporating and upper portion, projecting upwardly from the shelf and rotatively supporting a knob, operatively coupled to the tray and which is displaced between a first position, in which it maintains the tray in the lowered position, and a second position, in which it conducts the tray to the elevated position. The constructive solution proposed by the invention allows the user to couple, to at least one of the usual internal shelves of the door, one or more movable shelves which, besides being horizontally slid to different positions, can be vertically moved to occupy a lowered position, defining a certain storage gap with the supporting shelf, or an elevated position, considerably reducing the upper storage gap defined on the shelf disposed immediately below. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be described below, with reference to the enclosed drawings, given by way of example of a possible construction for the present movable shelf, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the internal panel of a refrigerator door containing a plurality of fixed shelves, one of them supporting two movable shelves, one being in a lowered position and the other in an elevated position, retracted below the fixed shelf immediately above; Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the present movable shelf when in the lowered position;

Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the movable shelf illustrated in figure 2;

Figure 4 is a lateral elevational view of the shelf illustrated in figures 2 and 3 and which is mounted to a shelf secured to the internal panel of the refrigerator door, which is only partially illustrated; and

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views which are respectively equal to those of figures 2, 3 and 4, but illustrating the movable shelf in the retracted elevated position.

Detailed Description of the Invention

As illustrated, the movable shelf of the present invention is applied to a door 10 of a refrigerator of the type that comprises an internal panel 11, against which are removably affixed shelves 12, provided with a rear wall 12a, which is maintained parallel to and slightly spaced from the internal panel 11. The fixation of the shelves 12 to the internal panel 11 can be made by any adequate means well known in the art, the shelves 12 generally incorporating fixation means (not illustrated) provided in their opposite end walls and which are fitted in respective receiving means (not illustrated) provided in lateral flaps 11a incorporated to the internal panel 11 of the door.

The movable shelf P of the present invention comprises a support 20, having a mounting portion 21 to be positioned between the internal panel 11 and one of said shelves 12, said mounting portion 21 being slidingly fitted along said rear wall 12a of the shelf 12, so that the support 20 can be displaced along the extension of said shelf 12.

The support 20 further comprises a lower portion 22 projecting downwardly from said shelf 12 and carrying a tray 30. As illustrated, the mounting portion 21 of the support 20 is dimensioned to be preferably fitted against the rear wall 12a of the shelf 12, being slidingly seated on an upper edge and against an adjacent internal face portion of the rear wall 12a of said shelf 12.

This type of assembly, which is already known in the art, allows the support 20 to be mounted between a determined shelf 12 and the internal panel 11 of the door 10 and slid along the extension of the respective shelf 12, seating on the latter, without interfering with the structure of the door 10.

According to the present invention, the tray 30 is mounted to the lower portion 22 of the support 20, in order to be vertically and selectively displaced between a lowered position, in which it maintains a certain spacing in relation to the shelf 12 immediately above, and an elevated position, in which it is conducted to approach said shelf 12 immediately above, thus increasing the storage gap defined between said movable shelf P and the shelf 12 immediately below, as better illustrated in figure 1. In the illustrated construction, the tray 30 is slidingly fitted in a rail 25 provided in the lower portion 22 of the support 20, the rail 25 being preferably defined by a slot provided in said lower portion 22 of the support 20, in order to receive, in its interior, a rear projection 31 of the tray 30, which projection is projected through the slot that defines the rail 25, so as to be operatively coupled to the knob 40, as described ahead. The rear projection 31 of the tray 30 takes the form of a kind of hook, to be coupled to the lower end of a rod 50 positioned close to a rear face of the support 20 and whose function will be described below. The support 20 further incorporates an upper portion 23 projecting upwardly from the shelf 12 and rotatively supporting a knob 40, operatively coupled to the tray 30 and which is displaced between a first position, in which it maintains the tray 30 in the lowered position, and a second position, in which it conducts the tray 30 to the elevated position. The rod 50 has an upper end coupled to the knob 40, in order to provide the operative connection between the latter and the tray 30. In the illustrated construction, the knob 40 comprises a disc, centrally rotatively supported on the upper portion 23 of the support 20 and articulating, eccentrically, the upper end of the rod 50, so that when the knob 40 is angularly displaced around its central axis in about 180° between the first and the second position, the tray 30 can be displaced, by pulling the rod 50 between the lowered position and the elevated position. The knob 40 incorporates an eccentric rear pin 41 which projects through a curved slot 23a provided in the upper portion 23 of the support 20, said eccentric rear pin 41 having a free end articulated to the upper end of the rod 50. In the constructive embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the tray 30 takes the form a can holder provided with a bottom wall 32, a rear wall 33, seated against the lower portion 22 of the support 20 and which is operatively coupled to the knob 40 through the rod 50, a front wall 34 with a smaller height, and two lateral walls 35. With the constructive disposition described above, one or more shelves P can be mounted to the rear wall 12a of a fixed shelf 12, in order to be slidingly and horizontally displaced to different operative positions, in each of said positions the tray 30 being able to occupy a lowered position or an elevated position, as illustrated in figure 1. In order to displace the tray 30 between its lowered and elevated positions, the user needs only to rotate the knob 40 in about 180°, provoking a vertical displacement of the eccentric rear pin 41 by a distance which corresponds to twice the rotation diameter of said eccentric rear pin 41, and a corresponding vertical linear displacement of the tray 30 along the rail 25 and by actuation of the rod 50. While only one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated herein, it should be understood that changes in the form and arrangement of the elements that compose the present movable shelf could be made, without departing from the inventive concept defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A movable shelf for a refrigerator door of the type that comprises an internal panel (11) , against which are removably affixed shelves (12) provided with a rear wall (12a) , said movable shelf (P) comprising a support (20) having a mounting portion (21) , disposed between the internal panel (11) and one of said shelves (12) and which is slidingly fitted along said rear wall (12a) of said one shelf (12) , and a lower portion (22) projecting downwardly from said shelf (12) and carrying a tray (30) , characterized in that the tray (30) is mounted to the lower portion (22) of the support (20) , in order to be vertically and selectively displaced between a lowered position and an elevated position, said support (20) incorporating and upper portion (23) projecting upwardly from the shelf (12) and rotatively supporting a knob (40), operatively coupled to the tray (30) and which is displaced between a first position, in which it maintains the tray (30) in the lowered position, and a second position, in which it conducts the tray (30) to the elevated position.

2. The movable shelf as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the tray (30) is slidingly fitted in a rail (25) provided in the lower portion (22) of the support (20) .

3. The movable shelf as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that the rail (25) is defined by a slot provided in the lower portion (22) of the support (20) , the tray (30) incorporating a rear projection (31) which projects through the slot, in order to be operatively coupled to the knob (40) .

4. The movable shelf as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that the rear projection (31) of the tray (30) is coupled to the lower end of a rod (50) , whose upper end is coupled to the knob (40) operatively connecting the latter to the tray (30) .

5. The movable shelf as set forth in claim 4, character!zed in that the knob (40) comprises a disc centrally rotatively supported on the upper portion (23) of the support (20) and eccentrically articulating the upper end of the rod (50) , the knob (40) being angularly displaced in about 180° around its axis between the first and the second position.

6. The movable shelf as set forth in claim 5, characterized in that the knob (40) incorporates an eccentric rear pin (41) which projects through a curved slot (23a) of the upper portion (23) of the support (20) in order to have its free end articulated to the upper end of the rod (50) .

7. The movable shelf as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the median portion (21) of the support (20) is slidingly seated on an upper edge and against an adjacent internal face portion of the rear wall (12a) of said shelf (12) .

8. The movable shelf as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the tray (30) takes the form of a can holder provided with a bottom wall (3) , a rear wall (33) seated against the lower portion (22) of the support (20) and which is operatively coupled to the knob (40) , a front wall (34) with a smaller height and two lateral walls (35) .