Abstract:
A repositionable rail system for a refrigerator includes first and second rails, each rail having a plurality of spaced-apart apertures. A crossbar has first and second ends adapted to fit within respective apertures on the first and second rails. After inserting the crossbar into the apertures, the crossbar is rotated to a fixed angled position. A half-width shelf having a hook is adapted to removably supported, in a cantilevered manner, by the crossbar. The half-width shelf can be slid along the crossbar for repositioning within the refrigerator cabinet, or may be placed alongside another half-width shelf on a crossbar, or replaced with a full width shelf mounted on the first and second rails in a corresponding, cantilevered manner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerator shelving systems and, more specifically, to a refrigerator rail system for removably supporting side-sliding refrigerator shelves.  
         [0003]     2. Discussion of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Many different types of shelving systems have been provided for refrigerator compartments. For example, it is common to provide vertically adjustable storage units and/or shelves in refrigerator cabinets in order to increase the versatility of storing a wide range of food items. To this end, many fresh food compartments have elongated, vertically extending and laterally spaced rails or tracks mounted on rear walls thereof, with the rails enabling storage units to be supported in selected vertically adjustable positions in a cantilevered manner. Typical rails of this type include a plurality of spaced slots into which storage unit hooks can be inserted to support the units in a cantilevered fashion. In some instances, storage units lack the requisite hooks such that adapters, which can themselves hook into the rails, are used to support the storage units. One example of this type of storage unit can be seen in U.S. Application Publication No. 2003/0020387 which discloses half-width shelves supported in a cantilevered fashion on a vertically adjustable hooked bracket assembly. Half-width shelves of this type can be selectively positioned in either a side-by-side manner or vertically spaced from one another, thereby permitting a consumer to customize the inside of a refrigerator cabinet and allow enhanced space utilization and access to stored food items.  
         [0005]     Of course, in cases where the typical rail and hook configuration is not utilized, other configurations would need to be provided to produce an easily customized shelving configuration for a refrigerator cabinet. As with all rail systems for shelving units, the materials used and the design of the individual pieces of the system can greatly affect the ease of assembly and cost of production. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a simple and economical adjustable rail system that allows shelves to be slid to a desired horizontal position or adjusted vertically for easy customization of the inside of a refrigerator compartment.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention is directed to a refrigerator shelving system for removably supporting side-sliding refrigerator shelves. The rail system includes first and second horizontally spaced rails positioned adjacent the back wall of a refrigerator compartment. Each rail includes a plurality of spaced-apart apertures formed therein for removably retaining a crossbar. A first end of the crossbar is inserted into an aperture in the first rail, while a second end of the crossbar is inserted into an aperture in the second rail. The crossbar can then be rotated within the apertures to a fixed, angled position with respect to the rails. Once the crossbar is fixed to the rails, a shelf, having at least one hook, can be mounted onto the crossbar so that the shelf extends from and is supported by the crossbar in a cantilevered fashion. When the shelf has a width that is less than that of the crossbar, the hook of the shelf can be slid along the crossbar to re-position the shelf horizontally within the refrigerator cabinet. Thus, this system allows one or more refrigerator shelves to be positioned in various horizontal and/or vertical positions within a refrigerator for easy customization of the inside of the refrigerator compartment.  
         [0007]     Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a refrigerator including the rail system of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the rail system of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a close-up partial view of the rail system of  FIG. 2 ; and  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the fully assembled rail system of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0012]     With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , a refrigerator cabinet  2  includes a cabinet shell  4  within which is positioned a liner  6  that defines a fresh food compartment  8 . In a manner known in the art, fresh food compartment  8  can be accessed by the selective opening of a fresh food door  10 . In a similar manner, a freezer door  12  can be opened to access a liner defined freezer compartment (not shown). For the sake of completeness, door  10  of refrigerator cabinet  2  is shown to include a dairy compartment  15  and various vertically adjustable storage units, one of which is indicated at  16 . As shown, storage unit  16  constitutes a pick-off bucket that can be selectively removed from a liner  17  of door  10 . Mounted in an upper region of fresh food compartment  8  is a temperature control housing  18  which, in a manner known in the art, can be used to regulate the temperature in both fresh food compartment  8  and the freezer compartment. Below temperature control housing  18  are arranged a plurality of vertically spaced shelves  20 - 23  which are preferably mounted for selective vertical adjustment upon rear rails, one of which is indicated at  24 . At a lowermost portion of fresh food compartment  8  are illustrated various slidable bins, i.e., a lowermost bin  26  and higher, individually temperature controlled bins  27  and  28 .  
         [0013]     The present invention is actually directed to a rail system  30 , including rear rail  24 , for side-sliding refrigerator shelves. As shown in  FIG. 2 , rail system  30  of the present invention includes support rails  24  and  24 ′, crossbars  35  and  36 , and half-width shelves  21  and  22 . Although two crossbars  35 ,  36  and two shelves  21 ,  22  are shown for illustrative purposes, system  30  could, of course, include any desirable number of crossbars and shelves. As rail  24 ′ is a mirror image of rail  24 , only rail  24  will be discussed in detail and it is understood that rail  24 ′ is constructed in the same manner.  
         [0014]     In a preferred embodiment, rail  24  is formed from an elongated metal sheet that has been folded longitudinally back on itself. In this manner a rail  24  is produced having a mounting portion  38  that transitions at a bent portion  40  to a crossbar support portion  42  that is substantially parallel to mounting portion  38 . Additionally, a lip portion  44  extends substantially perpendicular from crossbar support portion  42 . A channel  45  is established between and defined by mounting portion  38  and crossbar support portion  42 . Like rail  24 , rail  24 ′ is produced having a mounting portion  38 ′ that transitions at a bent portion  40 ′ to a substantially parallel crossbar support portion  42 ′ and a lip portion  44 ′ extending substantially perpendicular from the mounting portion  38 ′. A channel  45 ′ is located between and defined by mounting portion  38 ′ and crossbar support portion  42 ′. Crossbar support portions  42  and  42 ′ include a plurality of spaced apart apertures  56  and  56 ′ respectively. A crossbar  35 ,  36  is inserted in selected apertures  56 ,  56 ′ and retained and supported within rails  24  and  24 ′ in a manner further described below. However, at this point, it should be understood that rails  24  and  24 ′ are mounted to refrigerator compartment side walls through mounting portions  38 ,  38 ′ as also further discussed below.  
         [0015]     As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the peripheral structure around each aperture  56 ′ partially defines an opening  58  of a first slot  60  that is aligned along an axis a-a. This peripheral structure includes a first bottom wall portion  62 , a second bottom wall portion  63  and a top wall portion  65 . A second slot  68  is aligned along an axis b-b and intersects first slot  60  at an acute angle. Second slot  68  is partially defined by peripheral structure of aperture  56 ′, including a bottom end wall  70 , an angled sidewall  72  and a top shoulder  74 . Additionally, second slot  68  is partially defined by a bottom shoulder portion  78  which extends between bottom end wall  70  of second slot  68  and first bottom wall portion  62  of first slot  60 . First and second slots  60  and  68  share a common curved end wall  80 .  
         [0016]     Crossbar  35  is preferably a one-piece flat metal bar having a first end  82 , a second end  83  and a connecting portion  84  between the first and second ends  82  and  83 . First and second ends  82  and  83  have respective first and second notches  86  and  87 . Each first notch  86  is defined by sidewalls  90  and  91  and an end wall  92 . Likewise, each second notch  87  is defined by sidewalls  94  and  95  and an end wall  96 . Connecting portion  84  includes a support face  88  and a back face (not shown).  
         [0017]      FIGS. 3 and 4  will now be referenced for the manner in which crossbar  35  is inserted and retained in support rails  32  and  33 . A user first selects a set of apertures  56 ,  56 ′ on rails  24 ,  24 ′ that correspond to a desired shelf height in refrigerator cabinet  2 . The user then inserts respective ends of crossbar  35  into select apertures  56 ,  56 ′ in rails  24 ,  24 ′. As both ends  82 ,  83  of crossbar  35  are mirror images of one another, reference will only be made to first end  82  in detailing the manner in which first end  82  is inserted in support rail  24 ′ and it is to be understood that second end  83  will be inserted into support rail  24  is the same manner. First end  82  of crossbar  35  is inserted into opening  58  of a selected aperture  56 ′ and advanced into channel  45 ′ until end wall  92  of notch  86  abuts curved end wall  80  of aperture  56 ′. Crossbar  35  is then tilted such that notch  87  passes over shoulder  78  and notches  86  and  87  are aligned with second slot  68 . Once crossbar  35  is aligned within second slot  68 , the peripheral structure about aperture  56  retains crossbar  35  at an angled position with respect to rail  24 ′.  
         [0018]     Any appropriate type of hooked cantilevered shelf can now be hung on crossbar  35 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a pair of shelves  21  and  22  is provided wherein each shelf  21 ,  22  has a width which is approximately one-half the width of fresh food compartment  8 . Each of shelves  21  and  22  has an external frame  100 , a panel or platform  102  mounted within external frame  100 , and an internal frame bar (not shown). Preferably, external frame  100  is injection molded and panel  102  is made of glass. The internal frame member includes a rolled hook portion  106  (see  FIG. 2 ) extending from the backside of the shelf  21 ,  22 . Preferably, hook  106  and the internal frame member have a unitary construction. Although hook  106  is shown extending the length of the shelf  21 ,  22 , a plurality of laterally spaced hooks could be utilized. Hook  106  is configured to be placed over crossbar  35  to support the shelf  21 ,  22  in a cantilevered fashion. The elongated hook  106  and the sloped crossbar face  88  enhance distribution of the shelf load substantially across the width of the hook  106  and crossbar face  88 .  
         [0019]     The shelves  21 ,  22  can be arranged on rails  32 ,  33  in a number of configurations. For example, shelves  21 ,  22  can be mounted side-by-side on a single crossbar  35 , or one shelf  21  may be mounted above the other shelf  22  in either direct alignment or laterally offset. The hook and crossbar configuration allows a shelf to be slid in either lateral direction along the crossbar such that shelves can be in any desired horizontal position within a refrigerator compartment. This provides a user with the flexibility to arrange shelving around objects within a food compartment with minimal effort.  
         [0020]     As previously mentioned, rails  24 ,  24 ′ can be attached to the inside of refrigerator cabinet  2  in any conventional manner. In a preferred embodiment, rail  24 ′ includes a first mounting hole  120 ′ and a second mounting hole  125 ′. The larger diameter of first mounting hole  120 ′ gives a user access to second mounting hole  125 ′ through crossbar support portion  42 ′, thus allowing a user to attach mounting portion  38 ′ of rail  24 ′ to a side-wall of refrigerator cabinet  2  via a mechanical fastening member (not shown). Additional mechanical fasteners could be employed along the length of rail  24 ′. Of course, rail  24  can be attached to a side-wall of refrigerator cabinet  2  in a like manner via a first mounting hole (not shown) and a second mounting hole  125 .  
         [0021]     Although described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications could be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, although half-width shelves are depicted for use with the shelving system of the current invention, other types of hook-type cantilevered shelves, including full-width shelves, could be utilized with the repositionable rail system of the present invention. Further, a variety of aperture configurations could be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.