Patent Publication Number: US-2023144852-A1

Title: Refrigerator Shelves

Description:
RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/992,954 entitled Refrigerator shelves, filed on Mar. 21, 2020 by Gordon Hassman. The entire content of this provisional patent application is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to storage of items in household refrigerators and in particular to shelves installed in such refrigerators. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     French door refrigerators are increasingly popular for household use, in part because they permit storage of relatively large items or a mixture of large and small items. A French door refrigerator typically has side-by-side upper doors opening to a shared compartment. A freezer drawer may be present under the refrigerator compartment. 
     The doors of the refrigerator swing from opposite sides of the unit so that their free edges (opposite the hinged side of each door) come together along the front centerline of the unit. This causes some design complexities because the doors seal to one another rather than to a fixed part of the unit as in other refrigerator styles. In most models, the doors may be opened or closed independently. 
     The inside of the refrigerator compartment may be divided by shelves or drawers to make item storage more convenient. Typically, such shelves and drawers conform to the rectangular shape of the compartment. 
     Refrigerator doors generally also include storage receptacles useful for small footprint items that are frequently accessed. These door receptacles make the doors thicker than they would be if door storage were not present. Shelves and drawers within the refrigerator compartment are recessed to make room for the door receptacles and their contents. 
     Because either door may be stationary while the other moves, door receptacles along the inner free edge (the portion of the free edge furthest from the outside surface of the door) cannot be as deep as other portions of the door receptacles. If they were as deep, the inner free edge could collide with the adjacent closed door, preventing opening. French door refrigerators avoid this by chamfering or curving the door receptacles along the inner free edge. This decreases the accessible storage space because the doors cannot store anything along the free edge without a chamfer or curve. Thus, the space adjacent the free edges of the doors is unused. It is an aim of this invention to use the space adjacent the free edges of the doors to store items. 
     Shelves in a refrigerator compartment or door receptacles may be adjustable in position to accommodate different sized items. However, door compartments have only limited storage, so that when an additional tall item (such as a soft drink bottle or wine bottle) needs to be stored, the only options may be to adjust shelves to create a much larger footprint space than needed for a single bottle, or to lay the bottle down. Either may create problems storing other items. It is another object of the invention to increase flexibility for storing small footprint items. 
     DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION/SUMMARY 
     In some embodiments, the invention includes a storage system including additional shelves or shelf extensions mounted inside a refrigerator compartment. 
     In embodiments, the invention includes a storage system for storing items in a French door refrigerator that includes side-by-side doors meeting at a front midline of the refrigerator and enclosing a compartment. The refrigerator compartment includes a volume adjacent the front midline not swept by the doors or by any door receptacles. The system includes a shelf sized to fit within the volume and a support configured to attach to the compartment and to support the shelf. 
     The shelf may be approximately trapezoidal or pentagonal to fit within the volume without interference with the doors or any door receptacles. 
     The shelf may include one or more fasteners. The support has complementary fasteners that engage the one or more fasteners of the shelf. The support may include one or more elongated members, each having a plurality of spaced apart complementary fasteners. 
     In embodiments, the fasteners are cleats and the complementary fasteners are holes. 
     The support may include a mount for attachment of the elongated member to the compartment. The mount may include one or more of a suction cup, a magnet, a spring clip, a slide, an adhesive, or a fastener. 
     The shelf may be slidably or pivotably mounted to the support, and the support may be slidably mounted to the compartment. 
     In embodiments, the shelf includes an elevated rim. The support can include a tether. The support may attach the shelf to an internal shelf of the refrigerator compartment. 
     In other embodiments the invention includes a storage assembly for a French door refrigerator, where the refrigerator includes side-by-side doors meeting at a front midline and enclosing a compartment. The compartment includes a volume adjacent the front midline that is not swept by the doors. The assembly includes a support and a plurality of shelves. The shelves attach to the support, and the support is configured to attach to the compartment. The support is also configured to dispose the shelves within the volume adjacent the front midline that is not swept by the doors. 
     In embodiments, the storage assembly has a shelf (of the plurality of shelves) that includes a flat load surface and a raised rim. The raised rim at least partially surrounds the flat load surface. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows a front view of a prior art French door refrigerator with doors closed. 
         FIG.  2    shows a view of a stocked compartment of a prior art French door refrigerator with doors open. 
         FIG.  3    shows a view of the stocked compartment of  FIG.  2    with slats indicating the volume available to the shelves of the invention. 
         FIG.  4 A  shows a view of the stocked compartment of  FIG.  2    with a stocked embodiment of the shelves of the invention installed. 
         FIG.  4 B  shows a view of the stocked compartment of  FIG.  2    with an unstocked embodiment of the shelves of  FIG.  4 A  installed. 
         FIGS.  5    shows a view of the stocked shelves of  FIG.  4 A-B  with right refrigerator door closed. 
         FIGS.  6 - 8    show downward looking perspective views of the doors progressively closing adjacent the shelf embodiment of  FIG.  4 A . 
         FIG.  9    shows a view of another French door refrigerator with the right door partially closed to show available space. 
         FIG.  10 A  shows a plan view of an embodiment of a shelf of the invention. 
         FIG.  10 B  shows a perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG.  10 A . 
         FIG.  10 C  shows a second perspective detail view of the underside of the embodiment of  FIG.  10 A . 
         FIG.  11    shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the storage system of the invention including the shelf of  FIGS.  10 A- 10 C . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention includes a storage system arranged to fit within a French door style refrigerator. The storage system includes one or more shelves and a shelf support. The shelves fit within a portion of a French door refrigerator that is unused in many refrigerators. The shelf support holds the shelves in position to flexibly store items in the refrigerator. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  and  2   , a prior art French door refrigerator  10  has a right door  12  and a left door  14 . Right door  12  and left door  14  are arranged side-by-side. Additional doors or drawers, such as freezer drawer  20  may be present. Right door  12  and left door  14  are pivotably mounted to body  16  of refrigerator  10 . Body  16  contains a refrigerated compartment  18  defined by top  22 , left wall  24 , right wall  26 , and bottom  28 . Much of the volume above the exposed portions of bottom  28  (except unused volume  46 ; see  FIG.  3   ) may be occupied by door receptacles  38 . 
     Right door  12  has a hinged edge  30  (pivotably mounted to right wall  26 ) and a free edge  32 . Similarly, left door  14  has a hinged edge  34  (pivotably mounted to left wall  24 ) and a free edge  36 . Compartment  18  is typically divided by internal shelves  42  or drawers. Right door  14  and left door  12  may each include one or more door receptacles  38 . The rear edge of door receptacles  38  (closest to the back of refrigerator  10  with doors closed) nearly abuts internal shelves  42  to maximize the available storage space. 
     Because right door  12  and left door  14  may be opened independently, door receptacles along free edges  32  and  36  have a contoured end  40  (see  FIG.  7   ). Contoured end  40  allows each door to open with the other door closed but leaves an approximately trapezoidal or pentagonal footprint  44  within compartment  18  in which no items are stored. As visible in  FIG.  2   , the unused footprint  44  may be projected parallel to the vertical centerline of refrigerator  10  to reveal an unused volume  46  ( FIG.  3   ), shown partially bounded by slats for illustration. The storage system of the invention takes advantage of unused volume  46  to increase effective refrigerator storage. 
       FIG.  4 A and  4 B  shows an embodiment of shelves  100  disposed in unused volume  46 . Each of shelves  100  is roughly the shape of unused footprint  44  so that none of shelves  100  interferes with door  12  or  14  or with door receptacles  38 . In some embodiments, shelves  100  may be slightly smaller than unused footprint  44  to account for tolerances and variations in door positioning. In embodiments, shelf  100  may be any size or shape providing that it does not intrude into unused volume  46 . In some embodiments, shelf  100  may form a basket, a lidded container, a drawer, a sack, or another shape. The term shelf as used in this document includes these variations. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG.  4 A and  4 B , each of shelves  100  is anchored to one or more of internal shelves  42 . Rear edge  102  of shelf  100  may attach to an internal shelf  42  by conventional fasteners, by spring clips, by magnets, or by other known methods. As illustrated, shelves  100  attach via the midpoint of front edge  104  to a tether  106  attached to the top and/or the bottom of compartment  18 . This advantageously supports shelves  100  at both front and back. 
     In some embodiments, tether  106  may stretch between the top and the bottom of compartment  18  to provide tension to support front edge  104  of at least some of shelves  100 . In other embodiments, tether  106  may be tensioned by weight of shelves  100  or their contents. Tether  106  may terminate above any drawers in the refrigerator so that tether  106  does not interfere with operation of the drawers. In still other embodiments, tether  106  may be replaced with a rigid rail to support the fronts of shelves  100  without relying on tension of a flexible tether. Tether  106  may be absent in some embodiments. 
     In other embodiments, shelves  100  may be attached to other places in compartment  18 , such as to the rear surface of compartment  18  or to the support system used to hang internal shelves  42 . In still other embodiments, shelves  100  may be mounted on slides that extend from the undersides or upper surfaces of internal shelves  42 . In yet other embodiments (including that described in more detail below with respect to  FIGS.  10 - 11   ), shelves  100  may be supported by brackets that attach to refrigerator  10  within compartment  18 . 
     As visible in  FIGS.  4 - 8   , right door  12  in closing brings the contoured end  40  of door receptacle  38  near to shelves  100 . Items on shelves  100  are undisturbed by the closing of the doors because shelves  100  occupy unused volume  46 . 
     As visible in  FIG.  9    showing a French door refrigerator from a different manufacturer, the shape of contoured end  40  may vary from model to model. Preferably, the outline of shelves  100  is selected to fit within the unswept volume of a majority of refrigerators. In some embodiments, specialized versions may be produced to match individual refrigerator requirements.  FIG.  9    also shows that built in drawers may sweep through a portion of unused volume  46  when the drawers are opened. In such refrigerators, shelves  100  (or any supporting structure) are generally not placed in the portion of unswept volume  46  in front of such drawers so that the drawers may continue to be used normally. 
     In another embodiment, the invention may include a support system that is independent of internal shelves  42 . As illustrated in  FIGS.  10 A,  10 B,  10 C, and  11   , shelf  200  (analogous to shelf  100  in the embodiment of  FIG.  4 A and  4 B ) has a substantially planar load surface  202  bounded by front side  204 , angled sides  208 , and rear side  210 . 
     Load surface  202  may be bounded by a rim  220 , raised with respect to load surface  202 , to help contain spills and retain contents on shelves  200 . Shelf  200  may also include strengthening ribs (not shown) depending downward from the edges of load surface  202 . Additional strengthening ribs may be present disposed more centrally. 
     Shelf  200  also includes one or more cleats  212 . Each cleat  212  includes a boss  224  that extends from the body of shelf  200  and cleat body  226  that depends from boss  224  as a cantilever (best visible in the underside detail view of  FIG.  10 C ). Cleats  212  are disposed on rear side  210  engage to complementary holes  402  in brackets  400 . Cleats  212  are designed to flex so that cleat bodies  226  may be transiently deformed to facilitate insertion in complementary holes  402 . A restoring force provided by the cantilever helps hold shelves  200  in position against brackets  400 . 
     Rear side  210  may be relieved by notches  206  adjacent cleats  212  for flush mounting of brackets  400 . 
     Shelves  200  may be fabricated of any durable, high strength material such as metal or tempered glass. In some embodiments, shelves  200  may be formed of a high-strength polymer such as polycarbonate, polyetherimide, or other suitable polymer known in the art. Thermoplastic materials are particular useful because they may be inexpensively formed by injection molding processes. 
     Storage system  300  includes one or more shelves  200  and one or more brackets  400 . Brackets  400  are elongated members that attach to a refrigerator compartment  18  to support shelves  200 . Brackets may be sized to fit the full height of a compartment (usually around  36  inches) or less than the full height to accommodate opening of drawers in the compartment. Brackets may be made of a high strength material such as steel and may have a U-shaped cross section to provide strength with low weight. 
     Brackets  400  include fasteners that engage the complementary fasteners of shelves  200 . In the illustrated embodiment, each bracket  400  includes a number of spaced apart rectangular holes  402  that accommodate the cleats  212  of shelves  200 . Holes  402  may be slightly larger than cleat bodies  226  for easy mounting. The presence of multiple holes  402  allows shelves  200  to be mounted at any of a large number of positions, flexibly increasing the storage capacity of refrigerator  10 . 
     In embodiments, two brackets  400  are mounted to refrigerator  10  parallel to one another and positioned about the centerline of refrigerator  10 . In some embodiments, a pair of brackets  400  may be attached to one another at the proper spacing to simplify installation. Brackets  400  are mounted to accommodate the spacing of cleats  212  of shelves  200 . 
     Brackets  400  include mounting hardware to affix them to refrigerator  10 . Mounting hardware may include any of a variety of fasteners known in the art or may use hardware that is part of refrigerator  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, each bracket  400  includes a flexible suction cup  410  at each end. This may be mounted to refrigerator  10  by aligning each suction cup  410  with an area of refrigerator  10  that is smooth and impervious to air. Compressing each suction cup  410  expels air forming a tight bond. In some embodiments, brackets  400  may have a variable length to accommodate different refrigerator sizes. In other embodiments, mounting hardware may include adhesives, hook and loop type fasteners, cable ties, screws, spring clips, clamps, or other fasteners. Brackets  400  may alternatively or additionally be attached to internal shelves or to other structures within compartment  18 . In yet other embodiments, shelves  200  may be extensions of internal shelves  42  into space above footprint  44 . 
     Shelves  200  may be mounted at the desired heights by aligning cleats  212  with corresponding holes  402 . Each cleat body  226  may be inserted through a complementary hole  402  and seated. Shelf  200  is then ready to use. Shelves  200  may be removed for repositioning by reversing the process. 
     In some embodiments, cleats  212  of shelves  200  may be inset with respect to rear side  210  so that bracket  300 , when mounted to cleats  212 , does not protrude beyond rear side  210 . Cleats  212  in such embodiments would be disposed in notches formed in rear side  210 . This advantageously limits brackets  300  from preventing use of storage space other than that occupied by brackets  300  themselves. 
     In some refrigerators, some of internal shelves  42  may be recessed within compartment  18  so that additional room is present adjacent such internal shelves. Embodiments of the invention may include alternative shelves for such locations that are larger to take advantage of the unused space. In embodiments where cleats  212  are disposed in notches as described above, such notches may be deeper in these larger shelves to use a commonly positioned set of brackets  300 . 
     In embodiments, shelves  200  may be pivotably attached to brackets  400  to allow selected shelves  200  to fold out of the way. This permits storage of tall items on other shelves  200  without removing a shelf  200 . In other embodiments, shelves  200  may be slidably attached to brackets  400  to allow selected shelves  200  to slide inward, to one or the other side, or completely out. The entire storage system  300  may alternatively be mounted on slides so that it may be slid to one or the other side or completely out. This advantageously provides further flexibility for placement of items in the refrigerated compartment  18 . 
     In some embodiments, one or more of shelves  200  may be preassembled to brackets  400  and the entire assembly may be installed in a refrigerator as a unit. In such embodiments, brackets  400  may also or alternatively attach to one or more internal shelves  42  to ease installation. Brackets  400  support shelves  200  at any of several different heights with brackets  400  at least spanning between the uppermost and lowermost of shelves  200 . Brackets  400  may be installed to internal shelves anywhere within this span. 
     The embodiments described herein are referred in the specification as “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc. These references indicate that the embodiment(s) described can include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment does not necessarily include every described feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, such feature, structure, or characteristic may also be used in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. 
     Further, where specific examples are given, the skilled practitioner may understand the particular examples as providing particular benefits such that the invention as illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein or within that particular example. 
     This disclosure may mention certain other documents incorporated by reference. Where such documents conflict with the express disclosure of this document, this document shall control. 
     It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations of the described embodiment are possible in the light of the above teachings without departing from the principles and concepts of the disclosure as set forth in the claims. 
     Although the present disclosure describes certain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that such disclosure is purely illustrative and is not to be interpreted as limiting. Consequently, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, various alterations, modifications, and/or alternative applications of the disclosure will, no doubt, be suggested to those skilled in the art after having read the preceding disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the following claims be interpreted as encompassing all alterations, modifications, or alternative applications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.