Patent Publication Number: US-2006017360-A1

Title: Modular fascia for refrigerator storage assemblies and methods of making same

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
      The present invention generally relates to methods of forming storage assemblies and, more particularly, to methods of making modular fascia assemblies for refrigerators.  
     BACKGROUND  
      Over the years, household refrigerators have evolved to accommodate ever increasing functional demands by users. In addition to preserving food, refrigerators must be functionally versatile, easy to maintain and reasonably priced. Consumers desire refrigerators with adjustable storage compartments that can accommodate a variety of foods and food packagings and that are easily accessible to facilitate cleaning and maintenance. As a result, various manufacturers have offered refrigerators with removable shelves and storage assemblies.  
      Conventional refrigerators typically include various sized storage assemblies formed of injection molded polymeric components. In order to produce these various-sized storage assemblies, however, a manufacturer must construct a separate mold for each size of component. These molds typically are expensive, add to the cost of the final product, and increase the time required to bring a new product to market.  
     SUMMARY  
      The present invention generally is directed to modular or multi-component fascia assemblies for refrigerator storage assemblies, refrigerators containing multi-component fascia assemblies and methods of making the refrigerator storage assemblies. Multi-component fascia assemblies used in the refrigerator storage assemblies employ parts that can be used in multiple configurations, thereby potentially reducing the cost and time of manufacturing different fascia with different configurations.  
      In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a refrigerator having a cooling compartment formed of a top wall, a bottom wall, a rear wall, a first side wall, and a second side wall opposed to the first side wall. A storage assembly is disposed in the cooling compartment. The storage assembly includes a support member attached to a multi-component fascia, which is aligned distal to the rear wall within the cooling compartment. The multi-component fascia comprises a face plate having opposed ends and a pair of end caps attached to the opposed ends of the face plate.  
      In another embodiment, a fascia assembly for a refrigerator storage assembly includes a face plate having opposed ends and a channel formed therein. A pair of end caps are attached to opposite ends of said face plate. A second plate is disposed in the channel of the face plate and a cap is attached to each pair of end caps.  
      In a further embodiment, a method of making a refrigerator storage unit includes feeding a metal or polymeric material to an extruder and extruding the material through a die extruder to form an intermediate extrusion. The intermediate extrusion is cut to a predetermined length to form a face plate. The method can also include attaching a pair of end caps to the ends of the face plate to form a fascia assembly and attaching the fascia assembly to a support member to form a refrigerator storage unit.  
      In still another embodiment, a method of forming a refrigerator storage assembly includes feeding a material to an extruder and extruding the material through a die extruder to form a first intermediate extrusion. The first intermediate extrusion is cut to a first predetermined length to form a first face plate. The method can also include injection molding a first pair of end caps and attaching the first pair of end caps to the ends of the first face plate to form a first fascia. The method can additionally include attaching the first fascia to a first support member to form a first storage unit. Furthermore, a second intermediate extrusion is formed by extruding the material through the die. The second intermediate extrusion is cut to a second predetermined length to form a second face plate, with the first predetermined length being unequal to the second predetermined length. The method can also include attaching a second pair of end caps to the ends of the second face plate to form a second fascia and attaching the second fascia to a second support member to form a second storage unit. The first and the second storage units are mounted in a refrigerator cabinet to form a refrigerator storage assembly.  
      These and other aspects of the present invention are set forth in greater detail below and in the drawings, which are briefly described as follows.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a refrigerator containing a storage assembly with modular fascia assemblies.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  with the top storage unit open and the ice shelf assembly removed.  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the frame and fascia assembly of the top storage unit of the storage assembly shown in  FIG. 2 .  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the top storage unit of  FIG. 2  with the pans separated from the frame of the storage unit.  
       FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the bottom storage unit of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a refrigerator containing a storage assembly that includes modular fascia assemblies.  
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method of forming a fascia assembly.  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart of an alternate method of forming a refrigerator storage assembly with modular fascia assemblies.  
       FIG. 9  is a flowchart of another method of forming a refrigerator storage assembly with modular fascia assemblies. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      Referring now in more detail to  FIGS. 1-9 , in which like numerals refer where appropriate to like parts throughout the several views,  FIG. 1  depicts a refrigerator  200  that contains a storage assembly  40  with multiple storage units  50  and  52  that include modular or multi-component fascia assemblies  70 . The refrigerator  200  includes a cabinet  20  with an attached door  21 . The cabinet  20  includes a top wall  24 , a rear wall  22 , a bottom wall  26 , and first and second side walls  28  and  30 . The walls of the cabinet  20  cooperate to define an insulated cooling compartment  32 , which can be used for refrigerating and/or freezing food. Each of the storage units  50  and  52  includes a fascia assembly  70  that is disposed distal to the rear wall  22  of the cabinet  20  and facing outward. Some of the parts used to fabricate the fascia assemblies  70  of the storage units are interchanged and can be used on storage units of varying size, which can reduce the tooling and manufacturing costs of making variously configured storage units and assemblies for different refrigerator models.  
      The refrigerator storage assemblies  40  and  140  include various combinations of storage units  50 ,  52 , and  250 , each of which include a support member with a modular or multi-component fascia assembly  70  or  170  attached. The support members incorporated in the storage units can be shelves, drawers, bins, baskets, pans or similar structures for holding food in a refrigerator.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 2-5 , the fascia assembly  70  generally includes a face plate  72 , a second plate  71 , a cap  74  and a pair of end caps  76   a  and  76   b.  The face plate  72  includes a body having opposed ends and generally a uniform cross-section. A channel  84  ( FIG. 5 ) is formed in the body of the face plate  72  for receiving second plate  71 . The body of the face plate  72  also includes a front wall  80  and rear walls  81  and  82  that provide a large cross-section to add depth to the fascia assembly  70  and to provide more surface areas to engage the end caps  76   a  and  76   b  and other portions of the storage unit  50  and  52  as needed. However, the face plate  72  can be formed with a single wall or in other alternative configurations.  
      The second plate  71  is disposed in the channel  84  of the face plate  72  and extends between the ends caps  76   a  and  76   b.  The second plate  71  can be opaque, but is shown in the figures as translucent to provide visual access to the interior of the storage unit. The second plate  71  is shown as a single-walled body, but could comprise an alternative wall configuration.  
      The cap  74  is disposed over second plate  71  and extends between the end caps  76   a  and  76   b.  The cap  74  has a channel formed therein to receive the upper edge of the second plate  71 . The cap  74  is attached to each of the pins of end caps  76   a  and  76   b  by one or more fasteners  73 , which are shown in  FIGS. 3-5  as screws.  
      Each of the end caps  76   a  and  76   b  includes an interior side, which is proximate one of the ends of the face plate  72 , the second plate  71 , and the cap  74 . Each end cap  76   a  and  76   b  includes a face plate socket  78 , a second plate socket  79 , and a cap socket  75  formed on the interior side to receive the ends of the face plate  72 , the second plate  71  and the cap  74 , respectively.  
      When the fascia assembly  70  is assembled, the face plate  72  and the second plate  71  are attached to the end caps  76   a  and  76   b  by their engagement with the sockets of the end caps. The second plate  71  also is firmly secured in the fascia assembly  70  through alignment in the channel  84  of the face plate  72  and through engagement with the cap  74 . Each end of the cap  74  extends through the cap sockets  75  of the end caps  76   a  and  76   b.  The cap  74  is secured to the end caps  76   a  and  76   b  by fasteners  73 , shown as screws in the figures. Other types of fasteners, such as clips, pins, welds, or the like can be used to attach the components of the fascia assembly  70  together.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 3-5 , the fascia assemblies  70  are configured to be mounted or attached to support members  152  or  252  of the storage units  50  and  52 . The support members  152  and  252  each include a frame  160  and  260 , respectively, that are fastened to the fascia assemblies  70  by fasteners  77 . The support members  152  and  252  alternatively can include pans  164  or a basket  66  to store food.  
      As shown in  FIG. 6 , refrigerator  300  includes a storage assembly  345  with various sized storage units  52  and  250 . The size of the fascia assemblies  70  and  170  also vary according to the overall size of the storage units  52  and  250  to which the fascia are attached. Each left end cap  76 a of storage units  52  and  250  are substantially identical to one another. Likewise, the right end caps  76   b  are substantially identical to one another, even though the storage units  52  and  250  vary in width. Additionally, the face plates  72  and  172 , the second plates  71  and  171 , and the caps  74  and  174  are substantially similar, except in length between the wide storage unit  52  and the narrower storage units  250 . Thus, at least some of the components of the fascia assemblies  70  and  170  can be interchanged or, with minor reconfiguration, can be used on dissimilarly sized storage units  52  and  250 .  
      The present invention also is directed to methods of forming storage assemblies for refrigerators that include multi-component fascia assemblies. The methods generally include extruding a material through a die to form an intermediate extrusion that is cut to a predetermined length to form a face plate, a second plate, or cap. The extruded piece is attached to a support member, such as a shelf, drawer, bin, pan, basket, etc., to serve as at least a portion of the fascia of a storage unit. The use of extruded components to form the fascia assembly for a refrigerator storage unit facilitates production of storage units of various lengths using the same equipment while eliminating the requirement of obtaining a separate tooling mold for each sized unit, as required in molded components. The fascia assemblies formed by the methods detailed herein, however, can from assemblies that are substantially indistinguishable from assemblies constructed from molded parts.  
       FIGS. 7-9  show flowcharts of various methods of forming refrigerator storage assemblies.  FIG. 7  shows a process for forming a refrigerator storage assembly beginning with feeding material to an extruder in step  100 . The fed material preferably is a polymeric or metal material suitable for forming durable components. The polymeric materials can be selected from polyvinyl chlorides, polycarbonates, polyesters, chlorinated polyethylenes, acrylics, polystyrenes, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers, nylons, and any combinations or variations thereof. Additionally, metals, such as aluminum, copper or steel can be used in the method. The polymeric or metal material can be fed to the extruder in solid form, typically in the form of pellets, chips or billets.  
      The polymeric extruder includes a feed hopper connected to a barrel in which one or two conveyor screws are disposed. The screw(s) are rotated to carry the material toward a die. The material can be in a softened state by heat from the shearing actions of the screw(s) and/or by heat supplied to the barrel. The screw then forces or extrudes the material through the die in step  110 . Extruding metal material includes placing a billet into equipment that heats the billet to a prescribed temperature. The heated metal then is pushed by a ram through the die. The opening in or formed by the die can have a variety of cross-sections depending upon the structure of the face plate to be formed. For example, the opening can have a cross-section like face plate  72 , second plate  71  and/or cap  74  shown in  FIG. 5 .  
      The material solidifies and cools as it exits the die to form an intermediate extrusion in step  120 . The intermediate extrusion has the desired cross-section, such as those shown in  FIG. 5 , or any other suitable cross-section, but also has an indeterminate length. The intermediate extrusion then is cut to a predetermined length in step  130 . In one embodiment, simply cutting the intermediate extrusion to the predetermined length forms a face plate in step  140 . In alternative embodiments, however, the step of forming the face plate  140  also can include bending, stamping, embossing, drilling, cutting, notching and other process steps, either singly or in combination, to form apertures, notches, tabs, grooves, channels, and other substructures within the extrusion. The face plate can be run through a coating process to form a specific finish, such as by painting the extrusion with a powder coating, or plating a material thereon.  
      The method also includes in step  150  attaching one or more end caps to the end(s) of the face plate. This step can include interlocking tabs, ribs, notches or other structures formed on the end caps and/or face plate, frictionally engaging the end caps to the face plate, or connecting them together with one or more fasteners, such as clips, screws, pins, adhesives or the like.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the methods detailed herein encompass forming two or more face plates of varying length with the same extruder and die. As with the process of  FIG. 7 , the method of  FIG. 8  includes in step  100 , feeding material to an extruder, extruding the material in step  110  through the die of the extruder, forming in step  120  an intermediate extrusion. In contrast to the method of  FIG. 7 , the method of claim  8  includes cutting the intermediate extrusion to a first predetermined length in step  230  and cutting an intermediate extrusion to a second predetermined length in step  330 . The first predetermined length not being equal to the second predetermined length.  
      The first face plate is formed in step  240  from the portion of the intermediate extrusion cut to a first predetermined length, and the second face plate is formed in step  340  from the portion of the intermediate extrusion cut to the second predetermined length. As with the method of  FIG. 7 , steps  240  and  340  can include a variety of intermediate steps.  
      Other steps include attaching in step  250  a first pair of end caps to the ends of the first face plate and attaching in step  255  a second pair of end caps to the second face plate. These attachments can be formed by any variety of different processes detailed herein. These intermediate steps of forming and attachment can, but need not, be the same for the first and second face plates.  
      As shown in  FIG. 9 , the method can include in step  260  injection molding the first and second pairs of end caps. One or both pair of end caps can be identical or substantially similar to the other pairs of end caps, depending upon the desired form of the storage assemblies. The step  260  of injection molding the first and second pairs of end caps includes providing a mold of at least one of the end caps and injecting a material into the mold. The injected material is typically a polymeric material, such as polyvinyl chlorides, polycarbonates, polyesters, chlorinated polyethylenes, acrylics, polystyrenes, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers, nylons and any combinations or variations thereof. The end caps can be formed from one or more components. In one embodiment, two molds are provided corresponding to the two end caps that are to be attached to either end of the face plate. The end cap can be formed from a single mold and storage assemblies of varying length can include identical or substantially similar end caps.  
      Additionally, the method of  FIG. 9  includes forming the first fascia  270  and the second fascia  360  and then attaching the first and second fascia to first and second support members  280  and  380 , respectively. The first and second storage units can then be formed  290  and  390 . In this manner, a refrigerator storage assembly containing a plurality of storage units can be made using parts formed from the same extruder or die.  
      Each of the methods of forming refrigerator storage assemblies described herein can include aligning a translucent, metal or polymeric second plate in a channel formed in the side wall of the face plate, in which the end-caps of the storage assembly engage the sides of the second plate. Additionally, the methods including this step can include an additional step of disposing a cap over the second plate. The cap can be engaged by the end caps of the assembly. Each of the methods can include the step of embossing the face plate to provide on the storage assembly one or more designs and/or indicia, such as the stylistic designs and company logos.  
      While the present invention has been described in detail herein in accord with certain embodiments, modifications can be made by those skilled in the art that fall within the scope of the invention.