Patent Abstract:
A freezer drawer support assembly is provided for a refrigerator including an upper fresh food compartment and a lower freezer compartment having a rearwardly tapering liner. The support assembly includes a pair of side adapters which compensate for the tapering of the liner, while defining both channels for the attachment of extensible drawer slides, to which a freezer door and a slidable basket is attached, and ledges for slidably supporting another basket. Preferably, the side adapters mate with groove and ledge structure formed into the liner to enhance the transfer of weight from the baskets, while enabling a refrigerator liner designed to directly support one or more slidable baskets to indirectly support multiple baskets which can be slid relative to each other.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/364,100 filed on Mar. 15, 2002. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to a support arrangement for a pull-out freezer drawer.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     There exist various styles of refrigerators on the market. Most common are side-by-side, top mount, and bottom mount models. In a side-by-side model, fresh food and freezer compartments are arranged laterally adjacent one another. A top mount refrigerator includes an upper freezer compartment and a lower fresh food compartment. Finally, bottom mount models have the fresh food compartment located above the freezer compartment.  
         [0006]     In bottom mount models, it is known to employ both pivoting freezer doors and freezer doors which slide between open and closed positions. In a bottom mount style refrigerator including either a pivoting or sliding door, it is known to employ one or more sliding baskets to store food items within the freezer compartment. More specifically, in connection with a bottom mount refrigerator including a pivoting freezer door, it is known to thermoform a freezer compartment defining liner with integral side rails upon which one or more baskets can be directly slidably supported. In bottom mount refrigerators employing sliding doors, it is common to mount elongated support members to the opposing side walls of the freezer compartment through the use of mechanical fasteners, and then to support one or more baskets, either directly or indirectly, upon the support members. Typically, in this case, at least the support for one of the baskets is also connected to the door such that, as the door is slid relative to a cabinet of the refrigerator, the basket shifts into and out of the freezer compartment. Most commonly, these types of bottom mount refrigerators employ metal liners into which mechanical fasteners in the form of screws are secured to attach the support members.  
         [0007]     Given construction and assembly variations between these different types of bottom mount refrigerators, completely different liners are required depending on whether a pivoting or sliding door arrangement is desired. Therefore, it is not possible to simply change a bottom mount refrigerator designed for use with a pivoting door to employ a sliding door arrangement. Based thereon, it would be beneficial to provide a supplemental adapter assembly which would enable a bottom mount refrigerator cabinet to be used with either pivoting or sliding doors and their associated basket arrangements.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention is directed to a support assembly which is adapted to be fitted between rail structure formed in a thermoformed or injection molded freezer compartment liner of a bottom mount refrigerator in order to enable the refrigerator to be used with a slidably mounted freezer door/storage drawer combination. More specifically, a freezer compartment liner, formed with integral side rail structure that can directly, slidably support storage drawers or baskets, is adapted to receive side support adapters that enable the liner to be used in combination with a slidable freezer door which is interconnected to extensible slide structure for one or more drawers or baskets.  
         [0009]     In accordance with the most preferred embodiment of the invention, each side support adapter includes upper and lower basket support structure. The lower basket support structure defines a channel which is adapted to snap-fittingly receive a drawer support slide member that is indirectly attached to a slidable freezer door of the refrigerator. The upper basket support structure is defined by a ledge on each of the side adapters which provides a support surface for an upper basket to slide independently of the lower basket. Projecting from a rear of each side support adapter are multiple lugs which are received within grooves or recesses defined in the liner and rest on substantially horizontal ledge portions through which vertical loads are transferred to the overall cabinet of the refrigerator. Each side adapter is preferably tapered from front to back to offset a tapering of the thermoformed or injection molded liner. In this manner, the opposing side adapters extend substantially parallel to each other. Mechanical fasteners are used to secure the side support adapters in place.  
         [0010]     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  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a partial exploded view of a bottom mount style refrigerator incorporating the freezer drawer support assembly of the invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a side wall portion of a liner provided in the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 , with a side adapter of the freezer drawer support assembly shown adjacent thereto prior to mounting;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the side adapter of the freezer drawer support assembly of the invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a partial view of the side wall portion of  FIG. 2 , with the side adapter of the freezer drawer support assembly of the invention secured thereto; and  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the overall drawer support assembly of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , a refrigerator incorporating the invention is generally indicated at  2 . Refrigerator  2  includes a cabinet shell  6  to which is attached a fresh food compartment door  10 . At this point, it should be readily recognized that refrigerator  2  constitutes a bottom mount style refrigerator wherein fresh food compartment door  10  is adapted to seal off an upper fresh food compartment defined within cabinet shell  6 . In a manner known in the art, fresh food compartment door  10  is preferably, pivotally mounted about a vertical axis to cabinet shell  6  through upper and lower hinges (not shown). Refrigerator  2  also includes a lower freezer compartment  13  which is defined by a liner  15 . Freezer compartment  13  is adapted to be sealed by means of a freezer door  18  having an associated handle  19 . In accordance with the present invention, freezer door  18  is adapted to slide towards and away from cabinet shell  6  through the use of a slide assembly generally indicated at  22  in order to selective access or seal freezer compartment  13 .  
         [0017]     As shown in this figure, slide assembly  22  generally includes a pair of opposing basket support plates  28  and  29  which are adapted to be fixedly secured to a rear portion of freezer door  18  through suitable brackets and fasteners (not shown). Basket support plates  28  and  29  respectively mate with a pair of door support plates  32  and  33  which, in turn, interconnect basket support plates  28  and  29  to respective extensible drawer slides  36  and  37 . As will be detailed more fully below, drawer slides  36  and  37  are interconnected to liner  15  of freezer compartment  13  through respective side adapters  40  and  41 . The present invention is particularly concerned with the inclusion, construction, and mounting of each side adapter  40 ,  41  as will be detailed below.  FIG. 1  also illustrates a lower basket  44  which is adapted to be carried by basket support plates  28  and  29  so as to be shiftable into and out of freezer compartment  13  with the movement of freezer door  18 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates details of liner  15  and side adapter  40 . In general, liner  15  includes a flat bottom portion  52 , an inclined bottom portion  53 , a rear wall  54 , and opposing side walls  55 . Each side wall  55  is shown to include an aft section  57  and a frontal section  58 . In the preferred embodiment shown, aft and frontal sections  57  and  58  extend in different planes and are interconnected by an offset section  59 . In any event, frontal section  58  leads to a frontal edge generally indicated at  61 .  
         [0019]     Formed in side wall  55 , from offset section  59  to directly adjacent rear wall  54 , is an elongated upper groove or recess  66 , as well as a lower groove or recess  67 . In general, upper and lower grooves  66  and  67  are formed in each side wall  55  in order to enable upper and lower baskets (not shown) to be slideably mounted within liner  15  when refrigerator  2  is utilized in combination with a pivoting freezer door. In accordance with the present invention, side adapters  40  and  41  are provided to mate with the structure of upper and lower grooves  66  and  67  in order to enable liner  15  to be utilized in connection with slideable freezer door  18  and slide assembly  22 .  
         [0020]     Based on the above, it should be recognized that, although the actual configuration of upper and lower grooves  66  and  67  can take various forms, the preferred form shown in  FIG. 2  is known in the art for use in connection with a bottom mount refrigerator employing a pivotable freezer door and upper and lower freezer baskets. In any event, the actual configuration shown for upper and lower grooves  66  and  67  are perhaps best defined by the supporting structure associated therewith. Therefore, due to the inclusion of lower groove  67 , side wall  55  is formed with a lower frontal ledge portion  73 , an intermediate, lower ledge portion  74 , and a lower, rear ledge portion  75 . In addition, due to the presence of upper groove  66 , side wall  55  defines an upper frontal ledge portion  80 , an upper intermediate ledge portion  81 , and an upper, rear ledge portion  82 . Again, this structure enables an upper rim of a lower basket, and a lower rim of an upper basket to extend between the side walls  55  of liner  15  and be slideably mounted for movement into and out of freezer compartment  13 . However, in accordance with the present invention, side adapters  40  and  41  are mounted utilizing the existing structure of side walls  55  to accommodate the overall slide assembly  22  in accordance with the invention.  
         [0021]     Reference will now be made to  FIGS. 2-4  in describing the construction of each side adapter  40 ,  41  of the present invention. At this initial stage, it should be noted that side adapters  40  and  41  are essentially mirror images of one another, such that the common structure will be described with respect to side adapter  40  shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4  and side adapter  41  as shown in  FIG. 3 . In general, each side adapter  40 ,  41  includes a frontal section  90  and a rear section  91 . As it is important to enable freezer door  18  to shift straight away from cabinet shell  6  and return to a position which establishes a proper seal, each side adapter  40 ,  41  is specifically constructed to accommodate for any divergence between side walls  55  of liner  15  in order that side adapters  40  and  41  define parallel paths for extensible drawer slides  36  and  37 . Therefore, in accordance with the most preferred form of the invention, each side adapter  40 ,  41  slightly tapers from frontal section  90  to rear section  91  as indicated in these figures.  
         [0022]     In any event, each side adapter  40 ,  41  is shown to include an upstanding wall  95  which follows the contour of side wall  55  from offset section  59  through aft section  57 , with upstanding wall  95  leading to an upper ledge  96 . In turn, upper ledge  96  leads to an upper wall  97  behind which is defined an elongated recess indicated at  98  in  FIG. 3 . Preferably defined within recess  98  is a first boss  101  provided with a hole  102 , as well as a second boss  103  provided with a corresponding hole  104 . Below upper wall  97  is provided a recessed, intermediate wall  105  that is shown to include an upper row of slots  107  and a lower row of slots  108 . Located forward of recess  98  is a third boss  111  having an associated hole  112 . As will be detailed more fully below, first, second and third bosses  101 ,  103  and  111  are adapted to receive mechanical fasteners through respective holes  102 ,  104  and  112  in mounting side adapters  40  and  41  to liner  15 . For reinforcement purposes, a plurality of ribs, such as those indicated at  115 - 117  are provided as structural reinforcements around bosses  101 ,  103  and  111  respectively. An additional structural reinforcement  121  is preferably provided forward of third boss  111  as well.  
         [0023]     In the most preferred form of the invention, each side adapter  40 ,  41  is injection molded of plastic. Most preferably, when forming each side adapter  40 ,  41 , intermediate wall  105  is integrally formed with an upper frontal lug  127  and a rear lug  132 . In the most preferred form of the invention, each of upper frontal lug  127  and rear  132  is generally boxed-shaped, with at least upper frontal lug  127  being provided with various cross supports  135 . Also formed along intermediate wall  105  is a pair of central bosses  139  and  140 , as well as a cantilevered member  143 .  
         [0024]     Below intermediate wall  105 , and preferably beneath upper frontal lug  127 , is a lower frontal lug  147 . In accordance with the embodiment shown, lower frontal lug  147  includes a main plate portion  148  from which extend a plurality of ribs  149 . Also arranged below intermediate wall  105  is a lower wall  151  which is shown to be formed with a fourth boss  153 .  
         [0025]     As shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , upper ledge  96  has projecting therefrom an upstanding stop  155 . Upstanding stop  155  is spaced from upstanding wall  95  by upper ledge  96 . Adjacent upstanding stop  155 , upper ledge  96  leads to a lateral section  157  of a respective side adapter  40 ,  41 . Lateral section  157  forms part of frontal section  90  and leads to a forwardly sloping section  160 , a front face section  163 , a rearwardly sloping section  165 , and a short bottom section  167 . With this overall construction, each side adapter  40 ,  41  defines a channel  176  that extends along intermediate wall  105  and which defines a lower ledge  178 . Channel  176  is also defined, at least laterally, by an upper row of teeth members  179  and a lower row of teeth members  180 . As clearly shown in these figures, cantilevered member  143  is exposed to channel  176  and is provided at a rear end thereof with a wedge section  188  which projects into channel  176 .  
         [0026]     During assembly of refrigerator  2 , liner  15  is preferably thermoformed with upper and lower grooves  66  and  67 . With this construction, liner  15  can be used to directly, slideably support upper and lower freezer baskets when refrigerator  2  is used in combination with a pivoting freezer door. However, in accordance with the present invention wherein freezer door  15  is slideable relative to cabinet shell  6 , each side wall  55  has mounted thereon a respective side adapter  40 ,  41 . In mounting each side adapter  40 ,  41 , upper frontal lug  127  is positioned to rest upon upper frontal ledge portion  80 , rear lug  132  is positioned upon upper rear ledge portion  82 , and lower frontal lug  147  sets upon lower frontal ledge portion  73 . The resting of upper frontal lug  127  and lower frontal lug  147  in this manner is seen to be clearly illustrated in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0027]     Due to the construction of each side adapter  40 ,  41 , frontal section  90  is made to conform to frontal section  58 , as well as offset section  59 , of a respective side wall  55 . Correspondingly, rear section  91  conforms to aft section  57  of side wall  55 . Once supported in this fashion, mechanical fasteners (not shown) are extended through holes  102 ,  104  and  112  in bosses  101 ,  103  and  111  in order to fixedly secure each side adapter  40 ,  41  to a respective side wall  55 . Most preferably, refrigerator  2  is provided with mounting structure, such as in the form of plates, which are arranged behind liner  15  at the location of at least bosses  101 ,  103  and  111 , with this mounting structure being rigidly maintained in a desired position upon the curing of foamed insulation injected between cabinet shell  6  and liner  15  in a manner known in the art. Therefore, the threaded fasteners associated with bosses  101 ,  103  and  111  extend not only through liner  15  but also into additional mounting structure to secure each side adapter  40 ,  41  in place. If desired, an additional fastening point can be established at fourth boss  153 .  
         [0028]     Once side adapters  40  and  41  are mounted in this fashion, each drawer slide  36 ,  37  can be secured to a respective side adapter  40 ,  41  within channel  176 . More specifically, each drawer slide  36 ,  37  is slid upon a respective lower ledge  178 , between intermediate wall  105  and the upper and lower rows of teeth members  179  and  180 . As best shown in  FIG. 5 , each drawer slide  36 ,  37  preferably includes an outermost cabinet member  201 , an intermediate member  202  and a drawer member  203 . Interposed between cabinet member  201  and intermediate member  202  are respective ball bearings  206 . Similarly, ball bearings  207  are provided between intermediate member  202  and drawer member  203 .  
         [0029]     In any event, each drawer slide  36 ,  37  is adapted to be mounted within a respective channel  176 . As cabinet member  201  reaches cantilevered member  143 , the abutment with wedge section  188  will cause cantilever member  143  to deflect inward, thereby allowing at least a portion of cabinet member  201  to pass cantilever member  143 . Although not shown in these figures, cabinet member  201  preferably includes an aperture which becomes aligned with wedge section  188  upon full insertion of slide assembly  22  within channel  176  such that cantilevered member  143  will be caused to again deflect to the position shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , thereby selectively retaining drawer slide  36 ,  37  in position. Actually, there is preferably a rather snug fit between drawer member  201  and channel  176  as generally represented in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0030]     As also shown in this figure, drawer member  203  is fixedly secured to a respective door support plate  32 ,  33  which, in turn, is interconnected to a respective basket support plate  28 ,  29 . Since each basket support plate  28 ,  29  is secured to freezer door  18 , when freezer door  18  is pulled away from cabinet shell  6 , basket support plates  28  and  29  and door support plates  32  and  33  will be drawn out of freezer compartment  13  with drawer member  203 . Drawer member  203  will be shifted relative to intermediate member  202  due to the arrangement of ball bearings  207 . When drawer member  203  reaches a fully extended position, then both drawer member  203  and intermediate member  202  will extend relative to cabinet shell  6  and cabinet member  201 . Eventually, extensible drawer slides  36  and  37  will achieve their maximum extended position, at which point at least basket  44  is fully exposed outside of freezer compartment  13 .  
         [0031]     Based on the above description, it should be readily apparent that the inclusion of side adapters  40  and  41  not only enable the use of a common liner  15  on various model refrigerators, but accommodates the tapering of side walls  55  to assure that extensible drawer slides  36  and  37  will extend parallel to one another. The incorporation, structure and positioning of lugs  127 ,  132  and  147  enable each side adapter  40 ,  41  to nest in the existing geometry formed into liner  15  either through a thermoforming or injection molding process. Therefore, lugs  127 ,  132  and  147  transfer vertical loads directly to the overall foamed refrigerator assembly which is considered to be extremely advantageous, as opposed to hanging side adapters  40 ,  41  from liner  15  solely through the use of screws and anchors. The inclusion of cantilevered member  143  and wedge section  188  advantageously provides a snap feature for the mounting of a respective drawer slide  36 ,  37  and prevents the drawer slide  36 ,  37  from undesirably sliding forward. Upper ledge  96  on each side adapter  40 ,  41  establishes a setting surface for an upper basket (not shown) which can slide independently of drawer slides  36  and  37 . This configuration is considered to allow a greater range of motion for an upper basket. When such an upper basket is employed, it should be noted that the basket can be drawn out to also rest upon an uppermost edge  210  of basket support plates  28  and  29 .  
         [0032]     Although described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, it should be readily apparent that side adapters  40  and  41  have been configured based on the preferred construction shown for side walls  55  of liner  15 . This configuration is currently used in connection with a freezer compartment  13  of approximately  33  inches wide. On more narrow models wherein only a single basket may be utilized, only a single groove may be provided in the liner. Therefore, the actual configuration of the side adapters and the number of lugs for supporting the same would correspondingly change. Of course, it is also known to produce refrigerator liners with inwardly projecting rails and a side adapter in accordance with the present invention could also be configured for use with this type of arrangement. Regardless, given that the invention is intended for use in connection with a slideable freezer door  18 , it is important to maintain the parallel relationship between the respective channels  176  and therefore side adapters  40  and  41  must be constructed in such a manner as to compensate for variations in the lateral dimensions of the freezer liner, such as in cases where the freezer liner tapers from front to rear. In any event, side adapters  40  and  41  can advantageously define support structure for multiple baskets and are integrally formed with lug structure which effectively transfers vertical loading. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5