Patent Abstract:
A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, a liner disposed within the cabinet and defining an interior fresh food compartment, a wine rack rotatably mounted within the fresh food compartment, the wine rack comprising a substantially planar plate having a first end and a second end with at least one aperture sized to receive a neck portion of a bottle to hold the bottle substantially horizontally in a cantilever fashion; a pair of attachment elements disposed on the first end and second end of the substantially planar plate to support the substantially planar plate and configured to secure the substantially plate to the refrigerator.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    A refrigerator is an appliance used to store food items at preset temperatures. A refrigerator appliance typically includes one or more temperature-controlled compartments into which food items may be placed to preserve the food items for later consumption. A refrigerator appliance also typically includes a plurality of shelves on which the food items may be arranged within the one or more temperature-controlled compartments. One problem with this type of refrigerator is that for certain types of containers, like wine bottles for instance, a refrigerator shelf may present space issues. The bottle may be too tall to fit within the space between the shelves. The shelves may not be convenient to lay a bottle down on its side, as the bottle may roll back and forth on the shelf. As such, a refrigerator may also include a rack for the storage of wine or other drinks with a suitable bottle for holding by the neck through an aperture. The rack may be attached to the shelves within the one or more temperature-controlled compartments. 
       SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       [0002]    In one aspect, a refrigerator may include a cabinet, a liner, a fresh food compartment, a plurality of movable shelves, a plurality of shelf ladders, and a wine rack assembly, the wine rack assembly comprising a wine rack and a pair of wine rack brackets. 
         [0003]    In another aspect, a refrigerator may include a cabinet, a liner, a fresh food compartment, a plurality of movable shelves, a plurality of shelf ladders, and a wine rack assembly, the wine rack assembly comprising a wine rack with a pair of pins, and a pair of wine rack brackets with holes corresponding to the pins on the wine rack. 
         [0004]    In yet another aspect of the present invention a refrigerator may include a cabinet, a liner, a fresh food compartment, and a wine rack assembly, the wine rack assembly comprising a wine rack with at least four pins, and at least four liner grommets corresponding to the four rack pins. 
         [0005]    In yet another aspect of the present invention a refrigerator may include a cabinet, a liner, a fresh food compartment, and a wine rack assembly, the wine rack assembly comprising a wine rack with at least two pins and at least two spring pin assemblies, and at least six liner grommets corresponding to the two rack pins and at least two spring pin assemblies in at least two different positions. 
         [0006]    In another aspect, a refrigerator may include a cabinet, a liner, a fresh food compartment, a plurality of movable shelves, a plurality of shelf ladders, and a wine rack assembly, the wine rack assembly comprising a wine rack with a pair of pins, and a pair of wine rack brackets with corresponding attachments to the shelf ladders. 
         [0007]    In still another aspect, a refrigerator may include a cabinet, a liner, a fresh food compartment, a plurality of movable shelves, a plurality of shelf ladders, and a wine rack assembly, the wine rack assembly comprising a wine rack and a pair of wine rack brackets, wherein the wine rack comprises a number of spaced round holes to hold bottles of wine substantially horizontal. 
         [0008]    In still another aspect, a refrigerator may include a cabinet, a liner, a fresh food compartment, a plurality of movable shelves, a plurality of shelf ladders, and a wine rack assembly, the wine rack assembly comprising a wine rack and a pair of wine rack brackets, wherein the wine rack comprises a number of elongated holes to hold different sized bottles of wine substantially horizontal. 
         [0009]    These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    In the drawings: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of a refrigerator showing a number of adjustable shelves mounted on a number of shelf ladders within a fresh-food compartment of the refrigerator. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the adjustable shelf brackets and the shelf ladders within the fresh-food compartment of the refrigerator. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3A  is a plan view of a shelf with a wine rack installed. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3B  is a side elevation of a shelf with a wine rack installed. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4A  is a plan view of another embodiment with the shelf and wine rack installed. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4B  is a side elevation of another embodiment with the shelf and wine rack installed. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4C  is an isometric exploded view of a wine rack and the wine rack bracket in an embodiment. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5A  is an isometric view of an embodiment of the wine rack and the liner. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5B  is a section view of the liner, liner grommet, rack pin, and wine rack in an embodiment. 
           [0020]      FIG. 5C . is a side elevation view of an embodiment with a wine rack, rack pins, liner, and liner grommets. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5D  is a section through a spring pin assembly in an embodiment. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of the wine rack, wine rack brackets, shelf ladders, and liner in another embodiment. 
           [0023]      FIG. 7A  is an isometric view of a wine rack in a typical embodiment. 
           [0024]      FIG. 7B  is an isometric view of a wine rack in another embodiment. 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  is an isometric view of an embodiment of a wine rack with an upstanding flange for logo or other information display. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0026]    For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in  FIG. 1 . However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative orientations, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a home appliance is shown as a refrigerator appliance  10  (hereinafter, the refrigerator  10 ). The refrigerator  10  includes a lower frame  24  and a cabinet  12  extending upwardly from the lower frame  24 . The cabinet  12  of the refrigerator  10  includes a pair of inner liners  16  that define a pair of inner temperature-controlled compartments that are independently operable to maintain food items stored therein at one or more set temperatures. 
         [0028]    The lower temperature-controlled compartment is a freezer compartment  22 , and the refrigerator  10  includes a drawer  108  that is positioned in the freezer compartment  22 . The drawer  108  is moveable relative to the cabinet  12  such that food items may be placed in the drawer  108  for storage in the freezer compartment  22  and retrieved from the drawer  108  when ready for use. A handle  28  is located on the drawer  108  so that a user may open and close the drawer  108 . 
         [0029]    The upper temperature-controlled compartment is a fresh food compartment  20  into which a user may place and store food items such as milk, cheese, produce, etcetera. A pair of doors  14  are each hinged to the front of the cabinet  12  via a pair of hinge assemblies  30 . The doors  14  permit user access to the fresh food compartment  20  such that food items may be placed in and retrieved from the fresh food compartment  20 . A handle  26  is located on each of the doors  14  so that a user may open and close the doors  14 . 
         [0030]    While the illustrative embodiment of the refrigerator  10  shown in  FIG. 1  is a “french-door” model with a pair of doors  14  operable to permit access to the fresh food compartment  20 , it should be appreciated that other configurations are contemplated, such as, for example, configurations having only one door  14  operable to permit access to the fresh food compartment  20 . Additionally, it should also be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the freezer compartment  22  may be positioned above the fresh food compartment  20  and, in other embodiments, either one of the temperature-controlled compartments may be omitted. It should be further appreciated that, in some embodiments, the refrigerator  10  may include more than one freezer compartment  22  and/or more than one fresh food compartment  20 . Configurations of the refrigerator  10  are also contemplated in which the freezer compartment  22  is located on one side of the cabinet  12  and the fresh food compartment  20  is located on the opposite side of the cabinet  12 . 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the refrigerator  10  may also include four adjustable shelves  100  removably mounted within the fresh food compartment  20 , upon which a user of the refrigerator  10  may arrange food items. It is contemplated that the refrigerator  10  may include any number of adjustable shelves  100  within the fresh food compartment  20 . As the adjustable shelves  100  are removably mounted within the fresh food compartment  20 , a user may remove any adjustable shelf  100  and relocate it to any available shelf mounting position within the fresh food compartment  20 . It will be appreciated that the refrigerator  10  may additionally or alternatively include other devices for supporting or storing food within the fresh food compartment  20 , such as, for example, drawers  32  or door bins  34  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). As used in the present disclosure, the term “shelf” is to be considered in its broadest sense as any device that will hold a food item, including shelves, drawers, bins, panels, racks, and the like. 
         [0032]    The adjustable shelves  100  may be removably mounted within the fresh food compartment  20  using any suitable mechanism. In the illustrative embodiment of the refrigerator  10  shown in  FIG. 1 , four shelf ladders  126  are disposed within the fresh food compartment  20  to provide a plurality of shelf mounting positions for the adjustable shelves  100 . It is contemplated that any number of shelf ladders  126  may be used for removably mounting the adjustable shelves  100 . In some embodiments, the shelf ladders  126  may be secured to one or more walls of the fresh food compartment  20  using screws, bolts, rivets, adhesive, or other fixation mechanisms. In other embodiments, the shelf ladders  126  may be integrally formed into one or more walls of the fresh food compartment  20 . It should also be appreciated that the adjustable shelves  100  may be removably mounted within the fresh food compartment  20  using any number of mechanisms other than the shelf ladders  126 . By way of example, the adjustable shelves  100  may be removably mounted within the fresh food compartment  20  using ledges, tracks, slides, glides, rollers, and the like. 
         [0033]    As shown in more detail in  FIG. 2 , each of the shelf ladders  126  in the illustrative embodiment of refrigerator  10  has a number of slots  128  defined therein. Each of the adjustable shelves  100  may illustratively include a pair of mounting brackets  102  that are spaced apart from one another the same distance as a pair of the shelf ladders  126 . The mounting brackets  102  of an adjustable shelf  100  may each engage one or more slots  128  defined in one of the shelf ladders  126  to cantilever the adjustable shelf  100  to a pair of shelf ladders  126 . As such, the slots  128  defined in the shelf ladders  126  provide a plurality of shelf mounting positions for the adjustable shelves  100 . In the illustrative embodiment, the slots  128  defined in the shelf ladders  126  (and, hence, the shelf mounting positions) are spaced approximately one inch apart. It will be appreciated that other configurations for the spacing of the slots  128  and the shelf mounting positions are possible. 
         [0034]    As shown in  FIG. 3A-3B , a refrigerator  10  may include a wine rack assembly  110 . The wine rack assembly  110  may have a wine rack  112  with a pair of wine rack brackets  114  on either end. The wine rack brackets  114  may be integrally formed to the ends of the wine rack  114 , forming the wine rack assembly  114 . It is also contemplated that the wine rack brackets may be attached using screws, bolts, rivets, adhesive, or other fixation mechanisms. 
         [0035]    The wine rack assembly  110  may rest on a shelf  100  at the rear of the fresh food compartment  20 . The wine rack assembly  110  may be rotated up from underneath the shelf  100  such that the wine rack brackets  114  fit in a space between the shelf  100  and the liner  16 . The wine rack assembly  110  may rest loosely on the shelf  100 , held in place by the force of gravity on the wine rack  112 . The wine rack assembly  110  may also be fitted to specific refrigerator designs for the space between the shelf  100  and the rear wall of the cabinet  12 . The wine rack brackets  114  may also simply have a portion that extends out from the wine rack bracket  114  toward the rear wall of the cabinet  12  to prevent the wine rack assembly from rotating farther than desired. It is also contemplated that the wine rack assembly may be placed on the shelf  100  before the shelf  100  is located to the shelf ladders  126 . 
         [0036]    The wine rack  112  may be a plate. The plate thickness may be within a range of 2 mm to 25 mm, preferably about 5 mm in thickness. The wine rack  112  may include a plurality of apertures  120 . The apertures  120  may be sized to allow the neck of a conventional wine bottle to pass through the aperture  120  and hold the bottle substantially horizontally in a cantilever fashion. The size of the aperture  120  necessary is a function of thickness of the plate and the angle of the wine rack  112  in its wine bottle storage position. As the thickness of the plate used in the wine rack  112  increases, the diameter D of aperture  120  may also increase to accommodate the neck of a conventional wine bottle. Similarly, as the thickness of the plate used in the wine rack  112  decreases, the diameter D of the aperture  120  may also decrease. The diameter D of the aperture  120  may be between 30 mm and 50 mm, preferably about 35 mm. As the angle α of the wine rack  112  increases, the diameter D of the aperture  120  may decrease. Similarly, as the angle α of the wine rack  112  decreases, the diameter D of the aperture  120  may increase. The angle α of the wine rack  112  may be between 90 and 45 degrees, preferably about 57 degrees. 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 4A-4C , in another embodiment, the wine rack  112  may be rotatably connected to the wine rack brackets  114 . The wine rack  112  may be movable between a first position where it is stowed underneath the shelf  100 , and a second position where the wine rack  112  may hold bottles in a preferred position. The wine rack brackets  114  may include round holes  212  and the wine rack  112  may include corresponding round pins  210 . The pins  210  and holes  212  may be sized as an interference fit such that the rack  112  stays in the first stowed position when not in use. It is further contemplated that other shapes may be used other than round to act as hard stops for the rack in the first and second positions. It is also contemplated that hinges of a type known in the art may be used between the wine rack  112  and the brackets  114 . 
         [0038]    In a further embodiment as shown in  FIGS. 5A-5B , a wine rack attaches directly to the liner  16 . The wine rack  312  may include at least 4 rack pins  310  sized to fit within liner grommets  320  located in the liner  16 . The liner grommets  320  are spaced such that the wine rack  312  holds the conventional wine bottle substantially horizontal. 
         [0039]    It is also contemplated as shown in  FIGS. 5C-5D  that the wine rack  312  be rotatable about the upper pin  310  between a first stowed position and a second wine bottle storage position. In this embodiment, the lower pin  310  would be a spring loaded pin assembly  330 . The spring loaded spring assembly  330  may include a spring  332 , a pin ball  334 , and a rack grommet  336 . When in the first or second position, the force of the spring  332  may push the pin ball  334  outward from the rack  312 . The rack grommet  336  would have a shape to allow the pin ball  334  to extend beyond the end of the rack grommet  336 , but remain contained within the rack grommet  336 . The portion of the pin ball  334  that extends beyond the end of the rack grommet  336  would extend into the corresponding liner grommet  320 , preventing the rack  312  from any undesired movement. While the spring loaded pin assembly  330  prevents undesired movement, it is also deisgned to be easily moved by a user from one of the first or second position to the other using hand forces only. It has also been contemplated that the refrigerator  10  include a spring loaded wine rack  312  such that the wine rack  312  spring back to the first stowed position when there is no load on the wine rack  312 , i.e. when no bottles are being stored. 
         [0040]    In another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the wine rack assembly  410  includes a wine rack  412  and a pair of wine rack brackets  414 . The wine rack brackets  414  are shaped similarly to the shelf brackets  102  as described in detail above. The wine rack brackets  414  attach to the shelf ladders  126  in the same way as the shelf brackets  102  described above. 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIG. 7A , in order to accommodate standard wine bottles, the spacing of the apertures  120  on the wine rack  112  should be a minimum of 62 mm, and preferably greater than or about 87 mm. It has been contemplated in order to accommodate many different sized bottles, both standard and non-standard, that the wine rack have one or more non-circle apertures with a width equal to the diameter D as contemplated above. This could be one single rectangle aperture as shown in  FIG. 7B , or more apertures either rectangle or oval in shape with a width equal to the diameter D as contemplated above. It has also been contemplated that the wine rack could extend along the entire width of the fresh food compartment in any of the above embodiments. It has further been contemplated that other types of bottles such as bottles of soda or juice, or anything else in a bottle with a neck that may fit into the apertures may be suitable for this rack. 
         [0042]    As shown in  FIG. 8 , in another embodiment, the wine rack  112  also has an upstanding flange  160  upon which a logo or other information could be displayed when the wine rack  112  is in a first position. 
         [0043]    It will be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that construction of the described invention and other components is not limited to any specific material. Other exemplary embodiments of the invention disclosed herein may be formed from a wide variety of materials, unless described otherwise herein. 
         [0044]    For purposes of this disclosure, the term “coupled” (in all of its forms, couple, coupling, coupled, etc.) generally means the joining of two components (electrical or mechanical) directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary in nature or movable in nature. Such joining may be achieved with the two components (electrical or mechanical) and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two components. Such joining may be permanent in nature or may be removable or releasable in nature unless otherwise stated. 
         [0045]    It is also important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the invention as shown in the exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments of the present innovations have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements shown as multiple parts may be integrally formed, the operation of the interfaces may be reversed or otherwise varied, the length or width of the structures and/or members or connector or other elements of the system may be varied, the nature or number of adjustment positions provided between the elements may be varied. It should be noted that the elements and/or assemblies of the system may be constructed from any of a wide variety of materials that provide sufficient strength or durability, in any of a wide variety of colors, textures, and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present innovations. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the desired and other exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present innovations. 
         [0046]    It will be understood that any described processes or steps within described processes may be combined with other disclosed processes or steps to form structures within the scope of the present invention. The exemplary structures and processes disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting. 
         [0047]    It is also to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structures and methods without departing from the concepts of the present invention, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0