Title: Freezer drawer support assembly
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.
Patent Number: 6,971,730 Issued on 12/06/2005 to Koons
| Inventors:
|
Koons; Bill J. (Cedar Rapids, IA)
|
| Assignee:
|
Maytag Corporation (Newton, IA)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
379584 |
| Filed:
|
March 6, 2003 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
312/404; 312/402; 312/334.8 |
| Intern'l Class: |
A47B 096/04 |
| Field of Search: |
312/401,402,404,405,405.1,408,321.5,330.1,334.8,333
62/382,440
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 2682754 | Jul., 1954 | Eck.
| |
| 2711944 | Jun., 1955 | Meek et al.
| |
| 4173378 | Nov., 1979 | Hanson et al.
| |
| 4751826 | Jun., 1988 | Kawahara et al.
| |
| 5040856 | Aug., 1991 | Wilkins et al.
| |
| 5366284 | Nov., 1994 | Baker et al.
| |
| 5692817 | Dec., 1997 | Jun et al.
| |
| 5758512 | Jun., 1998 | Peterson et al.
| |
| 5893620 | Apr., 1999 | Birgelis.
| |
| 6123402 | Sep., 2000 | Bowyer et al.
| |
| 6209979 | Apr., 2001 | Fall et al.
| |
| 6447083 | Sep., 2002 | Chiapetta et al.
| |
| 2001/0054296 | Dec., 2001 | Kaiser.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 2300791 | Sep., 2001 | CA.
| |
| 8-240378 | Sep., 1996 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Hansen; James O.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Diederiks & Whitelaw PLC
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/364,108
filed on Mar. 15, 2002.
Claims
1. A refrigerator comprising:
an upper fresh food compartment having an associated fresh food compartment door;
a lower freezer compartment having an associated freezer door, said freezer compartment
being defined by a liner having opposing side walls which taper fore-to-aft such
that a distance between the opposing side walls at a front portion of the freezer
compartment is greater than a distance between the opposing side walls at a rear
portion of the freezer compartment, each of the opposing side walls including at
least one fore-to-aft extending groove defining a ledge portion;
a freezer drawer support assembly including first and second side adapters, each
having an upper ledge, a channel and a plurality of lugs, and a pair of extensible
drawer slides, each of said first and second side adapters tapering from a rear
portion to a front portion, said first and second side adapters being mounted to
the first and second opposing side walls respectively, with the plurality of lugs
projecting into the at least one groove and with the upper ledges and channels
of the first and second side adapters being arranged substantially parallel to
each other, said pair of extensible drawer slides being mounted in the channels
of the first and second side adapters, said freezer door being connected to the
extensible drawer slides for fore-to-aft movement in order to selectively access
the freezer compartment; and
a basket slidably supported by one of the upper ledge of each side adapter and
the extensible drawer slides.
2. A refrigerator comprising:
an upper fresh food compartment having an associated fresh food compartment door;
a lower freezer compartment having an associated freezer door, said freezer compartment
being defined by a liner having opposing side walls which taper fore-to-aft such
that a distance between the opposing side walls at a front portion of the freezer
compartment is greater than a distance between the opposing side walls at a rear
portion of the freezer compartment;
a freezer drawer support assembly including first and second side adapters, each
having an upper ledge and a channel, and a pair of extensible drawer slides, each
of said first and second side adapters tapering from a rear portion to a front
portion, said first and second side adapters being mounted to the first and second
opposing side walls respectively, for supporting the side adapter in the freezer
compartment, with the upper ledges and channels of the first and second side adapters
being arranged substantially parallel to each other, said pair of extensible drawer
slides being mounted in the channels of the first and second side adapters, said
freezer door being connected to the extensible drawer slides for fore-to-aft movement
in order to selectively access the freezer compartment.
3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising:
a pair of basket support plates fixed to the freezer door; and
a basket slidably supported by the pair of basket support plates.
4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, further comprising first and second
door support plates slidably engaged with the pair of basket support plates.
5. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein each of the opposing side walls
of the liner includes at least one groove defining a ledge portion and each of
said side adapters is provided with a plurality of lugs extending from a rear surface
thereof, said lugs extending into the at least one groove and nesting with the
ledge portions for supporting the side adapter in the freezer compartment.
6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein each of the side adapters further
includes a plurality of bosses which are adapted to receive mechanical fasteners
for fixing each of the side adapters to the liner.
7. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the upper ledges are adapted
to slidably support a food storage basket.
8. The refrigerator according to claim 7, further comprising a stop projecting
up from at least one of the upper ledges for limiting a permissible degree of shifting
of a food storage basket slidably supported on the upper ledges.
9. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein each of the side adapters includes
an upper wall, a lower wall and an intermediate wall, said intermediate wall being
recessed relative to the upper and lower walls so as to define the channel.
10. The refrigerator according to claim 9, further comprising a plurality of
spaced teeth members extending from each of the upper and lower walls, said channel
being defined laterally between the intermediate wall and the plurality of spaced
teeth members in each of the side adapters.
11. The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising a member cantilevered
from one of the first and second side adapters and projecting into the channel
for snap-fittingly engaging a respective one of the drawer slides.
12. The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein each of the drawer slides
includes a cabinet member, an intermediate member and a drawer member which are
extensibly interconnected.
13. A refrigerator comprising:
an upper fresh food compartment having an associated fresh food compartment door;
a lower freezer compartment having an associated freezer door, said freezer compartment
being defined by a liner having opposing side walls, each of the opposing side
walls including at least one fore-to-aft extending groove;
a freezer drawer support assembly including first and second side adapters, each
having an upper ledge, a channel and a plurality of lugs, and a pair of extensible
drawer slides, said first and second side adapters being mounted to the first and
second opposing side walls respectively, with the plurality of lugs projecting
into the at least one groove and with the upper ledges and channels of the first
and second side adapters being arranged substantially parallel to each other, said
pair of extensible drawer slides being mounted in the channels of the first and
second side adapters, said freezer door being connected to the extensible drawer
slides for fore-to-aft movement in order to selectively access the freezer compartment; and
a basket slidably supported by one of the upper ledge of each side adapter and
the extensible drawer slides.
14. The refrigerator according to claim 13, further comprising: a pair of basket
support plates fixed to the freezer door, wherein the basket is slidably supported
by the pair of basket support plates.
15. The refrigerator according to claim 14, further comprising first and second
door support plates slidably engaged with the pair of basket support plates.
16. The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein each side adapter further
includes a plurality of bosses which are adapted to receive mechanical fasteners
for fixing each of the side adapters to the liner.
17. The refrigerator according to claim 13, further comprising a stop projecting
up from at least one of the upper ledges for limiting a permissible degree of shifting
of a food storage basket slidably supported on the upper ledges.
18. The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein each of the side adapters
includes an upper wall, a lower wall and an intermediate wall, said intermediate
wall being recessed relative to the upper and lower walls so as to define the channel.
19. The refrigerator according to claim 18, further comprising a plurality of
spaced teeth members extending from each of the upper and lower walls, said channel
being defined laterally between the intermediate wall and the plurality of spaced
teeth members in each of the side adapters.
20. The refrigerator according to claim 19, further comprising a member cantilevered
from one of the first and second side adapters and projecting into the channel
for snap-fittingly engaging a respective one of the drawer slides.
21. The refrigerator according to claim 20, wherein each of the drawer slides
includes a cabinet member, an intermediate member and a drawer member which are
extensibly interconnected.
22. For a refrigerator including an upper fresh food compartment having an associated
fresh food compartment door and a lower freezer compartment having an associated
freezer door, with said freezer compartment being defined by a liner having opposing
side walls provided with fore-to-aft extending grooves that define opposing ledge
portions which can directly support a slidable basket, a method of mounting a freezer
drawer support assembly comprising:
positioning elements projecting from rear portions of first and second side adapters
into the fore-to-aft extending grooves and on the ledge portions of the first and
second opposing side walls in order to mount the first and second side adapters
within the freezer compartment; and
connecting a pair of extensible drawer slides to the first and second side adapters
respectively, with the freezer door being connected to the pair of extensible drawer
slides for sliding movement relative to the liner.
23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: snap-fitting the pair of extensible
drawer slides in channels defined by the first and second side adapters.
24. The method of claim 22, further comprising: positioning the pair of extensible
drawer slides vertically between upper and lower walls, and laterally between an
intermediate wall and a plurality of teeth members, formed on each of the side adapters.
25. The method of claim 22, further comprising:
attaching basket support plates to the pair of extensible drawer slides; and
slidably supporting a basket on the basket support plates.
26. The method of claim 25, further comprising: fixing the basket support plates
to the freezer door such that the basket support plates and the basket shift in
unison with the freezer door, while the basket is slidable relative to the freezer door.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising: providing the first and second
side adapters with ledges above the grooves, with the ledges being adapted to slidably
support another basket for movement into and out of the freezer compartment.
28. The method of claim 25, further comprising: interconnecting a pair of door
support plates between the basket support plates and the pair of extensible drawer slides.
29. The method of claim 22, further comprising: fixing each of the side adapters
within the freezer compartment with the side adapters tapering from back to front
in order to compensate for a front to rear tapering of the side walls of the freezer
compartment such that the pair of extensible drawer slides are arranged substantially
parallel to each other.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly,
to a support arrangement for a pull-out freezer drawer.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
FIG. 1 is a partial exploded view of a bottom mount style refrigerator incorporating
the freezer drawer support assembly of the invention;
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;
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the side adapter of the freezer drawer support assembly
of the invention;
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
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the overall drawer support assembly of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
*
