Adjustable refrigerator shelving
AssigneeBby Solutions, Inc.
InventorsWeichao Chen, Kaixuan He
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to a shelf and shelving system for a refrigerator door having a door liner with opposing side walls, where each side wall includes a row of ditch steps. The shelf or shelves includes a gap wall at each end of the shelf. A switch is positioned above each gap wall. Each switch includes a handle, a mounting rod and a biasing member for biasing a long component of the handle outwardly away from the gap wall such that an engagement surface of the long component will engage a ditch step and thereby secure the shelf in place within the refrigerator door. The switch is actuatable by a user to allow for vertical adjustment of the shelf along the rows of ditch steps or to remove the shelf therefrom.
Claims11
A switch for use in appliance shelving, the switch comprising:
- a switch handle, a mounting rod and a biasing member,
- the switch handle having a long component and a short component, the long component defining a ditch step engagement end, the long component having a length greater than the short component, at an intersection of the long component and the short component the switch handle defining a mounting rod passage, the switch handle having an interior surface and defining a notch, the notch being in communication with the mounting rod passage,
- the mounting rod configured to extend through the mounting rod passage, the switch handle being pivotable about the mounting rod,
- the biasing member configured to be positioned within the notch and disposed about the mounting rod, the biasing member includes a first biasing post that extends through the notch to contact the interior surface of the long component and a second biasing post that extends through the notch to contact a gap wall of a shelf, the biasing member biasing the long component of the switch handle outwardly away from the gap wall.
A shelf comprising:
- a first end and a second end, each end having a gap wall, a switch is positioned above each gap wall, each switch comprises:
- a switch handle, a mounting rod and a biasing member, the switch handle having a long component and a short component, the long component defining a ditch step engagement end, the long component having a length greater than the short component, at an intersection of the long component and the short component the switch handle defining a mounting rod passage, the switch handle having an interior surface and defining a notch, the notch being in communication with the mounting rod passage, the mounting rod configured to extend through the mounting rod passage, the switch handle being pivotable about the mounting rod, the biasing member configured to be positioned within the notch and disposed about the mounting rod, the biasing member includes a first biasing post that extends through the notch to contact the interior surface of the long component and a second biasing post that extends through the notch to contact the gap wall, the biasing member biasing the long component of the switch handle outwardly away from the gap wall.
A shelving system for a refrigerator comprises:
- a door, the door having opposing side walls, wherein each sidewall defines a row of ditch steps;
- at least one shelf, the at least on shelf having a first end and a second end, each end having a gap wall, a switch is positioned above each gap wall, each switch comprises:
- a switch handle, a mounting rod and a biasing member, the switch handle having a long component and a short component, the long component defining a ditch step engagement end, the long component having a length greater than the short component, at an intersection of the long component and the short component the switch handle defining a mounting rod passage, the switch handle having an interior surface and defining a notch, the notch being in communication with the mounting rod passage, the mounting rod configured to extend through the mounting rod passage, the switch handle being pivotable about the mounting rod, the biasing member configured to be positioned within the notch and disposed about the mounting rod, the biasing member includes a first biasing post that extends through the notch to contact the interior surface of the long component and a second biasing post that extends through the notch to contact the gap wall, the biasing member biasing the long component of the switch handle outwardly away from the gap wall;
- the at least one shelf being removeably positionable between the opposing sidewalls, such that when the at least one shelf is positioned in place between the sidewalls, each ditch step engagement end is engaged to one of the ditch steps.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.