Bin storage system for a refrigerator appliance
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsGowardhan Parikshit, Sunil Patil, Ryan Post, Lalit Suryawanshi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A storage system for a refrigerator includes a drawer, a rail, a cap, and a clip. The drawer has a frame and a bin removably disposed on top of the frame. The rail is movably secured to the frame such that the drawer is operable to transition between deployed and stowed positions. The cap is disposed along an end of the rail and defines a recess extending laterally inward therefrom. The clip extends downward from the frame and comprises a laterally extending protrusion. The laterally extending protrusion extends into the recess and engages the cap within the recess to secure the frame to the rail and restrict lateral movement of the frame relative to the rail.
Claims20
A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet defining at least one refrigerated compartment;
- a door movably secured to the cabinet;
- a pull-out bin secured to an interior side of the door and configured to transition between retracted and advanced positions, the pull-out bin comprising a frame and a receptacle, wherein the receptacle is removably disposed on top of the frame and is configured to receive items for storage therein;
- rails slidably secured to the interior side of the door and disposed on opposing lateral sides of the pull-out bin, wherein the pull-out bin is configured to transition between the retracted and advanced positions via the rails;
- caps disposed along ends of the rails, each cap defining first and second recesses extending laterally inward and toward each other along sides of the caps;
- and
- clips extending downward from a bottom of the frame, each clip having first and second protrusions extending laterally inward and toward each other along sides of the clips, wherein the protrusions extend into the recesses and engage the caps within the recesses to secure the frame to the rails and restrict lateral movement of the frame in a direction extending between the rails.
A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet defining a refrigerated compartment;
- a door secured to the cabinet;
- a drawer disposed on the door and operable to receive items for storage therein;
- a rail movably securing the drawer to the door;
- a cap disposed along an end of the rail and defining at least one recess extending laterally inward from an exterior of the cap;
- and
- a clip extending downward from a bottom of the drawer, wherein the clip comprises at least one biasing element and at least one laterally extending protrusion extending from the at least one biasing element, wherein the at least one laterally extending protrusion extends into the at least one recess and engages the cap within the at least one recess to secure the drawer to the rail and restrict movement of the drawer relative to the rail, wherein the cap includes at least one ramped surface disposed above the at least one recess, the at least one ramped surface is configured to drive the at least one laterally extending protrusion outward during installation of the clip onto the cap, and the at least one biasing element is configured to drive the at least one laterally extending protrusion inward and into the at least one recess upon completion of installation of the clip onto the cap.
A storage system for a refrigerator comprising:
- a drawer having a frame and a bin removably disposed on top of the frame;
- a rail movably secured to the frame such that the drawer is operable to transition between deployed and stowed positions;
- a cap disposed along an end of the rail and defining a recess extending laterally inward therefrom;
- and
- a clip extending downward from the frame and comprising a laterally extending protrusion, wherein the laterally extending protrusion extends into the recess and engages the cap within the recess to secure the frame to the rail and restrict lateral movement of the frame relative to the rail, wherein the clip further comprises a biasing element configured to bias the protrusion inward and into the recess, the cap includes a ramped surface disposed above the recess, the ramped surface is configured to drive the laterally extending protrusion outward during installation of the clip onto the cap, and the biasing element is configured to drive the laterally extending protrusion inward and into the recess upon completion of installation of the clip onto the cap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.