US 4,904,032 AGranted

Shelf support system for a refrigerator cabinet

AssigneeGeneral Electric Company

InventorThomas E. Jenkins

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Abstract

A plurality of shelf supports is molded integrally with each side wall of a refrigerator cabinet liner. Each of the shelf supports on one side wall is in the same horizontal plane as one of the shelf supports on the other side wall. Each of the shelf supports includes an upper surface for supporting a fixed shelf. Each of the shelf supports has a recess extending between its upper and lower surfaces to function as a stop for preventing removal of a fixed shelf through receiving a portion of the fixed shelf therein. Each of the shelf supports has a projection extending downwardly therefrom forwardly of the recess for engaging a portion of a slidable shelf supported on the upper surface of the shelf support thereof. A single ladder track is mounted on the rear wall of the liner to support one side of a cantilever half shelf, which has its other side supported on the upper surface of one of the shelf supports. The cantilever half shelf has a portion cooperating with the recess in the shelf support to prevent the cantilever half shelf from swinging off of the upper surface of the shelf support. Thus, the same shelf support system supports fixed shelves, slidable shelves, and cantilever half shelves.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A refrigerator cabinet including:

a liner including a pair of substantially parallel side walls, a rear wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall;
a cooling compartment defined by said liner and having its walls constituted by said walls of said liner;
said liner having a plurality of shelf support means mounted on each of said substantially parallel side walls constituting side walls of said cooling compartment defined by said liner, each of said shelf support means mounted on one of said side walls of said liner being in the same horizontal plane as one of said shelf support means mounted on the other of said side walls;
each of said shelf support means including an upper surface;
each of said shelf support means having stop means for preventing removal of a fixed shelf supported on said upper surface by cooperating with a portion of the fixed shelf supported on said upper surface of said shelf support means;
each of said shelf support means having limit means for limiting forward motion of a slidable shelf supported on said upper surface of said shelf support means by cooperating with a portion of the slidable shelf supported on said upper surface of said shelf support means;
support means mounted on said rear wall of said liner for supporting one side of a cantilever half shelf having its other side supported by said upper surface of one of said shelf support means mounted on one of said side walls of said liner, said rear wall of said liner constituting a rear wall of said cooling compartment defined by said liner;
and said stop means of each of said shelf support means including preventing means for preventing swinging of the cantilever half shelf supported on said upper surface of said shelf support means by cooperating with a portion of the cantilever half shelf supported on said upper surface of said shelf support means.

5 more elements

A refrigerator cabinet including:

a liner including a pair of substantially parallel side walls, a rear wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall;
a cooling compartment defined by said liner and having its walls constituted by said walls of said liner;
said liner having a plurality of shelf support means mounted on each of said substantially parallel side walls constituting side walls of said cooling compartment defined by said liner, each of said shelf support means mounted on one of said side walls of said liner being in the same horizontal plane as one of said shelf support means mounted on the other of said side walls for supporting a shelf in a horizontal plane;
each of said shelf support means including an upper surface;
a fixed shelf and a slidable shelf interchangeably supported on said upper surface of one of said shelf support means on each of said side walls in the same horizontal plane;
each of said shelf support means having stop means for preventing removal of said fixed shelf when said fixed shelf is supported on said upper surface of one of said shelf support means on each of said side walls in the same horizontal plane, said fixed shelf having means for cooperating with said stop means of said shelf support means on each of said side walls;
and each of said shelf support means having limit means for limiting forward motion of said slidable shelf when said slidable shelf is supported on said upper surface of said shelf support means on each of said side walls, said slidable shelf having means for cooperating with said limit means of said shelf support means on each of said side walls.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.