Freezer drawer support assembly
AssigneeMaytag Corporation
InventorBill J. Koons
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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.
Claims29
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.