Article retainer assembly for refrigerators

A refrigerator comprising:

• a cabinet;
• a liner arranged within the cabinet, said liner having top, bottom and opposing side walls defining, at least in part, a refrigerated compartment;
• a door pivotally mounted relative to the cabinet for selectively closing the refrigerated compartment;
• a shelf mounted in the refrigerator compartment for supporting articles to be refrigerated, said shelf including a substantially flat planar portion defined, at least in part, by a front edge section;
• and
• an article retainer assembly extending between the opposing side walls across the front edge section of the shelf, said article retaining assembly including:
• a retaining member positioned across the front edge section of the shelf, said retaining member including a main body portion having first and second end sections, said retaining member between shiftably mounted relative to the shelf in three distinct positions including a first position wherein the retaining member extends above the front edge section of the shelf to block articles on the shelf, a second position wherein the retaining member is lowered to expose articles stored on the shelf, and a third, stowed position wherein the retaining ember is maintained in a location assuring unobstructed access to articles stored on the shelf;
• and
• means for supporting the retaining member in each of the first, second and third positions, said supporting means being provided at the front edge section of the shelf.

A method of operating an article retaining assembly provided across a front edge section of a refrigerator shelf comprising:

• positioning a retaining member in a first position to prevent articles on a refrigerator shelf from shifting beyond a front edge section;
• lifting the retaining member, causing a pivot element to shift from a first portion of a guide track to a position adjacent a second portion of the guide track;
• rotating the pivot element into the second portion of the guide track causing the retaining member to shift outward from the shelf to a second position;
• and
• selectively stowing the retaining member in a third position wherein the retaining member is supported below and substantially parallel to the shelf.